TIFF 2013

Watermark Review

Filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal and photographer Edward Burtynsky have truly outdone themselves artistically, narratively, philosophically, and visually with the stunning documentary Watermark.

Rush Review

While occasionally overblown in terms of the melodrama being employed and a tad overlong, Ron Howard’s Rush is a strong sports drama with a pair of exceptional leading performances.

Metallica: Through the Never Review

The IMAX 3D experience Metallica: Through the Never won’t win over anyone who hasn’t already been tickled by the band, but for those who enjoy metal at its heaviest and don’t mind seeing their rock gods with grey chest hair and receding hairlines, it is one hell of a night in the theater and the best way to make your eardrums ring without mortgaging your house to Ticketmaster.

Interview: Scarlett Johansson

Don Jon actress Scarlett Johansson talks to Dork Shelf about the differences between pornography and romantic comedy, her collaboration with Joseph Gordon-Levitt for the first time, how her decision making process has evolved over the years, what it’s like watching a sexualized film in front of family and loved ones, and her own (somewhat surprising) addiction.

TIFF 2013: October November Review

October November Contemporary World Cinema Director: Gotz Spielmann Sonja (Nora von Waldstätten) is an actress living in the city that loves her fame, but it’s a defense mechanism for her growing identity crisis. She’s the polar opposite to her older sister, Verena (Ursula Strauss), who has nobly remained at their family home to tend to […]

TIFF 2013: Palo Alto Review

Palo Alto Discovery Director: Gia Coppola Based on James Franco’s book of short stories, Palo Alto immerses the audiences into the lives and experiences of a group of teenagers (Emma Roberts, Jack Kilmer and Nat Wolff) living in the California town of the same name as they try to determine who they are and what […]

TIFF 2013: Brazilian Western Review

Brazilian Western Contemporary World Cinema Director: René Sampaio Although titled Brazilian Western, Sampaio’s new film is, in practice, much more of a crime/gangster pic, about a young man, João, who moves from the outer provinces to the fast-paced world of the capitol, Brasília. There he gets caught up in the shady world of criminals, and […]

TIFF 2013: Proxy Review

Proxy Vanguard Director: Zack Parker Opening with a brick-induced miscarriage that sets the tone for what’s to follow, Proxy is if nothing else a dark and ballsy little thriller. Co-writer/director Zack Parker certainly has a knack for the misdirection, manipulation, and blasts of violence that define the genre and when the film works, comparisons to […]

TIFF 2013: Joe Review

Joe Special Presentation Director: David Gordon Green An unusual relationship develops between young, refuge seeking drifter, Gary (Tye Sheridan) and ex-con Joe (Nicholas Cage) who oversees a crew clearing trees. Joe is a believable and emotional film that follows an unconventional friendship between two emotionally scarred people   Taking place in America’s deep south, site foreman Joe […]

TIFF 2013: R100 Review

R100 Midnight Madness Director: Hitoshi Matsumoto Japan has absolutely no shortage of absurd, off-the-wall directors, who take already gaga plots and then execute them in even more surreal ways. Matsumoto, with the head-turning Big Man Japan under his belt, has already managed to help establish himself amongst the bewilderbeast heard. R100, his new film about […]

TIFF 2013: Gerontophilia Review

Gerontophilia Vanguard Director: Bruce LaBruce Bruce LaBruce, Canada’s most shocking film director and queer zombie porn auteur, has officially mellowed. Expecting something edgy or cynical from his latest, Gerontophilia, will only have you second-guessing the sentiment as slow motion embraces between the young and the old are actually more sincere than sinister. Lake, a young […]

TIFF 2013: The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas Review

The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas City to City Director: Elina Psilkou Branded by the festival as this year’s new-wave of Greek cinema entry, Antonis Paraskevas isn’t as high concept as Dogtooth, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t as bizarre or unforgettable. Sombre and psychotic, the strange tale is best described as The Shining, but […]

TIFF 2013: 1982 Review

1982 Discovery Director: Tommy Oliver Not only an assured debut for first time feature filmmaker Oliver, but boasting a heartbreaking and incredibly nuanced performance from leading man Hill Harper, 1982 charts one man’s near descent into madness while trying to keep his family together amid the backdrop of the early 1980s crack cocaine epidemic in […]

TIFF 2013: We Gotta Get Out of This Place Review

We Gotta Get Out of This Place Vanguard Directors: Simon Hawkins, Zeke Hawkins This debut film from the Hawkins brothers doesn’t contain realistic characters, dialogue, or even a believable set-up for a good neo-noir. It’s merely a tired exercise from people who watched one too many films from Tarantino or the Coen Brothers and somehow […]

TIFF 2013: The Railway Man Review

The Railway Man Gala Director: Jonathan Teplitsky The Railway Man is the true story of Eric Lomax (Colin Firth), a British soldier captured during World War II who endured some of the most horribly gruelling conditions imaginable as a forced labourer on the Thailand Death Railway, and how confronts his demons years later when he […]