movie Mafia

Friday, 4 November 2011

Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 4, 2011

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday November 4, 2011!

In limited release we have 5 films to choose from starting with an interesting duo with family ties in film with Emilio Estevez directing Martin Sheen in the emotional journey/family drama The Way where a man walks the El camino de Santiago in honour of his son. We also have the highly acclaimed films Le Havre and Billy Bishop Goes to War. I'm curious about the indie-feel romance Like Crazy staring Anton Yelchin who continues to prove that he is quite an impressive actor. And rounding out the selections we have An Insignificant Harvey, which has the special treat of Q&A's with director at weekend evening screenings at AMC Yonge & Dundas.

For wide release we only have 2 titles to choose from, both comedies. In theory, I feel like I shouldn't the Harold & Kumar movies being not the biggest fan of comedy but there is just something about them that makes me laugh and the whole idea of releases a premature Christmas film in early November really showcases the gutsy nerve the films have. Now, will I actually go see A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas? I'm not sure. But the preview did make me laugh. A lot. Who knows, could be a non-traditional Christmas gem in the making! Our second wide release of the week is Tower Heist starring Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy & Gabourey Sidibe and to be honest, the only thing that imprints on me from the film is how ridiculous inappropriate it was to have the trailer shown in front of The Help.

Ticket Giveaway: Immortals!
If you can't wait until the official release of Immortals, entry this giveaway I'm hosting for tickets to advance screening of Immortals on Thursday November 10, 2011 at Scotiabank theatre. Good luck!

Festival-ness
As one ends another begins! Last week we saw the Toronto After Dark Film Festival come to a close for another year and it was 8 awesome nights of mayhem with a whopping 18 features with 15 Q&As and plethora of awesome shorts. It was a stellar year of amazing films & memories and you can read all about it with my festival wrap up where I name the Best of the Fest and also check out full coverage list where I have links to all reviews, Q&A's and vlogs throughout the festival. Just as I hand up my press pass for one festival, I'm already getting ready for another as the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival begins this Tuesday November 8, 2011 and I'll be covering it all week long next week. Look for my preview on Monday! Lots of exciting film from Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, China and here in Canada as well. I can't wait!

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Found Footage Festival
Wednesday November 9, 2011 at The Royal in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

International Diaspora Film Festival
November 1 - 6, 2011 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Regent Park Film Festival
9th annual free event with complimentary childcare
November 2 - 5, 2011 at Lord Dufferin Public School in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival
Films focusing on mental health and addiction
November 4 - 12, 2011 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
November 8 - 13, 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
November 18-19, 2011 in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada

Special Screenings

Lars von Trier: Waiting for the End of the World
In anticipation for the November 18, 2011 release of Lars von Trier's new film Melancholia there is a retrospective of his work starting next week at TIFF Bell Lightbox. His work is both controversial & groundbreaking and every film fan should see & decide for themselves how they feel about his work - and this is a great opportunity to do so. The retrospective includes Breaking the Waves, The Element of Crime, The Idiots, Europa (new print), Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, and also includes the new release of Melancholia which releases at Lightbox starting Friday, November 18.
Lars von Trier: Waiting for the End of the World runs from November 9 - 19 at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Friday November 4, 2011 Releases

Billy Bishop Goes to War (2011)
Dir: Barbara Willis-Sweete (Perfect Pie)
Cast: John Gray, Eric Peterson
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Le Havre
Dir: Aki Kaurismäki
Cast: André Wilms, Kati Outinen, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Blondin Miguel
Finland/France/Germany
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

An Insignificant Harvey
Writer/Dir: Jeff Kopas - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Jordan Prentice, Art Hindlem Kristin Adams
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Like Crazy
Dir: Drake Doremus (Spooner, Douchebag)
Cast: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Tower Heist
Dir: Brett Ratner (X-Men: The Last Stand, Rush Hour)
Cast: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Téa Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe, Casey Affleck, Stephen Henderson, Judd Hirsch, Michael Peña, Alan Alda
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas
Dir: Todd Strauss-Schulson (Private High Musical)
Cast: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Way
Writer/Dir: Emilio Estevez (Bobby, Men at Work)
Cast: Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Deborah Kara Unger
USA/Spain
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 November 4, 2011**

Thursday, 3 November 2011

Immortals - Movie Passes Giveaway to Advance Screening

Image: Courtesy of Alliance Films

Want to attend the Toronto Premiere of Immortals? I have 10 double passes to give away! Here are the details:

Where: Scotiabank Theatre
On: Thursday November 10, 2011 at 7:00 PM
Doors Open: 6:00 PM

For Immortals Movie Passes Giveaway - Click HERE
PIN for entry: IMMORTALMOXIE
10 double passes available

Film synopsis:
In IMMORTALS, the ruthless King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) leads his bloodthirsty army on a murderous rampage across Greece to find a deadly weapon that will destroy humanity. A mortal chosen by Zeus named Theseus (Henry Cavill) must lead the fight against Hyperion and his evil army with the fate of mankind and the Gods at stake.

Immortals is on my My Anticipated Films of 2011 List (#14) as loved director Tarsem Singh's previous work (The Cell, The Fall) and I'm also a huge Sword & Sandals fan so this could make for a beautiful combination. The casting is also amazing, not only does it have Henry Cavill & Mickey Rourke but also Kellan Lutz (Twilight), John Hurt (Alien, 'Merlin'), Stephen Dorff (Somewhere), Luke Evans (he's in like... everything next year including Raven) and Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire). Can't wait.

Watch Immortals Trailer here:

Good luck!

Want to hear about more giveaways? Join any of my Mailing Lists and you'll never miss a giveaway!

Wednesday, 2 November 2011

Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011 Coverage

Polls
Are You Going to Toronto After Dark?

Post-Festival Coverage
Wrap Up
Awards

Interviews
Listen to interviews with Michael Biehn and Michael Eklund on The Movie Moxie Podcast
Transcripts of interviews with: Michael Biehn and Michael Eklund

The 6th Annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival ran for 8 Nights of Horror, Sci-Fi, Action and Cult Movies at the Toronto Underground Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from October 20-27, 2011.

Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011 Wrap Up

I've found myself resisting writing my wrap up for this years Toronto After Dark Film Festival , in large part because I don't want to admit the festival is over but I'm a stickler for tradition so I’m going to make my selections and stick as best as I can to my regular categories. The festival continues to amaze in how it brings films year after year that not only have the blood, guts and mayhem fans love to see but also gems that challenge perceptions, expand our comfort zone and viewing horizons. For me this was demonstrated especially well this year with the films Father's Day and The Woman, both of which I was leery about going in (father-raping & taming feral women isn’t quite part of my mandate…), but both films exceeded my expectations and were not only unique viewing experiences but also well thought-out and well-crafted pieces of cinema.

You can see a list of all of my reviews here, but without further adieu let's look at Shannon the Movie Moxie's Best of the Fest:

Best Film: Midnight Son

Best Horror Film: The Innkeepers

Best SciFi Film: The Divide

Best Zombie Film: War of the Dead

Best Thriller: A Lonely Place to Die

Best Comedy: Some Guy Who Kills People

Best Cult Film: Father's Day

Scariest Film: The Innkeepers

Most Gutsy Film: VS

Favourite Film: Manborg

Best Performances: Zak Kilberg in Midnight Son, Sara Paxton from The Innkeepers, Pollyanna McIntosh in The Woman, Ari Millen in Monster Brawl, Entire cast of Some Guy Who Kills People: Kevin Corrigan, Barry Bostwick, Karen Black and Ariel Gade!

Icky-ist Imagery: All of Father's Day

Still Has Me Thinking: The Corridor

Funnest Screening: Manborg

Fullest Screenings: Monster Brawl, Exit Humanity, The Divide & The Innkeepers

Best Q&A's: The Divide, Father's Day and The Corridor

Best Double Bill: The Divide & Manborg

Best Day: Day 6 with The Divide & Manborg

Biggest Surprize: Several, including Adoring Father's Day, Loving Some Guy Who Kills People, Enjoying Redline and not hating The Woman. With so many surpirzes it has me thankful that I continually commit to seeing everything every year.

Bizarre re-occuring imagery: Explosions of dirt in war scenarios: War of the Dead, Love and Exit Humanity. They were all quite beautiful.

Themes: Eating (especially things you shouldn't eat), Love, being connected, Not Letting Go, Looking to the past to solve the problems of the current and/or future. Oddly less puking than average.

Wish I Hadn't Missed: None, because I saw 'em all! But again this year wish I made it out to more pub nights and met more folk and wasn’t so shy about chatting with filmmakers

Best Shorts: My Main Squeeze, Nursery Crimes, The Legend of Beaver Dam, The Weight of Emptiness and Dirty Silverwear

Verdict on New Location: I like that we waited inside at Toronto Underground Cinema but my goodness those stairs were brutal, especially the concrete inside ones. But… side note… lost 5 pounds. So.. Yay?

Best Experiences: Meeting & interviewing Michael Biehn & Michael Ekland, getting to meet Scott Leberecht, Zak Kilberg & Matt Compton from Midnight Son, meeting short filmmaker Chris Nash, watching Manborg with a ridiculously enthusiastic crowd, making new friends and hanging out in line and in the theatre.

Favourite new saying: Shenanigrams from Manborg

Thank You!!!

Huge thanks to Adam Lopez, Christian Burgess, Steven Landry & Peter Kuplowsky for programming an amazing year at the festival.
I'd also like to give a big shout to fellow festival goers and cover-ers, I highly recommend you check out their thoughts on this years festival: Bob at Eternal Sunshine of the Logical Mind, Dave at The Examiner, Sarah at Toronto Film Scene, Mack at Twitch Film, Will at The Film Reel, All the folks at The Substream (especially check out this vid where they talk to lil old me!), Jay at The Horror Section, CS at Big Thoughts from a Small Mind, Hatter at The Matinee, Rob although I can never find where he writes..., Alix the Film Forager, Sasha of The Final Girl Project, John from Dark Bridges Film Festival & Row Three and Kurt of Twitch & Row Three. I'm also looking forward to pursing more festival coverage to find more folks that enjoy the genre goodness and hopefully meet them next year (or sooner!).
And a big thank you to photographer extraordinaire Scott Chalmers for snapping so many awesome shots of the festival. I can't believe I now have a picture of me with Michael Biehn and Michael Eklund (see below). Wow.

And that's just about a wrap for the festival this year save hearing back on the awards they hand out which I'm very curious about. It was another fantastic year for Toronto After Dark and I already am looking forward to more next year. But for now, I must get some sleep.

The 6th Annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival ran for 8 Nights of Horror, Sci-Fi, Action and Cult Movies at the Toronto Underground Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from October 20-27, 2011.

Micheal Biehn, Sarah Gopaul & I. Photo Credit & Thanks to: Scott Chalmers

Talking to Michael Eklund / With Scott Leberecht & Zak Kilberg of Midnight Son. Photo Credit & Thanks to: Scott Chalmers

TADFF 2011: The Innkeepers Introduction and Q&A

The following video clips are from the screening of The Innkeepers on Thursday October 27, 2011 at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival with director and cast. See my review of The Innkeepers here.

Toronto After Dark Film Festival founder and director Adam Lopez introduces director Ti West:

Ti West on inspiration and pacing:

Ti West on the location:

Ti West replies to audience question on ghosts and the haunted location (spoilers):

Ti West on writing process, casting & especially Sara Paxton (spoilers):

Ti West on casting Kelly McGillis (spoilers):

The 6th Annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival ran for 8 Nights of Horror, Sci-Fi, Action and Cult Movies at the Toronto Underground Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from October 20-27, 2011.

TADFF 2011: The Woman Introduction and Q&A

The following video clips are from the screening of The Woman on Thursday October 27, 2011 at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival with producer Andrew van den Houten and cast members Sean Bridgers and Marcia Bennett. See my review of The Woman here.

Toronto After Dark Film Festival programmer Steven Landry introduces The Woman producer Andrew van den Houten:

Post-Screening Q&A with Adam Lopez, producer Andrew van den Houten, and introducing actors Marcia Bennett and Sean Bridgers plus Andrew van den Houten on inspiration of Woman character:

Producer Andrew van den Houten, and actors Sean Bridgers respond to audience question on marketability and appeal of the Woman character

Sean Bridgers on his character:

Actress Marcia Bennett for a woman's perspective on the film:

Producer Andrew van den Houten on the music in film:

The 6th Annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival ran for 8 Nights of Horror, Sci-Fi, Action and Cult Movies at the Toronto Underground Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from October 20-27, 2011.

TADFF 2011 VS World Premiere: Introduction and Q&A

The following video clips are from the screening of VS World Premiere on Wednesday October 26, 2011 at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival with writer/director/lead actor and Jason Trost. See my review of VS here.

Toronto After Dark Film Festival founder and director Adam Lopez introduces writer/director/lead actor Jason Trost at the World Premiere of VS:

Jason Trost on inspiration and cast including Lucas Till and James Remar:

Jason Trost on schedule and working with cast:

Jason Trost on the sets and locations:

Jason Trost on the traps in the film:

Jason Trost on sequel possibilities (spoilers):

Jason Trost on superhero movies:

The 6th Annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival ran for 8 Nights of Horror, Sci-Fi, Action and Cult Movies at the Toronto Underground Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from October 20-27, 2011.