Any film that has Bill Murray in some capacity has me excited, let alone when it is a lead role. In his new film Hyde Park on Hudson, he plays the historical President FDR. To celebrate the film in theaters, Way Too Indie is giving away a night out at the movies to go see it.

Hyde Park on Hudson is a based-in-reality story told from the perspective of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 5th cousin, Margaret “Daisy” Suckly (played by Laura Linney), and takes place for the most part during the weekend that King George VI (Samuel West), along with his wife Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Coleman) became the first British Monarchs to visit America. The royal couple visit President Roosevelt (Bill Murray) at his mother’s home in upstate New York, Hyde Park, with the agenda of asking the President for the help of the United States when the inevitable World War breaks out.

To win a $25 American Express Gift Card for a night at the movies, email us your favorite Bill Murray film.

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For an additional entry, tell us your favorite film of his in the comments below (please also include your email).

This giveaway will end on Friday, January 18th at noon EST. The winner will be notified via email.

Official trailer of Hyde Park on Hudson:

Hyde Park on Hudson movie cover:

Many of America’s favorite Presidents had what we’d call ‘personality’; those distinctions that established them in the hearts of those they served. Lincoln with his storytelling, Washington and his cherry tree antics, Clinton and his saxophone. The American public likes to see the personal sides of our Presidents; at least once they leave office that is. In Hyde Park on Hudson, however, we’re exposed to the intersection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s personal and professional lives, in a way that had me longing to theater hop to that little Spielberg film playing next door.

Hyde Park on Hudson is a based-in-reality story told from the perspective of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 5th cousin, Margaret “Daisy” Suckly (played by Laura Linney), and takes place for the most part during the weekend that King George VI (Samuel West), along with his wife Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Coleman) became the first British Monarchs to visit America. The royal couple visit President Roosevelt at his mother’s home in upstate New York, Hyde Park, with the agenda of asking the President for the help of the United States when the inevitable World War breaks out.

Playing out as a confused farce, accidentally veering into melodrama, Hyde Park on Hudson introduces us to the many women in FDR’s life. As Daisy spends more time with her shining star of a cousin, she finds herself wrapped up in a world of romance and adventure she’s never experienced. And when their relationship becomes sexual (which happens so quickly we’ve hardly finished watching the opening credits, and which holds little historical evidence), she seems all too glad to have the attention of this, the most influential man in the world. Her naiveté to his ongoing relationships with his secretary, Missy (Elizabeth Marvel), another unseen woman (his much historically documented mistress, Lucy Mercer), and her dismissal of his friendly if not romantic marriage to Eleanor (played with perfection by Olivia Williams), would all make for interesting dramatic elements if it just wasn’t so obviously ill-suited for Laura Linney. I’d write it off as a casting issue except that she’s forced to narrate the entire film in childish tones, trying to heighten the stories elements with hyperbole and managing only to enhance just how un-impressive it all really is.

As the events of the weekend unfold, from dinner with the King and Queen, where everything seems to go wrong and the full moon garners the blame, to the American-style picnic where hot dogs are served to the horror of Her Majesty, Daisy starts to uncover that to be involved in the President’s life means sharing him with more than just the public. In the most off-putting scene of the film her dramatic reaction to the revelation that an unfaithful husband makes for an unfaithful lover takes such a dramatic turn it’s laughable.

Bill Murray is this film’s guiding light. He plays FDR with perfect execution, nailing his stiff New York drawl and subtle wisdom. As President Roosevelt, he’s warm and likable. As Franklin, the script portrays his personal life as that of a man who craved worship so much he took on mistresses flippantly and apparently with little thought to why these women appealed to him. And because of his age and physical situation, there’s no way not to interpret it as slightly pathetic and icky.

The characters most worth watching are the King and Queen, with all their British propriety and concern for their nation. The most brilliant scene of the film involves a candid conversation between FDR and King George. It seems historically unlikely, but is exactly the sort of anecdote we’d like to hear about a favorite President. How he played father-figure to a King.

Hyde Park on Hudson, while showing some of the affability of FDR, his goofy playful side, dwells more on his philandering ways and doesn’t do much to instill pride in the only President to serve more than two terms. Through Daisy’s narrative lens it’s hard to understand the magnetism he had to accrue the devotion of many, including women. And as a film it flip-flops far too suddenly between comedy, historical drama, and melodrama and therefore is disjointed from one scene to the next. Laura Linney, a proven superb actress, seems to have been suckered into believing that a film that involves both a well-loved President and well-loved King (this being the THIRD film in two years to feature King George alongside The King’s Speech and W.E.) could not fail. But alas, having so many grand elements means the film has only farther to fall on its face and her character is given such little importance to the story no amount of great acting could bring life into it.

It’s a shame that such a crown jewel of a performance from Bill Murray would be wasted on such a poor script. Now can someone please write a better historical drama about FDR for him? Had this one been better, he’d easily have been getting the Best Actor award this winter.

This year will be my fifth time heading out for the Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF for short). The festival, which takes place over 11 days throughout downtown Toronto, has become more influential after the last several years. Back in 2008 TIFF premiered Slumdog Millionaire which went on to dominate the major award shows. In 2010 TIFF premiered The King’s Speech which, like Slumdog Millionaire, went on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Now TIFF is seen as the starting line for the Oscar race, with studios premiering their films hoping for a breakthrough hit.

Don’t get the impression that TIFF is just a collection of celebrities promoting their Oscar hopefuls. This year there are 289 feature films playing at the festival, with the bigger premieres (Argo, To The Wonder, Hyde Park on Hudson) taking up a small percentage of that number. Films from all over the world play every year, and whether you’re interested in a certain country, genre, venue, etc. you should be able to find a line-up of films that will cater to your interests.

The festival starts today, but I will not be attending until tomorrow. Cameron Bailey, the artistic director of the festival, has admitted that people tend to think the festival starts on the second day which is basically true. The festival has tried to combat that this year by selecting Rian Johnson’s Looper as its opening film, but Thursday only has a handful of screenings that are all sold out. While I wait to become a part of the madness, here are some general pieces of information about TIFF that I’ve learned over the years.

You are a slave to the schedule (AKA You can’t always get what you want) – There are plenty of films I would have loved to see this year at TIFF but timing and scheduling end up becoming my worst enemy. I plan on seeing more than half of our most anticipated films at TIFF, but the perfect world where I can watch them all simply doesn’t exist. Like Someone in Love conflicts with The Master and Cloud Atlas. To The Wonder conflicts with Berberian Sound Studio. Other films I would have loved seeing, like Pablo Larrain’s No, conflict with other screenings. While it’s unfortunate I have no reason to complain, I’m perfectly happy with my current line-up. The fact that I have to make these kinds of tortured decisions goes to show how much content TIFF really has. It’s better to have an embarrassment of riches than a shortage.

Emotion versus Logic – There’s a debate that usually goes on between TIFF-goers every year that can be summed up like this: Is it worth the extra money to see a popular film at TIFF, even if it comes out in theatres shortly after? The ‘Emotion’ side says yes. With the cast and crew attending, a Q&A, and an audience of hundreds of enthusiastic fans watching it certainly feels like it would be the ideal experience to watch a movie. The ‘Logic’ side doesn’t consider those factors worthy of the premium pricing, and that time at the festival is better spent checking out something that won’t get a major theatrical release. Personally I sway back and forth between both sides of the debate. The reason why I won’t be checking out Argo at TIFF is because it’ll be out in theatres shortly afterward, but seeing Cloud Atlas at TIFF appeals to me a ton even if it’ll be out in October. And this point brings me to…

See something different – A trip to TIFF or any other film festival wouldn’t be complete without stepping outside one’s comfort zone. Every year I make sure that I see one film I know little to nothing about. The greatest opportunity that TIFF brings to viewers is discovery. It’s no surprise that out of 289 films some of them will be duds, but there are plenty of hidden gems as well. There’s something exciting about discovering a great film no one else knows about, and in a lot of cases no one ever gets the chance to see these films again in theatres. Some people might see it as risky to spend their money on a film they don’t know about, but the reward would be something worth remembering for a long time.

Besides the Looper premiere today should be relatively quiet at the festival. Jason Reitman is hosting a table read of American Beauty, while Rust and Bone and On The Road will screen for North American audiences before Dredd 3D kicks off the festival’s Midnight Madness programme. It should hopefully be a nice start to another great year for TIFF.

Coming up tomorrow: I start my festival trip with one of the weirdest double features in my life, starting with Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers followed by Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master.

The first wave of films for the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival were announced this morning and most people were very pleased with 62 films that will be making their premieres.

We have put together a list of the hottest trailers for films playing at TIFF 2012. Many of the films do not have a synopsis yet let alone a trailer but we will be updating this post as more information comes along. Keep in mind that the festival tends to have over 300 films so they will continue to make more announcements of additions to their lineup before it kicks off on September 6th.

Best trailers of TIFF 2012:

Argo (Director Ben Affleck)
Synopsis: As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA ‘exfiltration’ specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.

The Sessions (Director Ben Lewin)
Synopsis: A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest.

Dangerous Liaisons (Director Jin-ho Hur)
Synopsis: Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) stars in director Hur Jin-ho’s lushly sensual adaptation of the classic French novel, which updates Choderlos de Laclos’ devilish tale of sex, seduction and scheming to 1930s Shanghai.

Hyde Park on Hudson (Director Roger Michell)
Synopsis: The story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret Stuckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.

The lineup for the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival has been released (thanks to Variety) ahead of the official announcement from TIFF (which is suppose to be later this morning). The first set of films for this year’s lineup this morning is a doozy. Leading the pack as the opening film of the festival (which is also its world premiere) is Rian Johnson’s new Sci-Fi thriller Looper. Other films getting world premieres are Argo (Ben Affleck), Cloud Atlas (The Wachowskis & Tom Tykwer), The Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell) and A Place Beyond The Pines (Derek Cianfrance).

Perhaps the most welcoming news was that Terrence Malick’s To The Wonder would play although since it is not under the world premiere category we can assume it will play elsewhere first. Other notable films that will be making either an International or North American premiere are; The Company You Keep (Robert Redford), Anna Karenina (Joe Wright), and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (Mira Nair).

Below is the full list of the films announced so far. Expect plenty of more films announced over the coming weeks as TIFF usually showcases around 300+ annually. The festival runs September 6th through the 16th this year. This year C.J. Prince will be attending the festival and reporting back for Way Too Indie so stay tuned.

World Premieres:
Looper – (Rian Johnson) – (Opening Film)
Cloud Atlas – (The Wachowskis & Tom Tykwer)
Argo – (Ben Affleck)
The Silver Linings Playbook – (David O Russell)
Love, Marilyn – (Liz Garbus)
Free Angela And All Political Prisoners – (Shola Lynch)
The Place Beyond The Pines – (Derek Cianfrance)
Midnight’s Children – (Deepa Mehta)
Hyde Park On Hudson – (Roger Michell)
Great Expectations – (Mike Newell)
Inescapable – (Rubba Nadda)
Twice Born – (Sergio Castellitto)
English Vinglish – (Gauri Shinde)
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower – (Stephen Chbosky)
Thanks For Sharing – (Stuart Blumberg)
End Of Watch – (David Ayer)
Imogene – (Robert Puccini and Shari Springer Berman)
A Late Quartet – (Yaron Zilberman)
Much Ado About Nothing – (Joss Whedon)
Frances Ha – (Noah Baumbach)
The Time Being – (Nenad Cicin-Sain)
Writers – (Josh Boone)
At Any Price – (Ramin Bahrani)
Venus And Serena – (Maiken Baird)
Byzantium – (Neil Jordan)
Quartet – (Dustin Hoffman)
Ginger And Rosa – (Sally Potter)
A Liar’s Autobiography – (Ben Timlett, Bill JOnes, Jeff Simpson)
Foxfire – (Laurnet Cantet)
In The House – (Francois Ozon)
The Impossible – (JA Bayona)
Hannah Arendt – (Margarethe Von Trotta)
Mr. Pip – (Andrew Adamson)
Capital – (Costa-Gavras)
The Attack – (Ziad Doueriri)
Zaytoun – (Eran Riklis)
The Deep – (Baltasar Kormakur)
Dreams For Sale – (Nishikawa Miwa)
The Last Supper – (Lu Chuan)

International/North American Premieres:
To The Wonder – (Terrence Malick)
Anna Karenina – (Joe Wright)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist – (Mira Nair)
The Company You Keep – (Robert Redford)
Jayne Mansfield’s Car – (Billy Bob Thornton)
A Royal Affair – (Nikolai Arcel)
Dangerous Liasons – (Hur Ji-Ho)
Thermae Romae – (Hideki Takeuchi)
Caught IN THe Web – (Chen Kaige)
Dormant Beauty – (Marco Belloccchio)
Everybody Has A Plan – (Ana Piterbarg w/Viggo Mortensen)
Kon-Tiki – (Espen Sandberg
Reality – (Matteo Garrone)
A Few Hours Of Spring – (Stephan Brize)
The Hunt – (Thomas Vintenberg)
The Iceman – (Ariel Vromen)
Lore – (Cate Shortland)
No – (Pablo Larrain)
OUtrage Beyond – (Takeshi Kitano)
Rust And Bone – (Jacques Audiard)
The Sapphires – (Wayne Blair)
Tai Chi O – (Stephen Fung)

Canadian Premiere:
The Sessions – (Ben Lewis)