![]() |
Deepa Mehta at Beeba Boys WireImage/Getty for TIFF |
11/30/2015
TFCA Names Deepa Mehta Winner of the Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award
Labels:
awards,
Canadian Film,
Deepa Mehta,
TFCA
11/28/2015
EUFF Review: 'A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence'
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (En duva satt på en gren och funderade på
tillvaron)
(Sweden/Germany/Norway/France, 101 min.)
Written and directed by Roy Andersson
Starring: Nisse Vestblom, Holger Andersson, Charlotta
Larsson, Viktor Gyllenberg
A Pigeon Sat on a
Branch Reflecting on Existence wins the prize for best film title of the
year, if not all time. A Pigeon Sat on a
Branch Reflecting on Existence might also have the most inaccurate or
misleading title since Vic + Flo Saw aBear. Andersson’s film, which screens at Ottawa’s European Union Film Festival after winning the Golden Lion at Venice last year (it’s also Sweden’s
Oscar submission for Best Foreign Language Film), has neither pigeon nor
branch. However, Pigeon certainly
reflects on existence—and, boy, does it ever do so grandly!
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Best Foreign Lang Film,
CFI,
EUFF,
Pigeon Sat on Branch
11/27/2015
Own It, Hollywood!
Trumbo
(USA, 124 min.)
Dir. Jay Roach, Writ. John McNamara
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Helen Mirren, Diane Lane, Elle
Fanning, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, David James Elliott, Dean O'Gorman,
Alan Tudyk, Louis C.K
![]() |
Helen Mirren stars as Hedda Hopper and Bryan Cranston stars as Dalton Trumbo in Jay Roach’s Trumbo, an Entertainment One release. Photo: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle |
“Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist
Party?” are chilling words that define a dark and pivotal chapter of Hollywood
history. The years of the Hollywood Blacklist in which industry figures like
screenwriter Dalton Trumbo were ostracized and persecuted for their politics, are
important years for Hollywood to remember, yet the story of the Hollywood Ten
doesn’t get much screen time from Tinsletown. Aside from George Clooney’s
excellent Good Night, and Good Luck,
which uses the 1953 CBS news coverage of the House Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC) to interrogate media responsibility in Bush-era America, few
contemporary films ask that familiar question. It appears again in Trumbo, perhaps the fullest
dramatization of the era of the Hollywood Blacklist, but the film unfortunately
feels like a missed opportunity to turn the question of McCarthyism right on
its head.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Bryan Cranston,
Helen Mirren,
Trumbo
11/25/2015
'Spotlight' Shines
Spotlight
(USA, 120 min.)
Dir. Tom McCarthy, Writ. Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev
Schreiber, John Slattery, Brian d’Arcy James, Stanley Tucci
Fans of Linden MacIntyre’s Giller Prize-winning novel The Bishop’s Man must, must, must see Spotlight. Spotlight doesn’t adapt MacIntyre’s excellent 2009 Canadian novel
about a so-called “clean-up man” of the clothe who enabled his fellow clergy to
molest young parishioners without reprisal or scandal, but fans of the book are
bound to be taken by this equally incendiary film about the story that broke
the church’s web of corruption wide open. This true tale dramatizes the
landmark 2002 feat of journalism by the Spotlight team at the Boston Globe, which exposed the
cover-ups of sexual abuse in the local Catholic Archdiocese with an ongoing
commitment to the story. (Read the Spotlight series here.) The complexity and wrestling with guilt and faith one reads in The Bishop's Man find a powerful counterpoint in Spotlight as the mess of cleaning up the cover-up spins a story that leaves one spinning. Print might be dying, but Spotlight makes a solid case for the value of a free, impartial,
and intelligent press.
Notes from the Screener Pile: 2015.2
Award-season FYC-ing continues!
Straight Outta Compton
(USA, 147
min.)
Dir. F. Gary Gray, Writ. Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff
Starring: O’Shea Jackson, Jr.; Corey Hawkins; Jason
Mitchell, Neil Brown, Jr; Aldis Hodge; Paul Giamatti
Labels:
Capsule reviews,
Documentary,
NFtSP,
Straight Outta Compton
11/24/2015
Contest! Win Tickets to See 'Carol' Across Canada! (Contest Closed)
People everywhere are swooning for Carol. This latest film from Todd Haynes (Far from Heaven) adapts the novel The Price of Salt by The Talented Mr. Ripley author Patricia Highsmith (profiled here in the Summer Movie Reads of 2015). Carol stars
Cate Blanchett and Cannes Best Actress winner Rooney Mara in two of the
performances that critics are calling the year’s best. Carol opens in theatres beginning December 11 from eOne Films, but lucky readers in select
cities may win tickets to a sneak peek. Answer the trivia below for a chance to
win tickets!
Labels:
Adaptation,
Carol,
Cate Blanchett,
contest,
Rooney Mara
EUFF Review: 'Class Enemy'
Class Enemy (Razredni
sovraznik)
(Slovenia, 107 min.)
Dir. Rok Bicek, Writ. Nejc
Gazvoda, Rok Bicek, Janez Lapajne
Starring: Igor Samobor, Natasa
Barbara Gracner, Tjasa Zeleznik, Masa Derganc, Robert Prebil, Voranc Boh, Jan
Zupančič
The European Union Film Festival
finds a fitting follow-up to Luxembourg’s unsettling drama Baby(a)lone with Slovenia’s provocative drama Class Enemy. Both films are uncomfortable portraits of youth in
revolt, but while Baby(a)lone finds
power in the urgency of its character study, the group rebellion of Class Enemy situates the film in a
larger collective uneasiness passed from generation to generation. This feature
debut by Rok Bicek, Slovenia’s bid for Best Foreign Language Film back in 2013
(when Youth director Paolo Sorrentino's The Great Beauty won) is a
powerful high school drama about ghosts that linger and lessons we all must learn.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Best Foreign Lang Film,
EUFF
Blu-ray Review: 'No Escape'
No Escape
(USA, 103 min.)
Dir. John Eric Dowdle, Writ. John Eric Dowdle, Drew Dowdle
Starring: Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan
Family vacations are often hell, but nothing compares to the
nightmare of a trip to Southeast Asia that the Dwyer family endures in No Escape. Owen Wilson stars as Jack
Dwyer, a man who moves his family to an anonymous Asian country (although it’s
unmistakably Thailand) to work on a major dam project. No Escape turns the family’s new home upside-down when a political
coup rocks the nation just hours after the family arrives. The action-packed No Escape leaves no time for sightseeing
as the Dwyers run for their lives in an adventure they’ll never forget.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Lake Bell,
No Escape,
Owen Wilson,
Pierce Brosnan
11/22/2015
'Life in Its Thrall—a Nightmare!'
The Forbidden Room
(Canada, 120 min.)
Dir. Guy Maddin, co-dir. Evan Johnson; Writ. Guy Maddin,
Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk
Starring: Louis Negin, Roy Dupuis, Clare Furey, Udo Kier,
Geraldine Chaplin, Charlotte Rampling, Sophie Desmarais, Karine Vanasse, Marie
Brassard, Mathieu Amalric
“Life in its thrall—a nightmare!” reads an intertitle within
Guy Maddin's hallucinatory phantasmagoria The
Forbidden Room. The Forbidden Room
is Maddin in his thrall, at the peak of his ridiculously extravagant weirdness.
Every once in a rare while comes a film that lets an eccentric auteur unleash
himself to his full potential, and The
Forbidden Room is a richly dreamy, somnambulant kino-opera of style and
experimentation. Only Maddin would even dare to attempt such a dense experiment,
let alone achieve it. The Forbidden Room
is one of Maddin’s strangest and best films yet.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Canadian Film,
Forbidden Room,
Guy Maddin
11/21/2015
EUFF Review: 'Keeper of Lost Causes'
The Keeper of Lost Causes
(Denmark/Germany/Sweden/Norway, 92 min.)
Dir. Mikkel Nørgaard, Writ. Nikolaj Arcel
Starring: Nikolaj Lee Kaas, Sonja Richter, Fares Fares, Peter Plaugborg, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard,
Anyone debating seeing Secret in Their Eyes this weekend might want to reconsider and catch Keeper of Lost Causes at the European
Union Film Festival instead. This dark Danish co-production is a gritty crime
drama. Much like the difference between the remake of Secret in Their Eyes and the original, this foreign affair suggests
that thrillers are best done with subtitles.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
EUFF
11/20/2015
Canucks in Contention: Could 2015 Be Canada's Biggest Year Yet at the Oscars?
![]() |
Saoirse Ronan as Eilis and Emory Cohen as Tony in Brooklyn. Photo by Kerry Brown. Courtesy of Mongrel Media |
Labels:
Adaptation,
Brooklyn,
Canadian Film,
Felix and Meria,
Jacob Tremblay,
Oscars,
Room,
Saoirse Ronan,
Shorts,
wanted 18
Contest: Win a Digital Download of 'Bang Bang Baby'!
Get read to be flung out of this world with Bang Bang Baby! The wild and wacky
sci-fi/comedy/musical that scooped the award for Best First Feature at last
year’s Toronto International Film Festival and the Claude Jutra Award for
Emerging Filmmaker at this year’s Canadian Screen Awards is a bizarre delight. (Read the 4-star review here.) Bang Bang Baby hits
VOD November 27 from Search Engine Films, but lucky readers can win a free
download to enjoy Bang Bang Baby on
VOD and sing along in the comfort of their own homes. Answer the trivia below for
a chance to win!
Labels:
Bang Bang Baby,
Canadian Film,
contest
Avert Your Eyes
Secret in Their Eyes
(USA, 110 min.)
Written and directed by Billy Ray
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts,
Dean Norris, Alfred Molina
Avert your eyes, Hollywood is at it again. Argentina’s Oscar
winner The Secret in Their Eyes gets
a ho-hum Hollywood remake in this by-the-numbers potboiler from writer/director
Billy Ray (who wrote Captain Phillips).
The original Secret in Their Eyes,
despite being an Oscar winner, has ample room for improvement, so one feels a
genuine disappointment that this remake fails to take the material to its full
potential. The remake doesn’t even have a doozy of a long take to inspire one
to leave the theatre raving, unlike hoe the original saved itself with five
minutes of breathtaking filmmaking.
11/19/2015
Two Canadian Shorts Advance in Oscar Race
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If I Was God... Photo courtesy of the NFB |
Labels:
Animation,
Canadian Film,
NFB,
Oscars,
Shorts
EUFF Review: 'Baby(a)lone'
Baby(a)lone
(Luxembourg, 90 min.)
Written and directed by Donato Rotunno
Starring: Joshua Defays, Charlotte Elsen, Etienne Halsdorf
The kids are not all right in Baby(a)lone. Baby(a)lone opens this year’s European Union Film Festival in Ottawa and it’s much darker and edgier than past festival openers
have been. Baby(a)lone might not be the
first film with which one expects a country to represent itself at an
international showcase, nor at the Oscars where the film is Luxembourg’s
submission for Best Foreign Language Film, but it’s brave of Luxembourg to be
so bold. The film is bound to strike a nerve with some festivalgoers,
especially parents, but the tough rawness of Donato Rotunno’s direction gives Baby(a)lone a potent sting. It’s an
uncomfortable watch—and an urgent one.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Best Foreign Lang Film,
CFI,
EUFF
11/18/2015
Notes from the Screener Pile: 2015.1
‘Tis the season! The screeners are in the mail and flooding
inboxes like mad this year, so it’s time to play catch up as Cinemablographer.com considers all the
movies that slipped by earlier this year. Enjoy some notes from the screener
pile as we check films off the list!
Labels:
Amy Schumer,
Capsule reviews,
Documentary,
furious 7,
NFtSP,
Tilda Swinton,
Trainwreck
11/17/2015
Angie's Arty Adventure
By the Sea
(USA, 132 min.)
Written and directed by Angelina Jolie Pitt
Starring: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie Pitt, Mélanie Laurent,
Niels Arestrup, Melvil Poupaud
Angelina Jolie Pitt directs her third dramatic feature with By the Sea, and this piece of Euro
arthouse cinéma finally gives the
first onscreen team of Brangelina since the two actors heated things up in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. (Granted, Pitt has a
cameo in Jolie’s dramatic directorial debut In
the Land of Blood and Honey, but this film is their first real pairing both
in front of the camera and behind it.) The two actors are as hot and sexy as
ever in this languid arty vacationer that plays like the seaside holiday of Frank
and April Wheeler as Americans Roland (Pitt) and Vanessa (Jolie Pitt) take a
holiday in France and see their marriage hit the rocks. Scenes from a marriage,
perhaps? Let’s hope not, but Angie's arty adventure deserves some credit as the couple spices things up.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Angelina Jolie,
Brad Pitt,
By the Sea
Ottawa's European Union Film Festival Returns This Week!
![]() |
Cannes sensation Son of Saul screens EUFF. Photo: SPC / Mongrel |
Labels:
Best Foreign Lang Film,
Brooklyn,
CFI,
EUFF,
Ottawa Arts,
Son of Saul,
Vera Farmiga
11/16/2015
Contest! Win Tickets to See 'Trumbo' Across Canada! (CONTEST CLOSED)
Revisit a chapter of Hollywood history in Trumbo! Trumbo stars Breaking Bad’s
Bryan Cranston as screewriter Dalton Trumbo, who penned some Hollywood classics
in the notorious age of the blacklist. Trumbo
opens in theatres November 27 from eOne Films, but lucky readers can see it
before the film hits theatres! Answer the trivia below for a chance to
win tickets to a sneak peek!
Labels:
Bryan Cranston,
contest,
Trumbo
The Sky Isn't Falling for 007 Just Yet
Spectre
(UK/USA, 148 min.)
Dir. Sam Mendes, Writ. John Logan,
Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Jez Butterworth
Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph
Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw
![]() |
Bond (Daniel Craig) following Marco Sciarra through the Dia de los Muertos parade in Spectre. Photo: Stephen Vaughan / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Danjaq, LLC and Columbia Pictures |
There’s no need to worry, Henny
Penny: the sky isn’t falling. Yes, James Bond is back after the franchise high
of Skyfall and it’s a relief to say
that the newest 007 film, Spectre,
isn’t to Skyfall what Quantum of Solace is to Casino Royale. Skyfall sets a high bar with its billion-dollar box office, two
Oscars, and BAFTA win for Best Film, so while Spectre is no Skyfall by
any regards, it’s enough to keep 007 fans satisfied that James Bond is on the
mend.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Christoph Waltz,
Daniel Craig,
Lea Seydoux,
Monica Bellucci,
Skyfall,
Spectre
11/14/2015
'The Assassin' is Beautifully Boring
The Assassin
(Taiwan, 105 min.)
Dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Writ. Chu Tien-Wen, Hsieh Hai-Meng,
Zhong Acheng
Starring: Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Zhou Yun, Satoshi Tsumabuki
Wuxia films can be
a grand affair as marital arts masters and soaring swordsmen trade blows and
defend their honour in elaborate action sequences and set pieces. Take Ang
Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,
arguably the best martial arts film ever made, which flies to fantastical
heights as warriors cross swords in duels that play like treetop ballet, or
Zhang Yimou’s Hero, another
gorgeously realized film about the futility of living by the sword. Add Hou
Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin to the
list of notable wuxia films, but this
one stands out for very different reasons: it barely contains any action.
Call it a pacifist action film, maybe. It's an acquired taste despite the gorgeous packaging.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Best Foreign Lang Film
11/13/2015
'99 Homes' a Passionate Powerhouse
99 Homes
(USA, 112
min.)
Dir. Ramin
Bahrani, Writ. Ramin Bahrani, Amir Nedari, Bahareh Azimi
Starring : Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern
Will the housing crisis ever level off? The Occupy-era drama
99 Homes resonates long after the
market crash as everyday citizens still find themselves reeling after the
economic downturn caused by American greed. This drama from Ramin Bahrani (At Any Price) delivers an emotional
wallop thanks to a trio of searing performances and a smartly crafted script
that stings with the bitter defeat of the USA housing crash. 99 Homes is a passionate powerhouse.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
99 Homes,
Andrew Garfield,
Laura Dern,
michael shannon
'Mavis!' Sings
Mavis!
(USA, 81 min.)
Dir. Jessica Edwards
The year of the music doc continues to roll as Mavis! offers soulful sweetness. This
documentary feature about soul/gospel icon Mavis Staples is a joy to watch.
Maybe it’s the music or maybe it’s Mavis’s vibrant personality, but this film
by Canuck native Jessica Edwards is consistently appealing. Mavis! sings.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Documentary
11/12/2015
Blu-Ray Review: 'Self/Less'
Self/Less
(USA, 118 min.)
Dir. Tarsem Singh, Writ. David Pastor, Alex Pastor
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez, Matthew Goode,
Ben Kingsley, Victor Garber, Michelle Dockery
Canada’s Ryan Reynolds faces the future in Self/Less! This sci-fi/thriller, which
is much better than reviews during its theatrical release suggest, is an
ambitious flick that mixes high-concept innovation with fast-paced escapism. It’s
smart, entertaining, and just ridiculous enough to be compulsively watchable.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Ben Kingsley,
Ryan Reynolds
11/10/2015
Reel Asian Review: 'Port of Call'
Port of Call
(Hong Kong, 120 min.)
Written and directed by Philip Yung
Starring: Aaron Kwok, Elaine Jin, Jessie Li, Michael Ning,
Maggie Shiu
Canadian audiences should prepare to squirm and shudder as
the grisly crime of Port of Call
recalls the grotesque deeds of Montreal murderer Luka Magnotta. Nothing quite
tops the stomach-churning depravity of the headline-making cannibalism that
went online, but as far as real world dramas go, the Hong Kong crime drama Port of Call offers enough ghastly stuff
to make the squeamish hurl. Viewers with a strong sense that humans are
innately good might blow chunks too, since the murder case based on true events
drives some troubling questions about the nature of humankind. Has the ship of
human decency left the port?
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Christopher Doyle
Contest: Win Tickets to See 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2' Across Canada! (CONTEST CLOSED)
Tributes, the time has come to unite! The Hunger Games series comes to close with Mockingjay – Part 2 as Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and company
descend upon the Capital. The Hunger
Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 opens in theatres November 20 from eOne Films, but lucky readers
can see it before the film hits theatres! Answer the trivia below for a chance to
win tickets to a sneak peek! Raise your fingers if you want tickets!
Labels:
contest,
Hunger Games,
Jennifer Lawrence,
Mockingjay
11/09/2015
Contest! Win Tickets to See 'Secret in Their Eyes' Across Canada! (CONTEST CLOSED)
Eyes on the prize! The
Secret in Their Eyes, the 2009 Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Language Film,
gets a star-studded remake. The film gets a dark Hollywood makeover with the
impressive cast of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julia Roberts, and Nicole Kidman. Will it
score Oscar gold too? (I can't wait to see how the one-up the long take!) Secret in Their
Eyes opens in theatres November 20, but lucky readers can see it before the
film hits theatres! Answer the trivia below for a chance to
win tickets to a sneak peek!
'Liza, the Fox-Fairy', 'The Prime of Life' Win CDFF Audience Awards
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Liza, the Fox-Fairy wins the CDFF Audience Award for Best Feature |
Labels:
Cellar Door,
Ottawa Arts
11/03/2015
Contest! Win Tickets to See 'Spotlight' Across Canada!
The Oscar race is on! Spotlight
leads the pack after wowing audiences at Venice, Telluride, TIFF, where it won
a runner-up prize in the race for the People’s Choice Award. Spotlight comes to theatres beginning
November 13 from eOne Films, but if you want to see Spotlight before it hits theatres, you are in luck! Answer the trivia below for a chance to
win tickets to a sneak peek!
Labels:
contest,
Mark Ruffalo,
Michael Keaton,
Rachel McAdams,
Spotlight
Beasts of Netflix Nation
Beasts of No Nation
(USA, 133 min.)
Written and directed by Cary Fukunaga
Starring: Abraham Attah, Idris Elba
Beasts of No Nation,
for better or for worse, primarily generates discussion for being Netflix’s
first big dramatic feature film release, rather than being a searing drama
about child soldiers. Let’s just acknowledge that aspect of the film from the
outset. It’s admirable that Netflix wants to take a gamble on a film like Beasts of No Nation and defy the world
of the theatrical release to bring this story into the homes of viewers,
although one cannot overlook the fact that child soldiers are being
overshadowed by streaming numbers.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Adaptation,
Beasts of No Nation,
Idris Elba
11/01/2015
Revenge, Geriatric Style
Remember
(Canada/Germany, 95 min.)
Dir. Atom Egoyan, Writ. Benjamin August
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Dean Norris,
Henry Czerny
![]() |
Martin Landau and Christopher Plummer star in Remember. Photo: Sophie Giraud © 2014, Remember Productions Inc.1 |
The elderly are getting a second wind at the movies these
days. They’re staying at Exotic Marigold Hotels (The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) and enjoying posh Swiss spas
(Youth). They’re singing in Quartets
(Quartet) and being good grandmas (Grandma). They’re even killing folks,
like Christopher Plummer does in Atom Egoyan’s new golden oldie thriller Remember playing Zev, a Holocaust
survivor out to kill some Nazis like a mofo from a Tarantino film.
Labels:
2015 Reviews,
Atom Egoyan,
Canadian Film,
Christopher Plummer,
Remember
Blu-ray Review: 'Z for Zachariah'
Z for Zachariah
(Iceland/Switzerland/New Zealand, 97 min.)
Dir. Craig Zobel, Writ. Nissar Moodi
Starring: Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Pine
Adaptations of young adult literature are a-plenty, but
depth in this stream of YA-to-screen endeavors is often scarce. Z for Zachariah, alternatively, exceeds
the limitations of many YA adaptations because this take on Richard C.
O’Brien’s novel doesn’t cater to the teen demographic. One could instead argue
that Z for Zachariah betrays its
literary origins by offering a perceptive dystopian drama that breathes life
into the YA world; however, young readers and young viewers are bound to find
the film as equally accessible as the book is, since this minimalist drama
finds power in understatement. With only three actors and a great story, Z for Zachariah tackles some of the most
fundamental questions of human nature with philosophical depth.
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