Are we already staring down the end of the summer? I’ve been neck-deep in TIFF screenings for the last 10 days or so, and I’m certainly feeling September breathing down my neck. Although it might just be all those posters for The F Word – which premiered at last year’s festival – triggering flashbacks.
At any rate, once you’ve seen Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan and Michael Dowse give the romantic comedy a shot in the arm, there’s plenty of other stuff to be found on Toronto’s screens in the next few days.
If you’ve ever wanted to watch a great American filmmaker play basketball with a buddy, you’ll want to hit the Lightbox Saturday night for of Double Play: James Benning And Richard Linklater, the last of the summer’s Free Screen presentations.
Directed by Chicago film critic Gabe Klinger for a French documentary series, Double Play is a delightful extended conversation between two old friends who just happen to have been present for much of the American indie renaissance. (Benning, an experimental documentarian, was Linklater’s first guest at the Austin Film Society in the early 80s the two have been close ever since.) If you’re familiar with the work of either director, you’ll want to see it if you aren’t, what the hell, it’s a good movie. And Benning and Klinger will be present to introduce the film.
The screening starts at 6:30 pm tickets will available at the Lightbox box office on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 5 pm.
If you can’t get into that – or you’re looking for a more, shall we say, emotional experience – the Carlton Cinemas is saluting the legacy of Robin Williams with a free screening of Good Will Hunting Saturday at 7 pm. Well, technically, it’s a benefit the theatre will be collecting money for CAMH, and a $5 donation is suggested. You don’t have to pay a dime if you don’t want to, but that’d be kind of missing the point.
Now, if we’re being honest, a number of us are going to be staying in this Saturday night to catch Peter Capaldi’s first outing as The Doctor when Doctor Who starts its new season at 8 pm on Space.
I’m delighted that Capaldi – a self-described “old geek” – has landed the role, but I’m even more excited by the presence of maverick filmmaker Ben Wheatley in the director’s chair for the season’s first two episodes. And I would imagine, given Wheatley’s kineticism and flair for remarkable visuals, that the season premiere will look pretty terrific on a big screen when Cineplex plays a special extended version across Canada Monday (August 25) at 7:30 pm at select theatres. (In Toronto, it’ll play the Scotiabank, Yonge-Dundas, SilverCity Yonge and Eglinton, Empress Walk, VIP Don Mills and Fairview, repeating on Saturday August 30.)
Sure, you’re paying $15 to watch a TV show you’ve watched not 48 hours earlier for free. But it’s Doctor Who. Ordinary rules do not apply.
Finally, with the summer drawing to a close it’s time for me to pimp the last of this year’s Harbourfront Centre Free Flicks screenings Wednesday (August 27) at the WestJet stage.
The last screening in the series is always the audience’s choice, and this year they’ve gone with Kristin Wiig’s 2011 breakout Bridesmaids. We’ll be starting things a little earlier than usual due to the length of the film, so come down by 8:30 pm and you ought to be able to grab a decent seat.
It’s a fine picture to wind down the summer with, and – as always – it’s free. I hope to see you there.
