This Week in Film: January 24th 2008

Starting off on a sad note, this week we lost the promising young actor Heath Ledger to an alleged sleeping-pill overdose. The news is especially disappointing when you consider that Ledger didn't live to complete his work in the Terry Gilliam film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassu, or to see fans response to his performance as the Joker in the upcoming Dark Knight film. To honour the late actor, I would recommend watching his performance in the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There which is screening this weekend at the Bloor Cinema.

On a completely different note, tonight marks the 7 and a half hour marathon of First Blood, First Blood Part II, Rambo III and the latest installment, Rambo. While Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay for Rambo III, the new film marks his Rambo directorial debut. The carnage starts tonight at 5:15 at the Scotiabank, tickets are $20 for all four films.

If sensitive and emotional men are more your thing, the Kurt Cobain film About a Son, opened last night at the Bloor with another screening tonight. The film, a documentary comprised of actual audio interviews with Cobain before his death, has been described as a thoughtful meditation on the artist, his life and his music.

Last week I was very excited due to the Cinematheque starting up again, but this week I'm complaining due to its popularity! Maybe when the Bell Lightbox opens up I will have a better chance at seeing the Canada's Top Ten program... In the meantime, the Canada's Top 10 Short Films screening still has tickets available for Saturday afternoon, featuring the Canadian short I Met the Walrus which has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Animated Short.

My final recommendation this weekend is for the Romanian film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. The film follows a Romanian college student trying to get an abortion in Communist Romania in 1987. It was well-received and won the Best Foreign Language Film award from the Toronto Film Critics and the Golden Palm at Cannes but was unfortunately overlooked this week for the Oscars. If you're interested in a serious film this weekend, ignore the influence of the naked golden statues and see this movie!