By Nicholas Porteous

Park Chan-wook returns to TIFF (after his singularly dazzling Decision to Leave) with No Other Choice. It’s a very different kind of war movie about a factory worker (Lee Byung-hun) and the battle to feed his family when he’s unceremoniously let go. How far will he go to recapture the old life that seems to be slipping through his fingers? Take your wildest guess–then go another few steps further.

No Other Choice is a classic Chan-wook vibe, full of unexpectedly hilarious moments that serve to counteract the unrelenting bleakness of the bigger picture. Chan-wook is a daring tightrope walker of tone, and his vision is so precise it’s hard to imagine any other filmmaker who could pull off this hyper-specific potpourri of comedy and tragedy. This is by no means a feel-good story, but the jokes are undeniable.

Chan-wook also continues to move his camera with nearly unmatched gusto. Tablet screens and video calls have never been more cinematic. Out of context, his frames might seem gimmicky, but his focus is always bringing you closer to these characters and their little worlds. Despite our lead’s indefensible actions, I never lost sight of his humanity, or the real villain: a world without mercy that pits us against each other, and rewards the vicious with jobs that may as well be performed by robots.

No Other Choice is labyrinthine, and certainly feels its length–a hefty 139 minutes. It’s easy to get a bit lost in all the details, and every little thing is there for a reason. By the same token, it’s a rewarding watch, even though the whole package may leave you queasy. Its conclusion feels abrupt, and necessarily harsh. Particularly if you’ve enjoyed Chan-wook’s other, oftentimes brutal works, this will not disappoint.

No Other Choice screens at TIFF ’25:

Mon. Sept 8 at 9:30 PM at Roy Thompson Hall

Tues. Sept 9 at 8:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Thurs. Sept 11 at 11:30 AM at TIFF Bell Lightbox

Today, Disney+ revealed the teaser and star-studded cast of “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie,” which filmed in Toronto, will premiere globally on Friday, November 14, 2025.

Teaser here.

From Disney Branded Television and 20th Television, the festive film features an all-star guest cast, including Billie Lourd (as Cassidy), Laverne Cox (as Stacy), KJ Apa (as Gene), Andrew Barth Feldman (as Ethan), Andrea Martin (as Deb), Kenny G (as himself) and Justin Tranter (as himself), with Randall Park (as Brad), and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (as Santa). Previously announced cast member Chloe Bennet stars as Lucy, alongside Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas, who star as themselves. The Jonas Brothers are making the film a family affair, with a few special cameos from the Jonas family.

Synopsis: In “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie,” Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas face a series of escalating obstacles as they struggle to make it from London to New York in time to spend Christmas with their families.

Credits: Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas produce, along with writers Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger (“I Want You Back,” “This Is Us,” “Love, Simon”), Adam Fishbach, Spencer Berman and Scott Morgan. EmmyⓇ and Academy AwardⓇ winner Jessica Yu (“Quiz Lady,” “This Is Us”) directs, with original music from executive music producer and GRAMMYⓇ nominee Justin Tranter. The movie is produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios.

SOCIAL MEDIA

X: @DisneyPlusCA

Instagram: @DisneyPlusCA

Facebook: @DisneyPlusCA

Hashtag: #DisneyPlus, #AVeryJonasChristmas

Fall is here, and nothing says cozy season like a cup of chai. To celebrate back-to-school and the arrival of autumn, TAZO Canada is teaming up with beloved Toronto bakery Craig’s Cookies to spotlight the warm, spiced flavours of chai in a new limited-edition cookie. Chai is TAZO’s signature, best-selling tea that has become a fan favourite thanks to its authentic recipe made with real brewed tea and spices (never syrupy shortcuts).

Available at all Craig’s Cookies locations for the month of September, the TAZO Chai Cookie pairs the bakery’s signature chewy chipless cookie base with the bold, aromatic flavours of TAZO Chai Latte – the perfect way to welcome sweater weather. (Fun fact: chai cookies are also known to be a personal favourite of Taylor Swift’s, making them an extra-sweet treat for fall ahead of her October 3 album launch.)

To mark the collaboration, TAZO Canada and Craig’s Cookies are inviting students and Torontonians alike to a special one-day giveaway:

On Tuesday, September 9, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 1,000 free TAZO Chai Cookies and TAZO Chai Lattes will be given away at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). Cookies will be baked fresh on-site from the Craig’s Cookies food truck, so guests can enjoy the aroma of warm chai spices straight from the oven.

“Fall is the perfect time to savour the rich, spiced flavours of chai, and TAZO is known for its iconic chai blend!” said Lily Hilton, Head of Marketing, TAZO Canada. “This partnership with Craig’s Cookies brings that cozy fall feeling to life in a fun, delicious way, while welcoming students back to campus.”

TAZO Chai in Concentrate format offers bold, complex layers of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and black tea for café-quality lattes at home in seconds. Simply mix equal parts concentrate with your milk of choice, serve hot or iced, and enjoy an indulgent, versatile drink any time of day – at a fraction of the coffee shop price. TAZO Concentrates (and traditional tea bags) are available nationwide at Amazon, Walmart, Loblaws, Superstore, Metro, and Save-On Foods.

ROUND ONE….FIGHT!!….Legendary Pictures and Capcom’s live-action adaptation of the iconic video game franchise Street Fighter, which is filmed for IMAX®, will punch into theaters on October 16, 2026. This will be the first film to be released through Legendary’s new global distribution deal with Paramount Pictures. The official press release is available at Paramount’s press site HERE.

Currently in production, the Street Fighter movie will honor the quarter-pumping, button-mashing spirit of the 90s classic while leveling up for a new generation of fans.

Set in 1993, estranged Street Fighters Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) are thrown back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament: a brutal clash of fists, fate, and fury. But behind this battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons of their past. And if they don’t, it’s GAME OVER!

Helmed by director Kitao Sakurai, Street Fighter is set to bring the battle from the arcade to the big screen with Hadoukens, roundhouses, and all your favorite characters.

Street Fighter stars:

Noah Centineo as “Ken Masters”

Andrew Koji as “Ryu”

Callina Liang as “Chun-Li”

Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa’i as “Akuma”

David Dastmalchian as “M. Bison”

Cody Rhodes as “Guile”

Andrew Schulz as “Dan Hibiki”

Eric André as “Don Sauvage”

Vidyut Jammwal as “Dhalsim”

With Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as “Balrog”

And Jason Momoa as “Blanka”

Also Starring:

Orville Peck as “Vega”

Olivier Richters as “Zangief”

Hirooki Goto as “E. Honda”

Rayna Vallandingham as “Juli”

Alexander Volkanovski as “Joe”

Kyle Mooney as “Marvin”

Mel Jarnson as “Cammy”

By Amanda Gilmore

Writer-Director Chandler Levack’s hotly-anticipated second feature takes place in 2011 and follows young female music critic Grace (Barbie Ferreira), who moves to Montreal to figure out life and love. 

After leaving her job at a magazine in Toronto, Grace moves into a shared apartment in Montreal that she found on Craigslist. It’s there that she should devote herself to finishing the next great book in the 33 1/3 album exploration series that she’s already been paid an advance on. Hers will be on the iconic Alanis Morissette opus Jagged Little Pill. However, like many in their early 20s…life gets in the way.

Just like with Lawrence in I Like Movies, Grace makes a lot of bad choices. Levack has a knack for writing endearing leads that make audiences cringe at their poor decisions or indecisions. Here, Grace is a young woman whose focus is on everything and everyone but herself. This leads to Grace blowing her own life up.

This focus on others rather than herself comes from society, but also the career Grace has. There aren’t many films that depict a female critic. Here, Levack shows just how isolating it can be for a young woman. Grace is always on the outside of a circle of men. When she arrives in Montreal, she quickly becomes friends with the band Bone Patrol. Again, she’s the only woman around this band of boys. Ferreira encapsulates the indecision and enclosed rage within a young woman who is simultaneously trying to break the ceiling but at times allowing it to suffocate her.

Even with all of this heavy material, Mile End Kicks is a hilarious romantic-comedy. The semi-love triangle that happens brings nostalgia for the rom-coms we love. Devon Bostick and Stanley Simons are a joy and fully commit to their characters. Bostick as the stoner, sweet guitarist, and Simons as the sleezy, ‘artsy’ lead singer.

At its centre, Mile End Kicks is a story about a young woman learning to respect herself. All of Grace’s poor decisions lead her to respect herself and demand it from others.

Mile End Kicks screens at TIFF:

Thurs. Sept 4 at 8:30 PM at Royal Alexandra Theatre

Tues. Sept 9 at 11:55 AM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Sat. Sept 13 at 9:00 AM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

DIE MY LOVE IS IN CINEMAS IN CANADA FROM NOVEMBER 7, 2025 via Mubi Canada. Today we get a new Teaser.

MUBI, the global film distributor, streaming service and production company, release the teaser trailer for Die My Love, the sensational new film from writer/director Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here, Morvern Callar, We Need to Talk About Kevin). The film will be released in cinemas across Canada on November 7, 2025. The film received its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.

A hopeful young and loving couple (Grace and Jackson) move from New York to an inherited house in the country.

Grace tries to find her identity with a new baby in the isolated environment. Yet as she begins to unravel, it’s not in weakness but imagination, strength and a stunning untamed vivacity that she discovers herself anew.

Set in rural America, Die My Love is a portrait of a woman engulfed by love and madness. It stars Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle), Robert Pattinson (Mickey 17, The Batman), LaKeith Stanfield (Judas and the Black Messiah, The Book of Clarence), Nick Nolte (Cape Fear, 48 Hours, The Prince of Tides), and Sissy Spacek (Carrie, Coal Miner’s Daughter, In the Bedroom).

DIRECTOR STATEMENT
To explore the tiny loaded dramas, traumas and endurance in the everyday. The unexpected happening. The loss of oneself. The paralysis. I found that all in Grace. And how Jackson loves her despite his inability to ever understand her.

DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY
Lynne Ramsay’s previous work consists of Ratcatcher (1999), Cannes 1999 Un Certain Regard, BAFTA winner Most Promising Newcomer; Morvern Callar (2002), starring Samantha Morton, Cannes 2002 multiple award winner, BIFA nominee for Best Director and Best Screenplay; We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011) starring Tilda Swinton, nominated for Cannes 2011 Palme d’Or, BIFA winner for Best Director, BAFTA nominated for Best Director; Swimmer (2012), BAFTA winner for Best Short Film; You Were Never Really Here (2017) starring Joaquin Phoenix, Cannes 2017 winner for Best Screenplay and Best Actor, BAFTA nominated for Best British Film; Brigitte (2019), part of Miu Miu’s Women’s Tales Series, Venice Film Festival 2019.

DIE MY LOVE WILL BE RELEASED IN CANADIAN CINEMAS ON NOVEMBER 7, 2025

It’s only Day One but feels like Day 30? Overall, a very productive day today, covering a lot of ground and lot of stars. Some of the names we spotted:

•Ben foster at TIFF for Motor City.
•Jeffrey Latimer, Olivia Chow and Cameron Bailey unveil TIFF’s Canada Walk of Fame star
•Jeremy O. Harris, Charli XCX, Lena Góra at TIFF for Erupcja
•Ryan Reynolds, Colin Hanks, Chris Candy at TIFF for John Candy: I LIKE ME
•Barbie Ferreira, Devon Bostick, Chandler Levack, Robert Naylor, Juliette Gariépy, Stanley Simons,
Isaiah Lehtinen, at TIFF for Mile End Kicks
•Stellan Skarsgård, Renate Reinsve, Joachim Trier, Elle Fanning, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas at TIFF for Sentimental Value
•Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna at TIFF for KPop Demon Hunters critics event

We were up and at it early appearing on CP24 Breakfast! Our appearance, and also TIFF’s Canada’s Walk of Fame induction star unveiling highlights!

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

By Nicholas Porteous

Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol bring Nirvanna The Band The Show to the big screen in what is likely the single most Toronto movie of all time–Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie. For those unfamiliar with the early 2000s web series and VICE TV show–watch it all right now!–but if you can’t, you’ll be completely fine. Matt and Jay once again attempt to land a gig at The Rivoli, only this time they’re unintentionally warped back to 2008–a vastly different era than you might imagine, in a bonkers tribute to Back to the Future (Parts 1 AND 2).

It’s a fool’s errand to try to pin down the magic of Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie in words, but I’ll do my best. It takes place in a hyper-specific and yet all-too-relatable world of stunts and in-jokes, idiotic schemes and deceptively complex filmmaking that wraps Toronto in a thick blanket of Matt and Jay’s mischief, pulling in unsuspecting real humans and manufacturing situations that can’t possibly be real but also can’t possibly be fake. There’s always a question in the air about what percentage of their misadventures is staged and how much is legit–and that’s half the fun. The other half–we’re talking another metric TON of fun, here–is the unhinged situations themselves. Right up front, we get their most daring stunt yet, involving a trip to the top of the CN Tower. A minor qualm–The Movie never totally matches the sheer scope and awe of this opening sequence again. But even if it was just this sequence–The Movie would be worth a full-priced festival ticket.

Explosively gleeful from the first to the final frame, Nirvanna is meant for a big crowd. The sheer volume and length of audience reactions is so intense, you’ll likely miss several jokes at your screening. At 100 convoluted-as-hell minutes, The Movie might be just slightly too dense with ideas, even for its minor runtime. The shorter length of the show and web series gave more license to sustain this very specific level of crazed storytelling in concentrated chonks. Still, there’s nothing else in the world like it. Aside from tracing the faintest outline of Back to the Future, I could never predict where it was heading next, and it’s impossible not to be swept up in the tidal wave of its audacious aura.

The midnight screening is one of the main events at TIFF ’25, but if you can’t secure a spot there, it’s also showing in IMAX–for perhaps the only time EVER–on the 8th. Don’t miss it.

Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie screens at TIFF ’25:

Thurs. Sept 4 at 11:59 PM at The Royal Alexandra Theatre

Mon. Sept 8 at 7:30 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Sat. Sept 13 at 10:30 AM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

By Amanda Gilmore

Brazilian Filmmaker and TIFF veteran Kleber Mendonça Filho returns to the festival with this political thriller that explores that won multiple prizes at this year’s Cannes.

The Film is set in 1977 Brazil, during the country’s notorious military dictatorship. It follows technology expert Marcelo (an outstanding Wagner Moura) as he flees from a mysterious past and seeks asylum in the northern city of Recife, which also brings him closer to his young son. But when he finds out men have been sent to kill him, he searches for a way to get himself and his son out of Brazil.

The Secret Agent isn’t a film strictly about the dictatorship, but instead, about a man living under the oppressive regime. Therefore, some viewers may feel there are parts of the history they don’t fully understand. However, Mendonça Filho delivers visuals and plot points that expose the insidious environment of surveillance and danger. The opening sequence has Marcelo pull into a gas station, where a dead body has been left for days under a piece of cardboard. The police show up, but they ignore the body. Instead, they inspect Marcelo’s ID.

Mendonça Filho tells this story across three parts and varying timelines. Thus, unveiling its plot is like a puzzle. This mirrors the daily life of those living in Brazil under its military dictatorship at the time. How oppressive regimes can conceal the truth and impact people’s memories, even decades later.

It comes as no surprise that Moura won the Best Actor prize at Cannes earlier this year. He’s magnetic as the calm, determined Marcelo. For as much as Marcelo is calm on the exterior, Moura subtly portrays the fear encased within the man.

The Secret Agent screens at TIFF ’25 as follows:

Sun. Sept 7 at 8:00 PM at Royal Alexandra Theatre

Mon. Sept 8 at 7:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Fri. Sept 12 at 12:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

By Amanda Gilmore

Director and Co-Writer Genki Kawamura makes a purgatory spin on Kotake Create’s cult game, The Exit 8 — a game in which the player is trapped in an endless underground passageway. The only way to leave through Exit 8 is to notice the anomalies and follow the rules.

In this film adaptation, the Lost Man (Kazunari “Nino” Ninomiya) is a commuter who receives a call from his ex-girlfriend — just before exiting the subway — informing him of her pregnancy. Once out of the subway, he will meet her to give his thoughts on this news. However, he soon finds himself in a continuous loop at the Exit 8 passageway. To leave, he must obey one rule: if he spots any anomalies, he must turn back. Miss a single one and he’s snapped to the start, condemned to loop again. 

Impressively, Kawamura and co-writer Kentaro Hirase have crafted a deeply-human story out of a Horror-Simulator game. Each time the Lost Man goes through the passageway, audiences learn more about the reason for the loop and the man himself. It all comes together to deliver a moving story about guilt, responsibility, and the paralysis of indecision.

For audiences familiar with the game, there aren’t too many ‘scary’ anomalies that happen in these passageways. There are trickles, but nothing horrifying. The Filmmakers rely more on their central storyline, which revolves around a young man’s anxieties about possibly becoming a father. The anomalies target those fears.

Overall, Exit 8 achieves a great feat in creating something human out of a short simulator game. That being said, the audience lives in this passageway for about 80 minutes. There are moments where it lulls and becomes redundant.

Exit 8 screens at TIFF ’25:

Mon. Sept 8 at 9:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Fri. Sept 12 at 9:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto