All of the films were screened at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Click here for additional full reviews and dispatches. Select films below will receive separate full-length reviews at a later date, most likely in connection to their public releases.

Anora

Sean Baker’s Palme d'Or-winning film is just as colorful as Gerry Marshall’s Pretty Woman but contains the chaotic nature of a Safdie brothers movie. Anora never falters with these features, but a prolonged finale diminishes it. Mikey Madison gives a solidifying performance as the titular character. She’s been on a slow rise to stardom since 2019, but thanks to Anora, she’s finally reached the top of the mountain. The supporting cast consists mainly of Russian actors, but they complement her well, especially Mark Eidelstein as Anora’s love interest, Vanya.

What makes Anora work well is how dreamy the tone is in the first act, eventually taking a more mature turn when Vanya’s family gets involved in their marriage. This turn is also where Baker owns up to the Safdie’s style, and the dialogue becomes rapid-fire with lots of overlapping and shouting. Some viewers may find it off-putting, but it works here. If anything, Anora will continue to be in the mouths of moviegoers this awards season, as it rightfully should. (4/5)

Megalopolis

One of the most talked-about movies of the summer, Megalopolis sees Francis Ford Coppola in the director’s chair for the first time in over 10 years. The drama circling around the film’s distribution doesn’t do justice as to how insane this movie is. Megalopolis is an ambitious movie that sees Coppola going all in and all out. The special effects either looked amazing or awful and the writing is unhinged and incoherent.

Yet somehow, the cast plays along with it and doesn’t seem to question Coppola’s methods and intentions. Everyone in the cast seems to go through the motions with their roles with the exception of Shia LaBeouf and Aubrey Plaza who are in a different stratosphere than the rest of the movie. Their turns fit the crazy nature of the film, but LaBeouf in particular felt annoying for the sake of being annoying. If Megalopolis is looking to make any statement, it’s that Coppola knows his craft but is nearing the end of his legendary career. (2.5/5)

Oh, Canada

Paul Schrader’s latest film starring Richard Gere and Jacob Elordi sees him at a crossroads. His most notable works have been as a collaborator with Martin Scorsese, but in the last six years, he’s had a resurgence as a director. Unfortunately, Oh, Canada doesn’t bring anything promising or unique to the forefront. Gere and Elordi play Canadian-American writer Leonard as he becomes the subject of a documentary about how he fled the US in the midst of the Vietnam War draft.

Simply put, Oh, Canada was a bland movie that saw Schrader and his leading men failing to do something special. The movie is intriguing on paper, but the execution of it makes it look like a monstrosity. There’s also a subplot where Leonard has declining memory making him an unreliable narrator. These factors unfortunately make Oh, Canada a disappointing movie overall and effort from Schrader. (2/5)

The Substance

The body horror satire that took Cannes by storm this past May, Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance is an experience unlike any other. The body horror subgenre has seen very little time in the spotlight in recent years, but Fargeat’s looking to bring it back as it features an impressive display of makeup that no one has seen from a horror film in who knows how long. The leading trio of Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid are all fantastic and own up to the satirical aspects of the movie. The only thing weighing down The Substance was the ending as it took its sweet time getting to the finish line and overstaying its 140-minute runtime. Nevertheless, The Substance was still a good time and a nice surprise for me! (4/5)

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