Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2017. Go to TIFF 2017 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.
Director:
Writers:
Joseph Kahn (story), Joseph Kahn
Stars:
Calum Worthy, Jackie Long, Rory Uphold
A film about battle rap, I almost walked out within the first 10 minutes not being a fan of this brutal sport. But music video director Kahn’s film increases in intensity while drawing the audience into the world of battle rapping. By the end of the film, one would not only have a more insightful view of the sport but be entertained as well.
The film begins with a battle with explanations of certain terms used by a white couple attending – Adam and his girlfriend. The film assumes the perspective of Adam (Calum Worthy), a white, purportedly progressive graduate student who infiltrates a community of diverse battle rappers for the sake of an edgy thesis.
Before long he develops his own predilection for skilfully slinging rhymed insults and epithets as a competitive poet. Adam is finally forced to choose between his love and his unforgiving girlfriend. Can Adam have the best of both worlds?
The film contains some really awesome rap battles. BODIED is produced by Eminem.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEfbPQVV7wg
TIFF 2017 Movie Review: VICTORIA AND ABDUL (UK 2017)
Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2017. Go to TIFF 2017 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.
Director:
Writers:
Lee Hall (screenplay), Shrabani Basu (based on the book by)
Stars:
Judi Dench, Olivia Williams, Michael Gambon
VICTORIA AND ABDUL chronicles with humour and insight the friendship between Queen Victoria (Oscar Winner Judi Dench) and a decades-younger Indian clerk named Abdul Karim. Karim has been summoned because of his height to present a ceremonial coin on behalf of British India to the Queen as a part of her Golden Jubilee in 1887. Abdul has done what is forbidden during the ceremony.
He makes eye contact with the Queen who finds him handsome. In no time he is cooking her curries, talking to her about his culture, and being elevated to the post of official clerk, or Munshi, becoming an indispensable part of the household — and state.
Frears’ assessment of Britain and royalty remain respectful. Queen Victoria is revealed in the film with all her grandeur (her royal attire and servants) but also with all her faults and her ageing process. She also claims herself to be and shown as well as cankerous, ill-tempered, fat but also one that has held five generations of household and mother of many children and grandchildren.
VICTORIA AND ABDUL is Frears’ mediocre film which is tolerant of everything and offends no one. These kind of films are often humorous, handsomely mounted, well acted but unfortunately forgetful.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT2Ph_9bGPs
TIFF 2017 Movie Review: HIGH FANTASY (SOUTH AFRICA 2017)
Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2017. Go to TIFF 2017 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.
Director:
Stars:
Qondiswa James, Nala Khumalo, Francesca Varrie Michel
Four friends (1 male 3 females, two black and one white) on a camping trip at an isolated farm around Capetown, South Africa wake up to discover they’ve all swapped bodies.
Four of the actors Qondiswa James, Liza Scholtz, Nala Khumalo, and Francesca Michel all wrote the script together. A mix of comedy and drama, the campers argue on issues like race, gender, inequality while spouting out foul language to no end.
Shot on an iPhone, the film obviously has the feel of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and TANGERINE. This is a personal film, as can be clearly observed, and therefore not for everyone. The filmmakers do not care for anything and just do their thing.
Though occasionally funny, the whole exercise is a wast of time and talent (or rather, effort). The film only serves to prove that one should pick ones friends while going camping.
TIFF 2017 Movie Review: IT STAINS THE SANDS RED (USA 2017)
Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2017. Go to TIFF 2017 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Brittany Allen, Juan Riedinger, Merwin Mondesir
The zombie film genre is never short of new entries. The new zombie films have to have fresh ideas or original scare set-ups to entertain audiences, many of whom have been saturated already.
IT STAINS THE SANDS RED begins with a couple, an African American and his sexy girlfriend, Molly (Britanny Allen) stranded in the desert fete the car goes into the ditch after a silly argument.
Mollyis a troubled woman from Las Vegas with a dark past. She finds herself stranded in the desert. This means one of two things – either zombies or a TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE tip family. It is the former with a lone ravenous Zombie (Juan Riedinger) on her tail. At first, she’s easily able to outpace her un-dead pursuer, but things quickly become a nightmare when she realizes the zombie doesn’t need to ever stop and rest. Running low on supplies and beat down by the harsh environment, Molly will have to summon the strength she never knew she had to ultimately face the zombie, and the demons that have chased her all her life.
Molly spends half the movie escaping from the one zombie. At least Director Minihand knows zombies are slower. So, she just needs t walk away faster than the zombie – giving more opportunity for ehr to talk to herself (and hence to the caera) for more nonsense sayings.
Expected stuff in the film includes no signal on the cell phone; the sexy girl surviving and obviously the other one done for; sexy girl victim eventually running off in skimpy outfit (Molly runs around half the time with sexy leather bikini outfit under expensive furs) and more. Would an audience watcher or the big ugly guy? Answer is obvious. Inventive stuff (or slightly inventive for that matter) includes an attack in the night with things that can only be seen with a flashlight; zombie hanging on a ledge; combining her own inner demons and the zombie demons; Molly doing coke while being pursued and stranded in the desert. The metaphor of the inner and inner demons is too obvious and not really needed in a horror flick.
The film is unshamefully politically incorrect with dialogue like, :Bitch!’ and “I am going to cut you rip real deep like a n******* in the sun.” An attempted rape scene is also present for the pleasure of the males.
Film costs are obviously a minimum with just one victim and one zombie. This limits what can be seen in the movie. Molly has to talk to herself aloud. to keep the film’s dialogue going. Minihand makes use of the setting like a sandstorm to add more dimension to the movie.
Humour is silly at most: “Can you ever keep your mouth shut.” “You smell like shit.” “Like every man in a bar, you can never know when to say no.” “And worst of all, “You got a small dick!”
IT STAINS THE SANDS RED ends up a mediocre horror zombie film with just a few but insufficient new tricks.
TIFF 2017 Movie Review: THE LEISURE SEEKER (USA 2017)
Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2017. Go to TIFF 2017 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.
Director:
Writers:
Michael Zadoorian (novel), Stephen Amidon (screenplay)
Stars:
Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland, Kirsty Mitchell
Oscar winner Helen Mirren (THE QUEEN) and Donald Sutherland star as an elderly couple looking for adventure on one (romantic?) final road trip. Ella (Mirren) is dying of cancer.
Her husband, John (Sutherland) is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. As the film opens, their son and daughter discover that their parents have taken off with THE LEISURE SEEKER (the name of their camper), on a last road trip.
Ella nor John is interested in quietly fading away surrounded by nurses and machines just to needlessly prolong a winnowing life. They travel from Boston to Florida (some nice scenery on display) with John behind the wheel. The film is based on the novel by Michael Zadoorian with Italian director Virzi at the helm. But as a film, there is too many issues tackled.
Everything that one can think about growing old is in the film and covered unfortunately in a cliched manner. Director Virzi acts like a traffic cop ushering these issues in an out. The incidents like the traffic comes and goes, none too memorable, and quite boring too, just as the job of directing traffic.
The result is another old farts fantasy film about old people reminiscing or trying to be young again.
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd5LWTvMy4U
TIFF 2017 Movie Review: IF YOU SAW HIS HEART (Si tu voyais son coeur) (France 2017
Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2017. Go to TIFF 2017 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Gael García Bernal, Marine Vacth, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart
The film begins with a lively wedding celebration where the audience is introduced to Daniel (Gael Garcia Bernal), a man reeling from grief from the death of his closest friend (shown multiple times in flashback, as if we need reminding) in an accident for which he feels partly responsible. He has been cast out of his insular traveller community.
Living in a rundown rooming house and always behind on rent, Daniel gets by through scams and minor burglaries. His building is populated by colourful misfits and losers, all living on the edge like him.When davidnmeets an equally damaged and fragile young woman, Francine (Vacth), life is then something to hope for.
If You Saw His Heart is based on Cuban author Guillermo Rosales’ 1987 novel Boarding Home (a.k.a. The Halfway House). Director Chemia creates the moody atmosphere of the living conditions that reflect Daniel’s feelings well, but the film suffers from continuity.
Her fond use of flashbacks and revealing the story in non-chronological order is not only confusing but breaks a mood or effect that has been created thus far.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_1kv27NBa0
TIFF 2017 Movie Review: VAMPIRE CLAY (Japan 2017) ***
Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2017. Go to TIFF 2017 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.
Director:
Writer:
Sôichi Umezawa (screenplay)
Stars:
Ena Fujita, Asuka Kurosawa, Yuyu Makihara
Director/writer/editor Soichi Umezawa knows the effects of clay. Besides the use of it being able to be moulded onto gruesome creatures, the look of fit in close-up, squishy, black and oozing out liquid when wet makes it an excellent horror source. The only thing missing is perhaps is a scene with worms oozing from the moist clay.
Blood from a murdered sculpture is dumped into lay and buried. When dug up and used as material, the sculptured creature comes to life. The subjects are an art school in the Japanese countryside. Umezawa is 25-year old veteran special-effects makeup artist with over 70 credits.
He realizes both the comedic and horror potentials of clay and mixes these elements well in horror comedy that reminds one of the horror B-movies of the sixties – but in a better way!
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUYxBrFM94k
TIFF 2017 Movie Review: LE PRIX DU SUCCES (THE PRICE OF SUCCESS) (France 2017) ***
Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2017. Go to TIFF 2017 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Tahar Rahim, Roschdy Zem, Maïwenn
THE PRICE OF SUCCESS benefits from the performance of two of the best Arab stars in French films today – Tahar Rahim and Roschdy Zem.. They play brothers fighting (lysically as well as verbally) with each other.
A popular stand-up comic, Brahim (Rahim) from a working class French family balances fame, ambition, and expectations while feeling his loyalties pulled between his manager-brother (Zem) and artistic-director girlfriend (Maiwenn).
Mourad supported and promoted Brahim for 15 years, but is he now thinking too small? Too Arab? Too immigrant? And is he willing to let go of the brother who has defined his life? The film could have been funnier with more laughs from Brahim’s stand up comedy.
Brahim’s comic routines on show that were supposed to have shot him to fame, are not really funny or impressive. The film does not quite come together despite the confrontation scenes.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFDgo0TZwgM
TIFF 2017 Movie Review: CHAPPAQUIDDICK (USA 2017) ***
Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2017. Go to TIFF 2017 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Kate Mara, Ed Helms, Jason Clarke
CHAPPAQUIDDICK is a story not many non-Americans are familiar with. If this is not a story that needs be told, and if it is not an interesting one, it is one that questions the right thing that human being should do. Presidents of the United States have always lied when confronted with catastrophe, Nixon and Clinton being the best examples. This film questions the integrity of Ted Kennedy, which is correctly chosen to be the subject oft the film rather than the incidents that occur.
This suspenseful historical drama examines the infamous 1969 incident when Senator Ted Kennedy (Jason Clarke) accidentally drove off a bridge, resulting in the death of campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara).
This become known as the Chappaquiddick Incident. Kopechne was trapped in a car that Senator Ted Kennedy drove off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, following a night of festivities. Kennedy patriarch Joe (Bruce Dern), however, always considered his youngest son a ne’er-do-well — and he never let Ted forget it.
The party on Chappaquiddick reunited the “Boiler Room Girls” who had served on Robert Kennedy’s 1968 presidential campaign, among them Mary Jo (Kate Mara). Ted whisks Mary Jo away for a reckless moonlight drive that ends in tragedy.
But the more profound malfeasance begins after the drowning — itself dramatized here in harrowing detail — when a battalion of spin doctors gets to work on covering up the incident, using the Apollo 11 moon landing as a distraction.
TIFF 2017 Movie Review: 1% (Australia 2017) ***
Movie Reviews of films that will be playing at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) in 2017. Go to TIFF 2017 Movie Reviews and read reviews of films showing at the festival.
Director:
Writer:
Stars:
Eddie Baroo, Ryan Corr, Aaron Fa’aoso
The film feels Shakespearean for the theme of control over a bike game being similar to fighting for the throne of a Kingdom. While Knuck (Nable) has been in prison, his surrogate son, Mark, nicknamed “Paddo” (Ryan Corr of Hacksaw Ridge) has minded the store.
Paddo has modernized the activities of the club, expanded their enterprise, and brought in new members — all endeavours that threaten Knuck’s position on his return.
Both men are supported and influenced by their equally strong wives, each woman as ambitious for her husband as for herself. Tensions mount when Paddo’s brother, Skink (Josh McConville), creates trouble with drugs. The film examines the issue of brother or blood vs. identity.
The climax is a shoot out but when you think that there can never be a happy ending – there is one with the villain finally to pay his due. A bit difficult at time to follow because of the Aussie accent and the bike lingo, but the visuals are enough to tell the story. A bit violent but the film need to be.
Festival Reviews 