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Precogni-TIFF, or The Festival in My Head I’m planning
on attending the Toronto International Film Festival from September 5-14, and
hopefully, I’ll be updating my web site remotely with capsules and goings-on
throughout the festival. Just in case that all doesn’t work out due to
failures of hardware, software, or my brain, I figured I’d use my psychic
abilities to predict my reaction to the films that I’m planning to see. Assuming everything goes right,
I'll be posting my actual reactions daily... stay tuned... Friday, September 6
September 6 , September 7 , September 8 , September 9 , September 10 , September 11, September 12 , September 13 , September 14 , Home
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Morvern Callar –
Lynne Ramsey’s Ratcatcher was a stylish but melancholy dredge through
the muck, but this one takes her worldview, lightens it up and expands it a good
deal, in no small part thanks to a fantastic turn from the always-on Samantha
Morton and some great desert scenery. In some ways, it’s sort of the film that
Millennium Mambo might have been had any talented director but Hou made
it. 
Personal Velocity
– This won the top dramatic prize this year at Sundance, but it’s not really
that ambitious or rewarding, which sort of suggests there wasn’t a helluva lot
else to pick from. Sure the performances, especially Parker Posey’s
sophisticate, are good, but there’s not any reason why these three tales need
to be told separately. As an ensemble piece a la Altman’s Short Cuts it
could have had some real power, but as an anthology, it feels too start &
stop to gain much. I could do without the voiceovers too… 
Spun – Midnight
Madness, indeed! Jonas Akerlund’s music video roots (e.g. Madonna’s Ray
of Light) are put to great use here, creating what’s basically an
all-star (Jason Schwartzman, John Leguizamo, Mena Suvari, Patrick Fugit,
Brittany Murphy, Mickey Rourke, & Deborah Harry) meth-fueled nightmare.
Alternatively hyper-kinetic and hyper-filthy Akerlund flips the bird to the
digital revolution by showing that grainy 16mm film can be a great aesthetic all
its own. My only regret is that I wasn’t on something myself while I was
watching.