Obviously we’re all a little distracted right now, but if you find yourself needing a break and Star Trek Into Darkness doesn’t do it for you, there’s plenty of other stuff playing in Toronto’s cinemas.
The Angels’ Share: And now, the comedy stylings of Ken Loach! No, wait; this turns out to be a really charming change of pace from the godfather of dour social-realist drama as an angry young man (Paul Brannigan) discovers the joys of high-stakes whisky tasting. Sure, there’s the odd head-butting and the occasional knife to the throat, but it’s all in good fun.
Fight Like Soldiers Die Like Children: Authentic Canadian hero Romeo Dallaire’s work with former child soldiers in Congo is celebrated in a documentary that doesn’t quite trust its audience to understand the narrative without some really condescending animated sequences. Cut those out and it’d be a lot more effective.
Greetings from Tim Buckley: I like Jeff Buckley’s music. I’m okay with Tim Buckley’s music, too. But I had absolutely no patience — like, not an iota — for Dan Algrant’s superficial, slapdash snapshot of both men’s lives, which leaves us nothing but the memory of Penn Badgely wearing a series of T-shirts.
The Iceman: Ariel Vroman’s true-crime picture has a conceptual and formal dullness that just screams “straight to DVD”, but Michael Shannon’s take on the contract killer Richard Kuklinski is a master class in playing a brick wall and still being interesting. But you can wait for the DVD.
Mud: Jeff Nichols follows Take Shelter with a simple coming-of-age drama about a 14-year-old boy (Tye Sheridan) who befriends a self-described “hobo” (Matthew McConaughey) and edges into a world of potential hurt. Michael Shannon’s in this, too, bless him.
Please Kill Mr. Know-It-All: Colin Carter and Sandra Feldman’s romantic comedy about an advice columnist (Lara Jean Chorostecki) who accidentally identifies a hitman (Jefferson Brown) as the writer of her column is basically a ten-minute sketch inflated into a feature film. And the jokes fell out along the way.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist: I missed Mira Nair’s political drama at TIFF — it had Kate Hudson in it, so I figured that was a red flag — but Susan really liked it.
Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s: Glenn is not terribly impressed with Matthew Miele’s all-star celebration of the illustrious Manhattan department store. But it’s narrated by William Fichtner! Wait, what?
The We and the I: Michel Gondry’s tale of a busload of Bronx teens stuck together for one last ride home was one of the more contentious titles at Cannes last year, but Rad thinks it’s a winner. I may actually have to watch the damn thing now.
That’s everything, right? No more surprises? Good. Carry on.
Holy cats! Look at all the movies! Some of which even have cats in them!
