Cinephile Report: Top 5 Films from TIFF

Well this year's festival is finally over, and it was one of the best I've ever attended. After getting a chance to finally sleep and give my eyes and brain some much needed rest I thought I'd make a list of my top 5 must see films to come out of this year's programming as well as my choice for the worst film.

TOP FIVE TIFF FILMS ( In No Particular Order)

1, Bugmaster : Directed by anime master Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira, Steamboy), this gorgeous live action tale was the most pleasant surprise I found at TIFF this year. It tells the story of Ginko a "bugmaster" or expert on the Mushi, creatures seen only by Bugmasters that embody unique powers and often possess humans with dangerous consequences.

Ginko travels the lush and beautiful landscape curing the possessed while trying to piece together his past. This film has some of the most subtle and breathtaking effects work in any fantasy picture and breathes on screen like a pitch perfect live action version of an ancient mythic scroll.

2. Princess - There really isn't anything I can properly compare this film to but struggling for a way to describe it, I would call it a Tarantino script, directed by Larry Clark, animated by 70's cult animators on acid.

With a mix of traditional cell animation, computer animation and a dash of live video, Princess tells the story of 32 year old August who after the death of his porn star sister goes on a raging revenge massacre against the people who made her sister a star meanwhile taking care of her now orphaned daughter, Mia.

The film is full of difficult moral ground and achingly uncomfortable situations but is impossible to stop watching. As unique as it is unsettling, a movie that is so raw it could never be live action and a must see indeed

3. Shortbus - from Hedwig himself, John Cameron Mitchell comes to the best film about sex I've ever seen. It's not simply because of the fact the sex we see on screen is explicit but because it's also touching, funny, and titillating on top of being genuine.

The story itself centers around a stunted sex therapist, a dominatrix, a open gay couple and their third partner and many more patrons of an art sex salon in NYC, called "Shortbus". With drop dead gorgeous cinematography and appearances by some of the most exciting performance artists of our generation this film vibrates with urgency and heart.

"It's like the 60's, only with less hope" remarks Justin Bond, the mistress of Shortbus. I see myself and my generation in this film and the for the first time I see sex on screen that's trying to tell me something real and it's enough to make you cry.

4. The Fountain I'll keep this one short as I reviewed this film in depth already. But I love this bizarre futuristic gorgeous love story. Certainly not your average anything and the visuals and score are enough to put your butt in a seat to see this film.

5. Away From Her - The Canadian star system although necessary is sometimes our downfall. The same ten people seem to get all the funding even if the product is constantly cringe worthy. When I heard Sarah Polley was premiering her first feature in TIFF, I was certainly intrigued and after it was said and done I give the girl full credit.

Away From Her is the nuanced and touching story of Grant (Gordon Pinsent) and Fiona (Julie Christie) as they attempt to deal with love, loss and confusion in the face of Fiona's Alzheimers. It may sound too TV movie to you but it's impossible to convey the careful performance of the cast and Polley's crisp pacing. Expect this film to take everything it can grab at the Genies this year...and maybe some other nod's too.

WORST MOVIE OF THE FEST

The Silence - Wow... It's been a long time since I wanted to walk so badly out of a theater. TIFF has taken many made for TV projects into the festival that were downright amazing including A Pervert's Guide to Cinema and Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke" but this made for TV disaster should get someone fired.

Giant plot holes, cheesy characters and one of the most outlandish murder mystery plot of all time... these screenwriters should be put in the corner for a lengthy time out for lying to the audience.