Friday, December 28, 2007

Film Fan Fridays for Friday December 28, 2007!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday December 28, 2007! It's a very quiet newsletter this week with absolutely zero releases and zero festivals. That is a first in the four years that I have been writing this newsletter, however there are still many films out there to see.

There is 1 sneak preview, There Will Be Blood from writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson (Punch-Drunk Love, Magnolia) starring Daniel Day Lewis will be showing Saturday December 29/07 at 10:30PM at the Varsity Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Holy smokes, it's rated PG? That's a shocker, it seems rather dark.

A note for the new year, as of 2008 Film Fan Fridays will have a new home over at my central film site: Movie Moxie. Feel free to update your bookmarks, feeds, links, etc!

If you are feeling like looking back on the year 2007, check out the full list of 2007 releases. There was 314 of them! A full year I dare say. Have you made you favourites list yet? Well I sure have - here it is!

To have an idea of where I'm coming from, at the time of this post I've seen 46 of the 314 releases this year (14.6%), including 12 of the 36 Canadian films (30%). Both of these percentages are up from last year, woohoo! I think getting out to the theatre every week, as well as attending festival really played a part there.

The Films

The Good: Very fine Entertainment choices
3:10 to Yuma
Fido (New genre! The Zombie Drama)
Hairspray
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Namesake, The
Stomp the Yard

The Great: New Favourites to add to collection 300
Away From Her
Bourne Ultimatum, The
Golden Compass, The
Host, The / Gwoemul
Hot Fuzz
Let's All Hate Toronto
Sharkwater
Sunshine

Above and Beyond: These Ones Go To 11! Breakthrough films that I will always remember
After the Wedding / Efter brylluppet
Brand Upon the Brain!
King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
Once

The Experiences

Best Experience:
There are so many good ones, this year it's a tie between seeing Brand Upon the Brain! at the Elgin with live accompaniment and seeing Uwe Boll at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival.

Oddest Experience: Being the only person in the theatre for a film

Worst Experience: Getting yelled at by a patron whom thought my friend & I shouldn't be laughing during The Queen. Mean man!

Disappointments: Transformers, Margot at the Wedding, The Darjeeling Limited

Almost wish I'd Never Seen: Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead

Surprized I Didn't See: This is England, The Wind that Shakes the Barely, La Vie En Rose

Festivals
2007 was also a year of festivals, likely to be the first of many to come headed out to TIFF, Toronto After Dark, Reel Asian and One Minute. I'd have to say that Toronto After Dark was the *most* fun and had great audiences, and Reel Asian had the best overall quality of films. Kudo's all around!

The Rest

Considering I made it through a whopping 278 film in 2007 (as of Dec 27/07), if only feels fair to mention some of the great films that that I enjoyed during this year, even if they were not released this year. So, here are the odds and sods:

Great films seen in 2007 that is a previous year release: Eyes Without A Face, Night of the Hunter, Rashômon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Barbarella, The Seventh Seal

Great films seen in 2007 that is yet to be released: Boy A, Flash Point, Finishing the Game, Le Cèdre penché, My Winnipeg

That was my year. How was yours?

2 comments:

Reed Farrington said...

Hi Movie Moxie, this is the first time I've visited your blog, so forgive me if you've already talked about your oddest experience, but I'd like to know which movie you saw alone in the theater.

I would be both elated and disappointed. Elated that there would be quiet and nothing blocking my view. Disappointed that I wouldn't be sharing the movie and theater experience with anyone.

Shannon the Movie Moxie said...

Oh, I don't think I could say as it really such a sad experience.

I've had it happen a few times now actually, and it's almost always for a Canadian film that received had either no promotion or really low star reviews.

It's a surreal to be the only one in the theatre. Almost unnerving.