Each year I assess the festival and it's getting grander and grander each year, with more people attending each year. And like in years past, changes are made at the festival for regular movie fans and industry folk. Some changes are good, some not so good. The primary not so good one is that screening tickets were much harder to come by this year because they sold out almost instantly. And the film schedule was very, very tight this year. As you can imagine, 399 films spread out over 10 days is a lot! It's almost too much and causing screening conflicts. So not only was I shut out of The Martian, Demolition, and Black Mass, several other films were in direct scheduling conflict with other films I wanted to see, leaving me in the position of not being able to see a certain film during this festival.
But of the films I have seen, here is a quick run down of what I have seen so far. I'm not going to go info a full review, just a brief description and the grade:
Son of Saul - a horrifying holocaust film from one man's perspective as he desperately tries to give a dead child a proper Jewish burial... at the sake of his and other's escape plans. A-
Our Brand is Crisis - American political campaign consultants hired to help Bolivian presidential candidates win an election. I hated this with the passion of a thousand suns. It was not funny and I tire of the Americans save the day theme crap. D+
Michael Moore |
Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen with producers |
Eddie, Amber Heard, Alicia Vikander |
Kill Your Friends - An A/R record company executive will do anything to anyone in order to reach the top of the record company. Set in London in the 90s, the soundtrack to the film is awesome. B
Legend - Tom Hardy plays both of the deadly Kray boys, Reggie and Ronnie, as they set out to make names for themselves in the 1960s in London. One is clinically insane, the other is more diplomatic but with anger management issues. A very entertaining film which showcases what an incredible actor Hardy is. A-
Equals - Set in the future after over 70% of humanity has died from wars, this dystopian society has outlawed emotions, which has been proven to be the cause of the devastation of the world. However, some people awaken from the reprogramming of their DNA and start to express emotions which they desperately try to 'hide' from others out of fear of being encourage to commit suicide, or be permanently cured. Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult are both very good in this sci-fi drama. B+
High Rise - I had high hopes for this film, but it appears to be an attempt to be Snowpiercer but in a high rise condo in 70s London. Totally incoherent, nonsensical, and disorienting. I hated this, and walked out just before it ended. F
Director and cast of Room |
Jonas Cuaron and Gael Garcia Bernal |
I have two more days of the festival and three more films to screen. In the next update, I'll write more about my experiences here in Toronto and the festival.
No comments:
Post a Comment