TADFF 07 Day 5 - October 23/07

Here we are at Day 5 of 7 for The Toronto After Dark Film Festival! It's gone by pretty quickly and I am already looking forward to next year. Day 5 was a stellar success, I couldn't recommend either of the 2 features highly enough.

The Legend of Boruta
Dir: Bartosz Nowakowski
Animated Short
Canada

Impressions: Very stylish animation, amazing use of light, interesting characters and story. I am continued to be impressed with shorts that have little to no dialogue, this one had a few lines in German, but you still are giving all the information you need to understand and enjoy the film. Kudos.

Wolfhound / Volkodav iz roda Serykh Psov
Writer/Dir: Nikolai Lebedev
Cast: Aleksandr Bukharov, Oksana Akinshina, Aleksandr Domogarov
Russia
Language: Russian

Impressions: A really fun fantasy film with all the things you would expect and a whole lot more. Like the bat side kick. I kid you not - a bat side kick, who completely won over the crowd. Impressive battle scenes, scenery, costumes and performances are a plenty throughout the film. There are characters to love, hate, cheer for and growl against Wolfhound has all the mixings for a wonderful fantasy film. It would be amiss to not comment that parts of the story bear strong resemblance to other films (Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian), however it does hold true as its own film and is most certainly worth seeing. Wolfhound is one of my favorites of the festival so far.

Check out the Wolfhound official website here

God's Little Girl
Dir: Mitch Davis
Short
Canada

Impressions: The idea behind this short is very interesting, however the one tone voice over and length of the piece dragged it down too much to be very enjoyable.

Alone /Faet
Dir: Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongppom
Cast: Masha Vadhanapanich, Witthaya Wasukraipaisam
Thailand
Languages: Thai, Korean

Impressions: Don't watch Alone alone! It's so freaking scary, and awesome to boot. Brilliant story revolving around conjoined twins, Alone also provides us with stellar acting and scares galore. Even when you knew the scary parts were coming, they still made everyone jump. It was a real treat to see this in the theatre in the presence of an enthusiastic and loud crowd. I still remember the first yelp, then giggles - what could be bad? Nothing, it was all good. Well, fingers crossed I don't get any nightmares!

Check out the Alone official website here

Highlight of the Day: Not only was it a treat that I loved both of the features today, I was accompanied by my sister and her husband for the screenings which made it so much more fun! After the screening of Alone we kept coming up with freaky ideas that would scary people in the style of the film.

Runner up highlight: The bat in Wolfhound.

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival runs October 19-25/07 at the Bloor Cinema , Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

TADFF 07 Day 4 - October 22/07

A little of a quieter day for me at on Monday at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, checking out just one movie, The Rebel a kickin' martial arts film from Vietnam. I decided to forgo the David Arquette directorial debut of The Tripper as I'm a little bloodied out and I have a sneaky suspicioun that it is one of the films that will more readily available. I'm sure I will back for more blood for Wednesday's for Simon Says.

The Bullet
Dir: Tanner Adams
Short
Canada

Impressions: This could be the first ever western short I've seen, and it made it expertly clear that the key elements of a western could be succinctly captured in 11 minutes. A hyper use of colour and electric soundtrack are a creative turn completing the extreme nature of this genre and the film itself.

The Rebel
Dir: Charlie Nguyen
Cast: Johnny Nguyen, Thanh Van Ngo, Dustin Nguyen
Vietnam
Languages: Vietnamese, French

Impressions: It is fair to say this is one of the films I was most looking forward to at this year's festival. It has been billed as the most expensive Vietnamese film, starring Johnny Nguyen whose credits include The Protector, Cradle 2 the Grave and the man inside the Spiderman suit. The happy surprize is that is following a current trend that I love which is the martial arts film with so much more. In a way, it reminded me of Myung Sung-Le's Duelist in that it has more than one main character and beautifully combines action and romance, without either feeling cheesy. The Rebel arguable has three main characters, along with Johnny Nguyen's character Chong, we also have Thanh Van Ngo playing a strong female character Vo Thanh Thuy and power hungry Sy played by Dustin Nguyen. The plot weaves through colonialism, rebellion, redemption and a thread of romance. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable film with solid story and of course spectacular fights and spinning kicks galore. Notablely, the Fred Astaire style full body shots were received much more enthusiastically than shots that were pieced together. Not that I doubt the skill, which all three actors have to a level most humans will never achieve. The Rebel is high on my list of favorites for this years festival.

*update* For those that were at the Oct 22/07 screening of The Rebel, it was later revealed that the version that was intended to be shown got held up at customs therefore we saw a back up copy. This explains the audio issues and no credits, and I hope it explains the reason why there were no subtitles at 2 brief moments of the film.

Memorable Quote: "That Goddamn move hurts"
I wonder if that was the character, or the actor...

Visit The Rebel official website here.

Highlight of the Day: Getting to meet fellow TADFF'er Bob from Eternal Sunshine of the Logical Mind.




The Toronto After Dark Film Festival runs October 19-25/07 at the Bloor Cinema,

Memo from Movie Dearest, RE: Vacation Time!

As I mentioned earlier this week, Movie Dearest is going on a little vacation. Actually, it is more like a "working vacation", as I will be interviewing for a new job and, if all goes well, I will be moving to a new state by Thanksgiving.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves here yet, I still have to land the job; I will say the prospects look mighty good at this point. In the meantime, MD will be experiencing some downtime until at last next Tuesday (October 30). I may be able to get some computer time in the next week, but I'm not sure if that will happen or not. If it does, groovy, if not, I will see you back here next Tuesday.

So wish me luck on the interview (it is on Thursday, so send happy thoughts my way), vote in this week's poll, buy lots of stuff through the shopping links so I can afford to move ... and I will be back soon!

The Latest on DVD: Just a Word, Please

This week's slate of new DVD releases can be summed up in one word - diverse:

• Masculine: Burt Lancaster: The Signature Collection- Five of the macho star's best: The Flame and the Arrow, Jim Thorpe All-American, His Majesty O'Keefe, South Sea Woman and Executive Action.
• Feminine: The L Word: The Complete Fourth Season- "L" is for ladies: Marlee Matlin and Cybill Shepherd join the cast.
• Nouvelle: Breathless- Jean-Luc Godard's highly influential progenitor of the French New Wave, now in a Criterion edition.
• Retro: Meet the Robinsons- Disney animated adventure about a boy inventor who goes to the future to find his past.
• Iconic: Battleship Potemkin: Ultimate Edition- Sergei Eisenstein's silent masterpiece, presented in its most complete form to date.
• Iconoclast: Stanley Kubrick - Warner Home Video Directors Series- Five of the master director's classics, each in two-disc editions: 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut (OK, four of his classics ...).
• Surrealist: O Lucky Man!- Lindsay Anderson's off-the-wall musical indictment against capitalism, starring Malcolm McDowell.
• Lyrical: Days of Heaven- Terrence Malick's beautifully photographed ode to an America long gone, from the Criterion Collection.
• Hysterical: I Love Lucy: The Complete Series- Yep, all of 'em, including the hour-long episodes.
• Unattainable: Under the Volcano- John Huston's film adaptation of the "unadaptable" novel, starring Albert Finney in an Oscar nominated role.
• Forgetaboutit: The Sopranos: Season 6, Part 2- The final chapters of the epic mob saga.

All titles can be purchased from Amazon.com by clicking on the above links.

Women We Love: Tippi Hedren

Due to Movie Dearest's upcoming vacation, here is a special Monday edition of "Women We Love", continuing the month long salute to the scream queens of the silver screen:

Object of our affection: Tippi Hedren, actress/ Hitchcock blonde.
- Why we love her: For holding her own against a roomful of blood-thirsty beaks in the Alfred Hitchcock classic, The Birds (her Golden Globe Award-winning film debut).
- Other choice roles: Hitchcock's Marnie, Chaplin's The Countess from Hong Kong.
- Family ties: Co-starred with future son-in-law Don Johnson in The Harrad Experiment; co-starred with daughter Melanie Griffith in six movies, including Pacific Heights.
- Nickname: Her real first name is Nathalie; her father called her "Tippi", which is short for "Tupsa", a Swedish nickname meaning "little girl".
- Yes, it's true: She was working as a model when Hitchcock discovered her; he saw her in a diet drink commercial airing during the Today show.
- Pet co-star: Named a pet cat after her Marnie co-star Sean Connery.
- Bet you didn't know: Her 1998 movie, I Woke Up Early the Day I Died, was based on a script written by noted "worst director of all time" Ed Wood. The film came out 20 years after his death.
- What has she done lately: Played an abortion activist in Citizen Ruth and got to slap Jude Law in I Heart Huckabees.
- What she is up to now: Protesting the impending remake of The Birds. Go Tippi!

Links via Imdb.com, MoviesBlog.MTV.com and HollywoodReporter.com.

Trivial Pursuits: Dirty Pillows Edition

As you may have gathered by now, Carrie is thought of very highly around here. Something about the "alienated youth with a secret" plot speaks to us, I guess. On the other hand, maybe it is the "getting revenge on your high school tormentors" that does it.

While you ponder that, here is some tasty trivia about the film starring the movies' most memorable prom queen:

• This was the first Stephen King novel to be adapted into a movie. (And it mostly went downhill from here.)
• Brian De Palma's Carrie and George Lucas' Star Wars were cast from the same casting sessions. Just think of the possibilities: William Katt as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Carrie White ...
• Bates High is the name of the school, and if you don't know what that's a reference to, then you don't know your horror movies.
• The little boy who taunts Carrie was played by De Palma's nephew, Cameron. His voice ("Creepy Carrie! Creepy Carrie!") was dubbed though, by ... Betty Buckley.
• Amy Irving's real-life mother, Priscilla Pointer, played Sue Snell's mom in the movie.
• What a trouper: Sissy Spacek was willing to have real blood poured on her; it was actually a mixture of karo syrup and food coloring.
• P.J. Soles' eardrums burst and she was knocked unconscious in the scene where her character is killed by the fire hose. And that shot is what is seen in the final film.
• That is actually Spacek's arm thrusting out of the ground during the famous final scare.
• Unusual for a horror film, Spacek and her onscreen "mama", Piper Laurie, were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances.
• Buckley would go from sympathetic gym teacher to irrational mother in the infamous Carrie - The Musical, one of the biggest flops in Broadway history.

Click here to purchase Carrieon DVD from Amazon.com.
Links via Imdb.com and Wikipedia.org.

TADFF 07 Day 3 - October 21/07

Sunday was my fullest day at Toronto After Dark Film Festival by far, fitting in all screenings which included 16 shorts and 3 features. This was a tough decision as it means I missed seeing the zombie walk. Luckily not all was lost and the zombies were tromping around the Bloor and Bathurst area all night. In fact, upon exiting the theatre after Audience of One, I was faced with multitude of zombies, many of which were in line for the next film, Automation Trnasfusion. At one point I nearly crashed into a zombie and then had the quick & friendly "Sorry!" and "It's OK!" exchange. Good zombie!

Cutting Edge Fantasy
The day started with a collection of SciFi and Fantasy shorts which were introduced as "All the cool stuff". I would have to agree, they weren't all pigeon holed into the genre identification as SciFi/Fantasy but I think there could all be appreciated by SciFi/Fantasy fans. Here are the stand outs:

Agnieshka: A Dark Symphony of 2039
Martin Gauvrea
Poland/UK, 2007
12 min

This was the most polished film of the bunch and had an electric like energy to it that drew you in the world it created. Highly stylized with amazing sound and ideas brought to life, it was my favorite of the bunch.

Trionyx (Soft-Shelled Turtle)
Nick Child
USA, 2006
5 min

This brilliant short revolving around the preparation for a fight against Godzilla. Hilarious.

Drop
Flemming Jetmar
UK, 2007
4 min

Clocking in at 4 minutes this is the essence of short film. Enough visual information is provided for everything to mesh together perfectly but also leaves enough to keep you thinking.

The Drift
Kelly Sears
USA, 2007
8 min

Creepy tale of a sounds that overwhelms humans, told in an unnerving visual style bridging the familiar with the unthinkable. One to watch.

One of the great things about seeing SciFi/Fantasy is it opens up to fascinating ideas as well as new and inventive ways to tell stories. Fantastic ideas are the back bone of Ambassador's Day and The Un-Gone, and visual inventiveness is dominant in Hairlady and An Introduction to Lucid Dream Experience.

Brains!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of the exciting things about today was that it was the annual zombie walk. Although I didn't attend myself, the zombies were everywhere!!! Here is Thea Faulds, Zombie Walk Coordinator looking fabulously ghoulish with Adam Lopez as they hand out prize packs before the screening of Automaton Transfusion:

Terror on the 3918
Dir: Mathieu Fontaine
Short
Canada

Impressions: Ironically after viewing all the shorts in the fantasy selection, I find my favourite short so far directly after it. Canadian and in French to boot this film brilliantly pairs known scifi culture to every day home devices. Absolutely brilliant.

Audience of One
Dir: Mike Jacobs
Documentary
USA

Impressions: This film was by far the one I heard that most people in being interested to see it, possible because it is a documentary. I wonder if it falls over 'horror' or 'fantasy'. I'm thinking they were going for fantasy. The documentary follows a pastor set out to direct a biblical film of Star Wars scale with zero experience and the continual refrain that 'the funding will come through'. Although there were many great moments ranging from hilarious to unbelievable the continual thought ran through me of why we think it is funny? Is it because of the religious element? The ineptitude? The main focus is really about one man's dream and going for it even if it is big and crazy idea - and that is something I can be totally for! Although it's more about him getting people to follow his dream, as oppose to everyone having their own. I would also be curious as to why he agreed to be filmed throughout, and if he has seen the film. It is entertaining on many levels, so for that I give it credit.



(Adam Lopez and Steve Miller before Zombie Jesus)

Zombie Jesus
Dir: Steve Miller
Short
Canada

Impressions: Wonderful, zom-com merging the ideas of religion to current day life with a twist of zombieness. Very well received and stellar zombie film.

Q&A Highlights: Parts of the film were filmed during the 2006 Zombie Walk, and numerous zombies from this year were in the audience! Cool!

Automaton Transfusion
Dir: Steven C. Miller
Cast: Garrett Jones, Juliet Reeves, William Howard Bowman
USA

Impressions: Introduced as a film that will be the first in a trilogy, this bloody as hell zombie film is entertaining but didn't quite meet the mark for me. I think it is the bloodiest of the films so far (excluding the possibility of Blood Car which I didn't see), and surely had lots of cheers from the audience. There are promising young actors but I felt some aspects of the film didn't quite hold up including that some of story is 'told' instead of 'shown', as well as some continuity issues. It was entertaining and the crowd loved it, but in terms of zombie feature films I found Mulberry Street from Day One of the festival to be a much more satisfying.


(Adam Lopez and Jason Zukowski before Eat the Parents)

Eat the Parents
Dir: Jason Zukowski
Short
Canada

Impressions: Very rowdy crowd gave this short about a average couple meeting the parent's dinner to a ritual zombiemaking process a welcoming response.

(Adam Lopez with Lloyd Kaufman and the Troma crew)

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead
Dir: Lloyd Kaufman
Cast: Jason Yachanin, Kate Graham, Lloyd Kaufman
USA

Impressions: Where to begin. My impression going into it was a zombie-chicken-musical. I thought, ok that sounds interesting. This is my second D'oh! moment of not reading the description carefully enough. This satire with the theme of protesting against the fast food business on an ancient burial ground, with the most visible protesters being girls who for some reason remove their shirts. Right. Add to that bathroom humour, bodily fluids, solids and parts all flying around going into things or being cut off or multiple other possibilities. I haven't even gotten to the whole chicken thing, or zombie thing, or satire thing. I think I'll leave it at that. I would think you would be able to know by now if the film was meant for you.

Q&A Highlights: The film did us mostly old school special effects as opposed to CGI, the soundtrack has karaoke delights, and it was good to hear that independent film is still kicking and that a lot of people volunteered from all over the world to help put this film together.

Highlight of the Day: Walking into zombies all day and night.



The Toronto After Dark Film Festival runs October 19-25/07 at the Bloor Cinema, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.