For the past seven years my folks and I have made a pilgrimage every September to the Toronto International Film Festival and had a blast. This year we opted to stay local and try out the MIFF. Much to our surprise we were quite impressed. It was well run, efficient, and high quality in choice of movies to show.
Downside to the MIFF - theatres are too spread out as Milwaukee has lost a lot of the down town movie theatres. The upside: the majority of the films are shown in three great art houses and next year if the Avalon chooses to join they’ll have four.
The majority of the films are shown at The Downer (2 screens), The Oriental (3 screens), and the Times Cinema. The Oriental is Milwaukee’s jewel of a theatre, a movie palace of old in an East Indian theme with bejeweled giant Buddhas, elephants and panthers.
I have a feeling we will be going back to Toronto next year as we discovered that our annual pilgrimage was more than about just seeing cool new movies and movies not likely to play in the Midwest. We found that being local, we were unable to escape our lives and daily responsibilities and truly enjoy each other’s company, the restaurants, culture, and the fabulous host city. MIFF might provide an opportunity to see films that we missed in Toronto as it is a month later.
Review: Gripping suspense that spins and winds, thrills and startles, and gets more and more complicated the further into the film you go. Good luck guessing at what is going on. Layer upon layer. Fantastic story. Great cast. Worthy watch.
Film: ++++1/2 (4.5/5) I felt one section needed a little tightening up, but overall outstanding. (one of the best “Frogger” scenes I’ve ever seen - watch the film and you’ll see what I mean).
Movie: +++++ (5/5 ) caution film contains violence.
Delightful serious, playful, irreverent, and unusual film about the lengths a person will go to to help a child. Loved this film. It was charming and well done and tastefully done. How far would you go to help your child? Really.
trailer available at the website, but it does include some spoilers.
Film: ++++ (4/5) A little too dark at times (lighting wise)
Movie: ++++ (4/5) entertaining, but be warned this a movie meant for adults
Of the three Hero in my opinion is the best of the three. This film was in fact produced by the same production team as Crouching Tiger. I kept having the sensation of “haven’t I seen this before.” To those who have not seen either of the above films this will be a novel experience for you. This is the new age of Chinese cinema. Big, bold, beautiful and full of outlandishly incredible martial arts moves. It is visually stunning as all in this genre are.
They try to woo audiences with the claim of this being akin to loose interpretation of Hamlet. loose is the operative word. At 131 minutes at least 30 minutes could have been removed without damaging the film. I was surprised to find that this was the final edit and has been in release for over a year.
Film: +++ (3/5) too long, been there done that cinemagraphically
Movie: +++ (3/5) too long, non hollywood ending (but neither is hamlet), been there done that
Review: Powerful, evocative, and mesmerizing film. I don’t know where they found this actress/artist who plays Jenny (Hannah Herzsprung) but she is phenomenal. If she wasn’t actually playing the piano, she did an absolutely award winning performance of someone playing. Highly complicated maneuvers and passion. Monica Bleibtreu is also amazing as an almost monastic spinster of a piano teacher with a huge secret. The movie is gripping from the start and ends with spectacular performance that I challenge you to forget.
Film:+++++ 5/5 - outstanding cinema
Movie: +++++ 5/5 - outstanding drama and performances
Twice Upon a Time (French 2006 - original title: “Desaccord Parfait”)
Story: Alice, a famous English actresss meets up with Louis, an equally famous French director 30 years after their famous abrupt breakup. The two had been one of the most glamorous and amorous couples in the 1970s.
Well crafted French comedy (more to my liking than OSS 117). Louis is brilliantly played by Jean Rochefort and is magnificently balanced with Alice’s (Charlotte Rampling) caustic and razor sharp wit and beauty. This is very reminiscent of 1950s films with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant trading intelligent barbs, quips, and wit. I wish more films were written and made today. This is a fun light comedy with a great cast.
Film: +++++ (5/5)
Movie: +++++ (5/5) highly entertaining and full of silver screen magic
Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams (Sarajevo 2006)
for a trailer click on over to yahoo movies info
Powerful Film! Made me cry and didn’t expect to.
Story: It is Sarajevo 10 years after the Balkan Wars and we zoom in on the struggling relationship between a Bosnian woman and her daughter. Esma (Mirjana Karanovic) is living with her 12-year-old daughter Sara Luna Mijovic in Grbavica, a district of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. When Sara wants to participate in a school trip, Esma tries to find a way to pay the full price, even though the school will allow children of parents who died as martyrs in the Yugoslav civil war to got on the trip free. Esma, however, doesn’t have the papers to prove her husband’s death. Sara gets suspicious and confronts Esma.
The filming takes place during the winter months so the sky is grey, cold, and oppressive. Everything is grey. Kind of like the story Esma keeps telling her daughter. Another aspect of the film that makes it so impactful is its local. For all intents and purposes Sarajevo was a bustling center of modern Europe then the war happened. Realizing that this is a real place on earth is shocking every time you glimpse it.
I have long wondered when the real life impact of the Balkin Wars would be showing up in film and story. Emotionally challenging and genuine. This was beautifully done. You really don’t know where you are being guided in this film until it smacks you in the face and heart. If you are interested in a solid contemporary story in hard to wrap your brain around circumstances see this movie.
Film: +++++ (5/5) beautifully edited and crafted
Movie: ++++ (4/5) challenging for some audiences, but highly education
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Irina Palm (UK 2007)
Twice Upon a Time (French 2006 - original title: “Desaccord Parfait”)
Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams (Sarajevo 2006)