We came to this stage production late in its run, as life just seems to keep happening, but we were lucky enough to get into the Theatre Passe Muraille last night to have a look at this dynamic, fun, and driven production of two of playwright George F. Walker’s pieces, Parents Night and The…
Tag: comedy
Hot Docs 2015: Live From New York – Bao Nguyen
2015 represents the 40th anniversary of the television landmark comedy sketch series, Saturday Night Live, and Hot Docs was fortunate enough to host the international premiere of Bao Nguyen’s film that takes a look at the culture that surrounded, followed and influenced the show. Nguyen openly admits that this is far from the definitive…
Hot Docs 2015: Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead – The Story of National Lampoon – Douglas Tirola
National Lampoon started as a small, rather unprofessional looking magazine at its birth, but its humour, wit and brilliance was there from the get-go. Co-founded by Douglas Kenney and Henry Beard, the magazine, on finding its feet, became ground zero for some of the biggest names in comedy both on-screen and off. The documentary…
Toronto Screenwriting Conference 2015: Day 2
Sue and I tackled day 2 of the Toronto Screenwriting Conference at Daniels Spectrum today, and through the course of the day started to come up with the bare bones of a short film we’d like to do, and my brain broke a story that I’ve been thinking about as three sperate tales but…
Silicon Valley: Season 1
Releasing from HBO today is the premiere season of this brilliant comedy from Mike Judge, the creator of the cult classic, much-loved and oft-quoted, Office Space. The 8 episode first season is available today on DVD and Blu-Ray, just in time for the start of Season 2, which debuts April 12. You can honestly…
Shooting the Musical (2014) – Joel Ashton McCarthy
At 7pm this evening the next round of features for the Canadian Film Fest starts at the Royal Cinema on College St. The first feature, Shooting the Musical, is preceded by the fantastic short She Sings For Me directed by Rebecca Davey – a fun little love story with a wonderfully quirky and completely adorable…
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) – Charles Barton
The Frankenstein cycle in the Sci-Fi Chronicles books takes a quirky turn (and not for the last time) into comedy as the Monster tests out his comedy feet in this Universal classic that was my introduction to the original monsters. Costello’s brain is up for grabs as Wilbur (Costello) is watched over by Sandra…
Road to Singapore (1940) – Victor Schertzinger
The first musical recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Jazz Singer, is this highly enjoyable romp starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Hope and Crosby play Ace and Josh respectively, a couple of sailors, and chums who love to crack-wise, drink, chase…
Happiness (1998) – Todd Solondz
Another odd recommendation from Great Movies – 100 Years of Film, for my screening of Pulp Fiction. A trio of sisters lives interweave with a number of other characters, all of whom are seeking happiness, but are all looking for it in really dark and troubling places. Joy (Jane Adams) is a struggling songwriter,…
All Cheerleaders Die (2013) – Lucy McKee & Chris Silverston
Hitting DVD and Blu-Ray today is this entertaining romp that is bound to become a cult classic, All Cheerleaders Die. The opening night feature for the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Midnight Madness, I was a little unsure about this one, but thought I’d give it a shot. I was happily surprised. What could…
The Mind Reels 