1999 - An Honest Liar

I'm a fan of magic, but I have to admit that I hadn't heard of the Amazing Randi - but let me tell you, he's one of the fascinating and enjoyable people on this planet.  I saw this at HotDocs and we were fortunate to have the man in attendance for spirited Q&A and he's delightful through and through.
This film is about the lies that get told and how they can be harmful - the difference between a harmful lie and an honest one meant to entertain.  A fine line indeed - and the difference between a conman and a magician is simply the fact that magicians will admit that they're trying to trick and fool you.
I really enjoyed this film for the most part - it's split into chapters that largely involve Randi debunking things that are harmful to people in general.  He goes out of his way to mention that everyone can be deceived, and there's no more powerful proof than him being caught up in his own hoax through a series of natural events.  And while dramatic and organic to the story, the ending still feels like it doesn't quite fit.  It feels tagged on after the fact and not initially part of a larger master plan.  I'd be curious to know what was originally planned before life got in the way.
This is a fun piece, and hopefully it's available for all to see sooner rather than later.

1726 - Her Master's Voice

I was recommended to check this out from my good friends at The Mind Reels and they were dead right to recommend it to me.  I'm a puppet nerd a little bit.  And so Nina Conti's film was right up my alley.  She's a ventriloquist who is on the brink of wondering whether or not she should continue on with her art, if it's something that's sustainable for her.  It's a great question to pose at the beginning of the film about an artist.  Who doesn't wonder that, despite success or failure? 
But what I loved most is how she uses the puppet's in the film to constantly play devil's advocate with her.  On the verge of telling her former mentor/lover that she's going to give up she discovers that he's passed away and inherits all of his puppets as well.  And how she uses those to get at the heart of what she's feeling is really quite lovely.  It's fun and surprisingly light (in a good way) while at the same time really being the kind of film where the filmmaker lets it all out and exposes themselves in a way that is so amazingly endearing. 
It's too late to see it at HotDocs now, but you can still see it on the BBC if you live in that part of the world and I can only hope that it ends up on Netflix as well. 
If you love puppetry, or if you're an artist who ever considered packing it all in, there are few films that are as lovely as this to help get you through the rough patch.

1722 - The Mechanical Bride

Saw this at Hot Docs (no one urinated in this theatre - yeah!)  There was a short that played before called Meaning of Robots that was absolutely hilarious and wonderful.  It was more or less a mechanical hoarder who made little robot sex dolls that he liked to make have sex with each other.  It sounds stupid and immature, but you have to see the guy - Michael Sullivan I believe, to understand the awesomeness of it. 
Now, the film at hand.  I'm glad I stuck around for the Q&A to hear the director because it answered a big question for me in terms of the quality of the film.  It was clearly made by someone who was an academic first and then, well maybe, a filmmaker second.  The film is about man's fascination with inanimate sexual objects ranging from Real Dolls to Artificial Intelligence.  She mentioned that the people that were into one or the other were vastly different people.  Shame she had to tell us that and couldn't find a way to make us know that through the film.  It's got an interesting subject, but the filming itself takes away in how boring it is.  It feels like it's meant to be a piece on an 80's newscast, rather than a documentary.  I mean… it's shot in 4:3 and not to be a nerd about it - but NOTHING shoots in 4:3 anymore.  I don't want to say that the visuals pulled me out of the film, but what they didn't help me do was really get immersed.
The film itself doesn't really feel like it's about anymore in particular - it's more about talking about a subject.  I'm not suggesting that there isn't a moral to it, but I never understand what the point of the documentary is.  Or what they were really trying to say about any of this, and that's what stops this from being a really solid documentary. 
I actually found myself half-way through wishing that the director of Meaning of Robots had directed this film instead.  I think it's a fine piece, but I don't think it really, ultimately, means anything to me.  It's sadly a bit forgettable.  It's got an exciting premise, and some interesting characters, but it also feels a bit easy to show people that are obsessed with sex dolls and robots.  Of course they're going to be a bit quirky or zany - I'm not saying it's like kicking a retarded puppy, but I never really got a sense of who those people were or why THEY were having relations with these dolls.  Other people speculated about it, but documentaries shouldn't be able speculation.
As I said, it's not a bad film, but ask me about it in a year and I'll probably forgot that I even saw it.

1719 - The Job

A review I read of this film said that it was like The Apprentice on steroids.  I assumed that meant in a stylistic and energy way.  That it was not.  In terms of how cruel they are to the participants, that might be the case.
The documentary follows a group of candidates for a job over the course of two days as they are tested and ripped apart by a recruitment group.  Apparently this is not an uncommon thing these days.  Thank the sweet lord that I work in the arts.
I liked some bits in this film as there was some wonderful harsh comments, and I'm always a fan of that.  But the biggest problem is that the film never gives you a reason to root or care for any of these people.  You're not even sure what the job is or if it's worth it for these people to go through hell to get.  Visually it's about as boring as a film can be and it takes place, almost entirely, inside a conference room. 
The fact that this film is a feature is pretty bold.  I think it could have made a pretty effective 20 minute short.  It has a few more screenings at the festival, but I have a hard time recommending it.  Like I said, I find some of it quite interesting, but on the whole it was a bit of a chore to sit through.

1562 - Beauty Day

Full disclosure (again) - I know Jay Cheel, the director behind this film.  He was a year behind me in film school and he's a creative force to be reckoned with.  Beauty Day is a character study about the man who pioneered doing stupid shit on camera to get a laugh.  Before Jackass or Tom Green there was Cap'n Video - he was the guy that broke his neck trying to jump into a pool with a winter cover on it.  Ironically, in terms of getting known, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to him.  Cheel follows Ralph (the Cap'n) as he prepares for his 20th Anniversary all the while shedding a light on who this man is through old footage he'd shot throughout his life.
We get a lot of access to Ralph's life and learn some personal things about him - I wish there was more of that in the film, but understand why there isn't - the film isn't about that.  It's about finding something you really care about and just going for it.  It's an endlessly entertaining film - funny - touching.  And its coming to theatres sometime this June.  Do yourself a favour and check it out.  And if you think I'm just throwing out bias praise take a few seconds and google a review for the film - praises from ear to ear - just like there should be.

1561 - Fahrenheit 7-Eleven

Full disclosure - I don't know anything about Burtin Cummings or The Guess Who.  That being said, this was pretty damn entertaining.  It's a short about folk-lore surrounding an incident where hometown boy Burtin Cummings comes back to Winnipeg, is smashed by a beer bottle in a 7-Eleven and then trash talks his hometown.  What follows is a short about the complicated nature of hometown pride and the cult of fame as it sorts through various versions of the story and doing re-enactments of them.  Rumored to be part of a trilogy.  Not sure where you'll be able to check out out following the festivals, but worth taking a look.