Film Fan Fridays for Friday December 5, 2008

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday December 5, 2008! Welcome to the home stretch for 2008, with being the 4th last Fridays of releases of the year. Although I've not seen many top ten lists yet, awards season is upon us with Spirit Awards nominations announced earlier in the week and Canada's Top Ten and The Golden Globe nominations to be announced next week. Keep those highlighters handy!

All but one of the films this week are limited release this week starting with two Canadian films Adam's Wall a drama/romance that bridges the cross cultural divide and Down in the Dirt which is just off the Canadian film festival circuit. We also have the crime comedy Nobel Son starring Alan Rickman & Bryan Greenberg and A Touch of Spice which was first released in Greece in 2003. The last limited release of the week comes as a surprize, Frost/Nixon not only for the fact that it's starting on only one screen but also because it looks so compelling. I've never first in line for American historical political but the performances here by Frank Langella (Starting Out in the Evening) and Michael Sheen (The Queen) look formidable.

In wide release this week we have the sole release of Punisher: War Zone, directed by Lexi Alexander a kickboxing and karate champion! Yes, I did get that straight from her IMDb Page. The character of the Punisher has seen many incarnations, previously being played by Dolph Lungren in 1989 and Thomas Jane in 2004. It will be interesting to see Ray Stevenson take on the character.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday December 5, 2008 Releases

Adam's Wall
Writer/Dir: Michael MacKenzie (The Baroness and the Pig)
Cast: Jesse Aaron Dwyre, Flavia Bechara, Gagriel Gascon, Tyrone Benskin, Paul Ahmarani, Maxim Roy
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer feels spoiler free

Down in the Dirt
Dir: Justin Simms - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Joel Thomas Hynes, Mylene Savoie
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, No Trailer Found

Frost/Nixon
Dir: Ron Howard (Cinderella Man, A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13)
Cast: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell, Rebecca Hall, Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon
USA/UK/France
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
You get the gist of the film by the halfway point

Nobel Son
Dir: Randall Miller (Bottle Shock)
Cast: Bryan Greenberg, Alan Rickman, Eliza Dushku, Mary Steenburgen, Shawn Hatosy, Bill Pullman, Danny DeVito, Ted Danson
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
Spoiler free until the halfway point

Punisher: War Zone
Dir: Lexi Alexander (Hooligans)
Cast: Ray Stevenson, Dominic West, Doug Hutchison, Colin Salmon
USA/Canada/Germany
Official Film Site (autoplays music), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer is spoiler free

A Touch of Spice / Politiki kouzina
Writer/Dir: Tassos Boulmetis (The Dream Factory / Viotehnia oneiron)
Cast: Georges Corraface, Tassos Bandis, Ieroklis Michaelidis, Renia Louizidou
Greece/Turkey
Limited Release
No Trailer or Official Film Site Found, IMDb Page

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of December 5, 2008**