TIFF report: Millions, Eros and Zebraman

The problem with doing a run of shows through to and past midnight to only have to do it all again four hours later is that you would much rather grab those precious few minutes of sleep rather than write reviews. But I am only one show away from ending my TIFF experience tonight so I better get cracking and get you the goods you've been waiting to read...

You know that we were royally rodgered in our quest to see Kung Fu Hustle so I had to make amends and I hoped that my other choices for the day would bring redemption. I came pretty close.

Having been born on the east side of London and still carrying a British passport to this day I believe it is my sworn duty to support anyone on that side of the pond. And when it's Danny Boyle there is no second guessing your commitment.

Danny Boyle describes Millions as Trainspotting meets Amélie. Millions is a whimsical and magical tale of two brothers who come across a large bag full of money. The catch is that the money is the British pound and Britain is only 12 days away from converting their currency to the Euro. Oh what to do, what to do. Damian, the youngest of the two, wants to give as much of it away to help the poor. And his guidance comes from the saints that frequently visit him. However, his older brother, Anthony, has his own ideas about how to spend the money and their polar opposite fiscal philosphies eventually clash.

Millions is brilliant! Danny's trademark visual styles are ever present. It's funny and magical when it has to be and when it has to be scary and menacing you bet the Danny gets that across as well. Sporting a very funny script, exciting and wonderful visuals, a musical score that beckons you to wonder aloud - Elfman? Millions is a sure crowd pleaser. Some scenes may be a bit too intense for much younger viewers but overall the film works wonderfully.

Hopefully you read about my exploits getting into the Eros viewing. Up until this point my only exposure to Wong Kar Wai has been his BMWFilms short. It's shocking I know. But I hope to rectify that in the coming weeks and make up for my loss. I liked The Hand. I love the visual style. And I have fallen in love with the sumptuous Gong Li. What a vision. But the theme of tormented love and the inability to express one's desires for another until it's tragic end worked for me.

Soderbergh's Equilibrium while not containing a good round of Gun-kata was still a lot of fun to watch. Robert Downey Jr. was great. Though I like seeing Alan Arkin do other things, when he does his schtick in this movie it works! Beautiful color schemes bookmark the sharp sepia tone meat of the story.

And then there was Antonioni's The Dangerous Thread of Things. What a load of crap. You got the feeling that a first year film student got their hands on the reel and spliced their own project into the film. The grade school execution. The stilted and incoherant dialogue. There was absolutely nothing redeemable in the final third of this movie. "Okay, you're naked. Now spin around for no reason. Pick up the stick. Dance with the stick. Draw lines in the sand with the stick. Twirl faster! Hey look. Another naked woman. Who's been lying there all that time and you just noticed her now". To everyone who left the theatre before this load came up on the screen - I salute you.

My Midnight Madness experience this year hasn't met my fullest expectations. Last night was my one last chance at redemption. The last time this year I was willing to lose sleep and sanity over a movie. Zebraman had better come through and deliver me from evil.

Oh boy did it! I have stayed away from Miike films for the most part due mostly in part to the graphic content. The only other Miike film that I have watched is Bird People of China. Knowing that the body count was going to be considerably lower this time round I grabbed a ticket and prepared to watch Zebraman lay waste to criminal scum. In his landmark 100th movie Sho Aikawa delivers a sincere performance as Shinichi, a husband who has lost control of everything around him. He gets no respect from his co workers, his wife is having an affair, his son receives daily beatings because his father's antics at school, his daughter goes out all hours of the night with creepy old men. His only solace and comfort comes with a short run superhero show from the 70s - Zebraman - and a new boy in his class who shares the same love. Until he meets this young boy Shinichi only wore his costume in his home but on the night that he dares to leave his home in full costume does he realize that there is a greater destiny awaiting him at the receiving end of a Super Zebra Back Kick!

Very entertaining! Full of laughs! Zebraman had the crowd cheering from the opening production company verts to it's Striping Evil finish. Campy and glorious. Zebraman turned around my Midnight Madness experience and I left this year on a high note.

Zebraman plays the Varsity in two theatres one more time tomorrow nite at 9:30pm. Line up NOW!