By Sean Kelly
Galas
The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus
Out of all the gala presentations at this year’s festival, this is the one that sticks out for me. Of course, this film is infamous for being the film Heath Ledger was working on when he died — which resulted in some clever re-writes and re-casting to keep the film going. I don’t know if I would have been interested in the film if it wasn’t for the whole “Ledger’s Final Role” thing, but I am definitely interested now.
Dorian Gray
Does it make me seem uncultured if I say that the first time I heard of the story The Portrait of Dorian Gray was when I saw The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? Either way, I am definitely intrigued by this new adaptation of the novel, starring “Prince Caspian” in the title role.
Chloe
Atom Egoyan returns with his latest film. The interesting thing about this film is that not only does it have a big Hollywood cast (Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried), but it was also filmed in and takes place in Toronto, which is a rarity for a film of this calibre. I may see it for that fact alone.
Special Presentations
A Serious Man
The Coen Brothers return to the festival for the third year in a row with a dark comedy that is notable for the fact that it features mostly unknown actors. Should be interesting.
The Hole
Joe Dante’s new thriller is being advertised as the first 3D film at TIFF. That should be reason enough for me to try and check it out (that, and Dante’s Gremlins is one my favourites).
Up in the Air
After finding huge success with Juno, Jason Reitman returns with his third film, which looks to be a bit more in tune with Thank You for Smoking than his last effort.
Capitalism: A Love Story
As much as Michael Moore loves to stretch the truth, you have to admit that his “documentaries” are always entertaining.
The Invention of Lying
Ricky Gervais’ new film shows more promise than Ghost Town.
Midnight Madness
Jennifer’s Body
Diablo Cody wins an Oscar for writing Juno and goes on to write a darkly comic horror film that seems to bear quite a few similarities to Ginger Snaps. Either way, I’m sure my dislike of Megan Fox will help me root for Amanda Seyfried in this film.
Survival of the Dead
It used to be that George A. Romero would only direct a new zombie film once a decade. Now it seems that he’s directing a new one every couple of years. Good for him.
[Rec] 2
I find it sort of funny that a sequel is coming for a film that was only seen in North America via the remake Quarantine.
Daybreakers
The vampire craze continues with the new Ethan Hawke-starring film that portrays vampires as the evil monsters they should be rather than the romanticized version that teen girls swoon over.
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
The first film was a hit at the festival a few years ago and now Tony Jaa returns for some more crazy martial arts action.
Masters
Lars von Trier's Antichrist
Antichrist
Based on what I’ve heard, Lars von Trier’s latest will probably be without a doubt one of the most controversial and disturbing films playing at the festival this year. I doubt I will be able to stomach the film, however I still feel the need to mention it.
Vanguard
White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights
Two years ago, The White Stripes did a tour of Canada and this concert documentary is the result. The title suggests that this a follow-up to the band’s previous concert film Under Blackpool Lights.
I thought I would add that since writing this, I actually managed to nab tickets for Survival of the Dead, Jennifer’s Body, and The Hole, as well as a ticket for the Canadian vampire film Suck.
I’ll write thoughts on those and more throughout the week.
Oh man, another Michael Moore picture. He’s pretty good at convincing Americans things. Is he actually gonna try and persuade them against the whole darn system of capitalism?