Films That Matter
Star Pick with Justin Paul Kelly
Just this past weekend, I was lucky enough to interview Justin Paul Kelly at the eleventh edition of CAPE – or the Cornwall and Area Pop Event. For those of you who have young kids at home, you’ll immediately know his cadence, for Justin was the voice of Paw Patrol’s Chase from 2018-2023 – encompassing an impressive 129 episodes, as well as voicing the role in several tv movies (including Paw Patrol: Jet to the Rescue and Paw Patrol: Super Rescue). As for something more related to adult viewing, Justin had a ten episode arc as Harlan on season two of the Netflix superhero series The Umbrella Academy (2019-2024).
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Star Pick with Jesse Winchester
Good Will for This Classic 90’s MovieGood Will HuntingDecember 17, 2014The National Hockey League season is now underway and for those who are fans of the sport, this is an exciting time of year. I was lucky enough to golf with Jesse Winchester this year, and though it was a somewhat rainy afternoon, it was still an excellent day. The Long Sault native is making his way back to our neck of the woods, as his team, the Colorado Avalanche, are playing in Ottawa on Thursday and in Montreal on Saturday – so I thought it would be a good time to visit this NHLer’s favourite movie – Good Will Hunting.
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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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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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Cellular is Fully Charged
CellularMay 4, 2014Some of you may recall a movie being released back in 2004 called Cellular starring Kim Basinger. The phone-based action crime thriller is a highly entertaining movie that demonstrates how quickly things have changed over a ten year period. Firstly, the cell phones in the film are much less sophisticated compared to today’s technology. But more interestingly, the motion picture also stars a young Chris Evans – who shortly thereafter landed the role of Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four franchise and later the part of Captain America in the Marvel films. We also see a small glimpse of the relatively unknown Jessica Biel, who is now quite famous. Likewise, it was a watershed moment for Jason Statham, as it was one of his first roles in an American film. Add in appearances from William H. Macy, who is receiving rave reviews for his role in the televison show Shameless, and character actor Noah Emmerich (The Truman Show, tv show The Americans), and you have a pretty impressive cast by today’s standards.
