Film Fan Fridays

Relocation

2008-01-03T22:29:00.000-05:00

Film Fan Fridays has found a new home over at Movie Movie, my main film site. Please visit us here!

Film Fan Fridays for Friday December 28, 2007!

2007-12-28T00:21:00.000-05:00

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?

Film Fan Fridays for Friday December 21, 2007!

2007-12-21T01:28:00.000-05:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday December 21, 2007! End of year always brings such a bizarre selection of last minute releases that are award hopefuls, family fare and then a few darker films.

In limited release this week we have the touching yet tragic film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the Oprah produced The Great Debaters, one of the two Philip Seymour Hoffman films The Savages and one surprize to a limited release with The Bucket List, you'd figure with the star power of Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman it would be in wide release, perhaps with so many releases it was a challenge to get more screens, I would gander it will open in more theatres over time.

Our wide releases this week are National Treasure: Book of Secrets and I'm surprized that the 2004 version prompted a sequel, Oscar bait film Charlie Wilson's War, romance P.S. I Love You, family friendly The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. Two wide releases I'd likely not see are Aliens vs Predator (they even have a character named Dallas, I mean.. really..), and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story which is being attributed as a parody on many music films however to me strongly looks like it's mostly making fun of Walk the Line and I will not contribute to anything that makes fun of the Man in Black. However, dark as it may be I will likely go to the musical by Tim Burton Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, our very un-Christmas-y release of the year.

Be sure to check the dates of release, we have just as many today as we do on the 25th, and one film on the 26th the dark film, The Orphanage.

Have a lovely holiday week!

Shannon

Friday December 21, 2007 Releases

Charlie Wilson's War
Dir: Mike Nichols (Closer, The Birdcage, Working Girl)
Cast: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams
USA

National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Dir: Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure, Cool Runnings, While You Were Sleeping)
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Helen Mirren, Jon Voight, Ed Harris
USA

P.S. I Love You
Dir: Richard LaGravenese (Freedom Writers, Living Out Loud)
Cast: Hillary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, James Marsters
USA

The Savages
Writer/Dir: Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills)
Cast: Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco
USA

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Dir: Tim Burton (Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sleepy Hallow, Edward Scissorhands)
Cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen
USA/UK

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Dir: Jake Kasdan (Orange County, 'Freaks and Geeks')
Cast: John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Raymond J. Barry, Margo Martindale
USA

Tuesday December 25, 2007 Releases

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Dir: Colin & Greg Strause - feature film directorial debuts
Cast: Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis, Kristen Hager
USA

The Bucket List
Dir: Rob Reiner (Alex & Emma, A Few Good Men, The Princess Bride, Stand By Me)
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Bevery Todd, Rob Morrow
USA
Limited Release

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly / Le Scaphandre et le papillon
Dir: Julian Schnabel (Before Night Falls, Basquiat)
Cast: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze
France/USA
Limited Release

The Great Debaters
Dir: Denzel Washington (Antwone Fisher)
Cast: Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker
USA
Limited Release

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Dir: Jay Russell (Ladder 49, Tuck Everlasting)
Cast: Alex Etel, Priyanka Xi, Ben Chaplin
USA/UK

Wednesday December 26, 2007 Releases

The Orphanage / El Orfanato
Dir: Juan Antonio Bayona - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep, Mabel Rivera
Mexico/Spain
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada December 21-26, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday December 14, 2007!

2007-12-14T00:31:00.000-05:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday December 14, 2007! Awards season and best of's lists are upon us this week with the announcement of the 2007 Canada's Top Ten along with The Golden Globe Nominations.

Canada's Top Ten this year is sporting almost exclusively festival shown films, with only 2 of the titles having a regular theatre run in Toronto: Eastern Promises and The Tracey Fragments. Other high profile picks are: i and Fugitive Pieces. There is an opportunity to see the films, as they will be showing at Cinematheque from Jan 25-Feb 5/08.

The Golden Globe nominations are always fun to see and I was astonished to see seven films listed for Best Picture - Drama. One of my favourite things about the nominations this year is the inclusion of not one but two gender switch roles with Cate Blanchett for I'm Not There and John Travolta for Hairspray, both are up for supporting roles. With the fun also comes the freaky such as Casey Affleck being nominated for a supporting role in The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford? He wasn't the title character but if that movie wasn't all about him I must have been sitting in the wrong theatre. Another strange theme is the US entries for Best Foreign Language Film with The Kite Runner and The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (France/United States co-pro). Now the title of the award does dictate just the language of the film, not the country of origin, but it still seems a little off to me.

Full list of Canada's Top Ten and Golden Globe Nominations (films only) are listed after this week's releases. Speaking of releases.....

In limited release this week we have some of the nominated films including the festival darling Juno and The Kite Runner which is based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini. Rounded out the limited releases is the bizarre looking comedy Mama's Boy.

Our wide release this week are just 2 films including the part live action/part animated Alvin and the Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon... Theodore! Doo doo, do do do do!), and one film that I feel like I should be more excited about than I am: I Am Legend.

Have a great week!

Shannon

Friday December 14, 2007 Releases
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Dir: Tim Hill (Muppets from Space)
Cast: Jason Lee, David Cross, Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney
USA

I Am Legend
Dir: Francis Lawrence (Constantine)
Cast: Will Smith
USA

Juno
Dir: Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking)
Cast: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney
USA
Limited Release

The Kite Runner
Dir: Marc Forster (Stranger than Fiction, Finding Neverland, Monster's Ball)
Cast: Khalid Abdalla, Homayoun Ershadi
USA
Limited Release

Mama's Boy
Dir: Tim Hamilton - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Jon Heder, Anna Faris, Diane Keaton, Jeff Daniels
USA
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada December 14, 2007**
Canada's Top Ten 2007
www.topten.ca

L'âge des ténèbres / Days of Darkness
Director: Denys Arcand

Amal
Director: Richie Mehta

Continental, un film sans fusil / Continental, a Film Without Guns
Director: Stéphane Lafleur

Eastern Promises
Director: David Cronenberg

Fugitive Pieces
Director: Jeremy Podeswa

My Winnipeg
Director: Guy Maddin

A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman
Director: Peter Raymont

The Tracey Fragments
Director: Bruce McDonald

Up the Yangtze
Director: Yung Chang

Young People Fucking
Director: Martin Gero

Canadian Top Ten short films list:

Code 13
by Mathieu L. Denis

The Colony
by Jeff Barnaby

Dust Bowl Ha! Ha!
by Sebastien Pilote

Farmer's Requiem
by Ramses Madina

Les Grands
by Chloe Leriche

I Have Seen the Future
by Cam Christiansen

I Met the Walrus
by Josh Raskin

Madame Tutli-Putli
by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski

Pool
by Chris Chong Chan Fui

Terminus
by Trevor Cawood

Golden Globe Nominations 2007 (films only) www.goldenglobes.org/nominations

Best Motion Picture – Drama
American Gangster
Atonement
Eastern Promises
The Great Debaters
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie – Away From Her
Jodie Foster – The Brave One
Angelina Jolie – A Mighty Heart
Keira Knightley – Atonement

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
George Clooney – Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
James McAvoy – Atonement
Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises
Denzel Washington – American Gangster

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Across The Universe
Charlie Wilson's War
Hairspray
Juno
Sweeney Todd

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams – Enchanted
Nikki Blonsky – Hairspray
Helena Bonham Carter – Sweeney Todd
Marion Cotillard – La Vie En Rose
Ellen Page – Juno

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd
Ryan Gosling – Lars and the Real Girl
Tom Hanks – Charlie Wilson's War
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Savages
John C. Reilly – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Cate Blanchett – I'm Not There
Julia Roberts – Charlie Wilson's War
Saoirse Ronan – Atonement
Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Casey Affleck – The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem – No Country For Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson's War
John Travolta – Hairspray
Tom Wilkinson – Michael Clayton

Best Animated Feature Film
Bee Movie
Ratatouille
The Simpsons Movie

Best Foreign Languge Film
4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days - Romania
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly - France/United States
The Kite Runner - United States
Lust, Caution - Taiwan
Persepolis - France

Best Director - Motion Picture
Tim Burton – Sweeney Todd
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen – No Country For Old Men
Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Ridley Scott – American Gangster
Joe Wright – Atonement

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Atonement
Charlie Wilson's War
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Juno
No Country For Old Men

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

Grace Is Gone - Composed by Clint Eastwood
The Kite Runner - Composed by Alberto Iglesias
Atonement - Composed by Dario Marianelli
Eastern Promises - Composed by Howard Shore
Into The Wild - Composed by Eddie Vedder

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
"Despedida" – Love In The Time Of Cholera
Music By: Shakira and Antonio Pinto
Lyrics By: Shakira

"Grace Is Gone" – Grace Is Gone
Music By: Clint Eastwood
Lyrics By: Carole Bayer Sager

"Guaranteed" – Into The Wild
Music & Lyrics By: Eddie Vedder

"That's How You Know" – Enchanted
Music & Lyrics By: Alan Menken

"Walk Hard" – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Music & Lyrics By: Judd Apatow, Kasdan, John C. Reilly and Marshall Crenshaw

Cecil B. DeMille Award - Steven Spielberg

Film Fan Fridays for Friday December 7, 2007!

2007-12-07T12:54:00.000-05:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday December 6, 2007! As we get closer and closer to the holiday season we get a bizarre mish mash of releases ranging from awards season hopefuls, family fare and everything else in between.

Limited release are the coming at us left right and centre! There has been considerable buzz surrounding the most likely awards candidate, Atonement. In a polar opposite direction I am thrilled to see that The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters will be here in Toronto, I've heard only high praise for this documentary following the journey to break the 25 year standing world record high score on Donkey Kong. Remember Donkey Kong? I sure do. Of course I usually played Freeway, but that is another story. Documentary on gamers, I'll soooooo be there! If gaming to you means actually being more physical perhaps Poor Boy's Game is more your style, a drama revolving around a fierce boxer, set in Nova Scotia. The Canadian releases continue with the thriller Walk All Over Me.

Our sole wide release this week is The Golden Compass, based on the Philip Pullman novel which I just started and I have to say I'm loving! I hope the film lives up to the book, it so it could be a great new series to enjoy.

Have a great week!

Shannon

Festival Watch

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

Brazil Film Festival Exploring Fantasy, Science Fiction and Anime on the wide screen
December 7-10, 2007 at ROM, Toronto, Ontario
www.brazilfilmfest.net

Friday December 6, 2007 Releases

Atonement
Dir: Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice <2005>)
Cast: Keira Knightley, James McAvoy
UK/France
Limited Release

The Golden Compass
Writer/Dir: Chris Weitz (About A Boy)
Cast: Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Eva Green
USA/UK

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
Dir: Seth Gordon - directorial feature film debut
Documentary on arcade video gamers
USA
Limited Release

Poor Boy's Game
Dir: Clément Virgo (Lie with Me, Love Come Down)
Cast: Danny Glover, Flex Alexander, Rossif Sutherland
Canada
Limited Release

Walk All Over Me
Dir: Robert Cuffley (Turning Paige)
Cast: Leelee Sobieski, Tricia Helfer, Jacob Tierney
Canada
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada December 7, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 30, 2007!

2007-11-30T01:19:00.000-05:00

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**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 23, 2007!

2007-11-23T00:03:00.000-05:00

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**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 16, 2007!

2007-11-16T01:30:00.000-05:00

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

Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 9, 2007!

2007-11-09T00:53:00.000-05:00

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**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 2, 2007!

2007-11-02T01:11:00.000-04:00

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**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday October 26, 2007!

2007-10-26T00:25:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday October 26, 2007! I hope you had a great week, I've been spending mine by watching scary movies at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, which just closed last night. If scary movies are your bag, I'd highly recommend checking it out next year, it was a wild ride!

Our limited releases this week include Rails & Ties the directorial debut of Allison Eastwood (Clint Eastwood's daughter), Kenneth Branagh's latest Sleuth, documentary where the title tells you all you need to know 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama and finally Control, the biopic on Joy Divisions frontman, Ian Curtis which is my pick of the bunch this week.

We have only 2 wide releases this week: Dan in Real Life starring Steve Carell and the only scary film of the bunch just in time for Halloween Saw IV. How they make a new Saw film almost yearly is beyond me.

Have a happy Halloween!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Est Docs Film Festival
Estonian Documentary Film Festival
Continues until October 26, 2007 at various locations, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.estdocs.com/

Planet in Focus Film Festival
International Environmental Film and Video Festival
Continues until October 28, 2007 at various locations, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.planetinfocus.org/

Friday October 26, 2007 Releases

10 Questions for the Dalai Lama
Writer/Dir: Rick Ray - feature film directorial debut
Documentary
USA
Limited Release

Control
Dir: Anton Corbijn - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Alexandra Maria Lara, Craig Parkinson
UK/USA/Australia/Japan
Limited Release

Dan in Real Life
Dir: Peter Hedges (Pieces of April)
Cast: Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook
USA

Rails & Ties
Dir: Allison Eastwood - directorial debut
Cast: Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Miles Heizer
USA
Limited Release

Saw IV
Dir: Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, Saw III)
Cast: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scotto Patterson, Betsy Russell
USA

Sleuth
Dir: Kenneth Branagh (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Dead Again, Henry V)
Cast: Michael Caine, Jude Law
USA
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 26, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday October 12 and 19, 2007!

2007-10-19T00:34:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to the double issue after the fact Film Fan Fridays for Friday October 12 and 19, 2007! I was vacationing last week and hence the double issue. I am liking this idea of vacations! Who knew it could be such a treat?

I have an interesting piece of information that came up during my research - it's been a while since one of these fun tidbits: imdb search for 'comebacks' most popular result was 'Bill Clinton'. Bizarre.

We have a mammoth amount of releases and festivals, many of which I would like to see. Some of the surprizing things have been such as My Kid Could Paint That is actually a critical look at the surprize popularity of a four year old painter and solid positive reviews for 30 Days of Night.

Although there are many fine films to choose from, I will have to put selections on hold til next week as I will be seeing all things scary at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. Daily festival coverage will be available over at Movie Moxie from Oct 19-25, 2007.

Have a spooktacular week!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Est Docs Film Festival
Estonian Documentary Film Festival
October 19-26, 2007 at various locations, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.estdocs.com/

ImagineNATIVE Film Fesitval
Celebratint the latest works by Indigenous peoples in film, video, radio and new media
October 17-21, 2007 at various locations, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.imagineNATIVE.org/

Planet in Focus Film Festival
International Enviornmental Film and Video Festival
October 24-28, 2007 at various locations, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.planetinfocus.org/

Student Shorts Film Festival
Celebrating the best student films
October 18-20, 2007 at Innis Town Hall, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.studentshorts.com/

Toronto After Dark Film Festival
New horror and fantasy cinema
October 19-25, 2007 at The Bloor Cinema (1 screeening of shorts at Innis), Toronto, Ontario
http://www.torontoafterdark.com/

The Toronto International Latin Film Festival
Spanish and Latin films from around the world
October 13-20, 2007 at The Royal, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.tilff.com/

Friday October 12, 2007 Releases

American Venus
Writer/Dir: Bruce Sweeney (Last Wedding)
Cast: Rebecca De Mornay, Matt Craven, Agam Darshi
Canada
Limited Release

Death at a Funeral
Dir: Frank Oz (The Stepford Wives, Bowfinger, The Dark Crystal)
Cast: Matthew MacFayden, Alan Tudyk, Peter Dinklage, Ewen Bremner, Daisy Donovan
Germany/UK/USA

Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Dir: Shekar Kapur (Elizabeth, Bandit Queen)
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen, Samantha Morton
UK/France

King of California
Writer/Dir: Mike Cahill - directorial debut
Cast: Michael Douglas, Evan Rachel Wood
Mexico/USA
Limited Release

We Own the Night
Writer/Dir: James Gray (The Yards, Little Odessa)
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Whalberg, Eva Mendes, Robert Duvall
USA

Weirdsville
Dir: Allan Moyle (New Waterford Girl, Empire Records, Pump Up the Volume)
Cast: Scott Speedman, Wes Bentley, Taryn Manning
Limited Release
Canada/USA

Why Did I Get Married
Writer/Dir: Tyler Perry (Daddy's Little Girls, Madea's Family Reunion)
Cast: Janet Jackson, Tyler Perry, Jill Scott, Sharon Leal, Malik Yoba
USA

Friday October 18, 2007 Releases

30 Days of Night
Dir: David Slade (Hard Candy)
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Ben Foster
New Zealand/USA

The Comebacks
Dir: Tom Brady (The Hot Chick)
Cast: David Koechner, Carl Weathers, Melora Hardin, Brooke Nevin, Matthew Lawrence
USA

Gone Baby Gone
Dir: Ben Affleck - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Casey Affleck, Ed Harris, Michelle Monaghan Morgan Freeman
USA

My Kid Could Paint That
Dir: Amir Bar-Lev (Fighter)
Documentary on the story of 4 year old painter Marla Olmstead
USA/UK

Rendition
Dir: Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, A Reasonable Man)
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Omar Metwally, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Peter Sarsgaard, Alan Arkin
USA/South Africa

Reservation Road
Dir: Terry George (Hotel Rwanda)
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly, Mira Sorvino
USA
Limited Release

The Things We Lost in the Fire
Dir: Susanne Bier (After the Wedding)
Cast: Halle Berry , Benicio Del Toro, David Duchovny
USA/UK

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 12 & 19, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday October 5, 2007!

2007-10-05T01:19:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday October 5, 2007! We have many anticipated films this week as we move more and more into the fall which could bring us to some early Oscar bait before we break to the scary Halloween films which in the past years have been few and far between.

Our limited releases this week include some of the most anticipated films of the fall. The biggest contender for anticipation is Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. I will admit I was intrigued by the trailer and I loved The Royal Tenenbaums but the tone and pace appear to be so similar I wonder how much more it has to offer. We also have Michael Clayton, it's been a while since we've had a legal thriller and it looks like this one will fit the bill. Lastly but not leastly, we have Ang Lee's Lust, Caution which was hugely anticipate at the film festival this year and then resulted in many lukewarm comments. I still have hope for it and am always happy to see anything with Tony Leung.

Wide releases this week include the Farrelly brothers pseudo date movie The Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller, young-people targeted yet epic The Seeker: The Dark is Rising and finally the wrong side of the tracks story Feel the Noise which one first look appeared to possible be a dance movie, alas it's focused on a rapper. There could still be some groovin' in it so out of the wide release it would be my pick.

If you are already getting into the Halloween groove, feel free to check out my film blog: http://www.moviemoxie.blogspot.com/ where October is scary movie month with daily posts and reviews of scary films old and new.

Festival Watch

Indie Can Film Festival
Film festival dedicated to the independent low budget filmmaker
October 4-7, 2007 at Innis Town Hall, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.indiecanfilmfestival.com/

Kino Art Festival
First Annual Festival of Russian Film and Art
October 4-7, 2007 at Royal Theatre and NFB, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.kinoartfestival.com/

Friday October 5, 2007 Releases

The Darjeeling Limited
Dir: Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou)
Cast: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman
USA
Limited Release

Feel the Noise
Dir: Alejandro Chomski (Hoy y mañana / Today and Tomorrow)
Cast: Omarion Grandberry, Zulay Henao, James McCaffrey, Kelita Smith, Giancarlo Esposito, Victor Rasuk
USA

The Heartbreak Kid
Dir: Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly (Fever Pitch, Stuck on You, Shallow Hal)
Cast: Ben Stiller, Michelle Monaghan, Malin Akerman
USA

Lust, Caution / Se, jie
Dir: Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, Eat Drink Man Woman)
Cast: Tony Leung, Tang Wei, Joan Chen
USA/Taiwan
Limited Release

Michael Clayton
Writer/Dir: Tony Gilroy – directorial debut
Cast: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack
USA
Limited Release

The Seeker: The Dark is Rising
Dir: David L. Cunningham (To End All Wars, Beyond Paradise)
Cast: Ian McShane, Christopher Eccleston, Frances Conroy, Drew Tyler Bell, Wendy Crewson
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 5, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday September 28, 2007

2007-09-28T00:19:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday September 28, 2007! It's bizarre to see films that had huge buzz at TIFF 07 come out so quickly, and then to be in such limited release, and for the limited releases of those for to be the American films. Wild. A clear half of the releases this week are hot of the festival trail. With a sizable eight releases this week, there should be something for everyone.

Our limited releases this week include the occult under toned Puffball, hot buzz Sean Penn directed film Into the Wild, and click flick The Jane Austen Book Club.

Wide releases this week include the Canadian Shake Hands with the Devil, a docudrama based on the autobiographical book by General Romeo Dallaire and his experience during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. What stuck with me the most about this film was during the Q&A, director Roger Spottiswoode said that when Dallaire watched the film he commented that for the first 5 minutes he was watching Roy Dupuis, and after that he was watching himself. Now that is some amazing acting. Other wide releases include Feast of Love, The Game Plan, Silk and long time coming release of The Kingdom - for which previews have been shown since January and have had at least two very different tones.

Festival Watch

Commffest
Community Film Festival
September 27-30, 2007 at Rainbow Cinemas, 80 Front St E, Toronto, Ontario
www.commffest.com

Friday September 28, 2007 Releases

Feast of Love
Dir: Robert Benton (The Human Stain, Nobody's Fool <1994>)
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Selma Blair
USA

The Game Plan
Dir: Andy Fickman (She's the Man)
Cast: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Madison Pettis, Kyra Sedwick
USA

Into the Wild
Dir: Sean Penn (The Pledge)
Cast: Emile Hirsch, William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Jena Malone
USA
Limited Release

The Jane Austen Book Club
Writer/Dir: Robin Swicord - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Maria Bello, Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Maggie Grace, Lynn Redgrave
USA
Limited Release

The Kingdom
Dir: Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, The Rundown)
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom, Ali Suliman
USA

Puffball
Dir: Nicolas Roeg (Two Deaths, Don't Look Now, The Man Who Fell To Earth)
Cast: Kelly Reilly, Miranda Richardson, Rita Tushingham, Oscar Pearce, Donald Sutherland
UK/Ireland/Canada
Limited Release

Shake Hands With the Devil
Dir: Roger Spottiswoode (Tomorrow Never Dies, The 6th Day, Shoot to Kill)
Cast: Roy Dupuis, James Gallanders, Michel Mongeau, Owen Lebakeng Sejak, Deborah Kara Unger
Canada

Silk
Dir: François Girard (The Red Violin, Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould)
Cast: Michael Pitt, Keira Knightley, Alfred Molina, Koji Yakusho, Mark Rendall, Miki Nakatani
Canada/Italy/Japan/UK/France

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 28, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday September 21, 2007!

2007-09-21T01:08:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday September 21, 2007! I'm trying to get back into the groove of regular releases as well as days not spent in back to back screenings and I tell ya - not so exciting! Bring me Q&A's, line ups and concession food any day! Well, maybe not concession food...

Our limited releases this week included 2 of the hottest tickets from TIFF: In the Valley of Elah as well as one of the most descriptive titles in ages, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Limited releases don't end there, we also have space themed documentary In the Shadow of the Moon and long time coming to regular release Sunflower.

Wide releases for this week include a modern telling of Snow White with Sydney White, the possibly most successful film series based on a video game (is there more than one?) Resident Evil: Extinction, and the 'comedy' Good Luck Chuck.

Seeing as TIFF has come and gone it seems only normal for Oscar buzz to start up. With that we have the announcement of the 2008 Oscar show will be Jon Stewart reprising his 2006 role. I am not overjoyed, but I know people will be. Every year is a gamble!

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

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

The Game Plan starring The Rock and Kyra Sedgwick, directed by Andy Fickman (She's the Man) has a sneak preview this Saturday September 22, 2007 at 7:00pm at the Scotiabank Theate, Empire Theatres and various other locations in Toronto.

Friday September 21, 2007 Releases

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Dir: Andrew Dominik (Chopper)
Cast: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker
USA
Limited Release

Good Luck Chuck
Dir: Mark Helfrich – directorial debut
Cast: Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, Dan Fogler
USA

In the Shadow of the Moon
Dir: David Sington - feature film directorial debut
Documentary on the Apollo space program visit to the Moon
UK/USA
Limited Release

In the Valley of Elah
Dir: Paul Haggis (Crash <2004>, Red Hot)
Cast: Tommy Lea Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon, James Franco
USA
Limited Release

Resident Evil: Extinction
Dir: Russell Mulcahy (Swimming Upstream)
Cast: Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Ali Larter, Ian Glen, Ashanti Douglas
France/Australia/Germany/UK/USA

Sunflower / Xiang ri kui
Dir: Zhang Yang (Quitting / Zuotian)
Cast: Joan Chen, Sun Haiying, Liu Zifeng
Hong Kong/China/The Netherlands
Limited Release

Sydney White
Dir: Joe Nussbaum (Sleepover, George Lucas in Love)
Cast: Amanda Bynes, Sara Paxton, Matt Long
USA

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

Film Fan Fridays for Friday September 14, 2007!

2007-09-14T09:13:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday September 14, 2007! Quick newsletter this week and I'm still completely immersed in TIFF 07, and in fact three of this weeks releases are a part of TIFF this year: Across the Universe, The Brave One and Eastern Promises. Sidenote to those heading out to the theatre this weekend - make sure you check listings carefully for showtimes on Friday and Saturday, as many theatres in the downtown core will still be showing TIFF films.
Our limited releases this week are the 60's romance Across the Universe as well as the critically acclaimed Eastern Promises. I have to say I am mighty surprized to see Eastern Promises is only showing at one theatre, perhaps that will expand to more theatres next week.

Wide releases for this week included revenge flick The Brave One, war journalist drama The Hunting Party and Mr. Woodcock which is being billed as 'comedy'.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Toronto International Film Festival
September 6-15, 2007 at various locations, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.tiff07.ca/

Friday September 14, 2007 Releases

Across the Universe
Dir: Julie Taymor (Frida, Titus)
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Anderson
USA
Limited Release

The Brave One
Dir: Neil Jordon (Breakfast at Pluto, The Good Thief, The End of the Affair)
Cast: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Naveen Andrews, Nicky Katt
USA/Australia

Eastern Promises
Dir: David Cronenberg (A History of Violence, Naked Lunch, Spider)
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel
UK/Canada/USA
Limited Release

The Hunting Party
Writer/Dir: Richard Shepard (The Matador)
Cast: Richard Gere, Terrence Howard
USA/Croatia/Bosnia-Herzegovina

Mr. Woodcock
Dir: Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl)
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Seann William Scott, Susan Saradon
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 14, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday September 7, 2007!

2007-09-07T00:12:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday September 7, 2007! It's so hard to concentrate on this week's regular releases with the festival in town! We actually have a healthy selection for this time of year - usually it's only one or two films.

We have one limited release this week with Hatchet, which appears to be quite the gorefest film from Coffee & Donuts director Adam Green.

If this weeks wide releases sound familiar that's because they were all sneak previews last week? But, if you didn't get out to them then here is your chance to see: 3:10 to Yuma, The Brother's Soloman and Shoot 'Em Up. 3:10 to Yuma is a remake of the 1957 original, and I would recommend it as it's a compelling story and has great acting as well.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Toronto International Film Festival
September 6-15, 2007 at various locations, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.tiff07.ca/

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

The Hunting Party starring Richard Gere and Terrence Howard, written and directed by Richard Shepard (The Matador) has a sneak preview this Saturday September 8, 2007 at 7:00pm at the Beach Cinema, Silver City Yonge & Eglinton, Silver City Mississauga and various other locations in Toronto.

Friday September 7, 2007 Releases

3:10 to Yuma
Dir: James Mangold (Walk the Line, Identity)
Cast: Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Ben Foster, Gretchen Mol, Peter Fonda
USA

The Brothers Solomon
Dir: Bob Odenkirk (Let's Go to Prison)
Cast: Will Arnett, Will Forte, Kristen Wiig
USA

Hatchet
Writer/Dir: Adam Green (Coffee & Donutes)
Cast:Joel Moore, Kane Hodder, Robert Englund
USA
Limited Release

Shoot 'Em Up
Dir: Michael Davis (Monster Man, 100 Women)
Cast: Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 7, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday August 31, 2007

2007-08-31T01:09:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday August 31, 2007! Regular releases, sneak previews and festival madness this week - there is so much to cover! We have four releases this Friday plus the mid week release already in theatres Balls of Fury. When researching Balls of Fury I came across an actor with I believe has the most roles I've seen on imdb - count 'em at 313. The actor in question is James Hong, whom my strongest memory of him is as David Lo Pan in Big Trouble in Little China where he had some great lines such as "Shut up Mr Burton! You were not brought upon this world to get it!".

Our limited releases this week are Lady Chatterley based on DH Lawrence novel and Greg & Gentillon which reminds me slightly of "Flight of the Conchords", but comedians instead of musicians.

In wide release it's a lot of darkness for the last weekend of the summer with Death Sentence which is a front-runner of 'preview shows you the entire film' award and our second wide release is the Rob Zombie directed Halloween, which comes to us almost 30 years after the original. I'm surprized at the timing of the release of Halloween, it's quite a while before the holiday itself.

I'm also suprized there is no family fare being released this week in anticipation of the long weekend. Perhaps barbeques and lawn chairs are favoured over dark theatres.

As many of you know it's TIFF time of the year. I will be attending this year and seeing around 40+ films. I will be documenting my festival experience by updated my newest film blog daily during the festival from Sept 6-15/07. Feel free to check it out at: http://moviemoxie.blogspot.com/

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Ukrainian Zabava Festival
August 31-September 3, 2007 at Studio Theatre at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com

Toronto International Film Festival
September 6-15, 2007 at various locations, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.tiff07.ca

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

Holy smokes, there are 3 sneak previews this week! That's a record for sure.

3:10 to Yuma starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line, Identity) has a sneak preview this Sunday September 2, 2007 at 7:00pm at the Scotiabank Theatre, Silver City Yonge & Eglinton and various other locations in Toronto.

The Brothers Solomon starring Will Arnett, Will Forte and Kristen Wiig, directed by Bob Odenkirk (Let's Go to Prison) has a sneak preview on Wednesday September 5, 2007 at 7:00pm at the Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto.

Shoot 'Em Up starring Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti and Monica Bellucci, written & directed by Michael Davis (Monster Man, 100 Women) has a sneak preview this Saturday September 1, 2007 at 10:00pm at the Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto.

3:10 to Yuma, The Brothers Solomon and Shoot 'Em Up are all scheduled for regular release September 7, 2007

Wednesday August 29, 2007 Releases

Balls of Fury
Dir: Ben Garant (Reno 911!: Miami)
Cast: Dan Fogler, Christopher Walker, Maggie Q, Masi Oka, James Hong, George Lopez
USA

Friday August 31, 2007 Releases

Death Sentence
Dir: James Wan (Dead Silence, Saw)
Cast: Kevin Bacon, Kelly Preson, Garrett Hedlund, John Goodman
USA

Greg & Gentillon
Dir: Matthiew Klinck - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Thomas Michael, Louis Durand
Canada
Limited Release

Halloween
Dir: Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses)
Cast: Tyler Mane, Malcolm McDowell, Brad Dourif, Sheri Moon, Udo Kier
USA

Lady Chatterley
Dir: Pascale Ferran (L'Âge des possibles)
Cast: Marina Hands, Jean-Louis Coullo'ch
Belgium/France/UK
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada August 31, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday August 24, 2007

2007-08-24T00:33:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday August 24, 2007! Well, I hate to break it to you but the summer is winding down. The breeze that used to bring a nice sigh of relief now is backed by a bit of a chill. In movie terms, I realized it when seeing The Bourne Ultimatum as I realized it was the last film I was anxiously awaiting seeing, and therefore could relax and watch the previews instead of being prepped look away in case of spoilers. All in all it feels like it's been a good summer and we've had some great flicks along with the third Bourne, fifth Harry Potter, Hairspray and one of the front runners of this year so far for me: Sunshine.

Enough memories, what is in our future? Well our one limited release is about just that: The 11th Hour is an environmental look at our planet and what we can do to help. It' s one of the two films this week that has multiple directions. The other of which falls in our wide releases with The Nanny Diaries.

Also in wide release is a sport flick Resurrecting the Champ, comedy Mr. Bean's Holiday and the action star madness of Jet Li & Jason Statham in War. I had to search through my archives to find the quote regarding Jet Li because if memory serves I thought he was not going to do more action films. Alas, the quote used during the promotion of Fearless was "Jet Li's final martial arts epic". Seeing as War is present day and a 'normal' (?) action flick I dare say that quote still stands the test of time. My original post on such topic is in this newsletter back issue. The final wide release is Balls of Fury which opens next Wednesday.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Bicycle Film Festival
August 23-26, 2007 at The Royal, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.blogger.com/www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/

Taiwan: Ilha Formosa Festival
August 24-26, 2007 at the Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/

Rue Morgue Festival of Fear
National Horror Expo
August 24-26, 2007 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.blogger.com/www.rue-morgue.com/festival.php

Friday August 24, 2007 Releases

The 11th Hour
Dir: Nadia Conners & Leila Conners Petersen - directorial debuts
Narrator: Leonardo DiCaprio
USA
Limited Release

Mr. Bean's Holiday
Dir: Steve Bendelack (The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse)
Cast: Rowan Atkinson, Emma de Caunes, Willem Dafoe
UK/France

The Nanny Diaries
Dir: Shari Springer Berman (American Splendor) & Robert Pulcini (American Splendor)
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Nicholas Art, Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti
USA

Resurrecting the Champ
Dir: Rod Lurie (The Contender, The Last Castle)
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett, Kathryn Morris, Teri Hatcher
USA

War
Dir: Philip G. Atwell - directorial film debut
Cast: Jet Li, Jason Statham, John Lone, Luis Guzmán, Steph Song
USA

Wednesday August 29, 2007 Releases

Balls of Fury
Dir: Ben Garant (Reno 911!: Miami)
Cast: Dan Fogler, Christopher Walker, Maggie Q, Masi Oka, James Hong, George Lopez
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada August 24, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday August 17, 2007

2007-08-17T00:09:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday August 17, 2007!

Our limited releases are soaring with music as El Cantante based on the true story of salsa singer Hector Lavoe and Gypsy Caravan follows 5 Romani groups on tour. Rocket Science rounds out our limited releases this week.

Our wide releases include one film that the remakes of it alone make it something to talk about, you've guessed it: The Invasion. It's the fourth version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the original was released in 1956 with remakes following in 1978 and 1993. It will be interesting to see how this one holds up in comparsion. The historical adventure flick The Last Legion and teen comedy Superbad are also in wide release this week.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Filipinos Making Waves Festival
Films screenings on August 17, 18 & 19, 2007 at the Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/

Friday August 17, 2007 Releases

El Cantante
Dir: Leon Ichaso (Piñero, Sugar Hill)
Cast: Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Bernard Hernandez
USA
Limited Release

Gypsy Caravan
Dir: Jasmine Dellal (American Gypsy: A Stranger in Everybody's Land)
Documentary
USA
Limited Release

The Invasion
Dir: Oliver Hirschbiegel (Das Experiment, Downfall / Der Untergang)
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jeffrey Wright
USA

The Last Legion
Dir: Doug Lefler - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Colin Firth, Aishwarya Rai, Ben Kingsley, Thojmas Sangsta, Kevin McKidd
USA/UK/France

Rocket Science
Writer/Dir: Jeffrey Blitz (Spellbound)
Cast: Reece Daniel Thompson, Anna Kendrick, Nicholas D'Agosto, Vincent Piazza, Aaron Yoo
USA
Limited Release

Superbad
Dir: Greg Mottola (The Daytrippers)
Cast: Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada August 17, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday August 10, 2007

2007-08-10T00:32:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday August 10, 2007. This week we truly have a little of everything with biopics, comedies (romantic & action-oriented although not in the same film, shucks!), horror, drama and fantasy!

In limited release this week we have the Canadian A Stone's Throw. Go Canadian film! It's been a bit since we saw a new Canadian release. If you are looking for artist biopics, look no further with two to choose from this week: Klimt and Moliere. Rounding out the limited releases, Julie Delpy wears multiple hats by directing, writing and starring in this week's release of 2 Days in Paris. Julie Delpy is likely best known for her acting roles (Before Sunset & American Werewolf in Paris), however this film is her second feature as director.

In wide release, and I dare say my pick of the bunch, is Stardust based on Neil Gaiman novel. It looks quite interesting and I'm a sucker for Fantasy, alternate worlds and ideas? Bring it on. The remaining wide releases are the werewolf flick Skinwalkers and Brett Ratner's third installment in the Rush Hour films with Rush Hour 3. Am I the only one that gets Brett Ratner mixed up with Brent Spiner? Every time I hear he is directing in my mind I hear "Data is directing a film!". Perhaps, perhaps not.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Hot & Spicy Food Festival
Films screenings on August 11 & 12, 2007 at the Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/

Filmi South Asian Film Festival
August 9 - 12, 2007 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario
http://www.filmi.org/

Wednesday August 8, 2007 Releases

Daddy Day Camp
Dir: Fred Savage
Cast: Cuba Gooding Jr., Paul Rae
USA

Friday August 10, 2007 Releases

2 Days in Paris
Writer/Dir: Julie Delpy (Looking for Jimmy)
Cast: Julie Delpy, Adam Goldberg, Marie Pillet, Albert Delpy
Germany/France
Limited Release

Klimt
Dir: Raoul Ruiz (Días de campo, Les Âmes fortes)
Cast: John Malkovich, Saffron Burrows, Veronica Ferres
Austria/France/Germany/UK
Limited Release

Moliere
Dir: Laurent Tirard (Prête-moi ta main / I Do: How to Get Married and Stay Single)
Cast: Romain Duris, Laura Morant, Fabrice Luchini, Ludivine Sagnier
France
Limited Release

Rush Hour 3
Dir: Brett Ratner (X-Men: The Last Stand, Red Dragon, The Family Man, Rush Hour)
Cast: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Vinnie Jones, Noémie Lenoir, Max Von Sydow
USA

Skinwalkers
Dir: James Isaac (Jason X)
Cast: Rhona Mitra, Jason Behr, Elias Koteas, Kim Coates, Natassia Malthe
USA/Germany

Stardust
Dir: Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake)
Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, Ricky Gervais, Robert De Niro, Sienna Miller, Peter O'Toole
UK/USA

A Stone's Throw
Dir: Camelia Frieberg - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Kris Holden-Reid, Kathryn MacLellan, Lisa Ray, Aaron Webber
Canada
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada August 10, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday August 3, 2007

2007-08-03T13:07:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday August 3, 2007: A Dragnet Version! Just the facts this week, enjoy.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday August 3, 2007 Releases

Arctic Tale
Dir: Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson - feature film directorial debuts
Documentary
Narrator: Queen Latifah
Limited Release
USA

Becoming Jane
Dir: Julian Jarrold (Kinky Boots, Some Kind of Life)
Cast: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters
Limited Release
UK/USA/Ireland

The Bourne Ultimatum
Dir: Paul Greengrass (United 93, The ourne Supremacy)
Cast:matt Damon, Joan Allen, Julie Stiles, David Strathairn
USA

Bratz
Dir: Sean McNamara
Cast: Nathalia Ramos, janel Parris, Skyler Shaye, Chelsea Staub
USA

Hot Rod
Dir: Akiva Schaffer - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Andy Samberg, Isla Fisher, Sissy Spacek, Ian McShane
USA

Underdog
Dir: Frederik Du Chau (Racing Stripes, Quest for Camelot)
Cast: James Belushi, Peter Dinklage
USA

Your Mommy Kills Animals
Dir: Curt Johnson
Documentary on the animal rights movement
USA
Limited Release

Wednesday August 8, 2007 Releases

Daddy Day Camp
Dir: Fred Savage
Cast: Cuba Gooding Jr., Paul Rae

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada August 3, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday July 27, 2007!!!

2007-07-27T00:50:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday July 27, 2007! Otherwise known as "somewhere between July and August" to Simpsons fans who this week get what they have possibly been waiting for up to 18 years: The Simpsons Movie.

In limited release we have the French film, My Best Friend starring Daniel Auteuil which looks to be quite a promising comedy. Also gracing limited screens is the biopic Talk to Me based on the life of Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene during the 60's.

In wide release along with The Simpsons we have the thriller I Know Who Killed Me which from the title font and preview I believed to be part of the I Know What You Did Last Summer series, however it is not - it's a stand alone movie, at least for now. If you're looking for a more feel good romantic comedy a likely candidate would be No Reservations with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart.

If none of this weeks releases are really jumping out at you I am happy recommend Sunshine, which opened last week in 1 theatre but has expanded to 7 theatres. It is an excellent, tense SciFi film with spectacular visuals & sound as well as a solid story. It makes it easily into my favourite films of 2007.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch:

Peace Reel Outdoor Film Festival
Sundays in July at 8pm at Christie Pits in Toronto, Ontario
July 29, 2007: The Battle of Algiers
With 2 shorts: Juggling in Mosul & Career Opportunity
Fundraising evening for Toronto Coalition to Stop the War
www.artistsagainstwar.ca/

Friday July 27, 2007 Releases

I Know Who Killed Me
Dir: Chris Sivertson (The Lost)
Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Julia Ormond, Neal McDonough
USA

My Best Friend / Mon Meilleur Ami
Dir: Patrice Leconte (L'Homme du Train / The Man on the Train)
Cast: Daniel Auteuil, Dany Boon, Julie Durand, Julie Gayet
France
Limited Release

No Reservations
Dir: Scott Hicks (Snow Falling on Cedars, Shine)
Cast: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin, Patricia Clarkson
USA/UK

The Simpsons Movie
Dir: David Silverman (Monsters, Inc., The Road to El Dorado)
Voices: Dan Catellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer
USA

Talk To Me
Dir: Kasi Lemmons (The Caveman's Valentine)
Cast: Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Mike Epps and Martin Sheen
USA
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 27, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday July 20, 2007!!!

2007-07-20T00:57:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday July 20, 2007! Never did I think I would face such a dilemma as has come up this week. Which film to see: the inspirational musical remake of Hairspray or the sci-fi extravaganza of Sunshine. Is everyone else in the same boat? What a predicament.

In limited release this week (along with Sunshine surprizingly) is the Canadian Manufacturing Dissent a documentary with a critical look at documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, The Cemetery Club, a documentary following a group of regularly meeting Holocaust survivors, and Interview a remake of Theo van Gogh's 2003 film of the same name, this time directed and starting Steve Buscemi.

In wide release we have Hairspray along with I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry which I wonder if it is actually a drama in the guise of comedy reminiscence of Robin William's films in the 80's (think Club Paradise and Good Morning, Vietnam). Jury is still out on that one.

Now, the big question is, did anyone *not* get out to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? From the box office breaking figures it appears not. So far, word on the street is not if you liked it, but rather now much you liked it in comparison to the other four films. I've heard answers all across the board, but the general consensus is, it's a hit!

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch:

Peace Reel Outdoor Film Festival
Sundays in July at 8pm at Christie Pits in Toronto, Ontario
July 22, 2007: The Prisoner
With 2 shorts: Reel Bad Arabs & Where is Iraq?
Fundraising evening for Toronto Coalition to Stop the War
www.artistsagainstwar.ca/

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

Talk To Me starring Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Mike Epps and Martin Sheen, directed by Kasi Lemmons (The Caveman's Valentine) has a sneak preview this Saturday July 21, 2007 at 7:00pm at the Cumberland Theatre in Toronto. Talk to Me opens in regular release July 27, 2007

Friday July 20, 2007 Releases

The Cemetery Club / Moadon beit hakvarot
Writer/Dir: Tali Shemesh - feature film directorial debut
Documentary
Israel
Limited Release

Hairspray
Dir: Adam Shankman (The Pacifier, Bringing Down the House, A Walk to Remember)
Cast: Nikki Blonsky, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Zac Efron
USA

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Dir: Dennis Dugan (The Benchwarmers, National Security, Happy Gilmore)
Cast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Dan Ackroyd, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi
USA

Interview
Dir: Steve Buscemi (Lonesome Jim)
Cast: Steve Buscemi, Sienna Miller, Michael Buscemi, Tara Elders
USA
Limited Release

Manufacturing Dissent
Writers/Directors: Debbie Melnyk (Citizen Black) and Rick Caine (The Frank Truth)
Documentary on documentary filmmaker Michael Moore
Canada
Limited Release

Sunshine
Dir: Danny Boyle (28 Days Later..., Trainspotting, Millions)
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Cliff Curtis, Rose Byrne, Hiroyuki Sanada
UK
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 20, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday July 13, 2007!!!

2007-07-13T04:21:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday July 13, 2007! Oh... Friday the 13th, scary! With the exception of Captivity, all of our releases this week are limited releases. Were they scared away by the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, perhaps? I think maybe. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of news to share as I've been scared away from researching to avoid inadvertantly finding out anything about the latest adventures at Hogwart's until I've seen the film.

In other film related news, the TIFF 07 (tiff07.ca) site is live and passes are now available for this year's Toronto International Film Festival. I'm really looking forward to this year which will be the first time I will be able to focus 100% on just seeing the films (and posting about it!), and will not have other obligations other than things such as eating and sleeping. Exciting times ahead!

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch:

Peace Reel Outdoor Film Festival
Sundays in July at 8pm at Christie Pits in Toronto, Ontario
July 15, 2007: Kanehsatake
www.artistsagainstwar.ca/

Caribbean Tales Film Festival
July 13-15, 2007 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario
http://www.caribbeantales.ca/

Wednesday July 11, 2007 Releases

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Dir: David Yates (The Tichborne Claimant)
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith
UK/USA

Friday July 13, 2007 Releases

The Boss of it All / Direktøren for det hele
Writer/Dir: Lars von Trier (Dogville, Dancer in the Dark, Breaking the Waves)
Cast: Jens Albinus, Peter Gantzler, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Benedikt Erlingsson, Iben Hjejle
Denmark/Sweden/Iceland/Italy/France/Norway/Finland/Germany
Limited Release

Captivity
Dir: Roland Joffé (The Scarlet Letter, Fat Man and Little Boy, The Mission, The Killing Fields)
Cast: Elisha Cuthbert, Baniel Gillies, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Michael Harney, Laz Alonso, Chrysta Olson
USA/Russia

Introducing the Dwights / Clubland
Dir: Cherie Nowlan (The Wedding Party / Thank God He Met Lizzie)
Cast: Brenda Blethyn, Rebecca Gibney, Khan Chitterden, Richard Wilson, Russell Dykstra
Australia
Limited Release

Joshua
Dir: George Ratliff (Hell House, Plutonium Circus)
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Vera Farmiga, Jacob Kogan, Celia Weston
USA
Limited Release

Vitus
Dir: Fredi M Murer (Downtown Switzerland, Vollomond / Full Moon)
Cast: Teo Gheorghiu, Fabrizio Borsani, Julika Jenkins, Urs Jucker
Switzerland
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 13, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday July 6, 2007!!!

2007-07-06T04:10:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

So many releases this week from big releases to extremely limited releases, and everything in between. The big release bookend the week but neither are actually out on Friday. These are Transformers (just released) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (out next week). Although I want to see both the robots in disguise and witches and wizards get up to mischief, there is much more to explore this week. Numerous award winning films are in this week's bunch including Boy Culture, Bride of Silence and Romanzo Criminale. Critical acclaim has been recieved to both Werner Herzeg's Rescue Dawn as well as You Kill Me. Tough decisions to be made, are you up for them?

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch:

Peace Reel Outdoor Film Festival
Sundays in July at 8pm at Christie Pits in Toronto, Ontario
July 8, 2007: Occupation 101
http://www.blogger.com/www.artistsagainstwar.ca/

Tuesday July 3, 2007 Releases

Transformers
Dir: Michael Bay (The Rock, Bad Boys, The Island)
Cast: Shia LeBoeuf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight
USA

Friday July 6, 2007 Releases

Boy Culture
Dir: Q. Allan Brocka (Eating Out)
Cast: Derek Magyar, Jonathon Trent, Darryl Stephens, Patrick Bauchau
USA
Limited Release

Bride of Silence / Hat mua roi bao lau
Dir: Doan Minh Phuong & Doan Thanh Nghia - directorial debuts
Cast: Truong Ngoc Anh, Truong Huu Quy, Nguyen manh Thang
Vietnam / Germany
Limited Release

Licence to Wed
Dir: Ken Kwapis (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Beautician and the Beast)
Cast: Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, John Krasinksi
USA

Rescue Dawn
Writer/Dir: Werner Herzog (The Wild Blue Yonder, Grizzly Man, Wheel of Time / Rad der Zeit)
Cast: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, Pat Healy, Toby Huss
USA
Limited Release

Romanzo Criminale
Dir: Michele Placido (Ovunque sei, Un Viaggio chiamato amore / A Journey Called Love)
Cast: Kim Rossi Stuart, Pierfrancesco Favino, Anna Mouglalis
Italy/France/UK
Limited Release

You Kill Me
Dir: John Dahl (Joy Ride, Rounders)
Cast: Ben Kingsley Téa Leoni, Luke Willson
USA

Wednesday July 11, 2007 Release

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Dir: David Yates (The Tichborne Claimant)
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith
UK/USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada July 6, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 29, 2007!!!

2007-06-29T03:39:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

We have a wonderful array of films to choose from this long weekend. I would have to say that out of the selections I would strongly recommend getting out to see Let's All Hate Toronto at the Bloor cinema, I had the opportunity to see it and I highly recommend it. Also, it is Canada Day weekend, what better way to embrace our Canadian-ness that getting out to a Canadian film?

For the readers south of the border if you are in a documentary mood you may want to check out Michael Moore's Sicko. On the flip side if you are looking for a slice of action, perhaps Live Free and Die Hard is more your pace. I was happily surprized at the latest Die Hard instalment, it truly is a good action flick. If you are looking for something a little further off the beaten track, try out the eerie Red Road by Oscar winning director Andrea Arnold. On the flip side if you are looking for something more family friendly try the animated Ratatouille.

Have a great Canada Day weekend!

p. s .... although Transformers is scheduled to come out on Tuesday July 3rd, there are showings on the evening of Monday July 2nd at Scotiabank, Varsity, The Beach, Rainbow Fairview and Market Square and other theatres in Toronto.

Shannon

Festival Watch

Toronto International Portuguese Film Festival
June 28 – July 1, 2007 at the NFB, Toronto
http://www.portuguesefilmfestival.com/

Wednesday June 27, 2007 Releases

Live Free or Die Hard
Dir: Len Wiseman (Underworld, Underworld: Evolution)
Cast: Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis
USA

Thursday June 28, 2007 Releases

Let's All Hate Toronto
Albert Nerenberg & Rob Spence aka Mr. Toronto
Documentary
Canada
Limited Release

Friday June 29, 2007 Releases

Evening
Dir: Lajos Koltai (Fateless / Sorstalanság)
Cast: Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, Patrick Wilson, Hugh Dancy
USA

Ratatouille
Writer/Dir: Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant)
Voices of Ian Holm, Patton Oswalt and Peter O'Toole
USA

Red Road
Writer/Dir: Andrea Arnold (Wasp )
Cast: Kate Dickie, Tony Curran, Martin Compston, Nathalie Press, Andrew Armour
UK/Denmark
Limited Release

Sicko
Writen/Dir: Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11)
Documentary
USA

Tuesday July 3, 2007 Releases

Transformers
Dir: Michael Bay (The Rock, Bad Boys, The Island)
Cast: Shia LeBoeuf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada June 27 - July 3, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 22, 2007!!!

2007-06-22T04:54:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Interesting mish mash of films with week ranging from the inspiration sport film Gracie to 1408 a thriller based on the Steven King story. In between those we have the highly acclaimed A Mighty Heart staring Angelina Jolie and the biblically inspired comedy Evan Almighty. That’s a lot of might! I am curious to see Eagle vs. Shark from New Zealand, as director’s short Two Cars, One Night was quite phenomenal. If you are looking for something that is already hit the theatres I have on good authority that Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman is an excellent film. So much to choose from!

Festival Watch

ReelHeART International Film Festival
Continues until June 23, 2007
http://www.reelheart.com/

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday June 22, 2007 Releases

1408
Dir: Mikael Håfström (Derailed, Ondskan / Evil)
Cast: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Tony Shalhoub, Jasime Jessica Anthony
USA

Eagle vs. Shark
Writer/Dir: Taika Cohen (Two Cars, One Night - short)
Cast: Loren Horsley, Jemaine Clement
New Zealand
Limited Release

Evan Almightly
Dir: Tom Shadyac (Bruce Almighty, Patch Adams, Liar Liar)
Cast: Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham
USA

Gracie
Dir: Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth)
Cast: Carly Schroeder, Elizabeth Shue, Dermot Mulroney, Jess Lee Soffer
USA

A Mighty Heart
Dir: Michael Winterbottom (The Road to Guantanamo, Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story)
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Archie Panjabi, Irfan Khan, Denis O'Hare
USA/UK

Wednesday June 27, 2007 Releases

Live Free or Die Hard
Dir: Len Wiseman (Underworld, Underworld: Evolution)
Cast: Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on June 22, 2007**

Gracie

2007-06-22T03:18:00.000-04:00

Dir: Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth)
Cast: Carly Schroeder, Elizabeth Shue, Dermot Mulroney, Jess Lee Soffer
USA, 2007

Seen: Advance screening June 16, 2007

Reason to see: Gotta love inspirational sport films

Coming from not only an athletic background myself, but also being feminist it was a little hard for me to sink into the idea of girls not being 'allowed' to play certain sports. Gracie explores this in its 1978 setting with reference to soccer. However, it also goes beyond soccer and is an all around coming of age film which shows the good and the bad. It also speaks to giving people a chance, knowing what you want, being persistent and driving for excellence. How could that be bad?

I think it achieves in sending a positive message. Although sometimes the writing isn't perfect and the performances can be a bit uneven I think it still drives its message though and lifts the spirit. I also quite enjoyed all the credits.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it, even got a little teary-eyed
I'd watch it again
I recommend it, especially to any athletic hopefuls and their families & friends

No commercials or previews

More Film Reviews here

Return to Film Fan Fridays

Day Watch / Dnevnoy Dozor

2007-06-21T20:46:00.000-04:00

Dir: Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch / Nochnoy Dozor)
Cast: Konstantin Khabensky, Mariya Poroshina, Vladimir Menshov, Galina Tyunina, Victor Verzhbitsky
Russia, 2007

Seen: June 14, 2007 at Scotiabank Theatre

Reason to see: I loved the first one. It's also for week 25/52 #7 - See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year

Watching this film I was a bit confused. I have recently read the book to Night Watch, and the story for this film comes from that book (and not the sequel of the same name) which surprized me. I went in not expecting to know the plot at all, and I did. Alas, getting over that I did think this was an enjoyable film. I tend to love things that are highly stylized and this sure was, from the costumes to editing to the sound it very clearly created a bizarre and full world. It cautiously walked the line between the familiar and the eerie which keeps you a bit off balance, but in a challenging good way. It pushes expectations, especially visually. Quite an interesting ride.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I`ll buy it
I'd recommend it, but not as strongly as Night Watch / Nochnoy Dozor

16 minutes preshow included 3 commercials and 5 previews (The Kingdom, Paprika, 1408, Captivity, Sunshine)

More Film Reviews here

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Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

2007-06-21T20:44:00.002-04:00

Dir: Tim Story (Fantastic Four, Taxi <2004>, Barbershop)
Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Laurence Fishburne, Doug Jones, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon
USA/Germany, 2007

Seen: June 21, 2007 at Scotiabank Theatre

Reason to see: Needed some light summer fun movie-ness, and I tend to like movies based on comics. This counts as week 26/52 in my #7 - See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. Half way there! Woot!

Although I was not a fan of the first film in this series, I found Rise of the Silver Surfer to be quite fun. It had more depth than the first and a more interesting story, as well as the Silver Surfer which has always been and still is a cool character. I had to remind myself that unlike other teams in the comic world, The Fantastic Four are pretty much 'nice & clean' characters. They verge on being pretty geeky, when you think about it and that is okay too. Once I settled into that idea I started to enjoy the movie more. It's a little corny and a little predictable, but hey ... it's a summer movie. Better to know that going in, no?

Shannon's Overall View:
It was an enjoyable fun movie
I'd watch it again
I recommend it as a fun, light action film

15 minutes preshow included 6 commercials and 5 previews (Transformers, Rush Hour 3, Underdog, The Simpsons Movie, Live Free or Die Hard)

More Film Reviews here

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Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 15, 2007!!!

2007-06-15T03:17:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Here we are with the warmness of summer upon and ... what's this? Close to almost exclusively limited releases this week? What a stroke of luck! We have a few award winners: Il Caimano (Cannes and David di Donatello), Sweet Mud (Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals) and The Golden Door (Venice Film Festival). We also have the critically acclaimed animated film Paprika which looks delightfully bizarre.

If you are looking for more family fare you can sleuth your way to Nancy Drew. Also in this week's lot is one hopeful blockbuster with the Fantastic Four sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Initially I would have to say I am not holding my breath on this one, but considering the Silver Surfer is a really cool character it might tip the scale. If I see all the limited releases first, of course.

BLUE
Directed, choreographed and performed by Elif Isikozlu
During the Worldwide Short Film Festival
Friday, June 15th, 2007 - 7:15pm, Innis Town Hall, Toronto

Festival Watch

World Wide Short Film Festival
Continues until June 17, Toronto
www.worldwideshortfilmfest.com/

ReelHeART International Film Festival
June 18 - 23, 2007
http://www.reelheart.com/

...............sneaky sneaky!
A sneak preview of Ratatouille this Saturday June 16th, 2007 at 7pm at Scotiabank Theatre, Silver City Yorkdale, Silver City Yonge & Eglinton and others theatres. Ratatouille is an animated film and features the voices of Ian Holm, Patton Oswalt and Peter O'Toole and is written and directed by Brad Bird who brought us The Incredibles and The Iron Giant.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday June 15, 2007 Releases

Il Caimano / The Caiman
Writer/Dir: Nanni Moretti (The Son's Room / La Stanza de Figlio)
Cast: Silvio Orlando, Nanni Moretti, Margherita Buy, Jasmine Trinca
Italy/France
Limited Release

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Dir: Tim Story (Fantastic Four, Taxi <2004>, Barbershop)
Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Laurence Fishburne, Doug Jones, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon
USA/Germany

Golden Door / Nuovomodo
Writer/Dir: Emanuele Crialese (Respiro, Once We Were Stranger)
Cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Vincenzo Amato, Aurora Quattrocchi, Francesco Casisa
Italy/Germany/France
Limited Release

Nancy Drew
Writen/Dir: Andrew Fleming (The In-Laws, The Craft, Threesome)
Cast: Emma Roberts, Tate Donovan, Josh Flitter, Craig Gellis, Rachael Leigh Cook
USA

Paprika / Papurika
Dir: Satoshi Kon (Môsô dairinin / Paranoia Agent)
Voices: Megumi Hayashibara, Tôru Furuya, Kôichi Yamadera, Katsunosuke Hori
Japan
Limited Release

Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman
Dir: Adrian Shergold - film directorial debut
Cast: Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson, Eddie Marsan
UK
Limited Release

Sweet Mud / Adama Meshuga'at
Writer/Dir: Dror Shaul (Sima Vaknin Machshefa)
Cast: Tomer Steinhof, Shai Avivi, Ronit Yudkevitz, Pini Tavger
Isreal/Germany/Japan
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on June 15, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 8, 2007!!!

2007-06-08T03:35:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

A nice and varied selection yet again this week with films from Canada and abroad alike. I would strongly recommend two of our releases this week, BLUE as a part of the Worldwide Short Film Festival as well as Brand Upon the Brain! Both Canadian, both beautiful artistic rich films.

Looking to our foreign releases this week, again many interesting choices. I am very excited to see Day Watch / Dnevnoy Dozor, sequel to Night Watch which was my favourite foreign films of 2006. There is also Angel-A, Luc Besson's latest which is exciting to see him back in the director's chair. The last live action film he directed was in 1999 with The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, however I believe we tend to remember him more for The Professional and La Femme Nikita.

BLUE
Directed, choreographed and performed by Elif Isikozlu
During the Worldwide Short Film Festival
Thursday, June 14th, 2007 - 1:30pm at the Cumberland, Toronto
Friday, June 15th, 2007 - 7:15pm, Innis Town Hall, Toronto

Festival Watch

Alucine Toronto Latin@ Media Festival
Continues until June 9, 2007, Toronto
http://www.blogger.com/www.alucinefestival.com

European Union Film Festival
Continues until June 10, 2007, Toronto
http://www.blogger.com/www.eutorontofilmfest.ca

Toronto Italian Film Festival
Continues until June 10, 2007, Toronto
http://www.blogger.com/www.italianfilmfest.com

World Wide Short Film Festival
June 12 - 17, 2007, Toronto
www.worldwideshortfilmfest.com/

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday June 8, 2007 Releases

Angel-A
Writer/Dir: Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, The Professional, La Femme Nikita)
Cast: Rie Rasmussen, Jamel Debbouze, Gilbert Melki, Serge Riaboukine
France
Limited Release

Bolly Double / The Lookalike
Writer/Dir: Arun Bharali - film directorial debut
Cast: Jessie Ahluwalia, Christian Bako, Opo Bhattacharya
USA

Brand Upon the Brain!
Dir: Guy Maddin (The Saddest Music in the World, Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary)
Cast: Sullivan Brown, Maya Lawson, Gretchen Krich, Katherine E. Scharhon
Canada/USA
Limited Release

Day Watch / Dnevnoy Dozor
Dir: Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch / Nochnoy Dozor)
Cast: Konstantin Khabensky, Mariya Poroshina, Vladimir Menshov, Galina Tyunina, Victor Verzhbitsky
Russia
Limited Release

Eli Roths' Hostel Part II
Writer/Dir: Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever)
Cast: Lauren German, Bijou Phillips, Roger Bart, Richard Burgi, Vera Jordanova
USA

La Vie en Rose / La Môme
Dir: Olivier Dahan (Crimson Rivers 2, Ghost River)
Cast: Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Jean-Pierre Martins
France/UK/Czech Republic
Limited Release

Love is Work
Writer/Dir: Johnny Kalangis - debut
Cast: Fabrizio Filippo, Shauna Macdonald, Kathryn Zenna, Ryan McVittie
Canada
Limited Release

Ocean's Thirteen
Dir: Steven Soderbergh (The Good German, Ocean's Eleven, Solaris, Traffic)
Cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Ellen Barkin, Al Pacino, Casey Affleck, Shaobo Qin, Elliott Gould
USA

Surf's Up
Dir: Ash Brannon (Toy Story 2) & Chris Buck (Tarzan)
Voices: Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, James Woods
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on June 8, 2007**

Everything's Gone Green

2007-06-03T12:27:00.000-04:00

Dir: Paul Fox (The Dark Hours)
Cast: Paulo Costanzo, JR Bourne, Steph Song, Aidan Devine
Canada, 2007

Seen: May 9, 2007 at the Carlton

Reason to see: It's Canadian and I love Canadian film. Suzie liked it too, although I don't remember if I found that out before or after seeing it. It counts as week 20/52 for See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year.

First off, a big thank you to Danette whom I bumped into just as I was *this* close to copping out of my movie this week. It's always great to see her and then when she asked "Are you going to a movie?", how could I really say no? Thanks Danette!

It's great to see a Canadian film that truly shines and is upfront about being what it is. Shot and set in Vancouver we follow the life of 'slacker' Ryan for a while in situations that a lot of people can relate to and some that we would never expect at all. What I really liked about this film is that it shows people being human, making choices - not necessarily great ones always, and effects those choices have on their lives and the people around them. Things change when you change, so ... do you want to change? People say change is the one constant in life so I hope everyone likes it! Or finds a way to like it. I wonder if Ryan did.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'll watch it again
I recommend it

More Film Reviews here

Return to Film Fan Fridays

5 min preshow - 1 commercial, 2 previews (The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Knocked Up)

Hot Fuzz

2007-06-03T12:09:00.000-04:00

Dir: Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead)
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy, Timothy Dalton
UK, 2007

Seen: May 6, 2007 at .. sigh 'Scotiabank' theatre (formerly known as Paramount)

Reason to see: Are you kidding? Looks hilarious!!!!! Funny British Action flick? I'm so there! It counts as week 19/52 for my See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year.

I loved every single minute of this film. I loved the pace, the style, the humour, the actors, story, references... every single thing. It's so thrilling to go to the theatre and just enjoy everything. It's fun and silly, it made me laugh as well as jump (someone actually screamed in the theatre at one point - too funny). It didn't make you think too hard but it did make you feel. There are some great underlying things it is trying to say, even though you may not believe me it I told you and you wouldn't expect it in an 'action' film. Just see it, you'll see.

Warnings: violence

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I'll buy it
I highly recommend it, except if you are really anti-violent and dislike lots of blowing stuff up and such. But even then, give it a try!

More Film Reviews here

Return to Film Fan Fridays

4 minutes for 4 commercials
11 minutes for 5 previews (Superbad, Death at a Funeral, 28 Weeks Later..., Balls of Fury, Run Fatboy Run)

The Namesake

2007-06-03T11:47:00.000-04:00

Dir: Mira Nair (Vanity Fair, Monsoon Wedding, Mississippi Masala)
Cast: Irfan Khan, Kal Penn, Tabu, Sahira Nair, Jacinda Barrett, Zuleikha Robinson
India/USA, 2007

Seen: May 27, 2007 at the Carlton

Reason to see: Preview was emotionally moving, I loved Monsoon Wedding, also taking part of #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is week 22/52.

I'm thrilled to see that this film has had quite a successful run so far, and I think it deserves it. Although it was different that what the previews presented being focused on character Kal Penn plays, but rather it's about the whole family and in essence it is about family. Family and culture, neither of which you pick and both of which you can stray from or embrace and a lot of us try out both throughout difference stages in out lives. I found it engaging yet quietly paced. Felt *this* close to being Canadian, and I say that as a true compliment.

There were some moments at which I wanted to know more, especially about things revolving around culture. But I don't think of that as a bad thing as it never left me confused, only curious. So curious in fact I'm going to read the book on which it was based. It does stand on it's own though, quite enjoyable so.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I would watch it again
I recommend it

More Film Reviews here

Return to Film Fan Fridays

Bizarre film experience moment: I was first person in the theatre, sat down and munched away on my popcorn. Few minutes later some ladies come in and sit in the row behind me and over 1 seat and chat chat chat (just during the preshow). Out of all of the seats, why choose to sit so close to the only other person there so far?

Drumline

2007-06-03T11:30:00.000-04:00

Director: Charles Stone III (Paid in Full, Mr. 3000)
Cast: Nick Cannon, Leonard Roberts, Orlando Jones, Zoe Saldana
USA, 2002

Seen: April 9, 2007 on DVD

Reason to see: Enthusiastically recommended by Jamie

Watching this film was such a treat, I always enjoy a film on a subject I don't know much about but has a great story and this one really hit the nail on the head. The subject, or more precisely, the context was marching bands add to that a coming of age, highly talented performers and group dynamics and you are set for a great ride. I really enjoyed it, and I'm sure you will too.

Great Quote: "You have to learn to follow before you can lead"

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I'll watch it again, repeatedly
I recommend it to everyone

More Film Reviews here

Return to Film Fan Fridays

Derailed

2007-06-03T11:17:00.000-04:00

Director: Mikael Håfström (Ondskan / Evil, Strandvaskaren / Drowning Ghost, )
Cast: Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston, Vincent Cassel, Melissa George
USA, 2005

Seen: April 20, 2007 on TMN

Reason to see: it was available on TMN on demand, I enjoy most of the actors in it

I will preface this by saying I did not watch the whole movie. It's been a while since I've actually turned a film off or better said that a film turned me off. I watched the first hour but after which it was clear that there were leading up to scenes that would contain sexual violence, for which I have little to no tolerance for, especially in 'thrillers'. I don't know who that thrills, and I don't think I want to.

Overall, I found the story a little implausible and I did not believe any of the words that Jennifer Aniston's character said would ever be said by a woman.

That being said, it did successfully create, maintain and build an great amount of sense of tension. For that I would have to give it some credit.

Warnings: Sexual violence

Shannon's Overall View:
I turned it off
I would not watch it again
I would not recommend it

More Film Reviews here

Return to Film Fan Fridays

Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 1, 2007!!!

2007-06-01T03:49:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

What a week! What a selection of films, festivals and even a special screening. So much to choose from, which I find very exciting. I myself, will definitely taking the opportunity to get out the Guy Maddin's film Brand Upon the Brain! Which is being shown with live accompaniment, you just don't often get the opportunity to see that (and I missed it at the film fest this year).

If that isn't quite what you are looking for there are 5 films and count 'em, 5 festival this week. That is a first I think for the newsletter the same number of festivals and films in the same week. This may be one of the only weekends of the summer we don't have a super-duper-blockbuster release. We do have the highly acclaimed, award winning 10 Canoes from Australia as well as the bloody Severance from the UK. Feeling like you are needing some giggles? Perhaps Knocked Up would be the choice for you.

Special Screening

Brand Upon the Brain!
Tuesday June 5, 2007 at 8pm
Elgin Theatre in Toronto, with live narration, foley artists and orchestra
Presented by Cinematheque as a part of Luminato
For more info: http://www.luminato.com/

Festival Watch

Alucine Toronto Latin@ Media Festival
Films showing June 1 - June 9, 2007, Toronto
www.alucinefestival.com

European Union Film Festival
Continues until Jun 10, 2007, Toronto
www.eutorontofilmfest.ca

Toronto Hispano-American Film Festival
Continues until June 3, 2007, Toronto
www.torontohispano.com/thaff

Toronto Italian Film Festival
June 6 - 10, 2007, Toronto
www.italianfilmfest.com

Voices Forward
Film and Culture About People from Israel & Palestine
May 31 - June 3, 2007, Toronto
http://voicesforward.org/

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday June 1, 2007 Releases

10 Canoes
Dir: Rolf de Heer (Alexandra's Project) Peter Djigirr - debut
Cast: Crusoe Kurddal, Jamie Gulpilil, Richard Birrinbirrin, Peter Djigirr
Australia
Limited Release

Knocked Up
Writer/Dir: Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin)
Cast: Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann
USA

Mr. Brooks
Dir: Bruce Evans (Kuffs)
Cast: Kevin Costner, William Hurt, Dane Cook, Demi Moore, Marg Helgenberger
USA

Rise: Blood Hunter
Writer/Dir: Sebastian Gutierrez (Judas Kiss)
Cast: Lucy Liu, Cameron Richardson, Robert Forster, Allan Rich
USA

Severance
Dir: Christopher Smith (Creep)
Cast: Toby Stephens, Claudie Blakley, Andy Nyman, Tim Mcnnerny, Laura Harris
Germany/UK

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on June 1, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday May 25, 2007!!!

2007-05-25T04:06:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Happy Friday everyone! Well, we have a fair share of new releases as well as four festivals this week, lots to choose from which I know I always like. Choice is a great thing. One interesting thing to note is that Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End had some showings on Thursday the 24th, however all the info states it being released on May 25. Sometimes this happens and they do a late night or midnight show, but the ones I saw listed were more along the lines of 8pm. Bizarre! Also, Pirates has had very few reviews but there is lots out for some of our limited releases such as the critically acclaimed Once and Bug, as well as the Canadian The French Guy. What will you choose?

Festival Watch

Inside Out
Lesbian & Gay Film & Video Festival
Continues to May 28 2007, various locations, Toronto
www.insideout.on.ca

Contact
Toronto Photography Festival
May 2007
www.contactphoto.com

European Union Film Festival
May 24 - Jun 10, 2007
www.eutorontofilmfest.ca

Toronto Hispano-American Film Festival
May 24 - June 3, 2007
www.torontohispano.com/thaff

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday May 25, 2007 Releases

Bug
Dir: William Friedkin (The Hunter, Rules of Engagement)
Cast: Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick Jr.
USA

Fay Grim
Writer/Dir: Hal Hartley (The Girl from Monday, No Such Thing)
Cast: Parker Posey, D.J. Mendel, Liam Aiken, Megan Gay
USA/Germany
Limited Release

The French Guy
Writer/Dir: Ann Marie Fleming (The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam)
Cast: Babz Chula, Tygh Runyan, Carly Pope, Gary Jones, Patti Allan
Canada
Limited Release

Once
Writer/Dir: John Carney (On the Edge)
Cast: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová
Ireland
Limited Release

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Dir: Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Weather Man)
Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Bill Nighy
USA

Scenes of a Sexual Nature
Dir: Ed Blum - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Sophie Okonedo, Tom Hardy
UK
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on May 25, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday May 18, 2007!!!

2007-05-18T09:15:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Lots of limited releases, tag-team directors, debut directors, writer/directors this week! All that and Shrek the Third too, great timing with the holiday weekend. Enjoy!

Festival Watch

Inside Out
Lesbian & Gay Film & Video Festival
May 17 - 28 2007, various locations, Toronto
www.insideout.on.ca

Contact
Toronto Photography Festival
May 2007
www.contactphoto.com

Have a great Victoria Day weekend!

Shannon

Friday May 18, 2007 Releases

2:37
Writer/Dir: Murali K. Thalluri - directoral debut
Cast: Teresa Palmer, Joel Mackenzie, Frank Sweet, Marni Spillane
Australia
Limited Release

Close to Home / Karov La Bayit
Writers/Directors: Vardit Bilu (30 Kaful 4) & Dalia Hagar (Kayitz Etzel Erika)
Cast: Neama Shendar, Smadar Sayar
Israel
Limited Release

Paris, Je T'aime
Numerous directors including: Joel & Ethan Coen, Wes Craven, Daniela Thomas, Tom Tykwer, Gus Van Sant
Cast: Miranda Richardson, Nick Nolte, Elijah Wood, Rufus Sewell, Juliette Binoche
Liechtenstein/Switzerland/Germany/France
Limited Release

Provoked
Dir: Jag Mundhra (Natasha, Bawandar / The Sand Storm)
Cast: Aishwarya Rai, Miranda Richardson, Naveen Andrews, Nandita Das, Ray Panthaki
UK/India
Limited Release

Shrek the Third
Dir: Chris Miller and Raman Hui - directorial feature debut
Voices: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on May 18, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday May 11, 2007!!!

2007-05-11T03:11:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

This week seems to be one of the few this summer that doesn't have a 'third' as a part of the releases. But have no fear, it doesn't have a second of sorts, or a +6 if you will. The sequel to 28 Days Later..., on of the strongest thriller in years is out this week: 28 Weeks Later.... I heard Robert Carlyle on the BBC speak of how much time can go by without a home grown (UK in that case) film is released in the theatre there. I never thought that could be an issue over there too! I do plan on making it out to see this one, although I think I might skip the tea. Seeing as during the first in the series I almost flung mine across the theatre inadvertently during a scary part. If that isn't what you are looking for this week, there are certainly many other choices out there for you... feel free to browse.

Festival Watch

Toronto Jewish Film Festival
Continues until May 13, 2007, various locations, Toronto
www.tjff.com

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday May 11, 2007 Releases

28 Weeks Later...
Dir: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intacto / Intact)
Cast: Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Catherine McCormack, Jeremy Renner
UK

Delta Farce
Dir: C.B. Harding - directorial film debut
Cast: Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, DJ Qualls, Keith David, Danny Trejo
USA

The Ex
Dir: Jesse Peretz (The Château, First Love, Last Rites)
Cast: Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Jason Bateman, Paul Rudd, Mia Farrow, Donal Loque
USA

Georgia Rule
Dir: Garry Marshall (The Princess Diaries, Frankie and Johnny, Beaches)
Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman
USA

Jindabyne
Dir: Ray Lawrence (Latana, Bliss)
Cast: Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, Deborra-Lee Furness, John Howard
Australia
Limited Release

Waitress
Writer/Dir: Adrienne Shelly (I'll Take You There, Sudden Manhattan)
Cast: Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, Adrienne Shelly
USA
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on May 11, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday May 4, 2007!!!

2007-05-04T03:34:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Well, it seems almost surprizing that anyone would know that there are films other than Spiderman 3 being released this week. One of the big Toronto theatres is showing it 25 times on Friday. 25 times. If ya go, take note its a fairly lengthy one clocking in at 2h20min, and you can bet on previews. But, that doesn't mean I won't go see it.. I mean, its Spiderman! Woohoo! Seems to be the surefire indicator of the start of summer.

Out of this weeks releases I've be anxiously awaiting seeing Away From Her, directed by Sarah Polley. My previous four opportunities to see were all foiled one way or another (mostly due to popularity, which is exciting) so I'm thrilled it's in regular release. Go Canadian film!

If you are looking for something a little less close to home, check out anything at the Cumberland this week - their entire line up is all foreign subtitled film. How cool is that? If you are up for subtitles there are still many choices, such as the gambling but looks slightly like it might be hiding as a romance or date movie appeal Lucky You, David Lynch's latest Inland Empire, or The Flying Scotsman based on real life cyclist Graeme Obree. A nice and varied selection this week! Enjoy it!

Festival Watch

Found Footage Festival
Friday May 4th, 2007 at The Bloor Cinema, Toronto
www.foundfootagefestival.com

U of T Hong Kong Film Festival
May 4-6, 2007, various locations, Toronto
More info here and here

Toronto Jewish Film Festival
May 5-13, 2007, various locations, Toronto
www.tjff.com

Have a great weekend !!!

Shannon

Friday May 4, 2007 Releases

Away From Her
Dir: Sarah Polley - feature film debut
Cast: Gordon Pinsent, Julie Christie, MIchael Murphy, Olympia Dukakis, Kristen Thomson
Canada

Civic Duty
Dir: Jeff Renfroe (One Point O)
Cast: Peter Krause, Khaled Abol Naga, Kari Matchett, Richard Schiff
UK/USA/Canada

The Flying Scotsman
Dir: Douglas Mackinnon - feature film debut
Cast: Jonny Lee Miller, Brian Cox, Billy Boyd, Laura Fraser
Germany/UK

Inland Empire
Writer/Dir: David Lynch (Mulholland Dr., Lost Highway, Wild at Heart)
Cast: Laura Dern, Justin Theroux, Jeremy Irons, Harry Dean Stanton
Limited Release
France/Poland/USA

Lucky You
Dir: Curtis Hanson (In Her Shoes, 8 Mile, L.A. Confidential)
Cast: Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Robert Duvall, Debra Messing
USA

Spiderman 3
Dir: Sam Raimi (Spiderman, Spiderman 2, The Gift, Army of Darkness)
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church
USA

The Valet / La Boublure
Writer/Dir: Francis Verber (The Closet / Le Placard, Three Fugitives)
Cast: Daniel Auteuil, Kristin Schott Thomas, Dany Boon
Italy/Belgium/France
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on May 4, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday April 27, 2007!!!

2007-04-27T03:44:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Just the facts this week. Enjoy!

Festival Watch

hotdocs
Canadian International Documentary Film Festival
Continues until April 29, 2007
www.hotdocs.ca

Have a great weekend !!!

Shannon

Friday April 27, 2007 Releases

Black Book / Zwartboek
Dir: Paul Verhoeven (Hallow Man, Starship Troopers, Showgirls, Basic Instinct)
Cast: Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch , Thom Hoffman, Halina Rejin, Waldermar Kobus
Netherlands / Belgium / UK / Germany
Limited Release

The Condemned
Dir: Scott Wiper (A Better Way to Die)
Cast: 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones, Rick Hoffman, Robert Mammone
USA

Everything's Gone Green
Dir: Paul Fox (The Dark Hours)
Cast: Paulo Costanzo, JR Bourne, Steph Song, Aidan Devine
Canada
Limited Release

The Invisible
Dir: David S. Goyer (Blade: Trinity)
Cast: Justin Chatwin, Margarita Leviena, Marchia Gay Harden
USA

Kickin' it Old Skool
Dir: Harvey Glazer - directorial debut
Cast: Jamie Kennedy, Maria Menounos, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Michael Rosenbaum
USA

Next
Dir: Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day, Along Came a Spider, Once Were Warriors)
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 27, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday April 20, 2007!!!

2007-04-20T03:26:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Lots of releases and the continuation of 2 film festivals give everyone lots of film options out there! I am thrilled to see that there is not one but two Canadian releases this week: That Beautiful Somewhere as well as Crossing. Which to choose? Maybe both would be a good idea!

One highly anticipated releases this week is Hot Fuzz, which had me at the preview which claims that it's "Brought to you by the guys who watched every action film". The premise seems hilarious and charming all at once and also bears quite a resemblance to the April 6/07 release Young Triffie. Bizarre.

One of the weirder sights seen in this week's releases is Meg Ryan as 'the Mom' in In the Land of Women. I'm not sure if I can handle that! It does look quite charming though. On the total flip side of charming is Vacancy which when doing my research the majority of the character names were 'victims', I know that it will not go on my to see list. Too scary for me!

Festival Watch

Sprockets
Toronto International Film Festival for Children
Continues until April 22, 2007, Toronto
http://www.sprockets.ca/

hotdocs
Canadian International Documentary Film Festival
Continues until April 29, 2007
www.hotdocs.ca

Have a great weekend !!!

Shannon

Friday April 20, 2007 Releases

Avenue Montaigne / Orchestra Seats
Dir: Danièle Thompson (Jet Lag / Décalage Horaire)
Cast: Cécile de France, Valérie Lemercier, Albert Dupontel, Claude Brasseur, Sydney Pollack
France
Limited Release

Crossing
Dir: Roger Evan Larry (Tested, Knocking on Heaven's Door)
Cast: Sebastian Spence, Fred Ewanuick, Alan C. Peterson, Crystal Bublé, Bif Naked
Canada
Limited Release

Fracture
Dir: Gregory Hoblit (Hart's War, Frequency, Fallen, Primal Fear)
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Anthony Hopkins, David Strathairn, Rosamund Pike, Embeth Davidtz
USA

Hot Fuzz
Dir: Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead)
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy
UK

In the Land of Women
Writer/Dir: Jonathan Kasdan - directorial debut
Cast: Adam Brody, Kristen Stewart, Meg Ryan, Olympia Dukakis
USA

That Beautiful Somewhere
Writer/Dir: Robert Budreau - directorial feature film debut
Cast: Roy Dupruis, Jane McGregor, Gordon Tootoosis, David Fox, Ron Payne
Canada
Limited Release

Vacancy
Dir: Nimrod Antal (Kontroll / Control)
Cast: Luke Wilson, Kate Beckinsale, Frank Whaley, Ethan Embry
USA

Year of the Dog
Writer/Dir: Mike White - directorial debut
Cast: Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Regina King, John C. Reilly, Peter Sarsgaard
USA
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 20, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday April 13, 2007!!!

2007-04-13T04:10:00.001-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

What a week!! 6 films, 4 festivals and a special screening, oh my! I think my pick of the week would have to be After the Wedding, which received an Oscar nomination for Best foreign language film of the year. Or the Canadian Sleeping Dogs. Or Pathfinder with Karl Urban (who played Eomer in Lord of the Rings). So many films to choose from, so little time!

Festival Watch

Images Festival
Continues until April 14, 2007, Toronto
http://www.imagesfestival.com/

Reelworld Film Festival
Celebrating diversity in film, video, and new media
Continues until April 15, 2007, Toronto
http://www.reelworld.ca/

Sprockets
Toronto International Film Festival for Children
April 13-22, 2007, Toronto
http://www.sprockets.ca/

hotdocs
Canadian International Documentary Film Festival
April 19-29, 2007
www.hotdocs.ca

Special Screening

The Abandoned
Dir: Nacho Cerdà
Cast: Anastasia Hille, Karel Roden, Valentine Ganev, Carlos ReigSpain
Thursday April 19, 2007, 9:30pm at the Bloor Cinema, Toronto
Cinemacabre Movie Nights Presented by Rue Morgue
This film I've included on my list of the Scariest Movies of all Time. Click here to read my review.

Have a great weekend !!!

Shannon

Friday April 13, 2007 Releases

After the Wedding / Efter brylluppet
Dir: Susanne Bier (Brothers / Brødre, Open Hears / Elsker dig for evigt)
Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Rolf Lassgård, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Stine Fischer Christensen
Denmark/Sweden
Limited Release

Disturbia
Dir: D.J. Caruso (The Salton Sea, Taking Lives)
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, David Morse, Sarah Roemer, Carrie-Anne Moss
USA

Journey to Armenia / Le Voyage en Arménie
Dir: Robert Guédiguian (The Last Mitterrand / Le Promeneur du champ de Mars)
Cast: Ariane Ascaride, Marcel Bluwal, Gérard Meylan
France
Limited Release

Pathfinder
Dir: Marcus Nispel (Texas Chainsaw Massacre <2003>)
Cast: Karl Urban, Russell Means, Moon Bloodgood, Nathaniel Archand, Jay Tavare
USA

Perfect Stranger
Dir: James Foley (Confidence, The Corruptor, The Chamber, Fear)
Cast: Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, Giovanni Ribisi, Richard Portnow, Gary Dourdan
USA

Sleeping Dogs
Writer/Dir: Terrance Odette (Saint Monica, Heater)
Cast: Brian Stillar, Tony Adah, K. Alan Sapp, Jennifer Daniels
Canada
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 13, 2007**

Offside

2007-04-12T21:21:00.000-04:00

Dir: Jafar Panahi (Talaye Sorkh / Crimson Gold, Dayereh / The Circle, Badkonake Sefid / The White Balloon)
Cast: Sima Mobarak Shahi, Safar Samandar, Shayesteh Irani, M. Kheyrabadi, Ida Sadeghi
Iran, 2007

Seen: September 6, 2006 as part of TIFF

Reason to see: it fit in my schedule

This review mentions the plot of the film.

The setting for this film is girls trying to get into a qualifying game for the World Cup, although women are banned from all sporting events. It's a fascinating subject and the film is very layered. Why do these girls go? What are the varied reactions they receive? Who will help, take advantage, turn a blind eye or turn them in?

For me it inevitable brought up more questions or answers. For one, why are they banned? What would happen to them? There was always did feel like there was an undercurrent for the concern of their well being which I didn't expect.

I have to say while researching this film I found a lot of references that is considered a comedy, funny or a satire (see examples here, here and here - check under Now Playing). I did not get that from it at all. Although, I didn't see it as a dry drama, but I don't think I (or anyone else) in the theatre laughed at any one point. To me it felt like a serious look at a social issue, albeit in a sport situation. I could maybe go as far as saying that sometimes it was light-hearted, but a comedy? I don't think so.

Shannon's Overall View:
I found it thought provoking
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it

More Film Reviews here

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Sharkwater

2007-04-12T21:20:00.000-04:00

Writer/Dir: Rob Stewart - directorial debut
Canada, 2007

Seen: April 10, 2007 with Jamie & Justin at the Varsity

Reason to see: I was invited (thanks Jamie!) Who could say no? It's has been on my 'to see' list as it's Canadian, it is a selection from Canada's Top Ten, the preview rocked, I always get drawn into films that are blue and it is week 16/52 of #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. Is that enough reasons for ya?

Amazing documentary and personal journey film about sharks, and the growing concern for dwindling existence. Who knew that the shark population is quickly becoming smaller and smaller so much so that the great white shark is now considered, endangered? Well, you do now! There is so much more, but the film says it much better than I. It is a truly heartfelt look at something we normally think of as scary, but really sharks are creatures too and don't they deserve to live their lives? I think they do! And I bet you will too.

Warnings: Creatures in distress

Shannon's Overall View:
I thought it was great!
I'll buy it
I highly recommend it

Want to know more? Check out the Sharkwater website here.
How can you help? Check out the Saving Sharks website here.

11 minutes of preshow with 5 commercials and 3 previews: Paris, Je T'aime (looked absolutely compelling), Evan Almighty and The Kingdom (this one has been 'coming soon' for quite a while...)

More Film Reviews here

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Blood Diamond

2007-04-09T13:51:00.000-04:00

Dir: Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall)
Cast: Djimon Hounsou, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly
USA, 2006

Seen: February 14, 2007 at the Carlton

Reason to see: Numerous Oscar nominations, recommended by a few people as a good film and part of third attempt of #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is from week 8/52.

First off, I'd have to say I did almost leave the theatre. Not for the reasons listed in the warnings but the fact I went to see it on Valentine's Day and when I walked in there was only 1 couple there. I thought to myself "If no one else comes in, I'll leave and let them have their night". But, there ended up being quite a good crowd so I stayed and watched it.

I found myself really conflicted while watching this film. All the trailers really made if feel like an action adventure flick but on the recommendation of a few different people that insisted it actually had a message I decided to give it a go. I found it very hard to watch. The situations and the violence was very disturbing, but it wasn't really just that. What I wasn't expecting was to see child soldiers - and I found that truly horrific and those scenes still disturb me.

I would have to say that it was well done though, the story is compelling and the acting is good. I thought Leonardo DiCaprio's accent was a little hit and miss but was better than I expected. Am I happy I saw it? Not really, it's not a film for me. The awareness of issues are always good but for me this format made it too hard to take in.

Warnings: Extremely violent, maiming, torture, drug use, child soldiers, brainwashing

Shannon's Overall View:
It was better than I expected, however....
I watch not watch it again
I recommend it to people interested in films about moral issues and the world at large

More Film Reviews here

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Less than 5 min of preshow with 1 commercial and 2 previews (The Kingdom, Breach)

The Host / Gwoemul

2007-04-08T17:20:00.000-04:00

Dir: Joon-ho Bong (Memories of Murder / Salinui chueok)
Cast: Kang-ho Song, Hie-bong Byeon, Hai-il Park, Du-na Bae, Ah-sung Ko
South Korea, 2007

Seen: April 5, 2007 at Paramount

Reason to see: South Korean Monster film that smashed domestic box office records, very cool preview as well as working towards #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is week 15/52.

This is going to be a tough review to write, as I really don't want to tell you the story. Maybe I'll start with what did I get from it? I was thoroughly entertained. I laughed, I gasped, my heart panged and my eyes widened. It made me think and feel, which was delightfully more than I was expected. A wonderful cast of characters and a good story that really goes further than just a monster movie but touches on many more things including the strength of the human spirit.

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I'll buy it
I highly recommend it, and recommend to see it in the theatre if you can for the sound and the experience as a whole

More Film Reviews here

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10 minutes of preshow with 3 commercials and 3 previews: Hostel II (too scary!), Grindhouse and Hot Fuzz (can't wait for it!)

Old Joy

2007-04-08T15:22:00.000-04:00

Director: Kelly Reichardt (Ode, River of Grass)
Cast: Daniel London, Will Oldham
USA, 2006

Seen: March 29, 2007 at the Bloor Cinema

Reason to see: Heard about it from a few different sources, and I am on my third attempt of #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is from week 14/52.

This review does mention the plot of the film. You have been forewarned :)

I was a little surprized to find out after watching this that it was only 76 minutes long, it really felt like a full 2hr film. The pace often feels like real time or possibly longer but I don't see that necessary as a negative. The film is set around two friends venturing to a hot springs, but the friends are old friends. Not as in 'known each other forever and get together every weekend', but more like 'someone you ran into, decided to meet up and now notice you are different people than you once were'. It is an interesting exploration but I'm not sure if it was trying to get to more than just that exploration, I think it was because I often felt a vague sense of tension that continued through the film. Both actors are quite good, and it does feel very realistic relationship. The outdoor scenes were beautiful and made me think of when I visited my sister in B.C., however it was filmed in Portland Oregon (according to it's info on imdb).

Shannon's Overall View:
I thought it was interesting
I may watch it one more time
I'd recommend it to people who like calmly paced films about friendships

More Film Reviews here

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No commercials, no previews, lots of latecomers (all per norm for this theatre)

The Reaping

2007-04-08T14:32:00.000-04:00

Dir: Stephen Hopkins (Lost in Space, Predator 2)
Cast: Hilary Swank, Idris Elba, David Morrissey, AnnaSophia Robb
USA, 2007

Seen: April 6, 2007 with Jamie at the theatre formerly known as Paramount at Queen & John

Reason to see: Looking for some 'shlock' on a holiday afternoon. This also falls into my See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is the second film for week 15/52.

This was way more interesting and a lot better than I had expected. I was really surprized to see that one day after opening it was already in one of the little-r theatres. It was still big enough to get completely absorbed into it though, so that was a plus. As this is another strongly seeped in a plot film I'm not doing to talk about that, but if you are interested in thrillers this is a good bet. The only thing I wasn't impressed by was some of the effects were so CGI. I know it may date me but it just doesn't do anything for me, I don't even usually find it scary I just think to myself "That isn't real, it's CGI" and I wait for the scene to end. The complete reverse to that I was delighted to see the friendship between Hilary Swank and Idris Elba's characters. It is so great and refreshing to see a genuine woman-man friendship.

Great quote:
"I've heard you're not much of a bible reader"
"I've read it"

Shannon's Overall View:
I was surpringly entertained
I'd watch it again
I recommend it to thriller fans

More Film Reviews here

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Preshow had 5 commercials and 5 previews:
Vacancy (too scary!)
28 Weeks Later (sequel to 28 Days Later)
1408 (looks interesting, based on Stephen King something....)
In the Land of Women (Meg Ryan playing 'the Mom'? Now that is a first....)
Lucky You (preview appeared to show the whole film)

CaC - Getting to Know You - Let's go to the movies!

2007-04-07T15:31:00.000-04:00

Thank you Tammy for this weeks Getting to Know you - Let's go to the Movies at Create a Connection. Due to the film nature of this post I decided to post it here on my film blog, however most of you know me from my ah.. 'regular' (?) blog over at Planet Shannon.

Name your all-time favorite movie! (Or if you're like me, narrow it down to your top five!)

Wow,... I've not done fave's yet I don't think! I've got a list of my The most influential films to me, Scariest Movies of all Time and Movies to Cry By, but just cut-to-the chase fave's? It'll be hard to pare it down but here goes:

Star Wars
The Professional
Gidget
Harry Potter
Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion
Aliens
Pitch Black
Serenity
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings

What genre of movie do you like best?

Sci-Fi Fantasy

What movie made you cry the most?

Hard call, I'd have to say it's between Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Pratical Magic and Whale Rider.

Have you ever applauded during a movie in the theatre? Which one? If not, what would make you do that?

Yes, several. Star Wars: Episode One The Phantom Menace and Dreamgirls for sure. Often people applaud when you see a film at a festival so I know I've done that numerous times as well. I also know I've cheered in movies, like in X-Men when a family friend who played an extra we could see him I know I yelled 'WOOHOO!!'

Do you own any soundtracks from movies? Which is your favorite and why did the music inspire you?

Empire Records
Tank Girl
The Crow
Dance with Me
All the Real Girls (on of my favourite albums of all time)
Pulp Fiction
Laurel Canyon
The Replacement Killers (the score).

I'm not sure I would say the music inspired me. I know two of them I got for free at screenings, the rest it was mostly because they were popular music at the time and I liked the songs but didn't know any of the artists and/or it was a genre I was just coming to know. I find the score to The Replacement Killers very soothing, even though I'm not a fan of instrumental music in general.

Is there a particular actor or actress who inspires you? Why do you like him or her?

Again, I'm not sure I would say inspire but I do tend to like:

Cate Blanchett, Maggie Smith, Meg Ryan, Parker Posey, Sandra Bullock, Jean Reno, Russell Crowe, Antonio Banderas, Vin Diesel, Clive Owen

I take that back, I do find Roy Dupuis inspiring (from The Rocket / Maurice Richard)

On the whole, I'm more likely to go to a film based on a director than actor. Luc Besson, Ridley Scott and Michael Mann are all high on that list.

Is there a particular actor or actress who you just dislike and will not see their movies? Why?

I will shy away from this question, I prefer not to flame. I also don't really 'get' why people dislike people they don't even know so strongly, especially when it's usually due to media coverage of their lives and not the work they do as actors.

On a weird side note I have an uncanny inability to recognized Gary Oldman.

Have you ever dreamed of being an actor? Which role would be your dream role?

I actually did try out for an acting program when I was about 16 and took drama in high school. It's not really for me, if I was to perform it would be to dance not to act, I'm not overly verbally articulate :)

If there was ever a movie made of your life, who should star as you?

The only person people ever say I look like is Christina Ricci, so I would go with her.

Film Fan Fridays for Friday April 6, 2007!!!!

2007-04-05T03:15:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

We have oodles upon oodles of releases this week! I wonder if it is for the holiday weekend, perhaps? Out of the many options we have three Canadian films: Young Triffie, Who Loves the Sun and The Marsh. We also have numerous limited releases: The Page Turner / La Tourneuse de Pages (at The Royal), God Grew Tired of Us (at The Bloor), First Snow (at Canada Square) and Offside (at Carlton). I had the opportunity to see Offside at the TIFF last year and it is a very expressive film exploring the different tales of girls in Iran trying to sneak into watch Soccer.

On a complete flip side to that tone, I'm sure Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez will be out and about to see Grindhouse. Those who do choose to see it, you might wanna make note of the running time - it clocks in at just over 3 hours.

If you are looking for a monster movie that is more than just a thriller, I would recommend last weeks release of The Host / Gwoemul (playing at the Scotiabank 'formally known as Paramount' theatre in Toronto). It's worth it to see on the big screen not only due to the nature of the type of film it is but also because the sound is just awesome.

Festival Watch

Images Festival
April 5-14, 2007, Toronto
http://www.imagesfestival.com/

Reelworld Film Festival
Celebrating diversity in film, video, and new media
Apri 11-15, 2007, Toronto
http://www.reelworld.ca/

Have a great Easter & Passover weekend !!!

Shannon

Wednesday April 4, 2007 Releases

Are We Done Yet?
Dir: Steve Carr (Daddy Day Care, Dr. Dolittle 2)
Cast: Ice Cube, Nia Long, John C. McGinley
USA

Firehouse Dog
Dir: Todd Holland (The Wizard)
Cast: Bruce Greenwood, Josh Hutcherson, Bill Nunn
USA

Thursday April 5, 2007 Releases

The Reaping
Dir: Stephen Hopkins (Lost in Space, Predator 2)
Cast: Hilary Swank, David Morrissey, AnnaSophia Robb
USA

Friday April 6, 2007 Releases

First Snow
Dir: Mark Fergus - directorial debut
Cast: Guy Pearce, Piper Perabo, William Fichtner, Shea Whigham
Germany/USA
Limited Release

God Grew Tired of Us
Dir: Christopher Dillon Quinn (21 Up Ameriuca) Tommy Walker - film directorial debut
Documentary of the journey of four boys from Sudan to the US
USA
Limited Release

Grindhouse
Dir: Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Once Upon a Time in Mexico) and Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction)
Cast: Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Rose McGowan, Danny Trejo, Freddy Rodriguez, Michael Biehn
USA

The Hoax
Dir: Lasse Hallström (An Unfinished Life, Chocolat, The Cider House Rules)
Cast: Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis
USA

The Marsh
Dir: Jordon Barker (My Brother's Keeper)
Cast: Forest Whitaker, Gabrielle Anwar, Justin Louis
Canada
Limited Release

Offside
Dir: Jafar Panahi (Talaye Sorkh / Crimson Gold, Badkonake Sefid / The White Balloon)
Cast: Sima Mobarak Shahi, Safar Samandar, Shayesteh Irani, M. Kheyrabadi, Ida Sadeghi
Iran
Limited Release

The Page Turner / La Tourneuse de Pages
Dir: Denis Dercourt (Mes enfants ne sont pas comme les autres / My Children Are Different)
Cast: Catherine Frot, Déborah François, Pascal Greggory, Xavier De Guillebon
France
Limited Release

Who Loves the Sun
Writer/Dir: Matt Bissonnette (Looking for Leonard)
Cast: Lukas Haas, Molly Parker, Adam Scott, R.H. Thomson
Canada
Limited Release

Young Triffie
Dir: Mary Walsh - directorial debut
Cast: Marthe Bernard, Fred Ewanuick, Rémy Girard, Andrea Martin, Colin Mochrie
Canada

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 6, 2007**

Film Fan Fridays for Friday March 30, 2007!!!!

2007-03-30T03:30:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

We have so many releases this week, it's a challenge to decide where to begin! Hmm.. well I'll just pick something I suppose! We have two Canadian releases this week, both of which were selected to Canada's Top Ten. Radiant City, a documentary on suburban sprawl as well as Congorama, a drama seeped in searching for family. I am thrilled to share that The Host opens this weekend, this South Korean horror film apparently just blew away box office records and seeing the preview I was really impressed (gotta love previews that are combination of music & visuals... you get the essence of the film with minimum content spoilage).

However, you may be looking for some giggles instead of scares in which case what could be more funny than Will Ferrell figure skating in Blades of Glory? Perhaps crime-drama's are more your thing, in which case The Lookout may be of interest. If you are looking for family fare, take yours out to Meet the Robinsons for some animated family fun.

This week, there really is something for everyone! Enjoy!

Festival Watch

Cinéfranco
10th Annual Celebration of International Francophone Cinema
March 23 - April 1, 2007 at The Royal, Toronto
http://www.cinefranco.com/

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

The Hoax starring Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden, directed by Lasse Hallström (Casanova, An Unfinished Life, Chocolat) has a sneak preview Saturday March 31st, 2007 at 7:00pm at Varsity, Silver City Yonge & Eglinton, Sheppard Grande and numerous other theatres.

Have a great weekend!!!

Shannon

Friday March 30, 2007 Releases

Blades of Glory
Dir: Will Speck and Josh Gordon (Culture)
Cast: Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Jenna Fischer
USA

Congorama
Writer/Dir: Philippe Falardeau (La Moitié Gauche du Frigo / The Left-Hand Side of the Fridge)
Cast: Olivier Gourmet, Paul Ahmarani, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Claudia Tagbo
Canada/Belgium/France
Limited Release

The Host / Gwoemul
Dir: Joon-ho Bong (Memories of Murder / Salinui chueok)
Cast: Kang-ho Song, Hie-bong Byeo, Hai-il Park, Du-na Bae, Ah-sung Ko
South Korea

The Lookout
Writer/Dir: Scott Frank - directorial debut
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Isla Fisher, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino
USA

Meet the Robinsons
Dir: Steve Anderson - directorial film debut
Voices: Angela Bassett, Jordon Fry, Daniel Hansen, Wesley Singerman, Tom Selleck, Laurie Metcalf
USA

Radiant City
Dir: Gary Burns (A Problem with Fear) and Jim Brown - directoral debut
Documentary
Canada
Limited Release

Wednesday April 4, 2007 Releases

Are We Done Yet?
Dir: Steve Carr (Daddy Day Care, Dr. Dolittle 2)
Cast: Ice Cube, Nia Long, John C. McGinley
USA

Firehouse Dog
Dir: Todd Holland (The Wizard)
Cast: Bruce Greenwood, Josh Hutcherson, Bill Nunn
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 4, 2007**

I Heart Huckabees

2007-03-28T22:26:00.000-04:00

Director: David O. Russell (Three Kings, Spanking the Monkey)
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Jason Schwartzman, Isabelle Huppert, Naomi Watts, Mark Wahlberg
USA/Germany, 2004

Seen: October 21, 2006 on TMN

Reason to see: Recommended by Jamie

A duo of existential investigators. That's right - existential investigators. What a bizarre premise! Bizarre yet, amazing. I had no idea what to expect and whatever I could have expected it was something completely different. Quite and impressive cast, and a creative use of language. Great film, watch it to just go along for the ride.

Favourite Quote:
"Don't use that tone with me."
"I think you started that tone."

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it, but be prepared to be outside of the box

More Film Reviews here

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Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

2007-03-28T21:52:00.000-04:00

Director: Stanley Donen (Singing in the Rain, Funny Face, Blame it on Rio)
Cast: Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Russ Tamblyn, Jeff Richards, Julie Newmar
USA, 1954

Seen: January 8, 2007 on Turner Movie Classics

Reason to see: I'm a sucker for musicals

Oh my, what a fun movie. Although I don't think the premise sure wouldn't fly these days, it was still a joy to watch. Fun songs, charming characters and of course unlikely situations. I especially enjoyed the character Milly, I thought she was really inspirational - she didn't take any crap, but she also didn't give up on anyone and believed everyone could be a better person. I think that is what I got most out of this film.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I would watch it again
I'd recommend it, especially to fans of musicals

More Film Reviews here

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The Lake House

2007-03-27T21:11:00.000-04:00

Dir: Alejandro Agresti (Valentin, Buenos Aires Vice Versa)
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Christopher Plummer, Ebon Moss-Bachrach
USA, 2006

Seen: February 27, 2007

Reason to see: Looked charming, fan of both Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves

A quietly touching romantic film, this was a joy to watch. It is one that is best seen if you get all cozy and turn off your logical mind/continuity checker and just enjoy it. The acting is solid, the characters are believable and/or accessible and you can really feel their reactions be it strong or subtle you are really there with them. Don't fret about the 'whether it's possible or not', just believe what they tell ya.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'd watch it again, in fact - I'd probably buy it
I'd recommend it to anyone who likes romantic films

More Film Reviews here

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Nashville

2007-03-27T20:50:00.000-04:00

Director: Robert Altman (Gosford Park, The Player, MASH)
Cast: Lily Tomlin, Henry Gibson, Karen Black, Ned Beatty, Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall
USA, 1975

Seen: March 25, 2007 thanks to the Toronto Public Library

Reason to see: It's on my List of 101 Films I Can't Believe I Haven't Seen, I wanted one film of every letter and I picked this for N; Robert Altman rocks and it was in my film textbook from college. In other words it was just 'one of those ones you think you should see'.

While watching this film I wasn't just sitting back and watching I kept thinking to myself - what is this about? What are they trying to say? Are they trying to say something? Who's that again? Oh.. the reporter I remember her, etc.

I am not saying it wasn't a good film, just that I didn't get it. I kept thinking to myself that they must be trying to make a statement but I had no idea what. Then I would be convinced that it was just stories about people, then I would flip back again, and again and then it felt like a music showcase.

The joy of it for me was Lily Tomlin. She was absolutely amazing in every scene she was in, and I was so much more interested and curious about the stories that would come back to her. For that in it of itself, it was worth it.

Great line: "Go get a Goo Goo, it's good!"

Shannon's Overall View:
I don't think I 'got' it
At 2hrs 59min, it's not likely I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it to country music fans or 70's drama fans

More Film Reviews here

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Un Zoo la Nuit

2007-03-27T20:27:00.000-04:00

Writer/Director: Jean-Claude Lauzon (Léolo)
Cast: Gilles Maheu, Roger Lebel, Corrado Mastropasqua, Lorne Brass, Germain Houde
Canada, 1987

Seen: March 25, 2007 thanks to the Toronto Public Library

Reason to see: It's on my List of 101 Films I Can't Believe I Haven't Seen for winning 13 Genies.

Ok. BIG lesson learned while watching this film. My first note in my notebook says it all:

"Does not appear to have subtitles".

Doh.

I didn't find tons of resource to find this film so when I saw the library had it I snatched it right up! I didn't read the fine print. Considering that I was having trouble finding it I decided to watch it, in French without subtitles even though my French comprehension is a lot worse than I even realized! Technically I don't think this can be considered a review due to that but I'm committed to write about all the films I see.

What I could figure out: Mostly shady characters on both side of the law, a fair amount of violence and revenge, but also included quite touching relationship. Cinematography was quite stunning, and the use of lighting & colour (especially blue) was awesome.

Warnings: Violence, drug use, sexual violence

Shannon's Overall View:
I don't think it would be fair to say if I liked it or not
I'd watch it again, if subtitled
Again, hard to assess whom to recommend it to

More Film Reviews here

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Solyaris / Солярис

2007-03-26T20:56:00.000-04:00

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky (The Sacrifice / Offret, Nostalghia)
Cast: Donatas Banionis, Natalya Bondarchuk, Jüri Järvet, Anatoli Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko
Soviet Union, 1972

Seen: March 12, 2007 at Cinematheque Ontario with Jamie and Justin

Reason to see: A chance to see the original version of the Sci Fi film? Are you kidding me? Sign me up! Also, I am on my third attempt of #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is the first film in week 12/52.

I was really excited to have the opportunity to see this film, of course than I remembered my reactions to other 70's sci fi film which would be in a word: scared!! (see my scariest films ever list here). Alas, this film didn't scare me and I was a little disappointed. It was pretty long, pretty slow and pretty quiet (I could hear people breathing). I also had already seen the American 2002 version of the film so I did have an idea of where the film could go, and I think ultimately that is what would have kept me from really enjoying seeing this version. There are quite a few interesting ideas in there, of which I'm not going to elaborate because I do thing they are worth experiencing as the story unfolds without knowing ahead of time.

I did enjoy the cinematography, the stylistic choices in terms of the look and feel of the environments as well as the acting, including Donatas Banionis but favourite was Natalya Bondarchuk as Hari

Shannon's Overall View:
I'm glad I saw it
I'd watch it again, probably if I could get the DVD
I'd recommend it to fans of 70's SciFi; as well as anyone who likes SciFi but whom hasn't seen the US version

More Film Reviews here

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Fido

2007-03-26T20:37:00.001-04:00

Dir: Andrew Currie (Mile Zero)
Cast: Billy Connolly, Carrie-Anne Moss, Dylan Baker, K'Sun Ray, Henry Czerny
Canada, 2007

Seen: March 21, 2007 at Paramount

Reason to see: It's Canadian! It's a Zombie film! I mean.. how could I pass that up? I am also on my third attempt of #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is week 13/52.

This film was a little different than I was expected. It has its share of "Argghhhhhhhhhhhhh" & brains!!! & regular zombie moments but the setting is very different from what I would expect from a zombie flick, it's more of an idealist 50's neighbourhood where zombies are domesticated and somewhere in between house-helpers and pet's. The premise alone is amusing, and it really feels like some kind of crazy cult classic but in a new form. It's really a hilarious idea and I did enjoy watching it.

Now, the one thing that keeps tugging at the back of my mind (Braiiinnnnnnnnnnnnss!!!). Oops, sorry... got distracted there. Considering it's Canadian, I keep wondering if there was some kind of message they were trying to get across about fair treatment to all people (and zombies). Juries still out on that one, and even if they aren't trying to 'say' anything they got me to laugh, squirm and smile.

Warnings: Gore

Great movie moment: After my ticket was teared, I was prompted to see "Zombies in 5, at the end on the right"

Shout out: A big Thank-You! to the person who got off their butt and told the theatre staff that there was something wrong with the picture in the middle of the film so it was sorted quickly and swiftly. You rock!

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'd watch it again
I recommend it

More Film Reviews here

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12 minutes of preshow with 3 commercials and 4 previews: Hot Fuzz (looks hilarious), The Condemned, The Host (looking forward to this one!), Young Triffie

300

2007-03-26T20:12:00.000-04:00

Dir: Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead)
Cast: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham, Vincent Regan
USA, 2007

Seen: March 16, 2007 at Paramount with Jamie

Reason to see: Epic Film, Gerard Butler as well as being on my third attempt of #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is the second film of week 12/52.

I was thrilled that I enjoyed this film. Initially when the previews came out I thought it looked like a good epic film. My only hesitation was hearing about some of the violence as well as slight worry about gender issues* but it was fine (mostly due to the connection with folks who also worked on Sin City). The violence is very comic book like, and the gender stuff is fine - in fact, better than most and sometimes even impressive.

All in all it was a fun, epic action/adventure film with interesting characters and interesting choices. Fun. Lots of fighting, adept physicality and charm. It's like watching people who are good at what they do, it's impressive to see that kind of skill and confidence. Very enjoyable indeed.

*FYI - Shannon definition of 'gender issues' is 'sexist crap' see this review for more on that. Again, I re-iterate that I found 300 fine in this respect.

Shannon's Overall View:
I really enjoyed it
I'll watch it again, tempted to see it in the theatre again
I'd recommend it

More Film Reviews here

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12 minutes of preshow: 4 commercials and 4 previews (Pathfinder, The invisible, Next, Oceans 13)

Film Fan Fridays for Friday March 23, 2007!!!!

2007-03-23T03:49:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

I am happy to share that BLUE, a short dance film by Elif Isikozlu will be showing this Sunday, March 25th, 3:30pm at the Carlton Cinemas a part of The Canadian Filmmakers Festival. BLUE was directed, choreographed and performed BLUE by Elif who is an abundantly talented woman who and I am thrilled to see the continued success of her film. Congratulations Elif!

I'm very excited with this weeks release of the Canadian film Sharkwater which is a documentary and a plea to save the shark. I know I'm going to see that one, even though I find sharks scary I find it an intriguing topic. If documentaries are your thing but perhaps sharks are not, we have a second documentary this week with the release of Air Guitar Nation. The is something odd about the idea of watching a film about people pretending to do something, but who knows - could be a cult classic in the making!

With the release of TMNT this week my curiosity got the best of me and I had to check when the first live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and alarmingly it was 17 years ago. Seventeen! I'm feeling old. I'm sure the green guys are still kicking butt and eating pizza, dude.

Festival Watch

The Canadian Filmmakers Festival
March 22 - 25, 2007
www.canfilmfest.ca

Cinéfranco
10th Annual Celebration of International Francophone Cinema
March 23 - April 1, 2007 at The Royal, Toronto
http://www.cinefranco.com/

Have a great weekend!!!

Shannon

Friday March 23, 2007 Releases

Air Guitar Nation
Dir: Alexandra Lipsitz - directorial debut
Documentary on air guitar
USA
Limited Release

Amazing Grace
Dir: Michael Apted (Enough, The World is Not Enough, Thunderheart)
Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Albert Finney, Rufus Sewell, Romola Garai
UK / USA

The Hills Have Eyes 2
Dir: Martin Weisz (Rohtenburg/Grimm Love)
Cast: Michael McMillian, Jessica Stroup, Daniella Alonso, Jacob Vargas
USA

The Last Mimzy
Dir: Bob Shaye (Book of Love)
Cast: Timothy Hutton, Joely Richardson, Rhiannon Leigh Wryn, Chris O'Neil
USA

Pride
Dir: Sunu Gonera - directorial debut
Cast: Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, Kimberly Elise, Tom Arnold
USA

Reign Over Me
Writer/Dir: Mike Binder (Man About Town, The Upside of Anger, Indian Summer)
Cast: Don Cheadle, Adam Sandler, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows, Donald Sutherland
USA

Sharkwater
Writer/Dir: Rob Stewart - directorial debut
Documentary on shark conservation
Canada

Shooter
Dir: Antoine Faqua (King Arthur, Training Day, Tears of the Sun)
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Danny Glover, Kate Mara, Michael Peña, Elias Koteas
USA

TMNT
Writer/Dir: Kevin Munroe - directorial debut
Voices: Patrick Steward, Sarah Michelle Geller, Mitchell Whitfield, James Arnold Taylor, Mikey Kelley, Nolan North, Laurence Fishburne, Ziyi Zhang, Kevin Smith, Mako, Chris Evans
Hong Kong / USA

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

Film Fan Fridays for Friday March 16, 2007!!!!

2007-03-16T03:37:00.000-04:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

One of this week's releases, Premonition, I've found to be the single most asked about film so far this year, with 300 close behind. That being said, Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes the Barley is definitely the most hyped film of this week and it had huge buzz at the film fest last September. I'm a little surprized it's only playing in 2 theatres, but we shall see how it progresses. This week we also have Fido, a Canadian zombie movie (I don't think I've ever typed that out before!). Continuing with scary themes we have Dead Silence and I Think I Love My Wife. Ok, I'm taking some liberties saying Chris Rock's new film is scary but from the title and the preview I think we could argue that it might qualify. Our last film of the week is the German cross culture romance/drama The White Masai.

Festival Watch

Toronto International French Short Film Festival
March 15-17, 2007 at the Drake Hotel
http://www.lesnomades.org/

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour
March 16-18, 2007 at the Bloor Cinema
http://www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/tour/

Toronto Singapore Film Festival
March 17, 2007 at Innis Town Hall
http://www.tsff.org/

Have a great weekend!!!

Shannon

Friday March 16, 2007 Releases

Dead Silence
Dir: James Wan (Saw)
Cast: Donnie Wahlberg, Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Michael Fairman
USA

Fido
Dir: Andrew Currie (Mile Zero)
Cast: Billy Connolly, Carrie-Anne Moss, Dylan Baker, K'Sun Ray, Henry Czerny
Canada

I Think I Love My Wife
Dir: Chris Rock (Head of State)
Cast: Chris Rock, Kerry Washington, Gina Torres, Steve Buscemi
USA

Premonition
Dir: Mennan Yapo (Lautlos / Soundless)
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon, Shyanne McClure, Courtney Taylor Burness
USA

The White Masai / Weisse Massai, Die
Dir: Hermine Huntgeburth (Bibi Blocksberg, The Trio)
Cast: Nina Hoss, Jacky Ido, Katja Flint, Antonio Prester, Janek Rieke
Germany
Limited Release

The Wind that Shakes the Barley
Dir: Ken Loach (Sweet Sixteen, Bread and Roses)
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney, Laim Cunningham, Gerard Kearney, William Ruane
Germany/Italy/Spain/France/Ireland/UK
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on March 16, 2007**

John & Jane

2007-03-11T18:42:00.000-04:00

Director: Ashim Ahluwalia (Thin Air)
Documentary
2005, India

Seen: March 8, 2007 at Cinematheque Ontario with Jamie and Justin

Reason to see: I initially wanted to see this film during the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival but I don't think the timing worked out. Also, I am on my third attempt of #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is week 11/52.

This documentary is based on the life and experience of employees in call centres in India who sell/provide customer service to American customers. I have a bit of a strange reaction to this film. There was a real undertone of a kind of hopelessness. A lot of the workers don't want to be there, and certainly most of the people they contact have no interest in whatever they are selling. I found for the most part I wanted to know more. Who *does* benefit from this situation? Do people have other options than working under these conditions? What was their salary like? What would that compare to? I'm not sure if these were questions other people wanted to know, but I sure did. I think it was successful as showing portraits of the people involved in the situation but I wanted to know more about the situation as a whole.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it, but not as much as I thought
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it

More Film Reviews here

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One-of wierdness about the screening: There was no previews, but before the film was shown it was introduced as it was part of the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival. In part, the introduction was interesting as it provided some context, however 2 of the 3people introducing talked about key parts of the film and/or the moments that they touched them the most. I just don't understand this. We've bought our tickets, we are sitting in the seats of the theatre, why are you telling me something that will be revealed to me in the format in which the director intended it to be seen in the next 2 hrs? Maybe if there was a discussion afterwards but I didn't want to hear that kind of thing before the film.

La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People

2007-03-11T18:12:00.000-04:00

Director: Stéphane Lapointe - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Gilbert Sicotte, Marie Gignac, Catherine de Léan, Marc Paquet
Canada, 2006

Seen: February 19, 2007 Academy screening at the NFB

Reason to see: 4 Genie nominations (Direction, Actress in a Supporting Role - Marie Gignac, Original Score, Original Screenplay), won the Claude Jutra award, and attempting #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is week 9/52.

It was so lovely to get an opportunity to see this film, which although nominated for multiple Genie's, was not released in Toronto. Revolving around a 'happy' couple and their slightly awkward son, this film blends the reality in which we live and what it takes to get it to where it is. Great acting, interesting premise and delightfully Canadian made this film enjoyable to watch.

There were some slight things I found a little unbelieveable, but not enough to really bother me.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it

More Film Reviews here

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Letters from Iwo Jima

2007-03-11T17:35:00.000-04:00

Dir: Clint Eastwood (Flags of our Fathers, Mystic River, Pale Rider)
Cast: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shido Makamura
USA, 2007

Seen: January 24, 2007 at the Varsity

Reason to see: Oscar nominated for 4 Oscars: Director, Picture, Sound Editing (won) and Original Screenplay. As well, I'm working away on my third attempt of #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is my first film for week 5/52.

In general, I don't watch war movies. I usually find them too upsetting. I'm pretty much a 'why can't we all just get along' kinda person so I don't why anyone would want to harm anyone else. That being said I braved seeing this on account of the Oscar nod's as well as the direction of Clint Eastwood and involvement of Ken Watanabe.

After seeing it, I'm still not certain if I could say I liked it but more interesting I am not sure what the point they were trying to get across. I could think of two but one seemed overly simplistic and the other was a little unbelievable and although I could see both I didn't feel either. Maybe it doesn't have a message, maybe the goal was a historical representation and illustration of a culture - it that was the case then I think it was a success. I did feel that I learned something in terms of being exposed to some new ideas/concepts.

Although I found the message a little elusive, the story and cinematography were both captivating and the performances were excellent, especially Ken Watanabe, Shido Makamura and Kazunari Ninomiya.

Shannon's Overall View:
I'm not certain how I feel about this film
I might watch it 1 more time
I'd recommend it to those whom it likely already appeals to, people interest in history and/or the human condition

More Film Reviews here

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1 commercial (2min), 2 previews: Astronaut Farmer, Oceans 13 (5min)

The Good Shepherd

2007-03-11T17:20:00.000-04:00

Dir: Robert De Niro (A Bronx Tale)
Cast: Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin, Billy Crudup, Michael Gambon, William Hurt, Timothy Hutton
USA, 2006

Seen: January 25, 2007 at the Carlton

Reason to see: Oscar nominated for art direction, also working on my third attempt of #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is my second film for week 5/52.

This film wasn't for me. It's an interesting premise (beginning formation of the CIA), and there were a lot of good actors but it just didn't pull me in. Some of the notes I took included: What is it even about? I didn't believe...., How would you know that? slow....., etc. I felt like the audience wasn't given enough information to come to the same conclusions the characters did, and that just irks me. It's possible I didn't pick up on everything and it was there, I'm not really sure. I wanted to like it, the 'secret' things, talking in code, seamlessness of events unfolding as they came into plan but I mostly was just left confused.

Shannon's Overall View:
I was waiting for it to end
I wouldn't watch it again
I recommend it to people interested in spy/historical films but don't need there to be action

Warnings: torture

More Film Reviews here

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No commericals
6 minutes of 3 previews: The Italian, Smoken' Aces, Breach

Little Children

2007-03-11T16:53:00.000-04:00

Writer/Dir: Todd Field (In the Bedroom)
Cast: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earle Halye, Jennifer Connelly
USA, 2006

Seen: October 27, 2006 at the Varsity with Jamie

Reason to see: Hm... I'm not sure anymore why we went. Jamie had just read the book I believe, and it's always a pleasure to see anything that Kate Winslet is in.

It's a little bit of a challenge to write about this film as it saw it over 4 months ago, and didn't take any notes beyond what the previews were - but I'm going to give it my best nonetheless.

The best word I could use to describe this film, and my experience watching it, is complicated. Not as in 'hard to follow' but morally complicated. I think, in general, people take that as it shows 'real people' and of that I am not always convinced but in the case of this film, maybe so. With such an odd cast of characters it's a little hard to even root for anyone, but it does allow us to open our minds to the reasoning (logical or not) of why people do the things that they do. It's tragic, terrifying as well as tempting to watch the lives of the characters and their actions, choices and reactions to the situations they encounter or create. It pains your heart and makes your mind work so if that is what you want out of a film, its the one for you.

Shannon's Overall View:
I thought it was interesting
I would watch it again, but not over and over again
I'd recommend it to those who enjoy striking dramas

More Film Reviews here

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6 min showing 6 commercials, 7 minutes showing 3 previews (The History Boys, Stranger than Fiction, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus)

Oscar-Nominated Best Documentary Short Films

2007-03-10T15:42:00.000-05:00

If you are in the Toronto area, I highly recommend getting out in the next few days to The Bloor Cinema and watching the Oscar-Nominated Best Documentary Short Films.

I just got back from seeing them, and they are absolutely amazing.

Remaining show times are:

Sunday March 11th, 2007 at 7:15pm
Monday March 12, 2007 at 9:10pm
Tuesday March 13, 2007 at 7:00pm

The films are:

THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT - Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon (Oscar winner)
RECYCLED LIFE - Leslie Iwerks and Mike Glad
REHEARSING A DREAM - Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
TWO HANDS - Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Rose Behr

Film Fan Fridays for Friday March 9, 2007!!!!

2007-03-09T22:17:00.000-05:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

Long day, long week, short newsletter.

Festival Watch
World of Comedy Film Festival
Documentary films about visual artists
March 9-11, 2007 at Innis Town Hall, Toronto
www.worldcomedyfilmfest.com

Have a great weekend!!!

Shannon

Friday March 9, 2007 Releases

300
Dir: Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead)
Cast: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham, Vincent Regan
USA

The Aura / El Aura
Writer/Dir: Fabián Bielinsky (Nine Queens)
Cast: Ricardo Darin, Dolores Fonzi, Alessandro Awada
Argentina/France/Spain
Limited Release

A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash
Dir: Basil Gelpke, Ray McCormack - directorial film debut
Documentary
Switzerland
Limited Release

The Namesake
Dir: Mira Nair (Vanity Fair, Monsoon Wedding, Mississippi Masala)
Cast: Kal Penn, Tabu, Irrfan Khan, Jacinda Barrett
India/USA
Limited Release

Starter for 10
Dir: Tom Vaughn - directorial feature film debut
Cast: James McAvoy, Alice Eve, Rebeca Hall, Charles Dance
UK/USA
Limited Release

The Ultimate Gift
Dir: Michael O. Sajbel (One Night with the King, The Ride, Power Play)
Cast: Drew Fuller, James Garner, Ali Hillis, Abigail Breslin
USA
Limited Release

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

Volver

2007-03-04T14:02:00.000-05:00

Writer/Dir: Pedro Almodóvar (Talk to Her, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)
Cast: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Antonio de la Torre
Spain, 2006

Seen: March 3, 2007 at the Bloor

Reason to see: I'm a fan of Pedro Almodóvar's work, Penélope Cruz was nominated for Best Actress at the Oscar's and I am on my third attempt of #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is week 10/52.

Lovely film. It was amazing to see Penélope Cruz in a Spanish film, previously I had only see her in English-speaking roles and it was so great to see her in this. I was also such a treat to see Carmen Maura, whom I loved her performance in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. I find it very interesting how many of Pedro Almodóvar are about women's stories, like this one, and done so well. It was also nice to see something a little lighter, the last one I've seen of his was Talk to Her / Hable con ella which was great but a little dark. Not that Volver is all sunshine and daisies, but it's a little more... hopeful. If you've never seen any of his work this would be a great one to start with.

Shannon's Overall View:
I really enjoyed it
I'll watch it again
I widely recommend it

No previews, no commercials. Started a few minutes late (which isn't out of the ordinary there ... it reminds me of when I worked Sundays at a pwyc box office and you really work to get as many people in as you can).

More Film Reviews here

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Film Fan Fridays for Friday March 2, 2007!!!!

2007-03-02T03:11:00.000-05:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

Ahh, here we are in Post Oscar-ness. I thought it was a really fun one this year, Ellen was a lovely host and there were a lot of fun moments. Forest Whitaker's acceptance speech was my favourite. I was very surprized The Departed won best pic and well as got the most wins, but it was an unpredictable year! Congratulations to all the winners, and all the nominee's! It was a pretty interesting year.

Looking ahead, or in the now depending on how you look at it, we can have a look at this weeks releases. Mixed bag this week, the only one I had ever heard of outright was Zodiac. We also have the Canadian film Missing Victor Pellerin, a martial arts film from director Tsui Hark Seven Swords and biker buddy movie Wild Hogs. There is also Black Snake Moan, which has received some critical acclaim and although appears intriguing I think I will give it a pass as it also appears quite dark. Actually, all of the films this week do. Now, that is the way to recover from the February blahs! Maybe I'll just go watch Gidget instead...

Have a great weekend!!!

Shannon

....sneeky sneeky......
There is a screening of 300 (directed by Zach Snyder, starring Gerard Butler, Lena Headey and Dominic West) on Thursday March 8th, 2007 at midnight at the Scotiabank Theatre (formerly Paramount) and some other theatres in IMAX. Now that sounds pretty crazy, eh? Click here for more info. 300 opens in regular release next week, Friday March 9th, 2007.

Friday March 2, 2007 Releases

Black Snake Moan
Writer/Dir: Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, The Poor and the Hungry)
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake
USA

Missing Victor Pellerin
Writer/Dir: Sophie Deraspe - directorial debut
Cast: Eudore Belzile, Anne Lebeau, Olga Korper, Élisabeth Legrand, Éric Devlin
Canada
Limited Release

Seven Swords / Chat gim
Dir: Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China / Wong Fei Hung)
Cast: Donnie Yen, Leon Lai, Charlie Young, Sun Hong-lei
South Korea/Hong Kong/China
Limited Release

Wild Hogs
Dir: Walt Becker (Van Wilder)
Cast: Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, Marisa Tomei, Jill Hennessy
USA

Zodiac
Dir: David Fincher (Panic Room, Fight Club, Se7en, The Game)
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Elias Koteas
USA

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

Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 23, 2007!!!!!

2007-02-23T03:50:00.000-05:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

Well, here we are... just 2 sleeps away from the biggest Awards show.... the Oscar's! When the nominee's were announced just over a month ago I had seen 10 nominated films and since then I've bumped it to 20. Wowzers, that is a lot of movies! I've decided to be a bit more harsh in my pickings though, there are a few I won't see just due to being nominated if I'm fairly confident I won't like them (for me, this means usually violent and/or war flicks). What I find strange this year is I'm not sure who are going to be the big winners. In terms of volume that is. Dreamgirls isn't up for best picture or director, Pan's Labyrinth seems too dark, Little Miss Sunshine too indie, The Queen too British and Babel too... hmm... maybe it will be Babel! What an a-ha moment! We shall see if I've uncovered the secret! Oh, I forgot about The Departed well that says something, eh?

We also have our regular release this week, I saw the preview for Days of Glory / Indigènes and was quite compelled by it. I might have to try and get out to see that. The next two I'm a little on the fence of what to make of them Both The Astronaut Farmer and The Number 23 look interesting but I'm not convinced that either is the movie that the trailer presents. More so with The Number 23 ... smart thriller or something else? I'll probably have to see it and decide for myself! I will be honest and say that I have no clue what to make of Reno 911!: Miami, I'm not so much into the comedies these days. Of course, it's always for each person to decide for themselves what they like!

Festival Watch
4th Annual Canadian Art REEL ARTISTS FILM FESTIVAL
Documentary films about visual artists
February 22-25, 2007 at the Al Green Theatre, Toronto
www.canadianart.ca/REELARTISTS/

Have a great Academy Awards weekend!!!

Shannon

Friday February 23, 2007 Releases

The Astronaut Farmer
Dir: Michael Polish (Northfolk)
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen, Max Thieriot, Jasper Polish, Logan Polish
USA

Days of Glory / Indigènes
Dir: Rachid Bouchareb (Little Senegal, Poussières de vie)
Cast: Samy Naceri, Jamel Debbouze, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, Aurélie Eltvedt
France/Morocco/Algeria/Belgium
Limited Release
** Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film

The Number 23
Dir: Joel Schumacher (The Phantom of the Opera, Veronica Guerin, Falling Down)
Cast: Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen, Logan Lerman, Danny Huston
USA

Reno 911!: Miami
Dir: Ben Garant (Reno 911! )
Cast: Ben Garant, Niecy Nash, Mary Birdsong, Kerri Kenny, Cedric Yarbrough
USA

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

Notes on a Scandal

2007-02-22T21:10:00.000-05:00

Dir: Richard Eyre (Iris, Stage Beauty)
Cast: Dame Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Andrew Simpson, Bill Nighy,
UK, 2006

Seen: Jan 26, 2007 at the Varsity with Jamie

Reason to see: 4 Oscar nominations, as well as I am on my third attempt of #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This was my third film from week 5/52.

Deliciously scandalous. Best drama I've seen in quite a while. It plays out like a freaking Shakespearean tragedy. It's a great story and with such excellent actors like Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett it is no surprize that they pull you right in. It also touches on some topics that seem to really crop up in the current pulse out there such as the driving need for attention and loneliness.

As it's a highly plot based film I'm going to resist saying too much other than: see it!

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I'd buy it
I highly and widely recommend it

10 min of preshow including 2 commercials and 3 previews (The Kingdom, Reign Over Me and The Namesake)

More Film Reviews here

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The Black Dahlia

2007-02-22T20:45:00.000-05:00

Dir: Brian De Palma (The Untouchables, Scarface, Carlito's Way)
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank
Germany/USA, 2006

Seen: Feb 18, 2007 on pay-per-view

Reason to see: Oscar Nominated for Cinematography

The only thing I can really say is that using only an Oscar nomination as rationale to see something is starting to fade. It felt like there was an interesting story here, and promise of some interesting characters - I mean, how can you go wrong with the femme fatale thing? But it just didn't work for me. I got annoyed at things I would let slide if I found the film interesting enough (accents, taking things for how they are presented as opposed to how they appear) but I couldn't.

There was also an undercutting edge to most of the characters, which makes sense if they were going for film noir but it fell short. It didn't have the desperation or apathy in the characters that usually makes that work. It felt like people where light when they should have been serious and vice versa.

Aaron Eckhart was, in my opinion, the most interesting part of the film. Solid performance.

Shannon's Overall View:
I didn't really like it
I wouldn't watch it again
I don't recommend it

Warnings: some grisly violence / imagery

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Factory Girl

2007-02-22T19:39:00.000-05:00

Dir: George Hickenlooper (Mayor of the Sunset Strip, Dogtown)
Cast: Sienna Miller, Guy Pearce, Hayden Christensen, Illeana Douglas
USA, 2007

Seen: Feb 16, 2007 at the Varsity with Jamie

Reason to see: 60's, Art + Film? I'm there! Also, I am on my third attempt of #7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. This is week 8/52.

Sienna Miller does an amazing job playing Edie Sedgwick in this bio pic. Not only is her look perfect but there is such an open, fun, playful attitude as well. Definitely she has the 'it' factor for The Factory. Her character is very charismatic, and yet you also get the feeling that in some ways she's fun and free and never really grows up or did she just grow up too fast?

I thought one of the film's strong points was showing how some circles can appear very open and inviting but fall prey to the rules of a clique. What or who, is hot and new can change.... quickly. Being nice, doesn't necessarily get ya far. People will take as much as they can. Also, that people can be very different one-to-one than in a group. I think that really is something that resonates in this film. Speaking of other people in the film, both Guy Pearce and Hayden Christensen had very strong performances.

There were some rough moments in the film in terms of pace and style, but all in all it's well worth seeing. I love how they played with it texturally and gave it a 60's feel, not just with sets and costumes but with film techniques as well

Great quote: "I wonder if Picasso knows who I am yet"- Guy Pearce as Andy Warhol

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it

9 minutes preshow included 2 commercials and 2 previews (Days of Glory / Indigènes, Sunshine)

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Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 16, 2007!!!!!

2007-02-16T03:35:00.000-05:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

Two major awards show were this week! I was very excited to see the results of the Genie Awards, the top two contender's this year were Bon Cop, Bad Cop and Maurice Richard / The Rocket. Quite a surprizing result I would say, with an almost sweep of 9 awards going to Maurice Richard / The Rocket including directing (Charles Binamé), actor (Roy Dupuis), actress (Julie Le Breton) and supporting actor (Stephen McHattie) but the nod for best picture was awarded to Bon Cop, Bad Cop. My favourite speech of the night was Julie Le Breton "I was not expecting this at all, so I won't be able to speak English" and continued her acceptance speech in French.

Now we also had the BAFTA awards last week, results of which we shall see soon if they are of the same minds as the Oscar voters. We see some promising results with Helen Mirren for best actress, Forest Whitaker for best actor, Jennifer Hudson for best supporting actress, The Queen for best picture. The few that surprized me a little were Paul Greengrass for best director (United 93) and Alan Arkin for best supporting actor (well deserved!). Nine days until the Oscar's, it will be interesting to see if the current predictions will be on the mark. Have you made your picks yet?

Have a great weekend!!!

Shannon

Wednesday February 14, 2007 Releases

Daddy's Little Girls
Writer/Dir: Terry Perry (Madea's Family Reunion)
Cast: Gabrielle Union, Idris Elba, Tasha Smith, Louis Gossett Jr.
USA

Music and Lyrics
Writer/Dir: Marc Lawrence (Two Weeks Notice)
Cast: Drew Barrymore, Hugh Grant, Haley Bennett
USA

Friday February 16, 2007 Releases

Amu
Writer/Dir: Shonali Bose - directorial debut
Cast: Konkona Sen Sharma, Brinda Karat, Aparna Roy
India/USA
Limited Release

Breach
Dir: Billy Ray (Shattered Glass)
Cast: Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Laura Linney
USA

Breaking and Entering
Writer/Dir: Anthony Minghella (Cold Mountain, The Talented Mr. Ripley)
Cast: Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, Juliet Stevenson, Ray Winstone, Robin Wright Penn
UK/USA
Limited Release

Bridge to Terabithia
Dir: Gabor Csupo
Cast: Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Zooey Deschanel, Robert Patrick
USA

Ghost Rider
Writer/Dir: Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil)
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Peter Fonda, Wes Bentley
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on February 16, 2007**

Office Space

2007-02-12T23:00:00.000-05:00

Writer/Director: Mike Judge ("Beavis and Butt-Head", Idiocracy)
Cast: Ron Livingston, David Herman, Jennifer Aniston, Ajay Naidu, Gary Cole, Stephen Root
USA, 1999

Seen: January 9, 2007 on Mpix

Reason to see: #10 on my 101 is to see the next 5 movies recommended to me regardless of what I think of them, and this was the sixth recommended. Yes I can count, but I decided to keep tracking it after 5 as I found it interesting. It was recommended by a co-worker at the office, funnily enough.

This film is yet another reminder to me to not wait years to watch comedies that people about. I know it would be so much funnier to see it at the time. Even so, I laughed a lot and I almost fell out of my chair when they mentioned the Y2K bug. There were so many things that I have heard or seen that reference this film from catch phrases to impersonations to even the commercial for WoW recently. It also really does capture of those weird things that come hand in hand working at an office be they technical, red-tape or bizarre combinations on personalities.

Fave quote: "PC Load Paper? What the **** does that mean????"

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I've already watched it again
I recommend it to anyone who does, has or may in the future, work in an office.

More Film Reviews here

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Saw

2007-02-12T22:37:00.000-05:00

Director: James Wan (Stygian)
Cast: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover, Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith
USA, 2004

Seen: February 11, 2007

Reason to see: #10 on my 101 is to see the next 5 movies recommended to me regardless of what I think of them, and this was the first on recommended.

It was no surprize to me that I didn't like this film. In fact I on purpose knitted while watching in case I needed to look away. It really does feel like a 'grown up' film for the 'gross out' generation. In a lot of ways it felt like it was just seeing how far can they go to be disturbing. At times, I found it so contrived that it wasn't scary I was just thinking to myself "Oh, come on...". That is the huge skeptic in me talking. That aside, it did provide a lot of tension if that is your thing and create a very strong mood as well as showing a lot of innovation. On the other hand, a lot of the ideas (philosophical questions, not how gross-out can you go) have shown up in a variety of other films from It's a Wonderful Life to Fight Club to My Little Eye (2002).

All in all, I think it has a very specific target market and those people will like it, everyone else probably won't and knows pretty clearly to stay away.

Shannon's Overall View:
I did not like it
I will not watch it again
I'd recommend it only with hesitation to those who like extremely dark and violent movies. Warnings would include extreme violence, disturbing images & ideas, torture

More Film Reviews here

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Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 9th, 2007!!

2007-02-09T03:49:00.000-05:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

February is definately the month of awards shows. We have two this week, starting with the BAFTA Awards this Sunday February 11, 2007. Then on Tueseday February 13, 2007 we have the Genie Awards, celebrating Canadian film and 'Live at the Genies' will air at 9pm EST on CityTV. I am hoping this year they show more of actual awards than last year. We shall see. In more Canadian film news I would like to personally thank every person who went to see Bon Cop, Bad Cop and contributed to it becoming the top grossing Canadian film. It brings me much joy that it represents that title, previously held by....Porky's.

Festival Watch
OzFlix
February 9 - 10, 2007 at the Isabel Bader Theatre, Toronto
www.ozflix.ca

Special Screening
A World of Shorts: Night of the Morning After
romantic & unique short films including the Oscar nominated The Danish Poet
February 15, 2007, 7pm at the NFB, Toronto
www.nfb.ca/mediatheque

Have a great weekend & a Happy Valentine's Day too!

Shannon

Friday February 9, 2007 Releases

Factory Girl
Dir: George Hickenlooper (Mayor of the Sunset Strip, Dogtown)
Cast: Sienna Miller, Guy Pearce, Hayden Christensen, Mena Suvari
USA
Limited Release

Hannibal Rising
Dir: Peter Webber (Girl with a Pearl Earring)
Cast: Gaspard Ulliel, Rhys Ifan, Helena Lia Tachovska, Gong Li, Dominic West
France/UK/USA

The Last Sin Eater
Dir: Michael Landon Jr (Love's Abiding Joy)
Cast: Liana Liberato, Thea Rose, Henry Thomas, Louise Fletcher
USA
Limited Release

The Lives of Others / Das Leben der Anderen
Writer/Dir: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Crusader / Der Templer)
Cast: Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur
Germany
Limited Release

Norbit
Dir: Brian Robbins (Ths Shaggy Dog, The Perfect Score, Hardball)
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Thandie Newton, Terry Crews, Cuba Gooding Jr.
USA

Wednesday February 14, 2007 Releases

Music and Lyrics
Writer/Dir: Marc Lawrence (Two Weeks Notice)
Cast: Drew Barrymore, Hugh Grant, Haley Bennett
USA

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

Babel

2007-02-08T21:07:00.000-05:00

Dir: Alejandro González Iñárritu (21 Grams, Amores Perros)
Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchette, Gael Garcia Bernal, Rinko Kikuchi, Adriana Barraza, Koji Yakusho
USA, 2006

Seen: February 4, 2007 at Carlton

Reason to see: numerous Oscar nominations as well as plus the heat was off in my apartment so wanted to stay out of the house. Also, this is week 7b/52 of my third attempt for#7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year.

I'm starting to think that having films about 'intersecting storylines' will be seen as a sign of the times. Not that it can't be done well. I did enjoy Babel, but I wonder what it would have been like to see the stories seperately instead of together. They are all interesting and show different aspects of human nature and relationships. Strong stories and strong acting make a solid film, and I felt Rinko Kikuchi performance was a real stand out, and a well deserved nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the Oscar's.

Oddball trivia: I was trying to place where I had seen Koji Yakusho from during every scene he was in. Mystery solved, he was in Shall We Dance / Shall we dansu?

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I would watch it again
I'd recommend it

10 minutes of pre-show including 1 commercial and 4 previews (The Page Turner, The Aura, Partition, Venus)

More Film Reviews here

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Children of Men

2007-02-06T20:18:00.000-05:00

Dir: Alfonso Cuarón (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Y tu mamá también)
Cast: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Claire-Hope Ashitey, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Caine, Peter Mullan
UK/USA, 2006

Seen: February 4, 2007 at Paramount

Reason to see: 2 Oscar nominations (cinematography & adapted screenplay) plus the heat was off in my apartment so wanted to stay out of the house. Also, this is week 7a/52 of my third attempt for#7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year.

I was initially hesitant to see this film, I thought the premise was interesting but the title along with some shots in the preview didn't quite strike my fancy. But, after some time and some recommendations I thought I would give it a go, and I'm glad I did. I think the two key things that make this film are a good story, and great actors. It truly has great casting. I am a fan of many of the actors, so you might want to take that with just a slight grain of salt. The story feels like a drama but the pace of the film can often be fast and heart pounding. One of the greatest things I found about watching it was I wasn't trying to out think it, I was just there in that moment at that time for the entire journey. A solid film.

Shannon's Overall View:
I thought it was good
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it (warning: there are some disturbing scenes)

10 minutes of pre-show stuff including 2 commercials and 3 previews (The Number 23, Reign Over Me, Breach)

More Film Reviews here

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Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 2nd, 2007!!

2007-02-02T04:05:00.000-05:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

Five new releases this week, two of which are Canadian: Sur la Trace d'Igor Rizzi / On the Trail of Igor Rizzi and Partition. Sur la Trace d'Igor Rizzi won the Best Canadian First Feature Film in the 2006 TIFF, and is also part of Canada's Top Ten, so it is wonderful to see it in regular release.

With the Genie less than 2 weeks away and the Oscar's in just over 3, I'm been in movie watching overload! So far I would have to say Notes on a Scandal, The Queen and Eve and the Fire Horse (nominated for 5 Genies) were all wonderful. I wasn't very impressed with The Good Shepherd and the jury is still out on Letters from Iwo Jima - my strong aversion to war films makes it hard to think of it objectively. Reviews may not be up before the awards, so those are my short thoughts.

I find it a little hard to imagine going to see something brand new, but I did find the preview for The Italian quite compelling. There is never a shortage on selection it seems, and that is a good thing!

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday February 2, 2007 Releases

Because I Said So
Dir: Michael Lehmann (40 Days and 40 Nights, The Truth About Cats & Dogs)
Cast: Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Gabriel Macht, Tom Everett Scott
USA

The Italian / Italianetz
Writer/Dir: Andrei Kravchuk (The Christmas Miracle / Rozhdestvenskaya mysterya)
Cast: Kolya Spiridonov, Maria Kuznetsova, Yuri Itskov, Darya Lesnikova, Nikolai Reutov
Russia
Limited Release

The Messengers
Dir: Panny Pang, Oxide Pang (The Eye)
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Penelope Ann Miller, Dylan Miller, John Corbett
USA

Partition
Dir: Vic Sarin (Love on the Side)
Cast: Kristin Kreuk, Jimi Mistry, Neve Campbell
Canada/South Africa/UK

Sur la Trace d'Igor Rizzi / On the Trail of Igor Rizzi
Writer/Dir: Noël Mitrani - directorial feature debut
Cast: Laurent Lucas, Pierre-Luc Brillant, Emmanuel Bilodeau, Isabelle Blais
Canada
Limited Release

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

Film Fan Fridays for Friday January 26, 2007!!

2007-01-26T03:30:00.000-05:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

This weeks releases include a lot of writer/director works, all but one are just that! We also have our first Canadian release of the year with Ross Weber's Mount Pleasant. The remaining releases are all across the board from romantic comedy (Catch and Release) to teen comedy (Epic Movie) to horror (Blood and Chocolate) to action (Smokin' Aces).

If none of those tickle your fancy, you can peruse the Oscar nominations film, announced earlier this week. How exciting! Some of the nominations didn't come as a huge surprize (Dreamgirls, Babel, The Queen) and some, at least for me, did (Blood Diamond with 5, Apocalypto with 3). I've very happy to see that Little Miss Sunshine is up for quite a few, what an amazing film. I'm surprized I haven't seen more of the nominated films, only 7 as of the time when the nominations were announced. I wonder how many I'll make it through this year! How about you?

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday January 26th, 2007 Releases

Blood and Chocolate
Dir: Katja von Garnier (Bandits, Abgeschmintk!)
Cast: Agnes Bruckner, Olivier Martinez, Hugh Dancy
USA

Catch and Release
Writer/Dir: Susannah Grant - directorial debut
Cast: Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis, Kevin Smith
USA

Epic Movie
Writer/Dir(s): Aaron Seltzer (Date Movie) & Jason Friedberg - directorial debut
Cast: Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard, Kal Penn, Crispin Glover
USA

Mount Pleasant
Writer/Dir: Ross Weber (No More Monkeys Jumpin' on the Bed)
Cast: Katie Boland, Kelly Rowan, Tygh Runyan, Benjamin Ratner, Camille Sullivan
Canada
Limited Release

Smokin' Aces
Writer/Dir: Joe Carnahan (Narc)
Cast: Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta, Ryan Reynolds, Ben Affleck, Alicia Keys, Jason Bateman
UK/France/USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Jan 26, 2007**

79th Oscar Lists

2007-01-25T21:25:00.000-05:00

79th Academy Awards - detailed (includes winners)
79th Academy Awards Nominations - film list by number of nominations
79th Academy Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

79th Academy Awards Nominations - film list (titles & # of nominations only)

2007-01-23T23:30:00.000-05:00

DREAMGIRLS (8)
BABEL (7)
THE QUEEN (6)
PAN'S LABYRINTH (6)
THE DEPARTED (5)
BLOOD DIAMOND (5)
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (4)
NOTES ON A SCANDAL (4)
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (4)
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (4)
LITTLE CHILDREN (3)
APOCALYPTO (3)
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (2)
UNITED 93 (2)
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (2)
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (2)
CARS (2)
CHILDREN OF MEN (2)
THE PRESTIGE (2)
HALF NELSON (1)
VENUS (1)
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS (1)
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (1)
VOLVER (1)
THE GOOD SHEPHERD (1)
THE BLACK DAHLIA (1)
THE ILLUSIONIST (1)
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER (1)
MARIE ANTOINETTE (1)
CLICK (1)
THE GOOD GERMAN (1)
POSEIDON (1)
SUPERMAN RETURNS (1)
BORAT CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN (1)
HAPPY FEET (1)
MONSTER HOUSE (1)
DELIVER US FROM EVIL (1)
IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS (1)
JESUS CAMP (1)
MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY (1)
AFTER THE WEDDING (1)
DAYS OF GLORY (INDIGÈNES) (1)
THE LIVES OF OTHERS (1)
WATER (1)
THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT (1)
RECYCLED LIFE (1)
REHEARSING A DREAM (1)
TWO HANDS (1)
THE DANISH POET (1)
LIFTED (1)
THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL (1)
MAESTRO (1)
NO TIME FOR NUTS (1)
BINTA AND THE GREAT IDEA (BINTA Y LA GRAN IDEA) (1)
ÉRAMOS POCOS (ONE TOO MANY) (1)
HELMER & SON (1)
THE SAVIOUR (1)
WEST BANK STORY (1)

Official Academy Awards site here

79th Academy Awards Nominations - film list by number of nominations

2007-01-23T23:25:00.000-05:00

DREAMGIRLS (8)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role - Eddie Murphy
Performance by an actress in a supporting role - Jennifer Hudson
Achievement in art direction - John Myhre (Art Direction); Nancy Haigh (Set Decoration)
Achievement in costume design - Sharen Davis
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song):
"Listen" – DREAMGIRLS - Music by Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler, Lyric by Anne Preven
"Love You I Do" – DREAMGIRLS - Music by Henry Krieger; Lyric by Siedah Garrett
"Patience" – DREAMGIRLS - Music by Henry Krieger; Lyric by Willie Reale
Achievement in sound mixing - Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Willie Burton

BABEL (7)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role - Adriana Barraza
Performance by an actress in a supporting role - Rinko Kikuchi
Achievement in directing- Alejandro González Iñárritu
Achievement in film editing - Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) - Gustavo Santaolalla
Best motion picture of the year - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin
Original screenplay - Written by Guillermo Arriaga

THE QUEEN (6)
Performance by an actress in a leading role - Helen Mirren
Achievement in costume design - Consolata Boyle
Achievement in directing - Stephen Frears
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) - Alexandre Desplat
Best motion picture of the year - Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward
Original screenplay - Written by Peter Morgan

PAN'S LABYRINTH (6)
Achievement in art direction - Eugenio Caballero (Art Direction); Pilar Revuelta (Set Decoration)
Achievement in cinematography - Guillermo Navarro
Best foreign language film of the year - Mexico
Achievement in makeup - David Marti and Montse Ribe
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) - Javier Navarrete
Original screenplay - Written by Guillermo del Toro

THE DEPARTED (5)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role - Mark Wahlberg
Achievement in directing- Martin Scorsese
Achievement in film editing - Thelma Schoonmaker
Best motion picture of the year - Nominees to be determined (as of Jan 23, 2007)
Adapted screenplay - Screenplay by William Monahan

BLOOD DIAMOND (5)
Performance by an actor in a leading role - Leonardo DiCaprio
Performance by an actor in a supporting role – Djimon Hounsou
Achievement in film editing - Steven Rosenblum
Achievement in sound editing - Lon Bender
Achievement in sound mixing - Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ivan Sharrock

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (4)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role - Alan Arkin
Performance by an actress in a supporting role - Abigail Breslin
Best motion picture of the year - Nominees to be determined (as of Jan 23, 2007)
Original screenplay - Written by Michael Arndt

NOTES ON A SCANDAL (4)
Performance by an actress in a leading role - Judi Dench
Performance by an actress in a supporting role - Cate Blanchett
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) - Philip Glass
Adapted screenplay - Screenplay by Patrick Marber

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (4)
Achievement in art direction - Rick Heinrichs (Art Direction); Cheryl A. Carasik (Set Decoration) Achievement in sound editing - Christopher Boyes and George Watters II
Achievement in sound mixing - Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes and Lee Orloff
Achievement in visual effects - John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall

LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (4)
Achievement in directing – Clint Eastwood
Best motion picture of the year - Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz
Achievement in sound editing - Alan Robert Murray
Original screenplay - Screenplay by Iris Yamashita; Story by Iris Yamashita & Paul Haggis

LITTLE CHILDREN (3)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role - Jackie Earle Haley
Performance by an actress in a leading role - Kate Winslet
Adapted screenplay - Screenplay by Todd Field & Tom Perrotta

APOCALYPTO (3)
Achievement in makeup - Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
Achievement in sound editing - Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar
Achievement in sound mixing - Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Fernando Camara

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (2)
Performance by an actress in a leading role - Meryl Streep
Achievement in costume design - Patricia Field

UNITED 93 (2)
Achievement in directing – Peter Greengrass
Achievement in film editing -Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (2)
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) "I Need to Wake Up" - Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge
Best documentary feature - Davis Guggenheim

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (2)
Achievement in sound editing - Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
Achievement in sound mixing - John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin

CARS (2)
Best animated feature film of the year - John Lasseter
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) - "Our Town" - Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

CHILDREN OF MEN (2)
Achievement in cinematography - Emmanuel Lubezki
Adapted screenplay - Screenplay by Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby

THE PRESTIGE (2)
Achievement in art direction - Nathan Crowley (Art Direction); Julie Ochipinti (Set Decoration)
Achievement in cinematography - Wally Pfister

HALF NELSON (1)
Performance by an actor in a leading role - Ryan Gosling

VENUS (1)
Performance by an actor in a leading role - Peter O'Toole

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS (1)
Performance by an actor in a leading role - Will Smith

THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (1)
Performance by an actor in a leading role - Forest Whitaker

VOLVER (1)
Performance by an actress in a leading role - Penélope Cruz

THE GOOD SHEPHERD (1)
Achievement in art direction - Jeannine Oppewall (Art Direction); Gretchen Rau and Leslie E. Rollins (Set Decoration)

THE BLACK DAHLIA (1)
Achievement in cinematography - Vilmos Zsigmond

THE ILLUSIONIST (1)
Achievement in cinematography - Dick Pope

CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER (1)
Achievement in costume design - Yee Chung Man

MARIE ANTOINETTE (1)
Achievement in costume design - Milena Canonero

CLICK (1)
Achievement in makeup - Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso

THE GOOD GERMAN (1)
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) - Thomas Newman

POSEIDON (1)
Achievement in visual effects - John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall

SUPERMAN RETURNS (1)
Achievement in visual effects - Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover and Jon Thum

BORAT CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN (1)
Adapted screenplay - Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines &amp;amp;amp;amp; Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer; Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Peter Baynham & Anthony Hines & Todd Phillips

HAPPY FEET (1)
Best animated feature film of the year – George Miller

MONSTER HOUSE (1)
Best animated feature film of the year - Gil Kenan

DELIVER US FROM EVIL (1)
Best documentary feature - Amy Berg and Frank Donner

IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS (1)
Best documentary feature - James Longley and John Sinno

JESUS CAMP (1)
Best documentary feature - Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady

MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY (1)
Best documentary feature - Laura Poitras and Jocelyn Glatzer

AFTER THE WEDDING (1)
Best foreign language film of the year - Denmark

DAYS OF GLORY (INDIGÈNES) (1)
Best foreign language film of the year - Algeria

THE LIVES OF OTHERS (1)
Best foreign language film of the year - Germany

WATER (1)
Best foreign language film of the year – Canada

THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT (1)
Best documentary short subject - Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon

RECYCLED LIFE (1)
Best documentary short subject - Leslie Iwerks and Mike Glad

REHEARSING A DREAM (1)
Best documentary short subject - Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon

TWO HANDS (1)
Best documentary short subject - Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Rose Behr

THE DANISH POET (1)
Best animated short film - Torill Kove

LIFTED (1)
Best animated short film - Gary Rydstrom

THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL (1)
Best animated short film - Roger Allers and Don Hahn

MAESTRO (1)
Best animated short film - Geza M. Toth

NO TIME FOR NUTS (1)
Best animated short film - Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmeier

BINTA AND THE GREAT IDEA (BINTA Y LA GRAN IDEA) (1)
Best live action short film - Javier Fesser and Luis Manso

ÉRAMOS POCOS (ONE TOO MANY) (1)
Best live action short film - Borja Cobeaga

HELMER & SON (1)
Best live action short film - Soren Pilmark and Kim Magnusson

THE SAVIOUR (1)
Best live action short film - Peter Templeman and Stuart Parkyn

WEST BANK STORY (1)
Best live action short film - Ari Sandel

Official Academy Awards site here

79th Academy Awards Nominations - detailed

2007-01-23T22:43:00.000-05:00

Bold indicates winner, or as they say "The Oscar goes to...."

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio - BLOOD DIAMOND
Ryan Gosling - HALF NELSON
Peter O'Toole - VENUS
Will Smith - THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Forest Whitaker - THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jackie Earle Haley - LITTLE CHILDREN
Djimon Hounsou - BLOOD DIAMOND
Eddie Murphy - DREAMGIRLS
Mark Wahlberg - THE DEPARTED

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz - VOLVER
Judi Dench - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Helen Mirren - THE QUEEN
Meryl Streep - THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Kate Winslet - LITTLE CHILDREN

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza - BABEL
Cate Blanchett - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Abigail Breslin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jennifer Hudson - DREAMGIRLS
Rinko Kikuchi - BABEL

Best animated feature film of the year
CARS - John Lasseter
HAPPY FEET – George Miller
MONSTER HOUSE - Gil Kenan

Achievement in art direction
DREAMGIRLS - John Myhre (Art Direction); Nancy Haigh (Set Decoration)
THE GOOD SHEPHERD- Jeannine Oppewall (Art Direction); Gretchen Rau and Leslie E. Rollins (Set Decoration)
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Eugenio Caballero (Art Direction); Pilar Revuelta (Set Decoration)
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Rick Heinrichs (Art Direction); Cheryl A. Carasik (Set Decoration)
THE PRESTIGE - Nathan Crowley (Art Direction); Julie Ochipinti (Set Decoration)

Achievement in cinematography
THE BLACK DAHLIA - Vilmos Zsigmond
CHILDREN OF MEN - Emmanuel Lubezki
THE ILLUSIONIST - Dick Pope
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Guillermo Navarro
THE PRESTIGE - Wally Pfister

Achievement in costume design
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER - Yee Chung Man
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Patricia Field
DREAMGIRLS - Sharen Davis
MARIE ANTOINETTE - Milena Canonero
THE QUEEN- Consolata Boyle

Achievement in directing
BABEL - Alejandro González Iñárritu
THE DEPARTED - Martin Scorsese
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA – Clint Eastwood
THE QUEEN - Stephen Frears
UNITED 93 – Peter Greengrass

Best documentary feature
DELIVER US FROM EVIL - Amy Berg and Frank Donner
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH - Davis Guggenheim
IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS - James Longley and John Sinno
JESUS CAMP - Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY - Laura Poitras and Jocelyn Glatzer

Best documentary short subject
THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT - Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon
RECYCLED LIFE - Leslie Iwerks and Mike Glad
REHEARSING A DREAM - Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
TWO HANDS - Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Rose Behr

Achievement in film editing
BABEL - Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise
BLOOD DIAMOND - Steven Rosenblum
CHILDREN OF MEN - Alex Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón
THE DEPARTED - Thelma Schoonmaker
UNITED 93 - Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson

Best foreign language film of the year
AFTER THE WEDDING - Denmark
DAYS OF GLORY (INDIGÈNES) - Algeria
THE LIVES OF OTHERS - Germany
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Mexico
WATER - Canada

Achievement in makeup
APOCALYPTO - Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
CLICK - Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso
PAN'S LABYRINTH - David Marti and Montse Ribe

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
BABEL - Gustavo Santaolalla
THE GOOD GERMAN - Thomas Newman
NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Philip Glass
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Javier Navarrete
THE QUEEN - Alexandre Desplat

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"I Need to Wake Up" - AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH - Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge
"Listen" – DREAMGIRLS - Music by Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler, Lyric by Anne Preven
"Love You I Do" – DREAMGIRLS - Music by Henry Krieger; Lyric by Siedah Garrett
"Our Town" – CARS - Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Patience" – DREAMGIRLS - Music by Henry Krieger; Lyric by Willie Reale

Best motion picture of the year
BABEL - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin
THE DEPARTED - Nominees to be determined (as of Jan 23, 2007)
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA - Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Nominees to be determined (as of Jan 23, 2007)
THE QUEEN - Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward

Best animated short film
THE DANISH POET - Torill Kove
LIFTED - Gary Rydstrom
THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL - Roger Allers and Don Hahn
MAESTRO - Geza M. Toth
NO TIME FOR NUTS - Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmeier

Best live action short film
BINTA AND THE GREAT IDEA (BINTA Y LA GRAN IDEA) - Javier Fesser and Luis Manso
ÉRAMOS POCOS (ONE TOO MANY) - Borja Cobeaga
HELMER & SON - Soren Pilmark and Kim Magnusson
THE SAVIOUR - Peter Templeman and Stuart Parkyn
WEST BANK STORY - Ari Sandel

Achievement in sound editing
APOCALYPTO - Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar
BLOOD DIAMOND - Lon Bender
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS - Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA - Alan Robert Murray
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Christopher Boyes and George Watters II

Achievement in sound mixing
APOCALYPTO - Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Fernando Camara
BLOOD DIAMOND - Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ivan Sharrock
DREAMGIRLS - Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Willie Burton
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS - John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes and Lee Orloff

Achievement in visual effects
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall
POSEIDON - John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall
SUPERMAN RETURNS - Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover and Jon Thum

Adapted screenplay
BORAT CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN - Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; Dan Mazer; Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Peter Baynham & Anthony Hines & Todd Phillips
CHILDREN OF MEN - Screenplay by Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby
THE DEPARTED - Screenplay by William Monahan
LITTLE CHILDREN - Screenplay by Todd Field & Tom Perrotta
NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Screenplay by Patrick Marber

Original screenplay
BABEL - Written by Guillermo Arriaga
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA - Screenplay by Iris Yamashita; Story by Iris Yamashita & Paul Haggis
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Written by Michael Arndt
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Written by Guillermo del Toro
THE QUEEN - Written by Peter Morgan

Official Academy Awards site here

Snow Cake

2007-01-21T23:59:00.000-05:00

Dir: Marc Evans (My Little Eye, Resurrection Man)
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Carrie-Ann Moss, Emily Hampshire, David Fox, James Allodi, Jayne Eastwood, Callum Keith Rennie
UK/Canada, 2006

Seen: Jan 17, 2007 at the Carlton

Reason to see: It's Canadian! It's nominated for 4 Genies (Cinematography, Actress in a Leading Role: Sigourney Weaver, Actress in a Supporting Role: Carrie-Ann Moss, Emily Hampshire)
This is week 4/52 of my third attempt for#7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year.

This film has one of my favourite themes: Unconventional relationships. People who are different, by choice or by chance and how they function (or don't). It dances around fascinating topics such as setting boundaries, letting people in, people with different needs, the same event being experienced in different ways. This lends itself to show a wide range of moments from wondrous to awkward, touching to abrupt, confusion to clarity. Great acting, great characters and great location: Wawa, Ontario. Gotta love it.

The only thing I found a little weird is that it's a Canadian (co-pro) and neither of the principle actors are Canadian. But, on the whole I'm not going to let that get to me as all of the performances are wonderful. It's also great to see such familiar faces in different roles.

Favourite quote" "I don't like normal people, I like useful people."

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'll watch it again
I'd recommend it

2 previews/6 min: Venus, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus

More Film Reviews here

Return to Planet Shannon’s Film Fan Fridays

Curse of the Golden Flower / Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia

2007-01-21T23:55:00.000-05:00

Dir: Zhang Yimou (House of the Flying Daggers / Shi mian mau fu, Hero / Ying xiong)
Cast: Chow-Yun Fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Qin Junjie, Liu Ye, Li Man
Hong Kong/China, 2006
Seen in Mandarin with English Subtitles

Seen: Jan 11, 2007 at the Cumberland

Reason to see: I've enjoyed the Zhang Yimou's previous work as well as Chow-Yun Fat's. Add to that it's a historical epic. This is week 3/52 of my third attempt for#7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year.

I didn't know too much about this film I had pretty much only heard that it was 'beautiful' and oh it is... it is. The colour and design elements are so phenomenal. I swear I could get high off the colour in this film for its saturation level and beauty. I wanted to BE there. I wanted to TOUCH the walls, carpets, costumes. Absolutely amazing, I was giddy.

But, it isn't all about the colour right? Well.... not with this film, besides from that it was still really good. A very interesting story and strong characters. The performances were wonderful, in particular Gong Li, Qin Junjie and of course Chow-Yun Fat. The story unfolded beautifully, neither too quickly nor drawn out too long. I felt really pulled into the world that it created, it was so rich and so full the details were just amazing be it visual or sound or plot.

There is some violence though, and moment/idea in particular that I wished I hadn't seen. Other than that one it's akin to the martial arts/action genre. Well worth while seeing this in the theatre if you can.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'll watch it again
I'd recommend it - there is a fair bit of violence & some cruelty so I would forewarn for those sensitive

3 previews/10 min: Venus, Sharkwater, Factory Girl

More Film Reviews here

Return to Planet Shannon’s Film Fan Fridays

Monkey Warfare

2007-01-21T23:36:00.000-05:00

Writer/Dir: Reginald Harkema (A Girl is a Girl)
Cast: Don McKellar, Tracy Wright, Nadia Litz
Canada, 2006

Seen: Jan 4, 2007 at the Royal

Reason to see: It's Canadian! It is part of Canada's Top Ten 2006.
This is week 2/52 of my third attempt for#7 on my 101 list: See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year.

What do you value? What is valuable? What are your values? How far are you willing to go? Will you cross the line... if is there a line? Will you stomp all over it, hide behind it, push someone over it? If crossed, can you ever turn back?

Monkey Warfare is a great Canadian film set in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood. I have to admit, I love the Canadian-ness of this film. Seeing people ride crappy looking bikes while smoking and wearing worn jeans, just feels so Toronto. The characters feel real and all three actors did such an excellent job portraying them. Personally, I was particularly fond of Tracy Wright's performance as Linda. I'm not going to reveal the plot, it is worth seeing it unfold for yourself. Enjoy.

Favourite quote: "Geez, I thought all girls liked Leonard Cohen"

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'll watch it again
I recommend it

Bonus short film shown:

Phone Call from Imaginary Girlfriends: Ankara
by Don McKellar (Childstar, Last Night)

What a wonderful short film! Very textural and expressed a huge range of emotions succinctly in such a short time. A delightful treat.

More Film Reviews here

Return to Planet Shannon’s Film Fan Fridays

Shannon's Film Reviews

2007-01-21T19:39:00.000-05:00

Please note the following posts may contain spoiliers.

I endeavour to write reviews that don't give away too much of the film, I am more interested in the experience of the film, what I got out of it, how others would enjoy it and the film going experience in general. That being said there may be plot/theme/spoiler type information included so if you are an anti-spoiler type by nature please only proceed with caution

300
2001: A Space Odyssey
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Abandoned, The
Abyss, The
African Queen, The
Alien
Aliens
Anastasia
Babel
Beauty Shop
Big Blue, The
Black Dahlia, The
Blood Diamond
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Bread and Tulips
Bridge on the River Kwai
Bubba Ho-Tep
Casino Royale
Changeling, The
Cheaper By The Dozen
Children of Men
Chorus, The / Les Choristes
Chungking Express / Chung Hing Sam Lam
City of Angels
Constantine
Conversations With Other Women
Core, The
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
C.R.A.Z.Y.
Crank
Curse of the Golden Flower / Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia
Day the Earth Stood Still, The
Day Watch / Dnevnoy Dozor
Dear Frankie
Decline of the American Empire, The / Le Déclin de l'empire américain
Derailed
Devil Wears Prada, The
District B13 / Banlieue B13
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Donnie Darko
Double Happiness
Dreamgirls
Drumline
Everything's Gone Green
Exorcism of Emily Rose, The
Factory Girl
Familia
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fido
Fire in the Sky
The Fog (2005)
Fountain, The
Frankenstein (1931)
Good Shepherd, The
Gracie
Grosse Pointe Blank
Halloween 2
Haunting, The (1963)
Heavenly Creatures
Host, The / Gwoemul
Hot Fuzz
Hustle & Flow
I Heart Huckabees
In America
In the Heat of the Night
Inconvenient Truth, An
Jesus Christ Superstar
John & Jane
Journals of Knud Rasmussen, The
Lake House, The
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Children
Little Miss Sunshine
M
Maltese Falcon, The
Manufactured Landscapes
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
Monkey Warfare
Mystic Ball
Namesake, The
Nashville
Night Watch / Nochnoy Dozor
Night Listener, The
Notes on a Scandal
Office Space
Offside
Old Joy
Once Were Warriors
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior
Outland
Personal Velocity
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Poltergeist
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Proposition, The
Protector , The/ Tom yum goong
Quebec-Montreal
Ring, The
The Rocket / Maurice Richard
Roll Bounce
Runaway
The Saddest Music in the World
Saint Ralph
Saw
The Scorpion King
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Shall We Dance / Shall we dansu?
Sharkwater
Shining, The
Signs
Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, The
Snow Cake
Solyaris / Солярис
Some Kind of Wonderful
Some Like it Hot
Star Wars
Step Up
Superman Returns
Sympathy for Mr. Vengence / Boksuneun naui geot
Take the Lead
Tank Girl
Thin
Three Times / Zui hao de shi guang
Un Chien Andalou
Underworld: Evolution
Unnatural & Accidental
V for Vendetta
Vie secrète des gens heureux, La / The Secret Life of Happy People
Volver
Waiting...
Waiting for Guffman
Watcher in the Woods
Water
X-Men: The Last Stand
Xanadu
Un Zoo la Nuit

Film Fan Fridays for Friday January 19, 2007!!

2007-01-19T04:12:00.000-05:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

We have three releases this week. In some ways I love how quiet January is, makes it feel like it is actually possible to get out to everything! Well everything you want to see. One of this weeks films is a remake of a 1986 film of the same name: The Hitcher. We also have Venus which some say is a Peter O'Toole Oscar vehicle and when I heard the premise it sounded slightly creepy but factoring Roger Michell (Notting Hill) as the director and further previews it looks like it may be quite a tender film. I am going to keep this one in mind. 13 Tzameti is out in a very limited release (1 theatre only - The Royal) and sounds very interesting. I've never heard of a film from Georgia before (located in southwest Asia between Russia and Turkey... not the US State). That alone has caught my curiosity.

It was fun, as always, to see the Golden Globe this week. It could be because most of the people I was rooting for won (read: anything Dreamgirls). There were some wonderful acceptance speeches including Jennifer Hudson, Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep and Forest Whitaker whom wins the wonderfully 'overwhelmed can't speak but then does' speech (for film - America Ferrara takes the tv cake). It would have been nicer if they let the winners speak for longer though!! Gee whiz.

One awards show down, and another crops up! The big cheese: Oscar nominations will be announced this Tuesday Jan 23rd, 2007 at 5:30 PST/8:30 EST. I know where I'll be!! http://www.oscar.com clicking 'Refresh' like mad!

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday January 19th, 2007 Releases

13 Tzameti
Writer/Dir: Géla Babluani - directoral feature film debut
Cast: George Babluani, Aurélien Recoing, Philippe Passon, Pascal Bongard
France/Georgia
Limited Release

The Hitcher
Dir: Dave Meyers (Foolish)
Cast: Sean Bean, Zachary Knighton, Sophia Bush
USA

Venus
Dir: Roger Michell (Notting Hill, Changing Lanes, Persuasion)
Cast: Peter O'Toole, Jodie Whittaker, Vanessa Redgrave
UK
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Jan 19, 2007**

EW's 25 'must see' films before the Oscar's

2007-01-18T22:19:00.000-05:00

The January 19, 2007 (p28) edition of Entertainment Weekly has made its list of must see films before Oscar night. Here they are, what are yours?

1. The Departed
2. Dreamgirls
3. Babel
4. The Queen
5. Letters From Iwo Jima
6. Little Miss Sunshine
7. United 93
8. Little Children
9. Notes on a Scandal
10. Flags of Our Fathers
11. The Last King of Scotland
12. The Devil Wears Prada
13. Borat
14. Blood Diamond
15. Volver
16. The Pursuit of Happyness
17. Venus
18. Children of Men
19. Pan's Labyrinth
20. Half Nelson
21. Thank You for Smoking
22. The Painted Veil
23. Stranger than Fiction
24. Hollywoodland
25. For Your Consideration

Wow, if this is the case I'm gonna be way behind. I've only seen 3!

Film Fan Fridays for Friday January 12, 2007!!

2007-01-12T03:01:00.000-05:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

I did a double take when I saw that Luc Besson directed Arthur and the Invisibles, and animated family film. This from the director of La Femme Nikita and The Professional? Should be interesting. I can't help but mention dance movie Stomp the Yard although being pitched as 'more than a dance film but a coming of age story'. Aren't all dance films coming of age stories? And about someone from the wrong side of the tracks? Dance bridges all other barriers. That one goes on the list for sure!

Two of this weeks releases are Golden Globe nominees: Miss Potter and Letters from Iwo Jima. Not much time to see them before the awards on Monday Jan 15/07, but it sure is possible! I always find The Globes fun to watch, everyone is so relaxed and the speeches feel very spontaneous.

More awards news, the Genie nominations were announced this week! The two heavy hitters are Maurice Richard / The Rocket (with 13 nominations) and Bon Cop, Bad Cop (with 10 nominations). Although both films were great I think I'm gonna be rooting for Maurice Richard / The Rocket, as it was an excellent film in so many ways. Considering both Colm Feore and Patrick Huard are nominated for Best Actor from Bon Cop, Bad Cop I really think that Roy Dupuis has a good chance at taking that home - and he deserves it for one of the best performances I've seen in a long time. I'm so thrilled that I got out to more Canadian film this year and have seen many of the titles. The Genie's will be presented Tuesday February 13, 2007.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday January 12th, 2007 Releases

Alpha Dog
Writer/Dir: Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook John Q)
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Sharon Stone, Bruce Willis
USA

Arthur and the Invisibles / Arthur et les Minimoys
Writer/Dir: Luc Besson (The Professional, The Fifth Element, The Big Blue)
Cast/Voices: Freddie Highmore, Robert De Niro, Madonna, David Bowie
France

Letters from Iwo Jima
Dir: Clint Eastwood (Flags of our Fathers, Mystic River, Pale Rider)
Cast: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase
USA
Limited Release

Miss Potter
Dir: Chris Noonan (Babe, Stepping Out)
Cast: Renée Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson
UK/USA
Limited Release

Primeval
Dir: Michael Katleman - directorial film debut
Cast: Dominic Purcell, Brooke Langton, Orlando Jones
USA

Stomp the Yard
Dir: Sylvain White (Quiet)
Cast: Columbus Short, Meagan Good, Darrin Henson, Brian J. White
USA

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Jan 12, 2007**

Genie Awards 2007

2007-01-11T23:08:00.000-05:00

Genie ceremony was Tuesday February 13, 2007. Winners are in bold.
For more information on the Genie's look here.

Best Motion Picture
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Guide de la Petite Vengeance / The Little Book of Revenge
Maurice Richard / The Rocket
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie
Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali

Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Eve and the Fire Horse
La Rage de l'ange / Angel's Rage
Maurice Richard / The Rocket
Tideland

Achievement in Costume Design
Eve and the Fire Horse
Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali
Maurice Richard / The Rocket
The Journals of Knud Rasmussen
Tideland

Achievement in Cinematography
Beowulf & Grendel
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Maurice Richard / The Rocket
Snow Cake
Tideland

Achievement in Direction
Bon Cop, Bad Cop - Érik Canuel
Guide de la Petite Vengeance / The Little Book of Revenge - Jean-François Pouliot
La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People - Stéphane Lapointe
Maurice Richard / The Rocket - Charles Binamé
Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali - Robert Favreau

Achievement in Editing
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Cheech
Congorama
Maurice Richard / The Rocket
Tideland

Achievement in Music - Original Score
Beowulf & Grendel
Cheech
La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People
Maurice Richard / The Rocket
Sans elle / Without Her

Achievement in Music - Original Song
Bon Cop, Bad Cop - "Tattoo" - Eric Lapointe, Stéphane Dufour, Jamil
Eighteen - "In a Heartbeat" - Bramwell Tovey, Richard Bell
La belle bête / The Beautiful Beast - "Trace-Moi" - Patrick Watson, Caroline Dhavernas
La Rage de l'ange / Angel's Rage - "L'Astronaute" - Dan Bigras
Unnatural & Accidental - "Have Hope" - Jennifer Kreisberg

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Colm Feore - Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Patrick Huard - Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Olivier Gourmet - Congorama
Roy Dupuis - Maurice Richard / The Rocket
Luc Picard - Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Chan Chit Man Lester - Eve and the Fire Horse
Michel Muller - Guide de la Petite Vengeance / The Little Book of Revenge
Stephen McHattie - Maurice Richard / The Rocket
Hugh Dillon - Trailer Park Boys: The Movie
Robert Joy - Whole New Thing

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Ginette Reno - Le secret de ma mère
Julie Le Breton - Maurice Richard / The Rocket
Sigourney Weaver - Snow Cake
Jodelle Ferland - Tideland
Fatou N'Diaye - Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Vivian Wu - Eve and the Fire Horse
Marie Gignac - La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People
Caroline Dhavernas - Niagara Motel
Carrie Anne Moss - Snow Cake
Emily Hampshire - Snow Cake

Achievement in Overall Sound
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Eve and the Fire Horse
Maurice Richard / The Rocket
Tideland
Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali

Achievement in Sound Editing
Beowulf & Grendel
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Cheech
Maurice Richard / The Rocket
Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali

Original Screenplay
Congorama
Guide de la Petite Vengeance / The Little Book of Revenge
La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People
Le secret de ma mère
Maurice Richard / The Rocket

Adapted Screenplay
Cheech
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie
Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali

Best Documentary
La planète blanche / The White Planet
Manufactured Landscapes

Best Live Action Short Drama
Big Girl
Hiro
Jack et Jacques
Le rouge au sol / Red
Snapshots for Henry

Best Animated Short
Histoire tragique avec fin heureuse / Tragic Story with Happy Ending
The Danish Poet

Claude Jutra Award - Tie
Julie Kwan - Eve and the Fire Horse
Stephane Lapointe - La Vie secrète des gens heureux / The Secret Life of Happy People

Golden Reel Award
Bon Cop, Bad Cop

Special Award for Outstanding Achievement in Make up Design
Nick Dudman - Beowulf & Grendel

Golden Globe - film only

2007-01-11T19:34:00.000-05:00

The Golden Globes ceremony was Monday Jan 15, 2007 at 8pm EST
This list includes only film related awards.
For full list and more info on the Golden Globes, look here.

Best Motion Picture – Drama
Babel *
Bobby
The Departed
Little Children
The Queen

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Penélope Cruz – Volver
Judi Dench – Notes On A Scandal
Maggie Gyllenhaal – sherrybaby
Helen Mirren – The Queen *
Kate Winslet – Little Children

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Leonardo DiCaprio – Blood Diamond
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Departed
Peter O'Toole – Venus
Will Smith – The Pursuit Of Happyness
Forest Whitaker – The Last King Of Scotland *

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls *
Little Miss Sunshine
Thank You For Smoking

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Annette Bening – Running With Scissors
Toni Collette – Little Miss Sunshine
Beyoncé Knowles – Dreamgirls
Meryl Streep – The Devil Wears Prada *
Renée Zellweger – Miss Potter

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Sacha Cohen – Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan *
Johnny Depp – Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Aaron Eckhart – Thank You For Smoking
Chiwetel Ejiofor – Kinky Boots
Will Ferrell – Stranger Than Fiction

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Adriana Barraza – Babel
Cate Blanchett – Notes On A Scandal
Emily Blunt – The Devil Wears Prada
Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls *
Rinko Kikuchi – Babel

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Ben Affleck – Hollywoodland
Eddie Murphy – Dreamgirls *
Jack Nicholson – The Departed
Brad Pitt – Babel
Mark Wahlberg – The Departed

Best Animated Feature Film
Cars *
Happy Feet
Monster House

Best Foreign Languge Film
Apocalypto (United States)
Letters From Iwo Jima (Japan, United States) *
The Lives Of Others (Germany)
Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico)
Volver (Spain)

Best Director - Motion Picture
Clint Eastwood – Flags Of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood – Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears – The Queen
Alejandro Iñárritu – Babel
Martin Scorsese – The Departed *

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Babel
The Departed
Little Children
Notes On A Scandal
The Queen *

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
The Painted Veil *
The Fountain
Babel
Nomad
The Da Vinci Code

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
"A Father's Way" – The Pursuit Of Happyness
Music By: Seal and Christopher Bruce
Lyrics By: Seal

"Listen" – Dreamgirls
Music & Lyrics By: Henry Krieger, Anne Preven, Scott Cutler and Beyoncé Knowles

"Never Gonna Break My Faith" – Bobby
Music & Lyrics By: Eliot Kennedy, Andrea Remanda and Bryan Adams

"The Song Of The Heart" – Happy Feet *
Music & Lyrics By: Prince Rogers Nelson

"Try Not To Remember" – Home Of The Brave
Music & Lyrics By: Sheryl Crow

* denotes winner

Film Fan Fridays for Friday January 5th, 2007!!

2007-01-06T02:25:00.000-05:00

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!!!

Happy New Year Everyone! One thing you can count on with the first week of releases is it is always nice and quiet. After all the holiday blockbusters and holding-out-for-as-long-as-they-can Oscar hopefuls, the beginning of the new year of releases are a lot calmer. Only 3 releases this week, and no Canadian (boohoo!) but they are varied so hopefully we will all find something out there that is interesting.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday January 5th, 2007 Releases

Freedom Writers
Writer/Dir: Richard LaGravenese (Living Out Loud)
Cast: Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, Kristin Herrera
Germany/USA

Happily N'Ever After
Dir: Paul J. Bolger - directorial debut
Voices: Sigourney Weaver, Freddie Prince Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, George Carlin
USA/Germany

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Dir: Tom Tykwer (Heaven, The Princess and the Warrior, Run Lola Run)
Cast: Alan Rickman, Dustin Hoffman, Ben Whishaw, Richard Felix
Germany/France/Spain
Limited Release

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Jan 5, 2007**