Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!
Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday August 19, 2011! We have a record 14 films in release this week, included 4 in 3D and although Conan brags to be in 'bonecrushing 4D' is Spy Kids: All the Time in the World that breaks new ground be being in 3D and 'aromascope'. I kid you not. Wow. 14 releases. Previous record for this year was 11 release which happened 4 times: March 18, April 1, April 8 and April 22, 2011. Today is a crazy day for releases, especially because some of them look (and are) so good!
In limited release this week we have tons of releases to choose from including the amazing TrollHunter / Trolljegeren, a fantastic & entertaining monster film shot vérité style, following film students who are making a documentary as they hunt down a story involving mysterious bear attacks and an elusive hunter. The film is excellent, tons of fun and has a great human factor to it too, I had a chance to chat with director André Øvredal and actor Glenn Erland Tosterud and you can see that interview here. Also quirky and international, we have Griff the Invisible an sweet Australian comedy starring Ryan Kwanten ("True Blood") as Griff the Invisible, a withdrawn customer service rep by day and flash neighbourhood protector by night, although he might annoy the neighbours as much as he protects them (also opens in Vancouver on September 9). Getting a little more real we have the across-the-board highly acclaimed documentary Senna centred on Ayrton Senna, a Brazilian Formula One race car driver and blending history with fiction we have Sarah's Key / Elle s'appelait Sarah a current day Paris-set drama as a journalist who becomes involved in the life of a girl from the 1942 Vel' d'Hiv Roundup starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Mélusine Mayance. We also have The Corner Shop, a comedy centred on the a corner shop that's the source of unknown treasure unbeknownst to those trying to settle with the mob, quirky misfit comedy Terri starring Jacob Wysocki & John C. Reilly. We also have Canadian releases in the mix including coming of age Whirligig and "meta-detective story" You Are Here starring Tracy Wright and Shannon Beckner. And if you thought you'd heard it all, we still have 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy, the banned in China film which is apparently the first erotic 3D film. Plus we have the South Korean action/chase comedy Quick to finish off our limited releases.
In wide release this week we have 4 films to choose from including one I've been looking forward to for ages: Book to Film Club Selection One Day starring stars Anne Hathaway (Devil Wears Prada, Rachel Getting Married) and Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe, Heartless), as 2 people who reconnect on same day for 20 years based on the fantastic book by David Nicholls. I know a lot of people are super excited about Fright Night, a remake of the 80's film of the same name where a high schooler suspects his neighbour of being a vampire and this new version stars Anton Yelchin (Terminator Salvation), Colin Farrell (Alexander), David Tennant (Doctor Who), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Kick-Ass) and Toni Collette (Hey, Hey It's Esther Blueburger) and usually I'm all over the vamps but I never saw the original and it's not super pulling me in as it looks a little goofy but who knows it could blow us all away, I've been loving Colin Farrell's recent work and am keen to see more from Anton Yelchin. Also remaking from the 80's is Jason Momoa in the title role of Conan the Barbarian along with Rachel Nicols, Rose McGowan and Saïd Taghmaoui, and I'm again hesitant on this one as I love the original Conan the Barbarian from 1982 and haven't quick connected with director Marcus Nispel work yet (Friday the 13th (2009), Pathfinder), but it promises to be big and bloody. Last up for wide releases is the family friendly Spy Kids: All the Time in the World which is in Aroma-Scope. That's a gimmick I'm curious to see how it turns out, especially considering the fun nature of the films by director Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Planet Terror). So much to choose from.
Have a great weekend!
Shannon
Friday August 19, 2011 Releases
3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy
Dir: Christopher Sun - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Saori Hara, Leni Lan, Vonnie Lui, Yukiko Suô, Hiro Hayama, Irene Chen, Tony Ho
Hong Kong
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page
Conan the Barbarian (2011)
Dir: Marcus Nispel (Friday the 13th (2009), Pathfinder)
Cast: Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ron Perlman;
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
The Corner Shop
Writer/Dir: Upinder Raisauda
Cast: Frank S. Alonzi, Rick Bennett, Opo Bhattacharya
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page
Fright Night (2011)
Dir: Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl, Mr. Woodcock)
Cast: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Toni Collette
USA/UK
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Griff the Invisible
Writer/Dir: Leon Ford - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Ryan Kwanten, Maeve Dermody, Patrick Brammall, Toby Schmitz
Australia
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
One Day (2011)
Dir: Lone Scherfig (An Education)
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Quick
Dir: Jo Beom-goo (Bar Legend, The Bad Utterances)
Cast: Lee Min-Ki, Kang Ye-won, Kim In-kwon, Ko Chang-Seok
South Korea
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page
Sarah's Key / Elle s'appelait Sarah
Dir: Gilles Paquet-Brenner (Gomez & Tavarès, la suite, Walled In, Pretty Things)
Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Mélusine Mayance, Aidan Quinn, Niels Arestrup, Frédéric Pierrot
France
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Senna
Dir: Asif Kapadia (Far North, The Return (2006))
Documentary on Ayrton Senna, a Brazilian Formula One race car driver
UK
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World
Writer/Dir: Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Planet Terror)
Cast: Mason Cook, Joel McHale, Jessica Alba, Jeremy Piven
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Terri
Dir: Azazel Jacobs (Momma's Man, Nobody Needs to Know)
Cast: Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly, Creed Bratton, Bridger Zadina
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
TrollHunter / Trolljegeren
Dir: André Øvredal (Future Murder)
Cast: Glenn Erland Tosterud, Otto Jespersen, Johanna Mørck, Tomas Alf Larsen, Hans Morten Hansen
Norway
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Whirligig
Dir: Chaz Thorne (Just Buried)
Cast: Gregory Smith, Fiona Highet, R.H. Thomson, Jennifer Overton, Brian Downey, Siam Yu
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page
You Are Here (2011)
Dir: Daniel Cockburn - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Tracy Wright, Shannon Beckner, Richard Clarkin
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 August 19, 2011**
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