Top Ten UN-Anticipated--but Could Be Excellent--Films at Toronto
Toronto is about discovery. In the past films that needed a launching pad, such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, found their audience here. Genre fare has had the same such luck with titles like The Raid and You're Next cementing a theatrical run after positive debuts here. The following are some films that may not have topline stars or high concept ideas but could be wonderful movies. Somewhat along those lines don't forget to check out the films that do have the buzz coming into these 10 days of screenings.
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- DirectorLukas MoodyssonStarsMira BarkhammarMira GrosinLiv LeMoyneThree girls in 1980s Stockholm decide to form a punk band -- despite not having any instruments and being told by everyone that punk is dead.If you've seen former top 250 film Show Me Love (a horrible re-titling of the perfect, but unprintable, original title, *beep* Amal") then you'll know why I'm excited to see what's new from director Lukas Moodysson. If not then know that with Show Me Love Moodysson crafted a brilliant, touching coming-of-age film about young love and ultimately finding human connection. The theme of the film sounds disturbingly similar to Love (tween girls in Sweden growing up) but that may just be circumstance.
- DirectorJosh C. WallerStarsDavid MorseMike VogelCory MonteithSet over the course of one day, a narcotics detective hunts for a seemingly harmless young criminal who knows a truth about the cop's past.I'm much more interested in the Klute '70s vibe (okay, okay, even the similar sounding McQ) I'm getting from this than the fact that it was one of Cory Monteith's last roles. Plus there's David Morse in the eponymous role. You have to love David Morse.
- DirectorJason BatemanStarsJason BatemanKathryn HahnAllison JanneyA spelling bee loser sets out to exact revenge by finding a loophole and attempting to win as an adult.Director Bateman takes first-time writer, Andrew Dodge's screenplay to the big screen. But will this tale, likely slicing a slice of Americana go big or melt like other TIFF satires like Butter?
- DirectorMatthew WeinerStarsOwen WilsonZach GalifianakisAmy PoehlerTwo childhood best friends, one a superficial womanizer and the other a barely functioning bipolar, embark on a road trip back to their hometown after one of them learns his estranged father has died.Lots to recommend this film including that headline cast and "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner in the director's chair. That the film doesn't have distribution yet gives one pause as it has surely been shown around but, still, likely only to a small subset of the in-the-know industry folk.
- DirectorJonathan SobolStarsKurt RussellJay BaruchelKatheryn WinnickCrunch Calhoun, a semi-reformed art thief, agrees to get his old gang back together to pull off one last heist.Though I know almost nothing about writer/director Sobol (his last film was A Beginner's Guide to Endings) he's assembled a top-notch cast with new and old favorites including new-ish guard Baruchel and old guard Russell and Stamp. I'd also love to see Kathryn Winnick get a role that complements her talents.
- DirectorFrank PavichStarsAlejandro JodorowskyMichel SeydouxH.R. GigerThe story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.This year's Room 237 or Lost in La Mancha? TIFF Docs about movies are almost uniformly excellent and this appears to have the same tragic aspect of forfeited dreams as La Mancha.
- DirectorHitoshi MatsumotoStarsNao ÔmoriMao DaichiShinobu TerajimaA man in search of joy hires a bondage club to have dominatrices surprise him at random times.This is how a great title can absolutely sell a film. I'm only interested in this Midnight Madness programming bit because the title is a play on the Japanese movie rating scale. In Japan the films that are outside of the family-friendly mode are rated "PG-12," "R-15," (a US "R" equivalent) and "R-18." This film is "R100."
- DirectorDerek LeeClif ProwseStarsClif ProwseDerek LeeMichael GillTwo best friends see their trip of a lifetime take a dark turn when one of them is struck by a mysterious affliction. Now, in a foreign land, they race to uncover the source before it consumes him completely.Don't ask me why...maybe it's the strains of An American Werewolf in London that run through this title but I'm excited to see it.
- DirectorCharlie PaulStarsRalph SteadmanJohnny DeppHunter S. ThompsonJohnny Depp pays a visit to Ralph Steadman, the renown artist and the last of the original Gonzo visionaries who worked alongside Hunter S. Thompson.A documentary about the life and work of Ralph Steadman, with appearances by Johnny Depp, Terry Gilliam, Richard E. Grant and more. "Ralph Who?" you may be asking yourself. THIS Ralph Steadman.
- DirectorDrew TaylorLarry WeinsteinStarsAssadollah AlamBob AndersJimmy CarterThe events of the Iranian Hostage Crisis and Canada's involvement, especially concerning Ambassador Ken Taylor, are explored.The story that was never told in Argo about Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor and the CIA and "the secret dealings between the US and Canadian governments to rescue six fugitive American diplomats, and the covert planning of the military rescue “Operation Eagle Claw” during the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979."