Day 2 seemed to be "horror day"-all three films had a horror theme to them-although some were more explicit than others.
The first film was Sauna, by Antti-Jussi Annila. The film concerns a group of Finns and Russians establishing a new borderline after a particularly long and brutal war. The main characters are Eric and Knut, Finnish brothers working for the Swedes. As the group travels northward, demarcating the new border, they come upon a large swamp. The Russian leader suggests that they just bypass the swamp and continue northward, but the elder brother Eric, says that if they don't travel through the swamp, he'll just assume that Russia doesn't want the territory and the border can go along the eastern edge. Travelling through the swamp, the group comes upon a village in the exact middle of the swamp with a very sinister looking sauna on the outskirts. Then bad things start to happen.
Very atmospheric, with an oppressive sense of dread, this film is very unsettling. The landscape itself is bleak and depressing, and only seems to increase the unease that builds scene by scene. Highly recommended, but not for faint of heart
8/10
The next film was Pontypool, by Bruce McDonald. Pontypool is a small town some 90 km northeast of Toronto and Grant Mazzy is a DJ working the morning show of the town's radio station. Strange reports start to come in from around the town of large groups of people behaving very strangely. Mazzy and his production staff quickly realize that the situation is more serious than they thought.
Almost a one-room drama, this film is incredibly tight. Not a single shot is wasted, and the claustrophobia is only heightened by the many close ups of Mazzy as he broadcasts. When events begin to escalate, the tension is slowly but surely increased. An excellent zombie movie that never uses the "Z" word.
8.5/10
The final film was Deadgirl, by Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel. Rickie and JT, ditching class one day, break into an abandoned mental hospital. While having a few illicit beers and generally vandalizing the place, they come upon a sealed room with the body of a naked woman chained to a table. While deciding what to do, they suddenly realize that she is breathing. This only complicates things as Rickie wants to call the police while JT wants to "have some fun". Things rapidly begin to spin out of control, with far-reaching consequences.
For all its disturbing and graphic content, the film never strays into standard exploitation territory, instead focusing on the relationship between Rickie and JT. Definitely not for everyone, but certainly rewarding for those who can stomach the violence.
7.5/10
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
TIFF, Day 1
Techincally, I guess its day 2, but this is my first day, and it's all about me.
My first film was Achilles and the Tortoise, by Takeshi Kitano. The film follows the life of a would-be artist, from childhood to late middle age. After having been told at a young age that he should become an artist because he paints a great deal, Machisu slavishly devotes the rest of his life to doing so. While he has the technical skills, his work lacks the emotion needed to transcend the ordinary. When the art dealer with whom he consistantly tries to get to represent his work suggests he try a certain style, he slavishly copies that style, producing second-rate copies. Along the way he gets married and has a child, which only seem to complicate the issue.
Kitano has produced a bittersweet sort of film here, with constant difficulties being thrown at Machisu (none of which slow him down) that he accepts with almost Keatonlike stoicism. While ultimately uplifting, things will assuredly get worse before they get better.
7.5/10
Next was The Sky Crawlers, by Mamoru Oshii. This animated film deals with a group of fighter pilots, employees of a company who fight other companies in a sort of war by proxy that has replaced full scale wars. The pilots are all "Kildren", genetically engineered to remain in their late teens forever. When a new pilot shows up to replace one who has died, things begin to take on a somewhat disturbing and familiar trend.
Oshii is dealing with his themes of humanityand the idea of the self again, although in a somewhat less dense way than in the Ghost in the Shell movies. Nonetheless, a very entertaining, engaging film with flawless anime from start to finish.
7.5/10
The day's final film was Me and Orson Welles, by Richard Linklater. This film tells the story of Welles' production of Julius Caesar in the fall of 1937 seen through the eyes of a high school student who manages to get himself a speaking role in the play almost by accident.
Based on actual events and people, the movie captures the flavour of the time quite well, and the performances are all quite good. Christian McKay is exceptional as Welles, and if you close your eyes its hard to tell that it isn't really him. Another solid film from Linklater.
7/10
On for Tomorrow: Sauna, Pontypool, and Deadgirl.
My first film was Achilles and the Tortoise, by Takeshi Kitano. The film follows the life of a would-be artist, from childhood to late middle age. After having been told at a young age that he should become an artist because he paints a great deal, Machisu slavishly devotes the rest of his life to doing so. While he has the technical skills, his work lacks the emotion needed to transcend the ordinary. When the art dealer with whom he consistantly tries to get to represent his work suggests he try a certain style, he slavishly copies that style, producing second-rate copies. Along the way he gets married and has a child, which only seem to complicate the issue.
Kitano has produced a bittersweet sort of film here, with constant difficulties being thrown at Machisu (none of which slow him down) that he accepts with almost Keatonlike stoicism. While ultimately uplifting, things will assuredly get worse before they get better.
7.5/10
Next was The Sky Crawlers, by Mamoru Oshii. This animated film deals with a group of fighter pilots, employees of a company who fight other companies in a sort of war by proxy that has replaced full scale wars. The pilots are all "Kildren", genetically engineered to remain in their late teens forever. When a new pilot shows up to replace one who has died, things begin to take on a somewhat disturbing and familiar trend.
Oshii is dealing with his themes of humanityand the idea of the self again, although in a somewhat less dense way than in the Ghost in the Shell movies. Nonetheless, a very entertaining, engaging film with flawless anime from start to finish.
7.5/10
The day's final film was Me and Orson Welles, by Richard Linklater. This film tells the story of Welles' production of Julius Caesar in the fall of 1937 seen through the eyes of a high school student who manages to get himself a speaking role in the play almost by accident.
Based on actual events and people, the movie captures the flavour of the time quite well, and the performances are all quite good. Christian McKay is exceptional as Welles, and if you close your eyes its hard to tell that it isn't really him. Another solid film from Linklater.
7/10
On for Tomorrow: Sauna, Pontypool, and Deadgirl.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Film Festival
There will be a short break from ranting about customers so that I can rant about films. I will be attending the Toronto International Film Festival again this year, so I'll pass on some short reviews of the films I will be seeing. Up for Friday: Achillies and the Tortoise, The Sky Crawlers, and Me and Orson Welles.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Freak Magnet
The other day, going to work, I got on the bus and proceeded to sit down in the back half of the bus. As I sat down, I heard strange "huffing" noises coming from across the aisle. Looking over, I noticed that the person sitting opposite me was doing some sort of "excercise" by holding on to the rail on the back of the seat in front of him and quickly pulling himself forward. He was doing this with some vigor, and seemed to be serious about his "workout" (Cheaper than a gym membership, I guess). This "workout" (with sound effects) went on for about 10 minutes until I heard the noises change. I had been looking out the window in the opposite direction in order not to laugh, but I slowly turned my head in his direction, looking out the corner of my eye at him to see what he was doing now. I almost lost it at this point, because he was throwing punches (at the air) and making sounds like you hear in poorly dubbed martial arts flicks. It was all I could do not to laugh out loud, because he was concentrating so intently on beating up the air in front of him. I expected him to make Bruce Lee noises, but thankfully he didn't, or I don't think I would have been able to keep the laughter inside.
I tend to attract people like this. This guy at least seemed harmless, but I don't know what would have happened if I had started laughing.
I tend to attract people like this. This guy at least seemed harmless, but I don't know what would have happened if I had started laughing.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Startup
So-here we go: This blog is where I intend to put my experiences (weird, wonderful, annoying, really annoying, and "keep that up and you'll lose a limb") that I have had whilst working in the retail world for the last 19 years (Holy crap! That long?). Here's an example of what to expect:
I work at a store that predominantly fixes shoes and cuts keys and a few days ago a woman came in and wanted a particular key cut. She explained that she had been to a couple of other places and had gotten keys cut that did not work, and would I be able to cut this key correctly the first time. She showed me the key and I realized what the problem had been for the other attempts, as the key was one that was often mistaken for another if the person doing the cutting is not paying attention, or doesn't know what they're doing (yet another reason not to go to Wal-Mart, kids!). I told her that we could cut the key and it often got confused and miscut pointing out the difference, but we would have no problem. I cut the key and she left.
The next day she came back complaining that the key did not work because she had gotten the wrong one cut. Because of this, she wanted the right key cut, but did not want to pay for it. The owner of the store was in and she was talking to him, as I was in the back working on some shoes (but still able to hear the conversation). Her position was that because she didn't need an extra for the one that she had had cut, we should cut her the "correct" one for free. Not once did she say that it was our fault that the wrong key had been cut-she freely admitted that she gave me the wrong one-but she still felt that she shouldn't have to pay for another key.
Where do people get ideas like this?
I work at a store that predominantly fixes shoes and cuts keys and a few days ago a woman came in and wanted a particular key cut. She explained that she had been to a couple of other places and had gotten keys cut that did not work, and would I be able to cut this key correctly the first time. She showed me the key and I realized what the problem had been for the other attempts, as the key was one that was often mistaken for another if the person doing the cutting is not paying attention, or doesn't know what they're doing (yet another reason not to go to Wal-Mart, kids!). I told her that we could cut the key and it often got confused and miscut pointing out the difference, but we would have no problem. I cut the key and she left.
The next day she came back complaining that the key did not work because she had gotten the wrong one cut. Because of this, she wanted the right key cut, but did not want to pay for it. The owner of the store was in and she was talking to him, as I was in the back working on some shoes (but still able to hear the conversation). Her position was that because she didn't need an extra for the one that she had had cut, we should cut her the "correct" one for free. Not once did she say that it was our fault that the wrong key had been cut-she freely admitted that she gave me the wrong one-but she still felt that she shouldn't have to pay for another key.
Where do people get ideas like this?
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