Review: Our Day Will Come

I’ll admit a personal bias. I love Vincent Cassel, and I could easily watch him acting like a creepy libertine all day. But I really believe that Our Day Will Come would have been one of my favourite films at TIFF this year even if that were not the case. It’s definitely one of the “WTF” films of the year, and undeniably marks Romain Gavras (the son of Costas Gavras) as a young man who’s got the potential to become a cinematic force to be reckoned with.  Read more

Review: Easy Money (Snabba Cash)

The words “based on the bestselling Swedish crime novel” seem to be pretty popular in cinematic circles these days. After the success of Stieg Larsson’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (and the other books in his Millenium Trilogy), it seems only natural that more so-called Stockholm Noir would be on the horizon. In fact, Jens Lapidus’ novel, Snabba Cash, was published around the same time as the first of Larsson’s books, and the film has also been a huge hit in Sweden. Such a hit, in fact, that much like the Larsson books and subsequent Swedish films, this one is being remade in America as well, with Zach Efron rumoured to be playing the character of J.W., the handsome student who finds himself in the middle of some nasty business. Read more

Review: A Horrible Way to Die

A fantastic example of what an “indie film” can be, if it’s written and directed by smart people who know how to tell a great story and make it look terrific, all within their means as low-budget, independent filmmakers. A Horrible Way To Die, in spite of its title, isn’t a gory shock-fest. It has all the suspense of a horror film, but it’s mixed in with the charm and intimacy of a deeply personal drama. Director Adam Wingard (who was last showcased in Toronto when Over The Top Fest played his previous trippy feature, Popskull, in 2008) has a gorgeous visual sense, and every frame serves to intensify the paranoid mood of the film. Read more