Charming and respectable, but more than a tad cliched, director Bobby Farrelly’s basketball dramedy Champions coasts along nicely thanks to its air of general likability and some well drawn characters.
Woody Harrelson
Texan filmmaker John Lee Hancock is no stranger to tackling often uncelebrated and sometimes controversial historical figures, but the subjects of his latest reality based project, The Highwaymen (premiering on Netflix on Friday, March 29 and currently seeing a limited run at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto), have been stuck in the omnipresent shadows of the criminals they helped capture in 1934.
Shock and Awe, the latest film in as many years to look at how good, balanced, and thoroughly researched print journalism has become more important than ever, is a briskly paced, low-key, and effective drama from once heavy-hitting, Oscar nominated filmmaker Rob Reiner.
Although it’s probably unnecessary at this point, and it gets off to a rocky start, Solo: A Star Wars Story remains a likable, entertaining bit of Hollywood blockbuster silliness.
If Matt Reeves’ War for the Planet of the Apes turns out to be the reported final installment in the prequel-slash-reboot franchise, the series will be going out on its highest note. A thrilling, bold, and intelligent sort of summer blockbuster, Reeves’ second film in the franchise takes huge emotional and narrative risks with material that could have been played for camp value, but is instead embraced as a serious, thoughtful, conflicted reflection on human nature. War for the Planet of the Apes isn’t only the best film of its trilogy, but also an unlikely and refreshing candidate for one of the best films of the year.
- Toronto International Film Festival
TIFF ’12 Gallery: ‘Seven Psychopaths’ with Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken
The cast of writer and director Martin McDonagh‘s Seven Psychopaths came out in force tonight for the red carpet premier of their film at Midnight Madness during the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.
Considering the legion of fans who have been awaiting The Hunger Games movie, based on Suzanne Collins’ hit novel, there’s enough anticipation for this soon-to-be adored film that you could probably cut the tension with a (throwing) knife, but there’s lots of good news for fans. Better still, you don’t even need to be a teenager, or a fan, to enjoy this tense action-adventure.
Opening in theatres across the country: Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis turn their friendship into something more in the romantic comedy Friends With Benefits; and Chris Evans takes to wearing the stars and stripes as he takes on Red Skull in the latest Marvel superhero adaptation, Captain America: The First Avenger.
It’s that time of year again. The 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, has revealed the full list of actors, stars, celebrities, and filmmakers expected at this year’s event, and once again it includes some of the biggest names in the world.
New arrivals on DVD and Blu-ray this week include the comic-book mashup, Defendor, starring Woody Harrelson; plus the 1960s rock comedy, Pirate Radio, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy.