Hot Docs 2015: Journey with Prabhat – Samarth Dixit & Jessica Sadana

Film preservation, and cinematic history are a huge part of Western culture, as we restore, and catalogue our seemingly endless collection of films, so I was rather interested to see how things played out in other countries. Prabhat Studios was a big and well-recognized Indian studio when talkies came along. After that, though it fell…

The Time Machine (2002) – Simon Wells

  My foray into the Sci-Fi Chronicles book continues as we cath up now with the cinematic work inspired by the works of HG Wells. I’ve previously reviewed two of the titles recommended in the book, the 60s version of The Time Machine, and the Nicholas Meyer thriller Time After Time. So it was time…

Hot Docs 2015: (T)error – David Felix Sutcliffe and Lyric R. Cabral 

Screening tonight at the Lightbox at 9:45pm is this thriller of a documentary, that pulls the curtain back from the FBI’s counterterrorism efforts within the continental United States and the revelation that it isn’t all as above-board and by the book as the public would like to believe. Saeed, alias Shariff, an ex-con has been working…

Hot Docs 2015: Tuk-Tuk – Romany Saad 

Screening today at the Scotiabank theatre at 9:15 is this vibrant and intriguing look at the streets of Cairo, through the eyes of three young boys. Bika, Abdullah and Sharon are young, energetic, and hardworking, driving their motorized rickshaws, tuk-tuks, through the busy back streets and throughways of the city. Definitely not old enough to…

Hot Docs 2015: Raiders! – Jeremy Coon & Tim Skousen

  Screening today at the Hart House theatre at 9:30 is a documentary that completely encapsulated my youth and filled me with awe, and a fire to create. Back in 1981, a film came along that changed many a young viewer, myself included, Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. It affected a number of…

The Eclipse (1962) – Michelangelo Antonioni 

  Continuing my exploration of the drama genre after my viewing of Last Tango in Paris for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. So I settled in to have my introduction to the films of Antonioni, and, I liked what I saw. The shots, looks and moments are all wonderfully composed, as…

Orphan Black S03E02 – Transitory Sacrifices of Crisis

  Buckle up Clone Club, after a week’s rest, Orphan Black (tonight on Space) dives right back into things this week as the Castors (Ari Millen) continue their pursuit of the Ledas (Tatiana Maslany) in the hopes of obtaining the clones’ original tissue samples. There are a couple of familiar faces in this week’s ep….

Hot Docs 2015: Circus Dynasty – Anders Riis-Hansen 

Screening today at the Lightbox theatre at 6:30 (rush tickets only, I’m afraid) is this magical, and heart-touching love story set against the back drop of one of Europe’s largest circuses, the Circus Arena! Patrick Bendino is the heir apparent to his the family circus, he’s trained, he’s skilled, and he’s learning to manage and be ringmaster, he’s…