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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.
 

THE BORDER (TV Series) (2008-)  * * 1/2  James McGowan "Mike Kessler", Graham Abbey "Gray Jackson", Jonas Chernick "Slade", Nazneen Contractor "Layla Hourani", Mark Wilson "Al 'Moose' Lepinsky", Jim Codrington "Darnell Williams", Catherine Disher "Maggie Norton", with Sofia Milos "Special Agent Bianca LeGarda", Nigel Bennett "Andrew Mannering", Debra McCabe "Yvonne Castle".....Suspense-drama about the elite Immigration and Customs Security bureau whose mandate is to police matters involving immigration and border security, tackling everything from terrorists to smugglers. McGowan plays the squad leader; Chernick the computer whiz (and an awkwardly cartoony character in this, ostensibly, "serious" series); etc. American actress Milos recurred as an American liason agent with whom they alternately collaborated and butted heads; Bennett an amoral CSIS agent; and McCabe a civil rights lawyer whom "Kessler" was secretly dating.  Much anticipated TV series, promising to go toe-to-toe with American series like CSI and 24, in being a big budget, hi-tech cops n' robbers series (billing itself as "24", but with a conscience). Controversial among more conservative commentators because of its deliberately Canadian perspective, where the characters were often at odds with American policies and objectives. The series still seems to be finding its way, with some passably okay episode followed by a well done, edge of the seat thriller, followed by a passably okay one...etc. But generally, it's a decent to good series, with a solid cast, with McGowan effective as the stoney-faced leader -- yet none of the characters have quite leapt up to being that compelling. Some dismissed the series as basically being no more than an American series with a Canadian perspective -- but, um, I think that's the point! However, the series' initial claims to a moral high ground proved to be false (or else, with all those creators, they had rather different intentions for the show). In fact, by the end of the first season, the characters had pretty much managed to violate almost every law of God and man they could find, with not much more than a crocodile tear shed over it (and with little ideological consistency, as one episode they would criticize American torture policies...then the next episode they would be abusing suspects themselves!) making the whole intellectually vacuous. In fact, by the end of the first season, one suspects Conservatives (and American Republicans) would find more to cheer than jeer in the series' values. Ultimately, it remains up and down in quality from week to week, Best bets: the one where "Kessler"'s daughter is involved with protesters; the one about the European gangsters trying to make inroads on a Mohawk reserve; the one about the hijacking and smuggling of armaments from a CF base. Hour long episodes on the CBC.

BORDERLINE NORMAL  * * 1/2  setting: Ont./USA.
(2000) Robin Dunne, Caterina Scorsone, Corbin Bernsen, Stephanie Zimbalist, Michael Ironside, Eugene Lipinski, Will Sanderson, Eric Johnson.....Teen (Dunne) commutes back and forth across the U.S.-Canada border between his bitterly divorced parents (American actors Bernsen and Zimbalist), while being on the track team of his Canadian high school, and becoming involved with another student (Scorsone). Moderately interesting drama is watchable on a from-scene-to-scene basis, though it seems like awfully mundane stuff to build a feature film around. Plays like some teen-aimed After School Special about broken homes -- except for some decidedly adult material, like a mid-story sexual assault that seems out-of-place, particularly as the rest of the film deals with it rather poorly. A movie where, by the end, too little is resolved or even dealt with satisfactorily. That may well have been the filmmakers' intent (y'know, the "we're not doing some trite, Hollywood movie" attitude), but it still makes for uneven drama. The constant harping on the Canadian-American thing, though well intentioned (in an industry that too often refuses to acknowledge its Canadian origins), often seems obvious and unconvincing. sc: Larry Mollin. dir: Jeff Beesley. 95 min.
 

BORDERTOWN (TV Series) (1989-1991,1992-1993) (/U.S./France)  * *  John H. Brennan ("Clive Bennett"), Richard Comar ("Jack Craddock"), Sophie Barjac ("Marie Dumont"), with Bill Pepperall ("Jake Eppler"), Fritz Bergold ("Otto Danzinger"), Wyatt Orr ("Otto Danzinger"), many others.....Western set in the late 1800s about a U.S. Marshall (Comar) and an R.C.M.P. Corporal (Brennan) sharing policing duties in a town straddling the Canada-U.S. border. Barjac was the lady doctor they both had a thing for. The large supporting cast of town's folk included Pepperall as the guy who looked after the heroes' office; Bergold as the German blacksmith and Orr as his North American-raised kid brother; and others. Pretty unsubtle TV series was billed as a "family" program (because it kept the smooching to a minimum and the violence and gunplay to a maximum, I guess) and presumably to excuse the uneven performances and flat scripts. Still, Western-genre fans might get a kick out of the novel premise (though the Mountie rarely actually wore his proper uniform). Cute idea of alternating from episode to episode who got top-billing (Comar or Brennan). Set in Alberta but filmed, incongruously, in B.C. The core premise, though not the execution, could be seen as inspiring Due South (both shows were produced by Alliance films). The third season was completed for the '91-'92 season, but CTV didn't air it until a year later. Three seasons of half hour episodes, originally shown on CTV.

BORDERTOWN CAFE  * * 1/2  setting: Man./USA.
(1992) Susan Hogan, Janet Wright, Gordon Michael Woolvett, Sean McCann, Nicholas Campbell, Ric Reid, Lora Schroeder, Victor Cowie.....Story of a small town family's bumpy relationship, focusing on a single mom (Hogan), her teen-aged son (Woolvett), and the arrival of her ex-husband (Campbell). Good-looking serio-comic pic tries hard for a realist feel, but the performances, though good, rarely convince (except maybe Campbell) and the direction's kind of dry. Still, interesting with good dialogue. Wright received the Best Actress Genie. sc: Kelly Rebar. dir: Norma Bailey. 101 min.

BORROWED HEARTS: A Holiday Romance  * * 1/2
(1997) Roma Downey, Eric McCormack, Sarah Rosen Fruitman, Shawn Alex Thompson, Hector Elizondo, Kevin Hicks, Catherine Fitch.....A working mom (Downey) and her daughter (Fruitman) are hired by her rich boss (McCormack) to pose as his family to impress a potential business associate (Elizondo) during the Christmas season. Made-for-TV romantic comedy/drama has a solid premise, but starts out poorly with the actors, particularly Hollywood import Downey (who was one of the executive producers) and young Fruitman unconvincing, and a script and direction that's pretty mundane (and the daughter's more obnoxious than precocious). It gets better all around as it goes along, with even a touch of the obligatory Christmas mysticism (the daughter thinks American actor Elizondo's character is an angel). Worth a look. And, hey, though squarely aimed at the U.S. TV market, it doesn't actually say it isn't set in Canada (which, in this country, and for an Atlantis Films production, is a cultural triumph!). sc: Pamela and Earl Wallace. dir: Ted Kotcheff. 90 min.

BOULEVARD  * * 1/2  setting: Ont.
(1995) Rae Dawn Chong, Kari Wuhrer, Lou Diamond Phillips, Lance Henrikson, Joel Bissonette, Judith Scott, Amber Lea Weston.....Story of a young woman (Wuhrer), on the run from her abusive boyfriend, who gets taken under the wing of an independent hooker (Chong) in Toronto and their run-ins with a nasty pimp (Phillips). Fairly effective, gritty, drama-suspenser seems earnest enough, though it's a bit flatly directed and only occasionally sparks with originality. Gets better as it goes along...including a surprising twist in the characters' relationship. As an actress, Wuhrer seems a bit out of her depth, though. Henrikson plays a quasi-sympathetic cop. Of the four leads, only Chong is Canadian...and she lives in Hollywood! sc: Andrea Wilde. dir: Penelope Buitenhuis. - female nudity, sexual content, violence, partial male nudity.- 95 min. (video)

Bound by Honor, the biography by Bill Bonanno, served as part of the source for the mini-seriesBonanno.

BOUNTY HUNTERS 2  a.k.a. Hardball

BOXCAR BLUES  a.k.a. Thunderground

THE BOY IN BLUE * *  setting: Ont./other
(1985) Nicolas Cage, Cynthia Dale, Christopher Plummer, David Naughton, Sean Sullivan, Melody Anderson.....Fictionalized bio of turn of the century rower, Ned Hanlan (American import Cage): his rise to the top of the racing world, despite interference from a mobster (Plummer), and his attempts to woo the man's daughter (Dale). Uninspired performances and the silly, cliched story is never really involving, despite a sense of humour and generally fast pacing. sc: Douglas Bowie (story John Trent). dir: Charles Jarrott. - sexual content, partial female nudity.- 98 min. (video)

BOY MEETS GIRL  * *  setting: Ont.
(1999) Sean Astin, Emily Hampshire, Kevin McDonald, Kate Nelligan, Joe Mantegna, Sook-Yin Lee, Mary Long, Louis Di Bianco, Joseph Scoren, Silvio Oliviero.....As Valentine's Day approaches, an anglophone writer of Italian photo-comic strips (Astin) romances an Italian immigrant (Hampshire) who thinks he wrote a poem that was really written by a local romantic poet (Mantegna). Whimsical romantic-comedy mixes magic realism and homages to '60s New Wave Italian movies and its heart is most definitely in the right place. But the end result is a movie that's more curious than funny, or romantic. Kind of reminiscent in its use of magic realism of the U.S. film "Simply Irresistable" which came out around the same time -- but that film worked its charm a little better (though was, admittedly, a critical and commercial failure). Astin and Mantegna are American imports. Oliviero, an under-valued Canadian actor, nearly steals the show in a bit part as the proprietor of a rundown restaurant. sc: Timothy Lee, Doug Bagot. dir: Jerry Ciccoritti (a.k.a. Gerard Ciccoritti). 98 min.

The Boyd Gang, the non-fiction book by M.Lamb and B.Pearson, was the source for the TV documentary The Life and Times of Edwin Alonzo Boyd.

LES BOYS  * 1/2   setting: P.Q.
1997) Marc Messier, Remy Girard, Patrick Huard, Serge Theriault, Michel Barrette, Paul Houde, Luc Guerin, Yvan Ponton, Roc Lafortune.....Story of a small town amateur hockey team and what happens when the manager (Girard), in debt to a mobster, stakes all he has on winning the final game of the season. Comedy is good looking with a good cast, and is another one of those films that apparently was a hit in Quebec. Now, admittedly, subtitles (or dubbing) can interfere with comedy (which is often about how things are said as what)...but it just ain't funny. Worse, there's an underlying mean-spiritedness (and sexism) to much of the humour, making for often unappealing characters. It's a movie that seems like it was inspired by a zillon other sports comedies...without supplying the necessary scenes and character stuff to actually make the thin and over-long story work logically, or viscerally. Messier and Ponton are old hands at hockey-themed stories, both having been regulars in He Shoots, He Scores. Followed by some sequels. sc: Christian Fournier, dialogue: Christian Fournier, Rene Brisebois, Louis Saia, Francois Camirand (concept by Richard Goudreau). dir: Louis Saia. - partial male nudity, brief female nudity, violence.- 110 min. (video)

THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT (TVMS)  setting: Nfld.
(1992) Henry Czerny.....Fictional drama about child abuse at a Newfoundland orphanage, the cover-ups and the eventual trial of those involved. Controversial after a court injunction forbid its airing in Ontario and parts of Quebec because of worries it would prejudice the trials of Catholic Brothers charged with sexual abuse, it went on to win numerous awards and critical praise. Not aired nationally until 1993. Won a number of Geminis including for Mini-Series, Actor (Czerny), Supporting Actress (Roy), Script and Direction. Since the two parts are substantially different (the second is even given a subtitle) they're reviewed separately. A total of 4 hours. sc: Des Walsh, John N. Smith, Sam Grana. dir: John N. Smith. (video)

THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT  * * *
with Johnny Morina, Brian Dooley, Philip Dinn, Brian Dodd, Michael Wade, Greg Thomey, Sam Grana.....Part 1 chronicles sexual and physical abuse in a Catholic orphanage, and the attempts by some to expose it. Drama doesn't live up to the advance critical praise (nothing could), but is still compelling and evokes the helplessness of the victims. But there isn't a lot in the way of characterization, with performances that vary (though Czerny, inparticular, is quite good, as is Wade). The graphicness (including nudity), though no doubt defended on "realism" grounds, seems in poor taste, intended to shock rather than enlighten. After all, no amount of explicitness or "grittiness" is going to change the fact that these are just actors in a movie and the viewer knows that.

THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT - FIFTEEN YEARS LATER* 1/2
with Sebastian Spence, Lise Roy, David Hewlett, Timothy Webber, Kristine Demers, Mary Walsh, Bryan Hennessey.....Part 2 is about Lavine being brought to trial and how this affects some of the now-adult boys. Seems like nothing more than an afterthought tacked onto the first episode, with a rambling plot, static scenes, liberal use of flashbacks, and dreary, pseudo-documentary scenes like an inquiry into the cover-up and Walsh as a voice-of-God DJ. It offers no insight into the first episode (the whys and hows), and seems intended only to show the long term trauma victims suffer...which it fails to do since we never get inside anyone's head. They should've stopped after the first one. Ed Riche is given a co-story credit.

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