By John C. The 20th edition of the Hot Docs film festival kicks off tonight with the world premiere of The Manor, and will run for the next eleven days, screening a total of 205 feature documentaries at eleven theatres across Toronto. I’ve already had the chance to preview numerous films and I can safely… Read More Hot Docs 2013: Five Capsule Reviews, including “The Manor”
By John C. It’s hard to believe that the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival has already come to a close. The festival started back on September 6th with Rian Johnson’s much anticipated science fiction epic Looper, which now feels like only a distant memory to kick off the eleven days of events. I saw… Read More TIFF 2012: Final Thoughts, including “Silver Linings Playbook” for People’s Choice
By John C. It’s hard to believe that we are already at the end of the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival, but the last weekend of the eleven day fest is here and I’m back to share my thoughts on five more films from the last few days. When the festival started, I published capsule… Read More TIFF 2012: Five Capsule Reviews, including “Cloud Atlas”
By John C. I’m back again with my third set of five capsule reviews for the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival, and it’s an undeniably unique line up of films that I’ve had the privilege of seeing over the past few days. The festival has been going pretty smoothly so far, and I look… Read More TIFF 2012: Five Capsule Reviews, including “To the Wonder”
By John C. The past few days of the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival have already brought their fair share of unforgettable cinematic experiences and selected disappointments. To give you an idea of just how busy I have been, all I will say is that portions of this article were written on my Blackberry.… Read More TIFF 2012: The Movies and Experiences That Already Have People Talking
By John C. The first weekend of the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival has just come to a close, and I’ve been spending my time standing in lines and sitting in the dark. It’s been a good few days, with the fun movies and bona fide awards contenders that I’ve seen far outweighing a… Read More TIFF 2012: Five Capsule Reviews, including “The Sessions”
By John C. The 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival kicked off last night with the world premiere of Rian Johnson’s much anticipated science fiction epic Looper. 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… Read More TIFF 2012: Five Capsule Reviews, including “Picture Day”
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… Read More TIFF 2012: The Festival Starts Tonight with “Looper”
By John C. The first press conference of the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held this morning at TIFF Bell Lightbox, where it was announced that Rian Johnson’s time jumping action thriller Looper will open the festival in style on September 6th. In a surprising twist of fate, the entire line up was leaked… Read More TIFF 2012: 62 films announced, including the opening night selection
By John C. The 19th annual Hot Docs Film Festival came to a close over the weekend, with the visually stunning Chasing Ice being chosen as the People’s Choice and The Imposter taking home the Filmmakers Award. Between the newly renovated Bloor Hot Docs Cinema and audiences of over 165,000 people, the festival broke all… Read More Hot Docs 2012: Award Winners and Personal Favourites
By John C. When the 19th annual Hot Docs Film Festival opened last Thursday, I shared my recommendations for Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, Finding North, The Queen of Versailles, Indie Game: The Movie and Detropia. On Tuesday, I published capsule reviews of Big Easy Express, Ping Pong, Ballroom Dancer, The Frog Princes and Only the… Read More Hot Docs 2012: Five Capsule Reviews, including “Radioman”
By John C. The 19th annual Hot Docs Film Festival is going strong in Toronto until next Sunday. When the festival opened last Thursday, I published capsule reviews for Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, Finding North, The Queen of Versailles, Indie Game: The Movie and Detropia. Now that we are partway through the festival, here are… Read More Hot Docs 2012: Five Capsule Reviews, including “Only the Young”
By John C. The 19th annual Hot Docs Film Festival starts tonight, running from April 26th until May 6th at eleven venues around Toronto, including the newly renovated Bloor Cinema. Below are my thoughts on five good documentaries that I’ve already had the chance to preview, including Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, which screens this evening… Read More Hot Docs 2012: Five Capsule Reviews, including “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry”
By John C. Exactly six months ago, we were in the midst of the Toronto International Film Festival, and in exactly that much time we will be in the midst of screening this year’s crop of small gems and awards contenders. With the wonderful dramedy Jeff, Who Lives at Home opening this Friday after being one… Read More The Films of TIFF: Where Are They Now?
By John C. From the many great films screened and numerous celebrity sightings, right through to small pleasures like the promotional bottle openers and free pizza handed out at the 50/50 world premiere, the 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival was a success on pretty much all accounts. After eleven days, it has come to a… Read More TIFF 2011: Concluding Thoughts on the Festival and People’s Choice Winner
By John C. As we are exactly a week into the 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival and nearing the final weekend, it seems like the perfect time to publish another very diverse set of five capsule reviews. In my last round I wrote about the tense thriller Drive, recommended Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz, called Lucky… Read More TIFF 2011: Five Capsule Reviews, including “Edwin Boyd”
By John C. Unlike Sundance or Cannes, the Toronto International Film Festival does not have a juried award. But for 33 of the last 36 years that the Festival of Festivals has taken over the city with movies and parties, the best of fest has been chosen by the people who attend the screenings. Starting… Read More TIFF 2011: What Will the People Choose?
By John C. The 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival starts tonight, with the world premiere of Davis Guggenheim’s documentary on U2, From the Sky Down. Showing us why the great Irish rock band has continued giving us music worth listening to over the past thirty years, this is the first time that a documentary… Read More TIFF 2011: Five Capsule Reviews, including “Take This Waltz”
By John C. This morning, the first press conference of the upcoming 36th Toronto International Film Festival was held down the street from TIFF Bell Lightbox at the Hyatt Regency hotel. An impressive total of 10 galas and 43 special presentations were announced, as well as the opening night selection for the festival. The rest of… Read More TIFF 2011: 54 films announced, including the opening night selection
By John C. The 18th annual Hot Docs Film Festival came to a close over the weekend, with Family Portrait in Black & White being named the best Canadian feature, Dragonslayer the best international, and the overrated Somewhere Between being voted by audiences as the best of fest. With the numerous fine films being screened,… Read More Hot Docs 2011: Final Thoughts on the Documentary Film Festival
The Joy of Movies 