iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I was a sensitive and easily scared child. - lots of 1970s Doctor Who, but especially the giant maggots from The Green Death - trailers/ads for various Bigfoot movies that were all the rage in the 1970s - Watership Down - took me three tries watching it on tv to make it all the way through

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I think I remember that! Seems an odd crowd to market this film to.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Was pretty freaked out by it as a kid! Should revisit it someday.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

And that's it for me. TIFF 2026 Top 5: 1 - Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney 2 - Minotaur 3 - The Debut 4 - Tender Loving Care 5 - Once Upon a Time in Harlem

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Half (Samjad PS) 3.2/5 Escalating revenge dressed up with vampires (of a kind), some Western vibes and a dash of Mad Max. Creatively violent once it gets going.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Rogue Trooper (Jones) 3/5 Takes elements of its source comic 2000AD (sci-fi-ized take on another genre, episodic storytelling, violent action, goofy humour, some very British archetypes) into the uncanny valley. At least the story is solid, even if film doesn’t always nail the turning points.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Arrested Memory (Sabu) 3.2/5 - Detective with memory loss navigates a kidnapping, leaving victims, criminals and even his own men to make sense of his unpredictable actions. Consistently amusing, but amount of time spent with protag in his confusion kind of kills the comic momentum. Wraps up nicely.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Viva Carmen (Laudenbach) 3.4/5 - Carmen as told from the pov of unruly street kids resisting a narrative they’ve been told is fate. Gorgeously animated with bold lines and swatches of vibrant color.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Flies (Eimbcke) 3.3/5 - Another low-key charmer from Eimbcke, this time centered on a boy and his father renting a room from a crusty woman while they await medical news. A little deadpan, fairly amusing, ultimately magical.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney (Rankin) 3.9/5 Political history as jam, cultural, visual, aural. Relentlessly creative. Favourite bit of repurposed Canadiana: the mmmuffins logo.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Anchors Aweigh (Barats) 3/5 - Broken-hearted slacker pulls a Sherman’s March (McElwee), all in comedy guy voice. Amusing, but while this guy’s lameness and his project’s repetitiveness is presumably very much intended, it’s also a little lazy. Liked where it ended up, though.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

A Long Winter (Haigh) 2.5/5 - Begins as one of those strained family dramas, rural period piece subdivision, that I seldom enjoy before entering an extended period of stasis (the winter is long indeed) that the performances just aren’t up to filling out.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Minotaur (Zvyagintsev) 3.6/5 - A scathing portrait of the protection even a small amount of power affords the elite and a demonstration of the illusions manufactured to maintain it. Photographed with crisp precision. If I didn’t love it more, it’s only because it’s all as expected.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

A Girl Unknown (Zou) 3.2/5 - This girl probably suffers one or two too many ordeals on her journey towards self, but inclusion of ordinary moments (play, hanging out, dance) reveal her progress while keeping film from being a simple victim narrative.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Look Back (Koreeda) 3.3/5 - Pretty lovely two-hander about mismatched personalities becoming manga BFFs until the inevitable plot turn comes in the final act. Loved the emphasis on the tactile qualities of making art.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I am tickled, though, that the rights holders consider this ip worth rebooting and that someone gets to take a crack at the scenario every 17 years. See you in 2043!

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo (Miike) 2.7/5 - A flatly paced sleepwalk through vice and murder, an uninspiring detective story enlivened only by the occasional outre Miike flourish. Good ending, though.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Greaves) 3.5/5 - A valuable and lively historical document culled from a 1970s gathering of Harlem Renaissance luminaries. Preferred the occasionally contentious conversations to the monologues, but even those lay down important cultural history for the curious.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Elephants in the Fog (Bikram Shah) 2.6/5 - Lots of messy "drama" in this drama set in a Kinnar (ie trans, etc) community, but I was more intrigued by the details of said community than the escalating tensions with other members of the village. Found the ending risible.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

The Debut (Eisenberg) 3.5/5 - The making of an actress (and potentially the unmaking of a play). Lightly silly, very funny. Moore's big scene is as hilarious as advertised. I liked the film's trust that Moore's Mona will eventually find her way once she is put on the path.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Their album Marc et Robert is eligible for the 1988 bracket. Here's their collab with Sparks from that record: www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6gw...

youtube.com

Les Rita Mitsouko & Sparks - Singing In The Shower (Clip Officiel)

YouTube video by Les Rita Mitsouko

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

If you’re going beyond visual media, there’s the Bob & Doug album, the Strange Brew soundtrack (really a 2nd Bob & Doug album) and the Count Floyd EP. Also the Rick Moranis solo albums.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

L'Autre (Franchi) 3/5 - Medical recovery-induced paranoia reveals the darkness within rather than the hero hoped for. Focused on the character more than the scenario, which makes it more sweaty than weird, but I think I would have preferred the reverse.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Vintage Violence (Kotlyarenko) 2.9/5 About halfway through I realized I just didn't have much interest in these people or the caper they were caught in. Might be the textureless digital sheen at fault, might be a lack of charisma with these performers or I might've just been sleepy.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The Dreamed Adventure (Grisebach) 3.4/5 Loved this woman, who navigates macho spaces of work and crime along the Bulgarian border with confidence and a bemused smile. Quietly badass. Film could use a stronger ending, though.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I found Amy and Rosie a bit overly performant (may well be an intentional character trait) so treasured the time spent with Amy's parents, who provide the emotional core of the film.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Tender Loving Care (Leigh) 3.5/5 Typically rich, character-driven consideration of care from the angles of profession, friendship and family. Found it interesting that so many on the receiving end refuse or disengage, either out of understandable reticence or stubborn independence.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Audience: "When did you realize you were making a comedy?" Biller: "When last night's audience started laughing." The gap between how Biller and the audience perceives her films is fascinating. See also her annoyance at Hammer/Corman comparisons when she says her influences are canon arthouse.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Seen a lot of comparisons to Hammer or Corman's Poe films, but to me this felt closer (narratively, at least) to an EC comic book story. (It's actually based on a Japanese ghost story, for what it's worth.)

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The Face of Horror (Biller) 3.1/5 - Revenge is a dish best served prismatic! Looks amazing, from the bright colours of the costumes to the vividly expressive disfigurement of the main character, but it's way too long for a story that's ultimately rather basic.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

At Night (Gibson) 3.2/5 - Was primarily drawn in by the noctural Parisian vibes, but the intersectional monologues/dialogues gave much to chew on.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I love Rankin’s creativity and his devotion to Canadiana. My most anticipated film of the fest. Happy to hear you enjoyed it.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

River (Giuliano) 3.3/5 - Tense slasher on the water with some imaginative stretches and creepy flourishes (and to be fair, also some bits that stretch credulity). Love moments like the one in which the villain seemingly wills night to fall.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Dorothy (Subbaraj) 3.1/5 - Sprawling, twisty tale of two childhood pals/adult gangsters whose experiences with toxic masculinity and nurturing feminity take them to some unexpected places. Visually crisp & colorful with some imaginative shot choices. Sharply edited too.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Even better, I saw HOPE for a fraction of the price of the TIFF special event screening by seeing it opening night at Cineplex Yonge & Dundas with an audibly approving audience. There were big cheers over the mid-credit revelation!

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Pre-game 2: HOPE (Na Hong-jin) 3.3/5 - Ordinary people, possessing varying levels of ability, are thrust into a scenario that's just way over their heads. What's the opposite of competence porn? Incomptence porn? Overlong and janky but also quite funny and hugely entertaining.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

... but the highlight for me was Matthew Rankin co-curated compilation of Winnipeg tv commercials and ephemera KUBASA IN A GLASS, which finds the universal in the local and quietly constructs a tragic narrative around those who seek bigger horizons and those whose outlook is much more narrow.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Pre-game 1: Peter Kuplowsky's annual Midnight Dankness event at the Royal, focused a little more heavily this year on the remix video art that was its genesis. Enjoyed watching footage from Travolta flicks and the Resident Evil games/movies put through the video blender ...

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

TIFF Time! Here's my schedule: 2026.tiffr.com/u/captfuzz/s... . Skeet reactions will follow in this thread throughout the fest.

2026.tiffr.com

CaptFuzz • TIFF26 Schedule — tiffr

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Yeah, and tickets are getting increasingly hard to get too. I miss seeing you and I also miss the more accessible festivals of years past.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Trailers are all still pretty cringey, but I thankfully haven’t seen a 9/11 themed one this year.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

My condolences. She seemed like a lively girl. Thanks for sharing her with us all these years.

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Reposted by Don Marks

Avi Lewis @avilewis.ca · 06/08/2026

Send a message to the Liberals that you want to protect Toronto’s waterfront forever by voting for Shannon Devine in Beaches—East York. #NoJetsTO

Screenshot of a Toronto Star headline: Mark Carney doesn’t rule out jets at Billy Bishop airport: ‘Forever is a long time’.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

I quote your line "They just gave 10% to the Lord, you ain't getting 15" regularly.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

This is just my brain every day. Had to be reminded by my wife on the way out of The Odyssey that I had in fact seen Troy. I’ve seen Rififi three times, great film, don’t remember anything specific that happens in it.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Our province isn’t rating movies anymore, though. Wonder if the PG comes from the distributor or if it’s imported from another province?

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Me too! And they’re even showing Semi-Tough in Canada, that one usually gets pre-empted for something they have Canadian rights too.

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Don Marks @captfuzz.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

But if it's really a huge problem, now that we all have automatic clocks on our phones, we could just phase in the hour time change at 2 minutes per day over the course of a month and no one would know the difference.

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