Having it’s North American premiere last night at the Scotiabank theatre, this tragic-docu-drama follows two sheriffs, Viktor and Volodya in a tiny Ukrainian village near Crimea. By turns funny, and emotionally stirring, the two officers, selected by the mayor perform all manner of services in the village as they cruise around in their beaten up…
Magnum, p.i. (1987) – The Aunt Who Came to Dinner and The People vs. Orville Wright
Thomas’ (Tom Selleck) favorite aunt, Phoebe Sullivan (Barbara Rush) arrives in Hawaii this week in The Aunt Who Came to Dinner. Written by Russ Mayberry, this episode aired on 18 March, 1987. Magnum is delighted with Phoebe’s arrival, she is a successful and famous playwright, but it seems she hasn’t come for a holiday,…
The Mind Reels chats with A Dog’s Life Helene Choquette
Hot Docs 2016 continues! The amazing thing about the festival is the variety of subject matter covered, and issues confronted, Helene Choquette turned her camera’s eye on the issue of homeless people, specifically, those with dogs. Examining the issue, and way they are treated and seen by the public at large, these people survive…
The Mind Reels chats with Wizard Mode’s Robert Gagno and Nathan Drillot
Hot Docs has been very good to us this year, thanks to some tireless work by a wonderful company known as GatPR, they’ve provided us with a number of opportunities to chat with some of the amazing filmmakers and their subjects as they descended on Toronto for the most renowned documentary film festival in the…
Just After Sunset (2008) – Stephen King
So as I bounced back and forth about what I wanted to read next, I decided it was time to pick up another Stephen King collection. Short stories can be strange things, and collections of them can be just as odd. They either work together or they don’t, and some stories can be hits,…
Hot Docs 2016: The Mind Reels chats with Cheer Up
Sue and I were delighted to sit down with the director, Christy Garland, and the subjects of the truly enjoyable documentary, Cheer Up, a film that follows a cheer coach, Miia Norvapalo, and two of her squad, Patricia Fisk and Aino Selin through their personal lives, as well as their race to win the…
Hot Docs 2016: The Mind Reels chats with Aim for the Roses
Hot Docs is well under way and Sue and I are having a great time!! We’ve seen some great films, and have had some wonderful interviews. We chatted with John Bolton and Mark Haney, the director and subject of Aim for the Roses, a doc, by Bolton, about a concept album, by Haney, about a failed attempt…
Hot Docs 2016: Life, Animated – Roger Ross Williams
If there is a more honest, emotional and human film at this year’s Hot Docs Film Festival, I can’t imagine what it could be. Owen Suskind, the young autistic man who is the focus of William’s objective eye, is a brilliant soul, and we learn through the film, his story, his life, and his…
Batman: The Animated Series (1993) – The Laughing Fish, Harley and Ivy, and The Mechanic
The Joker (Mark Hamill) is causing problems again, in The Laughing Fish, which aired 10 January, 1993. It seems the Clown Prince, having escaped from Arkham Asylum, yet again, is a little perturbed with the patent office when they refuse to patent his disfigured fish. Batman (Kevin Conroy), stalking the rainy streets of Gotham,…
Toronto Screenwriting Conference – The Mind Reels Interviews
The Toronto Screenwriting Conference weekend may be over, but, the ideas, and creative juices are still flowing. Sue and I have been throwing around all manner of ideas, from writing a spec script to get in the habit of writing for the television format, to tossing around story ideas for series that we would…
