Film Fan Fridays for Friday August 1, 2008!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday August 1, 2008! We have two sets of releases this week with 6 on Friday and another 3 next week on Wednesday. To jump the gun even more I'm going to talk about a November release as I can't help but share the news that the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince trailer has arrived. Trailer is spoiler free until the halfway point. Enjoy!

In limited release this Friday we have lots of films to choose from and three of those are documentaries! There have been tons of docs this year, which is such a treat! First up is American Teen, which follows the lives of 5 teens through their last year of high school where each teen is a 'type' in the John Hughes Breakfast Club way. Sounds good to me, I've had this film earmarked ever since it received rave reviews at Sundance 2008. Next up for docs is The Last Continent, with its goal set on Antarctica and looks gorgeous to boot. Last of the docs is The World According to Monsonto a look into the research behind genetically modified food, the truth is scarier than fiction my friends. Our non doc is Closing the Ring which is a remembrance historical romance film, hey I think I made up a new genre name! It stars Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Neve Campbell and is directed by Richard Attenbourough. I have no idea why this film has such minimal marketing, I had to dig pretty deep to find it was even playing at all!

We have two wide releases for this Friday with The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor which looks looks more interesting to the previous films of the series and has added Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh to the cast. We also have Swing Vote an American political comedy.

Looking forward to the not to distant future are a few mid week releases next Wednesday August 6, 2008. In limited release is Bottle Shock a film based on true events of France vs California wine tasting in the 70's starring Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman. The wide releases include The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2 which looks to be a promising follow up to the original touching film and finally David Gordon Green's stoner comedy The Pineapple Express.

Have a great Caribana weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Island Soul
Celebration of Caribbean culture
August 1 - August 4, 2008, at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Friday August 1, 2008 Releases

American Teen
Dir: Nanette Burstein (The Kid Stays in the Picture, On the Ropes)
Documentary
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer spoiler free until halfway point

Closing the Ring
Dir: Richard Attenborough (Shadowlands, Cry Freedom, A Chorus Line, Gandhi)
Cast: Shirly MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Neve Campbell, David Alpay, Mischa Barton, Gregory Smith, Pete Postlethwaite
UK/Canada/USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
You get the gist of the film by the halfway point

The Last Continent / Le Dernier Continent
Dir: Jean Lemire (The White Planet / La Planète blanche)
Documentary
Canada/France
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, French Trailer
Trailer spoiler free

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Dir: Rob Cohen (Stealth, The Fast and the Furious, Daylight)
Cast: Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Maria Bello, John Hannah
Germany/Canada/USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer is spoiler free until the halfway point, after that it shows a lot of the footage

Swing Vote
Dir: Joshua Michael Stern (Neverwas)
Cast: Kevin Costner, Madeline Carroll, Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper
USA
Official Film Site (autoplays music) , IMDb Page, Trailer
You get the gist of the film by the halfway point, and I couldn't make myself watch the rest....

The World According to Monsanto / Le Monde selon Monsanto
Dir: Marie-Monique Robin
Documentary
France/Canada/Germany
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Wednesday August 6, 2008 Releases

Bottle Shock
Dir: Randall Miller (The Sixth Man, Nobel Son)
Cast: Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, Rachael Taylor, Eliza Dushku, Bill Pullman
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
You get the gist of the film by the halfway point

Pineapple Express
Dir: David Gordon Green (Snow Angels, All the Real Girls)
Cast: Seth Rogen, James Franco
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer is spoiler free until two thirds in, however not offensive free

The Sisterhood at the Travelling Pants 2
Dir: Sanaa Hamri (Something New)
Cast: Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn
USA
Official Film Site (autoplays spoilery trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer (spoiler free)

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of August 6, 2008**