By Amanda Gilmore

First-time filmmakers Mac Eldridge and Tom Dean have crafted a romance that is grounded and raw. It showcases two magnetic performances from indie favourites Emilia Jones and Nick Robinson.

We follow the complicated relationship between Charlie (Robinson) and Harper (Jones) over the course of five years. The two met in high school but then lost touch before rekindling their flame in that tender time after graduating high school. Soon after, they moved to New Orleans together. Before they know it, Harper has her dream job as a chef, and Charlie is stuck in a rut. It’s here that the cracks become exposed in their relationship.

Charlie and Harper meet many times over their lives. The filmmakers have used this as a way to tell their narrative non-linearly. We watch their romance through different moments in time. At the end. At the start. And most importantly, all those moments in between. The moments where our memories become a mix of our emotions. This is what separates Charlie Harper from other romances. Even if it does feel like the common, boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl story.

Eldridge and Dean make a statement on how two people can experience the same moment together, but have different takes on it. At various points, the characters directly retell a moment in their relationship, and there are slight discrepancies in the memory. These scenes serve as poignant reminders of the subjectivity of memory.

Jones and Robinson give impactful performances, and their chemistry is undeniable. Jones is terrific as the ambitious and caring Harper. And Robinson stuns as a young man dealing with addiction while loving with all his heart. They keep us locked into this romance.

Charlie Harper screens at TIFF ’25:

Thur. Sept 4 at 3:00 PM at TIFF Lightbox

Sat. Sept 6 at 2:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

By Amanda Gilmore

Filmmaker Gail Maurice’s second feature follows Beatrice (Dana Solomon), a storyteller and store clerk, who is completely taken by a new woman who arrives in her Métis community looking to find her biological family. She decides to help this newcomer, Chani (Derica Lafrance), to spend more time with her. While Chani is searching for her family, Beatrice’s estranged mother Léonore (played by the director Maurice) returns home in hopes of repairing their relationship.

Blood Lines is a love story and domestic drama. The script excels at these two themes…in the first two acts of the story. It’s beautiful to watch young love blossom between Beatrice and Chani. Thanks to Solomon and Lafrance’s strong chemistry. The two help each other through their complex familial issues. Allowing each other grace in their pain.

The domestic drama aspect is l impactful. Beatrice is struggling with her mother’s return. A mother whom Beatrice believes she was abandoned by due to Léonore’s alcohol addiction. Solomon packs a punch as a young woman enraged by her childhood neglect. While Chani is a crux to tell a larger story. One about social workers who took children from their Métis parents and put them up for adoption. This is a powerful storyline that we wish were explored more in-depth.

However, rather than having this impactful storyline expand, it becomes lost in a twist that happens in the final 30 minutes. It’s a twist that feels out of place in this particular film. It complicates the purity of what’s happened beforehand, both with the love and domestic storylines.

Blood Lines screens at TIFF ’25:

Mon. Sept 8 at 6:15 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Wed. Sept 10 at 11:30 AM at TIFF Lightbox

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

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

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

Today, we get a new Trailer for tiff50 selection TRAIN DREAMS. In theatres November 7, 2025 and on Netflix November 21, 2025.

DIRECTOR: Clint Bentley

SCREENPLAY BY: Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

BASED ON THE NOVELLA BY: Denis Johnson

PRODUCERS: Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, William Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer, Michael Heimler

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Joel Edgerton, Scott Hinckley, Greg Kwedar, John Friedberg

KEY CAST: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Nathaniel Arcand, Clifton Collins Jr., John Diehl, Paul Schneider, with Kerry Condon and William H. Macy.

Narrated by Will Patton.

LOGLINE: Based on Denis Johnson’s beloved novella, Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier, a logger and railroad worker who leads a life of unexpected depth and beauty in the rapidly-changing America of the early 20th Century.

By Nicholas Porteous

Joachim Trier‘s follow-up to his modern classic The Worst Person in the World reunites him with Renate Reinsve, this time playing Actress Nora Borg, who struggles to communicate with her Filmmaker father, Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård). He’s written a part for her in his long-awaited next film that has the potential to confront their shared, familial trauma. The only problem–Reinsve refuses to work with him, so Hollywood Actor Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) takes on the role in her place.

The world of Sentimental Value–full of imagined movies, stage productions, festivals, social media accounts–is gorgeously-rendered, and feels like a living, breathing place. Trier does a great job blurring the line between reality and in-world fiction with some notable fakeouts I wouldn’t dare spoil.

There’s been talk of Oscar nominations for Skarsgård and Reinsve. Both performances are engrossing, complex and deeply felt. It’s a solid bet they could rise to such acclaim. The real star of Sentimental Value, however, is its paradoxical exploration of art and artists—How Theatre and Film can create a safe environment for profound and needed personal expression, and simultaneously serve as a toxic barrier, preventing that same expression outside the confines of imagined circumstances. If Art represents the only available platform for tackling spiritual baggage, does that also make it a cage?

Some of the dialogue can feel like a placeholder–particularly in regards to the Elle Fanning thread, and the relationship between Reinsve and a stage manager. The Movie can also be guilty of playing into the Tortured Artist trope—lightly implying that real-life agony makes for better Art. Ultimately, Sentimental Value digs deeper than that, and I’ll be pondering many of its beautiful ambiguities long after TIFF is over.

Sentimental Value screens at TIFF ’25:

Thurs. Sept 4 at 9:30 PM at VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Fri. Sept 5 at 6:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

World premiere as the opening night film of the Toronto International Film Festival. Arrives October 10, 2025 on Prime Video Canada. This new Trailer features a new version of “Everytime You Go Away” by Cynthia Erivo!

From director Colin Hanks and lifelong John Candy fan Ryan Reynolds comes John Candy: I Like Me, an exploration of the life of the Canadian comedic icon. This John Candy film documents his on- and off-camera existence, featuring never-before-seen home videos, intimate access to his family, and candid recollections from collaborators to paint a bigger picture of one of the brightest stars of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. It’s the story of a son, husband, father, friend, and professional driven to bring joy to audiences and loved ones while battling personal ghosts and Hollywood pressures.

Director: Colin Hanks

Producers: Colin Hanks, Sean Stuart, Glen Zipper, Ryan Reynolds, George Dewey, Johnny Pariseau, Shane Reid

Executive Producers: Ashley Fox, Patrick Gooing

Co-Executive Producers: Chris Candy, Jennifer Candy-Sullivan, Rosemary Candy

Director of Photography: Justin Kane

Editors: Shane Reid, Darrin Roberts

Music by: Tyler Strickland