1995 - Punch-Drunk Love

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen this film.  I don’t know if you’d consider it underrated, but it’s definitely not referenced enough.  This film is so beautifully stylized - it’s use of music and colour is really wonderful.  What looks mostly like available light gives it a real authenticity as well.  On top of that you’ve got two really sweet performances by Adam Sandler and Emily Watson.  They feel like such delicate flowers in this world that’s full of chaos and friction.  If you’ve never seen it and you like slightly off-beat love stories, this is easily one of the best.  I love this film.

1967 - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Came to this late.  I haven’t read the books, and I only just caught the first film in the series on Netflix - but I dig it.  The world feels a bit heavy handed at times, but it’s sci-fi with a message.  I like that it teased the idea of the first one while ripping open the concept here.  The set-up felt a little long winded - but this story is also the hallway that bridges the first chapter and whatever’s to come next.  I was sad to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman here and felt he was underused quite a bit - hopefully he gets to step it up a notch in the final films.  Jennifer Laurence continues to be a delight to watch on the screen, and I love that she’s using her popularity from this to pick some really awesome and interesting roles otherwise.  As always, Woody Harrelson is a much welcome addition.  I’m excited for the next chapter!

1724 - That Moment (Magnolia Diary)

You could say that this technically isn't a movie or a television show, or even a documentary.  It's a special feature on the Magnolia DVD, and to be honest, it's easily my favourite special feature on any film that I've seen.  It's over an hour long and it's the most entertaining behind the scenes of a film that I've ever see.  Everyone is so honest and authentic, and they have a sense of humour about it all.  Wanted to re-watch it as a reference for what some people want to do for Sex After Kids.  If you own the Magnolia DVD and you've never seen this it's a real treat - especially for any Paul Thomas Anderson fans.  I've probably re-watched this more than the film itself.

1647 - Pirate Radio (The Boat That Rocked)

The trailer for this really intrigued me, besides being a who's who if British film actors it's also a pretty interesting topic - 1960's Britain had banned rock and roll from their radio stations and so people like this set up pirate radio as a legal way to broadcast the music of choice to the masses.  This is the story of those people and how an uptight politician tries to destroy them.
The film is enjoyable enough, it's got great cast and they all fit well together.  I suppose my biggest critique is that I'm not sure the motivations of anyone.  I never get a real sense of why this music was seen as so harmful or why this politician has such a bee in his bonnet about it.  Why doing this was so important to either side... I wanted to care - all of the filmic ingredients were there, but I just didn't know why I should and so, ultimately, I didn't...
This was a good film that could have been a great one if they added a bit more heart and grounded us in something a little firmer.  Great soundtrack.  It's hard to know if to recommend this at all - my suggestion is to check out the trailer and if it grabs you, chances are you'll dig the film as well.

1636 - Moneyball

So first off, I'm not a sports guy.  I don't hate sports, but outside of the odd football and baseball game when I was younger, I don't think I've ever really sat through an entire game.  It's just not my thing.  I enjoy playing sports.  I like watching them live.  Something about the sport on television however does absolutely nothing for me.  So there's that.
That being said, this was a really enjoying and, hell, riveting film.  Pitt is enjoyable, and I'm by no means the first to say this, but he really feels like a Robert Redford here.  He's wonderfully charming here, as is Jonah Hill.  In a lesser film he would just be the lovable sidekick, but he really brings his own here.  I hate to say it but I really don't know what Phillip Seymour Hoffman is going here.  Feels like a bit of a waste of a good actor - I assume it's cause he and Miller really liked working together on Capote.  Nothing wrong with that.  It's not really an actor's film though, mostly just in that there's no real show piece scenes.  It's just a really compelling story, which is enough in and of itself.  It's no surprise to see Sorkin's name on this, he's a man who really enjoys the behind the scenes of anything, and here it's the background of baseball and trying to figure out a winning formula. 
This is the kind of film that's really worth checking out, but once finished you don't really feel like you'll need to revisit.  It's more about the outcome, this one.  It's actually a great matinee film, I think.  Not to downplay it at all.  One lovely little surprise was the musical number featuring Kerris Dorsey - I even bought it off of iTunes. 
I'm late to this film so I'm sure that everyone who was going to see it has, but I think it's going to be something we see pop it's head back up around award times.  If you're even remotely interested in baseball, or like to see the inner workings of things you might want to check this out.

1484 - Synecdoche, New York

I think that it would be really easy to call Charlie Kaufman, and this work in particular, pretentious. And to be clear, when I say "easy" I mean "lazy". Complicated doesn't equal pretension. The fact that something is multi-layed and complex doesn't mean that it doesn't make sense, nor that you're stupid if it isn't instantly clear of all it's meanings.
This is a hard film to write about because, as with all of Kaufman's works, it's a film of ideas. And those idea are as simple and universal as anything. On it's surface this is a film about a theatre director trying to make a work of importance, but really, it's about us trying to make our lives important. It's about our fears, and desires, and it's about us trying to get down and be honest about ourselves.
I can't pretend that I got even a fraction of what Kaufman has going on here, and I'm not praising him because I'm 'supposed' to think that he's a genius (and he is). There is a level of comedy in his work that makes it all the more enjoyable and all the more honest. He has no problem poking fun at himself and at his ideas - that's part of the whole point of it.
At this point there are about a half-dozen films that have been written by Kaufman and each and every single one of them make me extremely jealous in terms of the ideas that he is playing with inside of them. Kaufman inspires me greatly, as does the people that inspire him.
If you're a fan of ideas, you will enjoy this. It's not overtly pretentious, or tedious. It doesn't feel like homework to watch, if you have that fear. But fair warning - it is the kind of film that you're going to feel like you have to revisit and revisit and revisit. And I look forward to that.

Jeremy's Film Fest Awards 2010

Over the course of twenty days I saw thirty-seven films at four international film festivals (Toronto, Sudbury, Edmonton, and Calgary) Obviously I have omitted my own film (which in addition to the thirty-seven films I saw four times as well) from below. Hopefully this helps you seek out the best of the best from my own festival experience.

Best Picture

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
Rabbit Hole
Made in Dagenham
Jack Goes Boating
At World's End

And the award goes to… Rabbit Hole
This film was a surprise to me. I knew little about it outside of the premise and it just took me by storm. I consider myself a pretty movie savvy person so it takes a lot to get me to forget I'm watching a film and really get emotionally involved - it takes a hell of a lot more to make me sob like a little baby in a movie theatre. And this film does it without being manipulative. It's just a solid awesome film.

Best Canadian Film

Barney's Version
Good Neighbours
Trigger
Le Divan du Monde (Everybody's Couch)
Fathers & Sons

And the award goes to… Fathers & Sons
Another film that took me by surprise. I haven't seen this film's predecessor Mothers & Daughters (but I will now). You'd have no way of knowing that this film was improvised and, more or less, unscripted. It's funny and heartwarming and I think the themes in it are about as universal as you can get. I pray that this film gets the attention that it deserves. I loved it.

Best Actor

Aaron Eckhardt - Rabbit Hole
Will Ferrel - Everything Must Go
Michael Angarano - Ceremony
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Jack Goes Boating
James Franco - Howl

And the award goes to… Aaron Eckhardt
I've loved Eckhardt for a long time but this is him at his best. If he's not nominated for an Oscar this year it will be a crime. The rest of the people in this category were really good, but Eckhardt was great.

Best Actress

Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Kat Dennings - Daydream Nation
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Tracy Wright - Trigger
Sally Hawkins - Made in Dagenham

And the award goes to… Sally Hawkins
This is a role and a film that is designed for you to love, but Sally's performance goes above that. You root for her, of course you do, but it's so much more than that. It goes without saying that usually once someone has played a role it's hard to see another actor playing it - I dare say it's impossible here. She's perfect.

Best Supporting Actor

Vincent Cassel - Black Swan
Lee Pace - Ceremony
Bob Hoskins - Made in Dagenham
Jay Brazeau - Fathers & Sons
Michael C. Hall - Peep World

And the award goes to… Jay Brazeau
I got lucky enough to get to know Jay a bit at the Edmonton Film Festival, but I promise you that that's not why he wins this. He wins this because he took a role that could have been such a cliche, or gone for just pure absurd laughs, and he made it human. I laughed at this fool, and I wanted to hug him at the same time.

Best Supporting Actress

Mila Kunis - Back Swan
Rebecca Hall - Everything Must Go
Molly Parker - Trigger
Sarah Silverman - Peep World
Amy Ryan - Jack Goes Boating

And the award goes to… Amy Ryan
This is a fine category full of fine women in fine performances, but Amy takes it. Not only is she a phenomenally versatile actress, but when she's playing an underdog outcast, you can't help but love her more. Love her.

Best Director

Ben Affleck - The Town
Carl Bessai - Fathers & Sons
John Cameron Mitchell - Rabbit Hole
Woody Allen - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Jack Goes Boating

And the award goes to… Carl Bessai
This is not just because Carl is the only non-actor in the category - although it's funny how that happened. Because of how this film was made, and because of how tight it feels I can only imagine that this was a film that he lived and breathed tirelessly and all from the heart and the gut. I'm not saying that anyone else in this category put any less of themselves into their project - but this one feels special to me and so therefore I think it deserves to be awarded for that and for Carl in particular.

Best Screenplay

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
Everything Must Go
Rabbit Hole
Jack Goes Boating
At World's End

And the award goes to… Rabbit Hole
This is a story that could easily be a movie-of-the-week but it's not, and that boils down to the strength of the script and the care put into it. If this film doesn't just explode on it's own then I'll be pushing people into the theatre. It's fantastic.

1423 - Jack Goes Boating

This is an interesting film. Hoffman really likes these underdog everyman's. This is the kind of film that in lesser hands would be a disaster, but Hoffman is skillful both as a director and an actor, and it becomes an experiment in how much can you make the audience squirm awkwardly, and how much humor can you get out of that. Quite a bit, I'll tell you! Amy Ryan is the love interest here, and if you don't know who she is then you really need to. She's adorable and lovely and... I love her. I do.
I don't think this film will be for everyone, but the people that like it will like it a LOT.

1099 - The Savages

This film has some really beautiful honest moments. I really enjoyed it. I liked the little understated quirks that the characters had, and I think they all came to a really nice conclusion. It was an interesting choice to stay away from the father storyline and just focus on the siblings. Laura Linney is wonderful and beautiful here. Hoffman, as always is stellar.

1092 - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

I wanted to see this last year at TIFF and then never got around to it when it was in the theaters. I'm a fan of all the actors involved, and am of the mindset that Maria Tomei is widely underused. She's more than just beautiful. She's radiant. The fractured style of this story works quite well as we get to see the motivations and perspectives at different times and for different reasons. I think that it helps to distract from a pretty simple narrative by making it more complex just through the telling. That in and of itself is a powerful choice in storytelling and it serves the film well. The stakes in this film keep rising and it works really well to the point where you wonder just how the hell they'll get out of it, or if they possibly can. I'm trying to watch heist films, etc... in preparation for something I'm working on, but I don't think this quite worked. Oh well, still worth watching :)