The Toronto Underground Market is back!

Spending a lazy Sunday afternoon at home, in anticipation for tonight's TUM at Toronto's Evergreen Brick Works.

Attracting foodies, (and other culinary-minded hipsters), the events are always a fun place to people-watch -- and most importantly -- sample a variety of delicious offerings, from emerging chefs and home cooks alike.

TUM - Toronto Evergreen Brick Works Oct 2011

It's Not Everyday You Meet A Mega-Movie Star...

Now I’m not what you would call a “Celebrity star-gazer” but I have to say I experienced one of those moments yesterday where the magnitude of fame - against all common sense - leaves you positively giddy…

I mean let’s face it - it’s not everyday you meet a mega-movie star like Tom Cruise.

I work for a prominent Canadian television company and Cruise was scheduled to make an appearance on one of our network entertainment programs. I had popped out quickly to grab lunch and was returning to the office when I was met by security blocking me from entering the front doors of our building…

There in the foyer stood Cruise waiting to make his entrance into our storefront studio.

At this point I thought to myself “ok, I know the drill”; I’d become accustomed to the building-wide emails cautioning staff to ‘avoid eye-contact’ and ‘refrain from asking for photos and autographs’ whenever celebrities were in-house. Imagine my surprise when I noticed him peek around the guard - smile that famous smile of his right at me – then shake his head as to say, “this is silly” and wave me into the foyer.

Coming through the doors, I grinned back and said, “thank you Mr. Cruise”. By this time he had turned towards me…there we were…face-to-face.

I told him that it was very nice to meet him. Never breaking his smile (or my eye contact) he told me likewise and offered his hand...so I shook it.

I continued on to the elevators...did that really just happen?

Age is just a number...

It was with mixed feelings that I wanted to celebrate my birthday. At 34 I had gotten quite comfortable telling people I was in my early thirties; turning 35 would change all of that!
And now...well I think I’m beginning to warm up to it…maybe being in my “mid-thirties” isn’t going to be so bad after all.

Douglas Coupland and The Gum Thief

Last night I attended a reading and book signing for visual artist/writer Douglas Coupland’s new novel “The Gum Thief”.

(I remember a friend lending me his first book “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture” for my annual family road trip to Florida and being stretched out in the backseat reading it during the three-day car ride; I would have been about 19 years old and his collection of pop culture idioms really struck a chord with me…I’ve been a fan of his ever since!) Coupland has teamed up with a design and post studio here in Toronto for a series of video installations for the novel -- you can check them out

My TIFF 07 one-liner Round-up:

I am extremely fortunate to live in a city that hosts one of the most fantastic film fests going; The Toronto International Film Festival!

I was able to do 25 screenings this year and saw some really incredible films! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that they will find their way to a (North American) distributor so that more people can enjoy them. My favourites this year include:

Wolfsbergen - Nanouk Leopold (The Netherlands)
If you look closely you'll see a little bit of Bergman in here. (There must be something in that cool Nordic air.) Nanouk Leopold's somber tale lulled me into an almost dreamlike state and her final scene is perhaps the most natural -- yet unnatural -- moments in film I've seen in a very long time.

The Banishment (Izgnanie) - Andrey Zvyagintsev (Russia)
The isolation...the sorrow...oh those Russians!

Encarnación - Anahí Berneri (Argentina)
Berneri revealed during the Q&A that casting the lead character was an arduous task, and boy did it pay off - Silvia Pérez blew me away. I really, really loved this film!

To Love Someone (Den Man Älskar) - Åke Sandgren (Sweden)
A complicated look at the aftermath of domestic violence, it's easy to feel frustration towards the choices made by the lead character, yet Sandgren's aptly titled film is a melancholy story of compulsive attraction and sacrifice. 


Déficit - Gael García Bernal (Mexico)Gael García Bernal keeps ambition in check with his respectable directorial debut about the great social divide between Mexico's working class and the upper crust at play.

A Stray Girlfriend (Una novia errante) - Ana Katz (Argentina)
I really loved this film! Performing double duty as director and lead in the film Ana katz is simply splendid in this refreshing depiction of the messiness associated with breaking up, especially when one half doesn't know it's over!

Other films that will make it to theatres that are most definitely worth the price of admission are:

Nothing is Private - Alan Ball (USA)
More evocative of Todd Solandz than of his own previous screenplays, (“American Beauty” and “Six Feet Under”), this could very well be Alan Ball's most visceral work to date! (During the Q&A he told us the MPAA has seen this cut and have granted it a “R” rating. Given the subject matter it will be interesting to how this plays out in a theatrical run.)

Cassandra's Dream - Woody Allen (United Kingdom)
Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor are excellent in this is classic noir tale that would surely make Huston and Welles proud! At the expense of sounding like a total nerd, with a filmmaker as remarkable as Allen, it's easy to say to yourself “God, I'm in good hands here, so just sit back and enjoy the ride!”

Before the Devil Knows Your Dead - Sydney Lumet (USA)
Reminding me of the classic seventies crime dramas that Sidney Lumet himself helped to create, this wickedly intense caper is told from different character perspectives in 'a three steps forward, two steps back' narrative style that is heightened by the superb performances of Ethan Hawke and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

The Savages - Tamara Jenkins (USA)
I was going to hold off seeing this until it got it's theatrical release, but I'm really glad I didn't, since it was real treat to have the director there for the Q&A! Jenkin's story about family dysfunction is brave enough to show that closure doesn't always mean finding the answers.

The Visitor - Thomas McCarthy (USA)
A thoughtful and touching story with a stand-out performance by Richard Jenkins! Much like his debut feature “The Station Agent” writer/director Thomas McCarthy is able to balance the sour with the sweet.

And finally a look at the remaining films I got to see this year:

Pink (Roz) - Alexander Voulgaris (Greece)
With the exception of one sequence that almost put my enjoyment of the film in jeopardy it was all in all a nice way to ease into the festival.

Le Voyage du ballon rouge - Hou Hsiao-hsien (France)
Juliette Binoche "est vraiment bon" in this homage to the famous 1956 french short “Le Ballon Rouge”.

The Man From London (A London Férfi) - Béla Tarr (France/Germany/Hungary)
When I walked in I was unfamiliar with Hungarian director Béla Tarr's signature narrative vision... Snore pie with a big ole helping of yawn sauce!

Boy A - John Crowley (United Kingdom)
At times this came across as a really decent, well-acted BBC television drama and I mean that in a good way!

Starting out in the Evening - Andrew Wagner (USA)
For me this falls into the category of 'non-offensive films' that the golden-aged set can swoon over.
La Zona - Rodrigo Plá (Spain/Mexico)
The thrust of the story is rooted in Mexico's current socioeconomic struggle regarding class division, yet I didn't feel as though the film had an overtly political agenda -- then again what does a gringa like me know anyways -- it hit a nerve with several people of mexican descent in my screening and they weren't afraid to voice it in the Q&A!

Happy New Life (Boldog új élet) - Árpád Bogdán (Hungary)
Let me start by saying I have an awesome ability to select the most DEPRESSING films for my morning screenings! The dialogue is sparse allowing the film's highly visual images to drive the story about a young man's harrowing search to understand his past and claim his identity.

This Beautiful City - Ed Gass-Donnelly (Canada)
Umm...this is really not a good film. You can tell the actors are really giving it their all, but it's just not enough.

The Babysitters - David Ross (USA)
Joining the ranks of the 'off the beaten track' teen movies like, “The Girl Next Door”, the film plays as well as it does because of it's (somewhat) solid cast.

El Pasado (The Past) - Héctor Babenco (Argentina/Brazil)
I wanted to like this more than I did, but felt it really lost it's way at the end. In a way the film dealt with a similar theme as the one I screened earlier that day; the unhealthy choices people make to preserve unconditional love.

The Girl in the Park - David Auburn (USA)
This was too sentimental for my taste. I've always had trouble with the 'spunky tramp' whose annoying behaviour is excused as a testament to their enduring spirit in the face of hardship, blah, blah, blah... And when said 'tramp' is Kate Bosworth, you know you're in trouble!

King of the Hill (El Rey de la Montaña) - Gonzalo López-Gallego (Spain)
The sound design is superb and although I felt the story lost steam with the reveal going into the third act, “Hill” is still a pretty punchy thriller.

Reclaim Your Brain (Free Rainer - Dein Fernseher Lügt) - Hans Weingartner (Germany/Austria)
The first 20min of the film was promising, then it all went down hill from there! Turning into a sappy comedy...and a German comedy at that! I was caught completely off guard. Not exactly the way I wanted to end my festival run. Oh well, they can’t all be winners!