Toronto 2026: 'The Debut' Review

 
I feel pretty confident predicting that Julianne Moore will be getting an Oscar nomination for The Debut, in which she plays a quiet housewife who gets cast in a local musical. My review is up at Screen International. 

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Previewing Venice, Telluride and Toronto 2026

Greetings from Venice. The screenings started today, so for a fun bonus episode of the podcast, I picked five films I'm most curious to see at the fall festivals. Then, we look at the big movies coming out later in 2026. Folks, it's officially awards season. You can listen to our conversation down below.

The 101 Best Los Angeles Movies

This has been in the works for a little while, so I'm glad it's finally out there in the world. The Los Angeles Times has put together a list of the all-time best L.A. movies. I didn't have a say in the final rankings, although I contributed a ballot alongside my fellow critics and journalists, but I did write several of the capsules. I was very happy to heap praise on Barton Fink, Devil in a Blue Dress, Die Hard, Inherent Vice, Killer of Sheep, Safe and A Woman Under the Influence. Check the whole list out here. 

My Interview With Pedro Almodovar, Writer-Director of 'The Room Next Door'

I loved The Room Next Door, so I wanted to talk to Pedro Almodovar about his bittersweet drama that touches on life, death, global catastrophe and euthanasia. We talked about all that, and also John Huston's The Dead. My interview is live over at the Los Angeles Times.

(Photo by Shayan Asgharnia.)

'The Room Next Door' Review

Pedro Almodovar's best film since The Skin I Live In? For my money, yes. I was quite pleased to get to review The Room Next Door for the Los Angeles Times.

Venice/Telluride/Toronto 2024: The Wrap-Up and the Rankings

"How long were you out of the country?"

When I went through customs in Toronto on the way back to Los Angeles, I actually had to think about that question for a minute. For the first time since 2019, I did the fall festival double-shot of Venice and Toronto, which I very much enjoyed. Nonetheless, when it was all over, I could feel that I'd been away from home for quite some time. While I'd been gone, I'd ridden water buses and suffered through some pretty bad humidity. Then I got to Toronto and battled rain and chilly evenings. At some point along the way, I may have pulled a leg muscle. You never know what festivals are going to throw at you, but that's the fun -- you're just grateful to be part of the experience.

All told, I was gone about 17 days, seeing a ton of movies at both Venice and Toronto. Not that you can catch everything, of course: Conflicting screenings and other logistics kept me from April, Diciannove, Hard Truths, The Life of Chuck, Vermiglio and others. (Plus: Nickel Boys only screened in Telluride.) But I'll get to them all in due time. What matters is the amount I did catch, and the memories I now have of seeing so many of these films at their first screenings. That communal spirit -- that shared moment of discovery -- is incredibly special. I missed Susan, and I'm glad to be home, but those memories keep replaying in my head.

The below rankings are a list of everything I've seen that played at the three festivals, either over the last few weeks or at some point earlier this year. (You'll recognize several Cannes titles, not to mention a few Sundance films.) Links lead to individual reviews...

53. Megalopolis
52. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
51. William Tell
50. Nutcrackers
49. Joker: Folie à Deux
48. King Ivory
47. The Assessment
46. Eden
45. Oh, Canada
44. Emilia Perez
43. Heretic
42. Rumours 
41. Babygirl
40. We Live in Time
39. The Shrouds
38. The Outrun
37. Will & Harper
36. Bring Them Down
35. Nightbitch
34. Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass
33. Misericordia
32. I, the Executioner
31. Conclave
30. The Substance
29. Sudan, Remember Us
28. Chain Reactions
27. The Girl With the Needle
26. Paul & Paulette Take A Bath
25. The Order
24. Better Man
23. Sharp Corner
22. Separated
21. Wolfs
20. Bird
19. September 5
18. Presence
17. I’m Still Here
16. Queer
15. Maria
14. The Wild Robot
13. Flow
12. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
11. Homegrown
10. Pavements
9. All We Imagine as Light
8. The Room Next Door
7. The End
6. Anora
5. Grand Tour
4. Caught by the Tides
3. The Brutalist
2. The Seed of the Sacred Fig
1. A Real Pain

I imagine some folks will look at my rankings and exclaim, "Really? Megalopolis is really the worst movie you saw?" I'm looking forward to revisiting the Francis Ford Coppola film, and I've told anyone in earshot that they really do owe it to themselves to see it, just so they can make up their own mind about this ambitious swing. But, yes, I do find it a crushing disappointment. Likewise, I am working on gut instinct when I say that Jesse Eisenberg's beautifully intimate character study A Real Pain is slightly greater than the far more imposing works by Mohammad Rasoulof (The Seed of the Sacred Fig) and Brady Corbet (The Brutalist). They all demand a rewatch, so we'll see how the end-of-the-year list-making shakes out.

But for now, I'll say that Venice and Toronto provided me with some excellent movies and a few cases where I'm very much out of the consensus. I know many who loathe The End, whereas plenty think I'm wrong for being lukewarm on Babygirl. But these are my rankings. Consider this post a preview of coming attractions of the movies worth putting on your radar, even if you end up liking some of them more or less than I do.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Alien: Romulus' and Your 2024 Fall Film Festival Preview

I'll be leaving shortly for Venice and Toronto. So, there's a lot to talk about on this week's episode. First, we review Alien: Romulus, which we differed on. Then, we list 10 movies we're excited about that will be premiering at festivals over the next couple weeks. Looking for an early awards-season preview? Here you go.

My 2024 Venice Film Festival Preview

I'll be going to Venice for the first time since 2019. What I'm looking forward to seeing? Here's a look at the 10 most-intriguing films playing the festival.

My Interview With Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, the Stars of 'May December'

This was a treat: For the Los Angeles Times, I sat down with Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore to discuss Stevie Wonder, Todd Haynes and May December. (And because I love Safe so much, I found a very organic way to bring that film into the conversation, too.) My piece is here. 

(Photo by Benjo Arwas.)

My Interview With Charles Melton, Star of 'May December'

Charles Melton is the breakout star of May December, playing the younger man to Julianne Moore's older wife. I sat down with him recently to talk about his father, his desire to redefine himself, and gaining weight for the movie. Our conversation is live over at the Los Angeles Times. 

(Photo by Yuri Hasegawa.)

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Reviewing 'May December,' 'Rustin' and 'Next Goal Wins'

On the latest podcast, we review three new movies, one great, one OK, one bad. Please enjoy!

What Upcoming Comedies Have a Shot at the Oscars?

Dramas usually get the bulk of the Oscar nominations, but could some funny movies sneak in as well? For Cracked, I looked at possible contenders.

Cannes 2023: The Wrap-Up and the Rankings

Much like this year's Sundance, there was one film that stood head and shoulders above the pack at Cannes. There will be more to say about The Zone of Interest, but for now, I'd like to point out that this is the first time I've been in Cannes where journalists and critics wanted to rewatch a movie a day after seeing it. Such was the power of Jonathan Glazer's fourth feature that people felt a desperate need to get a second helping immediately. (If I hadn't had a conflicting assignment in the same screening slot, I might have been tempted myself.)

The question of how good any one Cannes is depends on two factors: the movies you saw and the overall experience you had at the festival. On the latter front, I can't complain. I was lucky to stay with great roommates, the weather basically cooperated, and the unexpected hassles that can bedevil your trip thankfully steered clear of me in 2023. I had friends twist ankles, lose their apartment key, and battle shitty wifi. I dodged all those bullets.

As for the movies themselves, looking at my ranked list below, I'm forced to conclude that this was merely an okay Cannes. Some of the films on my list scream out for a second viewing so that I can wrap my head around what works and what doesn't about them. (In particular, I'm curious what Killers of the Flower Moon will feel like with fresh eyes.) But the consensus on the ground was that there were lots of strong films without as many gems as in past years. And, as always, I lament the movies I simply couldn't get to, including About Dry Grasses, Anselm, Eureka, Occupied City, Pictures of Ghosts and Youth. I look forward to catching them all down the road.

Without further ado, here is my list of everything I saw either during or before the festival. Links lead to individual reviews:

33. Riddle of Fire
32. Project Silence
31. Black Flies
30. Firebrand
29. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
28. Conann
27. Hypnotic
26. The Sweet East
25. Elemental
24. Perfect Days
23. Jeanne du Barry
22. Room 999
21. Acid
20. The King of Algiers
19. Club Zero
18. Last Summer
17. Rosalie
16. La Chimera
15. Monster
14. Cobweb
13. Omen
12. Fallen Leaves
11. Asteroid City
10. How to Have Sex
9. Robot Dreams
8. May December
7. Anatomy of a Fall
6. The Delinquents
5. The Animal Kingdom
4. Killers of the Flower Moon
3. The Pot-au-Feu
2. Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
1. The Zone of Interest

Now I'd like to take a moment to talk about my No. 2 film. I couldn't have been more exhausted than when I went to see director Pham Thien An's three-hour-long debut, which is about a young man on a spiritual quest of sorts in Vietnam. It's rare when a movie wakes me up to the degree that Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell did. It's an extraordinary experience, although it did inspire plenty of walkouts at my screening. Well, it's their loss: The film is transporting, moving, a total stunner. It deserves to win the Camera d'Or for best first feature. I hope an adventurous distributor picks it up soon: In a completely different way than The Zone of Interest, it needs to be seen on the big screen.

Finally, let's engage in a futile annual tradition wherein I try to predict what will win the Palme d'Or. I have been going to Cannes since 2013, missing one year because of a book project and another (in 2020) because Covid shut the festival down. And in all that time, I have never been right with my guess. Do I have any more confidence this year? Not really.

Nonetheless, I'm going to go with my heart and say that Ruben Östlund's jury will go for The Zone of Interest. It's easily the boldest film in the Competition, but it's also divisive among critics, which may prove true for his jury as well. Anatomy of a Fall may be a safer consensus pick, although part of me wonders if Sandra Hüller will take home Best Actress, which means that film couldn't win the Palme as well. (It's possible she gets Best Actress for Anatomy of a Fall, and then her other movie, The Zone of Interest, collects the big prize.) 

My sleeper pick is The Pot-au-Feu, which surprised a lot of folks here at the festival. On paper, it looked like a middlebrow food-porn period piece. But Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel are simply terrific in this deeply felt love story. Plus, the film can be read as a metaphor for the importance of art, and a Cannes jury could certainly get behind that message. Also worth noting: Documentaries are almost never part of the Competition, so perhaps Wang Bing's three-and-a-half-hour Youth will emerge victorious. I could just as easily see Glazer win Best Director, but fool that I am, I'm picking The Zone of Interest. I look forward to finding out just how wrong I was again.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: The Final Chapter of 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' My Cannes Preview, and 'Short Cuts'

Big episode! We spent a lot of time talking about Vol. 3. Then, I previewed the five films I'm most intrigued to see at Cannes. And then we went back to 1993 to discuss Robert Altman's sweeping portrait of Los Angeles. Hear it all down below.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Magic Mike's Last Dance,' 'Sharper' and 'Your Place or Mine'

We disagree about the final installment in the Magic Mike trilogy, but we're pretty much aligned on the twisty Sharper. As for Your Place or Mine, well, I got angry. Check out the latest episode of the podcast down below.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Reviewing 'Somebody I Used to Know,' 'The Blue Caftan' and 'Magic Mike's Last Dance'

Christy Lemire and I teamed up to be on KCRW (alongside guest host Michell Eloy) to review this weekend's big releases. You can hear our thoughts on Sharper, Somebody I Used to Know, The Blue Caftan and Magic Mike's Last Dance down below.

The Best Films About America

Rolling Stone put together a list of movies that have encapsulated America over the last 50 years. I didn't have a say in the rankings, but I was asked to write the capsules for Selma, Moonlight, O.J.: Made in America, Safe, Taxi Driver and Wendy and Lucy. A pleasure to write about such mighty films. The whole list is here.

Let's Rank 'Jurassic Park' Movies

There have been six Jurassic Park films. Which one is the best? And which is the worst? (That first question is easier to answer.) Our rankings are over at Vulture.

Kristen Stewart Has Made Five Really Good Films. Who Else Has in That Same Time Frame?

 

Inspired by Stewart's recent claim that she thinks she's only made five good films in her career, I started doing some research to determine what other actors have made that many since Twilight came out. Turns out, it's only a handful of folks.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Dear Evan Hansen,' 'The Starling' and 'The Guilty'

Huge disagreement on Dear Evan Hansen in this week's episode. But we're pretty closely aligned on the two Netflix stinkers. Hear the whole thing down below.