Yesterday I wrote about not believing the hype. This afternoon, my theme could be don’t believe the trash. Of all the movies I picked to see, two of them snagged bad press before the festival started: I ended up loving them both. Then there was the flick I chose for today – COOPER’S CAMERA –…
TIFF Reaction: PASSCHENDAELE
Mid-way through Paul Gross’ PASSCHENDAELE, the war-torn battle ground is described as “A muddy stew”. That very sentiment could describe this movie as a whole quite accurately. PASSCHENDAELE is an ambitious film, one that takes ordinary Canadians in the early 20th century, and cuts their lives to ribbons as World War I casts a shadow…
THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS
THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS really bummed me out. Not because it’s a depressing story – although it is – but because I turned it on really wanting to like it. Unfortunately when the credits rolled I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS is a Canadian film by maverick director Bruce…
Oh Canada
Today is Canada Day…our national holiday up here in the north, and the date celebrated as the birthday of our nation. Of course, in true polite Canadian form, no battles or declarations actually ever happened on this date – it happens to be the date where four of our provinces came together to form a…
AWAY FROM HER
There’s a song by R.E.M. that says “It’s easier to leave than to be left behind”. I couldn’t help but think about that line as I watched AWAY FROM HER, which is a very tender Canadian movie about a woman who succumbs to Alzheimer’s. It’s a very tender and heartbreaking film starring Julie Christie and…
EASTERN PROMISES
David Cronenberg closes off a trilogy of films that focus on pure human violence.