Rachel West

TFCA Friday: Movie Reviews for Oct. 17 - Toronto Film Critics Association Movie reviews for Frankenstein, Kiss of the Spider Woman, After the Hunt, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, Good Fortune, The Twits, and more.

On BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER 🃏

"Colin Farrell is superb" - @rachelwest.bsky.social

"Berger is a great stager of scenes" - Gilbert Seah

On GOOD FORTUNE 😇

"some kind of revelatory sad sack operetta" - Kim Hughes

torontofilmcritics.com/features/tfc...

Totally messing with my Spotify Wrapped by listening to “OK Blue Jays” and Harry Nilsson’s “Zombie Jamboree” more than once today

Wildly colourful, spooky, and deliciously funny, #DustBunny is a throwback to the glory days of Midnight Madness. #TIFF50
thatshelf.com/dust-bunny-r...

Director Ally Pankiw gives Sarah McLachlan and co. the recognition they deserve in Lilith Fair: Building A Mystery. Read @rachelwest.bsky.social's interview with her now #TIFF50
thatshelf.com/ally-pankiw-...

Had a wonderful conversation with Eva Thomas on her #TIFF50 film Nika & Madison awfj.org/blog/2025/09...

P&I screenings really show you who knows how to dim the brightness on their phone and who does not #TIFF50

I Swear Review: TIFF 2025 Kirk Jones’ I Swear tells the inspiring true story of John Davidson with warmth, humour, and heart — a crowd-pleasing highlight of TIFF 2025.

Uplifting, emotional, and deeply human, Kirk Jones’ #ISwear is a crowd-pleasing festival standout you won’t want to miss. #TIFF50
thatshelf.com/i-swear-revi...

I enjoyed A Sami Wedding but TIFF’s Primetime programme just doesn’t work awfj.org/blog/2025/09... #TIFF50

Sirât Review: TIFF 2025 - That Shelf Sirat review: Oliver Laxe’s film is a breathtaking, gut-wrenching desert odyssey. Part road trip, part family drama, part rave-fueled fever dream, and entirely unmissable

Oliver Laxe’s #Sirat is a breathtaking, gut-wrenching desert odyssey. Part road trip, part family drama, part rave-fueled fever dream, and entirely unmissable. #TIFF50 thatshelf.com/sirat-review...

You Had To Be There Review: TIFF 2025 TIFF 2025 doc You Had To Be There revisits Toronto’s 1972 Godspell, the cast that shaped modern comedy, and their lasting legacy.

With heart and humour, You Had To Be There captures how a 1972 Toronto production of Godspell became the foundation for a generation of comedy legends. #TIFF2025
thatshelf.com/you-had-to-b...

In a repeat of the first Saturday of TIFF last year, public tickets seem impossible to get so just two films for me:
The Lost Bus and Bad Apples.

Then a nap I guess 🤷‍♀️ #TIFF50

Yep. I kept refreshing until I snagged what looked like the last seat to Steve. There were empty seats all around me. Not sure if this is a byproduct of ticketmaster and not being able to exchange public tickets or what

Frustrating that this is how empty the balcony for Steve is at 5 mins past showtime when it’s been off sale all week #TIFF50

After day 1 of TIFF ended up being a 5 movie day with a bonus screening of Ghost School, I have 4 on tap today:

Blue Heron
Saipan
No Other Choice
Youngblood

#TIFF50

Charlie Harper Review: TIFF 2025 TIFF 2025 review: Charlie Harper, directed by Mac Eldridge and Tom Dean, revisits the thrills and heartbreak of young love.

With echoes of (500) Days of Summer, Charlie Harper brings a nostalgic spark to the #TIFF50 lineup.
thatshelf.com/charlie-harp...

Still Single Interview: Jamal Burger and Chef Masaki Saito on Their TIFF 2025 Documentary Toronto's only two-star Michelin chef, Masaki Saito and director Jamal Burger discuss the new TIFF 2025 documentary Still Single.

Toronto's only two-star Michelin chef, Masaki Saito and director Jamal Burger discuss #TIFF50 documentary Still Single.
thatshelf.com/still-single...

Just wear a bathing suit lol

On tap for #TIFF50 today:
The Choral
A Private Life
Charlie Harper
Laundry

Ready for a day of #TIFF50 movies. I’ll be the one who is soaking wet from a poorly timed downpour that was no match for my umbrella or raincoat

a man is typing on a computer keyboard while making a face . ALT: a man is typing on a computer keyboard while making a face .

15 reviews and 2 interviews ready for #TIFF50. Stay tuned as embargoes lift for all my coverage at @thatshelf.com & @awfjorg.bsky.social

And then some. It feels like demand is really high for tickets this year

Pre-TIFF is far more stressful than the actual festival

Did I pick the Colin Farrell movie? Obviously. #TIFF50

The Thursday Murder Club Review: Big Stars, Weak Mystery Netflix’s Thursday Murder Club brings Helen Mirren and co. together for a whodunit, but the cast can’t solve the mystery of a lifeless script

Netflix’s The Thursday Murder Club brings Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley & Pierce Brosnan together for a cozy whodunit, but even an A-list cast can’t solve the mystery of a lifeless script.
thatshelf.com/the-thursday...

Members @filmfest.bsky.social @smallmind.bsky.social @rachelwest.bsky.social & @patmullen.bsky.social look back at 50 years of TIFF with other local writers. #TIFF50

TFCA Friday: Week of August 15 - Toronto Film Critics Association Movie reviews for Russians at War, Nobody 2, Sweet Angel Baby, Highest 2 Lowest, Folktales, The Glassworker, Boys Go to Jupiter, and more.

On NOBODY 2 💥

"It is not just violent: It is violently funny" - @rachelwest.bsky.social

"Nearly every beat is an act of gleeful retribution" - Thom Ernst

"The insane third act plays out like an ultraviolent Home Alone" - @peterhowellfilm.bsky.social
torontofilmcritics.com/features/tfc...

Nobody 2 Review: Suburban John Wick Is Back Bob Odenkirk returns in Nobody 2, the action-comedy that just might be the entertaining popcorn movie of the summer.

Bob Odenkirk returns in #Nobody2, the action-comedy that just might be the entertaining popcorn movie of the summer. @rachelwest.bsky.social reviews the violent - and violently funny - film.
thatshelf.com/nobody-2-rev...

The countdown to #TIFF50 is on. It’s shaping up to be a good year with so many woman-directed films to add to your schedule awfj.org/blog/2025/08...

This is an insane wait for a subway at rush hour

This can be deadly time for one of Canada's 'most endangered' wildlife groups - The Weather Network With July nearly finished, freshwater turtles in Canada have finished laying eggs for the year, but they can still encounter danger from vehicle traffic while moving from one wetland to another.

Conserving turtle habitats and reducing road mortalities can go a long way in securing their populations in Canada.

www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/natu...