TIFF 2013 - With a Little Help From My Friends - Volume 1

And here we are once again, celebrating the magic of movies in my hometown for a madcap twelve days.

It's TIFF!*

Most years - every year - actual TIFF planning begins in early summer when packages must be secured and hints & tidbits on what films may be coming to Toronto circulate.   When the official schedule is released at the end of August, you only have about 3 days to get things in order and basically complete your TIFF Puzzle before tickets actually go on sale - sorting through hundreds of movies, making sure end / start times line up properly, and making it all work isn't easy.  Julie, Cres & I certainly have things down to a fine science at this point - being determined quick studies and all - but this year the team was going in one down.  I was out.  Out for pretty much the entire month of August on an epic South African adventure (more to come on that after this adventure, okay?) which left me helpless in TIFF investigating / planning / helping.  I left the girls with the following edict:  "You know me.  Do your best."

Well, do they ever.  Did they ever. 

And, again, I learn that it is simply not necessary to always drive.  Just as I was handed a perfectly planned itinerary for my trip of a lifetime to South Africa, I returned in late August to a TIFF schedule that I couldn't have planned better myself.  Of course I missed the fun of the actual planning - pouring over the hundreds of films, perfecting schedule gymnastics, planning dinners complete with laptops, iPads, pencils & erasers, all of it - but this just means I'll have to have more fun at the actual festival, right?  I know for damn sure I can do that.  I also know for damn sure that these friends of mine are, well, amazing.  As a perfect example, I take you to my premiere film ...

Only Lovers Left Alive - Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston

I mean, come on.  It's TILDA!  The girls are not into this film at all - or perhaps other films peaked their interest a bit more - but they knew, they KNEW I'd be all over it.  I love these girls. 

It's pretty safe to say that if Tilda wasn't in this movie I wouldn't have touched it with a ten foot pole.  An epic love story - spanning centuries - between a pair of vampires who travel between the romantic cities of Tangiers and Detroit.  No joke.  Look, it's Jim Jarmusch.  He's a weirdo.  Tilda's a weirdo.  Tom became a weirdo.  Am I now a weirdo because I really, really loved this movie?

I loved Tilda playing the happy go lucky Eve to Tom's sullen Adam.  I loved the hazy way this was shot.  I loved the music, and the crisp one-liners that didn't at all seem out of place in this somewhat dark and sexy piece.  Tilda & Tom, together, are a perfectly suited sexy sinewy couple - they fit.  I got them.  I felt them.    We know Tilda can do it all (may I now mention that she's ALSO a fantastic dancer?!), but Tom was right there with her. Versatility in an actor never ceases to amaze me, and when you couple that with a full on commitment to character it packs a pretty powerful punch. These two pack it very hard.  Fulfilling the mystique of her character, Tilda wasn't there last night but Jim, Tom and supporting cast Mia Wasikowska and Anton Yelchin - both supurb - were.  Tom was delightful, as was Jim.  Bring on the weirdos!

As always, we're off to a rip roaring start.  Tonight, we're at 12 Years a Slave and Parkland.  Did I mention that my girls managed to snag tickets to the festivals biggest buzz films?  Did I mention I love my girls?  Did I mention that you can never go wrong when you rely on A Little Help From Your Friends?  It's true.  So, so true.

*As usual, technology is messing with me.  I'm having hardcore formatting issues with this stupid PC (like, why are you bolding my entire text you piece of sh&t?!).  Content remains the same, it just looks like crap.  I'm sorry.