Another TIFF is officially in the books, and the road to recovery is, as always, a long and arduous one. But what better way to pass the time detoxing in bed than to look back at the films that took our breath away. Here, some of our favourites…
Prisoners
Hugh Jackman stars as a father whose daughter is kidnapped, and Jake Gyllenhaal is the detective charged with finding her in Quebec filmmaker Denis Villeneuve’s powerful English language debut. As tight and tense a thriller as we’ve seen in years.
Gravity
It’s been 7 years since Alfonso Cuaron blew our minds with Children of Men, and boy was it worth the wait. Everything you’ve heard about this George Clooney and Sandra Bullock-starring lost-in-space epic is true: You’ve never seen anything like it.
12 Years a Slave
Nothing will prepare you for the gut-punch that is Steve McQueen’s searing slave drama, which after predictably nabbing Sunday’s Audience Award, officially became the Oscar frontrunner.
Labor Day
Jason Reitman returns to form with this heart-tugging tale of a withered woman who is emotionally reborn when she and her son are taken hostage by an intriguing criminal. Kate Winslet’s outstanding performance once again proves that no one directs actresses quite like Reitman.
The F Word
Daniel Radcliffe’s emergence as a seriously gifted thesp comes full circle in Michael Dowse’s charming little take on love in Toronto. Looks like everyone’s favourite boy wizard really is all grown up.
Dallas Buyers Club
Matthew McConaughey shines as a free-wheeling cowboy who suddenly becomes a key figure in the AIDS struggle after being diagnosed with the illness himself. With a meaty role in Scorsese’s upcoming Wolf of Wall Street as well, McConaughey is clearly having a moment, and should be a red carpet regular this coming awards season.
Rush
We weren’t expecting much from this biopic about rival F1 racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, but Ron Howard’s deft hand, combined with exciting performances from Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl, elevate what could have been a generic action pic.
