This Week in Film: Good Food Bad Food, Ginger Snaps Back, Rosemary's Baby, The Princess Bride, Infernal Affairs, The Room w/ Tommy Wiseau, The Big Combo
MONDAY APRIL 18TH / GOOD FOOD BAD FOOD / TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX / 7:50 & 10:20PM
This is another strong documentary in the vein of Food Inc and The World According to Monsanto, about grassroots organizations trying to fight the corporate takeover of food production and distribution. Taking a global perspective, it flies from France to Brazil, Switzerland and the Ukraine showcasing examples of small methods of farming and the benefits of nature that industrial farms are sorely lacking. Whether it's better tomatoes or cucumbers, seedbanks to preserve food heritage or organic farming, important initiatives can be found within. Tickets are $12 and can be bought at the cinema.
TUESDAY APRIL 19TH / FILM SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL PRESENTS GINGER SNAPS BACK: THE BEGINNING / BLOOR CINEMA / 9:30PM
This screening will not only include a 35mm print of the film but an appearance by director Grant Harvey, two of his producers and costume designer Alex Kavanagh. For those who missed out on the Ginger Snaps phenomenon, this prequel can be seen without any knowledge of the Ginger Snaps franchise. A prequel and reinterpretation of sorts, the film follows orphaned sisters Ginger and Brigitte in Western Canada in 1815, as they try to find safe refuge from the werewolf infested wilderness. When they are led to a supposedly safe fortress, they realize the danger coming from inside the fort may be deadlier than the monsters they faced outside. Tickets are $10 for non-members and can be bought at the cinema.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 20TH / ROSEMARY'S BABY / BLOOR CINEMA / 9PM
Poor Rosemary, she lives in a house with a bad reputation, her neighbours are more than slightly creepy and she's living with a man who seems less and less like her husband with every passing day. Throw in a mysterious pregnancy with strange symptoms and her worries that her baby may or may not be the spawn of Satan and it's no wonder things are going a little wrong with her. One of the greatest horror films of all times, it still creeps out audiences to this day. Tickets are $10 and can be bought at the cinema.
THURSDAY APRIL 21ST / THE PRINCESS BRIDE / TORONTO UNDERGROUND CINEMA / 7PM
No matter how many times this film plays, it will always be included in This Week in Film. Based on the laugh-out-loud clever book by William Goldman, while some of the metatextual elements aren't included in the film (read it for more insight into Fezzik's wrestling career) it still manages to be a knock out adaptation. The main story follows young lady fair Buttercup as she loses her boyfriend, is whisked away to be married to a suspicious prince and then abducted by pirates for ransom. But as a masked man comes to her rescue, she can't help but get a glimpse of her past. Inconceivable! Tickets are $8 and can be bought at the cinema.
FRIDAY APRIL 22ND / INFERNAL AFFAIRS / TORONTO UNDERGROUND CINEMA / 7PM
Some of you may know this film because of the 2006 American adaptation The Departed, but the wiser of you will know the original version because it's all that and then some. Infernal Affairs really hits the nail on the head of what it feels like to be so far deep undercover that everything up is down. A classic "who's the mole' story with fantastically frenetic pacing which leaves the audience stressing to figure out who's on what side and what that will possibly mean in the final outcome. Featuring a star studded cast with Andy Lau and Tony Leung, the performances are also top notch, and Michael Bay-isms aside (there is definitely a helicopter and swirling gun shots) it's a must see. Tickets are $8 and can be bought at the cinema.
SATURDAY APRIL 23RDTHE ROOM WITH DIRECTOR TOMMY WISEAU / ROYAL CINEMA / 9:15PM & 11:59PM
In the 'so terrible it's funny' genre, The Room has quickly become one of the best worst movies of the 2000's. Is this genuine romantic tragedy or a misguided satire? Who knows? Who cares? But all your questions and more will be answered this Friday & Saturday & Sunday at the Royal as director/producer/actor Tommy Wiseau will be in attendance as part of his 'Love is Blind' tour which will bring him across North America to connect with his fans. Tickets can be bought at the TO TIX box office online or in person and while Friday is sold out, some may be available at the theatre, tickets are $15.
SUNDAY APRIL 24TH / THE BIG COMBO / TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX / 1PM
I'm not sure what it is about Sunday, the day of rest, but it seems to be the best day for crime thrillers and film noirs all of a sudden, and The Big Combo does not disappoint in that department. To begin with, the plot sounds very familiar; a disturbed cop has a bone to pick with a quite nasty gangster and wants to take him down, the only problem is that he's also mildly obsessed with said gangsters captive gal. But add in a jazzy score, the fact that it's shot by the phenomenal John Alton, in foggy, atmospheric black and white and remember that it's been compared to film noir legend, The Big Heat. Tickets are $12 and can be bought at the cinema.
Still from Ginger Snaps Back
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