Adolescence

Way back in December of 2021 I posted a review of "Boiling Point" starring Stephen Graham. If you haven't seen that film, you can go rent it from Movie 'N Stuff here in Ottawa. Stephen Graham and director Philip Barantini are back with a four-part series currently streaming on Netflix. Once again, like "Boiling Point," each episode is one-shot, one-take, with no edits or cuts. It's become a thing, this one-shot style. I'm not sure it always works or is necessary in general, but here, it works oh-so-very well. With this technique, there is no time to look away. It creates an incredible intimacy between you, the viewer, and the characters. You are there with them as it's happening in real time, you get to experience it as they are experiencing it. In this case, the arresting of Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) for a crime and the fallout for his family - dad (played by Stephen Graham), mom (Christine Tremarco), and sister (Amelie Pease). These actors are all wonderful, but Owen Cooper - my god, this kid was outstanding. Hats off Mr. Cooper, you are a star. And Stephen Graham, he brought me to tears with his performance - pass the tissues. Graham knocked it out of the park. There is an episode where Jamie speaks to a psychologist who is played by Erin Doherty - she also gives a tremendous performance. This series is riveting, heartbreaking, and extremely heavy. It's also one of the best series I've seen in a long time. Catch it streaming on Netflix. 

The G

Back in 2021 I wrote about a film called "I Care a Lot" about a woman who was putting seniors into homes against their will and stealing all of their assets. Now, imagine that dark comedy turned more serious and directed by Jeremy Saulnier ("Blue Ruin," "Rebel Ridge"), you'd have something that looks like, "The G." Except "The G" is actually directed by Canadian  filmmaker, Karl R. Hearne and the "G" stands for Great. This Canadian film, set in the U.S., has Dale Dickey playing Ann Hunter, a tough alcoholic senior looking after her bedridden husband when suddenly she is forcibly removed and relocated to a private institution. Her granddaughter, Emma (Romane Denis), fights on getting her grandparents out and reclaim their life savings. Dale Dickey - what a show she puts on, what a performance. Like I mentioned before, the film has a "Blue Ruin" low-budget grittiness to it and the soundtrack - a mix of retro and modern synth - keeps the tension strung high. Guns, Grannies, Gritty Greaseball Gangsters, and Greenbacks - "The G" is simply Grand. Catch it streaming on Crave.  

Samia

I had the honour to go to the open night of Ottawa Black Film Festival. They screened "Samia," to kick things off. Based on a true story, the film tells the tale of Samia, who grew up in war-torn Somalia and dreamed big for herself. She dreamed of not only winning the local race in her village, but going all the way to the Olympics. If you have been reading this blog, you will know I'm a sucker for underdog sports films. This is another one. Very much like "The Swimmers" (the film about Syrian refugee sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini, who journey from war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics), "Samia" is the tale of her journey to the 2008 Beijing Olympics when Samia was only 17. The other part of this film follows her attempt to flee Somalia to compete in the 2012 London games. The film echoes others like "El Norte" and "Flee" - escaping illegally by way of dubious men in boats, or shipping containers, or both. Films such as "Samia" remind me how lucky I am to not live in a large portion of the world where authoritarian regimes (often orthodox Islam) are running the show. I am free and don't have to worry about being shot at and have access to clean drinking water. Samia story is one of perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds, of courage, and I found it to be very moving. llham Mohamed Osman who plays older Samia and Riyan Roble you plays younger Samia are both wonderful. It might be a hard film to find. Be like Samia, you will find it if you just keep looking. 

Scarecrow (1973)

 As you are likely aware, we recently lost the great Gene Hackman. Here in Ottawa, the Mayfair Theatre (Ottawa's oldest movie theatre and my favourite place on earth) has been putting on a Gene Hackman retrospective to honour the late actor. Class act, Mayfair. Last night I went with a good friend to watch "Scarecrow," staring Hackman and a very young Al Pacino. I took film very seriously at a young age and there was a time when I sought to watch all the films of actors like Gene Hackman - if they weren't available for rent at my local video store, didn't play at the Mayfair, or weren't shown on TV, there was no other way to find them. "Scarecrow" was one of those films I missed. What a delight this movie is. From the opening shot, watching Hackman come down that sun-soaked hill to the credits, I thought, "They just don't make them like this anymore." Hackman plays an ex-con looking to open a car wash business and runs into Pacino, an ex-sailor. Their adventure begins. Part "Midnight Cowboy," part "Cool Hand Luke," part "The Last Detail," it's a whole lot of nostalgia - for both the actors, a time before cellphones, and an are when you could smoke a cigar inside a department store. I don't think it has the emotional punch of "Midnight Cowboy" but "Scarecrow" certainly features two wonderful performances by two great actors in their prime. Definitely a film to seek out. Go rent it from Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa. 

Severance

I confess, I started to watch the show when if first aired. I turned it off I think before the end of the first episode and didn't go back until two weeks ago. “Forgive me for the harm I have caused this world. None may atone for my actions but me and only in me shall their stain live on. I am thankful to have been caught, my fall cut short by those with wizened hands. All I can be is sorry, and that is all I am.”

That's a little inside joke for those of you who have watched this already. I went back to watch because a few of my close friends told me I needed to. They were correct. So now I'm telling you, you need to watch this. What's it all about? The main character is Mark Scout (Adam Scott) who has had a tubular computer chip implanted in his head. When he goes to work on the Severed Floor at Lumon Industries, he doesn't remember who he was, doesn't remember his outer self. When he leaves work, he doesn't remember his inner self. I don't think I want to tell you any more. It's a science fiction show but it's about loss, identity, power and corruption, and love. It's a David Lynch-Terry Gilliam style surreal dark comedy and one of the most interesting shows you will find streaming today. Catch it on Apple + or go rent it at Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa. Do it now or I will send you to the break room.  

Last Breath

On a recent trip to Toronto to hang out with some fellow film nerds (a hangout we have self titled, Film Camp), our schedule got slightly derailed by a sell-out showing of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Because Film Camp never rests, we substituted "Last Breath" in its place. A lark. I went in (I think we all went in) with low expectations - a procedural rescue film. How many of these have we seen - "Apollo 13," "The Impossible," "Thirteen Lives,"/"The Rescue," and then how many underwater adventures have we seen (albeit science-fiction or sci-fi-horror films) "The Abyss," "Deep Star Six," "Leviathan," etc. So an underwater procedural film staring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, and Finn Cole (from TV's "Animal Kingdom") seemed like just the correct piece of junk food we were looking for - we could makes jokes about it all weekend. No, no, no. I was gripped from the outset. As these three gentlemen entered their live-in tank chamber for what was to be a month spent at a super high compression to allow them to work underwater at a depth of 1000 feet repairing equipment in the North Sea, my claustrophobia flared up something fierce. It takes three or four days to decompress before you can get out of these metal sarcophaguses - if anything goes wrong, there is really nothing to be done; you would be crushed or exploded into jelly depending on where the accident occurred. This is a based on a true story of when a routine mission turned into a rescue. It was like I suddenly found myself treading water with a shark - I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Great fun. Great movie. Don't forget to breathe. Catch this harrowing film in theatres now. 

I'm Still Here

Winner for the Oscar for the Best International Feature Film, "I'm Still Here" tells the true story of Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres - also nominated for her role). In 1971, Brazil’s military dictatorship abducted her husband Rubens Paiva, along with many others. Brazil's dictatorship killed Paiva, along with many others. Eunice was left to raise their five children. The film is portrait of a woman trying to keep it together, a family trying to keep it together in the face of unimaginable tragedy. Eunice not only managed to raise her family but she went back to school and became a lawyer and human rights defender. The film is personal, filled with details of a large family, playful, loving. It's what makes it all that more devastating when Rubens is ripped away. In our current climate of uncertainty with our US neighbours, where everyone seems on edge of possible human horrors that could be unleashed (there are some cases already happening by ICE forces) - this film seems ever so timely. Catch it in theatres now.    

Day of the Fight

Underdog sports films are my jam. I prefer them to watching real sports - perhaps hypocritical and silly but it's the truth. However, do we really need another one? And a boxing one no less? How many of these do we need for crying out loud?? Goddamn it. It turns out we need, you need, "Day of the Fight," a new film which came out the end of last year. Written and directed by Jack Huston, "Day of the Fight" is his debut and it's a knockout (see what I did there). Michael Pitt (who was one of the psychopathic kids in "Funny Games") stars as Mike Flannigan, a down and out boxer looking for redemption. Toss "Rocky," together with "On the Waterfront," throw in an "8 Mile" wardrobe with a cool R&B-Jazz soundtrack, oh, and film it in arty black and white, make it jump rope and dance around a bit, pow, you have, "Day of the Fight." Yes, it might be by the numbers, but it goes all 12 rounds. The soundtrack, amazing. And Michael Pitt, who looks like a sexy-ugly Paul Newman is so good, I wish he had been nominated for all the awards. I simply loved his performance. Huston's dialogue is always good and a lot of the time it's great; delivered with panache by Pitt. Joe Pesci is one of the producers. He, Steve Buscemi, and Ron Perlman also have roles in this; just another three reasons you should see it. This one punches way above its weight. Catch it streaming, in rep theatre, or from your local video store. 

Becoming Led Zeppelin

I was born in 1970. I didn't discover Led Zeppelin until I was about 15, which would land me in 1985. By then Zeppelin was done. Drummer John Bonham had died five year prior and the band had released their last album, CODA in 1982. The ride was well over. It had no real effect on my discovery of a band that was the most original and powerful thing I had heard in my whole 15 years on planet earth. When I was 18, I got to see Robert Plant in Ottawa - Stevie Ray Vaughan opened. Amazing. When I was 28 (1998), I managed to see Page/Plant in Toronto - the closet thing I would ever get to see Led Zeppelin. Now it's 2025. John Bonham has been dead for 45 years and "Becoming Led Zeppelin" has been released in IMAX. This is a film for fans. If you don't love these guys, then this isn't for you. If you do, get to the theatre now. There is footage of the band at their first public gig. Plant swinging around his mic, Jimmy doing crazy wild stuff on his guitar and there is the audience, baffled. It was like when Marty McFly plays guitar in "Back to the Future." Nobody understood what they were looking at, what they were hearing. "Becoming Led Zeppelin" is indeed going back to the future, a time when nobody understood what this new sound was, the birth, some might say, of Heavy Metal. The film only covers the first two albums and how it launched them into superstardom. It's a whole lotta music. I loved every minute of it. Catch it now in theatres, hopefully in IMAX.   

Babes

 It could easily be a comedy with Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph but it's not. It's Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau as Eden and Dawn respectively. Eden and Dawn have been best friends since childhood. Dawn is pregnant with her second child and shortly after giving birth, Eden finds herself pregnant after a one night stand. "Babes" falls into the "Bridesmaids" category of film - you're in for this kind of fun. The script (Ilana Glazer and Josh Rabinowitz) is smart and lively, taking unexpected turns and it's a fresh take on motherhood, friendship, and pregnancy. Director Pamela Adlon has crafted something special here which is worth your time. Character actor John Carroll Lynch ("Zodiac" "Chanel Zero," and literally over a hundred other roles) plays a doctor with a hair issue. I love him in everything he shows up in. Just another reason to check out "Babes," now streaming on Prime. Or go rent it from Movies 'N' Stuff here in Ottawa.  

Matt and Mara

This little Canadian film written and directed by Kazik Radwanski is charming, smartly written, and has two wonderful actors giving wonderful performances. Deragh Campbell plays Mara, a young English Professor who is currently teaching a creative writing class in poetry. She is married to a musician, but she herself doesn't really connect with music - it may be a bit of a pebble in the shoe of their marriage, one which, for the most part, with their young child, seems to be going well. Perhaps a tad dry. We arrive at this point when the romance has died down to a low heat and the monotonous business of living and raising a child has kicked in. Along comes Matt (Matt Johnson), former university boyfriend, before Mara's current husband, and he is bringing excitement. Matt has had some literary success. He is a published writer - Mara keeps his book of personally inscribed collection of short stories on her office shelf. They go to a cafe and talk about writing. This leads to a series of encounters and eventually a short road trip. I haven't heard this kind of smartly written, realistic, and nuanced dialogue since Richard Linklater's Before Trilogy. I would love Radwanski to turn this into a trilogy. Anyway, it's short, with a runtime of only an hour twenty, I almost felt like it needed more. Maybe I just wanted more. Like a small piece of dessert.    

This Is the Tom Green Documentary

Tom Green was born and raised in Ottawa and rose to fame out of his Rogers Cable 22 Tom Green show. He eventually got picked up by MTV, moved to New York, then California hosting his own show. He became hugely famous. Maybe not Jim Carrey famous, but famous none the less. He married Drew Barrymore and got testicular cancer - I don't recall which order but nobody blames Drew. He was very public about it, made a show of it. He also made his own feature length movie, "Freddy Got Finger." It was panned by most critics. I thought it to be wildly funny. I never watched his show, but was aware of some of his earlier stunts: painting his dad's car, turning it into the slut-mobile; painting his parents house plaid; snorkeling in full scuba gear for change in the shopping mall fountain. All extremely funny stuff, stuff taken to the next level by "Jackass" which took over his time slot when Green walked away. I've always cheered for Tom, being an Ottawa boy myself. A sense of hometown pride seeing him in "Charlie's Angels" and making it in Hollywood. There had been silence but now Tom has reappeared with this documentary, a new reality TV series forthcoming on Prime and a comedy special taped here in Ottawa at the NAC. Tom has walked away from Hollywood and moved back home, living on a farm just outside of Ottawa. Something has changed. Green’s demeanour has changed . And he is sporting a full beard. Jim Carrey had one of these for a while. Even David Letterman, Green's personal hero. There is an aura of trauma given off in both his appearance and the way he carries himself, no longer the manic crazed Green, but slow and soft, with his dog by his side, who seems like an emotional support animal. This documentary feels like a part of a package, so there is something slightly sale-pitchy about it. At the same time, I feel it's a cathartic release for Green. He is acknowledging who he was and what he did, and in doing so, letting it go. Maybe the cancer changed him. Or maybe he realized getting the fame and money he always wanted wasn't really what he always wanted. Maybe a bit of both. Full confession by me: this dcc and Tom's new series was edited by my friend, Jay Bond. I thought his work on this was amazing. The doc concludes with the taping of his stand up performance at the NAC. If you freeze frame the credits, you will see me, in my Godzilla hoodie. Green was a pioneer in goofy, absurdist showmanship, a clown. He’s still very funny but Green is different now, softer, and has become a nuanced artist. Catch this streaming now on Prime.     

Nickel Boys

Nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, "Nickel Boys" is the story of Elwood Curtis, a smart young black teen who gets thrown into a brutal reform school (Nickel) in Southern USA in the 1960s. He befriends Turner, another black youth, who seems to know his way around the institution. Nickel is something out of "The Shawshank Redemption" or "Cool Hand Luke" except all the boys here are black, and they might end up buried at the back of the property. A good chunk of the film is shot from the first person point of view of either Turner or Elwood, like "Hardcore Henry" except without all the action. At first I found this visual choice a little off putting but in the end I think it gives the movie more gravitas than it might hold otherwise. Director RaMell Ross has crafted a very arty film. It jumps through time and images of the civil rights movement are presented at times with others: American life in the 1960s, dream sequences with alligators, and snapshots of contemporary pieces (toy trinkets, buttons) from forensic digs of discarded children who we are to assume have suffered horrific deaths. Some of this felt like an exhibit you might find in a modern museum of art. I think it gives the film it's power, rather than being another "Jailhouse" picture. This one carries weight. Catch it in theatres or if you are in Ottawa, rent it at Movies 'N Stuff when available. 

We Are the Night

It's January but it feels like Halloween! I don't really understand why I've watched two German lesbian vampire movies and a new werewolf film, back to back, but I have. "Vampyros Lesbos" is a 1971 offering from director Jesús Franco and it's pretty much awful. Imagine if Penthouse, of the same year, 1971,  made a lesbian vampire porn film - you get the idea - the blood bright red before they figured out the formula for making blood look real. I watched this at Ottawa's Mayfair Theatre. "Wolf Man" is out in theatres now. One line review: It got a few howls and it's much better than the mangy dog I thought it would be. Which now brings me to "We Are the Night," a German vampire film from 2010 which I'm sure you've never heard of. I hadn't until it landed in my physical DVD/Blu-ray collection by accident. It's co-written and directed by Dennis Gansel and stars a bunch of German actors you've likely also never heard of. It's excellent. I haven't enjoyed a vampire film as much since "30 Days of Night" or "Daybreakers" (two other excellent vampire films). If vampires aren't your thing, I get it. If they are, this is a good one. The imagery here is, at times, surreal, something off of a Pink Floyd album cover. These are rich party girls with teeth. They go clubbing - something out of "Blade," and they have decadent tastes for all things but men. But these ladies have immortal problems as all undead folks seem to have. There are some fresh and tasty ideas here which I have never seen in a vampire movie. You can't find it for rent at  Movies 'N Stuff and you can't find it on streaming, at least not that I know of. If you get a chance, somehow, to see this one, dig your teeth in.

Cunk on Life

 Apparently this is the fifth Philomena Cunk TV special or one-off TV movie? I'm not exactly sure how it should be referred to. On a sparse runtime of 71 minutes, it falls into an episode-length of some TV shows. Whatever it is, it's funny as hell. "Cunk on Life" is the first (and only) one of Diane Morgan's (who brilliantly plays nitwit Philomena Cunk) very funny mocumentaries I have watched. So far. I laughed my guts out - "Do you mean all your intestines came out of your mouth while you were laughing, all over the floor? Sounds horrible. How did you get them back in, or did you? Are you sitting here now with no guts?" - this is something Philomena Cunk might ask me. In her own happy idiot way, (think "Borat," "Forest Gump," "Being There") simpleton Philomena Cunk goes about interviewing some of the world's brightest academics (real professors) on the subjects of philosophy, religion, and science in hopes of discovering what life is all about. Hilarious. I could see how this could begin to get tedious after a while, but again, at a 71 minute run time, it's worth every minute of your time. Cunk is asking big questions - "I didn't realize questions have a size." is something I imagine she might respond with. The answer will surely have you giggling. Catch it streaming on Netflix. 

The Emerald Forest

If you are unfamiliar with John Boorman, he is the director of "Deliverance." If you still haven't seen that film, start there. Then check out "The Emerald Forest." This film from 1985 was a Christmas gift, a Blu Ray from my wife. A delight.  Kino Lorber (like the more famous Criterion Collection people) have reissued this with a lovely looking new cover and a new commentary track on the disc. The late great Powers Boothe stars as Bill Markham, an engineer who went down to the rain forest with his wife (Meg Foster) and young son to build a massive hydro dam. His son, Tommy, is taken by the Invisible People, a tribe on Aboriginal Amazonians. Bill spends the next ten years working on the construction of the dam and all his free time combing the jungle in search of his missing son. Apparently this is based on a true story - even if this is partly true, it's pretty wild. Boorman's son, Charley Boorman plays the older Tomme. Having recently watched "The Naked Prey," I'm sure this must have inspired Boorman to do something similar. "The Emerald Forest" - a long forgotten film you will want to make contact with (I'm cheeky, like a loincloth).