Review by Mr. Will Wong

Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) seems to be on the verge of greatness under the persistent urging of his father (Sterling K. Brown). While everything seems fine initially, things take a drastic turn for the worse after his girlfriend Alexis (Alexa Demie) finds out she is pregnant with his child and his world crumbles. In the face of a tragedy, which threatens to tear Tyler’s family apart, his father, mother (Renée Elise Goldberry) and sister (Taylor Russell) are left to pick-up the pieces and find themselves again.

Filmmaker Trey Edward Shults’ (Krisha, It Comes at Night) hits you like a tidal wave in its first act but calms into a ripples in the second. While dialogue is sparse and the Film takes a nuanced tone, this is where Waves finds its flow in its meditation on grief.

Harrison delivers pure intensity in a performance which solified him a TIFF ‘19 Rising Star, while Russell shows a quiet maturity in her ability to express a deep undercurrent of emotion with little dialogue. Shults gets the honour of a Score by Academy Award winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross which intensifies the Film. Drew Daniels‘ Cinematography is breathtaking, whether it be his gorgeous captures of the Florida waters or çloseups that bring us up-close and intimate to these characters, particularly Harrison in his panic.

While Waves’ unevenness might not be for all, it is an ambitious effort even if it asks for your patience. It screens at TIFF Tue, Sep 10 at Ryerson Theatre, 8:45pm, Wed, Sep 11, Scotiabank Theatre, 6pm and Sun, Sep 15 at Ryerson Theatre, 2:45pm.

It’s been a relief getting a breather finally and we actually are finding time to see some movies! We saw Joker which filled two theatres completely at an industry screening and it was enthralling seeing Joaquin Phoenix go all in! While it does a number on you, it is well worth getting shaken for.

Less sightings today, but here are a few we had. Hover cursor right on each album to navigate.

JUDY – Premiere

HARRIET – Afterparty

Also, a huge congratulations to Mike, who won our TIFF ’19 Tenth Anniversary Prize Pack!

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Review by George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong

Take a heaping cup of Guy Maddin’s influence, sprinkle liberally with Wes Anderson’s imaginative plot machinations and way with words then finally add just a wee bit of Tim Burton to keep you slightly discombobulated and you have the recipe for Canadian director, Matthew Rankin’s, most bizarre and audacious Feature debut THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. This off-kilter, off-the-wall “biopic” of how William Lyon Mackenzie King became Prime Minister of Canada is genuinely funny and the personification of the words original and unique. There are so many elements and twists in this movie that I won’t reveal because THE TWENTIETH CENTURY has to be seen and savoured to fully appreciate the bizarre world we have just entered. Daniel Beirne (as Mackenzie King) has captured a piece of my non-conformist heart with his hysterical performance.

Want to see a movie flaunts gender roles, watch a competition that includes clubbing puppet baby seals and sexualizes footwear while maintaining romantic subplots and Quebec’s need to be unique? Do not walk…run to see THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. To quote a line used often in the Movie, you will love it “as sure as a winter’s day in spring”.

THE TWENTIETH CENTURY screens at TIFF Tue, Sep 10, Ryerson Theatre at 11:59pm, Thu, Sep 12 Scotiabank Theatre at 9:45pm and Sat, Sep 14 Scotiabank Theatre at 1:30pm

Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong

Cagalera (Benny Emmanuel) and Moloteco (Gabriel Carbajal) want to leave their impoverished lives behind. Cagalera is living in the shadow of an abusive alcoholic father and Moloteco lives alone in a ramshackle house that could blow over at any minute. They need money badly, and must continually look for new and more dangerous ways to find it.

In his second Feature behind the camera, Gael García Bernal delivers an intense and uncompromising vision of life in a Mexican slum. It is a character study that is equal parts raw and intimate, rarely taking a breath in-between all of the chaos that ensues. And while I admire his gritty approach, I am not quite sure what Bernal was striving for with how obscene and grotesque some elements of the Film are. For one, the violence is vicious and often shocking just for the sake of it. For another, the dialogue seems disingenuous and mean-spirited. I would forgive these faults if there was more than a brief hint or two of introspection. Do not get me wrong, Emmanuel and Carbajal are positively luminous in their roles. But the Script by Augusto Mendoza could and should have done them more favours.

CHICUAROTES screens during TIFF at the following times:

Tuesday September 10, 9:15pm @ Scotiabank Theatre
Wednesday September 11, 6:15pm @ Scotiabank Theatre
Friday September 13, 5:15pm @ Scotiabank Theatre

Review by Mr. Will Wong

While Rupert Goold‘s JUDY might not be that feel-good Film of the year, it is a fascinating portrait framed around the final weeks of Hollywood icon Judy Garland’s (Renée Zellweger) life. Set in 1969, we see her homeless and struggling to support her children, hence taking on a string of sold-out London shows, which pull her away from her children as she fights to retain custody of them. We see her fall in love with her much-younger fifth husband Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock), battling her addiction to prescription pills and alcohol at once. We watch her world unravel as the Film handles it all with compassion.

While we feel some characters, particularly her love interests of the past and present are oversimplified and generic, all else pales in comparison to Zellweger‘s tour-de-force delivery. She is phenomenal in the glossy numbers under the bright lights with a big band as she is in the Film’s more heartbreaking moments where she is reduced to pure vulnerability.

While this story ultimately is tragic, Goold and Writer Tom Edge find that one last spark before Garland‘s light extinguished, and make it a beautiful, lasting moment.

JUDY screens TIFF Tues, Sep 10 at the Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre at 6:00pm and Wed, Sep 11 at the Elgin Theatre at 11:00am.

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

When Ellen (Meryl Streep) loses her husband she embarks on an investigation into corrupt insurance companies who are dodging her claims.

Director Steven Soderbergh and Screenwriter Scott Z. Burns tackle the secret world of financial corruption that was exposed in the Panama Papers, yet in a playful way. With the use of multiple characters and storylines, which are all intrinsically-connected, they take the audience on a journey on how to get rich through legal but immoral ways. They have an all-star Cast, consisting of Streep, Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas, who knock it out-of-the-park, especially when they break the fourth wall . The most impressive part of The Laundromat is how it takes a complicated tale of corruption, making it simple to understand.

The Laundromat screens at TIFF on Mon, Sep 9 at Princess of Wales Theatre at 6 PM, Tue, Sep 10 at Elgin Theatre at 2:15 PM, Fri, Sep 13 at Elgin Theatre at 5 PM, and Sat, Sep 14 at TIFF Bell Lightbox at 3:15 PM.

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

Daphne (Shailene Woodley) attempts to get her life back in order following a breakup, however, that proves difficult after meeting bad boy Frank (Sebastian Stan) and rational Jack (Jamie Dornan).

Director Drake Doremus is back with a highly-collaborative Feature about losing yourself and being responsible to find who you are again. Endings, Beginnings has a Script, but not in the traditional sense. Doremus had plot points and scenarios he wanted his characters to experience, however, his actors improvised all the dialogue. As his camera work lingers on his cast, there is an immense authenticity to each scene due to this improvisational method. Woodley completely immerses herself in adrift Daphne, Stan is a firecracker as the flawed yet enchanting Frank, and Dornan is charming as noble professor Jack.

Endings, Beginnings screens at TIFF on Sun, Sep 8 at Ryerson Theatre at 9 PM, Mon, Sep 9 at Scotiabank Theatre at 3 PM, and Sat, Sep 14 at Elgin Theatre at 9 PM.

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

After internet troll Miles (Daniel Radcliffe) upsets the leader of the live-streamed death match game Skizm, he awakes to guns bolted to his hands and a battle against the undefeated Nix (Samara Weaving).

Guns Akimbo is a non-stop thrill ride from beginning to end. Director-Writer Jason Lei Howden brings action and hilarity to a wholly original Story and executes it perfectly. His Script, although incredibly-fun, dives deep into our technological society and how it’s changing humanity. Along with that the visual effects are top-notch, the stunts are remarkable and there is one hell of a killer Soundtrack. If that weren’t enough, there is Radcliffe and Weaving who both bring their best game.

Guns Akimbo screens at TIFF on Mon, Sep 9 at Ryerson Theatre at 9:15 PM, Tue, Sep 10 at Scotiabank Theatre at 8 PM, and Fri, Sep 13 at Ryerson Theatre at 9 PM.

Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong

Oscar-winning Documentarian Fisher Stevens and Producer Leonardo DiCaprio were at TIFF back in 2016 with their climate change Doc Before the Flood. They return this year with another environmental Doc, And We Go Green, centring on the International Formula E racing circuit, the drivers racing electric cars during one 12-race season and all of the advancements and benefits electric cars will have on our future.

And We Go Green is at its best when Stevens and Co-Director Malcolm Venville are focusing on the origins of Formula E racing and on the electric cars themselves. This material is fascinating and of the most vital importance to literally everyone on the planet. But only a small portion of the Film’s 99-minute running time are spent on these topics. The rest are spent on the racing and the drivers. As you can imagine, the racing scenes are fairly spectacular and thrilling. But the profiles and histories on the drivers, not to mention all the in-fighting and drama these racers cause, wreck of bad reality television. I was compelled by their tales in some instances, but as the Film progresses deep into the season, I found myself caring less and less.

AND WE GO GREEN screens during TIFF at the following times:

Sunday September 8, 3:00pm @ Ryerson Theatre [World Premiere]
Tuesday September 10, 1:30pm @ Scotiabank Theatre
Friday September 13, 9:45am @ Scotiabank Theatre

We’re at the halfway point almost of TIFF ’19 and we are looking forward to enjoying some films soon! Before all that though, there are plenty of stars to spot around the City and today was EPIC!

See our sightings below. Hover cursor right to navigate albums.

THE LAUNDROMAT – Premiere

GUNS AKIMBO – Press Stop

HONEY BOY – Press Stop

BAD EDUCATION – Press Stop

WASP NETWORK – Press Stop

UNCUT GEMS – Press Stop

JUDY – Press Stop

HUMAN CAPITAL – Press Stop

JOKER – Premiere

(Photo credit : Mr. Will Wong)