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TIFF 2013 Releases Schedule and Final Announcements

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We are now less than two weeks away from when the Toronto International Film Festival tickets go on sale to the public and a mere 16 days away from the start of the actual festivities. On Tuesday morning, another slew of films were announced along with the schedule itself and a long list of celebrities set to attend the festival. I don’t know about you, but the anticipation is overwhelming me. I suppose the nervousness and excitement will dissipate somewhat when I actually know what screenings I will be attending, or it could skyrocket even higher. Either way, this is shaping up to be one hell of a festival!

Schedule:

Now, for those attending, or those simply who’d like to know what’s going on and when, you can find the full schedule by clicking here.

FInal Film List and Programmes:

If you’d like to know what films are playing at the festival, you can click here for the entire list or click the TIFF button in the main menu at the top of this page. You can also find all the programmes offered by the festival by clicking here. Essentially, all films screening at the festival are divided into groups for attendees to better understand what type of genre and themes the film will contain.

TIFF Guests:

Perhaps the most exciting news released Tuesday morning was the endless list of celebrities ready to attend the festival. Amongst the names are Benedict Cumberbatch, Meryl Streep, Rebecca Hall, Josh Broliin, Alan RIckman, Clive Owen, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Aniston, Mark Ruffalo, Elizabeth Olsen, Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman, Tom Hiddleston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nicholas Cage, Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, Ben Foster, Anton Yelchin, Liam Neeson, James McAvoy, Nicole Kidman, Felicity Jones, Ed Harris, Spike Jonze, Melissa George, Paul Giamatti, Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sarah Gadon, Colin Firth, Michael Fassbender, Jesse Eisenberg, Sandra Bullock, Chris Hemsworth, Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, Tom Wilkinson, Mia Waikowska, Owen Wilson, Steve McQueen, Jason Reitman, Keanu Reeves, Keira Knightley, Matthew McConaughey, Ti West, Eli Roth, Daniel Radcliffe, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Paulson, Oliva Wilde, Mike Myers, James Franco, Adrien Brody, Marion Cotillard, and Thandie Newton, just to name what I feel to be the most important. And honestly, I couldn’t type any more names. There is a bunch more on the list you can find here. Also, these are just the people confirmed thus far, it is expected that the likes of George Clooney and Brad Pitt, amongst others will be attending.

Jason Reitman’s Live Read:

You can find all the information below, provided by the TIFF website.

The Festival proudly welcomes back Jason Reitman’s Live Read — a unique event in which classic movie scripts are read by contemporary actors. With no rehearsal, the actors come together for a one-take read-through with Reitman narrating stage direction. In 2012, the Festival welcomed Reitman and an all-star cast — including Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Adam Driver, Sarah Gadon and George Stroumboulopoulos — for a live table read of Alan Ball’s screenplay for American Beauty. This year, Reitman is back with a surprise script from a modern classic and a new cast at the Ryerson Theatre on Friday, September 6. Details, including cast and script, for the 2013 Live Read event will be announced in early September.

IMAX Screenings:

New this year, audiences are invited to be part of the action with two official Festival selections and two special screenings presented in spectacular IMAX. The two films will be Alfonso Cuaron’s “Gravity” and Keanu Reeves “Man of Tai Chi.”

Next Wave and Manifesto Announced:

You can find another plethora of titles announced by clicking here.

New Galas and Special Presentations:

Metallica Through the Never: Nimród Antal, Canada/USA, World Premiere

Dane DeHaan (The Place Beyond the Pines) stars as a Metallica roadie dispatched to hell and back in this mind-blowing mash-up of concert film and post-apocalyptic adventure, presented in IMAX 3D.

The Wizard of Oz: Victor Fleming, USA, World Premiere

Experience Judy Garland’s over-the-rainbow adventure in vivid new detail with this IMAX 3D presentation of Victor Fleming’s family classic.

10th Midnight Madness Film Unveiled:

Witching & Bitching:

Fleeing through the impenetrable forests of the Basque countryside after a jewel heist, a hapless band of robbers runs afoul of a coven of witches, in this madcap supernatural spectacle from Spanish genre specialist Alex de la Iglesia (The Last Circus).

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Okay then, that’ll do it for the pre-TIFF announcements. The Cinema Monster will be covering the festival in full, providing reviews, news, and Q and A’s as often as possible, make sure to follow our website to keep up with the festival. Also, follow The Cinema Monster on Twitter (@cinema_monster) and Facebook for up-to-the-minute news and posts, not to mention special pictures and videos provided by me from the screenings. Have a great week!

Stoker (2013)

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With Stoker, Chan-wook Park solidifies that in any language his is the master of chilling story telling and tension. The director of Oldboy and Thirst didn’t miss a step in his transfer to North American filmmaking and brought all of the qualities that make him so relevant and symbolic with him across the ocean. Assembling a cast that is anything but ordinary, Park needed an asymmetrical cast for an atypical film. Featuring Mia Wasikowska as a distant and dysfunctional teen, Nicole Kidman as her unapproachable mother, and Matthew Goode as her isolated and intriguing uncle, the cast of Stoker will collectively put you on an unnerving edge. Stoker is a psycho-sexual thriller that will leave you feeling right for all the wrong reasons.

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India Stoker (Wasikowska) is a secluded teen who’s father has just passed away in a car accident. Now India lives alone with her mother Evelyn (Kidman) with whom she never really got along with. After her father’s funeral, India is introduced to her father’s brother, her uncle, Charlie (Goode). India has never met Charlie before and his sudden arrival after her father’s death is mysterious. When Evelyn allows Charlie to stay with them for a while, India begins to think something is suspect with her new uncle and that he may have ulterior motives under his charming and polite manner.

Stoker

You can tell that with every film he creates, Chan-wook Park does his research. He doesn’t want to shelter the audience from any detail, no matter how unrelenting or unpleasant. It’s as if he is saying “These things exist, deal with it.” Again, Chan-wook Park doesn’t tiptoe through his stories, nor does he hit you over the head with them, he simply displays the poisonous breadcrumbs for you to follow. The piano sequence between Goode and Wasikowska is so deathly seductive, it is pure brilliance. Nicole Kidman becomes an openly regret filled parent who by the middle of the film you wish would die, which is the goal she set out to achieve. Goode is both an eloquent, robotic maniac and a psychotic, emotionally unbalanced, and unconsciously sporadic head case. Mia Wasikowska is the nucleus of this bizarre coming of age tale and she deservedly steals the spotlight. Black hair, pale skin, and welcoming attire, Wasikowska is the girl next door. Her dialogue is never expressly long and she doesn’t try to make good, play nice, or save face but she is so perfectly balanced between the cute schoolgirl and depressive outcast that even after all she does, it is impossible not to like her. Clint Mansell composes another spooky score as he did for Moon and it’s cautiously optimistic and epic tones create a dreadful contradiction in the most enticing way. Stoker is another feat for Park and the cast is triumphant in their distress.

Stoker: 8.5 out of 10.

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