Thompson on Hollywood

#TIFF: 30 Must-See Movies

It's hard to narrow down the must-see Toronto Film Fest list to 30. After all there are 335 films at TIFF09. (I'm including movies that I've already screened in L.A., Sundance or Cannes.) Some fall openers are launching at TIFF, 100 pictures are available for acquisition, and a select few will emerge with their Oscar hopes intact. Reaction from media and audiences will determine which films earn a full-on Oscar push. And I'm listing the pictures in alphabetical order.

By Anne Thompson
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August 27, 2009 8:12 AM
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Infographic: Hollywood's $400 Million Club

It's a select club. What distinguishes Transformers Revenge of the Fallen this summer is that it joined Hollywood's elite $400-Million Club with really bad reviews.

By Anne Thompson
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August 27, 2009 7:56 AM
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Classic Cinema, Redbox Update, Batman Reality, Floating Heads

Hollywood News:Drew Barrymore's roller derby movie Whip It has a new poster and a new release date: October 2.

By Anne Thompson
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August 27, 2009 1:42 AM
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Toronto Watch: Docs Alert

There's a plethora of strong docs in the Toronto line-up this year. I am most looking forward to:

By Anne Thompson
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August 26, 2009 8:49 AM
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LACMA Film Program Saved, Housing Unit for Aged to Close

There's good news and bad news.

By Anne Thompson
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August 26, 2009 8:19 AM
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Tarantino Watch: Poster, Lists, Future

Check out this unused Inglourious Basterds poster submitted by James Goodridge and passed on by the Weinsteins.

By Anne Thompson
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August 26, 2009 7:11 AM
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Five or Six Things I Learned at the Extract Premiere

1. Mike Judge is a terrific writer and not such a terrific movie director. Extract is one of those comedies that reads hilarious on the page and flattens on execution. Judge makes Kevin Smith and John Waters, who are also snappier writers than they are directors, look like geniuses. (And I love King of the Hill.)

By Anne Thompson
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August 26, 2009 6:30 AM
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Jolie Considering Wanted 2

Right now, Universal Pictures needs a few good tentpoles, like Wanted 2. And right now they are sitting on pins and needles waiting for word to come back from Angelina Jolie, who is reading the new Wanted 2 script. Russian director Timur Bekmambetov has figured out a way to bring her ruthless assassin back from certain death in a sequel. But Jolie has to buy it first. And Universal will have to pay Jolie. She got $15 million last time. In a period when most movie star salaries are going down, hers is moving up.

By Anne Thompson
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August 26, 2009 5:55 AM
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Awards buzz, Indie News, Disney Confab

In Indie news, despite Inglourious Basterds' rousing start, the Weinsteins aren't out of the woods. They weren't taking any chances. They upped their media spend by several millions in the week before the opening, targeting their weakest link, women. It worked. The WSJ explains why the Weinsteins face a long road ahead.

By Anne Thompson
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August 25, 2009 4:00 AM
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Rotten Tomatoes vs. Metacritic

The online movie critics aggregators Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes each have their strong and weak points, supporters and detractors. I like smaller site Metacritic's lean and elegant interface and respect their brainy selection of 40 or so established film critics, whose taste and erudition I trust more than Rotten Tomatoes' less discriminating list of hundreds of critics. That group gives a better sense, however, of how a movie will actually fare with the public. And the fresh/rotten stamp is delicious.