Toronto Critics Poll: 34 Films, Graded A to F (Ranked and Final)

by indieWIRE (September 22, 2009)
Toronto Critics Poll: 34 Films, Graded A to F (Ranked and Final)

indieWIRE conducted a survey of various critics in attendance at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.  We asked them to grade 34 (in honor of the festival’s 34th birthday) of the more buzzed premieres at the festival. Here are the results:

1. A Serious Man (Film Page)
[indieWIRE review]
Peter Sciretta, /Film: A+
David Fear, Time Out New York: A+
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York: A
Alex Billington, FirstShowing.net: A
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: A
Lou Lumenick, The New York Post: A
Mark Olsen, LA Times:  A
James Rocchi, MSN Movies: A
Anne Thompson, Thompson on Hollywood:  A
Joe Leydon, Variety: A
Eric Kohn, indieWIRE: A
Jeffrey Wells, Hollywood Elsewhere: A
Michael Tully, Hammer To Nail: A
Sean Means, The Salt Lake Tribune: A
Sam Adams, Philadelphia City Paper: A-
Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out Chicago: A-
Peter Knegt, indieWIRE: A-
Eric Lavallee, IonCinema: A-
Noel Murray, A.V. Club: A-
Gregory Ellwood, HitFix: B+
Scott Tobias, A.V. Club: B+
David Ansen, Newsweek: B-
Current Average: A-


2. Up In The Air (Film Page)
[indieWIRE review]
Joe Leydon, Variety: A+
Lou Lumenick, The New York Post: A+
Alex Billington, FirstShowing.net: A+
James Rocchi, MSN Movies: A+
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly:  A
Peter Sciretta, /Film: A
David Ansen, Newsweek: A
Anne Thompson, Thompson on Hollywood:  A
Jeffrey Wells, Hollywood Elsewhere: A
Eric Kohn, indieWIRE: A-
Sam Adams, Philadelphia City Paper: A-
Gregory Ellwood, HitFix: A-
Scott Tobias, A.V. Club: B+
Noel Murray, A.V. Club: B+
Peter Knegt, indieWIRE: B
Eric Lavallee, IonCinema: B
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York: B
David Fear, Time Out New York: B
Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out Chicago: B-
Karina Longworth, SpoutBlog: C
Current Average: A-


3. The Informant! (Film Page)
[indieWIRE review]
Gregory Ellwood, HitFix: A
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York: A
James Rocchi, MSN Movies: A
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: A-
Alex Billington, FirstShowing.net: A-
Sam Adams, Philadelphia City Paper: A-
Mark Olsen, LA Times:  A-
David Fear, Time Out New York: A-
Eric Kohn, indieWIRE: B+
Matt Singer, IFC.com: B+
Scott Tobias, A.V. Club: B+
Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out Chicago: B+
David Ansen, Newsweek: B+
Lou Lumenick, The New York Post: B
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle: B
Anne Thompson, Thompson on Hollywood:  C
Current Average: B+


4. The Art of The Steal
Eric Kohn, indieWIRE: A-
Mark Olsen, LA Times:  A-
Eric Lavallee, IonCinema: B+
Matt Singer, IFC.com: B+
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York: B+
Scott Tobias, A.V. Club: B
Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out Chicago: B
Current Average: B+


5. A Single Man (Film Page)
Anne Thompson, Thompson on Hollywood: A
Gregory Ellwood, HitFix: A
Marjorie Baumgarten, The Austin Chronicle: A-
Mark Olsen, LA Times:  A-
Peter Knegt, indieWIRE: A-
Eric Kohn, indieWIRE: A-
Karina Longworth, SpoutBlog: A-
Lou Lumenick, The New York Post: B+
David Ansen, Newsweek: B
Eric Lavallee, IonCinema: B-
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York: C+
Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out Chicago: C-
Current Average: B+


6. White Material
[indieWIRE review]
David Fear, Time Out New York: A-
Scott Tobias, A.V. Club: B+
Eric Lavallee, IonCinema: B+
Marjorie Baumgarten, The Austin Chronicle: B+
Michael Tully, Hammer To Nail: B
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York: B
Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out Chicago: B-
Current Average: B+


7. The Damned United (Film Page)
Anne Thompson, Thompson on Hollywood:  A-
Mark Olsen, LA Times:  A-
Susan Wloszczyna, USA Today: B+
David Ansen, Newsweek: B+
Eric Kohn, indieWIRE: B
Jeffrey Wells, Hollywood Elsewhere: B-
Current Average: B+


8. Ondine (Film Page)
Sam Adams, Philadelphia City Paper: A
Marjorie Baumgarten, The Austin Chronicle: B+
Mark Olsen, LA Times:  B
Alex Billington, FirstShowing.net: B
Eric Lavallee, IonCinema: C+
Current Average: B+


9. Solomon Kane
Scott Weinberg, Cinematical: B+
Noel Murray, A.V. Club: B
Current Average: B+


10. The Road (Film Page)
[indieWIRE review]
Karina Longworth, SpoutBlog: A
Mark Olsen, LA Times:  A
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York: A-
Anne Thompson, Thompson on Hollywood:  A-
Eric Kohn, indieWIRE: A-
David Fear, Time Out New York: A-
Peter Sciretta, /Film: A-
Alex Billington, FirstShowing.net: B+
James Rocchi, MSN Movies: B
Matt Singer, IFC.com: B
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: B-
Sam Adams, Philadelphia City Paper: B-
Eric Lavallee, IonCinema: B-
Scott Tobias, A.V. Club: C+
Jeffrey Wells, Hollywood Elsewhere: C
Gregory Ellwood, HitFix: C
Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out Chicago: C
Lou Lumenick, The New York Post: C-
Current Average: B

-This story continues on page 2-

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posted on September 22, 2009
Films to Snag
Comments
1
DAvien Littlefield says on September 16, 2009 at 4:31pm

Personal Interest prompts me to ask about She a Chinese and Between Two Worlds. would love to see coverage of these

2
JRWOM says on September 16, 2009 at 2:23pm

Where are the ratings for The Joneses?

3
DiazFilm says on September 16, 2009 at 1:45pm

Missed that.  Thanks for the update.  I do find the list useful, BTW.

4
ben77 says on September 16, 2009 at 8:40am

DF: it says in the intro its going to updated soon with more grades. some of these films haven’t screen in toronto yet i dont think.

Anthony: Chill out

5
DiazFilm says on September 16, 2009 at 8:30am

I don’t have a problem with a grading system, provided the films are ACTUALLY GRADED - unlike many on this list!

6
anthony says on September 16, 2009 at 7:34am

This “grading” system is reductive and unfair to the films. Movies—even bad ones—don’t deserve a single letter as their marker of evaluation.

7
pegu says on September 15, 2009 at 10:38pm

Reminds me of the doc “Shut Up & Sing” vs the (renamed) “Wedding Weekend”. Might even be some confusion of this year’s “Push” and whether people will confuse it with “Precious (based on the novel Push)” ...

8
filmhawk says on September 15, 2009 at 10:15pm

With a SERIOUS MAN, a SINGLE MAN and a SOLITARY MAN—let’s hope their openings are spread out as far apart from each other as possible.  What a potentially confusing confluence!

AFI Fest
AFI Fest '09
BROKEN EMBRACES
A Film By Almodovar, Starring Penelope Cruz
Opens New York 11/20, Opens Los Angeles 12/11
Opens additional cities 12/25
Where is it opening by you?
www.sonyclassics.com/brokenembraces/dates.html
"Astonishing! A Masterpiece!"
Jeffrey Lyons, KNBC Weekend Today
"Cruz with Almodovar makes BROKEN EMBRACES soar!"
Richard Corliss, TIME
Written and Directed by Pedro Almodovar
www.brokenembracesmovie.com
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