TIFF '08: "JCVD," "O'Horten," and "RocknRolla"

The Toronto International Film Festival has just started, and already I’m hearing some extraordinary things from there. Today, I decided to give a look at three films that were shown yesterday at the festival – “JCVD,” “O’Horten,” and Guy Ritchie’s “RocknRolla.” This is only the start of several days of coverage.


The premise of “JCVD” sounds pretty damn good: Being Jean-Claude Van Damme is tough. Sure, he is an internationally recognized celebrity (and possibly the world's most famous Belgian), but this star seems to have fallen from grace with a recent history of direct-to-video flicks. But the "Muscles from Brussels" is back! In JCVD, Van Damme plays himself – with all his foibles in plain view – in this comeback story of a screen hero who has been on the receiving end of kicks that are getting harder and harder to take. Directed by Mabrouk El Mechri, "JCVD" is a rollicking action-comedy that explores the nature of fame.

I haven’t found too many reviews of the film, but here are a few that caught my attention:

Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net writes about the film, “Not only does “JCVD” never really have any action scenes again (it's a Van Damme movie, come on!), but as the story progressed, it started to turn lose all that energy that it had so brilliantly kicked off with. There's a rather jolting scene part of the way through where in the middle of the action, Van Damme literally stops to explain why his life is what it is and how much it means nothing compared to so many other people out there. He's just a regular guy who learned karate as a kid, then went to Hollywood and some how made it big. At this point the film was already snowballing out of control, without any hope for redemption. Thankfully there's a moment of relief at the end, but that didn't make up for lost time.”

The Arrow at Arrow in the Head writes, “We had the film played straight as an entity on its own. Think “DOG DAY AFTERNOON” by way of “PULP FICTION” in terms of the back and forth way the narrative unraveled. The unorthodox method that this story was communicated made for a surprise filled watch that kept me on my toes. The flick often misled me while playing on my expectations resulting in a couple of "I didn't see this coming" turn of events.”

Todd Brown at TwitchFilm writes, “I like Van Damme movies and I’ve seen a lot of them. Up to a certain point - I believe it was “Hard Target” - I saw every one of them in the theatre in its first week of release. But I would never have dreamed of saying that Van Damme was a good actor. Until now. Jean Claude Van Damme, when given the right material and a director who knows how to work with him, is one hell of a good actor. His face has taken on a good amount of character as he has aged, he makes himself remarkably vulnerable in this which works wonders, he proves to have natural timing and a gift for comedy and he should have started working in his native language years ago. He’s got the goods, he’s just never really been given much of a chance to show it before.”

For now, the verdict remains that it is a pretty damn fine film. I haven’t heard of it until reading Billington’s review, but I really must say that I’m looking forward to it. “JCVD” will be released in a limited amount of theaters on November 7.


I really don’t know much about “O’Horten,” but from when it played at the Cannes, I heard it is a pretty decent film. I found two reviews on the web that I really enjoyed here. There will probably be more throughout the next few days, but we can expect some pretty good reviews from the film.

James Rocchi at Cinematical writes, “”O'Horten” doesn't have much of a plot, but then again, if you asked most people for the three-act structure of the day they're having (or the life they're living) I doubt they'd give you much of an answer. “O'Horten” is a smaller film, a slice of life, but it's so well-done -- so generous and smart and funny and sympathetic -- that it completely wins you over.”

Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net writes, “Owe's portrayal of the humble and quiet Horten is definitely impressive, but not necessarily at the emotional levels I was hoping for, but it's hard to critique someone that charming. The film attempts to show you the rather eclectic experiences that Horten goes through after retiring, but the end result is a bit of a mess - the film really needed some actual direction and some actual progression to the story, rather than just a collection of experiences.”

Right now, “O’Horten” isn’t released in theaters, and a release date isn’t set, but the film is currently being distributed by Sony Classic.


And finally, the big headliner last night was Guy Ritchie’s “RocknRolla,” which many people have been saying that this should be a return to form for the guy since he married Madonna and made “Swept Away.” The reviews are in… and a lot of them are mixed. But the positive ones are very positive, so I can assure that this will be a love it or hate it film.

Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net writes, “Like a cross-country road trip with your friends, there are scenes that are slow and tedious, and others that are so energetic and vibrant, that it creates a dynamic that Ritchie fans will hopefully find as entertaining as I did. As with Snatch as well, the climax near the end needs to be unforgettable, and in “RocknRolla” it certainly is – you'll never look at Russian thugs and Gerard Butler the same again - and you won't soon forget it. This film isn't out to win an Oscar, but it is still stylistic cinematic entertainment at its best.”

Liam Cullin at Empire Movies writes, “The movie is pretty damned entertaining. While it took a little bit to get into (the first 20 or so minutes dragged), the opening scenes set things up nicely and, once I got into the story, I was hooked. And although there was a moment in the middle involving Johnny Quid that brought the worst parts of "Revolver" to mind, overall the movie was well worth the time.”

Joe Laydon at Variety writes, “"RocknRolla" barrels along at a brisk clip that's never noticeably decelerated by the occasional inclusion of flashbacks and flash-forwards. In a pic chockfull of kinetic set pieces, it's almost unfair to single out individual sequences. But it's safe to say that auds may get giddy watching a robbery that begins with a purposeful collision of car and truck, continues with a frenzied battle involving golf clubs and automatic weaponry, and climaxes with an audaciously extended foot chase. Through it all, Ritchie steadily ratchets up the thriller-diller quotient by suggesting two Russian thugs (who resemble refugees from “Eastern Promises”) are, quite literally, unkillable.”

But not all reviews were positive. Peter Bradshaw at The Guardian writes, “That title of Mr Guy Ritchie's new featcha. Means geeza. Or mobsta. Top bruisa. In his London manna. Sad to say, the film's a shocka. A right depressa. Bit of a dispirita. For this directa, it ain't exactly a departcha. And the title means as well as everything else Mr Ritchie's become a dodgy spella. What a dismaying orthographical decline since his last pictcha. Which we must now think of as Revolva. This was influenced by the belief system known as Kabbala. Rememba? Espoused by his spouse, whose name may originally have been spelt "Madonner".” His review is kinda annoying, but he does bring up a couple of good points.

“RocknRolla” comes out October 8 in LA, Toronto, and New York, but it opens everywhere October 31.


Tomorrow, I’ll cover “Ghost Town,” “Burn After Reading,” and “Appaloosa.” Until then, keep reading.