By John C.

The 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival starts tonight with the world premiere of Rian Johnson’s much anticipated science fiction epic Looper.  The thriller stars Joesph Gordon-Levitt as a hit man for the mob who kills people who have been sent back through time, only to find that his latest target is a future version of himself (Bruce Willis).  Watch for more coverage of the film around the time when it opens in theatres on September 28th.  

The festival will be going strong until September 16th and an incredibly diverse selection of films will be screened, ranging from much anticipated awards season contenders to small independent projects looking to find an audience.  I will be publishing a set of five capsule reviews every couple of days throughout the festival, so please come back tomorrow night for my thoughts on Rust and Bone, Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story, Picture Day, End of Watch and My Awkward Sexual Adventure.  I’ve already had the chance to preview all of these films, except for Rust and Bone which premieres tonight, but am holding out on hitting upload because of a tight embargo on a certain found footage cop thriller.  

The second set will come this Sunday, including Hotel Transylvania, Silver Linings Playbook, Finding Nemo 3D and The Sessions and Greetings From Tim Buckley.  My third set of capsules reviews will be published next Wednesday, including thoughts on Thanks for Sharing, The Impossible, A Late Quartet, To the Wonder and Still.  The fourth and final set will be up next Saturday, including Argo, Much Ado About Nothing, Cloud Atlas, Mr. Pip and Love, Marilyn.  These are all films that I personally can’t wait to see and I look forward to sharing my thoughts on all of them throughout TIFF.  There are several other films that have also been gaining great buzz like Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, but my busy schedule and sold out screenings unfortunately won’t allow me to cover them during the festival.

Before we officially usher in the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival with tonight’s premiere of Looper, I would like to remind everyone watching the films to give a big round of applause to all of the programmers, publicists and volunteers who are tirelessly working to make it all possible.  They should be celebrated just as much as the many movie stars we are welcoming into the city.  Please get more information on TIFF and purchase tickets right here.  Most importantly, I hope you all find something to see over the next eleven days and have a great festival!