Dinner at TIFF(unnies)...
The TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) 2005 edition is in full swing. I've managed to cram 8 films into my busy evening and weekend schedule this week. (Of course I am being complete sarcastic here because my evenings would normally have been spent either working out at the gym and ogling the hotties OR scanning the idiot box looking for hotties to ogle (Prison Break--> HOT!!... Miami Ink, so hot!!... Truth be told i'm kinda miffed that I am missing MARTHA. Oh well, its not like I am ever home early enough in the evenings to catch her on TLC... sigh... Dammit, I must revive the VCR.
My strategy for the TIFF is to pick some semi-obscure films and avoid the over-hyped ones. True, I do not get to bask in hotness of the stars but most of those films will come back in wide release and I prefer to see something less than mainstream while I have a chance. I am pleasantly surprised from time to time. The lesser knowns can use the support and they usually have an interesting perspective.
I've had only one celebrity sighting so far. Dylan McDermott was walking the red carpet and being very charming and accommodating to the ladies wanting to take pictures with him. He's tall and looked quite handsome in a dark suit and Converse All-Star court shoes (???). These Hollywood types can get away with anything. He looks older and his face is more rugged in real life. Thats the power of makeup, i guess! The funny thing was that there was a very glamourous looking Indian woman walking ahead of him who no one seemed to recognize. She glanced over at "P" standing beside, who was trying to get a picture of Dylan and then she looked away, none-too-pleased that P didnt take a picture of her!
Here is some brief reviews of the films seen so far.
The President's Last Bang (Korea)
A docudrama about the assassination of the Korean President in 60s. The director introduced his movie as a gangster film more than a docudrama. He was quite the jokester and talked about his contempt for Bush's foreign policy and the fact that he couldn't learn anything about American politics by watching West Wing ("everyone is so nice on that show, and they always do right!") He also joked about the fact that the powers that be in Korea all hate him now. The rightists don't like the portrayal of the corruption and the leftists thought that the president was made out to be "too elegant". Poor guy.
I found the movie on a whole a bit slow and had trouble getting into it. Perhaps I would have gotten more out of it if I knew more about the different players in the grand scheme. There was a fair amount of satire that was completely lost on me and that's a bit of a shame.
(*side note* - the director's sidekick was one hot dood and provided me with a nice distraction while the director was answering questions. I had to check him out up close and personal... swoon!...)
I rated it a "3".
Sa-Kwa (Korea)
Sa-Kwa has a double meaning in Korean, "green apple" and "apology" and serves as the metaphof for this modern story of love. This movie centers around a precocious young woman and her love life. She gets unceremoniously dumped by her handsome boyfriend and then finally gives in to the awkward and plain suitor who works in building. He's a kindly stalker, if you can imagine such a guy. Shy and frumpy, he silently drops off his business card whenever he sees her having lunch with her girlfriends. He sends her flowers and tries to talk to her in the elevator. Our heroine, heartbroken over the losing the guy she loves, and with the realization that she is getting older, settles for the comfort of married life with a traditional homely guy even though it is obvious that they are quite different people. Her family is a bit kooky, informal and modern, his is very traditional and old fashioned. The story of their relationship unfolds through the film.
I quite enjoyed this movie and really enjoyed the main actress. Sa-kwa is about as close to realistic dramatization of modern love as I have ever seen. It doesnt dwell much on the 'fairy tale' kind of romance but focusses on the mundane kind of love. The director explained that his inspiration for this film The director seems to be somewhat of a minor celebrity in his home land as the enthusiastic response from the Koreans in the audience seemed to testify to, not to mention the crowd that gathered around him for his autograph.
I rated it a "4".
Seven Swords (HK - China)
The latest from the master of the kung-fu epic, Tsui Hark. Leon Lai Ming was the only big star in it that I recognized. Unconvincing! Lai Ming is all pretty and elegant and should stick to romantic comedies and dramas. I mean, you wouldn't expect to see Hugh Grant in an action film would you? By the same token, Lai Ming looked like he got lost on his way to TST.
Anyone who has seen a kung-fu epic can sort of guess the basic plot (evil despot attempts to take over the entire kingdom and must be stopped by band of rag tag rogue warriors. Yes, there are ... surprise, surprise ... SEVEN of them! Each of them weilding a different sword of varying mystical power.) I was quite taken by the sidekick of the evil despot. She was a wicked looking tough chick with tribal tattoos all up her neck and shoulders and sporting this evil looking combed forward mohawk hair. Gosh, she was hot! (i've been told that she is a dyke from China)
On the whole I do enjoy a kung-fu epic and I did enjoy watching this movie. However, it wasn't a great film. I found it overly long and in need of some editing. Tsui could have easily cut out half an hour worth of filler and ended up with a better film. The action sequences were great, as to be expected from Tsui and the setting, costumes,and cinematography were appropriately barren and foreboding. I was wow-ed by the spectacle but confused by the some of the plot.
I rated it a "3".
My strategy for the TIFF is to pick some semi-obscure films and avoid the over-hyped ones. True, I do not get to bask in hotness of the stars but most of those films will come back in wide release and I prefer to see something less than mainstream while I have a chance. I am pleasantly surprised from time to time. The lesser knowns can use the support and they usually have an interesting perspective.
I've had only one celebrity sighting so far. Dylan McDermott was walking the red carpet and being very charming and accommodating to the ladies wanting to take pictures with him. He's tall and looked quite handsome in a dark suit and Converse All-Star court shoes (???). These Hollywood types can get away with anything. He looks older and his face is more rugged in real life. Thats the power of makeup, i guess! The funny thing was that there was a very glamourous looking Indian woman walking ahead of him who no one seemed to recognize. She glanced over at "P" standing beside, who was trying to get a picture of Dylan and then she looked away, none-too-pleased that P didnt take a picture of her!
Here is some brief reviews of the films seen so far.
The President's Last Bang (Korea)
A docudrama about the assassination of the Korean President in 60s. The director introduced his movie as a gangster film more than a docudrama. He was quite the jokester and talked about his contempt for Bush's foreign policy and the fact that he couldn't learn anything about American politics by watching West Wing ("everyone is so nice on that show, and they always do right!") He also joked about the fact that the powers that be in Korea all hate him now. The rightists don't like the portrayal of the corruption and the leftists thought that the president was made out to be "too elegant". Poor guy.
I found the movie on a whole a bit slow and had trouble getting into it. Perhaps I would have gotten more out of it if I knew more about the different players in the grand scheme. There was a fair amount of satire that was completely lost on me and that's a bit of a shame.
(*side note* - the director's sidekick was one hot dood and provided me with a nice distraction while the director was answering questions. I had to check him out up close and personal... swoon!...)
I rated it a "3".
Sa-Kwa (Korea)
Sa-Kwa has a double meaning in Korean, "green apple" and "apology" and serves as the metaphof for this modern story of love. This movie centers around a precocious young woman and her love life. She gets unceremoniously dumped by her handsome boyfriend and then finally gives in to the awkward and plain suitor who works in building. He's a kindly stalker, if you can imagine such a guy. Shy and frumpy, he silently drops off his business card whenever he sees her having lunch with her girlfriends. He sends her flowers and tries to talk to her in the elevator. Our heroine, heartbroken over the losing the guy she loves, and with the realization that she is getting older, settles for the comfort of married life with a traditional homely guy even though it is obvious that they are quite different people. Her family is a bit kooky, informal and modern, his is very traditional and old fashioned. The story of their relationship unfolds through the film.
I quite enjoyed this movie and really enjoyed the main actress. Sa-kwa is about as close to realistic dramatization of modern love as I have ever seen. It doesnt dwell much on the 'fairy tale' kind of romance but focusses on the mundane kind of love. The director explained that his inspiration for this film The director seems to be somewhat of a minor celebrity in his home land as the enthusiastic response from the Koreans in the audience seemed to testify to, not to mention the crowd that gathered around him for his autograph.
I rated it a "4".
Seven Swords (HK - China)
The latest from the master of the kung-fu epic, Tsui Hark. Leon Lai Ming was the only big star in it that I recognized. Unconvincing! Lai Ming is all pretty and elegant and should stick to romantic comedies and dramas. I mean, you wouldn't expect to see Hugh Grant in an action film would you? By the same token, Lai Ming looked like he got lost on his way to TST.
Anyone who has seen a kung-fu epic can sort of guess the basic plot (evil despot attempts to take over the entire kingdom and must be stopped by band of rag tag rogue warriors. Yes, there are ... surprise, surprise ... SEVEN of them! Each of them weilding a different sword of varying mystical power.) I was quite taken by the sidekick of the evil despot. She was a wicked looking tough chick with tribal tattoos all up her neck and shoulders and sporting this evil looking combed forward mohawk hair. Gosh, she was hot! (i've been told that she is a dyke from China)
On the whole I do enjoy a kung-fu epic and I did enjoy watching this movie. However, it wasn't a great film. I found it overly long and in need of some editing. Tsui could have easily cut out half an hour worth of filler and ended up with a better film. The action sequences were great, as to be expected from Tsui and the setting, costumes,and cinematography were appropriately barren and foreboding. I was wow-ed by the spectacle but confused by the some of the plot.
I rated it a "3".
posted by jadedmonkey at 2:17 p.m.
1 Comments:
Leon Lai sucks. I don't believe I paid $50 to see his concert back in 1995. So embarassing! I hear Sa Kwa was v. good. Didn't it win some award? And yes, Dylan is handsome but his face looks a lot more weathered than I'd imagine. - willariah -
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