By John C. On September 19th, I had the pleasure of interviewing Robert Guillaume on his memories of voicing the wise and insightful Rafiki in The Lion King. Although we only spoke on the phone for just under ten minutes, his warmth and aspects of the character always managed to shine through. A close transcript of… Read More Interview: Robert Guillaume – Voice of Rafiki in “The Lion King”
By John C. The Canadian premiere of Real Steel was held tonight at Toronto’s Scotiabank Theatre. But more importantly, lead actor Hugh Jackman, Toronto’s own Dakota Goyo, Thunder Bay’s Kevin Durand and Montreal-born director Shawn Levy were all in attendance. We were also invited by Disney to screen the film, and took numerous pictures as… Read More Canadian Premiere of “Real Steel”
Today, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is releasing the beloved classic Dumbo for the first time on Blu-ray. Originally released in 1941 and now celebrating its 70th anniversary, this is the story of a little elephant born with big ears and an even bigger heart. With a simplistic storyline and delightfully short running time of… Read More Blu-ray Release: Dumbo
Today, Paramount Home Entertainment is releasing a 50th anniversary edition of Breakfast at Tiffany’s on Blu-ray. Based on a novel by Truman Capote and directed by Blake Edwards, the classic 1961 film stars Audrey Hepburn as the iconic Holly Golightly, a carefree woman with a mysterious past who spends her days in Manhattan searching for… Read More Blu-ray Release: Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Today, eOne Films is releasing The Kennedys on DVD. An eight part miniseries about the life of one of the most infamous families in American political history, this was one of the biggest television events of the past several months that garnered as much acclaim as it did controversy. With an all-star cast that includes… Read More DVD Release: The Kennedys
By John C. From the many great films screened and numerous celebrity sightings, right through to small pleasures like the promotional bottle openers and free pizza handed out at the 50/50 world premiere, the 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival was a success on pretty much all accounts. After eleven days, it has come to a… Read More TIFF 2011: Concluding Thoughts on the Festival and People’s Choice Winner
The Lion King 3D – A Walt Disney Pictures’ Release http://disney.go.com/lionking/ 3D Release Date: September 16th, 2011 Original Release Date: June 24th, 1994 Rated G for some scary scenes Running time: 89 minutes Roger Allers (dir.) Rob Minkoff (dir.) Irene Mecchi (screenplay) Jonathan Roberts (screenplay) Linda Woolverton (screenplay) Hans Zimmer (music) Matthew Broderick as Adult Simba… Read More Movie Review: The Lion King 3D
By John C. As we are exactly a week into the 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival and nearing the final weekend, it seems like the perfect time to publish another very diverse set of five capsule reviews. In my last round I wrote about the tense thriller Drive, recommended Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz, called Lucky… Read More TIFF 2011: Five Capsule Reviews, including “Edwin Boyd”
Released September 2011 Page count: 230 pages Size: 6” x 9” The Film Director’s Bag of Tricks: Get What You Want From Writers and Actors Mark W. Travis Published By Michael Wiese Publications http://www.mwp.com/ ________________________________________________ The Film Director’s Bag of Tricks Review By Erin V. Author of The Director’s Journey [1999], and Directing Feature Films… Read More Book Review: The Film Director’s Bag of Tricks – Get What You Want From Writers and Actors
Thor – A Paramount Pictures’ Release http://thor.marvel.com/ DVD Release Date: September 13th, 2011 Rated PG for violence, frightening scenes, not recommended for young children Running time: 114 minutes Kenneth Branagh (dir.) Ashley Edward Miller (screenplay) Zack Stentz (screenplay) Don Payne (screenplay) Patrick Doyle (music) Chris Hemsworth as Thor Natalie Portman as Jane Foster Tom Hiddleston… Read More DVD Review: Thor
The Trip – An Alliance Films’ Release http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/the-trip DVD Release Date: September 13th, 2011 Rated 14A for coarse language and substance abuse Running time: 112 minutes Michael Winterbottom (dir.) Michael Nyman (music) Steve Coogan as Steve Rob Brydon as Rob Margo Stilley as Mischa Rebecca Johnson as Sally Our reviews below: _______________________________________________ The Trip DVD… Read More DVD Review: The Trip
Incendies – An eOne Films’ Release http://www.sonyclassics.com/incendies/ DVD Release Date: September 13th, 2011 Rated 14A for violence and disturbing content Running time: 130 minutes Denis Villeneuve (dir.) Denis Villeneuve (writer) Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne (script consultant) Based on a play by Wadji Mouawad Grégoire Hetzel (music) Lubna Azabal as Nawal Marwan Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin as Jeanne Marwan Maxim… Read More DVD Review: Incendies
By John C. Unlike Sundance or Cannes, the Toronto International Film Festival does not have a juried award. But for 33 of the last 36 years that the Festival of Festivals has taken over the city with movies and parties, the best of fest has been chosen by the people who attend the screenings. Starting… Read More TIFF 2011: What Will the People Choose?
Warrior – An Alliance Films’ Release http://www.warriorfilm.com/index2.html Release Date: September 9th, 2011 Rated 14A for distrubing content and graphic violence Running time: 139 minutes Gavin O’Connor (dir.) Gavin O’Connor (screenplay & story) Anthony Tambakis (screenplay) Cliff Dorfman (screenplay & story) Mark Isham (music) Joel Edgerton as Brendan Conlon Tom Hardy as Tommy Conlon Nick Nolte… Read More Movie Review: Warrior
X-Men: First Class – A 20th Century Fox Release http://www.x-menfirstclassmovie.com/ DVD Release Date: September 9th, 2011 Rated PG for violence, language may offend, not recommended for young children Running time: 131 minutes Matthew Vaughn (dir.) Ashley Edward Miller (screenplay) Zack Stentz (screenplay) Jane Goldman (screenplay) Matthew Vaughn (screenplay) Henry Jackman (music) James McAvoy as Charles… Read More DVD Review: X-Men: First Class
By John C. The 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival starts tonight, with the world premiere of Davis Guggenheim’s documentary on U2, From the Sky Down. Showing us why the great Irish rock band has continued giving us music worth listening to over the past thirty years, this is the first time that a documentary… Read More TIFF 2011: Five Capsule Reviews, including “Take This Waltz”
By Erin V. Right from the first track – that plays practically before anything really even happens on-screen – Ramin Djawadi sets the tone perfectly for the film before we blast into the second track. Presenting the theme of Fright Night, his use of dissonance, strings, harpsichord, and organ throughout plays off of the traditional… Read More Soundtrack Review: Fright Night
Hanna – An Alliance Films’ Release http://www.hannathemovie.com/ DVD Release Date: September 6th, 2011 Rated PG for violence Running time: 111 minutes Joe Wright (dir.) Seth Lochhead (screenplay and story) David Farr (screenplay) The Chemical Brothers (music) Saoirse Ronan as Hanna Eric Bana as Erik Cate Blanchett as Marissa Olivia Williams as Rachel Our reviews below:… Read More DVD Review: Hanna
By John C. From last year’s Oscar-winning The Fighter to next month’s Real Steel where Hugh Jackman plays a washed up boxer who turns to the underground world of teaching robots how to fight, movies about boxing or mixed martial arts have been making a bit of a resurgence as of late. So in honour… Read More Fighting at the Movies
For the first time in quite some time, a Friday has come and gone without a new review. But seeing as it’s the first weekend of September, it seems the studios are merely using it as an opportunity to clear out the handful of films that couldn’t compete with the all of the summer blockbusters.… Read More No New Reviews Today…
The Joy of Movies 