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David
Poland's Toronto Blog
Notes
From A Festival Junkie: Friday
Previews:
Shark
Tale, Hotel
Rwanda
Notes:
P.S., The
Machinist, Stage
Beauty
Reviews:
House
of Flying Daggers, More
...
Trailers: Dear
Frankie, Kinsey,
More
...
________________________
Toronto
Wrap Up
by
David Poland
Today
is Toronto Film Fest Round-Up Day. I'm going to keep
each grouping in alphabetical order. Some of these films
have already had full reviews. Others, not. But the
context in each case will be Toronto relevant and any
one of them could be up for a fresh discussion as they
close in on their release dates.
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THB
Reviews
Ray And
Beyond The Sea
by David Poland
Beyond
The Sea: What keeps bringing me back to my instinctual
urge to roll my eyes and mime a finger in the throat
each time this title comes up, is a story structure
that just seems beyond comprehension.
Ray:
Ray is a much, much better movie than Beyond
The Sea. Taylor Hackford is a far more
experienced and significantly more talented director
than Kevin Spacey.
And
then there is the biggest problem with Ray…
its length.
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Notes
From A Festival Junkie: Friday
by Leonard
Klady
I
can't recall being to a festival of this size where
so few of the regulars on the circuit had so little
to say to one another. People were simply going to
a wide variety of films and the festival was large
enough to accommodate vastly different itineraries.
I'm
not exactly sure what that says about the festival
and its selections. One thing that pops to mind is
that the program didn't have a lot of films that screamed
out to be seen immediately. There were many titles
including Ray, House of Flying Daggers, Sideways
and The Motorcycle Diaries that people felt
could be caught closer to their commercial release
and they concentrated on films that either did not
have commercial distribution or would not open domestically
in 2004. More
...
_______________________
Toronto
Notes
by
David Poland
This
is not the greatest piece of
documentary filmmaking ever, but it is one hell of
a fun doc ride.
More Festival Notes..
P.S..
The
Machinist
Stage
Beauty
Nine Songs, Beyond
The Sea
Hole
In My Heart,
Anatomie de l'enfer
Being
Julia,
Undertow
________________________
Review
by
Pablo Villaça
There
was a time when using a shirt with the unmistakable
picture of Che Guevara, taken by Alberto
Korda in 1960, was something that had a meaning:
the person could be manifesting his/her support to
the Cuban Revolution or his/her nonconformism about
the social differences seen in his/her own country
(and, of course, his/her statement of sympathy for
the socialist ideals). However, nowadays, Guevara's
bearded face has changed, ironically, into a mere
product to be commercialized, and a large number of
the countless youngsters that use items connected
to 'Che' have no idea who Ernesto Guevara de la
Serna was. Showing the image is just cool.(more)
________________________
|  | While
Western governments warned their diplomats to avoid the use of the word "genocide"
in their memos, and the U.N. ignored pleas for reinforcements and supplies - almost
one million Rwandans were systematically killed over a period of 100 days.
During the massacres, the US - still smarting from Somalia - chose not to
get involved in "tribal conflicts." The Belgians recalled their UN peacekeepers.
The French welcomed Rwandan government representatives responsible for the genocide
to Paris with open arms.
The world watched. And Africa learned that "never
again" didn't include Africans. Hotel
Rwanda proves that even in the midst of Hell, humanity and integrity and
selflessness can still exist. Shake
Hands With The Devil on its surface tells the story of Romeo Dallaire,
who led the UN forces during the Rwandan genocide. But it paints a picture that
should shame the world. | ________________________
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NY
Observer's Jake Brooks Does T.O.
“I’ve
had three interviews this morning—I think I’ve said ‘vagina’
in every one of them.”
 A.O.
Scott Waxes Nostalgic About This Year's Toronto Film Fest As Only
An Eager Just-Former Virgin Could
In
Like A Lion, And Wrap Like A Lamb
Toronto
Award Winners Include Hotel Rwanda, Omagh, In My Father's
Den
Roger
Ebert Talks To Neve Campbell
Glen
Lovell's List Of 12 From Toronto
And
The Best Of The Party Side, Too
Condensing
300 Films Into Sex, Politics And Alcohol (And Animals And Bios,
Too)
Kinsey
By Way Of TC Boyle, Reviewed By Tony Scott
Sharon
Waxman Unofficially Previews Her Indie Book With An Unusually Feature-y
Feature On David O. Russell & Huckabees
"I don't
mean to suck up, but a friend of mine from here gave it to me. I
hope it works!"
Helen
Hunt Does What She Can For A Good Woman
Reviewing
Kinsey And Talking Oscar... Still
Liam
Lacey's Wrap Up And Tips On When To See The Big Ones You Missed
Sigourney
Weaver's Imaginary Heroes And Guys That Make Her Laugh
The
Woz Gets Between Sandra Dee's Legs And Delivers A Young Starlet
More Woz - "Who
has ever heard of Bobby Darin?' Well, who ever heard of Forrest
Gump or Rocky?” Spacey
Sings!
And - Dustin
Zings!
Harlan
Jacobson Kindly Reports That Every Film Arriving At Toronto With
Oscar Hopes Left With Same Hopes
Ebert
Sees The Sea Inside, A Crash, And The Art Of Film
Dubai's
Holding A Film Festival - And The Camels Showed Up In Toronto To
Prove It
The
Sea Inside Javier Bardem
Toronto
.. Where The POWs And Junkateers Play
Fox
Searchlight Shines In Toronto
Another
View Of The Downfall ...
"Twenty
years ago, people did not, on the whole, confuse cake preferences
with character. Assessing public figures on absurd, touchy-feely
criteria is a thoroughly modern mania. Who cares if Hitler loved
his dog? I understand Caligula was particularly fond of his horse,
but it doesn't make me want to re-evaluate his policies."
Increased
Sex In Festival Films Will Translate To Increased Sex In Mainstream
Film .. Or So The Theory Goes
Looking
For The Boys Of Oscar In Toronto
Ebert
Finds Africa's Cinematic Voice In Toronto
Sexy
Rexy Reed Does T.O.
You Know, Bobby
Darin Wore A Toupee And A Guy In Old Boy Wore A Toupee, So They
Are Obviously Connected... Right?
A.O.
Scott Stumbles Through Toronto Again
TIFF
Moments
Laura
Linney's P.S. In Kinsey, Too
Reviewing
Orlando Bloom's Haven
Haggis
Crashes Into The Cronenberg Title
"I felt
sort of bad about it after, but I haven't had a chance to (feel
guilty), because everything sort of barraged on top of me"
Protesters
And Cat Killer Come Face To Face
Ebert's
Palindromes And Woodsman And Midnight Movies
It's
Not A Fuhrer, It's A Marketing Campaign
Earlier
-
Hitler's
Back (Again)!
Three
Films, Three Visions Of Rwanda's Genocide
Sigourney
Weaver Almost Joined X-Men, And Other Imaginary Heroes
A
Few Questions For Shame-Ful Tracey Ullman
Casuistry
Is Causing A Stir
Penn
Makes Nixon A Political Statement
The
John Kerry Doc Hits Toronto... What Will The Reverberations Be?
Earlier
- 
The
Dude On Kerry Doc
Even Earlier - The
Politics Of Toronto
Jeff
Dowd aka The Dude Pushes George Butler's Kerry Doc With A
Ferocious Passion & A Supporting Document
Hitler's
Back (Again)!
Ebert
On Hotel Rwanda, Jamie Foxx And Going Sideways In
Toronto
Teasing
- But Not Showing - Team America To The Few, The Proud, The
Invited In Toronto
The
Woz Opens Toronto
Jack
Matthews Loves Jamie Foxx
Bob
Berney Picks Up A Dirty, Dirty, Dirty Movie
John
Kerry Remains A Mystery Even After Going Upriver
Festival
Moments They'll Still Be Talking About Next Year It's
All About The Characters - On Screen And Off Orlando
Bloom Finds Haven, And "Love, Lust, Menace, Theft and Tax Evasion"
Too Race
And Bigotry Meet The Merchant Of Venice And Crash Kinsey
Opens Up About Sex He
Isn't Bobby Darin, But He Played Him In A Movie ... And Soon In A Showroom Near
You Ebert
Finds A Masterpiece In Toronto
More
News
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Gary Dretzka
