I haven’t blogged in a while, and there are loads to say as to what I’ve been up to the past few weeks – they’ve been packed with meetings with people involved in organizing the Waterfront Night Market in July – but I won’t go too much into that today. Today, I am here to promote this amazing Belgian thriller that I just finished watching!
Two things:
I got to attend a super advance screening of Richard Curtis’ About Time last night thanks to Scene Creek! So top secret, there were even Universal Pictures Canada employees in the audience! As Rachel McAdams’ biggest fan in Toronto (hah), this was a huge treat, so I was incredibly excited about seeing this movie! But I’m rather exhausted after a long day of grad photos, group project meetings and classes, so this is a largely unedited review of what I thought about this film…
I finally took some time out of my hectic school/work schedule for some “Me Time” – some desperately needed work/life balance – to go watch Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners. Here’s what I wrote in my Rotten Tomatoes review (which generally are more blabbing than proper reviewing – forewarning):
This is one of those movies where you have to pay attention all the way through. The director – who’s Canadian! – makes it easy for you by slowly guiding you through the story.
The performances, of course, should be mentioned because you have never seen Hugh Jackman like you have seen Hugh Jackman in this movie. I was a little wary going into this movie that Hugh and Jake Gyllenhaal were a little too young for their roles, but they both did extremely well. Gyllenhaal, for one, does less of his “Zodiac” I-need-to-know performance, but does a more subtle performance. As for Jackman, he just goes off the charts in this role. There are some spectacular scenes he’s in that really impress you – I would say it’s his most emotionally intense role yet, but I haven’t seen all his movies, so I can’t say that for sure!
TIFF ended 15 days ago, and I am just writing my TIFF experience blog now. Sigh. I’ve had such a hectic schedule since the end of August, I’m not sure why I decided it would be a good idea to start a brand spankin’ new blog. Perhaps I underestimated the workload for the first month of school… Though actually, it’s less about the “first month of school” but more “first month of the last year of undergraduate school”. I have always been involved with extracurricular activities at school, but because I am in my last year, I’ve felt greater pressure to add more to my resume to ensure I can start my career as soon as I graduate. This meant trying to juggle positions at two part-time jobs, one student group, four school courses, and briefly, a two-week volunteer position all at the same time. Chaos.
Having worked the Toronto International Film Festival this year as both a volunteer and a filmgoer, I often get asked about what movies I’ve seen at TIFF so far, and what’s been my favourite. I am watching two more movies tomorrow, Hotell and A Wolf at the Door, so while I can’t say this Korean movie has been my ultimate favourite, it’s definitely in my top three!
Regardless of the film or the response to the film you’re in, there will always be a love for the fact that you did something creative and that everybody is excited about it. I think that’s the spirit here.
Jake Gyllenhaal