This Week in Film: The Devil Inside, Players, Canada's Top Ten, and what's new on DVD and Blu-ray

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This Week in Film rounds up noteworthy new releases in theatres, as well as key DVD / Blu-Ray releases, festivals, and other cinema-related events happening in Toronto.

IN THEATRES

The Devil Inside (Cumberland, Rainbow Market Sq., AMC Yonge & Dundas)

Distributors are giving Torontonians a bit of time to catch up on notable December releases by releasing virtually nothing on this first weekend of the year. The only wide release this week is this here exorcism flick — its claim to fame basically being that the Vatican doesn't endorse its existence (the last film to carry this distinction was, I believe, Ron Howard's Angels & Demons). Supposedly based on a true story, I can't help but feel like this movie is capitalizing on the trend of 'real' horror films, especially with the employment of the whole documentary aesthetic. Ought to be a great date flick, provide a few jump scares, etc., but really, is there any chance that the 9-1-1 call at the beginning of that trailer is real? I'll call that obvious bluff.

Players (AMC Yonge & Dundas)

Why did directors Abbas & Mastan Alibhai Burmawallawe decide to remake The Italian Job? "Quite simply, we loved it and realized that a lot of people hadn't seen the film. However, we could not use Italian Job as it was. Indian audiences love the drama and masala of Bollywood movies, so we have added situations, songs and emotions to the movie to make it more appealing to them." I've never really paid all that much attention to the weekly Bollywood openings over at the AMC Yonge & Dundas, but fans of either the Mark Wahlberg-starring remake or the original might want to check this out to see how insane it is.

IN REP CINEMAS

For recommendations on what to catch at Toronto's rep cinema's this week, check out This Week in Rep Cinema.

FESTIVALS

Canada's Top Ten - January 5-15, TIFF Bell Lightbox

Certainly the most exciting cinema event in Toronto this week will be these screenings of all of the top ten Canadian shorts and features at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Many of the titles (you can find the full list of selected films in our post here) are by some of Canada's biggest names, like Cronenberg, Maddin, and VallÃ©e, but there is also a healthy showing of promising new faces, especially in the shorts programmes. Eight of the top ten features played at TIFF last September, while Hobo with a Shotgun had a brief theatrical run last Spring, leaving SÃ©bastien Pilote's Le Vendeur [The Salesman] as the lone Toronto premiere. As usual, many of the filmmakers and cast members will by present at the evening screenings for Q&A sessions, which makes pretty much all of them unmissable. Regular Lightbox ticket prices apply, and they can be purchased either at the box office inside the building, online, or by phone at 416-599-TIFF.

DVD