TIFF Celebrate Nuit Blanche and Culture Days

It's that time of year again in Toronto. Well that second other time of the year. The TIFF Festival is done, however the greatest city in the world doesn't just simply stop after the festival. Right around the corner we have Nuit Blanche and Culture Days. A time when the city embraces it's cultural soul while also turning into an all-night Art Gallery.

The folks at TIFF are not staying out of it by offering a great program of events.

Oh Look! A Press Release:

TIFF CELEBRATES NUIT BLANCHE AND CULTURE DAYS

Toronto â€" On October 1 from 7:00 pm â€" 7:00 am TIFF Bell Lightbox will take part in the City of Toronto’s 6th annual Scotiabank Nuit Blanche with an action-packed all-nighter of interactive programming that will have visitors of all ages singing, acting, making music and seeing Toronto in a whole new way. To celebrate Culture Days on October 1 and 2, TIFF presents a full weekend of interactive activities at TIFF Bell Lightbox from 11:30 am â€" 3:30 pm a with a variety of activity stations.

Scotiabank Nuit Blanche activities include:

  • The Movie Studio Playhouse: A collaboration between TIFF and the Canadian Film Center Media Lab, the Movie Studio Playhouse is an interactive installation that allows participants to make and play with moving image stories in real time. As participants act in spontaneously-created films, the images they create will be projected live onto various surfaces at TIFF Bell Lightbox . VJs will then mix, manipulate, mash, and multiply these live video streams and turn them into moving digital paintings.
    Drop-in, runs from 7:00 pm â€" 7:00 am
  • The Royal Canadian Chiptunes Orchestra: TIFF's all-night salute to the music of the video game kicks off with exciting performances by the Royal Canadian Chiptunes Orchestra playing on custom-hacked Gameboys and homemade circuit-based instruments. In addition, a thrilling line-up of top chiptunes artists will fill the giant stage and screen of TIFF Bell Lightbox's Cinema 1 to the brim with bits, bytes, and beats as a mix of live music and scheduled sessions of giant-screen video games come together on stage.
    Runs from 7:00 pm â€" 7:00 am
  • Singin’ in the Dark: ’80s Edition: Visitors will have the time of their life as stand-up/cabaret artist/professional ginger Shawn Hitchins hosts a full night of sing-alongs to ’80s classics like Fame, Footloose, Flashdance and Dirty Dancing.

Show begins every hour, on the hour from 7:00 pm

  • Man With A Movie Camera: Local artist Darren Copeland performs a live digital re-scoring of Dziga Vertov’s iconic city symphony, setting Vertov’s kaleidoscopic depiction of bustling 1920s Russia against the sounds of Toronto circa 2011.
    Live performances at 7:00 pm, 10:00 pm, 1:00 am and 4:00 am. Recorded performances at 8:30 pm, 11:30 pm, 2:30 am and 5:30 am

Culture Days activities include:

 

  • Be in the Scene:  offers visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in some stunning film scenes through the magic of green screen technology.
  • Buttonography:  visitors become their very own buttonographers by capturing a film scene of their choice on a button and having it made on site.
  •  Wonders and Wardrobes:  a fun costume activity that will get visitors ready for the paparazzi .

TIFF is generously supported by Lead Sponsor Bell, Major Sponsors RBC and BlackBerry, and Major Supporters the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, and the City of Toronto.

 

About TIFF
TIFF is a charitable cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. An international leader in film culture, TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, major exhibitions, and learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution program Film Circuit. The organization generates an annual economic impact of $170 million CAD. TIFF Bell Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including Founding Sponsor Bell, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family  (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels ), The Daniels Corporation, Major Sponsor and official bank RBC, Major Sponsor BlackBerry and Visa†. For more information, visit tiff.net.

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Posted

Disney to release every cool movie they have done in 3D

This should not be a surprise at all. Hot on the heels of the buckets-load of money that Lion King 3-D made, Disney has just announced that it will be releasing Beauty and the Beast, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc and the Little Mermaid in 3D.

While I am not a huge fan of 3D and the craptastic elements it brings to certain films, I am a huge fan of it being used it Animated movies. I have always maintained that 3D technology should only be used with animated films and certain types of documentaries. It looks like the market might be leaning towards that.

I for one will be watching all of these when the come out. Partly because I really want to see how the 3D plays out and partly because I have never actually seen Little Mermaid..like ever.

Can you believe that?

 

Oh Look! A press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DISNEY AND DISNEY•PIXAR FAVOURITES POISED TO RETURN TO THEATRES IN 3D
‘Beauty and the Beast,’ ‘Finding Nemo,’ ‘Monsters, Inc.’ and ‘The Little Mermaid’ Will Make 3D Theatrical Debut in 2012 and 2013

BURBANK, Calif. â€" October 4, 2011 â€" On the heels of the phenomenal success of The Lion King 3D â€" which will cross the $80 million mark at the domestic box office today â€" The Walt Disney Studios has announced limited theatrical engagements for four of its classic films for the first time in 3D. The following titles from Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios w ill be released in 2012 and 2013:

• Beauty and the Beast â€" January 13, 2012
• Disney•Pixar’s Finding Nemo â€" September 14, 2012
• Disney•Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. â€" January 18, 2013 (Monsters University, a prequel to the original film, arrives in theaters in Disney Digital 3D on June 21, 2013)
• The Little Mermaid â€" September 13, 2013

“Great stories and great characters are timeless, and at Disney we’re fortunate to have a treasure trove of both,” said Alan Bergman, President, The Walt Disney Studios. “We’re thrilled to give audiences of all ages the chance to experience these beloved tales in an exciting new way with 3D â€" and in the case of younger generations, for the first time on the big screen.”

Originally released in 1991, Beauty and the Beast is a classic “tale as old as time” that follows the adventures of Belle, a bright young woman imprisoned in the castle of a mysterious beast and his enchanted staff, who must learn the most important lesson of all â€" that true beauty comes from within. Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film ever nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Picture, earning an additional five Oscar® nominations and winning two. It has grossed $380.4 million worldwide.

First released in 2003, Disney•Pixar’s Finding Nemo takes audiences into a whole new world in this undersea adventure about family, courage and challenges. When Marlin, an overly cautious clownfish living in the Great Barrier Reef, helplessly watches his son get scooped up by a diver, he must put aside his fears of the ocean and leave the safety of his coral enclave to find Nemo. Buoyed by the companionship of Dory, a forgetful but relentlessly optimistic fish, Marlin finds himself the unlikely hero in a seemingly impossible land-and-sea rescue. Finding Nemo won an Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature and was nominated for three others. With a total of $867.6 million worldwide, it was the second highest-grossing film of 2003.

In 2001, Disney•Pixar released Monsters, Inc. Lovable Sulley and his wisecracking sidekick Mike Wazowski are the top scare team at Monsters, Inc., the scream-processing factory in Monstropolis. But when a little girl named Boo wanders into their world, it’s up to Sulley and Mike to keep her out of sight and get her back home. Monsters, Inc. shattered every DVD-era home entertainment sales record when 11 million DVD/VHS copies were sold during its first week of release. It won an Academy Award® for Best Song and has grossed $526.9 million worldwide.

Released in 1989, The Little Mermaid, stars Ariel, a fun-loving and mischievous mermaid, off on the adventure of a lifetime with her best friend, the adorable Flounder, and the reggae-singing Caribbean crab Sebastian. But it will take all of her courage and determination to make her dreams come true and save her father’s beloved kingdom from the sneaky sea witch Ursula. One of the most celebrated animated films of all time, The Little Mermaid was nominated for three Academy Awards®, winning two. It has grossed $228.9 million worldwide.

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Posted

Cineplex is bringing us the man, the myth, the legend - William Shatner to the big screen.


I've been looking forward to this one for awhile.  The Captains is one of the greatest ideas for a documentary I have heard in a long while. Take away the fact that I am a huge Trek fan, watching the Big Kahuna in one of the biggest pop-culture phenomenons interview others who have followed him and help shape the legend that is Star Trek is going to be a fascinating watch.

I know that Cineplex is having a one-night special screening in Toronto that I will be sure to be at and I hope to see you there.

Oh Look! A press release:

 

Cineplex Beams William Shatner’s The Captains into Movie Theatres Across Canada
Star Trek original takes on his Captain peers and fellow actors in a revealing
documentary that speaks to fandom of Trekkies

TORONTO, ON October 6, 2011 â€" Star Trek fans, set your phasers to stun! William Shatner’s new documentary, The Captains, lands in participating movie theatres across Canada on Thursday, October 13 at 7 p.m. (local time) for a one-night only presentation. This special event, presented by Cineplex Entertainment’s Front Row Centre Events and Ballinran Entertainment, is the final frontier to see this highly anticipated documentary in theatres.

The Captains is a feature length documentary that “boldly goes where no man has gone before,” giving viewers an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at one of the most durable and profitable franchises in entertainment history, and the men and women who made the Star Trek brand an international phenomenon since 1966. The Captains is written and directed by William Shatner.

“Movie theatre seats across the country are the closest fans can get to the Captain’s chair on this voyage that looks at the iconic role of a Star Trek Captain,” said Pat Marshall, Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment. “Trekkies will not want to miss this one-night only event.”
The Captains is produced by Canada’s Ballinran Entertainment and Le Big Boss Productions in association with Movie Central, a Corus Entertainment Company; EPIX; The Movie Network, an Astral Media Network; and Les Chaines Tele Astral - a division of Astral Broadcasting Group; with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation Film and Television Tax Credit.
Tickets can be purchased at participating theatre box offices, through the Cineplex Mobile Apps and online at www.cineplex.com/events or our mobile site m.cineplex.com.
The Captains can be enjoyed at the following theatres across Canada on Thursday, October 13th at 7 p.m. local time:

BRITISH COLUMBIA
Burnaby
SilverCity Metropolis Cinemas, 4700 Kingsway Avenue
Chilliwack
Galaxy Cinemas Chilliwack, 8249 Eagle Landing Parkway
Coquitlam
SilverCity Coquitlam Cinemas, 170 Schoolhouse Street
Kamloops
LANDMARK â€" Paramount, 503 Victoria Street
Kelowna
LANDMARK - Grand 10 Kelowna, 940 McCurdy Road
Langford
Cineplex Odeon Westshore Cinemas, 2945 Jacklin Road
Langley
Colossus Langley Cinemas, 20090 91A Avenue
Nanaimo
LANDMARK - Avalon Cinema Centre, 6631 Island Highway North
North Vancouver
EMPIRE Esplanade 6 North Vancouver, 200 West Esplanade
Prince George
Famous Players 6 Cinemas, 172-1600 Fifth Avenue
Richmond
SilverCity Riverport Cinemas, 14211 Entertainment Way
Surrey
EMPIRE Studio 12 Guildford, 15051 101st Avenue
Vancouver
Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver, 900 Burrard Street
Vernon
Galaxy Cinemas Vernon, 2306 Highway 6

ALBERTA
Calgary
Cineplex Odeon Sunridge Spectrum Cinemas, 400-2555 32nd Avenue
Scotiabank Theatre Chinook, 6455 Macleod Trail SW
Empire Theatres Shawnessy, 100-16061 MacLeod Trail SE
EMPIRE Studio 16 Country Hills, 300-388 Country Hills Blvd NE
Edmonton
Cineplex Odeon South Edmonton Cinemas, 1525-99th Street NW
Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton , 8882-170 Street
EMPIRE Theatres City Centre Edmonton, 10200 102nd Avenue
Grande Prairie
LANDMARK - Jan Cinema, 9820 - 100TH AVENUE
Lethbridge
Galaxy Cinemas Lethbridge, 501-1st Avenue SW
Red Deer
Galaxy Cinemas Red Deer, 357-37400 Highway #2

MANITOBA
Winnipeg
SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas, 817 St. James Street

SASKATCHEWAN
Moose Jaw
Galaxy Cinemas Moose Jaw, 1235 Main Street N
Prince Albert
Galaxy Cinemas Prince Albert, 2995 2nd Avenue
Regina
Galaxy Cinemas Regina, 420 McCarthy Boulevard N
Saskatoon
Galaxy Cinemas Saskatoon, 347 2nd Avenue

ONTARIO
Ajax
Cineplex Odeon Ajax Cinemas, 248 Kingston Road
Barrie
Galaxy Cinemas Barrie, 72 Commerce Park Drive
Belleville
Galaxy Cinemas Belleville, 160 Bell Boulevard
Bowmanville
Cineplex Odeon Clarington Place Cinemas, 111 Clarington Boulevard
Brampton
SilverCity Brampton Cinemas, 50 Great Lakes Drive
Brantford
Galaxy Cinemas Brantford, 300 King George Road
Brockville
Galaxy Cinemas Brockville, 2399 Parkedale Avenue
Cornwall
Galaxy Cinemas Cornwall, 1325 Second Street E
Guelph
Galaxy Cinemas Guelph, 485 Woodlawn Road W
Hamilton
SilverCity Hamilton Mountain Cinemas, 795 Paramount Drive
Kingston
Cineplex Odeon Gardiners Road Cinemas, 626 Gardiners Road
Kitchener
EMPIRE Theatres Kitchener, 135 Gateway Park Drive
London
Cineplex Odeon Westmount & VIP Cinemas, 755 Wonderland Road S
SilverCity London Cinemas, 1680 Richmond Street
Milton
Galaxy Cinemas Milton, 1175 Maple Avenue
Mississauga
EMPIRE Studio 10 at Square One, 100 City Centre Drive
Newmarket
SilverCity Newmarket Cinemas and XSCAPE Entertainment Centre, 18151 Yonge Street
Niagara Falls
Cineplex Odeon Niagara Square Cinemas, 7555 Montrose Road
North Bay
Galaxy Cinemas North Bay, 300 Lakeshore Drive
Oakville
SilverCity Oakville and VIP Cinemas, 3531 Wyecroft Road
Oshawa
Cineplex Odeon Oshawa Cinemas, 1351 Grandview Street N
Ottawa
Coliseum Ottawa Cinemas, 3090 Carling Avenue
SilverCity Gloucester Cinemas, 2385 City Park Drive
EMPIRE 7 Ottawa, 111 Albert Street, 3rd Floor
Owen Sound
Galaxy Cinemas Owen Sound, 1020 10th Street
Peterborough
Galaxy Cinemas Peterborough, 320 Water Street
Sarnia
Famous Players Lambton 9 Cinemas, 1450 London Road
Sault Ste. Marie
Galaxy Cinemas Sault Ste. Marie, 293 Bay Street
St. Catharines
EMPIRE Theatres Pen Centre, 221 Glendale Avenue
Stratford
Stratford Cinemas, 750 Palace Street E
Sudbury
SilverCity Sudbury Cinemas, 355 Barrydowne Road
Thunder Bay
SilverCity Thunder Bay Cinemas, 850 North May Street
Toronto
Cineplex Odeon Eglinton Town Centre Cinemas, 22 Lebovic Avenue
Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas, 1025 The Queensway
Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, 259 Richmond Street W
SilverCity Fairview Mall Cinemas, 1800 Sheppard Avenue E
Vaughan
Colossus Vaughan Cinemas, 3555 Highway 7 W
Windsor
SilverCity Windsor Cinemas, 4611 Walker Road

QUEBEC
Brossard
Cineplex Odeon Brossard Cinemas, 9350 boul. Leduc
Kirkland
Coliseum Kirkland Cinemas, 3200 rue Jean Yves
Laval
Colossus Laval Cinemas, 2800 rue Cosmodôme
Montreal
Scotiabank Theatre Montreal, 977 rue Ste-Catherine O
Sherbrooke
Galaxy Cinemas Sherbrooke, 4204 rue Bertrand-Fabi
Ste.Foy
Cineplex Odeon Ste. Foy Cinemas, 1200 boul. Duplessis

NEW BRUNSWICK
Fredericton
EMPIRE Studio 10 Regent Mall, 1381 Regent Street
Moncton
EMPIRE 8 Trinity Drive, 127 Trinity Drive

NOVA SCOTIA
Halifax
EMPIRE 8 Park Lane, 5657 Spring Garden Road
Sydney
EMPIRE Studio 10, 325 Prince Street

NEWFOUNDLAND
EMPIRE Studio 12, 48 Kenmount Road

P.E.I.
Charlottetown
EMPIRE Studio 8 Charlottetown, 670 University Avenue

For additional information on The Captains, please visit www.thecaptainsdocumentary.com.

Filed under  //  Arts   Canada   Cineplex Entertainment   London   Movies   Sheppard Avenue   Theaters   Toronto   film   nerdiness   pop-culture   tumblrize   xavierpop  
Posted

Cineplex is bringing us the man, the myth, the legend - William Shatner to the big screen.


I've been looking forward to this one for awhile.  The Captains is one of the greatest ideas for a documentary I have heard in a long while. Take away the fact that I am a huge Trek fan, watching the Big Kahuna in one of the biggest pop-culture phenomenons interview others who have followed him and help shape the legend that is Star Trek is going to be a fascinating watch.

I know that Cineplex is having a one-night special screening in Toronto that I will be sure to be at and I hope to see you there.

Oh Look! A press release:

 

Cineplex Beams William Shatner’s The Captains into Movie Theatres Across Canada
Star Trek original takes on his Captain peers and fellow actors in a revealing
documentary that speaks to fandom of Trekkies

TORONTO, ON October 6, 2011 â€" Star Trek fans, set your phasers to stun! William Shatner’s new documentary, The Captains, lands in participating movie theatres across Canada on Thursday, October 13 at 7 p.m. (local time) for a one-night only presentation. This special event, presented by Cineplex Entertainment’s Front Row Centre Events and Ballinran Entertainment, is the final frontier to see this highly anticipated documentary in theatres.

The Captains is a feature length documentary that “boldly goes where no man has gone before,” giving viewers an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at one of the most durable and profitable franchises in entertainment history, and the men and women who made the Star Trek brand an international phenomenon since 1966. The Captains is written and directed by William Shatner.

“Movie theatre seats across the country are the closest fans can get to the Captain’s chair on this voyage that looks at the iconic role of a Star Trek Captain,” said Pat Marshall, Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment. “Trekkies will not want to miss this one-night only event.”
The Captains is produced by Canada’s Ballinran Entertainment and Le Big Boss Productions in association with Movie Central, a Corus Entertainment Company; EPIX; The Movie Network, an Astral Media Network; and Les Chaines Tele Astral - a division of Astral Broadcasting Group; with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation Film and Television Tax Credit.
Tickets can be purchased at participating theatre box offices, through the Cineplex Mobile Apps and online at www.cineplex.com/events or our mobile site m.cineplex.com.
The Captains can be enjoyed at the following theatres across Canada on Thursday, October 13th at 7 p.m. local time:

BRITISH COLUMBIA
Burnaby
SilverCity Metropolis Cinemas, 4700 Kingsway Avenue
Chilliwack
Galaxy Cinemas Chilliwack, 8249 Eagle Landing Parkway
Coquitlam
SilverCity Coquitlam Cinemas, 170 Schoolhouse Street
Kamloops
LANDMARK â€" Paramount, 503 Victoria Street
Kelowna
LANDMARK - Grand 10 Kelowna, 940 McCurdy Road
Langford
Cineplex Odeon Westshore Cinemas, 2945 Jacklin Road
Langley
Colossus Langley Cinemas, 20090 91A Avenue
Nanaimo
LANDMARK - Avalon Cinema Centre, 6631 Island Highway North
North Vancouver
EMPIRE Esplanade 6 North Vancouver, 200 West Esplanade
Prince George
Famous Players 6 Cinemas, 172-1600 Fifth Avenue
Richmond
SilverCity Riverport Cinemas, 14211 Entertainment Way
Surrey
EMPIRE Studio 12 Guildford, 15051 101st Avenue
Vancouver
Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver, 900 Burrard Street
Vernon
Galaxy Cinemas Vernon, 2306 Highway 6

ALBERTA
Calgary
Cineplex Odeon Sunridge Spectrum Cinemas, 400-2555 32nd Avenue
Scotiabank Theatre Chinook, 6455 Macleod Trail SW
Empire Theatres Shawnessy, 100-16061 MacLeod Trail SE
EMPIRE Studio 16 Country Hills, 300-388 Country Hills Blvd NE
Edmonton
Cineplex Odeon South Edmonton Cinemas, 1525-99th Street NW
Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton , 8882-170 Street
EMPIRE Theatres City Centre Edmonton, 10200 102nd Avenue
Grande Prairie
LANDMARK - Jan Cinema, 9820 - 100TH AVENUE
Lethbridge
Galaxy Cinemas Lethbridge, 501-1st Avenue SW
Red Deer
Galaxy Cinemas Red Deer, 357-37400 Highway #2

MANITOBA
Winnipeg
SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas, 817 St. James Street

SASKATCHEWAN
Moose Jaw
Galaxy Cinemas Moose Jaw, 1235 Main Street N
Prince Albert
Galaxy Cinemas Prince Albert, 2995 2nd Avenue
Regina
Galaxy Cinemas Regina, 420 McCarthy Boulevard N
Saskatoon
Galaxy Cinemas Saskatoon, 347 2nd Avenue

ONTARIO
Ajax
Cineplex Odeon Ajax Cinemas, 248 Kingston Road
Barrie
Galaxy Cinemas Barrie, 72 Commerce Park Drive
Belleville
Galaxy Cinemas Belleville, 160 Bell Boulevard
Bowmanville
Cineplex Odeon Clarington Place Cinemas, 111 Clarington Boulevard
Brampton
SilverCity Brampton Cinemas, 50 Great Lakes Drive
Brantford
Galaxy Cinemas Brantford, 300 King George Road
Brockville
Galaxy Cinemas Brockville, 2399 Parkedale Avenue
Cornwall
Galaxy Cinemas Cornwall, 1325 Second Street E
Guelph
Galaxy Cinemas Guelph, 485 Woodlawn Road W
Hamilton
SilverCity Hamilton Mountain Cinemas, 795 Paramount Drive
Kingston
Cineplex Odeon Gardiners Road Cinemas, 626 Gardiners Road
Kitchener
EMPIRE Theatres Kitchener, 135 Gateway Park Drive
London
Cineplex Odeon Westmount & VIP Cinemas, 755 Wonderland Road S
SilverCity London Cinemas, 1680 Richmond Street
Milton
Galaxy Cinemas Milton, 1175 Maple Avenue
Mississauga
EMPIRE Studio 10 at Square One, 100 City Centre Drive
Newmarket
SilverCity Newmarket Cinemas and XSCAPE Entertainment Centre, 18151 Yonge Street
Niagara Falls
Cineplex Odeon Niagara Square Cinemas, 7555 Montrose Road
North Bay
Galaxy Cinemas North Bay, 300 Lakeshore Drive
Oakville
SilverCity Oakville and VIP Cinemas, 3531 Wyecroft Road
Oshawa
Cineplex Odeon Oshawa Cinemas, 1351 Grandview Street N
Ottawa
Coliseum Ottawa Cinemas, 3090 Carling Avenue
SilverCity Gloucester Cinemas, 2385 City Park Drive
EMPIRE 7 Ottawa, 111 Albert Street, 3rd Floor
Owen Sound
Galaxy Cinemas Owen Sound, 1020 10th Street
Peterborough
Galaxy Cinemas Peterborough, 320 Water Street
Sarnia
Famous Players Lambton 9 Cinemas, 1450 London Road
Sault Ste. Marie
Galaxy Cinemas Sault Ste. Marie, 293 Bay Street
St. Catharines
EMPIRE Theatres Pen Centre, 221 Glendale Avenue
Stratford
Stratford Cinemas, 750 Palace Street E
Sudbury
SilverCity Sudbury Cinemas, 355 Barrydowne Road
Thunder Bay
SilverCity Thunder Bay Cinemas, 850 North May Street
Toronto
Cineplex Odeon Eglinton Town Centre Cinemas, 22 Lebovic Avenue
Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas, 1025 The Queensway
Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, 259 Richmond Street W
SilverCity Fairview Mall Cinemas, 1800 Sheppard Avenue E
Vaughan
Colossus Vaughan Cinemas, 3555 Highway 7 W
Windsor
SilverCity Windsor Cinemas, 4611 Walker Road

QUEBEC
Brossard
Cineplex Odeon Brossard Cinemas, 9350 boul. Leduc
Kirkland
Coliseum Kirkland Cinemas, 3200 rue Jean Yves
Laval
Colossus Laval Cinemas, 2800 rue Cosmodôme
Montreal
Scotiabank Theatre Montreal, 977 rue Ste-Catherine O
Sherbrooke
Galaxy Cinemas Sherbrooke, 4204 rue Bertrand-Fabi
Ste.Foy
Cineplex Odeon Ste. Foy Cinemas, 1200 boul. Duplessis

NEW BRUNSWICK
Fredericton
EMPIRE Studio 10 Regent Mall, 1381 Regent Street
Moncton
EMPIRE 8 Trinity Drive, 127 Trinity Drive

NOVA SCOTIA
Halifax
EMPIRE 8 Park Lane, 5657 Spring Garden Road
Sydney
EMPIRE Studio 10, 325 Prince Street

NEWFOUNDLAND
EMPIRE Studio 12, 48 Kenmount Road

P.E.I.
Charlottetown
EMPIRE Studio 8 Charlottetown, 670 University Avenue

For additional information on The Captains, please visit www.thecaptainsdocumentary.com.

Filed under  //  Arts   Canada   Cineplex Entertainment   London   Movies   Sheppard Avenue   Theaters   Toronto   film   nerdiness   pop-culture   tumblrize   xavierpop  
Posted

Melanie's Review of Real Steel

This movie is good. In fact, it’s really good. Is it going to be an Oscar contender? Absolutely not, and that’s totally cool with me. Sometimes I don’t want to watch a movie that makes me think too much. Sometimes, I just want to sit down and be entertained. Real Steel is a very entertaining movie. Was it kinda predictable?  Sure, but I don’t care. For 127 minutes I forgot about all of the stresses in my life, and had some fun.

The movie is set about 20 years in the future where a blood-thirsty public no longer enjoys watching people beat the crap out of each other, but rather prefers to watch giant robots tear each other apart â€" literally. I describe the movie as Rocky meets Transformers meets The Champ.

Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Van Helsing, Kate & Leopold) plays Charlie Kenton, a down-on-his-luck former boxer who tours the country with fighting robots to make ends meet. You get a sense that Charlie is a bit of a player/gypsy who breaks hearts wherever he goes. He finds out that a woman he had a child with has passed away leaving his 11 year-old son parentless. Having no interest in becoming a real father but seeing an opportunity to make some money, he takes his son in for the summer in exchange for a cash payment.

Charlie’s son Max, played very aptly by Toronto-born Dakota Goyo, is your typical child who’s been deserted by his dad and raised by his mom â€" he’s tough, strong-willed, too mature for his age, and a bit of a pain in the butt. Dakota actually reminds me of another child actor, Jake Lloyd, who played young Anakin Skywalk in The Phantom Menace - the main difference being that Dakota can actually act.

Without giving too much away, father and son go looking for parts for a broken fighting robot and discover one of the original sparring robots that has been left for trash. Max decides to keep the robot and discovers that it can actually fight. The robot, named Atom, reminded me at times of Wall-e - in the sense that you end up falling in love with this machine and you have no idea if it’s even aware.

The third star of this film are definitely the fighting robots â€" all of them. I’m not usually one to go ga-ga over a bunch of over-sized children’s toys, but they really did an amazing job creating these machines. They didn’t miss any details  â€" the unique designs, the colours, the sounds, and the imposingness of them all worked. These machines seemed to take on a life of their own which helped to create  an unbelievable boxing world full of flash and glamour. If you have a boy between the ages of 13 and 18, take them to see this movie â€" they’ll lose their minds!!!

This movie pretty much belongs to Hugh, Dakota and Atom, the robot Max brings back from the dead, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the supporting actors. One of the main “bad-guys” is an arrogant jerk named Ricky, played by Kevin Durand (Smokin’ Aces, Wolferine, Robin Hood) â€" I wasn’t sure where I’d seen him before, however after watching Real Steel I won’t forget him anytime soon. Not only is he a great actor, he is a great guy (and from Thunder Bay no less). Another Canadian in the film is Evangeline Lilly (Hurt Locker and TV’s Lost). She plays Charlie’s friend, business partner, and former love. Lilly did an excellent job playing Bailey Tallet, the daughter of Charlie’s dead boxing coach, who Charlie has been taken advantage of for a number of years.

I must give kudos to Montreal-born director, Shawn Levy, for creating yet another fun feel-good film. He seems to be the go-to guy for that genre having directed both Night at the Museum films, Date Night, and Cheaper by the Dozen.

I give Real Steel 4 stars out of 5, and look forward to seeing it again when it comes out in theatres on October 7th.

Posted

TIFF Celebrate Nuit Blanche and Culture Days

It's that time of year again in Toronto. Well that second other time of the year. The TIFF Festival is done, however the greatest city in the world doesn't just simply stop after the festival. Right around the corner we have Nuit Blanche and Culture Days. A time when the city embraces it's cultural soul while also turning into an all-night Art Gallery.

The folks at TIFF are not staying out of it by offering a great program of events.

Oh Look! A Press Release:

TIFF CELEBRATES NUIT BLANCHE AND CULTURE DAYS

Toronto â€" On October 1 from 7:00 pm â€" 7:00 am TIFF Bell Lightbox will take part in the City of Toronto’s 6th annual Scotiabank Nuit Blanche with an action-packed all-nighter of interactive programming that will have visitors of all ages singing, acting, making music and seeing Toronto in a whole new way. To celebrate Culture Days on October 1 and 2, TIFF presents a full weekend of interactive activities at TIFF Bell Lightbox from 11:30 am â€" 3:30 pm a with a variety of activity stations.

Scotiabank Nuit Blanche activities include:

  • The Movie Studio Playhouse: A collaboration between TIFF and the Canadian Film Center Media Lab, the Movie Studio Playhouse is an interactive installation that allows participants to make and play with moving image stories in real time. As participants act in spontaneously-created films, the images they create will be projected live onto various surfaces at TIFF Bell Lightbox . VJs will then mix, manipulate, mash, and multiply these live video streams and turn them into moving digital paintings.
    Drop-in, runs from 7:00 pm â€" 7:00 am
  • The Royal Canadian Chiptunes Orchestra: TIFF's all-night salute to the music of the video game kicks off with exciting performances by the Royal Canadian Chiptunes Orchestra playing on custom-hacked Gameboys and homemade circuit-based instruments. In addition, a thrilling line-up of top chiptunes artists will fill the giant stage and screen of TIFF Bell Lightbox's Cinema 1 to the brim with bits, bytes, and beats as a mix of live music and scheduled sessions of giant-screen video games come together on stage.
    Runs from 7:00 pm â€" 7:00 am
  • Singin’ in the Dark: ’80s Edition: Visitors will have the time of their life as stand-up/cabaret artist/professional ginger Shawn Hitchins hosts a full night of sing-alongs to ’80s classics like Fame, Footloose, Flashdance and Dirty Dancing.

Show begins every hour, on the hour from 7:00 pm

  • Man With A Movie Camera: Local artist Darren Copeland performs a live digital re-scoring of Dziga Vertov’s iconic city symphony, setting Vertov’s kaleidoscopic depiction of bustling 1920s Russia against the sounds of Toronto circa 2011.
    Live performances at 7:00 pm, 10:00 pm, 1:00 am and 4:00 am. Recorded performances at 8:30 pm, 11:30 pm, 2:30 am and 5:30 am

Culture Days activities include:

 

  • Be in the Scene:  offers visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in some stunning film scenes through the magic of green screen technology.
  • Buttonography:  visitors become their very own buttonographers by capturing a film scene of their choice on a button and having it made on site.
  •  Wonders and Wardrobes:  a fun costume activity that will get visitors ready for the paparazzi .

TIFF is generously supported by Lead Sponsor Bell, Major Sponsors RBC and BlackBerry, and Major Supporters the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, and the City of Toronto.

 

About TIFF
TIFF is a charitable cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. An international leader in film culture, TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, major exhibitions, and learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution program Film Circuit. The organization generates an annual economic impact of $170 million CAD. TIFF Bell Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including Founding Sponsor Bell, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family  (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels ), The Daniels Corporation, Major Sponsor and official bank RBC, Major Sponsor BlackBerry and Visa†. For more information, visit tiff.net.

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Melanie's Review of Moneyball


I can’t say enough about this film.

Moneyball is what movies are supposed to be. It is an exceptionally written, directed and acted piece of mastery.

The movie is based on the true story of how Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s, changed the way baseball recruits its players. Since half the North American population already knows something about what he did, I needn’t struggle to evade revealing too much.

The synopsis for this film alone would have put me to sleep normally but positive buzz lead me to viewing what I now consider to be the front-runner in the “best film” category at this year’s Oscars. I would actually put money on it. I also think Brad Pitt might actually get his third Oscar nomination for playing Billy Beane the failed ball player, turned scout, turned general manager.

I believe Brad to be my generations Robert Redford and he proved it with his performance in this movie.  It was so subtle, so nuanced, and never over-done. I must admit that sometimes I forget how talented he is.

I must also admit that I was pretty shocked to hear that Jonah Hill was co-starring in this film. Having starred in the raunchy comedies Superbad, Get Him to the Greek, and The Sitter, I figured that he’d remain a ‘one-trick pony’ and that eventually people would get sick of him and move on. Moneyball seemed to be so far outside of his scope of ability, but I gotta say… this is also very much his movie as it is Pitt's. This is the movie that will change the course of his career. Jonah Hill can actually act. His portrayal of Peter Brand, the completely green, recent economics grad from Yale who invented the new system of creating a baseball team, was so spot-on.

Also headlining in Moneyball is Philip Seymour Hoffman. I’m not sure why his name is on all of the posters, given that he’s in the movie for all of five minutes… not that I’m complaining. I love Seymour Hoffman â€" the man is a genius. However, his role of Art Howe, the head coach for the Oakland A’s, was pretty small. I would have loved to have him in the movie more. He probably did the film as a favour to the director Bennett Miller, who also directed him in Capote (which coincidentally is the only other film that Miller has directed).

In order to avoid boring all of you with a list of other bit parts in the film, I will simply state that the actors that were chosen to play all of the team’s players and employees were excellent - they all brought heart and depth to the film.

The only area in Moneyball that lacked for me was Brad’s chemistry with his on-screen daughter played by Kerris Dorsey. Although she’s a lovely girl who is a TV veteran at the ripe old age of 13 - and possesses an almost angelic singing voice - she never seemed to connect with Brad as her dad. Not sure if it was her acting, or if it was the script. Their relationship just never worked for me.

Next to the main two actors, the best part of the film to me was the beautifully crafted script. As a West Wing addict, I can spot Aaron Sorkin’s work anywhere. Sorkin has an incredible gift with words and a knack for sculpting characters that you fall in love with. The script was co-written with Steven Zaillian, who happens to be the screenplay writer to some of my favourite movies (Awakenings, Searching for Bobby Fischer, and Schindler’s List). So for me it is a match made in heaven. And it worked very well, as the audience laughed out loud at so many points during the movie that I lost track of how many times. Sorkin and Zaillian took a potentially dull topic and breathed dazzling life into it.

Moneyball is one of the best films I’ve seen in a long time. It is the kind of film that Hollywood should strive to make more often. Do yourself a favour… go see this film. I enjoyed it so much, that I’m planning on going to see it again as soon as I can â€" which is saying a lot since I don’t even know who Billy Beane is.

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@MovieJay's Review of Moneyball

Heading into the 2002 season, Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics found themselves minus three star players from their previous season. One in which they cracked the elusive 100-win barrier but ended up losing a heartbreaking 5-game series to the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs to end their season early.

The A's had a payroll of just under $40 million, roughly three times less than that of the Yankees, in a sport where the big market teams essentially pilfer great players from the smaller market ones. Unlike the NBA or the NFL, where revenues are pooled and teams have an equal shot at being competitive, Major League Baseball still goes by the old formula of every-man-for-himself.

It is this challenge of lopsidedness and the frustration that comes from it that the movie is about. We see this very well illustrated early on through a sports-talk radio announcer as he laments how the A's are essentially a farm system for teams like the Yankees and Red Sox. It is this same tension that we see in Billy Beane, the A's General Manager and a former player himself as he is a man who simply hates, hates, hates losing.

Restless and lonely, Brad Pitt plays Beane as a man with constant dissatisfaction within himself. He wheels and deals, signs new players, works the phones with other GM's around the league, dotes on his daughter from his failed marriage, and drives around aimlessly during games while sporadically checking the radio to hear updates driven with an almost obsessive focus.

In the off-season heading into 2002, it is made clear to Beane by the A's owner that they'll have to try to compete again using imagination and creativity since the payroll simply won't budge from where it's at, which is in the basement. On a trip to Cleveland to meet with Indians management, we meet Peter Brand, an assistant in that organization who appears to be one of the key people in the room who shoots down a trade that Beane and the Indians GM are working out. This infuriates Beane and it leads to a scene between the two men in an underground parking lot where Brand explains the fallacies of the old scouting system. Beane appreciates Brand's honesty which results in him buying him from the Indians to work as his assistant-GM in Oakland.

Moneyball isn't so much a baseball movie as it is a movie about the business of baseball. What we learn about sabermetrics, a computer-generated analysis that is used to target undervalued players who are perhaps better than their overall numbers might suggest, is not as important as the fact that it is now commonly used by all professional sports teams. Indeed, the best the movie can do is give us entertaining cross-cuts and pans of a multitude of stats, figures and player names, but what is important is how the characters feel about the technology.

The great success of Moneyball, a drama that is surprisingly touching and funny, lies in the screenplay by Steve Zailian (Schindler's List, Searching For Bobby Fischer) and Aaron Sorkin (the West Wing, the Social Network). They use observation and character to thrust the action forward instead of artificial plot requirements we have become used to in sports movies that too often depend on the "big game" or the "tournament" for tension. We meet a few of the players on the A's squad, but the focus is almost entirely on the backroom dealings, although there is one sequence in the second half of the pic detailing the American League record the A's set by winning 20 games in a row that is among the best and purely entertaining sequences of it's kind in sports movies as it splices real footage together with action from the movie. There are also a couple of quiet and sad scenes involving players who are traded or sent down to the minors that are written very well and make the athletes into human commodities who we actually feel for.

Moneyball is smarter and ultimately more engaging than most other sports films because it does a wonderful job at bringing empathy to all sides. From the GM and his assistant, (played with dry understatement by Jonah Hill, in his best performance to date), to the old-time scouts who fear the new system, to the uncompromising and stalwart A's manager Art Howe, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman as a guy who will manage his team the best way he sees fit. The empathy given to Hoffman and the scouts elevates this movie as one of the year's best because they aren't made out to be foils but are real people with real concerns and doubts about an unproven system based on computer technology.

Brad Pitt does a great job of suggesting restlessness in almost every scene as he moves forward with uncertainty about how things will turn out for the team and for himself. The movie ends perfectly with an interplay between him and Hill in some of their more private moments which are existential and melancholy and are truly refreshing to behold in a movie about sports.

Thoughtful, funny, and an excellent entertainment, Moneyball is the best movie of it's kind since Friday Night Lights.

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An Extremely Dope Man of Steel Fan-Made Teaser Trailer


Look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane...

It's a very dope fan-made teaser trailer for the upcoming Zack Snyder Man of Steel.

Even though there is not that much to it, there is something about it that really gets me excited for the movie coming out.

What say you?

Filed under  //  Business   Joe Carnahan   Joystiq   Liam Neeson   Metals   Steel   Teaser trailer   Zack Snyder   film   nerdiness   pop-culture   tumblrize   xavierpop  
Posted

An Extremely Dope Man of Steel Fan-Made Teaser Trailer


Look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane...

It's a very dope fan-made teaser trailer for the upcoming Zack Snyder Man of Steel.

Even though there is not that much to it, there is something about it that really gets me excited for the movie coming out.

What say you?

Filed under  //  Business   Joe Carnahan   Joystiq   Liam Neeson   Metals   Steel   Teaser trailer   Zack Snyder   film   nerdiness   pop-culture   tumblrize   xavierpop  
Posted