O-Om
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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.
O Rugged Land of Gold, the journal by Martha Martin, became the TV movie Rugged Gold
Oakmount High
* * 1/2 setting: Alt.
(1985) Susan Hogan, Thomas Peacock, Saul Rubinek.....A
mother (Hogan), shocked by her son's anti-Semitism, trys to stop the small
town teacher (Peacock) who'd been preaching it, and alienates those around
her -- including her son. Reasonably effective hour-long drama, with
a good performance from Peacock. Made for the CBC's For
the Record.
OBSESSED
* * 1/2 setting: P.Q./USA.
(1988) Kerrie Keane, Daniel Pilon, Saul Rubinek, Lynne
Griffin, Ken Pogue, Colleen Dewhurst.....Canadian mother (Keane) becomes
obsessed with getting the American hit-and-run driver (Rubinek) who killed
her son, especially when he is protected from prosecution by treaty.
Good performances (though a bit grisly in the accident scene) in this so-so
suspense-drama, but it's unconvincing, especially Keane's character.
Dewhurst (in a tiny part as a judge) received the Best Supporting Actress
Genie. sc: Douglas Bowie (from the novel Hit and Run by Tom
Alderman). dir: Robin Spry. - violence.- 105 min.
OCTOBER 1970 (TVMS)
* * 1/2 setting: P.Q.
(2006) Patrick Labbe, Karine Vanasse, Denis Bernard,
Hugh Thompson, Hugo St-Cyr, Mathieu Grondin, Fanny LaCroix, R.H. Thomson.....Retelling
of the tumultuous events of the October Crisis in which terrorist kidnappings
led to martial law in Quebec (already covered in movies like Les
ordres and Octobre as well as Trudeau
and Rene Levesque and others), but this time
treated more as a thriller/procedural, less concerned with pushing a political
agenda than simply portraying the various people and events on both sides
-- kidnappers, cops, sympathizers, kidnapppees, and (low level) politicians
(the FLQ aren't demonized but, ultimately, our sympathies lie mainly with
head cop Labbe). Decidedly ambitious and worthy effort to treat Canadian
history as something exciting and pulpy (some comparing it to the U.S.
TV spy series "24"). And the episodes themselves are well acted and generally
well done and compelling...but, strangely, doesn't entirely drag you back
week after week. It also scored notoriously low ratings. Perhaps the problem
was that those unfamiliar with the story didn't care, and those familiar
with it, well, were too familiar with it. Because it's history, it can't
really offer too many surprises or character twists (there's a nice plot
and character turn towards the end where an FLQ supporter, growing disillusioned
with her colleagues, turns informant). And at 8 hours...it probably could've
been tightened up into, say, six. Ultimately -- good and well done, but
not quite great. 8 hours. sc. Wayne Grigsby, Peter Mitchell. dir: Don McBrearty.
OCTOBRE
* * setting: P.Q.
(1994) Hugo Dube, Luc Picard, Pierre Rivard, Denis
Trudel, Serge Houde..... Chronicle of the 1970 kidnapping of Pierre
Laporte by inexperienced FLQ terrorists told from their point-of-view (and
based on a book by one of the kidnappers). So-so drama lacks genuine
tension and suffers because the characters aren't fully delineated and
their Quebec separatist politics not adequately (or convincingly) explained
for an audience 25 years later (especially an Anglo audience). Perhaps
the film should have been as much about the lead-up to the kidnapping as
the kidnapping itself. Falardeau tries to be even-handed, wanting
the audience to sympathize with the terrorists while (maybe) deploring
their actions -- not an impossible feat, but one the film has trouble pulling
off. sc./dir: Pierre Falardeau (from the autobiographical book Pour
en finir avec Octobre by Francois Simard). 97 min.
THE ODYSSEY (TV Series)Off-beat science fiction TV series (or serial, rather) will appeal nicely to kids, though much more could have been done with the idea, instead of relying on the rather repetitious plots...and as the show went along, the "up-world" sequences (the real world) tended to seem a bit like old Degrassi episodes. Nemeth and Hildreth, in particular, showed real promise as they got older. Created by Paul Vitols and Warren Easton. The pilot was titled The Jellybean Odyssey. Filmed in B.C. Half-hour episodes on the CBC. |
L'ODYSSEE D'ALICE TREMBLAY*
1/2 setting: P.Q.
(2003) Sophie Lorain, Martin Drainville, Pierrette
Robitaille, Marc Labreche, Mitsou Gelinas, Danielle Ouimet, Louise Portal.....Single
mom (Lorain) finds herself drawn into a fantasy world where, in order to
get home, she must travel with a bumbling Prince Charming (Drainville)
and wander through off kilter versions of various classic fairy tales.
Boisterous musical-comedy boasts an enthusiastic cast and colourful costumes...but
suffers from its own rambling, not very coherent story, which seems a little
like the writers typed it out while coming down from an acid trip (in one
illogical scene Drainville opens some doors to peer in on scenes from other
Quebecois films). Might've appealed to kids, just for the running about
and slapstick gags -- but the often raunchy nature of the jokes doesn't
make it appropriate for kids. Maybe a good movie to see when stoned, but
sober people might want to give it a miss. English title: Alice's Odyssey.
sc: Sylvie Lussier, Pierre Poirier (story Denise Robert). dir: Denise Filiatrault.
101 min.
|
(2002-2003) (/U.S.) * * 1/2 Peter Weller ("Chuck Taggert"), Sebastien Roche ("Kurt Mendel), Leslie Silva ("Sarah Forbes"), Christopher Gorman ("Neil Taggert"), Tamara Craig Thomas ("Angela Perry"), with Gina Clayton ("Paige Taggert"), and Barry Flatman, Sonja Smits, Phillip Jarrett, Jim Codrington, Lindy Booth, many others.....Science fiction about five people on board the space shuttle Odyssey when the earth, literally, explodes -- the gruff commander (Weller) and his sllightly estranged astronaut son (Gorman), the hedonistic intellectual scientist (Roche), the reporter (Silva), and another astronaut (Thomas). A mysterious alien entity, the Seeker (played by John Neville), gives them an opportunity to stop the destruction by sending their consciousness back five years, to inhabit their younger bodies, but with the memories of the next five years and earth's destruction intact. They learn that earth has already become infested with computer intelligences (sentients), some creating human-looking agents (synthetics) and that there's a conspiracy within NASA -- all of which, may, somehow, be responsible for earth's destruction. Clayton played Weller's wife. While seeking to battle various schemes by the sentients, and to uncover the scheme that will destroy the earth, the characters also try to influence their own past -- "Sarah", who's young son died of a rare cancer, is given an opportunity to try and save him before it's too late...except she can't convince her husband (Jarrett) or doctors of the danger, since he's not yet showing symptoms; "Angela"'s father (Flatman) is a corrupt senator; etc. Smits plays the sinister new head at NASA; Codrington the nice guy "Sarah" divorced her husband for in the previous timeline; Booth plays "Neil"'s high school girlfriend (and he now found himself back in high school). How Canadian this series is is unclear -- filmed in Canada (though set in Texas), but only one of the five principals (Thomas) is Canadian (although most of the supporting cast are) which makes one suspect it's just an American series, filmed in Canada. But some references have labelled it as being partly Canadian. So what the heck, eh? This TV series borrows ideas, knowingly, from earlier SF sources like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and even "Quantum Leap" and it's an enjoyable series, boasting a good, ingratiating cast, powerfully anchored by quirky movie star Weller, settling unapologetically into middle-age, with Roche also a stand-out (the others are fine, too), playing unusually idiosyncratic and unconventional characters. In fact, the series could seem a little too into the characters, at the expense of plot. As the series progresses, the sense that it has an actual story arc becomes less convincing, particularly once it becomes clear there's a whole community of sentients, many pursuing their own agendas (resulting in episodes where the characters confront and stop isolated plans that have no relevance to whatever blew up the earth). And the way plot threads are introduced, then forgotten about for many episodes, then picked up again, can be disorienting at times. But it's an enjoyable series, benefitting from some sharp dialogue, and good characters, even if the plots don't always hold up to great scrutiny. Unfortunately, although it was apparently one of the highest rated shows on the U.S. cable network, Showtime, it was nonetheless cancelled by that network because it didn't fit in with the overall direction the station wanted to move in. And, moreso than some series with continuing plot threads, the mid-story cancellation hurts it a lot, since half the point was seeing where everything was headed. Too bad. The series was also made as an "adult" show for U.S. cable, complete with plenty of cussing and some nudity -- but though Space, in Canada, has shown unedited programs before, they air Odyssey 5 in an oddly edited way, leaving some profanity intact, but white-ing out other words (the dreaded "F" word) resulting in distracting scenes of the actors shouting...but with every second word gone; likewise, any nudity has been cut. Created by Manny Coto. Hour long episodes, shown in Canada on Space. |
ODYSSEY OF THE PACIFIC *
* * setting: P.Q.
(1981) (/France) Mickey Rooney, Anick, Johnathan Starr,
Ky Huot Uk, Monique Mercure, Jean-Louis Roux.....Trio of kids go for
daily jaunts in the woods near their home where they discover an eccentric,
retired engineer (imported Rooney) and work on repairing a deserted train
so that they can travel to far off places. Charming children's fable
that won't bore adults, either. Surreal, atmospheric and thoughtful,
with a great score. a.k.a. Treasure Train. sc: Fernando
Arrabal, Roger Lemelin. dir: Fernando Arrabal. 100 min.
OF THE BEHOLDER see Eye of the Beholder
OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN *
* * setting: USA.
(1983) Peter Weller, Louie DelGrande, Jennifer Dale,
Lawrence Dane, Kenneth Welsh, Maury Chaykin, Shannon Tweed.....While
his family is away on a vacation, a New York executive (imported Weller)
becomes increasingly obsessed with killing a monster rat that has invaded
his house. Fine comic/horror film, if a little too laid-back.
DelGrande is great as a rat expert. sc: Brian Taggert (from the novel
The
Visitor by Chauncey P. Parker). dir: George Pan Cosmatos. - violence.-
88 min.
Office Party, the novel by Michael A. Gilbert, was turned into the movie Hostile Takeover which, in turn, is also known under the title The Devastator
OH! OH!, SATAN
* 1/2 setting: other
(1989) (/France) Carole Laure, Patrick Chesnais, Marie
Fugain, Muriel Brener, Eric Blanc, Sandrine Caron.....At the prospect
of her parent's (Laure and Chesnais) separation, a Paris teen-ager (Fugain)
buys a lottery ticket and fantasizes about making a deal with the devil.
Uninteresting, light-hearted drama may be aimed more at young teens, though
some of the material might be considered unsuitable. English title:
Thank
You, Satan. sc: Nelly Alard, Andre Farwagi with Jean Cosmos (from
an idea by Christian Carini). dir: Andre Farwagi.
OH, WHAT A NIGHT
* 1/2 setting: Ont.
(1992) Corey Haim, Barbara Williams, Andrew Miller,
Robbie Coltrane, Keir Dullea, Genevieve Bujold, Kristen Kieferle, Diana
LeBlanc, Denny Doherty .....Story of two lusty teen-aged boys (Haim
and Miller) in the '50s, and one's infatuation with a skinny-dipping married
woman (Williams). Sophomoric comedy-drama pretends it's a Coming-of-Age
drama, rather than just a Porky's
rehash, but
it's basically just about sex, sex and sex never develops the already thin
characters beyond the first five minutes, nor story beyond an outline.
Ian Thomas' droning score is equally annoying. Expensive-looking,
but the good cast is wasted, particularly Bujold who has about three lines.
sc: Richard Nielsen. dir: Eric Till. - partial female nudity.- 92 min.
Oka Crisis, the non-fiction memoir by Quebec Indian Affairs minister, John Ciaccia, was one of the sources for the mini-series,Indian Summer.
Oliver Twist, the novel by Charles Dickens,
served as the inspiration for the modern-setTwist.
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