Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!
Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday May 14, 2010! Looks like we are off to a big start to the summer season with the high grossing box office smash last week with Iron Man 2, although the reviews seemed a little lukewarm. Perhaps people will like this weeks Robin Hood better, straight from it's premiere at Cannes? Now that's an odd sentence. There are lots of choices this week for any film fan, in almost every genre.
In limited release this week we have 2 releases, starting with the South Korean drama/urban road movie My Dear Enemy / Meotjin haru that is not only visually stunning but also features subtle and beautiful performances from Jeon Do-Youn (Secret Sunshine) and Ha Jung-Woo (The Chaser). We also have the highly acclaimed Mother and Child (84% on Rotten Tomatoes and 65 on Metacritic) starring Annette Benning, Naomi Watts and Samuel L. Jackson.
In wide release this week we have 5 releases starting with the release of the hilarious Canadian film The Trotsky, which stars Jay Baruchel as a Montreal high school student who is convinced he is the re-incarnation of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. I kid you not. Next up is Mao's Last Dancer, a breathtaking biopic of dancer Li Cunxin (played by Chi Cao), based on the autobiography of the same name. Seeing the trailer alone can move me to tears. I had a chance to see Mao's Last Dancer at TIFF'09, which included a great introduction and Q&A with writer Jan Sardi that you can see here. Also in release is the sweet drama/romance Letters to Juliet starring Amanda Seyfreid and the ever lovely Vanessa Redgrave. Also out in wide release is the basketball themed romcom Just Wright starring Queen Latifah & Common and of course the biggie of the week is Ridley Scott's Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe & Cate Blanchett.
New theatre alert: Toronto Underground Cinema
Located at 186 Spadina (Queen & Spadina) and underground as the title would indicate, we have a new theatre in T-dot. Grand opening is tonight, Friday May 14, 2010 with a double bill of Clue and Big Trouble in Little China. Now, these are my kind of people, and we are in good company with over 1000 RSVP's to the 700 seat theatre according to their Facebook group. Sunday night is a Jim Henson appreciation night featuring Muppets Take Manhattan and Labyrinth. I look forward to hearing what else they dream up and of course, checking out the theatre itself!
Have a great weekend!
Shannon
Festival Watch
20th Annual Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival
May 20 - 30, 2010 in various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ryerson University Film Festival
5th annual presentation of films by the graduating class at Ryerson University
May 14 - 16, 2010 at The Royal in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Toronto Russian Film Festival (TRFF)
May 14 - 16, 2010 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Friday May 14, 2010 Releases
Just Wright
Dir: Sanaa Hamri (The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2)
Cast: Queen Latifah, Common, Paula Patton, Pam Grier
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Dir: Gary Winick (Bride Wars, 13 Going on 30)
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Egan, Gael García Bernal, Franco Nero
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Mao's Last Dancer
Dir: Bruce Beresford (Evelyn, Black Robe, Crimes of the Heart)
Cast: Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan, Joan Chen, Amanda Schull
Australia
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page, Trailer
Mother and Child
Writer/Dir: Rodrigo García (Passengers, "In Treatment")
Cast: Annette Benning, Naomi Watts, Samuel L. Jackson, Eileen Ryan, Jimmy Smits
USA/Spain
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
My Dear Enemy / Meotjin haru
Dir: Lee Yoon-ki (Ad Lib Night / Aju teukbyeolhan sonnim, Love Talk / Reobeu tokeu)
Cast: Jeon Do-Youn, Ha Jung-woo
South Korea
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Robin Hood (2010)
Dir: Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator)
Cast: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Oscar Isaac, Mark Strong, Kevin Durand, Scott Grimes, Alan Doyle, Max von Sydow, William Hurt, Eileen Atkins, Matthew Macfadyen, Mark Addy
USA/UK
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
The Trotsky
Writer/Dir: Jacob Tierney (Twist)
Cast: Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Saul Rubinek, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Michael Murphy, Taylor Baruchel, Colm Feore, Geneviève Bujold, Kaniehtiio Horn, Ricky Mabe
Canada
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of May 14, 2010**
Film Fan Fridays for Friday May 14, 2010!
Film Fan Fridays for Friday May 14, 2010!
Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!
Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday May 14, 2010! Looks like we are off to a big start to the summer season with the high grossing box office smash last week with Iron Man 2, although the reviews seemed a little lukewarm. Perhaps people will like this weeks Robin Hood better, straight from it's premiere at Cannes? Now that's an odd sentence. There are lots of choices this week for any film fan, in almost every genre.
In limited release this week we have 2 releases, starting with the South Korean drama/urban road movie My Dear Enemy / Meotjin haru that is not only visually stunning but also features subtle and beautiful performances from Jeon Do-Youn (Secret Sunshine) and Ha Jung-Woo (The Chaser). We also have the highly acclaimed Mother and Child (84% on Rotten Tomatoes and 65 on Metacritic) starring Annette Benning, Naomi Watts and Samuel L. Jackson.
In wide release this week we have 5 releases starting with the release of the hilarious Canadian film The Trotsky, which stars Jay Baruchel as a Montreal high school student who is convinced he is the re-incarnation of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. I kid you not. Next up is Mao's Last Dancer, a breathtaking biopic of dancer Li Cunxin (played by Chi Cao), based on the autobiography of the same name. Seeing the trailer alone can move me to tears. I had a chance to see Mao's Last Dancer at TIFF'09, which included a great introduction and Q&A with writer Jan Sardi that you can see here. Also in release is the sweet drama/romance Letters to Juliet starring Amanda Seyfreid and the ever lovely Vanessa Redgrave. Also out in wide release is the basketball themed romcom Just Wright starring Queen Latifah & Common and of course the biggie of the week is Ridley Scott's Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe & Cate Blanchett.
New theatre alert: Toronto Underground Cinema
Located at 186 Spadina (Queen & Spadina) and underground as the title would indicate, we have a new theatre in T-dot. Grand opening is tonight, Friday May 14, 2010 with a double bill of Clue and Big Trouble in Little China. Now, these are my kind of people, and we are in good company with over 1000 RSVP's to the 700 seat theatre according to their Facebook group. Sunday night is a Jim Henson appreciation night featuring Muppets Take Manhattan and Labyrinth. I look forward to hearing what else they dream up and of course, checking out the theatre itself!
Have a great weekend!
Shannon
Festival Watch
20th Annual Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival
May 20 - 30, 2010 in various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ryerson University Film Festival
5th annual presentation of films by the graduating class at Ryerson University
May 14 - 16, 2010 at The Royal in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Toronto Russian Film Festival (TRFF)
May 14 - 16, 2010 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Friday May 14, 2010 Releases
Just Wright
Dir: Sanaa Hamri (The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2)
Cast: Queen Latifah, Common, Paula Patton, Pam Grier
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Dir: Gary Winick (Bride Wars, 13 Going on 30)
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Egan, Gael García Bernal, Franco Nero
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Mao's Last Dancer
Dir: Bruce Beresford (Evelyn, Black Robe, Crimes of the Heart)
Cast: Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan, Joan Chen, Amanda Schull
Australia
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page, Trailer
Mother and Child
Writer/Dir: Rodrigo García (Passengers, "In Treatment")
Cast: Annette Benning, Naomi Watts, Samuel L. Jackson, Eileen Ryan, Jimmy Smits
USA/Spain
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
My Dear Enemy / Meotjin haru
Dir: Lee Yoon-ki (Ad Lib Night / Aju teukbyeolhan sonnim, Love Talk / Reobeu tokeu)
Cast: Jeon Do-Youn, Ha Jung-woo
South Korea
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Robin Hood (2010)
Dir: Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator)
Cast: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Oscar Isaac, Mark Strong, Kevin Durand, Scott Grimes, Alan Doyle, Max von Sydow, William Hurt, Eileen Atkins, Matthew Macfadyen, Mark Addy
USA/UK
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
The Trotsky
Writer/Dir: Jacob Tierney (Twist)
Cast: Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Saul Rubinek, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Michael Murphy, Taylor Baruchel, Colm Feore, Geneviève Bujold, Kaniehtiio Horn, Ricky Mabe
Canada
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of May 14, 2010**
AMC Yonge & Dundas
I'm a downtown Toronto movie goer and I have my list of theatres I go to on a regular basis. Between Paramount/Scotiabank, Carlton and Cumberland you can pretty much see anything that's playing from blockbuster to Canadian to foreign and indie films. For special screenings, classics and catch-up to first run films add the Bloor to the roster and you're golden. But a strange thing happened back around Easter weekend when the AMC Yonge & Dundas opened and threw a wrench in the works. All of a sudden not all blockbusters were being shown at Paramount/Scotiabank! Some Canadian films weren't at the Carlton! My whole film world was thrown off kilter! Then it was announced that AMC Yonge & Dundas would have 10 theatres during TIFF'08! Well, it was time to get these stubborn heels undug from the ground and check out this new location.
It sure is easy to find I'll give it that! It's located on the northeast corner of Yonge & Dundas and right beside the subway exit. There is a Starbuck's right by the lobby and you can take your beverage into the theatre (until September 2008, at which point things may change - I'll keep you posted!). That is a major plus in my opinion, especially for a theatre that has screenings in the morning, more on that to come.
The box office is on ground level, as pictured above but the theatres are up, up and away on the upper two levels of the building. On the way you will find a Futureshop, Food Court and a few restaurants. This is a bonus as well, being able to grab a reasonable priced bite before, after or between screenings is always a plus.
Pretty snazzy on the inside, with movie quote and vintage images abound. Overall, has a pretty slick feel to it. Open, bright and spacious.
As for the theatres themselves, there are two that are in the 450 seats range and the remainder hover between approximately 130-280 seats. I've seen films in both types of theatres and they were both great. The chairs are nice and comfortable, seating is stadium style with spacious leg room for the tall folk out there. Picture and sound quality are great as well.
The only thing that was quite unexpected was the price. A regular screening is $13.00 which is the highest I've seen for a non-IMAX screening in Toronto. They do have a free membership program called Movie Watcher which once you get your card movie tickets are $11.00 which is a pretty big difference for a free sign up. The also have morning screenings (Friday-Sunday, plus holidays) for $6.00.
Overall, I was very impressed and will happily add this theatre to the roster of ones I frequent. Considering they show blockbusters, independent and Canadian film it's likely I will be there a lot!
What do you think of the AMC at Yonge & Dundas? What makes a difference to you in theatre going experience?