Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 1, 2008!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 1, 2008! We have a lot to cover this week so let's get this party started!

First off we had the Genie nominations announced earlier this week. Topping the nominations are Shake Hands with the Devil and Eastern Promises both with 12 noms, including best picture. Rounding out the Best Motion Picture nominations are L'âge des ténèbres, Away From Her and Continental, un Film sans Fusil. I was surprized and delighted to realize that I have seen 4/5 of those nominations, whereas I've seen 0/5 of the Best Picture Oscar nominations. Full listings of Genie Nominations can be found here in various formats. Congratulations to all the nominees!

That takes us to this week's releases. As we fall into step with February, the romantic films walk along side us. Although both of this weeks romantic films appear to really be romantic comedies: Love and Other Dilemmas and Over Her Dead Body. I wonder if they will last until the 14th.

Our limited releases include the Canadian Love and Other Dilemmas and two music films: Honeydripper which looks rather charming and is set in Alabama in the 1950's, and we also have Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten a documentary focusing on the frontman to The Clash.

The wide releases this week include The Eye which is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Gin gwai, and has some visual similarities to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly which is strange as The Eye is a horror flick, not a drama but they are both about sight. We also have Over Her Dead Body and Strange Wilderness which has an outdoor reality tv meets Mystery Science Theatre 3000 vibe to it.

Special Advance Screening
Up The Yangtze / 沿江⽽上, a documentary centred around the displacement of families due to the Three Gorges Dam megaproject in China. The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is presenting the screening on Sunday February 3/08, 4:30 PM at Empire Theatres at Empress Walk, 5095 Yonge Street in Toronto with filmmaker Yung Chang (張僑勇) in attendance. Check Reel Asian site for ticket information. This event is also a fundraiser and half the proceeds will to go the Yu Family, whose story is shown in the film. Support for the Yu Family can also be made at this website. Up the Yangtze will be in regular release is Friday February 8th, 2008.

Festival Watch

1st Annual Toronto-Romanian Film Festival
February 1-3, 2008 at Innis Town Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
http://toroartsgroup.com/

The Reel Paddling Film Festival Presented by The Complete Paddler, showing films on canoeing and kayaking
Thursday February 7th, 2008 at The Bloor Cinema, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
www.completepaddler.ca

Have a great week!

Shannon

Friday February 1, 2008 Releases

The Eye
Dir: David Moreau & Xavier Palud (Ils / Them)
Cast: Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola, Parker Posey
USA
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer pretty decent in terms of being not too spoilery

Honeydripper
Writer/Dir: John Sayles (Casa de los babys, Lone Star, The Secret of Roan Inish)
Cast: Danny Glover, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Yaya DaCosta, Sean Patrick Thomas, Charles S. Dutton, Gary Clark Jr.
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten
Dir: Julien Temple (Glastonbury, Pandaemonium, Earth Girls are Easy)
Documentary on The Clash frontman Joe Strummer
Ireland/UK
Limited Release
Official Film Site (autoplays music), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer spoiler free til 1/2 way point if you aren't familiar with subject matter.

Love and Other Dilemmas
Dir: Larry Di Stefano - feature film debut
Cast: Gabrielle Miller, Stephen Lobo, Fred Ewanuick, Janet Wright, John Cassini, Erin Karpluk
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page
First third of trailer spoiler free, I couldn't load the rest of it (pictures on official site give some of the plot away)

Over Her Dead Body
Writer/Dir: Jeff Lowell - directorial debut
Cast: Lake Bell, Paul Rudd, Eva Longoria Parker, Jason Biggs
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
You get the gist of it by the 1/2 way point of the trailer, after which it's got some spoilers

Strange Wilderness
Dir: Fred Wolf - directorial debut
Cast: Steve Zahn, Justin Long, Allen Covert, Jonah Hill, Ashley Scott
USA
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of February 1, 2008**