Film Fan Fridays for Friday March 5, 2010

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday March 5, 2010! Huge week this weeks with the Spirit Awards tonight and the Oscars coming up on Sunday! I can't believe it is already here, I barely made a dent in the films I hadn't seen yet but planned to before the awards. I think I was too busy watching the Olympics and cheering on all the skeleton competitors, speed skaters and of course, the curlers. But back to movies. Earlier this week we had the Genie nominations announcement and the heavy hitter is the weighty Polytechnique with 11 nominations. Wow. Great to see Pontypool is up for three nominations included Stephen McHattie for Lead Actor. If you need refresher on nominees check out: Spirit Awards noms, Oscar noms and Genie noms.

In limited release this week we have an awesome selection with 5 films, and all have an strong emotional pull. First up is Sean Garrity's Zooey & Adam which deals with hugely emotional issues in terms of personal relationships journeys. Next up is At Home by Myself ...with You which takes a comedic look at relationships and phobias. We also have Helen starring Ashely Judd which deals with depression. Just before the Oscars we have a release of one of the foreign language film nominees hitting the screens with the highly acclaimed A Prophet / Un prophète from director Jacques Audiard. Last up for limited releases is The Ghost Writer, which I thought wouldn't be released for a while because I've only ever seen one poster for this Roman Polanski directed film starring Pierce Brosnan & Ewan McGregor.

In wide release this week we have just 2 releases but they are both really big. Let's start with what feels like the most enthusiastically anticipated film of the year so far with Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010), and if there is someone to take us to fantastical lands it's always a treat to go there with the people like Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Michael Sheen. Also in wide release is the dark crime/cop film Brooklyn's Finest from director Antoine Fuqua (King Arthur, Training Day, The Replacement Killers) and starring Don Cheadle, Wesley Snipes Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke. I usually shy away from crime films these days but this one has me hooked. In fact, this week I want to see each and every one of our 7 releases!

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Cinéfranco Youth & Family Program
Continues until March 10, 2010 at The Bloor Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Continues until March 6, 2010 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

World of Comedy Film Festival
March 5 - 7, 2010 at Innis Town Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Friday March 5, 2010 Releases

Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Dir: Tim Burton (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands)
Cast: Mia Wakikowska, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Sheen, Christopher Lee, Alan Rickman, Crispin Glover
USA
Official Website, IMDb Page, Trailer

At Home by Myself ...with You
Dir: Kris Booth - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Kristen Booth, Aaron Abrams, Rosemary Dunsmore, Raoul Bhaneja, Shauna MacDonald, Ryan Blakely, Gordon Pinsett
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Brooklyn's Finest
Dir: Antoine Fuqua (King Arthur, Training Day, The Replacement Killers)
Cast: Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Wesley Snipes, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ellen Barkin, Lili Taylor
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Ghost Writer
Dir: Roman Polanski (The Pianist, The Ninth Gate, Chinatown)
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Jon Bernthal, James Belushi
France/UK/Germany
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Helen
Writer/Dir: Sandra Nettelbeck (Sergeant Pepper, Bella Martha)
Cast: Ashley Judd, Goran Visnjic, Lauren Lee Smith, Alexia Fast
USA/UK/Canada/Germany
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

A Prophet / Un prophète
Dir: Jacques Audiard (De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté / The Beat That My Heart Skipped)
Cast: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup
France/Italy
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Zooey & Adam
Writer/Dir: Sean Garrity (Lucid)
Cast: Daria Puttaert, Tom Keenan
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 March 5, 2010**