By David Baldwin

A number of A-list talent, including burnout movie star Mike Tyler (Chris Evans), are attending an environmental benefit in a gorgeous mine in Greece hosted by big tech billionaire Braken (Vincent Cassel). Things take a turn when a group of doomsday cult eco-terrorists led by Joan (Anya Taylor-Joy) take the crowd hostage and demand three people be sacrificed to a nearby volcano in order to save the world.

That description certainly makes SACRIFICE sound like a feel-good picture (sarcasm intended), but what follows in this mad satire that takes more than just a sprinkling of inspiration from the works of Ruben Östlund, Yorgos Lanthimos and to a certain degree, Wes Anderson, is an eco-thriller with a lot of set-up and not much pay off. The first half of the film is entertaining, even as it makes jokes at the expense of the lowest hanging fruit (Braken’s recording artist wife, played by Salma Hayek Pinault, is said to have made a charity album to benefit the ocean…from the ocean’s point of view). Once the second half kicks in though, SACRIFICE loses its footing and does not really recover. There are just too many characters and situations happening at the same time, and no real sense of control. This chaos might be intentional given Co-Writer/Director Romain Gavras’ influences, but everything on display here lacks depth.

The only thing that does not lack depth is Evans, who delivers another rock solid performance to add to his stellar supporting turns in Materialists and Honey Don’t from earlier this year. He is playing a variation of himself yes, but he digs down deep in an introspective way that makes you instantly remember what an incredibly talented performer he can be when he is not playing Captain America. Taylor-Joy is pretty stellar as Joan as well, easily overshadowing anyone that comes into contact with her. 

SACRIFICE screens at TIFF ‘25:

Sat. Sept 6 at 9:30 PM at VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Sun. Sept 7 at 6:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

By Mr. Will Wong

Acclaimed Actress Scarlett Johansson tries her hand and directing in Dramedy ELEANOR THE GREAT, giving veteran Actress June Squibb a vehicle for recognition with a stellar performance, incredibly at the age of 95.

Hot off its Festival run, including a tiff50 debut, this Film centers on Eleanor (Squibb), who is about to lose her Holocaust-surviving friend Bessie (Ritz Zohar). Feeling alone, with the sense that her daughter Lisa (Jessica Hecht) is looking to admit her to a seniors’ residence, she winds up joining a Holocaust survivors support group where she is welcomed and given attention, as she channels Bessie‘s accounts.  Eleanor meets 19-year-old Nina (Erin Kellyman), who recently lost her mother.  The two strike-up an unlikely friendship, with Eleanor offering to share her Holocaust survivor experience to help advance Nina‘s ambitions to be a journalist. But what happens when the truth is uncovered about Eleanor?

Squibb‘s fantastic work is undeniable here, truly captivating the audience even where there are some imbalances and moments where the story feels a little implausible and the Film navigates that fine line tonally between Comedy and Drama.  She is a treasure and it is impossible to see any other Actress pull it all of in such a lovable, sharp way. Kellyman delivers a heartfelt performance in what was my introduction to the British Actress here, giving the story some weight as it truly is a portrait of grief and the void it leaves behind. She far exceeds the maturity of Nina‘s said 19-years-of-age.  Squibb and Kellyman together are a wonderful pairing, successfully filling voids in each other’s character’s lives when their families aren’t making them feel seen and heard.

ELEANOR THE GREAT screens at TIFF ’25:

Monday, September 8
Roy Thomson Hall
Premium
Closed captions (CC),
Audio description (AD)
5:30 pm

Tuesday, September 9
Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Closed captions (CC),
Audio description (AD)
11:30 am

Friday, September 12
Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Closed captions (CC),
Audio description (AD)
1:15 pm

Sunday, September 14
Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Closed captions (CC),
Audio description (AD)
1:00 pm

we’re in the final stretch! here are some highlights from tiff50 day eight! we’ll be wrapping after today, trying to savour every last moment to cram in as many films as we can.. and maybe just one more red carpet!

•brian cox, shirley henderson, alexandra shipp, and alexandra wilkie at tiff for glenrothan
•vince vaughn and simon rex at tiff for easy’s waltz
•the winner of our tiff50 survival pack… shamarra

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

tiff50 day seven for us was a real showcase of asian cinema, with some of asia’s biggest stars doing the rounds!

some highlights include:

•han so-hee and jun jong-seo at tiff for project y
•lee byung-hun and park chan-wook at an in-conversation
•shu qi at tiff for girl
•fala chen and edward berger at tiff for ballad of a small player

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

By Mr. Will Wong

Director Edward Berger is back after a strong showing last awards season with Conclave. This time around, we are doing 180 from the church and going right to the casino.

We meet Lord Freddy Doyle (Colin Farrell), a swindler, running from Detective Cynthia Blithe (Tilda Swinton) as he continues to live above his means, landing at an opulent casino in Macao. Here he meets a hostess named Dao Ming (Fala Chen), who is sympathetic to his vices, and they strike a connection together.

Just as Freddy is about to hit rock bottom, he gets the opportunity to take the biggest gamble of his life, which could mean enough riches to sort him out and repay some debts. But at what cost would this come?

It is impossible not to call out just how beautifully-shot BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER is. Frames are wide and filled with so much detail and hypercolour, capturing how grand Freddy is and wishes to be. Farrell is fantastic, navigating his compulsiveness. Everything feels urgent and we are invested throughout. Certainly among his best performances, in a career which keeps reaching new heights.

BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER screens at TIFF ’25 as follows:

Tuesday, September 9
VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre
Premium
Closed captions (CC),
Audio description (AD)
3:30 pm

Wednesday, September 10
VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre
Closed captions (CC),
Audio description (AD)
2:30 pm

Saturday, September 13
TIFF Lightbox
Closed captions (CC),
Audio description (AD)
9:30 am
\

By Mr. Will Wong

One of the Festival’s hidden gems is the directorial debut of acclaimed Taiwanese-Hong Kong actress Shu Qi, GIRL.

This Drama looks at the coming-of-age of Lin Xiaoli (Bai Xiao-Ying), who is navigatimg growing into her teens, while being on the receiving end of abuse from both her mother and father at home. We witness a vicious cycle of abuse that is triggered by her often absent alcoholic father (Roy Chiu) and mother (9m88), who is balancing caring for her family and also working, whilst suffering domestic violence at the hands of her husband, often taking her frustration out on her eldest daughter Xiaoli.

Shu Qi takes her cinematic sensibilities, translating them fluently into her storytelling as both Director and Writer here. With the help of Cinematographer Yu Jing-Pin, beauty is evoked in even the most dire circumstances. The Film looks at the damaging aftermath of abuse, but somehow manages to possess a message of healing and hope.

Bai and 9m88 deliver standout performances, and the first-time Director keeps us engaged, masterfully telling this story with well-paced measure.

GIRL screens at TIFF ’25 as follows:

Tuesday, September 9
Royal Alexandra Theatre
Premium
2:15 pm

Wednesday, September 10
Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
5:45 pm

By Nicholas Porteous

Olivier Assayas dives into the personal and political history of Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano), a Russian operative often referred to as “the new Rasputin”, largely responsible for the rise of Putin (Jude Law). Baranov took an unconventional path to power via theatre and reality tv, both of which play no small part in his ideology, as well as the tactics he used to cement Putin’s reign.

The Wizard of the Kremlin is based on a novel of the same name (by Giuliano da Empoli), and you can tell. The sheer volume of Russian political history disseminated, from the ’90s up to around present day, could fill a ten part mini-series easily. It’s unfortunate that Assayas chose to tackle this wealth of material in the relatively meagre span of 156 minutes. The story moves at light speed, years passing every few scenes, and this breakneck pace comes at the dramatic expense of the characters. For much of the Film, the Screenplay feels like people recounting history rather than creating it themselves. There’s simply not enough time to let these characters breathe or think out loud.

Dano is cold and exacting as Baranov, and there’s a uniform confidence to most of his performance. Baranov rarely feels vulnerable, which makes building a compelling biopic around him tough. There’s a stretch of the film after Putin enters when Baranov seems to vanish, and the perspective of The Wizard can feel a bit flimsy. Jude Law uses his British accent as Putin, and it’s a very distracting choice, undermining his otherwise thoughtful and sinister characterization.

The Wizard conveys a ton of intriguing, hyper relevant history in a short timeframe, but it doesn’t go down easy as a dramatic story of complicated characters. The film’s great sin is making its fascinating subject matter feel more like a textbook than a cinematic experience.

The Wizard of the Kremlin screens at TIFF ’25:

Thurs. Sept 11 at 9:30 PM at The Princess of Wales Theatre

Fri. Sept 12 at 9:30 AM at Scotiabank Theatre

Sun. Sept. 14 at 8:40 AM at Scotiabank Theatre

By David Baldwin

Hind Rajab is a six-year-old Palestinian girl on the phone with Red Crescent volunteers. She is trapped in a car in Gaza and begging for help – her family in the car with her have been killed and the vehicle is under Israeli military fire. With no real options available, the volunteer team stays on the phone with the young girl as they try to organize her rescue.

Even if you already know the tragic outcome of this true story, THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB is still an emotionally gutting experience that is not easy to watch or describe. Writer/Director Kaouther Ben Hania employs a docu-fiction avant-garde style that mixes scripted re-enactments of the events in the call centre with the very real phone call audio from that fateful day. It is powerful to watch play out, and Ben Hania and her cast do an admirable and respectful job in their depictions. She often just lets the audio speak for itself, allowing the waves from the raw audio to take up the entire screen and having her actors stay silent or be dubbed over by the real volunteers. This may sound awkward on paper but it is fairly seamless in action.

While there are some odd moments of levity sprinkled throughout the film and a few awkward transitions (including one scene with actual cell phone video filmed in the foreground with the actors out of focus in the background), THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB still manages to be a riveting experience that you will not forget anytime soon. It is easily one of the must-see films at this year’s festival.

THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB screens at TIFF ‘25:

Sun. Sept 7 at 9:30 PM at TIFF Lightbox

Mon. Sept 8 at 4:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Sat. Sept 13 at 9:30 PM at TIFF Lightbox

By David Baldwin

Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) is found gravely injured by the crew of a ship stuck in thick ice. They bring him on board to tend to his wounds and are suddenly attacked by The Creature (Jacob Elordi), a man shrouded in cloth and tattered clothes. They quickly realize he’s not there for them – he’s there for Frankenstein.

Of course, if you know anything about FRANKENSTEIN, you know there is so much more to this story and this is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. This particular story, adapted from the legendary novel by Mary Shelley, has long been a passion project of Oscar-winning Writer/Director Guillermo del Toro. And after many decades of waiting, he has finally made what might be his most epic and visually sumptuous film to date. 

To watch FRANKENSTEIN is to be transported to another time and place, with a rich, lived-in and highly detailed feel. Sure, there may be some CGI assists all over the frame (likely to cover up that he filmed this in Toronto!). But make no mistake, the set design here is very real and harkens back to a time when grandiose spectacles like this were the norm and not the exception. Those sets are complimented by fabulous costume design, a moody, operatic score from Oscar-winning Composer Alexandre Desplat, beautifully grotesque makeup and bloody gore effects and…well, you get the picture. Visually, FRANKENSTEIN is truly stunning.

While Isaac is stellar as always and Elordi puts in some real work as The Creature (although not enough to make me forget I am looking at a “Hot” Frankenstein), the rest of the Cast are not afforded the time to really hone their characters into anything other than plot devices. Worse, the film feels too long and often overindulgent. The passion del Toro has for the project is apparent from the jump. But that same passion gets in the way of elements that could have been excised or better finessed. Much like many of del Toro’s previous projects, FRANKENSTEIN is absolutely spectacular to look at and not so spectacular narratively.

FRANKENSTEIN screens at TIFF ‘25:

Mon. Sept 8 at 6:00 PM at VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Tues. Sept 9 at 11:30 AM at VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Wed. Sept 10 at 5:30 PM at TIFF Lightbox

Thurs. Sept 11 at 11:15 AM at TIFF Lightbox

Fri. Sept 12 at 6:00 PM at VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Sat. Sept 13 at 11:30 AM at VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Sun. Sept 14 at 9:00 AM at TIFF Lightbox

By Mr. Will Wong

Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Lily James delivers a tremendous performance in Rachel Lee Goldenberg‘s SWIPED as Whitney Wolfe, founder and CEO of online dating platform Bumble, prior to that co-founder of Tinder. And she did it all before she turned 30. This Film however, isn’t a celebration of success as much as it is a story about a woman’s battle with misogyny, betrayal, and being resilient.

We first meet Whitney in her college days where she meets Justin (Jackson White) and together they aim to re-invent dating for millennials in an app format. Justin however, is quick to take credit for some of her ideas, taking the recognition. While this all starts off as a great idea, we soon begin to see how misogyny gets reinforced with male users getting away with deplorable behaviour, and this same toxic culture is mirrored behind the scenes as well at the office. Whitney not only is forced to deal with Justin‘s constant degradation as both his partner romantically and at work, but finds herself feeling alienated and hurt until she is forced to dig deep, take a stand for herself and re-invent herself with an app that has the interest of women at heart, Bumble.

Not only is this Film acted very well, it is written smartly, credit to Goldenberg, who gets to the heart of Whitney‘s struggle, illustrating it eloquently. You’ll need Disney+ to stream this one, but it is a worthwhile watch which could well see James in-contention this awards season.

SWIPED screens at TIFF ’25 as follows:

Tuesday, September 9
Roy Thomson Hall
Premium
Closed captions (CC),
Audio description (AD)
9:30 pm

Wednesday, September 10
TIFF Lightbox
Audio description (AD),
Open captions (OC)
3:15 pm

Friday, September 12
TIFF Lightbox
Closed captions (CC),
Audio description (AD)
6:00 pm