Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!
Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday March 16, 2012! We have a heck of a lot of films out in release this week and it's an especially good lot for documentary (and Sesame Street!) fans with The Bloor Hot Docs cinema opening it's doors for it's first week of regular releases.
In limited release this week we have 9 limited releases and I'm chopping at the bit to see King of Devil's Island / Kongen av Bastøy with Stellan Skarsgård set in prison in the early 20th century Norway which is playing at the Carlton. Then we hot over to The Bloor which re-opens it's doors with the documentary goodness of Being Elmo: A Puppeteers Journey centred on on Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash (I almost wrote "Muppeteer") as well as Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel a documentary on prolific independent B-movie filmmaker Roger Corman. There are more documenataries to go around including Jennifer Baichwal's Payback, which is based of the Margaret Atwood book Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth, Jiro Dreams of Sushi following a master sushi chef and The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jane following the transformation of Genesis P-Orridge and Lady Jaye Breyer P'Orridge to become more and more like each other. Getting to the more fictional we have Being Flynn which is actually based on a true story and then Off World which looks amazing and heartbreaking, and our comedy of the limited releases is Casa de mi Padre starring Will Ferrell.
In wide release this week we have 2 releases and the biggie is 21 Jump Street, a reboot of the 1980's TV show about cops going undercover to suss out the drug scene in high school and this new version starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill certainly is going for comedy as it's a approach and looks pretty good. Rounding out the releases is Jeff, Who Lives at Home starring Jason Segel and Ed Helms; directed by The Duplass Brothers (Cyrus, Baghead).
Have a great weekend!
Shannon
Festival Watch
Canadian Music Week Film Festival
March 21 - 25, 2012 at TIFF Lightbox in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Toronto Nepali Film Festival
March 17, 2012 at Innis Town Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Friday March 16, 2012 Releases
21 Jump Street
Dir: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs)
Cast: Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, Ice Cube
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jane
Dir: Marie Losier - feature film directorial debut
Documentary centred on Genesis P-Orridge, Lady Jaye Breyer P'Orridge
USA/Germany/UK/The Netherlands/Belgium/France
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Being Elmo: A Puppeteers Journey
Dir: Constance Marks (Green Chimneys)
Documentary on Elmo Puppeteer Kevin Clash
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Being Flynn
Dir: Paul Weitz (About a Boy, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, American Pie)
Cast: Robert De Niro, Paul Dano, Olivia Thirlby, Lili Taylor, Wes Studi, Julianne Moore
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Casa de mi Padre
Dir: Matt Piedmont
Cast: Will Ferrell, Diego Luna, Gael GarcÃa Bernal, Genesis Rodriguez, Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel
Dir: Alex Stapleton - feature film directorial debut
Documentary on Roger Corman
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Jeff, Who Lives at Home
Dirs: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass (Cyrus, Baghead)
Cast: Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Judy Greer, Susan Sarandon
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Dir: David Gelb - feature film directorial debut
Documentary
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
King of Devil's Island / Kongen av Bastøy
Dir: Marius Holst (Blodsbånd, Tito är död)
Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Benjamin Helstad, Kristoffer Joner
Norway/France/Sweden/Poland
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Off World
Writer/Dir: Mathieu Guez (Late Fragment)
Cast: Marc Abaya, Irma Adlawan, Marco Morales
Canada/Philippines
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Payback
Dir: Jennifer Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes, Act of God)
Documentary
Canada
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 March 16, 2012**
Film Fans Fridays for Friday March 16, 2012
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Over $70 Off: HMK Team Boa Focus Motorcycle Boots (Multiple Sizes)
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| List Price: | |
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| You Save: $74.46 (20%) | |
| Save over $70 on multiple sizes of HMK Team Boa Focus motorcycle boots while supplies last. These boots are built tough to take winter riding abuse. | |
| Expires Mar 16, 2012 |
Review & Description
An entirely new HMK design and construction process using the most progressive and technical components available. Extraordinary fit, remarkable performance, and undeniable style surpass the demands of HMK's professional snow cross racers on the track.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #222654 in Automotive
- Size: Size 11
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Features
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Movie Moxie Podcast 64: The Genies, John Carter, Let the Bullets Fly, NEVERLost & Dragonage Redemption
This week on the Movie Moxie Podcast Shannon shares the glory of The Genies, and provides spoiler free reviews of theatrically releases of John Carter and Let the Bullets Fly plus details DVD releases for the past 2 weeks including reviews of NEVERLost, The Son of No One & Dragonage Redemption. And there might even be a funny story in there too.
0:00 - 0:40 Intro
0:40 - 8:40 Genies 2012
8:40 - 16:15 John Carter
16:15 - 22:15 Let the Bullets Fly
22:15 - 25:30 Lancelot du Lac
25:30 - 29:10 March 6 2012 DVD releases including Dragon Age - Redemption Review
29:10 - 37:40 March 13 2012 DVD releases including NEVERLost & The Son of No One Reviews
37:40 - 38:40 Coming up Next Week
38:40 - 40:18 Outro
Show Notes:
- See this years Genie Winners
- See DVD releases for March 6, 2012 and March 13, 2012
- I mention the Cinéfranco Film Festival
- See recent Theatrical releases in my weekly Film Fan Fridays & DVD Releases in my DVD Tuesdays Post
You can also subscribe to the Movie Moxie Podcast here:
Subscribe through iTunes here.
Up next week: Cinéfranco Preview!
Fisher-Price Tree Party Cradle 'n Swing
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| Tree Party Cradle 'n Swing's comfy-cozy seat and head support cradle baby in cushy comfort as he swings in a side-to-side or front-to-back swinging motion. A sweet little canopy surrounds baby and sways along with the swing motion while 8 delightful songs & 2 nature sounds entertain. | |
| Expires Mar 28, 2012 |
Review & Description
The Starlight deluxe cradle swing features dual swinging modes; front to back traditional swinging motion and side-to-side cradle motion. The 2-position seat is composed of comfy, cozy fabric and geometry for a nest-like feel. The beautiful pink color way makes this the perfect girls swing. Three soft toys rotate above baby on the motorized mobile. There is also a dome overhead which projects a light show on the canopy. The swing has two music modes with 16 songs and two sound effects. Mom can customize baby's swinging experience by choosing motion only, music only, mobile only or any combination she prefers all on the soft touch control panel. Additionally there are 6 variable speeds, a 5 point safety restraint and secure steel frame that folds easily for convenient storage.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #12013 in Baby Product
- Color: Tree Party
- Brand: Fisher-Price
- Model: X2535
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Features
- 2 ways to swing including head-to-toe and side-to-side
- 2 position recline, 3 different seat positions and 6 swing speeds
- Motorized Mobile with 3 hanging soft toys, 16 songs and 2 nature sounds
- Removable canopy and AC Plus saves on batteries
- Legs fold for storage/portability
DVD Releases for March 13, 2012
Time to take a look at a selection of DVD releases for Tuesday March 13, 2012!
- Neverlost Really fascinating mind-bender thriller following a man caught between two world of the current and memory, questioning which is the better one of the imperfect choices. Very impressive performance by Ryan Barrett in the main role, & strongly recommend to speculative fiction fans (not currently available on amazon.com).
- The Three Musketeers Extremely fun adaptation of the dense adventure story by Alexandre Dumas which was our Book to Film Club selection from August 2011. Highly recommend for adventure-happy film folk.
- Monsieur Lazhar Genie-winning inspiring teacher films that I can't *wait* to see! (not currently available on amazon.com)
- Melancholia This film by Lars von Trier won me over with it's artistic vision, fantastic performance, and amazing fusion of the bizarre & the beautiful. One of my faves of 2011 (US price on Amazon.com is a STEAL at $13.49).
- My Week With Marilyn Michelle Williams stars as Marilyn Monroe is this curious biopic that follows her and Laurence Olivier (played by Kenneth Branagh) though the eyes of his employee (played by Eddie Redmayne). Recipe for awesome that I need to see.
- The Son of No One Channing Tatum stats in the cop/crime film centred on a now-adult trying to lead a quiet family life after growing up in the projects.
- Happy Feet 2 The dancing penguins return in the animated sequel.
- Young Adult stars Charlize Theron as a woman who returns to her home town to woo her high school crush, even though he's married with kids. Also stars Patton Oswald. I really want to see this one.
- The Swell Season concert/documentary film starring Oscar winning music duo from Once: Glen Handsard & Marketa Irglova.
- The Adventures of Tintin Animated adventure film based on the books of Tin Tin starring the voice talents of Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig & Andy Serkis.
- Loosies I am quite interested to see this New York set film written by Peter Facinelli, which he also stars in alongside Jaimie Alexander & Michael Madsen.
- The Descendants Highly acclaimed drama from director Alexander Payne (Sideways) starring George Clooney.
- The Guild Season 5 I haven't seen The Guild in a few seasons but I've loved every episode of this webseries following the lives behind players in a guild of a fictional MMORPG.
- Neverland Peter Pan fantasy miniseries starring Rhys Ifans that aired on Space just over the past Christmas holidays.
- Call Me Fitz - Season 2 Cutting comedy series starring Jason Priestly as a moral-less car salesman.
- The Killing: The Complete First Season AMC Original series (although a remake of a Danish series), this crime show following a murder got some pretty good reviews but I couldn't quite get into it. It heads into season 2 on April 1, 2012.
- Leprechaun: Pot of Gore Collection with all 6 Leprechaun films. And here I was thinking there was only 3!
(Canada):Titles on Amazon.com
(US):
OFFICIAL SELECTION: CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE 2 WORLD PREMIERE - GASPARILLA FILM FESTIVAL-TAMPA BAY, FLORIDA MARCH 30
CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE 2 WORLD PREMIERE - OFFICIAL SELECTION: GASPARILLA FILM FESTIVAL-TAMPA BAY, FLORIDA MARCH 30 Muvico Centro - Theater 10,1600 E 8th Ave, Tampa, FL 33605-3737 (813) 224-2121 GET YOUR TICKETS at
http://gasparilla.festivalgenius.com/2012/films/childrenofthegrave2_philipboothchristopherbooth_gasparilla2012
THE SKED'S PILOT + 1 REVIEW: "GCB"
A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and production of episodes for the regular season: a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weigh in, networks and studios (which may have had their own turnover in the off-season) give plenty of notes, both helpful and otherwise, and critics begin to rear their ugly heads. The results can include changes to tone, pace, casting and even story. Here at THE SKED, we're going to look past the pilots and present reviews of the first regular episodes of this year's new series as well.Previously... on GCB: Amanda (Leslie Bibb) grew up in Dallas, where she was the meanest of the mean girls: head cheerleader, girlfriend of the quarterback, with a major in making life torture for her less popular classmates. But when Amanda got pregnant and was rejected by her mother Gigi (Annie Potts), she left town, moved to LA and changed her life. Now she's a really, really nice person, whose life has been upended by the scandalous death of her husband, leaving her penniless and forced to return to her manipulative mother's home with her teen kids. Worse yet, she discovers that the same girls she bullied in high school have grown up to become at least as bad as Amanda was in her heyday. Their new queen bee is Carlene (Kristen Chenoweth), who's been transformed by multiple plastic surgeries and who wields her flamboyant Christianity like a battle-axe. Carlene's lieutenants are Cricket (Miriam Shor), a designer with a (barely) closeted husband (Mark Deklin), and Sharon (Jennifer Aspen), not as svelte as the others and insecure about her own husband (Brad Beyer)--with good reason, since he's already made a move on Amanda. Meanwhile, realtor Heather (Marisol Nichols) is also in Carlene's group, but the only one somewhat sympathetic to Amanda. Determined to support herself and unable to get a real job, Amanda has had to work at the show's Hooters knock-off, called Boobylicious, and when Carlene publicly humiliates her at church for taking that job, Amanda does some detective work and humiliates Carlene right back by exposing her as the real owner of Boobylicious.
Episode 2: We pick up shortly after the events of the pilot, as Carlene tries to recover from her public flailing--naturally, by continuing to try to ruin Amanda's life. In the case of this episode, written by series creator/showrunner Robert Harling and directed by Victor Nelli, Jr, that means turning Boobylicious into a charitably-minded restaurant where the waitresses wear Amish outfits, inviting Amanda to lunch and then leaving her at a truck stop 80 miles from Dallas, making sure no one attends the lunch Gigi is throwing for Amanda, and only vaguely disagreeing with the idea that Cricket's daughter (Alex Elizabeth Gitter) should join the fun by humiliating Amanda's daughter (Lauren Irion) by naming her a "javalina" (a sort of pig) rather than a "fox," cateogires Amanda herself invented in high school. By the time the episode is over, most of this has backfired on Carlene and her group.
GCB is almost unwatchably coarse and meanspirited, a festival of nonstop female cruelty and ridicule (written almost exclusively by men) with a couple of minutes of sappy sentiment shoved into the end of each episode. The show revels in ugliness (tonight's episode featured Sharon, the overweight character, attempting to lure her husband into sex with greasy fried foods), and even for someone neither Christian nor devout, its insistent equation of religion with hypocritical maliciousness feels unseemly. All of this might be fine if the show were a genuine satire, willing to own its apparent anger and disgust toward its characters, but GCB wants to have it both ways, cloaking its ugly hostility in come-on-we're-just-kidding cutesiness.
Some glints of talent on the part of the actors fight their way free. Bibb is an appealing lead, and Potts manages to suggest a beating heart underneath her cartoon character. But it would be hard to imagine a worse role for Chenoweth. She has a tendency to be over-the-top anyway unless kept under control. When she is, as she was on West Wing and sometimes on Pushing Daisies, she can bring something fresh and irresistibly likable to her parts. Placed here into a role that's exaggerated to begin with, she's quickly becoming a grotesque, painful caricature of herself.
GCB premiered tepidly last week, and although in its 2d airing it may have a higher lead-in than usual (because of a heavily-promoted killing-a-character episode of Desperate Housewives), it should fade quickly from the air. It may not be the worst single show of the broadcast season--this was the year, after all, of Work It--but it's close enough.
ORIGINAL VERDICT: Change the Channel
PILOT + 1: Find A Test Pattern To Watch
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