Back in early September, Gia Coppola‘s “The Last Showgirl” hit the festival circuit like a lightning bolt.  Here’s Coppola, with her first film since 2020’s “Mainstream,” with a short, probing look at Las Vegas with a devastating lead turn from Pamela Anderson no one knew the “Baywatch” star was capable of.  This is the stuff of awards season magic, right?

Continue reading ‘The Last Showgirl’ Teaser: Gia Coppola’s Poignant Look At Las Vegas Starring Pamela Anderson Hits Theaters On January 10, 2025 at The Playlist.

What’s a disgraced female assassin eager to save a young boy to do? Fight everyone in her way, of course. That’s the set up for Timo Tjahjanto‘s latest action flick, “The Shadow Strays.” Fresh off its world premiere in TIFF‘s Midnight Madness section, the Indonesian genre director’s new film premieres on Netflix later this month. Where will it ranks Tjahjanto’s other Netflix offerings like 2022’s “The Big 4” and 2018’s “The Night Comes For Us“?

Continue reading ‘The Shadow Strays’ Trailer: Timo Tjahjanto’s Latest Action Frenzy Hits Netflix On October 17 at The Playlist.

NEON has picked up yet another 2024 festival award-winner for distribution. Variety reports that the independent distribution company has a deal ready to pick up Mike Flanagan‘s “The Life Of Chuck,” which just won the People’s Choice Award at TIFF earlier this month.  No word yet if TIFF will get Flanagan’s latest in theaters in time for awards season, but it’s likely they’ll wait to release it next summer.

Continue reading ‘The Life Of Chuck’: NEON Picks Up Mike Flanagan’s TIFF 2024 People’s Choice Award Winner at The Playlist.

TIFF: Sprawling, historical family sagas used to be de rigueur as culminating artistic statements from our greatest talents. They were characterized by the intertwined lives of a large cast of characters—parents, children, and siblings—their hopes and fears, triumphs and disappointments—situated at moments of profound societal change. Classic examples include Thomas Mann‘s “Buddenbrooks” and Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa‘s “The Leopard.” It is, thus, heartening to see director Maura Delpero attempting such a tale in just her second narrative feature.

Continue reading ‘Vermiglio’ Review: Italy’s Award-Winning Oscar Submission Is A Sprawling, Ambitious Family Chronicle at The Playlist.

The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival has come to an end and, as is tradition, the festival announced its annual People’s Choice Award winner. Usually, it’s a movie destined for a Best Picture nomination, something the festival touts proudly, but not this year. Surprisingly, Mike Flanagan‘s “The Life of Chuck,” which is still looking for distribution, won the award.

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Continue reading ‘The Life of Chuck’ Is The Surprise 2024 Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award Winner at The Playlist.

Max Minghella’s “Shell” follows in the grand tradition of lurid comedies, like Robert Zemeckis’ “Death Becomes Her,” which satirizes societal pressures on women to look youthful and vital into the later stages of life. “Shell” is purposefully designed to be campy, silly, fun—mainstream entertainment with topical bite. And Minghella largely succeeds in his admittedly modest ambitions. It’s too bad he’s had his lunch eaten by Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance,” a film with an identical premise and analogous execution but a much higher profile.

Continue reading ‘Shell’ Review: Elizabeth Moss & Kate Hudson Skewer Hollywood Ageism With Playful Slasher Comedy [TIFF] at The Playlist.

“All Of You” is a slim, modest, 100-minute love story starring Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots. But in its decade-spanning structure and proclamations of “one true love” and “true soul mate,” it very much wants to be “Doctor Zhivago” or another such sweeping romance. Only it obviously isn’t and leaves you with a feeling of much ado about nothing. William Bridges makes his feature directorial debut from a script he co-wrote with Goldstein, based on the short “For Life” they had made years earlier.

Continue reading ‘All Of You’ Review: Brett Goldstein & Imogen Poots Heat Up Decade Spanning Sci-Fi Romance [TIFF] at The Playlist.

TORONTO – The difficult journey of the couple at the center of “The Salt Path” doesn’t seem like a true story at first. There is a lyrical flow to their revelations. So much so that each stop on their 630-mile hike seems crafted as an allegory to how perilous life can be. Assuming you were unaware of Raynor Winn‘s best-selling autobiographical novel of the same name, the end cards may be something of a surprise.

Continue reading ‘The Salt Path’ Review: Gillian Anderson & Jason Isaacs Endure A Perilous Journey [TIFF] at The Playlist.

Sports biopics are only as good as their subjects, and “Unstoppable” has a doozy—Anthony Robles, who, despite being born with one leg, went on to win the 2011 NCAA national wrestling championship as a senior at Arizona State University in the 125-pound weight class. It is a remarkable story and now receives an extremely traditional, by-the-numbers big-screen movie treatment in “Unstoppable” that nevertheless boasts existing scenes of wrestling and a bevy of committed stars around lead Jharrel Jerome.

Continue reading ‘Unstoppable’ Review: A Remarkable Story Gets The Familiar Sports Biopic Treatment With Jharrel Jerome & Jennifer Lopez [TIFF] at The Playlist.

Chris Andrews’ “Bring Them Down” would’ve been a Western 50 years ago, but today, it has been fashioned into a rural Irish thriller. A sheep-farming dispute between two families suddenly escalates into a blood feud. But the characters are too flat to really care about their fate. Were it not for the presence of Christopher Abbott and Barry Keoghan, they wouldn’t be particularly watchable, except in an anthropological sense.

Continue reading ‘Bring Them Down’ Review: Christopher Abbott & Barry Keoghan Power Irish Sheep-Farming Thriller [TIFF] at The Playlist.

The ‘true crime’ genre is all the rage in popular culture right now, with several shows, podcasts, and books achieving blockbuster status. They typically document stories of factual crimes, the psychological motivation behind them, and the ensuing investigation and fallout. Fictional adaptations on the small screen have been star-studded, widely seen, and award-winning. Notable hits include “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” with Penelope Cruz, “The Dropout” with Amanda Seyfried, and “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” with Evan Peters.

Continue reading ‘Eden’ Review: Ana De Armas Is A Force Of Nature In Ron Howard’s Island-Set True Crime Thriller [TIFF] at The Playlist.

If there’s one genre that Steven Soderbergh still needs to tackle in his thirty-plus-year career, it’s horror. But that’s all about to change with “Presence,” the unflagging filmmaker’s latest feature. Fresh off a new screening at TIFF, Soderbergh’s latest hits theaters early next year (and with any luck, his latest spy thriller “Black Bag,” starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, won’t be too far behind).

Continue reading ‘Presence’ Trailer: Steven Soderbergh’s Unsettling Ghost Story Hits Theaters Next January at The Playlist.

TORONTO – If we know anything about Riz Ahmed, it’s that he has taste. He rarely, if ever, stars in a project without a great script, intriguing concept, or notable director. That is, on paper. And, in that context, it’s not surprising he jumped for “Relay,” a mostly taut thriller from a Black List script written by newcomer Justin Piasecki and directed by David Mackenzie.

Continue reading ‘Relay’ Review: Riz Ahmed Can’t Talk His Way Out Of A Tense Thriller That Fizzles [TIFF] at The Playlist.

TORONTO – Underdog sports stories are a dime a dozen. Scrappy athlete – often from a disenfranchised background – makes it to the big game, title match, or final race to emerge a heroic champion. And, truth be told, these are real, life-changing outcomes that happen multiple times a year across the globe. What movies and the media often ignore, is what happens after the coronation. Because, for many, it doesn’t result in the untold riches they dreamed of.

Continue reading ‘The Fire Inside’ Review: Ryan Destiny Throws Like A Champ In Another Underdog Boxing Tale [TIFF] at The Playlist.

Filmmakers, like humans, mellow with age; at least, that’s the refrain we usually hear. But this adage is arguably true in the case of filmmaker Julie Delpy, now 54. Her social and dark commentaries always had some terrific bite to them; her Woody Allen-esque romantic comedies “2 Days in Paris” and “2 Days In New York,” in particular, replete with hilarious observations on the peculiarities of neurotic people, but from a feminine perspective. She’s directed many features since, including the mild midlife crisis/pandemic-set Netflix series “On The Verge.” Still, her latest feature, the idealistic, lefty, feel-good immigration comedy “Meet The Barbarians,” is also fairly slight, without much of the amusing prickle of her earlier works.

Continue reading ‘Meet The Barbarians’ Review: Julie Delpy’s Immigration Dramedy Is Well-Meaning, But Mild & Slight [TIFF] at The Playlist.

Hugh Grant proclaims near the beginning of A24’s “Heretic” that there is only one true religion, and it isn’t Islam, Christianity, or Judaism. By the end, he does reveal his pick, though your mileage may vary. Some viewers might have an epiphany; some will shrug with indifference. Whatever the response, the journey to that point is compelling—a miracle because “Heretic,” despite its marketing, is primarily a drama of ideas—at least in intent.

Continue reading ‘Heretic’ Review: Hugh Grant’s Charming Creepiness Anchors A24’s Heady & Chatty Horror-Thriller [TIFF] at The Playlist.

Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey are foundational works of Western literature, yet they are seldom adapted for the screen today. The Iliad was last made into a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster in 2004’s “Troy.” But you must go back to 1954 to find an equivalent for The Odyssey in “Ulysses” starring Kirk Douglas. Since then, The Odyssey has had some notable television adaptations: 1968’s Italian production “Odissea” (with Bekim Fehmiu and Irene Papas), 1997’s American production “The Odyssey” (with Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, and Isabella Rossellini) and 2013’s French production “Odysseus” (with Alessio Boni, Caterina Murino and Niels Schneider).

Continue reading ‘The Return’ Review: Ralph Fiennes & Juliette Binoche Lead Deeply Satisfying Retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey [TIFF] at The Playlist.

TORONTO – Perhaps it’s the subject matter she has gravitated to or the glare of the global spotlight, but it is embarassing how little respect Angelina Jolie has received as a filmmaker. Three of her first four narrative films as a director, “Unbroken,” “In The Land of Honey,” and “First They Killed My Father,” have demonstrated considerable cinematic skills. And, yet, when female directors are touted or pitched for projects you never hear her name.

Continue reading ‘Without Blood’ Review: Salma Hayek Cannot Save Angelina Jolie’s Inert Revenge Melodrama [TIFF] at The Playlist.

A traveling magician waxes poetic about our lonely existence only to be terrorized by the inability to find solitude. Such is the dark comedy “Mr. K” exists in, the latest from director Tallulah H. Schwab (“Confetti Harvest”). Riddled with mounting anxiety as the walls begin to close in, “Mr.K” is half an exercise in dread and half an example of showing one’s hand too soon.

Continue reading ‘Mr. K’ Review: Crispin Glover Is A Traveling Magician In An Enigmatic Dark Comedy [TIFF] at The Playlist.

TORONTO – In a political landscape where reproductive rights have been curtailed and are increasingly at risk, the subject matter of “The Assessment,” a world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, should percolate. Set some time and somewhere in the future, a couple has applied for the right to have a child. A decision only determined by the State. As is protocol, an Assessor has been sent to determine whether the couple is worthy of this rare opportunity.

Continue reading ‘The Assessment’ Review: Elizabeth Olsen & Alicia Vikander Fuel Predictable Future World Thriller [TIFF] at The Playlist.

TORONTO – Pansy is angry. She’s angry at the woman in line with her at the grocery store checkout. She’s angry at her dentist. She is pretty much angry at everything. Most of all, she’s angry at her husband and her son. And they are indifferent to her pain. Apathetic almost. And while these rants are often genuinely hilarious to anyone not on the receiving end of them, they are killing her. They are breaking her soul.

Continue reading ‘Hard Truths’ Review: Marianne Jean-Baptiste Unleashes An Unforgettable Fury In Mike Leigh’s Family Drama [TIFF] at The Playlist.

TORONTO – As 2024 rounds the corner into the halfway mark for this decade, Hollywood studio-produced animated films have entered what can only be described as a period of corporate malaise. Sequels are pretty much the one and only priority and, if not, a proven formula that appeals to kids first, and then their parents rule the day (see “Inside Out 2” and “Despicable Me 4”). And if the film is allowed to break those guardrails, it’s likely a spin on some well-known intellectual property (either of the “Spider-Verse” movies being prime examples).

Continue reading ‘The Wild Robot’ Review: A Bumpy Take Off Lands With A Tearjerker [TIFF] at The Playlist.

“Nightbitch,” adapted from Rachel Yoder’s eponymous novel, is a film of many parts, some more successful than the others, and each clashes in a tonal mish-mash. Marielle Heller directs, with an inherent understanding of the subject matter—the curbed spirit and artistry of women doomed to stay-at-home motherhood—yet struggles to make a cogent point by the end. Amy Adams stars in the lead role and is unsparing, setting aside all vanity, but is constrained by a film that is ultimately more square than intended.

Continue reading ‘Nightbitch’ Review: Amy Adams Gives A Committted Performance In Marielle Heller’s Cathartic Look At Motherhood [TIFF] at The Playlist.

TORONTO – Queer characters hiding their true selves in the 1950s and early 1960s America is becoming something of its own subgenre. There is already Todd Haynes’ acclaimed melodrama “Carol,” Tom Ford’s “A Single Man,” Bill Condon’s “Gods and Monsters,” and a whole storyline in Stephen Daldry’s “The Hours.” All four of those films also have something in common, they are revered contemporary classics. It gives us no pleasure to report that Daniel Minahan’s “On Swift Horses,” an adaptation of Shannon Pufahl’s 2019 novel, won’t join those particular films in critical or audience acclaim.

Continue reading ‘On Swift Horses’ Review: Jacob Elordi & Daisy Edgar-Jones Can’t Spark This Queer Drama [TIFF] at The Playlist.

Stephen King might have more individual works adapted for the screen than any other writer in history, besting Shakespeare, Dickens, and Christie. With “The Life Of Chuck,” horror impresario Mike Flanagan brings yet another King tale to the big screen, his third straight after “Doctor Sleep” and “Gerald’s Game.” Despite containing the expected horror and sci-fi elements, “The Life Of Chuck” is a bit of a departure for both King and Flanagan as it is a straight drama for much of its runtime—veering closer in tone to “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile” than, say, “The Shining.

Continue reading ‘The Life Of Chuck’ Review: Tom Hiddleston, Spectacular Dancing & Performances Power Elevated Stephen King Adaptation [TIFF] at The Playlist.