The Best Movies Coming Soon From Toronto’s Film Festival

​Stallone’s life story, told in Sly, could punch its way to documentary honors

The classic, never-give-up Rocky boxing movies feature prominently in Sly (unrated, on Netflix Nov. 3), an appealing yet slick documentary about Sylvester Stallone, given the prestigious closing-night slot in the festival. When his parents split, he was raised by a brutal and competitive father who shaped Sly, who never surrendered to adversity (his partial facial paralysis). When his acting career failed to take off, he wrote and produced his own material, which exploited his strengths and downplayed his weaknesses. Triumph! His life has been built on franchises that define their times: the Rocky, Rambo and more irreverent, grownup-ensemble Expendables films. The movie is an entertaining portrait of relentless ambition, capturing the star’s innate desire to find his place in the world — and broadcast it to millions around the globe. Pretty sly for a kid with no prospects from Hell’s Kitchen, one of Manhattan’s poorest, crime-ridden neighborhoods. To paraphrase Rocky Balboa, “Life ain’t about how big your first hit is, it’s how you can get a hit and keep moving forward!” (⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)

Rustin may put a forgotten civil rights hero in the Academy’s spotlight

It wouldn’t be the beginning of awards season without a crop of biopics. Among the best is Rustin (PG-13, in theaters Nov. 3, on Netflix Nov. 17), an engaging, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting biographical feature. Bayard Rustin was Black, political — and gay. An active organizer of the civil rights movement, he was the architect of Martin Luther King’s first March on Washington, where King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. But even in a movement demanding freedom and equality, Rustin’s homosexuality was not easily accepted by comrades and colleagues and made him vulnerable to blackmail and arrest for public indecency. With Domingo in the title role, the result is propulsive and deeply moving. (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Next Goal Wins might just be a winner

Director Taika Waititi, 48, earned a 2020 screenwriting Oscar for his hilarious and heartbreaking movie about life under Hitler, Jojo Rabbit (which got six Oscar nominations). He’s back in the race with Next Goal Wins (in theaters Nov. 17), a broad sports comedy in which he has a small role as a kooky man of the cloth. It’s a David and Goliath parable based on the true story of the crushing failures of the American Samoa soccer team and the raging alcoholic coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) sent to save the contenders from ignominious oblivion. The coach builds a team and, absorbing the spiritual ways of the local people, rebuilds himself in a way that reminds you of Ted Lasso. The movie has the potential to inspire audiences to rise in their seats and applaud this rag-tag bunch. (⭐⭐⭐☆☆)