ScreenRant’s Protection of Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition

ScreenRant‘s crew of critics has reviewed all kinds of flicks whereas attending the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. The competition, which is often known as TIFF, is among the most prestigious on this planet and is presently celebrating its fiftieth anniversary.

Plenty of Toronto International Film Festival movies have gone on to very large success. All kinds of Oscar-nominees and winners have premiered at TIFF, together with 127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire, Treasured, The Fabelmans, Silver Linings Playbook, and The King’s Speech.

Whereas it stays to be seen which motion pictures from this yr’s competition (which runs by means of September 14) will obtain such excessive honors, ScreenRant‘s evaluations of among the greatest titles which have already premiered at TIFF 2025, which could be discovered under, can provide some perception into the way in which the tide is popping.

Blue Moon

Richard Linklater’s new biopic stars Ethan Hawke as Lorenz Hart, the previous writing associate of Richard Rodgers, who makes an attempt to take care of his emotions at a bar on the opening night time of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. It earned a strong rating of 7 out of 10 from Rachel Labonte. Learn an excerpt from her Blue Moon review under:

As a personality examine, Blue Moon is imperfect, however its good framing of a pivotal second in Hart’s life elevates it. I could not have been on board with each second, however the ending has lingered in my mind since I first noticed it, and for that motive alone, I feel Linklater has pulled off one thing nearly exceptional.

Christy

This anticipated sports activities biopic stars Euphoria and Anybody However You actor Sydney Sweeney as boxing legend Christy Martin, who’s a member of the Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Fame. The film earned 5 out of 10 from Rachel Labonte. Learn an excerpt from her Christy review under:

Reasonably than being a well-rounded take a look at Martin’s life, Christy gives a shallow, unbalanced perspective. It is mild on its ft in some elements and heavy-handed in others, and although Sweeney offers a powerful efficiency, I can not assist however really feel like she deserved a greater showcase for her abilities.

Driver’s Ed

Driver’s Ed, which was directed by Bobby Farrelly (There’s One thing About Mary), stars White Lotus season 3 breakout Sam Nivola as a teen who decides to go on a street journey utilizing a automobile he stole from his driver’s ed instructor. It earned a rating of 6 out of 10 from Rachel Labonte.

Learn an excerpt from her Driver’s Ed review under:

Driver’s Ed hardly reinvents the wheel with regards to the YA world, and it’s miles from excellent. Nonetheless, with its string of strong laughs and a really sport forged, it makes for an entertaining journey that goes down straightforward.

The Misplaced Bus

The Misplaced Bus, which takes place through the devastating 2018 Camp Fireplace in Paradise, California, was directed by Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, Captain Phillips) and follows a faculty bus driver (Matthew McConaughey) and a instructor (America Ferrera) making an attempt to evacuate a stranded elementary class.

The film earned a rating of 6 out of 10 from Mae Abdulbaki. Learn an excerpt from her The Lost Bus review under:

What it lacks is greater than made up with a fantastic forged, distressing moments, and a few well-shot motion. The Misplaced Bus is a reminder that there are at all times folks on this planet who’re prepared to place their lives on the road to maintain others secure, particularly in conditions they haven’t any management over, and Greengrass’ movie is a heartwarming reminder of that.

The Man In My Basement

Nadia Latif’s function directorial debut follows a down-on-his-luck Black man (Corey Hawkins) who receives a proposal to hire the basement of a mysterious older businessman (Willem Dafoe). The film, which additionally stars Anna Diop and Tamara Lawrance, earned 5 out of 10 from Mae Abdulbaki. Learn an excerpt from her The Man in My Basement review under:

The Man in My Basement isn’t essentially the most riveting movie, and it’ll wrestle to keep up your consideration. Its themes have been higher tackled in different movies but it surely has its deserves. An amazing forged and persistence will show solely considerably rewarding, even when the journey to get there may be shaky and greater than a bit complicated.

Mile Finish Kicks

This romantic comedy a few younger girl named Grace (Barbie Ferreira) getting a job as a music critic at a male-dominated publication additionally stars Jay Baruchel, Devon Bostick, and Juliette Gariépy. Learn an excerpt from Mae Abdulbaki’s unscored Mile End Kicks review under:

Grace is a superb protagonist and, although the romance ingredient of her life may have been performed up a tad extra, there’s a lot baked into her story that’s price investing in. Crammed with heartfelt moments and hardships amidst Grace’s rising younger maturity pains, [director Chandler] Levack’s movie performs like a brand new music album that’s acquainted but thrilling.

The Wizard Of The Kremlin

The Wizard of the Kremlin is the newest movie from Clouds of Sils Maria director Olivier Assayas. The satirical political thriller stars Paul Dano as Vadim Baranov, an artist turned corrupt politician within the Nineteen Nineties Soviet Union whose story intersects with the rise of Vladimir Putin (Jude Regulation).

The Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition film, which additionally stars Alicia Vikander, Tom Sturridge, and Jeffrey Wright, earned a rating of 4 out of 10 from Graeme Guttman. Learn an excerpt from his The Wizard of the Kremlin review under:

With Assayas’ medical strategy, there is a stiffness that runs by means of your entire movie that undercuts the vitality of the director’s imaginative and prescient. There are moments that basically click on (Vikander singing whereas strolling a unadorned man on a leash stands out). However simply when it appears like it’ll hit the fuel, The Wizard of the Kremlin holds again, all the way in which as much as its confounding, out-of-left-field ending that’s each abrupt and fittingly bleak.