TIFF fever continues throughout Toronto on the Festival’s fourth day! Premieres took place tonight including Fashion icon Tom Ford‘s NOCTURNAL ANIMALS starring Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and an in-absentia Jake Gyllenhaal. Also premiering tonight was Oscar bait DENIAL starring Rachel Weisz over at Princess of Wales Theatre. THE PROMISE starring Oscar Isaac and Christian Bale also premiered at Roy Thomson Hall tonight. An A-List Cast including Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Hudson appeared at the midday Premiere for Animated Feature SING over at Princess of Wales Theatre. The Premiere was followed by performances from both Hudson and Popstar Tori Kelly even.
See some of the names we spotted around today!
Bill Nighy, THE LIMEHOUSE GOLEM
Olivia Cooke, KATIE SAYS GOODBYE
Chris Lowell, KATIE SAYS GOODBYE
Xavier Dolan, IT’S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD
Auteur #XavierDolan at #TIFF16 for #ItsOnlytheEndofWorld.
A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
Lea Seydoux, IT’S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD
Inseynity! #LeaSeydoux causing a commotion. She is at #TIFF16 for #ItsOnlytheEndofWorld.
A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
Gaspard Ulliel, IT’S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD
Mireille Enos, KATIE SAYS GOODBYE
Sigourney Weaver, A MONSTER CALLS
Lewis MacDougall, A MONSTER CALLS
#LewisMacDougall, star of #AMonsterCalls. #TIFF16
A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
Felicity Jones, A MONSTER CALLS
Things got v. aggressive. #FelicityJones at #TIFF16 for #AMonsterCalls. #RogueOne #StarWars
A video posted by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
Michael Shannon, NOCTURNAL ANIMALS
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, NOCTURNAL ANIMALS
Taraji P. Henson, HIDDEN FIGURES
Yes!!! Cookie Time!! #TarajiPHenson #TIFF16 #HiddenFigures #Empire
A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
Pharrell, HIDDEN FIGURES
Glen Powell, HIDDEN FIGURES
#ScreamQueens’ #GlenPowell at #TIFF16 with #HiddenFigures.
A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
Rachel Weisz, DENIAL
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Lucas Hedges, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Rami Malek, BUSTER’S MAL HEART
With #MrRobot star #RamiMalek at #TIFF16 with #BustersMalHeart
A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Review by Siobhán Rich for Mr. Will Wong
Some facts are so basic that they are not questioned: the sky is blue, Elvis is dead, and millions of Jewish men, women, and children were the victims of a genocide acted out by the Nazi party during World War II. In the mid-1990’s American Deborah Lipstadt was sued in the British courts for defamation for calling Holocaust denier David Irving a “liar and falsifier of history.” Lipstadt was forced to prove her innocence by putting history on trial.
Based on Lipstadt’s Memoir, Mick Jackson’s new Film Denial is a tense courtroom drama starring Rachel Weisz and Timothy Spall as the two legal combatants. Wishing to “give voice for the ones who did not make it,” Lipstadt is odds with her legal team regarding the best way to present their case: they would prefer to err on the side of provable, historical facts rather than emotional, eyewitness testimony.
The Movie takes place mostly in London but also travels to Auschwitz for some emotionally fraught scenes. As Lipstadt and her lawyer (Tom Wilkinson) walk through Auschwitz the snow dusts the ground like ash and even the barbed wire fences seem to weep for those who died. The imagery is perhaps manipulative but nonetheless effective and beautifully-shot.
The verdict in this case is as easily googled as facts about the Holocaust but that does not take away from the impact Writer David Hare’s script. Strong performances bolster what is sure to be a much talked about Film at TIFF ’16.
Denial screens at TIFF:
Sunday, September 11, 2016 at 7:00 PM Princess of Wales Theatre
Monday, September 12, 2016 at 10:30 AM Winter Garden Theatre
Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
Youth, the new film from Oscar-winning director Paolo Sorrentino, is a Film about nostalgia and the fear of an uncertain future. Fred (Michael Caine), a former composer who wants nothing to do with his past glory, and Mick (Harvey Keitel), a director trying desperately to put together his next picture, are vacationing together at a Swiss resort. They are in the twilight of their lives, people watching at the hotel and dealing with the fallout of their children’s divorce.
There is not much to Youth on the on-set (and surely not when describing it), but the film is both hilarious and moving. It is a bit slower paced in the second half, but Sorrentino seems to care more for its exquisite visuals – which will go down as some of the best of the year. This truly is a film to marvel at for its details.
Caine is terrific and I do not remember the last time Keitel put in a performance this great. I could watch them banter for hours. Supporting turns from Paul Dano as a hotel guest and Rachel Weisz as Caine’s daughter Lena are both well done, but Jane Fonda steals the show as Mick’s lead actress Brenda. She has an extremely limited amount of screen-time, but she arrives like a bat out of hell and chews up every piece of scenery the Film has. She is like a jolt of electricity, giving the Film a shot to the heart and the true reality that shows just how fragile nostalgia can be. Expect Oscar to be calling a number of names this January.
Fox Searchlight Pictures release Youth and has one last screening at TIFF’15 on Friday, September 18 at 3:00 pm at Princess of Wales.
Since I heard about it being in development, I’ve been super-excited for Oz The Great and Powerful. Starring James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis, the Fantasy directed by Sam Raimi follows the Story of Oscar (Franco) who transforms himself from a small-time Circus Magician into the greatest Wizard of all. He doesn’t get there however without convincing three Witches first, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who just aren’t buying his greatness.
Opening March 8, 2013 via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, a Sneak Peak of Oz The Great and Powerful will be presented during this Sunday’s Super Bowl, but you can see it first here!
Watch the Teaser below:
(Photo/video credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada)
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