twizzlers for dinner

Five films screened so far and not one disappointment. Hurray!

Sleuth, Kenneth Branagh's remake of Joseph L. Mankiewicz' 1972 film, starred Michael Caine and Jude Law. Highly enjoyable. The screenplay was written by Harold Pinter, who's so good at conveying the ugliness of people; I always get an icky feeling whenever I read his work. (Like LaBute, but less funny.)

I found a seat in the donors' pod just as the lights went down. The well-heeled are a lot more considerate when using perfume. I got whispers of scents, all of them sparingly applied. Nothing overwhelming. The man beside me had smoked a clove cigarette before coming in. Everyone smelled really nice. But moviegoers are moviegoers. They blurted things out at the screen, squealed and screamed at the sight of Jude Law and gasped with discomfort at the slightest hint of gay. Sure they've donated wads to the organization and have paid $40 for each gala ticket, but apart from that, there was no difference between this group and a 905 crowd at Silver City on a Friday night.

The world premiere of Julie Taymor's Across the Universe was the second film of the night. A musical made up entirely of Beatles' song. Ringo- and Paul-approved. Most of the donors in the pod were replaced by their children/grand-children for this screening. I was so glad that I convinced myself to stick around for this 2.5-hour film; the film did not feel long at all. The singing were excellent and the musical arrangements were tight. Taymor's designs were beyond awesome -- scenes from the induction centre and Vietnam gave me chils.

Now I feel like renting the visually-stunning Titus again.

Seven more to go... So far, my festival favourite has been the much simpler The Band's Visit, which I saw in a packed Ryerson theatre on the weekend. Sukiyaki Western Django is tonight's Midnight Madness screening. Cowboys played by Japanese actors, speaking in English. How fun is that? I can't wait!

Highlight of the evening: Watching a distinguished member of the board run around giddily in his Crocs and khakis, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jude, Michael and Kenneth as they entered Roy Thomson Hall…