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Sample: Title; rating (out of 4); principal setting; year of release; international co-producer (if any); cast; description; scriptwriter; director; content warning; running time.
A CORPS PERDU *
1/2 setting: P.Q./other.
(1988) (/Switzerland) Matthias Habich, Johanne-Marie
Tremblay, Michel Voita, Jean-Francoise Pichette, Kim Yaroshevskaya.....Bisexual
photographer (Habich) returns to Montreal from abroad only to have to deal
with the fact that his girlfriend and boyfriend (Tremblay and Voita), with
whom he shared an apartment, have left him. Truly a director's film, with
the emphasis on the moody visuals...and story and character coming second.
Still, some people like that sort of thing. English title: Straight
for the Heart. sc: Lea Pool, Marcel Beaulieu with Michel Langlois.
dir: Lea Pool. - male nudity and partial female nudity, sexual content.-
90 min.
A NOUS DEUX *
1/2 setting: other/P.Q./USA.
(1979) (/France) Catherine Denueve, Jacque Dutronc,
Jacques Villeret, Paul Preboist, Bernard LeCoy, Gilbert Geniat, Monique
Melinand, Jacques Godin.....Story of two outlaws, a second generation
bank robber and self-styled rebel (Dutronc) and a femme fatale (Denueve)
who seduces, then blackmails, married men, who (eventually) meet up at
a criminal safe house and end up going on the lam together. Odd drama is
kind of slow-moving and seems deliberately confusing in structure (where
the time/place relationship between scenes is often murky, and a few dream
sequences are thrown in) and very European in tone -- not necessarily in
a good way -- in that it involves a lot of scenes of poker-faced characters
having supposedly profound conversations about individuality and nihilism.
Some amusing bits -- in fact, the movie may be intended as more a comedy
than anything -- but generally something where you don't much care about
the characters or what happens to them. English title: Us Two. sc/dir:
Claude Lelouch. 107 min.
ABDUCTED *
* * setting: B.C.
(1986) Dan Haggerty, Roberta Weiss, Lawrence King
Phillips.....Jogger (Weiss) is kidnapped by a crazed mountain man (Phillips)
who wants her for a wife. Surprisingly effective, well-acted suspenser
manages to avoid being repetitious as well as too sleazy, keeping a fast-pace
and throwing in some unexpected elements (like Haggerty as another mountain
man). A sequel was made eight years later. sc./dir: Boon Collins (story
Collins, Lindsay Bourne). - violence.- 87 min.
ABOVE AND BEYOND (TVMS) *
* * 1/2 setting: CDN./other
(2006) Liane Balaban, Jonathan Scarfe, Allan Hawco,
Richard E. Grant, Kenneth Welsh, Joss Ackland, Peter MacNeill, Robert Wisden,
Jason Priestley, Mark Critch.....Story of the
creation of the Atlantic Ferry Command during World War II -- a massive
project to fly planes from Newfoundland, across the North Atlantic, to
re-supply England (previously the planes were shipped by sea) -- and of
various characters, some fictional, some real. Fact and fiction mix in
this old fashioned, lavishly mounted CBC historical drama that can be kind
of likened to a (low-key) answer to "Pearl Harbour" (the movie, that is,
not the event); well acted (particularly by Scarfe and Hawco) and consistently
compelling, though it doesn't fully let down its hair. There's a romantic
triangle...but it's of a decidedly restrained, low-key nature -- which
is a minus (or a plus depending on what you're looking for). Some jaw-dropping
special effects, too (considering this was made for TV). The fact that
some of the central characters are fictional means that you can take it,
first and foremost, as a drama, rather than it getting caught up in the
controversies that invariably dog movies purporting to be "based on a true
story". You can still learn something of the real history, of course, though
it does (apparently) suffer from a few technical inaccuracies. All in all,
grand, old fashioned entertainment. Priestley has just a small part as
Sir Frederick Banting. The significance of
the Gander airfield during W.W. II had previously been utilized in the
CBC movie Heyday. Four hours. sc: John W.
Doyle, Lisa Porter. dir: Sturla Gunnarsson.
ABRAXAS, GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE*
setting: USA.
(1990) Jesse Ventura, Marjorie Bransfield, Sven-Ole
Thorsen, Michael Copeman, Francis Mitchell, Jerry Levitan, Damian Lee.....Alien
cop (American ex-wrestler Ventura) in the U.S. must beat his evil nemesis
(Thorsen, sounding uncannily like Arnold Schwarzeneggar) to the latter's
innocent half-human child who contains a world-shattering formula buried
in his subconscious. Low-budget "Terminator"-styled clone has poor performances
and even worse dialogue...though the parsecs in-joke will be funny for
"Star Wars" fans. Copeman too often appears in these kind of flicks and
deserves better. Marilyn Lightstone and TV mogul Moses Znaimer provide
computer voices and American actor Jim Belushi (!) appears, unbilled, in
one scene. sc./dir: Damian Lee. - violence.- 87 min.
ABROAD *
* setting: other
(2010) (/U.K.) Liane Balaban, Andrew Buchan, Adam Rayner, Sally Phillips, Daisy Haggard, Noam Jenkins, Maury Chaykin, Sean Cullen.....Plucky Canadian journalist (Balaban) gets her dream job -- working for a London fleet street newspaper -- but must deal with the office pecking order, and a series of romantic disasters. On one hand, this CBC comedy is nicely unpretentious and determinedly mainstream, borrowing elements from "Bridget Jones Diary", "The Devil Wears Prada", or any number of U.S. co-produced TV movies CTV and Global air -- but slicker than the latter, with a seeming bigger budget (and location filming). Balaban is a solid Anne Hathaway/Julia Roberts substitute -- indeed, the cast overall (a mix of Brits and Canucks) is good. But it's more light-hearted than actually funny, and can amount to just a collection of cliches. From the stereotypical depiction of British life, to her oh-so colourful -- and oh-so stock -- hedonistic friends, to "twists" you can easily map out ahead of time (like the romantic triangle where the charmer turns out to be the cad and the cad turns out to be the charmer). Admittedly sometimes cliches are fun because they're obvious...like slipping on a comfortably broken in pair of slippers. But the plot is thinner than, well, Balaban's waistline (and, let's face it, a strong wind would snap her in half). Despite a teasing opener (which turns out to be anti-climactic) much of the movie just seems to meander aimlessly about, with the characters themselves rather vapid and superficial (her social life just seems to amount to going out to one drunken party after another) -- ironic given a sub-theme is supposed to be about the clash between "serious" journalism and fluff pieces. Even when a plot does emerge toward the end, it kind of requires people saying and doing implausible things to push it forward. Ultimately...promising, but fails to deliver on the promise (admittedly, I haven't seen "Bridget Jones Diary" so -- who knows?). sc: Leah McLaren (created by McLaren and Meredith Caplan). dir: Philip John. - sexual content.- app. 90 min.
THE ACCIDENT *
* setting: Ont.
(1982) Fiona Reid, Terence Kelly, Frank Perry, Esther
Hockin, Anne Anglin, Laura Bruneau, Errol Slue, Charmaine Boyde, Michael
Hogan, Timothy Webber, Victoria Snow, Joseph Ziegler.....After an accident
at a community centre kills some children, their various families struggle
to cope with the emotional aftermath. Made-for-CBC-TV movie is strong in
spots, but drags too much in between. Uneven production suffers from too
much clinical earnestness, while never asking if they really had a movie
here...or just a really long public service spot? See also
The
Sweet Hereafter, made 15 years later, for a similar premise. sc: Bill
Gough. dir: Donald Brittain. 101 min.
ACCIDENTAL TRUTHS see Les yeux rouges
ACROSS THE RIVER TO MOTOR CITY (TVMS) * * setting: Ont./USA
(2008) Sasha Roiz, David Fox, Anne Openshaw, Joe Pingue, Charlotte
Sullivan, Matthew Deslippe, Peter Stebbings, Alan C. Peterson, Raven Dauda,
Howard Jerome.....Mystery-suspenser set in the border nexus of Windsor/Detroit
cutting between modern times, when an elderly, retired insurance investigator,
Ben Ford (Fox) is investigated by the police after the bones of his long ago
fiancee are uncovered...and 1963, when the young Ben Ford (Roiz) first
investigates his fiancee's mysterious diappearance against the turmoil of the
JFK assassination. Made-for-CHUM TV mini-series is unabashedly ambitious, with
its story jumping between times and places and trying to evoke the '60s
milieu...but can seem a bit like the creators stretched farther than their
abilities. Looking a bit low-budget (despite the period costumes and details),
and with some perfunctory direction, the story itself wants to be murky and
cryptic...but is often just muddled and confused (often hard to even keep
track of whether the scenes are in Detroit or Windsor), and wants to mix in
elements of conspiracy thrillers, historical detail, and human drama (with the
aged Ben estranged from his daughter). A definite mix of pluses and minuses --
mostly solid performances (especially Peterson as the young Ben's business
partner) and doesn't lack for ambition (though do we really need another
playing around with JKF conspiracy theories...even one with a Canadian angle?)
but the exceution lets it down. Even the jumping back and forth in time can
seem a crutch to pad the story. Perhaps the fact that the aged Ben already
knows the answers the young Ben is searching for bleeds some of the tension
out of it. But you can find yourself losing interest in who did what and why
long before the end. 6 hour-long episodes. sc: Robert Wertheimer, Denis
McGrath. dir: Michael DeCarlo.
ACROSS THIS LAND WITH STOMPIN'
TOM CONNORS * * 1/2
(1973).....Concert film of Canadian country/folk
singing legend Connors at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern, with a few guest
performers and interspersed with animation and other clips (kind of anticipating
music videos). Competently put-together flick should appeal to the singer's
fans, especially with its inclusion of stage-banter and jokes, but Connors'
particular brand of working man novelty songs can out stay its welcome
after a while. dir: John Saxton. 90 min.
THE ACT OF THE HEART *
* * * setting: P.Q.
(1970) Genevieve Bujold, Donald Sutherland, Monique
Leyrac, Bill Mitchell, Sharon Acker, Eric House.....Story of a troubled,
obsessively religious girl (Bujold), convinced there will be some great
meaning to her life, and of her growing romantic infatuation with a monk
(Sutherland). This classic of Canadiana (and the second film collaboration
between Bujold and her then-husband, Almond) is a haunting, extremely atmospheric
and, ultimately, unforgettable drama. Powerful performances from Sutherland
and, especially, Bujold. It received five Etrogs including Best Actress
(Bujold) and Director. sc./dir: Paul Almond. 103 min.
Ada see For the Record
TVS
THE ADJUSTER *
*
(1991) Elias Koteas, Arsinee Khanjian, Maury Chaykin,
Jennifer Dale, Gabrielle Rose, David Hemblen, Patricia Collins, Gerard
Parkes, Don McKellar.....Story of an insurance adjuster (Koteas), his
censor board wife (Khanjian), and the various characters they encounter.
Good-looking but rambling drama about dysfunctional people and video technology
suffers from Egoyan's usual heavy-handed approach -- what should be undercurrents
are, in fact, the main plot! A few clever ideas and a couple of good lines,
but that's it. The good cast is wasted in parts that haven't really been
written. The film clip on TV is from Suzanne
(which also starred Dale). sc./dir: Atom Egoyan. - casual male nudity and
brief female nudity, sexual content.- 102 min.
The Adolescence of P-1, a SF novel by Thomas J. Ryan, served as the inspiration for the TV drama, Hide and Seek.
ADORATION *
* setting: Ont.
(2009) Arsinee Khanjian, Scott Speedman, Devon Bostick, Rachel Blanchard, Noam Jenkins, Kenneth Welsh, Maury Chaykin.....An orphaned teen (Bostick), raised by his embittered uncle (Speedman), is encouraged by his teacher (Khanjian) to pass off a writing essay about being the son of a notorious terrorist as autobiographical. There's a good movie lurking in here somewhere, but it's scattershot, trying to be too many things (a saga of dysfunctional families, a parable about living in the age of terrorism, an examination of prejudice, a treatise on the electronic internet age) without doing them well, or tying them together into a cohesive whole. There are good moments, even scenes, and with solid enough performances (particularly from Speedman and, at times, Khanjian), but like a lot of Egoyan films, it's very slow, and sometimes sombrely serious, sometimes quirkily humorous...and sometimes unintentionally goofy when it's trying to be serious! (And repeats his recent style of jumbling the chronology of the scenes to little point). The themes and heavy handed symbolism too often hijack the characters and the human drama, rendering it a self-conscious cinematic exercise rather than a story about real people and real emotions. sc./dir: Atom Egoyan. 100 min.
ADRIFT *
* setting: USA./other
(1993) Kate Jackson, Bruce Greenwood, Kelly Rowan,
Kenneth Welsh.....U.S. couple (Jackson and Welsh), alone on a yacht
in the middle of the ocean, pick up another derelict couple (Greenwood
and Rowan) who turn out to be psychotic. Standard premise in this unimaginative,
repetitive made-for-TV thriller. It's more irritating than suspenseful
and the sociopolitical undercurrents don't go anywhere. Imported, perpetually
wide-eyed Jackson is, frankly, a little unsuited to the dark material.
Rowan received the Best Actress Gemini. sc: Graham Flashner & Ed Gernon
and Terry Gerritsen (story Gerritsen). dir: Christian Duguay. 95 min.
THE ADVENTURE OF FAUSTUS BIDGOOD
* * * 1/2 setting: Nfld.
(1986) Andy Jones, Greg Malone, Robert Joy, Maisie
Rillie, Brian Downey, Mary Walsh, Tommy Sexton.....Faustus (Jones),
a nobody clerk in the Newfoundland provincial government, has hallucinations
and finds it's very hard to tell what's real. Meanwhile, the Premier has
disappeared...again; there's a child murderer loose; a mad scheme to institute
"Total Education"; and that's just in this reality! Truly bizarre, surrealistic
black comedy features many in the cast from the Codco comedy troupe. Definitely
not for all tastes. It took ten years to complete. sc./dir: Dave Jones,
Andy Jones. - violence.- 110 min.
|
(2002-2003) (/U.K./France/USA) * * Michael Biehn ("Judson Cross"), Karen Cliche ("Mackenzie Previn"), Jesse Nilsson ("Gabriel Patterson")..... Fantasy-adventure, about a professional trouble-shooter, archaeological explorer, and adventurer (Biehn) and his team: the beautiful, gun-proficient tough gal (Cliche) and the technocratic novice (Nilsson). They travel the globe seeking lost artifacts, sunken tresure, or mounting rescue missions. Biehn is American, Cliche and Nilsson Canadian...though their characters are supposed to be American. The series is billed as being inspired by the real life exploits of one Barry Clifford, but given the heavy emphasis on the supernatural (magical artifacts, ghostly apparitions) and darying escapes and shoot outs, one can assume the "inspiration" is pretty peripheral, at best. Tragically, Nilsson died during the first season (of pneumonia complicated by asthma) If this series seems vaguely familiar, that's probably because it came along shortly after the cancellation of Relic Hunter -- another Canadian co-produced series about a globe-hopping Indiana Jones wanna-be. Like Relic Hunter, this isn't a great series, suffering from a certain low-budget clunkiness, with plots, and characterization, that don't exactly stretch artistic abilities. However, it's marginally better than that earlier series thanks to a more sprightly tempo, and a moderately ingratiating cast. The three leads establish an on-screen camaraderie early, allowing you to believe they're friends, and Biehn's character is allowed a little more human dimension than Tia Carrera had in Relic Hunter, even vulnerability. Again, not a great series, not even a particularly good one, but probably O.K. as an occasional time killer. Executive producer Gale Anne Hurd is a heavy weight American producer ("Terminator", etc.) proving that even a big name executive can't guarantee big budgets in TV syndication. One season of hour long episodes, shown in Canada on Space. |
ADVENTURES IN HISTORY (TV Series)This National Film Board produced TV series boasted stand-out production values and performances to make generally superior dramas. Most episodes are available on video (through the NFB). Best bets: "Teach Me to Dance" (directed by Anne Wheeler) in which a young girl discovers prejudice when she befriends a Ukrainian-Canadian school-mate. Approximately half-a-dozen half-hour episodes. |
ADVENTURES IN RAINBOW COUNTRY (TV Series)This TV series seemed a poor man's Forest Rangers (Conway was even one of the stars of that earlier show) but suffered from thin stories, sluggish pacing and a sense the actors, young and old, weren't all that sure of their parts. It benefited, naturally, from the rustic setting and scenery and some nice atmosphere. Created by William Davidson, who wrote a novel spin-off in 1975 called Return to Rainbow Country. Half-hour episodes, originally on the CBC. |
THE ADVENTURES OF BOB AND DOUG McKENZIE see Strange Brew
THE ADVENTURES OF SINBAD
* *
(1996) (/U.S.) Zen Gesner, George Buza, Jacqueline
Collen, Tim Progosh, Oris Erhueso, Julianne Morris, Ian Tracey, Lawrence
Bayne, Wayne Robson.....Sinbad the sailor (Gesner) is called upon to
gather a crew and rescue a princess from an evil sorcerer. Pilot for the
TV series has some O.K. special effects and a certain novelty appeal --
after all, Sword & Sorcery films, traditionally, work better in theory
than fact anyway. But ultimately much of the writing, acting, direction,
lighting and set design seem like something out of a high school play --
really! Also shown as two episodes of the series under the title "Return
of Sinbad". sc: Ed Naha. dir: Clay Borris. app. 90 min.
THE ADVENTURES OF SINBAD (TV Series)This TV series was inspired by the surprise success of the New Zealand-filmed U.S. series, "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys", and its spin-off, "Xena: Warrior Princess". Those shows were a mix of strengths and weaknesses, but unfortunately Sinbad was almost all weaknesses, from the poor scripts and (seeming non-existent) direction, to actors who seemed like they just stepped out of a high school play -- honest! The second season promised a "new attitude" (the same slogan used by another failed Atlantis Films effort: Destiny Ridge ) but was more of the same, though with a slightly better visual look (good), a greater emphasis on lethal violence (bad), Gesner played it meaner and less affable (bad) and was beefier (so what?), and the Dim-Dim plotline was dropped unceremoniously (huh?). Ironically, early (Canadian) guest star Rob Stewart might have made a more logical, and dynamic, lead...though he still couldn't have saved it. Some O.K. special effects are its only virtue, along with the novelty fun of a Sword & Sorcery series, so that even though it's almost as bad as Taking the Falls, it rates an extra half point. To give the Devil his due, the series had its fans, and although it was part of a torrent of S&S series following on the heels of the above mentioned "Hercules/Xena", many of the other shows like "The New Adventures of Robin Hood" and "Conan" seemed modeled after Sinbad rather than "Hercules" and "Xena". Not just because they weren't very good, but in the emphasis on action at the expense of story and character, the use of ensemble casts, and even the dynamics of the characters ("Robin Hood" featured a blank-eyed lead, a lady warrior, a strong man, and Friar Tuck as...an inventor of anachronistic devices; while "Conan" had a mute character). "Conan" was cancelled after one season, and "Robin Hood" after two (despite major cast changes). Created by Ed Naha. Filmed in South Africa. Two seasons of hour-long episodes (including a double-length pilot, reviewed separately) and shown in Canada on Global. |
THE ADVENTURES OF SMOKE BELLIOU
(TVMS) * * setting: Yuk.
(1996) (/France) Wadeck Stanczak, Michael Lamport,
Michele Barbara Pelletier, with Serge Houde, Lorne Brass, James Bradford,
Jean-Guy Bouchard, Cecile Pallas, Jack Langedijk.....Misadventures
of a French tenderfoot, Charles Belliou (Stanczak), in the Yukon during
the gold rush and his friendship with an eccentric schemer, Shorty Gorman
(Lamport), and Joy (Pelletier), the feisty daughter of a store owner (Bradford).
This series of four made-for-cable-TV movies aired monthly and was inspired
by the Jack London story "Smoke Bellew" which had already been filmed the
year before as part of the Tales of the Wild series
under the title Legends of the North (but with
a different cast). Though more expensive-looking than Tales of the Wild,
these movies suffered from slow, meandering storylines that made each film
seem like a compilation of unrelated stories, broad humour that wasn't
funny, and 'suspense' that was just brutal and unpleasant. Decent performances
(though Lamport seemed to think he was Popeye) and Stanczak grew on you
-- but not enough. Houde and Brass played llocal thugs (giving these 'family'
films a "Deliverance" ambience); Bouchard and Pallas an entrepreneur and
Opera singer respectively; and white-man Langedijk -- demonstrating another
of the films' fatal flaws -- played an Indian (yes, this is the 1990s folks)
speaking pidgin English that will make you cringe. Guest stars (often in
bit parts) included John Neville, Michael Sarrazin, Barry Morse and American
actor Richard Moll. Titles in order of broadcast: Stake Your Claim,
Gambling on Paradise, The Golden Egg and The Motherlode of the Yukon
.
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