TIFF 2015 Watchlist

Article by Gabe Zia
So this weekend, I'll be once again heading to the Toronto International Film Festival, to see a variety of movies. I've been there twice before, and this year I'll be seeing some of the biggest premieres at the show. I'll be seeing a total of five films at minimum. Keep in mind that it's entirely possible I might see more films than the ones I've listed here, but it's unlikely. So, in order of which day I'll be seeing them, these are the five films I'll be seeing at TIFF 2015 (And the best film from last years festival).

Demolition

Demolition is Jake Gyllenhaals latest major oscar bait role, this one being helmed by the director of Dallas Buyers Club and Wild. Demolition follows Jake Gyllenhaal as a man whose wife dies, and he kind of loses it. Not in a Lou Bloom, murder kind of loses it, but he certainly loses his cool. What I can tell from the premise is that he essentially just starts destroying stuff. From the trailer it seems like it's his own stuff, but still.

The Martian

While I have no idea what plot points the movie will use and not use from the book, the premise of both the book and the movie is that an astronaut gets stranded on mars after a freak accident, and has to survive for 4 years on mars. While the trailer makes it all look like a really serious affair, the book itself is more of a comedy, with Mark Watney being a total comedian. As a fan of the book, I'm really looking forward to seeing Mark Watney, as well as the story as a whole, as a film.

The Danish Girl

I know this movie will make me cry, these kind of movies always do. I'm not one to hide my emotions when I'm struck with a heart breaking movie, hell I cry whenever I watch The Iron Giant. The Danish Girl follows Lili Elbe, who is a major figure in history, as she was one of the first people to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Eddie Redmayne stars in the film, along with Alicia Vikander and Ben Whishaw.

We Monsters

Every year at TIFF, there's always that one foreign movie that I know absolutely nothing about, yet it's always either the best of that year, or at least one of the most memorable. We Monsters is a German movie that follows these two parents who have to deal with the backlash after their kid commits some crime. Other than that, plot-wise, I have no idea what it's about.

Legend

Apparently Tom Hardy works like any infomercial product, you buy one, you get one free. Tom Hardy plays Reggie and Ronnie Kray, two British gangsters who did a whole bunch of organized crime related stuff during the 50s and 60s. They're also twins, which should practically be a given, considering they're both Tom Hardy. The whole double Tom Hardy thing aside, Legend looks like a really interesting film, I personally can't wait.

This Changes Everything
Global warming and climate change isn't exactly the most original of topics for a documentary, however it's a topic I'm passionate about, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it. Also, the documentaries that usually show at TIFF are pretty good, and I kind of wanted to wait for the Michael Moore one from this year to officially release.

Best of TIFF 2014: Phoenix

Phoenix told a beautiful, captivating, and heart wrenching story filled with amazing performances and a brilliant script. The story followed a German Jewish holocaust survivor, who's looking for her husband a little bit after the war ended. However, things become complicated when 1. he doesn't recognize her because of the surgery she had to go through from her injuries, and 2. she suspects that he betrayed her to the nazis. Phoenix told one of the most engrossing and compelling stories I've ever seen put to film, with a stellar cast, and one of the most remarkably real protagonists I've seen in a while.