ScreenRant’s Protection of Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition

ScreenRant‘s crew of critics has reviewed all kinds of films whereas attending the 2025 Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition. The competition, which is also referred to as TIFF, is likely one of the most prestigious on the planet and is presently celebrating its fiftieth anniversary.

A variety of Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition motion pictures have gone on to large success. All kinds of Oscar-nominees and winners have premiered at TIFF, together with 127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire, Valuable, The Fabelmans, Silver Linings Playbook, and The King’s Speech.

Whereas it stays to be seen which motion pictures from this 12 months’s competition (which runs by means of September 14) will obtain such excessive honors, ScreenRant‘s critiques of a number of the largest titles which have already screened at TIFF 2025, which will be discovered beneath, can provide some perception into the way in which the tide is popping.

Blue Moon

Richard Linklater’s new biopic stars Ethan Hawke as Lorenz Hart, the previous writing accomplice of Richard Rodgers, who makes an attempt to cope with his emotions at a bar on the opening evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. It earned a stable rating of 7 out of 10 from Rachel Labonte. Learn an excerpt from her Blue Moon assessment beneath:

As a personality research, Blue Moon is imperfect, however its sensible framing of a pivotal second in Hart’s life elevates it. I’ll not have been on board with each second, however the ending has lingered in my mind since I first noticed it, and for that cause alone, I believe Linklater has pulled off one thing virtually exceptional.

Christy

This anticipated sports activities biopic stars Euphoria and Anybody However You actor Sydney Sweeney as boxing legend Christy Martin, who’s a member of the Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Fame. The film earned 5 out of 10 from Rachel Labonte. Learn an excerpt from her Christy assessment beneath:

Slightly than being a well-rounded take a look at Martin’s life, Christy gives a shallow, unbalanced perspective. It is gentle on its ft in some components and heavy-handed in others, and although Sweeney provides a powerful efficiency, I can not assist however really feel like she deserved a greater showcase for her skills.

Driver’s Ed

Driver’s Ed, which was directed by Bobby Farrelly (There’s One thing About Mary), stars White Lotus season 3 breakout Sam Nivola as a youngster who decides to go on a highway journey utilizing a automotive he stole from his driver’s ed trainer. It earned a rating of 6 out of 10 from Rachel Labonte.

Learn an excerpt from her Driver’s Ed assessment beneath:

Driver’s Ed hardly reinvents the wheel with regards to the YA world, and it is from good. Nonetheless, with its string of stable laughs and a really sport solid, it makes for an entertaining journey that goes down straightforward.

The Misplaced Bus

The Misplaced Bus, which takes place through the devastating 2018 Camp Hearth in Paradise, California, was directed by Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, Captain Phillips) and follows a college bus driver (Matthew McConaughey) and a trainer (America Ferrera) making an attempt to evacuate a stranded elementary class.

The film earned a rating of 6 out of 10 from Mae Abdulbaki. Learn an excerpt from her The Misplaced Bus assessment beneath:

What it lacks is greater than made up with an amazing solid, distressing moments, and a few well-shot motion. The Misplaced Bus is a reminder that there are all the time individuals on the planet who’re keen to place their lives on the road to maintain others protected, particularly in conditions they don’t have any management over, and Greengrass’ movie is a heartwarming reminder of that.

The Man In My Basement

Nadia Latif’s function directorial debut follows a down-on-his-luck Black man (Corey Hawkins) who receives a proposal to hire the basement of a mysterious older businessman (Willem Dafoe). The film, which additionally stars Anna Diop and Tamara Lawrance, earned 5 out of 10 from Mae Abdulbaki. Learn an excerpt from her The Man in My Basement assessment beneath:

The Man in My Basement isn’t probably the most riveting movie, and it’ll battle to take care of your consideration. Its themes have been higher tackled in different movies but it surely has its deserves. An excellent solid and persistence will show solely considerably rewarding, even when the journey to get there may be shaky and greater than a bit complicated.

Mile Finish Kicks

This romantic comedy a couple of younger lady named Grace (Barbie Ferreira) getting a job as a music critic at a male-dominated publication additionally stars Jay Baruchel, Devon Bostick, and Juliette Gariépy. Learn an excerpt from Mae Abdulbaki’s unscored Mile Finish Kicks assessment beneath:

Grace is a superb protagonist and, although the romance factor of her life might have been performed up a tad extra, there’s a lot baked into her story that’s price investing in. Full of heartfelt moments and hardships amidst Grace’s rising younger maturity pains, [director Chandler] Levack’s movie performs like a brand new music album that’s acquainted but thrilling.

The Wizard Of The Kremlin

The Wizard of the Kremlin is the newest movie from Clouds of Sils Maria director Olivier Assayas. The satirical political thriller stars Paul Dano as Vadim Baranov, an artist turned corrupt politician within the Nineties Soviet Union whose story intersects with the rise of Vladimir Putin (Jude Legislation).

The Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition film, which additionally stars Alicia Vikander, Tom Sturridge, and Jeffrey Wright, earned a rating of 4 out of 10 from Graeme Guttman. Learn an excerpt from his The Wizard of the Kremlin assessment beneath:

With Assayas’ medical method, there is a stiffness that runs by means of the complete movie that undercuts the vitality of the director’s imaginative and prescient. There are moments that actually click on (Vikander singing whereas strolling a unadorned man on a leash stands out). However simply when it seems like it’ll hit the fuel, The Wizard of the Kremlin holds again, all the way in which as much as its confounding, out-of-left-field ending that’s each abrupt and fittingly bleak.