TIFF 2009: VENGEANCE

The film follows Costello (Johnny Hallyday), a lonely father who has just lost his stepson and two grandchildren from a gangland hit - his daughter is badly hurt in the attack. Upon arriving in Hong Kong he immediately goes to work in discovering who is responsible for his family’s deaths - first by learning what the police had already uncovered about the attack and then questioning his daughter about the people that attacked her. This is done in a manner that is vaguely reminiscent to Diving Bell and the Butterfly, where they communicated silently by pointing at words on a newspaper.

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TIFF 2009: BUNNY AND THE BULL

Bunny and the Bull is a quirky comedy about Stephen Turnbull (Edward Hogg), a man who hasn’t left his house in almost a year and has organized his life to an extremely precise schedule. But because of a mice infestation that destroys his routine, he is forced to revisit the last time he really ventured out of the house with his best friend Bunny, on a cross continent adventure. The film is ridiculously hilarious, with an imaginative art style that should not be missed by fans of unusual British comedies.

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TIFF 2009: AIR DOLL

The film is centered on an air doll, Nozomi, that gains the ability to move and think for herself. Through her newly acquired life she attempts to discover the outside world and find her purpose in life.

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TIFF 2009: DEFENDOR

Defendor is a very touching film about a man that is enraged by the gangs that are destroying his streets and decides to dawn a mask to fight the criminals on their own level. While the film can be seen as highly controversial, especially because of Arthur’s mental condition, the film is still a great satire on the superhero genre while also being a touching tale of what one man is able to do to change the world.

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TIFF 2009: POLICE, ADJECTIVE

The story of Police, Adjective is quite simple, Cristi (Dragos Bucur) is an undercover cop assigned to follow a teenager seen offering a joint to a classmate. Cristi's chief wants him to either arrest the supplier or the kid. The major twist for this film is that Cristi is having some misgivings about arresting the teenager because the punishment would entail several years in jail for a crime that might be removed in a few years, as well as the likelihood that it would easily ruin the rest of his life. The film’s plot seems quite simple, aiming to be an investigation into the motives as well as the actions a police officer takes towards an investigation he's doubting. I feel that some of the film’s intentional motivation for Cristi is also key to my main complaints.

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