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Sample: Title; rating (out of 4); principal setting; year of release; international co-producer (if any); cast; description; scriptwriter; director; content warning; running time.
BORDERLINE NORMAL
* * 1/2 setting: Ont./USA.
(2000) Robin Dunne, Caterina Scorsone, Corbin Bernsen,
Stephanie Zimbalist, Michael Ironside, Eugene Lipinski, Will Sanderson,
Eric Johnson.....Teen (Dunne) commutes back and forth across the U.S.-Canada
border between his bitterly divorced parents (American actors Bernsen and
Zimbalist), while being on the track team of his Canadian high school,
and becoming involved with another student (Scorsone). Moderately interesting
drama is watchable on a from-scene-to-scene basis, though it seems like
awfully mundane stuff to build a feature film around. Plays like some teen-aimed
After School Special about broken homes -- except for some decidedly adult
material, like a mid-story sexual assault that seems out-of-place, particularly
as the rest of the film deals with it rather poorly. A movie where, by
the end, too little is resolved or even dealt with satisfactorily. That
may well have been the filmmakers' intent (y'know, the "we're not doing
some trite, Hollywood movie" attitude), but it still makes for uneven drama.
The constant harping on the Canadian-American thing, though well intentioned
(in an industry that too often refuses to acknowledge its Canadian origins),
often seems obvious and unconvincing. sc: Larry Mollin. dir: Jeff Beesley.
95 min.
BORDERTOWN (TV Series)Pretty unsubtle TV series was billed as a "family" program (because it kept the smooching to a minimum and the violence and gunplay to a maximum, I guess) and presumably to excuse the uneven performances and flat scripts. Still, Western-genre fans might get a kick out of the novel premise (though the Mountie rarely actually wore his proper uniform). Cute idea of alternating from episode to episode who got top-billing (Comar or Brennan). Set in Alberta but filmed, incongruously, in B.C. The core premise, though not the execution, could be seen as inspiring Due South (both shows were produced by Alliance films). The third season was completed for the '91-'92 season, but CTV didn't air it until a year later. Three seasons of half hour episodes, originally shown on CTV. |
BORDERTOWN CAFE *
* 1/2 setting: Man./USA.
(1992) Susan Hogan, Janet Wright, Gordon Michael Woolvett,
Sean McCann, Nicholas Campbell, Ric Reid, Lora Schroeder, Victor Cowie.....Story
of a small town family's bumpy relationship, focusing on a single mom (Hogan),
her teen-aged son (Woolvett), and the arrival of her ex-husband (Campbell).
Good-looking serio-comic pic tries hard for a realist feel, but the performances,
though good, rarely convince (except maybe Campbell) and the direction's
kind of dry. Still, interesting with good dialogue. Wright received the
Best Actress Genie. sc: Kelly Rebar. dir: Norma Bailey. 101 min.
BORROWED HEARTS: A Holiday
Romance * * 1/2
(1997) Roma Downey, Eric McCormack, Sarah Rosen Fruitman,
Shawn Alex Thompson, Hector Elizondo, Kevin Hicks, Catherine Fitch.....A
working mom (Downey) and her daughter (Fruitman) are hired by her rich
boss (McCormack) to pose as his family to impress a potential business
associate (Elizondo) during the Christmas season. Made-for-TV romantic
comedy/drama has a solid premise, but starts out poorly with the actors,
particularly Hollywood import Downey (who was one of the executive producers)
and young Fruitman unconvincing, and a script and direction that's pretty
mundane (and the daughter's more obnoxious than precocious). It gets better
all around as it goes along, with even a touch of the obligatory Christmas
mysticism (the daughter thinks American actor Elizondo's character is an
angel). Worth a look. And, hey, though squarely aimed at the U.S. TV market,
it doesn't actually say it isn't set in Canada (which, in this country,
and for an Atlantis Films production, is a cultural triumph!). sc: Pamela
and Earl Wallace. dir: Ted Kotcheff. 90 min.
BOULEVARD *
* 1/2 setting: Ont.
(1995) Rae Dawn Chong, Kari Wuhrer, Lou Diamond Phillips,
Lance Henrikson, Joel Bissonette, Judith Scott, Amber Lea Weston.....Story
of a young woman (Wuhrer), on the run from her abusive boyfriend, who gets
taken under the wing of an independent hooker (Chong) in Toronto and their
run-ins with a nasty pimp (Phillips). Fairly effective, gritty, drama-suspenser
seems earnest enough, though it's a bit flatly directed and only occasionally
sparks with originality. Gets better as it goes along...including a surprising
twist in the characters' relationship. As an actress, Wuhrer seems a bit
out of her depth, though. Henrikson plays a quasi-sympathetic cop. Of the
four leads, only Chong is Canadian...and she lives in Hollywood! sc: Andrea
Wilde. dir: Penelope Buitenhuis. - female nudity, sexual content, violence,
partial male nudity.- 95 min. (video)
Bound by Honor, the biography by Bill Bonanno, served as part of the source for the mini-series Bonanno.
BOUNTY HUNTERS 2 a.k.a. Hardball
BOXCAR BLUES a.k.a. Thunderground
THE BOY IN BLUE *
* setting: Ont./other
(1985) Nicolas Cage, Cynthia Dale, Christopher Plummer,
David Naughton, Sean Sullivan, Melody Anderson.....Fictionalized bio
of turn of the century rower, Ned Hanlan (American import Cage): his rise
to the top of the racing world, despite interference from a mobster (Plummer),
and his attempts to woo the man's daughter (Dale). Uninspired performances
and the silly, cliched story is never really involving, despite a sense
of humour and generally fast pacing. sc: Douglas Bowie (story John Trent).
dir: Charles Jarrott. - sexual content, partial female nudity.- 98 min.
(video)
BOY MEETS GIRL
* * setting: Ont.
(1999) Sean Astin, Emily Hampshire, Kevin McDonald,
Kate Nelligan, Joe Mantegna, Sook-Yin Lee, Mary Long, Louis Di Bianco,
Joseph Scoren, Silvio Oliviero.....As Valentine's Day approaches, an
anglophone writer of Italian photo-comic strips (Astin) romances an Italian
immigrant (Hampshire) who thinks he wrote a poem that was really written
by a local romantic poet (Mantegna). Whimsical romantic-comedy mixes magic
realism and homages to '60s New Wave Italian movies and its heart is most
definitely in the right place. But the end result is a movie that's more
curious than funny, or romantic. Kind of reminiscent in its use of magic
realism of the U.S. film "Simply Irresistable" which came out around the
same time -- but that film worked its charm a little better (though was,
admittedly, a critical and commercial failure). Astin and Mantegna are
American imports. Oliviero, an under-valued Canadian actor, nearly steals
the show in a bit part as the proprietor of a rundown restaurant. sc: Timothy
Lee, Doug Bagot. dir: Jerry Ciccoritti (a.k.a. Gerard Ciccoritti). 98 min.
The Boyd Gang, the non-fiction book by M.Lamb and B.Pearson, was the source for the TV documentary The Life and Times of Edwin Alonzo Boyd.
LES BOYS *
1/2
setting: P.Q.
1997) Marc Messier, Remy Girard, Patrick Huard, Serge
Theriault, Michel Barrette, Paul Houde, Luc Guerin, Yvan Ponton, Roc Lafortune.....Story
of a small town amateur hockey team and what happens when the manager (Girard),
in debt to a mobster, stakes all he has on winning the final game of the
season. Comedy is good looking with a good cast, and is another one of
those films that apparently was a hit in Quebec. Now, admittedly, subtitles
(or dubbing) can interfere with comedy (which is often about how
things are said as what)...but it just ain't funny. Worse, there's an underlying
mean-spiritedness (and sexism) to much of the humour, making for often
unappealing characters. It's a movie that seems like it was inspired by
a zillon other sports comedies...without supplying the necessary scenes
and character stuff to actually make the thin and over-long story work
logically, or viscerally. Messier and Ponton are old hands at hockey-themed
stories, both having been regulars in He Shoots,
He Scores. Followed by some sequels. sc: Christian Fournier, dialogue:
Christian Fournier, Rene Brisebois, Louis Saia, Francois Camirand (concept
by Richard Goudreau). dir: Louis Saia. - partial male nudity, brief female
nudity, violence.- 110 min. (video)
THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT (TVMS)
setting: Nfld.
(1992) Henry Czerny.....Fictional drama about
child abuse at a Newfoundland orphanage, the cover-ups and the eventual
trial of those involved. Controversial after a court injunction forbid
its airing in Ontario and parts of Quebec because of worries it would prejudice
the trials of Catholic Brothers charged with sexual abuse, it went on to
win numerous awards and critical praise. Not aired nationally until 1993.
Won a number of Geminis including for Mini-Series, Actor (Czerny), Supporting
Actress (Roy), Script and Direction. Since the two parts are substantially
different (the second is even given a subtitle) they're reviewed separately.
A total of 4 hours. sc: Des Walsh, John N. Smith, Sam Grana. dir: John
N. Smith. (video)
THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT *
* *
with Johnny Morina, Brian Dooley, Philip Dinn, Brian
Dodd, Michael Wade, Greg Thomey, Sam Grana.....Part 1 chronicles sexual
and physical abuse in a Catholic orphanage, and the attempts by some to
expose it. Drama doesn't live up to the advance critical praise (nothing
could), but is still compelling and evokes the helplessness of the victims.
But there isn't a lot in the way of characterization, with performances
that vary (though Czerny, inparticular, is quite good, as is Wade). The
graphicness (including nudity), though no doubt defended on "realism" grounds,
seems in poor taste, intended to shock rather than enlighten. After all,
no amount of explicitness or "grittiness" is going to change the fact that
these are just actors in a movie and the viewer knows that.
THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT - FIFTEEN YEARS LATER*
1/2
with Sebastian Spence, Lise Roy, David Hewlett, Timothy
Webber, Kristine Demers, Mary Walsh, Bryan Hennessey.....Part 2 is
about Lavine being brought to trial and how this affects some of the now-adult
boys. Seems like nothing more than an afterthought tacked onto the first
episode, with a rambling plot, static scenes, liberal use of flashbacks,
and dreary, pseudo-documentary scenes like an inquiry into the cover-up
and Walsh as a voice-of-God DJ. It offers no insight into the first episode
(the whys and hows), and seems intended only to show the long term trauma
victims suffer...which it fails to do since we never get inside anyone's
head. They should've stopped after the first one. Ed Riche is given a co-story
credit.
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