Week Of September 18, 2006 - Mon / Wed / Fri

September 22, 2006

A TALE OF TWO TORONTOS, PT II, Page II

10 Items of Less - Brad Silberling, mot of whose career has been on big studio movies, goes low tech and makes a charming little comedy with a very funny Morgan Freeman and a breakthrough performance from the breathtaking Paz Vega.

Away From Her - Sarah Polley's first feature is an exercise in extreme restraint. I quite liked the film, though I have to admit that I had a tough time with believing Julie Christie in a rest home. She may be old enough, but she is still so ridiculously gorgeous (almost more now, as an older woman), and her intelligence shows so clearly (definitely more now, as an older actress) that it made things a little off balance for me. But the actor who is rarely mentioned when the film is discussed, Gordon Pinsent, really holds it together. And one of my few tough criticisms about the film is that I wish there was more of his life, indeed, away from her.

Babel - Arriaga & Inarritu have delivered another strong, already much discussed, film.

Black Sheep - So stupid. So fun.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - The best movie at Toronto this year? Not the most serious. But yeah, probably the most memorable to the most people.

Catch A Fire - A solid effort from Phillip Noyce on the apartheid movement of more than a decade ago. It is quite good, but is it great? Tough one.

Day Night Day Night - Julia Loktev's film didn't draw a lot of attention at Toronto. People were so busy chasing the apparently inferior Death of a President that they never got around to being horrified by a suicide bomber in Times Square. I think this is an absolutely fascinating movie that deserves to be seen more broadly.

Deliver Us From Evil - Amy Berg's overwhelming portrait of a pedophile priest and the church that let it go on form parish to parish to parish.

EMPz 4 Life - Allan King, who really deserves a major cable retrospective here in the U.S., made this film about at-risk kids who are in a special, very hands on, program in Toronto. As you might expect, some thrive and some are the proverbial horses that won't drink the water no matter how easy you make it for them to drink. One of the few doc classicists left.

The Fall - Tarsem's story is a bit of a mess… the acting is… well… there is this little girl with a funny accent who is amazing. But damned if this is not the greatest visual feast you will see this year.

For Your Consideration - The new Chris Guest film, it's a bit of a break form the others in that while improvised, it is a pretty specifically structured story… and it suffers from that a bit. Still, there is more than enough to keep any Oscar lover interested and laughing the whole way.

The Fountain - Darren Aronofsky's look at one of man's ultimate challenges, the loss of a loved one at far too young an age, spirals into a consideration of that notion in the past and future. But at its core, it is a love story about a man who has as much power as any doctor can have, but still may not be able to save the one person he loves more than himself. There is some great work here… and some great pretentiousness. But for me, it leans to the positive.

Hana - Kore-eda, who seems to be on his way to being a Japanese Almodovar, delivers again with this tale of samurai honor combined with love, humor, and many surprisingly modern values. Lovely film.

The Host - The Korean monster movie that is really a family drama with political overtones about pollution, nuclear proliferation, and the laziness of the modern age is one of those films that geeks will be dissecting for decades.

Lake of Fire - The definitive abortion rights documentary. See it as soon as you can. It's brutal, but balanced.

Little Children - Todd Fields' dry martini that lives in the grays of everyone's lives. One of the very best films of the year.

The Lives of Others - An excellent German story of fear and paranoia, if not a little over praised in the light of Toronto fever.

Pan's Labyrinth - Guillermo del Toro is a genius and a great guy. Pan's picks up the trilogy string from the brilliant The Devil's Backbone. It is a tough, beautiful story in which a little girl facing true horror crosses over into fantasy… or is it reality too?

The Prisoner: Or How I Planned To Kill Tony Blair - The best political doc of the large group this year, this one gets more pertinent every day… just as Tucker/Epperlein's Gunner Palace did.

Rescue Dawn - Werner Herzog shows surprising restraint, but still pushed the envelope, in this feature version of his famous doc, Little Dieter Needs To Fly. The film is very tough, very demanding on the audience, and very rewarding. The best comparison is really The Deer Hunter, but it is quite different than anything else, really. Herzog embraces nature like few others and gets great performances from Christian Bale and Steve Zahn. It was far more entertaining than I ever expected.

Shortbus - This extremely explicit film from John Cameron Mitchell shows its stuff by remaining explicit, but getting the audience past it and into the emotions behind the sexual choices. Perhaps not the best of the year, but certainly one of the most compelling and thoughtful.

Stranger Than Fiction - A good movie. It's that simple. Good story. Good performances. Maggie Gyllenhaal is at her best. Ferrell can do this. Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman are as steady as the north star. I have issues with the transition from the first to the third act, but it's still perfectly entertaining.

Summercamp! - A nice doc about - duh! - summer camp. Not the most important work ever, but a doc that entertains and makes you think.

Volver - Almodovar is an original. Penelope Cruz can act. And so can everyone else in this wonderfully quirky cast. A coming of age film for a 35 year old woman by way of ghosts, death, and murder. Where is the American Almodovar? (I wish it weren't a trick question.)

Zwartboek - Showgirl's List is a perverse delight. Verhoeven has got a strong, kinky voice and it is on full display here. Sex, Nazis, excrement, hair bleaching, Lugers, explosions, Jews, redheads, singing, dancing… woo hoo!!! This film may actually be Showgirls for the intelligentsia. Can't wait to see it again.

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