Mirror Mirror (2012) DVD/BluRay Combo Review

DVD/BluRay review of Tarsem's interpretation of the Snow White fable in Mirror Mirror starring Julia Roberts and Lily Collins


Image Courtesy Alliance Films
Legal Line © 2011 Relativity Media. All Rights Reserved. © 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Distributed exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved. Licensed for private home exhibition only. All other Rights Reserved.

Dir: Tarsem Singh (Immortals, The Fall, The Cell)
Cast: Lily Collins, Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane, Mark Povinelli, Jordan Prentice, Joe Gnoffo, Danny Woodburn, Sebastian Saraceno, Martin Klebba, Ronald Lee Clark, Sean Bean
USA, 2012

Reason to see: I've been a fan of Tarsem Singh since The Cell and couldn't resist him diving into the world of fables

I was quite looking forward to Mirror Mirror as we don't get that many fables and this one not has women in the forefront with the youthful Snow White (played by Lily Collins) and The Queen (played by Julia Roberts). The film stays pretty close to the story in terms of The Queen being interesting in staying the fairest one of them all, and having Snow White herself be pretty resourceful although in ways that do stretch the branches of to some new places of the forest. With both The Queen and Snow White vying for the same Prince, Mirror Mirror leads us somewhere that feels a bit strange. The Queen wants to retain her power and resources, and Snow White seems to be falling for the first time but oddly I found that there wasn't much chemistry going on between the characters. Lively quipping and cute interactions, sure, but chemistry? Not so much. And fair warning for Sean Bean fans, even though he's pretty highly billed on the film he is actually not in it very much.

I did quite enjoy the story and lives of the dwarves played by Mark Povinelli, Jordan Prentice, Joe Gnoffo, Danny Woodburn, Sebastian Saraceno, Martin Klebba and Ronald Lee Clark; who show one of the many after effects of The Queen's reign of the land which leaves them as outlaws. They bring an interesting look at the outsider looking in perspective, of which Snow White is also in a similar boat, making them unconventional friends with a similar yet different goal.

I was captivated by the films lively colours, fabulous art direction and a huge array of costumes. In true Tarsem fashion the world explodes on the screen using the power of extremes in volume and colours bringing everything to life. It feels like a storybook of beautiful imagination and is vivid and alive. I thought it was quite interesting to have The Queen live in a world so bright and full of zest, but that brings into play that a lot of the film is filled with humour. That was one thing I wasn't expecting as much, fable and humour together which give it a more kid-friendly feel on paper, although they still deal with a fair amount of harshness of deceptions, plots against peoples lives as well as the crazy zany adventures in the forest.

Overall I thought it was interesting to mix fable with comedy but I'm wasn't always pleased with the result which often lead to silly fun, but not quite with the punch I felt the story deserved. I did enjoy some of the themes in the film such as injustice with the dwarves, but the primary story of Snow White vs The Queen felt a little soft and surprizing that it was more about getting the guy than living their own lives. Although I did love the art direction and costumes, I was hoping with a little mystery with the whimsy in Mirror Mirror; but as a family friendly film I think there is a lot to enjoy.

Extras

• DVD Extras include: Looking Through the Mirror, Prince and Puppies and Theatrical Trailer
• BluRay Extras include: Deleted Scenes, I Believe I Can Dance & Mirror Mirror Storybook
• Plus: the Mirror Mirror DVD/BluRay combo also comes with Digital Copy and Limited Edition Colouring Book

Mirror Mirror is available on DVD as of June 26, 2012. Check it out over at Amazon.ca & Amazon.com

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it, but I wanted to loved it
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it as light fantasy or to whimsical fable fans who enjoy a dash of light comedy

Return to Film Reviews or see more DVD Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2012

Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 29, 2012

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 29, 2012! Leading into this holiday weekend we have a whopping 8 films to choose from, plus the summer classic of Jaws playing at Lightbox and continuing the summer superhero rush with The Amazing Spider-Man out early next week.

In limited release this week we start with 2 documentaries to enjoy including Flamenco, Flamenco from director Carlos Saura who also brought us the dance film Fados and our second documentary is Town of Runners centred on a group of runners from Ethiopia. Our third limited release of the week is Dark Horse from director Todd Solondz (Life During Wartime) following love of late bloomers. Plus, if you are a fan of shark films and loved to be scared check out Jaws playing at Lightbox all week.

In wide release this week we have five films chose from and what better way to start Canada Day weekend thank with a Canadian film? The Canadian film of the week is most definitely Sarah Polley's Take This Waltz starring Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen and Luke Kirby, and I think it looks very interesting. We also have Magic Mike from Steven Soderbergh starring Channing Tatum as a stripper, drama People Like Us starring Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks, comedy Ted starring Mark Whalberg and a teddy bear (who else is confused???) and Tyler Perry's latest with Madea's Witness Protection.

And after your weekend fun has come to a close, next week we have the mid-week release of The Amazing Spider-Man (in 3D) on Tuesday July 3, 2012. Superhero film bookending the North American holiday weekends. That's going to be a big pick for folks this week I'm sure.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Italian Contemporary Film Festival
Continues until July 1, 2012 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

ReelHeART International Film Festival
The Filmmakers Film Festival
June 27 - 30, 2012 at The Projection Booth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Korean Film Festival
Continues until July 1, 2012 at Innis Town Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Friday June 29, 2012 Releases

Dark Horse
Writer/Dir: Todd Solondz (Happiness, Life During Wartime)
Cast: Justin Bartha, Selma Blair, Mia Farrow, Jordan Gelber, Christopher Walken
USA
Limited Release
Film Facebook Page, IMDb Page, Trailer

Flamenco, Flamenco
writer/Dir: Carlos Saura (Salomé, Goya en Burdeos, Fados)
Documentary
Spain
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Magic Mike
Dir: Steven Soderbergh (Oceans 11, The Informant!, Che, Haywire)
Cast: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Riley Keough, Cody Horn, Olivia Munn
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

People Like Us (2012)
Dir: Alex Kurtzman - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Michael Hall D’Addario, Philip Baker Hall, Mark Duplass, Michelle Pfeiffer
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Take This Waltz
Writer/Dir: Sarah Polley (Away From Her)
Cast: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby, Sarah Silverman
Canada/Spain/Japan
Film Facebook Page, IMDb Page, Trailer

Ted
Dir: Seth MacFarlane - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Joel McHale, Giovanni Ribisi, Seth MacFarlane
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Town of Runners
Dir: Jerry Rothwell (Donor Unknown, Heavy Load)
Documentary
Ethiopia/UK
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection
Writer/Dir: Tyler Perry (Madea's Big Happy Family, For Colored Girls, Why Did I Get Married?)
Cast: Tyler Perry, Eugene Levy, Denise Richards, Romeo Miller, Tom Arnold, Doris Roberts, John Amos, Marla Gibbs
USA
Film Facebook Page, IMDb Page, Trailer

Tuesday July 3, 2012 Releases

The Amazing Spider-Man
Dir: Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer)
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of June 29, 2012**

Red Lights ~ Movie Passes Giveaway Toronto Screening with Q&A Cillian Murphy and Rodrigo Cortés

Cillian Murphy with RED LIGHTS Director Rodrigo Cortés

Want to see an advance screening of the paranormal thriller Red Lights with director Rodrigo Cortés and actor Cillian Murphy in attendance for a Q&A? You know you do! Here are the film details:

Synopsis: "Two investigators of paranormal hoaxes, the veteran Dr. Margaret Matheson and her young assistant, Tom Buckley, study the most varied metaphysical phenomena with the aim of proving their fraudulent origin.

Simon Silver, a legendary blind psychic, reappears after an enigmatic absence of 30 years to become the greatest international challenge for both orthodox science and professional skeptics.

Tom starts to develop an intense obsession with Silver, whose magnetism becomes stronger with each new manifestation of inexplicable events. As Tom gets closer to Silver, tension mounts, and his worldview is threatened to its core..."

Red Lights stars Cillian Murphy, Robert De Niro, Sigourney Weaver, Elizabeth Olsen and is directed by Rodrigo Cortés. Here are the movie passes giveaway details:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toronto Red Lights Screening Details including Q&A with director Rodrigo Cortés and actor Cillian Murphy:
Date: Wednesday June 27, 2012; Showtime: 7:00 PM (Doors: 6:00PM)
Location: TIFF Bell Lightbox at 350 King Street West in Toronto, ON M5V 3X5
Click here for Screening & Enter PIN of 56A 35E B01

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are a limited number of passes for the screenings, so act quick!

Want to increase your chances for next time? Sign up for any of the Movie Moxie Newsletters as subscribers get first chance at any contests or giveaways. You can sign up here.

Thank you to Alliance Films for the movie passes giveaway!

Red Lights trailer:



Robert De Niro as “Simon Silver” in RED LIGHTS. Photo Courtesy of Alliance Films


Red Lights Poster Courtesy of Alliance Films

Prometheus Vlog Review

The Countdown to Prometheus is complete with the viewing and reviewing of Prometheus, and of course it is a 100% spoiler-free review.

Thanks to everyone for their patience in waiting for the review, I hope you enjoy it.

Things mention in the vlog:

• I saw Prometheus in Ultra AVX and in 3D and I saw it with my sisters Jamie and Suzie.
• See my vlog revisiting Alien here, Aliens here, Alien 3 here, Alien Resurrection here and bonus episode reviewing/revisiting Predator and AVP (Alien vs Predator) here.
• I mention "The Problem with Prequels" which is the fact that you know where the story is going.
• I mention ensemble casts that really work in film such as Aliens, King Arthur (2004), and The Magnificent Seven
  
• The Aliens Quadrilogy and series is very much part of my family history, especially with my siblings Jamie, Suzie & Jason, click through to see their sites and awesome adventures!
• You can also hear my Prometheus Countdown reviews as a part of the Movie Moxie Podcast.
• And a HUGE thank you to everyone who has been kind enough to not spoil Prometheus - thank you. thank you. thank you :)

See more vlogs of film reviews, marathons and festival coverage over at my new You Tube Channel.

Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 22, 2012

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 22, 2012! It' been a heck of a hot week and I'm hoping to share this newsletter without my computer fizzling and sizzling!

In limited release this week we have a whole bunch of films to choose from and I know one that is on my radar is Your Sister's Sister from writer/director Lynn Shelton (Humpday, My Effortless Brilliance) with a fabulous cast including Mark Duplass, Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt. I think this week you could travel around the world in our limited release with documentary 5 Broken Cameras set in Palestine, Alps from Greece, El Jefe / The Boss a Canada/Columbia/Argentina co-production, Patang / The Kite from India and the South Korean romantic comedy All About My Wife / Nae Anaeui Modeun Geot. And you can bring it all home with the Canadian release of Bruno's Blues mockumentary/comedy that opens on on Saturday June 23, 2012 at The Carlton.

In wide release this week we have more than one of my most anticipated films of the year coming out with both female protagonist Pixar film Brave and the 2012 Movie Moxie Book to Film Club Selection Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter from director Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch / Nochnoi Dozor, Day Watch / Dnevnoy Dozor) that's a genre masher bringing history and vampires together. Wow. I never thought the day would come where both films I was really looking forward to of the week would be in 3D. Yikes! How times change. Also out in wide release the apocalypse/armageddon friend-comedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World starring Steve Carrell and Keira Knightly and the Bollywood film Teri Meri Kahaani.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

The Female Eye Film Festival
10th Anniversary Year
Continues until June 24, 2012 at the Carlton Cinema locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Italian Contemporary Film Festival
June 26 - July 1, 2012 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Parkdale Film and Video Showcase
June 22 - 24, 2012 at various locations in Parkdale in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Korean Film Festival
June22 - July 1, 2012 at Innis Town Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Special Screening

Toronto After Dark Film Festival Summer Screening
Double bill of Cuban zombie film Juan of the Dead / Juan de los Muertos (7pm) and haunted house flick The Pact (9:45PM)
Wednesday June 27, 2012 at The Bloor Cinema
See more information at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival website or Buy Tickets to the Summer Screenings Here.

Friday June 22, 2012 Releases

5 Broken Cameras
Dirs: Guy Davidi (Interrupted Streams) & Emad Burnat - feature film directorial debut
Documentary
Occupied Palestinian Territory/Israel/France/ The Netherlands
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter **2012 Movie Moxie Book to Film Club Selection**
Dir: Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch / Nochnoi Dozor, Day Watch / Dnevnoy Dozor, Wanted)
Cast: Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Marton Csokas
USA
Limited Release
Film Facebook Page, IMDb Page, Trailer

All About My Wife / Nae Anaeui Modeun Geot
Dir: Min Kyu-Dong (All for Love, Memento Mori )
Cast: Im Soo-Jung, Lee Seon-Gyun, Ryu Seung-Ryong
South Korea
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Alps
Dir: Giorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth)
Cast: Stavros Psyllakis, Aris Servetalis, Johnny Vekris
Greece
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Brave
Dirs: Brenda Chapman (The Prince of Egypt) & Mark Andrews - feature film directorial debut
Voices: Kelly MacDonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, Julie Walters, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

El Jefe / The Boss
Writer/Dir: Jaime Escallon-Buraglia (Sunshine Swim Team)
Cast: Marcela Benjumea, Mirta Busnelli, Carlos Hurtado, Katherine Porto
Canada/Columbia/Argentina
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Patang / The Kite
Dir: Prashant Bhargava - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Seema Biswas, Mukund Shukla, Aakash Maherya, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sugandha Garg, Hamid Shaikh
India/USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Writer/Dir: Lorene Scafaria - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Connie Britton, Adam Brody, Derek Luke, Melanie Lynskey, William Petersen, Patton Oswalt
USA/Singapore/Indonesia/Malaysia
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Teri Meri Kahaani
Dir: Kunal Kohli (Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, Fanaa)
Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Shahid Kapoor, Prachi Desai, Neha Sharma, Omar Khan, Greg Hefferna
India
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Your Sister's Sister
Writer/Dir: Lynn Shelton (Humpday, My Effortless Brilliance)
Cast: Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Duplass, Mike Birbiglia
USA
Limited Release
No Official Film Site found, IMDb Page, Trailer

Saturday June 23, 2012

Bruno's Blues
Dir: Michael Simard - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Bruno Hubert, Mike Allen, Bill Campbell
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 June 22, 2012**

Movie Moxie Podcast 76: Prometheus

This week on The Movie Moxie Podcast Shannon finally completes the Countdown to Prometheus with seeing... Prometheus! The marathoning continues with checking out the 7th film for the Bondathon with Diamonds are Forever (not a fave & the mystery of why I stopped at this film became very clear) and checking out DVD releases for this week June 19, 2012.

I apologize for the random construction sounds and cat meowing, I had a short window of opportunity to record in this crazy heat wave I have to work with what I got!

Time Coding
0:00 - 1:00 Intro
1:00 - 14:00 Prometheus Review
14:00 - 21:30 Bondathon: Diamonds are Forever
21:30 - 29:30 DVD Releases for June 19, 2012
29:30 - Outro

Show Notes

• Prometheus Notes: I saw Prometheus in Ultra AVX and in 3D and I saw it with my sisters Jamie and Suzie, I mention "The Problem with Prequels" which is the fact that you know where the story is going and I also mention ensemble casts that really work in film such as Aliens, King Arthur (2004), and The Magnificent Seven.
• See my vlog revisiting Alien here, Aliens here, Alien 3 here, Alien Resurrection here and bonus episode reviewing/revisiting Predator and AVP (Alien vs Predator) here.
• The Aliens Quadrilogy and series is very much part of my family history, especially with my siblings Jamie, Suzie & Jason, click through to see their sites and awesome adventures!
• I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has been kind enough to not spoil Prometheus - thank you. thank you. thank you :)
• See the original Bondathon post with schedule and film listing
• During the Diamonds are Forever review I mention The Biggest Loser and indicated I may implement a 'yellow line' or 'red line' for the Bond films to separate the ones I like from the ones I actively dislike.
• See more June 19, 2012 DVD releases here.
• Reviews of films mentioned during the DVD releases: 65_RedRoses, Exit Humanity and strongly recommend Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter.
• I mention several films by Guy Maddin: Brand Upon the Brain!, The Saddest Music in the World, and My Winnipeg as well as stumbling on the title of his film Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary
• Along with recent Theatrical releases in my weekly Film Fan Fridays also check out DVD Releases in my DVD Tuesdays Post

Rather watch than listen? See my vlogs for Diamonds are Forever and DVD releases June 19, 2012 here, and for the video fans feel free to Subscribe to my YouTube Page here.

Movie Moxie Podcast - A 100% spoiler-free film review podcast
You can subscribe to the Movie Moxie Podcast here:
Subscribe through iTunes here

Up next week: Reviews of Safety Not Guaranteed, Live and Let Die & possibly more!

My Week in Film: June 18, 2012: Cosmopolis

Image: Robert Pattinson and Kevin Durand star in COSMOPOLIS. Courtesy of eOne Films

This week I trekked out to the theatre to see our Book to Film Club selection of Cosmopolis (dir: David Cronenberg, Canada/France/Italy/Portugal/2012), and I now remember that a strong reason I picked it was to have a Canadian film included in the Book to Film Club and this was our first! Yay for that! Sadly, I didn't overly love the book by Don DeLillo as I couldn't connect to or believe in the protagonist Eric, played in the film by Robert Pattinson. He's introduced as rich, smart and with a staff so trained to respond to his every whim. Personally, I don't find that very interesting, and I didn't believe either the richness nor the intelligence of the character. Both the richness and intelligence were displayed, especially in the effects of, but I didn't believe it. I did find that it felt pretentious, which I had to look up to ensure it met the definition and "making claims to excellence or importance" and "doing things for show" both really describe the character, and the themes of the film. So left with not believing in the character, you are pretty much left with enjoying this 'near future' world, which again didn't quite read for me but baring that I was hoping with a cast that includes Juliette Binoche, Kevin Durand, Sarah Gadon, Paul Giamatti, Samantha Morton and Jay Baruchel I would at least be in for some good acting. And there was some, but only some.

For those who may not know, I'm a big fan of Twilight and have been impressed with Rob in other films including Little Ashes and his supporting role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I think he's really got potential for acting but worry that due to his stardom the trajectories he can take don't match a normal learning curve, so he can be pretty much thrown to the wolves. In Cosmopolis, I felt that he is thrown to the wolves but from the structure of the film that parses out to many different conversations, often only with one other person, it's like many small battles as opposed to one big fight. The fight analogy is only in winning over the audience though, as it's how well the two people on screen work together that is going to win the audience over. I was won over by Samantha Morton the most, and it was strange because in a lot of what her character says is the most 'out there', yet I understood it and more importantly I felt that she understood it. If she wasn't in the film, I think I would have come away feeling very disappointed, but with her there I felt like I did walk away with something. I also enjoyed Kevin Durand as Eric's bodyguard/chief of security, although there wasn't much different in the various conversations in the film. The dialogue often felt like it was suppose to be very meaningful and insightful, yet I almost never felt it and on the flip side the there was so much flinging about in the limited space provided it really gave the impression of trying hard to be really interesting. But without impact on dialogue, this really felt like they were just making up for it.

I can sense the spirit of the book and the film are to engage the mind and tantalize the senses, and if people have that experience I am really happy for them. I know there are other films where I am right there with the character, nodding along in their challenges and cheering for them to take on and go for it, but I didn't feel that way about Cosmopolis. I felt pretty quickly that I wasn't the target audience because I didn't care about the characters. And if I don't care, then I'm barely there. It does feel trademark Cronenberg with the intellectual themes and speckled with visceral body craziness, so if that's what you are hoping for then Cosmopolis is one for you.

I saw Cosmopolis here in Toronto at the Varsity after it's June 8, 2012 wide release. For international release dates check here, although no US release date is noted I've 'heard' of August 2012 is when to expect if from several sources.

See also my Cosmopolis vlog review & Cosmopolis podcast review.

I'm excited to share that my vlog review of Cosmopolis has quickly become my most viewed video over at the Movie Moxie YouTube Channel. I do wish that had happened with a film I enjoyed more, but alas, that too could still happen.

Up next: Prometheus. I have actually now seen Prometheus but I need more than 24 hours to digest and relay my thoughts on it. I'll be reviewing it in vlog and podcast format this Friday June 22, 2012 as will write about it with next weeks My Week In Film post.


Image: Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon in COSMOPOLIS. Photo credit Caitlin Cronenberg Courtesy of eOne Films


Me seeing Cosmopolis!

Book to Film Club Film: Cosmopolis

Book to Film Club June Film Selection: Cosmopolis

Our current film selection for the Movie Moxie 2012 Book to Film Club is Cosmopolis, directed and adapted by David Cronenberg and starring Robert Pattinson, Kevin Durand, Samantha Morten, Juliette Binoche, Sarah Gadon and Paul Giamatti. The film was released nationwide in Canada on June 8, 2012 and on July 15, 2012 in the UK as well as being screened at Cannes 2012 (see international release dates here).

The film follows the high powered Eric Packer (played by Robert Pattinson), a wealthy young man in the near future with many fixations and an entire staff catering to his every desire, often to his car as he rolls around town in terrible traffic. This one is much more about tone and style over what actually happens, and although is a pretty true and literal adaptation of the book. It does have the trademark visceral intensity that we've come to know from director David Cronenberg who has brought us everything form Eastern Promises to The Brood and Dead Ringers.

Here are some things to ponder when thinking, writing and/or journaling about the film:

• Did you enjoy the film?
• Was the film what you expected from reading the book?
• How did you feel about the tone of the film?
• Were the characters what you expected?
• Were there characters, moments or ideas you liked better in the book? If so, what were they?
• What was your favourite thing about the book?
• Were there characters, moments or ideas you liked better in the film? If so, what were they?
• What was your favourite thing about the film?
• Was there anything you understood more after seeing the film?
• Was there anything you felt was missing from the film?
• Did the film capture the spirit of the book?
• Who would you recommend the book to?
• Who would you recommend the film too?
• Are you happy you read the book before seeing the film?
• Would you recommend people read the book before seeing the film?
• What was the impact of reading the book before seeing the film?

While Cosmopolis is quite a faithful adaptation, I found it to not hit the key moments that stuck out for me while reading the book. It has some a few really good performances though, Samantha Morton in particularly stood out head and shoulders above the rest for me. See my Cosmopolis book review and film review over at my YouTube Page.

The 2012 Movie Moxie Book to Film Club is getting busier and busier, this month we have not only have Cosmopolis in theatres but also Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter being released on June 23, 2012. Plus our currently reading selection of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a great summer read to enjoy. You can join in the fun at any time. For title announcements, Book to Film Club news and monthly selections you can sign up for email updates here.

Cosmopolis Vlog Review

Film review of Movie Moxie 2012 Book to Film Club selection of Cosmopolis, directed and adapted by David Cronenberg and starring Robert Pattinson, Kevin Durand, Samantha Morten, Juliette Binoche, Sarah Gadon and Paul Giamatti.

I mention:

• The 2012 Movie Moxie Book to Film Club.
• My book review of Cosmopolis
• The Book to Film club is currently reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
• Plus see the Cosmopolis film site for worldwide release dates

Up next week: Prometheus

See more vlogs of film reviews, marathons and festival coverage over at my new You Tube Channel.

>

Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 15, 2012

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 15, 2012!

In limited release this week we have have a whopping three Canadian releases with the voyeur crime thriller 388 Arletta Avenue, indie awesomeness of i am a good person i am a bad person which has beautiful naturalism and quiet emotional intensity. Our third Canadian release is the road film Foreverland which just the trailer of the film got me teary. One film that certainly has my eye this week is Safety Not Guaranteed that's based on the idea of a journalist going undercover to respond to an ad for a time-travel companion, and I think we officially have enough films in the past few years to call scifi-drama a legit subgenre. Going for more straight drama we have The Woman in the Fifth / La femme du Vème with Ethan Hawke and Kristen Scott Thomas and in the land of comedy we have Lola Versus with Greta Gerwig. If documentaries are your thing you have three to choose from including Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present centred on the Serbian performances artist, The Island President and Kivalina vs Exxon and for the Friday, June 15, 9:15 PM screening producer David Miller will be in attendance for a post-screening Q & A.

In wide release this week we have it's a bit more quiet with just three film including the Adam Sandler comedy That's My Boy, retro nostalgia look at hair metal with Rock of Ages starring Tom Cruise and the cricket-centric Bollywood film Ferrari Ki Sawaari.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

The Female Eye Film Festival
10th Anniversary Year!
June 20 - 24, 2012 at the Carlton Cinema locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

NXNE
See film program at NXNE here
Continues until June 17, 2012 in various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Japanese Film Festival
Continues until June 21, 2012 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Friday June 15, 2012 Releases

388 Arletta Avenue
Dir: Randall Cole (Real Time)
Cast: Nick Stahl, Mia Kirshner, Devon Sawa
Canada
Limited Release
No Official Film Site Found, IMDb Page, Trailer

Ferrari Ki Sawaari
Dir: Rajesh Mapuskar - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani, Ritwik Sahore
India
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Foreverland
Dir: Max McGuire (Crossing the Wake)
Cast: Max Thieriot, Laurence Lebeouf, Sarah Wayne Callies, Thomas Dekker, Matt Frewer, Juliette Lewis
Canada
Limited Release
Film Facebook Page, IMDb Page, Trailer

i am a good person i am a bad person
Writer/Dir: Ingrid Veninger (Only, MODRA)
Cast: Ingrid Veninger, Hallie Switzer
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Island President
Dir: Jon Shenk (Lost Boys of Sudan)
Documentary
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Kivalina vs Exxon
Dir: Ben Addelman (Hollywood Babylon, Bombay Calling)
Documentary
Canada/USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, No Trailer Found

Lola Versus
Dir: Daryl Wein (Breaking Upwards )
Cast: Greta Gerwig, Zoe Lister-Jones, Joel Kinnaman, Hamish Linklater, Debra Winger, Bill Pullma
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present
Dir: Matthew Akers - feature film directorial debut
Documentary
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Rock of Ages
Dir: Adam Shankman (Hairspray, The Pacifier)
Cast: Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Ackerman, Mary J. Blige, Bryan Cranston, Alec Baldwin
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Safety Not Guaranteed
Dir: Colin Trevorrow (Reality Show )
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

That's My Boy
Dir: Sean Anders (Sex Drive)
Cast: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Leighton Meester, James Caan, Milo Ventimiglia
USA
Facebook Film Page, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Woman in the Fifth / La femme du Vème
Dir: Pawel Pawlikowski (My Summer of Love, Last Resort)
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Kristin Scott Thomas, Joanna Kulig, Samir Guesmi
France/Poland/UK
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 June 15, 2012**

Movie Moxie Podcast 75: Cosmopolis

This week on the Movie Moxie Podcast Shannon reviews the Book to Film Club selection Cosmopolis directed by David Cronenberg and starring Robert Pattinson which hit Canadian theatres on June 8, 2012. The Bondathon continues with the sixth film in the series On Her Majesty's Secret Service and also sneaks in two bonus selections for the Countdown to Prometheus with revisiting Predator and Alien vs. Predator.

0:00 - 0:45 Intro
0:45 - 10:50 Cosmopolis Review
10:50 - 19:25 Bondathon: On Her Majesty's Secret Service
19:25 - 30:30 Countdown to Prometheus (Bonus!): Predator & AVP
30:30 - 36:45 DVD Releases June 12, 2012
36:45 - 38:42 Outro

• I mention the Movie Moxie Book to Film Club, my Cosmopolis book review & that we are currently reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• For worldwide release dates for Cosmopolis here
• See more June 12, 2012 DVD releases here
• You can also check out my weekly column Film Fan Fridays or subscribe by email to here for Toronto's weekly film releases
• See the original Bondathon post with schedule and film listing

Rather watch than listen? See my Bondathon vlog with On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Countdown to Prometheus reviews of Predator and AVP and DVD Release Vlog for June 12, 2012.

Movie Moxie Podcast - A 100% spoiler-free film review podcast
You can subscribe to the Movie Moxie Podcast here:
Subscribe through iTunes here

Next week: Prometheus!!

My Week in Film: June 12, 2012: Worldwide Short Film Festival, Snow White and the Huntsman, Exploring YouTube & More!

Image from: Gravity of Center, from the Official Selection Creative Control program at 2012 Worldwide Short Film Festival

Hey Everyone!

I hope everyone survived the crazy hot weekend that was just here in Toronto. I swear, we get the craziest weather. I stayed out of it and continued along some marathons I'm working on although heading to the theatre might have been a smart retreat! Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

Most recently I headed out the The Worldwide Short Film Festival last week and enjoy oodles of short films. The opening night was packed and had an awesome selection of award-winning short films from around the world and it was quite an impressive selection. I was particularly fond of the inventiveness of Luminaris (dir: Juan Pablo Zaramella), the haunting nostalgia of The Fisherman / El pescador (dir: Samantha Pineda Sierra from Mexico , and of course the ode to monster movies in The Elaborate End of Robert Ebb / La mysterieuse disparition de Robert Ebb (dirs: Fx Goby, Matthieu Landour and Clément Bolla).

I also headed out to the festival on Day 2 to enjoy the Official Selection Programs of The Family Compact and Creative Control. I also really enjoyed Official Selection Creative Control, in particular the fabulous movement piece Gravity of Center (Dir: Thibaut Duverneix) with the RUBBERDance troupe, the heartfelt tragic comedy Lifetripper (dir: Graeme Joyce) starring Rob Benedict and the absolutely extraordinary Withering Love / Les amours perdues (dir: Samanou Sahlstrøm) starring Emmanuelle Béart and Denis Lavant which touched my heart with it's haunting, tragic romance. The Official Selection Family Compact had several films that caught me including the clever short Long Distance Information (dir: Douglas Hart) starring Peter Mullan and Alan Tripney as well as the touching documentary Me Without You / Mig uden dig (dir: Aage Rais-Nordentoft) from Denmark.


Images from: A Shadow of a Doubt / Skyggen af tvivl; Morten Holst and Nikolaj Dencker Schmidt in To All My Friends / Til alle mine venner

Speaking of Denmark, Day 3 held the treat of Film School Spotlight: Super 16 Anarkino program full of Danish film to love, and love it I did! The Film School Spotlight: Super 16 Anarkino program was my favourite of the festival even though I had already seen the film Dennis back in 2008 and it only had 5 films, but they were all gems. I adored the sensitive romance/personal journey film A Shadow of a Doubt / Skyggen af tvivl (dir: Esben Tønnesen) starring Nicolei Faber & Anders Hove that followed the beautiful forming of a new relationship with also showing the doubts and memories of the past. I was also blown away by the film To All My Friends / Til alle mine venner (dir: Behrouz Bigdeli) starring Morten Holst and Nikolaj Dencker Schmidt as two friends against the world, against the odds, and the complexity when that starts to put them against each other. It's not an easy watch with the enormous amount of tension and the obviously limited resource they live in, but the formidable performance will blow you away.

Overall, it was another great year at the festival and I was so happy to be able to get out and see so many films. See all of my Worldwide Short Film Festival Coverage here.



Fairy Tale Femme-tastic: Snow White and the Huntsman
Although I didn't see it last week, my most recent venture to the theatre was to see Snow White and the Huntsman (dir: Rupert Sanders, USA/2012) starring Kristen Stewart (Twilight) as Snow White, Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) as the Hunstman. This film ranks high on the #7 spot of my My Most Anticipated Films of the Year for 2012 as the story looks compelling, it has fabulous women in it (and men...), and the art direction looked divine. And divine it was, the world they created was on that you feel like you could step right into and marvel at it's beauty, as well as the bizarre dangers that also lurked there. I was so happy with Snow White and the Huntsman as it honours the original story yet really aligns and makes accessible the theme of beauty and power, without it feeling superficial or silly. It's a tale of deep hurt as well as the challenge to face the fear and striking odds, but also offers a positive and inspiring perspective. I loved how it's also very much about the women in the film, not only Snow White and Ravenna (The Evil Queen), but other women as well. It makes me curious about the choice in the title, and although I enjoyed the character of The Huntsman and Chris Hemsworth's performance, it wasn't overly played up in the film. I loved that, because the story is really about the women. It's so rare to see and it really worked here. I can't go without saying that the costumes were gorgeous, especially for Ravenna, Coleen Atwood does it again! I loved the film, I highly recommend it to fantasy film fans and especially for people who enjoy female protagonist films. I can't wait to see it again. If you want to hear even more about Snow White and The Huntsman, hear my review with co-host Marina Antunes over at the Before the Dawn Podcast.

Tuning into SciFi TV: American Warships!
I had the pleasure of guest hosting on a recent episode of The Saturday B-Movie Reel to chat about American Warships with host Kevin Bachelder and fellow co-host Gary Mitchel from the RevolutionSF.com. We had a blast chatting about the film which was previously titled American Battleship and came hot off the heels of Battleship. There was so much fun to enjoy, and the discussion continued on and on as director Thunder Levin and wardrobe designed Ashley Crist listened and responded to the podcast! They bring up some good points that I definitely will make note of and I am really impressed that they chimed in. Check out the podcast over here at Tuning into SciFi TV.

Exploring YouTube
You may have noticed that there is a lot of vlogs popping up over here at Movie Moxie recently, and I'm hosting them somewhere new for me but not new to most. That's right folks, I've actually created my own YouTube Channel, aptly named: http://www.youtube.com/user/ShannontheMovieMoxie . It's quite a culture shift, but I'm starting to get the hang of it and am very curious to see what other people post about, and what people watch. I'm not totally big on the transparency that how many views you have is so 'out there', but wow, that's just the way it is. If you are a fellow YouTuber, feel free to subscribe and swing by. Almost all the content will be uploaded here at Movie Moxie and the DVD Releases, Marathon Vlogs and Recent Release vlogs are compiled and included in audio form in the weekly Movie Moxie Podcast. More ways to enjoy content is a good thing, right? I hope so! As a sampling, I've included the review of Film School Spotlight: Super 16 Anarkino below:

Movie Moxie Vlog Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

Shannon shares her spoiler-free review of the Snow White and the Huntsman starring Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth.

I also mention High School which is out here in Toronto as of June 8, 2012 at Yonge & Dundas, see my written review of it here and my vlog review of it here.

Up next week: Cosmopolis

See more vlogs of film reviews, marathons and festival coverage over at my new You Tube Channel.

Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 8, 2012

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 8, 2012!

In limited release this week we have 4 films to choose from starting with a 1983-set Canadian science fiction film Beyond the Black Rainbow which I am really curious about. We also have the stoner comedy High School which I saw a few years back at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2010 and I thought it was hilarious! Also out in limited release is the Indian political thriller Shanghai and Double Trouble a Beijing-set comedy starring Jaycee Chan and I could find a trailer for it I could not find any more information on the film!

In wide release this week we have Cosmopolis hot out of Cannes and was also our May Reading Selection for the Book to Film Club and the adaptation stars Robert Pattinson and is directed by David Cronenberg. Another exciting release of the week is Ridley Scott's Alien prequel Prometheus which I have been doing my very best to avoid spoilers for and in such recently revisited all four Alien films to keep my busy (see reviews here!) and am really looking forward to seeing the new one on the big screen. Last up for wide release is Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and although I've not seen any of the previous films the trailer for this one gets me, especially the zebra in an afro dancing at the circus. How could that not be fun?

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Canadian Sport Film Festival
June 7 - 9, 2012 at TIFF Lightbox in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

NXNE
See film program at NXNE here
June 11 - 17, 2012 in various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Japanese Film Festival
June 7 - 21, 2012 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Russian Film Festival (TRFF)
June 7 - 12, 2012 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Worldwide Short Film Festival
Continues until June 10, 2012 at various locations in in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Be sure to check out my coverage of the Worldwide Short Film Festival here at Movie Moxie next week during the festival.

Friday June 8, 2012 Releases

Beyond the Black Rainbow
Writer/Dir: Panos Cosmatos - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Michael Rogers, Eva Allan, Scott Hylands
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Cosmopolis
Dir: David Cronenberg (A Dangerous Method, Eastern Promises, The Brood, The Fly, Dead Ringers)
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Kevin Durand, Sarah Gadon, Paul Giamatti, Samantha Morton, Jay Baruchel
Canada/France/Italy/Portugal
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Double Trouble
Dir: David Chang
Cast: Jaycee Chan, Xia Yu, Deng Jia Jia, Jessica C, Shoko
Limited Release
No Official Film Site or IMDb Page Found, Trailer

High School
Dir: John Stalberg
Cast: Matt Bush, Sean Marquette, Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis, Colin Hanks, Adhir Kalyan, Mykelti Williamson
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
Dir: Eric Darnell, Conrad Vernon and Tom McGrath
VoicesCast: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer, Andy Richter, Frances McDormand
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Prometheus
Dir: Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Blade Runner)
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Charlize Theron, Benedict Wong
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Shanghai
Dir: Dibakar Banerjee (Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!)
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Deol, Prasenjit Chatterjee
India
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 June 8, 2012**

Movie Moxie Podcast 74: Snow White and the Huntsman

On this weeks podcast Shannon shares a spoiler free review of Snow White and the Huntsman, continues the Bondathon with You Only Live Twice and (possibly?) completes the Prometheus Countdown with Alien Resurrection. Also on tap is DVD Reviews of the Canadian post-apocalyptic thriller The Collapsed, MMA reality series The Ultimate Fighter 14 Bisping vs Miller and the adventure epic John Carter.

0:00 - 1:45 Intro
1:45 - 8:45 Snow White and the Huntsman
8:45 - 12:25 Bondathon: You Only Live Twice
12:25 - 25:10 Prometheus Countdown: Alien Resurrection
25:10 - 27:45 DVD Review: The Collapsed
27:45 - 34:45 DVD Review: The Ultimate Fighter 14 Bisping vs Miller
34:45 - 38:15 DVD Review: John Carter
38:15 - 39:45 More June 5, 2012 DVD Releases
39:45 - 41:21 Outro

Show Notes

• I mention High School which is in release this week at AMC Yonge and Dundas, see my review of it here
• See my DVD reviews of The Collapsed, The Ultimate Fighter 14 Bisping vs Miller and John Carter
• I mention my You Tube Page which you can find here.

Movie Moxie Podcast - A 100% spoiler-free film review podcast
You can subscribe to the Movie Moxie Podcast here:
Subscribe through iTunes here

Up next week: Reviews of Cosmopolis and On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Poll Results: What June Release Are You Most Looking Forward To?

It was a tight race to see who would win out for your most anticipated June release and Snow White & the Huntsman had an steady lead and finished off with 31% with Alien prequel Prometheus hot on it's heels at finished at 24%. They were definitely the two lead horses of the race, but I am happy to see Book to Film Club Selection of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter closing with an impressive 13%. June is looking like a mighty fine month of releases, that's for sure!

31% - Snow White & the Huntsman
24% - Prometheus
13% - Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
8% - Brave
6% - Tie: Cosmopolis, GI Joe: Retaliation (now a 2013 films) and Rock of Ages
2% - Piranha 3DD

Thanks for voting!

May Reading Wrap Up: Cosmopolis, Book to Film Selection

May 2012 Reading: Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo

Time to check in on out May reading selection of Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo. I have to admit it was quite different than I expected, and all the snippets of details and tones that get referred to are not quite what resonated during my reading experience. I was happy with the length of it though, short overall but felt *just* right. I do wish I had not see the trailer before reading as it did tailor my experience (when will I ever learn??), but I still am very curious for what overall tone the film will go for.

What did you think of the book? Here are some things to ponder on the reading experience:

• Did you enjoy reading it?
• Was it what you were expecting?
• What did you know about the book before reading it?
• What did you think of the style and tone?
• Did you sense the time period?
  
• What did you take away from reading the book?
• Is there anything you would change about the book?
• Who would you recommend the book to?
• Did you feel about the characters & their challenges?

About the upcoming film adaptation:

• How do you feel about the casting of the film?
• What tone do you think they'll take?
  
• What do you hope to be the focus of the film?
• What do you think is essential to keep from the book in the film?
• What do you think they can trim away from the book to the film?
• What do you think the challenges of the adaptation may be?
• Do you have any hesitations on the adaptation?
• What are you most looking forward to about the film adaptation?

If this was a re-read:

• How did reading it this time compare with your previous time reading it?
• Did you notice anything different this time round?
• Did your interest and focus stay on the same characters and moments, or shift?

Film Adaptation
The exciting adaptation news is we do not have long to wait to see Cosmopolis on the big screen, after it's foray at Cannes it's headed to theatres next week Friday June 8, 2012. The film version is adapted and directed by Canadian director David Cronenberg, know for bring both the visceral and bizarre alive on screen with films such as A History of Violence to cult classics like The Fly and The Brood. The film stars Robert Pattinson of Twilight fame, as well as Kevin Durand, Samantha Morton, Juliette Binoche, Sarah Gadon, Paul Giamatti and Jay Baruchel.

See my book review of the Cosmopolis the book at my new You Tube Channel here: http://youtu.be/K6ZwHeQzD68

Join the Movie Moxie Book to Film Club at any time. For ook to Film Club news and monthly selections you can sign up for email updates here. Our final three books and entire year schedule have been announced: see the details here.

Movie Moxie Vlogs: Chernobyl Diaries, The Deep Blue Sea and June 1, 2012 Releases

This weeks Movie Moxie Vlog I review recent releases of Chernobyl Diaries and The Deep Blue Sea and look ahead to out June 1, 2012 releases. Little shaky this week with tech-wise as it's a little pixelated and I had to do some cuts, but bonus - now I know how to edit stuff out. Learning! I just happens whether you plan for it or not!

Mentioned in the Vlog:

• Reviews of films mentioned this week: Paranormal Activity, Thor, Melancholia
  
• I compare Chernobyl Diaries to The Darkest Hour (see my podcast review of The Darkest Hour here).
• I mention that Snow White and the Huntsman is one of my Most Anticipated Films of the 2012.
  
• See all the June 1, 2012 releases also in this weeks edition of Film Fan Friday, you can subscribe by email to have Toronto's film releases sent to you every week
  
• See the In the Family trailer here
• I mention discussing Dark Shadows and Tim Burton's auteur-ness, and how Wes Anderson also has a unique definitive auteur style
• I mention my Twilight Podcast Before the Dawn.
  
• See my other vlogs this week: DVD Release for May 29, 2012 and The Aggression Scale Review Vlog, Bondathon Vlog: Thunderball and Countdown to Prometheus with Alien 3.
• Please note if you prefer just listening, the Week in Film Vlog are included in the Movie Moxie Podcast. Listen to this weeks episode here.
  

Up next week: Hoping to see Snow White and the Huntsman, possible Lovely Molly plus I'll be attending the Worldwide Short Film Festival.

Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 1, 2012

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!



Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 1, 2012!

In limited release this week we have tons of films to choose from including quite as selection of dramas that look very touching. Starting off that trends is the Korean film As One that is based the true events of the North and South Koreans coming together to play together on a table tennis team in 1991, another based on a true story film is the French film The Intouchables about an unlikely duo of a paraplegic and his carer, plus the formidable looking drama In the Family that's been getting absolutely astonishing reviews. What a week! And we aren't even a third of the way through the releases yet! We also have a new film from Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenanbaums) with Moonrise Kingdom which looks like it continues his quirky tradition, A Beginner's Guide to Endings which was at TIFF in 2010, Crooked Arrows which follows a Native American lacrosse team with a new coach, and comedy We Have a Pope / Habemus Papam about a newly appointed but not expected new pope. Last but not least for limited releases is the horror film Lovely Molly, which I am definitely hoping to see.

In wide release this week we have three releases to choose from and I know I'm going with Snow White and the Huntsman starring Kristen Stewart (Twilight) as Snow White, Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) as the Hunstman. This film looks so amazing, the art direction, the warrior snow white, the aliveness and imagination made me giddy! On the flip side of the coin we have Piranha 3DD (in 3D) and finally the Bollywood action flick Rowdy Rathore.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Ryerson University Film Festival
June 2 - 4, 2012 at TIFF Lightbox in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Worldwide Short Film Festival
June 5 - 10, 2012 at various locations in in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Be sure to check out my coverage of the Worldwide Short Film Festival
here at Movie Moxie next week during the festival.

Friday June 1, 2012 Releases

As One
Dir: Moon Hyun-Sung - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Ha Ji-Won, Bae Doo-Na, Choi Yoon-Young, Han Ye-Ri, Oh Jung-Se, Park Cheol-Min, Lee Jong-Suk, Kim Eung-Soo
South Korea
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

A Beginner's Guide to Endings
Writer/Dir: Jonathan Sobol - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Tricia Helfer, J.K. Simmons, Scott Caan, Paulo Costanzo, Jared Keeso, Harvey Keitel
Canada/USA
Limited Release
Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Crooked Arrows
Dir: Steve Rash (Can't Buy Me Love, Son in Law)
Cast: Brandon Routh, Gil Birmingham, Michael Hudson, Chelsea Ricketts, Crystal Allen
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

In the Family
Writer/Dir: Patrick Wang - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Sebastian Brodziak, Peter Hermann, Susan Kellermann, Kelly McAndrew, Brian Murray, Park Overall, Trevor St. John, Patrick Wang
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Intouchables
Writers/Directors: Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache (Tellement proches, Je préfère qu'on reste amis)
Cast: Francois Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot
France
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Lovely Molly
Dir: Eduardo Sánchez (The Blair Witch Project)
Cast: Gretchen Lodge, Johnny Lewis, Alexandra Holden
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Moonrise Kingdom
Dir: Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited)
Cast: Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Piranha 3DD
Dir: John Gulager (Feast)
Cast: Danielle Panabaker, Matt Bush, David Koechner, Chris Zylka, Katrina Bowden, Gary Busey, Christopher Lloyd, David Hasselhoff
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Rowdy Rathore
Dir: Prabhu Deva (Vedi, Engeyum Kadhal)
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha, Nasser, Paresh Ganatra, Supreeth Reddy
India
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Snow White and the Huntsman
Dir: Rupert Sanders - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

We Have a Pope / Habemus Papam
Dir: Nanni Moretti (The Caiman, The Son's Room)
Cast: Michel Piccoli, Nanni Moretti, Jerzy Stuhr
France/Italy
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 June 1, 2012**