MIFF 2012

Long time no see. Been a busy couple of years! This year I only made it to five films at MIFF. I saw some last year too, but I guess I forgot to post them here.

BROKEN - ★★★★
A british drama/comedy around the families living in a small cul-de-sac. Tim Roth plays the father and did a fantastic job. Great performances by the young cast too. 4/5

MENTAL - ★★★★
New Australian comedy from the guy who brought us Muriel's Wedding, and with Toni Collette in the starring role. Made by Australians for Australians, I'm unsure how well this film would do overseas, especially with such broad accents. However, if you're the target market, this is a brilliant funny film with lots of laughs. Lost its way a little by the end I think, but not enough that I didn't enjoy it overall.

INTO THE ABYSS - ★★★☆
A documentary by Werner Herzog about capital punishment in the US. It follows one crime in Texas which resulted in a man being on death row. He does his usual brilliant job in creating an engaging film. Mainly interviews with the criminals, their families and associated staff who work in the death chamber. Seeing these people shows another version of reality.

THE INTOUCHABLES - ★★★★☆
Wonderful French comedy about a rich paraplegic who hires a down and out senegalese man to be his carer. Full of hilarious laughs and a bit of action too, this is a feel-good flick that will make you smile. Not as cheesy as Pretty Woman, but in some ways reminiscent of Conversation with My Gardener from MIFF 2007.

IN ANOTHER COUNTRY - ★★
South Korean film that does slight retellings of a similar story with the same cast playing different roles. Let's just say that if it wasn't a film I'd paid for on an individual ticket, and one of only five I got to see this year, and the last film of the festival, and about the only film that wasn't sold out in this time slot, I'd've walked out.