Film Fan Fridays for Friday July 18, 2008!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday July 18, 2008! Well it feels like the heat of the summer has finally come out to play. The timing is fitting considering the hot ticket of the week, summer and year so far has finally arrived: The Dark Knight. But first, lets have a look at some films that are a little moreoff the beaten path.

In limited release this week we have three films and two of them are documentaries. Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson has a title that explains exactly what it's about and A Jihad for Love centres on gay, lesbian and transgender Muslims. Our third limited release is thankfully not a documentary considering it holds a rather extreme scenario and literal title: Stuck. If you have a strong stomach, you can watch the trailer noted below.

In wide release this week we have three release including animated film Space Chimps along with the stage to film adaptation of Mamma Mia! which I was suprized to see released the same weekend as the newest installment of the Batman series, The Dark Knight. Perhaps they have different target audiences. The Dark Knight is already receiving wide acclaim as well as Oscar buzz (which is pretty unheard of in July) and is showing in regular as well as IMAX theatres. Considering advance sales have been extremely strong, it looks like it may just be the film of the summer.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Special Screenings

Heroes of the East / 中華丈夫 on Saturday July 19, 2008 at 2:30 at Innis Town Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Gordon Liu will be in attendance for a Q&A after this film as well as an autograph session. The presentation of the 1978 classic kung fu film directed by Lau Kar-Leung is by Reel Asian, Kung Fu Fridays and Alliance Films. This is a free screening, although rsvping is recommended.

Evening screenings of A Jihad for Love on July 18-22 at the Royal in Toronto will have Q&A with Parvez Sharma (Director/Producer), Sandi DuBowski (Producer) and Asif Kamal (Canadian Muslin Outreach Director).

Friday July 18, 2008 Releases

The Dark Knight
Dir: Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Prestige, Mememto)
Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman
USA
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer is sight unseen, watch at your own risk of spoilers! Update: Trailer is spoiler free.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Writer/Dir: Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room)
Documentary
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer is spoiler free

A Jihad for Love
Writer/Dir: Parvez Sharma
Documentary on gay, lesbian and transgender Muslims
USA/UK/France/Germany/Australia
Limited Release
Official Film Site (autoplays sound), IMDb Page, Trailer on YouTube

Mamma Mia!
Dir: Phyllida Lloyd - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård
UK/USA/Germany
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer is spoiler free

Space Chimps
Dir: Kirk De Micco - feature film directorial debut
Voices: Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick Warburton, Kristin Chenoweth
USA
Official Film Site (autoplays video), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer is spoiler free

Stuck
Dir: Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, Fortress)
Cast: Mena Suvari, Stephen Rea, Russell Hornsby
Canada/USA/UK
Limited Release
No Official Film Site found, IMDb Page, Trailer on Bloody-Disgusting
You get the gist of the film by the halfway point, major spoilers at 3/4 of the way through. Trailer has graphic & disturbing images.

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of July 18, 2008**