#TIFF23: “UPROAR” REVIEW
By David Baldwin
The year is 1981 and the South African rugby team is touring New Zealand. People nationwide are upset and taking to the streets to protest. Bullied teenager Josh Waaka (Julian Dennison) is happy to stand aside whenever he sees the protestors. When Josh’s teacher Brother Madigan (Rhys Darby, also at the Festival with Next Goal Wins) witnesses some of his acting, he pushes Josh to audition for drama school. But with a splintered homelife and raging protests outside, Josh ...
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#TIFF23: DAY NINE SIGHTINGS – SYLVESTER STALLONE AND ANDY LAU
...and that's a wrap for us! What a TIFF it's been! And while we were a bit worried about being impacted by a smaller number of talent coming through, somehow we still found ourselves putting in the same amount of time and enjoying the Films just as much as we usually do.
A notable theme among some of our favourites this year was a deep exploration of male-female dynamics as we see the world through a post-#MeToo lens. Some of our favourite films namely MEMORY, DADDIO, THE ROYAL HOTEL and ...
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#TIFF23: “WORKING CLASS GOES TO HELL” REVIEW
By David Baldwin
A factory fire five years ago is still haunting the plant’s union. They know there is more to it, and with a new incinerator plant being erected and wealthy pockets being lined, the union’s members are starting to get desperate for work. Labour leader Ceca (Tamara Krcunović) is not willing to give up, and with the reappearance of an old union member, starts turning to the occult to turn things around.
Writer/Producer/Director Mladen Đorđević imbues WORKING CLASS ...
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#TIFF23: “DADDIO” REVIEW
By Mr. Will Wong
Writer/Director Christy Hall makes a phenomenal feature debut with a brilliant pair of leads in DADDIO. Though the meter is stopped with a flat rate fare, we never quite know where we are headed as we follow a young woman (Dakota Johnson), boarding a cab at JFK Airport, only to be stuck in traffic. She's driven by Clark (Sean Penn), a foul-mouth taxi driver who tells it like it is. The two make some playful banter back and forth as we learn about their loves and the ...
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#TIFF23: “MEMORY” REVIEW
By Mr. Will Wong
Writer/Director Michel Franco (Sundown) returns to TIFF with his latest effort, MEMORY, a beautiful story about two broken souls who come together under unlikely circumstances.
Silvia (Jessica Chastain) is working on staying sober, raising her teenage daughter and her dayjob at an adult daycare. After joining her sister (Merritt Wever) at a high school reunion, she sees Saul (Peter Sarsgaard) who inexplicably decides to follow her home. But there's definitely more than ...
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#TIFF23: DAY EIGHT SIGHTINGS – ANDY LAU & CHRISTY HALL
Andy Lau is a recognizable name in any Chinese household and it is absolutely amazing that he's here at TIFF '23. What an honour! The multi-hyphenate began his career as an Actor on Hong Kong's premiere network TVB and from that he became an international Movie Star, and one of the top kings of Chinese Pop.
Lau is here this year for THE MOVIE EMPEROR, premiering Friday night at Roy Thomson Hall. The Satire has Lau playing a middle-aged movie star trying to reclaim both the crown snd ...
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#TIFF23: “THE HOLDOVERS” REVIEW
By Amanda Gilmore
Director Alexander Payne is in top form with the delightful Dramedy The Holdovers.
The Film takes place in 1970 over Christmas break at an elite boarding school in small-town Massachusetts. It follows strict Professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) who’s gifted the undesirable assignment of supervising the students unable to return home for the Christmas holidays. Resolved to have the students suffer along with him, he makes them start the next semester's ...
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#TIFF23: “ORIGIN” REVIEW
By Amanda Gilmore
Ava DuVernay’s poetic and essential Origin is one of the year’s best. The esteemed Director merges Isabel Wilkerson’s life along with her research to create an inspired adaptation of the Author’s New York Times Bestseller Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.
DuVernay’s focus on Wilkerson’s private life, specifically her losses and grief the years before she began her research, makes Origin part biopic part historical ...
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TIFF23: “KNOX GOES AWAY” REVIEW
By David Baldwin
John Knox (Michael Keaton) is a hitman. He is cold, calculated, brilliant and also happens to have just been diagnosed with a very fast-moving form of dementia. With only weeks of lucidity left and frequent blackout spells, Knox must get his house in order and make amends before it is too late. And with the cops on his tail after a hit gone bad and his estranged son Miles (James Marsden) knocking at his door after a particularly bloody incident, things are not going to be ...
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#TIFF23: DAY SEVEN SIGHTINGS – AVA DUVERNAY, SALMA HAYEK PINAULT, CHLOE DOMONT, VIGGO MORTENSEN
The finish line is in sight for TIFF '23 but we're still out and about! We spotted Ava DuVernay doing the rounds earlier! The history-making Oscar-nominated BAFTA and Primetime Emmy winner looked stunning earlier and was so lovely to stop for a snap! Her film ORIGIN was a late add to the lineup at TIFF '23.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by William Wong (@mrwillwong)
Shortly after, we saw Oscar-nominated Actress Salma Hayek Pinault arriving to her Red ...
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