Film Fan Fridays for Friday September 19, 2008

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday September 19, 2008! As I resurface from the land of all-things-TIFF its a bit of an adjustment to be researching and thinking about 'regular' films as opposed to the numerous Japanese dramas or documentaries on broadway shows, martial arts or gaming. If you missed the festival or want to revisit it you can check out my coverage here, which includes reviews, vlogs and a bunch of videos of screening introductions and Q&A's.

But here we are back to popcorn flicks and limited release indie and foreign film. Which, technically, will be less expensive and easier to get tickets to!

We are at an even split between limited and wide release and I have to admit I am a surprized that some of this weeks limited release aren't wide, namely Appaloosa and The Duchess which are hot off the tails of TIFF. The Duchess has also been heavily promoted so that makes it even more of a surprize. It's also a wild week for westerns including Ed Harris' latest Appaloosa in what appears to be a straight up, shoot 'em up western and then we have SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO a Japanese western that is in English with tons of action and even a Quentin Tarantino cameo. It's one of the wierdest films I've seen and has it's share of violence but it was alos a lot of fun. Last up is the Czech film I Served the King of England from seasoned director Jirí Menzel.

In wide release this week we have films that feel like a mish mash of original and overdone concepts. Starting with Ghost Town which mostly looks like Ghost, with an attitude. Then we have Lakeview Terrance which his strikingly familiarity to Pacific Heights but if the actors drew different characters straws. Then we have My Best Friends Girl, which is one of the more original of the bunch but reminds me oddly of There's Something About Mary. It also must have a later release date than expected as the preview says 'This Summer'. Last up is the Igor, who would have thought the animated film would be the most original of the bunch? I have to admit this family film set in the world of mad science has got me curious and the preview always makes me smile!

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Friday September 19, 2008 Releases

Appaloosa
Dir: Ed Harris (Pollack)
Cast: Ed Harris, Viggo Mortenson, Renée Zellweger, Jeremy Irons
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site (autoplays music), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer spoiler free until halfway point

The Duchess
Dir: Saul Dibb (Bullet Boy)
Cast: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper
Denmark/USA/UK/Italy/France
Limited Release
Official Film Site (autoplays clips from the film), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trialer spoiler free until 3/4 of the way through

Ghost Town
Dir: David Koepp (Secret Window, Stir of Echoes)
Cast: Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Téa Leoni
USA
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer spoiler free until halfway point

I Served the King of England / Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále
Dir: Jirí Menzel (Closely Watched Trains / Ostre sledované vlaky, Skrivánci na niti)
Cast: Ivan Barnev, Oldrich Kaiser, Julia Jentsch, Martin Huba, Marián Labuda
Czech Republic/Slovakia
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer is spoilerfree

Igor
Dir: Anthony Leondis - feature film directorial debut
Voices: John Cusack, John Cleese, Steve Buscemi, Sean Hays, Eddie Izzard, Molly Shannon
USA/France
Official Film Site (autoplays trailer), IMDb Page, Trailer
You get the gist of the film by the halfway point

Lakeview Terrance
Dir: Neil LaBute (The Wicker Man <2006>, The Shape of Things, Possession, Nurse Betty)
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
Trailer is spoiler free until halfway point

My Best Friends Girl
Dir: Howard Deutch (The Whole Ten Yards, Grumpier Old Men, Some Kind of Wonderful, Pretty in Pink)
Cast: Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs, Dane Cook
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
You get the gist of the film by the halfway point

SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO
Dir: Takeshi Miike (Chakushin ari / One Missed Call, Koroshiya 1 / Ichi the Killer, Ôdishon / Audition)
Cast: Hideaki Ito, Yusuke Iseya, Kaori Momoi, Masanobu Ando, Koichi Sato, Renji Ishibashi, Quentin Tarantino
Japan
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer
You get the gist of the film by the halfway point

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of September 19, 2008**