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Toronto Film Fest, Day Five
British romantic comedy, Khmer Rouge doc, Errol Morris doc and Vampire/Werewolf love story...
Title: Love Actually
Director: Richard Curtis
Country: U.K.
P's Rating: Highly Recommended
Richard Curtis returns to the romantic comedy with utterly charming results. Unlike Four Weddings and Notting Hill, however, this film doesn't track just one love story, but many. And it's not only concerned with romantic love either. There are stories of a parent's love for a child, a sister's love for a brother, a man's love for his friend. Nor does every story end happily, though enough do to satisfy the audience. Add in sharp dialogue, breezy direction and fabulous acting from established actors and newcomers alike and you have an utterly fabulous film and easily one of the best I've seen so far this fest.
Title: S21: La Machine de mort Khmère Rouge
Director: Rithy Panh
Country: France
P's Rating: Not-so-good
An interesting project but one that frankly doesn't work. This doc examines two of the only seven people to have survived the Khmer Rouge detention camp S21 as they confront their own experiences as well as some of the guards who ruled the camp. What's interesting is the utter banality of the way in which the guards describe the ways they tortured and killed the prisoners under their command and their refusal to accept blame for their acts. Unfortunately, the whole thing could likely have been an hour shorter and made a stronger impact.
Title: The Fog of War
Director: Errol Morris
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Highly Recommended
Robert McNamara was the Secretary of Defence for the U.S. government under both JFK and Johnson. Some consider him responsible for the escalation of the Viet Nam war. Errol Morris does an in-depth profile of the man, finding not a hawkish idealogue, but a thoughtful person who honestly interested in making the world a better place. In spite of this fact, he doesn't shy from the fact that in the course of setting policy he often caused evil to be done. An extremely interesting, humane portrait of a complex, interesting figure.
Title: Underworld
Director: Len Wiseman
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Okay
I had hopes for this one, but it failed to wow. It looks great and Kate Beckinsale is good in the lead, but it suffers from two major casting problems: first, one of the main villains is played by an actor (Shane Brolly) of such ineptitude that he comes across as ridiculous rather than threatening; second, the main romantic lead for Beckinsale is played by Scott Speedman, a charisma-free actor at the best of times and one who shares absolutely no chemistry with Beckinsale. On the other hand, Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy as a warring werewolf and vampire respectively are nothing short of fabulous. (Completely peripheral to the actual film, the screening was marred for me by the presence of a coterie of large thuggish studio types who were threatening anyone who remotely looked like they might have a video camera. Oy.)
Title: Love Actually
Director: Richard Curtis
Country: U.K.
P's Rating: Highly Recommended
Richard Curtis returns to the romantic comedy with utterly charming results. Unlike Four Weddings and Notting Hill, however, this film doesn't track just one love story, but many. And it's not only concerned with romantic love either. There are stories of a parent's love for a child, a sister's love for a brother, a man's love for his friend. Nor does every story end happily, though enough do to satisfy the audience. Add in sharp dialogue, breezy direction and fabulous acting from established actors and newcomers alike and you have an utterly fabulous film and easily one of the best I've seen so far this fest.
Title: S21: La Machine de mort Khmère Rouge
Director: Rithy Panh
Country: France
P's Rating: Not-so-good
An interesting project but one that frankly doesn't work. This doc examines two of the only seven people to have survived the Khmer Rouge detention camp S21 as they confront their own experiences as well as some of the guards who ruled the camp. What's interesting is the utter banality of the way in which the guards describe the ways they tortured and killed the prisoners under their command and their refusal to accept blame for their acts. Unfortunately, the whole thing could likely have been an hour shorter and made a stronger impact.
Title: The Fog of War
Director: Errol Morris
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Highly Recommended
Robert McNamara was the Secretary of Defence for the U.S. government under both JFK and Johnson. Some consider him responsible for the escalation of the Viet Nam war. Errol Morris does an in-depth profile of the man, finding not a hawkish idealogue, but a thoughtful person who honestly interested in making the world a better place. In spite of this fact, he doesn't shy from the fact that in the course of setting policy he often caused evil to be done. An extremely interesting, humane portrait of a complex, interesting figure.
Title: Underworld
Director: Len Wiseman
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Okay
I had hopes for this one, but it failed to wow. It looks great and Kate Beckinsale is good in the lead, but it suffers from two major casting problems: first, one of the main villains is played by an actor (Shane Brolly) of such ineptitude that he comes across as ridiculous rather than threatening; second, the main romantic lead for Beckinsale is played by Scott Speedman, a charisma-free actor at the best of times and one who shares absolutely no chemistry with Beckinsale. On the other hand, Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy as a warring werewolf and vampire respectively are nothing short of fabulous. (Completely peripheral to the actual film, the screening was marred for me by the presence of a coterie of large thuggish studio types who were threatening anyone who remotely looked like they might have a video camera. Oy.)