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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 INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES OF
MARCO POLO * 1/2 setting:
other
(1998) (/U.K./Ukraine) Donald Diamont, Jack Palance,
Oliver Reed, Cas Anvar, Jeff Saumier, John Hallam, Gareth Hunt, Lara Bobroff,
Graham Stark, Gavin Abott.....13th Century explorer Marco Polo (Diamont)
-- and his kid brother (Saumier) -- travvel east in search of their father,
getting into episodic adventures, eventually culminating in a showdown
with an Armenian warlord (Palance). This low-budget flick isn't meant
to be taken as historically authentic, explaining why there are so many
blonde, fair skinned characters in the Middle East, and why Polo keeps
getting into street brawls that seem left over from director Erschbamer's
usual beat of straight-to-video action flicks (American actor Diamont even
looks like frequent Erschbamer star, Lorenzo Lamas). Intended, presumably,
as a kind of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" swashbuckler, but the scenes
are bland, with little successful humour, and it's flatly directed with
too many weak performances. Palance, though, is a usual stand out, and
Reed (as a camel merchant) and Anvar (as Polo's sidekick Youssef) are O.K.
Anvar and Saumier are the only Canadians in the main cast. Kids might find
it more fun, though even then, Erschbamer lets his penchant for gratuitous
violence creep in occasionally, making it inappropriate for littler kids.
The movie may have been intended as the first of a series that never
occurred (since Polo sets out to find his father and reach China...and
has achieved neither by the end, and Palance's villain escapes). Full title:
The
Incredible Adventures of Marco Polo and his Journey to the Ends of the
Earth. sc: Peter Welbeck. dir: George Erschbamer. - violence.- 97 min.
THE INCREDIBLE MRS. RITCHIE*
* setting: CDN.
(2003) (/U.K.) Gena Rowlands, Kevin Zegers, David
Schofield, Leslie Hope, Cameron Daddo, Brenda James, Justin Chatwin, Jeremy
Raymond, James Cann.....Teen (Zegers), bitter and getting into fights
as a result of his troubled home life, is given a shot at cleaning up his
act when he is assigned to a kind of community service by helping an eccentric
old woman (American import Rowlands) around her magnificent garden. Well-intentioned,
genuinely heart-felt drama (it's implied that it's semi-autobiographical
on the part of the filmmaker) gets points for a certain complexity to some
of the characters. But it doesn't develop many of its threads and relationships
fully (toward the end the sister announces the hero is the only thing keeping
her going...but they'd barely had any scenes earlier! and the bad crowd
the hero runs with seems so obviously a bunch of losers, it's not conveyed
what their appeal is for him). And it can't seem to strike a consistent
tone -- it seems like a family-aimed coming of age drama, but throws in
some nudity as the boy spies on a woman in a shower; gritty scenes involving
drowned puppies sit next to broader comic scenes; etc. And it's just not
that convincing -- like having ostensibly nice guy teachers casually stand
by while two boys beat each other half unconscious. It might help if you
know ahead of time that it's, at least partly, inspired by real incidents.
American Caan, in a small part as the kindly principal, is naturally quite
good. American filmmaker, and Rowlands' son, Nick Cassavettes, was executive
producer. Look for writer/director Johansson (better known as an actor)
in a cameo as a guy who gives the hero a lift near the end. sc./dir: Paul
Johansson. - partial female nudity.- 101 min.
THE INCUBUS
* 1/2 setting: USA.
(1981) John Cassavetes, Kerrie Keane, John Ireland,
Helen Hughes, Erin Flannery, Duncan McIntosh, Harvey Atkin.....Small-town
U.S.A. is shocked by a series of brutal rape-murders, and the local coroner
(Cassavetes) isn't sure if the culprit is a man or a monster. Unconvincing
horror-suspense flick is frequently illogical and, some might say, in poor
taste. Flannery, as Cassavetes adult daughter, is good though.
sc: George Franklin (from the novel by Ray Russell). dir: John Hough. -
extreme violence, female nudity, sexual content.- 90 min.
THE INDIAN AUTUMN see L'automne sauvage
INDIAN SUMMER: The Oka Crisis
(TVMS) * * setting: P.Q.
(2006) Alex Rice, Tony Nardi, Pamela Matthews, George
Leach, Tantou Cardinal, Sandra Laronde, Darrel Dennis, Gary Farmer, Bruce
Ramsay, Billy Merasty, Joseph Cross, Eric Schweig, Tamara Podemski, Lawrence
Bayne, Emmanuel Bilodeau.....Dramatization of the months long 1990
Oka stand-off in Quebec, when Native Indians barricaded various roads,
initially to protest plans to turn a burial ground into a golf course,
and becoming probably the most high profile Native-white crisis in 20th
Century Canada. Long time coming, and earnest made-for-CBC docudrama tries
hard to cover a big, sprawling subject, ranging from life on the barricades,
to the political negotiations, and despite being a dramatization (even
featuring disclaimers that it contains dramatic alterations) largely sticks
to the "just the facts, ma'am" approach, mainly eschewing character or
soap opera-y sub-plots. But the result is uneven. Some scenes are truly
effective, well done and well acted...others are kind of clunky and clumsy.
Characters come an go, or are inconsistent in their attitudes from scene
to scene (which may well reflect the reality). Above all, you can come
away from it just as confused by the particulars of who was doing what
and why -- with not just the various levels of white bureaucracy, but the
plethora of Native groups and organizations involved -- as you might've
been first watching the events unfold in the news! Despite occasional labels
flashed in front of certain characters, identifying them, too often who
the characters represent is unclear. Above all, writer-director Cardinal
seems to want to cover so many bases (including throwing in some symbolic
magic realism) that a clear vision for how to tell the story doesn't emerge.
And if the movie really did occasionally alter or distort facts (was there
really a shock jock DJ announcing the only good Indian was a dead Indian?),
it's doubly problematic: as a recreation of a significant event, it's noteworthy,
but as a movie in and of itself...it's uneven. sc./dir: Gil Cardinal (from
the books Oka Crisis by John Ciaccia and People of the Pines
by Geoffrey York, Loreen Pindera).
INDIGO AUTUMN (1987) Marc Singer, Lisa Schrag, Jayne Eastwood. sc./dir: Stuart Gillard (from a story by Barbara Cameron). See Shades of Love.
INFERNO *
* 1/2 setting: other
(2000) (/Mexico/U.K.) Ray Liotta, Gloria Reuben, Armin
Mueller-Stahl, Daniel Kash.....American amnesiac (Liotta) wakes up
in the middle of Mexico, with vague memories of a criminal past and various
gangsters who're after him that he's apparently double-crossed. Well-produced
thriller doesn't quite inject anything particularly novel into the premise
-- it's not like there's anything that wweird or mysterious about the hero's
past -- but it's appealingly old-fashioned and keeps the energy, and the
interest, up. Interesting undercurrents, where the hero's search for answers
seems more than just a plot device, but an existential quest for "identity",
with Liotta as a man who knows nothing and Mueller-Stahl as a gangster
who knows something about everyone, never quite materialize into
fully realized elements. A nicely even-handed portrait of Mexico is a refreshing
change from so-many North American movies, which too often revel in derogatory
stereotypes. a.k.a. Pilgrim. sc: Peter Milligan (story Milligan
and Cokliss). dir: Harley Cokliss. 95 min.
L'INITIATION (ou "V" pour
Victoire) * 1/2 setting: P.Q.
(1969) Chantal Renaud, Danielle Ouimet, Jacques Riberolles,
Gilles Chartrand, Daniel Gadouas, Celine Lomez.....Virginal young woman
(Renaud) begins a relationship with a middle-aged author (Riberolles) of
criticaly regarded erotic novels; while her ex-boyfriend begins an affair
with her loose living best friend (Ouimette). One of the wave of erotic
dramas that came out of Quebec in that period and, like a lot of them,
little effort is put into developing the characters, and the plot, between
nude scenes -- and the non-nude scenes account for most of the running
time! Still, a scene with the women in a sauna discussing sex and relationships
seems to have anticipated a similar scene in Le
decline de le'empire americain (though in this movie, the actresses
wear considerably less). Some prints of this film seem to be missing the
opening three minutes -- a sequence of the heroine reading the author's
book and fantasizing about having sex with her boyfriend; a scene that
provides greater context for the subsequent story. Scriptwriter Theriault
is a respected novelist! a.k.a. Here and Now. sc: Yves Theriault
(from an idea by John Dunning, Denis Heroux, Andre Link). dir: Denis Heroux.
- female nudity, sexual content.- 93 minn...90 min.
Inside/Out see Short Films
INSIDE STORIES (TV Series)Flavourful but uneven TV series had some good episodes and some not-so-good ones, but as one of the first series in the this country to acknowledge (let alone embrace) the concept of multiculturalism, it certainly deserves respect. Some stories used the ethnicity and focused on racism or culture clashes, while others told more generic stories simply using characters from specific groups. The sad part is that we would even need a show like this. Best bets: "Welcome Home Hero" (a drama with Tom Jackson), "the Comic Book Chase" (comedy), others. About 24 half-hour episodes on the CBC and re-aired on Vision TV. |
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(2005-) * * 1/2 Alexz Johnson ("Jude Harrison"), Tim Rozon ("Tom Quincy"), Barbara Mamabolo ("Kat Benton"), Laura Vandervoort ("Sadie Harrison"), Kristopher Turner ("Jamie Andrews"), Simon Reynolds ("Mr.Stuart Harrison"), Jane Sowerby ("Mrs.Victoria Harrison"), Tracy Waterhouse ("Georgia Bevans"), Andrea Lui ("EJ Li"), with Matthew Brown ("Shay"), Wes Williams ("Darius Mills").....Comedy/drama about a teen pop singer (Johnson) who, landing her first record contract, must negotiate the twists and turns of the music biz. Rozon plays her producer, a former teen pop star himself. Mamabolo and Turner her best friends (he with an unrequited crush on "Jude") and Vandervoot "Jude"'s vampy sister. Reynolds and Sowerby play her parents. Waterhouse plays the owner of the record company (G-Major) and Lui her perky assistant. Brown cropped up as a hot rap star who "Jude" became romantically involved with, and Williams (real life Canadian rap star "Maestro Fresh Wes") his manager. With the success of TV's Canadian Idol (the reality show/talent contest where the winner is awarded a recording contract) it's not surprising a producer would jump on a fictional premise exploring that same idea (while glorifying it more: one's impression is that Canadian Idol winners don't get the same creative freedom as this show's heroine). And it's made for the same network as airs Canadian Idol -- what a co-inkydink! The result is a reasonably entertaining mix of comedy and drama, with a strong emphasis on the various romantic entanglements, requited and unrequited, though with the threads involving her best friends (as they briefly begin a relationship) threatening to be more involving than the stuff involving the main heroine. Though certainly adult-friendly, and tackling some admirably tough issues (her nice guy dad has an affair), it's geared primarily toward young teens (perhaps moreso than the earlier Catwalk). However, isn't there a moral qualm about a series, squarely aimed at teeny bobber girls, in which the core romantic tension is between a fifteen-going-on-sixteen year old heroine and her adult producer? I mean...eeyuwh! An accompanying CD, featuring songs sang on the show (Johnson does her own performing), has also been released. Created by Linda Schuyler. 13 half hour episodes (so far) on CTV. |
INTELLIGENCE *
* setting: B.C.
(2005) Ian Tracey, Klea Scott, Matt Frewer, Jon Cassini,
Sabrina Gredvich, Chris William Martin, Michael Anthony Rawlins.....Story
of departmental conflicts and jurisdictional rivalries among Vancouver
police departments as they run intelligence and surveillance operations
on a local crime lord (Tracey). Brooding drama and sort of suspenser is
by the same people behind DaVinci's Inquest, mimicking
its understated style, and will probably please fans of that show...and
continue to leave non-fans unimpressed. Intended to be gritty and real,
evoking early 1970s Hollywood procedurals, but just dosen't pull it off.
Worse, by focusing on the style, the narrative seems wanting, as we basically
have not very interesting people doing not very interesting things. The
promos emphasized how big the cast was and how many scene changes...but
better
they have fewer characters and scenes, but put more effort into them. Picks
up a bit in the second half, as a clearer plot emerges (the cops' files,
including on their undercover operatives, gets stolen). The under lining
point seems to be that the crooks may do bad things...but they're nicer
people than the cops! Still, it's all in the mood and atmosphere and, as
noted, fans of DaVinci should like it, others, not so much. Experimental
music score (where the music literally sounds like it's being chewed up
in the tape machine) is an interesting idea...but more annoying than effective.
A (better) series followed. sc: Chris Haddock. dir: Stephen Surjik. app.
90 min.
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(2006-) * * * Ian Tracey ("Jimmy Reardon"), Klea Scott ("Mary Spalding"), John Cassini ("Ronnie Delmonico"), Matt Frewer ("Ted Altman"), with Bernie Coulson ("Michael Reardon"), Camille Sullivan ("Francine Reardon"), Andrew Airlie ("Don Frazer"), Eugene Lipinski ("Martin"), Alana Husband ("Sweet"), Shane Meier ("Phil Coombs"), Ona Grauer ("Katarina"), Lauren Lee Smith ("Tina"), many others .....Crime drama following parallel worlds of a Vancouver (nice guy) crime boss (Tracey) and an ambitious law enforcement chief (Scott) who's trying to reform the moribund intelligence agencies by creating a network of contacts and informants, and who establish a symbiotic, intelligence sharing relationship. Cassini plays "Jimmy's" right hand man and who runs his strip club. Frewer "Mary's" conniving underling, seeking to undermine her. Coulson "Jimmy's" reckless brother, Sullivan "Jimmy's" unstable ex-wife, etc. This TV series, from the people behind DaVinci's Inquest/City Hall, takes the same style, but marries it with a slightly more off-beat, ambitious premise -- and a more soap opera-y/character based story. Begun as a TV movie, the weekly series is more effective and compelling. None of the episodes are really meant to stand alone, being part of the overall, on going story arcs. It's well acted all around and like with DaVinci's City Hall, there's a low-key, almost hypnotic rhythm to it that makes it easy to watch -- even when there are murders and violence it never really becomes "exciting" per se, more about the cool, unflappable characters engaged in various machinations. But despite the "soap opera" aspect of following a large cast of characters around, it also remains kind of coolly aloof, where you observe the characters more than become emotionally involved with them -- many being kind of unsavoury (and not just the crooks!) and, like Haddock's DaVinci series, there can be an aspect of a shaggy dog story where plot threads -- many that weren't that interesting to begin with -- just seem to ramble on indefinitely, and where characters have basically similar conversations about the same topics, meeting in the same dark cars, week after week. The verisimilitude is also questionable -- a Canadian intelligence chief who wants to build a world class spy network divorced from the Americans? A nice guy drug lord who doesn't carry a gun? Ultimately, if given a chance, it's an easy series to watch...and can be habit forming (if moreso than emotionally compelling) -- but might be just as easy to walk away from. Created by Chris Haddock. Hour long episodes on the CBC. |
INTERN ACADEMY *
1/2 setting: USA.
(2004) Christine Chatelain, Ingrid Kavelaars, Pat
Kelly, Viv Leacock, Jane McLean, Peter Oldring, Carly Pope, Lynda Boyd,
Dave Thomas, Dan Aykroyd, Dave Foley.....Episodic misadventures of
a group of medical interns at a teaching hospital. Comedy not only isn't
funny, but seems to have trouble deciding on its own tone. On one hand,
it's of the modern vulgar, gross-out school of comedy, where laughs are
based less on timing than on "shock" as everything from blood to excrement
might be flung about for a "gag". But then it also seems to want to be
a comedy-drama, where we're occasionally supposed to take the characters
and their situations seriously...even as little effort has been put into
shaping believable, consistent characters. And sometimes it wants to be
both in the same scene! Most of the young actors playing interns seem better
than their material, though, ironically, many of the veteran comic actors
(Aykroyd, Foley, Thomas himself) are less effective. Extremely episodic,
like an extended sketch comedy (perhaps reflecting Thomas' background with
SCTV)
and the modern, gross out humour seems as though he's trying a type of
comedy he hopes will appeal to the teen audience...without really feeling
it himself. Even decades after his archly- Canadian MacKenzie
brothers, Thomas still seems convinced the road to success is to do
a movie pretending it's set in the U.S. Perhaps the funniest joke is the
litany of production partners listed as being involved in producing this...what,
all those suited executives read this script and laughed their heads off?!?
Saul Rubinek, Maury Chaykin and Matt Frewer all appear in bit parts (and
look for Shaun Johnston as a guy with a head injury near the end). sc./dir:
Dave Thomas. - extreme violence; sexual content; partial female nudity;
male nudity.- 99 min.
THE INTERROGATION OF MICHAEL
CROWE * * * setting: USA.
(2002) (/U.S.) Ally Sheedy, Mark Rendall, Michael
Riley, John Bourgeois, Rosemary Dunsmore, Karl Pruner, Chris Owens, Jonathan
Whittaker, Hannah Lochner.....Story of an American family who is shattered,
first when their daughter is murdered in their own home, then when police
focus in on their son as the culprit...despite a highly suspect case. Stark,
compelling drama, very well acted by all, is a notch or two above most
"shocking true story" made-for-TV movies. It's perhaps even more effective
if you're unfamiliar with the case, so that you can't be sure where it's
headed (hint: the police don't come out looking too good). Riley received
the Best Actor Gemini, and American actress Sheedy received a nomination.
The closing captions relate some facts involving some of the issues the
movie raises, but they're American facts, meaning that for a Canadian audience
this (partly) Canadian movie provides little insight into the wheres and
hows of their own legal system -- kind of muting its relevancy. sc: Alan
Hines. dir: Don McBrearty. 90 min.
INTO THE FIRE *
1/2 setting: Ont.
(1987) Art Hindle, Susan Anspach, Lee Montgomery,
Olivia d'Abo.....Drifter (American Montgomery) arrives in a small town
and becoms involved in a couple of affairs and a murder plot. Nice
looking but badly executed film noirish thriller ambles about disjointedly
without establishing either character or mood. Still, nicely off-beat
winter setting (these films are usually set during a heat wave).
sc: Jessie Ballard. dir: Graeme Campbell. - sexual content, extreme violence,
partial female nudity.- 97 min.
LES INVASIONS BARBARES *
* * setting: P.Q./USA/other
(2004) (/France) Remy Girard, Stephane Rousseau, Marie-Josee
Croze, Marina Hands, Dorothee Berryman, Johanne Marie Tremblay, Pierre
Curzi, Yves Jacques, Louise Portal, Dominique Michel, Isabelle Blais, Mitsou
Gelinas, Roy Dupuis.....A conservative capitalist (Rousseau), estranged
from his hedonistic, left-wing father (Girard), reluctantly returns to
his side when the older man is hospitalized with terminal cancer, and tries
to make his final months better by reuniting some of his old friends, and
befriending a junkie (Croze) to help secure pain-relieving heroin. Sequel
-- after a fashion -- to the hit Le decline
de l'empire de americain (though you don't have to have seen that earlier
film to follow it) achieved international acclaim at Cannes (where Croze
picked up the Best Actress award) and was the first Canadian movie to win
Best Foreign Language Film at the American Oscars. It's a quirky mix of
comedy and drama (but rarely maudlin), but seems a bit like an idea in
search of a point. It's a bit aloof, and more clever than truly intelligent,
with supposedly intellectual characters who, as in the previous film, spend
more time discussing sex than politics. For a movie about ageing lefties,
the movie's politics actually seem slightly right-wing (taking swipes at
medicare, unions, and seeming to see the U.S. as the promised land) --
perhaps explaining why the leftist "intellectuals" come across more as
bimbos. And is it just me, or are there actors listed in the opening credits
who don't actually appear in the film -- suggesting some pre-release editing?
Use of footage of the World Trade Centre attacks seems in poor taste. Arcand
(who appears as one of the union thugs) tosses in nods to some of his other
films, such as having Gilles Pelletier in a bit part as a priest -- like
he played in Jesus de Montreal. Received six
Genies including for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor (Girard),
Supporting Actor (Rousseau) and Supporting Actress (Croze). English title:
The
Barbarian Invasions. sc./dir: Denys Arcand. 99 min.
THE INVESTIGATION *
* * setting: B.C.
(2003) (/U.K.) Nicholas Lea, Lochlyn Munro, Reece
Dinsdale, Paul Coeur, David Warner, Michael Hogan, Duncan Fraser, Shaun
Johnston, Hrothgar Mathews.....Fact-based account of the investigation
into Clifford Olson, Canada's first (known) serial killer, focusing on
the jurisdictional confusion, departmental rivalries, and budget shortfalls
within the R.C.M.P. that hobbled the case. The Olson case had long been
considered for a TV movie, and for just as long rejected by programmers
as being too sensationalistic and lurid. This CTV movie seems to have found
a way around that by focusing less on Olson (played by Coeur, whose face
is, chillingly, rarely seen) and more on the police handling -- and mishandling
-- of the case, with Lea and Munro as twwo low level cops who, separately,
peg Olson as a suspect in separate crimes, but run into bureaucratic stubbornness
when they try to pursue it. Extremely gripping and well done, thanks to
the filmmakers finding a narrative focus to the story, rather than just
a paint-by-numbers "shocking true story" dramatization, even if they might
be tarring some of the police excessively. At the same time, the movie
ends rather unsatisfactorily (a result of the case itself) where you come
away from the movie not really feeling you know much more about the case
than you did going in. sc: Bruce Smith. dir: Anne Wheeler. 92 min.
INVITATION *
* 1/2 setting: Ont.
(2001) Stefan Brogren, Balazs Kaos, Don Chameroy,
Amy Price-Francis, Sandra Caldwell, Stephen Chamberlain, Siobhan Power,
Jennifer Markle, John Tallon, Julie Venerus, Anais Granofsky.....Roommates
throw a massive house party but complications arise, like a recovering
addict (Brogren) starting to unravel when he suspects his girlfriend is
cheating on him. Energetic serio-comic flick is nicely -- and convincingly
-- acted all around, especially by Brogrren and Price-Francis, but the movie
spends a little too much time establishing its pseudo-documentary style,
meandering about, showing the party, as we cut between snippets of (intentionally)
pointless conversations; improves as it goes, as the plot threads and character
arcs involving the principals come more to the foreground. Worth sticking
with. Granofsky, Brogren's old Degrassi co-star,
is good in the small-but-pivotal role of his AWOL girlfriend. Despite the
opening blurb, and the documentary style, this is a work of fiction...as
should be obvious. sc: Stefan Brogren, Julie Venerus, Jennifer Markle.
dir: Samir Rehem. - sexual content, casual male nudity.- 81 min.
IRON EAGLE II
* * setting: other
(1988) (/Israel) Louis Gossett, Jr., Mark Humphrey,
Stuart Margolin, Maury Chaykin, Jason Blicker, Sharon H. Brandon, Clark
Johnson, Alan Scarfe, Colm Feore.....A joint U.S.-Soviet strike team
is formed to destroy an Arab nation's nuclear capabilities...only to have
cold war prejudices threaten the mission before it even begins. In
name only sequel to the American-produced "Iron Eagle" has some O.K. character
stuff, but the action scenes are incomprehensible -- and not only because
all the planes look alike. Good cast. Followed by an American
sequel ("Aces High: Iron Eagle III") and then another Canadian one.
sc: Kevin Elders, Sidney J. Furie. dir: Sidney J. Furie. 98 min.
IRON EAGLE IV *
* setting: USA.
(1995) (/U.S.) Louis Gossett Jr., Jason Cadieux, Al
Waxman, Joanne Vannicola, Max Piersig, Karen Gayle, Ross Hull, Rachel Blanchard,
Dominic Zamprogna, Marilyn Lightstone, Victoria Snow, Dean McDermott, Sean
McCann, Chas Lawther.....Retired U.S. General "Chappy" Sinclair (Gossett
Jr.) returns....this time running a flight school for delinquent teens
and uncovering a rogue military plot involving chemical weapons -- not
to mention reuniting with Doug Masters (played here by Cadieux), who was
believed killed at the beginning of Iron Eagle II. Whew! Fourth
instalment in this unusual, underbudgeted action series (and the second
Canadian-produced one) trys hard to be smarter than it ultimately is, but
it's all over the map (misfit teens, army conspiracy, Cadieux's psychological
scars from being in a Soviet prison) without taking the time to develop
any of the story lines properly. Decent cast, particularly Gossett,
and nice score by Paul Zaza. Jason Blicker crops up playing a different
character than he had in II. sc: Michael Stokes. dir: Sidney J. Furie.
95 min.
ISABEL
* * * setting: P.Q.
(1968) Genevieve Bujold, Marc Strange, Gerard Parkes,
Ratch Wallace, Elton Hayes, Al Waxman.....Troubled girl (Bujold) returns
to her hometown for her mother's funeral and is confronted by things both
real and imagined. Atmospheric, though meandering and overly self-important
psychological drama. Fine direction and strong performances, especially
from Bujold who carries the film. Won four Etrogs including Best
Actress (Bujold's first) and Actor (Parkes). sc./dir: Paul Almond
(his first feature). - brief female nudity.- 108 min.
THE ISLAND see L'ile
ISLAND LOVE SONG
* * setting: N.S.
(1987) Gordon Clapp, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Leueen Willoughby,
Gregson Winkfield, Joan Orenstein.....Young man (Clapp) returns to
his Cape Breton home for a visit and falls for a young woman (MacDonald).
Inoffensive made-for-CBC TV film is interesting to a point but marred by
a lack of any real plot, an unsatisfying ending and uneven performances.
Nice folk music. MacDonald and Orenstein are particularly good.
sc: Jeannine Locke. dir: Vic Sarin (his directorial debut). app. 100 min.
ISAAC LITTLEFEATHERS
* * * 1/2 setting: Alt.
(1984) William Corbut, Lou Jacobi, Scott Hylands,
Lynda Mason Green, Tom Heaton, George Clutesi.....Story of a hot-tempered
young metis (Corbut), raised by a Jewish store owner (Jacobi), growing
up in 1960s Alberta and his run-ins with the law and racism. A fine
and effective made-for-CBC TV comedy/drama that is both moving and very
funny. Clutesi steals the show in a small part. sc: Les Rose,
Barry Pearson, John Katz. dir: Les Rose.
IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE
TIME * 1/2 setting:
Ont.
(1975) Anthony Newley, Stefanie Powers, Isaac Hayes,
Lloyd Bochner, Yvonne DeCarlo, Henry Ramer, Lawrence Dane, John Candy,
Robert Silverman.....A free-living anarchist (Newley), sabotages a
party thrown by his ex-wife (Powers) for a conservative politician (Bochner),
then fakes her kidnapping...ultimately with her help. Comedy's title
seems oddly appropriate for a film that may have looked better on paper.
Really broad attempt at a slapstick comedy that has only about one real
laugh (Hayes, when a statue seemingly comes to life). Dane and Candy
(in his film debut) as a couple of cops, returned in Find
the Lady. The trio of top-billed stars are all imports.
sc: David Main, John Trent, from an original screenplay by Claude Harz
and John Trent. dir: John Trent. - partial male and female nudity.- 105
min.
Ivanhoe, the classic British novel by Sir Walter Scott, was the uncredited inspiration for the cable TV movie Young Ivanhoe
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