Knock at the Cabin

Knock, knock. Who's there? M. Night Shyamalan. I look forward to each and every time one of his films comes knocking on my door. Like any artist, not every film can be brilliant. But there is always something special about each of his films, something interesting. "Knock at the Cabin" is one of his brilliant films. What's it all about? A same sex couple, Eric and Andrew along with their adopted daughter Wen, have rented a cabin in the woods. Along come four strangers, led by Leonard (Dave Bautista) who knock on their cabin's door. Once they have made their way forcibly inside, they make an announcement: Eric, Andrew and Wen must pick someone in their family to die and then kill that person themselves otherwise the world will end. Does that sound bananas? It does! And it sounds bananas to Eric, Andrew and Wen too. Let this intense, fun, thrill-ride begin! Dave Bautista, that hulking mass of an actor, is phenomenal. I hope he receives a nomination for this role because he deserves it. In fact the entire cast is amazing. Kristen Cui, who plays Wen is a stand out by a child actor. This gripping emotional thriller is something you should check out in the theatre if you can, or catch it now on streaming services. It's a knock out.   

To Leslie

Redemption. Hard to come by, especially if you don't deserve it. And the question is asked, does Leslie deserve it? Andrea Riseborough has been nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Leslie, in "To Leslie." Andrea certainly does deserve it. She's great, unlike the character she portrays. Leslie is an alcoholic and she had the great misfortune of winning $190,000 in the lottery when her only son was just 13. Fast forward six years and Leslie has blown through all the money. She is kicked to the curb from the seedy motel where she had been living. Dirty, skinny, damaged. Leslie is like a filthy rat and nobody wants her, including her own son, who she might have done horrible damage to. Nobody, that is, until  Sweeney (Marc Maron) takes her in at the motel where he works. It's a long climb back up from the gutter but it's a climb I found myself riveted by. Catch this Oscar worthy performance at your local rep Cinema or on streaming services. 

Enter the Drag Dragon

"Enter the Drag Dragon" is a low budget, zombie, mummy, action-adventure, drag-queen comedy, and it's a love letter to Ottawa and the Mayfair Theatre. Yes, it's ridiculous, and yes, it does look cheaply made, but that's the fun of it. Lee Gordon Demarbre, the film's director, went to high school in Ottawa, graduated from Carleton in film studies and currently does the programming at the Mayfair Theatre. I love the Mayfair. My father worked there when he was in high school. I used to live just on the other side of the Bank Street bridge and I've been going regularly since grade 6  So what is "Enter the Drag Dragon" all about? It's about a drag queen detective named Crunch who finds a treasure map to a cave where a mummy lives, which is guarded by zombies but the Aztec Mummy's spirit lives in the Mayfair where Crunch also lives along with Jaws and Fast Buck. It doesn't make a lot of sense but who cares?! It's fun. There are drag queens with cock-cucks  (think nunchucks, but with rubber cocks for the handles) who battle breeders. Crunch announces what these cock-cucks stand for like Nic Cage announces what his snakeskin jacket represents in "Wild at Heart." There is sky diving, laser rings, cyborgs, exploding outhouses, and boobies! It's bananas, but in such a fun way. A lot of the cast work at Ottawa's other great theatre, The Bytowne. I smiled from beginning to end. Oh, and I have a one second cameo at the end of the film - me, sitting in the Mayfair Theatre; nothing could be better than that. Catch the greatest low budget drag-queen action-adventure movie every made - at the Mayfair hopefully.  Maybe at the Bytowne. 

Turn Every Page - The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb

I loved this documentary. Maybe because it's about writing. Roberto Caro is a non fiction writer. He has written "The Power Broker" and four thick volumes of the life and times of American president, Lyndon Johnson. I confess, I haven't read any of them but after watching this documentary, maybe one day. Robert Gottlieb has been his life long editor. Gottlieb's daughter made this documentary over a five year period. Each of Roberto Caro books took about seven years to write. The documentary goes into the careers of both men. Gottlieb has been editor at Simon & Schuster, Knopf, and The New Yorker. He edited "Catch-22" and was even responsible for the title. Caro, his research is beyond in-depth; he managed to get Lyndon Johnson's brother to sit at their childhood dinner table at the same time of day they would be eating so the light in the room would be the same and then got him to describe their father. It's also about Caro's and Gottlieb's working relationship; there are fights over semicolons, of course. I loved all of it. Caro (87) is working on a fifth volume of Lyndon Johnson and Gottlieb (91) is eagerly waiting to edit it. Catch this wonderful documentary at your local rep theatre or on a streaming service soon.