TIFF 25: Whistle dir. Christopher Nelius

Whistle is a light-hearted documentary from Christopher Nelius filled with delightfully eccentric characters. It takes behind the scenes of the Masters of Musical Whistling competition. An event that draws people from around the globe to a three day showdown of talent. Each day has a different category, Classical, With the Band and Self Accompaniment, and…

Northern Exposure (1995) – Let’s Dance, and Tranquility Base

Let’s Dance is the penultimate episode of Northern Exposure. It’s almost over, so they must be wrapping up character and narrative arcs. After a fashion, anyway. Written by Sam Egan, this episode was first broadcast on 19 July, 1995. It gets underway with Cal (Simon Templeman), you remember the violinist with mental issues?, who has…

Northern Exposure (1994) – Up River, and Sons of the Tundra

Up River was written by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, and it first aired on 14 November, 1994. Maurice (Barry Corbin) sends Ed (Darren E. Burrows) up river to find Joel (Rob Morrow) after Maggie (Janine Turner) asked him to move out. And that’s sad, because they seemed on the edge of some serious potential…

Northern Exposure (1992) – My Mother, My Sister, and Wake Up Call

Shelley (Cynthia Geary) has a crisis when her mother, Tammy (Wendy Schaal),who could identify as Shelley’s younger sister (and does), shows up in Cicely touting her new man, Kenny (Sean O’Bryan). Will she keep her age and real relationship with Shelly a secret from Kenny or will the truth out? Shelley finally confronts her, wanting…

Northern Exposure (1991) – Goodbye to All That, and The Big Kiss

The truncated second season of Northern Exposure got underway on 8 April, 1991 with Goodbye to All That. Written by Robin Green the show opens with Chris-in-the-morning (John Corbett) giving us the broad strokes of the series for any new viewers. Chris is living at the radio station because his trailer got pancaked by a…

Asteroid City (2023) – Wes Anderson

It was going to happen sooner or later, there had to be a least favourite Wes Anderson film. And for me, it looks like, at least for now, it will be Asteroid City. I like the idea, the subject matter, and the cast, but it just didn’t pop like Anderson’s other films. Most of his…

Quiz Lady (2023) – Jessica Yu

Awkwafina and Sandra Oh play sisters in the very enjoyable, Quiz Lady, which I missed at TIFF but was delighted to check out when it hit streaming platforms. Anne (Awkwafina) is quiet, set in her routines, and has some mental health issues that keep her confined to her job, and her couch, where she and…

TAD 2023: UFO Sweden dir. Victor Danell

Do you want to believe? Young Denise (Inez Darl Torhaug) does. She remembers the night her father disappeared chasing down UFOs, and it’s been an obsession ever since. She’s grown to be a young woman, tech savvy in the mid-90s and is determined to find the truth of what happened. As she begins to cross…