Film Fan Fridays for Friday January 7, 2011

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday January 7, 2011!

It's the first weekend of the year and in a striking change of pace from past years (2010 or 2009 especially), we start the year off with a weekend chock full of releases. Six whole titles when you add them up, a combination of limited & wide releases and a couple that were pushed from previous 2010 release dates. A mighty fine selection to start the year off right and a nice way to start listing the titles of the year, a process that started from a 'A-ha!' moment, and has turned into a tradition over the years.

In limited release this week we have two highly anticipated releases with the Ryan Gosling & Michelle Williams drama Blue Valentine which looks charming & quirky but it has been subjected to quite the controversy in terms of ratings and has an 18A here in Ontario. Curious to see that one. We also have Sofia Coppola's newest film Somewhere starring Stephan Dorff as a movie star who unexpectedly has to take care of his daughter. I'm sure many a Coppola fan will be looking to that one. We also have the highly acclaimed documentary Precious Life.

In wide release this week we have two titles bumped from 2010. First up is the long-awaited Season of the Witch which stars Nicolas Cage as a witch hunter, and looks like possibly a witch hunter with a heart. I'm a little leery considering the huge shift in release date and the fact that in historical set film witches usually have a rough ride, but hopefully Claire Foy's character will give us something new to see. I also know that with a supporting cast including Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and Ulrich Thomsen (Fear Me Not / Den du frygter), I won't be able to resist this one. Also irresistible for me will be Country Strong, which feels a lot like last years Crazy Heart but switching out Jeff Bridges for Gwyneth Paltrow. On paper it sounds like same old, same old, but the trailer hits my heart strong every single time. Country Strong also stars Garrett Hedlund (TRON: Legacy), Leighton Meester and Tim McGraw. Also out in wide release this week is the Bollywood film No One Killed Jessica.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Special Screening
B-Movie Fest at The Bloor
Every Monday in January The Bloor is having a double bill of B-Movies and this week they are showing the 1970 film I Drink Your Blood (more info & trailer) and the 1965 film Pit of Bloody Horror (more info & trailer) which will be both shown this upcoming January 10, 2011. Looks like a fun night to me!

Friday January 7, 2011 Releases

Blue Valentine
Dir: Derek Cianfrance (Brother Tied)
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Country Strong
Dir: Shana Feste (The Greatest)
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Garrett Hedlund, Leighton Meester, Tim McGraw
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

No One Killed Jessica
Dir: Raj Kumar Gupta (Aamir)
Cast: Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherjee, Rajesh Sharma
India
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Precious Life
Writer/Dir: Shlomi Eldar - feature film directorial debut
Documentary
USA/Israel
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Season of the Witch
Dir: Dominic Sena (Whiteout, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Swordfish)
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Claire Foy, Ulrich Thomsen
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Somewhere
Dir: Sofia Coppola (Marie Antoinette, Lost in Translation, The Virgin Suicides)
Cast: Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Chris Pontius, Michelle Monaghan
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 January 7, 2011**