Film Fan Fridays for Friday January 28, 2011

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday January 28, 2011! You know what time of year it is? Countdown to Oscar's time! The nominations were announced this past Tuesday and as per tradition I have my three lists up of full nominations, as well as film list with nominations detailed and straight-up films list, and it's very exciting to see the Canadian film Incendies nominated for best foreign language film of the year. This year I've actually done pretty well in preparation as I've seen 21 of the 41 feature films nominated, and only think I can/will/need to see an additional 2-3 films before the show on Feb 27, 2011. How did you do this year?

In limited release we have three films hitting the theatres including some theatre and Oscar competition to Incendies with the highly acclaimed and Oscar nominated Dogtooth / Kynodontas which is up for Best foreign language film of the year for Greece (in a real first, Dogtooth / Kynodontas actually hit DVD release earlier this week before it's theatrical debut here in Toronto). We also have our second Canadian release of the year, Casino Jack which is a crime/comedy inspired by true events starring Kevin Spacey as a Washington DC Lobbyist. Last up for limited release is the Thursday January 27, 2011 release of the documentary The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector.

In wide release this week we have two biggies going head to head with the heist/action flick The Mechanic starring Jason Statham (The Expendables), Ben Foster (Pandorum, 3:10 to Yuma (2007)) and Donald Sutherland and the supernatural horror film The Rite starring Colin O'Donoghue, Anthony Hopkins and Ciarán Hinds and reminds me of a cross between themes in Stigmata & The Last Exorcism which means I have to see it. To be honest, I strongly want to see both of them! Rounding out the wide releases is the Bollywood comedy Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji, which recently received an rating from the film board in India which limits the film to adults after the director refused to cut certain scenes, and now this film has got me curious too! Another week with a great selection of films!

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

The 8 Fest Small-Gauge Film Festival
A festival focusing on small-gauge film including 8mm, Super 8, 9.5mm, loops and zoetropes
January 28 - 30, 2011 at Trash Palace in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Special Screenings

Canada's Top Ten 2010
Continues until February 1, 2011 at TIFF Lightbox, see here for more information

Thunder Soul
This month's selection for the monthly Doc Soup screening by Hot Docs is the funk music documentary focus directed by Mark Landsman. Thunder Soul screens Wednesday February 2, 2011 at 6:30 and 9:15PM at The Bloor, more info on the screening here.

Advance Screening

The sport documentary Chasing Legends has advance screenings around town on Wednesday Feb 2, 2011 at Varsity, Eglinton Town Center and other locations - check local listings for more details. This one feels really super advances, as there is no official film site or IMDb page!

Thursday January 27, 2011 Releases

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector
Dir: Vikram Jayanti (Snowblind)
Documentary
USA/UK
Limited Release
No Official Film Site Found, IMDb Page, Trailer

Friday January 28, 2011 Releases

Casino Jack
Dir: George Hickenlooper (Factory Girl, Hearts of Darkness)
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Barry Pepper, Kelly Preston, Jon Lovitz, Rachelle Lefevre
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji
Dir: Madhur Bhandarkar (Traffic Signal, Chandni Bar)
Cast: Tisca Chopra, Shradha Das, G.K. Desai, Ajay Devgan
India
No Official Film Site Found, Wikipedia Page, IMDb Page, Trailer

Dogtooth / Kynodontas
Dir: Giorgos Lanthimos (Kinetta, My Best Friend)
Cast: Christos Stergioglou, Michele Valley, Aggeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni, Hristos Passalis, Anna Kalaitzidou
Greece
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Mechanic
Dir: Simon West (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Con Air)
Cast: Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland, Tony Goldwyn, Jeff Chase, Mini Anden
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Rite
Dir: Mikael Håfström (1408, Derailed)
Cast: Colin O'Donoghue, Anthony Hopkins, Ciarán Hinds, Alice Braga, Toby Jones, Rutger Hauer
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of January 28, 2011**