ScreenRant's team of critics has reviewed a wide variety of movies while attending the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. The festival, which is also known as TIFF, is one of the most prestigious in the world and is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary.
A number of Toronto International Film Festival movies have gone on to huge success. A wide variety of Oscar-nominees and winners have premiered at TIFF, including 127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire, Precious, The Fabelmans, Silver Linings Playbook, and The King's Speech.
While it remains to be seen which movies from this year's festival (which runs through September 14) will achieve such high honors, ScreenRant's reviews of some of the biggest titles that have already screened at TIFF 2025, which can be found below, can offer some insight into the way the tide is turning.
Blue Moon
Ethan Hawke gazing up at Margaret Qualley, who stands next to him, in Blue Moon
Richard Linklater's new biopic stars Ethan Hawke as Lorenz Hart, the former writing partner of Richard Rodgers, who attempts to deal with his feelings at a bar on the opening night of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!. It earned a solid score of 7 out of 10 from Rachel Labonte. Read an excerpt from her Blue Moon review below:
As a character study, Blue Moon is imperfect, but its smart framing of a pivotal moment in Hart's life elevates it. I may not have been on board with every moment, but the ending has lingered in my brain since I first saw it, and for that reason alone, I think Linklater has pulled off something almost remarkable.
Sydney Sweeney as Christy Martin baring her teeth in Christy
This anticipated sports biopic stars Euphoria and Anyone But You actor Sydney Sweeney as boxing legend Christy Martin, who is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The movie earned 5 out of 10 from Rachel Labonte. Read an excerpt from her Christy
Rather than being a well-rounded look at Martin's life, Christy offers a shallow, unbalanced perspective. It's light on its feet in some parts and heavy-handed in others, and though Sweeney gives a strong performance, I can't help but feel like she deserved a better showcase for her talents.
Driver's Ed
The cast of Driver's Ed posing around a driver's ed car
Driver's Ed, which was directed by Bobby Farrelly (There's Something About Mary), stars White Lotus season 3 breakout Sam Nivola as a teenager who decides to go on a road trip using a car he stole from his driver's ed teacher. It earned a score of 6 out of 10 from Rachel Labonte.
Read an excerpt from her Driver's Ed review below:
Driver's Ed hardly reinvents the wheel when it comes to the YA world, and it's far from perfect. Still, with its string of solid laughs and a very game cast, it makes for an entertaining adventure that goes down easy.
The Lost Bus
The Lost Bus, which takes place during the devastating 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, was directed by Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, Captain Phillips) and follows a school bus driver (Matthew McConaughey) and a teacher (America Ferrera) attempting to evacuate a stranded elementary class.
The movie earned a score of 6 out of 10 from Mae Abdulbaki. Read an excerpt from her The Lost Bus review below:
What it lacks is more than made up with a great cast, distressing moments, and some well-shot action. The Lost Bus is a reminder that there are always people in the world who are willing to put their lives on the line to keep others safe, especially in situations they have no control over, and Greengrass’ film is a heartwarming reminder of that.
The Man In My Basement
Willem Dafoe and Corey Hawkins toasting one another in The Man in My Basement
Nadia Latif’s feature directorial debut follows a down-on-his-luck Black man (Corey Hawkins) who receives an offer to rent the basement of a mysterious older businessman (Willem Dafoe). The movie, which also stars Anna Diop and Tamara Lawrance, earned 5 out of 10 from Mae Abdulbaki. Read an excerpt from her The Man in My Basement review below:
The Man in My Basement isn’t the most riveting film, and it’ll struggle to maintain your attention. Its themes have been better tackled in other films but it has its merits. A great cast and patience will prove only somewhat rewarding, even if the journey to get there is shaky and more than a bit confusing.
Mile End Kicks
Barbie Ferreira working on her laptop in Mile End Kicks
This romantic comedy about a young woman named Grace (Barbie Ferreira) getting a job as a music critic at a male-dominated publication also stars Jay Baruchel, Devon Bostick, and Juliette Gariépy. Read an excerpt from Mae Abdulbaki's unscored Mile End Kicks review below:
Grace is a great protagonist and, though the romance element of her life could have been played up a tad more, there’s so much baked into her story that’s worth investing in. Filled with heartfelt moments and hardships amidst Grace’s growing young adulthood pains, [director Chandler] Levack’s film plays like a new music album that is familiar yet exciting.
The Wizard Of The Kremlin
Paul Dano holding a phone to his ear in The Wizard of the Kremlin
The Toronto International Film Festival movie, which also stars Alicia Vikander, Tom Sturridge, and Jeffrey Wright, earned a score of 4 out of 10 from Graeme Guttman. Read an excerpt from his The Wizard of the Kremlin review below:
With Assayas' clinical approach, there's a stiffness that runs through the entire film that undercuts the energy of the director's vision. There are moments that really click (Vikander singing while walking a naked man on a leash stands out). But just when it feels like it's going to hit the gas, The Wizard of the Kremlin holds back, all the way up to its confounding, out-of-left-field ending that is both abrupt and fittingly bleak.
