TORONTO – Imagine performing a scene without moving anything but your lips, eyes and maybe your neck.  And the neck can move, but just slightly. Everything else has to stay completely immobile.  That includes your hands and legs. No, you can’t even shift your weight an iota. Sounds easy, right? Test it out for a minute. Maybe five. Dare you to try 10 minutes. It’s O.K., we’ll wait.

Harder than you thought, wasn’t it?

Continue reading Andrew Garfield And Claire Foy ‘Breathe’ Deep For History [Review] at The Playlist.

Movies about rap battles are a rare breed. Of course, there’s the blisteringly ill rhymes in 2002’s Eminem-led drama “8 Mile,” and, more recently, this summer’s Sundance sensation “Patti Cake$,” featured a white New Jersey teenager dreaming of rap-stardom. But Hollywood has mostly stayed away from this incredibly popular urban underground activity where rappers battle in improv-filled, braggadocio-laden, lyric spouting contests.

Director Joseph Kahn — the filmmaker behind “Detention” and dozens of iconic music videos for artists, most notably Taylor Swift‘s “Bad Blood”– acts like he doesn’t care about what might be his audiences lack of knowledge of the topic.  

Continue reading ‘Bodied’: Joseph Kahn Crafts A Visually Dynamic Rap Battle [TIFF Midnight Madness Winner] at The Playlist.

The newly reopened Quad Cinema’s upcoming retrospective “The Whole World Sings: International Musicals” aims to challenge established notion about that genre is exclusively an extension of the classical Hollywood tradition. Is it possible, then, to consider a film such as Alain Gomis’ “Félicité” — making its North American debut at TIFF — a musical? The film may not fit the genre blueprint in a Broadway sense, but the feeling in the soundtrack are nonetheless tangible and Félicité’s ability (or inability) to perform defines the film’s parabolic emotional arc.

Continue reading Alain Gomis’ ‘Felicite’ Continues The Case For Contemporary African Cinema [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

TORONTO — The ride has already begun for Guillermo del Toro and “The Shape of Water.”  A return to the prestige horror that del Toro broke through with “Pan’s Labyrinth,” ‘Shape’ earned at raves at the Venice Film Festival before earning the adoration of the Academy members at the Telluride Film Festival a few days later. The Mexican-born filmmaker was relaxing in Los Angeles before heading to Toronto when he learned he needed to return to Venice for a jury honor.

Continue reading ‘The Shape of Water’: Guillermo del Toro Says Richard Jenkins’ Character Written For Ian McKellen [Interview] at The Playlist.

Filed under The Discovery Programme at TIFF, which highlights up and coming directors, Govinda Van Maele’s full-length feature “Gutland” is a striking debut, one that slowly burns through the magnificent landscapes of rural Luxembourg with flourishes of neorealism. Simultaneously, Maele manages to unravel a dark noir while meshing in hints of German expressionism and nods to Lars Von Trier-esque surrealism.

For almost the entirety of “Gutland,” it is quite difficult to gauge the plot trajectory of Maele’s debut.

Continue reading ‘Gutland’: A Familiar, But Striking Noir [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

There’s a moment early in “Kissing Candice” that recalls a fake trailer Andy Samberg made for his 2013 Independent Spirit Awards hosting gig, mocking the sort of movies that get nominated for Independent Spirit Awards. The trailer, “Bottlecap,” sells the inspirational story of Bottlecap, whose only desire is to stick her arm out of car windows and roll her hand in the wind. She’s stymied by her father, J.K.

Continue reading ‘Kissing Candice’ Is A Beautifully Shot Female Coming-Of-Age Story [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

There are few directors that cinephiles continue to hold out hope that they have another great movie in them like Wim Wenders. Aside from documentaries like “The Salt Of The Earth” and “Pina,” it feels like an entire generation has passed since the German auteur, despite working a prolific clip, has delivered a truly great feature film. While major actors continue to line up and work for the filmmaker, recent efforts like “Every Thing Will Be Fine” and “The Beautiful Days Of Aranjuez” have failed to connect critically, and certainly haven’t commercially.

Continue reading James McAvoy & Alicia Vikander Fall In Love In Wim Wenders’ ‘Submergence’ [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

Chris (Jay Duplass) is finally coming home after twenty years in prison, and, as he tells his brother Ted (Ben Schwartz), “It’s weird.” He was still a teenager when he got caught up in a crime that spiraled out of control and ended up doing the time for his friends, who left him to take the rap alone. Even if the world has made a few technological and societal leaps in the decades he’s been away, the small town of Granite Falls, Washington hasn’t changed all that much.

Continue reading Lynn Shelton and Jay Duplass Charm With ‘Outside In’ [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

If you take the title of Jenna Bass’s new film, “High Fantasy,” at face value, you’ll probably picture a stoner comedy-cum-genre flick, a’la “Your Highness,” in which unlikely heroes are pitted against mythical dangers while stricken with a case of the stoned giggly-fits. To an extent, this characterization is fair: Bass does assemble of diverse troupe of characters, and she does set them on a quest of sorts, and she does incorporate a fantasy element in their travels after they all get roasted on weed, but the fundamental conflicts of “High Fantasy” are rooted in the real world, and those conflicts make the film feel all too familiar.

Continue reading ‘High Fantasy’ Is An Artistic & Intimate Body Swap Drama [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

Not many actresses have managed to rebrand as successfully as Gemma Arterton. Just a few years back, and she was known mostly for her short-lived stint as a Bond girl, and for standing around delivering exposition in bad blockbusters like “Clash Of The Titans” and “Prince Of Persia.” But since then, Arterton’s been able to show us what she’s really capable of.

In the past few years, Arterton’s eschewed tentpoles for small, interesting indie movies in the U.S.

Continue reading ‘The Escape’: Gemma Arterton Falls In Love In Paris [TIFF Exclusive Clip] at The Playlist.

A few times each year, students and teachers take a break from each other by filling class time with a movie. The curriculum of films rarely gets updated, but educators may want to consider “Woman Walks Ahead.” It’s the kind of smoothly rounded, edgeless historical drama that’s built for maximum appeal, with a broad perspective and an easy to digest tone. Well-crafted and ably told, this is a film that’s wholly respectable though not particularly memorable, but still manages to connect with its earnest good intentions and desire to please.

Continue reading Jessica Chastain Leads The Path In A ‘Woman Walks Ahead’ [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

One of the highlights of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival was unquestionably the Canadian drama “Sleeping Giant,” a somber tale of aimless teens up to mischief (and worse) during summertime cottage season. It’s difficult not to think of the film when watching “Porcupine Lake,” a coming-of-age drama making its world premiere at the 2017 festival. If “Sleeping Giant” was a shout, “Porcupine Lake” is a whisper.

Continue reading ‘Porcupine Lake’: A Worthy, Wise Tale Of Teenage Longing [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

Louis C.K. put his award-winning, critically acclaimed, hit FX series “Louie” on indefinite hiatus two years ago, claiming he wanted to do something else for a while. This raised a few eyebrows, since “Louie” has always been more like an eclectic collection of short films than a conventional sitcom. If C.K. wanted to overhaul the show entirely, there’s no reason why he couldn’t have just made an entirely new set of characters, themes, and ideas for his new “Louie.”

But it’s hard to argue too much against what the writer-director-comedian has done with his career since the last (for now) “Louie” aired back in May of 2015.

Continue reading Louis C.K.’s ‘I Love You, Daddy’ Is Challenging, But Enthralling Too [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

The opening shot of Barbara Albert’s “Mademoiselle Paradis” is one of the most startling medium close-ups in recent memory. We see a young female pianist’s face during a musical performance, and her expression is a complex mixture of emotions: fear, concentration, exhaustion, exhilaration. Each note seems a struggle, and each movement a battle. Even if one knows nothing of the plot, or perhaps just the brief synopsis, it is easy to discern from the wig and dress that this is 17th Century Europe (Austria, to be precise), and that there is clearly something afflicting her eyes (she is blind).

Continue reading Barbara Albert’s ‘Mademoiselle Paradis’ Is A Haunting Period Tale [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

In Charles Martin’s novel “The Mountain Between Us” and in director Hany Abu-Assad’s new big screen adaptation of the work, the mountain is as literal as it is metaphorical. Martin’s story begins with a twin-engine charter plane crashing in the High Uintas Wilderness in Utah, killing the pilot and leaving two strangers stranded in the middle of nowhere, cut off from civilization and communication. The survivors are stuck on a steep peak, with nothing but hills and cliffs on the horizon.

Continue reading Idris Elba & Kate Winslet Battle For Survival In ‘The Mountain Between Us’ [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

How about some music? That’s the song that the title character of “Euthanizer” plays for his victims as he kills them. After all, he asks an onlooker to the gassing of a guinea pig, “What song would you like to die to?”

“Euthanizer” is sort of what you’d get if Jeremy Saulnier decided to make a movie about a righteously indignant freelance pet euthanizer and animal lover who goes up against a particularly pathetic group of teenage white supremacists.

Continue reading ‘Euthanizer’ Is An Intentionally Unsubtle Political Metaphor For The Age Of Trump [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

Traditionally, the mention of Scandinavian cinema brought to mind the monolithic body of work of Ingmar Bergman, or perhaps a few other big names. Nowadays, the region’s output is best known for its so-called Nordic noir, characterized by “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and its sequels, as well as television shows like “The Killing.” Peter Schønau Fog’s sophomore effort “You Disappear”—a Danish/Swedish co-production making its International Premiere at TIFF after bowing in local markets last spring—takes a little bit from column A and a little bit from column B.

Continue reading Peter Schønau Fog’s ‘You Disappear’ Melds Bergman With Scandi-Noir [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

Continue reading Sebastian Stan Says Marvel Studios Training Put To Good Use On ‘I, Tonya’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

Is the greater sin to defy God, or defy your true nature? It’s not a question that’s asked directly in “Disobedience,” but lingers at the edges of the turmoil that slowly simmers into passion and penitence, in a story that turns a colorful premise into a thoughtful rumination on choice. Set inside the conservative community of Orthodox Judaism, Sebastian Lelio’s graceful adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s novel is a probing look at the illusion of freedom in both religious and secular life, and the bracing reality faced by two women when the relationship between them sparks back to life.

Continue reading Sebastian Lelio’s Sensual & Spiritual ‘Disobedience’ With Rachel Weisz & Rachel McAdams [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

You have to worry and wonder about the potentially troubled mind of Norwegian filmmaker Joaquim Trier and the mental illness issue that must have dogged his family. After all, every drama the helmer has crafted has featured a fragile psyche on the edge of collapse, and each one with authenticity so real it smacks of an autobiographical quality and experience you can’t fake.

His arresting debut “Reprise” crackled with the ideas of youth on the verge of a nervous breakdown, “Oslo, August 31st” has been described as the coolest movie about being sad and “Louder Than Bombs” also features a central suicide that leaves a family wracked by grief and the unknowable pain of a loved one’s frayed mind.

Continue reading ‘Thelma’: Joachim Trier Crafts An Arthouse Version Of ‘X-Men,’ Bergman & Stephen King [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

In 1818, “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus” was published and became an almost immediate sensation. “Mary Shelley” is the story of its author and the creative inspiration behind the groundbreaking book. Well, eventually. Before we discover the titular writer’s genius, we must endure a fusty period drama that unfolds with such a startling lack of imagination, it’s nearly remarkable how conventional the production is, particularly when the life and famed work of Mary Shelley is so boldly unconventional.

Continue reading Elle Fanning Plays ‘Mary Shelley’ In Biopic Of ‘Frankenstein’ Creator [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

TORONTO – History tells us there was a long, protracted battle for the electrical current business in the United States beginning in the 1880’s. This was a highly lucrative turf war to determine how cities would provide electric light to their constituents for generations. This was an invention that changed the world almost as quickly as the automobile, jet airliners, television or the iPhone.

Thomas Edison, arguably the greatest inventor the world has ever seen, struck out with his own direct current (DC) company to in 1882.

Continue reading ‘The Current War’: Michael Shannon Only Source Of Light In This Over-Stylized Drama [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

There are few better than writer/director Armando Iannucci when it comes to portraying the poison personalities, ruthless double dealing, and heights of absurdity in the political halls of power. So far, he’s sharpened his knives and cut up The White House and 10 Downing Street with “Veep,” “The Thick Of It,” and “In The Loop.” But at a time when The West Wing is more than ably creating scenarios that are the stuff of comic writers’ dreams, it’s the perfect opportunity for Iannucci to take on a different era and moment in history, and he does just that with “The Death Of Stalin.” However, who would’ve thought a movie about the death of an unpredictable dictator would be just as timely as ever?

Continue reading Armando Iannucci’s ‘The Death Of Stalin’ Is A Timely, Hilarious, Bleak Satire [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

For his entire career, Aaron Sorkin has delighted in following the journey of ambitious, visionary, and sometimes deeply flawed men. From the fractured geniuses of “The Social Network” and “Steve Jobs,” to the data driven obsession of the Oakland A’s general manager in “Moneyball,” to the news anchor eager to shake up the system in “The Newsroom,” the screenwriter has crafted singular portraits of those who eagerly want not just success, but the power to implement their unorthodox ideas, and the space to reshape the conventions around them.

Continue reading Jessica Chastain Moves Like A (Card) Shark In ‘Molly’s Game’ [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

TORONTO – Since Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, also know the world over as Lady Gaga, first burst on the scene with in 2008 with the smash single “Just Dance” she’s been outspoken about her music, her life and her beliefs in public. Perhaps she was playing on a bit of a character during those early years, but eventually her true personality came to the forefront. Gaga’s fans, affectionately known as “Monsters,” believe they know their pop goddess somewhat intimately thanks to her lengthy interviews and social media interactions.

Continue reading Lady Gaga Takes On Madonna, Super Bowl & Hip Pain in ‘Gaga: Five Foot Two’ [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.