TIFF 2011 Reviews - Sorted by: Alphabetical

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50/50

★☆☆☆☆

Cancer and comedy as a recipe for schmaltz. What are the odds?

Playing: Sept. 12, Sept. 13

A Dangerous Method

★★½☆☆

Cronenberg's Cronenberg movie proves thoroughly Cronenbergian

Playing: Sept. 10, Sept. 12

A Funny Man

★★★☆☆

This biopic of tragic Danish comic Dirch Passer wallows in melodrama.

Playing: Sept. 12, Sept. 14, Sept. 17

A Separation

★★★★½

Moving, quiet, and subtle, A Separation sets itself apart.

Playing: Sept. 10, Sept. 11

Afghan Luke

★★☆☆☆

This Afghan war dramedy struggles to distinguish itself.

Playing: Sept. 11, Sept. 14

ALPS

★★★★★

It's like Dogtooth. But better.

Playing: Sept. 14, Sept. 15

Amy George

★★★☆☆

Art and, well, some other stuff are felt out in this adolescent journey of self-discovery.

Playing: Sept. 13, Sept. 15, Sept. 17

Avalon

★★★★½

A wrenching, darkly funny debut feature.

Playing: Sept. 11, Sept. 13, Sept. 17

Breakaway

★★½☆☆

Despite the clichéd Canadiana content, Breakaway is an enjoyable, earnest effort offering family-friendly fun.

Playing: Sept. 10, Sept. 11

Café de flore

★★★½☆

Jean-Marc Vallée's latest is emotionally resonant, aesthetically ambitious.

Playing: Sept. 12, Sept. 14

Cuchera

★★★½☆

If you like seeing catatonic rape victims get drugs crammed inside of them, this is your Citizen Kane, sicko.

Playing: Sept. 11, Sept. 13, Sept. 18

Death of a Superhero

★½☆☆☆

Death becomes no one in this conventional cancer film.

Playing: Sept. 10, Sept. 11, Sept. 17

Doppelgänger Paul (Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself)

★★★★☆

Friendship and authorship collide in this fairly clever Canadian comedy.

Playing: Sept. 12, Sept. 14, Sept. 17

Drive

★★★☆☆

Dreamy, bloody, and hollow, Drive's pretty to the point of vanity.

Playing: Sept. 10, Sept. 11

Edwin Boyd

★★★½☆

Bank-robbing Toronto folk hero gets the slick biopic treatment

Playing: Sept. 10, Sept. 12

Faust

★★★★½

Alexander Sokurov, you devil you.

Playing: Sept. 11, Sept. 13, Sept. 16

From Up On Poppy Hill

★★☆☆☆

Despite some promising scenic moments, this anime fails to draw us into the period.

Playing: Sept. 8, Sept. 9, Sept. 17

Generation P

★★★★½

A hallucinatory look at Russia's post–Cold War quarrel with capitalism.

Playing: Sept. 14, Sept. 15, Sept. 16

Goon

★★★★½

A funny, ballsy, and bloody Canadian hockey movie. About time.

Playing: Sept. 10, Sept. 13

Hard Core Logo II

★★★★½

Bruce McDonald's unlikely sequel is his best film in years.

Playing: Sept. 13, Sept. 17

HOT DOCS 2012

Reviews listed alphabetically:

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (★★★★☆) Back to the Square (★★★½☆) Beauty Is Embarrassing (★★★☆☆) Beware of Mr. Baker (★★★☆☆) Big Boys Gone Bananas!* (★★★½☆) Brooklyn Castle (★★★★½) China Heavyweight (★★★★★) Detropia (★★★★☆) Dreams of a Life (★★★★☆) El Huaso (★★★★☆) Fists of Pride (★★★☆☆) Francophrenia (Or: Don’t Kill Me, I Know Where the Baby Is) (★★½☆☆) G-Dog (★★★☆☆) Garden in the Sea (★★★☆☆) GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (★★★★☆) Herman’s House (★☆☆☆☆) Indie Game: The Movie (★★★★☆) Inocente (★★★½☆) Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet (★★★½☆) Jeff (★★½☆☆)

Reviews by star rating:

China Heavyweight (★★★★★) Brooklyn Castle (★★★★½) The Final Member (★★★★½) The World Before Her (★★★★☆) Smoke Traders (★★★★☆) Ping Pong (★★★★☆) Oma & Bella (★★★★☆) The Queen of Versailles (★★★★☆) Who Cares? (★★★★☆) Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (★★★★☆) The Betrayal (★★★★☆) Private Universe (★★★★☆) Detropia (★★★★☆) Indie Game: The Movie (★★★★☆) El Huaso (★★★★☆) One Day After Peace (★★★★☆) Dreams of a Life (★★★★☆) GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (★★★★☆) Big Boys Gone Bananas!* (★★★½☆) Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet (★★★½☆)

TTC Service Alerts

• ALL CLEAR: The delay southbound at Eglinton Stn has now cleared and full service has resumed on the Yonge University Spadina line. #TTC | 7:59 PM Apr 5
• Trains are currently holding southbound at Eglinton Stn due to a Passenger Assistance Alarm activated on a train. #TTC | 7:54 PM Apr 5
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Editor's Picks

David Chang Talks About His Upcoming Toronto Debut The celebrity restaurateur says plans for the Toronto branch of his Momofuku empire are still in flux, and he likes it that way.	Lights, Camera … And Everything Else
Weston-Mount Dennis Residents Discuss Police Stops	Historicist: Throwing Intellectual Bombs Rabble-rousing feminist and anarchist Emma Goldman died in Toronto in 1940.
OIPRD’s Assessment of the G20: A Good but Marred Effort Two years later, we finally have OIPRD's comprehensive assessment of police action during the G20. It's a report that tries to be fair to all sides, but ends up being too generous to police on some key points.	Vandalist: You Never Call Anymore

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