The following table of contents includes our complete coverage of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, as written by Brian Tallerico, Robert Daniels, Marya E. Gates, and Tomris Laffly.  TIFF 2021 Preview: 20 Films We Can’t Wait to See by Brian Tallerico “Dear Evan Hansen” by Robert Daniels  TIFF 2021: Violet, A Banquet, Kicking Blood by Brian…

The Midnight Madness program at the Toronto International Film Festival is always one of the most popular, premiering major films like David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” alongside independent genre flicks from around the world. While the electricity of actually being in the room as a new horror hit unfolds is impossible to replicate at home, two…

“You can’t teach American history without talking about Pauli Murray,” we’re told early on in “My Name is Pauli Murray.” You may agree by the end of this informative documentary. Directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West let their subject narrate an incredible life that influenced students, civil rights leaders and more than one future Supreme…

Once she gets offstage, the real-life musical act St. Vincent loses her red-lipstick allure and becomes Annie Clark. No longer beholden to an audience that expects a larger-than-life entity, Annie relaxes into pedestrian activities and a less than exciting lifestyle that involves playing Scrabble. This presents a problem in the meta fiction of “The Nowhere Inn,” because Annie’s best…

There’s something mighty bizarre with Sion Sono’s “Prisoners of the Ghostland,” unrelated to when Nicolas Cage screams, “I’ll karate chop you! Hi-f**king-ya!” Yes, there are fleeting delights to be had from this movie, especially if one loves to be surprised by absurd production design. East literally meets West in this world, as samurai and Western iconography…

The profile doc is a tough form to navigate. They so often come off as little more than hagiography, hitting life highlights of public figures in a manner that does little to humanize them. The truth is that no documentarian is going to dedicate the time to make a profile doc without interest in the…