Even if you are a veteran festival-goer, going to an event like the Toronto International Film Festival is a lot of work. It's hard to avoid feeling like you're missing out on something when you go to see a lot of movies. It can be really refreshing. As regular movie theaters continue to be dominated by increasingly small lineups of blockbusters and never-ending franchises, it's a good reminder of why movies are so great.
The mix of overwhelmed yet refreshed is exactly what I felt after I returned from the last week of TIFF. I wasn't able to see everything I wanted. I couldn't squeeze Park Chan-wook's new film Decision to Leave into my schedule, but I still managed to see a lot of different types of movies.
I couldn't watch everything at the festival but here are my favorites.
If you've seen past work from director Hirokazu Kore-eda, like his award-winning Shoplifters, then his new film, Broker, will feel familiar. Broker once again shows the director looking at people at the margins of society. Two men are selling orphan babies to wealthy couples. When one of the mothers comes back to check on her child, it is messed up.
Broker is a sweet story about found families and the horrors of navigating bureaucratic systems after she joined them on a sales road trip. There are tender scenes of people just trying to make the best of what they have when there are dark moments. Think of it as a crime drama with a twist. There is a great cast that includes Song Kang-Ho as one of the brokers and Doona Bae as a police officer.
The movie Broker is coming to theaters.
If the first one is any indication, the investment in the sequel to Knives Out might have been worthwhile. Glass Onion sees the return of both director Rian Johnson and actor Daniel Craig as they tackle a new mystery. This time, it is a murder on the private island of a tech billionaire, who just so happens to be hosting a retreat for his closest friends, which include everyone from an MRAYouTube star to a state governor.
Craig is having a lot of fun doubling down on his southern caricature here, but Glass Onion is also notable for how great the rest of the cast is. If Glass Onion were just 90 minutes, I would love it, but it is a very intriguing mystery. My full review of Glass Onion can be found here.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will be in select theaters before it is released on December 23rd.
Godland is based on real events but in a different way. The filmmakers used a series of found photographs from the 1800s as an inspiration for this quiet, contemplative story about a Danish priest travelling to set up a church in a remote village. There are disturbingly true-to-life scenes of butchered and decomposing animals in this film. The relationship with the land that sustains us to the uncomfortable divide between colonizers and those they've colonized is one of the big subjects of the story.
The way it is shot is striking. Hlynur Plmason leans into the photographic inspiration with close-up shots of the cast that look like portraits. It feels like you are looking through the priest's camera. I have never seen anything like it before.
It is not known when Godland will get a bigger release.
Good Night Oppy is a documentary about the longevity of the Mars rovers. It has everything you would expect from a film like this. There are a lot of interviews with former engineers and scientists who worked on the project.
The visual effects make it different. Star Wars visual effects house Ilm worked on the movie, creating detailed and realistic scenes that bring the rovers and the Martian landscape to life. There are sandstorms that look like something out of Mad Max and lots of close-ups of the robot that make them look and move like Star Wars. There is a new aspect to the story.
Good Night Oppy will be available on Prime Video.
Hunt is the directorial debut of Lee Jung-jae, a long time Korean star who came to global prominence through the TV show Squid Game. The story is about a failed assassination attempt on the South Korean president. The KCIA chiefs are racing to find the suspect amid rising tensions with North Korea.
spy thrillers are full of deception The point is that. Hunt has a lot of twists and turns that make it hard to know who is on which side and who you can trust. You probably can't trust someone. It throws another wrench into the proceedings before you have a chance to breathe. The ride is a lot of fun.
Hunt doesn't have a release date.
Pearl is a sequel to X, which was released earlier this year. It is an origin story with Mia Goth reprising her role as Pearl as she becomes a bloodthirsty monster.
If you've seen X, there aren't a lot of surprises here, but Pearl still works because of the incredible performance from Goth, who is genuinely terrifying. Check out my full review for more on Pearl.
The theater will show Pearl on September 16th.
The purpose of most biopics is to show the viewer a person's life. Musical biopics tend to follow a traditional path from a child to a star, with ups and downs in between. Almost nothing you see in the movie is actually true, that's the weird part.
Weird is a parody of biopics that is funnier than Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. From drug-fueled trips through hell to a battle with a real-life drug lord, it is a life story that takes absurdity to the next level. Adding a level of intensity to the role made the jokes hit harder. You can read my full review of Weird.
On November 4th, the AlYankovic Story will be on the Roku Channel.
Some people will be able to see the names involved with the show. It is the first film from Henry Selick since Coraline and he co- wrote it with Nope director Jordan Peele. In the film, Peele is joined by his long time comedy partner, Key. It is a great Halloween movie.
It is also great on screen. The level of detail is incredible, from rumbling radiators to bubbling pots of curry, and the story about a young girl with demons who is trying to find her place in the world is very touching. There is a critique of the prison industrial complex in the coming-of-age story.
On October 28th, you will be able to watch Wendell & Wild on the internet.
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