Toronto Wrap Up
by David Poland

Part I: The funny thing is, as I went through the festival guide, my search for a Top Ten easily generated a Top Nineteen. (I added one, as you'll see below, to make it an even top Twenty.) Add to that, another six films that I felt were interesting enough to note. And there are at least seven or eight more that were good, but not very special to me.

Part II: The Top 20, The Cult Films & The Edge Pushers.

Festival Notes: Day Ten
by David Poland

The last filmic image of my 30th Annual Toronto International Film Festival was a woman who, soon after a brain tumor removal, has her jaw lock while kissing an odd younger man, severing his complete tongue from his mouth.

When she spit it out, I kinda knew it was time to go.

Somehow, the cheesy excess of it was true representation of the experience. So when Roger Ebert calls it the best TIFF ever, I have to scratch my head and wonder.

Day One | Two/Three | Four | Five | Six/Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten

Confessions of a Festival Junkie: Day Nine
by Leonard Klady

Many moons ago I was having a conversation with David Cronenberg and our discussion segued to the topic of the Toronto Film Festival. His upcoming film at that particular moment was Dead Ringers and he'd been offered either opening or closing night. Without hesitation I advised him to take closing night and I recollect him being taken aback by the alacrity and assurance of my response.
Day Eight | Day Seven | Day Five | Day Four | Day Three | Day Two | Day One

Review: Edison

Review by David Poland: The only thing the filmmakers clearly know how to do well is to write large checks with which they can entice top flight actors to spend a few days on a horrible film with a horrible script that is the feature equivalent of doing a commercial in the Far East since no one will ever see the whole movie.

Review by Leonard Klady: Ninety minutes of black leader fares better by comparison and one has to wonder whether a monumental lapse in judgment or a big pay off contributed to its high profile inclusion.

More Festival Reviews

Toronto Profile:
Runaway's Robin Tunney
by David Poland

When I saw the Toronto festival film Runaway, I was reasonably impressed by Tim McCann’s work behind the camera and Aaron “Tadpole” Stanford’s turn as the lead actor. Both were very indie, but worth a look.

But when Robin Tunney hit the screen, it was a minor revelation.

Review: Romance & Cigarettes
by David Poland

Romance & Cigarettes was a breath of fresh air at this year's Toronto Film Festival... and a bit of cigarette breath as well.

You have to give it to John Turturro. He is one audacious guy. There is no beating around the bush here. He takes a simple story of suburban New York life - a family, a first affair, and the results - and breaks out in pop songs with a mix of the actors' singing, the original recordings and a mixture of significant and insignificant choreography. Interestingly, the more simple he stays, the more effective the film. More >>

More Festival Reviews

Review: Walk The Line
by Ray Pride

A second viewing will make it easier to talk about these lovely, loving, consummate, fiery, intelligent performances (including the musical moments) by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Walk the Line is a framework for two forceful personalities to meet and align: John and June, I mean, not Joaquin and Reese.
Review of Walk The Line by David Poland

Review: The Notorious
Bettie Page
by David Poland

I found the film funny, silly, witty, sexy, and almost a little giddy. The story of Bettie Page, which, amazingly, plays like the comedic kissing cousin of the ever-serious Good Night, And Good Luck, embraces the innocent exuberance that – at least in this take on her – defined Ms. Page herself in those days.

Review: North Country: North Country is more than a little bit confounding. Niki Caro clearly knows how to direct, but she is as self-indulgent here as she was economical in Whale Rider.

Festival Voices
Martin Scorsese's Bob Dylan: No Direction Home
by Larry Gross

For most of its length, Scorsese's career has showed him in a conversation with two different strains of cinematic realism. One was the Italian neo realist traditions of socially-oriented "street" films made by masters like Rossellini, De Sica and Visconti, and the other was the American method-acting centered psychological realism of Kazan and Cassavetes.

But for the first time, in No Direction Home, Scorsese has made a great film where he is conversing primarily with himself and his own body of work.

Digital Nation
Reel Paradise
by Gary Dretzka

The last picture shown at the 180 Meridian Cinema, before its American proprietor scampered back to America with his family, was Buster Keaton’s Steamboat Bill Jr. But, it could very easily have been Jackass: the Movie, which, when it was shown at the 180 Meridian, caused enough of a storm that it was banned by Fiji’s Censor Board, as being “too gross and abusive for our multiracial society.”

The Fact Sheet
335 Films: Features – 256; Shorts – 79
84% Feature Films that are world, international, or North American premieres
3545 Total Submissions: Int'l – 2812, Canadian – 733
52 Countries
67 First Features
23 Screens Used
26,505 Minutes of Film
201' Longest Film
3' Shortest Film
305,000 Admissions public and industry combined.