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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.
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(2001) * 1/2 Diane Flacks ("Alexandra Reed"), Ellie Harvie ("Jill Hayes"), Fiona Reid ("Deirdre Duncan"), with Mike Beaver ("Benny"), Julia Paton ("Marci Reed"), Alan C. Peterson ("Manny Fornier"), others.....Sitcom set at a Toronto public relations firm, with Flacks as the obnoxious do-anything-for-a-deal head of the firm and Harvie as her more demure partner. Reid plays the enigmatic receptionist (upper crust British and clearly rich, the other characters constantly wonder about her past). Peterson played a rival agent, and the others workers in the heroines' firm. Continuing the trend in Canada of doing media satires (begun by The Newsroom and continued by Made in Canada and Big Sound), this series eschews the dry, low-key humour attempted by those other shows for broad, attack-it-with-gusto slapstick. At times it's appallingly bad, while at other times it's just moderately bad. One can admire the enthusiasm of those involved, but the gags just aren't very funny, and the supposedly farcical plots, where schemes snowball out-of-control until the denouement, often fail to seem that clever -- not unlike in Made in Canada and Big Sound. In fact, except for the Newsroom, these "media comedies" have been more misses than hits. Perhaps a problem in a series which satirizes both the main characters and their clients, is that you end up with a rather mean spirited, unpleasant show in which the creators (and the audience) are supposed to feel superior to everyone on screen...or, perhaps worse, we're supposed to admire these unsavoury characters. Continuing the trend of Canadian networks seeming to give carte blanche to actors to create vehicles for themselves, this was co-created by star Flacks with Kevin Sullivan (a producer known more for dramas). Half hour episodes on the CBC. |
P.T. BARNUM (TVMS)
* * 1/2 setting: USA.
(1999) (/U.S.) Beau Bridges, Henry Czerny, Cynthia
Dale, George Hamilton, Jordan Bridges, Natalie Radford, Art Kitching, Stephanie
Morgenstern, Charles Martin Smith, Josh Ryan Evans.....Story of the
life of 19th Century American showman P.T. Barnum (both Bridges). Spritely
mini-series can't decide if it wants to focus on his professional life,
or his personal, and ends up not quite focusing on either. The larger-than-life
schemes and dealings can be a bit confusing, while the family problems
are often choppy and unconvincing (admittedly, the filmmakers have to squeeze
a huge time frame into four hours). Ultimately, it's moderately entertaining
thanks to the brisk tempo, fruity performanes, and lavish production, but
not much more. There's also something a bit off-putting about the American
jingoism -- reams of dialogue celebrating America as the greatest
country on earth, and Americans the uber-people -- when the writer
is a Canadian and the director an Australian...and the movie itself fails
to prove its own case (Barnum seemed to earn a lot of his money, either
by touring Europe, or by bringing European acts to America). And was Barnum
really just a loveable showman, with an egalitarian philosophy, as the
movie asserts...or an amoral conman whose most famous quote ("There's a
sucker born every minute") is never addressed in this film? 4 hours. sc:
Lionel Chetwynd. dir: Simon Wincer.
THE PACT
(1998) Adam Frost, see Tales
of Intrigue
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(2013-) * * (2013) Randal Edwards ("Danny White"), Julia Voth ("Kim Mattingly"), Harland Williams ("Sheldon"), Jay Malone ("Ryan"), with Jill Morrison ("Nikki"), Pamela Anderson.....Sitcom about a young lawyer (Edwards) and his new girlfriend (Voth) and his two oddball brothers, the uncouth older brother who raised them (Williams) and the nerdier one (Malone) -- the girlfriend having to acclimatize to the fact that the three guys are the eponymous "package deal." Morrison plays the sole employee at the tea shop "Kim" runs. Anderson cropped up a few times as "Ryan"'s therapist (and reflecting the series' seeming default sensibilities, much of the humour around her revolving around her looks and sex appeal). For some reason in 2013, Canadian networks and producers became convinced the next great Canadian TV wave was going to be -- sitcoms! Specifically "American-style" sitcoms (as they marketed themselves), ie: not quirky, or wry (like, say, the critically acclaimed but low-rated Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays). And it's a particularly "middle brow" school of American comedy -- and old fashioned, with an attitude toward sex, leering innuendo, and gender that hasn't changed since the '70s. Following on the heels of Seed and Satisfaction came Package Deal. Like those other series, part of the "American-style" meant not being too obvious about being set in Canada. The occasional courtroom scenes are modelled after American courts, and there aren't too many obvious Canadian references (in the first episode, Voth's character is identified as being from California). The other thing it shares with many of these other American-style sitcoms -- is it's not very good, seeming more like a clumsy attempt to imitate a U.S. sitcom, rather than the real thing, with obvious set-ups and mugging. Admittedly, comedy is a more delicate art than drama, and it could be argued at times this isn't so much bad as just not that good, mustering the occasional chuckle, but often needing the plots to seem less self-consciously contrived, the actors to find the proper rhythm, the lines to settle on more sly phrasing -- and less reliance on sex jokes that seem ripped off from an old "Carry On" film. Sometimes guest stars like Eugene Levy proved the funniest part of an episode. Created by Andrew Orenstein. Half-hour episodes on City TV. |
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(2007) (/U.S.) * * Kristanna Loken ("Jane Vasco"), Rob Stewart ("Andre McBride"), Noah Danby ("Connor King"), Stephen Lobo ("Seth Carpenter"), Sean Owen Roberts ("Riley Jensen"), Alaina Kalanj ("Maureen"), with Garwin Sanford, others.....Action/science fiction set in, more or less, modern America, about a covert government organization that tracks down and captures rogue neuros -- people who mysteriously begin to manifest a variety of super powers (mutants by another name). "Jane" is, herself, a neuro, with the ability to heal from almost any wound. A few years previous to this, there was a whole cottage industry in Canada of these kind of series -- U.S. co-productions, action/sci-fi, intended for syndication and/or U.S. cable. But by the time of this series, that trend was almost extinct. A kind of frustratingly uneven series that isn't wholly bad...as it isn't quite good, either. Like, say, Nikita, the series touched on the moral ambiguity of the "heroes" actions even as, like Nikita, it meant the series had a kind of unpleasant undercurrent. Despite the action and f/x, it has a low-budget look and feel which seems to hamper it a bit. That is, the acting, writing, direction isn't great...but not so bad that you can't think maybe with a few more hours to rehearse, a few more drafts, a little more time to set up a shot... Stewart is certainly capable enough, and the others have their moments. Based (loosely) on a comic book series, the property had previously seen life as a significantly different TV movie (starring Canadian Emmanuelle Vaugier as Jane). A lot of modern comics seem to exist, less as themselves, than simply as something to be optioned to Hollywood. In this case, even with a brief revival of the Painkiller Jane comic to cash in on this series, this one-season TV series still produced more episodes than there are Painkiller Jane comics! 22 hour long episodes shown in Canada on CanWest-Global. |
PAINT CANS
* * setting: CDN./other
(1994) Chas Lawther, Robyn Stevan, Bruce Greenwood,
Nigel Bennett, Don Francks, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Lex Gigeroff, Andy Jones,
Paul Gross.....A sometimes pompous, sometimes put-upon executive (Lawther)
at a film funding agency is hounded by an avant garde film that won't go
away: Paint Cans. This Canadian-film satire is rarely as biting,
clever, or funny as the advanced critical praise suggested, and suffers
from the static pacing that plagues so many domestic movies. At one
point a character in the film decries the "competent mediocrity" of most
Canadian movies -- ironically, he could have been describing this one.
Not terrible, but flat. Look for Gross' atypically outlandish performance
as a writer. sc./dir: Paul Donovan (from his novel). - really brief
female nudity.- 103 min.
PALAIS ROYALE *
* setting: Ont.
(1988) Kim Cattrall, Matt Craven, Kim Coates, Brian
George, Dean Stockwell, Michael Hogan.....In 1959, a bored accountant
(Craven) falls for a model (Cattrall) and becomes involved with her gangster
friends (led by imported Stockwell) who all hang around the Palais Royale
night club. Stylish, well-acted and sometimes quite amusing film
noire suspenser limps along aimlessly until you're begging for it to end.
Close, but no cigar. Great blues sound track. Trivia note:
the real Palaid Royale re-opened in 2006. a.k.a. Smokescreen.
sc: Hugh Graham. dir: Martin Lavut. - sexual content, partial female nudity.-
100 min.
PALE KINGS AND PRINCES see Spenser: Pale Kings and Princes
PALE SAINTS
* * 1/2 setting: Ont.
(1996) Sean Patrick Flanery, Saul Rubinek, Michael
Riley, Rachael Crawford, Gordon Pinsent, Maury Chaykin, Hardee T. Lineham,
John Cuthbert.....A couple of small time hoods (Flanery and Riley)
try to con their way into a rip-off staged by a couple of middle-men (Rubinek
and Crawford) hoping to bilk their psychotic mob boss (Chaykin). Serio-comic
crime-drama, mixing Quentin Tarrantino (though not as gory) with a seeming
genuine affection for '60s/'70s cinematic styles, is a good, rarely boring
film...but not quite a great one. Atypically kinetic (for a Canadian movie),
funky, with a good cast, but a little confusing. It strains at times to
achieve the quirkiness it's aiming for and, despite emotionally charged
ideas, never entirely clicks on an emotional level. Also the endless use
of profanity gets pretty numbing after a while -- cuss words are emphatics,
but using them every second word negates their effectiveness and puts too
many scenes on the same level. Or maybe you need actors who seem as though
they'd actually use such language (watching venerable Gordon Pinsent say
"F***"-this and "F***"-that endlessly is enough to scar any Canadian).
Still, despite the presence of American actor Flanery, this is actually
set in Canada (and should've won an honourary Genie for that alone)! An
auspices writing/directing debut by actor Wyner...but flawed. sc./dir:
Joel Wyner. 89 min.
PAPER MOON AFFAIR *
1/2 setting: B.C.
(2005) Misa Shimizu, Brendan Fletcher, Sebastian Spence,
Philip Granger, John Lone, Brenda James.....Story of a Japanese woman
(Shimizu) who arrives in a small, redneck B.C. coastal town, and is essentially
deserted by her husband, and of a young, uncouth local man (Fletcher) who
befriends and becomes infatuated with her. Well-intentioned drama boasts
some breathtaking B.C. scenery, but tries too hard to tell its story in
minimalist vignettes -- often with brief scenes of deliberately pointless
dialogue followed by long stretches of silence showing the actors looking
contemplative, or cutting to the shore or clouds. In a sense, this Japanese
themed film is a little like a cinematic haiku, trying to build mood and
a story out of almost random phrasings. And the result is just too choppy
and disjointed (import Lone, as the husband, literally just vanishes from
the film), where it's all about the characterization...and the characters
feel short changed and their actions not always convincing. You know the
lyrical flavour they're going for...but they don't, quite, pull it off.
Improves as it goes along, but not enough. sc: David Tamagi, Michael Parker,
Jilena Cori (story Thomas Fung). dir: Dave Tamagi. - sexual content.- 81
min.
PAPER WEDDING see Les noces de papier
PAPERBACK HERO *
* 1/2 setting: Sask.
(1973) Keir Dullea, Elizabeth Ashley, John Beck, Dayle
Hadden, Franz Russell, George Robertson, Les Rubie.....Small town bully
and womanizer (Dullea) leads an aimless life as a hockey hero and pretending
he's a gunslinger until his team is shut down. Interesting, cerebral
little serio-comic classic of Canadiana is well-done though unappealing
characters make it hard to care. sc: Barry Pearson, Les Rose. dir:
Peter Pearson. - female nudity, sexual content.- 94 min.
THE PAPERBOY
* 1/2 setting: USA.
(1995) Alexandra Paul, Marc Marut, William Katt, Brigid
Tierney, Krista Errickson, Frances Byland, Barry Flatman.....Homicidal
American paperboy (Marut) fixated on a woman (Paul) he's seen in photographs,
manipulates things so that she moves back to town...after her mother's,
heh, heh, unnatural death...and he generally does what psychos do
in this kind of film. Dull, uncomfortable little suspenser with uninteresting,
and none-too-bright, characters. sc: David Peckinpah. dir: Douglas
Jackson. - violence, brief female nudity.- 93 min.
PARADOX
* * setting: USA./other
(2010) (/U.S.) Kevin Sorbo, Steph Song, Christopher Judge, A.C. Peterson, Alisen Down, Jerry Wasserman, Michael St.John Smith, David Richmond Peck.....In an alternate reality 20th Century, where magic is the basis for technology, a Los Angeles police detective (American Sorbo) with an interest in the fringe theory of "science" investigates some murders committed using a previously unheard of projectile weapon that doesn't use magic -- a gun! An interesting premise in this TV movie -- admittedly, it was also interesting when a similar idea was used years earlier in "Cast a Deadly Spell" (and its sequel "Witch Hunt"), even utilizing a similar 1940s/1950s ambience of fedoras and trenchcoats (despite a "modern" setting). The fresh twist is the idea of science finding its way into a culture skeptical about it. Unfortunately, it's modestly budgeted and the execution doesn't live up to the concept. It tries for a quirky visual style -- the mid-20th Century ambience, use of split screen, or morphing between live action and comic book stills -- even as it can feel a bit like they're faking a style...rather than feeling it. Even whether it's meant to be serious (as it mainly is), humorous...or deliberate camp (some bad dialogue, cliched scenes). And the mystery-plot itself is rather thin. The result is a movie that isn't really "good"...but isn't direly bad, either, and might be worth a look on a slow night just for the premise. After all, even "Cast a Deadly Spell", though fondly remembered by some, was itself more interesting for its idea than its execution. Sorbo and Judge have both spent a lot of time in Canada with their respective sci-fi series, Andromeda and StarGate: SG1. sc: Christos N. Gage, Ruth Fletcher Gage (from the comic book by Christos N. Gage). dir: Brenton Spencer. - violence.- 82 min.
PARALLELS
* * 1/2 setting: Alt.
(1980) David Fox, Judith Mabey, Gerard Lepage, Kyra
Harper, David Ferry, Walter Kaasa, Howard Dallin.....Story of priest
(Fox, in a rare lead role), having a crisis of faith, and the angry teen-aged
son (Lepage) of his ex-girlfriend (Mabey), who's in an increasingly dangerous
feud with the local bully (Ferry). Nicely done drama unfortunately
doesn't entirely sustain itself through to the end. sc: Mark Schoenberg,
Jaron Summers. dir: Mark Schoenberg. 85 min.
THE PARASITE MURDERS a.k.a. Shivers
PARIS, FRANCE
* * 1/2 setting: Ont.
(1993) Leslie Hope, Peter Outerbridge, Victor Ertmanis,
Dan Lett, Raoul Trujillo.....Over a weekend, a frustrated writer (Hope)
has a sexual tryst with a bisexual boxing-poet (Outerbridge) while her
publisher husband (Ertmanis) thinks he'll die in 3 days...because the voice
of John Lennon told him so. Bizarre, talky, sexually graphic (and
kinky) comedy benefits from excellent performances, witty dialogue, a brisk
tempo and just plain weirdness, but it tries so hard to be off-beat and
shocking, and the characters so neurotic, that it fails to work emotionally
(or erotically for that matter). Never boring, but not involoving
either. Savaged by critics (even making a "worst of the year" list)
suggesting it certainly managed to push somebody's buttons. sc: Tom
Walmsley (from his novel). dir: Gerard Ciccoritti. - explicit sexual content,
lots of male and female nudity, violence.- 121 min.
PARIS OR SOMEWHERE
* * setting: Sask.
(1995) Callum Keith Rennie, Molly Parker, Chris Owens,
Charlene Fernetz, John Vernon.....An American (Rennie), on the run
for killing his abusive father, arrives in a small Saskatchewan town where
many of the folk glamourize him because of his crime. Sleepy
serio-comic flick is notable for trying to be weird and off-beat, at least
in execution, but the blending of quirky humour and drama is awkward and
the film's point bewildering. And the themes (small town losers and
dreamers, glorified American) can either be seen as quintessentially Canadian...or
really cliched and it suffers from another very Canadian characteristic:
characters that aren't especially appealing. Good-looking and decently
acted, especially Rennie, Fernetz and Vernon. sc: Lee Gowan (based
on the play "The Playboy of the Western World" by John M. Synge). dir:
Brad Turner. 94 min.
THE PARK IS MINE
* * 1/2 setting: USA.
(1985) (/U.S.) Tommy Lee Jones, Helen Shaver, Yaphet
Kotto, Lawrence Dane, Peter Dvorsky, Eric Peterson.....Vietnam vet
(imported Jones) takes over and barricades Central park as an "everyman"
protesting the state of the world, but nasty politicians aren't about to
let him get away with it. So-so flick has good action and a good
performance from Jones but it's contrived and sanctimonious without seeming
sincere. sc. Lyle Gorch. d. Steven Hilliard Stern. - brief female
nudity.- 105 min.
PAROLES ET MUSIQUE
* * setting: other/CDN.
(1986) (/France) Catherine Deneuve, Richard Anconina,
Christopher Lambert, Nick Mancuso, Jacques Perrin, Dayle Haddon.....Story
of a struggling French pop-music duo (Anconina and Lambert) and how the
latter's work suffers when he begins an affair with a married-though-separated
woman (Deneuve). Slick drama has some clever writing, but remains
strangely opaque and insubstantial...and way too long. The audience
observes, but never gets inside the characters. English title: Love
Songs. sc./dir: Elie Chouraqui. 107 min.
PARSLEY DAYS *
* *
(2000) Megan Dunlop, Michael LeBlanc, Marla McLean,
Kenneth Wilson- Harrington, Marcia Connolly, Shannon Cunningham, Vanessa
Maximillian, Bruce Godfree.....Young woman (Dunlop) discovers she's
pregnant, and plans to abort it because she thinks she's no longer in love
with her doting boyfriend (LeBlanc)...even though all her eccentric friends
assure her he's the perfect boyfriend. Low-key comedy is quirky, cleverly
unexpected, well-paced, and quite stylish at times. It can't quite shake
its low-budget aura at first, but stick with it, because after a while
it's the quirkiness and cleverness, and the personable (if unpolished)
cast that sticks with you. Actor/tv personality Jonathan Torrens provides
the voice of a radio DJ in one scene. Filmed in Halifax. sc./dir: Andrea
Dorfman. 78 min.
PARTITION *
* * setting: other
(2007) (/U.K.) Jimi Mistry, Kristin Kreuk, Neve Campbell,
John Light, Irrfan Khan, Madhur Jaffrey, Arrya Babbar, Jaden Rain, Jesse
Moss.....During the partition of Indian and Pakistan into separate
nations, and the resulting ethnic/religious bloodshed that occurred, a
Sikh ex-soldier (Mistry) protects a Muslim girl (Kreuk) separated and lost
from her family after a massacre. Romantic drama/historical epic is sumptuous
looking in a way that belies the (presumably) limited budget (director
Sarin doubled as the cinematographer). But there are times where the film
seems to be going for "elegant" more than "passionate", with a certain
minimalism to the plot, character development and even dialogue (Kreuk's
character inparticular at times threatens to seem more like a plot device
than a fully fleshed out person). But ultimately works more than it doesn't,
scoring some memorable scenes and emotional moments in its Romeo &
Juliet-style scenario. Campbell is memorable in a prominent supporting
part. Ironically, though some was filmed on location in India...much was
shot in B.C. (including some exteriors and street scenes) and yet it never
loses its sense of period and place. The same historical period was also
used in the earlier Canadian movie, Earth. sc:
Vic Sarin, Patricia Finn. dir: Vic Sarin. - violence.- 116 min.
PARTNERS 'N LOVE *
* 1/2
(1992) Eugene Levy, Linda Kash, John James, Jayne
Eastwood, John Hemphill, Debra McGrath, Colin Fox, E.M. Margolese, Stephanie
Morgenstern.....Divorced-but-still-friends business partners (Levy
and Kash) re-evaluate their relationship when they discover their divorce
isn't legal and an offer is made on their business. Inoffensive film
is either a low-key comedy, or else a light-hearted drama. Likeable
but, either way, it's not much more than an O.K. time-waster. sc:
Josh Goldstein (story Goldstein and Jonathan Prince). dir: Eugene Levy
(his first feature). 94 min.
LE PARTY
* * 1/2 setting: P.Q.
(1990) Charlotte Laurier, Benoit Dagenais, Julien
Poulin, Lou Babin, Roger Leger, Andre Doucet, Gildor Roy, Louise LaPrade,
Michel Forget.....Story of a troupe of entertainers -- comedians, singers
and strippers -- arriving at a prison, and how some of the prisoners intend
to use the performance to cover an escape. Raw, gritty, strongly
acted drama is adamantly pro-prisoners, anti-prison (a difficult message
given that the characters are so unrepentant), and it's so didactic that,
at times, it seems hokey and over-the-top. The concept comes from
FLQer Simard's own experience in prison. sc: Pierre Faladreau with
Francis Simard, Bernard Emond (story Francis Simard). dir: Pierre Faladreau.
- sexual content, female nudity, violence..- 104 min.
A PASSAGE TO OTTAWA
* * * setting: Ont.
(2002) Nabil Mehta, Amy Sobol, Jim Codrington, Ivan
Smith, Franceen Brodkin.....Story of an East Indian boy (Mehta), sent
to live with his ethnically mixed Canadian relatives because his dying
mother can't look after him, who's set on finding a hero figure he can
take back to India to look after her. And of the grudging relationship
that develops between him and his older Canadian cousin (Sobol), and how
they both become interested (for different reasons, of course) in a good
natured tour boat captain (Codrington). Serio-comic, bittersweet flick
starts out seeming a bit hamstrung by its modest budget, including uneven
performances (except Codrington, who exudes professionalism). But pretty
soon draws you in where the actors, if not always polished, imbue their
parts with depth and nuance, particularly Sobol. An empathetic movie, which
is sweet but not sentimental, and emotionally complex, where the characters
are likeable but flawedly human. Though Mehta's Canadian accent doesn't
quite gel with an Indian-born character. Pluralistic, archly Canadian (in
a good way) and with a nice use of Ottawa River locations. Worth sticking
with. sc: Jameel Khaja (inspired by the story "Fourth Daddy" by Yuri Nagibin).
dir: Gaurav Seth. 90 min.
PASSCHENDAELE *
* 1/2 Alt./other
(2009) Paul Gross, Caroline Dhavernas, Joe Dinicol,
Meredith Bailey, Jim Mezon, Adam Harrington, Gil Bellows, Michael Greyeyes.....Story
of an injured World War I soldier (Gross) who returns to the homefront,
becomes involved with a nurse (Dhavernas), and eventually, because of circumstances,
returns to the battlefield and the infamous battle of Passchendaele. One
of the most expensive Canadian movies made (that wasn't an international
co-production), and by all accounts a labour of love for Gross who spent
years trying to get it filmed. And the results are...well-intentioned.
By wrapping it around the homefront soap opera the movie tries admirably
to be more than just grunts n' guns -- without fully succeeding in making
those scenes seem like much more than, well, filler. Gross and Dhavernas
are perfectly personable, but their characters are rather bland, Dinicol's
character (her brother) is just obnoxious (problematic given the plot),
and most of the other characters are either one dimensional, or barely
defined at all (Bellows barely has a half dozen lines). The movie skirts
plausibility, even becoming -- occasionally -- silly. And Gross' direction
is generally no more than workmanlike. Yet, on the other hand, it
does have its moments, and the last act battlefield scenes are effectively
raw and chaotic. Ultimately, sincere intentions aside, balancing the
plus and minuses, the result is...okay. sc./dir: Paul Gross. - extreme
violence; sexual content; brief male and female nudity.- 115 min.
PASSION AND PARADISE (TVMS)
* * 1/2 setting: other
(1989) (/U.S./U.K.) Armand Assante, Catherine Mary
Stewart, Rod Steiger, Mariette Hartley, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Sarrazin,
Wayne Rogers, Andrew Ray, Linda Griffiths.....Fact based story of the
events leading up to the still unsolved murder of Canadian millionaire
Sir Harry Oakes (Steiger) in the Bahamas in the '40s, focusing on his daughter
(Stewart), and of the subsequent trial of his son-in-law (Assante) -- complete
with the film suggesting a possible solution. O.K. drama seems sincere,
but there's no real spark to the film. Hart won a posthumous Gemini
for Best Direction. The Oakes case was also covered, from a slightly
different perspective, in a better-than-average Scales
of Justice episode. 4 hours but, apparently, also shown in a
trimmed down movie-length version. sc: Andrew Laskos (from the book
Who
Killed Sir Harry Oakes by James Leasor with additional material by
David Reid). dir: Harvey Hart. - violence.-
A PASSION FOR MURDER *
* setting: USA.
(1992) Michael Nouri, Joanna Pacula, Michael Ironside,
Mickey Jones, Brent Neale, Arne Olsen.....Cabbie (imported Nouri) agrees
to drive a mysterious woman (imported Pacula) from Detroit to Seatle, unaware
she's being hunted by a government agent (Ironside). So-so suspenser
is watchable with some decent performances (particularly Nouri), dialogue,
striking snowy scenery and even some sex early on. But there's no
suspense, nor any interesting turns in the plot. Nothing more than
the bones of an idea for a movie. a.k.a.
Black Ice.
sc: Arne Olsen, John Alan Schwartz. dir: Neill Fearnley. - partial female
and male nudity, explicit sexual content, extreme violence.- 92 min.
PAST PERFECT ( i ) *
1/2 setting: USA.
(1996) Eric Roberts, Nick Mancuso, Saul Rubinek, Laurie
Holden, Mark Hildreth, Yee Jee Tso.....Hard-nosed, American vigilante-cop
(American actor Roberts) and his partner (Holden) find themselves trying
to protect a juvenile delinquent (Hildreth) from killers (Mancuso and Rubinek)...from
the future. Frustrating film starts as your usual right-wing straight-to-video
cop show where characters can fire a hundred bullets without reloading
and no one shoots anyone once when they can shoot 'em a dozen times, then
throws in the science fiction element, character stuff, good dialogue and
some surprising (and refreshing) liberal-philosophizing, as if it wants
to do the Pinnochio-thing and turn into a real movie (with a good cast)
instead of a Lorenzo Lamas reject. But
every time it starts to work, the incessant, numbing gun battles start
up and boredom sets in. Too bad. Presumably there was a behind-the-scenes
struggle over what kind of movie they were making, and the schlock-meisters
won out. sc: John Penney. dir: Jonathan Heap. - violence.- 92 min.
PAST PERFECT ( ii )
* * 1/2 setting: N.S
(2003) Rebecca Jenkins, Daniel MacIvor, Marie Brassard,
Maury Chaykin, Kathryn MacLellan.....Two somewhat neurotic people (Jenkins
and MacIvor), just coming off relationships, meet on a plane trip -- while,
through cutaways, we see the seeming dissolution of that relationship a
few years later. Intimate, bitter-sweet drama (with some humour) is decently
acted (particularly Jenkins) and moderately interesting...but can seem
too much like it's just in love with its "bookends" concept (which has
been done before) and doesn't have much point. But it eventually delivers
a pay-off that even allows you to go back and reconsider the meaning of
earlier scenes in light of this later revelation. Knowing that, it's worth
sticking with, but it's maybe more a decent film that would've made a great
half-hour short. In your face Canadiana is also refreshing. Actor/playwright
MacIvor's directorial debut. sc/dir: Daniel MacIvor. 88 min.
THE PATHFINDER *
* 1/2
(1996) (/U.S.) Kevin Dillon, Graham Greene, Laurie
Holden, Jaimz Woolvett, Michael Hogan, Dan MacDonald, Stephen Russell,
Frances Hyland, Russell Means, Stacey Keach (Stacy Keach), Michelle St.
John, Lawrence Bayne, Bernard Behrens.....White man (Dillon) raised
by an Indian (Greene) works as a scout for the British in their war with
the French, and starts to fall in love with a white woman (Holden).
Decent-looking made-for-TV historical adventure suffers from indifferent
writing, direction, and performances from American Dillon and Canuck Greene,
but gets better as it goes along, getting a big boost from Holden and the
rest of the cast, and just the old-fashioned adventure-story plot.
Though American Keach, in a pointless part, has his name misspelled in
the credits! Based on one of Cooper's "Leatherstocking" novels, of
which the most famous is The Last of the Mohicans. sc: James
Mitchell Miller, Thomas W. Lynch (from the novel by James Fenimore Cooper).
dir: Donald Shebib. - violence.- 104 min.
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