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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 PIANIST
* * 1/2 setting: CDN./USA.
(1992) (/Japan) Gail Travers, Macha Grenon, Eiji Okuda,
Dorothee Berryman, Maury Chaykin, Ralph Allison, voice of Carl Alacchi.....Two
sisters (Travers and Grenon) become infatuated with their one-time neighbour
(Okuda), a famous pianist, but as they grow older, it comes between them.
Drama is often clunky and unconvincing with Travers inparticular too inexperienced
to carry it, but gets better as it goes along. Even then, though,
it seems to work only inspite of itself. sc./dir: Claude Gagnon (from
the novel A Certain Mr. Takahashi by Ann Ireland). - sexual content,
casual male and female nudity.- 112 min.
THE PIANO MAN'S DAUGHTER
* * setting: CDN./other
(2000) (/U.S.) Wendy Crewson, Christian Campbell,
Marnie McPhail, Stockard Channing, R.H. Thomson, Sarah Strange, Dixie Seatle,
Deborah Pollitt, David Hemblen, Joel Keller.....Generational saga of
a young man (Campbell), in the late 1930s, trying to establish his own
life while struggling with his mother's instability. Through various flashbacks,
he learns about her life, and the life of her mother. Channing and McPhail
play the mother at different ages and Crewson his grandmother. Sprawling-but-episodic
drama was filmed as mini-series, but saw its initial release as an edited
124 minute movie. It seems to be juggling too much material, resulting
in seeming truncated scenes, and plot information that drops out of nowhere
(like that the young man has a mysterious patron in shades of "Great Expectations").
Yet, strangely, these problems remain in the full, unedited mini-series!
Including a heavy -- heavy -- reliance on voice over narrations
that make the thing seem more like a talking book with illustrations, rather
than a true dramatization. The main difference between the movie and the
mini-series is simply that supporting actors like Chris Wiggins turn out
to actually have dialogue! Not uninteresting, and the very audacious scope
of the thing can be appealing, but it suffers from heavy handed dialogue
and mannered performances (the latter, at least, a hallmark of director
Sullivan's other works). And for a movie called the "piano man"...music
plays very little part in the proceedings. Ultimately, as a movie, it can
encourage you to seek out the source novel...because there's a feeling
there's a great story in here somewhere but this isn't quite bringing it
to light. American actress Whoopi Goldberg was one of the executive producers.
sc./dir: Kevin Sullivan (from the novel by Timothy Findley). - brief male
nudity, violence, sexual content.- 124 min...and a 4 hour mini-series.
PICK-UP SUMMER a.k.a. Pinball Summer
PICTURE CLAIRE *
1/2 setting: Ont./P.Q.
(2001) Juliette Lewis, Gina Gershon, Callum Keith
Rennie, Kelly Harms, Camilla Rutherford, Peter Stebbings, Tracy Wright,
Raoul Bhaneja, Elena Kuduba, Barbara Eve Harris, Mickey Rourke, Gary Reineke.....Story
of confusion, coincidences, and mistaken identity when a unilingual French-Canadian
(American actress Lewis) arrives in Toronto and, unbeknownst to her, keeps
crossing paths with a smuggler (American Gershon) on the run from her partners.
Serio-comic film noire's plot twists, though admirably Byzantine at times,
can be more aggravating than entertaining, and the same can be said for
much of director McDonald's technical experiments (split screen, etc.)
which only occasionally seem to enhance a scene. The movie juggles a large
cast of characters, but fails to flesh out any of them (leaving you to
wonder if scenes were left on the cutting room floor), and it's too often
too silly to be serious, but not actually funny enough to be a comedy.
The movie hinges on the notion that Lewis doesn't speak any English...and
no one she meets understands so much as a word of French -- what? did none
of these people go to high school? British actress Rutherford appears briefly
nude, which might momentarily bolster the viewer's interest level. Not
a total misfire, but it doesn't come together, either. Rourke, another
import, has about three minutes of screen time. This $10 million effort
(big budget by Canadian standards) became sufficiently infamous that even
director McDonald cobbled together a yet-to-be-released behind-the-scenes
documentary, Planet Claire, dissecting what went wrong. sc: Semi
Chellas (story Bruce McDonald). dir: Bruce McDonald. - female nudity, violence.-
89 min.
PICTURE PERFECT
* 1/2 setting: other
(1991) (/France) Mark Hamill, Catherine Wilkening,
Jean-Pierre Malo, Michael Goldman, Jesse Joe Walsh, Jean-Pierre Maurin,
Jacques Ferriere .....U.S. photographer (import Hamill) in Paris finds
himself on the run from spies when he takes pictures of a shoot-out involving
a beautiful model (Wilkening). Light-hearted, paint-by-numbers suspenser
has a couple of funny lines, but is mainly a dud -- and wasn't the cold
war over by '91? Only Hamill's voice actually seems to be coming
from his mouth. sc: Gary Freedman, David Preston, adapted by David
Preston, Jean-Claude Missiaen (story Gary Freedman). dir: Jean-Claude Missiaen.
PICTURE WINDOWS (TV Limited Series)Limited TV series featured episodes that were expensive, professional, and, well, O.K. None were terrible, and none were particularly brilliant either. Curiously, the paintings were supposed to be the inspiration for the directors, but most episodes were adapted from existing works (short stories, operas) and, in all but one case, written by people other than the directors. Go figure. Four of the episodes were filmed in Toronto (though none explicitly set in Canada) and all featured non-Canadians in the lead and, with the exception of "Language of the Heart" (dir: Jonathan Kaplan), most of the supporting parts as well. This was particularly ironic since the series was sold as being the brainchild of Canadian-born Hollywood director Norman Jewison, a self-styled champion of Canadian film, yet his episode was among those that featured almost no Canadian on-screen participation -- with friends like these, Canuck film needs few enemies. "Song of Songs" and "Two Nudes Bathing" featured partial female nudity, and in "Armed Response", Canuck Cyndy Preston briefly shows some skin. The various episodes ran between 30 and 34 minutes, making it probable they will be edited if ever shown on commercial television (the norm for a half-hour program is actually around 23 minutes to allow for commercials). Created by Scott J.T. Frank, Dan Halperin, David Wesley Wachs. Six episodes, originally aired in Canada on Bravo! - partial female nudity.- |
PICTURES AT THE BEACH
* * * setting: Ont.
(1989) Paul Babiak, Bob Bidaman, Christopher Crumb,
Ann Curran, Tamara Guner, Catherine Kuhn, Benson Simmonds.....A group
of friends who haven't seen each other for a while get together for a day
at the beach. Low-budget but very nicely done, likeable serio-comic
pic about relationships and self-discovery. Atmospheric and memorable.
sc./dir: Aaron J. Shuster. 78 min.
PIG'S LAW see La loi du cochon
PILE OU FACE *
1/2 setting: P.Q.
(1970) Nathalie Naubert, Jean Coutu, Diane Arcand,
Monique Belisle, Pat Foster, Jacquleine Fellay, Jean-Denis Leduc, Patrick
Peuvion, Jerome Tiberghien, Georges Carrere.....Jet-setting
group of couples get together for their annual vacation of spouse-swapping;
the cracks in their happy, free-love facade start to show when an extra
woman shows up who's not part of their circle, and the men fall all over
themselves to be the first to seduce her. Light-drama is more ambitious
than the usual soft porn films out of Quebec at that time, but it still
falls short of being a real drama...or particularly sexy, despite plenty
of male and female nudity. Good cast. English title: Heads or Tails.
sc: Gerald Tasse. dir: Roger Fournier. - male and female nudity, sexual
content.- 93 min.
PILGRIM a.k.a. Inferno
PIN *
*
(1988) David Hewlett, Cyndy Preston, Terrance O'Quinn,
John Ferguson, Bronwen Nantel.....Disturbed young man (Hewlett) attributes
a consciousness to -- and befriends -- an inanimate medical dummy (Pin,
as in Pinnochio) with dangerous results. So-so psychological-suspenser
looks good but suffers from poor development of characters and their relationships.
sc./dir: Sandor Stern (from the novel by Andrew Neiderman). - partial female
nudity.- 103 min.
PINBALL SUMMER *
setting: USA.
(1979) Michael Zelniker, Carl Marotte, Karen Stephen,
Helene Udy, Tom Kovacs.....Low-budget teen sex comedy, this time revolving
around rival American kids and a local pinball tournament. O.K., you didn't
really
expect me to give this a good review, do you? Lots of montage sequences
of teens frolicking in bikinis in the sun while soft rock tunes play on
the soundtrack, so if that's all you're looking for, and can fast forward
over the talky bits... Normally with this kind of movie, the heroes are
supposed to be likeable goofs clashing with the mean gang...but here, the
heroes themselves are bullies going around picking on and harassing
people. And that's supposed to be fun? At least some of the leads went
on to become respectable actors. a.k.a. Pick-Up Summer. sc: Richard
Zelniker (story Fred Fox). dir: George Mihalka. - partial female nudity,
brief male nudity.- 99 min.
THE PINK CHIQUITAS
* 1/2 setting: USA.
(1986) Frank Stallone, Bruce Pirrie, Elizabeth Edwards,
Claudia Udy, John Hemphill, Don Lake.....A world famous p.i. (American
import Stallone) stumbles across a small American town that is being taken
over by lusty, possessed women. Private eye/sci-fi/"Andy of Mayberry"
spoof tries real hard and the cast is game...it's just too bad that it
isn't funny. sc./dir: Anthony Currie (story Currie and Nick Rotundo).
84 min.
THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE
* * * setting: other
(1985) Brent Carver, Jeff Hyslop, Caralyn Tomlin,
Douglas Chamberlain, Karen Wood....Recorded-on-video version of the
Stratford Festival production of the popular comedy/musical about a man
(Hyslop), accidentally apprenticed to pirates for his formative years,
who sets out on his own and promptly falls in love. Unlikely to win converts
to Gilbert and Sullivan (the story is awfully slight), nonetheless,
this is an extremely energetic, lively production, with choreography which
will leave the audience almost as breathless as the actors. Carver shines
as the Pirate King and Chamberlain steals some scenes as the Major-General.
Made for the CBC. sc: the musical by Gilbert and Sullivan (with a couple
of anachronistic jokes added in). dir: Brian MacDonald (the play), Norman
Campbell (the video).
PIT PONY
* * * setting: N.S.
(1997) Richard Donat, Denny Doherty, Gabriel Hogan,
Jeremy Akerman, Rhonda McLean, Jennie Raymond, Ben Rose-Davies.....Turn-of-the-Century
drama about a boy (Rose-Davies) in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia who goes to work
in the mine after his father is injured, and his fascination with the ponies
that are used to haul ore out of the mine; plus sub-plots involving his
sister's (Raymond) tentative romance with a miner (Hogan) and attempts
to unionize. Top-billed Donat, as the dad, and Doherty, as kindly farmer
who befriends the boy, appear in just small parts. Slickly-produced CBC
TV movie maintains interest throughout, though doesn't really demand much
involvement. As well, it's one of those family films that's attempting
to be a tearjerker, so be warned. Subsequently a TV series. Raymond, in
particular, is very good. sc. Heather Conkie (from the novel by Joyce Barkhouse).
dir: Eric Till. 92 min.
Places Not Our Own
* * 1/2 setting: Man.
(1986) Diane Debassige, Tantoo Martin-Cardinal, Kirk
Grayson, Michael Fletcher, Eli Goldstein.....Story of a poor Metis
teen (Debassige) in 1929 Manitoba and her mother's futile attempts to integrate
her with the bigoted white community. Atmospheric, memorable hour-long
drama, but technically clumsy and obvious. One of the Daughters
of the Country series. sc: Sandra Birdsell. dir: Derek Mazur.
PLAGUE *
* setting: Ont.
(1978) Daniel Pilon, Kate Reid, Celine Lomez, Michael
J. Reynolds, Brenda Donohue, Barbara Gordon.....Microbiologists inadvertently
release an experimental virus on the city with deadly results. So-so
suspense flick is helped by a general feeling of scientific accuracy but
marred by some real slow moments. Though the microscopic shots of
the virus look more like crystal growths. sc: Ed Hunt, Barry Pearson.
dir: Ed Hunt. 88 min.
PLAGUE CITY: SARS in Toronto
* * setting: Ont./other
(2005) Kari Matchett, Ron White, Rick Roberts, Lannette
New, Rahnuma Panthaky, Merwin Mondesir, Brian Markinson, James Gallanders,
Les Carlson, Von Flores.....Dramatization of some of the events surrounding
the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in Toronto in 2003
that threatened to become an epidemic, focusing on a hospital nurse (Matchett),
and others involved in the system. Made for CTV movie is basically a paint-by-numbers
fictionalized dramatization. Improves somewhat in the second half, portraying
some of paranoia and ostracization SARS incurred, but remains seeming too
much like a churned out "ripped from the headlines" programmer. And, no,
you're not suffering from deja vu: Matchett previously played a nurse caught
in the middle of a different outbreak in the CBC TV movie, Betrayed.
sc: Colin Friesen, Pete McCormack. dir: David Wu. app. 90 min.
PLAIN TRUTH *
* setting: USA.
(2004) (/U.S.) Mariska Hargitay, Alison Pill, Jan
Niklas, Kate Trotter, Jonathan LaPaglia, Alec McClure, Robert Bockstael,
Colin Fox.....American lawyer (Hargitay) reluctantly takes on the case
of an Amish teenager (Pill) accused of murdering her new-born baby; except
she claims she didn't do it...and denies even having been pregnant! "Witness"
meets "Agnes of God" in this made-for-TV mystery-drama, but suffers from
a thin plot, basically sticking with the same question for the whole movie
(most of the "revelations" that occur are completely irrelevant to the
case), a dubious presentation of the law and the judicial process (and
the Amish as well -- the "plain" people of the title), and other things
that just seem rushed or half-baked (like a barely developed romance between
the lawyer and a psychiatrist). Decent enough performances (especially
Trotter as the girl's mother), but unsatisfying. Hargitay and LaPaglia
are American. sc: Matthew Tabak (from the novel by Jodi Picoult). dir:
Paul Shapiro. - violence.- app. 90 min.
THE PLANET OF JUNIOR BROWN
* * 1/2 setting: CDN.
(1997) Lynn Whitfield, Martin Villafana, Rainbow Sun
Francks, Clark Johnson, Sarah Polley, Richard Chevolleau, Margot Kidder,
Tina Su.....Story of two teens, a would-be pianist (Villafana), who's
not all there and lives with his unstable, possessive mom (American Whitfield),
and his best friend (Francks), a street kid. Sumptuous CBC TV movie
is interesting and easy to watch, even lyrical in spots, peopled by eccentric
characters...but Virgo-the-director suffers from the problem plaguing a
lot of Canadian Art filmmakers: a tendency to direct all his actors like
they're rehearsing in a library, delivering muted, often opaque performances
that never really expose the emotional guts of the characters. There's
no real depth to this pretty film, despite attempts at serious issues (like
street kids), and the plot is so half-heartedly developed that you only
realize it's reached the climax because the credits start rolling.
sc: Clement Virgo, Cameron Bailey (from the novel by Virginia Hamilton).
dir: Clement Virgo. 94 min.
PLATINUM
* * setting: P.Q.
(1997) Robert Cavanah, Pascale Bussieres, Tanya Allen,
Jackie Burroughs, Stewart Bick, Laura Bertram, Kent Waters, Vik Sahay,
Carl Alachi, Clare Sims, Maxim Roy.....Independent
record company exec (Cavanah) struggles to sign an up-and-coming, petulant
rock band (headed by Allen) before they're scooped up by a major label...much
to the chagrin of his business partner (Bussieres). Made-for-CBC
TV drama could've used more humour, or at least wit, to give a satirical
edge to these otherwise often unappealing, and frequently unfathomable,
characters. But the main problem is a fundamental lack of human drama
(provided only by Bertram's character in a sub-plot) in this business-oriented
opus. Essentially a rock drama for the Traders
audience. Director McDonald seems equally bored by the material,
indulging in camera tricks, spilt screen images (problematic on a small
screen), etc. which rarely complement the scenes, and often detract from
them. The movie seems to think it's hip, but there's a world of difference
between something that's hip...and something which only thinks it is.
Cavanah and Bussieres are pretty but a little blank. Plenty of rocker
cameos as street people and aspiring musicians, like Mitsou. Pilot
for a never realized series. Apparently this was set in the near
future...but you can't tell that from anything on-screen! sc: Leopold
St. Pierre, Paul Risacher. dir: Bruce McDonald. 92 min.
"The Playboy of the Western World", the famous (non-Canadian) play by John M. Synge, was turned into the TV movie Paris or Somewhere
PLAYING HOUSE *
* 1/2 setting: USA/Ont.
(2006) Joanne Kelly, Lucas Bryant, Kristin Lehman,
Rosemary Dunsmore, Craig Ferguson, Damir Andrei, Michael Murphy.....Career
focused, New York editor (Kelly)...discovers she's pregnant, and she's
not even sure if the father (Bryant) wants to be part of her life, 'causing
her to wing back to her parents' Ontario home. Made for CTV comedy-drama,
and semi-romance, boasts an appealing cast, though even when it's trying
to be serious and gritty, crises tend to resolve fairly easily, and where,
far from being "on her own", she seems to have remarkable support, including
caring parents who live on a palatial rural estate! Well done in the writing,
acting and directing, but it's the sort of movie that will probably polarize
opinions...some will love it as somewhat hokey, slice-of-life...and others
will be bored. Andrei gives an atypical turn as her frazzle-haired dad.
sc: Michelle Lovretta (from the novel by Patricia Pearson). dir: Kelly
Makin. app. 90 min.
LES PLOUFFES see Les Plouffes (TVMS)
LES PLOUFFES (TVMS)
* * * setting: P.Q.
(1981) (/France) Emile Genest, Juliette Huot, Denise
Filiatrault, Gabriel Arcand, Pierre Curzi, Serge Dupire, Anne Letourneau,
Remi Laurent, Louise Lapare.....Chronicle of the working class Plouffe
family in Quebec around the beginning of the second world war. Drama,
expanded from a feature film (and based on the hit '50s TV soap opera which
was, in turn, based on the novel), is entertaining and very well acted
with a strong sense of time and place mixing drama, humour, politics and
religion. 6 hours. Followed by Murder
in the Family (a.k.a. Le crime d'Ovide Plouffe). English
title: The Plouffe Family. sc: Roger Lemelin, Gilles Carle
(from Lemelin's novel). dir: Gilles Carle. - brief nudity, sexual content.-
THE PLOUFFE FAMILY see Les Plouffes (TVMS)
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