TIFF 2011 Scorecard

This year's visit to the Toronto International Film Festival was the best so far. I saw twenty-nine movies in total (it would have been thirty had I been successful in rushing Le Havre) and there were many good ones (though none quite on par with last year's Black Swan). Here are my ratings for each of the films. Film titles link to reviews at Awards Daily and these will probably serve as the full reviews for the films... I really need to be writing my thesis instead of reviews. (Ha.)

Best of the fest

The Descendants ★★★★★

(Alexander Payne, USA)

Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer.

Runner up

 

Shame ★★★★★

(Steve McQueen, UK)

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan

  And the rest of my screening list (in order of viewing):

Pina ★★★★

(Wim Wenders, Germany) 

Documentary

We Need to Talk About Kevin ★★★★½

(Lynne Ramsay, UK)

Starring: Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller, John C. Reilly.

The Artist ★★★★

(Michel Hazanavicius, France)

Starring: Jean DuJardin, Berenice Bejo, James Cromwell, John Goodman.

Moneyball ★★★½

(Bennett Miller, USA)

Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright.

Take this Waltz ★★★★

(Sarah Polley, Canada)

Starring: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby, Sarah Silverman 

The Skin I Live in ★★

(Pedro Almodóvar, Spain)

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes 

Rampart ★★★★

(Oren Moverman, USA)

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright, Ned Beatty, Ben Foster, Ice Cube, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon

388 Arletta Avenue ★★★½

(Randall Cole, Canada)

Starring: Nick Stahl, Mia Kirshner

Dark Horse ★★★½

(Todd Solondz, USA)

Starring: Jordan Gelber, Selma Blair, Mia Farrow, Donna Murphy, Christopher Walken

Martha Marcy May Marlene ★★★★½

(Sean Durkin, USA)

Starring: Elizaeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, John Hawkes, Hugh Dancy

Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding ★★★★½

(Bruce Beresford, USA)

Starring: Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Elizabeth Olsen, Nat Wolff

Monsieur Lazhar ★★★½

(Phillipe Falardeau, Canada)

Starring: Fellag, Sophie Nelisse, Émilien Neron, Danielle Proulx, Brigitte Poupart
 

Pariah ★★★★

(Dee Rees, USA)

Starring: Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Aasha Davis, Charles Parnell, Kim Wayans

Carre Blanc ★★½

(Jean-Baptiste Léonetti, France/Luxembourg/Russia/Belgium/Switzerland)

Starring: Sami Bouajila, Julie Gayet

  

That Summer ★

(Phillipe Garrel, France/Italy/Switzerland) 

Starring: Monica Bellucci, Louis Garrel, Céline Sallette, Jérôme Robart

Kotoko ★★★

(Shinya Tsukamoto, Japan)

Starring: Cocco

Hysteria ★★★½

(Tanya Wexler, USA/UK/Luxembourg/France)

Starring: Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jonathan Pryce, Felicity Jones, Rupert Everett

Take Shelter ★★★★½

(Jeff Nichols, USA)

Starring: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain

Tyrannosaur ★★★★

(Paddy Considine, UK)

Starring: Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan

Wuthering Heights ★★★★

(Andrea Arnold, UK)

Starring: James Howson, Kaya Scodelario Steve Evets, Nichola Burley

Winnie★★★½

(Darrell Roodt, Canada/South Africa)

Starring: Jennifer Hudson, Terrence Howard, Elias Koteas, Wendy Crewson

 

Nuit #1 ★½

(Anne Emond, Canada)

Starring; Catherine De Léan, Dimitri Storoge

The Deep Blue Sea ★★★

(Terence Davies, UK)

Starring: Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston, Simon Russell Beale

Albert Nobbs ★★★★

(Rodrigo Garcia, Ireland)

Starring: Glenn Close, Janet McTeer, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, Brendan Gleeson

 Violet & Daisy  ★★★

(Geoffrey Fletcher, USA)

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Alexis Bledel, James Gandolfini, Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Page Eight ★★★★

 (David Hare, UK)

Starring: Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Judy Davis

Countdown ★★★★ 

(Huh Jong-ho, South Korea)

Starring: Jung Jae-young, Jeon Do-youn

  

Best Performance of the Festival

 

Michael Fassbender in Shame (no contest)

Runner up:

Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin

Keep an eye out for these films as they appear in theatres/dvd! (Some are still without distribution, so I'll keep you updated on the good ones!) Expect to read lots about these films in the coming months: If you recall, Black Swan topped my list as 'Best of the Fest' last year and it managed to hold the top spot right through the end of the year. Will The Descendants crown 2011 or will another film top my list? Stay tuned!

What were your favourites from TIFF 2011?