#TIFF15: “BORN TO BE BLUE”
Chet Baker for many of this generation might not ring a bell, but Robert Budreau-directed Biopic Born to be Blue soon will have something to say about that. Filmed in Sudbury, the Drama starring Ethan Hawke showcases the actor at his best, for the first time showcasing his own musical abilities.
Set just as Baker is about to embark on an against-the-odds-comeback and told partly through a series of flashbacks, we learn about the iconic trumpeter/singer's rise and fall as a result of his heroin ...
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#TIFF15: “BEEBA BOYS”
Review by George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong
Touted as the first gangster movie directed by a woman in 40 years, BEEBA BOYS, from acclaimed, Oscar-nominated Deepa Metha, mixes guns, bhangra beats, cocaine, interracial romance and traditional family values with brutal violence and culture clashes. Set in Vancouver, it tells the story of Indo-Canadian, Jeet Johar (played by Bollywood star Randeep Hooda) and his gang of foul-mouth, outrageously-flashy and colourfully-dressed frat boyish friends who ...
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#TIFF15: “LEGEND”
Review by Jonathan Godfrey for Mr. Will Wong
Legend is sure to be beloved by both critics and audiences alike, and the reason is simple: Tom Hardy.
Tom Hardy plays brothers Ronnie & Reggie Kray, England's notorious twin gangsters. In the 1950/60's the Kray Twins operated a criminal empire known as "The Firm." Throughout their criminal career their notoriety was often coupled with adoration, and this Film about their rise and fall gives us insight into the fascination.
Well constructed, ...
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#TIFF15: “I SMILE BACK”
Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
From director Adam Salky comes I Smile Back which brings a powerhouse performance from the brilliant Sarah Silverman, but unfortunately lacks conviction in all other categories.
The Movie focuses on Laney (Sarah Silverman) and her completely destructive life style, whether it be in the form of drugs or adultery, Laney finds something to throw her into trouble. Well her husband, Bruce (Josh Charles) is either blissfully ignorant or indifferent to ...
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#TIFF15: “TRUMBO”
Often the danger of the Festival Circuit is that some are too quick to jump the gun and proclaim "Oscar!". Such isn't the case when speaking to Bryan Cranston's phenomenal performance in Jay Roach's (Austin Powers, Meet the Parents) Trumbo. Not enough is known about two-time Academy Award Winner Dalton Trumbo's courageous battle. An ardent Communist, the Writer found himself and his some of his closest comrades under great scrutiny for their beliefs, blacklisted by Hollywood's most ...
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#TIFF15: “HE NAMED ME MALALA”
Review by George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong
I went to the screening of Oscar winning documentarian Davis Guggenheim latest feature, HE NAMED ME MALALA, knowing the basics: when the Taliban took over the tiny village of Swat in Pakistan and forbade girls the right to any kind of education, 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai spoke out against this policy and was shot in the head. Against all odds, she survived and after months of painful recuperation in Birmingham, England, she and her father, Ziauddin, ...
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#TIFF15: DAY 3 SPOTTINGS – EDDIE REDMAYNE, TOM HIDDLESTON, SUSAN SARANDON, SARAH SILVERMAN, LUKE EVANS, EMMANUELLE CHRIQUI, BRYAN CRANSTON, JESSICA CHASTAIN, EMILY BLUNT, MATT DAMON, GEOFFREY RUSH, DANIKA YAROSH, DOMINIC SHERWOOD, KATHERINE MCNAMARA + MORE!
Although the rain repeatedly held us back, we gained a bit of star-spotting momentum midday. Here's some snaps from the rain-filled first Saturday of the Festival! Brrr.
Matt Damon. Lightning strikes twice and despite hearing rumours he was flying back to Europe to film the latest Bourne installment, we can confirm we saw him right before our eyes again heading to the Entertainment Weekly party!
Oops! I did it again. #MattDamon at the #EntertainmentWeekly #TIFF15 Party. #TIFF40 ...
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#TIFF15: “TRUTH”
Review by George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong
Based on the Mary Mapes book Truth and Duty, in TRUTH Cate Blanchett plays Mapes, a CBS news producer, who along with Dan Rather (Robert Redford), uncover allegations that George W. Bush may have been AWOL from the U.S. National Guard for over a year during the Vietnam War. Four documents were presented as authentic in a 60 Minutes broadcast aired by CBS on Sept. 8, 2004, less than two months before the 2004 election, but it was later determined that ...
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#TIFF15: “INTO THE FOREST”
Review by George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong
Of the many irrational fears I live with on a daily basis, INTO THE FOREST touches on two of them: an extended continent-wide power failure (a major plot point) and chainsaws (a smaller, yet significant plot point). Based on the beloved novel by the same name, Writer/Director Patricia Rozema takes us deep into a British Columbian forest where sisters Nell (Ellen Page) and Eva (Evan Rachel Wood) live with their father, Robert (Callum Keith Rennie) in a ...
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#TIFF15: “EYE IN THE SKY”
Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
In recent years cinema has seen a upswing in drone-based Movies, some of these titles have played commercial success and the festival circuit while others have been left in the dust of their own destruction. This year is no different as a star-studded cast makes its way to the TIFF '15 in Eye in The Sky, a drone movie riddled with political ineptitude. The Film does present some very interesting dilemmas and issues surrounding drone based missile ...
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