TIFF 2012: Love, Marilyn – Liz Garbus

  This film was, easily, THE film for me to see at TIFF this year.  It was the one I was most looking forward to – even to the point of carefully selecting which screening would be best for me to immerse myself most fully in the experience.  As soon as I heard it was…

TIFF 2012: Come Out And Play – Makinov

  Several factors were in play to draw me into this screening, not the least of which was a fascination with what kind of director would so desire to remain anonymous that he would wear a mask on set and not even divulge his real name to anyone?  That and the fact that kids can…

TIFF 2012: Disconnect – Henry Alex Rubin

  For someone who had directed only documentaries thus far, Henry Alex Rubin has manged to create a very human and genuine first feature that’s both thought-provoking and full of and heart.  Disconnect is an up-close and in-depth look at various forms of social media, and how we use the internet to draw us all…

The Crimes of Mike Recket (2012) – Bruce Sweeney

Every now and then a movie comes along that takes you completely by surprise. Award-winning filmmaker Bruce Sweeney’s new film The Crimes of Mike Recket does just that. A neo-noir police procedural thriller dealing in murder, real estate fraud, dogs, a crook who believes his own lies and two stalwart cops. Nicholas Lea plays the titular Mike…

TIFF 2012: Ghost Graduation – Javier Ruiz Caldera

  I have to admit, I was secretly really excited to see this movie, but part of me was worried that it wouldn’t be as good as I hoped it would be.  The plot description was, essentially, written for my 80’s-lovin’ self:  Five students – a rebel, a jock, a pretty and popular pregnant girl,…

TIFF 2012: Lore – Cate Shortland

  Bright new talent Saskia Rosendahl stars as Lore, a young girl who has to make her way across war-torn Germany near the end of WWII, with her much younger siblings in tow, including her infant brother, Peter.  They are trying to get safely to their grandmother’s home in Hamburg after their parents have been…

TIFF 2012: Blackbird – Jason Buxton

  The premise of this one intrigued me enough that I was willing to take a chance on it and hope for the best.  I didn’t actually know much about it going in, which I think allowed me to take the journey it was offering even more completely, and I am glad that I did. …

TIFF 2012: Mr. Pip – Andrew Adamson

  Whenever I hear that a film that is coming out has been based on a novel, I am usually prepared to just like it, at best.  Movies are rarely as good as the book, and so I automatically go in with slightly lowered expectations as a result.  Even – as in this case –…

TIFF 2012: No One Lives – Ryuhei Kitamura

  TIFF’s annual Midnight Madness program has been a favourite of mine for about as long as I’ve been attending the festival.  I can generally trust Programmer Colin Geddes to whittle out ten of the most bizarre, terrifying, ridiculous, gory, scream-inducing and fun-filled flicks from the massive array of such fare as he is subjected…

TIFF 2012: Fin (The End) – Jorge Torregrossa

  This is one film I wanted to see just based on the brief description provided when it was first announced, and I’m so excited that I got to see it so close to the start of my festival.  Intrigued by its mysterious premise, my mind automatically started trying to come up with theories as…