A First Look At Fall Festivals

Oscar season is upon us which means we can take a look at some of the big titles making their debut. Let's take a quick look at some of the movies to keep an eye on at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival.

After The Hunt

Luca Guadagnino deserves more respect. The fact that neither Challengers nor Queer got a single Oscar nomination last year is a travesty. His next movie, After the Hunt will be having its North American debut at New York Film Festival as the opening night film. It stars Julia Roberts as a college professor who's life is thrown into disarray after her colleague and friend (Andrew Garfield) is accused of sexual assault by a student (Ayo Edebiri).

Is This Thing On?

People give Bradley Cooper shit for being vocal about wanting to win an Oscar, but there's a certain earnestness to this behavior that I really like. Coming off his losses for Silver Linings Playbook (as an actor, and he should have won), A Star is Born, and Maestro, he is directing Is This Thing On?. It stars Will Arnett and Laura Dern as a couple who are divorcing and the midlife crises that ensue. This will be the World Premiere on closing night.

Cover-Up

My favorite documentary from 2022 was All The Beauty and the Bloodshed and Cover-Up is the next documentary from Laura Poitras. It chronicles the storied 60-year career of political journalist Seymour Hersh so this is likely a film to keep in mind come awards season. It is playing at both New York Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.

A House of Dynamite

I think this will be the film that pulls Kathryn Bigelow out of her slump. The last three movies she's directed (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, and Detroit) have not been great (fight me), but a thriller about a missile of unknown origin headed for a US city starring Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson is definitely on my radar, no pun intended. It is playing at New York Film Festival.

Jay Kelly

Having not seen any of these movies, I think Noah Baumbach directing George Clooney playing the last great movie star in a crisis is going to get Clooney another Oscar nomination, if not win. I'm also always a fan of Adam Sandler in a dramatic role. It is playing at New York Film Festival.

Magellan

Huh, Gael Garcia Bernal is playing Magellan in a biopic. The more you know. This is playing at both New York Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.

Sentimental Value

I loved The Worst Person in the World and Joachim Trier is reuniting with Renate Reinsve for his next movie about an actress reuniting with her estranged father. Stellan Skarsgard and Elle Fanning also star. Sentimental Value is playing at both New York Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

The decision to add "Springsteen" to the title appears to be Disney learning from the Thunderbolts* mistake because a good amount of people would not have known a movie called Deliver Me From Nowhere was the Bruce Springsteen biopic. Jeremy Allen White stars and the premiere will be the Gala showcase at the New York Film Festival.

Blue Moon

Richard Linklater teams up with Ethan Hawke? I'm seated. This movie is playing at both New York Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.

Frankenstein

Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein is one of the most anticipated streaming movies of the year and it will have it's North American debut at Toronto International Film Festival.

Good Fortune

You've probably seen the trailer for Aziz Anzari's directorial debut. It will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Hamnet

Chloe Zhao returns with her next movie, a story about the life of Shakespeare through the eyes of his family as he writes while mourning the death of his son. Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley star so if that's not a recipe for success, I don't know what is. It will be playing at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Hedda

Speaking of unfairly maligned Marvel directors working on fantastic projects, Nia DaCosta directs Hedda starring Tessa Thompson as a dissatisfied newlywed in an adaptation of the play by Henrik Ibsen. It will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Poetic License

Maude Apatow makes her feature directorial debut with a college comedy about three mismatched people who find companionship with each other. It also stars Andrew Barth Feldman (No Hard Feelings) and Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza). Poetic License will make its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival.

The Smashing Machine

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson wants to be taken seriously as an actor and he's going to burn as much of A24's money as possible to make that happen. Emily Blunt also stars in this biopic about Mark Kerr in a love letter to UFC, something that feels weird in these times considering how cozy the UFC is with the White House. It will have its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Rian Johnson returns for the third Knives Out movie which, like the first two, has an all-star cast. Besides Daniel Craig returning as Benoit Blanc, it also stars Josh Brolin, Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Kerry Washington, Cailee Spaeny, Andrew Scott, Jeremy Renner, and Mila Kunis. The Toronto International Film Festival will be the world premiere before a limited theatrical run for Netflix.

Rental Family

I didn't really care for The Whale, but Brendan Frasier was fantastic in the lead. In Rental Family, he plays an American actor living in Japan dealing with imposter syndrome after taking a job as a surrogate to help people through tough life moments. Rental Family will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.