Sometimes it pains me to say when a film is an unwatchable mess. Films like French Immersion have an incredible amount of talent in front of the camera and behind it. It is supposed to be a comedy about the differences between English and French speaking Canada, but instead it’s a soul-sucking train wreck full of punchlines so misguided they would make Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy think twice. Sickeningly unfunny and dreadfully “Canadian,” Tierney’s film strikes out on almost every conceivable level.
We Canadians are often stereotyped as nice and polite, and even our bank robbers follow this pattern. Edwin Boyd is a biopic of Canada’s most famous thief, and it is a solid first feature, written and directed by Nathan Morlando.
PIXELDANCE – Saturday July 2nd 8:00pm Duffy’s Tavern 1238 Bloor Street West Toronto, ON Duffy’s Tavern and Bitmasters Netlabel are bringing you Toronto’s very first and ONLY monthly 8-bit music event on Saturday July 2nd, 2011! This 19+ event will feature videogame-inspired tunes, crazy pixelated visuals provided by none other than CHIP RAMBO, and classic […]
Snaps's inspiration was a box of old photos that author and artist Rebecca Kraatz found at a flea market, apparently taken during the 1940s. "I studied the unknown people in the pictures," she explains in her introduction, "often with a magnifying glass, trying to decipher their relationships with one another."
In this introductory issue of the recently reformed Canadian super-team Alpha Flight, Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, and Dale Eaglesham hit the perfect balance between a comic that will appeal to all readers and a story that has some fun ‘Canadiana’ shout-out moments.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Toronto Underground Cinema is celebrating our one year anniversary on May 15th. We've survived our first year, it's taken a lot of blood sweat and beers, but we made it. So we're going to celebrate the only way we know how... by showing movies! Not just any movies, but two of our favourites, films that are near and dear to our hearts: Clue & Jurassic Park!
The National Parks Project documentary is about two hours long. Two things will result from this: 1) If you see it in a theatre, your ass and legs will hurt by the time it’s over; and 2) If you see it in a city, you will emerge from the film incredibly restless after seeing thirteen of this country’s prettiest places.
In the last few years, Paul Peterson and Jason Gilmore talked to four suicide survivors, about their experiences, the lead up and the aftermath. The compilation of these talks is called The Next Day, illustrated by acclaimed artist John Porcellino, accompanied by an interactive online component co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada. So even if you can’t talk to anyone else about it, I’m sure you may be comfortable reading it.
This year’s Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival kicks off today and runs through May 8. Featuring over 200 films in total, picking which films are worth seeing is a tall order for even the most seasoned fest-vet. With that in mind, allow us to present the second part of our Hot Docs coverage – A selection of documentaries that may just pique your interest.
This week Gavin and Jeff are joined by Todd Van Allen, host of the Comedy Above The Pub Podcast. The three men share their thoughts on comedy and politics in Canada, and wax poetic about upcoming blockbusters.
The 2011 Hot Docs Film Festival is bigger than ever this year with over 200 movies being screened of the course of 11 days. I understand that the choices are overwhelming this year, but here I am to briefly give all you fine Dork Shelf readers my top five picks of the festival and five other films that are in smaller categories of competition that you shouldn't overlook.
This year's Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival kicks off tomorrow and runs through May 8. Featuring over 200 films in total, picking which films are worth seeing is a tall order for even the most seasoned fest-vet. With that in mind, allow us to present the first part of our Hot Docs coverage - A selection of documentaries that may just pique your interest.
It's no secret that Canadians love some home-grown talent; this includes Kill Shakespeare, a graphic novel that I described to my roommate this morning as "Shakespeare crossover fan-fiction that's actually good." On Monday, the team announced on Twitter that Astral Media have awarded Kill Shakespeare, among others, money to produce a screenplay.
Part of me actually toyed with talking about the social and political ideologies at the heart of Hobo With a Shotgun. But chances are, if you are going to see a film like Hobo with a Shotgun, you are not going to care in the slightest about any of that. Every time my brain was about to make a connection to something I read about, a bot of film theory, or anything I learned in university, the film pistol whipped me and told me to stop being such a pussy.
With every comic book movie adaptation, there is a flood of new titles that showcase the soon-to-be silver screen hero. Captain America: The First Avenger will be no different, and in addition to the regular on-going series, this week saw the arrival of three different comics with the star-spangled hero headlining.
