Film Fan Fridays for Friday October 10, 2008!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday October 10, 2008! We are in for one full week of releases, festivals and special screenings (Thing-Fest has my eye this week!). The full of film fun will continue throughout October and into November as there are many festivals and events to come.

In limited release this week we have one release but it has the energy of many. All Together Now is an awesome documentary that shows the collaborative process of putting together the Cirque de Soleil show "LOVE" which was based on Beatles music. Talk about a fantastic bridging of art!

In wide release this week we have five releases from fantasy, comedy, intrigue, inspiration to horror. City of Ember fills in the fantasy slot with the story of an underground city that is racing against the clock, starring Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Bill Murray and Tim Robbins. Our inspirational and based on a true story film is The Express. We also have the latest from Ridley Scott with Body of Lies, which is the third in a row Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe film this one being a political thriller. Next up is the comedy entry for the week, An American Carol, which appears to be a fictional but pulling a page from the mockumentary book and then stapling it to the story of A Christmas Carol. Last up is Quarantine, which looks like a shot for shot remake of the excellent horror film [REC]. I'd highly recommend finding a way to see [REC] and avoid all trailers, print shots, etc. of Quarantine as all it's promotional content so far is extreme spoiler territory which is such a shame as the original film is so good.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
Celebrating works of Indigenous peoples from around the world
October 15 - 19, 2008, at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Japanese Short Film Festival
Continues until October 10, 2008 at Innis Town Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Special Screenings

Toronto Film Challenge
Results of the Fall 24 hour Horror challenge will be revealed!
Friday October 10, 2008 at 7 & 9:00PM at The Bloor, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Thing
Dir: John Carpenter
Cast: Kurt Russell, Keith David, Thomas Waites, Joel Polis
USA, 1982
Screening: Thursday October 16, 2008 at 9:30PM at The Bloor, presented by Rue Morgue and Outpost #31. Screening is a part of Thing-Fest 2008 which is an annual celebration of The Thing including screening of the film as well as memorabilia on display. Actor Thomas Waites (Windows) will be in attendance for a Q&A and autograph signing.


Advance Screening

Sex Drive, a comedy directed by Sean Anders and starring Josh Zuckerman, Amanda Crew, James Marsden and Seth Green is having advance screenings on Saturday October 11, 2008 at various locations in Toronto starting at 7 or 7:30pm. Sex Drive opens in regular release on October 17, 2008. See the trailer here (spoiler free).

Wednesday October 8, 2008 Releases

RocknRolla
Wirter/Dir: Guy Ritchie (Revolver, Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels)
Cast: Gerard Butler, Jeremy Piven, Thandie Newton, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Ludacris/Chris Bridges
UK
Limited Release
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
You get the gist of the film by the halfway point

Friday October 10, 2008 Releases

All Together Now
Dir: Adrian Willis
Documentary on the creating the Cirque de Soliel show "LOVE" based on Beatles Music
Canada
Limited Release
No Official Film Site or IMDb Page found, Trailer
Trailers are spoiler free

An American Carol
Dir: David Zucker (Scary Movie 3, Scary Movie 4, Ruthless People, Top Secret!)
Cast: Kevin Farley, Kelsey Grammer, Chriss Anglin, Dennis Hopper, Leslie Neilson
USA
Official Film Site(autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer is spoiler free

Body of Lies
Dir: Ridley Scott (American Gangster, Kingdom of Heaven, Thelma & Louise, Alien)
Cast: Russell Crowe, Leonardo Dicaprio
USA
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer is spoiler free until the halfway point

City of Ember
Dir: Gil Kenan (Monster House)
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Murray
USA
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer is spoiler free

The Express
Dir: Gary Fleder (Runaway Jury, The Imposter)
Cast: Rob Brown, Dennis Quaid, Omar Benson Miller,Darrin Dewitt Henson, Charles S. Dutton
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer spoiler free until 3/4 the way through

Quarantine
Dir: John Erick Dowdle (The Poughkeepsie Tapes)
Cast: Jennifer Carpenter, Johnathon Schaech, Steve Harris, Jay Hernandez, Dania Ramirez
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer spoiler free for first fifth, then it is the biggest spoiler trailer I've ever seen showing numerous key surprize moments in the film

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of October 10, 2008**