May 1, 2026

Welcome to the TFCA weekly, a round-up of reviews and coverage by members of the Toronto Film Critics Association.

In Release this Week

100 Sunset (dir. Kunsang Kyirong)

“In this nuanced tale of trust betrayed, Canadian writer-director Kunsang Kyirong observes with an insider’s eye Toronto’s Tibetan community and its tight-knit Parkdale neighbourhood. Her feat is all the more impressive given this is her debut feature and she’s guiding non-professionals in a layered plot involving the temptations of a ‘dhikuti,’ a traditional communal cash pool,” writes Peter Howell at the Toronto Star. “This is part of a remarkable run of smart, personal Canadian films.”

“Kyirong finds an evocative premise here, but the film’s meandering nature often leaves it adrift as it explores new pockets of the Canadian landscape, whether in concrete jungles or verdant forests,” writes Pat Mullen at That Shelf. “100 Sunset nevertheless makes an earnest effort to represent a community authentically, which can be felt in the casting of many non-professionals and members of the community. The naturalism of the performances lends the film a down-to-earth restraint, if a somewhat muted emotional payoff.”

Deep Water (dir. Renny Harlin)

“Director Renny Harlin provides oodles of underwater POVs of tasty-looking legs as people struggle to stay above water amid burning debris, dead bodies and a very small number of leaky rafts,” says Chris Knight at Original Cin. “Harlin has had a long and uneven career leading up to this. Though he isn’t quite old enough to have tackled Deep Water back in 1979, he did make Cliffhanger and Die Hard 2 in the 1990s, and this feels like a kind of spiritual successor to those star-driven action movies.”

The Devil Wears Prada 2 (dir. David Frankel)

“Watch for clever callbacks to the original film and many fab cameos. I’m amazed at how the main players have barely aged over the ensuing 20 years – maybe they sold their souls to a devious Prada wearer – but life’s not fair, is it?” asks Peter Howell at the Toronto Star. “It’s rare that a sequel has anything more potent to say than the original film (which was based on the novel by Lauren Weisberger), but this one does. And it’s quite the coup to reunite director Frankel not only with his main cast, but also screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna.”

“While it’s fun to see the characters back in action, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is overstuffed and meanders. The film also suffers from self-consciousness. Too many celebrities show up in ways that feel pointless, turning TDWP2 into self-congratulatory mush,” notes Karen Gordon at Original Cin. “In principle, the idea the film starts with – the disappearance of true journalism and magazines – is clever and timely. But in the end, that’s not where they take the film, or what they settle on for a message.”

“The new film has an identity problem,” says Glenn Sumi at Go Ahead Sumi. “The problem is, the narrative momentum and wit from the first film are sorely missing. What’s worse, none of the characters has any real motivation beyond what you’d see in a mid TV series like Scandal. I knew the film was in trouble early on when Miranda smiled in public — something Streep’s character didn’t do until much later in the original, and then only in private. A smiling Miranda is not an interesting Miranda.”

“The drama’s still there, the looks are even sharper and the general comfort-watch feeling is never absent. But in ignoring the character growth, self-acceptance narrative or cultural commentary of fashion’s inherent worth, this sequel struggles to make a case to be in any way as memorable as the first,” admits Jackson Weaver at CBC. “Behind the swishing gowns and star-studded cameos, the film’s plot is so thin and scattered it feels like it’s eternally searching for excuses to keep going. Like the biggest-budget Family Channel movie of all time, it’s honestly hard to distinguish the bubbly but barren enthusiasm of The Devil Wears Prada 2 from a really good episode of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.”

“But what is a movie about fashion without fashion?” asks Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “This is where the film excels.  The costume and wardrobe design, with all the wear worn by the cast, is nothing short of stunning.  Meryl Streep’s wardrobe is to die for, and even Anne Hathaway’s T-shirt is chic with Björk’s album cover.”

“There’s lived-in respect for Priestly that Streep reflects here. She carries Miranda’s poise and style knowing full well they’re accoutrements to a sharp eye, but also an artist whose learned and evolved as she’s aged. That’s what good editors do, and that’s why The Devil Wears Prada 2 plays equal parts fantasy and reality. It might seem like wish fulfilment for print magazines to spend so lavishly when the era of the celebrity editor is long over. But just as a legacy editor can be an outlet’s greatest liability, it can also be its greatest asset. It’s so fun to watch Streep slay, and she knows it,” says Pat Mullen at That Shelf. “A rave review for Meryl Streep? Groundbreaking.”

Hokum (dir. Damian McCarthy)

“McCarthy’s emerging style isn’t about blurring reality and fantasy into confusion—it’s about placing them side by side and letting them quietly undermine each other. The characters may know what they believe is real, but belief, in Hokum, is a fragile thing. Easily influenced. Easily broken,” notes Thom Ernst at Original Cin. “If Hokum proves anything, it’s that McCarthy isn’t just part of this new wave of horror filmmakers—he’s carving out his own narrow corridor within it. A place where folklore, psychology, and just enough chemical suggestion collide.”

Je m’appelle Agneta (dir. Johanna Runevad)

“This is a well-meaning crowd-pleaser, but it is filled with clichés and predictability,” admits Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “One can be sure that there is going to be a reconciliation between Einer and his son, and possibly with his old age, he will most likely to die a glorious death at the end of the film.  Einer does not die. In films of this sort, the two learn from each other.  So what else is new?”

My Dearest Senorita (dir. Fernando G. Molina)

“The question is, why a remake of the 1972 groundbreaking film?” asks Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “Two good reasons.  One is the updated story to a more modern time, and the other is that the actress now playing the intersex character Adela is herself intersex.  Elisabeth Martínez is an intersex actor—playing an intersex character, which is still rare in mainstream film.”

Son in Law (dir. Gerardo Naranjo)

“Son in Law should not be dismissed as a silly, infantile move, though the jokes could be described as such.  If one is to examine the film more closely, it represents a satirical look at ‘the Mexican dream,’ as compared to the comparative American dream, of success at any cost,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “Being Mexican, the film explores corruption, betrayal, and opportunism in a comical manner and mixes dark humour with crime and political drama.  Have a few laughs, dismiss the film’s flaws, and look at the film’s positives.  Even though the film is not as funny as it thinks it is.”

Swapped (dir. Nathan Greno)

“The swapped bodies premise has been done so many times before and could be described as a genre of its own.  But this body swap film is different intuit it is an animated feature,” writes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “And this one involves two enemies swapping bodies.  An ok watch with an impressive cast providing the voice characterizations.”

A Festival of Festival Coverage

At POV Magazine, members Susan G. Cole, Marc Glassman, Jason Gorber, Pat Mullen, and Victor Stiff offer extensive coverage from this year’s Hot Docs with reviews of documentaries at the fest, filmmaker interviews, and reports from the industry side.

At In the Seats with…, Dave Voigt has a roster of interviews including Concrete Turned to Sand’s Jessica Johnson and Ryan Ermacora, Constant Battles’ Mackenzie Stannard, Parasisi directors Zaide Bil and Sebastien Rogers, and programmer Aisha Jamal.

TV Talk/Series Stuff

At Original Cin, Karen Gordon recommends Widow’s Bay: “The series does a good job spreading the characters and stories as they interact, with the ostensible curse hanging over their heads. It rushes from one crisis to another, with Loftis and his oddball staff. They include his number one, the focused, dependable, organized, no nonsense, Patricia, (Kate O’Flynn), loose cannon Rosemary (Dale Dickey), Jeff Hiller, and Loftis’s elderly assistant Ruth (K Callan), who keeps her own hours and is more of a fixture than an asset.”