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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.

SUBLET  * * 1/2  setting: USA.
(1998) (/U.S.) Danny Nucci, Victoria Sanchez, Jack Langedijk, David Carradine, Mark Camacho, Dean Fleming.....Nebbishy cub reporter (American actor Nucci) moves to New York and sub-lets an apartment from its mysterious tenant whom he suspects is more than he seems -- only to get caught up in intrigue and murder. Light-hearted suspenser in a Hitchockian vein, with engaging enough performances from American Nucci and Canadian Sanchez, and starts out quite promising. But it plays too many of its cards too soon, dropping the same shoe a few too many times, though does pick up again in the final act, throwing in a few extra curves. The result...not as good as it seemed like it was going to be, but a decent little time killer. sc: Tim Kring. dir: John Hamilton. - violence.- 90 min.

SUCH A LONG JOURNEY * * *  setting: other
(1999) (/U.K.) Roshan Seth, Om Puri, Soni Razdan, Naseeruddin Shah, Sam Dastor, Ranjit Chowdhry, Vrajesh Hirjee, Kurush Deboo.....In 1971 India, a bank employee (Seth) tries to muddle his family through life's complications (unsanitary housing conditions, illness, rebellious children), complications that are added to when a long vanished friend tries to recruit his aide in what he claims is secret government work. Over long but interesting, evocative serio-comic drama. Well acted (though Indo-Canadian Chowdhry and Indian star Puri, actors more likely to be recognizable to Canadian audiences, have relatively small parts -- one as a street painter and the other as a go-between between the protagonist and his long vanished friend). Based on the critically acclaimed Indo-Canadian novel. Received three Genies including for Seth for Best Actor. Actor Simon MacCorkindale was one of the producers. sc: Sooni Taraporeuala (from the novel by Rohinton Mistry). dir: Sturla Gunnarsson. - violence, partial male nudity, sexual content.- 117 min.

SUDDEN FURY  * * * 1/2  setting: Ont.
(1975) Dominic Hogan, Gay Rowan, Dan Hennessey, Hollis McLaren, David Yorston, Eric Clavering, Sean McCann.....After an auto accident in the middle of nowhere, a man (Hogan) decides to murder his wife (Rowan) by simply leaving her to die, but complications arise when another motorist (Hennessey) happens along. Engrossing, extremely well done low budget thriller starts out innocuously but gradually glues you to the edge of your seat. A must and one of this country's most neglected gems! Only the ending, though expected, hurts it. sc./dir: D. Brian Damude. 92 min.

SUDDENLY NAKED  * *
(2002) Wendy Crewson, Joe Cobden, Peter Coyote, Nicola Cavendish, Michael Shanks, Enuka Okuma, Emmanuelle Vaugier.....Abrasive, self-centred, sexually rapacious writer (Crewson) begins an affair with an un-and-coming author (Cobden) who's half her age, but begins to become self-conscious of the discrepancy. Comedy suffers from the nature of Crewson's character...sure, she's supposed to be obnoxious, and becomes a better person as the movie progresses. But it's still hard to care enough to wait for her to grow. Becomes better as it goes along, and there are a couple of amusing farcical scenes, but it might have been better played as a straight drama. Because as a romantic comedy, it's not very funny (comedy just may not be Crewson and Wheeler's forte, based on this and Better Than Chocolate) and as a romance, it never quite makes you believe in, or care about, the relationship, or warm the cockles of your heart (perhaps in part because scripter Friedman has trouble raising her sights higher than the belt-line). Still, you gotta like any movie where the climax takes place at a PEN conference. sc: Elyse Friedman. dir: Anne Wheeler. - sexual content, brief female and male nuudity.- 103 min.
 
 

SUE THOMAS, F.B.Eye (TV Series) (2003-2005) (/U.S.)  * * 1/2  Deanne Bray ("Sue Thomas"), Yannick Bisson ("Jack Hudson"), Rick Peters ("Bobby Manning"), Marc Gomes ("Dimitrius Gans"), Enuka Okuma ("Lucy Dotson"), Ted Atherton ("Myles Leland III"), Tara Samuel ("Tara"), with Eugene A. Clark ("Ted Garrett").....Cop drama inspired by a real life deaf F.B.I. agent (played by Bray). The rest of the cast play other agents in her squad -- heart throb Bisson as the nominal leader (and potential romantic interest?), Okuma who is also her room mate, Atherton as an agent who is condescending to our heroine, etc. Clark cropped up occasionally as their boss. Deaf actress Bray is an American and the series, obviously, is set in Washington, D.C. None of the characters are Canadian (though most of the actors are), but Peters plays an Australian F.B.I. agent. Yeah, you read right. The filmmakers can work in an Australian character, but not a Canadian character?!? Trivia note: Bisson and Atherton used to co-star in Nothing too Good for a Cowboy.  Frequently light-hearted series seems as though it's definitely aiming to be family friendly (particularly with a 7:00 PM time slot in its first season). Sure, the characters investigate serious crimes, including murder, but the mayhem generally takes place off camera, and each episode usually pads things out with a jokey, not altogether sophisticated sub-plot. As such, those looking for a hard edged, gritty series will be bored, but that can be its appeal, too. To its credit it's unpretentious, and boasts a certain ingratiating charm, and benefits from an appealing enough cast. There's also a nice attempt to really put the viewer inside the world of a deaf character, so that the premise is more than just a catchy gimmick, but seems sincere (including occasional sign language scenes translated by sub-titles). Though, at other times, the series seems not so ingratiating and harmless: an episode about Islamic terrorists bordered on being offensively intolerant towards all muslims (an episode that becomes more troubling when you realize the series is made for a U.S. Christian TV station and, though that's not overt in the episodes, behind-the-scenes some of those involved trumpet their Christian values). But aside from such lapses, the series is generally well-intentioned, and gets credit for its bi-racial casting (albeit, not so much multi-racial). Created by Gary R. Johnson & David Alan Johnson. Three seasons of hour long episodes, show in Canada on CTV.

SUGAR  * 1/2
(2004) Brendan Fehr, Andre Noble, Haylee Wanstall, Maury Chaykin, Michael Riley, Marnie McPhail, Sarah Polley.....Story of a virginal gay teen (Noble) who hooks up with, and becomes infatuated, with a male prostitute (Fehr). Serio-comic drama covers well-trod ground in its tale of a neophyte being drawn into a fringe sub-culture of junkies and hustlers (from The Rubber Gun to Twist to many others), and it has some effective scenes and performances, especially Fehr who was presumably hoping this would reposition him as an edgy performer -- too bad his performance, and the good tthings about the movie, couldn't have been saved for a film with a better grip of narrative. As it is, it seems like a movie where half of the scenes were left on the cutting room floor...the half establishing who these people are and why, how scenes relate to each other, or even the point. The filmmakers seem more interested in "shock" scenes of graphic male nudity and kinky sex than in developing the plot and characters. The movie was based on a number of short stories...which could explain some of the problems. Chaykin (who is especially good), Riley and Polley just have small parts. Young Noble died shortly after this was made. sc: Jaie LaPlante, John Palmer, Todd Klinck (from short stories by Bruce LaBruce). dir: John Palmer. - male nudity, sexual content, brief female nudity.- 78 min.

THE SUICIDE MURDERS * * * 1/2  setting: Ont.
(1986) Saul Rubinek, Kate Trotter, Michael Hogan, Chuck Shamata, Tanja Jacobs, Gerard Parkes, Ken Pogue.....Small town private eye Benny Cooperman (Rubinek) investigates a case of possible marital infidelity that leads him into a series of alleged suicides and a decade old secret. Entertaining, well written made-for-CBC TV mystery with an excellent, comic performance from Rubinek. Nicely cliched music score. Look for author Engel as a customer in a diner. Sequel: Murder Sees The Light. sc: Howard Engel (from his novel). dir: Graham Parker. app. 100 min.

SUMMER  * * *  setting: P.Q.
(2002) Joe Cobden, Karen Cliche, Michael Rubenfeld, Amy Sloan, Danny Gilmore, Stephanie Buxton, Ben Ayres, Sara Bradeen, Victor Knight.....A small circle of free-wheeling friends spend one last summer together after graduating university, with one inparticular (Cobden) torn between holding on to his shiftless life, and facing the responsibilities of the future. Enjoyable comedy-drama meanders a bit (predictably enough) but has an appealing cast playing quirky enough protagonists, and boasts a slick, professional sheen -- one assumes it's a low budget effort, but it's put together with enough polish that you don't notice if it is. Nothing ground-breaking, but it benefits from a general absence of crudity. There's more of "Singles" than of Porky's here. Though Cliche's final act coffee house monologue smacks a little too much of something a man would write, rather than a woman would say. sc: Myles Hainsworth. dir: Phil Price. 89 min.

SUMMER'S CHILDREN * *  setting: Ont.
(1979) Thomas Hauff, Paully Jardine, Don Francks, Patricia Collins, Kate Lynch, Ken James, Wayne Best.....Man (Hauff), living in the big city, is told his sister (Jardine) is also there and he becomes obsessed with tracking her down, though she doesn't seem to want to be found. Through flashbacks, meanwhile, we learn their not-so mysterious secret. So-so drama almost rates higher because of the pseudo detective story format and the effective atmosphere, but it's a little to slow-moving. Yes, that's Michael Ironside as the pimp. sc: Jim Osborne. dir: Julius Kohanyi. - partial female nudity.- 82 min.

SUMMER'S END * * *  setting: USA.
(1999) (/U.S.) James Earl Jones, Brendan Fletcher, Jake LeDoux, Wendy Crewson, Al Waxman, Randy Hughson, Jonathan Kroeker, Gary Reineke, voice of Victor Garber.....Set in Georgia, U.S.A. in the early 1980s, the story concerns the emerging friendship between a young white boy (LeDoux) and a retired black doctor (Jones) who has moved back to the town from which all the black people fled decades before, weathering racism in the process. If you can get past the cliches of the sleepy southern town, at once idyllic, but also tainted, the narrator reflecting back on that pivotal, life-defining summer, or even the fly fishing, what emerges is a fairly atmospheric, evocative drama, very well acted by American Jones and Canadians LeDoux and Fletcher (the latter as the hero's brother who's allied with the bigots) and confidently directed by actress-turned-director Shaver. But the motivation remains murky (the brother's dislike of Jones is supposed to stem from his jealousy of the friendship...but he was picking on him even before that) with a kind of weak, hokey resolution. And when Canadians do stories about U.S. (specifically Southern U.S.) prejudice, isn't that kind of a safe topic for filmmakers who want us to believe they're tackling edgy material? What about prejudice in Canada, hmmm? sc: Grant Scharbo, Jim Thompson (story Scharbo). dir. Helen Shaver. 101 min.

SUMMITS OF GLORY  * *  setting: other
(1987) (/U.K.) Bruce Greenwood, Kenneth Welsh, Jenny Seagrove, Oliver Tobias, Bernard Hill, Mick Ford.....Scott Hylands hosts this anthology of three real life historical mountain climbing expeditions. Actually, it's edited versions of three feature films: two British, one Canadian -- the latter being The Climb. As such, the film suffers because the stories aren't much more than synopsis. Might appeal more to fans of the sport. sc: Don Shebib, Fay Weldon, David Pownall. dir: Don Shebib, Colin Godman. app. 100 min.

SUNDAY IN THE COUNTRY  * * *  setting: USA.
(1973) Ernest Borgnine, Michael J. Pollard, Hollis McLaren, Cec Linder, Louis Zorach, Vladimir Valenta, Albert Waxman, Tim Henry.....Aging farmer (Borgnine), of the Protestant-work-ethic-school, decides to turn the tables on a trio of homicidal bank robbers (Zorach, Pollard and Linder) who arrive at his farm. Thoughtful suspense-drama starts out seeming a standard psychos-terrorize-family flick, but turns out to be something else entirely. Good performances and ambience. Ralph Endersby and Susan Petrie get killed off right at the beginning. Poor transfer of the wide-screen format to TV means that the actors sometimes aren't even in the shot! a.k.a. Vengeance is Mine and Blood for Blood. sc: Albert Maxwell, John Trent, additional dialogue Andrew Sinclair, Peter Jones. dir: John Trent. - extreme violence, brief female nudity.- 93 min.

SUNSHINE  * * 1/2  setting: other.
(1999) (/Hungary/Germany/Austria) Ralph Fiennes, Rosemary Harris, Rachel Weisz, Jennifer Ehle, Deborah Kara Unger, William Hurt, Molly Parker, James Frain, David de Keyser, John Neville, Mark Strong.....Epic saga of three generations of wealthy Hungarian Jews (each played by Fiennes) as they live through successive regimes (Emperors, fascists, communists), and every time they think they've made it and are accepted by one regime (even converting to Christianity), they face new persecution. Lavishly-mounted, well-acted drama is uneven, particularly in the earlier part where, in order to cram so much into one movie, the use of a voice-over becomes a crutch occasionally, telling us things that we should be shown instead. But it gets better as it goes and, overall, is fairly compelling, and disquieting (particularly with a brief but horrific Concentration Camp scene) with its portrait of a tragic country that seemed to go from one repressive regime to another. Yet the movie is not unrelentingly dark, making it more palatable than one might expect (perhaps a result of the characters often achieving temporary success in their lives). Suffers from a certain aloofness, with outraged characters describing things (poverty or prejudice) that we never see, and Fiennes' various characters are a little cold and distant (a hallmark of his usual performances, but also intentional in the script) which renders the various romantic relationships rather hollow as well, despite the emotional potential in the various taboo romances. In fact, even friendships are often non-existent. Still, flaws notwithstanding, it remains provocative and maintains interest throughout, which is perhaps the best compliment one can say about a three hour film. Of the cast, only Unger, Parker and Neville are Canadian, with Neville and, especially, Parker in relatively small parts. Received three Genies including for Best Picture. sc: Istvan Szabo, Israel Horovitz. dir: Israel Horovitz. - violence, explicit sexual content, female nudity, brief male nudity.- 180 min.

SUR LE SEUIL  * * 1/2  setting: P.Q.
(2003) Michel Cote, Patrick Hubard, Catherine Florent, Albert Millaire, Jean L'Italien, Jacques Lavalee, Jean-Pierre Bergeron.....Psychiatrist (Cote) is called in to assess a successful horror novelist (Hubard) who attempted suicide...only to discover evidence that all his novels were written before the real life tragedies that seemed to inspire them. Occult thriller starts out well -- moody and creepy -- starts to lag in the middle as the plot seems to stall, picks up as the back story is finally explained...then builds to a predictable, disappointing -- and surprisingly bloody -- climax. In other words, it's a mix a strengths and weaknesses. Still, worth a view on Halloween or something. English title: Evil Words. sc: Patrick Senecal, Eric Tessier (from Senecal's novel). dir: Eric Tessier. - extreme violence.- 101 min.

SURFACING  *  setting: Ont.
(1980) Joseph Bottoms, Kathleen Beller, R.H. Thomson, Margaret Dragu, Michael Ironside, Larry Schwartz.....Young woman (Beller) and three companions go on a wilderness hike to search for her missing father -- and, supposedly, some self-discovery. Unpleasant, badly written drama and poorly acted by the two imported leads. sc: Bernard Gordon (from the novel by Margaret Atwood). dir: Claude Jutra. - partial female nudity.- 90 min.

THE SURROGATE  * 1/2  setting: USA.
(1984) Art Hindle, Carole Laure, Shannon Tweed, Jim Bailey, Michael Ironside, Marilyn Lightstone, Jackie Burroughs.....U.S. car dealer (Hindle), suffering from black-outs and tantrums, and his wife (Tweed) are persuaded to see a sexual surrogate (Laure) who may be crazier than he is. Meanwhile, the cops are investigating a brutal serial killer. Somewhat sleazy, would-be thriller is dull and not well thought out. None of the characters are very likeable, either, though the film gets marks for its all-Canuck cast. sc: Don Carmody, Robert Geoffrion. dir: Don Carmody. - partial female nudity, sexual content.- 100 min.

SURVIVE THE NIGHT  * *  setting: USA.
(1992) (/U.S.) Stephanie Powers, Helen Shaver, Kathleen Robertson, Currie Graham, Larry Gilliard Jr., Simon Reynolds, Frances Hyland, Chaz Lamar Shepherd, Booth Savage, Peter MacNeill.....U.S. 'burbanites (Powers, Shaver and Robertson) take a wrong turn late at night and end up in the bad part of town, pursued by a gang. Blah suspenser suffers from unconvincing characters and an overwhelming visual style. So-so performances, though Shepherd is notable as the psychotic gang leader. This TV movie came out before the similar-themed U.S. feature, "Judgement Night". a.k.a. Night Hunt. sc: Steven Whitney (story Jerry Lazarus, Steven Whitney). dir: Bill Corcoran. 94 min.

SURVIVOR  * 1/2
(1999) (/U.S.) Greg Evigan, Rachel Crawford, Claudia Michelsen, David Hewlett, Diego Matamoros, Gene Mack.....An arctic oil drilling station -- sorry, an American arctic oil drilling station (this is a Canadian movie after all) -- inadvertently unearths a cure-all sludge...and a homicidal monster. Oft-used premise misfires here in this formulaic horror-thriller, with truly obnoxious characters (interpersonal conflict can make great drama...characters who snipe and bitch at each other incessantly for no reason, doesn't) and no real tension. You don't want to examine the logic of the thing too closely...nor does it really convince you it's set in the middle of the freezing north! Made for TV, it has some awkwardly edited scenes as if originally planned for video, and then censored for TV showings; "gore" scenes are confusingly edited and a non-gore scene with Crawford and the monster, uh, that is, the monster, um, see it...and then...well, anyway. Poor sound mix, too. Vaguely reminiscent of an old TV movie called "Intruder Within" which was filmed in Canada but I don't think was actually a Canadian production. sc: Joshua Michael Stern. dir: David Straiton. - violence.- app. 90 min.

SUSPICIOUS MINDS  * *  setting: USA.
(1996) Patrick Bergin, Jayne Heitmeyer, Vittorio Rossi, Gary Busey, Daniel Pilon, Liliana Komorowska, Ellen David (a.k.a. Ellen Cohen), Bruce Dinsmore.....Private eye (Bergin) gets embroiled in a twisty case involving an industrialist (Pilon) and murder, a case complicated by his falling in love with his client's wife (Heitmeyer). Mystery suspenser is watchable, though you don't actually care much about anyone, and as a production it's a little rough around the edges, with some lapses in the direction, writing, and performances. Irish actor Bergin tries hard (though is likewise uneven). American actor Busey has a small part as an eco-terrorist. sc: Alain Zaloum, Brenda Newman. dir: Alain Zaloum. - sexual content, partial female nudity, violence.- 94 min.

SUSPICIOUS RIVER  * *  setting: USA.
(2000) Molly Parker, Callum Keith Rennie, Mary Kate Welsh, Joel Bissonnette, Deanna Milligan, Norman Armour, Sarah Jane Redmond, Michael Shanks, Byron Lucas, Paul Jarrett.....American motel clerk (Parker), in a lifeless marriage, moonlights as a prostitute, and starts to fall for a dangerous john (Rennie); while, in a parallel story, a little girl (Welsh) observes her mother's infidelities. Dark, brutal drama, not for sensitive viewers with repeated scenes of degradation and rape, is appalling and unpleasant (which was probably the filmmaker's intent) but also dreary and extremely monotonous (which probably wasn't). Once we've established that these are sad, pathetic, hopeless, creepy people...the movie has nothing more to say. Even the revelation of the heroine's trauma is unenlightening (it still doesn't answer why she acts as she does). Might be of value as a cautionary video to show at drop in centres to girls thinking of becoming hookers...but otherwise, kind of pointless and empty, like its main character. One can't even give the movie points for integrity, since this "Canadian" art movie pretends it's set in the States! sc./dir: Lynne Stopkewich (from the novel by Laura Kasischke). - sexual content, violence, partial female nudity.- 93 min.

SUZANNE  * *  setting: P.Q.
(1980) Jennifer Dale, Gabriel Arcand, Winston Rekert, Ken Pogue, Michelle Rossignol, Marianne McIssac, Gordon Thomson, Gina Dick, Michael Ironside.....Teen aged and poor Suzanne (Dale), in the '50s, gets involved with a bad boy (Rekert, in his film debut) while ignoring a more studious suitor (Arcand), and problems arise over the next few years. Increasingly tedious melodrama trots out the cliches without finding much new to say. Most of the actors look too old for their initial ages and though the performances are O.K., only nice-guy Arcand convinces. Dale's first big starring vehicle (co-produced by her then-husband Robert Lantos). sc: Ronald Sutherland, Robin Spry (from Sutherland's novel Snowlark ). dir: Robin Spry. - partial female nudity, sexual content.- 103 min.

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