Doctor Who: Series 7, Episode 5, The Angels Take Manhattan

After watching the mid-series finale of DOCTOR WHO (THE ANGELS TAKE MANHATTAN) I find myself wanting to be congratulatory and kind to Steven Moffat’s written swan song for the Ponds, but I’m just too conflicted. So I’m going to lay out what I liked and what I didn’t like and why, and hopefully you can make up your own minds.

The story on the outside is pretty simple. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory visit New York City, and while sitting in Central Park and Rory goes off to get some drinks, the Doctor discovers that Amy is reading a pulpy detective novel that all of the sudden features Rory in the 1930’s and River Song. The novel ends up being a kind of future history of the events that will follow and the Doctor quickly scolds Amy for reading ahead as she’s technically creating “fixed” points in time by doing so. He tells her not to read ahead...but chapter titles might be okay. It’s not long before they sort out that Rory has been touched by the nefarious Weeping Angels and sent back in time. After sorting that out and establishing that going back to save him is too tough because New York of 1938 is so time-addled that they can’t get back there. Luckily River Song is there to establish a homing beacon to follow back to 1938 with the TARDIS. What follows is a progression of events that lead to the heroes finding out that a tenement building called “Winters Quay” is being used as a sort of battery farm for the Weeping Angels to send people back in time from to drink their energy, including the metal (not stone) Statue Of Liberty.

It all SEEMS very cool from the outside but if you dig at all into the narrative the thing falls apart like a house of cards. My immediate issue is what exactly is River Song doing there? It’s never explained, and it seems totally out of nowhere...and worse none of the characters questions her presence! Aside from the Doctor’s teasing “Shouldn’t you be in prison?” no one says boo about why River is there. One might argue that she knew of her parents’ need of her in that time and place, but I’d wonder where she got the info. (NOTE: I've been duly informed by a friend that it's set out that River is studying the Angels and that's why she's summoned there by the collector. I find that beyond convenient, but whatever, I'm willing to concede that point.) Anyways, lets gloss over that her presence makes no sense and move on. So Rory sees older Rory (who was sent back in time) there in a room showing that in this timeline he gets caught and stays in Winters Quay till his eventual death. His way of escape? Jumping from the roof, killing younger Rory, therefore depriving the Angels of their battery source and breaking their hold on the building. How, you ask? Don’t ask. Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey. I fail to see how Rory’s escape (one amongst however many folk have been imprisoned there to be sent back in time to create the energy) breaks their hold. But nevermind. Oh and The Statue of Liberty is there, fangs out as an Angel on top of the building. While menacing, two things immediately jump into your head. One: no one in New York in the vicinity sees that Lady Liberty is missing, nor Two: the huge statue standing in the street and menacing the roof of a tenement building? Okay, I’m going to dismiss this as having Liberty as an Angel is endlessly cool. How about the fact that she’s made of metal and not stone (as the Angels are described)? Ssshhhh. Nevermind. There is some offhanded remark about the Angel’s possessing statues...thus kind of changing them from being villains who turn to rock, into some sort of spiritual form that actually possesses statues instead. What? Did Steven Moffat just screw with his own invented creature’s origin? Ugh. Nevermind? So Amy and Rory create their paradox by jumping from the building and this wipes out that whole timeline, freeing Winter’s Quay from the hold of the Angels and they end up back in the graveyard they were in when this started. Again, I’m not sure how Rory’s specific sacrifice removes this whole bit of timeline, but I’m willing to hand wave it because here we go...here is the ending of the Ponds. Here is the (aforementioned) last day of the Doctor and the Ponds. Break out the Kleenex! Even though I have been very vocal about not caring much for the Ponds, I’m still sad to see the Doctor so distraught. So what happens? Ready for spoilers? One Angel is still in the graveyard (convenient that location!) and touches Rory sending him back to an indeterminate moment in time. So Amy freaks out and tells the Doctor to go back and help him, and the Doctor refuses saying that it would rip New York apart to try to do so. Hmmm. So Amy makes a sacrifice and decides to go back as well. The Doctor gets upset and tells her he will never see her again! It’s poignant and sad and I’ll freely admit made me emotional. It’s not emotional because of the Ponds, it’s emotional because of the Doctor. In essence Amy is 11’s Rose. In that vein he wants to do everything to save her, to stay with her and to keep traveling with her. His best friend. On that front it’s absolutely heart-jarringly sad. At least it was, until I thought about it for more than a moment. Wait. So the Doctor can’t go back to her time because it would rip New York apart. Okay, so if the episode is to be believed, it’s the constant time flux in NY causing this fact that he can’t take the TARDIS back there. Add that River says she can freely go back with her stolen (from Jack Harkness) vortex manipulator and it doesn’t cause the same issues that the TARDIS does, thus allowing her to give the book to Amy to publish in the past and create her epilogue for the Doctor to read and you have the makings of a plot hole. Then if you really break it down, then Amy and Rory can simply go outside the city to a different place (Buffalo maybe?) where the Doctor CAN travel to....hell they even have a vortex-manipulated Daughter to bring the message to do so. This is not just a plot hole; it’s a giant, fabulously over sighted writing mistake (paraphrased from another viewer). Let’s not just say that though, let’s look at it logically with historical evidence. Rose Tyler got stuck in an alternate universe. The walls closed and the universe was sealed off from ours otherwise it would rip ours to pieces. Doctor can’t go to her. In fact it’s only a need to create further rips in the universe that he DOES see her again, afterwards re-sealing those gaps to make sure things go tickety boo. Donna Noble, part of a Human /Time Lord metacrisis, she took the Doctor’s mind into her head and became the Doctor Donna, had to have her mind wiped and she would never remember any of the great things she did otherwise her mind would burn and she would die. The Doctor could never visit her otherwise he risks her remembering and subsequently dying. Fast forward, the Doctor can’t visit or save Amy and Rory from the 1930’s New York...and instead of finding a way to visit them or save them VIA another place they could travel to or another time a year or so later....he GIVES UP? Wow. That sucked almost all the emotion out of that scene in the graveyard. It smacks of a weak, weak plot device. Moffat seemingly didn’t know how to write them off the show. It’s the only thing I can come up with. Say what you will about RTD and melodrama, but I can’t believe that Moffat wrote a great and emotional end to the Ponds and totally robs it and the thing falls totally apart under the slightest scrutiny. I’m sad because I’m the guy who dismisses that kind of thing when it comes to DOCTOR WHO. The Sontaran Eps in S4 are pretty rough on common sense and plot holes, but they are scads better than this stuff. I WANT to handwavium the bullshit science and plot holes for story. I want to do that, but in this episode it was just so damn blatant.

Was it a good episode? Yes, indeed. Does it require Kleenex as promised? Yes it does. But afterwards when you begin to actually think about the ending you will most likely get annoyed. Especially in comparison with heartbreakers like Rose’s goodbye in DOOMSDAY and Donna’s goodbye in JOURNEY’S END, Amy and Rory’s goodbye is treated almost like a “we have to do this, so here you go. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s sad enough.” And that felt flat to me. It’s got a number of decent ideas and scenes and has some kickass DOCTOR WHO moments, but it never adds up to a solid whole. Again falling victim to Moffat’s trademark cobbling of a narrative AROUND his own clever plot devices instead of writing a half decent story first and then adding in his plot devices after. I’m actually a little pissed off by how this happened.

Nick Hurran’s direction and Murray Gold’s score ought to be lauded as both were spot on in this ep. Hurran’s direction really does hearken to 1930’s noir in a perfect way and Gold’s score as usual these days, was lovingly rendered and presented throughout. The acting was also quite well done throughout with Matt Smith (the Doctor’s) performance standing out most. Karen Gillan (Amy) brings home a solid performance, while Alex Kingston (River) does a decent enough job, but for me she’s never reached the heights she did in her first appearance in the library eps.

Is it a solid mid-series finale? Yeah, if you can handwavium the absolute MYRIAD of things wrong with the notions in it and add the fact that the Angels don’t come across remotely as frightening as they did in S5 (let alone BLINK)...at least the Cherubs were creepy and did a lot with sound only. You will likely enjoy it. I did. It was only after I thought about it that everything really began to leap out at me. Is it a solid ending for Amy and Rory? No. Not remotely. In fact it’s probably one of the weakest “companion(s) leave” episode in relaunched DW. I’ll add the fact that we spent two eps with Rory’s dad Brian and he gets no info on what happened to them? How about Amy’s parents? Their many friends? There is liiterally NO EPILOGUE explaining anything to anyone. This robs the episode of a further set of emotional beats that I think the audience deserved, especially Brian. Why spend two eps with him if he was only going to be left in the dark? Travesty.

So yeah. That’s where I am with it. I enjoyed it on some level, but more of me is upset at how nonsensical it was, how scatterbrained and how I feel that even the emotional moments end up not really being earned. When Rose left I cried. When Donna left I sobbed like an un-consoled kid. Now when Amy and Rory leave I shed a tear or two when during the graveyard scene and the epilogue scene, but felt utterly robbed afterwards.

This just further illustrates to me how much RTD’s era affected me. He knew characters and interaction. He paid attention to story first and plot after. Moffat’s continued failure in that department leaves us with stuff like this. Serviceable DOCTOR WHO, but it’s a far cry from what it was and what it COULD be.

Book Review: Fated by Benedict Jacka

  

Alex Verus is part of a world hidden in plain sight, running a magic shop in London. And while Alex's own powers aren't as showy as some mages, he does have the advantage of foreseeing the possible future--allowing him to pull off operations that have a million-to-one-chance of success.

But when Alex is approached by multiple factions to crack open a relic from a long-ago mage war, he knows that whatever's inside must be beyond powerful. And thanks to his abilities, Alex can predict that by taking the job, his odds of survival are about to go from slim to none

Jim Butcher, Mike Carey, Ben Aaronovich, Kevin Hearne, Kate Griffin, Myke Cole and Christopher Farnsworth. These are a few of the names writing urban fantasy that I’ve been recently enjoying. As I’ve stated countless times before urban fantasy is either a go-to obsessive read for me or an exercise in tedium. Which one it is usually depends on the author. The above-named author’s fall into the category of Obsessive go-to read. Finding these diamonds in the rough can be daunting, and has resulted in my reading of more than a few UF stinkers.

Luckily, along came a few reviews of Benedict Jacka’s new series about British diviner mage Alex Verus. Most of those reviews seem to indicate that this is a series with some serious entertainment value.

Rest assured, it does have that.

Verus is a lead you can get behind. He’s as sarcastic as Harry Dresden is (there is even an in-book nod to Butcher’s Chicago-based Wizard), with a similar repertoire of pop-culture references, but he also is a creation all his own. Once you settle into his POV, you won’t be disappointed to follow him around.

The world-building in the first book FATED is top notch, with an almost immediate immersion into Verus’ world and the society he belongs to of the supernatural and magery. It is clear from page one that the world has been around a long time, there were once wars that we’ve long forgotten about, and there are even relics from that time which are wholly sought after. Imagine, if you will a peek into the history of Harry Potter’s Ministry of Magic. A delving into that specific magical history. That’s partially what you get in FATED’s world-building, and Jacka doesn’t hold back on informing the reader about Verus’ world. Does this always work? No, not always. In the beginning of the book there is a tad too much info-dumping going on and it stands out a bit. But as the book goes on and Jacka finds himself more at ease with the way to reveal his world, then it’s much more enthralling with the info dropping at better moments and not in large clumps.

The periphery characters are nicely fleshed out, with the cursed Luna being the most easily acceptable (not to mention intriguing with her specific curse) to the reader. The quasi-villains (Cinder, Khazaad and Rachel), and the grey characters whose motivations we can’t guess at first (Levistus) are done with attention to detail. You also get a giant talking spider, and an airheaded air elemental for the bargain. I don’t know that they are all fleshed out quite as much as they could be, but since this is the 1st book in a series I am fully giving Jacka a pass in that department.

With Verus being on the less powerful (or is he?) side of mage powers, with him only really being able to see various futures and paths, it makes for an interesting narrative choice since he spends a lot of time running and hiding. In contrast to Dresden who goes out of his way to seek out fights, Verus instead is highly sought after and is attempting to keep a lower profile. Now, for my money this ability needs to build in future books to the point where Verus can perfect his magic and be able to get ahead of opponents. I await to see how Jacka plays that particular hand.

There are about two or three major action sequences in the book and while they aren’t perfect (as they tend to be a bit abrupt), they are certainly entertaining and break up the expository chapters well. It’s a short book so not oodles happens, but the finale is really nicely written, if not altogether unpredictable. In fact I think my biggest gripe with FATED would be that I was able to guess pretty much all the major twists before they occurred. That took away a BIT of the tension for me. But it’s not something unfixable, and hopefully it’s something that Jacka can improve down the line.

A really, solid, fun and adventurous urban fantasy book, with an expansive and intricate world and a wonderfully wry protagonist who isn’t all-powerful. FATED should be on any reading list that includes the likes of Jim Butcher or Mike Carey, and since he was just signed to a further 2 books in the series (there are 3 out now FATED, CURSED and TAKEN) you can be sure he’s going to be around a while. I’m hoping for an Alex Verus meeting with Harry Dresden down the line, but that may be fanboy wishery.

Either way, give this one a look. It’s a blast to read.

NOTE: The cover image I've used is the UK cover, because I like it way better than the cover we got here in Canada.

Doctor Who: Series 7, Episode 4, The Power Of Three (Review)

I'm going to start this week’s review of DOCTOR WHO by listing the things I liked. Why? Because there was a lot I either was so-so on, or outright bothered by, so let’s start with nice stuff.

THE POWER OF THREE (Things I liked)

-The nod to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, in positioning his daughter Kate as the new head of UNIT, was a lovely, lovely touch.

-Amy and the Doctor’s serious and heartfelt chat on the banks of the Thames was poignant and allowed Smith and Gillan to show how they interact best.

-Brian had two solid moments in the episode. One was when he asked the Doctor what happened to his past companions. The second was near the end when he convinced Amy and Rory to accompany the Doctor on another adventure.

THE POWER OF THREE (The rest of my opinion)

I always used to complain that A GOOD MAN GOES TO WAR was the biggest scatterbrained, kitchen sink episode in Moffat’s tenure as showrunner. I take that back now. Chris Chibnall (the writer of tonight's ep. Note: he also penned DINOSAURS ON A SPACESHIP) has successfully stolen that crown. And what’s funnier is that everything happens in this episode at the exact same time as nothing. It’s kind of an aggravating episode to watch actually.

Let’s break it down.

We have the Ponds (acting a little un-Pondish) trying to decide between their real lives and their traveling lives with the Doctor. I don’t like this aspect of the plot as I feel that the Ponds (Amy especially) have used the Doctor for adventure in the past, but when he needs them they start to question whether they want to stop or not to just live human lives? Blah. Rose, Martha, Donna, Jack, Mickey, Sarah Jane, and any of the one offs always expressed interest in “staying with him forever”. Even when their family and friends missed them they didn’t stop. Now I know this is KIND of rectified in the ending of the Ep and Rory’s dad’s speech...but it still felt as if we spent a whole episode watching the Ponds be uncharacteristically selfish.

Rory’s Dad Brian is given the most pointless busy work of any companion’s family yet. He is asked to watch his cube. So he does so for nigh on a year (even videoing the thing when he sleeps and reviewing the tapes)...but the cubes all come to life at once (and only for 47 minutes) so I ask the writer what was the point of having Brian watch it all that time (I’m serious, for 20 minutes we keep flipping back to see Brian watching this thing)? I’ll tell you what the point was, they wanted to have Brian in the episode for other moments, but could not think of anything for him to do in the time while they were away and the world waited the year for the cubes to activate. That’s bad writing IMHO. Luckily, like I said above he is given two bits of dialogue that make his time on the episode worthwhile. But I mean come on, at least RTD had Jackie Tyler DOING stuff if she was on any given ep.

The villains. The cubes VIA alien boogeyman custodians bent on eradicating the human race before they reach the stars, seeing them as a plague. Okay, for one: the Doctor views them as a bedtime story told to keep young Gallifreyans in line, and two: they apparently exist somewhere out of time as well as in all of time too. Right. Good. But the Doctor has already seen humanity reach the stars in NuWho, Examples: THE WATERS OF MARS, the 4th Great and Bountiful Human Empire, and any number of classic eps. So why on earth does this worry him at all? Surely if he wasn’t concerned that Amy and Rory’s baby would turn out okay because the evidence (River Song) was right in front of him (S6), then why would he fear these custodial universe police when he knows very well humanity reaches the stars? Oh and where the hell is the Shadow Proclamation or the Judoon in all this? The whole episode is one giant plot hole in the established mythos and canon of the series. And that aggravated me to no end. But let’s ignore that for a second and imagine that part doesn’t bother me. What happens to solve this horrific quelling of humanity Via cardiac arrests? Well a quick wave the Sonic on board the alien ship at the control panel should reverse things nicely. Yep. Wow, that was...easy don’t you think?

It never felt like anyone important was in peril, and UNIT was CRIMINALLY treated. Other than the lovely nod to Lethbridge-Stewart, UNIT themselves are given terribly dodgy dialogue, have little to really do, and wear no red berets. At least the winged logo is present (if only visible in one scene). Sadly, when you compare this to the very BEST use of UNIT in NuWho (easily THE PLANET OF THE DEAD with fan favourite Malcolm! How many Bernard’s is that?) or even the moderately dodgy use of them in the Sontaran eps from Martha’s Series...it’s just SO pale in comparison that it stands out a mile. A weak shot at fanboy nostalgia that falls on deaf ears to real supporters of UNIT in DW.

All in all the WEAKEST ep of the Series by far. I found myself bored in the first 20 minutes which was mostly filler and bizarre disconnected exposition scenes, and then I found myself entertained but annoyed by content and execution of the latter half of the ep. So yeah, probably the most scatterbrained and ill-conceived ep of DW this Series. Chibnall seems to always have these great ideas, but I rarely see him with the chops to properly set them out, let alone execute them with any verve or interest. I mean a slow invasion by little black cubes could have been SO cool, and VERY Day Of The Triffids-esque. And instead we get something that is just this side of the Manhattan Daleks episode.

The credit sequence continues to experience crazyness. Again darker, this time with violent purple colours as well and scattered bolts of that crazy lightning breaking into the time vortex...the mystery continues and keeps me intrigued!

Really looking forward to next week’s ep for three reasons.

1. The Weeping Angels in NY!

2. The Ponds FINALLY say farewell (I won’t miss them too much if I am honest)

3. Hopefully a trailer for the Christmas ep with Jenna Louise-Coleman’s full proper intro to DW as companion!

Movie Musings: HOP

After being spoiled by two weeks of Scott reporting live from the darkened theatres of TIFF it’s going to be quite a shock to go back to these five sentence wonders.

HOP.

It’s kind of hard to buy the film’s sweet and sugary cuteness when you know that the adorable bunny who looks like this…

…actually looks like this in real life.

But HOP does a great job in walking the line that all contemporary animated features must travel, light hearted and fun for the kids, but mature enough for an adult to enjoy. The film hits all the expected plot and character beats and its biggest transgression is giving away the end of the film in the opening credits. (Which might arguably be a valid narrative choice for an adult film but feels really out of place for a kid’s movie.)

“Hey Daddy, why am I watching this movie if I know that the guy ends up as SPOILERS at the end.”

“I don’t know honey, maybe Hollywood doesn’t think you’ll be able to pick up on it two hours from now?”

All the voice acting is top notch, but a special nod has to go to James Marsden who as clearly decided to just embrace the quirkiness of the film and leave his inhibitions at the door. I have an unexplained tendency to discount Marsden has a bankable actor and I can’t really figure out why, especially when you consider that he has a CV longer than my right arm.

Maybe it has to do with the shameful way he got bounced out of the X-MEN franchise as a result of some behind the scenes conflict, which means my first exposure to the actor was right around the time all signs were pointing to him being  completely ‘replaceable’.

Anyway, he’s very good here and does an admirable job in keeping the part light and frothy without pandering to anybody.

Doctor Who: Series 7 Ep. 2: Dinosaurs On A Spaceship & Ep 3. A Town Called Mercy Reviews

Since I was attending TIFF and doing a multitude of reviews for that I didn’t get a chance to properly do my weekly review for DOCTOR WHO (namely episodes 2 and 3 which aired during TIFF), both of which I watched.

So, consider this a two-fer review for both DINOSAURS ON A SPACESHIP and A TOWN CALLED MERCY.

Without further ado…

DINOSAURS ON A SPACESHIP

This episode is a little more bombastic and less introspective (at least initially) than the Series opener ASYLUM OF THE DALEKS was. I mean let’s run down the list of things in the ep:

- Huge planet sized spaceship? Check.

- Dinosaurs running around on said spaceship? Check.

- Evil megalomaniacal pirate bent on collecting everything? Check.

- Two giant henchman robots with silly dialogue? Check.

- Nefertiti? Check.

- Big Game Hunter reminiscent of someone from a Wilbur Smith novel? Check.

- Amy and Rory post-marital strife? Check.

- Rory’s Dad? Check.

- Angry Doctor? Check.

- Indian Space Agency defense force threatening to destroy the ship and dino’s to save earth from collision? Check.

So yeah, a bit of a dogs breakfast with all the bits in. What makes it actually succeed is the clever writing and the acting across the board. This is not to say that it doesn’t contain things that are odd (Rory’s dad seems to take about 15 seconds to drink in the fact that not only is he in space but also that his son and daughter-in-law have been traveling with a man in time and space saving worlds…which kind of bothered me a bit), but that it contains enough good old fashioned adventurous DW to make it well worth your time.

First up, the side character the Doctor calls on for help, Nefertiti and Riddel are worthy of the temporary companion roles, and a big notion here that will jump out at the informed (AKA those who know that Amy and Rory’s time in the TARDIS is ending with Ep 5) is that the Doctor (who has been without regular companionship for roughly 300 years by the time that last Series CLOSING TIME aired) is starting to show the wear and tear of travelling on his own (which always seems to produce an angrier, and more unrepentant Doctor…like the 9th in DALEK or the 10th in THE RUNAWAY BRIDE) and seems to be at least attempting to supplement the frequent absence of Amy and Rory in his life. That’s a good thing, and it is the reason that both Nef and Riddel are present, but it’s not really working that well. The Doctor shows his unrepentant side on the pirate Solomon and allows him to basically die. It’s a telling moment, but for those speculating that this has never happened before and think the Doctor is not acting like himself… you are quite wrong. Throughout his history (in relaunched Who if not older Classic Who) the Doctor has showcased unrepentant anger, and vicious retribution on people when he’s not travelling with companions. Heck, 11 showed it early on with Amy (THE BEAST BELOW). It’s part of what makes him who he is. The companions temper him, and without them he can become cold and distant. This is what has happened, and I’m happy to see this particular personality trait return. It shows that Moffat and Co. haven’t forgotten it. It also seems to show us how unwilling The Doctor is to let the Ponds go, whereas when other companions have gone on to other lives (willingly or unwillingly) in the past he usually accepts it and moves on. With the Ponds it’s like he clinging to them, and that’s interesting considering how aloof he can be.

DINOSAURS ends on a bleakish note with the Doctor’s anger on display, but it was a fun, and adventurous episode all told and a great way to spend an hour. It’s certainly showing that Series 7 is already kicking Series 6’s ass in the entertainment dept. The standalone nature of the eps (with teeny tiny arc threads) is truly brining us back to a more solidly grounded, uncomplicated DW. And that’s a good thing.

A TOWN CALLED MERCY

This one I liked. I liked it a lot. But my reasons for liking it aren’t the old west town with the anachronistic tech, or the cowboys, or the gunslinger cyborg, or even Ben Browder.

No, my reasons for liking it stem from the alien doctor named Kahler Jex. And more over what he did.

You see Kahler Jex is essentially a war criminal, though he is not thought of like that by his own people. He stopped a war on his planet that was killing millions by experimenting on a number of the inhabitants (under false pretenses) and creating killing machine cyborgs, who eventually stopped the war by virtue of being unstoppable. Though the war was stopped, Jex was ashamed of what he had done and he fled to earth and took residence in the town called (you guessed it) Mercy. There he gave them electricity and running water, and cured Cholera and basically tried to forget what he had done while at the same time pay his own penance for his crimes against those experiments. Well, of course one of them comes look for him and wants to kill him, but doesn’t want to harm the other inhabitants of Mercy.

It’s compelling because once the Doctor learns what Jex did, out comes the angry Doctor again…no less angry than he was on the last episode, but no further. That is until Jex talks about how similar they are to one another. And that hits home for the Doctor who has been told (most recently by Davros in S4) that he crafts weapons out of his companions to do his killing for him. The Doctor tells him that he doesn’t get to choose his own form of punishment, that’s not how this works. He needs to answer for his crimes, even though they stopped a war.

But what really rocks the Doctor back and sets his anger to overload is when he realizes that he really IS NO different from Jex in that facet. The Doctor locked the Time War out of reality, resigning two entire races (the Daleks and the Time Lords) to an eternal state of hell. He essentially (to stop the aggression that threatened to destroy the universe) made the decision to do this on his own, and that falls on him. It’s almost a worse act of war crime, and what’s worse is he KNOWS it. So he snaps and manhandles Jex out to the edge of town past the barrier that the Gunslinger won’t cross and points a gun at him to await his death at the hands of his creation.

WHAT?! You say…The Doctor and a gun? Yes.

Probably my favorite thing about the episode is this moment. And Amy even comments on it (“You see? This is what happens when you travel alone for too long!”). The Doctor, (the man who never would) hasn’t held a gun up to someone since he was at his wits end in THE END OF TIME PART II and Rasillon was threatening to bring the Time War out of the lock and bring about the end of time. So couple that with this moment where Jex has reminded him of his own digressions against not just one but two races of people. It’s poignant and is the likes of which we’ve not seen since RTD gave us the PTSD Doctor (9th Doctor). Being brought so entirely low it is only Amy firing off a gun that brings him back. But not after he tries to defend his actions by mentioning his “mercy” of the Daleks, the Master ect. It’s a key point for him to do so. It shows that the Time War was exactly what he was thinking about (since both the Daleks and the Master were heavily involved in that era of his life) when he was railing at Jex.

So in the end A TOWN CALLED MERCY ends up being a great standalone, with a darker yet still entertaining story…but the core of it is this interaction between the two doctors and their crimes…and then you have Amy telling him he’s traveled too long alone…and finally the parting shot of Amy (when asked to keep traveling) turning him down and talks about their friends might start to see them age faster. The Doctor’s face is priceless in that shot. He knows the trips are getting less frequent with the Ponds and that a time will come soon when he is utterly alone.

And that’s what makes A TOWN CALLED MERCY so compelling as an hour of TV, but especially as an hour of DOCTOR WHO.

As a final note: Hopefully everyone has noticed that the titles sequences (aside from being slightly different with the logo being tailored to fit the theme of the episode)  started slightly murkier than past years and have been getting slowly darker and murkier with each episode. The running theory is that this will continue to happen until Ep 5 (THE ANGELS TAKE MANHATTAN, and the Ponds exit) where it will pretty much be just a murky black screen with the music playing and white titles. Or it could be leading to something more ominous down the line. Either way, I think it's a nice little mystery.

TIFF 2012: Final Round-up

Well, we're reached the end of the ten days. I saw 13 films (one I skipped on purpose as the reviews were just terrible across the board, and another I had slept through at home) and out of those I only vehemently disliked one of them, and was middling on another one...the rest of them I was pretty impressed by for different reasons which can be read in my specific reviews.

I tried to stay spoiler-less for the most part and I think I achieved that. I simply wanted to get the word out there on which were worthy of your time if they drop wide (which a bunch already have release dates for).

So let's do a quick point form run down of some notables shall we?

BEST FILM OF TIFF 2012 (that I saw): Hmmm, a tough category, and while I think it's split between Neil Jordan's BYZANTIUM and J.A. Bayona's THE IMPOSSIBLE...part of me just thinks that BYZANTIUM left the most indelible mark on me. I walked out of that screening immediately wanting to see it again.

WORST FILM OF TIFF 2012 (that I saw): Easily the misstep that was A LIAR'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: THE UNTRUE STORY OF MONTY PYTHON'S GRAHAM CHAPMAN. Not knowing whether to be a serious documentary or a faux-mentary comedy, the film fails at both. Some great animation mixed with some TERRIBLE animation. It's just a big, costly flop.

STRANGEST MOMENT AT TIFF 2012 (experienced by me): Hugh Laurie (post-MR. PIP screening) being ushered into his waiting SUV behind the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre where a smallish (not unmanageable) crowd awaited him for autographs...and he didn't stop to sign anything or say anything at all. After a bizarre and oddly lackluster Q & A post-screening in which he seemed to wish he was anywhere but there, the no-fan-attention exit seemed even stranger.

HAPPIEST MOMENT AT TIFF 2012 (experienced by me):  The Q&A after the screening of ARTIFACT (30 Seconds to Mars doc. and People's Choice TIFF Doc winner) with Jared and Shannon Leto was informative, exciting and totally entertaining! I had a grin a mile wide for that.

CRAPPIEST MOMENT AT TIFF 2012 (experienced by me): I was first in line for my screening of WASTELAND so I could get the cherry seat I like at the Scotiabank, and was the first seated. Then an older lady with rank B.O. and a loud talking voice sat beside me (without asking if the seat beside me was free....but nevermind), and the girl who sat behind me had a horrendous, vile, mucous-filled cold and proceeded to talk and snort and sniffle and cough her foulness in my direction (I mean honestly, when you are that sick you don't attend a film screening with others, that's just common courtesy). I moved to another seat which wasn't too bad, but I was still bothered by the fact that I lined up two hours before the screening to GET a seat and ended up in one I could have gotten had I showed up 20 minutes early.

So in the end I had a great time, and I even think that next year I may go for 20 films instead of 15 as I found myself often with nothing to do at home between screenings. BYZANTIUM you need to see. It's phenomenal. CLOUD ATLAS will divide audiences, with some (like me) loving it, and others scratching their heads angrily (there was actually a person behind me who said after the screening "That was 3 hours too long"), THE IMPOSSIBLE will make you emotional, and DREDD will impress you with its uncompromising vision and action. MR. PIP will show you that the world isn't all sunshine and roses, WASTELAND will remind you why heist movies are so fun, and KEY OF LIFE will help you see that sometimes, being weird and bizarre can help you have the most interesting life.

So, we close the door on another TIFF, and a pretty successful one at that, with many people buzzing about the big films, and a few buzzing about unexpected smaller films (Sarah Polley's THE STORIES WE TELL is being talked about for Oscar-worthyness already).

Lastly, here are links to all the film reviews I've done over the fest in one convenient place. Thanks for reading!

DREDD 3D Review

FIN (THE END) Review

CLOUD ATLAS Review

MR. PIP review

THE IMPOSSIBLE Review

A LIAR'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: THE UNTRUE STORY Of MONTY PYTHON'S GRAHAM CHAPMAN Review

BYZANTIUM Review

JUMP Review

ARTIFACT Review

OUTRAGE BEYOND Review

KEY OF LIFE Review

WASTELAND Review

THERMAE ROMAE Review

TIFF 2012: Thermae Romae

This is a tough one for me. I REALLY, really wanted to see this. A fish out of water comedy where a roman bath architect finds a secret passageway from 124A.D. Rome to modern 2012 Japanese Bathhouses and starts to steal the future’s ideas to appease his own Roman superiors. What’s not to like?

Well, as it turns out, nothing was not to like. It’s charming, funny, and well acted across the board…

…but…

As an Anime fan (and knowing this was based off of a very popular Manga series) I kept thinking throughout that it could have been even better as an Anime rather than a live action film. It has all the bells and whistles and hallmarks of what makes comedy anime so great…but here I the live action version it began to be a little…overwrought? It also begins to be a BIT repetitive and predictable in the second hour. Once you’ve worn off the novelty of watching Lucius react to modern things like food and drink he’s never tasted, or thinking this “flat-faced clan” (he believes that the future is actually just a slave version of a bathhouse) is superior in their methods of bath-houses, it just ends up ringing a little falsely the 3rd and 4th time they go for that comedic beat. Another thing I noticed is that when the love interest from modern Japan, Mami (a struggling manga artist looking for a muse), ends up in ancient Rome the whole thing that makes her so charming falls apart. She ends up resigned to plot-device-rescue territory and I felt that was really unfair to her character. She was the best bit about the modern world storypoints and every time she was on screen I was overjoyed…but once back in Ancient Rome I just felt bad for her as a character.

Like I said, it’s a good film, and there’s plenty to like here, but it’s not anything that couldn’t have been done better in Anime. The second hour is a lot of been there, done that with a rescue tagged in for good measure.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m really impressed that the programmer’s chose such an offbeat Japanese comedy to be a Gala Presentation, but a big part of me thinks that KEY OF LIFE (which I’d seen earlier the same day) deserved to be there more I guess if we were choosing Japanese comedy films. And maybe having seen and been so charmed by KEY OF LIFE made me react the way I did to THERMAE ROMAE.

You will enjoy the film, laugh and be charmed (especially by the lead and the older Japanese bath house users) by it…but I can’t help feeling that it could have been something better in the end.

TIFF 2012: Wasteland

Ever since I saw LOCK, STOCK & TWO SMOKING BARRELS years ago I have found that certain British directors really have a great grasp on what exactly makes a gritty, and interesting heist drama.

With WASTELAND by director Rowan Athale I have found another film to love in this genre. It’s compelling, well-told in the non-linear style that usually works best in these types of films, and acted with verve by the young cast (Luke Treadaway, Iwan Rheon, Matthew Lewis, Gerard Kearns, and Vanessa Kirby) with an old British favourite anchoring the cast (Timothy Spall).

Basically this is the tale of a young man named Harvey who gets out of prison (from a drug possession rap he was set up for), and sets about gathering his friends into a scheme to rob the REAL drug dealer / local thug boss who set him up to begin with, while trying to not piss off his old girlfriend who’d rather he didn’t get himself into trouble.

While it’s a simple tale, the non-linear storytelling, the impressive acting of the cast, and actually the cinematography which captures the Yorkshire town it takes place in truly well make it really soar.  The cinematographer makes every shot beautiful, but in a wholly gritty way. I watched as the shot choices frequently appear behind the actors as they walked (allowing us to identify the actors through their jacket design and the back of their heads), and wide shots were designed in a picturesque fashion to maximize effect on the audience. I found one particularly well-filmed scene where they had the young men scattered in different positions around a rusty children’s playground as they argued to be quite well done.

In the end the film is definitely carried by the performances though and you will care about the story as well, with Treadaway teasing that something is not quite correct as he relates his story to Spall’s police detective character. The group of friends actually act like friends would (as opposed to actors attempting to make it seem real). They argue, make comments and behave like good friends would when in extraordinary circumstances. It adds a level of realism to the proceedings that I found quite refreshing.

Great stuff, and well worth your time when it hopefully drops internationally.

TIFF 2012: Key Of Life

I’d never seen a film by renowned comedy writer/director Kenji Uchida, though I’d heard he had a deft hand at the genre. So I was quite intrigued to see KEY OF LIFE, and thankfully I was pleasantly surprised.

It was a great film, and one in which I laughed loudly many times. It was also full to brimming with heart, charm and sensibility…even though it’s technically a black comedy.

The main characters (played pitch perfectly by Masato Sakai, and Teruyuki Kagawa) Sakurai (who wishes to kill himself but can’t and lives in near poverty) and Kondo (an assassin who lives the high life, but is seemingly bored by it) end up accidentally switching lives when Kondo slips in a bathhouse and thunks his head producing amnesia prompting Sakurai to take it upon himself to steal the assassin’s clothes without realizing what he’s gotten himself into. The events that follow are hilarious from minute one. Rounding out the cast is Kanae (Ryoko Hirosue) who is a terribly nerdy magazine editor looking for a husband to marry by a certain date (which she announces as "I'm getting married" to her co-workers). She’s hilarious. The film opens with her and I was almost falling into the aisle gut laughing at her antics. Perfect comedy timing on her part.

The film actually takes a bunch of turns I wasn’t expecting and ended up being far more refreshing than it had any right to be based on the premise. It was written skillfully, and directed even better. The acting was great across the board (like I mentioned above) and I could not think of a better qay to spend two hours early on a Saturday morning.

See this film when you can get your hands on it. It’s about as charming a film as I saw at the whole of TIFF this year. Loved it!

TIFF 2012: Outrage Beyond

Takeshi Kitano is one of those Directorial names that I always pay attention to. I like his yakuza movies (BROTHER) as much as I like his comedy stuff (TAKESHI’S CASTLE), as much as I like his quiet, introspective stuff (KIKUKIRO, DOLLS). He’s one of the best auteur’s that Japan has produced.

What’s interesting about Kitano is that his output has gone on a wave, beginning with violent yakuza stuff, then drifting into the thoughtful stuff, then into kind of inner eye surrealism, and then with OUTRAGE he’s drifted back into violent yakuza films again.

What immediately jumps out with OUTRAGE and it’s sequel OUTRAGE BEYOND is that Kitano is seemingly tired of the genre…but in a good way. Basically these two films are scene after scene of a bunch of suited yakuza bosses, underbosses, soldiers and thugs spitting line after line of bravado and dialogue at each other interspersed with bright, garish, visceral violence. There is really not much else to either film. Yes they follow a story progression, but even that seems to be a side-car. What makes the films compelling then? Well Kitano’s statement about the actual yakuza themselves. This antiquated crime lord system that exists in the safest country on the planet, in which the old guard do things a certain way, and the new guard do things in a different but no less surreal way…and neither of the sets of guards has the first clue how backwards it all is.

In what is essentially the Japanese version of a Scorsese mob film, OUTRAGE BEYOND basically is a cautionary tale for the elite crime syndicate. It shows how you cannot go against the boss, and if you do and take the boss spot for yourself, there is always someone wanting to take that from you. It’s a constant ebb and flow of a rat eating its own tail. Up and coming mobsters want to make a name, older mobsters want to keep power, and everyone in between is scheming in some way. It’s basically an organization you join if you are looking for a quick and violent demise. And isn’t that utterly ridiculous. That is the point I think Kitano is making here. These men in these rooms spitting bravado and insults at one another mean less than nothing to the outside world. The rest of the ball keeps spinning while these tools set about killing one another for power that really is a figment of their imagination.

And THAT is why Kitano is such a master.

If you can’t tell, OUTRAGE BEYOND was excellent.

TIFF 2012: Artifact

I've been a solid 30 SECONDS TO MARS fan ever since I stumbled upon their self-titled first CD (2002), and have followed them closely for ten years now. I love their music, their passion and especially their attention to fans.

So imagine my surprise and delight at seeing ARTIFACT on the TIFF bill this year. I immediately snapped up two tickets (for myself and my gf who is also a huge fan) and fit the premiere screening into my schedule. So we trundled down to the Ryerson last night for the screening and excitedly buzzed in line about the band and the subject of the documentary, which documents their long battle with EMI who was suing them for $30,000,000, while simultaneously telling the story of the making of their third album (THIS IS WAR).

The very first thing you'll notice about ARTIFACT is that it is a very, very polished documentary above and beyond all else. Well assembled, edited (by Shelby Siegel, Stefanie Visser, Daniel Hernandez, Ishai Setton), scored, and paced the entire endeavor works really well for even those who don't know about the band, as a significant marker in the long, recent forced evolution of the record business. It tells the story of dinosaur corporate business folk who basically screw the artist at every turn, and that's the business model: Screwing the artist. It's just something that is apparently accepted, albeit grudgingly on the part of struggling bands who just want to play music. In ARTIFACT you will also see how when a giant corporation who takes control of flagging EMI, they end up not having a clue about how to run it.

It showcases that 30 STM were present at the apex of the influx of digital music, the advent of the single returning (no longer having to buy a whole album to get the song you love), and especially during the fast evolution of the idea that the Record Label business model no longer applied, leaving record companies hemorrhaging money. Ultimately very informative about just how the record industry (used to) work, how the company would front a decent sized fee and then proceed to take nearly every penny of the profit for themselves, leaving most bands in debt. I'd rather not spoil too much of the film but sufficed to say you will walk out of it with a MUCH clearer understanding of exactly how the industry (used to) work. I say "used to" because the film touches on some of the bigger changes in the industry, like Amanda Palmer's (one of my faves) recent Kickstarter success for her THEATRE IS EVIL album and tour. That shows that things ARE, however slowly, changing. It just so happens that when 30STM began fighting EMI, this sort of thing (crowdfunding) didn't exist yet so they were on the front lines of a war of attrition and the suits at the top of EMI were attempting to mentally and physically drain them of their will to fight.

Various musicians, ex-EMI executives, and other folk from the industry weigh in throughout the film to help tell the story. It's Jared, Shannon and Tomo who really tell the story on the ground floor though. Every single beat of emotion, upset, anger and elation is on display here, laid bare for the audience. Also on display is the absolute, drive that Jared and Co. have in them about music. It wasn't just about making the record, it was about something higher. Something attainable, but only at great cost. There are quiet moments with Jared tinkling at a piano after a decidedly hard phone call, or Shannon succumbing to his drums till they become an extension of him and you can actually FEEL what he feels, or even Tomo shouting his upset into a rock that is cast off a cliff into the sun-sinking dusk. It...resonates. Not just for me as a fan of 30STM, but I think it resonates for everyone and how music affects us on a mental level. It can make you feel joy, or anguish, or even stillness, and that is also on display in ARTIFACT.

Probably one of the best documentaries I've seen in a long time, and certainly the best music doc I've ever seen. Produced by Jared Leto, and Emma Ludbrook, it's important, it's informative, and most of all it's entertaining. The film got a well deserved standing ovation after the screening (which was the 1st ever screening), Jared and Shannon taking the stage afterwards for a wonderful, funny and endearing Q & A. I proudly stood up (my gf keeps gushing about how she held her hand out and both Jared and Shannon five-d her) and applauded with everyone else. They DESERVE that praise. This is a documentary that should be seen by everyone. As fans we have a responsibility to be educated about how these bands we idolize, about their struggle, and about where exactly our money goes when it leaves our hands. It shows how human they are, and how they approach music the way we approach anything that we are passionate about.

If anything it made me an even bigger fan of 30STM. I don't know that this is possible for this, Echelon member, white seraphim wristband owning devout disciple...but I can try. What I hope comes of this is that this documentary stands as a grounding stone for the FUTURE of music. I want this to be a call to fans that things need to change and while Jared, Shannon and Tomo do so from the inside, we can do so from the outside by being aware of how we lend our support.

An absolute triumph of documentary film making, if you missed ARTIFACT then I hope you go out of your way to see it when it comes out after the Festival. You won't be disappointed and maybe, just maybe you can help affect the future of music.

TIFF 2012: Jump

It’s New Year’s Eve in Derry, Northern Ireland, but amidst the joyously drunken revellers parading through the streets, some seriously shady business is brewing.

Kieron J. Walsh's JUMP is assembled a bit like an Irish version of GO, with multiple connected stories told in a non-linear way over the course of one night. Only instead of Vegas it's Derry, Northern Ireland, and instead of just a random night, it's New Years Eve. The addendum I ought to add is that where GO is over-the-top, garish, Hollywoodish and rather unbelievable, JUMP is realistic, funny and sombre in equal measure, well told and basically a better overall film.

Immediately what jumps out from the film (<---see what I did there?) is the poetic beginning in which after a short narrative speech from the lead Greta about how New Years simply sucks (the night when people think things will change the next day, it's too tough to get a cab after midnight) and basically it's a piss poor night when people drink too much and end up regretting the fact that at the end of that countdown is...nothing. We go back and see what the night held for all involved whom she introduces one by one.

The tale is wrought of robbery, sex, violence, death, humor and despair. But what shines through is the humanity. Where films like GO and others like this done in America the crazy messed up stuff that happens is part and parcel of the narrative which normally doesn't stop to analyze and just paces along ignoring that say someone died. In JUMP the characters have an emotional center that causes them to stop and think about these events, the music will hit sombre notes and the character will be forced to realistically wonder on the effects of any given crazyness no matter how small.

At that emotional core of the film are Greta (Nichola Burley) daughter of a mobster and a stranger named Pearse (Martin McCann) whose brother had been murdered by one of the mobster's henchman. It's one of those bitter sweet meetings in which you really just want things to work out. Two people's lives that have been irreparably damaged by those around them through no fault at all of their own, and how in finding one another there is a tangible happiness in the distance.

The film is about making mistakes, and making choices. It's about how moving forward isn't always about looking back or holding grudges. It also really is about how much New Years can suck and is just another day.

Sweet, poignant and very funny JUMP is a great film that should entertain the masses well. It's quieter than a Hollywood film, but therein lies its charm. Not bombastic or sporting a big star cast, JUMP succeeds in telling a smallish, but important story about love, loss, betrayal, and destiny.

Acted, directed, edited and scored very well it's definitely one you ought to go out and see. I quite enjoyed it and will certainly go out and look for it when it comes to DVD and BluRay (unless it gets a theatrical release here in North America in which case I'll go see it again).

TIFF 2012: Byzantium

My affection for fantasy stems from some early childhood film experiences. I was deeply affected by both Ridley Scott's LEGEND and then later by Neil Jordan's THE COMPANY OF WOLVES. The lavish attention that both Scott and Jordan approached their source material with, the absolute beauty that they found and placed on screen left somewhat of an indelible ink on my skin. THE COMPANY OF WOLVES took my love of fairytales, made it real and couched it in brilliant colours, darkened themes and haunting imagery.

A number of years later the very first film I saw as an newly minted 18-year old (and legally able to attend R Rated films in Canada) was Jordan's adaptation of Anne Rice's INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. Jordan took the subject matter and brought it to the screen in a way that I don't think many others could have. He did it with style, drama and grace. I think it was around this point that I started actively seeking out his films to see and he joined a canon of directors I still love to this day.

Jordan's latest, BYZANTIUM, I am very happy to report is in fantastic company with those two previous supernatural / fantasy films. This fits perfectly beside those two, but I think it also rises above them as well. It's as if Jordan has perfected this type of genre drama. The bottom line is, I quite unabashedly adored BYZANTIUM. Every. Single. Minute.

The story is a simple one, a mother and daughter on the run from something in a previous town end up at a seaside English town, and try to hide the fact that they are both vampires whilst surviving amongst the unknowing populous. The mother, Clara Webb (played vibrantly by Gemma Arterton), works, as she has for over 200 years, as a prostitute to support her daughter Elenore Webb (played exquisitely by a scene stealing, tour de force who goes by the name of Saoirse Ronan), while also trying to keep her past hidden and at bay from Elenore. As was mentioned by Jordan in the Q&A afterwards, the on screen chemistry between Arterton and Ronan is a perfect concoction. Arterton is all fire and tense vibrancy, while Ronan is the very model of stillness and solitude. The two on screen together are simply wonderful to behold. That's not to say the peripheral players don't leave a mark on you, as with most Jordan features they most certainly will, from Caleb Landry Jones portrayal of the sickly, and intense Frank, to Sam Riley's portrayal of one of the two who hunt Clara and Elenore for breaking the rules, and even the dastardly, villainous role that Johnny Lee Miller plays is affecting. As one of my friends said, in Jordan's films you always feel as if each of those peripheral characters has their own side story that would be fascinating all on its own.

The production design, costuming and cinematography are all utterly sumptuous, lavish and with a combination of grim and colourful that is balanced on a knife edge. A setting on a rocky, black basaltic island filled with bats and slick rocks becomes something altogether more haunting when Jordan adds splashes of colour to it. It's one of his telltale skills as a director to do this, to make the place be as important visually as the characters, and even the narrative itself.

Now, is it a complex story? Not really. But as I commented to my friend afterwards...anyone can come along and make a vampire film (and there have been many recently), but only someone like Neil Jordan can come along and release one within the current glut of vampire films and say "Look, Here, THIS is how it's done." And that was how I felt watching this. An absolute master of the supernatural and surreal comes along and schools every other vampire movie about what it is to frighten, to display nightmarish storytelling, to bring a level of quality to the drama, and basically to return an ancient vampire and death mythos to its basic fairytale roots. What he gives us in BYZANTIUM is entertainment that makes you wonder and behold. This  is something he has always done for me, ever since I was a nine year old kid and first laid eyes on his nightmarish Little Red Riding Hood tale (which I freely admit might have been too adult a subject matter for me at the time).

BYZANTIUM is definitely one of the very favorite screenings of TIFF so far. Go see it when it comes out wide. No seriously. Just do it.

TIFF 2012: A Liar's Autobiography -- The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman

I am now and always have been a BIG Monty Python fan, whether it was the films, the show, the skits, the songs...I loved it all, and usually laughed my tail off.

Sadly, this film was my first stinker in my TIFF films this year. In fact it was such a stinker that I walked out. That's right, I never saw the end. Quite frankly I recall sitting there, 3D glasses on, sighing at the most recent attempt on screen to combine one of 13 different styles of modern animation with audio Chapman had recorded before he died from his quasi-fictional autobiography and thinking...."I'd much rather be home watching TV", and isn't that kind of sad?

Actually Self-Indulgent Mess is the best way to describe it. The intention here was altruistic, but the end result is choppy, strange and mostly lame.

Utilizing many different styles of animation (some of which were quite nice, while others were kind of bland while still others were downright abrasive to the eye), the narrative basically seems to shift between truths and untruths about Chapmans's life, the audience needing to weed out what is what on their own. Based on a book of the same name (from 1980) and cobbled around recordings made by Chapman himself of the volume mere years before his death, LIAR'S seems to be trying to be something. I can understand the want to make the book into a film, but perhaps something is lost in the translation? I found the only things I laughed at were snippits of classic Python bits, and when the film was seemingly trying to deal with the serious side (like Chapman's apparent alcoholism) you almost want it it to be a proper documentary instead, the jarring animation and chaotic nature of that segment stole the relevance of the section for me.

I guess to put it in a simpler way I'd rather have watched a full out, serious documentary about Chapman, or a balls out, ridiculous faux-mentary (ALA Spinal Tap or the Rutles), or even to read the original book itself and not watch the "in-between" mess that was presented tonight. Now, that may be personal preference, but I simply could not connect with the film and I walked out at around the 50 minute mark. Perhaps that makes me ineligible to "review" it properly, but I did want to get some words down about my experience.

LIAR'S feels like a bold attempt to realize a film version of Chapman's book, that may fall on deaf ears for those who feel it's too disjointed and bizarre to actually enjoy. I kept feeling like there were parts that were QUITE enjoyable, but then the next section would make me lose total faith in the enterprise. I actually waffled on walking out at least 3 times before finally doing it. That should tell you there Is something here...but I don't feel it's enough.

I think if you wish to know about this tale, read the book itself and let your mind do the imagery.

It's not a good film for anyone except perhaps Chapman's friends, family and Co-Pythons. The rest of us are found watching an unfunny, kind of plodding, uninteresting movie that never allows itself to be anything special.

TIFF 2012: The Impossible

 

I am so glad that TIFF allows me to see something as spectacular as this film early, so that I can go off and tell everyone that they need to see it. THE IMPOSSIBLE is one of those films.

The 2004 Tsunami is one of those events in my life that I was old enough to be truly affected by, and also one which I vividly recall from the news footage and stories that rose up out of the aftermath. It was one of those moments where our planet shrugs and we realize just whose grace it is by which we live on it. It was a horrific tragedy that tore people apart, brought them together, and as the director himself (J. A. Bayona) said after our screening, "wiped away race, country and all else"...reducing those people affected directly by it to simply...human beings trying to survive.

The narrative focuses in on a family vacationing in Thailand at a beach resort, and when the tsunami strikes without warning they are ripped from the resort on chaotic tides that destroy nearly everything in their path, and a passing tree branch can spell horrific death as easily as a wrecked car can. The  family (played to perfection by Naomi Watts, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast, and Ewan McGregor) not only have to survive the initial wave, but also have to attempt to survive wounds, separation and despair after the fact. These specific events are based on an actual Spanish family, and that fact makes the story pluck a louder chord with the audience. 

I want to call special attention to Tom Holland who plays the eldest son Lucas who utterly carries the film on his shoulders. As big as the name stars are, Holland's present and stripped bare performance coupled with his on screen chemistry with Naomi Watts (who plays his mother Maria) just makes him shine. Enough that people in the audience commented on it repeatedly, echoing what we were all thinking. Speaking of Watts, who is always very good, I do believe she's turned in an award-worthy performance here. Both she and McGregor are able to translate the role of not only parents dealing with separation from their children, but from each other. It was also noted in the Q&A that some of the extras in certain scenes were REAL survivor's of the 2004 ordeal, and that the hotel that they shot at in Thailand was the very same hotel that the family stayed at.

Now, Spain has been hiding something from us. This is a Spanish production (first and foremost), but the country has apparently been hiding their secret weapon screenwriter Sergio G. Sánchez, because this man can WRITE! I attended another film (see my review for FIN (THE END)) that he wrote and consider me just blown away by his ability with crafting subtlety, poignancy and true feeling. As someone pointed out in the Q&A to him, EVERY SINGLE emotional moment is totally, unforgettably earned. This is a tough thing to do and Sánchez needs to be truly proud of how he accomplishes this here in THE IMPOSSIBLE. I am certainly not afraid to admit that I sobbed at least a few times during the screening and from the sniffles and eye-wiping that was occurring around me I am pretty sure I wasn't the only one. The second part of that equation is definitely the direction, and Bayona proves that his debut film (THE ORPHANAGE) being so well-received was not a fluke, THE IMPOSSIBLE is the real deal. It's an important event, and the aftermath especially is something we need to pay attention to. Bayona approaches each shot and scene with the same verve and quality, but with an unforgettable viscera that will haunt you long after you've left your seat. The carnage, bone cracking and blood spurting, is not shied away from, but that direction allows us to FEEL the event ourselves. Bayona throws you into the 2004 tsunami as much as he can do from a theatre seat. It's difficult, tense, and seat grippingly real. 

So far, if I were to choose a favourite film of the festival so far it would most certainly be THE IMPOSSIBLE. It is magnificent, and will continue to affect me for a while yet as I'm truly still trying to process it all. I do believe it will be out this winter in North America, and I really think everyone should get out to see it. THE IMPOSSIBLE is an absolute home-run, and further evidence that the Spanish film industry is a force to be reckoned with.

TIFF 2012: Mr. Pip

When one thinks of the films of Andrew Adamson, the first ones that come to mind are the SHREK movies and the first two NARNIA films, but his newest feature, starring British thespian Hugh Laurie is a different bag altogether, and the step up is impressive. MR. PIP is one of those films that will have you thinking about it long after. You will revel in the fact that you enjoyed it, that you were disturbed by it, but mostly that it was a VERY relevant story about a VERY real situation that happened, that through our own hubris, Western society was the cause of. No matter how much we wish to look the other way, the cause of this strife was a copper mine in Bouganville near the isle of Papa New Guinea. That makes this an important film. But what really made it sing was the fact that it was beautifully shot, but at the same time utterly visceral and difficult to stomach. We are certainly not used to seeing such things and being aware of the fact that they take place on this planet, even though should be front and center to those of us in the west who take something as simple as "copper" as a given, when it's really not.

The story takes place during the real life strife in the 1990's between Papa New Guinea and Bougainville Island, with a British teacher who brings the words and lessons of Charles Dickens GREAT EXPECTATIONS to the local Bouganville population (children and adults alike), but the PNG militia has other ideas. At times very hard to watch as it is very visceral and real, MR. PIP is a brilliantly realized piece of film-making. Andrew Adamson proves himself to be more than a family film type director. During the Q&A Adamson revealed he grew up in Papa New Guinea, so the subject matter must strike extremely close to home and that resonated for me. Every ounce of blood and sweat was poured onto the celluloid.

Laurie is absolutely wonderful in his role as Mr. Watts (Pop-Eye), but it's Xzannjah Matsi, and her real life mother (as well as movie mother) Healesville Joel who utterly and completely steal the show. Xzannjah especially could easily hold her own amongst the bigger stars of Hollywood. She was riveting to watch throughout and I challenge anyone to be able to take their eyes off her. She should be very proud of her achievement here as she pulled off an Oscar-worthy debut performance and the rest of the audience and I agreed as we gave her a standing ovation.

I actually hope that MR. PIP is one of the bigger successes of TIFF this year as I was truly affected by it, and I'd easily vote it as one of the best so far this year. Hopefully this comes out wide in release as I feel it's a very important film and we need to take stock of the things we take for granted in Western society and how it affect the world. Get out and see this film!

TIFF 2012: Cloud Atlas

It's really tough to go into a film adapted from a book you love and hope they do it justice. Especially when that book is something as difficult to translate as David Mitchell's CLOUD ATLAS. Even after I saw the extended first look at the Wachowski's and Tom Tykwer's film I was...still wary.

Well, I'm here to tell you that they pulled it off.

CLOUD ATLAS the film is probably as close as I could imagine anyone coming to translating the cross-connected, existential, nesting doll that is the novel. Attention was paid to how the film would need to be told in a slightly different fashion to the book, how the characters are connected, and simply how the narrative could go from beginning, to middle, to end without losing the audience.

Firstly, having the core cast (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry , Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving , Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D'Arcy, Zhou Xun, Keith David, David Gyasi, with Susan Sarandon , and Hugh Grant) play multiple roles in each time period/story (in some cases in very heavy makeup...Hugo Weaving as a hard-as-nails female nurse comes to mind) was a stroke of genius. Basically showing the connection throughout the stories (other than the comet shaped birthmark) would have been tough otherwise, but this adds a level of ease to the audience allowing them to accept the connections more readily. Speaking of the core cast, the acting pretty much across the board was stellar, with all parties involved bringing their A game.

The screenplay cleverly keeps the beginning and the end pretty much intact, while splitting up the middle portions with very timely and exacting editing. Spending time dropping between all 6 of the narratives in sections of hyper-cut scenes helps establish the audience in all 6 time periods. As a fan of the book I had no trouble following along, but it's good to know that other than getting into the dialogue in the far future "Sloosha's Crossing" section which can be tough even when you've read the book, the film still allows the audience into its criss-crossing pathways, and I think in that latter half you would have zero trouble following along.

The score is absolutely GORGEOUS. I was seriously hearing it in my head afterwards when I was in line for my next film. It resonates in and out at the best moments and the Cloud Atlas Sextet (the piece the film is named after) is quite aptly rendered into the score.

It's really hard to get my feeling out about this screening other than simply saying "they pulled it off". It is a sprawling, epic spectacle that is both quiet and understated and brashly ambitious in equal measure. It is going to be a film that as long as you go in with an open mind and allow it to let you in, you will certainly enjoy. It's entertainment value is high simply by virtue of the tale and characters, but it is the performances, the editing and the ebb and flow that will keep your butt in the seat.

I can't quite wait to see it again to drink in more of it, as there is a lot crammed into 3 hours (that didn't feel like 3 hours) but it never felt overstuffed. It's more what I would call a mosaic where the connecting lines are as important as the pieces themselves. Like the book it is a film about society, war, love, family, faith, pestilence, healing, imprisonment, freedom and escape. But it is mostly about beginnings. And that's what I take away from the film. A beginning, and a wonderful one at that.

TIFF 2012: Fin (The End)

 

Apocalyptic films are usually from one of two very similar stocks.  Either something or someone has caused the event that triggered the end of society and some faction of that same force ends up hunting the protagonists, or the event that triggered the apocalypse is the end game goal of the protagonists. Either way, Hollywood USUALLY only relies on those two very well worn tropes.

Thankfully FIN was made in Spain, and newcomer director Jorge Torregrossa, and the writers (Sergio G.Sánchez, and Jorge Guerricaechevarría) decided to craft a film that wholly avoids either trope. Instead what they've done is make a movie about characters, and about life, and about what it means to have friendships, loves, and family. The sidestep of those tropes happens so subtly that you don't freely notice and the apocalypse mainstory still takes center stage, with the part of the narrative they concentrated on happening languorously over the two hour running time.

The cast is spot on throughout with no one dropping the respective ball at any point. Every emotion ends up on display, and the main cast (Maribel Verdú, Daniel Grao, Clara Lago, Carmen Ruiz, Blanca Romero, Miquel Fernández, Andrés Velencoso, and Antonio Garrido) allow themselves to slip into their character's heads with ease.

Basically this is the tale of a group of friends who are united for a weekend at a cottage in the Pyrenees by a strange, mentally ill friend whose motives are initially unclear. It is when they are there together that old rivalries and issues pop up lending the film an air of tension from the first ten minutes that never wholly goes away. In amongst this they wake up to find that nothing electronic works at all, and have to set out to try to find survivors of this apparent event. 

Compelling, existential and resting easily on the laurels of its writers and director, FIN is everything you would be unsuspecting of seeing in an apocalyptic film. It succeeds in bringing something moderately new and brave to the table and what you will be left with in the end will be something very enjoyable and yet something you can certainly sit down and discuss and dissect with your friends afterwards.

Movie Musing: UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING

If you’ve just woken up from a decade long cryogenic hibernation what’s the first thing you do? Unless you answered, ransack the nearest lockers for form fitting pleather don’t even bother to play this game with me.

The UNDERWORLD series is to vampires and werewolves what the RESIDENT EVIL franchise is to zombies. But where EVIL knows its place in the filmic hierarchy, reveling in its b-movie bona fides, UNDERWORLD ruthlessly insists on playing the whole thing straight, going for an unrelenting grim and gritty vibe, punctuated only by flashy MATRIX-like displays of gun play and bloodletting.

Ultimately, UNDERWORLD is a franchise that has hit its best-before date. Where once the series felt new and fresh the innovations it made to the supernatural action thriller have been surpassed by other films. Now the movie is left cannibalizing its own characters, stories and themes; content to feed on its past glories rather than attempt to try something new.

(Also. 3D. HANNNNNND FLAAAAPING!)

TIFF 2012: DREDD 3D

 

Dredd: "Are you ready rookie?"

Anderson: "Yeah"

Dredd: You look ready."

What would TIFF be without a few hiccups eh? The Midnight Madness screenings start around 11:59PM...normally. But when it comes to events like TIFF there are sometimes snags. Last night's snag came in the form of the film version of a Jack Kerouac book (On The Road) and Kristen Stewart which was the film (and its star attending) that screened before DREDD. It proceeded to start late and they STILL had to do a Q & A after. This basically resulted in our not getting into DREDD till about 1AM. Now during the festival I don't get upset about these things as they really do just happen with so many films screening over 10 days. So I just hit play on my iPod and listened to Gangnam Style again. :)

Happily around 1AM we were let in, donned our super expensive Dolby 3D glasses, and Colin Geddes (MM Programmer) introduced the director (Pete Travis), writer (Alex Garland) and both stars (Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby). Urban gave us a little Dredd voice, and told us to "Enjoy the show, mother f*****". Ah yes, Midnight Madness!

Sidenote: News and review sites have been aware for a little while that there had been some sort of tension or upset on set between Travis and Garland for DREDD. Though no one is really sure what the extent of that upset was, Travis stayed seated through his intro and merely waved at the crowd, and Garland (who was stood about 3 feet from me, next to the wall) rubbed his jaw fiercely looking kind of uncomfortable throughout the intro. Take from that what you will. 

Getting to the film. This was a balls to the wall, violent as hell Judge Dredd film. There is no way around the comparison's some folk might make to last year's super successful action flick THE RAID, as the premise is VERY similar...but as I've not seen that film I was able to enjoy DREDD for its own merits. And DAMN it has them. Instead of trying to concoct some elaborate criminal plotline, with mutants, corrupt judges, cloned brothers ect. (like the Stallone version), DREDD sets out to basically introduce Judge Dredd, his commander at the Hall of Justice, and to his rookie companion Judge Anderson, and then throws them into a block building run by a violent, unremittingly insane Ma-Ma (played exquisitely baddass by Lena Headley) where things are put into lockdown and the two judges have to fight to survive.

The dialogue is nearly note perfect. Every line Dredd or Anderson speak is amazingly on task for the Dredd mythos, and Ma-Ma herself gets some cherry lines. The visual design (something I was leery about ahead of time) actually worked decidedly well. Things aren't full blown futuristic or dystopian with Mega City One looking more like a huge conglomerate of current cities, only with added huge blockbusting skyscraping tenements that can house 70,000 people. It FEELS like what a future of our world might look like without attempting to be over the top. Once I settled into that, and especially when the protagonists were in the block (called the Peach Trees) it FELT like a good, solid futuristic film. The futuristic bits of the set  and character design ARE there, but they are in smaller details and that's part of what REALLY works about DREDD.

The action and gore is simply nutbar. In a great way. For example, have you ever wondered what it might look like when a bullet goes through a jaw in slow motion blowing teeth out the other side? Well, wonder no longer, DREDD has you covered. Basically don't expect them to skimp out on the violence that has always permeated Dredd comics in 2000AD magazine, it is here in spades. And in 3D some of those shots are...well simply amazing.

Is it a perfect film? No. It has a few minor flaws in the pacing department and the amount of villains that are sent against Dredd and Anderson. while you do feel they are in trouble, it never feels overwhelming to the point where you are truly concerned for them. I think a larger cast of thugs constantly being sent against them and wearing them down would have benefited the script. That's a small complaint though.

I can honestly say that I truly enjoyed DREDD. Anyone looking for a faithful adaptation of the character, need look no further. Seriously, DREDD delivers in spades there. Urban is perfect as the title character, and never, ever misses a beat. His voice, mannerisms and delivery of scenes was fantastic. Not to be outdone, Thirlby brings a realistic edge to the proceedings, and goes through a nice growth process over the 80 minutes to the point where in the last half hour she becomes nearly as badass as Dredd himself. 

So, my first film at TIFF is a success. Much enjoyed. Go see this when it comes out later this fall. I plan to see it again for sure.

TIFF 2012: The Plan

Allo folks!

So I just wanted to check in and let you all know the plan for Iceberg Ink's coverage of this years Toronto International Film Festival.

Things kick off tomorrow night and I will be seeing the Midnight Madness 3D screening of DREDD, so you can expect tweets from the lines and such beginning later tomorrow night. I'm not going to let you know the list of the rest of the films I'm seeing (I'd rather surprise you all), but be aware that over the next ten days I will be seeing 15 films of all different genres and walks of life from various countries around the globe.

So after each screening (time willing) I'll be posting short, to the point, non-spoiler reviews of each film as I see them. This should happen regularly starting this Friday morning and running all next week. On my last day (Saturday the 15th) I've got a batshit amount (FOUR) of films to see, and the final one is a Midnight Madness one. So the small reviews for those will probably happen in one big batch on the Sunday after I've slept and recovered.

So stay tuned, watch the twitter feed, visit the site regularly to see updates and shortish reviews on what was seen at TIFF this year!