Elliott Pen
About Elliott Pen
Elliott is a writer and a full-time daydreamer. An English literature student, Elliott reads too many books and has developed a fiery hate for Chaucer (seriously it’s best not to even bring him up), and an inability to properly summarize himself. His favourite directors are Kurosawa, Ozu, Godard, and Woody Allen. Elliott is also hilarious and an excellent cook (hey, it’s my bio, I can indulge myself a bit).
Social Links
Last entries by Elliott Pen
  • 19 Aug 2011
    Review: Sarah’s Key
    Transcending two different eras ““ World War II France and its modern day counterpart ““ along with a host of global locations,  Sarah’s Key  is a gripping tale of one little girl and the desire of a journalist to connect her to her present-day bloodline....
    Archived in Independent & Repertory Reviews
  • 08 Jul 2011
    Review: Cave of Forgotten Dreams
    Leading up to this year’s TIFF, one of the titles that garnered the most buzz was Werner Herzog’s 3D documentary  Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Walking an obviously precarious line between genius and madness, Herzog has managed to craft a piece that transcends the documentary to become elegy for humanity’s first...
    Archived in Independent & Repertory Reviews
  • 28 Sep 2010
    Breathless – There is no other
    Breathless. The name alone evokes at least a dozen images to those familiar with cinema. And now, as scholars, both of the true academic or weekend variety, move beyond to discuss emerging cinema in far-flung corners of the world or recall small movements, such as the Yugoslav “Black Wave,” it...
    Archived in On the Scene
  • 19 Sep 2010
    Review: Wavelengths 1, 2, & 5 – TIFF 2010
    One of the most interesting, yet least talked about programs part of TIFF every year is the Wavelengths series which features avant-garde and experimental films from around the world. Every year programmers typically create a theme for each series so as to have a point of reference for each piece,...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 18 Sep 2010
    Review: The Solitude of Prime Numbers – TIFF 2010
    The Solitude of Prime Numbers might be one of the brainiest dramas regarding human nature to ever exist. Based on the book by Paulo Giordano, Solitude paints an interesting look at human relationships. The story of Solitude follows three children, Alice, Mattia and Mattia’s mentally handicapped brother, Michela, from 1984...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 18 Sep 2010
    Review: The Debt – TIFF 2010
    The Debt was one of a few surprises at TIFF this year. That is not to short the directorial skill of John Madden (Shakespeare in Love), or the acting skills of Helen Mirren or Sam Worthington, but there was some expectation that the story of three Mossad agents reflecting on...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 18 Sep 2010
    Review: Sarah’s Key – TIFF 2010
    Transcending two different eras ““ World War II France and its modern day counterpart ““ along with a host of global locations, Sarah’s Key is a gripping tale of one little girl and the desire of a journalist to connect her to her present-day bloodline. Based on the novel of...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 18 Sep 2010
    Review: Little White Lies – TIFF 2010
    When tragedy strikes a group of French bourgeois friends prior to their annual summer vacation, they decide to go on with the trip regardless. The nature of these friendships is exposed during their stay, as their personal lives begin to unfold in Guillaume Canet’s Little White Lies . The film...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 17 Sep 2010
    Review: Even The Rain – TIFF 2010
    There is something quite enjoyable about the premise of a film within a film. This form of narrative framing another narrative typically heightens the overall appeal, and in the case of Iciar Bollain’s Even The Rain this certainly applies. The film is based on the real events occurring in Bolivia...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 17 Sep 2010
    Review: Confessions – TIFF 2010
    Going into this year’s TIFF Confessions was already riding a wave of success as one of the highest grossing films in its native Japan, and one of the most talked about foreign films. Both accolades are greatly deserved for Tetsuya Nakashima’s film which is haunting, captivating and an absolute winner....
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 17 Sep 2010
    Review: Cave Of Forgotten Dreams – TIFF 2010
    Leading up to this year’s TIFF, one of the titles that garnered the most buzz was Werner Herzog’s 3D documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Walking an obviously precarious line between genius and madness, Herzog has managed to craft a piece that transcends the documentary to become elegy for humanity’s first...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 17 Sep 2010
    Review: The Trip – TIFF 2010
    The Trip is a film that could not have failed. With a killer cast composed of the reunited Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon and director Michael Winterbottom and working off roles established in 2005″²s Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, the newest feature from the group is an absolute...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 17 Sep 2010
    Review: Aftershock – TIFF 2010
    The separation of a family in after the Tangshan earthquake of 1976 begins a journey that takes place over 30 years, as a the lives of a brother and sister develop without each other to depend upon. The film begins with a mother’s difficult choice of deciding which of her...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 17 Sep 2010
    Review: The Call (La Llamada) – TIFF 2010
    I’ve said it before, Italian cinema is certainly hitting its stride once again. Writer and director Stefano Pasetto has offered another contribution in the love story genre with The Call which transcends countries and gender in this tale of two women who decide to transform their lives. The Call is...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 17 Sep 2010
    Review: Blame – TIFF 2010
    Kudos to Michael Henry’s newest film, Blame, showing at this year’s festival for being a lesson in magic. Pulling the old “switcheroo” on audiences, the Australian director has created equal moments of pure ecstasy and pure disappointment in only a matter of minutes. Blame is the story of the perfect...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 17 Sep 2010
    Review: Barney’s Version
    Going into this year’s Toronto International Film Festival the film adaptation of one of my favourite Canadian novels of all time, Mordecai Richler’s Barney’s Version, was the film I was most excited about. Starring Paul Giamatti as the lovable (to me at least) Barney Panofsky and Dustin Hoffman as Izzy...
    Archived in Independent & Repertory Reviews
  • 15 Sep 2010
    Review: Norwegian Wood (Noruwei No Mori) – TIFF 2010
    Norwegian Wood is not only the title of the Beatles the White Album cut, but also the name of one of the most celebrated contemporary novels in Japan by writer Hariuki Murakami. Often called the “Japanese Catcher In The Rye“ by critics, the source material is very difficult to adapt...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 14 Sep 2010
    Review: Roses On Credit (Roses à crédit) – TIFF 2010
    Masterful Israeli director Amos Gitaï’s newest film, Roses On Credit is a film that hearkens back to one of the rarely cited (anymore at least) eras of film, with a relevant tale of the pitfalls of credit while exuding a level of confidence not often seen. Exploring the post-World War...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 14 Sep 2010
    Review: Amigo – TIFF 2010
    John Sayles has chosen to focus on the infrequently mentioned American occupation of the Philippines to serve as the backdrop of the turn of the century war drama, Amigo. The narrative of the film itself delves into the psychological war American soldiers wage within a small village where their mission...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
  • 14 Sep 2010
    Review: 127 Hours – TIFF 2010
    Prior to reviewing Danny Boyle’s newest film, 127 Hours, I would like to first off apologize for the personalized nature of the writing which is typically not my style. That said, I feel it is necessary since I am in the minority who did actually enjoy Boyle’s follow-up to the...
    Archived in TIFF 2010
Last Comments by Elliott Pen

This week from Grolsch Film Works

Graffiti in the Movies

Last week saw the release of Gimme the Loot, the SXSW Grand Jury Prize winner by Adam Leon, which sees two graffiti artists seek revenge after their replica of the…

Read

Latest Reviews

bergdorf
Review: Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s

For decades New York department store Bergdorf Goodman has been a destination for discerning shoppers…

fight_like_soldiers_06
Review: Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children

In 1994, General Roméo Dallaire was the UN Force Commander during the Rwandan genocide. Now…

Mud
Review: Mud

Ellis and Neckbone are two 14-year-old best friends, looking for adventure and purpose in their…

the we and the i
Review: The We and the I

Michel Gondry, unleashed from the commercial shackles of oh, say The Green Hornet, returns a…

Robbie and his friends come up with a plan to steal some rare whiskey in "The Angels' Share"
Review: The Angels’ Share

Robbie (Paul Brannigan) has barely avoided a prison sentence from an assault charge, helped by…

Latest Columns

weekend
TFS Essentials: what romantic comedies could learn from Andrew Haigh’s Weekend

The romantic comedy has been dead for a long time. Numerous autopsies – most recently, Christopher Orr’s much discussed piece in The Atlantic – have…

inthenameof
Spotlight On: Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival

Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal. And spring in Toronto, as it turns out, is also the time for film festivals. Commonly referred…

albus dumbledore
The TFS List: LGBT characters who are more than their sexuality

Trying to come up with a list of LGBT characters who aren’t solely defined by being the “catty, gay best friend” (think My Best Friend’s…