Toronto International Film Festival Coming To An End

The Toronto International Film Festival closes its doors this Sunday, the 16th of September. Widely recognised one of the most important film festivals - second only to Cannes - the TIFF represents a real film lovers event, with more access, a wider range of films, but still enough 'star presence' to please those lovers of all thing celebrity.

With only two days left of the festival remaining, perhaps now is a poignant time to look back and reflect on what has been marvellous few weeks for film buffs. The TIFF has, on the whole, lived up to its expectations, and as with any film festival, some flicks have garnered huge praise, and some have flopped like a dead fish. Ben Affleck's Argo - a true story about the CIA's rescue of six Americans from revolutionary Iran in 1979 - is one of the films that made a real splash, culminating in rave reviews from the critics. The Telegraph called it "gripping, urgent, funny and weighty" whilst The Independent observed: "Affleck deserves all the plaudits he will get for his work on both sides of the camera." A film that has divided those charged with penning reviews is Terrence Malick's To The Wonder, which also stars Affleck. Some sites have been moved to positive reviews, with The Guardian awarding the film 4 stars, whilst Todd MCCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter was less kind: "However accomplished Malick's technique might be in some ways, this mostly comes off, especially in the laborious second hour, as visual doodling without focused thematic goals," he wrote.

As ever, the end of the festival run coincides with awards-season-hysteria, and this year no different. Hotly tipped to dominate The Oscars come 2013 is Paul Thomas Anderson with his film, The Master; the first motion picture in 16 years to be filmed entirely on 65mm format using Panavision's System 65 camera. Performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix are being touted for the Best Actor and Best Supporting actor awards, whilst 6/1 odds for P.T Anderson to pick up Best Film represents a solid bet. (Odds are correct at time of writing).