We were locked out of opening night films, and we couldn't get tickets to Seven Psychopaths (who knew that this film would be so hot?), but I'm slated to view 16 interesting films and I'm so excited. However, I'm going to try in complete vain on Single Ticket Day this Sunday to "try" to buy one ticket to Psychopaths. Maybe I'm jixing myself, I know I will utterly fail,... but, I can at least give it a try, right?
Updated to add the 17th film, Tabu, which will be seen on opening night.
Here is my official tiff 2012 film schedule:
Thursday, Sept 6
Tabu Bell Lightbox 6:15
Friday, Sept 7
Rust & Bone Ryerson 12pm
The Gatekeepers Bloor 3pm The Master Princess of Wales 9pm
Saturday, Sept 8
Argo Elgin 11am
Cloud Atlas Princess of Wales 6pm
End of Watch Princess of Wales 9:45
I witnessed this morning two pet peeves back to back and it inspired me to write up a quick list of my Top Ten Pet Peeves. There are a few things on this list that are interchangeable, based on my mood and the situation. This is tongue in cheek, but still also a valid point of annoyance. Do you share some of my pet peeves?
People who leave the sticker price on their new car to let YOU know that they bought a new car.
Drivers who stop at a red light and block the crosswalk, preventing pedestrians to cross safely. Maximus Assholicus.
Smokers who smoke in designated areas where they are prohibited from smoking.
Addendum to #3: Smokers all over the planet who litter the environment with cigarette butts. Litterbug bastards.
Why is it always loud stupid rap music blasting 3 cars away and never classical music... at 7:30am?
Elevator/lifts where people don't want to get on first, but when I get in, they shout out floor buttons for me to push for them. Fuck you, press your own button! (I pretend not to hear them)
Salespeople who blatantly upsell to me and push items on me I don't need or want.
Political hypocrites. Period.
Mind games that are played on the internet in social media forums.
Mid-western women's clothing stores that order only 1 size Small in a clothing style item, but multiples in M, L, and XL. This is Sizeism!
I have 400 other pet peeves, but these are the ones that really bug me man! :-)
I reviewed the tiff 2012 film schedule once more to see if I could squeeze in Detroit Unleaded, but it's not going to work out well. Allow me to preface that the two films that I'm most eager to see are The Iceman and London - Modern Babylon, and coincidentally, these two films are in direct conflict with Detroit Unleaded. The only way I could see Detroit Unleaded is if I move the Tuesday noon viewing of The Iceman to the Monday 10pm screening. But the dilemma that develops is that London/Babylon is playing at Scotiabank from 7pm to 9:38pm. I would have to leave there before the ending of the film to RUN over to the Princess of Wales Theater to catch Iceman from 10pm to 12:15am. If I do this, Monday would be a crazy long day, but it would free up the 2pm time slot to watch Detroit Unleaded on Tuesday. Unfortunately, I'll just leave my schedule as is because to change it would create new anxieties and make me committed to a film that I am very excited to see, but very late on a long day. I'll be exhausted and there's no fun in watching a film damn tired. The other viewing of Unleaded is on a Sunday night, but Byzantium (my annual mandatory vampire film) is playing and that film's second viewing is at a time I cannot watch it. So I'm totally back at square one, so I'm just going to chill out.
It would be fantastic to watch The Iceman on the Monday evening screening as surely, Michael Shannon, who is starring as mafia hitman killer, Richard Kuklinski, will be there, I really enjoy him as an actor. However, the next screening of the film that I'm going to, will be at the Ryerson and sometimes the actors and directors show up there for the second screening. The reason why I'm interested in this film is because I've known about Kuklinski when he was still alive and in prison for murdering over 200 people (he died in 2006 of "natural causes"), and his HBO special from the 90s was fascinating and scary. Basically, he was just a pure bad ass who enjoyed killing men for the mob, and for just pissing him off.
My love for London, England is tried and tested due to my visiting the city eight times since 1994, so that is why I want to see the documentary, London - Modern Babylon. I also make an effort to watch documentaries at tiff, and not just Oscar bait, and cool indies, so London is one of two documentaries I'll see this year, the other is Halocaust themed, 'The Gatekeepers'. So as it stands, I won't have to deal with the Single Ticket Sale day, thank God, and I can enjoy my Sunday of this Labor Day holiday weekend.
On Friday, I bought my train ticket to travel to Toronto. On most of my past trips to tiff, I took the train, but I did drive there a few times. I drove there in my first year back in 2004, and the last time was in 2009. I have also driven to Toronto on a separate occasion for non-tiff business back in early 2009 for an event at the Zen Buddhist Temple, the sister sangha of my Ann Arbor temple. I love driving long distances for trips, and the drive in Canada is cool for the most part, but after four hours of uneventful driving, then BAM!!!... I hit Toronto traffic an hour outside of town and it goes from blissville to suckville in 10 seconds. Soooo, I enjoy the train. And the VIA Rail services is very clean, quiet, comfortable, and very affordable. My roundtrip ticket cost only $124. I'll be loaded down this year with luggage and accessories, and I'll be bringing my books from my Fall classes to read on the train because classes actually start while I'm in Toronto and I need to stay on top. Waste not. I'm not going to feel guilty about being at tiff while missing the first class session of both of my classes. I worked my ass off this summer here at work and at my summer class (which btw, I got an A to maintain my 4.0 GPA!!), so it's really a great treat for me to do this last fun hurrah before a very tough and demanding Fall semester.
I had to review the tiff film schedule very quickly and make my
decision fast in a matter of a few hours on Aug 21st when the
schedule was released. I did my best in reviewing the brief synopsis of
all the films, and some films didn't have a description of it, so I was
making decisions on those I could read up on. So as I learned today,
tiff tweeted a comment about a cool indie film that was made right here
in Detroit. They posted the YouTube link of 'Detroit Unleaded', and after I watched it, I knew this was something I wanted to see. An article about the film is at today's Detroit Free Press. Have a look for yourself.
Now,
the dilemma I face is that I have submitted my request to my friend
Glenn and he is still working on getting all the tickets. Each year,
tiff change the ticket distribution process, each and every year, and
this year, yet again, there are some hiccups and migraines involved for
all (unless you are a Contributor at the very top tier), but I'm sure
he'll get it all sorted out. In a nutshell, as I come to take notice of
films that I have overlooked in my haste of trying to submit my list to
Glenn, I will have to join in on that horrible Single Ticket Day sale
craziness, in order to buy tickets on my own if I want to see a film
that missed out of being included in the set I sent to Glenn. You may
wonder why I don't just ask Glenn to add it on. Well, he's already
covering my ass in ways that are beyond the call of duty and which have single
handily removed 99% of the stress from me in helping me enjoy tiff to
its fullest. Basically, the man has done MORE than enough for me in the
past and in the foreseeable future. So if I want to see something else
that comes up on my radar after the fact, I will just have to buy the
tickets myself on single ticket day, September 2nd at 10am.
TIFF Single Ticket Sale Day
Now note
that 9/2 is a Sunday... prior years, single tickets went on sale on a
Saturday or on a weekday. Now it's a Sunday, a leisure day for most
people, therefore that means MORE people will be free to get online and
buy tickets. Great, just great! The www.tiff.net website ALWAYS crashes
on single ticket sale day because people all over the world are trying
to buy single tickets at... tah-da,
the same damn time!!! So, basically, I need to get up, have breakfast,
use the bathroom, take a chill pill, have coffee, not tea - I'll need
the caffeine - and fight for a single ticket. Screenings sell out like
crazy and literally, right in your face. You can have a ticket to a film
in your cart, go to click on 'buy', and on the next screen, that bitch
is sold out because someone else in Tokyo bought their ticket to that
same screening, .39 seconds sooner than you did. Sucka! It ain't right, but
that's tiff life. Even if you are trying to buy one ticket to a less popular screening, the entire tiff website will be S.L.O.W for HOURS due to the heavy website traffic.
From A2 to T.O. - Once Upon a Time
Prior to me befriending Glenn at an online film and entertainment forum message board (Gold Derby),
I could only afford to spend 2 1/2 days (early Friday to late afternoon
Sunday) at TIFF because I was responsible for transportation to and
from Toronto, 2 days hotel that was hiked up due to TIFF, and the film
tickets. And back in those lean years (2004-2009), I was lucky to be
able to see 3 films, at most, because I also wanted to eat and celebrity
watch. Each year
there would be a tiff thread and me and Glenn and other people would
post about the films we saw and the celebrities. I then started to
respond directly to Glenn, and he would respond back in kind. Eventually
our discourse would migrate to private messages, and then to email. And
as 2009 came around, Glenn offered to assist me in procuring some film
tickets that year. Because of him, I was able to, with ease, see a few
movies that year per his courtesy. As an aside, the year 2009 was
especially difficult for me as I lost my job earlier that summer and was
then significantly underemployed and really had no business going to
tiff. But if ever there was a time for me to attend, that was the time
as it was a mental saving grace. I saw Fish Tank on Friday, and Glen and I met up at the theater and we watched Anti-Christ
on a Saturday morning together. The next year, he extended to me an
invitation to stay in his renovated basement apartment during tiff; this
September will be my third year as his guest, and to this very moment, I
cannot truly express in mere words just how invaluable his friendship
and hospitality is to me. Now I can see at least a dozen films and stay
for six days. Toronto has always held a special place in my heart. I
first visited this fantastic city back in 1990 and I have seen many
changes overtime, and to be there during tiff makes me feel a stronger
affinity to the city with hopes of it someday being a place I can call
home.
With great embarrassment, I admit that not until two nights ago, I haven't seen Orson Welles' great American film classic, 'Citizen Kane' (1941). I have always known about it and figured one day I would see it because I heard so many great things about it, but I still didn't know what it was all about, let alone why there is such a beloved hype surrounding the film. Now I know, and I'm pathetic in not watching this film much, much sooner. But alas, I have, and it was due to the recent scandal of the Sight & Sound once in a decade Top Ten list which saw Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo take over the top spot where Citizen Kane has been at for the last three decades.
I've heard the most marvelous and enthusiastic cheers over this film, and I realize that if I dare have a blog that heavily features me giving opinions about films, I could at least take the damn time to see the top two films that critics have raved about for decades. I saw a digitally restored version of Citizen Kane and I consider myself lucky to have done so because for a 1941 film, in it's original state, some scenes and the sound could be dark and dense. The DVD allowed me to enjoy the film as if it were made yesterday and I was amazed by how modern the film techniques and editing of Citizen Kane was done. Orson Wells directed this film as if he made it today. The themes of abandonment, possessiveness, need, greed, materialism, rags to riches, politics, etc., are themes rampant in films today. It also had a mystery element to it because in the first 4 minutes of the film, as the protagonist Kane dies, he whispers, 'Rose bud'. Throughout the film, people who loved and hated him wanted to know what this 'Rose bud' was, and so everyone who was in his life was interviewed to find out more about this man. The past and present time frame in the film was handled with such smooth precision that you knew what decade of Kane's life was being presented along with whatever turmoil or dilemma he was faced with.
Because this film is so beloved, I'm not going to go into further detail in reviewing it with you because, chances are, you have seen it already. But if you haven't, be like me and go out and rent or buy the DVD. I suggest you get the two-DVD set that also includes the 'Battle over Citizen Kane' documentary which covers the history of how William Randolph Hearst was the inspiration for Charles Foster Kane, and that greatly pissed off Hearst who then set out to ruin Orson Welles. This two-hour special provides an excellent historical record about both men and the highs and lows of their lives.
I cannot remember the last film I saw in which I thought it was perfect, so for now here at Theatre of Zen, it looks like Citizen Kane is going to be my first official 10/10 score film. And most of the grade goes to how completely entertaining the movie is, how it stands the test of time, and to Orson's futuristic directing, writing, producing and editing skills that give Citizen Kane a sense that this movie will be something that generations many years ahead can still relate to and be inspired by.
The exciting day has arrived which allows tiff cinephiles and fans to know which films are showing on which days and at which times during the 37th Toronto Int'l Film Festival. I'm on target to view 18 films and here is the schedule:
Thursday, Sept 6
**tiff Surprise Event 6-8pm On the Road 'Gala' at Ryerson 9pm
Friday, Sept 7 Rust and Bone @ Ryerson 12pm The Gatekeepers @ Bloor 3:00pm The Master* @ Princess of Wales 9:00pm
Saturday, Sept 8 Argo* @Elgin 11:00am Seven Psychopaths* @ScotiaBank 3:30pm Cloud Atlas* @Princess of Wales 6:00pm End of Watch @Princess of Wales 9:45pm
Monday, Sept 10 The Company You Keep @Bell Lightbox 1 11:15am The Impossible @Princess of Wales 3pm London - Modern Babylon* @Scotiabank 1 7pm
Tuesday, Sept 11 Iceman* @Ryerson 12pm The Time Being @Winter Garden Theater 4:30pm Passion* @Winter Garden Theater 8:00pm
Wednesday, Sept 12 - Last Day Great Expectations @Elgin 11am
(*)These are my MUST sees, and the other must sees previously noted, I cannot see due to schedule conflicts. But with the exception of not being able to see 'Everybody Has a Plan', I'm very pleased with this schedule. I reviewed the schedule with great concentration and moved titles and days/times around like chess pieces in order to see some of these films. As I reviewed the schedule, I had to remove a film or two because I realize that I would be seeing three films in a row without proper time to use the bathroom or eat a decent meal. Some theaters are across town from each other and therefore, making it a not so fun and stressful mad dash to get to the next theater. Oh no, I've learned my lesson, I can't roll like that anymore. I do regret knowing that I will NOT have the stamina to deal with Dredd 3D as part of the midnight showing on opening night. By that time, I will have been up since 3:30am that day to travel to Toronto and... let's just say I can't hang that late on the first night.
I'm going to have a great time at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival, and this will be my 9th year in a row attending.
Here is the link to the complete film schedule for tiff 2012!
On Tuesday, Aug. 21st, tiff will release the film programme schedule, and I must be able to review it and make my decision in a matter of hours, so that my friend Glenn can submit the request asap that same day. So I just took about an hour to review the entire film list and I read the brief synopsis of each film. Of the over 200 films that will be shown at tiff this year, my list of initial interest has been narrowed down to 53 films. Please note that in reality, due to time constraints, overlapping of films, and enjoying many other aspects of the festival, I may be able to only view at the most, possibly 15 of the 53. So without further adieu, here is my list of films that interest me. The ones in bold are the films I REALLY want to see, and the 'MM' notation marks the film as a Midnight Madness feature which are horror films initially screened at midnight during the festival. I may break my 'no-midnight' screenings rule for the first time this year with Seven Psychopaths. I will also list a key star's name as the main motivator in wanting to see a particular film. Also, this year, I'm making a more concerted effort to see documentaries, short films, and special presentation films that push the envelope in film making style, and sensitive/controversial subject matters.
To read the synopsis of each of these films, go to this link at the tiff website:
Aftershock - MM
All that matters is the past
Ann Karenina
Anti-viral Argo
The Attack
Bad 25
Beijing Flickers
The Bay - MM
Berberian Sound Studio Byzantium * Vampires
Capital
Caught in the web
The Central Park Five Cloud Atlas *
The Company You Keep
Crimes of Mike Recket
Dead Europe
The Deep
Disconnect
Do Not Disturb Dredd 3D
Eagles
The End of Time
End of Watch Everybody Has a Plan - * Viggo!
Fin (The End)
Free Angela & All Political Prisoners
Frost - a short film
The Gatekeepers
Great Expectations Here Comes the Devil
The Hunt The Iceman *
The Impossible
In the Name of Love
John Dies at the End - MM
Liverpool Looper* London - The Modern Babylon *
The Lords of Salem - MM The Master **
No One Lives - MM
On the Road Passion ** Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace
Peripeteia The Place Beyond the Pine - * Ryan Gosling (duh) Pusher **
Reality A Royal Affair * The Session * John Hawkes Seven Psychopaths ** - MM Colin Farrell
The Time Being
So as you can see, the bolded movies count is at 16, so if I see just those films, that is perfectly fine, but I may not be able to see some of these films due to scheduling conflicts, and that's where the other odd 40 films come into play. That's how I roll at tiff. My friend Glenn and I will kick-off TIFF 2012 with cocktails at the Ritz in the late afternoon of Thursday, Sept 6th and I'm sure we'll see a film together that Thursday evening. I'm going to try to see Seven Psychopaths on the midnight of its showing just to experience a midnight screening. I'm going to cut back on some Galas as the saga of dealing with Roy Thomson Hall has not been as fun as in the past, but we'll see. Their 'Entertainment Tonight' red-carpet type set up is obnoxious and it breeds the development of what I refer to as 'no life having red-carpet camp out' people. They tend to be people who either don't have the money to buy a ticket or the interest in seeing the film that will play at RTH. They are just there for the red-carpet event, to star gaze, get autographs and pictures. They park themselves along the red-carpet barricades, all.day.long. That's all they do. Whatever, I'm glad I have a life.
I drink out of my tiff mug like there's no tomorrow!
Isn't this cool? If you are familiar with how twitter works, it's a compliment to have someone re-tweet (RT) your tweet to their gigantic audience, and in this case, it was @TIFF_NET themselves. I'm so glad my summer class is over, it was quite difficult I must admit, I haven't written so much in my life as I have in the past 8 weeks. Whew! I did it. Cross my fingers for another 'A' grade to maintain my 4.0 GPA! Now, I'm going to make more vitamins chocolate chip cookies tonight, and watch 'There Will Be Blood'. I need to rest my brain a bit. But first... yoga so I can get into tiff top shape for tiffing around Toronto in just 3 more weeks!
Two time Academy Award nominee and star of The Bourne Legacy, Jeremy Renner, added his two cents into the murky fray of the gross world of the Kardashians. I like him even more now!
"Oh, all those ridiculous people with zero talent who spend their lives
making sure everyone knows their name. Those stupid, stupid people."
The down side of this is that the Kardashians are too vapid to see this as an insult and just relish the fact that someone is talking about them. Pitiful! Have you seen The Bourne Legacy yet? I haven't, but I will, I just had too much studying over this past weekend!
I have been terribly busy with my graduate summer class as it concludes this week. Well, it will conclude just as soon as I finish the final exam that I have to write up; it's another long essay paper. This class has been very good, but very stressful and a little overwhelming. The professor did warn us that the 7.5 weeks was a compilation of the regular 15 week course, and he did not lie. I can't wait til I turn in this paper, which I'm shooting for Wednesday, a day before the deadline.
Due to my busy class schedule, I have been light in discussing my tiff plans. I will go into greater tiffing detail later this week when I have more time to devote to reviewing the film schedule. My tiff partner Glenn will need me to decide quickly on which films I want to see so he can turn in his film request in Aug. 21st. As he is a patron member, he gets first dibs, well, immediately after the patron members who are at higher levels than he is. But it's all good, I cannot stress how bless I am to be his tiff buddy. I got some nice presents in store for him for his hospitality!
I dumped my tumblr account today. No need to go into details other than that I realize that in the year that I had been there, I suffered more headaches that I receive good fortunes from there. And due to tumblr not caring to respond to user concerns about misuse and abuse of their services for wicked deeds, I reckon I just take my business elsewhere.
Lastly, on my way into work this morning, as I was walking along Observatory Drive, I pass by an apartment building near U of M campus. The landlord had discarded stuff from tenant's apartments, as all landlords are cleaning up the apartments in preparation to the mass move-in in just a couple of weeks. I saw a multi-colored thing that caught my eye, so I went towards the mini-dump site and I found this lovely tri-colored multi-tiered candle holder. MINE! I showed it off at work to other people's envy, came home, washed it, and I lit the candles inside. Gorgeous! It is on the stand right next to my entrance way. One person's garbage is another person's treasure. And I have a supreme fondness for candles.
Ever since I was a kid, I have been in love with the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). The institution was the first high culture organization that planted the seed within me to appreciate the finer things in life. And every time I travel to a city that has an art museum, I visit it. As a current member of the DIA, I have known for quite a while its delicate financial situation, but I did not know how dire it really was. When the State of Michigan cut state funding to the museum back in the early 90s, the DIA miraculously still managed to maintain a world-class museum without state support, but it has suffered with closed galleries and laid off staff, etc. So in order to keep the doors open, there was a tax millage proposal on the August 7th ballot that residents of the tri-county SE Michigan region had to vote on (Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb). This tax, while it's another tax, it is a property based tax that at most would be another $10-$20 a year. Pennies really, but the millage had some vocal and tough opposition. People who had no common sense or clue about what it takes to manage and maintain a Top 10 in the country, high quality, highly respected art museum in a large city. And I'm sure some classicism attitudes and other anti-social forms of ignorance and prejudiced played a role in opposing funding the museum.
Thankfully, the millage passed yesterday, in a landslide in Wayne and Oakland counties, but by only a mere 1500 votes in Macomb county. Why such resistance in Macomb, I can think of a few, but I don't want a positive article to turn negative. Over the next ten years, the DIA will receive up to $23 million annually from these counties, and all residents of those counties have free entry into the museum starting TODAY. So even if they go just once a year, the new tax will have paid itself in full with change to spare.
DIA leaders argued the tax was needed to stabilize the museum’s finances and warned failure at the polls would lead to dramatic cuts in exhibitions, education programs, hours and might force the DIA to close. Critics of the museum complained the threat of closure was a scare tactic.
Some comments at the Detroit Free Pressarticle perfectly demonstrate how some people just don't get why this millage was so important, and it's scary to think that this kind of negative mindset could have helped closed the doors on the DIA, providing further embarrassment to the City of Detroit and the entire region. This Suburban vs Detroiters crap needs to end... this was not about that, it's about the whole area as the DIA is a 127 years old cultural gateway to introducing residents and visitors alike, to what a world-class museum is like in mid-town Detroit. With all its battle scars, Detroit needs the DIA to stay vibrant and viable, and I'm so glad that the people voted with common sense and the millage passed.
I do not care about a single thing within the corrupt hole of Detroit. I don't want my tax dollars funneled out of MY community and into Detroit. If Detroit wants an art museum, they can figure out how to fund it themselves. I don't ask Detroiters to fund my city's libraries, parks, courts, etc.
Attitudes just like this guy (who probably lives in Macomb Co.) has been very vocal, anti-DIA, and obviously anti-Detroit (tinged with bigotry no doubt). I'm glad the millage prevailed so that our metro region can show visitors that not everyone in this area is anti-culture, narrow-minded, mean spirted, and ignorant - but compassionate and supportive for art for everyone to enjoy. I'm taking my mother and niece to the DIA on Aug 18th and we're going to have a blast!
Inspired by Sight & Sound's Top 10 Greatest Film Ever list that comes out once a decade, Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 thriller was listed at #1, beating Citizen Kane. Thinking that I have seen Vertigo (9/10) previously, I rented a copy of the DVD from the local library to reacquaint myself with it's awesomeness. Well, I watched Vertigo last night, and I must admit, apparently I never seen it before until last night. But in all, that made it all the more intriguing to watch. It's a fantastic film that captures in pure Hitchcockian form, the height of paranoia, greed, love, murder, jealousy, and obsession. Vertigo is a well made film that deserves to be on Sight and Sound's list, but my all-time favorite Hitchcock film is Rebecca (1940), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, but sadly, it didn't even make the top 50 list of S&S. While I know every great film cannot make it to the top 50, but come on... if Vertigo made it, why not Rebecca (9.5/10)? That film has the same psychological elements, PLUS an insane conniving housekeeper and deep dark secrets. Have you seen either of these films? What do you think about them?
I am the furthest thing from a diva or a high-maintenance woman. I live within my pathetic meager means, but do treat myself to awesome trips. I buy modest clothes ON SALE, but I have purchased some things not on sale, like the beautiful black top from Black House | White Market that was not on sale, that I really wanted! When you look at me, you'd think I just dress for comfort, and my style is basic business casual with a classic sensibility (ie. no fads). But when it comes to cosmetics, I buy it like it's going out of style, and I'm proud of it! I have been selling Avon for four years, and I am my best customer (a pathetically ridiculous admission), and I shop at Ulta and Sephora, and I go to Macy's for my Clinique needs. I hang out at Walgreens for my basic cosmetics and health needs. But then, for my most favorite lip glosses, I go to Neiman Marcus to get my Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss. They call it Brilliant because it is! As per the Chantecaille website, this is the description of this gloss:
Brilliant Gloss is made from a hydrating and enriching formula that imparts long-lasting color and brilliant shine. Safely plump lips for a perfect pout. This slick gloss also includes Green Tea extract to protect delicate skin.
And they ain't lying, it really is hydrating, the color last an amazingly long time, and plumps up my already naturally plump lips, and the Green Tea ingredient really hooked me as I drink a cup daily. I bought my first tube back in early 2011, after I saw my heroine Angelina Jolie apply her favorite Chantecaille shade 'Love' on while at the Golden Globes. I went to buy it, but it was sold out due to the ~Angelina Jolie factor~, so I bought 'Modern' and I fell in love. The saleslady told me that Angelina wore Modern in the film 'Salt'. A few months later when I attended last year's tiff, I went to Holt-Renfew and went to their Chantecaille stand, and bought 'Allure', which is apparently no longer available. The price is kinda steep for lip gloss, but you know what, it's worth it. To treat yourself to a high-end absolutely wonderful gloss is a fine thing to do for yourself. If you visit the website, you can see which shades they have available this season. Angie loves 'Charm' as well, but I'm going to stick with Modern, and I'll check out 'Flirt'.
It's these little things that can bring zen into your life!
Midnight Madness An alcoholic screenwriter (Colin Farrell) struggling to write a serial-killer script gets more real-life inspiration than he can handle when a dognapping scheme gone awry brings a galaxy of crazies to his doorstep. A top-notch cult-movie cast — including Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits, Harry Dean Stanton-anchors this wacky, blood-spattered commentary on the psycho-killer thriller from the writer-director of In Bruges.
It was my intention to update the blog yesterday, but grad studies got in the way. Don't you hate having to prioritize? Well, yesterday, tiff announced a boat load of great films that will be screened at the festival in September, and to many people's surprise, The Master has been added to the schedule as a Special Presentation programme and will be show at the Princess of Wales Theater, right across from the Roy Thomson Hall. I'm very excited to see The Master as it is Paul Thomas Anderson's follow up film to Oscar winner 2009 film, 'There Will Be Blood'. The Master centers around a young man being lead into a secretive and controversial cult group by it's charismatic leader. The film is close to a depiction of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, and Anderson even sought out Tom Cruise's advise by showing him the film in advance, and it's reported that Cruise "has issues" with the film. No doubt dude!
In my opinion, the more "issues" Cruise or any Scientologist have over the film, the more juicier it's going to be. Although The Master will be released in theaters on September 14th, The Weinstein Company head, Harvey Weinstein, wanted to get the Oscar talk starting on this film NOW so that's why it's playing at both Venice Film Festival and Toronto. Some people may ask, 'Well, since it's coming out so soon, why see it at tiff"? Basically, it's very simple. I'd rather watch The Master in the brilliant city of Toronto with celebrities, producers, and fellow cinephiles, than here, at home in Ann Arbor, at the Rave theater. See? One venue in particular is all about the prestige and excitement of having the world of Hollywood, literally, under the same roof, breathing the same air. Ahhhhh.
For fuller details on films to be shown at tiff announced yesterday, go to the film programming page at the tiff site, or The Wrap (it's easier to read the film list rundown here).
Once in a decade, the prestigious British film magazine, Sight & Sound list its critics Top 10 Greatest Films of All Time list, and a director's Top 10 list. The last time they did this, back in 2002, Twitter was not invented yet, so you can imagine how chaotic it was on twitter this afternoon when S&S tweeted a countdown of their top 10. They had a link to their homepage, but it appears that every other cinephile on the planet was trying to go to their website, so I couldn't open it. But alas, many other entertainment websites have posted the Top 10 list and I have it here. Allow me to preface to say that I'm embarrassed to admit that I have only seen maybe 3 of these films, and I say maybe because I'm not sure if I saw the third one.
As you see, Vertigo has been crowed as the bestest film on the entire planet world, beating out Citizen Kane which sat at the top for 34 years! Now I don't want to lie or anything, but I'm sure I saw Vertigo before, a long time ago. However today, I have reserved a copy of the DVD from the Ann Arbor Public Library, and I'll pick it up and review it over the weekend. I'll see if they have any of the other films listed as well... and yes, I have seen Space Odyssey. And speaking of that, 2001 Space Odyssey is the baby of the bunch and that came out in 1968! So as far as Sight & Sound is concerned, there are NO OTHER films made in the 70's, the 80's, the 90's, the 2000's, that warrant recognition to be included in the Top 10? That's a shame!
Vertigo - Hitchcock - 1958
In any event, here is the Top 10 Greatest Film List according to Sight & Sound. Which ones have you seen?
Critic's List Top 10 Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958) Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941) Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953) La Règle du jeu (Renoir, 1939) Sunrise: a Song for Two Humans (Murnau, 1927) 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968) The Searchers (Ford, 1956) Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929) The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer, 1927) 8 ½ (Fellini, 1963)
Director's List Top 10 Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953)
=2 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968)
=2 Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941) 8 ½ (Fellini, 1963) Taxi Driver (Scorsese, 1980) Apocalypse Now (Coppola, 1979)
=7 The Godfather (Coppola, 1972)
=7 Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958) Mirror (Tarkovsky, 1974) Bicycle Thieves (De Sica, 1948)
