Film Fan Fridays for Friday October 16, 2009!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday October 16, 2009! As the weather turns colder in the T-dot there are lots of choices to hide away in the theatre this week. We have 11 new releases including the highly anticipated Where the Wild Things Are and A Serious Man, along with 8 festivals and 2 special screenings. What are you interested in seeing?

In limited release this week we have 5 films to choose from. First up we see Guillermo Arriaga, writer of Babel and 21 Grams step into the directing chair with The Burning Plain, starring Kim Basinger and Charlize Theron as mother/daughter in the drama focused on love and healing past relationship difficulties. We also have the Canadian Eating Buccaneers, noted as a combination of The Office and Lord of the Flies. Also in release is Yoo-Hoo Mrs. Goldberg a documentary on Gertrude Berg and Bollywood film Main Aurr Mrs. Khanna. Last up is A Serious Man, the latest from The Coen Brothers which I'm surprized to see is only in limited release given their track record and high praise for the film so far.

In wide release this week we have what I think is safe to say one of the most anticipated films of the year with Where the Wild Things Are, an adaptation of the beloved children's book by Maurice Sendak. Also seeing a lot of excitement is Paranormal Activity which has a limited screenings last week but after hitting 1,000,000 demands on it's website the film has now opened in wide release. We also have The Damned United, starring Michael Sheen as football manager Brian Clough in a sport biopic set in late 60's/early 70's following the United Team. Continuing with the real theme with have Good Hair, a documentary which follows Chris Rock as he explores African American hairstyles. Back to the land of fiction we have Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler duke it out logistically in the thriller Law Abiding Citizen and finally The Stepfather a horror film that is, shock-shock, a remake of a 1987 film of the same name.

Stay warm and have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Darryl's Hard Liquor & Porn Film Festival
October 17, 2009 at The Bloor Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Est Docs
Estonian Documentary Film Festival
October 16 - 23, 2009 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
Celebrating works of Indigenous peoples from around the world
Continues until October 18, 2009 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Macedonian Film Festival
Continues on October 17 &18, 2009 at Innis Town Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Moving Image Film Festival
This festival focus is to welcome fusion and clash of different genres and the experimentation of moving images
October 16 - 18, 2009 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Planet in Focus Film Festival
International Environmental Film and Video Festival
October 21 - 25, 2009 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Snowboard Canada Film Festival
October 16 - 17, 2009 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Israel Film Festival
October 18 - 22, 2009 at the Sheppard Grande Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Special Screening

The September Issue, a documentary on the assembly the fall 2007 Vogue by the editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. Directed by R.J. Cutler (A Perfect Candidate). Screening as a part of Doc Soup on Wednesday October 21, 2009 at The Bloor at 6:30pm and 9:15pm. Screenings are sold out but visit here for more information on last minute tickets.
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam, a Canadian documentary following the progression of the Muslim punk scene. Directed by Omar Majeed. Screenings at The Royal on October 16, 17 and 19, 2009. See here for showtimes.
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Friday October 16, 2009 Releases

The Burning Plain
Writer/Dir: Guillermo Arriaga - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Kim Basinger, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lawrence, José María Yazpik, Joaquim de Almeida
USA/Argentina
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Damned United
Dir: Tom Hooper (Red Dust)
Cast: Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, Jim Broadbent
UK
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Eating Buccaneers
Writer/Dir: Bill Keenan - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Shannon Beckner, Leah Pinsent, Neil Crone, Peter Keleghan, Steven McCarthy, Jeff White
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Good Hair
Dir: Jeff Stilson - feature film directorial debut
Documentary following Chris Rock exploring African American hairstyles
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Law Abiding Citizen
Dir: F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job, A Man Apart)
Cast:Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, Colm Meaney
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Main Aurr Mrs. Khanna
Dir: Prem Soni - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Salman Khan, Govinda
India
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Paranormal Activity
Dir: Oren Peli - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Michael Bayouth
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

A Serious Man
Dir: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen (No Country for Old Men)
Cast: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, Adam Arkin, George Wyner
USA/UK/France
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Stepfather
Dir: Nelson McCormick (Prom Night (2008))
Cast: Penn Badgley, Sela Ward, Dylan Walsh, Amber Heard
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Where the Wild Things Are
Dir: Spike Jonze (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich)
Cast: Forest Whitaker, Catherine Keener, Catherine O'Hara, Lauren Ambrose, Paul Dano, James Gandolfini
USA
Official Film Site, Trailer, IMDb Page

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
Dir: Aviva Kempner (The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg)
Documentary on actress and screenwriter Gertrude Berg
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of October 16, 2009**