Screening one final time today, is this harrowing look inside a Russian maximum security prison, housing 260 murderers. Set in a forest the size of Germany (!), that takes seven hours to reach from the nearest city, this prison, Penal Colony No. 56, is the modern gulag, and for the first time, a documentary crew…
Hot Docs 2014: An Honest Liar (Justin Weinstein & Tyler Measom)
Put this one at the top of your list of films to check out today! With one last screening at the Lightbox at 6:30 this brilliant film is nothing short of engaging, powerful, funny, and heartfelt. I went into this one almost blind, knowing that it was about a former stage magician and escape artist,…
Hot Docs 2014: Super Duper Alice Cooper (Reginald Harkema, Scot McFadyen & Sam Dunn)
In case you’ve missed it at it’s two amazing screenings already, this doc-opera screens one last time this morning at 11 at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. My first introduction to Alice Copper came early in life, through his appearance on (surprise, surprise) The Muppets. I liked the music I heard, but didn’t get a…
Trailer Tracks: To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) – William Friedkin
This is a movie that I love to revisit, with a wicked soundtrack by Wang Chung, and a gritty yet glossy look at cops (well, agent) and criminals in Los Angeles, specifically William Petersen and Willem Dafoe, this movie rocks in every way. And this trailer still rocks!
Orphan Black S02E03 – Distempers of Learning
Tonight on Space, things seem to be going from bad to worse for Sarah (Tatiana Maslany) and the clone club. Possible SPOILERS below so be warned. (I try to avoid as much as I can, but you can’t avoid them altogether, or this would be a really short article!) Written by Alex Levine, this week…
Doctor Who (William Hartnell) – The Space Museum
The Doctor (Hartnell) and company find themselves in a bit of a conundrum in this story written by Glyn Jones and aired in four parts, The Space Museum, The Dimensions of Time, The Search, and The Final Phase from 24 April to 15 May, 1965. What appears to be a temporal glitch swaps everyone out…
Hot Docs 2014: Kung Fu Elliot (Matthew Bauckman & Jaret Belliveau)
Screening for the final time toady at the Scotiabank Theatre at 9:30 is this highly entertaining, often funny, film about no-budget movies, bad acting, ‘good’ kung fu, and lies. In Moncton, New Brunswick, we are introduced to Elliot Scott and his girlfriend Linda. Elliot’s only desire is to be Canada’s kung fu star, like his heroes…
Hot Docs 2014: Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo (John Zaritsky)
As part of the retrospective on John Zaritsky, the Canadian Documentarian, there were screenings of some of his films, and I was fortunate enough to make it in to a presentation of his 1994 film, Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo. This film is stunning and heartbreaking, though age hasn’t necessarily been kind to the format…
Trailer Tracks: Quicksilver (1986) – Thomas Michael Donnelly
It has been forever since I’ve seen this one, and I know it’s in my DVD collection somewhere, so I may have to pull it out and watch it again soon. Kevin Bacon stars as a big shot, who loses everything and then trying to get his life back in order works for a bike…
Hot Docs 2014: Harmontown (Neil Berkeley)
Screening in a special presentation this evening at the Burwash Quad, is the final showing of Harmontown. A no-holds barred portrait of Dan Harmon, the comedic genius behind the much beloved television series, Community. He is also notorious for being difficult to work with, which resulted in his ejection from the show at the end…
