Friday, November 30, 2007

Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 30, 2007!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 30, 2007! We have a very quiet week for releases - only 2 in sight! In limited release this week is I'm Not There the avant garde Bob Dylan inspiration/recreation/impersonation film. In wide releases is Awake which every time I look into what it's about I walk a grey line between feeling like I've learned too much to being confused. It's fair to say it's a thriller.

If those are not to you likely feel free to check out some of the recently released films. I've heard The Mist is fun scary movie, there have been across-the-board glowing reviews and impressions of Enchanted and it looks like 3D is back to attack with Beowulf.

Have a great week!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Diaspora Film Festival
November 29 - December 2, 2007 at Innis Town Hall and the NFB, Toronto, Ontario
www.diasporafilmfest.com

Fantasy Worldwide Film Festival
Exploring Fantasy, Science Fiction and Anime on the wide screen December 4-8, 2007 at Innis Town Hall, Toronto, Ontario
www.fantasyworldwide.com

Giggleshorts Film Festival
International Comedy Short Film Festival
November 29 - Dec 1, 2007 at Brunswick Theatre, Toronto, Ontario
www.giggleshorts.com

Friday November 30, 2007 Releases

Awake
Writer/Dir: Joby Harold - directorial debut
Cast: Jessica Alba, Hayden Christensen, Terrence Howard
USA

I'm Not There
Dir: Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, Velvet Goldmine, Safe)
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw
USA/Germany

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada November 30, 2007**

Friday, November 23, 2007

Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 23, 2007!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 23, 2007! Short week of releases this week as many opened on Wednesday just prior to American Thanksgiving (happy turkey day to those south of the boarder! Don't forget to make some yummy soup with the leftover turkey!). It's also a week of really do-er's as all 4 Friday releases are writer/director all-in-one. Ok, on to what *is* being released!

In limited release this week we have the, yes this is the consensus on the description, zen documentary on cooking How to Cook Your Life as well as the new Noah Baumbach film Margot at the Wedding which has recieved a fair amount of buzz here and there and if I was just told the premise of the film I doubt I would be interested. However, every single time I see the preview I'm intrigued and want to know more. The actors all look very 'normal' and seem to have very 'normal' lives and it's drama all the way. I think it's really going to be one to watch.

Wide releases this week include the Stephen King adaptation The Mist, and for those already ready for Christmas This Christmas.

Have a great week!

Shannon

Festival Watch

New Serbian Film Festival
November 22-25, 2007 at The Bloor Cinema, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.bioskop.ca/

Reel Awareness Film Festival
November 22-25, 2007 at the NFB, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.aito.ca/

Spinning Wheel Film Festival
November 23-25, 2007, at the Isabel Bader Theatre, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.swfftoronto.com/

Wednesday November 21, 2007 Releases

August Rush
Dir: Kirsten Sheridan (Disco Pigs)
Cast: Kreddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Robin Williams, Terrence Howard USA

Enchanted
Dir: Kevin Lima (102 Dalmations)
Cast: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon, Julie Andrews
USA

Hitman
Dir: Xavier Gens (Frontière(s))
Cast: Timothy Olyphant
France/USA

Friday November 23, 2007 Releases

How to Cook Your Life
Writer/Dir: Doris Dörrie (Nackt, Erleuchtung garantiert)
Zen documentary featuring cook Edward Espe Brown
Germany
Limited Release

Margot at the Wedding
Writer/Dir: Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Kicking and Screaming)
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black
USA

The Mist
Writer/Dir: Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Majestic)
Cast: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher
USA

This Christmas
Writer/Dir: Preston A. Whitmore II ()
Cast: Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Laz Alonso, sharon Leal
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada November 23, 2007**

Friday, November 16, 2007

Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 16, 2007!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 16, 2007! With holiday season nearing (although still a month away, so there is lots of shopping time!), we are seeing family and fantasy films such as Enchanted, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium and Beowulf. Speaking of Beowulf I found the previews a little confusing on the animated vs live action factor. However it is in the list for possible nominations for the Oscar's for animated film so I guess that answers that!

In limited release this week we have the highly acclaimed yet disturbing fictionalized realism with Redacted as well as Before the Devil Knows Your Dead, Terror's Advocate, and the Canadian film Citizen Duane.

Wide releases this week include book-to-film Love in the Time of Cholera, the Canadian film Breakfast with Scot, Beowulf and family friendly Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. Also, next-mid-week releases of Hitman, August Rush and Enchanted. The August Rush preview completely took my heart out so it goes on my list.

Festival spotlight: Coverage of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival continues at Movie Moxie until November 18/07.

Have a great week!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Brazilian Film Festival
November 15-18 at The Bloor Cinema, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.brazilianfilmfestivalcanada.com/

One Minute Film & Video Festival
November 22 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at the Bloor Cinema, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.minutefilmfest.com

Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival
Presenting features and shorts on the facts & mythology surrounding mental health and addiction
Continues until November 17 at Workman Theatre, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.rendezvouswithmadness.com

Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
Presenting contemporary Asian cinema and work from the Asian diaspora
Continues until November 18, 2007 at various locations, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.reelasian.com

...................sneeky sneeky............

August Rush has sneak previews this Saturday November 17, 2007 at 7:30pm at Varsity, Canada Square and Sheppard Grande. It opens in regular release Wednesday November 21, 2007 for more details see below

Friday November 16, 2007 Releases

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Dir: Sidney Lumet (Running on Empty, Gloria, The Wiz)
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, Rosemary Harris, Albert Finney
USA
Limited Release

Beowulf
Dir: Robert Zemeckis (The Polar Express, Cast Away, What Lies Beneath, Forrest Gump)
Voices and, shall we say sometimes body templates?: Ray Winstone, Angelina Jolie, Alison Lohman, Crispin Glover, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich
USA

Breakfast with Scot
Dir: Laurie Lynd (House <1996>, RSVP)
Cast: Noah Bernett, Thomas Cavanagh
Canada

Citizen Duane
Dir: Michael Mabbott (The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico)
Cast: Douglas Smith, Devon Bostick, Alberta Watson, Vivica A. Fox, Jane McGregor, Donal Logue
Canada
Limited Release

Love in the Time of Cholera
Dir: Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Mona Lisa Smile, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
Cast: Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Javier Bardem, Benjamin Bratt, Marcela Mar
USA

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
writer/Dir: Zach Helm - directorial debut
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Zach Mills, Ted Ludzik
USA

Redacted
Dir: Brian De Palma (The Black Dahlia, Femme Fatale, Carlito's Way)
Cast: Patrick Carroll, Rob Devaney, Izzy Diaz, Ty Jones
USA/Canada
Limited Release

Terror's Advocate / L'avocat de la terreur
Dir: Barbet Schroeder (Murder By Numbers, Barfly)
Documentary
France
Limited Release

Wednesday November 21, 2007 Releases

August Rush
Dir: Kirsten Sheridan (Disco Pigs)
Cast: Kreddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Robin Williams, Terrence Howard USA

Enchanted
Dir: Kevin Lima (102 Dalmations)
Cast: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon, Julie Andrews
USA

Hitman
Dir: Xavier Gens (Frontière(s))
Cast: Timothy Olyphant
France/USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada November 21, 2007**

Friday, November 09, 2007

Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 9, 2007!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 9, 2007! We are in the gentle balance of fall to awards, er... holiday season which can be seen by the varied releases this week.

We are filled to the brim with limited releases this week. A selection of the realms of the real with documentaries Jimmy Carter Man From Plains and Darfur Now, docudrama Music Within and based on real life events This is England. Javier Bardem stars in No Country for Old Men, as one of biggest buzz performances this year. Rounded out the limited releases is Bollywood film Saawariya and a a re-release of the classic scifi film Blade Runner - The Final Cut.

Wide releases this week include some oddly time placed films for November such as the holiday film Fred Claus and the scare-over past October with P2. Out of the wide releases I would be more inclined to check out Robert Redford's Lions For Lambs.

Festival spotlight: be sure to check out Movie Moxie as I'll be covering the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, Nov 14-18/07.

Have a great week!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
Presenting contemporary Asian cinema and work from the Asian diaspora
November 14-18, 2007 at various locations, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.reelasian.com

Regent Park Film Festival
Featuring films relevant to the communities in Regent Park
Continues to November 11, 2007 at the Nelson Mandela Public School, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.regentparkfilmfestival.com

Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival
Presenting features and shorts on the facts & mythology surrounding mental health and addiction
Continues until November 17 at Workman Theatre, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.rendezvouswithmadness.com

Toronto Japanese Short Film Festival
November 8-11, 2007 at Innis Town Hall, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.tjsff.ca/

Friday November 9, 2007 Releases

Blade Runner: The Final Cut **originally released 1982
Dir: Ridley Scott (Alien, G.I. Jane, Gladiator, American Gangster)
Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young
USA
Limited Release

Darfur Now
Writer/Dir: Ted Braun
Documentary
USA
Limited Release

Fred Claus
Dir: David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers, Shanghai Knights)
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, Rachel Weisz
USA

Jimmy Carter Man From Plains
Dir: Jonathan Demme (Neil Young: Heart of Gold, THe Manchurian Candidate <2004>)
Documentary
USA
Limited Release

Lions for Lambs
Dir: Robert Redford (A River Runs Through It, The Horse Whisperer)
Cast: Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Michael Peña, Derek Luke, Andrew Garfield
USA

Music Within
Dir: Steven Sawalich - feature film directorial debut
Ron Livingston, Melissa George, Michael Sheen
USA
Limited Release

No Country for Old Men
Writers/Dir: Joel and Ethan Coen (Fargo, The Man Who Wasn't There, O Brother, Where Art Thou?)
Cast: Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald
USA
Limited Release

P2
Dir: Franck Khalfoun - directorial debut
Cast: Rachel Nichols, Wes Bentley
USA

Saawariya
Dir: Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Black, Devdas)
Cast: Sonam Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor
India
Limited Release

This is England
Writer/Dir: Shane Meadows (Dead Man's Shoes, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands)
Cast: Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Joe Gilgun
UK
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada November 9, 2007**

Friday, November 02, 2007

Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 2, 2007!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 2, 2007! We have a fantastic selection this week of films from award winners to big names to home grown talent.

Our limited releases this week include 3 Canadian films, which is so exciting to see! They are: Surviving My Mother, Hot Docs award winning documentary The Bodybuilder and I, and the highly acclaimed Bruce McDonald film The Tracey Fragments. Rounding out the limited releases is the award winners galore with Romania's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and Israel's The Bubble.

Wide releases this week include Martian Child and Lars and the Real Girl in which one of the major characters is a lifesize doll, not a girl. Lars and the Real Girl has received a lot of interested, and themes of social disconnect and loneliness are no stranger to films in recent years, but I have to admit it pains me to see a major female character in a film is literally as a object. Also hitting the theatres this week is American Gangster which is a total talent fest starring both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe directed by Ridley Scott, now that is a promising line up.

Have a great week!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Abilities Arts Festival
Showcasing artistic excellence by artists with disabilities
Continues to November 4, 2007 at Innis Town Hall, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.abilitiesartsfestival.org

Regent Park Film Festival
Featuring films relevent to the communities in Regent Park
November 7-11, 2007 at the Nelson Mandela Public School, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.regentparkfilmfestival.com

Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival
Presenting features and shorts on the facts & mythology surrounding mental health and addiction
November at Workman Theatre, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.rendezvouswithmadness.com

Friday November 2, 2007 Releases

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days / 4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile
Writer/Dir: Cristian Mungiu (Lost and Found, Occident)
Cast: Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov
Romania
Limited Release

American Gangster
Dir: Ridley Scott (Kingdom of Heaven, Gladiator, G.I. Jane, Alien)
Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor
USA

The Bodybuilder and I
Writer/Dir: Bryan Friedman - directorial debut
Documentary
Limited Release
Canada

The Bubble
Dir: Eytan Fox (Walk on Water)
Cast: Yousef Sweid, Alon Friedman, Lior Ashkenazi
Israel
Limited Release

Lars and the Real Girl
Dir: Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock)
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Kelli Garner, Paul Schneider
USA

Martian Child
Dir: Menno Meyjes (Max)
Cast: John Cusack, Bobby Coleman, Amanda Peet, Joan Cusack, Oliver Platt
USA

Surviving My Mother
Dir: Émile Gaudreault (Mambo Italiano, Wedding Night / Nuit de noces)
Cast: Caroline Dhavernas, Ellen David, Adam J. Harrington, Véronique Le Flaguais, Colin Mochrie
Canada
Limited Release

The Tracey Fragments
Dir: Bruce McDonald (Highway 61, Hard Core Logo, Dance Me Outside)
Cast: Ellen Page, Ari Cohen, Max McCabe-Lokos, Max Turnball
Canada
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada November 2, 2007**