Culture
‘Steal Away’ Review: Angourie Rice and Mallori Johnson Lead a Thin Mystical Allegory
“Steal Away” starts with intertitles that announce it as a tale of “two princesses.” The implied fairy tale trappings are appropriate for…
Tag
Toronto Film Festival
News
‘Good News’ Review: A Sharp Political Farce From the Director of ‘Kill Boksoon’ Follows an Unplanned Detour From Tokyo to Pyongyang
Terrorism is not exactly a natural fit for screen comedy. Defiantly going where few have gone before — one rare prior example being the…
Celebrity
‘Exit 8’ Review: A Lost Man Wanders a Labyrinthine Limbo in a Witty, Elegantly Spare Videogame Adaptation
Given how few first-person videogames make a successful transition to the big screen, it’s surprising how easy Genki Kawamura‘s “Exit 8”…
Celebrity
‘Swiped’ Review: A Thin, Glossy Account of the Brief Fall and Unstoppable Rise of an OG Girlboss
It doesn’t say much for our modern world that, when presented with the cheerful, empowering origin story of a billionairess, one’s first…
News
‘Sacrifice’ Review: Virtue-Signaling Billionaires Dance on the Edge of a Volcano in Romain Gavras’ Scattershot Satire
How many rebellious movies about ganging up to overthrow the status quo does one need to make before uneasy governments start to put you…
Celebrity
Shailene Woodley and Ben Foster on Preparing for Their Dialogue-Lite ‘70s Drama ‘Motor City’
If you ask Ben Foster, he was born to play the part of a mustachioed, chest hair-baring gangster in the ‘70s set drama “Motor City.” “We…
Celebrity
‘You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution…’ Review: An Exuberant and Essential Doc for Comedy Heads
The comedy revolution referred to by the title of Nick Davis’s sharp and effusive documentary “You Had to Be There: How the Toronto…
Celebrity
‘Easy’s Waltz’ Review: Vince Vaughn Reveals a Hidden Talent for Singing in Nic Pizzolatto’s Low-Key Debut
Who knew Vince Vaughn could carry a tune? Turns out, the actor’s been singing right under our noses for years, from the ironic Alanis…
Culture
‘Driver’s Ed’ Review: Bobby Farrelly’s Tame Throwback Exhumes, But Can’t Revive, the ’90s Teen Comedy
Both an obvious product of ’90s nostalgia and the definitive cure for it, Bobby Farrelly‘s terminally innocuous “Driver’s Ed” can be…
Culture
‘Palestine 36’ Review: The Country’s Epic Oscar Submission Offers a Sweeping View of a Tumultuous Time
“Prescient” is perhaps the most appropriate word to describe “Palestine 36.” As the whole world focuses on Gaza, a film about the history…
Business
‘Good Fortune’ Review: Keanu Reeves’ Brainless Angel Runs Away With Aziz Ansari’s Clever Directing Debut
It wasn’t meant as a joke when a Hollywood studio cast Nicolas Cage as an emo angel who risks his wings to save Meg Ryan, a mortal with…
Celebrity
‘Eternity’ Review: Miles Teller and Elizabeth Olsen in an Afterlife Rom-Com That Charms and Then Overstays Its Welcome
Afterlife movies tend to be amiable in a goofy way, one that ends up tamping down the stakes. Once you’ve arrived in the afterlife, you…
Culture
TIFF Top 5 Takeaways, From Sydney Sweeney Entering the Oscar Race to Crowdpleasers Dominating Buzz
The Toronto Film Festival’s 50th edition may not have reached previous heights, but it was the liveliest and starriest in years. Daniel…
Culture
Yes, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Is a Serious Oscar Contender for ‘The Smashing Machine’
The Rock as an Oscar nominee? It’s time to get used to the idea. When Dwayne Johnson broke down in uncontrollable sobs during a 15-minute…
Culture
Guillermo del Toro on Sunday Paintings With Other Directors and the Brutality and Grace of ‘Frankenstein’: ‘Both Can Exist in the Same Body’
Guillermo del Toro doesn’t just direct monsters — he understands them. The Oscar-winning auteur behind “The Shape of Water” (2017) and…
Culture
Bryan Fuller Goes Big: After Decades in TV, the ‘Hannibal’ Creator Unveils His Directorial Debut: Family-Friendly Horror Movie ‘Dust Bunny’ — TIFF
Bryan Fuller made a career creating idiosyncratic series like “Pushing Daisies” and “Hannibal,” and has written for many more. Now he’s…
Culture
Dwayne Johnson Says Weight Loss Is for New Acting Role; He’s Playing a 70-Year-Old Man Whose Best Friend Is a Chicken: ‘I Still Have a Long Way to Go’
Having earned raves for bulking up to play the wrestler Mark Kerr in his MMA fighting prime for “The Smashing Machine,” Dwayne Johnson is…
Culture
György Pálfi Talks Logistical Challenges of Working With Eight Chicken Protagonists in Toronto Platform Title ‘Hen’
György Pálfi’s “Hen” makes a movie star of an unlikely figure: the chicken. Having its world premiere in Toronto’s competitive Platform…
Culture
Director Zamo Mkhwanazi Goes Personal in TIFF Premiere ‘Laundry’ – and Readies for ‘Newborns’: ‘To Create Is to Heal’ (EXCLUSIVE)
South African director Zamo Mkhwanazi has brought “Laundry” (“Uhlanjululo”) to TIFF. She’s no stranger to the fest, where she also…
Celebrity
‘Normal’ Review: Ben Wheatley Is Back in ‘Free Fire’ Form, Putting Bob Odenkirk at the Center of a Small-Town Standoff
Normal is the name of a Minnesota town where things are anything but. Just 1,890 people live in the tiny Midwestern burg, but there must…
Culture
‘Nuremberg’ Review’: Russell Crowe Plays Nazi War Criminal Hermann Göring in an Old-School Oscar-Bait Movie Out to Explore the Nature of Evil
In “Nuremberg,” Russell Crowe, portly and imposing, with slicked-back hair, a head that seems to melt into his body, and a low-voiced…
Celebrity
TIFF: 20-Plus International Titles to Track From
Led by Cillian Murphy starring “Steve,” which sparked rave reviews, nine of the 10 titles at Toronto’s Platform are non-U.S., a sign of…
Culture
‘The Eyes of Ghana’ Review: The Medium of Cinema Serves an Idealistic Role in the Story of Ghanian Filmmaker Chris Hesse
“The Eyes of Ghana” makes a rather literal start to its story. The first frame of the film is of its protagonist’s eyes. He’s Chris Hesse,…
Culture
NBC Universal Chief Donna Langley Apologizes for Sending ‘Fast & Furious’ Into Space: ‘We Can Never Get That Genie Back’
Even Donna Langley admits that the “Fast and Furious” crew never should have ventured into zero gravity. “I’m sorry that we sent them into…