Peter Howell 🖊

𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰, 𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿 | Past President, Toronto Film Critics Assoc. | Critics Choice Mem. | 𝗠𝗠 @ 𝟭𝟬𝟬:

[Peter Howell 🖊 @peterhowellfilm]

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY — Marvel dials back the multiverse tedium for a grounded Spider-Man tale that’s back to the grungy city roots of the comic book hero we knew and loved. Tom Holland finally nails the sarcasm, angst and love hassles of Spidey/Peter Parker as Stan Lee first envisioned the character. The film negotiates the emotional landmines left by “Spider-Man: No Way Home” five years ago while a seriously scary villain emerges in the person of a malevolent telepath. Solid support from Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo and “Stranger Things” star Sadie Sink. The only misstep is the bloated 145-minute running time, which includes a pointless post-credits scene. #SpiderManBrandNewDay

[Peter Howell 🖊 @peterhowellfilm]

Yes, it’s fake, but I’m jazzed by the “Psycho” reboot “from the perspective of the shower curtain” that’s the Sundance breakthrough of Hannah Einbinder’s filmmaker Kris in “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.” I’d love to see this — the stories that curtain could tell!

[Peter Howell 🖊 @peterhowellfilm]

TONY: Portrait of the chef as a young shucker. Matt Johnson’s appealingly unglamorous tale serves up celebrity gourmand Anthony Bourdain before the globe-trotting fame, when he was a 19-year-old wannabe novelist in 1975 with more bravado than talent and no idea how to crack a mollusk. Dominic Sessa gives the young Bourdain a scruffy charm, depicting him as both annoying and oddly empathetic. A Cape Cod seafood kitchen becomes the unlikely classroom where his appetites for food and trouble start to take shape. 📽 #film

[Peter Howell 🖊 @peterhowellfilm]

NEWS: Waddya do for an encore after “𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻”? It’s a nice problem to have for Peter Kuplowsky and his Midnight Madness program at #TIFF26, but it’s easily solved by showing this demented anti-romance again. Curry Barker’s smash hit from last year’s fest is getting a special encore screening on Sept. 11, while Na Hong-jin’s creature feature “𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲,” which divided critics at #Cannes2026, gets a special pre-fest screening Sept. 9. And there’s plenty of cool new stuff, including Matthew Rankin’s “𝗟𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻, 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆” (which I’m betting is more satire than tribute), Joshua Giuliano’s opening night slasher flick “𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿,” starring scream queens Jane Levy ("Evil Dead,” “Don’t Breathe”) and Jessica Rothe (“Happy Death Day”), and Duncan Jones’ program closer, the animated sci-fi “𝗥𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿.”
#TIFF #film

[Peter Howell 🖊 @peterhowellfilm]

NEWS: From techlord hate (Elon Musk) to songbird love (Darlene Love), the #TIFF26 Docs program covers the non-fiction waterfront. Alex Gibney’s four-hour “𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗸” will tell us more than we need to know about the world’s first trillionaire. Barry Avrich’s “𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲: 𝗜 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗻” will remind us of the greatness of the legendary R&B and soul singer. Her lead vocals on the Crystals’ “He’s a Rebel,” as well as back-up vocals for tunes by Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Tom Jones and many others made her one of the most distinctive voices of the 1960s. Other highlights include Barbara Kopple’s “𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻” exposé on delivery workers and Sophie Fiennes’ provocative essay “𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁’𝘀 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗨𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗮𝘀.” #TIFF #film