MAX PATERSON
<Arts/Culture Editor>
This time every year Toronto is invaded by some of the world’s best filmmakers and brightest stars, as people pour into the city for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). For TIFF newbies, selecting the movies you want to see, long lines, confusing schedules, odd show times, and unbuttered popcorn, can all provide for a unpleasant experience. However, with adequate preparation and foresight, you can tackle the festival monster with ease. The first decision you must make is which movie you want to see. The TIFF website (www.tiff.net) has made selecting show times and planning schedules a simple process. You can also sign up for the highly recommended TIFF♥R, a website that allows you to create a shortlist and schedule by bookmarking films on the TIFF website.
Here’s a list of suggestions of which films to check out over the festival’s ten-day run:
You might remember Peaches as the crude musician that Johnny Knoxville lip syncs to in Jackass 2 as he dresses up like an old man. This movie seems to be a younger and more transsexual extension of that performance. Coming off a hot one-woman performance in “Peaches Christ Superstar”, Peaches has upped the ante with this movie by taking nudity and pink to a whole new level. Peaches herself describes the movie as a chance to “do all the ridiculous things I could never do on tour or do anywhere”, so for Peaches to push the envelope like that, it says a lot.
Um…Zac Efron as a racecar driver…nuff said. You can film the back of Zac Efron’s head for 5 hours and I’ll still pay $13 to see it…DREAMBOAT!!
A documentary made by Spike Lee about Michael Jackson’s “Bad” album. I’ve listened to that album like a million times [actually I’ve never listened to it], I don’t think I need to hear what Kanye, Cheryl Crow, Mariah Carey, or Cee Lo Green have to say about it. However, if you want to hear a bunch of egos talk about ‘Smooth Criminal’, ‘Man in the Mirror” [I really like that song], and the craziest man on earth, then this is right up your alley.
This movie has Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, and it’s a wild time-travelling journal reading extravaganza. I can’t make heads or tails of the trailer, but anything that Tom Hanks touches is good in my books. Apparently Hugh Grant is in it too…I didn’t even know he was still around. Just between Grant and Hanks, I imagine this movie is like Notting Hill and You’ve Got Mail mashed up and that is why I am recommending it. Maybe I’m setting you up for failure, or maybe that’s exactly what this movie is like, go see it and find out.
Remember that super thick rambling book in high school you had to read, well someone made a movie of it. You can go see this movie, or you can do the same thing you did in high school, go to the beginning and the end of the movie, and if anyone asks you questions just talk about the use of imagery and overarching themes of the industrial revolution.
YES! This film will steal the heart of all moviegoers as this hour and a half documentary uncovers the realities of drug dealing. This documentary goes to the source and spills the truth on modern day drug dealing by interviewing known figures whose lives have been influenced because of selling drugs. In addition to Woody Harrelson, 50 Cent, Susan Sarandon and Eminem, “Freeway” Rick Ross* is interviewed about how he created his gigantic drug empire. No doubt this movie will be the “Supersize Me” of 2012.
*”Freeway” Rick Ross is not to be confused with the rapper Rick Ross. Basically there are allegations that the rapper stole “Freeway’s” name. I swear, look it up.
TIFF runs from September 6-16.