#TIFF16: DAY 3 SIGHTINGS – ROONEY MARA, OLIVER STONE, ZACHARY QUINTO, LIEV SCHREIBER, NAOMI WATTS, ELISABETH MOSS, MAHERSHALA ALI + MORE
TIFF '16 officially is in high flight and we aren't stopping! Around tonight will be the likes of Natalie Portman and Lily-Rose Depp (daughter of Johnny) walking the Red Carpet for PLANETARIUM at Roy Thomson Hall. Down the road also will be real-life couple Naomi Watts and Liam Schreiber walking the Carpet at Princess of Wales Theatre for their Film, THE BLEEDER, set in the Boxing world. French Cinema also was front and center tonight at the annual UniFrance TIFF Bash as heavyweights ...
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#TIFF16: “TRESPASS AGAINST US”
Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
From director Adam Smith comes a complicated Family Drama, Trespass Against Us which begs the question to what lengths we will go to for our family. What makes this TIFF '16 selection stand out are the lead performances from Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson.
The story focuses on the dynamic between Chad (Michael Fassbender) and Colby (Brendan Gleeson) as they live in a deserted part of town with the rest of the family in trailers and Colby ...
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#TIFF16: “SNOWDEN”
How do you make a story about the process behind the leaking of documents one that engages and rivets? Oliver Stone does just this, delivering perhaps his greatest work in quite some time in Snowden.
The story still fresh on our minds, Joseph Gordon-Levitt gets deep into the psyche of whistleblower/traitor (however you stand on the matter) Edward Snowden as we witness his rise as a young man within the Central Intelligence Agency, where he learns that the privacy and fundamental rights of ...
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#TIFF16: “SNOWDEN”
Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
Where does one start with Oliver Stone? The man has made some incredible Films and fortunately hia newest effort, Snowden it falls in this category.
Joseph-Gordon Levitt stars as Edward Snowden the man who single-handedly took down the National Security Agency. Snowden was one of the youngest recruits to the NSA and took it upon himself to make it known through the leaking of highly-classified documents proving the government had access to our ...
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#TIFF16: DAY 2 SIGHTINGS – LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ANNE HATHAWAY, DOUGLAS BOOTH, CHADWICK BOSEMAN, DAVID OYELOWO, SANDRA OH, ANNE HECHE, BEL POWLEY, MELANIE LYNSKEY, VANESSA BAYER, SHAILENE WOODLEY, MELISSA LEO, BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD, VALORIE CURRY + MORE
It was a massively star-studded second day in Toronto and Team Mr. Will had a bit better luck after a bit of a slow start to TIFF ' 16! Newly-minted Academy Award winner Leonardo DiCaprio had King Street shut down as he walked the Red Carpet with grace for Global Warming Documentary BEFORE THE FLOOD, signing a whole lot of autographs for Fans who queued hours to see him in a rare visit to the City! Later on in the day, Joseph Gordon-Levitt faced the Media and Fans at the Premiere for his ...
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#TIFF16: “THE BIRTH OF A NATION”
Sweeping both the Audience Award - U.S. Dramatic and Grand Jury Prize - U.S. at Sundance, Nate Parker takes his tour-de-force The Birth of a Nation north en route to what should be a major player this coming awards season.
The story centers on Nat Turner (Parker), the trusted slave of Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), who is intent on helping his family regain its former strength after losing his father. Able to read, Nat is enlisted to help preach obedience from the bible to other slaves, but ...
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#TIFF16: “ELLE”
Paul Verhoeven's eclectic career has won him legions of Fans in both the mainstream and Arthouse worlds. The Basic Instinct helmer continually has pushed the envelope with several bright spots in his career like Starship Troopers, Total Recall, RoboCop and we actually "got" Showgirls and are unafraid to admit it.
He returns with French psycho-sexual Thriller Elle, which after drawing several raves at Cannes, now makes its way to Toronto where it should make a splash.
Centering on video game ...
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#TIFF16: “AMERICAN PASTORAL”
Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
Ewan McGregor tries his hand at directing by adapting Philip Roth’s Novel American Pastoral and the Movie works incredibly-well. There are some downfalls, like a slow-burning Third Act, but for a directorial debut, this is remarkable.
The Movie takes place in 1968 and centers on a family consisting of Merry (Dakota Fanning), Dawn (Jennifer Connelly) and Seymour ‘Swede’ Levov (Ewan McGregor) and how their lives turn upside down when their ...
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#TIFF16: “FREE FIRE”
Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
After getting burned quite badly by his highly decisive High-Rise at last year’s Festival, I was a little skeptical to give Director Ben Wheatley’s Midnight Madness opener Free Fire a chance this year.
But I am very glad I did – because I freaking loved every moment of it.
Wheatley’s stylish and wildly unpredictable ode to ‘70s Crime-Thrillers is a blast from start to finish, rarely slowing down to breathe over the course of its 90-minute ...
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#TIFF16: DAY 1 SIGHTINGS – LAURA VANDERVOORT, JASON RITTER, AUNJANUE ELLIS, MARK BOONE JUNIOR + BARRY JENKINS
TIFF '16 officially has begun and as the stars begin to make their way into the City, Team Mr. Will has begun spotting them! We're off to a bit of a shaky start, but expect us back in top form again by the weekend! While the Opening Night Gala, The Magnificent Seven took place both at Princess of Wales Theatre and Roy Thomson Hall including the likes of Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke and Chris Pratt, recent Oscar winner Brie Larson, Sharlto Copley and more kicked-off the Midnight Madness ...
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