Chatting with my TIFF pals this week, I realized that I, consciously or not, always have a few selections in my 20-30 film lineup each year that trend towards ‘normie.’ Big, splashy productions with recognizable stars that I can talk to my family or coworkers about and not some obscure, ultraviolent foreign film that no one but the hardest-core cinephiles has heard of or will conceivably ever see. And certainly not something like Fuck My Son!
That was what two-thirds of Day 3 was for me, with the Sydney Sweeney Oscar bid Christy and the third star-studded Knives Out movie from Rian Johnson, Wake Up Dead Man, which will be on Netflix for everyone to watch in a couple of months.
I am a bit of a sucker for a boxing movie and have been known to drop what I’m doing if I see that Rocky 3 or 4 is on tv, so David Michod’s biopic of Christy Martin/Salter Christy, the story of one of the first women to break through in boxing at the professional level, was an easy pick for me. Being honest, I’m a bit skeptical of the seemingly overt campaign to make Sweeney a ‘thing’ and that includes what seems like a bit of a transparent awards-fodder project like Christy. Michod’s film combines a triumphant Rocky-esque sports saga with a tragic and horrifying true story of a one-of-a-kind athlete (Sweeney) hiding her queer identity and ending up in a deeply abusive and exploitive relationship with her trainer (Ben Foster). It’s not a bad movie by any means, but I think it falls somewhat short of the hype it’s gotten.
Rian Johnson has become a master of putting together a cast, script, and setting for his Knives Out features, and his third, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is no exception. Once again placing Daniel Craig’s dapper detective Benoit Blanc in the middle of an ensemble cast of potential murderers – this time set in a church community and the murder of its iconoclast pastor played with gusto by Josh Brolin – Johnson wields his substantial cast in a way that could be described (and was, in the post-screening Q&A) as expertly herding cats. He utilizes the incredible talents of Glenn Close, Andrew Scott, Mila Kunis, Cailee Speaney, Jeremy Renner, and Josh O’Connor to their absolute strengths and then some, and once again crafts a solvable but still enjoyably perplexing mystery inspired by both Agatha Christie and Edgar Allen Poe. These movies just go down easy, and you know you’re going to watch it on Netflix when it shows up, so I’m here to tell you that there’s lots to enjoy with this outing.
Finally, I broke the seal on my first love of TIFF, the Midnight Madness programme with Kenji Tanigaki’s The Furious. I hope I’m not overselling this but I have to say that this was one of the best action films I’ve seen in years with what is, for my money, the best audience in the world for action and horror. We were hooting, hollering, and cheering for every hit and stab, of which there were many. The Raid‘s Joe Taslim and Yayan Ruhian might have the best chemistry of any two action stars working right now – possibly ever – and they’re backed up by a terrific supporting cast of Joey Iwanaga’s utterly ruthless villain, Brian Le’s hard-hitting henchman, Miao Zie’s powerful but nonvocal lead, and newcomer Enyou Yang as the spunky daughter who absolutely holds her own against these heavy hitters. I think what also made this very special was the mix of styles and configurations, including an extremely clever 2 vs 2 vs 1 encounter that had my head spinning. The Furious was an instant classic for me, and will be for you if you’re an action fan whose tastes trend toward films like The Raid and The Night Comes For Us.
Today’s photo dump is also a video dump! Here’s Sydney Sweeney talking briefly about Christy from my seats way up in the balcony:
And a couple from the Wake Up Dead Man Q&A where the cast talks about their favourite moments, and herding cats.
And finally, a group shot of the cast of The Furious
The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 4-14, 2025. Ticket and lineup information can be found at the TIFF website, and stay tuned to Biff Bam Pop for our coverage all week!
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