Scr-See
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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.
SCREAM OF STONE *
setting: other
(1991) (/German/France) Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Stefan
Glowacz, Donald Sutherland, Mathilda May, Brad Dourif, Al Waxman, Gunilla
Karlzen, Chavela Vargas.....Story of two mountain climbers (Mezzogiorno
and Glowacz), one who claims to have made it to the top of a dangerous
mountain, and one who didn't even try, and how both eventually try again.
Good looking but dreadful drama does have a story, too bad all the crucial
scenes are missing and the actors wander around poker-faced and confused.
The kicker ending is the only saving grace. May's thankless part only seems
to exist for sex appeal. a.k.a. Cerro Torre. sc: Hans-Ulrich Klenner,
Walter Saxer, Robert Geoffrion (original idea Reinhold Messner). dir: Werner
Herzog. - casual female nudity.- 97 min.
SCREAMERS *
* 1/2
(1995) (/U.S.) Peter Weller, Roy Dupuis, Jennifer
Rubin, Andy Lauer, Ron White, Charles Powell, Liliana Komorowska.....The
remnants of warring colonies on a desolate planet decide to make peace
after realizing earth has betrayed both sides...only to discover their
automated weapons, Screamers, are self-evolving, capable of mimicking human
forms as a disguise...and out-of-control. Melancholy s/f thriller wants
to be thoughtful and more than simply the "Aliens"/"The Thing" clone it
was sold as, but falls short of its own ambitions, as if the filmmakers
had trouble understanding their own ideas. It actually makes less sense
the 2nd time around! Sporadically suspenseful and poignant, but overly
understated performances and slick-but-superficial direction sometimes
sap the emotion right out of it. Interesting, but frustrating, too. Violent
opening, but overall more restrained than one would expect. Low-budget
by U.S. standards, but you'd hardly know it. And, of course, though the
story is set in a distant future, far from earth, a scene is thrown in
to make it clear that the characters are American (God forbid Canadians
should ever emigrate to the stars, eh?). sc: Dan O'Bannon, Miguel Tejada-Flores
(from the story "Second Variety" by Philip K. Dick). dir: Christian Duguay.
- extreme violence, really brief female nuudity.- 108 min.
SCTV (TV Series)This successful, critically revered TV series was spun off from a theatrical comedy troupe. Its determination to pretend it was American was often embarrassing -- even Thomas and Moranis' quintessential Canucks, the MacKenzie Brothers, were intended as a mean-spirited jab at Canadian-Content rules...but the joke backfired on them when the characters became the show's most successful creations, spinning off into a hit record album, comic strip and the feature film, Strange Brew (but did anyone learn a lesson from that?). Unfortunately, it was really great only in the beginning, when Harold Ramis was head writer and the sketches were concise, biting, and frequently sophisticated. Later skits seemed unfocused and self-indulgent, with unfunny parodies that were little more than duplicates of what they were supposed to be ridiculing and original characters were phased out in favour of celebrity imitations -- only some of which the cast could pull off. A compilation TV movie was called The Best of SCTV. Aired originally on various networks (including the CBC) and at various lengths, it was subsequently repackaged for syndication as half hour episodes. |
SCTV ON TRIAL a.k.a. The Best of SCTV
The Sea is at Our Gate, a book by Tony German, served as the inspiration for the Global TV movie Lifeline to Victory
SEA PEOPLE
* * setting: USA.
(1999) (/U.S.) Hume Cronyn, Joan Gregson, Tegan Moss,
Shawn Roberts, Ron Lea, Arlene Mazerolle, Don McKellar, Cedric Smith.....Teenage
girl (Moss), in a coastal fishing town, befriends an eccentric elderly
couple (Cronyn and Gregson) who are mermaid-type beings (they don't have
fins). Family fantasy-drama is well put together and well acted, with particularly
nice performances from Cronyn and Gregson, and moments of charm...but the
plot lacks much in the way of dramatic conflict -- y'know, obstacles to
be overcome, conflicts to be resolved. Not a bad movie, but one that seems
undeveloped (most of the supporting characters are just there to occupy
space). The less demanding your mood, the better it will seem. So how can
you recognize a Canadian movie? The heroine idolizes American marathon
swimmer Gertrude Ederle rather than, say, a Canadian like Marilyn Bell!
sc: Wendy Biller, Chrisopher Hawthorne. dir: Vic Sarin. 91 min.
THE SEA WOLF
* * 1/2 setting: USA.
(1993) (/U.S.) Charles Bronson, Christopher Reeve,
Catherine Mary Stewart, Len Cariou, Marc Singer, Clive Revill.....After
capsizing in the 1800s, a gentleman and humanitarian (Reeves) finds his
ideals put to the test when taken aboard a scummy sealing vessel whose
captain (Bronson) believes only in survival of the fittest. Old-fashioned
made-for-TV drama is nice-looking, generally well acted (though Bronson
was an ill-conceived choice) and boasts strong, intelligent dialogue, but
it never creates the emotional intensity needed. Consistently interesting
and ambitious, but not great. sc: Andrew J. Fenady (from the novel by Jack
London). dir: Michael Anderson. 93 min.
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(2003) * 1/2 Seán Cullen ("Sean"), Theresa Pavlinek ("Frau Foch), Winston Spear ("Winston the cellar dweller"), Jennifer Robertson ("Betty"), Ted Ludzik ("Sonny"), Adam Sternbergh, Jason Belleville, Ryan Belleville, with Dylan Goodhue, Ian Goodhue, Great Bob Scott, Meher Steinberg, and Stephen Hart.....Off-the-wall comedy/quasi-sitcom with a show that's aware of itself. Cullen acts out sitcom style plots with guests dropping by, and -- unbeknownst to him -- locked in a feud with his megalomaniacal neighbour (Pavlinek), a would be world conquerer (and dominatrix)...while addressing the audience, bringing audience members down to play impromptu games, breaking into musical numbers, throwing in celebrity cameoes, etc. All the while engaging in an "anything goes" surrealism. Spear plays a guy who lives in his basement, Robertson his perpetually upbeat housekeeper and Ludzik her sinister, mentally handicapped adult son, Sternbergh a door-to-door canvaser, the two Belleville's critics who kibitz from the audience. Hart (or at least his arm) appears as a sasquatch sidekick for "Frau Foch", and the others are Cullen's on-stage band. The basic concepts (or the lack of basic concepts) should make this a delightfully off-beat, hilariously bizarre experience. Yeah, it should. Unfortunately, beyond the initial concepts, Cullen rarely manages to shape them into funny jokes. The fact that he wants to shock us with his audaciousness is all very fine, but it takes more than that to get a laugh. Or, put another way, to an audience weaned on "Monty Python" and even "South Park", Scottish Jesus doesn't quite cut it. It's the glimmer of a gag, it's the beginning of a gag...but it's not a gag in and of itself. It's almost as if someone told Cullen anything he says is funny...so he doesn't bother writing actual jokes, but figures as long as he mugs and wiggles his eyebrows exaggeratedly, it'll be funny. Cullen seems to be creating a show that's a distillation of the last few decades of comedy, unapologetically borrowing from earlier sources (the critics in the audience evokes "The Muppet Show", a gag with Gordon Pinsent Deriding a Cat seems like a (less funny) version of a Four on the Floor sketch with Dan Redican patronizing a tractor, etc.) and the very idea of the character aware of his audience has already been used, to better effect, in "The Burns and Allen Show" and "It's Gary Shandling's Show". One wants to like the series, to encourage eccentric programing...but even wild n' crazy ideas need to be funny, while this series only occasionally can induce a chuckle (The William Shatner Self-Defense Course video promo being one -- though you have to recognize its simultaneous parody of "Star Trek" and old Charles Atlas ads). With the show's as-long-as-it's-weird-it-must-be-funny mentality, and the really -- really -- broad, campy delivery of the actors, if it wasn't for the frequent sex jokes and occasional black humour, one might mistake it for a kid's show. In fact, maybe Cullen's hoping the series will have a post-production revival on Saturday mornings, sandwiched between reruns of The Hilarious House of Frightenstein and You Can't Do That on Television. Created by Sean Cullen. Half hour episodes on the CBC. |
SEARCH AND DESTROY
* 1/2 setting: USA.
(1978) Perry King, Don Stroud, Tisa Farrow, Park Jong
Soo, George Kennedy.....Ten years after being left for dead, a South
Vietnemese official (Soo) trys to kill off the U.S. soldiers (King and
Stroud) who deserted him. Poorly done actioner has its moments, but not
many. sc: Don Enright. dir: William Fruet. 93 min.
Season of the Witch, a novel by Hank Stine, was turned into the somewhat unsuccessful film Synapse a.k.a. Memory Run
SEASONS OF LOVE
(TVMS) * * setting: USA.
(1998) Peter Strauss, Rachel Ward, Rip Torn, John
Finn, Chandra West, Robert Joy, Hume Cronyn, Nick Stahl, Justin Chambers,
Emily Hampshire, Laura Bertram.....Decades spanning saga of an American
farmer (Strauss) and his wife (Ward) in the 19th Century and the trials
and tribulations they face. Odd mini- series starts out as though it's
intending to be an inspirational family drama, but gets increasingly soap
opera-y and occasionally lurid as it goes along: kind of like "Little House
on the Prairies" as written by Harold Robbins! Slick enough to be fun on
that level, though extremely episodic, with many plot threads and conflicts
not extending beyond a few scenes. But eventually it starts to wear. Strauss'
character gradually erodes away viewer empathy (as he has an affair or
becomes increasingly curmudgeonly) as does Ward (to a lesser extent) but
there aren't other characters to replace them, with most of the rest of
the cast in hastily sketched roles. The actors are good, that's not the
problem. Even Torn (as Strauss' best friend), Finn (as a local bully) and
Cronyn (as a hermit) have minor, thankless parts. Strauss, Ward, Torn and
Finn are all imported from Hollywood. Produced by Kevin Sullivan. 4 hours.
sc: Joe Wiesenfeld (from the novel The Earth Abideth by George Bell).
dir: Daniel Petrie.
THE SEAT OF THE SOUL see Le siege d'ame
SECOND ARRIVAL a.k.a. Arrival II
SECOND SKIN *
* setting: USA.
(2000) (/U.K./South Africa) Natasha Henstridge, Angus
MacFadyen, Liam Waite, Peter Fonda, Norman Anstey.....A used book store
owner in an American small town (MacFadyen) becomes involved with a beautiful
woman (Henstridge) who has amnesia after being hit by a car, but both have
secrets in their past that could be deadly. Film noire suspenser is good
looking, but suffers because the characters never involve you -- especially
MacFadyen who is too surly and obnoxious by far. For a movie that is, at
times, about passion and love, the result is often cold and unsavoury.
Some nice twists occasionally, but the ending is annoyingly trite. And
director Roodt occasionally tries to get artsy -- jumbling scenes, inserting
shots -- but to little point. Filmed in South Africa, pretending it's the
United States, and Henstridge may be the only Canadian in the cast (though
still playing an American). sc: John Lau. dir: Darrel James Roodt. - violence,
sexual content, casual female nudity.- 91 min.
"Second Variety", a story by Philip K. Dick, became the movie Screamers.
SECOND WIND *
* 1/2 setting: Ont.
(1976) James Naughton, Lindsay Wagner, Ken Pogue,
Tedde Moore, Tom Harvey, Louis DelGrande, Cec Linder.....Successeful
stockbroker (Naughton) becomes obsessed with seeing how good a track runner
he can become, and alienates his wife (Wagner) while he does it. Well done
and well acted little drama. sc: Hal Ackerman. dir: Donald Shebib. 94 min.
SECRET AGENDA
* * 1/2 setting: other
(1998) (/German) Kevin Dillon, Christopher Plummer,
Andrea Roth, J.T. Walsh, Michael Wincott, Daniel Kash, Rod Wilson, Paul
Soles, Phil Jarrett.....American (Dillon) arrives in Berlin only to
learn his brother died in an "accident"...and pretty soon finds people
are after him for something his brother had. Suspense-thriller is, surprisingly,
O.K. -- in a B-movie sort of way. It benefits from a decent cast, some
exotic locations (filmed partly in Germany, partly Toronto), hints of a
few higher themes, and enough twists and double crosses to keep you guessing.
Admittedly, it's all fairly generic stuff, which is both a plus and a minus
-- it's cliched...but comforting for all tthat. Dillon and Walsh -- in one
of his last roles -- are American imports, most everyone else is Canadian
(adopting some occasionally dodgy German accents). Plummer plays one of
his usual quirky investigating cop characters. a.k.a. Hidden Agenda.
sc./dir: Iain Paterson. - brief female nudity.- 102 min.
LE SECRET DE JEROME
* * setting: N.S.
(1994) Myriam Cyr, Germain Houde, Remy Girard, Denis
Lapalme, Viola Leger, Bernard Leblanc, Isabelle Roy, Bertrand Dugas.....In
the 1860s, a troubled Acadian couple (Cyr and Houde), who can't have children,
have even more difficulty when a mysterious, legless, retarded mute (Lapalme)
is brought to them. The opening few minutes of this drama are, ultimately,
more intriguing than what follows. Unconvincing and unlikeable characters
are a liability in a flick where, after all, the characters are the sole
story. English title: Jerome's Secret. sc: Jean Barbeau, Phil Comeau.
dir: Phil Comeau. - sexual content, partial female nudity.- 99 min.
THE SECRET LIFE OF ALGERNON
* * *
(1998) (/U.K.) John Cullum, Carrie-Anne Moss, Charles
Durning, Hrant Alianak, Kay Hawtrey, Ivan Vanhecke, (voice of) Kathleen
Barr.....Story of middle-aged Algernon (Cullum) who lives alone next
to a graveyard, thinks his porcelain cat talks to him, and whose life is
disrupted by a visit from an old army buddy (Durning) and, more significantly,
a seductive Egyptologist (Moss) who wants to study his late grandfather's
collection, but has a hidden agenda. Wryly off-beat and appealing black
comedy suspenser keeps the interest up and is nicely acted (Moss inparticular
camps it up amusingly). Admittedly the film threatens to overstay its welcome
toward the end. Nice music score by Gareme Coleman. Kind of odd in that
in its plethora of American references, interspersed with a few token Canadian
ones, it's hard to tell where it's supposed to be set! sc: John Gray, Charles
Jarrott (from a screenplay by John Cullum, based on the novel The Secret
Life of Algernon Pendleton by Russell Greene). dir: Charles Jarrott.
- violence.- 106 min.
SECRET NATION
* 1/2 setting: Nfld.
(1992) Cathy Jones, Mary Walsh, Michael Wade, Rick
Mercer, Ron Hynes, Kay Anonsen, Geza Kovacs, Ken Campbell, Bryon Hennessey,
Mary Lewis.....Woman (Jones) sets out to prove that Newfoundland's
entering into confederation was part of a conspiracy and the referendum
rigged. Clumsily assembled drama with uneven performances and a subject
matter which, though fine for a thesis, is pretty dry stuff for a movie
(let alone the thriller it wants to be). Of interest only for its P.O.V.
(though its separatist sentiments probably won't play well in the rest
of the country) and even then it's not clear what's known and what's made
up. Andy Jones has a small part and look fast for former Premier Brian
Peckford at a costume party. sc: Edward Riche. dir: Michael Jones. 110
min.
THE SECRET OF NANDY *
* setting: other
(1990) (/France) Bibi Andersson, Michael Sarrazin,
Marc De Jonge, Yvette Brind'Amour.....Woman (Andersson) returns to
her Paris home only to find that someone is trying to torment her with
the death of her crippled sister many years before. Gothic-styled suspenser
lacks mood and originality but has good performances. The goofy ending
is pretty predictable. A 3 Themes-Hamster production.
sc: Pierre Billon, Donald Martin. dir: Danielle J. Suissa.
SEDUCING DOCTOR LEWIS see La Grande seduction
SEDUCING MAARYA *
* 1/2 setting: P.Q./other
(2000) Dr. Mohan Agashe, Nandana Sen, Cas Anvar, Vijay
Mehta, Ryan Hollyman.....Widower East-Indian immigrant (Agashe) thinks
he's found the perfect woman (Sen) for his son (Mehta), unaware that his
son is gay; and once they're married, the father starts to fall for her
himself. Despite a premise that seems like it could be a comedy, this is
basically a drama (though with a hint that a gentle comedy wants to break
out from time to time). It can't quite shake its low-budget feel, and Hoe
directs with a little too much solemnity, but Hoe-the-writer has a lot
of empathy for his characters and avoids the cliches and keeps the audience
curious to see where it's all headed (particularly with Maarya's cryptic
references to her brother in India). Indian actor Agashe is good, and though
the Canadian cast is a little unpolished, likewise nicely bring out the
heart of their characters. Worth a viewing. sc./dir: Hunt Hoe. 107 min.
SEE GRACE FLY *
* 1/2
(2003) Gina Chiarelli, Paul McGillion, Benjamin Ratner,
Jennifer Copping, Tom Scholte, Megan Leitch.....Man (McGillion) returns
home from missionary work after his mother dies and his schizophrenic sister
(Chiarelli) runs off, convinced the apocalypse is coming because voices
have told her so (and she's also suspected in the mother's death). Modestly
budgeted drama tries to hit a lot of targets, from a literal look at schizophrenia...to
an aspect of magic realism/fantasy, as the characters wonder if maybe she
isn't as crazy as they thought (echoing, perhaps, the much, more effective
U.S. film "The Rapture"); a human drama and with aspects of humour.
And the result is an uneven affair that misses as often as it hits, straining
too hard to shift gears even within a scene, resulting in some awkward,
unconvincing bits. But the cast is good and the energy level high, so that
the whole can kind of hold your interest. Nicholas Lea, Jacqueline Samuda
and David Lovgren provide the voices in her head (Lovgren also appears
briefly as the boyfriend of a junkie) Chiarelli and McGillion produced
along with writer/director McComrack. sc./dir: Peter McCormack. - sexual
content; brief female nudity.- 90 min.
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