TIFF Review: SEBERG By Nick Maylor (***) This film based on the life of Jean Seberg stars Kristen Stewart as the actress who became a target of the FBI’s surveillance program COINTELPRO is an effective thriller that shows the ugly side of government overreach when it comes to perceived threats. Stewart gives a fine performance…
By John H. Foote Great day at the movies! Three Oscar bound movies with one black comedy among the most remarkably original films I have ever seen. One of those days where you float out of the theatre. JO JO RABBIT (****) Finding a genre where this wildly original, bold and daring film fits is…
By Alan Hurst A near perfect movie recipe: atmospheric black and white cinematography combined with a big old house, a troubled heroine, a troubling hero, a quirky cast of supporting characters, and all set in a bygone era. If a filmmaker and screenwriter can get those things right, then for me that’s movie bliss. Two…
By John H. Foote By Sunday in previous years most of the big Hollywood films have screened, but this year it seems an effort was made to keep them screening through the second half of the festival. Personally, I think it is terrific. Today started early with Judy, the biopic about the last year in…
By John H. Foote The worst sound in the world is someone with a cold sniffing so hard you just know by the sound whatever horrors in their nostrils are now running down their throat. It really is a disgusting sound. They lack the simple common sense to blow their nose, a much easier sound…
By Nick Maylor (***) As a product of my generation, I have to admit that my only real knowledge of Helen Reddy’s song and anthem “I Am Woman” for most of my life came from this. Unlike many musician biopics like Ray (2005), Walk the Line (2006) and Rocketman (2019), I Am Woman features the…
By John H. Foote The talk of the festival right now is a film only those critics arriving from Venice have seen. Joker premiered at the Venice Film Festival to absolute rave reviews, in particular for the performance of Joaquin Phoenix, and is the hottest ticket here. There are two press screenings at the same…
By Nick Maylor (****) Radioactive is based on the graphic novel Radioactive: Pierre & Marie Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout. This engrossing biopic features yet another stunning performance from Rosamund Pike as the first woman to ever win a Nobel Prize, Marie Curie (born Maria Salomea Skłodowska). Curie was a pioneer in developing…
By John H. Foote Have they made a conscious decision at TIFF to make the festival less top heavy? I have always maintained the first five days are the busiest as the major offerings from Hollywood are screened. Not this year. The big films do not start until Monday which gives some smaller films a…
By Craig Leask In the 1950’s Walt Disney had a dream to construct the ultimate amusement park, populated with unique rides and attractions in a clean, family friendly environment. To finance this dream, he created a weekly television program entitled Walt Disney’s Disneyland (1954–58) which launched on ABC on March 29, 1954. In a unique…