I have made an early festival mistake: I only got about four hours of sleep last night and I have five movies to see today, alternating between downtown (TIFF Lightbox) and uptown, along Bloor. That's a lot of bike riding for a tired girl. Let's see how many movies I fall asleep during today. I predict a clean sweep.
Big night last night for Dr. Dock! I initiated the applause following the "we can't do this without volunteers" commercial before the film. It's a big move to start a round of applause - mortifying if the crowd leaves you hanging, but exhilarating when they all join in. Thank you to the audience at The Guantanamo Trap for you participating in my ovation.
The big question for today: The Tribe Called Quest doc, which was described in Now Magazine as just another E! True Hollywood Story, or Weibo's War, which got five Ns and will be attended by Weibo himself? It might come down to how much pedal power I have left in me by this afternoon. I'll keep you posted.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Welcome to Tolonto!
It's only the first night and I'm already shirking my doctor duties by skipping Fightville, in favour of more sleep. I need to rest up for my big weekend of seeing movies that I'm more interested in.
A great opening night was had by all. The Winter Garden Theatre was completely full by the time the obligatory love-in speeches marked the beginning of the 19th annual hot docs festival. My personal favourite was a return appearance by The Honourable Michael Chan, our lovable Minister of Culture and Tourism, who welcomed the audience to Tolonto then thanked us for "not making so much noises" at the end of his speech. You're welcome! I mean, you're welcome. And of course, director Morgan Spurlock was there, wearing a Nascar-esque racing suit plastered with logos of the brands that sponsored his movie. Cute.
POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold was one of those quirky, self reflexive movies that does what it's talking about. It "explored" the issue of product placement, while being completely financed by big companies in exchange for... product placement. I say "explored" because the movie seemed to make its "point" very quickly then began to repeat itself with a series of amusing vignettes about the absurdity of using product placement to finance a movie about product placement. I say "point" because I didn't leave the theatre feeling any differently about product placement, that is, ambivalent. I did enjoy the visit that Spurlock paid to Sao Paulo, Brazil, a city completely devoid of outdoor advertising. I was expecting a serene and peaceful appearance but instead it looked barren and desolate to me. Interesting. While POM Wonderful Presents certainly did not achieve high points for artistic merit, it was amusing and entertaining enough. And any doubts about the power of product placements were assuaged by the excitement of the crowd when we were greeted outdoors by three POM Wonderful girls in costumes handing out adorable little boobie shaped bottles of POM. Thank you POM Wonderful!
Bed time.
A great opening night was had by all. The Winter Garden Theatre was completely full by the time the obligatory love-in speeches marked the beginning of the 19th annual hot docs festival. My personal favourite was a return appearance by The Honourable Michael Chan, our lovable Minister of Culture and Tourism, who welcomed the audience to Tolonto then thanked us for "not making so much noises" at the end of his speech. You're welcome! I mean, you're welcome. And of course, director Morgan Spurlock was there, wearing a Nascar-esque racing suit plastered with logos of the brands that sponsored his movie. Cute.
POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold was one of those quirky, self reflexive movies that does what it's talking about. It "explored" the issue of product placement, while being completely financed by big companies in exchange for... product placement. I say "explored" because the movie seemed to make its "point" very quickly then began to repeat itself with a series of amusing vignettes about the absurdity of using product placement to finance a movie about product placement. I say "point" because I didn't leave the theatre feeling any differently about product placement, that is, ambivalent. I did enjoy the visit that Spurlock paid to Sao Paulo, Brazil, a city completely devoid of outdoor advertising. I was expecting a serene and peaceful appearance but instead it looked barren and desolate to me. Interesting. While POM Wonderful Presents certainly did not achieve high points for artistic merit, it was amusing and entertaining enough. And any doubts about the power of product placements were assuaged by the excitement of the crowd when we were greeted outdoors by three POM Wonderful girls in costumes handing out adorable little boobie shaped bottles of POM. Thank you POM Wonderful!
Bed time.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Hot Docs Eve
Oh boy oh boy oh boy. I'm like a little girl on the night before the eighth night of Hanukkah. It's Hot Docs eve, or, as my people say, eruv Hot Docs.
In preparation for the festival, I dehibernatated my bicycle tonight in order to make sure i could get from point A to the Cumberland Theatre. Flat tires? Persistent and embarrassing squeak? Woefully inadequate brakes? I'm ready to roll. Through red lights.
The reviews of my most recent entry, "A Roughly Slotted Schedule" are in! Occasional Dock Buddy writes: "Nice lineup, based purely on quantity and movie titles." Thanks ODB! And now to answer one lucky reader's e-mail. Jimmy from Toronto writes: "are we going out on friday? That would be swell [sic]" To which I reply, yes!
So...I better get going. I need to put together my festival survival kit tonight, which I'm excited to assemble this year because for the first time since I was five years old, I've started eating granola bars. Those little cartoon peanuts inside the no-entry signs are so persuasive, and not having to carry three pounds of ziplocked noodles in my purse is really going to lighten the load this year!
Hey, does anybody want to see Fightville at 9:30 tomorrow night? Come on, you know you want to. You know how much you love mixed martial arts. I know how much you love mixed martial arts. It's just like capoeira, only snuffier! But seriously, I'm hoping there will be footage of the women's MMA leagues - it's indisputably hot. My final point is that the movie is playing at the Winter Garden Theatre, an oasis of dollar store decorative foliage which is a must see, especially for those of you who suffer from a phobia of being stuck in a concrete stairwell for five flights of stairs with 640 strangers. You'll see what I mean.
Whatever, I'll just scalp them.
Hey, does anybody want to see Fightville at 9:30 tomorrow night? Come on, you know you want to. You know how much you love mixed martial arts. I know how much you love mixed martial arts. It's just like capoeira, only snuffier! But seriously, I'm hoping there will be footage of the women's MMA leagues - it's indisputably hot. My final point is that the movie is playing at the Winter Garden Theatre, an oasis of dollar store decorative foliage which is a must see, especially for those of you who suffer from a phobia of being stuck in a concrete stairwell for five flights of stairs with 640 strangers. You'll see what I mean.
Whatever, I'll just scalp them.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
A Roughly Slotted Schedule
Ok, ok, everybody settle down. After a minor setback (drool on the keyboard) I am ready to share my selections for hot docs 2011!
To begin with, I must apologize for the delay. I’ve been busy working on my other internet endeavour, Downward Blog. I find that blogging about yoga is a marvelous way to deepen my practice. You may have noticed some changes around here, including a white background and oh, i don't know, a new name! See, somebody in Kensington took a liking to my bicycle last summer, breached the two dollar lock that I bought in Delhi, and made off with my Schwinn and its eponymous pink milkcrate. I’m sure if the thief had known that my elevated social stature was based entirely a blog called Pink Milkcrate, he would have graciously spared the crate. But alas, he didn't get the memo, so I took it as an opportunity to rebrand, and here we are, aren't we? If anyone steals my dock I am in big trouble because I'm running out of awesome names for my blog.
I digress (writers like to say that).
As I teased you before, I have roughly slotted in (don't you like the sound of those words together?) most of my movies for this year’s festival. Visit the hot docs website to read the descriptions. Many of the screenings have already gone rush, but I have an extra ticket to each film that I see so hit my on my beeper if you want to be my date. And remember, this schedule is a living, breathing organism, so if you're planning on stalking me, you should confirm my whereabouts before you look for parking - just text me at 416.555.5555.
Thursday April 28
6:30 - POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
9:30 - Fightville
Friday April 29
9:30 - Guantanamo Trap
Saturday April 30
1:00 - El Bulli - Cooking in Progress
3:45 - Mothers of Bedford
6:30 - Beats, Rhymes & Life
9/9:30 - The National Parks Project or Maids & Bosses
1:45 - Empire North
Sunday May 1
11:00 - Jig
1:30 - Battle for Brooklyn
4:30 - Boy Cheerleaders
9:15 - The Pirate Tapes
11:45 - Conan O'Brien Can't Stop
Monday May 2
6:15 - El Sicario, Room 164
9:30 - The Castle
Tuesday May 3
7:00 - Hot Coffee
Wednesday May 4
6:30 - Melissa-Mom and Me
9:45 - Memoirs of a Plague
Thursday May 5
6:00 - Limelight
9:45 - Recessionize!
Friday May 6
7:15 - Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey
9:45 - Inside Lara Roxx
Saturday May 7
10:45 - How To Die in Oregon
9:45 - Dolphin Boy
Sunday May 8
1:00 - The Hollywood Complex
3:30 - Kumare
9:00 - Knuckle
To begin with, I must apologize for the delay. I’ve been busy working on my other internet endeavour, Downward Blog. I find that blogging about yoga is a marvelous way to deepen my practice. You may have noticed some changes around here, including a white background and oh, i don't know, a new name! See, somebody in Kensington took a liking to my bicycle last summer, breached the two dollar lock that I bought in Delhi, and made off with my Schwinn and its eponymous pink milkcrate. I’m sure if the thief had known that my elevated social stature was based entirely a blog called Pink Milkcrate, he would have graciously spared the crate. But alas, he didn't get the memo, so I took it as an opportunity to rebrand, and here we are, aren't we? If anyone steals my dock I am in big trouble because I'm running out of awesome names for my blog.
I digress (writers like to say that).
As I teased you before, I have roughly slotted in (don't you like the sound of those words together?) most of my movies for this year’s festival. Visit the hot docs website to read the descriptions. Many of the screenings have already gone rush, but I have an extra ticket to each film that I see so hit my on my beeper if you want to be my date. And remember, this schedule is a living, breathing organism, so if you're planning on stalking me, you should confirm my whereabouts before you look for parking - just text me at 416.555.5555.
Thursday April 28
6:30 - POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
9:30 - Fightville
Friday April 29
9:30 - Guantanamo Trap
Saturday April 30
1:00 - El Bulli - Cooking in Progress
3:45 - Mothers of Bedford
6:30 - Beats, Rhymes & Life
9/9:30 - The National Parks Project or Maids & Bosses
1:45 - Empire North
Sunday May 1
11:00 - Jig
1:30 - Battle for Brooklyn
4:30 - Boy Cheerleaders
9:15 - The Pirate Tapes
11:45 - Conan O'Brien Can't Stop
Monday May 2
6:15 - El Sicario, Room 164
9:30 - The Castle
Tuesday May 3
7:00 - Hot Coffee
Wednesday May 4
6:30 - Melissa-Mom and Me
9:45 - Memoirs of a Plague
Thursday May 5
6:00 - Limelight
9:45 - Recessionize!
Friday May 6
7:15 - Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey
9:45 - Inside Lara Roxx
Saturday May 7
10:45 - How To Die in Oregon
9:45 - Dolphin Boy
Sunday May 8
1:00 - The Hollywood Complex
3:30 - Kumare
9:00 - Knuckle
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