This evening at 7pm, at the Lightbox, there is the world premiere of Julia Kwan’s gorgeous documentary, Everything Will Be. Set in Vancouver’s Chinatown, the film shows both the beauty and the grit of a dying locale, as condos and new businesses begin to take up residence in what was once a thriving and colorful community….
Trailer Tracks: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) – Steven Spielberg
I love the wonder and awe in this film, the gorgeous score by John Williams, and despite some scares of about the unknown, the idea that everything is going to be okay at that moment when we encounter an intelligence from out there somewhere… I love the fact that it has to give a…
Hot Docs 2014: The Homestretch (Anne de Mare & Kirsten Kelly)
Screening for the second time this afternoon at 3:30 at the ROM, as well as one final time on 4 May at 7 at Scotiabank is this strong documentary that shines a light on a heartbreaking subject. Opening with some terrifying stats, like there are between 2,000 and 3,000 homeless youths on the streets of…
Hot Docs 2014: Divide In Concord (Kris Kaczor)
Screening for the 2nd time today at the Lightbox, with one final screening 3 May at 11am at the Isabel Bader Theatre is this wonderful David and Goliath tale, set against the reenactment of the opening shots of the American Revolution in a small town called Concord, Massachusetts. Jean Hill is on a mission. She’s…
Hot Docs 2014: Before the Last Curtain Falls (Thomas Wallner)
Having its World Premiere this evening at 8:30, at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, this gorgeously shot film is a stirring documentary about performance, love and sexuality. The center of the film’s focus is a group of aging gay and trans cabaret performers who have gone on tour with their beautifully choreographed stage show, Gardenia. Now, the tour…
Trailer Tracks: The Dark Crystal (1982) – Jim Henson & Frank Oz
Jim Henson and Frank Oz, the masterminds that helped forge so much of my childhood through the Muppets and Sesame Street tried something brave and different with this film, and while Fizzgig can be a little annoying, and the gelflings are a little boring at times, the imagery, the design, the creatures and the…
Hot Docs 2014: To Be Takei (Jennifer Kroot & Bill Weber)
I was lucky enough to catch a screening of this film last night at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, if you missed it, please find time to see it today at 6 at the same location! This is hands down my favorite film of the festival to date. And I can’t be the only one…
Hot Docs 2014: In Country (Mike Attie & Meghan O’Hara)
Screening for the second time of the festival today at 12:30pm at the Lightbox is this reality blurring documentary about a group of veterans as well as some everyday people, who reenact the Vietnam War. Weaving through the footage shot in Oregon with newsreels, sounds and images from the actual war, the line between what is…
Hot Docs 2014: Out of Mind, Out of Sight (John Kastner)
When I was a high school senior, each week we had an afternoon when we would do charitable works. It was a Catholic high school. We were given a number of options, and one of them was to help out at the local hospital in the psych ward. I thought I would be able to…
Trailer Tracks: Stand By Me (1986) – Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner’s film, based on the story The Body by Stephen King is a perfect coming of age story and features wonderful performances by River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell and Kiefer Sutherland… and of course there’s that amazing soundtrack.
The Mind Reels 