Announcements

tiff40Tomorrow marks the beginning of TIFF — the Toronto International Film Festival. It runs for 11 days every September, this year’s running September 10-20. Nearly 300 films are screened from all over the world, and the buzz and excitement is simply unrivaled. There is just so much to do, and so much to see, that it actually becomes quite stressful planning it all. Are you going to see movies? See stars? Try to sneak into the parties? There is no right answer as everyone does something different.

I took a bit more time off work this year, so I am hoping to beat my record of seeing 19 films in 11 days (though I will not try beating my record of seeing 5(!) films in a day). And unlike previous years, I will be blogging and writing capsules of all of the films I manage to see. I may even put up a few of my best celeb photos. The goal is to be on here daily, telling stories and letting you know which films to seek out during and long after the festival when some of these movies finally see the light of day.

I have seen 2 films so far (at private and embargoed critics’ screenings last week), and their reviews should go up sometime in the next few days over on Mr. Will Wong’s website. I know I said I’ll be posting celebrity photos, but none of mine will ever compare to his — so keep an eye on that site for updates, and for reviews from me and the rest of the crew who will be all over the festival.

So kick back and prepare for the madness. But just remember, we’ll get through this.

As a writer, my problem has consistently been brevity. I always write too much and tend to overwrite in some cases. So as an exercise, I’ve devised #ShortCuts — short, timed reviews that I write within 15-minutes, check for spelling and grammar, and that’s it. The idea is a bit daunting for someone who has never really been limited with what he writes, but it’s something I’m keen to try out. I will continue writing long form reviews, but may try to post these a few times every few weeks and see if it helps make my writing a bit more concise.

With that, here are my #ShortCuts reviews for Hot Pursuit and Unfriended, both hitting Blu-ray/DVD this week.

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