Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 5, 2009!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 5, 2009! We have so many films to choose from this week and although May was blockbuster'o'rama month, June starts off with a fantastic selection of festival circuit films dropping into our laps!

In limited release this week we have a few festival award winners in our midst with the Czech Republic/UK co-pro Empties as well as O'Horten which has that odd-but-funny-but-really-it-looks-touching tone to it, you know? We also have the triptych Tokyo! hot off the heels of its spot at the Over the Top Festival and I for one am looking forward to seeing it - just the idea of a film with contributions from both Bong Jo-Hoon (The Host / Gwoemul) and Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) is enough to get me in a seat! If you are looking for documentaries, we have two sections this week: aptly named The English Surgeon and Waterlife which takes a look at the beauty as well as environmental state of the Great Lakes. As a special treat, Waterlife will have a Q&A with director Kevin McMahon at the Friday June 5, 2009 screening at 6:50pm at Varsity Cinemas.

In wide release this week is all comedies. Starting with My Life in Ruins and then we have two films that seem to be pitching to the same audience: Land of the Lost (goofy sci-fi)and The Hangover (goofy-oops-we-got-drunk). I was *this* close to given Land of the Lost a chance but then saw the preview where the female character gets 'grabbed' for comedic effect. No laugh from me, and certainly won't be seeing that - especially with so much more to choose from.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Silver Screens Arts Festival
Festival showcasing seniors voice in the arts
Continues until June 7, 2009, at various location in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Special Screening

Woodstock
In celebration of the 40th Anniversary, the 3h53 min directors cut will be shown at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto on Monday June 8, 2009 at 7pm. More info here.

Friday June 5, 2009 Releases

Empties / Vratné lahve
Dir: Jan Sverák (Kolya / Kolja)
Cast: Zdenek Sverák, Tatiana Vilhelmová, Daniela Kolárová, Alena Vránová, Jirí Machácek, Miroslav Táborský, Martin Pechlát
Czech Republic/UK
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

The English Surgeon
Dir: Geoffrey Smith - feature film directorial debut
Documentary on English surgeon Henry Marsh
UK
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

The Hangover
Dir: Todd Phillips (Old School, Road Trip, Starsky & Hutch)
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Zach Galifianakis, Sasha Barrese, Mike Tyson, Heather Graham, Jeffrey Tambor
USA
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Land of the Lost
Dir: Brad Silberling (Moonlight Mile, Lemony Snicket's A Series on Unfortunate Events)
Cast: Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Anna Friel
USA
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

My Life in Ruins
Dir: Donald Petrie (Miss Congeniality, Grumpy Old Men)
Cast: Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Alex Georgoulis, Alistair McGowan
USA/Spain
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

O'Horten
Writer/Dir: Bent Hamer (Factotum)
Cast: Bård Owe, Espen Skjønberg, Ghita Nørby
Norway/Germany/France
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

TOKYO!
Dirs: Leos Carax (Pola X), Bong Jo-Hoon (The Host / Gwoemul), Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
Triptych film including the following segments: Interior Design, Merde and Shaking Tokyo
France/Japan/Germany/South Korea
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Waterlife
Dir: Kevin McMahon
Environmental documentary on the Great Lakes
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of June 5, 2009**