TIFF10 REVIEW: Bunraku [2010]

“Love is temporary; Hope is eternal” Bunraku may be the term used to describe a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, but that is no longer what I am going think when the word comes up in casual conversation—because it happens so frequently. Instead, I will recall memories of writer/director Guy Moshe’s unique vision of a future where the law is enforced by battles of skill and hand-to-hand or samurai combat, guns now outlawed from use. His Bunraku is an unforgettable film of high style and high-concept that was three…

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TIFF10 REVIEW: It’s Kind of a Funny Story [2010]

“I would just live like it meant something” I’ll admit, an adaptation of Ned Vizzini’s novel It’s Kind of a Funny Story wasn’t what I thought Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck would pursue after two well-received dramas in Half Nelson and Sugar. The trailers did express the dramedy aspect, though, despite media outlets incessantly calling it the next comedy starring Zach Galifianakis, so no one should go in thinking it will necessarily be a laugh riot. It’s very funny, in fact a lot funnier than I expected, but the setting…

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TIFF10 REVIEW: Neds [2010]

“Marcus is in the garden, but … shhh” Young John McGill’s Aunt Beth, played by Marianna Palka, tells the boy, “your dreams are gonna come true, ya know”. It’s a telling statement once you watch Peter Mullan’s very Scottish—to the point it had English subtitles for an English language film—Neds. Sitting through the World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, I began to wonder if an adolescent in 1972 Glasgow could dream, let alone think it would become reality. The title is an acronym/abbreviation of the common Scottish detrimental…

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TIFF10 REVIEW: Stone [2010]

“I don’t want no beef with you, I want to be a vegetarian” The trailers being released for Rochester resident John Curran’s newest film Stone show a conventional thriller concerning a convict using his wife to seduce the parole officer in control of an early release. You almost think the advertisement gives everything away, touching upon the secret affair as well as an interesting change in attitude by the inmate who orchestrates it all, almost as though revenge will be sought after despite his blackmail plan being the cause. This…

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TIFF10 REVIEW: Trust [2010]

“Just because she didn’t scream doesn’t mean it wasn’t rape” While writing my 2010 Toronto International Film Festival preview, I scoured the internet for poster images of the films I was to see. When it came to David Schwimmer’s sophomore effort Trust, all I discovered was a promo poster featuring a large, determined, floating head of Clive Owen set above a darkened, foreboding street featuring a man with his back turned, walking menacingly within. I’ll admit, I had no idea what the film was about, but having seen it now,…

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TIFF10: Day Two Recap

Day Two at TIFF may have started with two junket screenings, meaning there was no chance of seeing any filmmakers/actors, but it also began with what could be my number one film of the year—Never Let Me Go. Amidst the small contingent of press glomming down free danishes and coffee courtesy of Fox Searchlight was a work of art that will devastate even the most cynical of souls. It’s tough to go into detail of the plot, though, without ruining the nuance of the parallel universe world, one where disease…

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