1/31/2014
1/29/2014
'Rhymes for Young Ghouls' Beats 'True Detective' to the Punch
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Still from Ep. 3 of True Detective and the poster for Rhymes for Young Ghouls |
1/28/2014
Contest: Win Tickets to 'Vampire Academy' in Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Vancouver, and Winnipeg! (Contest Closed)
Remember all those mean girls in high school that seemed
dead on the inside? Well, it turns out that they were vampires! Means Girls director Mark Waters drives
a stake through the heart of the horrific high school years in the upcoming
vampire flick Vampire Academy,
starring Zoey Deutch, Lucy Fry, Danila Kozlovsky. If you want to attend a sneak
peek of Vampire Academy in Ottawa,
Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, or Halifax, answer the trivia below for
your chance to win tickets!
Labels:
contests,
Vampire Academy
A Most Dickensian Love Story
The Invisible Woman
(UK, 111 min.)
Dir. Ralph Fiennes, Writ Abi Morgan
Starring: Felicity Jones, Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas,
Joanna Scanlan, Tom Hollander
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Felicity Jones as Nelly Ternan and Ralph Fiennes as Charles Dickens. Photo by David Appleby, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics |
It was first William Shakespeare, now it’s Charles Dickens.
Ralph Fiennes sure is becoming a literary filmmaker, eh? The Victorian-era
scribe fares a bit better than the Bard did thanks to Fiennes’ sophomore
feature film The Invisible Woman. The Invisible Woman shows an impressive
step up for Mr. Fiennes as far as the technical prowess of making a movie is
concerned. (Chaotic cinematography and an off-kilter tempo were key faults in
2011's Coriolanus.) Fiennes still has
a bit of work to do before he establishes himself an auteur in addition to being a very fine actor, but the back-to-back
successes of Coriolanus and The Invisible Woman are steps in the
right direction. All Mr. Fiennes needs to do is show as much improvement on
film number three as he does with film number two and he could be the next
great actor-director. The Ben Affleck of literary types, perhaps?
'Louis Cyr', 'Gabrielle' Lead Quebec Jutra Nominations
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Gabrielle |
1/27/2014
Sins of The Past
The Past
(Iran/France, 130 min.)
Written and directed by Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, Ali Mosaffa, Pauline
Burlet, Sabrina Ouazani
2014 is barely a month old, but there is already a clear
frontrunner for the title of “Most Disappointing Film of the Year”. That film,
surprisingly, is Asghar Farhadi’s The
Past. Folks were all a twitter when the Iranian film was left off the
Academy’s shortlist for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar; however, the
voters on the loony foreign film committees made the right choice. The Past isn’t a bad film by any means,
but it never achieves the greatness or gravitas of Farhadi’s revelatory A Separation, which scooped the Academy
Award two years ago. The Past is more
of the same from Farhadi. It just lacks the punch and style that made A Separation a five-star masterwork.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
A Separation,
Berenice Bejo,
The Past
1/25/2014
The Road Home
My Prairie Home
(Canada, 77 min.)
Dir. Chelsea McMullan
Featuring: Rae Spoon
There’s this brilliant shot in Chelsea McMullan’s musical
documentary My Prairie Home (a Canadian Screen Awards nominee for Best Documentary Feature) that
frames the two bathrooms of a Greyhound bus station as the film’s subject, Rae
Spoon, talks in voiceover. There’s a men’s room on one side of the frame and a
ladies’ room on the other. Both doors are open and inviting (as inviting as a
bus stop bathroom can be). In centre of the frame is another door, closed and
locked, and Rae’s bags occupy the in-between space that spans from the men’s to
the ladies’ room. From which door will Rae exit?
My Prairie Home,
with this subtle eye for place and space, asks a question that Rae has been
conveying all along in their songs and stories. Rae, a transgendered musician,
prefers the gender-neutral pronoun “they”. As Rae takes McMullan on a bus ride
across the Canadian Prairies and tells their story to Chelsea, they speak of
how conventional society doesn’t really make space for people who identify
outside the conventional definitions. A bathroom at the bus stop might seem
like the most mundane thing on Earth, but as the shot holds on the bathroom
doors and Rae talks about their life, My
Prairie Home offers a poignant visual complement for Rae’s story and for
those who don’t fit into arbitrary social constructs. (Oh, and Rae merges from
the ladies’ room, but then switches it up by stepping out of a men’s room later
on in their travels.)
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Canadian Film,
Documentary,
My Prairie Home
1/24/2014
I, January Release
I, Frankenstein
(USA/Australia, 93 min.)
Dir. Stuart Beattie, Writ. Stuart Beattie, Kevin Grevioux
Starring: Adam Eckhart, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Bill
Nighy, Jai Courtney, Kevin Grevioux
I, Frankenstein
opens in theatres today and it is every bit the steaming pile of January
release we hoped it would be! This film based on the graphic novel by Kevin
Grevioux probably has Mary Shelley spinning in her grave, but audiences in
search of cheesy special effects fare might enjoy the so-bad-it’s-good camp of
this silly adventure. Herewith, to make the folly of I, Frankenstein far more enjoyable, are the rules for the I, Frankenstein Drinking Game. Pop on
your 3D glasses and here we go!
Rules of the I, Frankenstein Drinking Game:
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
turkeys
1/23/2014
Piers Handling, TIFF Director and CEO, Receives Order of Ontario
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Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF |
Handling has been with the Toronto International FilmFestival since 1982 and has enjoyed the role of Director and CEO since 1994.
The festival has strengthened the profiles for Canadian films and world cinema
alike under Handling’s guidance. Handling also expanded TIFF’s reach and impact
with the development of the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, which turns the
festival’s mission to transform the way people see the world through film into
a year-long celebration of cinema.
Labels:
Canadian Film,
TIFF
Watch the Sudance Selection (and Canadian Screen Award Nominee) 'My Prairie Home'
Fret not if you can't be in Utah for Sundance, for the NFB is bringing Sundance to you! The National Film Board of Canada will be streaming the Sundance selection My Prairie Home January 26-27 for users to watch freely. My Prairie Home, directed by Chelsea McMullan, is a playful, meditative and at times melancholic journey through indie singer Rae Spoon’s queer and musical coming of age. (Check back soon for a review!) Before screening at Sundance, My Prairie Home received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature, as well as the Vancouver Film Critics Circle prize for Best Canadian Documentary. (Don't neglect your CSA checklist whilst catching all the Oscar nominees!) My Prairie Home will be available on the NFB website and it will also be available below. Watch the trailer to get a sneak peek and then come back here to watch the film on the 26th!
Labels:
Canadian Film,
Documentary,
My Prairie Home,
NFB
1/22/2014
Bright Nights Ahead for Ottawa Filmgoers
There are bright nights ahead for Ottawa moviegoers. If the
Polar Vortex makes skating on the Rideau Canal a chilly endeavour during
Winterlude, then the Canadian Film Institute’s Bright Nights Baltic-Nordic Film
Festival offers just the ticket for folks looking to warm up and enjoy a movie during
the city’s annual winter celebration. CFI Executive Director Tom McSorley
playfully referenced the 1965 Canadian film Winter
Kept Us Warm during the festival’s launch earlier today, saying the
festival would do just that as a respite from the frosty temperatures. 2014 marks the fourth edition of the CFI’s
Bright Nights Film Festival, which is held in collaboration with the Embassies
of the Baltic-Nordic nations and in partnership with Winterlude. The film
festival runs February 1st to 12th during the January 31st to February 17th celebration of
Winterlude.
Labels:
Bright Nights,
CFI,
Ottawa Arts
1/21/2014
Revolution Square
The Square
(Egypt/USA, 108 min.)
Dir. Jehane Noujaim
Feat. Ahmed Hassan, Khalid Abdalla, Dina Abdulla, Magdy
Abomazen, Aida Elkashef,
“As long as there is a camera, the revolution will
continue,” says Ahmed Hassan, the chief revolutionary through whom the audience
sees the citizen revolution in Jehane Noujaim’s documentary The Square. The Square, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary
Feature after nabbing the People’s Choice Award for Documentary at last year’s
Toronto International Film Festival, is documentary filmmaking in top form. Ahmed
champions the importance of the camera because he and his fellow revolutionaries
including actor Khalid Abdalla of The
Kite Runner fame, know that it is up to the citizens fighting for change to
tell the story. The revolution sees the ousting of both Egyptian President
Hosni Murubak and his successor Mohamed Morsi, but the citizens at the front
lines keep a diary of the events as they unfold so that those responsible can
be held accountable when order is restored.
The Square is digital democracy at its finest.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Documentary
1/19/2014
Violence as Punchline
Big Bad Wolves
(Israel, 110 min.)
Written and directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado
Starring: Lior Ashkenazi, Rotem Keinan, Tzahi Grad
It’s a testament to Quentin Tarantino’s influence on the
culture of cinephilia that Big Bad Wolves
is garnering as much attention as it is. The film geek director dubbed this
Israeli dark comedy the best film of 2013 during an appearance at the Busan
International Film Festival last fall and Big
Bad Wolves has ever since been a point of anticipation for cinephiles that
have been reared on the school of Tarantino. Big Bad Wolves is another decent example of a piece of world cinema
finding its way into the spotlight thanks to Tarantino’s encouragement, but one
can’t help but wish that the director endorsed a better film. Big Bad Wolves is, likely many a film by
Tarantino himself, stylish and ultra-violent. Big Bad Wolves, however, never really uses said violence to make a
compelling point. This film by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado huffs and
puffs, but it will hardly blow your movie house down.
Labels:
2014 Reviews
1/18/2014
Truth and Meta-Fiction
The Act of Killing
(Denmark/UK/Norway/Finland, 115 min.)
Dir. Joshua Oppenheimer, Co-Dir: Cristine Cynn, Anonymous
The Act of Killing
is an extraordinary balancing act of truth and meta-fiction. Director Joshua
Oppenheimer reconstructs an era of history by inviting Indonesian death squad
leaders to re-enact the war crimes and mass killings for which they were
responsible in the 1960s. The Act of
Killing introduces viewers to Anwar Congo, a proud leader of the atrocities
that resulted in a million deaths, and it lets him play the role of John Wayne,
Marlon Brando, and other rugged leading men whom he idolized while cleaning up
the country in a brutal performance.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Act of Killing,
Documentary
Saturday SAGs
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Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker in Lee Daniels The Butler |
Jack Ryan: Shoddy Reboot
Jack Ryan: Shadow
Recruit
(USA/Russia, 105 min.)
Dir. Kenneth Branagh, Writ. Adam Cozad, David Koepp
Starring: Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner, Kenneth
Branagh
Russia probably has enough political nightmares to deal with
in the days leading up to the Olympic Games in Sochi. Anti-gay laws, a
Draconian President, and Pussy Riot are enough causes for controversy, but the
unfortunate timing of the release of Jack
Ryan: Shadow Recruit—it was pushed back when Paramount was stuck playing
post-production ping pong with The Wolf ofWall Street—couldn’t be more awkward. Bruce Willis might as well yell,
“Yippee-Ki-Yay, Mother Russia!” This generic rehash of the popular character Jack
Ryan, now played by Chris Pine (aka Captain Kirk), is a relic of Cold War-era
conflict cut-and-paste into a world of post-9/11 paranoia. Everything feels old
and cold in this lumbering, xenophobic rehash. Jack Ryan is a shoddy reboot.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Chris Pine,
Keira Knightley,
Kenneth Branagh
1/16/2014
Oscar Nominations: The Good, The Bad (But Mostly Good)
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Meryl Streep and Juliette Lewis in August: Osage County |
1/15/2014
Ingrid Veninger Announces pUNK Films Femmes Lab
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From left: Sophie Deraspe, Danishka Esterhazy, Michelle Latimer, Ingrid Veninger, Mars Horodyski, Anais Granofsky. Photo: John Gundy |
Labels:
Canadian Film,
Ingrid Veninger,
Melissa Leo
Oscar Nominations: Final Predictions - Time for a 'Hail Meryl'?
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Meryl Steep in August: Osage County |
1/14/2014
Best Adapted Screenplay: No Longer a Novel Affair?
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Jason Retiman's Labor Day, based on the novel by Joyce Maynard. Photo courtesy Paramount Pictures |
1/13/2014
'Enemy' Leads Canadian Screen Awards Nominations
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Jake Gyllenhaal and Melanie Laurent in Enemy |
The full list of film nominees is as follows:
Contest: Win Run of Engagement Passes for 'Lone Survivor'! (Contest Closed)
Mark Wahlberg and Lone Survivor took the box office by storm this weekend. The Peter
Berg-directed film scored the #1 spot by grossing an impressive $38.5 million.
Were you among the crowds that turned up to see Lone Survivor over the weekend? If yes, Cinemablographer salutes you. If not, you are in luck! Click below
to win run of engagement to see Lone
Survivor, courtesy of eOne Films!
Labels:
contests,
Lone Survivor,
Mark Wahlberg
Golden Globes: I Declare Emma Thompson the Winner!
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Emma Thompson: the real winner of the Golden Globes |
1/12/2014
A Review by Samantha
Her
(USA, 126 min.)
Written and directed by Spike Jonze
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams,
Rooney Mara
Spike Jonze’s acclaimed film Her finally opened in theatres this weekend after months of hype
and praise following its premiere at the New York Film Festival last fall. I don’t
know what to make of this latest endeavour from the original mind of Mr. Jonze.
In order to wrap my head my disappointment, I turned to the source of all
reliable information, my smartphone, and asked my trusty new app, Samantha. What
follows is a transcript of our conversation:
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Amy Adams,
Her,
Joaquin Phoenix,
Scarlett Johansson,
Spike Jonze
1/11/2014
Strength of Character
Louis Cyr: The
Strongest Man in the World
(Canada, 131 min.)
Dir. Daniel Roby, Writ. Sylvain Guy
Starring: Antoine Bertrand, Rose-Maïté Erkoreka, Guillaume,
Gilbert Sicotte, Gil Bellows, Elaine Gagnon.
Louis Cyr earned the title of “strongest man in the world”
in during his impressive feats of the late 1800s and many of his records have
yet to be broken. He was a man of burly brawn and Louis Cyr, the Canuck biopic that tells his story, leaves little
doubt of his unparalleled strength. It’s not the strongest film in the world,
but Louis Cyr is nevertheless a
grand, stately heritage pic that is built as solidly as the man whose life it
dramatizes.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Canadian Film,
Louis Cyr
1/09/2014
Golden Globes Preview: Picks and Predictions
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Amy Adams in American Hustle |
Here’s a rundown of how the Globes could (or should) turn:
Win Tickets (plus Prizes) to see 'I, Frankenstein' in Ottawa! (Contest Closed)
Frankenstein’s monster returns in I, Frankenstein! This time, though, he’s bringing his 3D glasses so
that you can experience him like never before! He’s also bringing free tickets
and swag back from the dead! If you want to attend an Ottawa sneak peek of eOne
Films’ upcoming action thriller I,
Frankenstein and receive a swanky I,
Frankenstein notebook, you are in luck! Click below to enter to win tickets
and I, Frankenstein swag:
Labels:
contests
1/08/2014
Toronto Film Critics, Vancouver Film Critics Name Canadian Award Winners
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Watermark |
1/07/2014
Canadian Screen Awards 2014: Preview and Predictions
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Jake Gyllenhaal in Enemy |
Contest: Win Tickets to see 'Lone Survivor' in Ottawa! (Contest Closed)
Lone Survival starts
the year off with an adrenaline-pumping bang. (Review here.)
This brutal yet inspiring true story starring Mark Wahlberg opens in Ottawa
this Friday. If you want to attend a sneak peek before Lone Survivor hits theatres on January 10th, click below
for your chance to enter!
Labels:
contests,
Lone Survivor
1/06/2014
Film School
The Dirties
(Canada, 80 min.)
Dir. Matt Johnson, Writ. Matt Johnson, Evan Morgan, Josh
Boles (story)
Starring: Matt Johnson, Owen Williams, Krista Madison, Jay
McCarrol
What are the most tired tales and conventions when it comes
to teen-set cinema? I might have said bullying, school shootings, and found
footage films, but then I saw The Dirties.
The Dirties, Matt Johnson’s flat-out
brilliant feature debut, shows that everything old can be new again in the
conversational medium of cinema.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Canadian Film,
The Dirties
Contest: Win Run of Engagement Passes for 'American Hustle'! (Contest Closed)
Award season is underway and business is a boomin’ for American Hustle. David O. Russell’s con
flick is probably the most fun you’ll have while completing your Oscar
checklist this Oscar season. (Review here.) Thanks to its stylish escapism and
excellent all-star cast (including a scene-stealing Jennifer Lawrence, who made
Cinemablographer’s list of the best performances of 2013), American Hustle
is a front-runner going in to this week’s Golden Globe awards and next week’s Academy
Award nominations. If you still need to check American Hustle off your Oscar checklist, you are in luck! Check below
to enter to win Run of Engagement passes to see American Hustle in theatres!
Watch the Oscar-shortlisted Animated Films 'Hollow Land', 'Gloria Victoria' and 'Subconscious Password'
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Hollow Land. Photo courtesy of the NFB. |
Video after the jump:
Labels:
Canadian Film,
Oscars,
Shorts
1/04/2014
Boo Hoo, Adventure.
The Secret Life of
Walter Mitty
(USA, 114 min.)
Dir. Ben Stiller, Writ. Steve Conrad
Starring: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam
Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Sean Penn
Why do so many films and stories treat travel as a metaphor
for personal growth? It’s an easy symbol, for one, to show a man evolve as he
treks from Point A to Point B. Uncharted terrain, unknown waters, and foreign
lands all present handy metaphors for taking a leap of faith. Ben Stiller’s
adaptation of the short story The Secret
Life of Walter Mitty, though, offers an unfortunate reminder that life can sometimes
be better spent at home. This loud, schmaltzy, and inconsistent film rejoices
in the thrill of escapism, but it’s hardly worth leaving the house to see on
the big screen.
Labels:
2013 reviews,
Ben Stiller,
Kristen Wiig
'Ho, Ho, Ho. It's Magic!'
The Magic Ferret
(Canada, 11 min.)
Dir. Alison Parker, Writ. Scott and Paula Merrow
Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Beverley Elliott, Fred Ewaniuk,
Lisa Durupt, Falcor the Ferret
Everyone’s raved about Ulysses the cat and Uggie the dog, so
when will ferrets get their due credit? They look like furry little bandits,
which might explain why they’ve given the spotlight to cuddly cats and slobbery
dogs. The most memorable film ferret folks will have probably seen wasn’t even
referred to by its proper name: remember that scene in the Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski where the German
nihilists invade The Dude’s home and throw a marmot in the bathtub? Said marmot
is actually a ferret. The Dudes who created Ulysses with such care didn’t give
the waterlogged ferret the same love. (California laws also prevent folks from
keeping ferrets as pets.)
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Canadian Film,
Shorts
1/02/2014
Anticipated Films of 2014
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Aaron Paul, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots & Pierce Brosnan in A Long Way Down |
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