Toronto International Film Festival 2018 Scorecard
The Toronto International Film Festival is a curious place: provenance of Oscar hopefuls and the relentless awards campaigning they inspire, and yet also home to some of the gnarliest in cutting-edge midnight movies. This year is no different as the fest’s 43rd iteration brings premieres from the likes of Steve McQueen (Widows) and Claire Denis (High Life) and Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk), Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut (A Star Is Born) and a Neil Armstrong biopic from Damien Chazelle starring Ryan Gosling (First Man), along with hotly anticipated horror such as The Predator and Halloween.
With this year’s celebration officially over, three films have emerged as the best-reviewed of the festival: timely social drama The Hate U Give, road comedy Green Book with Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, and Julianne Moore’s dance-happy Gloria Bell. Ash Is Purest White remains in the top spot overall, on the strength of its reviews lodged since premiering at Cannes back in May. At the bottom of the list is Xavier Dolan, who previously made a splash with Mommy and Heartbeats, getting the worst reviews of his career for The Death and Life of John F. Donovan. —Alex Vo
#224
Critics Consensus: Ash Is Purest White finds writer-director Zhangke Jia revisiting familiar themes while continuing to observe modern Chinese society with an urgent, empathetic eye.
Synopsis: In an industrial city in China, a young dancer named Qiao falls in love with a mobster named Bin. When
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#223
Critics Consensus: Wildlife's portrait of a family in crisis is beautifully composed by director Paul Dano -- and brought brilliantly to life by a career-best performance from Carey Mulligan.
Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Joe is the only child of Jeanette and Jerry -- a housewife and a golf pro -- in a
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#222
Critics Consensus: Understated yet ultimately deeply affecting, Shoplifters adds another powerful chapter to director Hirokazu Koreeda's richly humanistic filmography.
Synopsis: On the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders is united by fierce loyalty and a penchant for petty
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#221
Critics Consensus: Deftly directed and laced with dark wit, Can You Ever Forgive Me? proves a compelling showcase for deeply affecting work from Richard E. Grant and Melissa McCarthy.
Synopsis: Lee Israel is a frustrated, hard-drinking author who can barely afford to pay her rent or bills in 1990s New
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#220
Critics Consensus: Led by a breakout turn from Amandla Stenberg, the hard-hitting The Hate U Give emphatically proves the YA genre has room for much more than magic and romance.
Synopsis: Starr Carter is constantly switching between two worlds -- the poor, mostly black neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy,
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#219
Critics Consensus: Free of visual or narrative embellishments, Gloria Bell rests almost completely on Julianne Moore's performance in the title role -- and she's gloriously up to the task.
Synopsis: A free-spirited divorcee spends her nights on the dance floor, joyfully letting loose at clubs around Los Angeles. She soon
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#218
Critics Consensus: Green Book takes audiences on an excessively smooth ride through bumpy subject matter, although Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen's performances add necessary depth.
Synopsis: Dr. Don Shirley is a world-class African-American pianist who's about to embark on a concert tour in the Deep South
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#217
Critics Consensus: Too Late to Die Young uses one family's experiences as the foundation for a dreamily absorbing drama with a poignant, lingering warmth.
Synopsis: During the summer of 1990 in Chile, three kids face their first loves and fears.
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#216
Critics Consensus: Meeting Gorbachev plays to filmmaker Werner Herzog's endlessly inquisitive strengths -- and reveals the fascinating story of a pivotal political figure.
Synopsis: Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, sits down with filmmaker Werner Herzog to discuss his many achievements. Topics
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#215
Critics Consensus: Free Solo depicts athletic feats that many viewers will find beyond reason - and grounds the attempts in passions that are all but universal.
Synopsis: Alex Honnold completes the first free solo climb of famed El Capitan's 3,000-foot vertical rock face at Yosemite National Park.
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#214
Critics Consensus: Monrovia, Indiana finds Frederick Wiseman observing the citizens of one small American town with his typically patient - and ultimately revealing - approach.
Synopsis: Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman documents the day-to-day experiences of living and working in the farming community of Monrovia, Ind.
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#213
Critics Consensus: Whether you're a guitar lover, a student of New York City history, or simply interested in celebrating a deep commitment to craft, Carmine Street Guitars strikes a chord.
Synopsis: Five days in the life of Carmine Street Guitars.
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#212
Critics Consensus: Dead Souls excavates a government's sins with personal accounts that preserve the past while illuminating the problems of the present.
Synopsis: In Gansu Province, northwest China, lie the remains of countless prisoners abandoned in the Gobi Desert sixty years ago. Designated
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#211
Critics Consensus: Girl uses one aspiring dancer's story as the framework for a poignant drama that approaches its difficult themes with fittingly alluring grace.
Synopsis: Lara, a 15-year-old girl who was born in a boy's body, is committed to becoming a professional ballerina.
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#210
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: An introverted teen tries to find his place in a world of violence after he is sent to his father's
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#209
Critics Consensus: In Fabric's gauzy giallo allure weaves a surreal spell, blending stylish horror and dark comedy to offer audiences a captivating treat.
Synopsis: A lonely divorcee visits a bewitching London department store to find a dress to transform her life. She soon finds
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#208
Critics Consensus: What They Had finds laughter and tears in its portrait of a family at a crossroads, with writer-director Elizabeth Chomko getting outstanding performances out of a talented cast.
Synopsis: After her ailing mother wanders off during a blizzard, Bridget returns to her childhood home in Chicago, accompanied by her
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#207
Critics Consensus: Anthropocene: The Human Epoch offers a sobering -- and visually ravishing - look at the horrific ecological damage wrought by modern human civilization.
Synopsis: Filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky travel the globe to document the impact humans have made on
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#206
Critics Consensus: The Load (Teret) sifts through the wreckage of a horrific conflict to tell the story of a man faced with impossible choices -- and their consequences.
Synopsis: During the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, a truck driver is tasked with transporting a mysterious load from Kosovo
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#205
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#204
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Two young women are desperate to escape their repressive small town, but a night of bad decisions threatens their dreams
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#203
Critics Consensus: Skin could stand to go a bit deeper below its surface, but a worthy story and a committed performance from Jamie Bell make this timely drama well worth a watch.
Synopsis: A young man makes the dangerous choice to leave the white supremacist gang he joined as a teenager. With his
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#202
Critics Consensus: Equal parts empathy and outrage, Rosie offers a heartbreaking glimpse of economic insecurity that will hit many viewers uncomfortably close to home.
Synopsis: A woman, her husband and their four children find themselves homeless after their landlord sells their house. Over the next
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#201
Critics Consensus: Searching for Ingmar Bergman serves as an engaging introduction to its subject's life and work that should entertain Bergman novices as well as diehard fans.
Synopsis: An examination of Ingmar Bergman's life and influence on filmmaking.
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#200
Critics Consensus: Roma finds writer-director Alfonso Cuarón in complete, enthralling command of his visual craft - and telling the most powerfully personal story of his career.
Synopsis: Cleo is one of two domestic workers who help Antonio and Sofía take care of their four children in 1970s
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#199
Critics Consensus: Widows rounds up a stellar ensemble for a heist thriller that mixes popcorn entertainment with a message - and marks another artistic leap for director Steve McQueen.
Synopsis: A police shootout leaves four thieves dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago. Their widows -- Veronica, Linda,
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#198
Critics Consensus: Observational, insightful, and ultimately powerful, 3 Faces adds another quietly thought-provoking chapter to writer-director Jafar Panahi's filmography.
Synopsis: Actress Behnaz Jafari is distraught when she comes across a young girl's video plea for help after her family prevents
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#197
Critics Consensus: With appealing leads, deft direction, and an affecting love story, A Star Is Born is a remake done right -- and a reminder that some stories can be just as effective in the retelling.
Synopsis: Seasoned musician Jackson Maine discovers -- and falls in love with -- struggling artist Ally. She has just about given
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#196
Critics Consensus: Birds of Passage traces the familiar arc of the drug crime thriller from a different direction that's as visually absorbing as it is hard-hitting.
Synopsis: The origins of the Colombian drug trade, as seen through eyes of an indigenous Wayuu family that becomes involved in
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#195
Critics Consensus: High Life is as visually arresting as it is challenging, confounding, and ultimately rewarding - which is to say it's everything film fans expect from director Claire Denis.
Synopsis: Monte and his baby daughter are the last survivors of a damned and dangerous mission to the outer reaches of
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#194
Critics Consensus: Mid90s tells a clear-eyed yet nostalgic coming-of-age tale that might mark the start of an auspicious new career for debuting writer-director Jonah Hill.
Synopsis: In 1990s Los Angeles, a 13-year-old spends his summer navigating between a troubled home life and a crew of new
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#193
Critics Consensus: Stocked with solid performances, Freaks is a clever sci-fi/horror hybrid that suggests a bright future for co-writers/co-directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein.
Synopsis: Kept locked inside the house by her father, 7-year-old Chloe lives in fear and fascination of the outside world. It's
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#192
Critics Consensus: Intriguing albeit flawed, Vox Lux probes the allures and pitfalls of modern celebrity with intelligence, visual style, and an assured Natalie Portman performance.
Synopsis: Celeste is a 13-year-old music prodigy who survives a horrific school shooting in Staten Island, N.Y., in 1999. Her talent
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#191
Critics Consensus: With a brilliantly stark visual aesthetic to match its lean narrative, Cold War doesn't waste a moment of its brief running time -- and doesn't skimp on its bittersweet emotional impact.
Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of the 1950s Cold War in Poland, two people of differing backgrounds and temperaments begin an
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#190
Critics Consensus: Burning patiently lures audiences into a slow-burning character study that ultimately rewards the viewer's patience -- and subverts many of their expectations.
Synopsis: Jong-soo runs into Hae-mi, a girl who once lived in his neighborhood, and she asks him to watch her cat
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#189
Critics Consensus: Thrilling, unpredictable, and brilliantly acted, Border (Gräns) offers a singular treat to genre fans looking for something different.
Synopsis: Customs officer Tina is known for her extraordinary sense of smell. It's almost as if she can sniff out the
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#188
Critics Consensus: Fahrenheit 11/9 finds Michael Moore in fine fighting form, delivering a political call to action that ranks among his most effective works.
Synopsis: Filmmaker Michael Moore predicted that Donald Trump would become the 45th president of the United States. Traveling across the country,
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#187
Critics Consensus: Brutally powerful and brilliantly filmed, Donbass illustrates man's inhumanity with visceral effectiveness.
Synopsis: In the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine, mid-2010s: a hybrid war takes place, involving an open armed conflict alongside killings
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#186
Critics Consensus: Formally familiar but a brilliant match for its lead, Colette is a thoroughly entertaining biopic and an overdue testament to Keira Knightley's underrated gifts.
Synopsis: After moving to Paris, author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette agrees to ghostwrite a semi-autobiographical novel for her husband. Its success soon inspires
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#185
Critics Consensus: If Beale Street Could Talk honors its source material with a beautifully filmed adaptation that finds director Barry Jenkins further strengthening his visual and narrative craft.
Synopsis: In early 1970s Harlem, daughter and wife-to-be Tish vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have connected her and
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#184
Critics Consensus: A well-told story brought to life by a beautifully matched cast, The Old Man & the Gun is pure, easygoing entertainment for film fans - and a fitting farewell to a legend.
Synopsis: At the age of 70, Forrest Tucker makes an audacious escape from San Quentin, conducting an unprecedented string of heists
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#183
Critics Consensus: Challenging and rewarding in equal measure, Climax captures writer-director Gaspar Noé working near his technically brilliant and visually distinctive peak.
Synopsis: When members of a dance troupe are lured to an empty school, drug-laced sangria causes their jubilant rehearsal to descend
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#182
Critics Consensus: Well-acted and sharply written, Non-Fiction finds writer-director Olivier Assayas working in a comedic vein that channels classic forebears while remaining utterly fresh.
Synopsis: Alain is in his 40s and runs a famous publishing house which publishes novels by his friend Léonard, a bohemian
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#181
Critics Consensus: Rafiki tells a familiar story with bracing originality, marking director/co-writer Wanuri Kahiu as a talent to watch.
Synopsis: Kena and Ziki live very different lives in Nairobi. Kena works in her father's shop and awaits the start of
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#180
Critics Consensus: Giant Little Ones puts a complex and refreshingly nuanced spin on the traditional coming of age drama, further elevated by the admirable efforts of a talented cast.
Synopsis: Franky Winter and Ballas Kohl have been best friends since childhood. They are high school royalty: handsome, stars of the
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#179
Critics Consensus: Transit lives up to its title with a challenging drama that captures characters - and puts the audience - in a state of flux and exerts an unsettling pull.
Synopsis: The new masterwork from the director of Phoenix and Barbara. A film by Christian Petzold.
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#178
Critics Consensus: A remarkable debut that sadly serves as its creator's epitaph, An Elephant Sitting Still offers an uncompromisingly grim yet poignant portrait of life in modern China.
Synopsis: A teenager injures a school bully by accident.
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#177
Critics Consensus: Maria by Callas offers an intimate look at the life of a brilliantly talented artist whose absorbing story matches the operatic heights reached by her work.
Synopsis: Never-before-seen footage and performances offer insight into the life and career of renowned opera singer Maria Callas.
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#176
Critics Consensus: The Wild Pear Tree uses a young man's post-graduation experience to pose thoughtful, engaging questions about life in modern Turkey -- and the rest of the world.
Synopsis: A father's debts thwart the efforts of a young, ambitious writer to be published.
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#175
Critics Consensus: Loro uses the larger-than-life exploits of an infamous public figure to present a messily compelling snapshot of how power attracts -- and corrupts.
Synopsis: A wheeler-dealer weasels his way into the inner circle of Silvio Berlusconi, a wealthy and controversial Italian politician.
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#174
Critics Consensus: Beautifully filmed and inventively choreographed, Shadow is a thrilling and visually sumptuous wuxia epic that finds director Zhang Yimou near peak form.
Synopsis: To finally achieve victory over a rival kingdom, a brilliant general devises an intricate plan involving his wife, a look-alike
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#173
Critics Consensus: Anchored in empathy by writer-director-star Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased proves the road to complex, powerfully performed drama can also be paved with good intentions.
Synopsis: Jared Eamons, the son of a small-town Baptist pastor, must overcome the fallout after being outed as gay to his
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#172
Critics Consensus: Hotel by the River finds writer-director Hong Sang-soo revisiting familiar themes from fresh perspectives -- and telling a story that potently distills his unique creative strengths.
Synopsis: Convinced he's on the verge of death, an aging poet invites his two bickering sons to an isolated hotel for
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#171
Critics Consensus: First Man uses a personal focus to fuel a look back at a pivotal moment in human history - and takes audiences on a soaring dramatic journey along the way.
Synopsis: Hoping to reach the moon by the end of the decade, NASA plans a series of extremely dangerous, unprecedented missions
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#170
Critics Consensus: Elevated by a bravura performance from Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Kindergarten Teacher is one American remake that retains its impact the second time around.
Synopsis: A teacher sees such great promise in her 5-year-old student that she goes to unreasonable lengths to protect his talent.
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#169
Critics Consensus: Refreshingly understated, Ben Is Back subverts family drama stereotypes - and provides a forum for terrific performances from Lucas Hedges and Julia Roberts.
Synopsis: Nineteen-year-old Ben Burns unexpectedly returns to his family's suburban home on Christmas Eve. Ben's mom, Holly, is relieved and welcoming
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#168
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#167
Critics Consensus: As unsettling as it is entertaining, El ángel takes an absorbingly stylish look at the horrific exploits of a real-life serial killer.
Synopsis: A teenager embarks on a murderous crime spree with a friend he hopes to impress.
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#166
Critics Consensus: The Sisters Brothers rides familiar genre trails in occasionally unexpected ways - a satisfying journey further elevated by its well-matched leading men.
Synopsis: It's 1851, and Charlie and Eli Sisters are both brothers and assassins, boys grown to men in a savage and
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#165
Critics Consensus: Mouthpiece interrogates gender norms with wit and ingenuity, portraying its main character's inner conflict through a pair of separate performances.
Synopsis: Following her mother's sudden death, an aspiring writer grapples with reconciling her feminism with her conformist choices.
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#163
Critics Consensus: Held together by a gripping lead performance from Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell is challenging and admittedly uneven, but ultimately worth the effort.
Synopsis: Becky Something is a talented but self-destructive musician who seems determined to alienate everyone around her -- even at the
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#162
Critics Consensus: Destroyer's grueling narrative is as uncompromising as Nicole Kidman's central performance, which adds extra layers to a challenging film that leaves a lingering impact.
Synopsis: As a young cop, Erin Bell went under cover to infiltrate a gang in the California desert -- with tragic
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#161
Critics Consensus: With typically sharp work from writer-director Nicole Holofcener and finely layered performances, The Land of Steady Habits is one mid-life crisis worth watching.
Synopsis: Feeling trapped in the stifling, wealthy enclave of Westport, Conn., a man retires from his job in finance and leaves
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#160
Critics Consensus: Compelling performances from an outstanding cast help Driven take audiences on an enjoyably stranger-than-fiction joyride.
Synopsis: FBI informant Jim Hoffman lures troubled automobile magnate John DeLorean to an undercover sting for cocaine trafficking.
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#159
Critics Consensus: Treating its timely themes with a deceptively light touch, Woman at War is easy to enjoy in the moment, yet its impact lingers long after the closing credits roll.
Synopsis: Halla is a 50-year-old environmental activist who crusades against the local aluminum industry in Iceland. As her actions grow bolder,
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#158
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Filmmaker Vitaliy Manskiy examines the early life of Vladimir Putin and the political machine that brought him to power.
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#157
Critics Consensus: Never Look Away fills its protracted running time with the absorbing story of an incredible life -- and its impact on the singular artist who lived it.
Synopsis: When two German art students fall in love, the girl's father, who has a devastating secret, vows to end their
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#156
Critics Consensus: Halloween largely wipes the slate clean after decades of disappointing sequels, ignoring increasingly elaborate mythology in favor of basic - yet still effective - ingredients.
Synopsis: It's been 40 years since Laurie Strode survived a vicious attack from crazed killer Michael Myers on Halloween night. Locked
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#155
Critics Consensus: Well-acted and visually stylish, Monsters and Men tells its timely story with enough compassion and complexity to make up for occasionally uneven execution.
Synopsis: Tensions rise when a young man records a police officer shooting a black motorist in a Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood.
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#154
Critics Consensus: 22 July offers a hard-hitting close-up look at the aftereffects of terrorism, telling a story with a thriller's visceral impact and the lingering emotional resonance of a drama.
Synopsis: Norway's deadliest terrorist attack, in which a right-wing extremist murders 77 teens at a youth camp in 2011, is dramatized.
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#153
Critics Consensus: Smart, stylish, and unpredictable, Ever After puts a refreshing spin on post-apocalyptic zombie horror.
Synopsis: Two years after a zombie outbreak leaves the country in ruins, two women flee their struggling community to find a
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#152
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A poet and a monk join forces to investigate the mysterious death of a concubine.
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#151
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Frustrated by his struggles as a mystery writer, Jeff Andrews (Chester Morris) visits publisher Henry Small (William Forrest). Interrupting Small's
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#150
Critics Consensus: Working Woman delivers its timely message with a polemical force that hits hard without overpowering the engrossing story.
Synopsis: With her husband's restaurant business in jeopardy, a mother of three gets a job as assistant to a powerful realtor
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#149
Critics Consensus: Diamantino casts a singularly surreal eye on an ambitious array of subjects, emerging with a cinematic experience as inscrutable as it is unforgettable.
Synopsis: When Portuguese soccer hunk Diamantino blows it in the World Cup finals, he goes from superstar to laughingstock overnight. His
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#148
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Filmmaker Maxim Pozdorovkin explores the many ways in which artificial intelligence is taking over people's lives and making them increasingly
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#147
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Ashraf Marwan, the son-in-law of President Nasser, becomes a special adviser while working as an Israeli agent.
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#146
Critics Consensus: Museum (Museo) approaches familiar genre territory from a refreshing new perspective that's as exciting visually as it is narratively.
Synopsis: In 1985 a gang of criminals steals 140 pre-Hispanic pieces from the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
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#145
Critics Consensus: Beautiful Boy sees Timothée Chalamet and Steve Carell delivering showcase work that's often powerful enough to make up for the story's muted emotional impact.
Synopsis: Teenager Nicolas Sheff seems to have it all -- good grades, editor of the school newspaper, actor, artist and athlete.
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#144
Critics Consensus: Imperfect yet intriguing, The Wind offers horror fans an admirably ambitious story further distinguished by its fresh perspective and effective scares.
Synopsis: Lizzy is a tough, resourceful frontierswoman settling a remote stretch of land on the 19th-century American frontier. Isolated from civilization
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#143
Critics Consensus: Potentially insurmountable for viewers not attuned to the director's wavelength, The Image Book is typically confounding - and ultimately rewarding - late-period Godard.
Synopsis: Jean-Luc Godard provides social commentary during a montage of digitally altered, color-saturated film clips.
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#142
Critics Consensus: Quincy presents an undeniably entertaining overview of its subject's remarkable life and career, albeit one that may leave some viewers wishing it had dug a little deeper.
Synopsis: An intimate look at the life of Quincy Jones, a music industry giant and winner of 27 Grammys.
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#141
Critics Consensus: What You Gonna Do When the World's On Fire? traces the aftershocks of race-motivated violence in thoughtful, impressionistic fashion.
Synopsis: During the summer of 2017, a string of brutal killings of black men in the United States sent shock waves
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#140
Critics Consensus: Dogman offers a grim character study set apart by Marcello Fonte's performance and director Matteo Garrone's tight grip on the material.
Synopsis: Marcello is a mild-mannered dog groomer who commits petty crimes for Simoncino, a former boxer who terrorizes the neighborhood. When
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#139
Critics Consensus: Its depiction of real-life horror will strike some as exploitative, but Hotel Mumbai remains a well-made dramatization of tragic events.
Synopsis: November 26, 2008 ... terror struck the heart of India. From the producer of Sicario and Wind River.
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#138
Critics Consensus: While it may leave some viewers wishing for a more in-depth exploration of its story and themes, J.T. Leroy offers a diverting dramatization of incredible real-life events.
Synopsis: A young woman named Savannah Knoop spends six years pretending to be the celebrated author JT LeRoy, the made-up literary
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#137
Critics Consensus: American Dharma offers a fascinating glimpse of a political influencer's public persona - and a frustrating missed opportunity to interrogate his actions and stated beliefs.
Synopsis: A portrait of political strategist Stephen K. Bannon.
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#136
Critics Consensus: Teen Spirit tells a story we know by heart, but writer-director Max Minghella's connection to the material and Elle Fanning's remarkable performance add an effective hook.
Synopsis: A shy teenager dreams of escaping her small town and pursuing her passion to sing. With the help of an
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#135
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A man working as a war reporter is taken hostage in Syria before heading to India after his captivity.
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#134
Critics Consensus: Hold the Dark's unsettling aesthetic offers more of what filmgoers expect from director Jeremy Saulnier - and is often enough to prop up shaky narrative underpinnings.
Synopsis: Summoned to a remote Alaskan village to search for the wolves that killed three children, a wolf expert soon finds
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#133
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A free-spirited woman is torn between two very different men.
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#132
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#131
Critics Consensus: Capernaum hits hard, but rewards viewers with a smart, compassionate, and ultimately stirring picture of lives in the balance.
Synopsis: After fleeing his negligent and abusive parents, a hardened, streetwise 12-year-old boy sues them to protest the life they've given
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#130
Critics Consensus: Jirga movingly depicts the weight of a soldier's grief -- and the human capacity for change and forgiveness in the wake of awful tragedy.
Synopsis: A former Australian soldier finds the family of a civilian he accidentally killed during the war, and he returns to
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#129
Critics Consensus: The Good Girls uses its period setting and specific character canvas to explore the widely relatable struggle for perceived social status.
#128
Critics Consensus: The Command plumbs the depths of real-life disaster to tell an uneven yet reasonably diverting story of lives caught between bureaucracy and certain doom.
Synopsis: On Aug. 12, 2000, explosions aboard the Russian submarine Kursk cause it to sink during a naval exercise in the
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#127
Critics Consensus: Black '47 anchors its grim and gritty action in deceptively deep genre storytelling, although its epic ambitions arguably exceed its grasp.
Synopsis: In 1847 an Irish mercenary fighting for the British army abandons his post to seek revenge on those responsible for
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#126
Critics Consensus: Smart and well-acted, The Hummingbird Project marks a flawed yet undeniably intriguing addition to writer-director Kim Nguyen's filmography.
Synopsis: Cousins Vincent and Anton are players in the high-stakes game of high-frequency trading, where winning is measured in milliseconds. Their
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#125
Critics Consensus: Asako I & II's high-concept premise is anchored by thought-provoking themes and confident, compelling work from director Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
Synopsis: Asako meets and falls madly in love with drifter Baku who one day drifts right out of her life. Two
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#124
Critics Consensus: Peterloo proves writer-director Mike Leigh's populist anger remains undimmed - but that righteous fury occasionally overpowers the narrative.
Synopsis: In 1819 a cavalry charge on a peaceful protest at St. Peter's Field in Manchester, England, results in the Peterloo
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#123
Critics Consensus: The Front Runner exhumes the wreckage of a political campaign with well-acted wit, even if it neglects to truly analyze the issues it raises.
Synopsis: Gary Hart, former senator of Colorado, becomes the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1987. Hart's intelligence, charisma and
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#122
Critics Consensus: Solid work from the cast - particularly a scene-stealing Matthew McConaughey - helps White Boy Rick make up for a number of missed opportunities in the script.
Synopsis: Rick Wershe is a single father who's struggling to raise two teenagers during the height of the crack epidemic in
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#121
Critics Consensus: Assassination Nation juggles exploitation and socially aware elements with mixed results, but genre fans may find it too stylish and viscerally energetic to ignore.
Synopsis: High school senior Lily and her three best friends live in a haze of texts, posts, selfies and chats --
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#120
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Rejected by her fellow villagers, a mute woman relentlessly hunts down a wolf that is said to be prowling in
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#119
Critics Consensus: An ambitious blend of comedy, thriller, and social commentary, The Fall of the American Empire lightens its heavy message with refreshing intelligence and wit.
Synopsis: A man arrives on the scene of a robbery and finds two bags full of money.
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#118
Critics Consensus: Everybody Knows is somewhat less than the sum of its parts despite the efforts of an outstanding cast - and a disappointing step back for writer-director Asghar Farhadi.
Synopsis: Laura and her two children travel from Argentina to Spain to attend her sister's wedding. The joyful reunion soon turns
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#117
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In the 1940s, Indo-Pakistani writer Saadat Hasan Manto's artistic choices are challenged by censors.
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#116
Critics Consensus: Where Hands Touch is noteworthy for its exploration of a little-discussed corner of World War II, even if its story leaves something to be desired in the telling.
Synopsis: In 1944, a 15-year-old girl, daughter of a white German mother and a black African father, meets a member of
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#115
Critics Consensus: Donnybrook has a solid cast and noble intentions, but they're overwhelmed by surface storytelling and unrelentingly grim violence.
Synopsis: A former U.S. Marine trains to compete in a vicious bare-knuckle fight where the winner gets a $100,000 prize.
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#114
Critics Consensus: Dazzling, but a little dull, ANIARA's impeccable production design is undermined by its underwhelming philosophical pondering.
Synopsis: When a spacecraft carrying settlers to Mars strays off course, the consumption-obsessed passengers are prompted to consider their place in
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#113
Critics Consensus: Touch Me Not deserves admiration for its efforts to debunk stereotypes and further a necessary dialogue, even if the execution never lives up to those lofty ambitions.
Synopsis: A filmmaker and her characters begin a personal research project about intimacy.
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#112
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Two exceptionally close sisters discover secrets about each other after their father becomes ill.
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#111
Critics Consensus: Muddy and bloody to a fault, Outlaw King doesn't skimp on the medieval battle scenes, but tends to lose track of the fact-based legend at the heart of its story.
Synopsis: After being crowned King of Scotland, legendary warrior Robert the Bruce is forced into exile by the English and leads
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#110
Critics Consensus: The Predator has violence and quips to spare, but its chaotically hollow action adds up to another missed opportunity for a franchise increasingly defined by disappointment.
Synopsis: From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. The universe's most lethal
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#109
Critics Consensus: While solidly cast and competently helmed, A Million Little Pieces amounts to little more than a well-intentioned but unpersuasive echo of a deeply problematic memoir.
Synopsis: A young writer checks into a Minnesota rehabilitation center for drug addiction.
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#108
Critics Consensus: A fascinating real-life story dramatized in perplexingly dull fashion, Red Joan wastes its tale's incredible intrigue -- as well as the formidable talents of Judi Dench.
Synopsis: Joan Stanley is a widow living out a quiet retirement in the suburbs when, shockingly, the British Secret Service places
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#107
Critics Consensus: Girls of the Sun has the best of intentions, but this worthy - and thoroughly timely - story is fatally undermined by its clumsily overbearing execution.
Synopsis: Bahar is the leader of the Girls of the Sun, a battalion of women in Kurdistan who are fighting women
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#106
Critics Consensus: A mawkish melodrama that means less the more it tries to say, Life Itself suggests writer-director Dan Fogelman's talents are best suited to television.
Synopsis: College sweethearts Will and Abby fall in love, get married and prepare to bring their first child into the world.
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#105
Critics Consensus: Nekrotonic has plenty of oddball energy, but this horror-comedy hybrid mashes up ingredients without much of a clear idea of what to do with them.
Synopsis: A man discovers he is a part of a secret sect of magical demon hunters called the Nekromancers.
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#104
Critics Consensus: The Death and Life of John F. Donovan finds writer-director Xavier Dolan flailing at profundity with a technically assured drama that never makes sense of its own ideas.
Synopsis: A young actor reminisces about a dead American TV star and the correspondence they shared.
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