TIFF Midnight Madness 2025 BEGINS. Using nothing more than text and pictures, I will FULLY capture what it's like to attend 6 films within this soft city of good food and few sins. Beyond proposing to @PeterKapow and sitting, expect few plot twists. #TIFF #MidnightMadness
/ 1
Theatre was PACKED, the audience delivered. Hands clapped to Varda ad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hGmpaUfkig), love shown for Christie, hearty pirate "ARRRRs". Many shocking moments were greeted with vocal disbelief and laughter, which is always THE BEST. Standing ovation!? WOW.
/ 3
Took 3 attempts, but Peter landed the hat. Director (hilarious) and actors all there! After being introduced with effusive praise, his first words were "this movie sucks". During Q & A, offered a gruesome insight "she thinks of him as a brother, that needed to be explored"
/ 4
Some unexpected insight from the director (Curry Barker): "I learned the importance of passion for your project. When people see that passion, they're inspired to do their best work." That passion is on the cusp of making him 15 million dollars.
/ 5
"The Furious" It's OVER-over-the top. There is NO TOP beyond this. The credits showed at least 100 stunt people, and they're all dead. The story was sacrificed for the action, a decision I'm forced to support here. When the movie ends, it begins. #TIFF #MidnightMadness
/ 6
Limbs are grabbed, grappled and knotted together in unimaginable ways (human staircase for descending, body mountain for escaping). You will FULLY believe a man in flip-flops can chase down a truck (pat-pat-pat). The motorbike sequence is beyond absurd, but wait THERE'S MORE
/ 7
With 5 incredible martial arts actors (all different styles) they went FOR BROKE. They start with 2 on 2, then throw in a chaotic neutral. 5 people fighting together as one giant ball of men. When they finally separate, a ladder and some bikes are thrown in. PREPOSTEROUS.
/ 8
@PeterKapow entered with a flying kick proclaiming "This represents 25 years of MM!" The director, actors, and @colingeddes were THERE! Joe Taslim thanked MM for starting his career 15 years ago with "The Raid". Q: How did you do those fight scenes? Director: Co-ordination
/ 9
"The Furious" needs to be seen WITH PEOPLE - either with a theatre audience or friends at home. Do NOT watch alone, otherwise "we saved some kids" won't be hilarious. Tangents: Mute father is Clint Eastwood ICONIC. After failing to land the hat, Peter placed it perfectly.
/ 10
The MM audience loved loved LOVED this movie - will likely win the MM People's Choice. The only thing I would change is the title. "Furious" is okay, "Relentless" is more accurate, but "Snake Pit" is RIGHT THERE and will FOOL EVERYONE.
This just in... my inbox. "Unlock $15 tickets for Karmadonna (TONIGHT!) with the code 25TIFF15". And that's EXACTLY what I did and what YOU SHOULD DO. I've sat them all and there are NO bad seats. Just use the UNLOCK button at the master of tickets. #TIFF #MidnightMadness
/ 12
"Karmadonna" Lead actress Jelena Dokic is amazing and the main reason to see this film. Within the chaos she delivers a grounded, sympathetic and slightly humorous performance. The problem? She's treated terribly throughout, and you feel bad for her. #TIFF #MidnightMadness
/ 13
Unable to take revenge, she struggles to survive escalating unpleasants. Hard to cheer for someone suffering. Ending delivers a kick-to-the-head she's meant to be happy about (she should have torn out her stomach). Oddly, she's completely absent from the film's grotesque, needless climax.
/ 14
Some VERY interesting ideas (God is a content creator, how mankind evolved, a 2025 second coming) alongside the obvious (influencers are bad, corporations are evil). The asshole "narrator" is a proxy for the writer/director, delivering all his "smart" opinions bluntly and without charm.
/ 15
@PeterKapow broke out the red pants. Director, lead, producer present, all looked STRIKING. "A Serbian film" derailed his career for 15 years. She's his muse, and director made her feel safe. World becoming like Serbia, finally. sensitive? maybe don't watch last 40 minutes
/ 16
Volunteer Ad might make "TIFFTY" happen - surprise celebrity's fame growing exponentially (he's named CELEBRITY). Rogers Ad indirectly asks questions the audience now answers! "Dish with one spoon" entrance is spared, proving midnighters remain a classy bunch
"Fuck My Son!" With a title like that, I thought I knew what I was in for. I did not. No sir, I did not. No-one must know I was there. The funniest part? People watching this at TIFF today without the MM audience subsidy. #TIFF #MidnightMadness
/ 18
Even Peter was in disbelief, which was really the point. The director was very charming, and everyone involved was actively protecting the wonderful young actress from the movie she just starred in. Cardboard glasses were provided that could increase perversion or block nudity. They worked.
/ 19
On Letterboxd, the main complaint people have about "Fuck My Son!" is ... it used AI. For me, it was when Grandma poured boiling water on the Mom's screaming 10 year old daughter. Wait... did they generate that with AI? Now I'm upset. https://letterboxd.com/film/fuck-my-son/reviews/
/ 20
"Junk World" introduces a FULLY realized, * NEW * & COLOURFUL sci-fi world. Incidental delights around every corner. Unexpectedly funny, thanks to the precision of stop motion editing. Characters you root for, villains with flair, stunning landscapes. SEE THIS! #TIFF #MidnightMadness
/ 21
Peter landed the hat. Director was joyful and quite funny. Made by 6 people (!) in 7 years (!), reduced to him when money ran out! It's unbelievable the movie looks this good, and turned out this well. Credits show behind-the-scenes stop motion - sets/characters are HUGE. 3D printer helped.
/ 22
"The Napa Boys" is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, and I can't explain why it's funny at all. There's no term for this style of comedy - it's "napa boy" comedy. If you like "napa boy" comedies (this is the only example), you will LOVE IT. #TIFF #MidnightMadness
/ 23
Man gets bitten by snake. Attempting to save his life, she sucks out the venom, spits it out (repeatedly). Man: "you don't have to do that"
An older sheriff, who has no use for the napa boys or their antics, watches them leave. Looking into the distance, he reflects: "i like them napa boys"
/ 24
It constantly and successfully misleads you. Think something funny is going to happen? It doesn't. When you finally let your guard down, blam. i.e. Nerd falls in love with waitress, expected shenanigans ensue. Then she delivers a long, impassioned speech defending the worth of waitresses.
/ 25
Just when you become accustomed to the style/pace, it will change. Suddenly lowbrow (shitting in wine, milf, drugs), then perhaps self aware. A very silly Francis Ford Coppola cameo, a school shooting skit ... all sandwiched between warm, familiar "napa boy" comradery. "To the grape!"
/ 26
The entire theatre was howling with laughter throughout. Definitely requires a crowd that's calibrated to it's bizarre wavelength. The cast filled the stage, the Q & A was hilarious, and Peter was in top form (especially his swaggering, blistering MM introduction): MIDNIGGGHHHTTT MADNESSSSSSSS
/ 27
"Dead Lover" The lover, despite being an over the top caricature, will absolutely convince you that love conquers all. Oh to be wooed by such a man. He dies early on which is a tragedy the movie never fully recovers from. #TIFF #MidnightMadness
/ 28
Everyone cheered on the innocent & irrepressible gravedigger, a living cartoon who almost succeeds in carrying the entire picture. Needed an ignorant asshole producer to force a Hollywood ending. At least, that's what I needed. Lover, you were not a metaphor for beauty... you were beauty.
/ 29
They did a LOT with a little, and the low budget limitations quickly became part of the charm. The makeup and costumes are strangely... great! During Q & A, I was desperately trying to determine who played the lover, and who played the widower. They were up there, but unrecognizable.
/ 30
Everyone got a card with 12 scratch-and-sniff areas (all vile) to accompany the movie. During the movie a number would appear and you'd scratch accordingly. Much groaning and laughter. Absolutely horrendous. Destined to become a midnight madness legend. "I was there, and it was disgusting."
/ 31
Peter CROONED! Q & A had unborn baby. Director was gracious and effortlessly hilarious, her husband related "Don't wash" Napoleon origins. The BEST question EVER. Q: "Did you attend Raleigh high school?" A: "uh... yes? for ... one and a half years" THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE!
/ 32
Celebrity Sightings: Walking home after the movie (2:30am) fairly confident I walked by Brendan Fraser. Shuffled into "Dead Lover" alongside Canadian indie legends Chester Brown (Ed The Happy Clown) and Sook-Yin Lee (Paying For It). Somehow kept my cool. #TIFF #MidnightMadness
/ 33
Most indelible movie moment: After suffering through an utterly depraved and vile 60 minutes - the "blind sopranos" appear. Poorly acted joyful Italian stereotypes, complete with bad accents and shades, serenade the victim. The whiplash forced a laugh-out-loud from me, which I regret.
/ 34
I've concluded that @peterkapow.bsky.social , and the unbridled enthusiasm he shows for both the movies and the people that make them, is FACTOR X. The audience, Q & A, filmmakers and film are all great, but he's the glue... that sticks it all together yeah that's good.
/ 35
And with that, I bid you adieu (spelled it on the first try). I love making these threads, but man they take FOR-EVER. Perhaps you enjoyed reading this, perhaps you can't read. All I ask in return is for a MM schedule listed BY DAY. Is that to much to ask? IS IT!? #TIFF #MidnightMadness
/ end
bigpants
WildRikku