TIFF

Between such culture-defining videos as “The Boy Is Mine” by Brandy and Monica, Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie”, Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood”, and, arguably, the piste de résistance that is “Toxic” by Britney Spears, Joseph Kahn has solidified himself as a music video director that transcends mere lyrical inspiration. As a film…

A vision wholly unrealised is the biggest downfall against Hold Your Breath. With its gothic horror temperament, dustbowl 1930s Oklahoma landscape and an emotionally anchored performance from Sarah Paulson at its core, Karrie Crouse and Will Joines‘ isolating, atmospheric thriller has the potential, but unfortunately not the power needed to convey its core themes. The…

So often across cinematic history has it been proven that fact is stranger than fiction, and in the case of Ron Howard‘s Eden, the crazier humanity proves themselves to be, the more seeped in reality their stories are. And it’s what makes Eden – arguably Howard’s most exciting project in over a decade – all…

Towards the end of the new Australian musical The Deb there’s an uplifting song-and-dance sequence to a ditty titled “Pretty Strong”, and that’s an acceptable enough term to describe Rebel Wilson‘s directorial debut.  The comedienne makes for a serviceable presence behind the camera as she injects an infectiousness and often-home-grown-specific humour into the proceedings of…

Following its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and its female ensemble (Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Selena Gomez) won the Best Actress award, there was considerable hype surrounding the TIFF presence of Emilia Pérez, a Spanish-language, crime thriller-cum-musical that was recently crowned the runner-up in the…

Whether you loved him or hated him as part of Take That or on his own accord as a brash soloist, Robbie Williams, particularly in the 1990s, was a figure you couldn’t escape.  Similar to the cultural impact of Geri Halliwell exiting the Spice Girls or Zayn Malik bidding adieu to One Direction, Williams’ exit…

As much as Halina Reijn‘s Babygirl is an erotic thriller about the power play dynamic of a high-strung female CEO and the young, confident intern who infiltrates her deepest sexual desires, the Bodies, Bodies, Bodies filmmaker ultimately has created a film about the power of communication. Communication in its most carnal form is what draws…

Described as his most personal work yet, Luca Guadagnino‘s Queer is an adaptation of William S. Burrough‘s 1985 novel of the same name; though published in the 80s, it was written between 1951 and 1953.  Guadagnino has made a career out of telling vastly opposing stories with each of his productions – Call Me By…

Screening so soon after The Substance doesn’t bode well for something like Shell, Max Minghella‘s campy, body horror ode to trashy escapist 90s cinema that similarly explores the world of ageing in Hollywood and how far someone will go to maintain perfection.  With both films screening within a week of each other at this year’s…

If you could restore youthful beauty and guarantee longevity by committing to a few days of mysterious treatments, would you? Would you trust your life and health to science and technology that might be more hype than healthy?  Enter Shell. Samantha (Elisabeth Moss) is thinking it over. She’s a slightly unkempt, earnest, talented actress who…

For almost 50 years, Saturday Night Live has been an institution of (primarily) American culture.  Every weekend it invites audiences to surrender to the thrill of live television, where anything could go wrong at any given moment, amongst a staple of regular segments and musical performances.  Its structure has shifted over time, but the core…

Author Stephen King and filmmaker Mike Flanagan have made careers predominantly out of their affinity for horror.  With The Life of Chuck, they have decidedly pivoted and leaned into another of their shared strengths; broadcasting emotional stories.  The result, however schmaltzy it may threaten to be, is a beautiful, weird celebration of life and all…

Jack (Dacre Montgomery) travels to a remote region of New Zealand to attend the wake of his estranged mother Elizabeth, a troubled architect who abandoned him as a child. Jack claims he was invited to the funeral by his mother’s widow, Jill (Vicky Krieps), who has no recollection of contacting him. Out of a sense…

In the last few years Hugh Grant has truly taken pleasure in playing against the grain of expectation he laid upon himself after a career of inhabiting predominantly likeable characters.  Arguably starting with his wonderfully committed camp turn as the villainous Phoenix Buchanan in Paddington 2 in 2017, Grant has been on an incline of…

It’s too easy to claim that writer/director Sean Baker makes inaccessible films due to the fact that so many of his narratives centre around the society underrepresented, chief among them being sex workers.  As we saw in such previous works as Tangerine and Red Rocket, Baker seeks to remove such a stigma around pornography performers, prostitutes…

Despite the fact that the recently released trailer made Nightbitch look more like a quirky comedy – think a female-drive, R-rated take on Tim Allen’s The Shaggy Dog – I can attest that Marielle Heller‘s take on Rachel Yoder‘s seemingly unadaptable 2021 novel of the same name is far from the laughable ridiculousness some may…

Given that the trailer for We Live in Time very much informs audiences that it will be a tale of potential emotional manipulation, with the Nick Payne-penned script basing itself around a family dealing with late-stage cancer, it proves worth the screentime as Brooklyn director John Crowley breathes a certain life into proceedings, aware that…

Given the imaginative manner he has expressed in his previous work, it makes sense that Nacho Vigalondo (Colossal) would create something like Daniela Forever, a romantic science-fiction tale that adds layer upon layer of artistry to itself that it practically (and unfortunately) comes undone. A little Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a little Inception,…

At the centre of Gia Coppola‘s The Last Showgirl is Shelley (Pamela Anderson), a 57-year old (though she’ll initially tell you otherwise) Vegas all-girl revue performer whose 30+ years in the Razzle Dazzle show are coming to an abrupt end.  But just as Shelley’s tenure is closing, and the uncertainty of life sets in, Anderson’s…

Not to be confused with Denzel Washington’s 2010 runaway train thriller – or the lesser known 2004 outing from Wesley Snipes – Unstoppable, which marks the directorial debut of editor William Goldenberg, whose credits include such titles as Coyote Ugly, Miami Vice and Air, is a by-the-numbers sports drama that lives by its inspirational hook. …

Much like how his 2018 psychological thriller Unsane was elevated by it being shot entirely on an iPhone 7 Plus, Steven Soderbergh is implementing another technological gimmick of sorts in Presence, a ghost story that’s filmed entirely from the point of view of the haunting figure lurking within the walls of a sprawling suburban residence….

The idea of wanting to be younger and create a more perfect aesthetic version of one’s self is a thought many (if not all) of us have conjured at one point or another.  And so often do the two go hand-in-hand, despite the fact that being younger and looking better aren’t always reliant on the…

As the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) gears up to welcome local and international film lovers to its fine city across September 5th to 15th this year, the Gala and Special Presentation programmes have announced six titles that will be premiering ahead of the Festival’s official program selection. The six titles announced thus far include…

Hopefully a film that won’t just become infamous for its lack of being seen – after it previewed one single screening at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival it was withdrawn due to “rights issues” – The People’s Joker is a bold, bonkers debut feature from Vera Drew that reimagines the mythology of a slew…

There’s a certain period-piece sexuality billowing through Widow Clicquot that brings to mind other such similarly-set efforts as Atonement and Pride & Prejudice.  And given that those films’ second-unit director, Thomas Napper, is at the helm here, it makes perfect sense that such detail and intimacy is adhered to; fittingly, Joe Wright, director of the…

Described as a “traumedy” and navigating a narrative I have no personal connection to – or even a right to comment on in all honesty – Molly McGlynn‘s Fitting In has the same footprints as a coming-of-age comedy, but laces such with a queer mentality and the potential dehumanising reality of when your body “rejects”…

Whilst the mass hysteria and government control surrounding COVID-19 has subsided, the trauma of the pandemic itself is still something that lingers for many.  Tautuktavuk (What We See) is a semi-autobiographical drama that looks at such an effect, furthered by the already isolated reality of the Inuit culture, co-directed by Lucy Tulugarjuk and Carol Kunnuk….

A parallel between the systematic racism towards the Arab community in Europe and the fatalities experienced across the United States during the Black Lives Matter movement, Mehdii Fikri‘s After the Fire is an affective drama that commands conversation. Though a fictional story, the film’s credits take note that this is “based on the real struggle…

“A film festival is a gathering of diverse perspectives that offers a collective snapshot of the global zeitgeist, allowing us to delve deeper into our present reality,” said Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley as he unveiled this year’s stellar line-up of programming, running from June 7th – 18th. “For 70 years, Sydney Film Festival has…

Emily tells the imagined life of one of the world’s most famous authors, Emily Brontë.  The film, written and directed by Australian actress Frances O’Connor (in her directorial debut), stars Emma Mackey as Emily, a rebel and misfit, as she finds her voice and writes the literary classic “Wuthering Heights”; further exploring her raw, passionate…