Mutants, monsters and kick-ass women dominate Digital Film Fest
There are those films that you’ve watched more times than you can count, wearing out your VHS copy (if you still remember what those are) and now keeping the tradition alive with regular viewings of the enhanced disc version even though you know every scene like the back of your hand. But there’s that one experience still eluding you — you haven’t seen it on the big screen. Since 1999, Cineplex has been trying to help you remedy this weakness with its annual Great Digital Film Festival. For one week, theatres across Canada play host to Hollywood’s greatest classics and fan favourites.
Each film will be shown at least twice between January 30 and February 5 with one daytime screening and another in the evening or on the weekend for those that can’t justify a two-hour lunch to fulfill their cinematic dream. There’s an underlying action theme to this year’s selections, which include several irrefutable reasons to see more than one picture.
First, is the full day of X-Men. On Saturday, Jan. 4, participating theatres will be screening all five films from the franchise in reverse order. Beginning at noon, last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past will be followed by X-Men: First Class (2011), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X2: X-Men United (2003) and finishing with 2000’s X-Men. The website indicates the intentional arrangement is owed to the time travel theme in the most recent movie. “… we thought it would be fun to start recent and watch the progression back to where it started (plus, it’s fun to watch Wolverine almost never age, even in reverse).” If you’d prefer to watch them in chronological order, X-Men, X2 and X-Men: First Class will play on consecutive days later in the week.
The other films screening at the festival are The Monster Squad (1987); 25th anniversary screenings of Darkman (1990) and Dick Tracy (1990); The Rocketeer (1991); and Blade Runner: The Final Cut (2007).
New this year, film lovers can connect to the festival on Twitter by talking about their favourite films and sending questions to film expert and reviewer, Richard Crouse. Moviegoers are encouraged to tweet questions to @CineplexMovies, @FRCEvents or @RichardCrouse using the hashtag #GDFF2015 and Crouse will respond. He will also explore behind-the-scenes and the history of select films as part of the pre-show, including a pre-recorded conversation with Del Toro about Pan’s Labyrinth.
The full list of participating theatres and 2015 Great Digital Film Festival lineup can be found on the Cineplex events page, along with showtimes and ticket information.
