The 2010 Toronto Film Festival Wrap-Up!!!

And so, another edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is in the books. This was my second time attending TIFF, and it was another great year. Being a returnee, I was less overwhelmed by the madcap insanity of the first few days, and was able to kick-back and enjoy a lot of quality films. Many of them will likely be hitting theaters by the end of the year, and some of them (THE KING’S SPEECH< BLACK SWAN, TABLOID, 127 HOURS) will become major Oscar contenders.

As always, I’m grateful to the staff and readers of JoBlo.com for allowing me to attend. I truly live these festivals, and for me it was ten days of pure joy. Some of the most memorable moments of my trip include:

– Walking onto the red carpet behind Edward Norton and Milla Jovovich at the STONE premiere. TIFF treats its press very well, but this was something special. I wish I had dressed better.

– Crashing the cast and crew party for THE TOWN. This came about after I arrived early for a press screening of the film held at the Hazelton Hotel, which is where most of the cast was staying. The publicist let me hit the bar, and within seconds I realized I was in the same room as Ben Affleck, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall (drool) and even Clive Owen, who was there with his own film, TRUST. I’m proud of myself for keeping cool, and not fawning.

– Hitting the HEREAFTER premiere and being inches away from the one and only CLINT EASTWOOD!

– Waiting ninety minutes for the press screening of 127 HOURS. Normally this would be a low-point, but having Danny Boyle himself show up and apologize for the wait was a classy move on his part, and something a lot of other directors wouldn’t do.

– Seeing constant inspiration Roger Ebert at many screenings.

– Seeing Brian De Palma at several industry screenings. I actually saw him in line at Starbucks one day and saw him tip the barista, which proves he’s a normal and nice guy just like all of us.

– The warm reception given to me by Jim Law and Johnny Moreno on the podcast. I really had a blast talking to them both weeks, and their friendliness really put me at ease as I do have the tendency towards shyness.

– The constant encouragement and positive feedback from Mike Sampson, Joblo himself, and all of you throughout the fest.

Hopefully you’ve all enjoyed my series of reviews. There were a lot of great films to be seen and I’m sure I missed a few. If you haven’t had the chance, please look through my reviews and take note of some of the smaller films coming up (like SUBMARINE). Films like this are what keeps the festival going, and I urge all of you to discover them for yourselves.

Just stay far away from PASSION PLAY.

JOBLO.COM REVIEWS FROM
TIFF:

TABLOID
THE TOWN
SUBMARINE
THE BLACK SWAN
THE KING’S SPEECH

MACHETE
MAIDENS UNLEASHED
INSIDIOUS
SUPER
127 HOURS
HEREAFTER
LET ME IN

EASY
A
LEGEND OF THE FIST:
THE RETURN OF CHEN ZHEN
MONSTERS
VANISHING ON 7TH
STREET
NEVER LET ME GO
BUNRAKU
I’M STILL HERE

STONE

HENRY’S
CRIME
THE DEBT
IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY
STORY

TRUST

THE
WARD

PASSION
PLAY