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TIFF 2008 Wrap-Up

Posted on Thursday, September 18th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta

The Toronto International Film Festival has come to a close. The last few days of travel were rather hellish, and I found myself unable to create a proper TIFF Rundown. But now I’m now in Austin Texas for Fantastic Fest, so I decided to give it to you quick, easy, and simple.

The Wrestler: Darren Aronofsky transitions from idea and style overload into a very understated, heartbreaking, beautiful indie drama with a fantastic Oscar worthy performance by Mickey Rourke. Performances and cinematography so authentic, it will make you believe you’re watching a documentary. 9/10

The Brothers Bloom: Rian Johnson’s new movie isn’t on the same level as his directorial debut Brick (but what is?). Instread we have a fantasticly fun con film which is equal parts comparable to the work of Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson and The Coen Brothers. 8/10

Synecdoche, New York: Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut is either brilliant or completely insane. It’s the type of movie that requires repeat viewings to understand the many layers of complexity. But it’s also one of those type of movies that is very dark and depressing in tone, so you might not be as inclined to see it the required amount of times. 8/10 (rating might change upon further viewings)

Middle of Nowhere: A return to form for John Stockwell. Eva Amurri proves herself to be an actress to watch. 7.5 / 10

Goodbye Solo: Ramin Bahrani - does it again with a comedy/drama about the morality of assisted suicide. 7.5 / 10

What Doesn’t Kill You: A film set against the world of organized crime in South Boston, which will win you over with family drama despite first act problems. 7.5/10

Lymelife: A Sundance-style coming of age drama about first love and divorce. Basically a suburban version of Squid and the Whale. Seek this one out. A wonderful ensemble cast which includes Alec Baldwin, Emma Roberts, Rory and Kieran Culkin. 7.5/10

Religulous: A funny and enjoyable documentary poking fun at religion and the crazy people that believe crazy things. However, the film fails to tackle the real issues head on. 7.5 / 10

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: Despite the impression given off by the marketing, Nick and Norah is not this year’s Juno. Instead it is an just-above-typical romantic comedy teen with a kick ass soundtrack/score. 7/10

Control Alt Delete: One of the strangest film I’ve seen all year. A love story about a Man, a Woman and a computer. Sonja Bennett provides a natural cuteness and sarcastic spunk not found in the States, and is a sure bet to break out of the Canadian film scene. 7/10

Gigantic: Notable actors like Zooey Deschanel, Paul Dano, and John Goodman playing quirky characters in quirky situations with no real plot. A DVD rental. 6.5/10

Miracle at St. Anna: A different kind of war film, which gets dragged down by excessive length and sequences of racial discrimination which feel forced and overdone, even if they might be historically accurate.

Deadgirl: A seriously fucked up tale about high school kids who turn a zombie into their sex slave. Not your typical torture porn horror film, as the directors show an incredible attention of mood and tone. 7/10

Dungeon Masters: A wonderful Trekkie-like documentary about the people who play Dungeons and Dragons.Like the other films in this doc subgrenre, you end up falling in love with the weird people that inhabit this world.

Ghost Town: Ricky Gervais is trapped in a paint-by-numbers romantic comedy, which at most times, feels below him. It’s a romantic comedy version of Ghost, with Just Like Heaven and Roxanne thrown in for good measure. 6.5 / 10

Uncertainty: I am certain that at least half of this film fails in the execution of the Interesting concept of parallel storylines and alternative dimensions ala Sliding Doors. 6/10

Me and Orson Welles: An uninteresting adaption and overall disappointing film from Richard Linklater. Christian McKay’s performance as Orson Welles is the only thing noteworthy about it. 5/10

Pride and Glory: Just another corrupt cop story filmed in the style of corrupt cop movies. 6/10

You can check out a 30 minute video blog wrap-up I recorded with Alex Billington of FirstShowing.net, below. I apologize in advance for the low resolution. As it turns out, 30 minutes of video takes up a lot of space. Plus I figured this video blog serves more as a podcast, but heck, we did record it on video. Enjoy.

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  • Once again Peter, i love your podcasts but please tell me, is there anyway to embed these videos? I'd love to put some of your stuff on my blog.
  • Corey A
    Great wrapup of TIFF. I agree with you on Me and Orson Welles and Synecdoche and pretty much all the movies you listed that I saw as well. The one the you seem to be missing is Slumdog Millionaire. That film, by Danny Boyle, easily made my #1 with a 9.5/10. Maybe even a 10/10 when I get to see it again. It is one of my top 3 of the year easily. Is it better that The Dark Knight? Maybe. Better than Wall-E? I think so.
  • Adam
    Peter I highly disagree with you on your short review on Pride and Glory. I will agree with you that the story is like a typical cop drama only with some exceptions. But the acting was a lot better then your average cop movie. Ed Norton was good as always and Noah Emmerich who is very underated also had a strong performance.
  • Jim
    The fact that she is in it is +10 awesome. It only adds about a +1 awesome to the rest of the movie. Which I still dug, I have more hope for the films he has coming, that are collaborations between him and Stephen Merchant his partner from the office/extras, since I feel that Stephen Merchant adds the real humour to their work. Kinda like the larry david / Seinfeld relationship.

    I actually didn't really enjoy Deadgirl until after the flick when I started discussing it with people (it has holes that seem to lead to good discussions). The actors were just too old for me to believe that there was any sort of moral dilemma there. Even in the screenplay 17 was way too old. It might have worked with 12-13 year olds. I know that they were going for some gore porn, but with younger kids I think they could have gotten away without it and by just suggesting it made for a creepier more engaging film.

    I guess we can't agree about Orson Welles. I found it interesting, but that might be because I have an interest in the man. Have you ever seen Cradle Will Rock by Tim Robbins? Did you feel the same way about that film, they are similar.
  • Aaron
    I never ever ever ever thought I would see the words "Oscar worthy" and "Mickey Rourke" in the same article, much less the same sentence. I'm actually excited to see this now.

    Great coverage Peter.
  • Vega Bro
    I love Peter's exclamation of "Fanboys" at 31:42.
  • Jim: Kristin Wiig wasn't in it enough to deserve the +10, but I agree, she's awesome. The only enjoyable thing about Orson was McKay's performance. But that alone doesnt make the film worth watching, even a a rental.I gave Deadgirl a 7 because I was entertained, unlike my experience with Orson, which was that or boredom. The Wrestler does lack the emotional punch of Requiem, but that film to me is a perfect 10.
  • Jim
    I actually enjoyed Ghost Town much more than I was expecting. I am a fan of Gervais but the previews had me worried. Ya the movie was formulaic but you should know that going in. It delivered the laughs so I was happy. I mean anything with Kristin Wiig is +10 awesome.

    And I think you are being far too harsh on Orson Welles. It is worth seeing just for Christian McKay’s performance. I sadly think he isn't going to get the credit he deserves for it.

    I don't think you can give Deadgirl a 7 and then turn around and give Orson Welles a 5 especially in a world where the wrestler is a 9. But that is just my opinion. I dug the wrestler but I thought the ending lacked the punch in the gut that I got from his other films.

    And you didn't add the score to your st anna rundown.
  • Matt: People who are fans of Ricky also disliked Ghost Town, actually more than me. I talked to many while at TIFF. Every critic goes into a movie with favoritism's. Ebert has his favorite actors and filmmakers too. Just because I haven't watched The Office and become a fan of RG doesn't mean I wouldn't like him in a movie or like a movie. That's ridiculous.

    GAJONKA: I'm not affraid to give a film a 3 out of 10, but to be fair, the quality of movies at a Toronto Film Festival is higher than your average weekly releases. A Paris hilton movie is a 3/10. As for the Bill Maher film, read my full review, which is linked, and I fully explain. I was looking for content and got comedy and very little substance. It was funny, but it didn't tackle the issues of religion head on. I've read other reviews since I posted mine which basically say the same thing.
  • Peter, try and check out TREEVENGE @ Fantastic Fest!
    I saw it at the Atlantic Film Fest and it was amazing!!
  • 790
    Nice Coverage Peter,,,
  • Sammy
    Films are all subjective so anybody saying you are terrible critic or don't be afraid to go low...there are other sites out there that will give you what you are looking for...these blogs (no offense) are all average joes that couldn't cut it at film school or get a break in Hollywood..aint it cool is the biggest joke on the net they get flown out to give a good score..catch the film for yourself and make up your own mind.
  • The Gajonka
    PETER- HERE'S MY HAT. I AM THROWING IT IN.

    YOU SEEM TO BE GIVING THESE FILMS WAY TOO HIGH A SCORE. IF IT WERE UP TO YOU, ALLFLSM WOULD BE GREAT. DONT BE AFRAID TO GO 3.45, OR 5, OR 4.5.

    CHECK. AND WHAT "REAL ISSUES" HEAD ON, WHAT, I SAY, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT ARE THE REAL ISSUES WITH RELIGION? OH, THAT ANYONE CAN BELIEVE IN WHAT EVER THEY'D LIKE TO BELIEVE IN?

    YOU ARE RIGHT. THEY CAN. NOT SURE WHY YOU THINK THERE ARE ISSUES AND THAT YOU THINK THEY WERE NOT ANSWERED.

    THE ONLY ISSUE WITH RELIGION IS THAT PEOPLE DONT RESPECT AN INDIVIDUALS CHOICE. THIS IS A LIFE CHOICE.

    AND THERE IS NOTHING ANYONE , EVEN YOU, CAN DO ABOUT IT.

    THE FILM PRODUCTS CANT ALL BE THAT GOOD. DONT BE AFRAID TO GO LOWER.

    ENJOY,

    GAJONKA

    "YOU....COMPLETE...ME."
  • Peter: I was not attacking you in any way. ?Your reviews are your opinion, and I'm glad people write reviews. I'm just going from reviews like "Ghost Town". You said, point blank, that you didn't like Gervais much, yet people took the review as it being a bad movie. Had you liked him as an actor, you probably would have liked the movie more. Again, not the point. My point is people love to jump on to the bandwagon before seeing a film. Twilight is a good example. Then again, everyone could just be jealous that you're at these bug film festivals. I know I am!
  • Matt: I don't think any intelligent person reads a review to form their own opinion. The purpose of critics is to be a filter. Just because Roger Ebert likes a movies doesn't mean I will like the same movie. You find critics you like to read, even if their opinion differs from yours. And I've found a few select critics that seem to speak to me directly. If they love a film I had passed by, I value their opinion enough to give it a look.

    And there are other critics that are meant to be read after having seen the film. They can reveal layers of the movie that you may have not have seen.
  • I love how on almost every review, people are like lemmings and say, "If you like it, I'll like it too. If you don't, well then fuck that movie!"

    Honestly, real movie lovers would not see a movie based on reviews. A real movie lover would watch a movie and attain their own opinions...
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