Here Boy!

That rarest of birds... the non-poker post. Expect more of them over filmfest week. Ok, one quick gambling-related mention first.... no.. two. First - in early stage planning for a Vegas trip at the end of the month (ie.- in two weeks). Gotta see if people are going to wuss out over the cost. Could be the first of possibly 3 trips there over the next 4 or 5 months. Or there could be none. Second - I called up a friend of mine to see if he wanted to get together and do something tonight. I figured getting away from the poker temptation would be good... his first suggestion? "Well, we could play poker at my place." Ha!

Ok, non-poker now... fo' reels (HA! PUNNY! I KILL ME!). The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) kicked off last night. This is often considered the #2 film fest in the world behind Cannes (although it looks like Venice is closing the gap... stupid Golden Lion). I've gone to it for the last few years. This isn't hard since all the theatres are within walking distance of me. This year I've got my usual 10 passes, and will be seeing these films (look up descriptions yourself at the official website):

Fido
The Bothersome Man
Pan's Labyrinth
For Your Consideration (Gala)
Shortbus
The Last Winter
Rennaisance
Bugmaster
Red Road
Princess

Most of these are World or North American premieres, which is just kinda cool. I'm not a celebrity hound... I think the last autograph I got was 15 years ago from Michael Burgess (Canadian tenor/musical actor)... but I still think it's cool to see the cast of a movie you love up on stage, answering questions from the audience, and generally trying to look comfortable :).

Anyway, last night I saw Fido. It's the touching story of a boy and his pet zombie. Note, not a zombie pet (a la Pet Cemetary), but a pet zombie. It stars Carrie-Anne Moss, Billy Connolly, Henry Czerny, Tim Blake Nelson, Dylan Baker, and introduce K'Sun Ray as Timmy.

Basic premise - 1950's-era perfect town, "radioactive space particles" have reanimated the dead, causing the Zombie War. Giant company ZombCon invents a collar that surpresses the urge for human flesh, making the zombies productive members of society - holding menial jobs, and being owned as servants by humans. Oh.. it's a comedy btw. So what happens when one zombie collar gets temporarily broken? Why, hilarity, and zombification, ensues.

It was an amusing film. Definitely had it's share of laugh-out-loud moments, and had a great look to it. It could have done with a bit of editing to tighten it up though. The cast and crew were there of course. Billy Connolly had the audience laughing with his answers to audience questions about being a zombie, and apologizing for his pants (what his wife would call "situational awareness"). The kids were adorable. It's a recommeded rental, especially if you liked Shaun of the Dead (although that was a bit better).

I walked out into a sea of humanity... seems Borat was premiering after the show I just walked out of. Red carpet, all them crazy interviewers (I could have pegged George Stroumboulopoulos with a penny if I so chose), and limos out front. Michael Moore was the first one to walk the carpet (why? I dunno... it's not his movie, guess just being a celeb going to see a film is enough.) I commenced my walk home, only to blocked by volunteers as maybe someone else associated with the movie was going to go in the back door.... they didn't. I was allowed to proceed on my merry way. I felt bad for the people in the rush line... it was stupidly long, and I doubt anybody in it was going to get in.

I purposely chose not to see it, since it'll be out in theatres soon enough. However, I wish I could have been there. Why? Well, Borat come down the red carpet on a peasant-drawn wagon, and midway through the screening, the projector broke. Luckily, Michael Moore was there to save the day. Being a former projectionist, he tried to fix it... to no avail. So as others tried to solve the problem, him, Larry Charles, and Sacha Baron Cohen (in character as Borat) held an impromptu Q&A on stage for the audience. I'm sure you can Google the news stories on it. In the end, the show didn't go on, and was rescheduled for midnight tonight at the Elgin.

No films tonight, but 4 this weekend, and 5 more next week.