Anne Brodie

Suicide Squad! We Went There via What She Said Radio

2016-08-05T09:04:00.002-07:00

New Movie Releases August 5th | Reviews by Anne Brodie

Aug 05, 2016whatshesaid167Entertainment, Latest Updates, What She Said01

Suicide Squad and Some Other Movies Opening August 6th

Suicide Squad is the latest D.C. Comics entry meant to unseat Marvel as top purveyor of cinema-bustin’ super heroes and villains. Good try but not quite enough. It looks hideously expensive and as though it was put together by committee, much to its detriment. I’m sure it will make its money back despite what I have to say.

There are memorable moments. Will Smith who is super cut for the role of Deadshot, gives the film much needed gravitas to balance its innate silliness. He manfully emotes as the father of an adorable daughter who knows he’s a paid assassin and tearfully begs him to stop. He doesn’t of course. Naturally something like this would upset a doting father – and he is one. Deadshot is the sole character to show us authentic emotion and Smith stands out in this poison cotton candy world.

Margot Robbie’s dazzling as The Joker’s girl child Harley Quinn, shrink-turned Baby Doll lunatic with a baseball bat and endless supply of bubble gum. Her performance is spirited, snappy, rousing and wildly bipolar. She’s fabulous – pure vaudeville on acid. Even so the filmmakers never miss a chance to show her half-clad rear end, but I guess considering the targeted demo, they think they know what they’re doing.

Jared Leto’s Joker is a weak willy compared to predecessors Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson and Frank Gorshon. The emaciated, green look, Leto’s wheezing vocal delivery and physical wispiness are in no way threatening as The Joker should be.

Shout out to Canada’s Adam Beach as the lesser known Slipknot whose stealth and abilities with magical ropes make him indispensable. His ropes are seen more than he is.

The Squad have weak spots, the people they love and miss. Jay Hernandez as Diablo is especially burdened as his way of throwing flame when he’s upset cost him everything he had. Viola Davis is impressive as the morally bankrupt government official that brought the Squad out of prison to fight alien invasion, she’s the alpha male and she knows how to use their pain.

Suicide Squad is meant to compete with Marvel films but it is basically a mirror reflection of the it’s superhero universe and story. Comic book films are pretty well clichéd by now and this has clichés in spades. There is nothing fresh about this one. the same tired effects, louder deeper bass notes and a weird vintage soundtrack, but nothing in terms of execution, ideas or creativity.

Kevin Spacey, the horrifying sociopath of House of Cards goes a different route in Nine Lives, really different. He’s a billionaire workaholic who’s become disconnected from his family, as he’s concentrating on building the tallest skyscraper in North America. He’s forgotten his daughter’s birthday gift so at the last moment goes to a weird pet store operated by Christopher Walken and buys Mr. Fuzzypants. Naturally Walken has super powers and puts Spacey inside Mr. Fuzzypants as punishment for ignoring his family and to give him a cat’s eye view of them without him. Watch out for ‘Lil Bub in the pet store.

Sadly, I can’t tell you more because the film was not press screened, usually a bad sign. However I like cats and folks simply have to see the mighty Spacey reduced to a disgruntled, if cute cat so moviegoers won’t be able to help themselves. They’ll go. Jennifer Garner, who is everywhere these days, is the suddenly single wife.

Little Men is my pick of the week. It’s an intimate and lovely film about two young boys who meet at the Brooklyn brownstone where one of the kid’s mother has worked as a seamstress for eighteen years and where the grandfather of the other lived until his recent death. The grieving son (Greg Kinnear) is plotting to evict the dressmaker because she pays low rent and because he’s being pushed by his sister who wants her share of the building. Kinnear informs the woman that she must pay triple her current rent as a penalty for “overstaying”. Meanwhile the sons feel the consequences of the adults’ “business problem” as they try to live kid lives biking around town and dreaming. They learn in no uncertain terms that their parents are not the idealised heroes they imagined they were. It’s tragic because naked greed is the motivating factor behind the pain overwhelming both families. Secrets emerge, pride is wounded and no one wants to rise above pettiness.

Lo And Behold: Reveries of the Connected World from gonzo filmmaker Werner Herzog is an alarmist’s guide to the internet and climate change. It’s a documentary in which scientists, behaviourists and computer genii are interviewed about the inevitability of the machines overtaking us and how we’re killing our world, and for scientists, they are a surprisingly dramatic bunch. At times it gets downright operatic as they outline our road to man-made hell on earth. Herzog throws around factoids, guesses and myriad nightmares clearly meant to scare us. Werner, we’re already scared. Where have you been?

Hitchcock/Truffaut Magnificent Obsessions the ongoing paired retrospectives at TIFF Bell Lightbox – The masterpieces of these two filmmakers are being shown until the end of summer. It’s a series I would love to see on the big screen, but no time. Can you imagine seeing North by Northwest the way it was made to be seen? and Truffaut’s wonderful films?

Also worth noting at TIFF is its Brian De Palma retrospective too. His work is generally considered good, if culty, darkly melodramatic and kind of lowbrow. But not so fast! They’re being widely reconsidered inspired in part by the 2016 Jake Paltrow documentary DePalma in which he reveals the truths behind his work and motivation. See Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Passion, Snake Eyes and many more on the big screen.

Agatha Raisin on www.Acorn.tv is a wonderful British series about a top London PR guru who tires of the rat race and moves to a small village where she spent childhood summers. She fails to lose her city attitude and leave her Ab Fab wardrobe behind and rubs the villagers the wrong way – and how. She discovers that her natural curiosity can be put to good use out in Nowheresville. When the local womaniser is murdered, she’s the first suspect but soon realises she has the gift of sleuthing. It goes beyond clearing herself or getting justice for the victim – she’s just really curious. Agatha’s soon joined by her two gay besties up from London who may stay for the murder. Shades of Ab Fab and Miss Marple.

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2016 Toronto International Film Festival Announces Canadian Programmes

2016-08-03T10:15:00.003-07:00

This year is shaping up as one of the most varied of TIFF’s Canadian Programmes. "Politics and bold storytelling headline Canadian lineup at the Toronto International Film Festival", the festival promises. Features documentaries and shorts by Canadian artists show us the experience of being who we are, through diverse people, places and ideas. Here is a taste of what's to come.

Xavier Dolan, Canada’s internationally admired wunderkind presents his latest, the Cannes sensation it’s Only the End of the World with its stellar cast including Vincent Cassel, Marion Cotillard, Gaspard Ulliel, Nathalie Baye, and Léa Seydoux. A family’s response to a man’s announcement of his impending death ranges from horror to anger and expressions of love and not love.

　

Deepa Mehta

Deepa Mehta tackles gang rape, a notorious problem in India of late, in Anatomy of Violence. Her starting point was the brutal 2012 gang rape in New Delhi that put an international spotlight on the alarming uptick in gang sex assaults.

Sunny Leone

Mehta’s brother Dilip presents Mostly Sunny which documents the colourful life of Sunny Leone, a girl born and raised in a strict Sikh home in Sarnia who became a porn star then reinvented herself as a mainstream Bollywood TV and film star. Can't make this stuff up.

　

Gordon Pinsent

Brigitte Berman returns with The River of My Dreams a fond tribute to one of Canada’s greatest actors and personalities Gordon Pinsent. Given his legacy in Canadian arts, his warmth and humour it’s bound to be a great experience.

Alanis Obomsawin

Legendary Canadian filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin’s We Can’t Make the Same Mistake Twice looks at child services on First Nations reserves and finds they are sadly lacking. The Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and the Assembly of First Nations filed a discrimination complaint against Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada and this is their story.

　

Two Lovers and a Bear

Canada’s multitalented Tatiana Maslany stars with Dane DeHaan in Two Lovers and a Bear set in a town near the North Pole where it’s minus 50 degrees weather and strangely vast and white. They fall in love but her need to escape overwhelms her so they flee.

　

All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and The Spirit of I.F. Stone loos at the work of independent investigative journalists Amy Goodman, Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, Matt Taibbi as the reveal and report on corruption inspired by influential American journalist I.F. Stone..

　

Bruce McDonald

Bruce McDonald returns with Weirdos set in Nova Scotia in 1976 on the weekend of the American Bicentennial. Fifteen year old Kit runs away from home, heading to his mother’s hitchhiking with his girlfriend Alice. Dylan Authors, Julia Sarah Stone, Molly Parker and Allan Hawco star.

　

Below Her Mouth

Below Her Mouth takes place during a passionate weekend affair between two women that take a startling and dangerous turn, with Erika Linder, Natalie Krill, and Sebastian Pigott.

　

Window Horses

Window Horses (The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming) from Ann Marie Fleming is the animated story of a poet observing life with vocals by Sandra Oh, Ellen Page, Don McKellar, Nancy Kwan, and Shohreh Aghdashloo.

　

Old Stone

Johnny Ma’s Old Stone is a shocking story of a driver who accidentally hits a motorcyclist, who goes to his rescue and finds himself saddled with having to pay for the man’s treatment. The result of his kindness is ruin, as he faces a dismissive infrastructure threatens to ruin him. Chen Gang stars.

Nicholas de Pencier

Black Code Nicholas de Pencier’s Black Code examines the internet as a tool by which he says citizens are manipulated and censored. Who controls cyberspace?

Purchase Festival ticket packages online 24 hours a day at tiff.net/tickets; by phone from 10 am to 7 pm ET daily at 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433; or visit the Steve & Rashmi Gupta Box Office at TIFF Bell Lightbox in person from 10 am to 1000 pm ET daily at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West, until August 14 for My Choice packages and August 24 for TIFF Choice packages, while quantities last.
　

2016-08-01T08:05:00.003-07:00

Agatha Raisin - Premieres August 1st, an Acorn TV Original Series

Movie streaming now on Acorn TV Series premieres August 8th

Agatha Raisin is a light hearted British comedy series in the vein of Agatha Christie character Miss Marple as played by Margaret Rutherford. It’s bouncy, funny and terrific light entertainment, but of course, it follows the career of an amateur sleuth with a gift for solving murder mysteries, so it has its dark moments.

This Agatha Christie lite series stars Ugly Betty’s Ashley Jensen whose thick Scottish brogue is unmistakable. Jensen is Raisin, a top London PR magnate who’s tiring of the rat race and wondering what makes her happy.

The answer lies in a tiny village in the Cotswolds, where she spent her childhood summer vacations. She’s idealised it and decides that’s where she wants to be. She buys a gorgeous thatched roof estate but immediately offends her neighbours. Raisin in unable to drop her London power chick attitude and sarcasm, and she soon rubs the rest of the villagers the wrong way.

But when the local womaniser is murdered, her interest is sharp and sudden and a new interest and skill reveal themselves - sleuthing. Her natural curiosity and insight into human behaviour provided by her PR clients over twenty years are aroused. She then commandeers her two gay, outré besties in from London to help, and they dive in wholeheartedly. Good times.

Jensen’s appealing Miss Marple redux harks back to the days of fun crime solving of the Rutherford era. Subsequent Marple efforts have generally taken a grim turn and the heroines aren’t remotely funny. But Jensen brings shades of Absolutely Fabulous as a boozy, wisecracking, short tempered and absurdly dressed middle aged woman, except she has skills, and a renewed sense of vigour to a dusty old franchise.

The series is based on the books by M.C. Beaton.

More TIFF Titles! Galas and Special Presentations From Around the World

2016-07-30T13:30:00.002-07:00

TIFF 41 Announces 19 Galas and 49 Special Presentations

TIFF Runs Sept. 8 - 18
Provided by Toronto International Film Festival

September 8 to 18, 2016.
GALAS

Arrival Denis Villeneuve, USA Canadian Premiere

When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team, led by expert linguist Louise Banks, are brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers. To find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity. Starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, and Michael Stuhlbarg.

Deepwater Horizon Peter Berg, USA World Premiere

Inspired by the true story of the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that rocked the globe on April 20, 2010, comes this chronicle of the courage of those who worked on the Deepwater Horizon and the extreme moments of bravery and survival in the face of what would become one of the biggest man-made disasters in history. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O'Brien, and Kate Hudson.

Closing Night Film.

The Edge of Seventeen Kelly Fremon Craig, USA World Premiere

The directorial debut of writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig follows high school junior Nadine, who is already at peak awkwardness when her all-star older brother Darian starts dating her best friend Krista. All at once, Nadine feels more alone than ever, until the unexpected friendship of a thoughtful boy gives her a glimmer of hope that things just might not be so terrible after all. Starring Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson, Kyra Sedgwick, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner and Hayden Szeto.

The Headhunter's Calling Mark Williams, Canada World Premiere

A ruthless corporate headhunter in Chicago battles his rival for control of their job placement firm, until a family tragedy brings his personal and professional lives into conflict. Starring Gerard Butler, Alison Brie, Willem Dafoe, Gretchen Mol, Alfred Molina, and Max Jenkins.

The Journey is the Destination Bronwen Hughes, United Kingdom/South Africa World Premiere

The inspiring life story of late photojournalist, artist and activist Dan Eldon, who abandoned a comfortable life in London to document the struggle, heartbreak and hope of a war-torn and famine-ridden region of Africa. Inspiring and irreverent, the film follows a young man coming of age to realize his purpose, his place in the world, and his belief that we can all create positive change. Starring Ella Purnell, Maria Bello, Sam Hazeldine, Ben Schnetzer, and Kelly Macdonald.

JT + The Tennessee Kids Jonathan Demme, USA World Premiere

In this thrilling concert documentary, Academy Award–winning director Jonathan Demme captures the charismatic and highly acclaimed artistry of Justin Timberlake and The Tennessee Kids’ spectacular closing performances from The 20/20 Experience World Tour at the legendary MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

LBJ Rob Reiner, USA World Premiere

On November 22, 1963, one president's life was taken while another's was resurrected. LBJ tells the story of politician Lyndon B. Johnson who was at risk of fading into irrelevancy but, upon John F. Kennedy's assassination, seized his moment to rescue a nation and claim his place among the most influential US presidents. LBJ is an intimate look into Johnson's masterful political manoeuvring during one of the most difficult times in America's history. Starring Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Richard Jenkins, Bill Pullman, Jeffrey Donovan, and Michael Stahl-David.

Lion Garth Davis, Australia World Premiere

After a wrong train takes a five-year-old Indian boy thousands of kilometres from home and family, he survives many challenges before being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, armed with only the scantest of clues, he learns of a new technology called Google Earth, and sets out to find his lost family. This true story stars Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, and David Wenham.

Loving Jeff Nichols, USA North American Premiere

This film celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of Richard and Mildred Loving, who waged a decade-long legal battle that led to the overturning of the state of Virginia’s law prohibiting interracial marriage. Their civil rights case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 1967 reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry. Starring Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga, Marton Csokas, Nick Kroll, and Michael Shannon.

.Opening Night Film.

The Magnificent Seven, Antoine Fuqua, USA World Premiere

Director Antoine Fuqua brings his modern vision to a 1960 western classic. With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue, the desperate townspeople, led by Emma Cullen, employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns. As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money. Starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Byung-Hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett and Peter Sarsgaard.

A Monster Calls J.A. Bayona, USA/Spain World Premiere

This visually spectacular drama follows a lonely 12-year-old boy struggling with his mother’s illness, until an ancient, wild, and relentless monster appears, guiding him on a journey of courage, faith, and truth. Starring Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell, Lewis MacDougall, and Liam Neeson.

Planetarium Rebecca Zlotowski, France/Belgium North American Premiere

Kate and Laura Barlow, two young American spiritualists in 1930s Paris, finish their world tour. Fascinated by their gift, a powerful French film producer hires them to shoot a highly ambitious film. In the vortex of cinema, experiments, and feelings, this new family doesn’t yet see what Europe will soon go through. Stars Natalie Portman, Lily-Rose Depp, Emmanuel Salinger, Amira Casar, Pierre Salvadori and Louis Garrel.

Queen of Katwe Mira Nair, South Africa/Uganda World Premiere

This vibrant true story follows a young girl from the streets of rural Uganda whose world rapidly changes when she is introduced to the game of chess. The support from her family and community instills her with confidence and determination, as she sets out to pursue her dream of becoming an international champion. Starring David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'o, and Madina Nalwanga.

The Rolling Stones Olé Olé Olé! : A Trip Across Latin America Paul Dugdale, United Kingdom World Premiere

This documentary film follows The Rolling Stones on a cultural adventure across Latin America, as the band heads towards their historic tour finale — being the first ever rock band to play to a crowd of 1.2 million in Havana, Cuba.

The Secret Scripture Jim Sheridan, Ireland World Premiere

A once vibrant and lively beauty in her youth, Roseanne McNulty has spent the majority of her adult life confined to a mental hospital in rural Ireland. She has been institutionalized for so long, no one seems to remember why she was hospitalized in the first place. When a new chief psychiatrist takes a keen interest in her, he finds a hidden memoir she has written over the course of decades. It unravels the mystery of her incarceration, telling the tale of her passionate, yet tortured, life. Starring Vanessa Redgrave, Rooney Mara, Theo James, Eric Bana, and Jack Reynor.

Snowden Oliver Stone, Germany/USA World Premiere

Academy Award–winning director Oliver Stone tackles one of the most important and fascinating true stories of the 21st century. This politically charged, pulse-pounding thriller reveals the incredible untold personal story of Edward Snowden, the polarizing figure who exposed shocking illegal surveillance activities by the NSA and became one of the most wanted men in the world — considered a hero by some, and a traitor by others. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, Scott Eastwood, Logan Marshall-Green, Timothy Olyphant, Ben Schnetzer, Lakeith Lee Stanfield, Rhys Ifans, and Nicolas Cage.

Strange Weather Katherine Dieckmann, USA World Premiere

A lyrical, emotionally rich drama tracking Darcy as she travels the Deep South with her friend in an effort to process her grief over the loss of her son. A story about forgiveness, redemption, grace, and how to be fully alive when facing death. Starring Holly Hunter, Carrie Coon, and Kim Coates.

Their Finest Lone Scherfig, United Kingdom World Premiere

Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig’s period comedy-drama follows a group of filmmakers struggling to make an inspirational film to boost morale — and inspire America to join the war — during the London Blitz in World War II. A witty, romantic and moving portrayal of a young woman finding her way, and her voice, in the mayhem of war…and movies. Starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Jack Huston, Helen McCrory, Eddie Marsan, Jake Lacy, Rachel Stirling, and Richard E. Grant.

A United Kingdom Amma Asante, United Kingdom World Premiere

This biopic tells the true story of Seretse Khama, King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1947 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments. Starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

The Age of Shadows (Miljeong) Kim Jee woon, South Korea North American Premiere

The latest from cutting-edge director Kim Jee woon is an epic-scale period thriller about a double agent sent to infiltrate a band of freedom fighters during the Japanese occupation of Korea in the 1920s. Starring Korean superstars Song Kang ho, Han Ji min, and Gong Yoo.

All I See Is You Marc Forster, Thailand World Premiere

Set in exotic locations, this unique and visually-driven psychological drama tells the story of a blind woman and her husband, who upon restoration of her sight, begins to discover previously unseen and disturbing details about themselves, their marriage, and their lives. Stars Blake Lively, Yvonne Strahovski, and Jason Clarke.

American Honey Andrea Arnold, USA North American Premiere

Star, an adolescent girl from a troubled home, runs away with a travelling sales crew who drive across the American Midwest selling subscriptions door to door. Finding her feet in this gang of teenagers, she soon gets into the group's lifestyle of hard-partying nights, law-bending days, and young love. Starring Shia LaBeouf, Riley Keogh, and Sasha Lane.

American Pastoral Ewan McGregor, USA World Premiere

Based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning Philip Roth novel, American Pastoral follows a family whose seemingly idyllic existence is shattered by the social and political turmoil of the 1960s. Ewan McGregor stars in his directorial debut as Seymour “Swede” Levov, a once legendary high school athlete who is now a successful businessman married to a former beauty queen. But turmoil brews beneath the polished veneer of Swede’s life, when his beloved teenage daughter disappears after being accused of committing a violent act. Dedicated to finding her, what he discovers shakes him to the core, forcing him to look beneath the surface and confront the chaos that is shaping the world around him. Also starring Academy Award–winner Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning, Emmy–winner Uzo Aduba, David Strathairn, Valorie Curry, Peter Riegert, and Rupert Evans.

Asura: The City of Madness Kim Sung-soo, South Korea World Premiere

A shady cop finds himself in over his head when he gets caught between Internal Affairs and the city’s corrupt mayor, in this scintillating crime drama from Korean maestro Kim Sung-soo. Stars Hwang Jung-min, Kwak Do-won, Ju Ji-hoon, and Jung Woo-sung.

Barakah Meets Barakah (Barakah yoqabil Barakah) Mahmoud Sabbagh, Saudi Arabia North American Premiere

Saudi Arabia’s first rom-com features comedian and social-media superstar Hisham Fageeh as a mild-mannered civil servant who runs up against his society’s strict mores when he sets out to romance the outspoken daughter of a wealthy couple. Also starring Fatima Al Banawi.

Barry Vikram Gandhi, USA World Premiere

New York City, 1981. Inspired by true events, a young Barack Obama tries to find his way as a college student in a new city as he is faced with questions about race, culture, and identity in this inspiring drama centered on a crucial year in the future President’s life. Starring Devon Terrell, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Ellar Coltrane.

Birth of the Dragon George Nolfi, USA/China/Canada World Premiere

Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1964, this cross-cultural biopic chronicles Bruce Lee’s emergence as a martial-arts superstar after his legendary secret showdown with Shaolin master Wong Jack Man. While details of the fight are hotly disputed to this day, one thing is clear — out of that epic fight, Bruce Lee emerged as The Dragon, the man who brought Kung Fu to the world. Starring Billy Magnussen, Xia Yu, and Philip Ng.

The Birth of a Nation Nate Parker, USA International Premiere

Filmmaker-actor Nate Parker reclaims the title of D.W. Griffith’s 1916 milestone for this epic chronicle, set against the antebellum South, of the life of Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner accepts an offer to use his preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities — against himself and his fellow slaves — Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom. Starring Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Mark Boone Jr., Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Dwight Henry, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gabrielle Union, Penelope Ann Miller, and Jackie Earle Haley.

Bleed for This Ben Younger, USA Canadian Premiere

This film tells the incredible true story of one of the most inspiring and unlikely comebacks in sports history. Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza, shoots to stardom after winning two world title fights before a near-fatal car accident leaves him with a broken neck, and he is told he may never walk again. Against all odds and doctor’s orders, renowned trainer Kevin Rooney agrees to help Vinny return to the ring just a year after the accident, for what could be the last fight of his life. Stars Miles Teller, Katey Sagal, and Aaron Eckhart.

Blue Jay Alex Lehmann USA World Premiere

Meeting by chance when they return to their tiny California hometown, two former high-school sweethearts reflect on their shared past through the lens of their differently dissatisfied presents, in this tender, wise and affecting chamber drama from first-time feature director Alex Lehmann. Starring Mark Duplass and Sarah Paulson.

Brimstone Martin Koolhoven, Netherlands/Germany/France/Belgium/Sweden/United Kingdom North American Premiere

A triumphant epic of survival set in the searing wilds of the Badlands, the menacing inferno of the old American West. This tale of powerful womanhood and resistance against the unforgiving cruelty of a hell on earth follows Liz, a heroine carved from the beautiful wilderness, full of heart and grit, and accused of a crime she didn’t commit, hunted by a vengeful preacher. Stars Guy Pearce, Dakota Fanning, Emilia Jones, Carice Van Houten and Kit Harington.

BrOTHERHOOD Noel Clarke, United Kingdom International Premiere

Writer-director-star Noel Clarke completes the British crime-drama trilogy he began with KiDULTHOOD and AdULTHOOD, in this gritty tale of an ex-con whose dreams of settling down and going straight run up against the long memories (and itchy trigger fingers) of a crew of old enemies. Stars Noel Clarke, Arnold Oceng, David Ajala, Cornell S. John, and Michael "Stormzy" Omari.

Carrie Pilby Susan Johnson, USA World Premiere

Carrie, a person of high intelligence who graduated Harvard at 18, struggles to make sense of the world as it relates to morality, relationships, sex and leaving her New York City apartment. Susan Johnson makes her feature directorial debut in this beautiful adaptation of the acclaimed novel. Stars Bel Powley, Nathan Lane, Gabriel Byrne, Vanessa Bayer, and Jason Ritter.

Catfight Onur Tukel, USA World Premiere

A reunion between two old school friends sparks a no-holds-barred war of attrition, in this outrageously madcap black comedy. Stars Sandra Oh, Anne Heche, Alicia Silverstone, Craig Bierko, and Dylan Baker.

City of Tiny Lights Pete Travis, United Kingdom World Premiere

Tommy Akhtar — cricket fan, devoted son and deadbeat private eye — is just emerging from another hangover when his next case walks through the door. Hooker Melody wants him to find her friend who has gone missing. As he delves deeper into the case, Tommy’s journey to uncover the truth leads him into the hidden layers of modern London, unlocking shocking secrets about past loves, friendships, and family. Starring Riz Ahmed, Cush Jumbo, James Floyd, Billie Piper and Roshan Seth.

The Commune (Kollektivet) Thomas Vinterberg, Denmark/Sweden/Netherlands North American Premiere

Danish auteur Thomas Vinterberg’s new film focuses on a middle-aged professional couple in 1970s Denmark who decide to experiment with communal living by inviting a group of friends and random eccentrics to cohabit with them in a sprawling house. With Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, and Helene Reingaard Neumann.

Daguerrotype (Le Secret de la chambre noire) Kiyoshi Kurosawa, France/Japan/Belgium World Premiere

Kiyoshi Kurosawa makes his first film outside Japan with this French-language ghost romance fantasy, about an aging photographer whose obsession with an archaic technique draws his young assistant and beautiful daughter into a dark and mysterious world. With Tahar Rahim, Constance Rousseau, Olivier Gourmet, and Mathieu Amalric.

A Death in the Gunj Konkona Sensharma, India World Premiere

Set in 1979, this coming of age story follows a shy young Indian student who quietly and fatefully unravels during a family road trip to McCluskiegunj. Stars Vikrant Massey, Ranvir Shorey, Kalki Koechlin, Gulshan Devaiah, Tillotama Shome, Jim Sarbh, Tanuja Mukherjee, Om Puri, and Arya Sharma.

Denial Mick Jackson, USA/United Kingdom World Premiere

Based on the book History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier, this riveting, true-life drama recounts the courtroom showdown between historian Deborah E. Lipstadt and notorious Holocaust denier David Irving, who accused her of libel when she declared him a Holocaust denier. In the English legal system, in cases of libel, the burden of proof is on the defendant, therefore it was up to Lipstadt and her legal team to prove that the Holocaust had occurred. Starring Academy Award-winner Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall, Andrew Scott, Jack Lowden, Caren Pistorius and Alex Jennings.

Elle Paul Verhoeven, France North American Premiere

Michèle seems indestructible. As the head of a leading video game company, she brings the same ruthless attitude to her love life as to business. Being attacked in her home by an unknown assailant changes Michèle’s life forever. When she resolutely tracks the man down, they are both drawn into a curious and thrilling game — a game that may, at any moment, spiral out of control. Stars Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny, Charles Berling, Virginie Efira, Christian Berkel, Judith Magre, Jonas Bloquet, Alice Isaaz, Vimala Pons, Raphaël L Lenglet, Arthur Mazet, Lucas Prisor, Hugo Conzelmann, and Stéphane Bak.

Foreign Body (Jassad gharib, Corps etranger) Raja Amari, Tunisia/France World Premiere

Samia immigrates to France illegally. Obsessed by the idea her radical islamist brother might be stalking her, she first finds refuge with Imed, an acquaintance from her village, then with Leila, her employer. Desire and fear heightens the tension between the three protagonists. With Hiam Abbass, Sarra Hannachi, and Salim Kechiouche.

Frantz François Ozon, France/Germany Canadian Premiere

Set in a small German town in the aftermath of World War I, this elegiac tale of love and remembrance follows a young woman mourning the death of her fiancé, Frantz, who was killed in battle in France. She forms a bond with a mysterious Frenchman who has arrived to lay flowers on her beloved’s grave. Starring Paula Beer, Pierre Niney, Marie Gruber, Ernst Stötzner, Johann Von Bülow, and Anton Von Lucke.

The Handmaiden (Agassi) Park Chan-wook, South Korea North American Premiere

A crook-turned-servant falls for the vulnerable heiress she had originally schemed to swindle, in this audacious, visually sumptuous, and highly erotic period piece from writer-director Park Chan-wook. Starring Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong, Kim Hae-sook, and Moon So-ri.

Harmonium (Fuchi ni tatsu) Kôji Fukada, Japan/France North American Premiere

A Japanese family’s humdrum daily routine is fatefully upset by the arrival of a stranger from the father’s past, in this slow-burning dramatic thriller. Stars Tadanobu Asano, Mariko Tsutsui, Kanji Furutachi, Taiga, Momone Shinokawa, and Kana Mahiro.

I Am Not Madame Bovary Feng Xiaogang, China World Premiere

A café proprietor spends a decade petitioning the Chinese legal system after being swindled by her ex-husband, in this caustically comic contemporary fable. Stars Fan Bingbing.

The Journey Nick Hamm, United Kingdom North American Premiere

A dramatization of the events preceding the historic 2006 St. Andrews Agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland after years of violent strife between Unionist and Republican factions. Stars Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, John Hurt, Toby Stephens and Freddie Highmore.

King of the Dancehall Nick Cannon, USA/Jamaica World Premiere

Nick Cannon directs and stars in this high-energy musical about a young man from Brooklyn who gets caught up in the vibrant Kingston music scene during a visit to Jamaica. Starring Nick Cannon, Whoopi Goldberg, Busta Rhymes, Peter Stormare, Kimberly Patterson, Louis Gossett Jr., Kreesha Turner, Kamani Marley, Collie Budz, Killer Bean, and Beenie Man.

La La Land Damien Chazelle, USA Canadian Premiere

Writer-director Damien Chazelle captures the story of Mia, an aspiring actress, and Sebastian, a dedicated jazz musician, who are struggling to make ends meet in a city known for destroying hopes and breaking hearts. Set in modern day Los Angeles, this original musical about everyday life explores the joy and pain of pursuing your dreams. Starring Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend, and Rosemarie DeWitt.

The Limehouse Golem Juan Carlos Medina, United Kingdom World Premiere

In the notorious Limehouse district of 19th-century London, a series of murders have shaken the city. The crimes are so monstrous that the press claim they’re the work of The Golem — a mythic creature from European legend. With no leads and in a desperate attempt to avoid the mobs wrath, Scotland Yard promote the seemingly inexperienced Detective Kildare to stop the slaughtering. Stars Bill Nighy, Olivia Cooke, Douglas Booth, Daniel Mays, Sam Reid, Maria Valverde, and Eddie Marsan.

Manchester by the Sea Kenneth Lonergan, USA Canadian Premiere

A reclusive handyman must face his painful past when he returns to his Massachusetts hometown after the sudden death of his beloved older brother, in this emotionally overwhelming and critically acclaimed drama from writer-director Kenneth Lonergan. Stars Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Gretchen Mol, and Matthew Broderick.

Mascots Christopher Guest, USA World Premiere

Starring many of his regular troupe of actors, Christopher Guest’s new comedy takes place in the ultra-competitive world of sports mascots where they compete for the most prestigious award in their field, the Gold Fluffy. Cast includes Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Fred Willard, Parker Posey, Bob Balaban, Harry Shearer and Ed Begley Jr.

Maudie Aisling Walsh, Canada/Ireland Canadian Premiere

Maudie tells the true story of Maud Lewis, who overcame the physical challenge of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis to become one of Canada’s premier folk artists. Stars Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke.

Neruda Pablo Larraín, Chile/Argentina/Spain/France Canadian Premiere

Pablo Larraín weaves an engrossing fable around the 1948 manhunt for celebrated poet and politician Pablo Neruda, who goes underground when Chile outlaws communism and is pursued by an ambitious police inspector hoping to make a name for himself by capturing the famous fugitive. Starring Gael García Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Luis Gnecco, Mercedes Morán, Diego Muñoz, Pablo Derqui, and Michael Silva.

Nocturnal Animals Tom Ford, USA/United Kingdom North American Premiere

The second feature from writer-director Tom Ford follows the story of a woman who is forced to confront the demons of her past, as she is drawn into the world of a thriller novel written by her ex-husband. This romantic thriller of shocking intimacy and gripping tension explores the thin lines between love and cruelty, and revenge and redemption. Stars Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Karl Glusman, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough, and Michael Sheen.

The Oath Baltasar Kormákur, Iceland World Premiere

Icelandic action ace Baltasar Kormákur directs and stars in this psychological thriller about a father who tries to pull his daughter out of her world of drugs and petty crime, only to find that danger can be found in unexpected places. Also stars Gísli Örn Garðarsson and Hera Hilmar.

Orphan (Orpheline) Arnaud des Pallières, France World Premiere

Four moments in the lives of four female characters. Sandra’s youth as she moves to Paris and has a brush with disaster. Karine’s teenage years, an endless succession of runaways, men and mishaps, because anything is better than her desolate family home. The childhood of a little girl called Kiki, captured as a game of hide and seek turns to tragedy. And finally the grown-up life of Renée, a woman who thought she was safe from her own past. Gradually, we come to understand that these four characters are actually different sides of the same woman. Starring Adèle Haenel, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Gemma Arterton and Sergi López.

Paris Can Wait Eleanor Coppola, USA World Premiere

An American woman in a tired marriage finds herself on an unforeseen road trip from Cannes to Paris with a dashing Frenchman. What should be a seven-hour drive unexpectedly takes two days with many diversions: picturesque sites, fine food and wine, humour, fun, wisdom — and romance. Starring Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard and Alec Baldwin.

Paterson Jim Jarmusch, USA North American Premiere

Paterson is a bus driver in the city of Paterson, New Jersey. He adheres to a simple routine, writing poetry and observing the city on his route. His wife, Laura, lives in an ever-changing world. He supports her newfound ambitions; she champions his secret gift for poetry. The film channels the history and energy of the City of Paterson. The quiet triumphs and defeats of daily life are observed over one week, along with the poetry evident in its smallest details. Stars Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani.

The Salesman (Forushande) Asghar Farhadi, Iran/France North American Premiere

A sudden eruption of violence creates an atmosphere of simmering tension between a husband and wife, in this work of slow-burning domestic suspense from Iranian director Asghar Farhadi. Featuring Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidousti.

Salt and Fire Werner Herzog, Germany/USA/France/Mexico North American Premiere

Shot in Bolivia, writer-director Werner Herzog’s Salt and Fire follows a mysterious hostage-taking where the leader of a small scientific delegation is deliberately stranded with two blind boys in an area of gigantic salt flats. Starring Michael Shannon, Gael García Bernal and Veronica Ferres.

Sing Garth Jennings, USA/France World Premiere

A show-biz impresario who happens to be a koala attracts a menagerie of musical hopefuls when he holds a singing contest to try and save his theatre. Written and directed by Garth Jennings, this animated musical comedy features more than 85 hit songs. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, and Tori Kelly.

Souvenir Bavo Defurne, Belgium/Luxembourg/France North American Premiere

Liliane was once “Laura”, a rising star in the singing world, who had her moment of glory when she finished second behind Abba in the 1974 European Song Contest. Now working in a meat factory, Liliane’s brush with fame has been all but forgotten. But when she meets Jean, a 21-year-old boxer, her dreary life is suddenly turned upside down. With Isabelle Huppert, Kévin Azaïs, and Johan Leysen.

Things to Come (L'Avenir) Mia Hansen-Løve, France/Germany Canadian Premiere

A delicate and affecting tale about a middle-aged professor whose carefully structured life is thrown into disarray when her husband leaves her for another woman, and who finds an unlikely new companion in a former student and radical young communist. With Isabelle Huppert, André Marcon, Roman Kolinka, Edith Scob, Sarah Le Picard, and Solal Forte.

Toni Erdmann Maren Ade, Germany Canadian Premiere

An alternately hilarious and mortifying comedy about the fraught relationship between a repressed corporate consultant and her incessantly prank-playing dad. Starring Peter Simonischek, Sandra Hüller, Michael Wittenborn, Thomas Loibl, Trystan Pütter, Hadewych Minis, Lucy Russell, Ingrid Bisu, Vlad Ivanov, and Victoria Cocias.

Trespass Against Us Adam Smith, United Kingdom World Premiere

Three generations of the Cutler family live as notorious outlaws among some of the wealthiest lands in Britain. They spend their time hunting, raiding large estates, and tormenting the police. In the midst of it all, Chad finds himself torn between respect for his father and a desire for a better life for his children. The law is cracking down on his clan, and the decision might not be his to make. Stars Michael Fassbender, Brendan Gleeson, Lyndsey Marshal, Killian Scott, Rory Kinnear, and Sean Harris.

Una Benedict Andrews, United Kingdom Canadian Premiere

When a young woman unexpectedly arrives at an older man's workplace looking for answers, the secrets of the past threaten to unravel his new life. Their confrontation will uncover buried memories and unspeakable desires shaking them both to the core. Starring Rooney Mara, Ben Mendelsohn, and Riz Ahmed.

Unless Alan Gilsenan, Canada/Ireland World Premiere

Reta Winters has many reasons to be happy, but all the quiet satisfactions of her well-lived life suddenly disappear when her eldest daughter Norah inexplicably drops out of college and is found on a Toronto street corner, panhandling and refusing to speak. An adaptation of the final novel by the late, great Canadian novelist Carol Shields. Starring Catherine Keener, Matt Craven, Hannah Gross, Martha Henry, and Hanna Schygulla.

The Wasted Times (Luo Man Di Ke Xiao Wang Shi) Cheng Er, China World Premiere

Love, hatred, and betrayal abound in Shanghai during the chaotic, war-torn 1930s. Mr. Lu is ambushed during an important meeting with the Japanese army, but his sister’s husband, Watabe, sacrifices himself to save Mr. Lu. Worse still, the Japanese brutally murder Mr. Lu’s children and sister. To avenge their deaths, Mr. Lu’s mistress attempts to kill the culprit but ends up dead. Years later as the Sino-Japanese war comes to a close, Mr. Lu visits Mrs. Wang, the abandoned wife of his former boss who reveals an astonishing truth about the tragedy. Cast includes Zhang Ziyi, Ge You, and Tadanobu Asano.

Festival ticket packages available online 24 hours a day at tiff.net/festival, by phone from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET daily at 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433, or visit the Gupta Box Office in person from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET daily at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West, until August 14 for My Choice packages and August 24 for TIFF Choice packages, while quantities last.

Toronto International Film Festival 2016 Announces First Wave of Films

2016-07-26T07:40:00.000-07:00

#TIFF16 Opening Night Film: Antoine Fuqua’s THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, starring Denzel Washington & @prattprattpratt

Kim Jee-woon’s THE AGE OF SHADOWS, starring Song Kang-Ho and Gong Yoo

Marc Forster’s ALL I SEE IS YOU, starring @blakelively, @Y_Strahovski and Jason Clarke

Andrea Arnold’s AMERICAN HONEY, starring Shia LaBeouf and Sasha Lane

Ewan McGregor’s AMERICAN PASTORAL, starring Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning and @McGregor_Ewan

Vikram Gandhi’s BARRY, starring Devon Terrell, @anyataylorjoy and Ellar Coltrane

Nate Parker’s THE BIRTH OF A NATION, starring @itsgabrielleu, Armie Hammer and @NateParker

Ben Younger’s BLEED FOR THIS, starring @Miles_Teller, @KateySagal and Aaron Eckhart

Onur Tukel’s CATFIGHT, starring @IamSandraOh, @AnneHeche, and @AliciaSilv

Paul Verhoeven’s ELLE, starring Isabelle Huppert

Park Chan-wook’s THE HANDMAIDEN starring Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, and Ha Jung-woo

KING OF THE DANCEHALL, starring @NickCannon, @WhoopiGoldberg and @BustaRhymes

Damien Chazelle's LA LA LAND, starring @RyanGosling, Emma Stone and J.K. Simmons

Kenneth Lonergan’s MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams and Kyle Chandler

Tom Ford’s NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, starring Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Eleanor Coppola’s PARIS CAN WAIT, starring Diane Lane, @AlecBaldwin, and Arnaud Viard

Jim Jarmusch’s PATERSON, starring Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani

Werner Herzog’s SALT AND FIRE, starring Michael Shannon, @GaelGarciaB and @VeronicaFerres

Mia Hansen-Løve’s L’AVENIR (THINGS TO COME), starring Isabelle Huppert

Maren Ade’s TONI ERDMANN, starring Peter Simonischek and Sandra Hüller

Denis Villeneuve’s ARRIVAL, starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner

Peter Berg’s DEEPWATER HORIZON, starring @mark_wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich and @dylanobrien

Rob Reiner’s LBJ, starring Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Bill Pullman

Jeff Nichols’ LOVING starring @joeledgerton1, Ruth Negga, @nickkroll and Michael Shannon

Mira Nair’s QUEEN OF KATWE, starring David Oyelowo, @Lupita_Nyongo & Madina Nalwanga

@TheOliverStone’s #SNOWDEN, starring @hitRECordJoe, @shailenewoodley & @ZacharyQuinto

Lone Scherfig’s THEIR FINEST, starring @GemmaArterton, @samclaflin and Bill Nighy

@AmmaAsante’s A UNITED KINGDOM, starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike

#TIFF16 Closing Night Film: Kelly Fremon Craig’s THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN, starring @HaileeSteinfeld

Absolutely Fabulous - Finally! Movie Release July 22nd

2016-07-25T16:06:00.003-07:00

**IT’S AB FAB AT THE MOVIES!**

If you don’t like Absolutely Fabulous, we can’t be BFFs. We speak different languages, sweetie. If you do, I have great news. The girls are back. Absolutely Fabulous: the Movie is unleashed; its twenty years on and thankfully, little has changed. It still has that je ne sais quoi for the ages.

Jennifer Saunders’ ‘90’s TV sitcom was landmark television never equalled, for women at least, as a fond look at friendship, the search for fake meaning and the next bottle of Bolly. Eddie and Pats (Saunders and Joanna Lumley) two slightly older pals since school go on surreal, hilarious adventures in what is one of the best loved – and quotable- comedy series of all time.

The gals navigate London’s fashion and arts scene as ersatz publicists and magazine editors, living off Eddie’s multiple divorce settlements. They are more entitled than a millennial, they’re shamelessly addicted to drugs and drink, often unable to walk and certainly unable to exit a car gracefully. The familiarity is heartwarming. A happy place.

Everyone’s back – Saffie, Eddie’s uptight, controlling daughter, Bubbles the dumb-as-a-fox personal assistant and dotty Mother. Oodles of British celebrity cameos and a Yank or two – watch for the rolling out of John Hamm.

Things are looking rosy, Eddie is this close to signing Kate Moss but unfortunately, she knocks her into the Thames. To avoid murder charges, Eddie and Pats make haste to the south of France and…

Keep your eyes and ears open because the visual gags are genius and come as fast and furious as the Eddie’s verbal meltdowns. Blink and you’ll miss something ab fab, like Patsy’s catheter!

STAR TREK BEYOND

Star Trek Beyond the third offering in the rebooted series, and extension of one of the most successful, longest-running franchises in entertainment history stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana and as the villain Idris Elba who hails from the furthest reaches of the universe. You see? Moving to the moon or space won’t necessarily solve our problems as a society. Villains are everywhere. Catch the most eye popping visuals state of the art can provide, this week anyway, the handsome leads and a story that adheres to the Star Trek trademark. Playful interactions, snappy dialogue and a gob-smacking drone attack are yours for the price of a ticket.

ICE AGE COLLISION COURSE

Ice Age Collision Course may be for kids, but adults who saw Gravity and The Martian will get a kick out of this not-so subtle parody. Skrat that acorn-mad rodent of some kind who literally chases a nut to the ends of the earth in the original short stars in this space age iteration along with his buddies, mastodon, sabre tooth tiger, meerkat and mammoth. His concern is not nuts this time; it’s saving the earth from an oncoming hail of meteorites that would destroy it. Funny and let’s face it, adorable. Listen for Neil deGrasse Tyson as Neil deBuck Weasel.

LIGHTS OUT

If horror is your meat then Lights Out is for you. Theresa Palmer plays a woman whose childhood night terrors left her emotionally and psychically scarred must return home to help her young brother. He’s suffering the same torments, terror attacks by an unknown entity that exists somewhere in the house. The disturbances may be related to the grisly murder of her mother’s friend decades earlier. Sturdy stuff produced by boundary-busting, nuanced horror whiz kid James Wan. Not as horrific as the Republican National Convention because that was real.

LIFE ANIMATED

Life, Animated is an emotional documentary concerning the growth and development of a young adult with autism. His parents realised when he was a toddler that he didn’t respond to people, just to Disney movies and over time, they became his portal to interpreting the world. His parents had been told he might never speak or make eye contact or connect with others, but today he lives independently and teaches courses in Disney to other young people. It’s an astonishing and rewarding film that reminds us that there’s nothing more fascinating than people.

THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS: YO-YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE

The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble is a revelation. Some of the world’s greatest musicians, led by YoY o Ma, have undertaken an annual bus trip to bring music to parks, homes and small spaces just for the love of it. It’s interesting to see people watching them play out in the open when they have no idea who they are or the concentration of world class talent they’re seeing. All they know is it sounds great, lifts their spirits and inspires thought. Ma leads musicians from China, Iran, Spain, Greece, as they experiment “in the wild”, describe their philosophies of life and share their musical gifts. Absolutely de riguer for music lovers.

Rebecca Miller on Maggie's Plan, An Insemination Comedy

2016-07-25T16:03:00.002-07:00

Maggie’s Plan, a delightfully funny, sweet, yet cutting edge romantic comedy has a split personality. Maggie, played by Greta Gerwig, is a New Yorker in search of a sperm donor. She is a tad naïve but she’s navigating the big city, up against formidable characters on a deeply felt mission. This is Rebecca Miller’s latest film. The former actress – and daughter of Arthur Miller and wife of Daniel Day-Lewis – wrote and directed the screenplay based on Karen Rinaldi’s original story. She cast Julianne Moore and Ethan Hawke as strong willed academics, just two of the strong characters in Maggie’s that figure in her life. Miller spoke with us about exploring this woman/child and making an entertaining, funny and deeply felt film.

The movie is so intimate, I felt really connected to the outcome – would she find a baby daddy or wouldn’t she? You don’t often come across a screwball insemination comedy but Maggie’s Plan is also a provocative character study.

It was a lot of fun. It was simple and complicated at the same time. I think the movie is really everything. Even as absurd as the premise is, it’s also strangely plausible. Somewhere in the world it’s happening. The academics as much as I’ve embellished are like that and I made a rather funny world out of it. It’s also real. I haven’t made anything up. It’s like the Cary Grant character in Bringing Up Baby.

You seem to see many sides of a given situation and have a good understanding of human nature.

I’m a fair judge of character and I have good instincts. Sometimes I can penetrate into people’s character pretty well. What’s great is that there are many facets in a single character that often don’t match, and there may be pieces of somebody that are contradictory. It makes them interesting.

Did the film vary from the book in any significant ways?

A bit, on the emotional geometry that Karen Rinaldi created. She had the principal characters and Lily but she didn’t have the Pickle Man or the friends. She had the basic twist in the in the story and the characters themselves but I did alter Maggie the most. Some stuff was left out, but not a lot. I used her premise and main characters but I had freedom.

Greta Gerwig’s character is a gentle soul who has a cheery, optimistic outlook that not a lot of actresses could pull off today.

She’s both kind of old fashioned and reminds of Carole Lombard or Irene Dunne, but she’s also a futurist, a woman of the future in her liberated ways of looking at things. Mostly she’s old-fashioned.

Julianne Moore’s Hungarian novelist is outrageous, so formal and clipped and fierce. How did you collaborate with her?

I built the script up once she was cast around her so it hugged her tight, there were no leaking bits. We talked a lot about her hairdo, should it be curly or in a bun. Everything has meaning. Her clothing was by Malgosia Turzanska, a wonderfully creative Polish designer and she made these ideas for Julianne. I wanted her to be a Viking goddess and still have her believable as a person in contemporary life. She tried to bring her character stuff from the outside and inside but finally when you write a part this difficult to pull off you need a great comedic actress, luckily she had the chops.

Ethan Hawke’s character is entitled and selfish and pretends not to be, that’s the worst. Why do the women in his life give him such leeway?

I think he is complicated and he acts differently depending on who he’s with. He can be a caretaker and very selfish. One of the things is that it’s talking about is that we are different with different people, depending who you’re with or who you're having a relationship with. You can be one way with one person and another way with someone else.

The weird thing is that he was able to play the character through the lenses of the women who are looking at him. He’s an appealing and attractive bad boy, this professor of anthropology and then once they’re married, he’s this schlub. But when he’s in the snow with his wife and you see his eyes. He gives a masterful, subtle performance from inside. And again everyone is different depending on who they’re with and there is a nice difference. Just have to know who you’re married to.

You’ve written so much – books, poetry and screenplays. You must be extremely disciplined to have produced so much material in so many mediums.

I am disciplined, I do the work. I am definitely a worker. I have a family and spend a huge amount of time with them but I have a strong work ethic. I just keep going. When you do that you’re less worried about what people think because the work is the most important thing. You just keep doing it.

What’s your writing routine?

Normally when I’m really working, I wake up in the morning, have breakfast and sit down and start writing in my office in the house, really a studio, and then I work until lunch and take a break. I try to work until my kids come from school now they’re getting older and the youngest one is going into high school, so life is a little less kid heavy. It’s a little different now but I used to be dominated by that schedule and I’ve gotten used to getting a lot done in the morning. I work where and when I can. Recently I’ve been promoting this film and caring for it and I have been writing but it’s not concentrated.

Did your father work that way?

My father was more dominated by it in the morning. But sometimes there is a moment when you can’t stop writing; you’re in the flow and closer to the end. That’s when I feel like I have to keep going, these are the patterns you get into.

Are you working on a new book or film now?

I’m working on a screenplay and I’m halfway done. Maggie’s Plan opened and I have so much energy in my system!

Tempest Storm's Tempestuous Life, as Told in New Documentary

2016-07-25T15:58:00.003-07:00

WIN Tickets to the Toronto TemTempest Storm | Interview with Anne Brodie

Jun 17, 2016whatshesaid167Entertainment, Latest Updates, What She SaidComments Off9

Nimisha Mukerji’s moving and gorgeous documentary Tempest Storm tells the life story of the statuesque redhead who moved from tiny town Louisiana to the stages of the world. Storm was as one of the most successful burlesque stars of the Golden Age of stripping, the forties through the seventies. Now 87, Storm continues to work hard and stay beautiful. Storm won the hearts of J.F.K., Elvis and Sinatra, and is an icon to aspiring performers and a legion of fans wowed by her elegant tease. And she is also a reminder of a long gone time when life was a little more innocent. We were extremely fortunate to be able to speak with the dainty and petite and still beautiful Miss Storm in Toronto.

Now, you’re the subject of this amazing documentary and I think it’s great to have dedicated your life to beauty and pleasure.

Yes. I strived for that from day one, to stay beautiful and not doing anything to jeopardize your beauty like drinking and drugs and smoking and all that. I never did that. I was around all that, but never. They used to kid me, “Oh come on Tempest, have a drink.” I said, “I don’t need that. I get high off of life.”

Your life has been colourful. You’ve risen to the heights of fame. You’ve had affairs with famous and powerful men. And you’ve also had dark times, but my impression is that you went through all of it with grace.

I always did it with class, and everybody is thinking about these powerful men that I was with, it was only about sex. No, it was about their greatness and being involved with these great people. I learned. I could always learn something and I never stopped. From day one, I’m going to be a star. That was my drive. I wanted to be a big star. I wanted to be like those people up on the screen that I used to think when they were backstage when I would see the movie when I was growing up.

What was it that triggered you to want fame and to actually set out to get it?

I just had the dream of being a movie star, from the time I could remember. I’m from a country town in Georgia, quit school when I was in 7th grade. I regret that I didn’t get an education. That’s about the only thing I can say that I regretted. Everything that I did, I feel that I did with class.

You worked so hard and spent so much time on the road. But did you have friends on the circuit?

Well, per se I would say I didn’t have many friends because I was concentrating on my career, getting to the top and just staying there. I remember the girls that I started with, they couldn’t wait until the last show so that we’d go out and drink and be out the rest of the night. I never did that. I concentrated on myself and my career and being a star, and being a class one.

And a professional in any career these days can’t do that.

No, they cannot. I’m trying to give advice to not only these young burlesque performers, but all of these young girls out there that are doing so many things that are wrong to jeopardize their health, their drinking and all. I live in Las Vegas and there’s so much murder there, killing their people up there. It’s unbelievable.

Among your lovers were John F. Kennedy and Elvis, and also, there was Frank Sinatra. What was he like?

Yeah. Frank Sinatra was a very good friend of mine. He was very nice. I used to catch his show. We did play Caesar’s Palace in Vegas and he’d always introduce me. He’d introduce the celebrities in the audience and then he saved me for last. He said, “Now, I’d like to introduce a beautiful lady that taught me how to dress.” And then he said, “You thought I was going to say, help me undress.” And the audience just absolutely get up there. It was so funny. I mean all these people have been so dear to me and respectful. Movie stars, I met Rita Hayworth and all these people and a lot of people thought we looked alike, Rita and I. When I met her at a function at Caesar’s many years ago, when they introduced me to her, I had my hair on the side like she was and she was sitting down and she looked up at me. Her mouth was open, “Nice to meet you,” she’s still staring at me. And everybody said, “I thought you two were sisters.”

How did you learn movement?

Lillian Hunt. When I went to apply for a job at the Follies Theater in Los Angeles, I made an appointment through a friend of mine, I was a cocktail waitress at that time and he used to own a clothing store, men’s clothing store across the street from the theater and used to come in for cocktails. And he said, “You should be a dancer.” “What kind? What are you talking about?” He said, “Striptease.” I said, “What is that?” He says, “Burlesque.” I said, “What is that?” He says, “Taking your clothes off.” I said, “Not me.” So he said, “Well, I’ll make an appointment with Lillian Hunt. She’s getting rid of all the professional dancers, striptease artists and hiring all young girls.” So I didn’t show up for the first one, but he says next time, “Go talk to her.”

So I went and talked to her and I walk in she says — her name was Lillian Hunt, she says, “Take off your clothes.” I said, “What do you mean take off my clothes?” “I want to see if you have any scars.” I said, “Trust me, I don’t have any scars.” Next I said, “Do you think my bust is too big for my business?” She said, “Honey, they can’t be too big in this business.” That’s how naïve I was. I think I was 18.

You spoke out in the film about a sexual assault against you when you were 14 and you’re now raising awareness about women’s safety.

This episode was they just grabbed me off of the street. I was walking down the street with an ice cream cone and they grabbed me in the car, about five guys, just grabbed me and took me up in the hills and raped me one by one. And then one night I woke up, my stepfather was on top of me and I had sense enough, there must be a way out of this. And I’ve been so uneducated, 7th grade I quit, but I had sense enough to know that it had to be a better life. And these young girls in all different walks of life, they don’t think that way. All they can think about is going get drunk, going out with strange men they don’t even know.

Young dancers in the film sing your praises. Dita Von Teese and a couple of other girls were emotional, crying on meeting you.

And these young girls in burlesque, they just absolutely idolized me and I’m glad I’m a good inspiration to them. They do that sometimes, I’m autographing my photos after I have a discussion on stage with everybody and they just admire. It’s all the girls that are by my photos, it’s strange. They say “I want to be like you.” I said, “You have to work very hard to do that.”

So tell me just a little bit about your beauty regimen, your daily beauty regimen.

Well, number one I use Estee Lauder which I’ve been using for years. I’ve tried different ones, but I’ve been sticking to that. I cream my face, take cleansing cream and take all my makeup off. I don’t sleep with my makeup on. I use certain creams underneath and all that stuff before you put the moisturizer up and I make sure I take care of my skin.

And you eat well?

I eat well. I don’t eat a lot of sweets. Once in a while. I eat vegetables and non-fattening food. I have to keep my size 2!!

Winners of the Critics Choice Television Awards!

2015-06-01T03:27:00.000-07:00

BROADCAST TELEVISION JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES

THE CRITICS’ CHOICE TELEVISION AWARDS WINNERS

Olive Kitteridge is Most Awarded Program and HBO is the Most Honored Network

May 31, 2015 (Los Angeles, CA) – The Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) tonight announced the winners of the Critics’ Choice Television Awards. Eighteen of the best series in television were honored at the Beverly Hilton Hotel at a star-studded gala awards show, which was broadcast live on A&E.

WINNERS OF THE CRITICS’ CHOICE TELEVISION AWARDS

· Best Drama Series: The Americans (FX)

· Best Actor in a Drama Series: Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul (AMC)

· Best Actress in a Drama Series: Taraji P. Henson, Empire (FOX)

· Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul (AMC)

· Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Lorraine Toussaint, Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)

· Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series: Sam Elliott, Justified (FX)

· Best Comedy Series: Silicon Valley (HBO)

· Best Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent (Amazon)

· Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central)

· Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: T.J. Miller, Silicon Valley (HBO)

· Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Allison Janney, Mom (CBS)

· Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series: Bradley Whitford, Transparent (Amazon)

· Best Movie Made for Television: Bessie (HBO)

· Best Limited Series: Olive Kitteridge (HBO)

· Best Actor in a Movie or Limited Series: David Oyelowo, Nightingale (HBO)

· Best Actress in a Movie or Limited Series: Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge (HBO)

· Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Limited Series: Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge (HBO)

· Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Limited Series: Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Freak Show (FX)

· Best Reality Series: Shark Tank (ABC)

· Best Reality Competition Series: Face Off (Syfy)

· Best Reality Series Host: Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)

· Best Talk Show: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)

· Best Animated Series: Archer (FX)

· Critics’ Choice LOUIS XIII Genius Award: Seth MacFarlane

· Most Exciting New Series: American Crime Story (FX), Aquarius (NBC), Blindspot (NBC), Minority Report (FOX), The Muppets (ABC), Scream Queens (FOX), Supergirl (CBS) and UnREAL (Lifetime)

Awards Tally by Networks, Channels & Distributors*

HBO – 7

FX – 4

Amazon - 2

AMC – 2

Comedy Central – 2

FOX – 2

ABC – 1

CBS – 1

Netflix - 1

Syfy - 1

Awards Tally by Show

Olive Kitteridge – HBO – 3

Better Call Saul – AMC – 2

Silicon Valley – HBO – 2

Transparent – Amazon - 2

The Americans – FX – 1

American Horror Story: Freak Show – FX – 1

Archer – FX – 1

Bessie – HBO – 1

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – Comedy Central - 1

Empire – FOX – 1

Face Off – Syfy – 1

Inside Amy Schumer – Comedy Central – 1

Justified – FX – 1

Mom – CBS – 1

Nightingale – HBO – 1

Orange Is the New Black - Netflix – 1

Shark Tank – ABC – 1

So You Think You Can Dance – FOX – 1

So Proud of Canada's Filmmakers - Top Ten List 2015 via TIFF

2015-04-23T07:17:00.003-07:00

TIFF ANNOUNCES FOURTH EDITION OF CANADA’S ALL-TIME TOP TEN LIST OF CANADIAN FILMS
TORONTO – TIFF today announces the results of its fourth Canada’s All-Time Top Ten List, an international poll of industry and academics‎ on the most memorable Canadian films. This is the fourth edition of TIFF’s All-Time Top Ten List; previous lists were released in 1984, 1993 and 2004.

“In our 40th year we are celebrating our national cinema by revisiting the list of top Canadian films, with help from our esteemed colleagues in the industry and academia,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO, TIFF. “It is encouraging to see new filmmakers and films establishing themselves on the list alongside the classics.”

“With more than a decade since our last survey, much has changed in Canadian cinema, and in the results of the survey,” said Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer, TIFF. “Atanarjuat has dethroned the long-standing No. 1 film, Mon once Antoine, and we welcome filmmakers including Guy Maddin, Jean-Claude Lauzon, Sarah Polley and Jean-Marc Vallée to the list for the first time. It’s an exciting group of films indicative of our rich cinematic tradition.”

Canada’s All-Time Top Ten List of Canadian films:

1. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, Zacharias Kunuk (2001)
2. Mon oncle Antoine, Claude Jutra (1971)
3. The Sweet Hereafter, Atom Egoyan (1997)
4. Jésus de Montréal, Denys Arcand (1989)
5. Léolo, Jean-Claude Lauzon (1992)
6. Goin’ Down the Road, Don Shebib (1970)
7. Dead Ringers, David Cronenberg (1988)
8. C.R.A.Z.Y., Jean-Marc Vallée (2005)
9. My Winnipeg, Guy Maddin (2007)
10. Stories We Tell, Sarah Polley (2012)/Les Ordres, Michel Brault (1974)

“The Directors Guild of Canada takes pride in shining the spotlight on our national cinema at every opportunity,” said Tim Southam, National President, DGC. “The filmmakers featured here have contributed much to our country’s cultural voice and history. It is inspiring to be able to experience them again with a new generation of viewers.”

The films on the All-Time Top Ten List will be screened free of charge at TIFF Bell Lightbox in July and August. Screening times and more details will be announced May 20.

The upcoming issue of Montage magazine, published by the DGC, is available April 24, and includes individual participants’ votes alongside essays on each of the selected films.

Katie Boland Stars in Given Your History as Part of WIFT-T's 2015 Short Film Festival

2015-03-30T14:20:00.002-07:00

Katie Boland on WIFT-T and Given Your History

2015 Women in Film and Television (WIFT-T) Showcase*
April 1 Royal Cinema, Toronto 7:30 p.m.

The 2015 WIFT-T showcase offers eight short film gems directed by members that will move and entertain and give pause. The 6^th annual showcase is one night only, a rare opportunity to view rarities that made an impact in the last year, featuring talented female directors and rich performances. Among the films is Molly McGlynn’s Given Your History, starring Katie Boland. Canada’s bright star plays a young woman trying to process her mother’s death from cancer while redefining her suddenly shifting relationship with her sister. Boland’s devastating performance, over just 15 minutes makes a lasting impression. We spoke with Boland about her film and the importance of WIFT-T.

WIFT has put together a women’s film festival. How great to be invited to be part of it. What can we expect to see?

I think a lot of great films by talented female film makers and a lot of films with powerful female narratives and characters, like the one I am in directed by my great friend Molly McGlynn and that also stars Rachel Wilson called "Given Your History." I think WIFT is an incredible and important organization, and I'm proud to be a part of the festival this year.

Given Your History is powerful and you are under tremendous emotional stress through most of it. Looking back was it an arduous shoot?

Not really. Molly, Rachel and I are great friends so it was actually fun. Getting to see Molly direct such a personal story with such aplomb was very moving. I was and am so proud of her. The hard part was that I was also shooting Reign at the same time and I wrapped one night there at around 3 am and then had to shoot Given Your History at 6 am the next day, but I felt the exhaustion worked for the character. Also, at that time in my life, I knew I was losing someone I really loved and it was the last thing I wanted to happen, so the overwhelming sadness was very easy to access for me. I think art often imitates life and at that point, I definitely radiated grief which really worked for the character.

You character’s relationship with her sister is awkward and in flux in light of their mother’s death. Your sister’s trying to replace your mother and you reject her. What’s going on?

I think they are trying to figure out their relationship in the wake of their mother's death. Death is very complicated, especially when one person was the deceased's caretaker, which my character was. I think my character feels a lot of resentment and I think Rachel's character is in a lot of denial. My father has always said that death tells you everything you need to know about a family. Loss exposes all the cracks, and you're seeing a fractured family that is cracking and trying to rebuild in this film.

You created some interesting moments, like drawing a choked breath after dialing the phone; we know you don’t want to make that call. That’s a great touch.

Thank you, Anne! To do that, I imagined calling someone I really wanted to speak to but who I thought wouldn't want to hear from me. Also, Molly is a great director and really helped and had amazing performance ideas, so this performance was definitely a collaboration.

It seems it’s easy for you to express emotion. Is that technique, instinct or a combination?

It's all instinct and I generally rely on instinct only. I don't know if that's good or bad but it is really easy for me to express emotion in my work. In my life I am usually trying to seem less emotional than I feel. For this movie in particular, the emotion felt so present during shooting because I was just entering a stage of real grief in my own life and I felt so much for Molly. The emotion was just on top of me the whole time.

You’re so appealing and cute. Do you think your looks effect how you’re cast in important ways?

That's very nice to say! Yes, definitely looks have a lot to do with what parts you get or don't get. I am actually told I am not "typically" pretty enough a lot of times and I think I lose a lot of roles because of that. Honestly, think every actress in the world has been told negative things about their looks, so I try not to let it affect me. Unfortunately, acting is a profession where your looks play a big role in what parts you get but it's bullshit and you have to treat it as such. You aren't pretty enough until one person thinks you are lights you the right way and then suddenly, the whole world thinks you're beautiful. I think I look a little rough in this movie but I am proud of that because I think it works for the character. At the end of the day, I'm a vessel, not a model.

WIFT-T Short Film Festival Lineup:

Arranged, directed by Renuka Jeyapalan

Still, directed by Slater Jewell-Kemker

Lines and Shooting Blanks, directed by Amy Jo Johnson

Entrain, directed by Elaine Poon and Adrien Benson

Firecrackers directed by Jasmin Mozaffari

Nayan and the Evil Eye, directed by Shaleen Sangha

Given Your History with Katie Boland, directed by Molly McGlynn

For more information go to WIFT-T Showcase, 2015

Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees - The Critics Have Their Say on Hollywood Suite

2015-02-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

Hollywood Suite aired the Film Independent Spirit Awards in Canada last night, the night before the Oscars. Critics offered me their views on the nominees, no holds barred. Which is perfectly timely as results will be almost identical tonight at the Academy Awards!

John Lithgow is "the best actor of his generation" ‪#‎SpiritAwards‬ Best Pic nom ‪#‎LoveIsStrange‬ https://vimeo.com/120173864

Anne Brodie and Norm Wilner on LOVE IS STRANGE

vimeo.com|By HollywoodSuite

Anne Brodie and Radheyan Simonpillai on INHERENT VICE "They did it for the love of the movie": https://vimeo.com/120173863 ‪#‎SpiritAwards‬ Wins the Robert Altman Award.

vimeo.com|By HollywoodSuite

Anne Brodie and Peter Howell talk BOYHOOD

Was BOYHOOD a gimmick, or was there something more? Film critic Anne Brodie sits down with critic Peter Howell to discuss. It's up for Best Feature.

vimeo.com|By HollywoodSuite

Did you think Whiplash was a glamorization of aggression, or a powerful character study? Film critic Anne Brodie sits down with critic Anthony Marcusa.

vimeo.com|By HollywoodSuite

Were you moved by #Birdman, or did it lack meaning? @annebrodie & Adam Nayman @brofromanother discuss: https://vimeo.com/120062801 #SpiritAwards

2:47 PM - 19 Feb 2015

vimeo.com|By HollywoodSuite

Hear Johanna Schnellner explain to Anne Brodie why the making of SELMA was fate. It’s nominated for Best Feature at the Film Independent ‪#‎SpiritAwards‬, exclusively in Canada on Hollywood Suite: hollywoodsuite.ca/spiritawards
Miss the action? Join us for one of our special encore presentations:
February 26 at 4pm ET on MGM Channel...
February 26 at 8:55pm ET on MGM Channel
February 27 at 2:35am ET on MGM Channel
February 28 at 12:45pm ET on MGM Channel
March 1 at 7:15pm ET on WarnerFilms Channel

Follow Anne Brodie on Twitter: twitter.com/annebrodie
Follow Johanna Schellner on Twitter: twitter.com/JoSchneller

Anne Brodie celebrates MOMMY: a fantastic Canadian film by Xavier Dolan, nominated for Best International Film at this year's Film Independent Spirit Awards!

TIFF’s Feast of Film, Retrospectives Running March through June at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Toronto CANADA

2015-02-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

BOOKS ON FILM, SEASON 5
MARCH 2 TO JUNE 22

The Books on Film series marries books and films as a starting point for conversation and comparison, hosted by the CBC’s Eleanor Wachtel. Filmmakers, authors and experts look at film adaptations of books and their successes and failures. Six film-and chat events take place on select Mondays from March 2 to June 22.

James Shapiro on Coriolanus
Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro examines Ralph Fiennes' modern-day adaptation of Coriolanus on the ages old challenge of bringing the Bard to the big screen. Coriolanus, dir. Ralph Fiennes | UK | 2010 Ralph Fiennes directs and takes the title role in this adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy about an exiled Roman general who allies with his sworn enemy (Gerard Butler) to take revenge on the city that spurned him.
Monday March 2, 7 p.m.

Kazuo Ishiguro on The Remains of the Day
The acclaimed author discusses James Ivory's adaptation of his Man Booker Prize-winning novel, which was listed as one of the "1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read" by The Guardian. The Remains of the Day dir. James Ivory | UK/USA | 1993 An emotionally distant butler (Anthony Hopkins) and an outspoken housekeeper (Emma Thompson) find their growing love stifled by the constrictions of class, hierarchy and corrupt tradition. Monday, March 16, 7 p.m.

Lynn Barber on An Education
English journalist Lynn Barber discusses the Academy Award-nominated adaptation of her memoir about her teenage love affair with a dashing con man. An Education dir. Lone Scherfig | UK | 2009 Novelist Nick Hornby scripted this Academy Award-nominated adaptation of Lynn Barber’s memoir about a London schoolgirl (Carey Mulligan) who falls for a dashing con man (Peter Skarsgård). Monday, April 13, 7 p.m.

Allan Scott on Don't Look Now
Screenwriter and producer Allan Scott reflects on the process of adapting Daphne du Maurier's short story into the classic 1973 chiller. Don't Look Now dir. Nicolas Roeg | UK | 1973 A married couple (Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie) is haunted by a series of mysterious occurrences after the death of their young daughter, directed by Nicholas Roeg. Monday, May 11, 7 p.m.

Irvine Welsh on Trainspotting
Irvine Welsh, chronicler of the seamier side of Scottish life, revisits Danny Boyle's smash-hit film version of his searing debut novel. Trainspotting dir. Danny Boyle | UK | 1996 A motley crew of Edinburgh junkies — played by future stars Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Macdonald and Ewen Bremner — come together, fall apart, get clean and get hooked again, in Danny Boyle's wild spin on Irvine Welsh's notorious novel. Monday, June 1, 7 p.m.

Phillip Lopate on The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Essayist, poet, novelist and film critic Phillip Lopate considers the classic 1969 adaptation of Muriel Spark's world-famous novel. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie dir. Ronald Neame | UK/USA | 1969 Maggie Smith won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in this classic adaptation of the Muriel Spark novel. Monday, June 22, 7 p.m.

I FOR IRAN: A HISTORY OF IRANIAN CINEMA BY ITS CREATORS
MARCH 5 TO APRIL 4
Iran has one of the world’s most distinguished national cinemas in the world, but due to political and religious censorship at home and poor distribution internationally, the films are hard to come by. Iran’s films are a completely different beast form Hollywood’s offerings, influenced by Italian neorealism and Persian art history they focus on the lives of ordinary people. TIFF offers a rich resource for those who may not have experienced the cinematic art of Iran.
The Image Remains: Iranian Short Films introduced by Roya Akbari
Roya Akbari was born in Tehran and lives in Canada as a visual artist and director of Dancing Mania and Only Image Remains. Akbari's poetic short are offered along with the director's memories of working in Iran. She will interview top Iranian filmmakers on Thursday, March 5 at 6:30pm

The Cow (Gaav)
dir. Dariush Mehrjui | Iran | 1969 The disappearance of his prized cow drives a simple villager to madness, in Dariush Mehrjui's classic of the Iranian New Wave. Friday, March 6 at 6:00pm

Hamid Naficy on Mr. Haji the Movie Actor dir. Ovanes Ohanian | Iran | 1933 Released at the end of the silent period, this movie-mad comedy is one of the earliest surviving Iranian films. Naficy is Professor of Radio-Television-Film and the Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor in Communication at Northwestern University. Saturday, March 7 at 5:00pm

The Night of the Hunchback (Shabe ghuzi)
dir. Farrokh Ghaffari | Iran | 1965 When a hunchbacked actor in a theatrical troupe keels over dead, his fellow players desperately try to dispose of the body, in this blackly comic adaptation of a tale from The Thousand and One Nights.
Sunday, March 8, 3:45pm

Still Life introduced by Hamid Naficy
dir. Sohrab Shahid Saless | Iran | 1974 An elderly railway switchman faces destitution when he is forced into retirement, in this meditative drama that won the Silver Bear at the 1974 Berlin Film Festival. Sunday, March 8 at 6:30pm

The Runner (Davandeh)
dir. Amir Naderi | Iran | 1985 | 94 min. Naderi's semi-autobiographical portrait of a young boy struggling to survive on the streets after losing his family during the Iran-Iraq War was one of the first post-revolutionary Iranian films to garner worldwide acclaim. Friday, March 13 at 6:30pm

Water, Wind, Dust (Aab, baad, khaak)
dir. Amir Naderi | Iran | 1989 A boy's search for his family in a harsh, wind-whipped desert becomes an almost mythic test of human will, in this brutally realistic and uncannily dreamlike stunner. Saturday, March 14 at 3:15pm

A Simple Event (Yek Etefagh sadeh)
dir. Sohrab Shahid Saless | Iran | 1974 Saless’ first feature is a quietly poetic portrait of a young boy struggling to help support his ailing mother. Saturday, March 14 at 6:00pm

Downpour (Ragbar)
dir. Bahram Beyzaie | Iran | 1971 Widely considered one of the greatest Iranian films ever made, Beyzaie's debut feature focuses on an idealistic schoolteacher in a Tehran slum who becomes embroiled in a neighbourhood scandal. Sunday, March 15 at 3:00pm

The Garden of Stones (Baghe sangui)
dir. Parviz Kimiavi | Iran | 1976 Kimiavi blends documentary with absurdist humour and wild fantasy in his tale of a deaf-mute shepherd who creates a bizarre monument after being inspired by a holy vision. Tuesday, March 17 at 6:30pm

The Traveler (Mossafer)
dir. Abbas Kiarostami | Iran | 1974 A young boy goes to any lengths to scrape together the money for a ticket to a big soccer match, in Kiarostami’s neorealist-inspired first feature. Thursday, March 19 at 6:30pm

Where is the Friend's Home? (Khane-ye doust kodjast?)
dir. Abbas Kiarostami | Iran | 1987 | 83 min. | PG | 35mm This deceptively simple story of a schoolboy trying to return his friend's notebook launched Kiarostami's international reputation after winning the Bronze Leopard at the 1989 Locarno Film Festival. Sunday, March 22 at 6:15pm

Close-up introduced by Tina Hassannia
dir. Abbas Kiarostami | Iran | 1990 Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Jean-Luc Godard and Werner Herzog support Kiarostami's films that seek to explore truth, identity and artistic creation.
Hassannia is a Toronto-based film critic, writer and the author of Asghar Farhadi: Life and Cinema, the first English-language book on the Iranian filmmaker. Friday, March 27 at 8:45pm

Hamoun introduced by Amir Soltani
dir. Dariush Mehrjui | Iran | 1990 Dariush Mehrjui's incisive, ironic, and finally dreamlike study of middle-class Iranian life was voted the best Iranian film ever made in a 1997 poll of film critics. Soltani is a Toronto-based film critic. Saturday, March 28 at 3:45pm

A Separation introduced by Tina Hassannia
dir. Asghar Farhadi | Iran | 2011 Asghar Farhadi's elegant melodrama was the first Iranian film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Hassannia is a Toronto-based film critic, writer and the author. Friday, April 3 at 6:00pm

Gabbeh
dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf | Iran | 1996 Mohsen Makhmalbaf's gorgeously shot fable is a signature work of the Iranian Second New Wave. Saturday, April 4 at 6:00pm

MARCH BREAK AT TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX
MARCH 7 TO 22

digiPlaySpace — March 7 to April 19
Kids, families and educators will learn through play with multi-player installations and learning-centric videogames, robotics, mobile apps, hands-on activities and workshops from acclaimed Canadian and international media artists. digiPlaySpace runs until the end of the TIFF Kids International Film Festival April 19. Programming for the TIFF Kids International Film Festival and new installations for digiPlaySpace will be announced on March 4.

Walt Disney Classics — March 14 to 22
From Walt Disney’s most treasured and influential animated classics, TIFF offers The Little Mermaid (1989), Dumbo (1941); The Aristocats (1970); The Sword in the Stone (1963); The Rescuers (1977) and its sequel The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Disney’s first collaboration with Pixar; and Robin Hood (1973), Flight of the Navigator (1986) an extremely rare 70mm screenings of Tron (1982), and The Black Hole (1979).

March Break Camps — March 16 to March 20
TIFF’s Gaming News Nexus. This week-long camp offers kids the chance to produce a short news-style program about all things in the gaming sphere, reviews of games, consoles, and devices, and interviews with gamers and producers. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ages 9 to 12.

Maker/Creator Camp
Participants may experiment with game design, basic robotics, and DIY projects using “maker” technology including Makeymakey and Arduino boards. Campers will also get an in-depth look at digiPlaySpace from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ages 12 to 16.

TIFF’S FOOD ON FILM MARCH 11 TO JUNE 24

Back for a fifth season, TIFF’s Food on Film series brings together chefs, food experts and film lovers to enjoy the best of culinary cinema and conversation. Matt Galloway moderates six food and film events Wednesdays.

March 11
Indian-born chefs, cookbook authors and restaurateurs Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala present the award-winning festival hit The Lunchbox, exploring the art behind crafting Indian dishes. The Lunchbox dir. Ritesh Batra | India/France/Germany 2013 In Mumbai, a mis-delivered lunchbox brings together two very different people — a neglected housewife (Nimrat Kaur) and a grumpy, solitary widower on the verge of retirement (Bollywood star Irrfan Khan) — in this funny and touching comedy-drama.

April 1
James Beard Award-winning travel writer and culinary anthropologist Naomi Duguid discusses the beloved documentary The Gleaners & I, and examines unique approaches to food gathering and agriculture. The Gleaners &I dir. Agnès Varda | France 2000 Varda's witty and intimate portrait of modern-day gleaners — those who scour fields, trash bins and junk heaps for food, curios, and other refuse — was recently voted one of the top 10 documentaries of all time in a Sight & Sound poll.

April 22
Momofuku’s beverage director and Master Sommelier candidate Jordan Salcito presents the documentary Somm, sharing her expertise in wine curation and providing her personal insight into the hallowed halls of the competitive Court of Master Sommeliers. Somm dir. Jason Wise | France/Germany/Italy/USA 2012 This intoxicating documentary delves into one of the world’s most prestigious, exclusive and secretive organizations: the Court of Master Sommeliers, where global wine experts put their reputations on the line to earn the coveted title of Master Sommelier.

May 13
Wylie Dufresne, James Beard Award-winning chef and the leading American proponent of molecular gastronomy, introduces the post-apocalyptic comedy Delicatessen and discusses his playfully artful and boldly experimental approach to cooking. Delicatessen dirs. Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro | France 1991 | 99 min. | 14A
In a post-apocalyptic Paris, a former circus clown discovers the gruesome secret of his landlord's popular butcher shop, in this dazzlingly designed black comedy.

June 3
Chad Robertson, James Beard Award-winning baker and co-owner of San Francisco's legendary Tartine Bakery, presents the intriguing new documentary The Grain Divide on gluten and the health impact of over-processed grain consumption. The Grain Divide dir. JD McLelland | USA 2015 Featuring interviews with the world's top bakers, chefs, researchers and scientists, this new documentary on the history and future of grains takes audiences into the fields, kitchens and labs that are attempting to address the critical issues facing the foundation of food.

June 24
California cuisine pioneer Jonathan Waxman pays tribute to Ivan Reitman (his partner in the Toronto restaurant Montecito) with a screening of the comedy kingpin's classic Meatballs. Meatballs dir. Ivan Reitman | Canada 1979 Ivan Reitman's prototypical summer-camp comedy propelled Bill Murray from Saturday Night Live fame to big-screen stardom.

Tickets are available by phone from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET daily at 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433 or visit the box office in person from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET daily at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West. Also please check www.tiff.net

Hollywood's Tough-Talking Ball of Fire, Barbara Stanwyck

2015-01-28T15:53:00.002-08:00

Barbara Stanwyck – None Like Her. TIFF Looks Back With Love

Home - Movies - Movie News - Barbara Stanwyck – None Like Her. TIFF Looks Back With Love

28th January 2015 by Anne Brodie

Ball of Fire: The Films of Barbara Stanwyck at TIFF February 7 to April 4

Tough, smart, independent, serious and versatile, are not adjectives that come to mind thinking of one of Hollywood’s most important female stars. But Barbara Stanwyck was a powerhouse who could literally do it all. She was a phenom, who played an impressive range of characters from back alley harridan to a society matron to a professors’ favourite to a Wild West gunslinger and burlesque queen, mainstream comedy and the pulpiest noir. She was a “ball of fire” and a murderer, a sentimentalist and feminist.
In a time when women were gaining ground in Hollywood she was front row all the way, alongside fellow independents Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn, dedicated to her work, too smart to be sidetracked, too successful to be ignored. Stanwyck looks were striking, but she was not beautiful or especially graceful. She was a salt of the earth type whose spirit and essence lit her from within in portrayals that have stood the test of time. She wasn’t a glamour queen, didn’t often appear in the tabloids or court publicity (“Attention embarrasses me.
I don’t like to be on display”), she was hardworking and conscientious, and left a legacy of serious integrity.

Her intelligence and forthrightness illuminate the work and that’s how we know her best, through her work.
Ruby Catherine Stevens was born in Brooklyn, her mother was killed when she was four and her father abandoned her and her siblings. They cared for each other until they were placed in foster homes. Later Ruby joined her older sister and became showgirls, landing in the Ziegfeld Follies.
A few years later, as Barbara Stanwyck, she Hollywood –bound where she would begin one of the most successful careers of any actress, at any time. She was one of the most versatile actresses Hollywood has ever seen .....

Read more at Monsters and Critics

Th Americans Season Three Premieres Jan 28 on FX .. Matthew Rhys Tells Us All

2015-01-27T14:36:00.005-08:00

Sex, Secrecy and Spying – Matthew Rhys on The Americans Season Three

Home - TV - TV Interviews - Sex, Secrecy and Spying – Matthew Rhys on The Americans Season Three

27th January 2015 by Anne Brodie

The Americans – Season Three Premieres Wednesday, January 28th at 10:00 p.m. EST on FX
The Americans, FX’ intelligent, complex, character driven drama about two KGB officers planted in the US begins its third season with a bang. The spies, passing themselves off as ordinary middle class married couple with two children, are at a pivotal time in their personal and professional lives. It’s the 80’s Cold War, one of the most dangerous periods in political history as the US and the Soviet Union dance around one another, as the threat of nuclear war looms. Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings played by Welsh actor Matthew Rhys and his real-life partner Keri Russell are about to have their worlds turned upside down.

Describe your partnership on the show with Keri as Elizabeth.
Their relationship and life together is so complex that it’s gymnastic in a way that it can leap from something incredibly domestic as to do with the kids’ school and then to do with a mission and then the killing or disposing of a body. They jump these huge caverns, these leaps, varied and often and that’s true of their emotional life. Also, they only have each other in this situation. There’s no one else they could turn to. There’s no one else who can empathize or sympathize like the other one can. Therefore, in that respect, they’re sort of beholden and dependent on each other. It makes for this amazing relationship whereby they need each other, but they antagonize each other enormously and they fight and they’re poles apart at times, but ultimately, knowing that they absolutely will always need each other, so it makes for incredibly interesting play.
Are there elements of yourself in Phillip?
I’ve always appraised any character I approach with the characteristics built up of myself. I’m always interested in the truth of the character and the way I bring a truth to the character to make him, I hate to say, but it’s your own makeup that you bring to the character.

Philip seems to have sex more often than anyone else on TV!
That’s based on my life!
As an actor, though, is it ever easy shooting sex scenes?
No. It never gets comfortable. It never gets to a point where you go, “Oh, this is normal, this is natural,” you’re simulating sex with 40 of your closest friends. It’s bizarre, the random bizarreness of it. Then it’s magnified when you have to do the gymnastics of the Kama Sutra as well. It’s never .....

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Still Alice starring Julianne Moore, Sends a Powerful Message

2015-01-23T12:42:00.000-08:00

Brodie

Still Alice | Movie Review by Anne Brodie

whatshesaid167January 23, 2015current affairs, What She Said

Directed by Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland
Written by Lisa Genova (novel), Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland
Stars Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, Hunter Parrish

Rating: 3/5

Julianne Moore’s cutting a swath through awards season for a film that stretches her beyond any she’s done in her career. In Still Alice, adapted from the novel by Lisa Genova, Moore plays a 55 year old linguistics professor wonders why she’s become forgetful of keys, words, day and time, and even where she is. Her doctor gives her a surprising diagnosis – Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. No mistake.

She courageously breaks the news to the family without emotion. Her husband (Baldwin) and children (Stewart, Bosworth, and Parrish) are mystified and defiant. Surely, it’s a mistake. And equally shocking is news that the children’s odds of getting the disease are high. It’s interesting to watch their reactions then and sometime later, once reality settles in.

Alice struggles through the stages of her deterioration with resolute calm. She tries to “be normal” for her family’s sake but before long, normal function is a dim memory. They move her out to the beach house where she and Stewart take long walks, talking, bonding through this tragedy by ...

Benicio Del Toro as Pablo Escobar in Gripping Fact-Based Film

2015-01-16T08:26:00.002-08:00

Paradise Lost | Movie Review by Anne Brodie

whatshesaid167January 16, 2015current affairs, What She Said

Escobar: Paradise Lost
Directed by Andrea Di Stefano
Starring Benicio Del Toro, Josh Hutcherson and Claudia Traisac
Written by Andrea Di Stefano and Francesca Marciano

Rating 3.5 /5

Benicio Del Toro has played wicked but the profound wickedness he brings to Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar is breathtaking. So who is this man Del Toro portrays? Escobar grew up a petty criminal in the Medellin area of Colombia and rose to become the world’s most notorious trafficker, a gifted strategist unburdened by conscience and untouchable for nearly 20 years. Just being wicked never gets powerful drug lords anywhere. It’s that added layer of sizzling charisma that gets them to the top – the X-factor that allows a person to bypass normal rules and behaviour and eliminate resistance. Del Toro brings him to life, this beloved, charming and profoundly evil man.

Escobar broke all the rules, ordered countless murders and walked on a lot of willing victims to control the cocaine trade between south and North America from 1975 to his death in 1993. At the height of his reign of terror he is alleged to have moved $500M in cocaine per day and carry out crimes and routine executions to maintain it. No one, no government, police force or rival could touch hm.

He held sway over hundreds of lives in his immediate circle and unknown numbers of official and unofficial forces from Colombia, Mexico the US and God knows where else. It’s believed that his reach extended to Europe and Asia and that’s not counting the drug habits he fed. ...

Winners of the BFCA's Critics Choice Awards Hot Off the Presses!

2015-01-15T20:14:00.003-08:00

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) announced the winners of the 20th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards tonight, live from the Hollywood Palladium. The show aired on A&E at 9pm ET/6pm PT and was hosted by Michael Strahan.

“Boyhood” was named Best Picture and garnered three additional wins including Best Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette, Best Young Actor/Actress for Ellar Coltrane, and Best Director for Richard Linklater.

“Birdman,” the most nominated film of the evening, won seven awards including Best Actor for Michael Keaton, Best Acting Ensemble, Best Original Screenplay for Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., and Armando Bo, Best Cinematography for Emmanuel Lubezki, Best Editing for Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione, Best Actor in a Comedy for Michael Keaton, and Best Score for Antonio Sanchez. Michael Keaton is the first person in the 20-year history of the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards to win three awards in a single year (Best Actor, Best Actor in a Comedy, and as part of the “Birdman” Best Ensemble).

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” claimed three awards including Best Comedy, Best Art Direction for Adam Stockhausen (Production Designer) and Anna Pinnock (Set Director), and Best Costume Design for Milena Canonero.

Best Action Movie winner “Guardians of the Galaxy” picked up an additional award for Best Hair & Makeup. Additional winners include Julianne Moore for Best Actress for “Still Alice,” J.K. Simmons for Best Supporting Actor for “Whiplash,” Bradley Cooper for Best Actor in an Action Movie for “American Sniper,” Emily Blunt for Best Actress in an Action Movie for “Edge of Tomorrow,” Jenny Slate for Best Actress in a Comedy for “Obvious Child,” Gillian Flynn for Best Adapted Screenplay for “Gone Girl,” and Common and John Legend for Best Song for “Selma.”

“The Lego Movie” was awarded Best Animated Feature while “Force Majeure” took home Best Foreign Language Film. “Life Itself” was named Best Documentary Feature, “Interstellar” Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie, and Best Visual Effects went to “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”

As announced previously, Kevin Costner, Ron Howard and Jessica Chastain each received special honors at the ceremony. Rene Russo presented Kevin Costner with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ celebrating more than three decades of incredible work in film. Chris Hemsworth presented the ‘Critics' Choice LOUIS XIII Genius Award’, established to honor an icon who has demonstrated unprecedented excellence in the cinematic arts, to multiple award-winning director, producer and actor Ron Howard. Chris Pratt presented the inaugural ‘Critics’ Choice MVP Award,’ to Jessica Chastain, recognizing an extraordinary actress for her work in several standout movies throughout a single year - Interstellar, Miss Julie, A Most Violent Year (which also earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination this year), and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.

“The Critics' Choice Movie Awards” are bestowed annually by the BFCA to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. The BFCA is the largest film critics' organization in the United States and Canada, representing almost 300 television, radio and online critics. BFCA members are the primary source of information for today's film-going public. Historically, the “Critics' Choice Movie Awards” are the most accurate predictor of the Academy Award nominations.

The “The 20th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards” are produced by Bob Bain Productions and Berlin Entertainment.

About BFCA
The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing almost 300 television, radio and online critics. For additional information about the BFCA and their members, visit www.criticschoice.com.

About A&E Network
Now reaching more than 96 million homes, A&E is the home to quality original content that inspires and challenges audiences to BE ORIGINAL. A&E offers a diverse mix of uniquely immersive entertainment ranging from the network’s original scripted series, including “Bates Motel” and “The Returned” to signature non-fiction franchises, including “Duck Dynasty,” “Wahlburgers” and “Storage Wars.” The A&E website is located at aetv.com. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/aetv and Facebook at facebook.com/AETV. For more press information and photography please visit us at press.aenetworks.com.

# # #

WINNERS OF THE 20th ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS

Best Picture – “Boyhood”
Best Actor – Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Best Actress – Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Best Supporting Actor – J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”
Best Supporting Actress – Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Best Young Actor/Actress – Ellar Coltrane, “Boyhood”
Best Acting Ensemble – “Birdman”
Best Director – Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Best Original Screenplay – Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., Armando Bo, “Birdman”
Best Adapted Screenplay – Gillian Flynn, “Gone Girl”
Best Cinematography – Emmanuel Lubezki, “Birdman”
Best Art Direction – Adam Stockhausen (Production Designer), Anna Pinnock (Set Decorator), “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Best Editing – Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione, “Birdman”
Best Costume Design – Milena Canonero, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Best Hair & Makeup – “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Best Visual Effects – “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
Best Animated Feature – “The Lego Movie”
Best Action Movie – “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Best Actor in an Action Movie – Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Best Actress in an Action Movie – Emily Blunt, “Edge of Tomorrow”
Best Comedy – “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Best Actor in a Comedy – Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Best Actress in a Comedy – Jenny Slate, “Obvious Child”
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie – “Interstellar”
Best Foreign Language Film – “Force Majeure”
Best Documentary Feature – “Life Itself”
Best Song – “Glory”, Common and John Legend, “Selma”
Best Score – Antonio Sanchez, “Birdman”

WINNERS BY PICTURE FOR
THE 20thANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS

BIRDMAN (7 Awards)
Best Actor
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Original Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Actor in a Comedy
Best Score

BOYHOOD (4 Awards)
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actress
Best Young Actor/Actress
Best Director

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (3 Awards)
Best Art Direction
Best Costume Design
Best Comedy

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2 Awards)
Best Hair & Makeup
Best Action Movie

AMERICAN SNIPER (1 Award)
Best Actor in an Action Movie

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (1 Award)
Best Visual Effects

EDGE OF TOMORROW (1 Award)
Best Actress in an Action Movie

FORCE MAJEURE (1 Award)
Best Foreign Language Film

GONE GIRL (1 Award)
Best Adapted Screenplay

INTERSTELLAR (1 Award)
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie

LIFE ITSELF (1 Award)
Best Documentary Feature

OBVIOUS CHILD (1 Award)
Best Actress in a Comedy

SELMA (1 Award)
Best Song

STILL ALICE (1 Award)
Best Actress

THE LEGO MOVIE (1 Award)
Best Animated Feature

WHIPLASH (1 Award)
Best Supporting Actor

Julianne Moore Will Break Your Heart in Still Alice

2015-01-12T14:53:00.002-08:00

Golden Globe Winner Julianne Moore on Still Alice

12th January 2015 by Anne Brodie (Edit)

Still Alice opens in the US January 16th and Canada January 23^rd
Julianne Moore in Still Alice
Still Alice’ Julianne Moore won the Golden Globe Best Actress in a Drama award this past Sunday, for taking a journey no other actress has taken. She plays a 55 year old college linguistics professor diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease and the film follows Alice’ descent into the disease, from simply forgetting words and where she left things, to full blown incapacity. She loses her words, her ability to communicate and as Moore told us, her sense of who she is. It’s a devastating portrait of a woman who won’t get well. The film looks at her responses and her husband’s (Alec Baldwin) and her three children, only one of which steps up to the plate to care for her (Kristen Stewart). As difficult as it is to watch, Moore’s performance as the vulnerable, confused Alice is a miracle. We spoke with Moore at the Toronto International Film Festival where the film debuted last fall.
Did you have any fears about dealing with Alice’ story?
I didn’t feel fear. I was fascinated by it; it was something I didn’t have a lot of information about. What’s interesting is how many people have a deathly fear of this disease and how little information and understanding there is. It was fascinating to explore this population and talk to the women I met, the clinicians and researchers and the Alzheimer’s Association workers. It’s a big issue increasing as people are living longer, and it’s more prevalent. It was often misdiagnosed as a condition of ageing when it’s not, it’s a disease.
You spent time with early onset Alzheimer’s patients who was inspiring, but was it at all depressing?
No. I loved working every day. We worked really, really hard. I love working with Alec Baldwin who has so much heart and soul and chemistry. It felt like a real marriage. That scene where we have to go to hospital and he helps me put my pants on, that’s what you see, that’s the kind of caregiving you see people doing for one another. You see this great big man you realise what he’s been living with and what he’s been doing for her and what he’s taken on. And Kristen Stewart is so extraordinary and has so much compassion in her performance. It was lovely.
Kristen Stewart and Julianne Moore
Was it difficult keeping track of how far she deteriorates for continuity?
Hell yah. That’s really hard because for one thing, we were not always shooting in sequence. They did the best they could but I played the end of the movie when we were halfway through the film. The running at the beginning we shot at the very end. It was mixed up so (we were) keeping track of where she was and subtly noting her decline, ....

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Selma - First Feature Ever Made on Dr. King's Historic March

2015-01-09T16:05:00.003-08:00

Selma – Movie Review by Anne Brodie

whatshesaid167January 9, 2015Uncategorized

Selma
Director: Ava DuVernay
Writer: Paul Webb
Stars: David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth

Rating 3.5/5

It’s positively shameful that this is the first feature film made specifically on Dr. Martin Luther King’s historic 1965 civil rights march in Selma, Alabama. It has featured as a sidebar in many films but the light has never shone on this dramatic and seminal moment in the struggle for minority rights. And what a moment. Hundreds of brave individuals including King’s core political group, locals, and black and white supporters from across North America set out to have their say in a peaceful, orderly fashion, to claim their equal rights.

They must have gritted their teeth marching on a bridge named for a Ku Klux Klan chief but march they did. The first time it didn’t go well. All white police and state forces drove them back. But the second time, well, they made history. They had their say. The civil rights movement suddenly came into sharp focus and thus was begun the work to equalise everyone, regardless of race.

Today’s’ headlines out of Ferguson, New York, Seattle and other cities suggest not much progress has been made, and that’s a strong subject for debate. Thanks to King’s hopeful efforts and his ultimate sacrifice, the dialogue began and while it’s a better world today, it’s not perfect. The film shows us what might remain to be done.

Ava DuVernay makes her feature film debut with Selma, ands gives it political strength as well as personal realities, like King’s inner doubts that were in stark contrast to his forthright public persona. He would not let his guard down and compromise the fight. He wasn’t perfect, but he was first and offered hope and action. Inside he feared it would never be enough../....

Enemy Dominates!! TFCA's Award Winning Filmmakers and Films

2015-01-08T07:54:00.004-08:00

Denis Villeneuve’s doppelganger thriller wins

$100,000 ROGERS BEST CANADIAN FILM AWARD

TORONTO – Enemy, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a Toronto college professor whose world is thrown into chaos when he becomes obsessed with a lookalike actor, has won the Toronto Film Critics Association’s 2014 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award.

The award was presented to director Denis Villeneuve by Deepa Mehta at a gala dinner held January 6, 2015 at the historic Carlu in downtown Toronto. Also nominated for the award were The F Word, directed by Michael Dowse, and Mommy, directed by Xavier Dolan. In attendance were prominent members of the film industry.

The $100,000 value of the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award makes it the richest annual film prize in Canada. As runners-up, Dolan and Dowse each received $5,000 from Rogers Communications.

This is the third time Villeneuve has taken home the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, having previously won in consecutive years for 2009’s Polytechnique and 2010’s Incendies.

“All three Canadian finalists are Montreal directors, but their films could not be more different,” said TFCA President Brian D Johnson. “With Enemy, Denis Villeneuve ventured onto David Cronenberg’s home turf and took no prisoners. By embracing this nervy psychodrama, our critics have plucked a dark gem from art-house obscurity and held it up to the light.”

“This award is a hat trick for Denis Villeneuve,” said Phil Lind, Vice Chairman, Rogers Communications Inc. “As one of this country’s most talented directors, Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy is another cinematic triumph. We’re thrilled to again acknowledge Canadian film excellence with this award.”

The evening’s host, TIFF Artistic Director Cameron Bailey, introduced a videotaped acceptance speech from filmmaker Richard Linklater, whose remarkable character drama Boyhood took the TFCA’s 2014 awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (Patricia Arquette).

The Master’s Katie Boland and The F Word’s Tommie-Amber Pirie presented letters and videotaped acceptances from Best Supporting Actor winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), Best First Feature director Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox) and Best Foreign-Language Film director Ruben Östlund (Force Majeure).

Tony-winning writer and actor Bob Martin presented the Manulife Best Student Film Award to Eui Yong Zong for Leftover, a drama about a North Korean family’s experiences as refugees in Toronto. The award carries a cash prize of $5,000, donated by Manulife to celebrate the spirit of volunteerism that is at the heart of student film-making and the power of storytelling in inspiring active citizenship. Manulife’s Martha Hancock, AVP Philanthropy and Sponsorships, Branding and Communications presented Zong with the cheque.

As previously announced, Piers Handling is winner of the Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award, which was presented at the event by Wayne Clarkson and Grace Carnale-Davis, Vice-President, Sales & Client Service – Technicolor Toronto. Under the pay-it-forward terms of the award, Technicolor donated $50,000 in services to a filmmaker of Handling’s choosing—Randall Okita, whose The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer was named Best Canadian Short at TIFF last September.

Albert Shin, whose feature debut In Her Place explores social mores in South Korea, received a cheque for $5,000 from Scotiabank as the winner of this year’s Scotiabank Jay Scott Prize for an emerging artist. The prize was presented to Shin by Patricia Rozema and Rick White, Head of Marketing, Scotiabank Global Wealth and Insurance.

Jesse Moss was presented with a cheque for $5,000 by Jennifer Baichwal, Edward Burtynsky and Joe Fresh’s President and Creative Director Joe Mimran. Moss is the director of the American sociological study The Overnighters, winner of this year’s Joe Fresh Allan King Documentary Award.

Selma's David Oyelowo & Ava Duvernay - Channel 12 News

2015-01-08T04:42:00.001-08:00

Big Eyes Review Tim Burton's Fab Fable

2014-12-28T15:50:00.001-08:00

Eyes – Movie Review by Anne Brodie

Big Eyes – Movie Review by Anne Brodie

whatshesaid167December 28, 2014current affairs, What She Said

Big Eyes
Directed by Tim Burton
Starring Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz
Genre: Biographical drama
Website for gallery http://www.margaretkeane.com/gallery.htmIn theatres now
Rating: 4/5
Anyone who came up in the 60’s knows Margaret Keane’s work only too well. Her sad eyed waifs and pets led a kitschy trend that overwhelmed the era. Her work is at once maudlin, sentimental and creepy and yet somehow fascinating. The manipulative scenarios in which her little wounded beauties dwell are fields of flowers, exotic jungles, in bodies of water with rainbows slashing through them. They are strangely childish yet world weary. The art cognoscenti dismissed her work but ultimately were forced to admit it was popular.
Keane’s story is pretty strange too as we discover in Tim Burton’s Big Eyes. Keane (Adams) was a single mother and struggling artist in San Francisco who fell for and married Walter another artist – slash – ladies’ man (Christoph Waltz) in 1955. Her work caught on while Walter’s went nowhere, but it turns out he had a genius for marketing and soon he had her pictures flying off the shelves. Margaret allowed him to claim the paintings as his own, leaving her to work in secret – even from her daughter – while he got all the huzzahs.
Margaret and Walter’s marital and professional lives, and ultimate breakdown are perfectly “Burton”ized. The story plays out in his sweet spot ...

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Katherine Waterston Breaks Through in Inherent Vice

2014-12-26T05:34:00.001-08:00

Home - Movies - Movie Interviews - Katherine Waterston Breaks Through in Inherent Vice

24th December 2014 by Anne Brodie

Inherent Vice takes us through the drug fueled labyrinth that is seventies ‘70s, a la Thomas Pynchon. Paul Thomas Anderson interprets that world’s chiaroscuro uncertainty as muddled, hazy and oblique, which describes the action from time to time. But it’s the unique characters that make it work. Joaquin Phoenix is a barely coherent private eye looking for a woman he used to know. Josh Brolin is a stuttering mess, fixated on bananas, in a corrupt LAPD, who’s after the same woman. And she is Shasta Fay Hepworth, a waif, a wanderer and a curse apparently who doesn't say much. Katherine Waterston, the daughter of the great Sam Waterston, won the role of Shasta and brings it an uncanny sense of mystery. She’s nude a lot, so get over it. Waterston’s terrific understated performance is her breakout; she has just signed to play Steve Jobs’ first wife Chrisann Brennan in Universal’s Jobs opposite Michael Fassbender. Waterston’s on her way and we had the chance to chat in Toronto.
Your father probably wasn’t fazed by your nudity because he came up on the 60s and 70s. It’s nothing to him, but he is one of the most revered actors around and here you are coming up behind him. Do you feel that weight?
I just feel so supported by him. I do think it’s easier if you’re the opposite sex of the famous parent. You just don’t get it as much the “spitting image” stuff. We have people feeling like they’ve seen you before, which can be very difficult for people who are the same sex, famous parent. He’s just so cool and such a great person. I just remembered something. I haven’t told anyone this, no one knows it. I had some of his hand-me-downs, stuff he wore as a young hippie, and I was going to a table read right after I got the job and we were just figuring out the costumes for the film. Paul was making notes, he half looked at me out of the corner of his eye and he said “What’s that? That’s good. You should wear that ion the film”. It’s my dad’s shirt and it’s in the movie. When we do the Ouija board it’s a striped shirt, it’s his old hippie shirt. He helped me in many ways.

Shasta was a woman of mystery. You can’t play mystery, but you did it. How?
That’s the general struggle of playing any scene in any story because we have all the words. You don’t know what you’re going to say and you don’t know what they’re going to say next. It’s a constant battle to seem like you don’t know what’s going to happen. You can’t play mystery. It’s a thin line. ....

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In Which I meet Into the Woods' Rapunzel and Her Prince

2014-12-24T13:49:00.001-08:00