TIFF 2010, Days Ten and Eleven
At the request of the Sweetie, reviews for the final two days of the film fest.
Title: Kaboom
Director: Gregg Araki
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Recommended
Thomas Dekker (John Connor in The Sarah Connor Chronicles) plays a sexually "undeclared" college student who stumbled upon a mind controlling cult that may have something to do with his father's death when he was a baby. This being a Gregg Araki film, it's wacky and funny and sexy. It's also pretty silly, even when it's trying to be scary, but that's part of the charm. And the snappy, snarky dialogue between Dekker and his lesbian best friend, played by Haley Bennett, and his sometime fuck buddy, played by Juno Temple, is well worth the price of admission.
Title: Route Irish
Director: Ken Loach
Country: U.K.
P's Rating: Pretty Good
Loach, famous for making socially conscious films, takes on military contractors in Iraq. The film follows Fergie, a former SAS soldier who's just finished a stint in Iraq, and whose best friend was killed on Route Irish, the road running from the Baghdad airport and one of the most dangerous roads in the world. The film wants to be an angry exposé on the atrocities committed by military contractors, but it's almost tame compared to what's seen regularly in the news. And it probably doesn't help that I've seen also Shadow Company, an extremely sharp documentary on the same topic that's so much more disturbing. (The Pros fans on my flist will probably enjoy seeing a Scouse ex-SAS character, though. That's what kept me going.)
Title: Fire of Conscience
Director: Dante Lam
Country: Hong Kong
P's Rating: Pretty Good (I think…)
It's our tradition to get babysitting so the Sweetie and I can see the final midnight film of the festival together. It's a less welcome tradition that I also seem to turn this into an expensive nap. (I sooo can't do midnight screenings any more.) That said, this HK action film, starring Cantopop star Leon Lai as a burnt out cop, seems solid, without being extraordinary. I did rather like Richie Ren, who plays another cop who shows up to help Lai with his case, and may or may not be working the right side of the law. But though programmer Colin Geddes pumped up Dante Lam as the next Johnny To or John Woo, he's not. Not yet, anyway. (I do, however, like Beast Cops, one of his earlier films, rather a lot.)
Title: Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Director: Tsui Hark
Country: Hong Kong
P's Rating: Pretty Good
HK heartthrob Andy Lau plays Detective Dee, a Chinese nobleman imprisoned by Empress Wu, but brought back to court when a number of courtiers and diplomats begin to spontaneously combust. It's a lush historical drama, with lots of kung fu and crazy effects, and nice supporting turns from Tony Leung Ka Fai and Carina Lau. It's not top notch Hark, but certainly better than some of his misfires.
Title: Kaboom
Director: Gregg Araki
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Recommended
Thomas Dekker (John Connor in The Sarah Connor Chronicles) plays a sexually "undeclared" college student who stumbled upon a mind controlling cult that may have something to do with his father's death when he was a baby. This being a Gregg Araki film, it's wacky and funny and sexy. It's also pretty silly, even when it's trying to be scary, but that's part of the charm. And the snappy, snarky dialogue between Dekker and his lesbian best friend, played by Haley Bennett, and his sometime fuck buddy, played by Juno Temple, is well worth the price of admission.
Title: Route Irish
Director: Ken Loach
Country: U.K.
P's Rating: Pretty Good
Loach, famous for making socially conscious films, takes on military contractors in Iraq. The film follows Fergie, a former SAS soldier who's just finished a stint in Iraq, and whose best friend was killed on Route Irish, the road running from the Baghdad airport and one of the most dangerous roads in the world. The film wants to be an angry exposé on the atrocities committed by military contractors, but it's almost tame compared to what's seen regularly in the news. And it probably doesn't help that I've seen also Shadow Company, an extremely sharp documentary on the same topic that's so much more disturbing. (The Pros fans on my flist will probably enjoy seeing a Scouse ex-SAS character, though. That's what kept me going.)
Title: Fire of Conscience
Director: Dante Lam
Country: Hong Kong
P's Rating: Pretty Good (I think…)
It's our tradition to get babysitting so the Sweetie and I can see the final midnight film of the festival together. It's a less welcome tradition that I also seem to turn this into an expensive nap. (I sooo can't do midnight screenings any more.) That said, this HK action film, starring Cantopop star Leon Lai as a burnt out cop, seems solid, without being extraordinary. I did rather like Richie Ren, who plays another cop who shows up to help Lai with his case, and may or may not be working the right side of the law. But though programmer Colin Geddes pumped up Dante Lam as the next Johnny To or John Woo, he's not. Not yet, anyway. (I do, however, like Beast Cops, one of his earlier films, rather a lot.)
Title: Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Director: Tsui Hark
Country: Hong Kong
P's Rating: Pretty Good
HK heartthrob Andy Lau plays Detective Dee, a Chinese nobleman imprisoned by Empress Wu, but brought back to court when a number of courtiers and diplomats begin to spontaneously combust. It's a lush historical drama, with lots of kung fu and crazy effects, and nice supporting turns from Tony Leung Ka Fai and Carina Lau. It's not top notch Hark, but certainly better than some of his misfires.