Damien Chazelle’s “First Man” has already won over critics and crowds in Venice and Telluride, but the Neil Armstrong story found a little something extra for its Toronto International Film Festival debut on Sunday: A really, really big screen.
The film screened on Sunday afternoon in the Ontario Place Cinesphere, the world’s first dedicated IMAX theater, which is located in a geodesic dome in Lake Ontario.
The official TIFF premiere takes place on Monday in Roy Thomson Hall, but the IMAX screening was a bonus, and the world premiere of the format in which part of the movie was shot.
Also Read: 'First Man' Film Review: Ryan Gosling and Damien Chazelle Slip the Surly Bonds of Earth
The full IMAX experience only kicks in once Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and Buzz Aldrin (Corey Stoll) land on the moon near the end of the film, and those few minutes are undeniably spectacular.
It also helps that those scenes are for the most part made up of magnificent lunar vistas in all their widescreen splendor, or of those vistas reflected brilliantly in the visor on the front of Armstrong’s space helmet.
For the rest of the film, the partial-IMAX format paid off at times and was problematic at others. With much of the earthbound action consisting of dialogue scenes shot with hand-held, shaky cameras, IMAX sometimes makes the action too big; the framing already puts us in the thick of the action, and we don’t need those shaky close-ups blown up enormously.
If you’ve already seen “First Man,” the IMAX experience is one to savor. But if you haven’t, it’s not essential.
The movie itself, though, feels as essential in Toronto as it was in Telluride and Venice. The triumph of the space program has never seemed so hard fought or the dangers so visceral, and the shades of Gosling’s performance as a man who won’t show emotion even to his family are more impressive with each viewing.
This isn’t a pure crowd-pleaser like “A Star Is Born,” but it’s a richly satisfying experience. Chazelle has now made a splash at three successive festivals, and the Toronto bow of “First Man” suggests that he’ll be sticking around this awards season.
37 Fall Movies to Obsess Over, From 'Halloween' to 'Mary Poppins Returns' (Photos)
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Coming in hot -- and in arguably much higher volume than this past summer -- are a slew of autumn movies to be psyched about. From Halloween-time horror to Oscar hopefuls, browse through for TheWrap's list of the most anticipated new 35 fall movies worth obsessing over.
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New Line
Sept. 7: "The Nun"
"The Conjuring" is one of the most popular horror movie franchises out there, and "The Nun" spinoff is only looking to elevate the series.
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Fox
Sept. 14: "The Predator"
Though it was always billed as a reboot, director Shane Black has stressed that his movie “The Predator” is closer to a sequel, actually expanding on the backstory of the Predator aliens seen in the first two Arnold Schwarzenegger films. And while it includes the likes of Boyd Holbrook ("Narcos") Trevante Rhodes (“Moonlight”) and Thomas Jane, early looks at ComicCon highlighted Black’s sense of humor as well, with Keegan Michael-Key and Olivia Munn doing some heavy lifting.
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Roadside Attractions
Sept. 14: "Lizzie"
The new take on the Lizzie Borden murders, starring Kristen Stewart and Chloe Sevigny, captivated fans at the Sundance Film Festival.
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Netflix
Sept. 21: "Maniac"
Jonah Hill and Emma Stone reunite after 2008's "Superbad" for Netflix's "Maniac," about two people who are persuaded to participate in a pharmaceutical trial that will change their lives forever.
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Getty Images
Sept. 21: "Fahrenheit 11/9"
Alluding to his 2004 documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore's upcoming documentary takes aim at Donald Trump in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election.
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Bleecker Street
Sept. 21: "Colette"
Keira Knightley plays the real-life French writer who publishes her works under her husband's name -- and then defies early 20th century norms with gender-bending affairs. "Colette" was all the rage at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
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Neon
Sept. 21: "Assassination Nation"
Another movie that made waves at Sundance, this film sold to the Russo brothers and Neon for a whopping $10 million, and follows a small town that absolutely loses its mind. Odessa Young, Hari Nef, Suki Waterhouse, Bill Skarsgard and Bella Thorne star.
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Sony
Oct. 5: "Venom"
Tom Hardy steps into the role of Venom, one of the most popular characters from Spider-Man's rogues gallery. Thanks to incredible effects, Venom looks like he literally stepped out of the pages of the Marvel comics. Sony rebranded all its Spider-Man characters into "Sony's Universe of Marvel Characters" with Venom leading the charge.
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Warner Bros.
Oct. 5: "A Star Is Born"
Bradley Cooper! Lady Gaga! Bradley Cooper SINGING (and directing for the first time)! We get it all in this movie.
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Universal
Oct. 12: "First Man"
Damien Chazelle's follow-up to "La La Land" reteams him with Ryan Gosling, who plays the moonwalking astronaut Neil Armstrong.
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Fox
Oct. 12: "Bad Times at the El Royale"
Drew Goddard directs this ensemble cast of, well, beautiful people. Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm and Dakota Johnson star in the thriller about seven strangers meeting in a rundown hotel.
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Amazon
Oct. 12: "Beautiful Boy"
Timothée Chalamet captured everyone's hearts with last year's "Call Me by Your Name," and early critics have been raving about the movie that looks at the experience of struggling with addiction over many years. Steve Carell also stars as his dad.
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Universal
Oct. 19: "Halloween"
A reboot of John Carpenter's 1978 horror classic of the same name? Count us in! David Gordon Green directs, with Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as Laurie Strode.
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Fox
Oct. 19: "The Hate U Give"
“The Hate U Give” may end up being one of the timeliest movies of the year. This adaptation of Angie Thomas’s young adult novel of the same name follows an African American teen turned activist after she witnesses her friend shot and killed by a white police officer. Amandla Stenberg plays Starr Carter opposite a great cast including Regina Hall, Anthony Mackie, Issa Rae, Common and Russell Hornsby.
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Fox
Nov. 2: "Bohemian Rhapsody"
The film has been in the news a lot, for good and bad -- director Bryan Singer was fired and replaced by Dexter Fletcher, for one. But the movie amped up anticipation again with the first trailers in which star Rami Malek looks identical to Freddie Mercury. The casting couldn't have been better.
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Amazon
Nov. 2: "Suspiria"
To be honest, Luca Guadagnino's upcoming remake of Dario Argento's creepy horror movie "Suspiria" has been haunting us for months with stills, teasers and most recently, its first trailer. Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton star.
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Focus
Nov. 2: "Boy Erased"
Joel Edgerton returns to direct "Boy Erased," which stars Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Edgerton himself. It follows Jared (Hedges), a teen sent by his conservative religious parents to a gay conversion therapy program.
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Sony
Nov. 9: "The Girl in the Spider's Web"
Claire Foy is stepping into the role of goth hacker Lisbeth Salander, previously played by Rooney Mara, in this highly anticipated sequel to "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."
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Paramount
Nov. 9: "Overlord"
Although J.J. Abrams said "Overlord" will not be part of the "Cloverfield" franchise, we're still excited -- the film follows American soldiers who discover secret Nazi experiments.
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Fox
Nov. 16: "Widows"
Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Erivo play women who kick ass after their late husbands leave them deeply in debt to crime lords.
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Warner Bros
Nov. 16: "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald"
Given the huge fan base of the "Harry Potter" franchise, anticipation for the second film in the prequel series is high. This time, we'll see Jude Law taking on the role of young Dumbledore alongside Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander.
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Universal
Nov. 21: "Green Book"
Peter Farrelly, of “There’s Something About Mary” fame, may seem like an odd choice for a biopic resembling “Driving Miss Daisy” and two Oscar nominees. But “Green Book” plays on the humor and true story drama between pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his driver Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), a surly, Italian American former bouncer. Set during a tour of the South in the ‘60s, “Green Book” probes themes of race as well as friendship.
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Warner Bros./MGM
Nov. 21: "Creed II"
2015's "Creed" made a huge dent, both critically and commercially, and even scored Sylvester Stallone a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the Academy. We can't wait to see what Michael B. Jordan and new director Steven Caple Jr. cook up in the sequel.
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Disney
Nov. 21: "Ralph Breaks the Internet"
Six years after "Wreck-It Ralph," John C. Reilly reprises his role in the animated feature. Gal Gadot, Kristen Bell, Sarah Silverman, Jane Lunch, Taraji P. Henson and Mandy Moore are also lending their voices to the movie.
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Fox Searchlight
Nov. 23: "The Favourite"
"Maniac" isn't the only film Emma Stone will star in this fall -- she will also play a servant in Yorgos Lanthimos' follow-up to "The Killing of a Sacred Deer." Rachel Weisz, Olivia Colman and Nicholas Hoult also star in this period drama about a royal love triangle.
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Gaga Corporation
Nov. 23: "Shoplifters"
Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s thoughtful and often heartwarming family dramas have long been a staple of Cannes and the art-house circuit, but his latest, “Shoplifters,” finally won him the Palme D’Or at Cannes last May. It tells of a family of small-time thieves who find a missing child on the street and welcome her into their home, only to have their shoplifting habits come under the microscope.
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Annapurna
Nov. 30: "If Beale Street Could Talk"
All eyes are on Barry Jenkins after the Best Picture-winning success of his 2016 film “Moonlight.” His follow-up, which he writes and directs, is an adaptation of a 1974 novel by James Baldwin in which a Harlem woman named Tish (newcomer KiKi Layne) tries to prove that her imprisoned fiancé is innocent while pregnant with their child.
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Focus
Dec. 7: "Mary Queen of Scots"
Early photos of Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie as royal cousins amped up anticipation for the historical drama scripted by Beau Willimon ("House of Cards").
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Sony
Dec. 14: "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" will introduce audiences to Miles Morales, who took over as Spider-Man after the death of Peter Parker -- in an animated film from producers Christopher Miller and Phil Lord as well as director Bob Persichetti. Miles Morales is voiced by Shameik Moore.
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Disney
Dec. 19: "Mary Poppins Returns"
After Julie Andrews played the famous nanny in the 1964 classic, Emily Blunt will step into the magical shoes, opposite Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and Julie Walters.
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Warner Bros.
Dec. 21: "Aquaman"
Jason Momoa is back in a standalone film about the DC Comics hero. Prolific director James Wan, who is the mastermind behind the "Conjuring" and "Saw" franchises, is directing.
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Paramount
Dec. 21: "Bumblebee"
“Bumblebee” isn’t just the first “Transformers” spinoff but also the first in the franchise to be directed by someone other than Michael Bay. This prequel, set in the 1980s, has a lot to prove. Travis Knight, a veteran of the stop-motion animated films like “Kubo and the Two Strings," makes his live-action debut.
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Cannes
Dec. 21: "Cold War"
Pawel Pawlikowski's follow-up to his 2013 Best Foreign Language Oscar winner "Ida" is a searing love story that plays out over 10 years amid the, well, Cold War in 1950s Poland and Paris. Ten different chapters offer glimpses at the rough love between a conductor (Tomasz Kot) and his ingénue (Joanna Kulig). An unforgiving, stylish and cynical lens make Pawlikowski's cursed lovers all the more watchable.
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Dec. 21: "Alita: Battle Angel"
Robert Rodriguez directs this adaptation of a beloved Japanese manga about a kickass cyborg (played by Rosa Salazar in motion-capture) who doesn't remember her origins.
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Focus
Dec. 25: "On the Basis of Sex"
In the midst of the #MeToo movement, Focus is releasing a biopic starring Felicity Jones as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who authored majority opinions such as "United States v. Virginia," which struck down any law that would allow only men to be admitted into schools.
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Universal
Dec. 21: "Welcome to Marwen"
Robert Zemeckis' adaptation of the remarkable 2010 documentary "Marwencol" follows Steve Carell as a man who suffers a brutal attack and then spends his days re-creating a WWII-era village.
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Annapurna
Dec. 25: "Destroyer"
The first image for Karyn Kusama's "Destroyer" was recently released, amping up anticipation for the director's follow up to "The Invitation."
The season starts with ”The Nun“ and ends with Nicole Kidman’s ”Destroyer“
Coming in hot -- and in arguably much higher volume than this past summer -- are a slew of autumn movies to be psyched about. From Halloween-time horror to Oscar hopefuls, browse through for TheWrap's list of the most anticipated new 35 fall movies worth obsessing over.