Wicked Part 1 Review
The Plot
The long awaited big screen adaptation of the iconic musical production that explores the hidden true story of so called Wicked witch Elphaba, classmate Glinda and the infamous Wizard of Oz before Dorothy and Toto ever followed the yellow brick road to the emerald city.
The Good
Fans of Wicked have longed to see the award winning musical, which was itself inspired by one of the most iconic films of all time, take its seemingly rightful place up on the biggest screen possible. After many years it’s safe to say that the musical prowess and lavish production value of the stage show have been successfully adapted for screen, delivering a joyously grand and cinematic musical tale.
Armed with a large array of memorable songs, including the absolutely iconic showstopper Defying Gravity, the musical charms of Wicked carries the film along at an entertaining pace which helps prevent audiences dwelling too often on its lengthy runtime. A well-chosen and reliable cast also does musical justices to all these iconic numbers, sidestepping the usual Hollywood mistake of misguidedly shoehorning Hollywood acting stars into roles clearly well outside their vocal range, such as putting Russell Crowe in Les Miserables.
Beneath green face paint and bleached blonde hair respectively, lead actresses Cynthia Erivo and pop superstar Ariana Grande respectively do fine work in playing complicated frenemies Elphaba and Glinda. Erivo hits the daunting musical heights required in her big moments and also adequately conveys the stoic tragedy of Elphaba as an outcast looking for goodness in a deceptively ugly and cruel world. Ariana Grande likewise approaches Glinda with a suitably silly falsetto charm, allowing her own vulnerable good nature to gradual reveal itself beneath a pretty pink mess of pretty popular girl clichés.
Some fans may legitimately question whether or not the film could have found more convincingly youthful stars for its leading roles rather than continuing the stage production’s custom of employing seasoned veterans in their 30s to play these roles. Erivo in particular is 37 and does often feel a far more mature screen presence when paired with the forever 17 aura of diminutive pop starlet Grande. Clearly the filmmakers felt confident that audiences would be willing to overlook this minor issue in favour of a more convincing vocal gravitas. Honestly it’s also equally hard to imagine how the film would have played out with literal teenagers thrust into such overwhelmingly iconic roles. So perhaps it was the lesser evil to simply deliver audiences what they’re truly used to seeing for these characters on stage.
Speaking of which, for fans of the original stage production the film’s wonderful inclusion of founding Broadway stars Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel is a magnificent crowd pleasing moment. Their involvement helps eases any lingering disappointment fans may have had that they didn’t get to bring the characters they helped originate to the screen themselves.
Casting wise a special mention must also go to Jeff Goldblum as the notoriously not so wondrous Wizard of Oz. His wry charm and perfectly crafted comical smugness is a fantastic fit for the role as the self-aggrandizing showman. He adds just the right splash of flamboyant gravitas to the film, helping to subtly set the stage for what fans know will be a grand and often poignant climax in the now already much awaited second film.
The Bad
Hollywood studios have learnt the painful financial lesson that audiences consistently avoid any film with Part 1 in its title. The reasons for this are fairly obvious as many people are inherently reluctant to invest time and full ticket prices in quite literally half a story. In an age of binge watching and instant gratification a lot of fans would simply prefer to wait until the complete series is released rather than rush to watch the first act a year or more before the concluding sequel finally arrives. This has resulted in repeatedly disappointing box office hauls for seemingly sure-fire hit franchises. Mission Impossible being just one recent example with Dead Reckoning Part 1.
This is why the marketing campaign for Wicked has been so outright fraudulent. All promotional materials for the film, trailer, posters and enthusiastic social media proclamations have exclusively referred to it as Wicked. It’s a pretty shameless lie by omission designed to make sure that for many audiences the first time they learn this is actually only Wicked Part 1 will be when the title card discretely adds a part 1 in the movie theatre.
For hard-core fans of the show the fact that it will be stretched out over 5-6 hours and two theatrical releases for its cinematic adaptations will be welcome news. Unfortunately there will undoubtedly be plenty of casual audiences left a little frustrated that they weren’t suitably warned that despite a 160 minute runtime they were in fact only getting act one of the show, with a now daunting year long wait to return to cinemas to watch the next instalment.
Maybe the many good qualities of this first film will be enough to satisfy audiences. But it honestly feels just a little wrong that they were so deliberately deceived by a calculated marketing machine.
Beyond the film’s mildly misleading marketing, some audiences might also have mixed reactions to the somewhat heaving handed animal allegory for the insidious evils of racism and the film’s occasionally sombre and tragic tone. Though obviously intended as a smartly cynical deconstruction of the simplistic technicolour cinematic joys of The Wizard of Oz, Wicked may feel at times a little too mature for all the younger children inevitably lured into packed cinemas by the promise of magic, music, pretty dresses and a PG rating. Fans of the stage production will already know that the second film due out next year will be even more darkly tragic and heart wrenching in places. Though at least by that point families will have learnt to perhaps leave any sensitive or easily bored young ones at home.
The Ugly Truth
Wicked Part 1 delivers theatre fans with almost three hours of big screen delight that does adequate justice to the first act of a truly beloved and iconic musical landmark. Leaving both them and excited newcomers to the franchise with an agonisingly long wait for the concluding second film releasing in a year’s time. So those lacking patience should be adequately warned that the stories true climax is sold separately. Likewise well intentioned parents with restless toddlers should be aware this will likely prove a far more challenging viewing experience than more conveniently child friendly cartoon musicals.
Piece By Piece Review TIFF 2024
The Plot
The life and musical career of unique superstar Pharrell Williams is retold through interviews with his family, famous collaborators and the music mogul himself; all whimsically animated as a LEGO movie.
The Good
Pharrell Williams has had a uniquely impressive impact on music and pop culture which is truly worthy of being celebrated. This brightly coloured and mostly joyous film does a great job of reminding audiences of the seemingly never ending array of iconic songs he has crafted as both a genre redefining producer and a multi-talented performer. Retold in his own soft spoken words and contributions from so many of the global musical superstars that have worked alongside him, this is a comprehensive documentation of both his life story and musical genius.
The admittedly unexpected decision to make this otherwise by the numbers talking heads music documentary into an animated LEGO experience, does prove undoubtedly effective in making the film both visually distinctive and much more palatable for wider audiences than just hard-core fans of Pharrell and musical history.
Pharrell’s jaunty and joyful music clearly suits cartoonish visuals perfectly, as proved by the phenomenal success of his Despicable Me soundtracks. In that sense converting this film from the normal compilation of archive footage and interviews into something far more fluidly expressive and visually playful does work very effectively. The films is at its best when it takes more fantastical flights, whimsically reimagining ‘beats’ as glowing stacks of bouncing LEGO blocks or giving life to some of Pharrell’s inner imaging’s.
While the film is obviously mostly sanitised, it is still sincere and at times genuinely reflective. It also manages to mostly avoid coming across as shamelessly self-aggrandizing. It’s obviously a challenge to have Pharrell and his collaborators talk about his journey and musical achievements at length without veering too far into endless praise and self-importance. Thankfully unlike so many similar self-made musical autobiographies the film doesn’t feel obnoxiously boastful or shamelessly rose tinted.
The Bad
Pharrell and the film itself is swift to explain the decision to turn this documentary into an animated LEGO movie as purely an act of Pharrell’s whimsical artistic expression, necessary to allow his colourful vision to be brought to life more effectively on screen. Despite this it’s still honestly difficult to ignore all the implicit commercial motivations in effectively disguising a typical talking heads musical biopic as something far more palatable for younger audiences.
It’s easy to cynically assume that marketing this film as another ‘LEGO movie’ is little more than a carefully calculated brand partnership made in the pursuit of the typically lucrative box office of family cinema trips.
Since generations of preteens already know Pharrell best for his toe tapping soundtracks to the unending Despicable Me franchise it’s easy to imagine why the studio, LEGO and Pharrell himself would be so enthusiastic about pitching his life story at an unusually young demographic.
Unfortunately those children will likely be far less captivated by mostly watching Jay Z and a long list of hip hop icons casually reminisce about Pharrell’s trials and tribulations in the studio churning out hit singles.
While adult fans can certainely enjoy the palatable novelty of the film’s genuinely joyous animated aesthetics, in reality the film never fully commits to being sincerely aimed at a truly childish audience.
The film easily could have simply used more extended musical sequences to loosely reimagine Pharrell’s life story and impressive back catalogue in child friendly ways. Instead the film simply slips a convenient animated veneer on an otherwise typically adult focused documentary. That feels especially true when the film wallows in the cliché pressures of superstardom and very briefly veers into sombre political territory during its later stages.
To that extent the film’s carefully crafted two minute trailer borders close to false advertising in effectively tricking armies of young Minions fans into demanding a family cinema outing to see ‘the LEGO musical movie’.
The Ugly Truth
While the film is a colourful celebration of Pharrell Williams unique pop culture impact and presents an effective summary of his remarkable musical output, it’s still difficult to shake a slight confusion about whether the decision to make and market this as a ‘LEGO movie’ is wonderfully inspired or merely a misguided effort to conveniently capitalise on younger fans for a much bigger Box office haul.
Parents of young children should in particular probably be warned that the film is not fully suited for entertaining a toddler for 90 minutes. This isn’t The Lego Movie 3, it’s a standard issue VH1 behind the music style documentary with an animation filter turned on.
The Life of Chuck Review TIFF 2024
The Plot
Inspired by a Stephen King novella and told in three distinct chapters, The Life of Chuck weaves a carefully interconnected and mysterious tale of humanity facing the apocalyptic end of the world and an intimate exploration of the life of a seemingly ordinary accountant named Charles Krantz.
The Good
The Life of Chuck adapts one of Stephen King’s more uncharacteristically optimistic tales, flavoured with his usual brand of supernatural tension but without the sense of nightmarish dread that typically defines his celebrated horror classics. Starkly juxtaposing a kind natured portrait of one man’s life with mankind’s final cosmic curtain call could easily have been an exercise in cruel irony, but instead the film gradually reveals itself to be something far more therapeutic and thankful.
The film’s compartmentalised three act non-linear storytelling structure is also massively effective in preserving the stories’ many central mysteries while also allowing audiences to explore different emotional tones and sometimes complex recurrent philosophical themes in easily digestible ways.
All of this is only possible because of a truly gifted ensemble cast with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Mark Hamill and Tom Hiddleston all on equally sensational form. Hiddleston’s fleet footed and kind faced turn as Charles Krantz, the mysterious titular Chuck, serves as a symbolic through line for the entire film. However in reality the film only functions and manages to weave its meticulously interconnected tale thanks to constantly superb performances from the entire cast. Hiddleston’s presence may loom both literally and metaphorically large across the screen but it’s ultimately a grand story of multitudes not just one man.
That said Hiddleston’s famously talented dancing prowess does create one of the film’s most instantly memorable and joyous sequences. It’s an eye catching and shamelessly crowd pleasing moment alongside a steady string of more subtle yet equally uplifting moments.
Overall the film’s ability to find life affirming comfort in the face of seemingly dire disaster and doomed hopelessness feels like a welcome and much needed gift in the increasingly troubled world we now inhabit.
The Bad
As with all grand mysteries this film begins by posing a myriad of unapologetically profound questions for audiences. All of the films mystique is tied to the promise of the grand reveal of eventual answers. Though the film does indeed ultimately deliver on that promise, naturally it won’t entirely satisfy everyone. The boundless ambiguity of metaphysical and supernatural questions allows audiences a little too much room to imagine their own wildly varied explanations. Meaning that when the film does eventually provide a single definitive concrete outcome it will naturally differ from what some people may have hoped for or expected.
That’s not an indictment of the film’s genuinely clever and largely satisfying narrative, just an acknowledgement that mysteries are perhaps always at their most potent when unsolved. In reality most audiences will be pleased that at least the film does deliver firm choices and resolution rather than simply getting hopelessly lost in its own premise or attempting to fudge some kind of deliberately open ended climax.
The Ugly Truth
A brilliant ensemble cast breathe compelling life into a story which is both cosmically grand and touchingly intimate in equal measure. A patient script and earnest performances keep audiences compelled and captures a great deal of Stephen King’s celebrated brilliance. It’s a complex yet simple tale that guides audiences through daunting supernatural mysteries towards satisfying and deeply life affirming conclusions.
Angelina Jolie Honoured At TIFF 2024
Award winning actor, producer, writer, director, and humanitarian Angelina Jolie set to attend the TIFF Tribute Awards Gala on September 8
| Cameron Bailey, CEO, TIFF is honoured to present Angelina Jolie, the multi-hyphenate Academy Award–winning actor, Tony Award–winning producer, writer, director, and humanitarian with the TIFF Tribute Award in Impact Media. Previously bestowed upon such luminaries as Pedro Almodóvar, Mira Nair, and Alanis Obomsawin, the TIFF Tribute Award in Impact Media is presented by Anne-Marie Canning and recognizes leadership in creating a union between social impact and cinema. Jolie will be honoured at the 2024 TIFF Tribute Awards on Sunday, September 8, at Fairmont Royal York Hotel and marks the final honouree announcement. She will be honoured alongside Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett, Durga Chew-Bose, David Cronenberg, Clément Ducol and Camille, Jharrel Jerome, Mike Leigh, and Zhao Tao, with Sandra Oh serving as the inaugural Honorary Chair of the fundraising gala.
“Angelina Jolie is a multifaceted talent who has entertained audiences for decades while consistently using her platform to champion important causes,” said Bailey. “We’re honoured to present her with the 2024 TIFF Tribute Award in Impact Media. This award recognizes her exceptional achievements in filmmaking, and her unwavering commitment for positive change, solidifying her status as a veritable humanitarian and global force to be reckoned with.” Jolie returns to the 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, following the success of her TIFF 2017 features, First They Killed My Father, which she wrote and directed; and The Breadwinner, which she executive produced. Her dedication to social justice is evident through her films Unbroken (2014), In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011), and her latest project Without Blood, which will have its World Premiere on September 8. Without Blood, written, directed, and produced by Jolie, is based on the acclaimed bestselling novel by renowned Italian writer Alessandro Baricco, and stars Salma Hayek Pinault and Demián Bichir. It’s an unforgettable saga set in the aftermath of an unidentified conflict that explores universal truths about war, trauma, memory, and healing. With more than 20 years of humanitarian work focusing on refugees and human rights, Jolie also champions local leadership in environmental conservation, and has funded schools, health, and education initiatives globally. Additionally, she is President of the Maddox Foundation, an integrated development program headquartered in Cambodia, with a focus on conservation, agriculture, education, and economic development projects in the area. Now in its sixth year, the Tribute Awards is TIFF’s largest fundraiser. Proceeds from the gala fundraiser will go towards TIFF’s Every Story Fund, which champions diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in film. The Tribute Awards has served as an awards-season bellwether, honouring the film industry’s outstanding contributors and their achievements. Past honourees Colman Domingo, Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser, Jessica Chastain, Roger Deakins, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Joaquin Phoenix, Taika Waititi, and Chloé Zhao, have gone on to win awards on the international stage. |
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TIFF 2024 Awards Categories Revealed
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| TIFF is pleased to announce its renowned 2024 award categories, distinguished jury members, and prizes to celebrate and honour the outstanding works in this year’s Festival lineup. Back this year after a five-year hiatus and with a new name and criteria, the Best Canadian Discovery Award salutes the best of emerging Canadian filmmakers in Official Selection. The juries, featuring distinguished film critics and filmmakers, include three jurors for the two Canadian feature film awards; five members for FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics; three jurors for NETPAC, the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema; and three jurors each for Platform and Short Cuts (both previously announced). All awards will be announced on September 15 at TIFF Lightbox.
“TIFF’s annual Festival awards for films in Official Selection are integral to recognizing the excellence and artistry within our industry,” said Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. “Every year, we gather to celebrate the wide spectrum of cinematic talent with the collaboration and endorsement of our distinguished global juries and peers, and we look forward to continuing this tradition again in just a few weeks.” Awards descriptions including eligibility can be found here: tiff.net/awards |
| BEST CANADIAN DISCOVERY AWARD Back this year after being on hiatus since 2019, and with a new name and new criteria, the Best Canadian Discovery Award celebrates works of emerging filmmakers who contribute to enriching the Canadian film landscape. All first or second feature films in Official Selection by Canadian filmmakers are eligible for this award. The winner will receive a cash prize of $10,000. BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FILM AWARD PRESENTED BY CANADA GOOSE The 2024 Jury for the Best Canadian Feature Film and for the Best Canadian Discovery Award: Estrella Araiza is the General Director of the Guadalajara International Film Festival and Cineteca FICG. Her work has focused on Mexican and Latin American cinema. Her career includes experience as the director of Industry and Market at the FICG, a sales agent, an academic, and a cinema distributor. She has served on juries for international film festivals and has collaborated with international film markets. Chelsea McMullan is a director and producer based in Toronto. Their work in documentary, experimental narrative, and hybrid films often explore the work of leading international artists through the cinematic frame. McMullan directed Swan Song (CBC/Dogwoof), a vérité-driven feature documentary that premiered at TIFF ’23 and four-part limited series that follows the National Ballet of Canada as the company mounts a new production of Swan Lake. Their other films include Ever Deadly, Crystal Pite: Angels’ Atlas, and My Prairie Home. Randall Okita is a Japanese Canadian artist and filmmaker known for innovative storytelling and rich visual language. His work, which spans film, VR, and sculpture, has earned more than 20 international awards, including two Canadian Screen Awards, a Webby, and a Japan Prize. |
FIPRESCI JURY |
| The FIPRESCI Prize is presented by an international jury selected by the International Federation of Film Critics. Founded in 1925, the Federation is an organization of professional film critics and film journalists for the promotion and development of film culture and the safeguarding of professional interests. The Federation awards the prize at international film festivals and film festivals of particular importance to promote film art and to encourage new and young cinema. The FIPRESCI Jury will award the Prize of International Critics, dedicated to emerging filmmakers, to a debut feature film having its World Premiere in TIFF’s Discovery programme. Last year’s winner was Meredith Hama-Brown’s Seagrass.
Li Cheuk-to is Curator at Large of Hong Kong Film and Media for M+ Museum, and is also the current Board Chairman of Hong Kong Film Critics Society after serving as its founding President from 1995 to 1999. He has been the Artistic Director of Hong Kong International Film Festival Society from 2004 to 2018. Pierre-Simon Gutman is deputy editor of the movie review L’Avant Scene Cinema. After studying literature at La Sorbonne, he wrote his PHD thesis on the American filmmaker Michael Cimino. He has written for 3 Couleurs, Les Fiches du Cinéma, and Eclipse(s). He teaches cinema at l’ESRA in Paris and Brussels, after having previously taught at the universities Paris VII and Nancy 2. He has also directed several short features and was for many years a programmer for the Critics’ Week of the Cannes Film Festival, on both the short and feature-film committees. He currently sits on the administration board of the Critics’ Week. He also was a member of the official jury for the Camera d’Or at the 2021 edition of the Cannes Film Festival. Azadeh Jafari is a film critic, writer, and translator based in Tehran. She contributes regularly to different film magazines in Iran. Her English writing on world cinema has appeared in Cinema Scope, Film Comment, Reverse Shot, LOLA, and on the TIFF website. She has translated Berenice Reynaud’s book A City of Sadness on Hou Hsiao-hsien’s masterpiece into Persian and has also contributed to the book Luminous Void – Twenty Years of Experimental Film Society. Saffron Maeve is a Toronto-based critic and film programmer. Her writing has appeared in Film Comment, The Globe & Mail, MUBI Notebook, Cinema Scope, Toronto Star, and Screen Slate. She is an active member of the Toronto Film Critics Association and GALECA, the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. Wilfred Okiche is a Rotten Tomatoes–certified culture critic and film programmer. He has attended critic programs and reported from film and theatre festivals in Locarno, Rotterdam, Stockholm, and Sundance. Wilfred has worked on the programming team for Film Africa in London and Encounters in South Africa. He has mentored fast rising film critics at Talents Durban and served on the selection committee of Berlinale Talents. His writing has appeared in Variety, IndieWire, The Continent, and Senses of Cinema among other publications. He is a member of FIPRESCI and has participated in juries at the Berlinale, Palm Springs, and Carthage film festivals. He is in graduate school studying film and media at the University of Southern California. |
NETPAC JURY |
| Presented by the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema, the NETPAC Award recognizes films specifically from the Asian and Pacific regions. The jury consists of three international community members selected by TIFF and NETPAC, who award the prize to the best Asian film by a first or second-time feature director. In 2023, the NETPAC Award went to Jayant Digambar Somalkar’s A Match.
Hannah Fisher has spent many years working in the international industry as a festival director, a festival artistic director, and, most recently, as an international consultant and programmer. She has particularly loved working in events abroad as with festivals such as Dubai (UAE), Kolkata, Kerala Ladakh (India), Bangkok, (Thailand), Krakow (Poland), San Diego, Heartland Festival (USA), and Montreal, and as Director of the Vancouver International Film Festival. Dr. Vilsoni Hereniko, this year’s jury chairperson, had his first narrative feature film, The Land Has Eyes, premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 and was Fiji’s submission to the Academy Awards in 2005. It also won Best Dramatic Feature at the Toronto ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in 2004. His animated short film won the Berlin Independent Film Festival in 2022 as well as the Los Angeles International Film Festival the same year. He is also the current President of NETPAC/USA and a professor at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Hawaiʻi. Kerri Sakamoto is an award-winning Japanese Canadian author whose books have been translated into numerous languages and published internationally. She has worked with acclaimed filmmakers as a screenwriter and story editor. |
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS PRESENTED BY ROGERS |
| A longstanding TIFF tradition, the People’s Choice Awards are marking their 47th year. The People’s Choice Award is an Oscars bellwether with a rich history; past winners include Chariots of Fire, The Princess Bride, Slumdog Millionaire, and the 2023 debut feature from Cord Jefferson, American Fiction. All feature films and Primetime series in TIFF’s Official Selection are eligible. The winners of the People’s Choice Awards will be announced on Sunday, September 15, 2024. The three audience-voted awards are the People’s Choice Award, the People’s Choice Documentary Award, and the People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award. The 2023 winners were American Fiction, Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, and Dicks: The Musical. The 2024 People’s Choice Awards are presented by Rogers.
The 2024 Jury for TIFF’s competitive programme, Platform, was announced earlier this year and includes Atom Egoyan, Hur Jin-ho, and Jane Schoenbrun. |