Films That Matter
Hammer Horror?
Leaning heavily into advertising their latest picture as a horror film, Hammer promptly used its trailers and advertising posters to highlight those spooky aspects, going so far as to name it Night Creatures (1962) for the United States market, while in England, they went with the more accurate title of Captain Clegg – focusing on the swashbuckling action adventure elements that revolve around pirates, smugglers, and the Royal Navy. Set in the eighteenth century, the story follows the supposed death of the infamous titular pirate Captain Clegg in 1776, who has been hanged to death by the Royal Navy for his long list of crimes... but not before Clegg maroons one of his men (Milton Reid) and cuts out his tongue for assaulting his beloved wife.
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Star Pick with Billy Gibbons
Casablanca on TopCasablancaDecember 17, 2014We are now in the middle of the awards season and are closing in on the holy grail of film festivities: the Academy Awards, or as we all like to call him – Oscar. This month, I will be reviewing four motion pictures that have won at least one of the major prizes of either best director, actor, actress or picture.
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Star Pick with Jacques Demers
A Race for GoldChariots of FireOctober 6, 2014I must say that when I asked Senator Jacques Demers the question of what his favourite movie was at the Children’s Treatment Center Roast a few weeks ago – he was caught off-guard. He initially named the previously reviewed Forrest Gump, yet after he roasted local MP Guy Lauzon, he pulled me aside in order to mention that the Hanks’ offering was not the sole movie at the top of his list – the 1981 Academy Award Best Picture Chariots of Fire was equally as important to him.
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Star Pick with Peter MacKay
Victory Over Adversity in The NaturalThe NaturalSeptember 25, 2014As I stood talking with The Honourable Peter McKay the night of the Children's Treatment Center Roast, his eyes lit up as the conversation turned from his comedic favourite, Stripes, to the subject of baseball and the excellent sports drama The Natural.
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Star Pick with Peter MacKay
Stripes a Film Comedy ClassicStripesSeptember 17, 2014First off, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, The Honourable Peter MacKay, spoke to me about his love of film. He had two favourite movies and the first will be featured here today. It is the classic 1981 war comedy Stripes. MacKay was utterly impressed by the amazing improv that went into the film (especially from Bill Murray and John Candy) and spoke of the immense laughs it brought out of him every time he watched it. He also mentioned that the movie means more to him now that he works with the armed forces.
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Billy Jack Finally Finds Peace
Billy JackJuly 31, 2014Hopefully this will be the last week for quite some time that I will have to start with the announcement of another actor’s death. Tom Laughlin, the co-writer, director and star of the four Billy Jack movies, passed away at the age of 82 last month. Though Billy Jack, the second film in the series, cannot be considered a ‘good’ movie by any means, it is still a B-movie cult classic that has some solid entertainment value.
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You’re Alright With Caddyshack
CaddyshackApril 13, 2014I think it is finally safe to say that spring is in the air. For me, this time of year brings to mind two things in the realm of sports: the NHL playoffs and the beginning of the golf season. I was lucky enough to run into John Lu at a Montreal Canadiens game recently and we started to talk movies. Lu, who reports on all things sports in Montreal, Habs and beyond, for TSN, was quick to name a classic sports film – Caddyshack, as his favourite comedy of all-time. For him, it was the superb cast and their talents at improvising that placed this movie a notch above the rest.
