Films That Matter
Don’t Look Down
Made for a very, very reasonable budget of only three million dollars, co-writer and director Scott Mann’s Fall (2022) became not only a minor box office success, grossing just over eighteen million dollars, but is also a film that is not for anyone who might be suffering from acrophobia – also known as a fear of heights. Following twenty-something Becky Connor (Grace Caroline Currey), she was an avid rock climber until the day her husband Dan (Mason Gooding) fell to his death while on one of their climbing trips with fellow enthusiast Shiloh Hunter (Virginia Gardner).
-
A Crowning Achievement
The Girl KingDecember 4, 2015I was lucky enough to cover the inaugural St. Lawrence International Film Festival, a four day event that premiered world class films in two countries (the United States and Canada). The cities of Ottawa, Brockville, Canton and Potsdam had the prestigious honour of hosting the first film festival to ever run in two different countries at the same time. Over the next sixteen days, eight of the films I was able to watch will be reviewed.
-
Star Pick with Eric Duncan
One Man’s Long Road to RedemptionAmerican History XJanuary 28, 2015Though it may feel like it has been a while, I return once again to my reporting on the celebrities of the Children's Treatment Centre Roast of Guy Lauzon. Having covered the panel prior to Christmas, I now tackle the event's master of ceremonies, North Dundas Mayor Eric Duncan (one of the youngest mayors in the history of Canada, the youngest Warden of SD&G in its 165-year history and chair for the Eastern Ontario Warden's Caucus).
-
Star Pick with Ben Briscoe
Playing the GameLayer CakeJuly 13, 2014I am sure that most of you may recall my review last summer with Canadian PGA golfer Riley Wheeldon (who had such a good year that he has advanced to the Web.com Tour – just one step below the PGA tour), who said that his favourite movie was Happy Gilmore. I was actually lucky enough to golf with a second pro last year; Welshman, Ben Briscoe. Briscoe attended the qualifier, which was played at the Cornwall Golf and Country Club, and sadly did not make the cut (which would have sent him to Upper Canada Golf Course to play in the Great Waterway Classic), giving him the less satisfying runner-up prize of playing a round of golf with me.
-
Film Noir, De Palma Style
Femme FataleMay 11, 2014In 2002, writer/director Brian De Palma once again put pen to paper and created another one of his unique homages to classic cinema (the first in ten years). Titled Femme Fatale, the director lets us follow his own take on the legendary film noir bad girls of old.
-
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.
-
What to Get the Man Who has Everything
The GameMarch 28, 2014Before I refer to the main title, I must first announce that long-time character actor James Rebhorn passed away last week at the age of 65. Though perhaps not a household name, the tall balding man (who looked the same age for as long as I can remember) will surely be missed, as he played small yet memorable roles for more than 30 years.
