Films That Matter
To Be Or Not To Be
Interweaving an emotional narrative between historical fact and seemingly plausible guesswork/fiction to the point that it feels a wholly realistic possibility, this year’s Academy Award Best Picture nominee Hamnet (2025), co-written and directed by Chloé Zhao, provides an intriguing look at the life of William Shakespeare and his family tied into his legendary tragedy Hamlet. Also co-written by Maggie O’Farrell – who wrote the novel of the same name that the film is based upon, the narrative takes a years long look at the Shakespeare family. Opening with an explanation that the names of Hamnet and Hamlet were basically interchangeable at this time in history, that will certainly come into play later.
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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.
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A Royal Pain
The Lion in WinterDecember 23, 2013My plan for this week was to write a review on the Christmas classic It’s A Wonderful Life, but after the passing of legendary Irish born actor Peter O’Toole, who is best known for his amazing portrayal of T.E. Lawrence in the epic Lawrence of Arabia, I thought it would be fitting to turn my gaze to another darker Christmas movie, the 1968 historical drama The Lion In Winter, directed by Anthony Harvey.