“mid90s”
Cast: Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Katherine Waterston,
Synopsis: “mid90s” follows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old in 90s-era LA who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.
What You Need to Know: While it didn’t quite make the impression director Jonah Hill and studio A24 were likely looking for, there will still be plenty flocking to the coming of age drama “mid90s” due to the comforting familiarity of the genre. Over the course of the year there’s been a number of first-time actors-turned-directors and it would seem that Bradley Cooper and Paul Dano have fared better, but Hill might have the most crowd-pleasing film of them all. (Read our review)
Release Date: October 19
“Burning”
Cast: Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jong-seo Jun
Synopsis: “Burning” tells the story of three individuals and a mysterious incident they experience. Jongsu bumps into an old friend, Haemi, on a part-time delivery job. Haemi asks Jongsu to take care of her cat while she leaves on a trip to Africa. When she returns, Haemi introduces Jongsu to Ben, a man she met in Africa. One day, Ben and Haemi pay Jongsu a visit, and Ben reveals his secret interests to Jongsu.
What You Need to Know: While knowledge of director Lee Chang-dong’s previous work may allow you to have a greater context to his upcoming film, it matters little with the buzz surrounding “Burning” is so enthusiastically voluminous with more than one critic calling it a masterpiece. For those who are aware of Chang-dong’s prior films, it’s well known that easy access happiness is far from his line of interest, rather, pulling from trauma, human spirit (good and bad) and circumstantial loss to make up the backbone of his filmography. All three stars including “The Walking Dead” alum Steven Yeun (who needs a starry leading role by now) reportedly deliver stunning work. Our critic after seeing it at this years Cannes Film Festival said, “Simmering with ambiguity, ‘Burning’ plays its staging, writing, dialogue, acting, music, everything with carefully calibrated minimalism, but in turn it makes some grandiose of statements.”
Release Date: October 26
“Suspiria”
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth, Chloe Grace Moretz
Synopsis: A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the troupe’s artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up.
What You Need to Know: The anticipated remake of Dario Argento‘s 1977 giallo masterpiece “Suspiria” had been in the works for ten years before “Call Me By Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino took the reins, which was an intriguing if not totally surprising move for the filmmaker. There’s been darkness hidden beneath the surface in a number of his films (think of that late in the film turn in “A Bigger Splash) and with “Suspiria,” he allows that darkness to shine. With a muted palette compared to the originals neon vivacity, the director reteams with stars Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton to deliver a similar-but-modern take on the gruesome tale, many comparing it to last years divisive “mother!.” Our critic saw it at the Venice Film Festival, saying it’s at its best when it works, “…As a long, deliriously filmic, primal banshee-howl of macabre imagination that leaves us hormonal and drunk on that lovely delusion: the beautiful, thrilling, lurid lie of cinema.”
Release Date: October 26
“Border”
Cast: Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff, Ann Petren
Synopsis: Customs officer Tina is known for her extraordinary sense of smell. It’s almost as if she can sniff out the guilt on anyone hiding something. But when Vore, a suspicious-looking man, walks past her, her abilities are challenged for the first time ever. Tina can sense Vore is hiding something she can’t identify. Even worse, she feels a strange attraction to him.
What You Need to Know: Perhaps one of the strangest picks of this year’s Toronto Film Festival, “Border,” written and directed by relative newcomer Ali Abbasi, is agenre-bendingg romance. A Nordic fairy tale that masquerades as both a romantic adventure and horror film, it’s a individualistic story that’s difficult to mimic. Our critic who saw it the 2018 Cannes Film Festival wrote that it was strange but touching, calling it, “Unique, unforgettable and cathartic, ‘Border’ is an oddball, but poignant cult classic in the making.”
Release Date: October 26