11/30/2014
Contest: Win a 'Wild' Prize Pack! (CONTEST CLOSED)
I don’t know about you, but I find that things are getting
pretty wild now that award season is kicking into gear. It would take a monster
of a backpack filled with supplies to fuel me through the season: some good
music to lighten the mood, maybe some energy bars to fuel me through reviews, a
headlamp to help me navigate the deep and dark bag of screeners, and an
inspirational book to guide through the days to come. Luckily, though, Wild—my favourite film from this year’s
Toronto International Film Festival (read the 5-star review here)—opens in
theatres starting Dec. 5 and Cheryl Strayed, played by an Oscar-worthy Reese
Witherspoon, has just the goodie bag to provide all the essentials. If you want
to win a great Wild prize pack to fuel
your holiday movie watching, you are in luck! Answer the trivia below for your
chance to win some Wild prizes from
Fox Searchlight Pictures, including a copy of the book Wild on which the film is based and a copy of the Wild soundtrack featuring music from
Simon & Garfunkel, First Aid Kit, Bruce Springsteen, Portishead, Wings and
more! (Now available for download on iTunes.)
11/29/2014
Notes from the Screener Pile: 2014.3
The award season binge-watching takes a speculative twist! (I'm gearing up for a new season of Cellar Door submissions, I guess!) This week's catch-up includes:
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
(USA, 100 min.)
Written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour
Starring: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi
"Girlie, tough ain't enough."
The Homesman
(USA, 120 min.)
Dir. Tommy Lee Jones, Writ. Tommy Lee Jones, Kieran
Fitzgerald, Wesley A. Oliver
Starring: Hilary Swank, Tommy Lee Jones, Miranda Otto, Grace
Gummer, Sonja Richter, John Lithgow, and Meryl Streep.
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Hilary Swank and Tommy Lee Jones star in The Homesman. Courtesy of Mongrel Media. Photo credit: Dawn Jones |
Cormac McCarthy writes that America is no country for old
men. Men, creatures of violence and civil misconduct, are just as much the
agents of American madness as they are the victims of it. America’s frontier
mythology is a perverse thing that embraces the open expansiveness of the west
as an endless panorama of endless possibilities. In Canada, this landscape is
seen as something hostile and menacing. Perhaps that’s why Americans are more
prone to violence, since their national psyche encourages them to strap on
their boots and jump into the fray while Canadians are more content to shut the
doors. (It’s cold out there!) One needs to be tough to survive the frontier, but
as western icon turned cranky-old-man Clint Eastwood might say, “Girlie, tough
ain’t enough.”
11/28/2014
EUFF Review: 'Déjà Vu'
Déjà Vu
(Romania, 75 min.)
Written and directed by Dan Chisu
Starring: Ioana Flora, Mirela Opriser
The Romanians sure love their long takes, don’t they?
Virtually every review for a Romanian film on this blog remarks on the
frequency of long takes in Romanian national cinema more than any other trend
in any other film scene, aside from maybe the absence of Canadian films in
Canadian theatres, but that’s hardly the subject for EUFF coverage. The Romanian entry at this year’s European Union Film
Festival, Déjà Vu, sits comfortably within the trends and innovations in
direction that largely characterize the Romanian new wave and, for better or for
worse, let audiences see a national cinema come into its own distinct style of
filmmaking.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
EUFF
Contest: Win a Set of Heat Reveal 'Hunger Games: Mockingjay' Mugs! (CONTEST CLOSED)
Okay, tributes! It’s time to rally for another fight! If you’re
like me, you need your morning coffee before catching fire. (Sorry, bad pun!)
Katniss must be a coffee drinker, too, since she’s stealthily left the call of
the Mockingjay on coffee cups everywhere. She’s uniting the Districts with the
help of Petro-Canada, branding mugs with the Mockingjay and waking up citizens
of Panem with their morning coffee. If you want a chance to toast Katniss with a set of heat-reveal Hunger Games: Mockingjay mugs,
you are in luck! Answer the trivia below for your chance to win!
Labels:
contests,
Hunger Games,
Mockingjay
11/27/2014
EUFF Review: 'Force Majeure'
Force Majeure (Turist)
(Sweden, 118 min.)
Written and directed by Ruben Östlund
Starring: Johannes Bah, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Clara Wettergren,
Vincent Wettergren, Kristofer Hivju, Fanni Metelius
![]() |
Johannes Bah Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Clara Wettergren and Vincent Wettergren in Force Majeure, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. |
Ah, the family vacation. They’re the best of times and the
worst of times; an unnatural disaster of escapism in which parents and children
squeeze into close confines 24/7 and try to have some fun. Anything is possible
if one survives one of these excursions.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Best Foreign Lang Film,
EUFF,
Force Majeure
EUFF Review: Vis-à-Vis
Vis-à-Vis
(Croatia, 81 min.)
Dir. Nevio Marasovic, Writ. Nevio Marasovic, Rakan Rushaidat,
Janko Popović Volarić
Starring: Rakan Rushaidat, Janko Popović Volarić, Kresimir
Mikic, Daria Lorenci
“Vis-à-Vis is the
result of my intensive, hectic and impulsive collaboration with actors Janko
Popović Volarić and Rakan Rushaidat,” says director/co-writer Nevio Marasovic
in the press notes for Vis-à-Vis. “The
film is a mixture of true events, fiction, improvisation, scripted scenes, fights,
love, intuition and deep analysis of characters and their motivations in the very
process of filming.” Vis-à-Vis is one
of the most interesting films screening at this year’s European Union Film Festival, but one seems bound to appreciate the film even more if one reads up
on it beforehand or discusses it afterwards. This innovative film riffs on art
and life as an anonymous director (Rakan Rushaidat) and an anonymous actor (Janko
Popović Volarić) revise a script for an upcoming shoot, improvising and drawing
inspiration from the world around them, as they explore their characters. Who
knew the Balkans could do mumblecore?
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
CFI,
EUFF
11/26/2014
EUFF Review: 'Little Black Spiders'
Little Black Spiders
(Belgium, 90 min.)
Dir. Patrice Toye, Writ. Patrice Toye, Irina Vandewijer
Starring: Line Pillet, Charlotte De Bruyne, Dolores
Bouckaert, Ineke Nijssen
Audiences affected by the story behind last year’s Oscar
nominee Philomena will want to see
Belgium’s Little Black Spiders this
week at Ottawa’s European Union Film Festival. Perhaps closer in tone to, say, The Magdalene Sisters than to the
cheery, yet devastating Philomena, Little Black Spiders tells an affecting
tale about young girls cast away from society and stripped of the joy of
motherhood. These young women might need some guidance, but, like the young
Philomena Lee, Katarina (Line Pillet), longs to keep her baby even though she
agrees unawares to let the nuns at the convent give her baby away once she
delivers it. This poetic film by director Patrice Toye, one of several female
filmmakers repped at EUFF, is a moving coming-of-age tale.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
CFI,
EUFF,
Ottawa Arts
11/25/2014
Notes from the Screener Pile: 2014.2
![]() |
Shailene Woodley in White Bird in a Blizzard, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. |
Labels:
Capsule reviews,
Documentary,
NFtSP,
Shailene Woodley
11/24/2014
EUFF Review: 'Christmas Tango'
Christmas Tango (To tango ton
Hristougennon)
(Greece, 102 min.)
Dir. Nikos Koutelidakis, Writ. Yannis Xanthoulis
Starring: Giannis
Bezos, Antinoos Albanis, Yannis Stankoglou, Vicky Papadopoulou
It’s one month until Christmas and love is in the air. Enjoy
the festive spirit at the European Union Film Festival on November 25th
as it dances a nice little number with its annual trip to Greece. Greece’s Christmas Tango is a sensitive film
about forbidden love, and this nice love triangle/tango of desire is truly
touching.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
CFI,
EUFF,
Ottawa Arts
Notes from the Screener Pile: 2014.1
![]() |
Uma Thurman in Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. Photo credit: Christian Geisnaes |
11/23/2014
EUFF Review: 'Block 12'
Block 12
(Cyprus/Greece, 93 min.)
Dir. Kyriakos Tofaridis, Writ. Panos Stathogiannis, Kyriakos
Tofaridis
Starring: Costas Demetriou, Carmen Ruggeri, Michaelis
Marinos, Yannis Tsimitselis, Neetu Chandra
Block 12 handily
nabs the prize for the strangest film of the European Union Film Festival so
far. This bizarre and eccentric comedy from Cyprus throws in a little bit of everything:
family reunions, crooked governments, evil plots for oil, karmic sex, magical
realism, and even a Bollywood dancer number. Block 12 might be the looniest film at this year's EUFF, but the sheer randomness of the film is also its charm.
Labels:
Capsule reviews,
EUFF
11/22/2014
EUFF Review: 'The Ambassador to Bern'
The Ambassador to Bern
(Hungary, 76 min.)
Dir. Attila Szász, Writ. Norbert Köbli
Starring: János Kulka, Tamás Szabó Kimmel, József Kádas,
Rozi Lovas, Rémusz Szikszai, László I. Kish
Enjoy a double-bill of thrillers tonight as Ottawa’s
European Union Film Festival screens Poland’s terrific spy thriller Jack Strong back to back with the swift
Hungarian political thriller The
Ambassador to Bern. Both films are tense and atmospheric thrillers. If Jack is akin to a John le Carré
adaptation, then The Ambassador to Bern
begs comparison to Ben Affleck’s Argo
with its breakneck dramatization of a true hostage situation in the Hungarian embassy
Bern, Switzerland in 1958. Expect a gripping night at the movies.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
CFI,
EUFF,
Ottawa Arts
Regent Park Film Fest Review: 'Rock the Casbah'
Rock the Casbah
(France/Morocco, 100 min.)
Written and directed by Laïla Marrakchi
Starring: Morjana Alaoui, Nadine Labaki, Lubna Azabal, Hiam
Abbas, Omar Sharif
The dysfunctional family funeral comedy isn’t simply an
American phenomenon. The French-Lebanese co-pro Rock the Casbah comes on the heels of American flicks like August: Osage County and This is Where I Leave You, and this fun
piece of contemporary world cinema is just as good. Rock the Casbah is a fine ensemble dramedy that tells a tale that
feels both specific to the wacky characters of the wealthy Moroccan family
mourning the death of their patriarch and universal thanks to the warmth and
humour that brings the film to life.
Labels:
Capsule reviews,
Regent Park
EUFF Review: 'Jack Strong'
Jack Strong
(Poland, 128 min.)
Written and directed by Wladyslaw Pasikowski
Starring: Marcin Dorocinski, Maja Ostaszewska, Patrick Wilson,
Dimitri Bilov, Dagmara Dominczyk
Now here’s a full-bodied spy thriller! Jack Strong might be the closest thing to mainstream cinema that
one will find at this year’s European Union Film Festival, but hard-core
cinephiles shouldn’t feel the least be worried that the beloved EUFF has gone
commercial. This Polish spy game is one heck of flick. Jack Strong, made for a modest budget of less than four million
dollars and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, is understandably
something that Poland might choose to represent its national cinema at this
year’s celebration of EU currents. The film could easily be mistaken for an
adaptation of John le Carré, since it’s a steely psychological mind game with
riveting atmosphere and crackling suspense.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
CFI,
EUFF,
Ottawa Arts
Regent Park Film Fest Review: 'Waiting for August'
Waiting for August
(Belgium/Romania, 88 min.)
Written and directed by Teordora Mihai
Audiences looking for a slice-of-life character study will
appreciate the sober observational doc Waiting
for August. August, which screens
at the Regent Park Film Festival after emerging with the Best International
Feature Documentary Award from Hot Docs earlier this year, is a textbook case
for the pros and cons of observational filmmaking, but this levelheaded and
objective documentary is bound to connect with audiences thanks to the
resilience of its subject.
Labels:
Capsule reviews,
Documentary,
Regent Park
11/21/2014
Like Peas and Potatoes
The Theory of Everything
(UK/USA, 123 min.)
Dir. James Marsh, Writ. Anthony McCarten
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, Simon
McBurney, David Thewlis, Maxine Peake, Emily Watson.
Felicity Jones stars as Jane Wilde and Eddie Redmayne stars as Stephen Hawking. Courtesy of eOne Films. |
Stephen Hawking probably has one of the most recognizable
voices in contemporary history, but few of us have ever heard him speak with
his natural voice. The brilliant mind behind A Brief History of Time and other works that are far beyond my limited
intellectual grasp, has nevertheless carried his voice throughout his career,
making astonishing advances in scientific and philosophical theory, thanks to
the computerized voicebox (a
Simpsons success) that allowed
him to share his work long after his body submitted to Lou Gehrig’s disease.
His success is all the more extraordinary if one considers that the doctors
gave him two years to live during his formative years at Cambridge almost fifty
years ago.
EUFF Review: 'Road North'
Road North (Tie
Pohjoiseen)
(Finland, 110 min.)
Dir. Mika Kaurismäki, Writ. Sami Keski-Vähälä, Mika
Kaurismäki
Starring: Vesa-Matti Loiri (Leo), Samuli Edelman, Mari
Perankoski. Irina Björklund
“In Finland, you can just go knock on your relatives’ door,”
says Leo (Vesa-Matti Loiri) to his estranged son Timo (Samuli Edelman) as they
arrive unannounced on the doorstep of Leo’s equally estranged daughter (Mari
Perankoski). Leo himself had just arrived unexpectedly on Timo’s doorstep the
night before, introducing himself as the father who bailed on him thirty years
earlier and inviting himself to spend the night, so the Fins seem to be a very
trusting people as this droll comedy from writer/director Mika Kaurismäki
suggests. Kaurismäki, brother of filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre), offers a quirky and affable road movie that’s bound to
delight audiences with its tale of family ties when it screens tonight at
Ottawa’s European Union Film Festival.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
CFI,
EUFF
11/20/2014
Regent Park Film Festival Review: 'Québékoisie'
Québékoisie
(Canada, 82 min.)
Written and directed by Mélanie Harrier, Olivier Higgins
Any Canadian documentary that confronts the Oka crisis and
even mentions the word “Kanehsatake” inevitably invites comparison to Alanis
Obomsawin’s landmark doc Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance. Kanehsatake,
arguably the definitive film on the liminal space indigenous communities are
forced to occupy within Canadian culture, contains some of the most provocative
and necessarily confrontational arguments within Canadian documentary. It’s a
tough act for any Canadian film to follow while tackling the subject,
especially when the subject itself invokes its predecessor’s name. Québékoisie might not have the same
cocktail of passion and rage as Obomsawin’s doc does, but the memory of Kanehsatake nevertheless permits Québékoisie resonance since it’s
baffling to think that the same conversation needs to be had over two decades
since the Oka Crisis and Obomsawin’s film.
Labels:
Canadian Film,
Capsule reviews,
Documentary,
Regent Park
EUFF Review: 'Ballymun Lullaby'
Ballymun Lullaby
(Ireland, 72 min.)
Dir. Frank Berry
It’s funny to see Ballymun
Lullaby only days after reviewing the short film The Journey for Toronto’s Regent Park Film Festival. The Irish
documentary Ballymun Lullaby, which
screens Friday, Nov. 21 at Ottawa’s European Union Film Festival, makes a fine
companion piece to the Canadian short doc about the arts and life in Toronto’s
Regent Park. Each of these documentaries could easily be seen as a fine piece
of PR-spin in their own right—and offering a clean, alternative perspective of
their respective communities is certainly one of the objectives of each film—yet
the similar message of both films underscores a philosophy that extends far
beyond the impoverished communities represented on film. Ballymun Lullaby offers a touching portrait of a community taking
control of its identity, and its tale about inspiring and empowering the youth
through the arts gives the film a universal appeal.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
CFI,
Documentary,
EUFF,
Ottawa Arts
'Are you, Are you, Coming to the Tree...'
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
(USA, 123 min.)
Dir. Francis Lawrence, Writ. Peter Craig and Danny Strong
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam
Hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Elizabeth Banks, Woody
Harrelson, Donald Sutherland.
![]() |
Jennifer Lawrence stars as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. Photo Credit: Murray Close / eOne Films |
Are you, Are you
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man they say murdered three
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree…Are you, Are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here,
No stranger would it be,
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.-“The Hanging Tree”
11/19/2014
EUFF Review: 'Rocks in My Pockets'
Rocks in My Pockets (Akmeni
Manăs Kabatăs)
(Latvia/USA, 88 min.)
Written and directed by Signe Baumane
Starring: Signe Baumane
It helps to be a little bit crazy. Filmmaker Signe Baumane
gives an eccentric and insightful portrait of madness in the unconventionally
personal film Rocks in My Pockets. Rocks, which screens at Ottawa European Union Film Festival on November 28, is a truly unique bit of personal history
as Baumane chronicles her family’s history of mental illness. This animated
tale, Latvia’s official submission for Best Foreign Language Film in this
year’s Academy Awards race, is a wry, funny, and insightful stroke of genius.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Animation,
Best Foreign Lang Film,
CFI,
EUFF,
Ottawa Arts
11/18/2014
Regent Park Film Festival Opens with a Spotlight on Canadian Shorts
![]() |
Hailstorm. Photo: Rick O'Brien. |
Labels:
Canadian Film,
Regent Park,
Shorts
11/17/2014
'Mommy' Crosses 3 Million Dollar Mark in Canada
![]() |
Suzanne Clément in Mommy. Photo: Shayne Laverdiere / Les Films Séville |
Oscar Predictions: Round 3 - Christmas Comes Eary?
![]() |
Selma |
11/16/2014
Full Metal Jazzfest
Whiplash
(USA, 105 min.)
Written and directed by Damien Chazelle
Starring: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons
“Alternates, wipe the blood off my drums,” commands Fletcher
(J.K. Simmons) following an intense rehearsal during practice for the Studio
Band at Shaffer Conservatory. Fletcher runs band practice at the elite
fictional music academy as if it’s boot camp, and Whiplash takes an unconventional look at the teacher-study
relationship as Fletcher pushes one student, Andrew (Miles Teller), to the
extreme. The drama might be farfetched—nobody bleeds that hard from
drumming—but Whiplash pulses with the
passion that consumes an artist when he strives to stand out in a competitive
field.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Whiplash
Theatre: The Movie
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorace)
(USA, 118
min.)
Dir.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Writ. Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicholás Giacobone,
Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo
Starring : Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis , Edward Norton,
Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma
Stone, Naomi Watts
Michael Keaton, Batman himself, hit so rock bottom a few
years ago that his biggest credit in the few years preceding Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of
Ignorance), aside from a supporting role in RoboCop, is the 2013 thriller/inadvertent comedy Penthouse North. Penthouse North is so cheap and ridiculous that it substitutes both
Manhattan and Afghanistan with a refurbished No Frills grocery in the middle of
suburban Ottawa—yes, Ottawa. Filmmaking doesn’t get much lower for a Hollywood
icon than shooting a Netflix-grade turkey in a bankrupt Canadian grocery store.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Birdman,
Michael Keaton
11/14/2014
EUFF Review: 'The Candidate'
The Candidate (Kandidát)
(Slovakia/Czech Republic, 106 min.)
Dir. Jonás Karásek, Writ. Peter Balko, Michal Havran, Maros
Hecko
Starring: Marek Majesky, Monika Hilmerová, Michal Kubovcík,
Michal Dlouhys
The Conversation meets Wag the Dog in the Slovak/Czech co-pro The
Candidate. The Candidate, which
screens in Ottawa on Friday, November 14 at the European Union Film Festival, is a sleek and social-media savvy satire with its
finger on the pulse of the political circus and both its thumbs feverishly
working the buttons of an iPhone as it clicks away at a rapid rate. This
sharply produced comedy-thriller is smart and incisive.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
CFI,
EUFF
11/13/2014
EUFF Review: 'A Special Day'
A Special Day (Un giorno
special)
(Italy, 89 min.)
Dir. Francesca Comencini, Writ. Francesca Comencini, Guilia
Calenda, Davide Lantieri
Starring: Filippo Scicchitano, Giulia Valentini.
The 2014 European Union Film Festival opens with a hot slice
of cinema Italiano with A Special Day. Italy opens the festival
this year since the boot-shaped country holds the Presidency of the European
Union for 2014 and this Italian offering starts the festival with a nice toast
of Prosecco. A Special Day is light
and bubbly, a picturesque coming of age story, and a cautionary tale of aimless
excess poured into one tall glass that goes down easy.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
CFI,
EUFF
11/12/2014
Win Tickets to 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1' Across Canada! (CONTEST CLOSED)
Citizens of Panem! Who is ready to volunteer for the next
round of The Hunger Games? The third and
final instalment of the beloved franchise begins when Oscar
winner/superstar/coolest person ever Jennifer Lawrence returns as Katniss in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. Mockingjay opens in theatres November 21
from eOne Films, but the
district of Cinemablographer (ie: the
best district) has tickets to sneak peeks of the film across Canada! If you
live in Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, or
Victoria and you want to see Mockingjay
before it hits theatres, answer the trivia below for your chance to win tickets
to a sneak peek!
Labels:
contests,
Hunger Games,
Jennifer Lawrence,
Mockingjay
'Interstellar' Gets Lost in Space
Interstellar
(USA/UK, 169 min.)
Dir. Christopher Nolan, Writ. Christopher Nolan, Jonathan
Nolan
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica
Chastain, Michael Caine, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Wes Bentley, Ellen Burtsyn.
Christopher Nolan flies through a wormhole of cinematic
exploration in the innovative Interstellar,
but the film gets lost in space. Interstellar
is a spectacularly realized feat of unintelligible jibber-jabber. This visually
stunning and phenomenally executed special effects extravaganza deserves to be
seen on the big screen, yet Interstellar
is often utterly incomprehensible.
'Dys-' and 'The Cold Heart' win Audience Awards at Cellar Door Film Festival
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The Canadian horror film Dys- wins the CDFF Audience Award for Best Feature |
Labels:
Canadian Film,
Cellar Door,
Ottawa Arts
11/10/2014
Ottawa's European Union Film Festival Screens Nov. 13-30!
Who’s still bobbing their heads to “Let it Out”, the theme
from last year’s European Union Film Festival hit A Trip? Ottawa filmmies loved the song so much it brought Googlers
galore, and the popularity of the catchy tune used in last year’s festival trailer
shows how much this Ottawa festival connects with local audiences. Cinephiles
get their annual treat once again when the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) screens
in town this week. EUFF is presented by the Canadian Film Institute, the
Delegation of the European Union to Canada, and the Member States of the European Union. EUFF continues to grow in its 29th year, which makes
it one of the longest running film festivals in town, yet EUFF stays young at
heart by showcasing cutting-edge examples of world cinema with hip hooks like
“Let it Out.”
Labels:
CFI,
EUFF,
Ottawa Arts
11/09/2014
Planet in Focus Review: 'The Dark Side of Chew'
The Dark Side of Chew
(Canada/Mexico, 58 min.)
Dir. Andrew Nisker
So, who gave out gum on Halloween? I cautiously grabbed a
piece of Double Bubble from the goodie bags we were handing out at my place and
chewed the issue as I thought about the Planet in Focus doc The Dark Side of Chew. Andrew Nisker’s
film paints bubble gum a shade bunch darker than the vibrant pink of most
goodies (hence the title), so my thoughts on the film instantly spat the
rubbery mass into the garbage. This stuff is really nasty when the film puts it
in perspective.
Labels:
Canadian Film,
Capsule reviews,
Documentary,
PIF
11/08/2014
Planet in Focus Review: 'On the Trail of the Far Fur Country'
On the Trail of the
Far Fur Country
(Canada, 80 min.)
Dir. Kevin Nikkel, Writ. Chris Nikkel, Kevin Nikkel
This year’s Planet in Focus unearths a true gem of Canadiana
in the breathtaking doc On the Trail of the Far Fur Country.
Fur sees filmmaker Kevin Nikkel mine
the archives of film and Canadian history and turn the camera back on
contemporary Canadiana in turn. This beautiful achievement in filmmaking is
both a reflection on Canada’s history and a look forward at the journey ahead.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Canadian Film,
Documentary,
PIF
11/07/2014
Planet in Focus Review: 'The Family Farm'
The Family Farm
(Canada, 72 min.)
Written and directed by Ari Cohen
“There’s not a grocery fairy that waves its wand and
restores the shelves,” says one beleaguered farmer towards the end of Ari
Cohen’s The Family Farm. Family Farm, which screens at Toronto’s
Planet in Focus this weekend, is a down-to-earth portrait of the Canadians who
till the land in order to stock the shelves of their neighbours. Few Canadians
really know how food lands on their tables, for more Canadians probably believe
in the food fairy than think critically about how food actually gets into their
belly. Some probably think that the stork still brings them.
Labels:
Canadian Film,
Capsule reviews,
Documentary,
PIF
Planet in Focus Review: 'Night Moves'
Night Moves
(USA, 112 min.)
Dir. Kelly Reichardt, Writ. Jonathan Raymond, Kelly
Reichardt
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning,
Peter Sarsgaard
“If you bombard people with horrifying images,” says one
environmentalist following a documentary screening in Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves, “it leads people to think
it’s too late.” The moviegoer’s query seems oddly fitting after one hears the
same sentiment in the other Planet in Focus selection, Living on the Edge. Whereas photographer Joan Sullivan instead
chooses to capture the beauty of sustainable living to convey the effects of
climate change, Night Moves
methodically explores the actions of those who take drastic measures as final
results for saving the environment. This methodical thriller by Kelly Reichardt
(Meek’s Crossing, Wendy and Lucy) might be the first
legitimate eco-terrorism drama to hit the big screen and, if it isn’t, then
it’s arguably the best.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Dakota Fanning,
Jesse Eisenberg,
Kelly Reichardt,
Night Moves,
PIF
11/06/2014
Planet in Focus Review: 'Living on the Edge'
Living on the Edge
(Canada, 50 min.)
Dir. Susan Woodfine
![]() |
David Didier explains coastal erosion to Joan Sullivan, along the Saint Lawrence River |
The old saying goes that a picture tells a thousand words.
Photos, particularly before and after shots, are especially talkative when it
comes to the environment. Just look at the time-lapse photography of Chasing Ice, which offers visual proof of
global warming simply by inviting the audience to watch glaciers creep outside
the frame. Climate change invites powerful imagery, but these photos can be
equally as heavy-handed as they are provocative. At the other end of the reel, though, lies
the inspiring work of photographer and environmental activist Joan Sullivan as Living on the Edge shows how she uses
her camera to show the benefits and beauty of going green in an effort to
encourage proactive change. This aesthetically and morally sound
doc offers both a personal and global portrait of a world in flux.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Canadian Film,
Documentary,
PIF
Contest: Win Tickets to 'The Theory of Everything' in Ottawa and Calgary! (CONTEST CLOSED)
Get ready for one of the year’s most
inspiring films! The Theory of Everything
dramatizes the extraordinary true story of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and
his wife Jane Wilde, played by Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, from
Oscar-winning director James Marsh (ShadowDancer). The Theory of Everything
opens this month from eOne Films,
but if you live in Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, or Victoria, and want to see the
film before it hits theatres, answer the trivia below for your chance to win
tickets to a sneak peek!
Hot Docs Hit 'Kung Fu Elliot' Opens This Week! (Ottawa Nov. 14!)
Filmgoers eager to see more Canadian hits from Hot Docs will
want to see the fun, but also kind of brilliant, Kung Fu Elliot when it hits theatres this weekend. This zany doc from
directors Jaret Belliveau and Matthew Bauckman tells the shaggy underdog story of amateur filmmaker and Kung
Fu enthusiast Elliot Scott. Elliot’s passion for making movies—with no
discernable talent despite an overdose of enthusiasm—is an entertainingly
ironic example for why the Canadian film scene has yet to find its own legit
action hero and, let’s face it, probably never will. The film, which won Best Documentary Feature at the Slamdance Film Festival
earlier this year, opens in Toronto this weekend and Ottawa audiences
can catch it Nov. 14 when it opens at the Mayfair Theatre, which seems like the perfect atmosphere for fans of The Room to enjoy this eclectic ode to
hack filmmaking.
Labels:
Canadian Film,
Documentary,
Hot Docs
Streep Sings in Final 'Into the Woods' Trailer!
Get a final look at the Wicked Streep of the West before the Meryl musical Into the Woods hits theatres Christmas Day. Disney released the final trailer for Into the Woods, the hotly anticipated adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's beloved musical, from director Rob Marshall (Chicago, Nine). Meryl Streep stars as The Witch alongside Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, James Corden, and Johnny Depp as The Wolf. Streep gets top billing in the trailer, although previous reports from Disney reps confirm that she'll actually compete in the Best Supporting Actress race with Emily Blunt being the film's true lead in her role as The Baker's Wife. (But, hey, it's Meryl Streep... at the top where she belongs!) The Disney awards site does not yet have full category listings, though, so that could change like August: Osage County did depending on the film's strategy and reception. Either way, though, Streep and Into the Woods look fantastic!
What's the policy on skipping Christmas dinner for Meryl Streep movies?
What's the policy on skipping Christmas dinner for Meryl Streep movies?
Labels:
Into the Woods,
Meryl Streep
11/05/2014
Planet in Focus Opens with the Stunning 'Monsoon'
Monsoon
(Canada/France, 108 min.)
Dir. Sturla Gunnarsson
Planet in Focus gets a thunderous start with Sturla
Gunnarsson’s arresting Monsoon. This
visually stunning and philosophically stirring documentary is a wonder. Fans of
Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky’s Watermark
will want to see this film. Gunnarsson, director of the Edward Suzuki doc Force of Nature, travels to Kerala,
India to study the many facets of the annual Monsoon that washes through India
with near-Biblical fury, yet Monsoon
fascinatingly shows the waters as a life force whereas other films might show
the flood as a threat. Monsoon opens
Planet in Focus with one of the most stimulating alternative—or perhaps most fully
formed—takes on climate you’ll see this year.
Labels:
Canadian Film,
Capsule reviews,
Documentary,
monsoon,
PIF
11/04/2014
Hot Docs Hit 'The Secret Trial 5' Comes to Toronto and Ottawa
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Security certificate detainee Hassan Almrei spent over 7 years in prison without being charged with a crime. |
Labels:
Canadian Film,
Documentary,
Hot Docs
Contest: Win Tickets to see 'Rosewater' in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver (CONTEST CLOSED)
Pretty much everyone agrees that Jon Stewart is a master of
satire when it comes to reporting current events, but how does his razor-sharp
skill translate to film? Pretty well, I’d say, judging from the praise
surrounding his directorial debut Rosewater.
Pretty darn well, actually, since the film premiered to Oscar buzz and great
reviews at the Telluride and Toronto International Film Festival earlier this fall. Rosewater opens in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal on November 14
from Search Engine Films (Ottawa
at The ByTowne on Nov. 28) and if you live
in YYZ, MTL, and YVR, you are in luck! Answer the trivia below for your chance
to win tickets to sneak peeks of Rosewater!
11/03/2014
Cellar Door Film Festival: Programmers' Picks
Ottawa's Cellar Door Film Festival launches this Friday! (Check out the full line-up here.) It's been a lot of fun being a part of the programming team and get this project off the ground, but the only downside is that CDFF is the one Ottawa film festival that I can't review! It would be so much fun to write about some of these films. However, the programming team did a little writing of its own over the weekend and now offers the "Programmers' Picks" for CDFF'14. Myself and the festival's other programmers, Ramin S. Khanjani and Renuka Bauri, each highlight one short film and one feature film that are especially worth seeking out at the inaugural edition of CDFF. My personal pick is the Canadian horror film Dys- from director Maude Michaud (who will be at the screening!) but I really do say "Everything!" whenever someone asks for a tip for what to see at the festival. Check out the full list of Programmers' Picks here.
Labels:
Cellar Door,
Ottawa Arts
11/02/2014
Beatlemania en España
Living is Easy with Eyes Closed (Vivir es fácil con los
ojos cerrados)
(Spain, 108 min.)
Written and directed by David Trueba
Starring:
Javier Cámara, Natalia de Molina, Francesc Colomer
The extent to which one will love Living is Easy with Eyes Closed probably depends on how easily one
identifies the title. If one immediately knows that the line is a lyric from
The Beatles’ hit “Strawberry Fields Forever,” then Living is Easy with Eyes Closed is probably like a sweet song from the
sixties. If one is one mildly (if embarrassingly) behind on one’s Beatlemania,
however, Living is Easy with Eyes Closed
is still a nice little ditty even if feels as if nothing holds it together
until the very end. Easy goes down
like a great Beatles song, though, as its upbeat sunniness has the simplicity
of tunes like “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” There’s actually a lot more to it,
however, if one listens a little more closely.
Labels:
2014 Reviews,
Best Foreign Lang Film
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