MR. WILL-W.'S TIFF 2010 BEST-OF LISTS

Nicole Kidman for Rabbit
Hole at TIFF

TIFF 2010 has been wonderful and the last day of the Festival is always bittersweet for me.  After ten days of sheer madness, the normalcy once again is always welcome and for one, I'm sure my dog Billy will appreciate seeing me home more.  And I'm sure my waistline will appreciate it again too as all I've been eating on the go are Hot Dogs (you've never had a Hot Dog until you've had a Toronto Hot Dog), Pastries, Order-at-the-counter Chinese and Starbucks.

Reflecting on my favourite highlights is always a challenge, but this year in particular is difficult to extract from as the first few days of the Festival were extraordinarily concentrated with action, that  surely amidst the madness I might have missed the buzz on some amazing films (i.e. Clint Eastwood's Hereafter) and actors in town.  But if I were to make a few selections, I would narrow it down as follows:





MR. WILL-W.'S TOP FILMS OF TIFF 2010

1. Rabbit  Hole 

2. Black Swan

3. Blue Valentine

4. The Debt

5. 127 Hours

James Franco for 127 Hours

MR. WILL-W.'S GREATEST GUYS OF TIFF 2010

1. James Franco

2. Sam Worthington

3. Ryan Reynolds

4. Ryan Gosling

5. Michael Sheen

SAM WORTHINGTON GREETS FANS AT "LAST NIGHT" TIFF GALA

A number of you have messaged me on Facebook telling me how mean Sam Worthington looks in my photo with him from last week and I just want to prove to you how far from the truth that is. Perhaps Worthington's naturally dramatic gaze is misleading, but he is just lovely. Watch him greet fans outside VISA Screening Room last night on his way out to Roy Thomson Hall to do the Red Carpet for Last Night. Love him. To death.

SAM WORTHINGTON AND EVA MENDES AT TIFF 2010 "LAST NIGHT" GALA

Sam Worthington at VISA Screening Room

Although I am sad that TIFF 2010 is coming to a wrap with its final Gala having taken place earlier tonight at Roy Thomson Hall and VISA Screening Room simultaneously, I am pleased that we had some fantastic stars here to wrap up the festivities.

Sam Worthington undoubtedly is the hottest male actor in Hollywood with blockbusters like Terminator: Salvation, Avatar, Clash of the Titans standing out on his Résumé . He's been attacking more serious roles of late including The Debt, which also premiered at TIFF this past Tuesday and we will be seeing more of his acting chops in Massy Tadjedin's Last Night soon as heavyweight Miramax just picked-up the film. The film stars him alongside Keira Knightley and Eva Mendes, the latter who also attended this evening's Gala.   Also present was Worthington's Stylist girlfriend Natalie Marks. Last Night tackles the question of fidelity in a young couple's marriage after they are separated briefly for work reasons.

Check out more photos of Worthington and Mendes on their way from VISA Screening Room to Roy Thomson Hall:

EVA MENDES AT TIFF WITH "LAST NIGHT" - PROMOTES LINEN LINE VIDA AT SEARS

Eva Mendes at Sears promoting Vida Home Decor Line

The positively gorgeous Eva Mendes threw a last minute Autograph Signing at Sears Eaton Centre today, sparing an hour out to meet Toronto fans. Mendes along with Sam Worthington who is also in town, stars in Last Night, which receives the Gala treatment tomorrow night at both VISA Screening Room and Roy Thomson Hall. The Massy Tadjedin film will be closing out TIFF 2010 and is about a couple who have their fidelity tested after they are apart briefly.

Mendes was promoting her line of Home Decor products Vida at the store and 100 lucky fans got her autograph after being ushered through the line-up quickly, prohibited from taking photos of her up-close.

Check out more pics I got of the stunning actress below:

TIFF REVIEW OF THE DEBT

John Madden at TIFF 2010

Director John Madden has crafted a sublime film in The Debt, a remake of a 2007 Israeli film.  The film centers around three Israeli CIA Agents on a mission to capture a Nazi War Criminal and they are successful.  Or are they?  I attended a TIFF screening of the film this morning at VISA Screening Room and we were v. fortunate to have had Madden present for a Q&A.

Helen Mirren steals the show as the older Rachel in this Action Drama which grabs you from the get-go and never quite lets up with a cloud of danger hanging always present.  Rachel is a celebrated national Hero, her claim to fame being her successful killing of the said Criminal 30 years prior, as he tried to escape his capturers.

The story reverts back to the backstory behind the present, with younger Rachel (Jessica Chastain) being assigned to the mission along with two other Agents, Stefan (Marton Csokas) and David (Avatar's Sam Worthington).  The three live together in the same house where passions ignite.  After successfully capturing Vogel (Jesper Christensen), the true challenge only begins from there as his hatred towards the Jewish runs deep, knowing exactly how to strike where it hurts with his three captors.  Rachel, Stefan and David however become entangled in a passionate love triangle complicating matters further and also dissolving their bond as a team.

SAM WORTHINGTON SPOTTED IN TORONTO AT TIFF FOR THE DEBT

Sam Worthington & Mr. Will-W.

Well, isn't this a surprise?  I was walking in Yorkville midday with my friend Angela and I spotted none another than the hottest male actor in Hollywood right now, Sam Worthington of Avatar and Clash of the Titans 3D fame.  This more than made up for my missing-out on a photo-op with another famous Australian export Nicole Kidman earlier in the day.  Although Worthington looks a bit miserable here, he was actually v. cool in-person and more than happy to pose for a photo, as he walked about with his PR.

Worthington premiered John Madden's The Debt at Roy Thomson Hall with the amazing Dame Helen Mirren earlier this evening and the film is about three Israeli Agents on a secret mission to capture a Nazi War Criminal.  Intriguing.  I'll be seeing the film tomorrow morning and posting a review shortly.

Check out more photos I got of the ruggedly handsome actor below:

MORE FILM TITLES ADDED TO TIFF 2010 LIST

Still from Hereafter

In what's shaping up to be a v. exciting TIFF, more titles have been confirmed for the festivities beginning September 9, 2010. I cannot wait.

Among the titles added were Passion Play (starring Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox), What's Wrong With Virginia (Emma Roberts, Ed Harris - directorial debut of Dustin Lance Black who penned Milk), Last Night (Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley), SUPER (Ellen Page, Kevin Bacon, Liv Tyler), Everything Must Go (Will Ferrell in a rare dramatic role), Let Me In (Chloë Moretz), Casey Affleck-directed Mockumentary I'm Still Here (Joaquin Phoenix) and Clint Eastwood's Hereafter (Matt Damon). Also as rumoured, Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle's 127 Hours (James Franco) has also been given the green light.

Definitely one of the better years in recent memory. Click here for the updated list of films and synopses on IndieWire.

"CLASH" IS A TITAN

Director Louis Leterrier's Clash of the Titans (3-D) remake was Box Office gold this Easter weekend, pulling in a stunning $64.1 million dollars from 3,777 screens. The Warner Bros. film stars Hollywood's most bankable new actor Sam Worthington (Avatar), Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson. A strong cast wasn't enough to save it from being ripped to shreds by critics. Also, foreign totals have yet to come in, but it won't be long before this one recoups its $125 million budget. Well done, indeed.  Did any of you see it?  I'm still on the fence about it.

Director/actor Tyler Perry has his market cornered and they turned out again this weekend to show their ardent support for his latest effort Why Did I Get Married Too?, which came in second with $30.1 million from 2,700 theatres. The Lionsgate film stars Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Sharon Leal, Louis Gossett Jr.,  Michael Jai White and Perry himself.

The year's best-reviewed film How to Train Your Dragon from Disney earned $29.2 million in its second week bringing its total to $92.3 million in earnings. Worldwide, the film has made $134.6 million and should be sticking around the Top Ten for a while as the positive word-of-mouth continues to spread.

Alice in Wonderland (3-D) hangs on in fifth with $8.2 million this weekend, just surpassing the $300 million in earnings mark domestically.

Comedies Hot Tub Time Machine ($8 million), The Bounty Hunter ($6.2 million), She's Out of My League ($1.4 million) and the incredibly resilient Shutter Island just hangs on to a spot in the Top Ten with $1.4 million. Click on the links to read reviews for each of these.

Fox's Date Night opens in 3,300 screens next Friday. Expect a massive debut for the comedy starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell.

SAM WORTHINGTON: A SERIOUS ACTOR?

English-born Australian Sam Worthington is undisputedly the hottest new actor in Hollywood. Out of nowhere he's landed leading roles in big budget blockbusters like Terminator: Salvation, Avatar and Clash of The Titans, which is to be released April 2, 2010 and looks rather amazing.

But is he a "serious" actor though?  And is it all happening too soon?  In addition to Titans, he has another film out at the end of April called Last Night also starring Keira Knightley, about a couple whom encounter extra-marrital temptations. There is also The Debt which comes out later this year and it looks to be a little on the heavier side in its story line of Israeli spies seeking revenge on Nazi War Criminals. This one stars Ciaran Hinds, Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson and many more. And lined up after that is a role in The Texas Killing Fields, which is about a string of unsolved murders in Texas. How's that for serious?

Although we have yet to see Worthington's true acting chops with the material he's been in, we'll be getting a clearer picture of his "worth" before long.