TIFF Wrap-Up: Five Gorgeous Films and One Ugly One

TIFF Wrap-Up: Five Gorgeous Films and One Ugly One

It feels great to be home after 18 days on the road covering the Telluride and Toronto film festivals. I saw a lot of fantastic films over the last few weeks, and a few that were a little ... well, not so great. After the peace and tranquility of Telluride, it took me a little adjusting to get accustomed to Toronto. Now that a couple weeks has passed, I can kind of look back with a sense of humor on my day spent traveling to Toronto. It went something like this:

7AM -- Load up suitcases into rental car (stylin' Ford Escape) and drive the three or so hours to Gunnison, the airport from which I will be departing.

9AM -- Get stuck on a mountain pass behind three semis hauling livestock, a rental RV hauling a car, and numerous cars between me in a no-pass zone that stretches for miles.

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Film review: The Queen (12A)

Film review: The Queen (12A)

103mins. Drama. Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Sylvia Syms, Alex Jennings, Helen McCrory, Roger Allam, Mark Bazeley. Director: Stephen Frears.

HELEN Mirren delivers a tour-de-force portrayal of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Stephen Frears' compelling portrait of the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana in August 1997.

Screenwriter Peter Morgan and his team of researchers have sifted through huge volumes of information to ensure the film is as historically and factually correct as possible.