A few weeks back I went into Barnes and Noble to acquire a novel with a friend. While she was in the children’s section seeking some Spanish books to use with her students I moseyed on over to the illustrated nook whereupon I spied Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. Remembering the cover image and very little else, I decided to flip through the pages and refresh my mind before catching the new adaptation in theatres. Surprising to me, each spread contained barely five to ten words, so I looked to make sure my friend was busy rummaging through literature and steadied myself for a quick read. Simple yet endearing, the tale recalled a sense of innocence and warmth for the family and loved ones in our lives for which we may take for granted too often. How this five minute read could be turned into a 90-minute film was beyond me, but if anyone could do it, I had faith in Dave Eggers and Spike Jonze, he being the one that showed the world what it’s like to go inside John Malkovich’s head. A round of applause for the two of them because their version of Where the Wild Things Are hits all its marks—emotionally, visually, intellectually, and morally—making it quite the wild rumpus of the heart...[more]...

I’ll get it out right now: I have a soft spot for director Jason Reitman. I felt his debut, Thank You for Smoking, lived up to expectations and his sophomore effort, Juno, was my first ever screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, allowing me to experience something fresh and unique before becoming a breakout phenomenon. So, on the basis of nostalgia, as well as talent, my friend and I had to make sure to see if he could finish out the hat trick with Up in the Air. And boy did he; not only crafting a film that hits on all cylinders, but one that trumps his previous two, proving that the young Reitman has staying power and the eye to not only find good material, but also to bring it to life for the world to see...[more]...

Leave it to a director like Steven Soderbergh to film an epic six-hour look into the life of Ché Guevara at war, follow that up with a low-budget indie about a prostitute, and then throw everyone for a loop with the dark, off-beat comedy The Informant! When I first started hearing about the project, I anticipated a serious investigative film about a company’s price fixing scandal. Based on a novel by Kurt Eichenwald, called by many a thriller, the tale shows us how a rising company man, Mark Whitacre, became the highest-level employee to ever turn whistleblower. Written by a journalist, hailed as one of the best nonfiction books of its decade, and using the inner workings of the FBI as a subject, one would never think the cinematic adaptation would be so goofy and uproariously funny. But then you look at the posters and the trailer and Matt Damon hamming it up—the title has an exclamation point at the end after all—and you wonder if Soderbergh hijacked the story or actually stuck to the facts. With a disclaimer flashing before the opening, saying things have been changed from real life, “So there,” you know the ride will be full of hilarity...[more]...

There really is nothing more invigorating than a TIFF Midnight Madness screening. The atmosphere is alive with genre fans anxiously waiting to see some blood, gore, and dismemberment. I fortunately was able to get tickets for the world premiere of the new vampire flick Daybreakers in just that setting. Introduced by twin brother directors, Michael and Peter Spierig, the audience was treated to a great time, starting from one brother speaking aloud that he was drunk, “It’s the best way to watch this movie.” Well I’m not quite sure about that being I was sitting in a theatre at midnight after a day that saw me watching four other films from 9:00 that morning on. Even this exhausted guy managed to keep his eyes open for the carnage and death-dealing mixed with just the right amounts of intelligent storytelling. Okay, so maybe my fatigue created its own euphoric state, resembling a drunken one. If that’s the case, then maybe Spierig was correct. Either way, this slick action/horror reminded me of the awesome Equilibrium in style, utilizing brand new technology to ease the life of vampires—the healthy ones that is, not those Nosferatu looking creepers starving for blood...[more]...

How can Lars von Trier have a film at the Toronto International Film Festival without me making sure my butt is in a seat? The Danish maestro may not fly, so an in-person Q&A is impossible, (he did hold one via Skype the day after our screening), but talent seems to not care, flocking to work with the man. Willem Dafoe, getting to know the director during Manderlay, just happened to ask his agent what von Trier was up to, and so he made some calls to find out. It ends up that he was in the midst of a great depression and had written a script to hopefully turn that despair into something artistic. After taking a read through, Dafoe agreed to star, even though he knew Lars wanted to find his actress first. Thankfully, that woman ended up being the phenomenal Charlotte Gainsbourg, so all worked out in the end. Antichrist is much talked about, controversial, and a feat of pure artistic genius. Utilizing just these two actors for the duration, von Trier’s very personal journey towards redemption and retribution comes to life; a tale of two parents finding out that maybe nature is really a creation of Satan and not God. This goes for the trees, the forest, the animals, and most especially human nature—that of sexual urges, the abstraction of love, and the turmoil of guilt and how it can ravage anyone’s soul...[more]...

I’ll admit to not being very excited to see Jennifer’s Body on first look. Coming as a fast-tracked script, hot on the heels of Diablo Cody’s successful debut Juno, it just looked rushed, abused, and left for dead. After the production house Fox Atomic folded and dissolved back into its parent, the future did not look bright. However, being a teen horror flick starring Megan Fox had to all but assure it a theatrical release of some sort. And here it is at the Toronto Film Festival as part of the Midnight Madness series. I had hoped to view it in that atmosphere and the spectacle it would become, but instead had to settle for a press screening during the day with about five other attendees rather than the rowdy sellout crowd including Fox herself. Thankfully though, the film didn’t need a circus to make it fun, it does it all by itself. Camp galore and intentional unintentional laughter help make up for any shortcomings to the horror genre on the whole. But then isn’t a complete subgenre created around fun, pop culture, and absurdity...[more]...

Bravo Drew Barrymore, who thought you had it in you? I am a self-proclaimed hater of this former child actress turned mediocre adult actress/producer. I did love Donnie Darko, though, and she did play a part in getting it made, but her role was atrocious. So, one may infer where my head was upon sitting down at the screening for Whip It—complete with Buffalo’s own roller derby girls in attendance—to see if she could pull an Affleck, (which isn’t fair since I think he’s a pretty good actor in his own rite, however, you can’t deny the brilliance of Gone Baby Gone). Even after hearing pretty much glowing mentions across the board, it was still Drew. While I think a lot of credit goes towards writer/novelist Shauna Cross for a witty and heartfelt script, you need to give kudos to the director for not only putting it all together, but also for using her clout to cull together a pretty stellar cast. It’s a who’s who of industry goodies, some B-listers on the rise and others just stalwart journeymen that do the job right and have for years. It’s a fascinating topic—the roller derby underground phenomenon itself—and touches on so much more than just that culture, but also growing up and accepting, not only who you are, but who your family is. I had a lot of fun with this thing...[more]...

When I heard that Sam Raimi was back onto the Spider-Man train, signed on for the fourth installment, I was a bit lost for words. We all know how the third film in the series was a pale shadow of the previous two and the rumors were swirling about a remake of the movie that made him a cult filmmaker, The Evil Dead, so why visit the land of superheroes again? At the moment, I can only think that he is looking for redemption from the legion of fans he let down. Why do I think this? Well, because he doesn’t need it. Horror has always been the genre close to his heart; while he hasn’t been able to delve in himself the past decade or two, he still produces under the Ghost House shingle and keeps his hands soaked in blood perpetually. And finally, after fifteen years away, Raimi was given the opportunity to helm his own tale of demons with brother/co-writer Ivan. Drag Me to Hell garnered high praise and I’ll admit to thinking it would be a dark scary tale full of weight; that’s what’s good these days, right? Boy was I wrong. It is suspenseful, but also a thrill ride full of laughs and gross-out moments—things I don’t normally enjoy in my limited horror tastes—each working together for a great time...[more]...