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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 SQUAMISH FIVE *
* * 1/2 setting: B.C.
(1988) Michael McManus, Robyn Stevan, Nicky Guadagni,
David McLeod, Albert Schultz, Kim Renders, Trisha Lamie.....True story
of a borderline activist (Stevan) who becomes involved with "urban guerillas"
called Direct Action, and their increasingly dangerous activities. Very
effective, non-partisan made-for-CBC TV docudrama about idealists gone
bad. It annoyed both the Left and the Right when first released. Strong
performances. It received the Best Movie/Special Gemini. sc: Ken Gass with
Terence McKenna. dir: Paul Donovan. - casual male nudity.- app. 100 min.
STAKE YOUR CLAIM see The Adventures of Smoke Belliou
STALKED *
*
(1994) Maryam D'Abo, Jay Underwood, Tod Fennell, Lisa
Blount, Karen Robinson, Robert Morelli, Vlasta Vrana, Vivian Reis, Alex
Karzis, Tom Rack.....Psychotic young man (Underwood) -- with the obligatory
domineering mum -- becomes obsessively fixated on a restauranteur and single
mom (D'Abo). Competently done suspenser, and Underwood (imported along
with D'Abo) is pretty good, but the problem with these films is: once you've
heard the premise, you've seen the movie. The scenes, motivation, etc.
are extremely formulaic. Still, if that sounds like fun, this is slightly
better than director Jackson and Allegro films' previous riffs on the subject
(Deadbolt and The Paperboy).
sc: Craig Hamann, Mark Even Schwartz (story Pierre David, Cyndi Pass).
dir: Douglas Jackson. - partial female nudity, violence.- 95 min.
THE STALKING OF LAURIE SHOW
* * 1/2 setting: USA.
(2000) (/U.S.) Jennifer Finnigan, Marnette Patterson,
Mary-Margaret Humes, Rel Hunt, Jessica Greco, Joanne Vannicola, Richard
Fitzpatrick, Polly Shannon.....True story of a Pennsylvania teen-ager
(Finnigan) who gets on the wrong side of the local prom queen (Patterson)
and her friends -- a prom queen who happens to be psychotic and starts
harassing and threatening her. Made- for-TV true dramatization, like a
lot of "shocking, true story" movies can, at times, seem a bit like watching
a train wreck for 90 minutes. Brisk and arguably well-intentioned, and
draws attention to a little commented upon aspect of teen violence -- girls
attacking girls -- but there's a broadness to the presentation and the
performances (the bad guys seem like creepy bad guys right from the beginning)
that makes it more like a youth-aimed "After School Special" from Hell.
But maybe that's the filmmakers' target audience. One of the executive
producers was American talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael, which, depending
on your attitude toward such afternoon talk shows, will either enhance
the movie's credibility, or undermine it. sc: Jennifer Salt. dir: Norma
Bailey. 89 min.
STAR RUNNER *
* * setting: other
(1990) (/New Zealand) Andrew Thurtell, Alison Bruce,
Miranda de Pencier, Lawrence Dane, Martyn Sanderson, Angeline Neville.....Young
man (Thurtell) with a troubled past, gets a job at a harness racing stable
in New Zealand where he gets caught in the middle of mystery and his boss'
(Bruce) own secret past. Entertaining suspense film is one of those rare
family films that actually is interesting enough for adults to watch...even
on their own. Though, obviously, it's not science fiction like the title
implies. Edited together from the 8 half-hour episodes of a mini- series.
sc: Kan Catran (story Richard Carpenter, Ken Catran). dir: Peter Sharp.
97 min.
STAR RUNNER (TVMS) see Star Runner (movie)
STARBUCK *
* * 1/2 setting: PQ.
(2011) Patrick Huard, Julie Le Breton, Antoine Bertrand, Dominic Philie, Marc Bélanger, Igor Ovadis, David Michaël, Patrick Martin, Divid Giguère, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse.....Shiftless, middle-aged man (Huard) discovers the sperm he sold to a fertility clinic 20 years ago resulted in hundreds of children who are now seeking a court injunction to discover his identity -- and though initially horrified, he also begins to anonymously look in on their disparate lives. At first glance, the premise can sound a bit like a sophomoric vehicle for a "Saturday Night Live" alumni. But the result is actually slick, good-looking, and very funny...and also surprisingly clever, sweet, thoughtful, and even touching, with a few phases to the narrative so that it's not just running over the same ground for the whole movie. Well acted, with some well drawn supporting roles (including Bertrand very funny as his lawyer), and anchored by Huard's involving performance that is both deftly comic, and emotionally nuanced. In French. sc: Ken Scott, Martin Petit. dir: Ken Scott. - sexual content; brief female nudity.- 109 min.
STARDOM *
1/2 setting: CDN./other/USA.
(2000) (/France) Jessica Pare, Dan Aykroyd, Charles
Berling, Robert LePage, Thomas Gibson, Frank Langella, Camilla Rutherford,
Victoria Snow, Lisa Bronwyn Moore, Joanne Vannicola.....The rise of
a young Canadian woman (Pare) who becomes a model and an international
celebrity, told largely (though not entirely) through the media (that is,
talk shows, documentary clips, etc.). Denys Arcand's second English language
feature is a good-looking satirical comedy-drama -- and almost a complete
misfire. The media, and super models, are hardly an unusual topic for satire,
but Arcand attacks without subtlety, rendering it neither funny, nor convincing.
And when he tries to get serious toward the end, it doesn't work emotionally.
Nor does he really give the thing enough of a narrative thread to make
it more than a collection of scenes. The characters are largely annoying
(they're supposed to be) and Arcand's attitude towards his subjects seems
to range from contempt to condescension, rendering the whole affair cold
and unpleasant. Ironically, in making a movie satirizing shallow superficiality,
and the dehumanizing effect of stardom, Arcand has made a largely shallow,
superficial movie, thin on humanity. Ultimately, the basic ideas (including
the technique of telling the story through the media) could've been interesting,
but there's a feeling Arcand's ambition outstripped his abilities. Put
another way, it's like he set out to emulate American filmmaker Robert
Altman...and ended up emulating a bad Robert Altman film (though
he can take comfort from the fact that Altman's own fashion industry satire,
"Ready to Wear", was also poorly received). Still, the movie's constant
reminder of its Canadianess (like a running gag of people mis-identifying
Pare's character as American, or Langella as a Canadian ambassador) gives
it some freshness. sc: Denys Arcand, J. Jacob Potashnik. dir: Denys Arcand.
- brief female nudity.- 102 min.
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(2004-2009) (/U.S.) * * 1/2 Joe Flanigan ("Major John Sheppard"), Tori Higginson ("Dr. Elizabeth Weir") (-6th), David Hewlett ("Dr. Rodney McKay"), Amanda Tapping ("Samantha Carter") (3rd-), Rachel Luttrell ("Teyla Emmagen"), Rainbow Sun Francks ("Lt. Aiden Ford") (-2nd), Paul McGillion ("Dr. Beckett"), Jason Momoa ("Roron Dex") (2nd-), with Robert Thurston, Craig Veroni, Mitch Pileggi, Jewel Staite.....Science fiction, spun off from the successful Stargate: SG1, about a multinational earth team that takes a potentially one way trip to a distant galaxy that had once been colonized, aeons ago, by the same vanished people as founded the mythical city of Atlantis. There they set up base in a deserted, high tech city, and explore the surrounding solar systems and civilizations using stargates, as well as encountering the malevolent Wraiths -- creatures that feed off the bio-energy of other beings and who prey on many of the planets in the area. By the second season (the producers presumably feeling the "lost in space" premise was too restrictive) the characters had re-established contact -- and even transportation -- with earth. Flanagan plays the easy going military leader; Higginson the overall head of the project; Hewlett the brilliant but obnoxious chief scientist; Luttrell a warrior woman native to the galaxy; Francks a junior soldier; and McGillion the team's medical doctor. Momoa joined in the second season as an alien warrior who was skilled at fighting Wraiths. Higginson's part was phased out, essentially replaced by Tapping, whose character was brought over from Stargate: SG1. Others play various scientists, save Pileggi who had a recurring part in the second season as the captain of an earth star ship. Of the main cast, Flanagan is American (as well as Momoa and Pileggi in the 2nd season), everyone else is Canadian. When this spin-off premiered in the US on the Sci-Fi Channel, it apparently garnered the highest ratings ever for a new series on that station. Admittedly, it's not an especially innovative spin-off (earth team uses stargates to visit alien worlds, all the while involved in a battle with an ancient, remorseless species who has been preying on said worlds for generations -- even many of the characters here parallel the character-types from Stargate: SG1). With that being said, the characters are more colourful versions of the ones in the original series, and the setting in an alien, unfathomable city is more snazzy. Briskly paced, with a lot of wit and wisecracks to supplement the drama and action, it can be entertaining, though the humour can, ultimately, undermine the seriousness at times. You can enjoy the series more than become involved in it. As well, the plots tend to be serviceable but lacking much that makes you say, "Wow, what a good story". And, like so many modern series, tend to be bogged down in their recurring concepts (Oh, look -- it's yet another Wraith!) The series also suffers from too much pointless bickering between hyper-macho characters and some ethical problems, with an unfortunate fascist streak, the characters tending to settle disagreements by chain-of-command orders rather than discussion. I mean, isolated at the far end of the universe, the colony seems to have no arbitration mechanism, no avenue of appeal. But if you don't take it too seriously (and, unfortunately, it wants to be taken seriously) it can be an okay, briskly-paced watch. Perhaps the most intriguing thing about the show is that Hewlett's character is actually supposed to be Canadian (including saying "zed" instead of "zee"). Although Canadians have made many of these big budget sci-fi shows (from Andromeda to Earth: Final Conflict to StarGate: SG1 itself) with predominantly Canadian casts, never before has a regular character been identified as Canadian -- let alone a flamboyant, key character (hhe's essentially a prickly version of Mr. Spock and is the guy who, more often than not, comes up with the solution). It was always claimed that to have any Canadian reference in such shows would turn off the audience...yet this series earned the highest ratings to that point for an original series on the Sci-Fi Channel! Of course, most of the characters are still supposed to be American...though, interestingly, far and away the most sympathetic and likeable character is McGillon's Scottish doctor. Jessica Steen played Higginson's role when the character was first introduced in a couple of episodes of StarGate: SG1 (Steen apparently was uninterested in returning for a weekly series). Created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper. Hour long episodes, shown in Canada on The Movie Network, then Space. |
STARGATE SG-1 (TV Series)Most big-budget, Canadian filmed fantasy/SF series are set in the States, with an American lead actor, and often based on American movies or premises: and if it's not too much of a backhanded compliment, this amazingly enduring series, based on a 1994 U.S. film, is one of the better ones. Not brilliant, with plots that can be a little bland and thin, and despite an overall gloss it seems suspiciously budget-conscious: housebound, often with much of the action taking place back at the base, or in restricted alien environs. A common circumstance of TV SF ("Star Trek", etc.) it's true, but Stargate seems, at times, unsure how to tell a meaty story under such conditions. But initially it could be pleasantly enjoyable and, despite the military milieu, (usually) eschewed martial machismo for likeable, level-headed, characters and, despite the shoot-'em-up antics of the original movie, and the pilot, there was more of "Star Trek" than "Star Wars" in the regular series. The cast is appealing, particularly Anderson (no stranger to Vancouver having filmed much of his "MacGyver" series there) and Shanks (more than a little reminiscent of James Spader, the actor from the movie), and the series benefits from a willingness to indulge in quirky humour ...initially without undermining the drama of the scenes. Unfortunately, later seasons developed a case of the cutes and the tongue-in-cheek humour sometimes undermined the drama. As well, as the seasons went along, the series seemed to get more and more mired in its own mythos and on-going story arcs, making it hard to just drop in on an episode from time to time. Yet, despite its inarguable longevity, it remained an "okay" effort rather than a true artistic milestone. The series has proven itself the "Little-Sci-fi-Show-That-Could" becoming the longest running (North American) science fiction series, and eventually spawning a number of spin-offs, including Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate: Universe and even a short-lived, youth-aimed animated series and, once StarGate: SG1 was over...it spawned a few TV/DVD movies with the cast. Though many of the actors were Canadian, all the characters they played were supposed to be American (or aliens), yet the team's base was NORAD headquarters, a joint Canada-U.S. organization. In other words, it would've been perfectly justifiable to have included some Canadian characters. Ironically, in the spin-off novel, Stargate SG1: The First Amendment (by an American novelist), NORAD's bi-national identity was acknowledged more than in any episode of this Canadian-filmed series! Most episodes feature at least one imported American actor as guest star. Developed for TV by Brad Wright & Jonathan Glassner. The series was made, primarily, for a U.S. cable station, but shown in Canada only on regular TV, meaning some of the episodes shown in Canada were edited for content (dag blast it!). Hour long episodes, shown in syndication. |
STARGATE SG-1: The Children of
the Gods * * 1/2 setting:
USA
(1997) (/U.S.) Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks,
Amanda Tapping, Christopher D. Judge, Don S. Davis, Jay Acovone, Robert
Wisden, Peter Williams.....When aliens attack a U.S. army base using
a secret, and believed inactive, interstellar transporter, the only people
who had previously used the Gate are reunited to discover where the attackers
are from...and to stop them. Professionaly mounted, well-acted SF action
pic is both a pilot for the TV series...and a direct sequel to the U.S.
movie "Stargate"; the latter means that, though you don't need to have
seen the original, it'd help (and the story contains spoilers if you ever
intended to) and the former means that it ends with a few loose ends intended
to lead into the series. Enjoyable, but this is intended less as "Star
Trek" than "Star Wars", and as such, the filmmakers need to familiarize
themselves with Edgar Rice Burroughs, "Flash Gordon" and others who knew
how to write swashbucklers, because it's frustratingly thin on twists and
clever cliffhangars. Made for a U.S. cable station, this contains some
nudity, though the version shown on on commercial TV has been edited for
content slightly from the U.S. version. sc: Brad Wright, Jonathan Glassner.
dir: Mario Azzopardi. - partial female nudity, violence.- 89 min.
STARLIGHT *
setting: B.C.
(1996) Rae Dawn Chong, Billy Wirth, Willie Nelson,
Jim Byrnes, Deborah Wakeham, Alex Diakun.....Alien (Chong) comes to
earth in search of a human (Wirth) whose dad was an alien, hoping to solicit
his help, but a bad alien (Diakun) is hunting him too. Pretty awful SF
drama-suspenser tries to seem high-minded, but, like a frightening number
of Canadian filmmakers, Kay seems narratively-challenged: the flick's a
slow-moving mess of flashbacks, hallucinations, musical motages, illogical
characterization, beautiful B.C. scenery, voice-overs, Willie Nelson-firing-lasers-from-his-eyes-for-no-explainable-reason,
and a host of other problems that stem from the fact that Kay doesn't know
how to put his ideas into coherent story. Wirth and Nelson aren't very
good, Chong seems bored (as well she might), and Diakun's name is misspelled
(he's billed as Daikun). One of those movies that's so dreary, the only
point of interest (sexist as it may be) is wondering if Chong will have
a nude scene; she does, but it's filmed so artsily, you hardly see anything!
Some nice, stylish visual f/x, though. sc./dir: Jonathon Kay. - partial
female nudity, sexual content, violence.- 100 min.
THE STARLOST "The Alien Oro"*
(1982) Keir Dullea, Gay Rowan, Robin Ward, Walter
Koenig, Alexandra Bastedo, Henry Beckman.....Our heroes encounter a
somewhat deceitful alien ("Star Trek"'s Koenig). Two theme-related episodes
from the cheapo '70s series aren't very good but the second does have a
sense of humour and a nicely eccentric performance from Beckman. See The
Starlost. sc: Mort Forer, Marion Walman and Alex C. James. dir: Joseph
L. Scanlan and Francis Chapman.
THE STARLOST "The Beginning"*
1/2
(1982) Keir Dullea, Gay Rowan, Robin Ward, John Colicos,
Sean Sullivan, Barry Morse, Dominic Hogan.....Three people discover
their world is one of many on board a huge, doomed spaceship and they start
to explore the ship and the other civilizations. Two episodes edited together
from the early '70s low budget, S-F series. As often happens, a third rate
series makes a fourth rate anthology movie because of the longer running
time and the lack of continuity. Some of the guest stars like Colicos and
Morse give good performances, though. Followed by more compilations. sc:
Cordwainer Bird and Martin Lager (from a story by Ursula K. LeGuin). dir:
Harvey Hart.
THE STARLOST "Deception"*
*
(1982) Keir Dullea, Gay Rowan, Robin Ward, Ed Ames,
Angel Tomkins, Pat Galloway.....Our heroes discover a warmongering,
industrialized society and a place where illusions rule. Two more episodes
from the '70s series. Actually, the first one isn't bad, though the second's
only so-so. Ames is good. sc: Arthur Heineman, Norman Klenman and Alfred
Harris, George Ghent. dir: Joseph L. Scanlan and Ed Richardson.
THE STARLOST "The Invasion"
*
(1982) Keir Dullea, Gay Rowan, Robin Ward, Stephen
Young, Donnelly Rhodes, Patricia Collins.....Our heroes meet up with
a medical ship and encounter a society ruled by brain implants. Two more
episodes from the '70s series (neither of which relate to an invasion).
The first is pretty dull and the second more exciting, but not much better.
sc: Paul Schneider, Martin Lager and Helen French. dir: George McCowan
and Joseph L. Scanlan.
THE STARLOST "The Return"
*
(1982) Keir Dullea, Gay Rowan, Robin Ward, Lloyd Bochner,
Edward Andrews, Linda Sorensen.....Our heroes encounter returning astronauts
and go through a meteor shower. Two more episodes from the '70s series
are edited together rather badly and the stories themselves are poorly
done. The first is so-so but the second becomes tedious. Good performances
from Bochner and Andrews. sc: Norman Klenman and Douglas Hall. dir: Leo
Orenstein and Ed Richardson.
STARSHIP INVASIONS
* *
(1977) (/U.K.) Robert Vaughn, Christopher Lee, Daniel
Pilon, Tiiu Leek, Helen Shaver, Henry Ramer, Victoria Johnson, Doreen Lipson.....An
evil alien (Lee) plans to conquerer earth after first destroying a kind
of Intergalactic U.N. post, and the surviving good aliens (led by Pilon)
recruit a UFOlogist (Vaughn) and a computer scientist (Ramer) to help them
fight back. Audacious little flick is a kind of straight-faced homage to
'50s flying saucer flicks, with nods to '60s costume designs and '70s UFO
fever. On that level, it could have been fun, but drags in too many spots.
The low-budget f/x are actually kind of nifty in a way -- particularly
the climactic space battle. sc./dir: Ed Hunt. - violence.- 89 min.
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