Film Fan Fridays for Friday October 8, 2010

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday October 8, 2010!

In limited release this week we have the chilling Deliver Us From Evil / Fri os fra det onde which is visually stunning as it explores the capacity for humans to be evil and features specular acting from Jens Andersen and Lasse Rimmer. We also have music-centric Le Concert and the documentary Return to El Salvador. Skipping back 1 day in time we also have limited releases out on Thursday October 7, 2010 with the biopic Howl, which focuses on Allan Ginsberg (played by James Franco) obscenity trial and the documentary Jean-Michel Basquait: The Radiant Child.

In wide release this week I'm suprized to see in this chilly month mostly light hearted fare including inadvertent god-parents comedy Life As We Know It, Disney feel-good based on a true story horse racing drama Secretariat and It's Kind of a Funny Story which is a comedy centred on a clinically depressed teenager from the folks that brought us Half Nelson and Sugar. If you are like me and can't wait for Halloween, the pick of the wide releases would have to be My Soul to Take from writer/director Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream) a supernatural toned thriller about a town with a dark history involving a serial killer And it's in 3D.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

EnRoute Film Festival 2010
Featuring short film from emerging Canadian filmmakers, which are broadcast on Air Canada
Wednesday October 13, 2010 at the Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Free admission on a first-come, first-serve basis

Planet in Focus Film Festival
International Environmental Film and Video Festival
October 13 - 17, 2010 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Hispano-American Film Festival
Spanish language film festival featuring dramas, comedies, and documentaries from Spanish speaking countries
October 7 - 16, 2010 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Palestine Film Festival
Continues until October 8, 2010 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Thursday October 7, 2010 Releases

Howl
Writer/Dirs: Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman (The Celluloid Closet)
Cast: James Franco, Jon Hamm, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeff Daniels, David Strathairn, Alessandro Nivola
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Jean-Michel Basquait: The Radiant Child
Dir: Tamra Davis (Crossroads, Half Baked, Billy Madison)
Documentary
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Friday October 8, 2010 Releases

Le Concert
Dir: Radu Mihaileanu (Live and Become, Train de vie)
Cast: Alexeï Guskov, Dmitri Nazarov, Mélanie Laurent, François Berléand, Miou-Miou, Valeri Barinov
France/Italy/Romania/Belgium/Russia
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Deliver Us From Evil / Fri os fra det onde
Dir: Ole Bornedal (I Am Dina, Just Another Love Story)
Cast: Lasse Rimmer, Lene Nystrom, Jens Andersen, Pernille Valentin, Mogens Pedersen
Denmark/Sweden/Norway
Limited Release
See more info & trailer at the Evokative Films Site, IMDb Page

It's Kind of a Funny Story
Dir: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck (Sugar)
Cast: Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts, Lauren Graham, Jeremy Davies
USA
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Life As We Know It
Dir: Greg Berlanti (The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy)
Cast: Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel, Josh Lucas
USA
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

My Soul to Take
Writer/Dir: Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream)
Cast:Max Theiriot, Emily Meade, John Magaro, Nick Lashaway, Denzel Whitaker, Shareeka Epps, Paulina Olszyinski
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Return to El Salvador
Dir: Jamie Moffett (Cornel West: A Dialogue on Race in the Church and Society)
Documentary
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Secretariat
Dir: Randall Wallace (We Were Soldiers, The Man in the Iron Mask )
Cast: Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Scott Glenn, Dylan Walsh, Dylan Baker, Margo Martindale, Nelsan Ellis
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of October 8, 2010**