Farewell for Now, Beloved Vanguard Blog Readers...

Welp, we thought if we just pretended like TIFF never ended we could keep living the Vanguard dream forever. Except it did. Two weeks ago. Wait, or is it three? You’re telling us it’s OCTOBER tomorrow?

Well, dang.

In any case, this was one of our best Vanguard years ever but we have a tendency to say that every year so it would be best to just start mentally preparing yourself for 2015 right now. We know we are.

All of our beautiful Vanguard babies have gone off in the world to other festivals and/or acquiring distribution and we could be more proud. Spring will be delighting even more audiences thanks to Drafthouse and Raven Banner. Shrew's Nest, Waste Land and Over Your Dead Body also played The Fantastic Fest. The Voices won two well deserved awards at l'Etrange Festival. Hyena will be distributed in North America by Tribeca Films. IFC Films scooped up Duke of Burgundy. Third World will be releasing The World of Kanako in 2015. Radius/The Weinstein Company will be bringing the terrifying children of Goodnight, Mommy to North America. Music Box picked up Alleluia for distribution and Media Luna will be distributing Luna (no relation).

So if you didn’t see these amazing films at TIFF (ugh, what a jabroni) you have a chance to redeem yourself during their theatrical releases. Just don’t mess it up this time, alright?

Until next year, beloved Vanguard Blog readers. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have something in our eyes. 

Fashions of Vanguard '14

We really need to get Evan from Spring some new clothes. 

We really need to get you some  new clothes.

Evan from Spring has just the one outfit and he wants to look nice for his new cthonically ancient special lady. We have some advice for him--and for you, if you want to look good red carping and at the Preëms, as the fanciest of festival-goers say. Fortunately, we have a variety of looks from the Vanguard programme films this year... and even a few from the Midnight Madness movies!

Ryan Reynolds suggests this inspirational shirt.

(Ryan Reynolds? Ryan Reynolds, man.)

There's always the elusive beauty of the semi-imaginary moth boy.

Pro tip: Wooden fingers are so hot this year!

  

Mesh tank tops and leather pants are back! (Not that they ever really went away…)

The fashionable lepidopterist always wears stocking and heels and sometimes hats, gloves, and capes, when the weather calls for it.

The gloves and capes make for a classic look. Of course, sometimes you might want something more classically mad science. Consider a long gown and bandages.

Or perhaps just a mask. Masks are very on trend this year.

The mud and touches of moss really bring the look together.

Or if you want your face to show, you can do a bold eye liner and a bold lip with a bearskin.

You can even try mixing a message t-shirt with an animal mask, bringing 3 looks together.

But with a full stag head, you might want to balance it with the vulnerability of nudity.

Speaking of balancing revealing skin with tantalizingly covering it up, Cal keeps his excellent penis sheathed in what appears to be a paisley thong.

But before you go full Seventies, just ask yourself, Does this mustache really express me?

It’s important for vampires to always look their best, even when vacuuming the flat.

And always be prepared for fashion mishaps. Uh oh, looks like Viago got blood on his dandy suit. Some soda water and paper towels should get those stains out.



Or you could simply change into this embroidered distressed denim jacket while your clothes are in the wash.

There are a few Fashion Don'ts however...

Creepy ex-boyfriends who give you sexually transmitted hauntings are a definite fashion no no.

When wearing blood, it’s important to blend and remember to never overdo it, Montse. Why not borrow some club soda and paper towels from Viago and tone it down a bit.

Best to make sure that dressmaker’s dummy you’re using isn’t one of Montse’s victims.

An Indiana Jones hat and double tiaras are great accessories for any discerning film fan, but only if you have Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead with you at all times.

Of course we know who the real fashion Peeps Choi Award Winner is...

He might not have won Vanguard Blog Mascot, but he won our hearts with his adorable boxing gloves.

We hope this helps, and remember to use fashion responsibly because fashion is danger. We've seen a lot of decapitations this year, and we don't want to see any more.

(Hell yeah, there's a mix of Vanguard and Midnight Madness films in this because we're Vanguarders and we do what we want. Also, we love the Midnighteers and Maniacs over at the Midnight Madness blog. Films included: Spring; The Voices; Luna; The Editor; What We Do In The Shadows; The Duke of Burgundy; Goodnight, Mommy; Cub; They Have Escaped; Tusk; It Follows; and Shrew's Nest. Special thanks to the Tusk fans and Peter Kuplowsky for being good sports).

THE VOICES: Twitter Buzz!

Sure, we could make a bunch of corny puns about "listening to the voices that are telling you go see The Voices," but we'd rather just let the overwhelmingly positive buzz about the movie speak for itself.

You have one more chance to see The Voices at the Festival! THE VOICES Final Screening: Fri., Sept. 12th, 6:00 PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

THE VOICES: More Dark Comedies!

"You picked the movie last night, Mr Whiskers. I want to watch a romantic comedy." 

If you’ve been paying attention to the Vanguard blog lately, we’ve been going on and on about how The Voices is one of the darkest comedies of the year; maybe even of ever. If you haven’t been paying attention, um, where have you been? Excuse you. EXCUSE YOU. Anyway, to keep this awesome dark comedy ball rolling (it’s kind of like a bowling ball, we think) we’ve put together a list of some of our other favourite dark comedies. It was really hard, guys, because there are so many good ones. SO MANY. 

Think of all the notes we could write if we had our own giant novelty pencil.

Obviously Sightseers is the first on this list. Because erotic knit underthings, and that pasta sauce and hands down the best use of “Tainted Love.”  Sightseers, from Vanguard and Midnight Madness favourite Ben Wheatley, tells the tale of . They’re on a grand adventure to visit such amazing places as the Keswick Pencil Museum. Wow, sign us up for that road trip. Except things take an unexpected turn because it sort of (read: really, actually, no doubt about it) turns  into a killing spree. Don’t you hate it when that happens? There are still plenty (and plenty) of laughs, though, and a giant pencil. What more could you want? 

Great day for a stroll in the park, eh.

Happiness is admittedly a little tougher to digest, even for fans of the darkest of dark comedies. Did you manage to find the humour in happiness? This author did, so take that as you will. She understands if you don’t want to associate with her anymore because DAMN does this movie go down a bleak path. Happiness weaves together a story of some very not happy people—in fact, they’re downright despicable. From a sex-craved phone masturbator to a pedophile who also happens to be a kind of devoted father, we understand why it would be hard to get behind Happiness. We will say that we agree about the plastic baggies. They ARE very relatable. Everyone uses ‘em, after all. 

See what Lance had to put up with? So rude.

World’s Greatest Dad asks the question: what if you have the worst son ever and he dies (because he’s literally the worst) but you sort of want to memorialize a better version of him? We almost don’t blame Robin Williams’ character, Lance. To finally be able to create the awesome son you always wish you had, to make people actually miss him and think he was some sort of awe-inspiring hidden-talent writer when it's really your own writing that everybody is loving is almost impossible to resist. Okay, fine, it’s also super horrible.

Well, how do we even begin to describe Killer Joe. All we can say is we'll never think of Kentucky Fried Chicken the same ever again. We mean K Fried C. Killer Joe is your typical "I'm in gambling debt so I'm going to have to kill my mum for the insurance money" tale. Don't you love those? Chris (Emile Hirsch) hires contract killer Joe (Matthew McConaughey-hey-hey) to get the job done but then Joe decides to take Chris' sister as a retainer. It used to be so easy to kill your mum but it's really hard to find decent contract killers these days. The movie is pretty violent as every character gets their face smashed into something (don't want anyone to feel left out, of course) but that's okay because it's worth it for this amazing McConaughey performance. 

"Did we make it past the first round?" 

Yeah, yeah, we already mentioned one Bobcat Goldthwait film in this list (World's Greatest Dad) but we can't help if he's one of the best at crafting absolutely bananas dark comedies. God Bless America was also a Midnight Madness favourite so it's only fitting we end our list with it. This film is a classic, all-American tale of a man becoming so enraged with how disgusting and awful and selfish people have become that he decides to go on a rampage and kill them all. But just the bad ones, don't worry. He inspires a teenage girl to join his cause and off they go to live the bloody, ultraviolent American dream! Ah, inspring isn't.

This list could be a helluva lot longer but we've got movies to see and more blogs to write so look up some more on your own, jokers. And when you're done with that, make sure you're seeing The Voices this week for the dark comedy to end all dark comedies.

The Voices is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

THE VOICES screening times:

Thursday, Sept 11th 9:00 PM RYERSON
Friday, Sept 12th 6:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

THE VOICES Premieres Tonight!

House meeting!

Gather your friends--the talking cat, the talking dog, the severed head and, of course, Ryan Reynolds, because Marjane Satrapi's The Voices premieres tonight. Take a look at the poster and some stills here. Read a profile of director Marjane Satrapi here. Check out the Sundance buzz. And...Ryan Reynolds? Ryan Reynolds!

Tickets can be purchased:

• ONLINE: TIFF.net's Ticket Product List Page
• BY PHONE: 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433 (Toll-free) 
• IN PERSON
• Festival Box Office; 225 King St. West
• Scotiabank Theatre, 259 Richmond Street West

And don't forget...

Furrr-ever!!!

THE VOICES screening times:

Thursday, Sept 11th 9:00 PM RYERSON
Friday, Sept 12th 6:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

THE VOICES: Ryan Reynolds? Ryan Reynolds!

"Who said I have creepy eyes?" 

Let's just come out and say it: you're probably a little wary of The Voices because of its star, Ryan Reynolds. Maybe you're all, "Um, Ryan Reynolds?" But trust us, after you see this film you'll be all, "RYAN EFFING REYNOLDS!"

First of all, Reynolds gets props for being Canadian. As Canadians, we must hold all of our National Treasures dear (except Justin Bieber and Nickelback, but that goes without saying.) Second of all, his performance in The Voices is absolutely astonishing and career-changing. This is soooooo not the Reynolds we all remember from Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place. (Aw! Who remembers that show? Oh god, are we showing our age? Dammit.)

Reynolds' slowly eased his way into the mainstream consciousness in the early 2000s with movies like Van Wilder, Blade: Trinity, Waiting..., Amityville Horror, Smoking Aces, Just Friends, and The Proposal. While we can't say they were all amazing films (except obviously The Proposal is hilarious and amazing because rom-com with Sandy Bullock, duh) but they show a crazy variety of characters and style that normally isn't seen in young actors. It was his small role as Wade Wilson (um, Deadpool for anyone who isn't in the know) in one of those Wolverine movies that landed him on the good side of the comic fan radar because he is the Deadpool we need and deserve, yet his turn as Hal Jordan in Green Lantern did the complete opposite. (And we don't wanna talk about R.I.P.D.) 

We'll always love you furrr-ever, Ryan Reynolds!

Lately, though, he's been taking more challenging roles like The Croods. Kidding. We're talking about the much talked about Buried (2010) where Reynolds plays a dude literally buried in a box the entire movie, which was described as claustrophobic (you think?!) and incredibly suspensful. And then there was 2007's The Nines (directed by the screenwriter of Big Fish). While it wasn't met with rave reviews, the multi-character, bizarre, philosophical story gave Reynolds another chance to display his potential star power. This year, there was Atom Egoyan's Captive. While the film premiered in Cannes to, uh, mixed reviews, it still speaks volumes that the acclaimed director cold-called Reynolds for the role. Reynold's IMDb page shows upcoming films with Tarsem Singh (The Fall!!!!!), Simon Curtis (My Week with Marilyn), Ariel Vromen (The Iceman), and Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck(Half-Nelson) so we can expect interesting things from Mr Reynolds in the future.

"I'm so loveable, honest!"

And all of that brings us to the reason you're going to completely fall in love with him (yes, even though he plays a serial killer): The Voices. Director Marjane Satrapi talks very candidly about how he reached out to her regarding the role and even she was hesitant but after meeting him, she decided he was perfect for the role. You know, because he had very, very creepy eyes. Serial Killer eyes! The Hollywood Reporter said it was a "go-for-broke performance that’s intentionally mannered, yet entirely in sync with, the film’s shifting tones," and Collider said,

[H]e proves that he’s most certainly a skilled actor, as he proves adept at taking on darker, more difficult characters; he plays Jerry with a mix of glee, loneliness, anger, and, well, insanity. It’s a truly go-for-broke performance, and it’s to Reynolds’ credit that Jerry remains sweet and sympathetic throughout the entirety of the film, despite the fact that Jerry is doing some very bad things.

What does this tell us? That movie reviewers like saying "go-for-broke" apparently. But also that Ryan Reynolds is amazing and you should all definitely be seeing The Voices at this year's Festival. There are still some tickets left so you know what to do. (Um. Get the tickets.)

The Voices is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

THE VOICES screening times:

Thursday, Sept 11th 9:00 PM RYERSON
Friday, Sept 12th 6:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

THE VOICES: Director Profile: Marjane Satrapi

This one time Marjane Satrapi wore army pants and flip flops so we bought army pants and flip flops. 

Marjane Satrapi is probably one of the coolest people we know. She's a prolific director and author, having put her own life to ink and paper in the award winning Persepolis graphic novel series, which was later turned into an equally award winning animated film. She's strong, opinionated, and tells it like it is. Basically, she's a bona fide bad ass (BFBA for short). Her animated films have an incredible vision and voice and those qualities are just as present in her first solo-directed, all live action film, The Voices.

If you aren't familiar with Persepolis at all, stop everything and go fix that. Seriously. Why are you still reading this blog?! You have an entire series of graphic novels and a film to watch. YOU DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS NONSENSE. 

Persepolis chronicles Marjane's life in Iran during and after the Islamic Revolution, first as a young girl in Iran, and then as a teenager living in Vienna and returning to Iran. In France, the book was published in four parts but the English translation ran as two books. And a few years later, Satrapi and her co-director Vincent Paronnaud were debuting the film adaption at the little nothing film festival you probably haven't heart of: Cannes. (No big, no big.)

Both the comics and the film adaption have been heralded as one of the best coming-of-age stories and not only gave readers/viewers a candid glimpse into her fascinating, rebellious life, but also a similarly honest look at life in Iran and what it was to be young, Iranian woman both in Iran and abroad. This ain't your average, manufactured "young girl finding herself" film, guys; this is the real deal. The stark, mostly black and white illustrations are beautiful and unforgettable, completely drawing you into Satrapi's story.  

After Persepolis, Satrapi went on to write another graphic novel that was also adapted into an animated film: Chicken with Plums. This is the story of her great-uncle, an Iranian musician, and Satrapi weaves together a tale of love, music, heartache, and what makes life worth living. The film adaption is equally poetic and moving, with elements of stylish, theatrical live action and animation. You can read more about her inspiration for this story and the film through an awesome interview she gave with Mother Jones a couple years back.

Satrapi fans are eager to see how she takes her amazing vision and voice once again to the live action screen. And, because when you're Marjane Satrapi you don't just "make a movie" you MAKE A MOVIE so it might as well be completely bonkers. Strangely endearing sociopath? Sure. Talking cat and dog? Even better. Below, listen to Satrapi discuss making The Voices (warning: kind-of spoilers regarding the end sequence starting at 9:19): 

Are you even more in love with her than you were ten minutes ago? (If you want to fall even mooorreeee in love, listen to her Sundance Q&A where she talks about how Ryan Reynolds has kind of creepy eyes, how she's good at jokes, and other such fun tidbits.) And her thoughts on working with the animals so on point it hurts: "The dog was very easy. And the cat was a cat...to the cat you say 'sit' and he says 'fuck you'..."

Yup, sounds about right. Stop being so damn cool, Marjane Satrapi! But not actually. We need more filmmakers like her in the world. And we need more absolutely bananas films like The Voices.

The Voices is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

THE VOICES screening times:

Thursday, Sept 11th 9:00 PM RYERSON
Friday, Sept 12th 6:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

THE VOICES: Sundance Buzz!

"What, I'm excited. This is my excited face."

The Voices is a lot to take in on first glance. Ryan Reynolds? Talking animals? Wait, is that a head on that table? And what is up with those couch cushions?! So, it's totally understandable that you might be hesitant to add it to your Festival list. That's okay. There, there. We forgive you. This blog is going to help you get over your hesitation and running (literally to the box office or figuratively to the TIFF website) for a ticket before they go off-sale. You might wanna have your credit card ready before you start reading...

We still stand firmly on the belief that the less you know about this movie, the better so we've carefully selected reviews that don't give away too much. 

Joey Paur at Geeky Tyrant admits that "The Voices isn't for everyone, as it's extremely bloody and very disturbing, but in the best possible way, especially if you kind of have a demented mind."

Demented minds? Say no more, as we know all you readers have a little bit of dement...ness (Eh? Well, it's a word now.) lurking around in those delicious brains of yours. Paur also says:

I knew this movie was going to be a dark comedy going in, but I didn't know just how dark it would be. It goes into some very black places, but at the same time you can't help laughing because it's seriously funny as hell. There's definitely a lot of uncomfortable laughter. Reynolds plays such a great character in this movie. He has to show a lot of range and be funny, dramatic, and psycho, and he pulls it off seamlessly. This could very well be one of Reynolds' best performances to date.

Adam Chitwood at Collider declares that "The Voices is an insane movie about insanity" and "that [it] wears its crazy right on its sleeve."

We might even go as far to add that it's an insanely-insane movie about insanity. If such a thing didn't exist before, it does now. He goes on to compliment the style of the film:

The visual cues in the film are remarkably executed. When on his pills, Jerry sees the world as colorful and bright, almost as a picturesque 1950s society. He wears bright colored jackets, smiles a lot, and eats the same delicious cereal every day. This is the style in which the movie opens, but when Satrapi gives us a glimpse of the reality of what Jerry is seeing, these visual themes are all the more impressive. Moreover, Satrapi plays with a number of horror tropes throughout the film, bringing an air of familiarity to some of the more tense scenes but always playing them with a slight twist that makes them feel fresh and odd. 

And we're wildly in love with the three things Eric D. Snider at Film.com wrote that you need to know about The Voices:

One: Marjane Satrapi, the Iranian filmmaker whose autobiographical “Persepolis” made waves a few years ago, is a major directorial talent. Two: there is a demented screenwriter named Michael R. Perry who should probably be on some kind of watch list. Three: if Ryan Reynolds will keep making risky, offbeat aberrations like this, we’ll overlook the “Green Lantern”s and “R.I.P.D.”s and love him forever.

Enough with the reviews! Bring on the tweets! Below that you'll find the screening information. We recommend taking a date to this movie. You'll know if they run out screaming it wasn't meant to be.

The Voices is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

THE VOICES screening times:

Thursday, Sept 11th 9:00 PM RYERSON
Friday, Sept 12th 6:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

THE VOICES: First Look and Poster!

"What do you mean my bed is now a giant litter box?"

We couldn't be more excited that the Canadian Premiere of Marjane Satrapi's The Voices will be at this year's Festival. How do we even begin to describe this movie? Well, there's Ryan Reynolds (of course). And he's a little awkward (awww, poor guy). He's got a cat named Mr Whiskers and a dog named Bosco who he talks to sometimes (don't we all?). Except they talk back (wait, what?). Also: psychotic episodes, murder, violence, some really sharp knives, blood, so much blood, and doing a conga line at work. ("Horror-comedy," guys. Comedy.)

"Don't worry, they say this is a comedy! I just need to stab you a few times first."

We don't really want to say too much about the film because it's better to go in somewhat cold and be absolutely mind-boggled. This author saw it it Sundance and thought it was the best movie of the year. And then the credit sequence started and she nearly collapsed from delight. The woman to her right thought it was equally outstanding; the woman to her left couldn't decide whether she wanted to throw up, cry, or both.

How could you NOT want to see a movie like that? Check out maybe the raddest movie poster ever and the screening times below.

The Voices is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

THE VOICES screening times:

Thursday, Sept 11th 9:00 PM RYERSON
Friday, Sept 12th 6:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA