By Mr. Will Wong

It’s hard to believe TIFF ’18 already has come to an end! Amidst the half-hour sleeps and hustling venue to venue we now can finally take a deep breath and appreciate what a wonderful Festival it was yet again! While this edition definitely was a bit of endurance test – we were working right to the end – it is one of those things you look back at and miss greatly. We already are strategizing for TIFF ’19 and believe us, we’ll be ready!

A warmhearted thank you to all our followers who keep us motivated on Social Media with all your encouragement and also our amazing partners: Nikon Canada, H&M Canada, Starbucks Canada, Blackberry Canada, Acura Canada, Britbox Canada, Dufflet Pastries, Chatime Canada, KANDL Artistique, INK Entertainment and CP24. We wouldn’t be doing what we do without YOU!

Also, a huge congrats to Leonardo who won our TIFF ’18 Survival Prize Pack! He was overjoyed and will be sure to spoil himself with all that swag!

This is the first year ever we’ve appeared in some form on Canada’s big three giants: Corus, Rogers and Bell Media with televised appearances on Global News, Breakfast Television and CP24 respectively. We also had to turn-down others unfortunately due to scheduling (every minute counts during TIFF), but there’s always hope we can take care of everyone next year!

I also must thank my amazing Team of Contributors who worked feverishly to get their Reviews in throughout the Festival to keep our Readers informed of what’s good. David Baldwin, Amanda Gilmore, Siobhan Rich, Justin Waldman and George Kozera, thank you for all the hard work you do!

While we simply were too exhausted to post last night, here are some Snaps from our final TIFF ’18 event, the Red Carpet of Closing Night Gala JEREMIAH TERMINATOR LeROY starring Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern and Jim Sturgess. We got to chat briefly with breakout stars James Jagger (son of Mick) and Kelvin Harrison Jr.

The Film is based on the Memoir Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT Leroy by Savannah Knoop and is about a woman who spent six years masquerading as Writer Laura Albert‘s created teenage male literary persona JT LeRoy, directed and co-written by Justin Kelly. We ask stars Kevin Harrison Jr. and James Jagger about the importance of a story like this which examines gender confirmation and fluidity in the now.

Jagger: “I think it’s  interesting in this industry that it’s taken so long for it to get to a place where it is now, there have been a lot of false hopes. I think finally we are seeing some true development. I think certain exponents of this Film have been working towards that for a really long time. I think it’s an exciting time to be alive!”.

Harrison: “We all have our online personalities that we like to put out there and this Film is the OG (original) version of what that was and I find that interesting, but we continue to be progressing.”

We ask Jagger and Harrison what drew them most to the Film?

Jagger: “It was the opportunity to be in scene with Diane (Kruger) and that really was the thing that drew me most. Diane I’ve been a fan of for a really long time. It was a good day, it’s been an absolute pleasure.”.

Harrison: “I was drawn to the idea of playing this Basquiat-type guy who gets to fall in love with someone interesting – we’re both really queer in the Movie and we love each other. That was interesting to me.”.

A cheerful goodbye to TIFF ’18, with waves from Dern and Stewart! See you next year!

(Photo/video credit: Amanda Gilmore/Mr. Will Wong)

By Mr. Will Wong

While known much for his funny Films, Peter Farrelly, one-half of the Duo which brought us classics There’s Something About Mary and Me, Myself & Irene, gifts us at TIFF ’18 with the Sleeper Hit of the Festival, GREEN BOOK. The heartwarming Comedy details the unlikely friendship between a Concert Pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his bouncer-turned-chaffeur Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen). While from completely opposite worlds, it is impossible not to be charmed by the back-and-forth banter between sophisticated Don and tough-talking Tony in this witty Script by the latter’s actual son Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie and Farrelly.

Performances are outstanding from our leading Trio. Mortensen continues to build his stellar catalog of work and is pitch-perfect throughout the Film’s light and heavier moments which don’t shy away from matters which still are true today. Ali is remarkable as Shirley, capturing his strength and fragility – we were spellbound. Cardellini while under-written and under-seen is a joy every time she is on-screen. We are thrilled for audiences to discover this gem, giving TIFF ’18 a much-needed lift of spirits.

GREEN BOOK screens Thursday, September 13  Winter Garden Theatre 2:30 PM and Saturday, September 15 Princess of Wales Theatre (VISA Screening Room) 3 PM.

By Mr. Will Wong

Making its World Premiere at TIFF ’18 is Felix Van Groeningen‘s adaptation of Memoirs Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction by David Sheff and Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff. The highly-buzzed Film details a father and son’s battle through drug addiction, relapse and reconciliation.

Stars Timothée Chalamet and Steve Carell shine in this beautifully-acted Awards Season contender, the former capturing the essence of addiction and his character’s chasing euphoric highs and ultimate rock bottom. The latter embodies well a father’s pain and frustration in helping his troubled son, when the odds are stacked against both. Focusing less on emotional manipulation of its audience and more on the journey and its authenticity, Van Groeningen crafts a patiently-told story. While performances unquestionably are phenomenal, it is it tough to feel invested in a protagonist who continually makes wrong choices, despite Chalamet courageously trying to help us try to understand him. While its cohesiveness ultimately is its main downfall with frequent timeline jumping, fans of the source material and “It Boy” Chalamet will find beauty in this Drama.

BEAUTIFUL BOY screens Friday, September 7 at Roy Thomson Hall and then 8 PM at Elgin Theatre. It plays also Saturday, September 8 Ryerson Theatre 10:45 AM.

THE PREDATOR, hot off its TIFF ’18 debut last week, preys upon the competition and devours them to the tune of $24.7 million from 4,037 theatres at the Box Office this weekend, taking top spot for 20th Century Fox. It gets 34% on the Tomatometer and a C+ CinemaScore.

In second is last week’s champ THE NUN, which takes $19 million in its second week for Warner Bros. The latest in the  bankable Conjuring Franchise has a two week tally of $86 million domestically.

Debuting in third is A SIMPLE FAVOR, Director Paul Feig‘s first foray into Thrillers. It opens with $16 million from 3,102 theatres for Lionsgate Films/eOne Films with 82% on the Tomatometer and also a B+ CinemaScore.

Another TIFF ’18 selection, WHITE BOY RICK opens in fourth with $9.3 million from 2,504 theatres for Sony Pictures. It gets 63% on the Tomatometer and B CinemaScore.

Rounding-out the Top Ten is MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT with $2.3 million for Paramount Pictures. It tallies approximately $215 million in its North American run to date.

Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong

Marie Colvin (Rosamund Pike) was an acclaimed Journalist who lived for covering stories on the front lines of war-torn nations. She lost an eye in a grenade attack in Sri Lanka, and started wearing an eye patch while continuing to cover the worst of stories. But as the years and wars wear on, so too does the PTSD of everything she’s seen.

In his Narrative Feature debut, Documentarian Matthew Heineman has crafted a Film that is gritty, real and immediate. You can see, hear and especially feel every whizzing bullet and every heinous explosion. The Film has an aura of authenticity that is made all the more frightening by the lack of obvious CGI. Pike is very good as Colvin, and fan favourite Jamie Dornan puts in admirable work as Photojournalist Paul Conroy. But the Film has a choppy, episodic nature that acts more like a glossy greatest hits album than it does a cohesively-structured Film. It jumps around recklessly, and by the time the Film ends, it felt like everyone’s motivations were completely superficial.

A Private War screens Friday, September 14 at 6:30 PM at Roy Thomson Hall [World Premiere] and 8:00 PM at Elgin Theatre, and Sunday, September 16 at 8:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre.

Review by George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong

Polish Director Pawel Pawlikowski’s follow-up to his Oscar winning “Ida” is another delectable black and white Feature that focuses strongly on his past and his heritage. Dedicated to his parents, COLD WAR is an exquisite love story between an older man and younger girl that is doomed from the start, yet lasts a decade throughout many countries in Europe during the cold war decade. Wiktor meets Zula when she auditions to join a folkloric song and dance troupe and the attraction is instantaneous. To a soundtrack of classic Polish songs enhanced by the twirling dance moves of the Oberek, COLD WAR is visually-exhilarating. While in Paris on tour, Wiktor defects but Zula stays behind and this Movie vibrates whenever the two reunite.

One word comes to mind when describing COLD WAR. Atmospheric. From the jazzy Soundtrack and the Cinematography to the hypnotic performances by the two leads, the tone is spellbinding. There’s another word to describe this Movie. Brilliant.

COLD WAR screens on Friday, September 14, 6:00PM, Winter Garden Theatre and Sunday, September 16, 3:00 PM, TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong

After stops at Venice (where it won the prestigious Golden Bear) and Telluride, Oscar-winning Director Alfonso Cuarón has brought ROMA to TIFF. The Film takes place in the early 1970s, revolving around live-in maid Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) and the middle-class family she works for in Mexico City’s Roma district.

The story at the heart of ROMA is important to the Film, but it comes secondary to the feeling and nostalgia Cuarón evokes in every frame of his stunningly-beautiful Film. He wears multiple hats here, acting as Writer, Producer, Director, Editor, Cinematographer – so this is very much his Film through and through. The spectacular look he creates comes from shooting on 65mm Black and White film, giving the picture an aura of authenticity. Each scene looks like a work of art, with multiple elements working altogether at once to produce a very real portrait of life in Mexico City. While I wish ROMA was more briskly paced and had more going on (beyond the lively third act), I was too busy trying to spot everything happening on-screen to notice.

ROMA screens on Monday, September 10 at 5:30PM at Princess of Wales Theatre, and on the following days/times at TIFF Bell Lightbox: Tuesday, September 11 at 8:45AM, Wednesday, September 12 at 12:00PM, Thursday, September 13 at 11:30AM, Friday, September 14 at 9:15AM, Saturday, September 15 at 8:45 PM and Sunday, September 16 at 2:45 PM.

Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong

A spaceship housing criminals and screwups is heading for a Black Hole close to Earth. Monte (Robert Pattinson) is awake and tending to the care of the ship – while also taking care of his daughter, who was actually born on the ship. But not everything is cheerful as it seems.

Saying anything more would spoil the surprises legendary French Director Claire Denis has in store for audiences in her English language debut. Suffice to say, fluids are spilled, secrets are revealed and as you might have heard, there’s a room on the ship called the “fuckbox”. It all makes for a bizarre sci-fi oddity that takes its time coming together, producing results that are far from satisfying. The multiple layers make for encouraged re-watchability (as does discovering what the film is actually about), but some of the disturbing content may make that incredibly difficult. Juliette Binoche does great work as the ship’s doctor, but Pattinson positively knocks this one out of the park, carrying the Film from one strangely enigmatic moment to the next. He does a terrific job reminding us that Edward Cullen should continue to be a forgotten fragment of the past.

High Life screens on Sunday, September 9 at 9:30 PM at Roy Thomson Hall [World Premiere], Tuesday, September 11 at 11:00 AM at Winter Garden Theatre and Friday, September 14 at 9:45 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

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Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong

Medora Slone’s (Riley Keough) son has gone missing in the Alaskan wilderness. She presumes wolves have taken him, and calls in expert Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright) to help track down the body and kill the wolf who did it. But Russell suspects something is not quite right, and when her husband Vernon (Alexander Skarsgård) returns home from a tour in the Middle East, things only become more violent.

Hold the Dark is Director Jeremy Saulnier’s most ambitious and sprawling film. The Alaskan landscapes (which were actually shot in Alberta) are absolutely gorgeous, even as the Film’s atmosphere becomes progressively darker and bleaker. The performances are all very good and Saulnier’s penchant for brutally graphic violence is amped-up considerably, with a vicious shootout scene ranking as some of the grisliest moments of the Festival. And while the Film is a slow-burn Thriller, it becomes glacially paced all too often. The second half of the Film especially feels dragged-out and overly enigmatic – which may benefit Netflix viewers but will genuinely frustrate some TIFF audiences.

Hold the Dark screens on Wednesday, September 12 at 6:00 PM at Princess of Wales Theatre [World Premiere], Thursday, September 13 at 1:00PM at Elgin Theatre, Friday, September 14 at 9:45 AM at TIFF Bell Lightbox and Saturday, September 15 at 2:00PM at Ryerson Theatre.

Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong

After making huge splashes in Venice and Telluride, Oscar-winning Director Damien Chazelle’s First Man landed in Toronto earlier this week. The Film chronicles the true story of Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and his journey towards becoming the first man to walk on the moon.

Visually, First Man is breathtaking. The attention to detail is immense, and the way the camera claustrophobically captures action inside multiple spacecrafts is truly wondrous. The Third Act scenes shot with IMAX cameras are practically jaw-dropping. The sound design is even better, with each scene sounding absolutely exquisite whether it’s a quiet scene of exposition or all hell breaking loose on a rocket soaring through space. Gosling is great as always – doing his very best playing a man of few words – and the Supporting Cast all deliver great work (although it seems like Claire Foy and Olivia Hamilton get continually shafted in favour of their male counterparts).

Beyond running a hair too long, my only major quibble with the Film is Chazelle’s overuse of shaky-cam. It makes sense in action scenes where we are being thrust into the experience, but it just becomes distracting for the likes of a family argument in a kitchen.

First Man screens on Sunday, September 9 at 2:00PM at Ontario Place Cinesphere, Monday, September 10 at 4:00PM, Elgin Theatre and 6:00PM at Roy Thomson Hall, Tuesday, September 11 at 11:00AM at Princess of Wales Theatre, Saturday, September 15 at 9:30PM at Princess of Wales Theatre and each day from Wednesday, September 12 to Sunday, September 16 at 6:00PM at Scotiabank Theatre.