The annual Toronto International Film Festival is just a few days away and with more than 300 films being screened in the city it’s damn near impossible to know which movie you should see or (if you’re patient) brave the rush line-up. However, because we've got the inside scoop, we've narrowed it down to the top ten must-see movies at this year’s film festival.
Hotties Adrien Brody and Hayden Christensen star in the crime action thriller American Heist, as two brothers who become entangled in a high stakes bank robbery in present-day New Orleans. Why watch: explosive action sequences and, of course, for its leading men.
Captain America’s Chris Evans makes his directorial debut in the romantic film Before We Go. Evans plays Nick who saves Alice Eve’s character Brooke from a late night train mugging in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. The result; the two spend a magical and romantic night wandering the city streets together. Why watch: for the beauty of chance romantic encounters and the hope of seeing Chris Evans without a shirt on.
If you loved Gina Prince-Bythewood’s 2000 movie Love & Basketball then you’re going to melt like a piece of butter for her latest work Beyond the Lights. Actor Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays a rising young singer who buckles under the pressures of fame and the music industry, when she unexpectedly falls in love with the police officer (Nate Parker) assigned to protect her. Why watch: for heart-breaking romance.
Foxcatcher
Still drooling over Channing Tatum’s last film Magic Mike? Then get ready to see him grace the silver screen again but this time he stars alongside Mark Ruffalo as brothers who are former Olympic wrestling champions in the psycho drama Foxcatcher. Why watch: this film is receiving a lot of buzz with its director Bennett Miller (Capote and Moneyball) walking away with the Best Director award from the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
There’s nothing we like better than hearing the rich sounds of a British accent and Benedict Cumberbatch’s latest film The Imitation Game is exactly what the doctor ordered. He stars as Alan Turing, a brilliant mathematician, cryptanalyst and computer scientist, that leads the Enigma code operation during World War II that decrypts Nazi military codes. Why watch: gripping drama and suspenseful sequences.
A Little Chaos
Kate Winslet stars in A Little Chaos as a landscape designer who is commissioned by King Louis XIV to construct the gardens at Versailles. While working she butts heads with the French king’s Chief Architect (Matthias Schoenaerts, Rust and Bone) who she becomes romantically involved with. Why watch: for the historical romantic in you.
Madame Bovary
Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland and Jane Eyre) plays a unhappy county wife who participates in a series of love affairs in the adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's classic 17th century novel Madame Bovary. Why watch: to see an updated version of a classical and well-known French story.
Miss Julie
Our third period film to see at TIFF is the steamy and raw film Miss Julie starring Jessica Chastain, Samantha Morton and, the irresistible, Colin Farrell. Set in late 1800s Ireland, Julie (Jessica Chastain) seduces her father’s senior servant, his valet John. Why watch: if not for the acting or the storyline to hear Colin Farrell’s skin tingling Irish accent.
Jake Gyllenhall stars as Lou Bloom a drifter and petty thief who becomes a crime reporter obsessed with covering the dark side of the Los Angeles night life, where he doggedly chases the most shocking and voilet scenes to sell to local television stations. Why watch: for his role as Lou, Gyllenhall lost 20 pounds; to see him play a creepy character is a sight to behold.
Wild
What do you do when self-destructive behaviour sends your life into a downward spiral? Go on an epic 1,000 mile hike into the American wilderness on your own. In this dramatization of Cheryl Strayed's best-selling memoir, Reese Witherspoon plays Strayed who struggles to overcome the traumatic experience of loss and drug addiction. Why watch: to see Reese Witherspoon on the big screen and witness the talents of Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallé©e (Dallas Buyers Club).
