Earlier today, I kicked off the last of my TIFFing at a reception announcing this year's jury and people's choice picks. While my festival favourites (Fish Tank, The Time That Remains, Life During Wartime) were overlooked at the Awards, a surprising new list of must-see titles emerged.

The roundup of TIFF 2009 winners looks like this:

Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI) for Special Presentations:
Bruno Dumont's Hadewijch (France)

Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI) for Discovery:
Laxmikant Shetgaonkar's The Man Beyond the Bridge (India)

SKYY Vodka Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film:
Alexandre Franchi's The Wild Hunt

City of Toronto and Astral Media's The Movie Network Award for the Best Canadian feature Film:
Ruba Nadda's Cairo Time

Award for Best Canadian Short:
Pedro Pires' Danse Macabre
(With and "honourable mention" to Jamie Travis for The Armoire)

Cadillac People's Choice Award:
Lee Daniels' Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
(Bruce Beresford`s Mao`s Last Dancer and Jean-Pierre Jeunet`s Micmacs were first and second runners-up)

Cadillac People's Choice Award - Documentary:
Leanne Pooley 's The Topp Twins

Cadillac People's Choice Award - Midnight Madness:
Sean Byrne's The Loved Ones

A first-come, first-served race is on for free tickets to see the top People's Choice pick Precious, available at 7pm today at the Elgin Theatre box office, for a 9pm screening of the film.

Failing that, a festival wrap party is in the works at Yonge-Dundas Square. Eclectic Method from London are on the bill, set to remix clips from television, film, music and video game footage. Clyde Stubblefield, Chuck D and "other special guests" are expected in the Square from 9 to 11 pm (on September 19th).

The Toronto International Film Festival wraps up today. Here's what we've seen since our last set of reviews.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

The Road
Watching this is everything I imagined post-apocalyptic North America to be. Based on Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name, The Road is haunting and chilling, partly because of Viggo Mortensen and Australian child star Kodi Smit-McPhee, who translate the story well, but mostly because visually, it's just damn epic. Forget DVDs or Internet streaming -- check this one out in a proper theatre for full effect. (Connie)

Bunny + the Bull
One of my absolute favourites this year. Like his work on cult BBC show The Mighty Boosh, director Paul King provided enough eye candy here to keep me buzzing for the next few weeks. In fact, just imagine the creative freedom of a 6-year-old tripping out on acid, and presto! Bunny and the Bull. The story and timelines follow a similar treatment, with recluse Stephen Turnbull and his friend Bunny taking a surreal road trip through Europe and Stephen's own apartment. Fun, whimsical, and jaw-droppingly creative. (Connie)

RECOMMENDED

Mother
Bong Joon-ho, the man behind The Host (i.e., the best monster movie ever), abandons the CGI for this subtle murder mystery. Set in small town South Korea, a not-so-bright young man is about to take the rap for killing a pretty girl. Bong Joon-ho brings a new monster to the big screen in Mother, revealed when the boy`s mother takes on her own investigation to get her son off the hook. (Chandra)

Collapse
Fans of American Movie (director Chris Smith's acclaimed '99 doc) will have to switch gears a little bit; this one's strictly a talking head piece on one single guy: political journalist and radical thinker Michael Ruppert. Though he's a doc maker's dream -- articulate and opinionated -- don't go into this hoping for grand new revelations on political and environmental matters. The content is something we've heard over and over again (peak oil, government conspiracies, etc.), but it's a great record of a man who's fought against popular opinion for a long time and is, sadly, suffering for it. (Connie)

Soul Kitchen
Nothing ground-breaking in this one, but I had a fun time watching it. Seamless dramatic comedy about a guy bouncing between his restaurant and relationship troubles/successes. Put this in the feel-good-about-life pile. (Connie)

While this site doesn't employ our own paparrazi to track down the likes of Clooney, Penelope and Oprah, we've enjoyed checking out photos of TIFF that have been submitted over the past week to our Flickr pool. Here are some of our favourites.

Photos by blogTO Flickr poolers wvs, Ryan Coleman, chewie2008~, eudaimon, Fifth Business, and Reza Vaziri. Slideshow photos by additional pool members.

We're just past the halfway mark at this year's TIFF. Here are the films we've seen since our last batch of reviews.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Harry Brown
A pitch-perfect genre picture, Harry Brown sees Michael Caine hitting a career high performance as a kindly pensioner - and former IRA-fighting Marine, naturally - who becomes a vigilante when his neighbourhood is overrun by street gangs. Immaculately crafted in every detail, this is a masterpiece of script and execution. (Matt)

Life During Wartime
Todd Solondz is not a director of warm and fuzzy movies (see Storytelling or Palindromes). However, expecting the cringe-worthiest of drama, I came out of Life During Wartime unscathed... and even a little bit moved. Set in sunny Florida, the film revisits some of the characters from Solondz' acclaimed Happiness, a decade later and with entirely different ensemble cast (including Ally Sheedy and Paul "Pee-wee" Reubens). The unsettling suicide, pedophilia, and dysfunctional family plots continue here, but this time with an emphasis on understanding and forgiveness. Oh, and did I mention that the film is funny? (Chandra)

Chloe
Atom Egoyan's latest is set in Toronto making this the biggest budget film in recent memory where Toronto actually gets to play itself. The Rivoli, Cafe Diplomatico, the Hazelton Hotel and LeVack Block all make appearances, but none of that would matter if the local auteur wasn't on top of his game (he is) and supported by stellar performances from Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore. (Tim)

RECOMMENDED

My Queen Karo
This lovely tale of a young girl growing up in a hippie commune in Amsterdam in the 1970s asks intelligent questions about the ethics of raising a child. Karo (Anna Francisca Jager, in a stunning child performance) must navigate the free love ideals of her father and all the challenges that come of a life without boundaries. (Matt)

Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel
There's more to porn master Hugh Hefner than his silk housecoats and blonde bimbo entourage. Director Brigitte Berman goes back through ol' Hef's Playboy years and his active participation in the civil rights movement (where he brought blacks and whites together on television at a time when this was inconceivable). Gasp! Though the doc is a bit long and, yet, still omits some decades, it successfully documents an ambitious man who knows what he wants and does what he wants, proving he's more than the one-dimensional publishing icon you think he is. And no matter where you stand on the smut/feminism debate, you just may come out thinking Hef's a pretty cool guy. (Connie)

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Set in post-Katrina New Orleans, this bad lieutenant is prone to having hilarious coke-induced outbursts. Detective Terence McDonagh (Nicholas Cage) develops a drug habit after being diagnosed with painful back issues. When his gambling and miscellaneous debts start to mount, Terence's ethics get a little shifty. Port of Call New Orleans is part cop flick, part love story, and most of all, Werner Herzog's exploration of the crumbled city. (Chandra)

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
Werner, Werner, what have ye done? My Son, My Son opens with Brad (Michael Shannon) in his house surrounded by cops. He has just killed his mother and claims to be holding two more people hostage. After his girlfriend (Chloë Sevigny) and stage director (Udo Kier) show up on the scene, it becomes obvious that Brad is COMPLETELY INSANE. We get a bizarre series of flashbacks to illustrate this point, including a visit to an ostrich farm to pick up a giant sword. Some people walked out, but I had a good laugh. (Chandra)

Leslie, My Name Is Evil
Local editor-turned-filmmaker Reginald Harkema (Monkey Warfare) offers up this campy take on the sensationalistic Manson trial. A young chemist from an all-American family accepts a seat on the trial's jury - where deliberations hit a snag when he develops a crush on one of the Manson girls, Leslie. (Chandra)

NOT RECOMMENDED

Accident
A clever idea, about a team of hit men who stage elaborate accidents so that the murders will appear accidental, Accident goes off the rails in its second half when the principal character becomes obsessed with surveilling a potential foe. Attention filmmakers: watching someone listen to electronic listening devices on a pair of headphones is BORING. (Matt)

Here are the films we've seen in our last set of TIFF reviews.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A Prophet
This film won the Grand Prix at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and had no trouble winning over audiences at the Visa Screening Room last night who gave director Jacques Audiard and a couple of cast members a standing ovation. The film is set in a French prison and chronicles the six years spent there by a young, illiterate North African inmate who is forced to navigate the rival Corsican and Arab gangs. (Tim)

The Disappearance of Alice Creed
Don't let anyone tell you a single thing about this movie. It's got the best use of plot turns you're going to see in the festival. A terrific three-hander, as a girl is abducted off the street by two men with ransom ambitions. Where they go from there is amazing, gripping, and a hell of a lot of fun. (Matt)

The Hole
This is the movie Zathura was swinging for and didn't quite hit: the best family adventure since Goonies. Leave it to Joe Dante (Gremlins, Innerspace) to drag us back to that 80s movie vibe by making a kids' thriller that actually thrills. It features creepy little girls, a psychotic clown doll, and a hole to nowhere. What? You want more than that? Fine: it's in 3-D! (Matt)

Cleanflix
Hollywood takes on The Church of Latter Day Saints in a doc about the Utah clean-video empire and the scandalous video store owners who butchered and sold popular movies in accordance to decrees by Mormon prophets. Stirs up interesting conversations about copyright, religion, censorship, and morality. Anyone interested in the art of film will love this one. (Connie)

Trash Humpers
Director Harmony Korine warned those prone to walking out of movies to "walk out now" as "this movie probably isn't for you." How true. It's Korine's edgiest, most experimental piece so far, and, as with most of his work, is an extremely difficult watch. Not only is the content odd -- social misfits who wreak havoc, humping whatever they can get their crotches on -- it's also disjointed and shot entirely on VHS, resulting in hefty doses of tape auto-tracking and snow. Guaranteed original, uniquely raw, beauty in a stark American landscape. You'll love or hate it. With some Gravol and an open mind, you may just get it. Maybe. (Connie)

RECOMMENDED

The White Ribbon
Michael Haneke's cold, brooding film about mounting unrest in a pre-WWI German village asks a lot of its audience, but the results are worthwhile. Haneke's craftsmanship is in superb form here. What the film has to say about the birthplace of terror is worth mulling when you're walking away from the theatre, and will probably stay with you a lot longer than that. A warning though: at 2 1/2 hours, and never even attempting to explain itself, this one is challenging. (Matt)

Police, Adjective
In February, I fell in love. It was the Toronto-Romanian Film Festival that introduced me to a recent crop of acclaimed filmmakers sometimes referred to as the Romanian New Wave. The love affair continues with Police, Adjective. Corneliu Porumboiu (12:08 East of Bucharest) directs this understated work about a cop who cannot bring himself to arrest a teenager for smoking a joint - a crime that would land the kid in jail for years according to Romanian drug laws. Porumboiu makes some profound statements in this film, though most of the content is made up of mundane scenes from the cop's home life and a few clever conversations. (Chandra)

Big Eyes
This 1974 classic honours iconic Tel Avivian filmmaker Uri Zohar, as part of the Festival's controversial City to City program. Big Eyes is a solid document of the city in the '70s, with the characters echoing the fashion and mannerisms of their friends across the pond. Very strong movie, from the plot to the visuals, the Welcome-Back-Kotteresque theme song, and the great cast, including Zohar himself as womanizer Benny Furman. Powerful film about loyalty and relationships that still stands today. (Connie)

The House of Branching Love
A messy divorce just keeps getting messier in this romantic comedy by Finnish director Mika Kaurismäki. The couple in question set some ground rules for the house, a gameplan for co-habitating. Juhani picks up and brings a girl home that same night, which leads to a cigar toss, a fire, and a whole lot of yelling. It all goes downhill from there. (Chandra)

NOT RECOMMENDED

Defendor
A striking sentiment I heard from two different groups after the film: "That was very... Canadian." Wherever you stand on that comment, it carries a lot of weight, and I can't help but agree. Without the pull of Woody Harrelson, I doubt the concept of a Hamilton-based vigilante superhero could arouse Canadian crowds. Furthermore, the film doesn't go far enough, the technique and character development of the supporting cast is forced, and the stylistic approach of the film is confusing. (Connie)

The Ape
This film had the highest number of walk-outs I've seen this year. In fact, every time someone got up, I felt a little envious myself, wishing I could do the same -- unfortunately, I'd heard so much about this film and expected it to get better... It never happened. Slow mover of a tale that follows a protagonist on a convoluted journey. Had some moments but left unsatisfied. (Connie)

Meanwhile, on Craigslist, a healthy after-market is surfacing for tickets to the most sought-after films. The second George Clooney flick, Up in the Air (see review here), which screens at the Ryerson tonight at 6pm is seeing bids of more than $100 a ticket - a 500% premium over the box office price. It's a reminder that TIFF isn't just about seeing good films from around the world, it's big (or at least a healthy) business for pro or one-off scalpers.

In fact, it's enough to make me seriously consider whether I should be selling my pair of tickets above to subsidize my entire 10 ticket package, if not a nice trip somewhere.

Now that we're two days into TIFF we've actually been able to get into regular screenings and watch films with our fellow festival-going public. Here's what we've seen since our last set of reviews.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Fish Tank
Andrea Arnold is proving to be a powerhouse of a filmmaker. Fish Tank follows her acclaimed first feature Red Road - and packs just as much punch. The film's juicy bit is a budding relationship between a 15 year old and her mother's boyfriend, but it's the startlingly real characters that drive the story. This is the set up: Mia is a tough delinquent type and her young mom is a hot party chick. In a volatile and alcoholic household, the arrival of a seemingly solid paternal figure, Connor (played by Michael Fassbender from Hunger), intensifies the rift between the two women. This is not your not your run-of-the-mill teen angst movie. (Chandra)

The Time That Remains
In a blast of previews for future blockbusters over the past couple of weeks, The Time That Remains is a welcome reminder of why I line up for TIFF every year - to, by luck or word of mouth, stumble into an original and moving film that may not get a wide release later. Elia Suleiman writes, directs, and stars in this comedic retelling of key events in his family's history. It's a sharp personal account of a Palestinian family, their friends and neighbours, and the unpredictable land they live in. (Chandra)

Broken Embraces
Pedro Almodovar fans won't be disappointed with his latest effort. There are lots of familiar faces in this one including muse #1 Penelope Cruz. They have a brilliant screenplay to work with that includes some scenes with the best dialogue I've heard in recent film-going memory. It's best not to know what this flick is about so just go. (Tim)

RECOMMENDED

An Education
A finely-pitched British melodrama, nicely accomplished and quite sweet. Carey Mulligan gives a star-making turn as Jenny, a teenage girl with Oxford ambitions who is waylaid by a charming older man (Peter Sarsgaard). Nick Hornby's script stays a step ahead of the
"cusp of womanhood" cliches, and has something to say about having to arm young women with the ability to find their value in a world that so quickly wants to assign it to them. (Matt)

Creation
A safe pick for the festival opener, Creation is your standard - and who knows, maybe even Oscar-friendly - period piece. It covers the stretch in Charles Darwin's life when he begins to write up his life's research, On the Origin of Species. Overcome with grief for his lost daughter, we find him ill, weepy, and a tad crazy. With that in mind, plus his groundbreaking scientific worldview, Darwin loses faith and begins to distance himself from his wife, other children, and the prevailing religious views of his community. The film also has good-looking leads with mega-star potential, the real-life couple Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly. Meh. (Chandra)

Enter the Void
Wow... really?! I asked myself as I scratched my head, walking out of Gaspar Noé's Enter the Void. The film is like a theme park ride... a very, very long ride. Siblings with an (almost) incestuous relationship share a one-room flat in Tokyo. Their lives have been shaped by the loss of their parents in a violent car accident many years ago, a gory scene that is repeated several times through the movie. Oscar is a drug dealer and Linda is a stripper. Oscar gets shot and dies. For what seems to be an eternity, the camera hovers above the action, from Oscar's perspective as his "spirit" watches over Linda. Noé (I Stand Alone, Irréversible) continues to push the envelope by imagining death as a bad psychedelic trip, filling the screen with an experimental mix of sex, memories, and eye popping colour. (Chandra)

Up in the Air
Fans of Thank You for Smoking and Juno might be a little disappointed with Jason Reitman's latest. George Clooney delivers his usual charm as Ryan Bingham, a man who fires people for a living and spends most his time flying around the U.S. to do it. Ryan is happy with his transient existence until he finds Mrs. Right and is confronted with the idea that teleconferencing will eliminate his need to travel. A light, heartfelt portait of a middle-aged professional surviving in a crumbling economy. (Chandra)

Jennifer's Body
Hell is a teenage girl, all right, but this movie seems a draft shy of figuring out exactly what it's trying to say about that. There's some good stuff here as Jennifer (Megan Fox, cuz who else can play the most beautiful teenager/demon on the planet?) turns bad while her needy best friend Needy (Amanda Seyfried) tries to sort out their muddled relationship, but muddled subtext and a dearth of real scares keep Jennifer's Body out of the "classic" frame. (Matt)

NOT RECOMMENDED

Dogtooth
The kind of obtuse, slow-moving, foreign film that puts newbies off TIFF for life. I can't deny that this tale of a hyper-controlling father isolating his family from the rest of the world accomplishes what it sets out to do, but everything this movie has to say can be
found in the first ten minutes; the rest is just variations on the theme. Startling use of unexpected graphic violence, plus the obligatory incest angle, wake the audience up when things become too languid. (Matt)

Looking for TIFF related videos? There's no shortage of them now that the annual film festival has begun. Both local and international media are obsessed with covering TIFF - many of them chasing the same photos, the same sound bytes and the same moving images. It's enough to drive a media pundit crazy. With so many worthy stories not being covered by both traditional and online outlets, why dedicate precious resources to publish the same stuff that can be widely read or viewed elsewhere?

The answer of course lies in the fact that (a) we live in a celebrity obsessed culture and (b) marketers are clamoring to have their brands associate with TIFF-related content. Just pick up the latest issue of NOW to see this in action where a thick, largely meaningless multi-page film festival insert has been included just so they can plug a certain European beer brand. But, hey, we'd sell out too if we could. Right?

But, alas, this post isn't supposed to be about all that. We're talking TIFF videos. Over the next 10 days there will be plenty uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo and other video sharing sites, but there are also a number of web sites and online production companies making an effort to stand out from the clutter. Here are a few of them.

The Substream

This is a local site that's going to be focusing on covering as many of the Midnight Madness screenings as they can possibly stomach. But they've also already posted a number of preview posts and tips on how-to-festival like the How To Rush a Film video below.

Red Carpet Diary

A company called Mediathink is creating a series of TIFF videos that it's syndicating on sites like the Hollywood Reporter and Toronto Life. Most of the videos are branded Red Carpet Diary and basically include interviews of stars on the red carpet.

Toronto Newspapers

There are also TIFF advertorials, er, videos on some mainstream newspaper sites like the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and National Post (below). Of the three, the Globe's are definitely better production quality but the content is a bit underwhelming for something that claims to the status of Canada's national newspaper. But points go to the Star and the Post for actually letting other sites embed their videos.

The Associated Press

One of the world's largest content syndication services is creating good quality but ultimately bland host-less videos on the red carpet that it will no doubt be offering to all their mainstream news partner sites.

TIFF Media Gallery

TIFF is posting a combination of film clips and audio slideshows to the video section of its web site. So far they seem to be a very random selection and aren't all that interesting. There also doesn't seem to be a way for other sites to embed them.

While stalking celebrities is a cheap way to kill time between screenings, as luck would have it, there are plenty of other free (and worthwhile!) TIFF events scheduled throughout this year's fest.

Free Screening: People's Choice Award Winner

Those pesky little ballots that volunteers collect after every movie determine which film will win the prestigious Cadillac People's Choice Award.

On the afternoon of September 19th, TIFF will announce the audience favourite (check in here) and (at 7pm) will release tickets for a free screening of the film. This first-come, first-served race will take place at the Elgin Theatre box office - where the festival's most popular film will screen at 9pm that same night. Last year's winner Slumdog Millionaire picked up the first of its heap of awards from Toronto audiences.

Yonge-Dundas Square Outdoor Lineup

TIFF steps up its outdoor programming this year with red carpet-worthy rock and movie stars. My calendar is marked up and circled - in three different colours - for the September 14th North American premiere of The Neil Young Trunk Show with a scheduled appearance by the man himself, plus acclaimed director Jonathan Demme (at 9pm).

A special edition of the Toronto Zombie Walk is in the works to celebrate George A. Romero's latest, Survival of the Dead, running in this year's Midnight Madness programme. The walk starts at 3:30 on Saturday, September 12th at Alexandra Park (Bathurst/Dundas) and goes on to Yonge-Dundas Square by 6pm to greet Romero and to screen his 1968 zombie classic Night of the Living Dead.

"Stars" are expected at a Whip It roller-derby event on September 13th (will Drew Barrymore or Ellen Page show?) and Joan Baez is playing a short concert on September 18th. There is a live satellite feed rigged from the Roy Thomson Hall red carpet gala on the festival's opening night, swing-dance lessons, the National Ballet of Canada, and the list goes on.

The 12 o'clock noon slot is devoted to a TIFF Live In Concert Film Series (Woodstock, the Talking Heads' in Stop Making Sense, and even Madonna's Truth or Dare), meanwhile TIFF Shhh! Silent Film Series run weekdays at 3pm (Steamboat Bill Jr., 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea).

A full schedule is available on the Yonge-Dundas Square website.

The Other Red Carpet

Improv In Toronto is hosting a fake red carpet on Saturday, September 12th in the park outside of the West Bay Station entrance. This unofficial event has an unnamed TV network sponsor and a secret celebrity guest lined up.

Organizers are inviting volunteers to dig out their prom dresses and sign up to be a "star" (warning: an unusual strut on the carpet in expected). For everyone else, the plan is "to cause some chaos in the middle of an international event" between 1:45pm and 4pm at Cumberland and Bellair. My plan here is to haul out the biggest camera I own and try to get a spot in the fake paparazzi pit.

Future Projections

For the artier art house set, Future Projections is TIFF's installation and film-related artwork programme, with free exhibits set up all over town.

Three films (Civilization, The Shape of Things, This Transition Will Never End #6) will be projected every night from 8pm to 12am on the future Bell Lightbox at King and John. Isabella Rossellini revisits her Green Porno series "to make a magical installation out of the sea-creature films and sculptures." Green Porno: Scandalous Sea is on the main floor of the ROM. For more, visit the official TIFF site.

Still from Whip It courtesy of TIFF

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Hipsters
Okay. Let me preface this by saying if you hate musical theatre, you may not like this one. But despite my very own pre-existing disinterest in the genre, everything about this flick -- the colours, the music, the fake saxophone playing, the costuming, and the dramatic love story -- kept me hostage. I credit it to the Moscow setting, which definitely eased the cheese factor of similar theatrical productions based in North America. Communist Russia meets Swing Kids meets Footloose. Chalk this under well-filmed Guilty Pleasure. (Connie)

RECOMMENDED

Ahead of Time
Watching 97-year-old ol' Ruth Gruber shakily snap a picture puts everything in perspective. Gruber takes us through her Russian-Jewish-Brooklyn roots and reviews her achievements, speaking like they're no big deal at all -- as a jet-setting government official, foreign correspondent, and youngest person to receive a doctorate (age 20), despite ongoing hurdles being a professional woman in the trying mid-1900s. And she's not even jaded. Kinda makes me feel I should be doing more with my life. (Connie)

A Gun to the Head
I'm going to go out on a limb and recommend this tale of two cousins reuniting for a trainwreck of a night in Vancouver. It's very likely that Trevor is avoiding a dinner party with his wife's boss when he agrees to meet Darren at a strip club. A beer turns into a ride, then a party, and a few bumps, all while gun-toting drug dealers are on their trail. At first glance, the cheap looking video seemed to be an unlikely pick for one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, but the home movie aesthetic gave the evening an all too familiar feel. A Gun to the Head is directed by New Pornographer Blaine Thurier. (Chandra)

Youth In Revolt
Fun, but not exactly buzzworthy, Youth In Revolt has Michael Cera playing an awkward but charming teen who meets the girl of his dreams on a trailer park holiday. Forced to return home with his virginity intact, Nick Twisp (Cera) schemes and goes against his law-abiding nature to get the girl. Although it isn't much of a departure from all of Cera's previous roles, the formula seems to be working for him. And, I'd mention that Steve Buscemi is cast as the dad, but Cera's is the only character that gets any screen time in this movie. (Chandra)

5 Hours From Paris
A sweet Israeli movie about love, honesty, dreams, and encountering your fears head on... oh, and infidelity (which seems to be a common theme in this year's Festival). It's light, no-frills, and showcases Tel Aviv and its working-class suburbs and people well. Dror Keren is particularly memorable as one of its citizens, giving the role of cab driver Yigal a vulnerably sweet touch. I almost wanted to take him home, too. (Connie)

Giulia Doesn't Date at Night
And yet another one of those films on infidelity... and this one's all right, too -- a well-paced, sweet, and emotional story about a man, whose desire to date his daughter's swimming instructor, Giulia, is hampered by her moodiness and inability to go out at night. (Connie)

The Boys Are Back
Clive Owen goes to the Australian outback in this sensitive turn as Joe Warr, a sports writer who has just lost his wife. It takes about a half hour for the story to be set up. Just when I was about to sneak out, Joe's son from a previous marriage turns up along with memories of the family he left behind in England. Throw in some father/son relationship drama, cue the kangaroo, and you have a very watchable movie. (Chandra)

Les Herbes Folles
Film buffs are gonna curse me for not putting this in a higher category, but something about this one seems... off. Alain Resnais' Les Herbes Folles had so much promise. It had me at the opening scene -- dreamy, saturated, gracefully shot, with punchy narration typical of over-thinkers everywhere. Unfortunately, beyond the first half hour, the intent of the characters grows questionable and confusing; watching them flail about in their flaws and insecurities is taxing to watch. Not a complete write-off, though; the visuals will probably set your loins on fire. And the fact that I'm still thinking about it today is a sign of some depth. Decide for yourself. (Connie)

Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould
Glenn Gould is one of Canada's most revered artists, a musical prodigy who came to fame in his twenties (during the post-war period in the fifties and sixties). Although Gould has been the subject of countless biographies and documentaries before this one, I hadn't seen any of these and very much appreciated the history lesson. Plus, doc-makers Michèle Hozer and Peter Raymont dug up a bit of dirt on the man's personal life. (Chandra)

Crackie
Poverty, neglect, abandonment... it should be a sad story but Sherry White's first feature about a small town Newfoundland girl with dreams of becoming a hairdresser never goes there. Mitsy lives in a shack with her grandmother (Mary Walsh). She's flunking out of school and sleeping with a total ass. And so, a new untrained dog, Sparky, becomes the center of her small universe. (Chandra)

NOT RECOMMENDED

Phantom Pain
As a general rule, I tend to avoid TIFF Galas. Phantom Pain confirms my impression that Gala selections are all about style more than substance. Til Schweiger is a big star in Germany and recently appeared in Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, so the red carpets are rolling out for him. In Phantom Pain, Schweiger loses a leg (but not his charm) and continues to be adored by his ever-supportive daughter and girlfriend - much more than he deserves. (Chandra)

Hadewijch
There are two camps when it comes to Bruno Dumont films. One camp includes fawning art lovers, who analyze every lengthy shot and every twitch of the characters' mouths. Then there's the other group, who think his films are pretentious pieces of drivel. I fall in the latter camp. Hajewich is a tiresome film of his trademark lengthy shots, mixed in with his beloved religious undertones and overtones. In fact, the religious metaphors near the end almost did my head in, especially after two hours of eye-rolling and head-nodding. My movie-going partner and I put our heads between our legs in defeat. Next. (Connie)

Mall Girls
The stills TIFF posted for this Polish film, of teenage girls in heavy makeup hanging out at the mall, drew me in to the screening. Beyond the big plastic jewellery and gum chewing, Katarzyna Roslaniec's film paints a portrait of cruel and self-absorbed adolescence. And beyond that, the story is a little thin. (Chandra)

Agora
Fans of Alejandro Amenabar will be disappointed with this latest film, an odd departure for him that focuses on religious battles between Christians, Jews and Pagans around late 300 AD. Agora isn't terrible but the roles are miscast and there are a number of bizarre earth panning sequences (see trailer above) that do little except distract from the events at hand. (Tim)

Previously: TIFF Reviews

Short Cuts is like a fest within The Fest, running five full programmes and pairing some odds and ends (each under 50 minutes in length) with screenings of Canadian features. Thrillers, dark comedies, and the latest from animation guru Cordell Barker top my list of standouts in this year's set.

The Armoire (Jamie Travis, 22 min.)
Rich with mystery and dead-on early '90s set design, The Armoire centers on a young boy whose best friend has just gone missing. Through his eyes, a dark childhood tale unfolds as we watch the chain of events from a hide-and-seek game gone awry. Please give Jamie some money to make a feature - this is one of the strongest entries in all of TIFF that I've previewed to date. (Short Cuts Canada Programme 4)

5 Dysfunctional People in a Car (Pat Mills, 5 min.)
Michelle, Jake, Nancy, Christina, and "Grandma" are five dysfunctional people in a car. Curiously absent from the film's title is Grandma's bitter and angry little dog David, also along for the ride. (with Gun to the Head)

My Toxic Baby (Min Sook Lee, 45 min.)
Lauded local doc-maker Min Sook Lee returns with a very personal exploration of the toxic hazards in her infant daughter's environment (and possible ways of reducing them). What struck me about Lee's angle is her realistic investigation of the various "alternative" parenting options: she dares to consider the costs involved and whether it would be practical for her to implement them with her own family. (Short Cuts Canada Programme 1)

Runaway (Cordell Barker, 9 min.)
Fans of The Cat Came Back and Strange Invaders are in for a treat - NFB star animator Cordell Barker is back with Runaway, a crazy wreck of a crowded train ride. As if I needed more reasons to be excited about this film, the journey is accompanied by the music of Ben Charest who composed the score for The Triplets of Belleville. (Short Cuts Canada Programme 3)

Danse Macabre (Pedro Pires, 9 min.)
Fresh from winning the Best Experimental Short Award at the Worldwide Short Film Festival in June, Danse Macabre features a beautiful corpse performing dance-like motions. It may sound like a necrophiliac's daydream, but trust me, Pires' gorgeous and haunting visuals deserve another big screen run. (Short Cuts Canada Programme 4)

Snow Hides the Shade of Fig Trees (Samer Najari, 21 min.)
A vanload of recent immigrants spend a long day delivering flyers in Montreal. They share stories and complain about the cold, and are briefly distracted by a peculiar new guy from Russia. (Short Cuts Canada Programme 2)

A Hindu's Indictment of Heaven (Dev Khanna, 12 min.)
In the opening scene of A Hindu's Indictment of Heaven, a young woman on her death bed promises to wait for her "soul mate" in heaven. In the meantime, she hangs out with God at the gates, playing paddle ball and checkers for 10 years. (with Machotaildrop)

Unlocked (Mio Adilman, 15 min.)
Shot down the street from my house and capturing some of the frustration of being a cyclist in Toronto, Unlocked is too familiar. Having his bike double-locked by other cyclists wears down the hero in this story until an emotional breakdown seems inevitable.

Also watch for: Ben Bruhmuller's eerie animated boxing match in Vs., the world premiere of Guy Maddin's Night Mayor commission for the NFB's 70th anniversary, and promising newcomer Paramita Nath's debut Found. Plus, La Chute, Record, Naissances... I could go on.

Stills from The Armoire and My Toxic Baby courtesy of TIFF.

SEPTEMBER 10TH

Sook Yin Lee's Year of the Carnivore Party
The DNTO host's first feature film debuts on TIFF's opening night at the Varsity (7:30 PM) and to celebrate she's lined up a soiree at Rolly's Garage on Ossington. Expect a live music performance by Buck 65 and perhaps the budding auteur herself.

SEPTEMBER 11TH

Windsor Arms 10th Anniversary Celebration in support of Artists for Peace and Justice
This invite-only party is being thrown for the benefit of Artists for Peace and Justice and celebrate this boutique hotel's 10th year on St. Thomas St. Canadian Paul Haggis and Olivia Wilde are expected to attend.

The Trotsky Premiere Party
Jacob Tierney's Trotsky has two screenings at TIFF including the premiere on Friday night (9 PM) at the Ryerson. To celebrate, the cast (including Colme Feore and Jay Baruchel) will be consuming plenty of vodka at the Russian-themed Pravda Vodka Bar.

Suck Premiere Party
Any movie about vampires in a rock band with cameos from Moby and Iggy Pop is destined to put on a bloody good party. This one goes down at the Phoenix following the film's 9:30PM screening at the Varsity.

SEPTEMBER 12TH

Hello! Magazine Film Festival Cocktail Party
TIFF may be moving screenings out of Yorkville in a couple of years but that won't stop parties from booking venues along Bloor like this one at the diamond studded Birks. Expect paparazzi aplenty snapping pics of Hollywood celebs like Michael Douglas, Woody Harrelson and Mary Louise Parker.

Concert in Support of ONEXONE
The events calendar on ONEXONE's web site hasn't been updated since 2008 so trust me that Mary J. Blidge is in fact scheduled to belt out some songs at the Kool Haus. $100 early bird tickets are now available.

Down for Life Post-Screening Party
Maro Supper Club hosts Danny Glover, one of the leads in this film that premieres tonight (9:30 PM) at the AMC. No word yet on whether Snoop Dog plans to attend. Open to the public after 10 PM. $10 Cover.

Solitary Man Post-Screening Party
Michael Douglas and Danny Devito reunite in this comedy also starring Susan Sarandon and Jesse Eisenberg. They are both expected to show at Brant House following the screening (9 PM) at the Varsity. Open to the public after 10 PM. $10 Cover.

SEPTEMBER 13TH

Norman Jewison's Annual CFC BBQ
This annual sprawling event at the Canadian Film Centre campus on Bayiew always attracts a who's-who of Canadian cinema, some local politicians as well as thousands of the school's grads. Lots of free food and beer served for those lucky to score an invite.

Cairo Time Premiere Party
This Canadian production starring Patricia Clarkson screens at the Winter Garden Theatre (8:30 PM) after which the film's director and stars will retreat to King West's Spice Route.

Good Hair Premiere Party
Get down with comedian Chris Rock who will be showcasing his first documentary at this year's TIFF. The venue? The Great Banking Hall at One King West.

Future Projections Artist Reception
The Drake Sky Yard celebrates artists featured in TIFF's renowned video art program. Free and open to the public from 2 - 4 PM.

SEPTEMBER 14TH

Mother and Child Pre Screening Cocktail & Party
Serious star power just might show at this intimate afternoon soiree sponsored by Swarovski at the Fairmont Royal York. Samuel Jackson, Naomi Watts and Annette Bening headline the cast expected to attend.

Leaves of Grass Post-Screening Party
Edward Norton gets plenty of screen time in this new film premiering tonight (9 PM) at the Ryerson. K-OS will be the guest DJ welcoming him with the rest of the cast and crew at Cheval. Open to the public after 10 PM. $10 Cover.

SEPTEMBER 15TH

InStyle Magazine Party
The Windsor Arms plays host to InStyle Magazine's annual TIFF party - this one not celebrating a specific film, but instead a bash aiming to attract Canadian stars like Keanu Reeves and Michael Cera.

Cinema Against AIDS Benefit Party for amfAR and Dignitas International
Sarah McLachlan will perform at this black tie gala at the Carlu aiming to raise funds for AIDS research. Michelle Yeoh, Sarah Ferguson and Stanley Tucci are some of the attendees who will bring in cash through live auctions and a locavore friendly menu plated by Jamie Kennedy. Tickets start at the recession friendly price of $1,000.

SEPTEMBER 16TH

Cooking with Stella Premiere Party
Deepa Mehta's brother will be unveiling his first feature film at TIFF this year with a gala screening (6:30 PM) at Roy Thomson Hall. After, stars including Don McKellar and Lisa Ray will bring their appetite to Liberty Village to munch on nibbles courtesy of Mildred's Temple Kitchen.

SEPTEMBER 18TH

TIFF Awards Event
The festival isn't over yet but that won't stop awards from being dished out during this reception at Bloor St's InterContinental Hotel. SKYY Vodka (who helped us put together this list) will be presenting an award for Best Canadian First Feature Film.

Photo by Notorious Indian on Flickr

Although I wasn't able to find any details about the film on TIFF's official website, from the Programme Book it looks like Covered was originally scheduled to run in the Short Cuts Canada Programme 5 on September 15th and 16th. Greyson has decided host his own screening by making the film available on Vimeo (embedded above) until the end of the festival.

While Greyson makes it clear he has no beef with the films or filmmakers participating at TIFF, he rejects the spotlight's perceived (but unofficial) affiliation with the Brand Israel campaign that has targeted Toronto since this time last year.

Greyson's withdrawal letter, sent to TIFF heads Piers Handling, Cameron Bailey and Noah Cowan, is embedded below:

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Antichrist
Is it really that provocative? Yep, I can confirm that Antichrist is in fact bold, disturbing, and cringe-worthy. Lars Von Trier imagines a couple grieving after the loss of their child. She is inconsolable, he comes up with a treatment plan (he's a therapist) that involves spending time in an isolated cottage. Of course, this is just the beginning. Willem Dafoe and gutsy Charlotte Gainsbourg then get violent with each other. And the rest, not for the squeamish and not quite what I expected, is sure to become the subject of many theses. (Chandra)

J'ai tué ma mère
Xavier Dolan's directorial debut suffocates you with your worst family memory, shoves it down your throat, and tops the experience with a slight twist of your balls. If intense family melodrama isn't your bag, cross this off the list; the rest of us can sit back and let this 20-year-old's Cannes-celebrated piece leave an impression. Scathing accusations and vicious scream fests may be frustrating for some moviegoers, but it's this very uneasiness that kept me focused throughout. With great casting pieced together with art-school-esque/self-indulgent montages, this makes for a pretty engaging watch. (Connie)

Passenger Side
I've almost had it with road movies, their bickering protagonists, and life-changing revelations. However, there was something refreshing about Passenger Side -- Canadians reprezentin' in L.A., the super-cool soundtrack, the well-shot visual landscapes (without a Marilyn Monroe impersonator in sight)... It just worked. Sure, it suffers from the "Oh! Let's stop here and meet another quirky person!" quality of every 20- or 30-something road flick, but the sharp, smart-ass dialogue and brotherly camaraderie between Adam Scott and Joel Bissonnette's characters gives the movie a slight nudge above the rest. (Connie)

A Serious Man
Just when I was beginning to forget that the Coen Bros. are masters at developing rich and compelling stories, they come along with the not-so-subtle character piece A Serious Man. The man in question is Larry Gopnik, a suburban dad in 1967 Minnesota. His wife is leaving him for a family friend. His children are obnoxious. His brother is socially inept and living on his couch. Larry seeks counsel from multiple lawyers for his mounting legal troubles and multiple rabbis for his crisis of faith. The Coens throw humour into the mix. (Chandra)

RECOMMENDED

Partir
Partir found a goldmine in Kristin Scott Thomas. Without her, the story falls flat: we follow Suzanne (Thomas), a well-to-do housewife who schtupps a husky Spanish house builder, and then sacrifices everything to pursue this forbidden love, despite the forces against her. Groan. What's worse is how the ending was so blatantly revealed in the first few minutes, removing any anticipation and fun from the remaining run time. In fact, I'm not sure it deserves the "recommended" stamp, but Kristin Scott Thomas is so riveting and a treat to watch -- summoning sympathy for what could've been a thoroughly detestable character -- that I can't discount it... entirely. (Connie)

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
I'm not suggesting I've seen this film, but fans of Heath Ledger or Terry Gilliam likely won't be disappointed with the effort here. For more background, Vanity Fair has a great cover story on the making of this film and how production almost shut down in the wake of Ledger's death. (Tim)

Cole
Carl Bessai is on a roll with Normal, Mothers & Daughters, and now Cole, a rich girl/poor boy romance. The combination of scenic small-town British Columbia, well-developed characters, and a charming leading man (Richard de Klerk) make for a great low-key drama. (Chandra)

The Young Victoria
Although I can't quite pinpoint any faults with The Young Victoria, Jean-Marc Vallée's follow-up to C.R.A.Z.Y. was bound to be a little bit disappointing. The Quebecois filmmaker (who is behind one of the most acclaimed films to come out of Canada in years) takes on English history in this one. The film follows Victoria's struggles and romances during her first years on the throne. In this early period of her life, family members, politicians, and suitors went to great lengths to have influence on the inexperienced queen. The Young Victoria also has strong performances by very capable actors - Emily Blunt is in the title role as the rookie queen, Miranda Richardson is her unsupportive mother, and Paul Bettany is a debonair politician. (Chandra)

NOT RECOMMENDED

Carcasses
Filmmaker Denis Côté takes a part-documentary, part-fictional look at junkyard owner Jean-Paul Colmor and his automobile carcasses in small-town Quebec. By following his daily routines and interaction with customers and visitors, the film studies Colmor's comfort in solitude -- often at the real-time speed of life. And as it happens, his life unfolds very... very slowly. Despite the short run time (72 minutes), the observational perspective gets stale quickly, and maintaining focus is difficult. (Connie)

All Fall Down
Philip Hoffman pieces together footage from a historical film he was never paid for, scratched negatives, and personal videos in All Fall Down. While I appreciate the idea of re-cycling the commission for a personal project, this 95 minutes was a long ride. (Chandra)

Suck
The title of this Canadian made film is an apt description for how I felt about it. While spotting familiar Toronto sites and cameos from the likes of Iggy Pop, Moby and Alice Cooper kept me mildly interested, this was ultimately a bit of a mess and 90 minutes that could have been better spent re-watching the far superior Vampire flick Let the Right One In. (Tim)