By Ray Bennett
TORONTO – Based on a true story about a Spanish family caught up in the ferocious 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, “The Impossible” is terrifying and moving with best-ever performances by stars Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor. Continue reading
By Ray Bennett
TORONTO – Paul Thomas Anderson’s complex and accomplished film “The Master” addresses the conflict between the puritan and hedonist traditions of the United States as it adjusts to its new potential and place in the world after World War II.
The two extremes are exemplified in the characters of Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman, pictured below), a self-righteous authoritarian founder of a quasi-mystical cult, and Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix, pictured above), a self-interested flouter of authority in search of personal freedom. Continue reading
By Ray Bennett
TORONTO – It’s brave of Irish film director Neil Jordan to take on a fresh vampire story given how crowded the market is for the undead but in “Byzantium” he has turned out a good old fashioned horror film. Continue reading
By Ray Bennett
TORONTO – At a time when political invective has reached new lows with the media complicit in its extremes, “Hyde Park On Hudson” tells of a time when politics and the press were handled with the greatest subtlety even though the stakes were even higher. Continue reading
By Ray Bennett
TORONTO – Robert Redford returns to political intrigue and newspapers in “The Company You Keep”, which tells of a group of radical activists who have evaded the law for decades under assumed identities and who now face exposure.
Redford directs and stars as Jim Grant, one of a group still wanted for murder during a bank robbery, whose secret existence is threatened when one of them confesses in order to achieve peace of mind. When a young reporter starts to investigate and finds a link to him, Grant goes underground to find his former colleagues and expose the truth of what happened. Continue reading
By Ray Bennett
TORONTO – So many things could go wrong in a comedy drama about mental illness that it’s a credit to writer/director David O. Russell and an excellent cast that “Silver Linings Playbook” is such a winning success.
Touching but very funny, the story of a former teacher’s attempts to get his life back on track after a bi-polar breakdown and his relationship with a temperamental and aggressive young woman works on every level. Masanobu Takayanagi’s cinematography is fresh and vivid and composer Danny Elfman’s score is typically witty. Continue reading
By Ray Bennett
TORONTO – It’s big and bold and sometimes a bit silly but the film that Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer have made of David Mitchell’s ambitious novel “Cloud Atlas” is seldom less than gripping.
The six stories from the novel that spans time and space and attempts to link the passage of the human spirit are painted on a huge scale with scenes ancient, modern and from the future. Characters are drawn and re-drawn as several actors play multiple roles in different eras to underscore the unique connection that human beings can have to one another. Continue reading
By Ray Bennett
TORONTO – David Ayer, whose screenwriting credits include “Training Day” (2001) and “S.W.A.T.” (2003), shows the Los Angeles Police Department in a glowing light in “End of Watch” but it’s still a tense and engaging crime picture.
Jake Gillenhaal, as Brian, and Michael Pena (“The Shield”, “Battle Los Angeles”), as Mike, (pictured) play the tightest of partners as they answer the call to protect and serve in uniform in some of the harshest areas of L.A. Continue reading
By Ray Bennett
TORONTO – Dustin Hoffman has worked with many of the best film directors so it’s no wonder that some of their talents have rubbed off to make his debut film as director such a pleasure.
No question it’s a film for the older generation although youngsters might enjoy the sharp delivery of Billy Connolly and Maggie Smith as two of the retired classical music singers in the title. The others are played by Tom Courtenay and Pauline Collins (pictured with Smith) and along with their director they make up a quintet of among the smoothest and most accomplished stars in the business. Continue reading
By Ray Bennett
TORONTO – Ryan Johnson’s “Looper”, which opened the Toronto International Film Festival, is a time-travel science fiction adventure that has plenty of action but still takes time to deal with human drama and ask existential questions.
It does not strive for spectacular visuals but it looks good and the 2042 settings of squalor and luxury do the trick. It’s intelligent and exciting, and less about new-fangled gadgets and fancy weapons than it is about how to stay alive when the technology for time travel is owned by criminals. Continue reading
