“Room” was on my wish list to see but, unfortunately, it was never playing at a time when I could attend (screenings run from 9 a.m. to midnight seven days a week).  My daughter did see the film and said it is definitely a “must see” when it comes out, so I will definitely make a point of going to the theater to see it.

 

The trailer can be viewed HERE

 

This past weekend I once again attended two TIFF features.  I wanted to post this on Monday, but life has a way of getting in the way of how I plan to do things.

 

 

My daughter and I picked this movie out of her “magic book of movies” because it sounded really interesting.  As a “mockumentary” this movie presents an alternative universe where men stop serving any purpose.  In the film women began having what were referred to as “virgin births” – basically pregnancy and birth without the need of sperm.  It came as quite a shock when it first started happening – lots of accusation of adultery, fornication and lies.  When it was discovered that it was happening worldwide, women accepted it and went quietly on with their lives.

 

Oh … the births all resulted in girls.

 

Men eventually became of no use.

 

The film moves forward to present day where Andrew Myers, at 37, is the youngest man left in the world.  Men have been relegated to “men only communities” and are on the brink of becoming extinct.  Women rule the world through the “World Governing Council” and have done away with countries governing themselves, war, poverty and any number of other crisis issues existing today. 

 

But what happens when the inevitable occurs … a woman falls in love with Andrew and together they dare to question the new order.

 

This is the type of movie you want to go see with a group of friends, preferably male and female, leaving plenty of time afterwards for a nice dinner and drinks so it can be discussed.  Although most definitely tongue in cheek with several “laugh out loud” moments this film raises so many “what if” scenarios and questions that it just begs to be mulled over and dissected.

 

Interestingly, the premise was conceived and directed by Vancouver born Mark Sawers.  It makes me wonder if the film might have gone in a different direction had a woman been at the helm behind the cameras?

 

There is a little “teaser” for this film HERE 

 

 

Based on true events this film tells the story of Jack Unterweger, one of Austria’s most infamous real-life convicts.  Jack was convicted of the murder of a young woman and sentenced to a 15-year jail term.  While serving his sentence Jack begins his road to rehabilitation by writing poetry.  His poetry becomes popular with publishers and, predominantly, female fans alike.  Upon his release he embraces his new-found celebrity and tries to stay on the straight and narrow.  Unfortunately, about the same time that Jack is enjoying his popularity there happen a series of murders involving prostitutes (one of Jack’s many weaknesses) and slowly the police come to believe that Jack may be the killer.

 

This film, given the subject matter was quite dark, both in the story and in the cinematography.  Johannes Krisch, portraying Jack, was brilliant casting on the part of director Elisabeth Scharang.  There were a few moments in the film that had us talking about this one, later over coffee, as well.

 

One a personal note … the film’s dialogue was in German with English subtitles.  I have no problem with subtitles but when I speak the language of the movie I get a little frustrated because there are those moments when I feel the dialogue and subtitles don’t quite match up.  I am a little out of practice in German so for the first third of the movie I was reading subtitles and then “language memory” kicked in and I was able to follow the dialogue on screen.  It made it much more enjoyable.

 

My daughter and I do not usually mesh when it comes to taste in music, however, we did both comment, while walking out of the theater, that the soundtrack to this film was great.  That’s a pretty good testament to the talent of “Naked Lunch”.  Unfortunately, the soundtrack has a limited release of 500 hundred copies (vinyl only … CD included).

 

Over all, although we only saw one movie that is scheduled for release in theaters soon (The Danish Girl) all the movies we attended were well-done and interesting films.  It’s nice to get a taste of what’s out there aside from the “blockbusters”.

 

The “teaser” for this film can be found HERE

 

And … another year of TIFF is over.

 

 

It is Toronto International Film Festival time so my focus has been and is currently on movies instead of books.  I have an excellent source for tickets … I’ve finally forgiven my daughter for leaving her job at the bookstore … so spent the past weekend seeing some pre-release movies and will repeat the process next weekend as well.  Sadly, we couldn’t fit any red carpet events into our schedules this time around.

 

This past weekend's highlights were a Turkish horror film called “BASKIN”.  Five police officers are called to an abandoned house on a suspicious call.  Little do they know that they are about to enter through a portal to hell … and hellish it was.  Definitely not for the squeamish.  I was a little apprehensive about this one because it was described as being "cringe-worthy for even the most seasoned horror fans" and it was in the original Turkish with English subtitles.  Was it the best horror movie I have ever seen?  No, probably not, but still definitely worth a look-see if you are a fan of the genre.  Despite the fact that I left shaking my head about some parts the “cringe-worthy” description was dead-on.  I looked around, during those times I couldn't bear to look at the screen, and I was NOT the only person watching parts of this movie through my fingers. The character of “Father” was played by Mehmet Cerrahoglu who in real life is a parking lot attendant chosen for this role because of his rather unusual looks. (See, I do pay attention during the Q&A's) "Father" or "Dada" is one of the creepiest and most unique characters I have seen in a film in some time.  Personal thought ... someone in Hollywood should sign up Mr. Cerrahoglu because he is interestingly unique and did a superb job in this film.  Hard to believe it was his first time on film.

 

Director Can Evrenol did a Q&A after the film.  Considering his self-admitted micro, micro budget this was well-done film and I think Mr. Evrenol could be an "up and comer" filmmaker.  In consideration of more delicate constitutions I won’t embed it here but if you are a horror fan and want to check out the trailer it can be found HERE.

 

The other film was "THE DANISH GIRL" starring Eddie Redmayne.  He is superb in the film and it would not surprise me if he received another Oscar nod for his portrayal of Lili Elbe (aka Einar Wegener) one of the first recipients of gender reassignment surgery in 1930.  It’s a hot topic these days with Caitlin Jenner being all over the tabloids but this movie shines a different light on a very sensitive subject and depicts a heartrending portrayal of unconditional love.  The film is based on David Ebershoff's book of the same name.  There is also a biography titled "MAN TO WOMAN" which includes letters, Lili's diary entries and a conversation between Lili and the editor, Niels Hoyer.  As is often, dare I say always, the case with books made into movies some parts are left out for the sake of the cinematic story.  After seeing the film I checked out a few more facts on line and that just led me to want to read both the Ebershoff book and the Hoyer book (if I can find a copy ... haven't checked that far into it yet).  In addition to the wonderful story and outstanding acting the film was a pleasure visually as well.  This was a good one in all respects.

 

The film was also followed by a Q&A with director Tom Hopper (The King’s Speech, Les Miserables).

 

I also did some much needed “culling” of my bookshelves.  I need incentive to do that because it’s very difficult for me to get rid of books.  I purged 127 books off my shelves and (sigh) it didn’t even seem to make a dent.  There is a huge “used book sale” happening at the end of October in support of the local library in the city I work in (not the same city I live in) which I want to attend.  They are currently taking donations so some of the older books and paperbacks went into that box.  The books were picked up on Friday and I feel good knowing they are potentially going to be enjoyed by other readers.  On the flip side of that deal … I know that I am going to be attending the sale so, no doubt, some of that cleared space will be refilled.  Oh well!  All for a good cause as long as I don't end up buying back some of my donated books.

 

Some of the others I took pictures of and offered “grab bags” to the “Free Little Libararies” organization in the city where I live.  I posted them on their website and within 15 minutes I had more than enough messages from people willing to pick them up.  I also have a list of names to contact when I do round 2 of the “culling”.  I just couldn’t be ruthless enough to pull all the books that should be pulled in one fell swoop.  I feel like I achieved an even split of the two cities so I feel good about that.

 

 

 So that’s what I’ve been up to instead of writing reviews.  I hope to get caught up this week.