Book to Film Club Film: The Secret World of Arrietty

Book to Film Club February Film Selection: The Secret World of Arrietty

Our first official* film of the 2012 Book to Film Club is the February film selection is The Secret World of Arrietty based on The Borrowers by Mary Norton, and it is many firsts for us. It's our first animated film, our first major title change from book to film and our first Japanese film (although in the UK, Australia & North America it's been voiced in English). The book it's based on is a children's fantasy novel about tiny people that live in the floorboards of the houses of humans and borrow little things like sugar and such but need to remain unseen by human eyes.

I was so excited to hear about this film as it was an early-in-the-year-releases adaptation which mean we would have something to read and set the year off right. I actually saw the trailer for it before I even anything else about it, and so from that I always had sense of what it was about. The book The Borrowers is the first in the series, however the film is an adaptation of just the first novel which was nice as we only read the first book. The film adaptation into The Secret World of Arrietty, an animated film from Japan from Studio Ghibli, directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and was released on February 17, 2012.

The film has been known by other names including Kari-gurashi no Arietti in Japan, Arriety the Borrower in the UK and Arriety in Australia, and has had different voice casts in different areas. The voice cast for North American version includes Bridgit Mendler, David Henrie, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler and Carol Burnett. I really enjoyed the portrayal of the characters, the story, the gorgeous animations and also seeing a particularly adventurous young, female protagonist.

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?
• Did you enjoy the animation?
• Which version did you see?
• 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?

The Movie Moxie Book to Film Club is going strong here in 2012, and we are currently reading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien in anticipated for it's December (Part 1) 2012 release. 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.

*we also had The Woman in Black earlier this month, although it was technically part of the 2011 Book to film Club

Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 17, 2012

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 17, 2012! It's another week of exciting release here in Toronto and I'm excited because it's also our 2nd week in a row of Book to Film Club releases as last week we had The Woman in Black (see podcast review here) and this week we have The Secret World of Arrietty / Kari-gurashi no Arietti based on The Borrowers by Mary Norton. But before we get to the super big films, let's have a look at our limited release titles.

This week in limited release this week we have a whole slew of interesting films including Puppet, which really caught my eye as it's a documentary on puppeteering that looks like it takes head on both the love and criticism of the craft. And seriously, I had no idea there was criticism of it, I mean.. really? Who doesn't like puppets? Puppets are awesome. Another film that was already on my radar and now excited to see in release is the Love (2012), a Taiwan/China co-pro that's a really sweet looking romantic comedy which I actually saw the trailer for earlier this year in the theatre when I went to The Viral Factor. I love how many international films we have the opportunity to see here in Toronto, and that continues even mre with this weeks releases of highly acclaimed and Oscar-nominated WWII biopic film In Darkness, South Korean romantic comedy Dancing Queen and Bollywood film Ekk Deewana Tha.

In wide release this week we have our first of the 2012 Book to Film Club releases with The Secret World of Arrietty / Kari-gurashi no Arietti based on the kids book The Borrowers and the film version is from Japan, although it's re-voiced here with North American actors which will be interesting to see, and hear! I'm really looking forward to it and I really enjoyed the book. We also have Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which my first instinct is just to rag on it as I didn't like the first one (and I don't think I was alone in that), but when I honestly take in my own reaction to the trailer to this new one, I have to admit it looks like fun, although it also does look like a frighteningly close possibly pseudo sequel to Drive Angry. Last up for wide releases is This Means War which has some special screening releases for Valentine's Day, but 'officially' opens today.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Reel Artists Film Festival
February 22 - 26, 2012 at TIFF Lightbox in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Friday February 17, 2012 Releases

Dancing Queen
Dir: Lee Suk-Hoon
Cast: Hwang Jung-min, Um Jung-Hwa, Jung Sung-Hwa, Ra Mi-Ran
South Korea
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Ekk Deewana Tha
Dir: Gautham Menon
Cast: Prateik Babbar, Amy Jackson, Sachin Khedekar
India
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Dir: Brian Taylor & Mark Neveldine (Gamer, Crank)
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Violante Placido, Ciaran Hinds, Idris Elba, Fergus Riordan, Anthony Stewart Head
USA/United Arab Emirates
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

In Darkness
Dir: Agnieszka Holland (Julie Walking Home, The Secret Garden (1993))
Cast: Robert Wieckiewicz, Benno Fürmann, Agnieszka Grochowska
Poland/Germany/France/Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Love (2012)
Dir: Doze Niu (What on Earth Have I Done Wrong?!)
Cast: Wei Zhao, Mark Chao, Eddie Peng, Amber Kuo
Taiwan/China
Limited Release
Official Facebook Page, IMDb Page, Trailer

Puppet
Dir: David Soll
Documentary - feature film directorial debut
Canada/US
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

The Secret World of Arrietty / Kari-gurashi no Arietti
Dir: Hiromasa Yonebayashi - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Bridgit Mendler, Amy Poehler, Carol Burnett, Will Arnett, David Henrie, Moises Arias
Japan
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

This Means War
Dir: McG (Terminator Salvation, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Charlie's Angels)
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Til Schweiger
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of February 17, 2012**

Moon Point

Dir: Sean Cisterna - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Nick McKinlay, Paula Brancati, Kyle Mac, Kristen Gutoskie
Canada, 2012

Reason to see: Canadian comedies are always films I want to see

Moon Point is a quirky Canadian comedy, and for folks that don’t watch a lot of or any Canadian film it might be hard to explain, but a clear way to say it is that it has beautiful blend of comedy and quirkiness Canadian films do so well with spunk, a cast of great characters and a lot of fun.

I love the humour in this film, it was quite cutting and for me it might be more cutting than I normally take but there was a real humanity to it. It follows Darryl (Nick McKinlay) who decides to go on a journey to see his grade school sweetheart who is starring in an upcoming horror movie in Moon Point, and for the travel there he decides to take his friend Femur in his electric wheelchair. That is one heck of a travel to try and rekindle grade 5 loves! I love journey films, they always hold a special place in my heart and this one really had that beautiful blend of not only the quirkiness and Canadian-ness but also a nice blend of comedy, realness and humanity; and there was also an interesting theme in the film about being a jerk. Because, the main character is not the nicest guy and even though he gets kind of piled on for that and he pushes back on it; but it always felt real, and very timely and I really enjoyed that for some reason which feels completely bizarre to say. I don’t see that many comedies but this one really got me. There was a real sweetness in terms of layered nostalgia with this depiction of how people were when you used to know them, and how life was ‘then’ and will it be like that if you see them ‘now’, what would it be like, and then also even the question of why you would think back to your past when you are living your life today. That was interesting question theme in the film too, about if you are living in the moment or not, and even when you think about it the past is created so quickly so even though we are always in the ‘now’, it will eventually come ‘then’. I liked that aspect of the film, the kind of back and forth nature of it.

The cast is really good in Moon Point, I thought Nick McKinlay was great as Darryl, who really is kind of a jerk but somehow you do feel instinctively that like you should support him as the underdog, but also question if you should support him, although either way you are really with him throughout his journey. We also have his friend Femur played by Kyle Mac who is amazing, I haven’t seen him in anything else before but he was in a series called 'Valemont' with Kristen Hager and Eric Balfour that was on On Demand, which now I have to see because he was so good I can’t wait to see him in more; truly fantastic. We also had Paula Brancati as Kristen, she’s a character I really like to see –a strong woman who treated everyone the same, but was open and called people out and wasn’t a jerk and still held her own. An awesome independently spirited, strong-minded but also kind and fun-spirited; I sometimes find that you don’t always get that blend of fun and real with quirky and cutting but not mean but Paula Brancati found that perfect blend of real, funny and kind all in one. And that is also what I really felt and liked about Moon Point, is that it was funny and often cutting, but it wasn’t mean.

It really was funny too, there were certainly moments where I missed the next thing because I was laughing so hard. When you get these characters from all different perspectives and the sometimes comfortable or uncomfortable combination of things, it really levelled off with that unlikely but just likely enough go with them, and for that I really enjoyed it. Moon Point is a great journey film, great Canadian comedy, great quirkiness and it’s a great movie with a Valentine’s flavour to it. I would definitely recommend checking out Moon Point.

Moon Point opened in limited release on February 3, 2012 here in Toronto at the AMC Yonge & Dundas, and has been held over for an additional week.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'd watch it again
I widely recommend it





Also check out my review of Moon Point on Episode 60 of the Movie Moxie Podcast.


© Shannon Ridler, 2012

Haywire

Dir: Steven Soderbergh (Solaris, Oceans 11, The Girlfriend Experience)
Cast: Gina Carano, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Bill Paxton
USA/Ireland, 2012

Seen: January 25, 2012 at the Rainbow

Reason to see: Female protagonist action films are always on my to see list

Haywire stars Mixed Martial Artist Gina Carano, and is directed by Steven Soderbergh which I miraculously kind of forgot about before going in because all I really needed was an MMA star in a film to pull me to see it. But Soderbergh directed Oceans 11, 12, 13, the Solaris remake and The Girlfriend Experience, and it’s no doubt he is a very stylish director which you could really feel that in the film. The pacing and the storytelling style were very different than I was expecting; a lot of action films go for a very high-paced style but Haywire feels much more like a drama, with action. It feels like an American espionage drama with action and a female protagonist as opposed to an action film. Although the action is fantastic and Gina Cararo is amazing and certainly will be a draw to the film, the most important part of the film which is her character journey and the story which has some welcome mystery elements to it.

I do wonder if some people will think the pacing is too slow, and I found myself spending time while watching literally interpreting and experiencing the film from the perspective of the fact that it wasn’t what I was expected. But, once I settled into realizing what they were going with and just relaxed into it, I really enjoyed it and I particularly enjoyed that it has a slow burn with a lot of visual storytelling. We get to watch Mallory (Gina Cararo), as she herself is watching, interpreting and reacting to what is going on around her in a very visual manner. I was very impressed by this, the completely visual storytelling that was accompanied by a groovy soundtrack were a huge highlight of the film and something sets it apart from many current-day action films proving that you don’t have to shock & scare us with stuff to entertain us, you can also appeal to our logical minds as we try to piece together the puzzles, be they ones of action or espionage. It was very impressive.

It was fantastic to see Gina Cararo was so good in this role as an action star, so much so that it actually pushes buttons and boundaries of things that we don’t normally see; for example if she is fighting a guy in the film – they are really going all out at each other. She’s not treated differently and she’s certainly not treated lightly, she’ll get thrown around just as much as anyone else who is in an action film. It’s literally a new primer when there dynamics of the fight aren’t re-adjusted to balance for any strengths or weaknesses of either fighter; they are treated as equals. Although theoretically I cheered and the balance, it took a while to adjust to seeing that. They did also call out on some action film tropes to be a more clear counter-reaction to what we often see gender wise, that didn’t work in the film quite a smoothly as the action balance did, but considering it’s such a new shift I think its’ entirely fair to expect some growing pains. To be honest, I’m happy to take those growing pains if the counter is seeing an amazing, capable, and believable action star. And that is exactly what we got: Gina Cararo is amazing, capable, believable and very dynamic action star and I look forward to seeing her in more films in the future. The story was good too, and I was impressed I could keep up considering espionage can be a bit of challenge for me but I suspect seeing it in open captioning help (see more on the experience of open captioning here).

Overall, the action, score and tone were all amazing plus I enjoyed the story as well. But Gina really was the pull to the film, and she pulled me right in and kept me for the entire time.

I would definitely recommend it to action, espionage and mystery film fans and especial to fans of female protagonist films.

It was very exciting that January 20, 2012, had not only one but two action films with female protagonists that opened here in Toronto. I decided not to choose between them therefore I saw both Haywire & Underworld Awakening.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I can't wait to watch it again
I'd highly recommend it to fans of action films & female protagonist films

Also see my review of Haywire on Episode 59 of the Movie Moxie Podcast:


© Shannon Ridler, 2012

Underworld Awakening

Dir: Måns Mårlind & Björn Stein (Shelter - podcast review)
Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley, Charles Dance
USA, 2012

Seen: January 25, 2012 at the Rainbow

Reason to see: Selene, the vampire death-dealer protagonist, is one of my all-time favourite film characters and it's on My Most Anticipated Films for 2012

Underworld Awakening technically follows Underworld: Evolution chronologically in the series but if you aren’t overly familiar or haven’t revisited the series recently they do help with a little memory jogger, which is the lead into the current world where humans were not only made aware of the vampire and lycans existence, but also defeated them in a ‘cleansing’ leaving the remaining numbers very small. I found that a bit of a challenge to buy into, that the humans would prevail, but that’s the world they create so you kind of have to go there to experience the film. In this near future world we travel with death dealer vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale) who awakens after the said ‘cleansing’.

A brief personal history of how I weight in on the Underworld series is that I absolutely adored the highly stylish full-tilt vampires vs lycans (werewolves) action film that was the original Underworld, but was completely dismayed by some random gender crap in the sequel Underworld: Evolution that made me hate the film, which is a statement I don’t make very often. And then I flipped back to enjoying the series with the prequel Underworld: Rise of the Lycans which features Michael Sheen and was the only film in the series without Kate Beckinsale. So, personally I’ve had a bit of a rocky relationship with the series but I can’t help but the gorgeous stylings, amazing action and cool vampire & werewolves throughout.

In terms of the action and art direction of how the film it looks and feels, I loved it. It’s a little dingier than the original film so you have to take that into account as it aligns with this whole living on the fringes with low resources which doesn’t really read ‘vampire’ to me, but it is something new. I really enjoyed seeing a lot of the actors in the film including Theo James (‘Bedlam’), Charles Dance (Aliens 3) and Kris Holden-Reid (‘Lost Girl’) who I really think they could have had more in the film. Plus, to make sure it doesn’t go without saying, Kate Beckinsale was fantastic to see, I love her as Selene a fierce and beautiful death dealer who kicked a whole lot of butt in the film and makes no qualms about the fact that she is completely in charge.

I was pretty surprized to see that it was only 88 minutes with around 10 of those being credits, but I still felt like I got 1-films worth of enjoyment for the film. The story and world may not have been perfectly what I was looking forward but they stayed true to what they created and I respect that. In terms of the series I’d still say the first one is my favourite, and then Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, then Underworld Awakening and finally Underworld: Evolution. It was one of my most anticipated films of the year so I was excited and looking for a bit more than what we got here, but I certainly was entertained and engaged while watching.

In terms of the story, I took me for a bit of a surprized that I don’t think the themes will appeal to everyone; but it also feels like it’s one of many periods within this world and therefore we’ll have more to enjoy to come. However, for supernatural action fans this is a total fun ride with lots of action, and interesting story and continuing the journey through the cool world they have created so for that I do think it’s a success.

Underworld Awakening opened in Toronto on January 20, 2012, and it was excited to see not just one but two action films with female protagonists released on that date with both Haywire & Underworld Awakening. I saw ‘em both. Good times.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'll buy it
I'd recommend it to fans of the series & vampire/action film fans

See also a spoiler-filled awesome discussion of the film over at Before the Dawn and a spoiler-ree review on Episode 59 of the Movie Moxie Podcast:


© Shannon Ridler, 2012

The Viral Factor

Writer/Dir: Dante Lam (Fire of Conscience, Beast Cops)
Cast: Jay Chou, Nicholas Tse
Hong Kong, 2012

Seen: January 28, 2012

Reason to see: Hong Kong action films are always a yes!

This film is from Dante Lam and when I original heard the name it sounded familiar, and it turns out that it’s the same director as Beast Cops which was a film I had on my second 100 Film in 100 Days Challenge, but sadly one I didn’t get to because I just didn’t have much access to. Now, I feel like I’m rekindling the connect by getting to see The Viral Factor! The film is am action crime-centric thriller with an espionage-ish feel spanning multiple countries, that is what makes it feel technically like an espionage film, although I don’t think there was much actual spying going on.

The Viral Factor stars Jay Chou (The Green Hornet) and Nicholas Tse as two men on the separate sides of the law, but both fighting for the just cause of doing the best they can for their families. I went to see it during a morning screening, and I think just about everyone in front of me was also going to see it which was great to see because it wasn’t opening weekend so for the time the crowd was pretty good! The acting was pretty solid, although I do suspect one of the baddie characters has their part voiced-over for the English lines, although I was surprized that some of it was actually in English – something I didn’t expect for in a Hong Kong action thriller. The story was also different than I was expecting, as the plot had an international political theme even though at heart it was really an action film that had the bonus of character-driven drama providing quite an engaging combination.

I really enjoyed the action in the film, particularly the action sequences in confined spaces that read extremely well. I find sometimes when there is a running theme or specialty in an action film where the go back to and re-emphasize a particularly look or feel it can get tired, but not here as it was fresh, fast and furious especially in those close quarters. I really appreciated that you could really see what was going on in the action sequences too, it was cutting and clear. It was pretty brutal though and the story was brutal too, including a very emotion theme that totally hit me out of left field and even made me cry. Who knew there would be some sweet emotional moments? The audience didn’t seem to expect that either and I heard some rumblings during the emotional scenes in the film. From that I found it really presented an interesting viewpoint of how different circumstances can affect people differently, and how that can change the path or course of someone’s life, which was an interesting layer to add to what could have been a straight-up action thriller.

I thought it was good, I enjoyed it and I was really happy to get a chance to see it – it was only released in Hong Kong itself this year and we’ve already had the opportunity to see it here in Toronto which is fantastic. If you are looking for an action film with a strong character driven elements as well, definitely check out The Viral Factor.

The Viral Factor opened on January 20, 2012 in Toronto at the AMC Yonge & Dundas.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'll watch it again
I'd recommend it to action and crime film fans

Also see my review of The Viral Factor on Episode 60 of the Movie Moxie Podcast:


© Shannon Ridler, 2012

Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 10, 2012

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 10, 2012!

In limited release this week we have just two releases to choose from and from them are the highly acclaimed and anticipated We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver and starring the formidable Tilda Swinton and we also have the French drama The Snows of Kilimanjuro.

In wide release this week we have and interesting array of choices including political thriller/action flick Safe House starring Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington or if you are revving up for Valentine's there is The Vow starring Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams as a couple that go through the challenge of memory loss together. If you are looking for adventure there is Journey 2: The Mysterious Island with The Rock (which might be my pick this week!), the 3D releases of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and the Bollywood release of Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu.

If you are looking for a new Valentine's Day pick we do have a mid-week release on February 14, 2012 with This Means War starring Tom Hardy & Chris Pine as two men both trying to win the hear of Reese Witherspoon. Oh, and they are both ...spies. I love both those actors but it looks like their characters spend more time wreaking havoc on each other than trying to woo the girl. Not quite *that* romantic...

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Special Screening

Oscar Nominated Shorts
Animated and live action shorts grouped together in separate programs playing at TIFF Lightbox as of February 10, 2012

Friday February 10, 2012 Releases

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu
Dir: Shakun Batra - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani, Ratna Pathak
India
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
Dir: Brad Peyton (Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl [short])
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Luis Guzman, Vanessa Hudgens, Kristin Davis, Michael Caine
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Safe House
Dir: Daniel Espinosa (Outside Love, Babylonsjukan)
Cast: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Vera Farmiga, Fares Fares, Robert Patrick
USA/South Africa
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Snows of Kilimanjuro
Dir: Robert Guédiguian (Loady Jane, Journey to Armenia)
Cast: Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan
France
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D
Writer/Dir: George Lucas (Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, American Graffiti)
Cast: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, Terence Stamp, ay Park
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Vow
Dir: Michael Sucsy - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Sam Neill, Scott Speedman, Jessica Lange
USA/Brazil/France/UK/Australia/Germany
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

We Need to Talk About Kevin
Dir: Lynne Ramsay (Morvern Callar)
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller, John C. Reilly
USA/UK
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Tuesday February 14, 2012 Releases

This Means War
Dir: McG (Terminator Salvation, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Charlie's Angels)
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Til Schweiger
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of February 10, 2012**

Contraband

Dir: Baltasar Kormákur (White Night Wedding / Brúðguminn)
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, Caleb Landry Jones, Lukas Haas, Diego Luna, J.K. Simmons
USA/UK/France, 2012

Seen: January 18, 2012 at Scotiabank

Reason to see: The cast plus I loved Baltasar Kormákur's White Night Wedding / Brúðguminn

I wonder how many people , like me, were drawn to Contraband because it’s from Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur of White Night Wedding / Brúðguminn? Could it just be me? Perhaps, perhaps not. But that was just one of the many draws to the heist drama with the ‘one last job’ vibe, along with an interesting premise and a fabulous cast. Every time Iooked at the credits list it was just name after name of actors I love to see. From That was one draw to it but the fact that it's an action film following a guy gone straight but looks like he'll do one more run was a definite draw for me as well as the fabulous cast including Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter), Kate Beckinsale (Underworld), Callum Landry Jones (The Last Exorcism, X-Men First Class), Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma), Giovanni Ribisi (The Mod Squad) and JK Simmons (Spider-Man). Honestly, with this set of actors, you couldn’t keep me away from the film; even just the combination of Ben Foster & Giovanna Ribisi is enough for me to be over the moon happy to see a film.

In Contraband, we follow the couple Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg), whom used to be involved in the smuggling business but has gone straight and now along with wife Kate Farraday (Kate Beckinsale) live a pretty normal life, until they are drawn back into the underground world and needed to come up with a ton on money very quickly. I have to say that Contraband was a bit smarter than I was expecting, I thought it would be a throw-down action film but in all honestly it is more the style of 70's action films but not in a brutal sense. It reminded me of The Conversation, in the fact that it had subtle details and a slower pace but Contraband isn't just about the details although they do play an important part. Contraband does have a lot of action in it, but the focus of it really is the story, the characters & their journey as well as the details of the heist. In terms of a heist film, it doesn't actually squish itself into the heist formula and that was certainly unexpected as that's become such a trend; but I appreciated that the heist details are put together in a more subtle, dramatic wa.

I really enjoyed the film and was quite taken with the characters. Mark Wahlberg was good in the lead as family man and smuggler, and Kate Beckinsale was fantastic in her portrayal of a woman who has lived the hard life but now is on the straight and narrow; you can really feel that roughness of knowing the life of a smuggler, but there wasn't a meanness there. I was also really excited to see Callum Landry Jones here with a solid performance that adds on to impressive list of performances over the past few in The Last Exorcism and X-Men First Class; he’s done a great job in a variety of different roles which is always a good sign from a young actor.

I enjoyed Contraband from many perspectives, and although I don't like using the primer of 'of a January release it was good', but in all honestly for a January release it was good. Overall, it’s a solid choice for film entertainment with a good story and good acting, it does have some brutality and some good action although not bombarded with action it's more about the characters/story which I found to be a welcome surprized. However, if you are familiar with Baltasar Kormákur work that shouldn't come as a surprize as story and character are great joys of his films.

Contraband came out in wide release on Friday January 13, 2012 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it to heist, crime drama & drama fans

Also check out my review of Contraband on Episode 58 of the Movie Moxie Podcast:


© Shannon Ridler, 2012

The Devil Inside

Dir: William Brent Bell (Stay Alive)
Cast: Fernanda Andrade, Isabella Rossi, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth, Ionut Grama, Suzan Crowley
USA, 2012

Seen: January 10, 2012 at the Rainbow

Reason to see: If it's supernatural, I'll see it .

Ah, the first new film seen of the year! We started off this January with only 2 choices for new releases and I chose The Devil Inside over Players (2012) as I have strong pull to supernatural films.The Devil Inside is a supernatural drama that uses the format of creating a documentary to explore personal history including the protagonist Isabella Rossi (Fernanda Andrade) own past as well as her mother Maria’s (Suzan Crowley) who was exorcised years ago.

I know this subject matter can freak people out and it did certainly get the crowd going, so I think in terms of content it’s something people are either interested in, or not. It does have some great scares in it and interesting ideas that build a little on the genre for which January seems to be a popular time for supernatural films as in recent years we’ve had The Rite as well as The Unborn. There were several things that I liked about the film, including that it focused on a female protagonist who was delving into her own family history, I liked the exploration of the journey and the different places and locations of the film. I also liked that it veered off the path a bit in terms of beliefs, as usually exorcism films depict characters that fall quickly into one of two sides: believers and non-believers, with the occasional renewed-believer though scary encounters. The Devil Inside played it more grey and middle ground with people being more open, more risky and more horrifically adventurous than I’ve seen in the past. And it gets another point for providing some pretty good scares.

The biggest challenge of the film is the ‘making a documentary’ format, and while watching I kept wondering if we were suppose to really believe that this is actually happening, and are these real lives & encounters we are seeing? This buying into the documentary format can be done successful, as seen by the recent Norwegian film Trollhunter; but with The Devil Inside I wasn’t buying. I always felt like I was watching actors and that what I was seeing was a story told through film. So in that sense I wish they hadn’t gone with the format because the ideas were interesting but I kept playing the compare game in my head with the similar in concept 2010 film The Last Exorcism which pulls off the idea in a much stronger way. If you go into this film and are just seeing this as a first introduction to the idea, I think they will enjoy it; however if you compare the two films I think viewers will be disappointed. So, it does beg the question of whether or not it’s even fair to compare but in terms of an audience I think most people who like myself are interested in supernatural films are likely to have see both; at which point it’s fair to recognize that is fair to compare. Supernatural films tend to be a genre people either like or don’t, and even further into the genre the mere subject of exorcism isn’t something people are often likely to go outside their comfort zone.

In terms of the viewing experience, I saw it in a pretty small theatre that was quite full and the audience was very vocal yelping at the scares or even shouting out theories or ‘don’t go up there’ comments to the screen. Normally that could grate me, but in this context it was great to ease the tension and laugh or eek alongside folk.

For supernatural film fans, I think there is enough to get something from The Devil Inside, although I think that general horror fans may find it not quite enough to get them going. I did like the characters, the ideas and the scares but I think it could have gone a little deeper on some of the concepts and story lines.

The Devil Inside was released in wide release on January 6, 2012 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

See also my review of The Devil Inside on Episode 57 of the Movie Moxie Podcast:


Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it, but wanted to like it a lot more
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it to supernatural film fans

© Shannon Ridler, 2012

Book to Film Club Film: The Woman in Black

Time for our first year-over-year Book to Film Club experience, with our October 2011 book The Woman in Black by Susan Hill having it's film release this past weekend on February 3, 2012.

The Woman in Black stars Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter series), Ciarán Hinds (The Eclipse) and Janet McTeer, directed by James Watkins (Eden Lake). The scary and atmospheric feel of the film was definitely what I was hoping to see and it was exciting to see Daniel Radcliffe's in a new world in the role of Arthur Kipps.

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?
• Did you feel that the captured the time period well?
• How did you feel about the casting? 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?

I hope this month doesn't feel to film heavy with both The Woman in Black and The Secret of Arrietty coming out, but I was thrilled to The Woman in Black in releases as when I chose to include it in the Book to Film Club it was a gamble as it had no release date back in January 2011. But here we are now with it in theatres for all to see!

The Movie Moxie Book to Film Club is going strong again in 2012, and you can join at any time. For title announcements, Book to Film Club news and monthly selections you can sign up for email updates here.

Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 3, 2012

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday February 3, 2012! I'm so excited for this weeks releases, we are back up to our whopping number of films to enjoy with 11 coming to Toronto theatres; plus 2 of those are paranormal and tons are Canadian! It's a great week to be a film lover.

In limited release this week we have 6 films to enjoy and I'm delighted to see that we are getting the spooky film The Innkeepers out in release here in Toronto, it's a fantastic paranormal film that I had a chance to see at Toronto After Dark in 2011 and I just adored. I also shared videos from the Intro and Q&A with director Ti West from the screening at Toronto After Dark, but would strongly recommend only watching them after seeing it as they are very spoiler-heavy. This week is also a big week for Canadian release in limited releases as we have the quirky Canadian comedy Moon Point (hear my podcast review of Moon Point here) which I found to be a quirky & charming delight, the much anticipated Le Vendeur straight from Canada's Top Ten and is high on my to-see list, and we also have the Canadian documentary Inside Lara Roxx following adult film star Lara Roxx who contracted HIV very early in her career. Also out in limited release is Madonna's second turn in the director's chair with historical drama W./E. as well as the release of Mexican film Miss Bala bridging the challenges of an aspiring beauty queen amid a culture of crime.

In wide release this week we have 5 films to choose from and I can hardly contain my excitement for the release of The Woman in Black, a supernatural historical story following Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe of th Harry Potter series), a young lawyer to settle the affairs of an eccentric client after their passing and also a 2011 Movie Moxie Book to Film Club Selection. We also have the teen superpowers flick Chronicle, Canadian documentary Pink Ribbons, Inc and the based on a true story of trapped whales under ice film: Big Miracle. Also out in limited release is the Oscar nominated historical set Albert Nobbs starring Glenn Close as a woman who poses as a man to survive in nineteenth century Ireland.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

The Great Digital Film Festival 2012
A selection of classic, cult and popular film shown in digital or High Definition including Serenity, Lost Boys, Spaceballs and so much more
February 3 - 9, 2012 at Cineplex theatres in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Friday February 3, 2012 Releases

Albert Nobbs
Dir: Rodrigo Garcia
Cast: Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Janet McTeer, Aaron Johnson, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
UK/Ireland
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Big Miracle
Dir: Ken Kwapis (He's Just Not That Into You, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants)
Cast: Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Kristen Bell, Dermot Mulroney, Tim Blake Nelson, Ted Danson
USA/UK
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Chronicle
Dir: Joshua Trank - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan, Dane DeHaan, Ashley Hinshaw, Michael Kelly
UK/USA
Official Facebook Page, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Innkeepers
Writer/Dir: Ti West
Cast: Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis, George Riddle
USA
Limited Release
Official Facebook Page, IMDb Page, Trailer

Inside Lara Roxx
Dir: Mia Donovan
Documentary
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Miss Bala
Dir: Gerardo Naranjo (Voy a explotar, Malachance)
Cast: Stephanie Sigman, Noe Hernandez and Irene Azuela
Mexico
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Moon Point
Dir: Sean Cisterna - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Nick McKinlay, Paula Brancati, Kyle Mac, Kristen Gutoskie
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Pink Ribbons, Inc
Dir: Léa Pool (The Blue Butterfly, Emporte-moi)
Documentary
Canada
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Le Vendeur / The Salesman
Writer/Dir: Sébastien Pilote - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Gilbert Sicotte, Nathalie Cavezzali, Jérémy Tessier, Jean-Francois Boudreau, Pierre Leblanc
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

W./E.
Dir: Madonna (Filth & Wisdom)
Cast: Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, James D’Arcy, Oscar Isaac
UK
Limited Release
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

The Woman in Black **2011 Movie Moxie Book to Film Club Selection**
Dir: James Watkins (Eden Lake)
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer, Liz White
UK/Canada/Sweden
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of February 3, 2012**

Movie Moxie Podcast 60: Moon Point, Viral Factor & The Innkeepers including Q&A with Ti West

On this weeks podcast Shannon tackles quirky Canadian comedy Moon Point and Hong Kong action/thriller The Viral Factor, as well as remembering the awesome of The Innkeepers which opens this week in Toronto. Included in the podcast is the original vlog review from The Innkeepers when it showed at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011 and as a special treat for the third week in a row we have a Q&A from the film. Please note the Q&A for The Innkeepers Q&A included at the very end of the podcast is SUPER SPOILERY. Only listen if you've seen the film. Please! It really talks about everything. Alternatively you can pick & choose the moments to watch in the videos from the Intro and Q&A with director Ti West here.

0:00 - 5:30 Intro
5:30 - 11:00 Moon Point Review
11:00 - 16:05 The Viral Factor Review
16:05 - 22:25 The Innkeepers Reviews
22:25 - 35:00 DVD Releases including: Real Steel, 2-Headed Shark Reviews
35:00 - 58:00 The Innkeepers Intro and Q&A with director Ti West at Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2012

• I mention my 101 Films in 1001 Days Films Part 2
• I mention the Toronto After Dark Film Festival
• See my review & vlog of The Innkeepers
• I mention the videos of the Intro and Q&A with director Ti West at Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2012
• See DVD Releases from January 31, 2012
• I mention the Book to Film Club The Woman in Black comes out this week as well as that our next selection for February is The Hobbit, you can join us here!
• 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.

Up next week: The Woman in Black! Sooooooo exciting :)

Experiencing Open Captioning

So, a funny thing happened on the way to the theatre. Or, actually, when I was already at the theatre...

Last week when I went to Haywire * something unexpected happened. As I was nice and settled in and watching the film begin I noticed text on the screen. But, it was in English. I heard the creak of a chair and assumed someone when to go tell someone that something was off. Not the best assumption as nothing changed after a while, and then I remembered that in the lobby of the theatre there is sometimes a notation about open captioning when in turn was what I was experiencing.

I took a moment to decide what I was going to do. I decided the idea of leaving or seeing a different film simply because the film had open captions felt ridiculous. So I decided to favour being open to the experience and stayed to watch the film as it was presented. Here's what I noticed from the experience:

• Character Names, Thank You! No second guessing to who was who, or trying to interpret someone's name from pronunciation (given one character is named 'Coblenz', I was ever more thankful to see that spelled out). That also really helped me think of the characters as characters, over 'seeing' the actors which I can often do. I might of slipped a bit and wrote "What is 'actor name' up to?" in my notes over writing a character, but it was much less than normal.
• Focus to What You Hear It's not just the dialogue that's captioned, but also sounds of importance like 'door creaking' or 'heavy panting' or 'gun cocking'. I found in interesting to think about what was captioned, and which audio cues moments got their own caption. It made me curious to how they determine it...because of importance? Because it was off screen? To differentiate the focus between several people? I'm not sure, but it made me think. And I like to think.
• Clarity I never had to think twice about the possibility of mishearing something, or if I missed something. If it was inaudible, it said inaudible. If something was said, you got to see what it was. That gave me a lot more confidence that I fully understood the story! Which is almost embarrassing to admit!
• Quick to Adjust. Maybe because I see a lot of foreign films with subtitles and/or because I read quickly, but I found it surprizingly fast to adjust to viewing the film in this format so. Although I did try not to rely to heavily on the captioning, and even toyed with trying to not look at it at times, which was sometimes a greater challenge than I expected!
• Not so Quick to Adjust Back. The only downside was one time when I was trying to actively not read the captions, there were some lines that were actually subtitles because the characters weren't speaking English, and I missed it. Luckily it was rather expressive and easy to interpret through the international language... of ACTION!

Overall, I'm very glad that I stayed to see what the experience was like. I found it really engaging to see a film in this way and I wouldn't think twice about doing it again. You just never know what's going to happen when you head out to the theatre, and as often with me something new and different can come across you path when you least expect. I'm happy to say this experience turned out well. Yay!

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Theatre is an column by Shannon the Movie Moxie exploring the experience of film.

*review for Haywire is incoming, but in short it was pretty awesome

Film Fan Fridays for Friday January 27, 2012

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday January 27, 2012! Happy Oscar nominations week! As per tradition I've made my 3 lists for Oscar nominations including a details list, a film list with the details of what it's nominated for and a simple film list with # of nominations (great for printing & highlighting). I'm way behind - I've only seen 13 of the 46 nominated features! I'll get to at least one more this weekend but not sure how many I'll get to by February 26, 2012 for the awards. Here's hoping it's a lot more!

In limited release this week we have three films to choose from including the just nominated Canadian film Monsieur Lazhar, which has also been a part of the Canada's Top Ten 2011 and Winner of the Best Canadian Feature Award at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. It's from writer/director Philippe Falardeau (C'est pas moi, je le jure! / It's Not Me, I Swear!, Congorama) and stars Fellag, and has inspiring teacher film written all over it. I can't wait to see it. I also am thrilled to see Tyrannosaur hitting a Toronto theatre this week, it's the fantastic directorial debut from Paddy Considine with a story of a hard case man and a strong faith woman who have absolutely nothing in common. One of the best films I saw at TIFF 2011 and features fantastic performances from the cast including Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman and Eddie Marsan. You can hear my review as well as the intro and Q&A with Tyrannosaur director Paddy Considine here on the Movie Moxie Podcast #59. Last up for limited releases we have All's Well That Ends Well, a Hong Kong comedy that hooks up divorcees starring Donnie Yen, it has a really cute trailer showing the 'many different ways to hug' and remake of the 1988 film The Eight Happiness.

In wide release this week we have 5 films in release, first up is The Grey starring Liam Neeson, who I continue to love to see in action-y roles and it's really exciting to see Frank Grillo (Warrior (2011), 'The Gates') in this one as well, it's a survivalist action/thriller that is I understand the premise from the trailer (which is spoilery...), feels a little over the top, but still very interesting. We also have One for the Money, adapted from the book One for the Money by Janet Evanovich and stars Katherine Heigl who is down on her luck and turns to becoming a bail bondsman, and honestly - I think this one looks pretty funny. Also hitting theatres is Man on a Ledge starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell and Ed Harris and looks a mystery/thriller - from a ledge. Also out in release is the animated film Back to the Sea 3D and Bollywood release of Agneepath.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

The 8 Fest Small-Gauge Film Festival
A festival focusing on small-gauge film including 8mm, Super 8, 9.5mm, loops and zoetropes
January 27 - 29, 2012 at Trash Palace in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Friday January 27, 2012 Releases

Agneepath
Writer/Dir: Karan Malhotra - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Arush Bhiwandiwala, Deven Bhojani, Sunil Chauhan, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt
India
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

All's Well That Ends Well / Baat seng bou hei
Dir: Hing-Ka Chan (La comédie humaine, Poker King)
Cast: Donnie Yen, Louis Koo, Lynn Hung, Kelly Chen, Sandra Ng Kwan Yue, Chapman To
Hong Kong
Limited Release
No Official Film Site Found, IMDb Page, Trailer

Back to the Sea 3D
Dir: Thom Lu
Voices: Christian Slater, Tim Curry, Mark Hamill, Tom Kenny, Kath Soucie, John Di Maggio
China
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

The Grey
Dir: Joe Carnahan (The A-Team, Smokin' Aces)
Cast: Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Man on a Ledge
Dir: Asger Leth (Ghosts of Cité Soleil)
Cast: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Ed Burns, Keira Sedgwick, Ed Harris
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Monsieur Lazhar
Writer/Dir: Philippe Falardeau (C'est pas moi, je le jure! / It's Not Me, I Swear!, Congorama)
Cast: Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx, Brigitte Poupart
Canada
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

One for the Money
Dir: Julie Anne Robinson (The Last Song)
Cast: Katherine Heigl, Jason O’Mara, Sherri Sheppard, John Leguizamo, Debbie Reynolds
USA
Official Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

Tyrannosaur
Writer/Dir: Paddy Considine - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan, Paul Popplewell, Ned Dennehy
UK
Limited Release
Film 4 Film Site, IMDb Page, Trailer

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of January 27, 2012**

Movie Moxie Podcast 59: Haywire, Underworld Awakening, Tyrannosaur Q&A and Oscars

On this weeks podcast I talk about the recent Oscar nominations including recommended approaches to how to choose what to see or even the option of seeing everything! Plus I review recent releases of Haywire, Underworld Awakening and share my vlog review of Tyrannosaur as well as share the intro and Q&A from the TIFF 2011 screening with writer/director Paddy Considine. There is a lot of cheering and clapping during the Q&A, as the film received a well-deserved standing ovation.

Time Coding
0:00 - 0:30 Intro
0:30 - 16:45 Oscar Nominations
16:45 - 25:25 Haywire Review
25:25 - 33:00 Underworld Awakening Review
33:00 - 41:30 Tyrannosaur Review from TIFF 2011
41:30 - 55:45 Tyrannosaur Intro and Q&A with writer/director Paddy Considine
55:45 - 1:03:45 DVD Releases including The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom Review
1:03:45 - 1:05:10 Outro

• I mention my traditional 3 lists for Oscar nominations including a details list, a film list with the details of what it's nominated for and a simple film list with # of nominations (great for printing & highlighting).
• I mention my Facebook Fan Page where I've been Sharing complicated characters who combine charisma and combustion.
• See my vlog and review of Tyrannosaur
• I mention Oscar Noms Hugo, The Help and Jane Eyre were all part of 2011 Movie Moxie Book to Film Club.
• I mention Oscar nominated film Monsieur Lazhur opens January 27, 2012 here in Toronto
• 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.

Most Anticipated Films for 2012

It's that magical time of year, time to look ahead and put on our scrying caps to hone in on what films we are most looking forward to. I usually leave my list until February but this year there is not only 1 but 2 January releases that made my list so I decided to hold out no longer and share the whole thing.

I've created my most anticipated lists for three years running now (see 2010 and 2011 lists), and time after time there are titles that don't make it to theatres, which has swayed me to keep the choices with pretty solid releases dates and/or pretty mainstream. That feels slightly against my own instincts, but it's really to keep disappointment to a minimum. It can allow for happy future surprizes as two of the titles from my 2011 list: The Woman in Black & The Apparition look like we will get them this year in 2012. Even with continual tweaking of this list, I actually ended up with the exact same number of films in 2012 as 2011: 26 titles. Bizarre. If it was a perfect world that would be one every other week, but in actuality it looks like I'll have a very busy March, June and August.

I've also discussed many of these titles on a recent episode of Before the Dawn with Marina, where we both share our most anticipated films of the 2012. My list changed just a little bit since then with a few more titles added, but it's very close to this final list below. Now, without further adieu....

Movie Moxie's Most Anticipated Films of 2012

26. Wettest Country
Let's start with the film I know the least about and actually will be the least likely that I'll enjoy. It's from director John Hillcoat (The Proposition, The Road - both way too dark for me), with a screenplay by Nick Cave (/swoon), and is set in the depression following bootleggers. And it stars Tom Hardy (Bronson, Warrior), Guy Pearce (The King's Speech, Memento), Jessica Chastian (The Help (2011), The Tree of Life), Shia LaBeouf and Gary Oldman. And it's based on the book The Wettest Country in the World by Matt Bondurant. This one gets a nod to Marina as I didn't even know about it until we discussed our picks on Before the Dawn.
Release Date: August 31 2012

25. Dark Shadows
Reduxing of the British supernatural soap opera from the 60's, this one comes to us from director Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green and Helena Bonham Carter. Originally I wasn't super excited about the film until I saw this still, and then I was convinced it would all be gothic and awesome.
Release Date: May 11, 2012

24. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
Although this is a 2012 Movie Moxie Book to Film Club Selection, it actually makes the list because it's from director Timur Bekmambetov who brought us the gorgeously stylized urban supernatural films Night Watch / Nochnoi Dozor and Day Watch / Dnevnoy Dozor. And it's a vampire film. And as a side note one of my goals for 2012 is to be able to pronounce Bekmambetov. Thank goodness Night Watch has a commentary!
Release Date: June 22, 2012

23. The Bourne Legacy
I really loved all three Bourne films so far, and am excited they are continuing the series and the only reason this one is so far back is because it doesn't have Matt Damon in it. I love Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) though, so I have full confidence in him, but I have no clue what they are doing with the series. Plus, it also have Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom, The Thing (2011)) in is, which makes it a must-see film for me. Be curious to see how this one goes.
Release Date: August 3, 2012

22. Prometheus
This Alien prequel from Ridley Scott pretty much has to be on this list. But, it's this far back because I haven't watch the trailer yet and I'm just ever so leery of prequels (although last year we faired fine with The Thing). But, Ridley Scott is one of my favourite directors ever, so I'm always happy to see his work.
Release Date: June 8, 2012

21. The Amazing Spider-Man
There are not many superhero films on my list this year, although I'm sure I will see most of them this is the one I'm actually looking forward too. I've been a fan of Andrew Garfield for several years now (since Boy A at TIFF in 2007 to be exact), and after supporting roles in Never Let Me Go and The Social Network it's exciting to see him back in the lead saddle. So far the film looks a lot like the 2002 version, but I'm hoping it will be awesome whether it plays the similar game or not.
Release Date: July 3, 2012

20. GI Joe: Retaliation
I can't believe how many sequels are on this list, but seeing as I was a huge fan of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and the trailer for the sequel looks like it has more ridiculous fun in store for us, I had to include this film. I had to. So I did.
Release Date: June 19, 2012

19. Byzantium
This is one I don't know tons about but what I do know is more than enough. Neil Jordon (Interview with the Vampire) directs Gemma Arterton (The Disappearance of Alice Creed) & Saoirse Rosin (Hanna) as a mother/daughter vampire duo. Yep. That's enough. But the fact that it also has Sam Riley (Brighton Rock, Control) locks it as over the top must see film.
Release Date: no confirmed release date as of yet

18. Bel Ami
Finally we have a release date for this 2011 Book to Film Club Selection which we read last April! I was worried this beautiful French novel by Guy de Maupassant might have gotten lost in the distribution shuffle but no, we will be seeing Robert Pattinson in the title role as a penniless soldier who decides to invest in the company of women to make his fortune. It's a fascinating story with a fabulous cast including Christina Ricci, Kristin Scott Thomas, Uma Thurman, Holliday Grainger, Natalia Tena, Colm Meaney, James Lance and Philip Glenister and is the feature film directorial debut from Declan Donnellan & Nick Ormerod. I can't wait.
Release Date: March 2, 2012

17. Anna Karenina
Another 2012 Book to Film Club selection based on the classic novel by Leo Tolstoy, the adaptation is from Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, Hanna), stars Keira Knightly, Emily Watson, Jude Law, Aaron Johnson, Matthew Macfadyen, and well, just and amazing slew of fabulous actors. I'm not usually a period piece person but there is something about this one that is speaking to me, so I'm going to listen.
Release Date: A little up in the air - previously I had seen August release in the UK but now I can only find September 7 , 2012 in Sweden. I'll keep my eye on it though!

16. The Raven
I've been quite on the book-connection love going on and as such I'm really excited for The Raven, which is a fictionalized period piece/biopic centred on Edgar Allen Poe (played by John Cusack). It drips of gothic tone and a mystery/suspense spin and a Sherlock Holmes-y feel to it. The film also starts Luke Evans & Alice Eve, is directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin).
Release Date: March 9, 2012

15. John Carter
Why oh why did they take the 'of Mars' off the title of this film? I mean... it has the whole on a red planet feel, why not own it? I don't understand that choice, and I barely know what the film is or will be about. Is it Sci Fi? Fantasy? Sword & Sandals? All three? I don't know. But the old school feel and based on a serial I'm hoping we are in for some HiFi stylings of with LowFi classic storytelling. Fingers crossed.
Release Date: March 9, 2012

14. Paranormal Activity 4
So far the series has proven to be a nice paranormal inclusion and welcome horror choice every October over the years and I'm hoping this one will be too. They've had very creative turns on both sequels so far, so I'm not sure where they are going to go from here but I'm feeling confident it won't disappoint.
Release Date: No confirmed release date yet, but likely October 2012

13. Battleship
Possibly the most ridiculous film on the list (actually, that would be a close battle with GI Joe Retaliation), but this film that looks something between classic military at sea film and then with craziness of Battle LA or Skyline... I can't help but... want to see it! I know it's crazy. But it's also true. Looks like a lot of fun. Here's hoping.
Release Date: May 18, 2012

12. The Expendables 2
It's funny that this one ranks so high on my list and the original Expendables didn't even place on my 2010 list, but that leads me to the fact that seeing The Expendables actually woke me up to the fact that I really love action films. I always knew it, and it never stopped over the years, but I really started to claim it more as of then. Plus, I loved the cast and I was truly the target market. And it made me love Jason Statham again after hating Crank - which is something I never thought would have been possible.
Release Date: August 17, 2012

11. Coriolanus
So many reasons to be excited about this one. First - I missed it at TIFF and now we get it here in Toronto (YAY), second one of my side project called The Mega-List has a challenge I set for myself to #128 Read/Watch all of Shakespeare's Plays and I have already read (and watched a version of) Coriolanus. But this one is Ralph Fiennes directorial debut, and he stars in it alongside Gerard Butler, Vanessa Redgrave & Jessica Chastain. It's also a story that so far I've only started to understand even after all that, so I'm looking forward to seeing this adaptation.
Release Date: January 20, 2012

10. Step Up 4
I'm a big fan of dance films, and honestly was rather distraught that 2011 only had the Footloose reboot for our dancing shoes to tap along with (I wasn't a fan of that original and didn't see the reboot!), but Step Up is a series I've come to enjoy from both the first Step Up and Step Up 3D (#2 was shaky...even for a dance film). I'm ready for more dancing, grooving, stepping and ... well, if pattern holds true likely a different sides of the tracks romance all rolled into for fun too.
Release Date: August 10, 2012

9. Mars et Avril
I know almost nothing about this Canadian films other than setting of a future Montréal, based on the original graphic novels of screenwriter and director Martin Villeneuve (brother of Denis Villeneuve of Next Floor, Polytechnique & Incendies). It has an anti-cybernetic movement, people are about to move to Mars and feels like lots of artistic influences in there as well. Cast includes Caroline Dhavernas and Robert Lepage. I really, really hope this one comes out in Toronto this year!
Release Date: No release date yet, I'm guessing it will be at very least at Fantasia this year

8. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Another 2012 Book to Film Club Selection (we are reading it in February), and I actually have never read it before. And I only read The Lord of the Rings in their entirety in 2010 which actually was I believe the start of a journey that eventually became the Book to Film Club. More on the film, I'm more than happy to return to Middle Earth and see what adventures the hobbits, dwarves and other folks get up to.
Release Date: December 14, 2012

7. Snow White and the Huntsman
The ladies really start to take over the list from here on in, especially if wielding weapons. I've very excited for this re-interpretation of the Snow White story with Kristen Stewart as Snow White, Chris Hemsworth as The Huntsman and Charlize Theron as the Queen. It's very wintery-set and looks absolutely beautiful.
Release Date: June 1, 2012

6. Resident Evil: Retribution
I'm surprized at the number of sequels and series pieces on my list, and this one especially as I don't think I've even seen all the Resident Evil films and I know I didn't even love all the ones I saw. BUT, I loved the first one, and even the last one Resident Evil: Afterlife I had a huge technical issue when seeing it but somehow it still holds a special place in my heart. And it's Milla. You have to love Milla.
Release Date: September 14, 2012 (ACK - that's during TIFF!)

5. Underworld Awakening
This is almost a cheat as I am posting this after the film has been released, but I haven't seen it yet so I'm calling that a fine balancing act. I was a huge fan of the original Underworld and although I didn't love the sequel Underworld: Evolution I quite enjoyed the prequel of Rise of the Lycans; either way this one has the series going back to it's roots of Selene (Kate Beckinsdale) kicking butt. As she is one of my favourite film characters of all time, I'm all for that.
Release Date: January 20, 2012

4. Skyfall
Normally a Bond film wouldn't place so high on my list be there is a very particular reason that this one is. I'll be sharing that reason in the spring. Stay tuned!
Release Date: November 9, 2012

3. Brave
Pixar takes a stab at a female protagonist film, and it's an action/adventure/fantasy one with a fiery archer redhead in the lead. Oh yeah. If they can get this right, they really will be unstoppable.
Release Date: June 22, 2012

2. The Hunger Games
Based on the first book in the post-apocalyptic trilogy by Suzanne Collins, I'm very excited to see this female protagonist young adult action film take centre stage with Jennifer Lawrence in the lead. I'm also particularly fond of the film as I called the casting of Josh Hutcherson in the role of Peeta the moment I heard it was being adapted. It's a great story, a highly stylistic world that can be created and has fascinating characters. It's pretty dark though, which poses a bit of a YA challenge, but hopefully they find a way to make it all work. The freaking trailer made me cry so I can't help but place it this high. The second book is already set for an adaptation slated to be released in 2013.
Release Date: March 23, 2012

1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 2
The vampire/human romance/fantasy saga comes to a close. I've been a TwiFan from seeing the first Twilight on opening night back in 2008, so much so that I have co-hosting a Twilight Podcast Before the Dawn for years now. It has been a bit of a bumpy road walking the parallel journeys of both a fan and someone who writes about film on an ongoing basis. It's be wild to follow both the energy of the fandom and challenge of not loving New Moon and only enjoying Eclipse, but for me it came full circle when I fell in love again with the series though Breaking Dawn: Part 1. It's been a whirlwind and I've very excited to see how the final chapter will play out.
Release Date: November 16, 2012