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9/9
RESCUE DAWN (Werner Herzog) -- 6
Christian Bale comes through once again with another outstanding performance as "Little Dieter," the
subject of an older Herzog documentary about a German-American military pilot during the Vietnam War who was a P.O.W. in Laos
(did you know the "s" is silent in Laos? Neither did the actors). Bale spends time with fellow Americans Jeremy Davies (irritatingly
mannered) and an excellent Steve Zahn before leading his Cool Hand Luke/Tigerland-esque uprising. It's a solid survival
story, but hampered by a dull second act, a bizarre score of mournful violins, and an overly reverent view of its protagonist.
Still, there's enough worthwhile moments in it that you wouldn't be too disappointed if you saw it -- and it's sure to garner
some enthusiastic reviews.
9/10
BABEL (Alejandro Gonzalez-Inarritu) -- 7
Guillermo Arriaga is at it again, writing another multicultural story of interconnectedness for Gonzalez
to direct with his characteristic flair for visceral storytelling and aggressive camerawork. Stellar performances all around,
from Blanchett and Pitt to the Japanese, Mexican, and Moroccan actors who fill out the story. Solid flick that you can expect
to see around Awards time. I wouldn't have minded some more depth to it, but what are you gonna do.
THE HOST (Bong Joon-ho) -- 7
A draggy middle section and half-assed attempts at thematic resonance keep this rockin' monster movie
from becoming pretty awesome. Still, it's really well directed, very funny, and loaded with surprises. No surprise this entertaining
(if long) flick is now the highest-grossing domestic film in Korean box-office history.
2:37 (Murali K. Thalluri) -- 2
Ugh. Some lame-ass self-absorbed Australian kid almost killed himself, but failed, so now he made
a movie about how all high-school students have reasons to try out suicide. There are so many problems with this thing I don't
really want to waste time getting into it, but the biggest offense is how unbelievably shameless it is in ripping off Gus
Van Sant's Elephant wholesale. Thalluri should be ashamed of himself for the thievery, because he still has no idea how to craft
any real moments of teen interaction using a cast of terrible amateurs and a script loaded with horrible cliches.
9/11
WOMAN ON THE BEACH (Hong Song-soo) -- 6
A step up from Turning Gate, but Hong still has a tendency to fall in love with his conversation scenes -- if this thing were 20 minutes tighter
it would vastly improve. Same deal with the shift in female protagonist halfway through, same problem with casting sort of
bland actors. Also, why does he so carelesly frame his medium shots with too much headroom and negative space just so he can
zoom in when he feels like it? The visual sense seems so lazy to me, and it's distracting, but people love it. Oh well.
VENUS (Roger Michell) -- 6
Another sure-to-be-overrated movie, but don't let that stop you from seeing it. Peter O'Toole and
Jodie Whittaker are excellent as the two protagonists in a bizarre love story between an 80 year-old man and a 20 year-old
girl. Well, a love story in emotion only -- it's not like they get it on. But the scenes between them are fine, and when the
movie sticks to its main thrust -- that is, the ultimate power of young women over men of any age -- it's clever. Only when
it starts getting self-satisfied with its "wry" observations about aging, filling the gaps with smug comedy scenes about old
codgers and pierced teenagers, does it reveal its mediocrity. Michell is a fine, understated director, and occasionally his material is as good as he is, but this one's just decent.
10 ITEMS OR LESS (Brad Silberling) -- 8
The surprise of the festival so far. A minor, modest little indie flick from the director of the impressive
Moonlight Mile (and, to be fair, the risible City of Angels). Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega dominate a two-character
piece about friendly souls -- one a movie star, one a checkout clerk -- who find a way to connect in Los Angeles. The dynamic
between them is earnest, real, never forced, and often poignant. Some of the comedy is a bit easy, and the ambitions of the
film aren't anything original or mind-blowing, but it's extremely solid, entertaining, graceful to the max, and it has a really
awesome last shot.
FAY GRIM (Hal Hartley) -- 7
A tough film to grade, for sure. I think it fails in its overall reach, but there's really too much
to digest from one viewing (in the midst of a 5-movie day for me). It's the funniest Hartley film since his brilliant
Flirt, but its Glamorama-ish foray into a satire of international espionage becomes a cacophony of exposition from
which very little has time to breathe. From Uzbekistan to Istanbul to Bucharest to Chile, the movie careens through plot points
while slyly working in a theme about the dangers of literary hype. Its characters (like Parker Posey's title character) threaten
to disappear beneath the import of the events, but thanks to brilliant acting and Hartley's always keen visual sense (the
film is shot in crisp HD video with permanent Dutch-tilt), it's consistently engaging. An intriguing, brilliant mess.
I DON'T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE (Tsai Ming-liang) -- walkout
I want to sleep through this movie alone. Tsai has made good -- even great -- films before (check
out his Tati-ish What Time Is It There?), but this humorless bore spends its first 40 minutes in a grimy haze, intercutting
between two unconscious/comatose men being wiped off and tended to. It would be difficult to dream up a duller first two reels
for any hypothetical Taiwanese film with a self-consciously eccentric artistic voice.
9/12
THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY (Michael Ian Black) -- 6
If MTV's early-1990s sketch comedy show The State wasn't the funniest thing in the history of American
television, it was easily the smartest. Not everyone responds to its gleefully satirical portrait of the human condition,
but it's every bit as bleak and philsophical as it is goofy, perverted, and spontaneous. After the show's run, members of
the troupe split off to various projects, but its three strongest talents resurfaced together recently for Comedy Central's
weirdly awesome Stella. Its cast has now all made feature directing debuts. David Wain's Wet Hot American Summer is a parody masterpiece, and Michael Showalter's The Baxter continued the tradition of excellence. Michael Ian Black, proabably the group's most recognizable comedian, has made
a warped romantic comedy that pokes State and Baxter-like fun at cliches, but unfortunately it doesn't
take its plot far enough out there. It appears to be making more of a plea to fit in the mainstream, almost fooling its
audience into thinking it's another basic There's Something About Mary. And the more it believes that, the more
it resembles it. Jason Biggs plays the same character he always does, and Isla Fisher (Ali G's fiancee) is energetic and creative
as his romantic lead; they're accompanied by a game supporting cast, and Black's dialogue is frequently hilarious. I just
wish it had the courage to go deeper and darker, instead of comfortably "wacky." I haven't given up on these guys, though.
Their singular world view is so hilarious to me that I'm sure they'll remain at the top of American intellectual comedy for
a while. [Note: Renamed The Next Girl I See for its theatrical release]
CASHBACK (Sean Ellis) -- 3
The creepy fantasies of a whiny douchebag who drools over the female form in such a disturbing fashion,
it's hard to take his emo romanticism seriously. He idealizes women to the point where they become alien; certainly not real
characters that Ellis understands inside his hermetic world of cliche, delusion, and self-absorption. His alter ego, the main
character in this film (Ben Willis = Sean Ellis), is played by the lamest of actors (Sean Biggerstaff of the Harry Potter
flicks) -- a total drip of a guy who engenders no sympathy whatsoever. The supporting characters are often funny, but then
the movie settles back into fart jokes and rip-off scenes. Some competent special effects at work here, but in the service
of a fairly crappy idea.
THE HALF LIFE OF TIMOFEY BEREZIN (Scott Z. Burns) -- 5
A very interesting failure. The awesome Paddy Considine leads a stellar cast (go Radha Mitchell, as
always) in a depressing flick about a blue collar saint blasted by nuclear radiation at his place of work. The film goes off
on tangents, most notably the trials of a Russian gang who run over dogs to make money, and never really gets a handle on
its tragi-comic tone. Although it has some outlandish moments -- like two guys snorting nosefuls of weapons-grade plutonium,
thinking it's cocaine -- it ultimately gets lost in its subject matter and doesn't really come together. I liked a lot of
it, and it's pretty gripping at times, but that makes its clumsiness even more frustrating.
9/13
THE DOG PROBLEM (Scott Caan) -- 7
Caan previous film, Dallas 362, was hit-and-miss, but he's mostly hit here in a breezy comedy
that cruises along on the strength of its crackling dialogue, confident camerawork, and the performances of Giovanni Ribisi
and Lynn Collins, a ridiculously gorgeous young woman with startling ability to work a scene from the inside out; no surprise
she's Julliard-trained. As Ribisi's character behaves more like a dog than the titular pet (watch him stand, sit, and beg
upon Collins' orders), the film's attitudes become clear and endearing. It might ultimately amount to very little, but with
touches like Don Cheadle's uptight shrink, Mena Suvari's foul-mouthed rich girl, and Caan's own smartly cocky performance,
it's way too entertaining to ignore.
LITTLE CHILDREN (Todd Field) -- 8
How can the best movie of the festival be so disappointing? The first hour of this drama is brilliant,
then it stumbles in its third act. Still, at times, Field's sophmore effort is pure genius. It can't hurt that Kate Winslet
is delivering most of his dialogue, since she's pretty much one of the best actors alive. Patrick Wilson, Noah Emmerich, Jennifer
Connelly, and Jackie Earl Haley fill out the impressive cast. As a commentary on suburbia, the movie is stinging in its satire
-- and often laugh-out-loud funny -- but the undercurrent of tragedy is the dominant tone. As a result, the film can't help
but to address this weight, and never really looks confident doing it. In the Bedroom is definitely stronger, but I'll be happy watching Winslet rake in award after award for this performance.
9/14
BREAKING & ENTERING (Anthony Minghella) -- 7
A smart, mature, attractive film, and from anyone else that would be enough. Unfortunately, Minghella's
last three films have been sheer greatness, so when you have to live up to the likes of The Talented Mr. Ripley, anything less than brilliant is going to be a letdown. Jude Law, in his third Minghella film in a row, is fine -- but
not a very creative character within the context of a story that seems more interested with the fringes. Binoche is masterful
as usual, and Martin Freeman and Ray Winstone deliver strong supporting work in limited screen time. With this work, however,
Minghella's expert direction and focus on detail come off stronger than his subject matter, which is ultimately benign.
THE FOUNTAIN (Darren Aronofsky) -- 4
The kind of colossal failure that only a supremely talented filmmaker can make. Almost embarrassing
at times, this ambitious love story manages to span several millennia and still feel small and claustrophobic. His budget
cut in half, his running time severed by as much, and his lead actor replaced, Aronofsky was forced to put a limp, half-assed,
clumsy version of what was probably a good idea at one time. The film he wanted to make -- and the film his cast
and crew may have thought they were making -- is not what's up on screen. Instead, we get a risible work that almost
spills into 2001-ish chaos at the end without ever developing likable characters. Why are we supposed to care about
a crazy, enigmatic weirdo like Rachel Weisz: because she throws snowballs and laughs? None of the true human moments that
made Requiem so outstanding are present here, and the only thing left is Aronofsky's lovely visual style and Clint Mansell's riveting score.
Everything else is hollow as a black hole. The smartest decision by anyone in this project was made by Brad Pitt.
KING AND THE CLOWN (Lee Jun-ik) -- 6
A lively, colorful, middle-brow melodrama that reads like Korea's version of Farewell My Concubine, but without the emotional punch. It lurches around from sequence to sequence, some of which are fine and entertaining,
but many of which fail to do anything other than move the story along in predictable ways. Lee seems afraid, most of the time,
of really exploring the homosexual themes here, choosing the middle of the road tragi-comedy to delight the crowd. It's a
watchable and sturdy work, but I'll forget it in a week.
EXILED (Johnnie To) -- 8
Perfectly bad-ass shoot-em-up that is more reminiscent of a modern day Western than anything. Take
the Sam Peckinpah influences of early John Woo and mix in the themes of honor codes and brotherhood that To explored in The
Mission, and you've got a tight, thrilling rock-and-roll show that contains its structure to about five virtuoso action
set pieces. The characters are likable and well delineated, the script is punchy, and the ending is as poetic as anything
I've seen in this genre since Peace Hotel. It's really nothing "new," especially not for To, but it's difficult to criticize.
9/15
TIME (Kim Ki-duk) -- 8
Vertigo meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in this Korean drama from the guy who's made movies as diverse as the violent, vulgar Bad Guy and the serene, introspective 3-Iron. I'll have to digest it some more and figure out just how strong the story holds together, but it's endlessly compelling
-- funny, weird, surprising, clever, and provocative. I'm pretty sure that a few developments are fairly contrived to fulfill
Kim's master plan, but it's the most interesting film of TIFF 2006.
HANA (Hirokazu Kore-eda) -- 5
Yet another disappointment from a guy whose Maborosi is looking like more and more of a fluke with each passing mediocrity he churns out. Nothing in this Hamlet-lite
Samurai comedy was as funny as the crowd seemed to think it was, with lots of manipulative scenes and easy reaction shot gags.
It has the director's typical air of sadness hanging over it, but that's nothing to write home about. Kore-eda is competent,
but it's becoming increasingly tempting to nap during his movies.
I AM THE OTHER WOMAN (Margarethe von Trotta) -- 6
A peculiar psycho-sexual mystery that sort of looks like Fassbinder shooting a Skinemax movie. It's
so well made that for the first half hour I thought I was watching a great film. But the plot twists are lame, and it suffers
from a predictable ending so clumsily foreshadowed that you'd think the script was written 35 years ago. Entertaining, at
least.
9/16
THE BANQUET (Feng Xiaogang) -- 5
Hamlet as told by Crouching Tiger, straight up. It's the most beautiful production
design of the whole festival, easy. Gorgeous, but stupid. When Hamlet visits the old Chinese herbal sorcerer to buy poison
to kill his uncle, he asks the guy, "Is there anything more poisonous than this?" The response: "Only the human heart!"
Gag me.
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