The Bleeder Exclusive TIFF Interviews
Red Carpet News TV talks to Live Schreiber, Naomi Watts, Elisabeth Moss, Ron Perlman, Chuck Wepnder and director Philippe Falardeau at the Toronto International Film Festival 2016 Premiere of The Bleeder. The film follows the highs and lows of real life Rocky Inspiration an professional boxing legend Chuck Wepner, Check out our other videos for more in depth coverage of TIFF 2016
Free Fire Review TIFF
The Plot
Set in 1978 Boston, a disagreement turns into a full-on shootout when a gang of criminals gather in a warehouse for an arms deal.
The Good
Fresh off 2015’s High-Rise, director Ben Wheatley teams up with co-writer Amy Jump and returns to the seventies in this star studded action which comes across as Reservoir Dogs on drugs. Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer and Sharlto Copley lead the cast to begin with, as crooks Chris (Murphy) and Ord (Hammer) who meet arms dealer Vernon (Copley) in an abandoned warehouse to purchase guns from him. Joining them are Sam Riley (Control), Brie Larson (Room), and Jack Reynor (Sing Street), to name a few, who, before long begin a shootout of epic proportions.
It’s hard to pick standout performances from the frankly wonderful cast with the violence bringing them all together in one bloody mess, making Free Fire one of the best ensemble pieces you will see this year without a doubt. You can’t talk about Sharlto Copley’s brilliant performance as the wickedly hilarious Vernon without mentioning the more restrained acting of Armie Hammer’s Ord or Jack Reynor’s frequently frustrated Harry. Wheatley knows his cast and has highlighted their strengths perfectly with each character.
The Bad
Unfortunately, a fun 90 minute bullet ridden ride in an abandoned warehouse doesn’t manage to become anything more interesting. In a post Reservoir Dogs world, Free Fire serves as a wonderful option to double bill the two, with many matching ideas such as the films real-time progress which stays neatly inside the confines of the warehouse. This however makes the film feel much more trapped than something like Reservoir Dogs which at least had a few flashback scenes to fill its story out.
The Ugly Truth
Ben Wheatley deserves credit for his perfect casting of this band of misfits with his and Jump’s screenplay managing to find its way through the mess of bullets and blood with ease. It’s just a shame that there isn’t more meat to the story.
Snowden Stands Up Proudly At TIFF
Red Carpet News talks to Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, screenwriter Kieran Fitzgerald, technical supervisor Ralph Echemendia and Director Oliver Stone at the world premiere of Snowden at the Toronto International Film Festival. Check out the video below and don’t forget to look out for our other videos for more exclusive in depth coverage of TIFF 2016.
Snowden Review TIFF
The Plot
The NSA’s illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency’s employees, Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press.
The Good
Director Oliver Stone brings the story of Edward Snowden to life in this dramatic retelling of actual events. Set between 2004 and 2013, Snowden goes through its titular subjects career from his early days as a patriotic army cadet, through to his work with the NSA and ultimately his whistle blowing which made him a household name around the world. At 2 hours and 14 minutes, Snowden surprisingly feels much shorter. This is thanks mainly to the screenplay, co-written by Stone and Kieran Fitzgerald (The Homesman) which manages to balance the importance of the story with the personal side of Snowden while explaining technical jargon with ease.
Meanwhile, Gordon-Levitt embodies the character perfectly in both looks and emotion. As we see Snowden become increasingly paranoid about the morality behind the going-ons at the NSA, Gordon-Levitt manages to bring a thoroughly believable piece of acting across all boards.
Co-starring with Gordon-Levitt as the journalists and documentary maker respectively, are Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson and Melissa Leo who manage to bring as much as their characters can to the film. Nicholas Cage and Rhys Ifans also join as the faces of the NSA, the former a bitter man who gives the alternative viewpoint for how Snowden’s life could have turned, and perhaps Cages best performance in recent years simply due to the fact that he doesn’t have enough screentime to really screw it up. Ifans conversely plays the scenery chewing high-level intelligence operative Corbin O’Brian who serves his role as shady paranoia building character effortlessly.
However, with the film obviously revolving around Snowden himself, the real standout co-star is Shailene Woodley as Snowden’s girlfriend, Lindsay Mills. Woodley proves herself yet again to be an actress of particular note no matter what she does (even, Divergent…) and brings some true chemistry alongside Gordon Levitt.
The Bad
Those hoping to find a deeper more thought provoking storyline may feel a tad sidelined with this biopic which, as its title suggests, leans much more heavily upon Snowden himself than the real issues at hand. While Fitzgerald and Stone’s script does indeed manage to balance the two it is perhaps inevitable that it feels like a documentary, like 2014’s Citezenfour would perhaps offer more in the truth and technicalities of the hacking scandal which Snowden does of course still delve into, albeit in a much more popcorn friendly scene involving a Rubik’s cube.
The Ugly Truth
Oliver Stone presents a technically faultless biopic which explores the character of Snowden while also managing to explain the importance of the events surrounding him with ease. Those looking for more information would best be suited for Citezenfour.
Magnificent Seven Opens TIFF With A Bang
