Marion Cotillard

TIFF 2021 starts tomorrow, and I’ve been reflecting on all the years that I’ve been covering Canada’s best festival, and one of the most interesting public festivals in the world.

There’s a fine line between being dramatically and artistically ambiguous and having nothing to say, and veteran filmmaker and actress Nicole Garcia’s equally lethargic and laughable From the Land of the Moon ends up firmly on the wrong side of that line. It’s a gorgeously composed film with thinly drawn characters, no sense of escalation or pacing, and nothing of interest to say. On paper it sounds exactly like the kinds of films Terrence Malick has been making for the past decade, but take away all of his lyricism and add a straightforward plot straight out of a Harlequin romance novel and you’ll have an idea of the toxic goulash Garcia has ended up with here.

Once again, some serious star power is headed to Toronto for the 37th Toronto International Film Festival, and today the full list of expected stars and filmmakers has been announced.

Christopher Nolan has built the Batman franchise on one concept that few other superhero films have embraced, and it has made the difference between the relatively airy heroes found in other blockbusters this year, and Nolan’s grim Dark Knight.

Opening in a theatre near you this weekend: James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender star in the comic book reboot, X-Men: First Class; Owen Wilson stars in Woody Allen’s latest romantic comedy, Midnight in Paris; plus a look at the dramedy, Submarine.

Coming out this week on Blu-ray and DVD: Leonardo DiCaprio stars in Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending action-thriller Inception; and a look at Shrek’s final chapter, Shrek Forever After.

Christopher Nolan‘s Inception opens in theatres and IMAX today and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine.

New this week at a theatre near you: Leonardo DiCaprio walks the dreamscape in Christopher Nolan’s daring thriller, Inception; and Jay Baruchel plays the wizard in training for Jon Turteltaub‘s live-action adaptation of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

This week on DVD and Blu-ray: Daniel Day-Lewis stars in the musical drama, Nine; things get a little strange in Terry Gilliam‘s Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus; and Steven Spielberg‘s moving war epic Saving Private Ryan arrives on Blu-ray.

Opening this week just in time for Christmas holidays, Robert Downey Jr. stars as tough but wise Sherlock Holmes; Daniel Day-Lewis stars in Rob Marshall‘s musical, Nine; plus a look at Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, It’s Complicated, Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and Up In The Air.