OK, hold your horses, I have a NEW favourite film from the festival -- Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea, about which I knew next to nothing going in. All I heard was that Casey Affleck was the lead and it was about a man who had to deal with his brother's death. I basically spent the entire second half of the film silently weeping. It might be the best film I've seen about grief since... maybe The Sweet Hereafter? Which is a high bar. And it's not dreary or depressing at all, but raw and heartbreaking and surprisingly funny throughout. Affleck is stupendous in it, playing someone almost entirely interior and withdrawn.

SO MANY GREAT MOVIES, Y'ALL. I can't wait for these to come out so that I could talk about them here.

So glad Lonergan got to make another movie!

I love Lonergan's other stuff, so am definitely looking forward to that.

Got back from Toronto International Film Festival yesterday. 25 movies in 9 days -- no shabby, huh? (Oy. I need another week of vacation to recuperate).

Queen of Katwe was a delight, even though it hit every single sports movie beat along the way. I had more mixed feelings about David Oyelowo's other movie in the festival, A United Kingdom by Amma Asante (who did Belle a few years back), a very handsome historical biopic about Seretse Khama, the royal successor then the first democratically elected president of Botswana, who was involved in a storm of controversy for marrying a white English girl. Oyelowo is very fine, as is Rosamund Pike as his wife. It's a well-intentioned, well-acted film about worthy subject matter, but I kept wishing throughout the film that Asante would do more interesting things with the narrative structure or filmmaking style. Ah well.

Saw The Dressmaker last night. Tonally it's a bit of a mess, but the dresses are very, very pretty. If you like quirky/twisted comedy, think a dark Cold Comfort Farm, this may be for you. Judy Davis is superb.

OOH I'm always looking for Cold Comfort Farm -esque movies!

OOH I'm always looking for Cold Comfort Farm -esque movies!

Well, with a sharp edge mind you.

ION, I'm sad to report that Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was rather disappointing. I didn't know anything about it going in but was hoping my Eva Green girl crush would at least carry me through. It didn't.

So Queen of Katwe is well worth seeing if you want to see an inspirational sports-type movie about an illiterate kid triumphing over desperate poverty and a difficult family situation. Lupita Nyong'o and David Oyelowo are both great, as is Madina Nalwanga, who plays Phiona. Heartwarming and beautifully-made by Mira Nair.

Much better for my emotional state than watching the debate.

I rather enjoyed Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. You can't look too closely at some of the Physics (or just accept that Fictional Physics can be Fuzzy), but I liked the mood of it and enjoyed the effects and overall just quite liked it. (Note: When I heard there was a movie coming out, I purposely held off on reading the book, but the friend I was with has read it and said the movie stayed pretty faithful).

I've heard about Park Chan Wook's The Handmaiden (adapted liberally from Sarah Water's Fingersmith apparently) being gorgeous and lurid and kind of bonkers, but nobody told me how funny it was! I was in stitches throughout the film. It was like 2 1/2 hour-long Gothic lesbian comedy on drugs. A+++, will watch again! I haven't read the Waters novel but I assume the more... outre elements in the film were Park's invention.

Seconding all of this. I imagine there are many Buffistas who will love The Handmaiden. I'm reading the novel now so I will let you know how they compare.