Steve Pond
Steve Pond
Steve Pond’s inside look at the artistry and insanity of the awards race, drawn from more than three decades of obsessively chronicling the Oscars and the entertainment industry.
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‘American Fiction’ Wins Toronto Film Festival’s Audience Award
The TIFF People’s Choice winner has gone on to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination 14 times in the last 15 years
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‘The Movie Teller’ Review: Lone Scherfig Delivers a Lovely Ode to the Power of Cinema
Toronto Film Festival: The director of “An Education” makes a Spanish-language film set 50 years ago, but that feels appropriate for today
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‘Sly’ Review: Sylvester Stallone Documentary Is a Portrait in Restlessness
Toronto Film Festival: Thom Zimny’s Netflix documentary finds the iconic actor pacing his halls and rummaging through his memories
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‘Widow Clicquot’ Review: Haley Bennett Shines in Ode to Champagne, Doomed Romance and Girl Power
Toronto Film Festival: At its best, Thomas Napper’s film about a real-life “grand dame of champagne” moves viewers in rapturous fantasia
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‘In the Rearview’ Review: Road Trip Doc Puts a Face on Cost of War in Ukraine
Toronto Film Festival: Maciek Hamela’s first film is a wrenching portrait of the human side of the conflict
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‘The Monk and the Gun’ Review: Bhutan Delivers Another Feel-Good Mountain Escapade
Toronto Film Festival: Director Pawo Choyning Dorji follows his Oscar-nominated “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” with a tangled and charming tale
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‘The Critic’ Review: Ian McKellen Makes a Nasty Reviewer Despicable and Entertaining
Toronto 2023: Anand Tucker’s period tale of an embittered critic flirts with melodrama, but gives its star a role to relish
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Toronto So Far: Fewer Stars, Fewer Studios Make for a Muted Festival
Four days in, the theme that ties together the 2023 TIFF experience is the inescapable scarcity of stars
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‘Knox Goes Away’ Review: Michael Keaton Turns Another Hitman Film Into a Fascinating Character Study
Toronto 2023: Keaton directs and stars in the drama about an assassin with dementia
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‘Sing Sing’ Review: Colman Domingo’s Prison-Set Drama Packs a Punch
Toronto 2023: In addition to “Rustin,” Domingo stars alongside real prisoner actors in this behind-bars drama
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‘Flipside’ Review: Record Store Documentary Spins a Delightful Mass of Loose Ends and False Starts
Toronto 2023: Chris Wilcha’s film is a midlife meditation that keeps losing its train of thought, which is kind of perfect
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‘In Restless Dreams’ Review: Intimate Paul Simon Documentary Embraces the Mystery
Toronto 2023: Alex Gibney’s three-and-a-half-hour film juxtaposes Simon’s soul-searching new album with his seven-decade career
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‘Quiz Lady’ Review: Awkwafina and Sandra Oh Square Off in Broad, Silly Comedy
Toronto 2023: Director Jessica Yu’s energetic (or frantic) film features Will Ferrell, Tony Hale and Jason Schwartzman
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‘The Teacher’ Review: Palestinian Drama Paints a Portrait of Futility and Rage
Toronto 2023: Director Farah Nabulsi returns to the West Bank for the follow-up to her Oscar-nominated short “The Present”
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‘American Fiction’ Review: Jeffrey Wright Shines in Beautiful, Jazzy Comedy
Toronto Film Festival: Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut makes serious points about Black representation but does so with a wonderfully light touch