In the last 24 hours, many people here at the Toronto International Film Festival got to check out writer/director Guy Moshe’s Bunraku.  Starring Josh Hartnett, Woody Harrelson, Demi Moore, Kevin McKidd and Ron Perlman, this was one of those films on my radar since we ran the images that showcased the hyper stylized sets and costumes.

Going in, I figured the film was either going to be incredibly cool, or a train wreck of epic proportions.  It was neither. Instead, I walked out thinking Moshe aimed really high with Bunraku and while some of it was pretty cool, a lot of it had some problems – the biggest of which was the two hour running time.  I think if he had cut it down to 90 minutes, the film would be a lot stronger.  Saying all this, I respect that he made something unique and different and think everyone (included all the actors) gave it their all.  For a lot more, hit the jump:

What I love about this time of year are all the movies getting ready to unspool for the first time.  Over the next few weeks, the Toronto Film Festival, Telluride, the Venice Film Festival, and even Fantastic Fest will premiere tons of movies – with many of them under the radar (for now). That’s because every year plays out the same way…as a few movies will come out of nowhere to win some of the biggest Awards at each of the Festivals and then they’ll get released around the world.  That’s why everyone gets so excited for this time of year, because over the next few weeks, the world’s leading film critics will get to see almost all the big releases for the rest of the year and everyone wants to be the first one predicting what will win an Oscar and what film was a huge disappointment.

So why this long winded intro?  Because one of the many films off my radar was writer/director Guy Moshe’s Bunraku. While I knew the film from the times I’d seen the title listed on Woody Harrelson, Demi Moore, Josh Hartnett, Kevin McKidd and Ron Perlman’s IMDb profiles, I didn’t know anything about it.  However, we just got the first images from the film and the synopsis and now I’m very curious.  Hit the jump for more:

The upcoming dramedy Everything Must Go is headed to this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.  Based on the Raymond Carver short story, Dan Rush’s low-budget dramedy centers on a recovering alcoholic (played by Will Ferrell) “who falls off the wagon, is tossed from both his job and home, and must survive on his front lawn by selling his belongings in a yard sale.”  Ferrell scored another hit this weekend when The Other Guys scored $35.6 million at the box office this weekend.  While I enjoyed the film, I always want to see Ferrell in roles outside his comfort zone and his part in Everything Must Go sounds like one of them.

THR also reports that Brad Anderson’s thriller The Vanishing on 7th Street, starring Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton and John Leguizamo, and Guy Moshe’s action noir movie Bunraku, starring Josh Hartnett, Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson, will play at the festival.  The 2010 Toronto International Film Festival will run from September 9 – 19th.