The superstar team of Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner, and Janusz Kaminski ripping another one out of the park is the least surprising development at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. The entirety of Spielberg’s being splashed upon the big screen, The Fabelmans sidesteps the treacly sentimentality of your typical autobiography to deliver a moving form of self-therapy: the legendary director’s heart and soul, delivered through his masterful craft. The Fabelmans is Spielberg’s most personal film, and one of the year’s best. Minor spoilers ahead…

Leave it to Steven Spielberg to spin a stage-to-screen retread into dazzling, cinematic gold. Pulling out all the stops of his meticulous craft, Spielberg - along with frequent collaborator Tony Kushner - have wrought a beautiful update to the legendary 1957 musical and its equally regarded 1961 film adaptation. 2021’s West Side Story wisely retains its original orchestrations while injecting depth into its conflicts and modern verve into its visuals, mining multiple star-making performances out of its sprawling cast. Minor spoilers ahead…