Because the basic plot of Ruba Nadda‘s Inescapable is about a badass father trying to rescue his kidnapped daughter, it will instantly be compared to Taken (even though you only need to look as far back as 24 to see a story about a badass father trying to rescue his kidnapped daughter).  There’s so much in Inescapable that shoots down comparisons to Taken including the setting, the circumstances surrounding the daughter’s kidnapping, the protagonist’s background, and how he goes about his business.  Sadly, Inescapable stalls as a thriller because it never figures how to fully take advantage of its unique qualities.

The line-up for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival has been announced and it is a doozy.  The festival will play host to some of the year’s biggest world premieres including Rian Johnson‘s Looper (which will be the festival’s opening night film), The Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer‘s Cloud Atlas, Ben Affleck‘s Argo, David O. Russell‘s The Silver Linings Playbook, Derek Cianfrance‘s The Place Beyond the Pines, Joss Whedon‘s Much Ado About Nothing, Noah Baumbach‘s Frances Ha, and Neil Jordan‘s Byzantium.  Films making their International/North American debuts (which means that they’ll like show up at the Venice Film Festival first) include Terrence Malick‘s To the Wonder, Joe Wright‘s Anna Karenina, Robert Redford‘s The Company You Keep, and Billy Bob Thornton‘s Jayne Mansfield’s Car.

Hit the jump for the first wave of announced films.  The 2012 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 – 16th.