Guillermo del Toro

Interview: Jesse Wente on Studio Ghibli

We talk to TIFF Bell Lightbox Head of Film Programming (and massive dork at heart) Jesse Wente about round 2 of the Lightbox's now comprehensive look at the films of Studio Ghibli. We also talk about what the films mean to him, the iconography behind My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies, hidden gems in the program people might not be aware of, how the films of Studio Ghibli encompass the very goals the TIFF Bell Lightbox strives towards as an organization, and why he’s honoured to be a part of this showcase of films by not only a great filmmaker, but one of the greatest artists the world has ever known.

Pacific Rim Review

Despite a cliche, overly melodramatic story and grating comedic relief characters, Pacific Rim is still a more than worthy summer blockbuster.

Contest: Win a copy of MAMA on DVD!

Enter for a chance to win one of five copies of Mama on DVD courtesy of Dork Shelf and eOne Films. One lucky grand prize winner will also receive a mini-poster signed by producer Guillermo del Toro and actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau!

Mama Review

Deceptively simple, but effective on the surface, Mama has a lot more depth than one would expect thanks to sharp writing and a great lead performance from Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain. It revives the "creepy child" horror movie from the jaws of tedium.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Review

While dividing Tolkien's most childish and thinnest material into three films seems like a strange decision, Peter Jackson makes it mostly work with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which still manages to be a lot of fun. That new high-frame rate 3D? Not so much.

Richard Crouse is Raising Hell

CTV and Newstalk 1010 personality and critic Richard Crouse takes a look at late British maverick director Ken Russell's controversial 1971 film The Devils in his insightful new book, Raising Hell

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark Review

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is the kind of film that will probably freak out pre-teens in the same way Goosebumps books or TV’s Are You Afraid of the Dark? did. It feels lovingly crafted by people who missed being stuck home on a Friday or Saturday night with their parents. In its own […]

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark Review

Anytime a film has Guillermo del Toro’s name attached to it, a viewer has some fairly standard and somewhat high expectations. Del Toro wrote the screenplay for and produced Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, which has many of his signature tropes. This film is admittedly not up the standards of his previous work, but it is a better-than-average horror-fantasy film with a decent story and enough scares to keep it entertaining.

TIFF 2010
Julia’s Eyes Review

While Guillermo del Toro might not have directed a film in a while, he has not been idle. His producing credits show a devotion to and invigoration of the Spanish film industry, in particularly in the horror and thriller genre. Following in the footsteps of his success with The Orphanage, del Toro has produced Guillem Morales’ latest thriller Julia’s Eyes.