TIFF: Relating to Amy Adams in "Nocturnal Animals" and "Arrival"

Nathaniel R reporting from TIFF. The festival is winding down now but my mind keeps drifting back to the Amy Adams double feature on day two. If there were gif walls featuring all of Amy Adams close-ups in both of her movies this year, they would accurately describe this critics innermost thoughts about the movies they came from. Read on and I'll elaborate (without spoilers) though we'll obviously revisit and go into more detail when both movies actually...ahem... arrive in mid November which is unofficially 'Amy Adams Month' according to distributors.

ARRIVAL (Dir. Denis Villeneuve, US)
Paramount Pictures. Opens on November 11th

In this gripping and sensationally crafted sci-fi drama, adapted from the short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang, Amy Adams plays Dr. Louise Banks. Dr Banks is a prominent linguist who is recruited by the government to attempt to communicate with extra-terrestrials. They have arrived on Earth or, rather, are hovering above it in twelve space crafts each in a separate area of the world, appearing to do nothing at all. Will the world's fearful governments nuke the ships or can Dr Banks save the world (if it's even threatened?) by learning why they've come?

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Red Carpet: Venice, Toronto and Kruger (Oh, My!)

Jose here. I'm glad to report that as the temperatures come down, slightly, so do the hemlines, which means it's red carpet season! <3 So let's get down to business! First up in Venice we have Eva Herzigova in a sheer, but elegant, Alberta Ferreti. The Italian designer's bold work usually pops up in Venetian red carpets and Herzigova's simple styling make us think she's equally ready for a fancy cocktail party, as she is for lounging poolside. Next up the divine Emma Stone in Atelier Versace, who more and more seems to be paying homage to red carpet goddess Nicole Kidman and you won't hear me complain about that.

European red carpets tend to be more playful which is why it's no surprise to see Chiara Mastroianni in this androgynous suit from Gucci, the smoky makeup and severe hair round up one of my favorite looks of the year. Since Amy Adams is in the new Tom Ford movie, she might as well wear what he designs, right? (Also, talk about multitasking Mr. Ford) She's a vision in this sparkling column that seems to have sprung from a Halston wet dream.  More looks after the jump!

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"Nocturnal Animals" Posters

by Chris Feil

Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals is one of our most anticipated (even if our opinions of Ford's A Single Man are all over the map), and the positive reviews have amplified our enthusiasm. What originally sounded like a sexy thriller now promises to be a surprisingly funny and metafictional feat of storytelling, with performances from Laura Linney and Michael Shannon being the delectable standouts. We've had so few glimpses of the film thus far, but now we have an intriguing set of character posters!

So the overall ripped aesthetic of these character posters recall the fantastic ones from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - but if those posters were sexysad and wanted to kill you. 

Amy Adams may have more heat forArrival, but if Nocturnal shows her to be the low-key femme fatale of this poster, consider me excited. Those eyes!

Gyllenhaal and more after the jump...

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A First Glimpse of Villeneuve's 'Arrival'

Chris here with a first look at one of the fall's big Oscar question marks. Last year, Denis Villeneuve's Sicario did quite well by Oscar standards if you consider its punishing bleakness and divisiveness even if it missed the major races. This year he's returning with the sci-fi Arrival, and we've been patiently waiting to see if this will raise his Oscar cache.

To go with the building buzz, here are our first looks...

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Venice Film Festival Lineup Announced

What do Spotlight and Birdman have in common? Apart from being Oscar Best Picture winners starring Michael Keaton that is. They both debuted at the Venice Film Festival, that's what. The 73rd annual Venice Film Festival line-up has been announced, with the potential of another Best Picture winner in its midst.  As was previously announced, La La Land is opening the festival, and if you've  been watching the trailer on loop like us, it’s hard to get excited about anything else. But let’s take a shot...

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