Against the backdrop of wine country with the dull thrum of the falls imaginable at the farthest edge of earshot, members of the film and wine industry gather to make connections, share experiences and celebrate the finer things in life – film and a good vino. And I was fortunate enough to be invited…
Tag: interviews
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…
Hot Docs 2015: Journey with Prabhat – Samarth Dixit & Jessica Sadana
Film preservation, and cinematic history are a huge part of Western culture, as we restore, and catalogue our seemingly endless collection of films, so I was rather interested to see how things played out in other countries. Prabhat Studios was a big and well-recognized Indian studio when talkies came along. After that, though it fell…
The Atticus Institute (2015) – Chris Sparling
Available from Anchor Bay today on DVD and Blu-Ray is this horror film that takes us inside paranormal research in the 1970s. Made to resemble a documentary, I ended up being a little divided on this title. In terms of horror and scares, there is nothing new here, all the beats are measured out into…
Frank (2014) – Lenny Abrahamson
Michael Fassbender is the titular Frank in this amusing and entertaining dark comedy that is being released to DVD and Blu-Ray today from Magnolia Home Entertainment. The film follows a young, would-be musician, Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), and how he becomes involved in a rather eccentric pop band that is fronted by Frank, who never…
The Sopranos: The Complete Series
Releasing from HBO today, available for the first time on Blu-ray, is the critically acclaimed mobster family drama that wowed and wooed fans and critics alike around the world. HBO was kind enough to give me an early look, and I was happy to dive in. Over the years I’d tried to get into this…
Ghost in the Shell (25th Anniversary Edition) – Mamoru Oshi
Releasing from Anchor Bay today, is the 25th anniversary edition of this unprecedented anime film. The downside to it, is that despite that it’s the 25th Anniversary of the original manga, there are sadly no bonus features on the disc. On the plus side, the film looks very nice on Blu-Ray, and comes in…
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…
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…
The Mind Reels Tackle the Canadian Screen Awards 2014
Sue and I were elated to be able to take part in the Canadian Screen Awards festivities this week, including two galas and the broadcast event this past Sunday night at the Sony Centre. We wanted to tweet and post all night, and even had a plan to do all kinds of #legoselfies, but…
