wo more reviews from the TIFF trenches

Zack And Miri Make A Porno
Dir: Kevin Smith
Starring Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson
The last time Kevin Smith stepped out of his Jay And Silent Bob comfort zone the result was Jersey Girl, a film that was unfairly attacked during the anti-Bennifer backlash, but was still disappointing. Even amongst the director’s supporters there was a little concern that Smith wouldn’t be able to pull off a movie set outside of the View Askewiverse. Fortunately, Smith has proven the detractors wrong and made one of the funniest films of his career. The plot can be summed up by the title, but that’s not a bad thing. Smith’s films are all about characters interacting and with the amazing cast he compiled for this outing there’s barely a second of screen time that doesn’t pass without a laugh. Seth Rogen proves to be an ideal mouthpiece for Smith’s unique brand of intelligent lowbrow humor as Zack. Rogen and Smith’s comedic sensibilities are so similar that it almost feels like they’re longtime collaborators. Co-star Elizabeth Banks has been on the cusp of stardom for years, delivering scene-stealing comedic turns in such titles as Wet Hot American Summer and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Banks excels when finally given a leading role as Miri and it should be a breakout performance for the actress. View Askew stalwarts Jason “Jay” Mewes and Jeff “Randal” Anderson appear as members of the porno production and steal a few scenes away from the movie stars (Anderson has one gag that is guaranteed to be the most disgusting joke in film this year) and Toronto’s own Kenny Hotz draws plenty of laughs out of his first appearance as an actor. However, the surprise comedic standout in Zack And Miri is Craig Robinson, a long underrated comedian who has finally started to ease his way into the public consciousness with roles in The Office and Pineapple Express. Perhaps the most surprising part of Zack And Miri Make A Porno is how sweet and effective the love story is. Who would have thought that a movie about poor people driven to make amateur porn to survive would be one of the most believable romantic comedies of the year?

Rocknrolla
Dir: Guy Ritchie
Starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, and Thandie Newton
After 8 years spent creating flashy and vapid films and commercials in between marathon sex sessions with Madonna, director Guy Ritchie has finally crafted a worthy follow up to Snatch. Granted, RocknRolla treads familiar territory from Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch (namely wisecracking low-lives in London whose lives inadvertently connect in intermittently funny and violent ways), but considering that’s Ritchie’s gift, it’s hard to complain. For the most part Rocknrolla is just as hilarious and unrelentingly entertaining as the director’s early work. It loses points only for familiarity and a limp first act that is almost entirely comprised of expository set up. Still with a soundtrack this good, visuals this arresting, dialogue this quotable and a stable of talented actors (including a scene-stealing Tom Wilkinson), it’s hard not to be entertained. Make no mistake this is a movie made by blokes for blokes. But taken on that meager level it’s also an absolute fucking riot.