Film Fan Fridays for Friday March 9, 2012

Images: John Carter Poster (Early Version) / Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Courtesy of Alliance Films

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday March 9, 2012! It's a bit of a quieter week of releases this week but there is big news on the Canadian film front with The Genies Awards last night where Monsieur Lazhur when home with 6 awards including Best Motion Picture, director, adapted screenplay, editing and 2 acting awards. A Dangerous Method picked up 5 awards including best supporting actor to Viggo Mortensen (who was in attendance!) and fan & critic favourite Café de Flore went home with 3 awards. Now let's a look at what's new in theatres this week.

In limited release this week we have just one release, which is highly unusual here in Toronto! That film is Salmon Fishing in the Yemen from Chocolat director Lasse Hallström starring Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, Kristin Scott Thomas and I have to say it actually looks quite quirky and sweet.

In wide release this week we have several films to choose from including the epic science fiction/adventure/action/sword & sandal-ish film John Carter which is just getting thrashed by advance reviews but I'm not going to let that stop me making up my mind for myself and heading out to see it, especially as it's on my most anticipated films of the year. Next up we hve 'in the style of a single take' horror film Silent House. Now, I'm always up for a good horror film but I have red flags pop up in my brain when the promo says stuff like it's like nothing you've ever experienced before!! And then find out it's a remake of the Spanish film La casa muda. I'm not saying that it isn't '88 minutes of terror', only that trying to pull the 'new' card on the horror crowd will be received with raised eyebrows as we've seen a lot. Of course I'll still likely see it. Also out in wide releases is the critically acclaimed comedy Friends with Kids, Bollywood film Kahaani and Eddie Murphy comedy A Thousand Words.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Continues until March 9, 2012 at TIFF Lightbox in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Irish Film Festival
March 9 - 10, 2012 at TIFF Lightbox Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Special Screening

Spirited Away: The Films of Studio Ghibli
March 10 - April 13, 2012 at TIFF Lightbox Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Bloor Reopening Free Open House
The Bloor is on the brink of re-opening it's doors as the newly renovated The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, and in celebration they are having a free open house on Monday March 12 & Tuesday March 13, 2012 with screenings of the documentary Waste Land. Find out the details on the open house here. The Bloor will re-open next week Friday March 16, 2012 with tons of interesting documentaries, special events and more - see schedule here.

Friday March 9, 2012 Releases

Friends with Kids
Writer/Dir: Jennifer Westfeldt
Cast: Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Megan Fox, Edward Burns
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

John Carter
Dir: Andrew Stanton
Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, Bryan Cranston, Thomas Hayden Church, Willem Dafoe
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Kahaani
Dir: Sujoy Ghosh,
Cast: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chatterjee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui
India
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Dir: Lasse Hallström (Chocolat)
Cast: Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, Kristin Scott Thomas
UK
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Silent House
Dir: Chris Kentis, Laura Lau
Cast: Elizabeth Olsen
USA/France
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

A Thousand Words
Dir: Brian Robbins
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Kerry Washington, Cliff Curtis, Clark Duke, Allison Janney
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of March 9, 2012**

32nd Genie Winners

The 32nd Genie Award were tonight and Monsieur Lazhar wins top honours of the night going home with 6 awards including Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Directing, Adapted Screenplay, Editing and 2 acting awards for FELLAG for Actor in a Leading Role and SOPHIE NÉLISSE for Actress in a Supporting Role. A Dangerous Method also went home with a hefty set of statues with winning including art direction, score, sound and sound editing plus Actor in a Supporting Role to Viggo Mortensen who wrapped his Genie in a Montreal Canadiens Flag, which was the highlight of the broadcast (although the meta-Andrea Martin non-co-hosting skit was pretty funny). I was a little surprized that the leading out of the gate film Café de Flore which was nominated for a whopping 13 films only won 3 awards but I think goes to show just how strong the competition was this year.

I can't forget to mention that the broadcast had actual on-stage figure skating to the nominated songs. When George Stroumboulopoulos said that, I really though he was pulling our legs. But no, there was lots of leg extension and figure skating. That's a first.

And with that - congratulations to the winners! Let's have a look at them now. They are listed in the order in which they were presented on the live broadcast (best motion picture) plus remaining awards.

32nd Genie Winners

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
VIGGO MORTENSEN - A Dangerous Method

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
SOPHIE NÉLISSE - Monsieur Lazhar

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
VANESSA PARADIS - Café de Flore

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
FELLAG - Monsieur Lazhar

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION
PHILIPPE FALARDEAU - Monsieur Lazhar

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG / MEILLEURE CHANSON ORIGINALE
CAROLE FACAL - Starbuck - Quelque part

BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM
MONSIEUR LAZHAR - Luc Déry, Kim McCraw

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE
JAMES MCATEER - A Dangerous Method

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES
JEAN-FRANÇOIS LORD - Snow & Ashes

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES
MARIE-CHANTALE VAILLANCOURT - Funkytown

ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE
STÉPHANE LAFLEUR - Monsieur Lazhar

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKE-UP / MEILLEURS MAQUILLAGES
CHRISTIANE FATTORI, FRÉDÉRIC MARIN - Café de Flore

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE
HOWARD SHORE - A Dangerous Method

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO
KEN SCOTT, MARTIN PETIT - Starbuck

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY / MEILLEURE ADAPTATION
PHILIPPE FALARDEAU - Monsieur Lazhar

ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE
OREST SUSHKO, CHRISTIAN COOKE, JACK HEEREN, REINHARD STERGAR, DON WHITE – A Dangerous Method

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE
WAYNE GRIFFIN, ROB BERTOLA, TONY CURRIE, ALASTAIR GRAY, ANDY MALCOLM, MICHAEL O'FARRELL - A Dangerous Method

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS / MEILLEURS EFFETS VISUELS
MARC CÔTÉ, STÉPHANIE BROUSSAUD, GARY CHUNTZ, VINCENT DUDOUET, CYNTHIA MOUROU, ERIC NORMANDIN, MARTIN PENSA, LUC SANFAÇON, SYLVAIN THÉROUX, NATHALIE TREMBLAY - Café de Flore

BEST FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR LONG MÉTRAGE DOCUMENTAIRE
LA NUIT, ELLES DANSENT / AT NIGHT, THEY DANCE - Lucie Lambert, Isabelle Lavigne, Stéphane Thibault

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DOCUMENTAIRE
SIRMILIK - Zacharias Kunuk, Joel McConvey, Kristina McLaughlin, Kevin McMahon, Michael McMahon, Geoff Morrison, Ryan J. Noth

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE
DOUBLES WITH SLIGHT PEPPER - Ian Harnarine, Ryan Silbert

BEST ANIMATED SHORT / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE D'ANIMATION
ROMANCE - Georges Schwizgebel, René Chénier, Marc Bertrand

SPECIAL AWARDS

CLAUDE JUTRA AWARD / PRIX CLAUDE-JUTRA
Anne Émond - Nuit #1

CINEPLEX GOLDEN REEL AWARD / Prix de la Bobine d'Or Cineplex
STARBUCK – Producer: André Rouleau (Distributed by Les Films Christal in partnership with Entertainment One).

The 32nd Genie Awards were broadcasted on Thursday March 8, 2012 at 8 p.m. (8:30 p.m. NT) on CBC Television.

DVD Releases for March 6, 2012

Time to take a look at a selection of DVD releases for Tuesday March 6, 2012! It's a week of fantastical & epic releases. Which of course means it's an awesome week of to hit the shelves.

• Dragon Age - Redemption Extremely fun web series based on the role playing game of the same name, this set of fantasy webisodes follow a classic fantasy story structure but with a fun new spin. Stars and is written by Felicia Day of The Guild, this one is definitely worth a look.
• Game of Thrones: Season 1 Epic historical/fantasy TV series based on the George R. R. Martin novels, this one is a series I can't believe I haven't checked out yet. I mean for the sheer Sean Bean factor alone I'm drawn in but I keep wanting to read the book first. Perhaps I should just dive in. Series returns for Season 2 this April on HBO & TMN.
• Immortals (DVD, plus DVD/BluRay Combopacks inluding 3D options) Oh, how I wanted to love this sword & sandals epic from visionary director Tarsem Singh, but it was a little too antihero over heroic for me. Gorgeous to look at though, in all aspects, although is quite brutal.
• Senna This biographical documentary on Brazilian race car driver Ayrton Senna is easily one of the most well received & loved documentaries in the past few years, and is very high on my to se list.
• Reykjavik-Rotterdam aka Reykjavik to Rotterdam If I told you the gist of this film it would sound remarkable like Contraband, because that's exactly what it is: the original Icelandic version. To add even more layers, it stars Contraband director Baltasar Kormákur in the lead role (US release date: May 8, 2012).
• King - Season 1 Canadian crime series set in Toronto and centred on Homicide Detective Jessica King who is one heck of a smart & fearless cop. I've really enjoyed this series and was happy to hear it got renewed for Season 2. It's got a great, strong female protagonist and fantastic supporting cast and of course I can't help but love the location spotting here in my hometown.
• Footloose (2011) remake of the 1980's dance / rebellion film and I so wanted to be excited about it as I love dance films, but I'm just not. I'll see it eventually though.
• Like Crazy really sweet looking romance starring Felicity Jones & Anton Yelchin; directed by Drake Doremus.
• I Melt with You I'm curios about this film starring Thomas Jane, Jeremy Piven, Rob Lowe & Christian McKay described as "When four 40-something college friends meet up for their annual reunion, things start to spiral out of control, and a pact they made as young men is revisited."
• We've got a few double features to choose from with thriller double feature Malevolence/Bereavement Double Feature and Steve Austin double feature with The Stranger/Hunt to Kill Double Feature (and I loooooooooooved Hunt to Kill!)
• Recoil Although not a double feature, it stars the double awesome of Steve Austin and Danny Trejo!
• Beneath the Darkness I'm kind of leery of anything that says 'in the style of Disturbia' considering that's pretty much considered a rip off, but even so this one holds appeal, a thriller starring Dennis Quaid, Tony Oller, Aimee Teegarden, directed by Martin Guigui.
• Jack and Jill I think it's fair to say that this Adam Sandler comedy was unfortunately one of the worst reviewed films of the year.
  

Titles on Amazon.ca(Canada):


Titles on Amazon.com (US):

Book to Film Club March Reading: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

March 2012 Reading: Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

This is the book I know the least about, but we've had several genre mash ups recently so why not try one out? It's written in epistolary-style (collection of documents which can include diaries entries, clippings, letters, etc; I had to look that word up!) including the perspective of Abraham Lincoln (yes, the 16th US president), as a vampire hunter. The trailer for the film recently came out and there are tons of videos, tours, Q&A's and interviews with cast, crew and even author Seth Grahame-Smith! I find it so exciting that there is so much to explore, but I'm going to hold off until I've gotten my teeth firmly in the book before exploring as one of the things I'm most looking forward to is the art direction & styling of the world created. I'm a huge fan of director Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch / Nochnoi Dozor, Day Watch / Dnevnoy Dozor, Wanted) for his amazingly creative translated works and unique interpretive visual style.

The film is set to release June 22, 2012 and if you want a sneak peak at it you can watch the trailer below.



Join the Movie Moxie Book to Film Club at any time. For title announcements, Book to Film Club news and monthly selections you can sign up for email updates here.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien February Book to Film Club Reading Selection

February 2012 Reading: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Our February Book to Film Club Selection is the well loved fantasy novel from J.R.R. Tolkien set in the world of The Lord of the Rings. This was a first time read for me, although I have visited Middle Earth mostly through the love of the films but also from reading the books which I actually found to be quite a challenge (ah, selective memory...) I also found The Hobbit a bit of a challenge but I am very glad I read it as it's a rich story and a layered world, one that I very much looking forward to seeing it interpreted into film, especially for the numerous characters that quite frankly I had a bit of trouble differentiating! How did your reading go? Was it a first time read? A revisit? Have you seen the awesome trailer? It got me all teary-eyed because it's so beautiful & perfect. I'm totally looking forward to the film, although we have so long to wait as it doesn't come out until December. If you can't wait there are lots of video blogs, on location vids and interviews to check out. I'm going to hold out for the film myself.

Things to ponder on the book:

• Did you enjoy reading it?
• Was it what you were expecting?
• What did you know about the book before reading it?
• Did you enjoy the setting?
• What did you think about the writing style?
• 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 enjoy reading it?
• Was it what you were expecting?
• What did you know about the book before reading it?
• How did you feel about the characters & their challenges?
• Who did you connect to with the book?
• If you've read The Lord of the Rings, what was the experience of reading a prequel like?

About the upcoming film adaptation:

• How do you feel about the casting of the film?
• Are you looking forward to seeing not only one but two films with the adaptation?
• 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?
• How do you think they will format the story into 2 films?
• 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 you've seen the casting, do you 'see' the actors when you read it?
  

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?
  

The book is being adapted in to 2 films:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Part 1) will be released December 14, 2012
The Hobbit: There And Back Again (Part 2) will be released next year on December 14, 2013

Here is the Trailer for Part 1:



Join the Movie Moxie Book to Film Club at any time. For title announcements, Book to Film Club news and monthly selections you can sign up for email updates here.

Our next reading selection for March 2012 is Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith.

Film Fan Fridays for Friday March 2, 2012

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday March 2, 2012!

In limited release this week we have an exciting mix of films from near, far and real including 2 documentaries with Family Portrait in Black and White and recent Oscar winning Undefeated, Canadian teen gambling thriller The Odds, comedy Tim & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie and crime/drama Once Upon a Time in Anatolia. But, I think my pick of the week is going to be between these two: either the Japanese book to film adaptation of Norwegian Wood or Hong Kong action/western Let the Bullets Fly set in the 1920's and starring Chow Yun-Fat. So many exciting choices!

In wide release this week we have 2 films to choose from with the 3D animated comedy of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax and the teen comedy centred of making the best party ever! in Project X.

Edit: Late add for London Paris New York which also was released on March 2, 2012.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival
February 29 - March 9, 2012 at TIFF Lightbox in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Friday March 2, 2012 Releases

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
Dir: Chris Renaud
Voices: Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Ed Helms, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle, Betty White
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Family Portrait in Black and White
Dir: Julia Ivanova
Documentary
Ukraine/Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Let the Bullets Fly / Rang zidan fei
Dir: Jiang Wen (The Sun Also Rises)
Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Jiang Wen, Ge You, Carina Lau, Feng Xiaogang
China/Hong Kong
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Norwegian Wood / Noruwei no mori
Dir: Tran Anh Hung (The Scent of Green Papaya)
Cast: Kenichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi, Kiko Mizuhara
Japan
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Odds
Writer/Dir: Simon Davidson - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Tyler Johnston, Julia Maxwell, Calum Worthy, Jaren Brandt Bartlett
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Dir: Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Three Monkeys, Climates, Distant)
Cast: Muhammet Uzuner, Yilmaz Erdogan, Taner Birsel, Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan
Turkey/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Project X
Dir: Nima Nourizadeh - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Tim & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie
DirS: Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim - feature film directorial debuts
Cast: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, John C. Reilly, Robert Loggia, Jeff Goldblum, Will Forte, William Atherton, Erica Durance
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Undefeated
Dirs: Dan Lindsay & T.J. Martin (Last Cup: Road to the World Series of Beer Pong)
Documentary
USA
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 2, 2012**

Movie Moxie Podcast 63: Oscars 2012 & Gone

This week on the Movie Moxie Podcast Shannon shares spoiler free review of recent release Gone and chats about the recent Academy Awards. Plus a look at DVD releases including reviews of Bounty Hunters and Sympathy for Delicious.

0:00 - 0:50 Intro
0:50 - 15:45 Oscars
15:45 - 26:00 Goon Debackle & Gone review
26:00 - 27:20 DVD releases
27:20 - 29:25 DVD Review Bounty Hunters
29:25 - 33:30 DVD Review Sympathy for Delicious
33:30 - 37:00 Looking ahead to next week & Genie Awards
37:00 - 38:05 Outro

Show Notes

• I mention the Academy Award winners
• Info on the Goon poster controversy and Goon at the Box Office
• I chat about the Silent House trailer
  
• I mention War of the Arrows which I reviewed on a previous podcast
• I mention Starbuck winning the Golden Reel Award
  
• See DVD releases for February 28, 2012
• See recent Theatrical releases in my weekly Film Fan Fridays & DVD Releases in my DVD Tuesdays Post

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

I'll be back next week to chat Genie results and a new theatrical release, although the jury is still out on which one it will be. Stay tuned!