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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.
__X__
XCHANGE
* * 1/2 setting: USA.
(2000) Stephen Baldwin, Pascale Bussieres, Kim Coates,
Kyle MacLachlan, Charles Powell, Janet Kidder, Sean Devine, Arnold Pinnock,
Larry Day, Tom Rack, Judah Katz, Amy Sloan, Lisa Bronwyn Moore.....In
a future where the rich can travel across the United States by exchanging
bodies with someone in another State, an executive has his body stolen
by a terrorist, forcing him to inhabit another body (Baldwin) while trying
to track him down, while also being pursued for a murder he didn't commit.
Coates plays the hero at the beginning, but spends most of the movie as
the villain, MacLachlan also essays the role before it goes to Baldwin
for most of the film. Confused? If you go into this expecting a standard,
straight-to-video B-movie (you know, the sort of thing Michael Pare would
star in), you'll be pleasantly surprised. It's decently budgeted and a
real science fiction movie, having fun exploring its core idea, as well
as surrounding concepts in its dystopic future. It veers between being
a thriller, a sci-fi film, a social satire, and even an outright comedy
at times! But that almost becomes the problem: it meanders with a lack
of discipline to the ideas -- things are thrown, but not developed properly,
from the idea that the world is divided between the haves and have nots
(which is expressed, but not portrayed) to the characterization itself.
Some sex is thrown in, as well, including for comic relief -- in fact,
just about every actress who has more than five lines in this film also
takes her clothes off! And there's something distracting about a Canadian
movie like this when you realize they probably spent as much on their "American"
props (blue mail boxes, American flags) as they did on their sci-fi gadgets!
sc: Christopher Pelham. dir: Allan Moyle. - partial female nudity, sexual
content, extreme violence.- 110 min.
X-RATED *
* 1/2 setting: Ont.
(1994) Gordon Michael Woolvett, Stacie Mistysyn, Marcia
Laskowski, Billy Merasty, Joel Bissonnette, Dean Paras, Richard Chevolleau,
Richard Yearwood, Katherine Ashby, Richard Zeppieri, Barry Flatman, Kate
Lynch, Reiner Schwarz.....Young man (Woolvett) intending to clear out
an apartment building before selling it, encounters the assorted eccentric,
young adult tenants. Comedy about "Generation X" from the same group who
did the Degrassi series. Cute, but not much
more. It's too broad with too many characters. A movie about twentysomethings
that seems aimed at pre-teens. It later became the TV series Liberty
Street. sc: Susin Nielsen, Paul Aitken (story Nielsen, John May). dir:
Kit Hood. 94 min.
XTRO II: The Second Encounter
* setting: USA.
(1990) Jan-Michael Vincent, Paul Koslo, Tara Buckman,
Jano Frandsen, Nicholas Lea, W.F. Wadden, Rolf Reynolds, Nic Amoroso.....Underground
U.S. research base is invaded by a critter from another dimension, so they
bring out the big guns...literally. In-name only low- budget sequel to
'83 British film is pretty awful (and incomprehensible) with poor performances.
Why did it take four writers to come up with something so blatantly derivative?
And no, that isn't Guy LaFleur as a technician. sc: John A. Curtis, Steven
Lister, Robert Smith, Edward Kovach. dir: Harry Bromley-Davenport. - extreme
violence, brief female nudity.- 91 min.
__Y__
The Year of the Black Pony, a novel by Waly Morey, became the movie The Wild Pony
YESTERDAY a.k.a. This Time Forever
LES YEUX ROUGES *
* 1/2 setting: P.Q.
(1982) Marie Tifo, Jean-Marie Lemieux, Pierre Curzi,
Raymond Bouchard, Denise Proulx, Pierrette Robitaille, Remy Girard, Gaston
Lepage.....A serial peeping tom has a community nervous, but when a
murder occurs the police wonder if the crimes are escalating. Intriguing
suspense-drama is at its best in its moody portrait of a community under
siege, and the various characters and their diverse reaction to what's
happening. Well acted and there are genuine moments of suspense...but the
movie doesn't quite sustain itself, suffering from an awkward, oddly ambiguous
ending. English title: Red Eyes and Accidental Truths. sc./dir:
Yves Simoneau. 88 min.
YOU CAN THANK ME LATER
* * setting: P.Q.
(1998) Ellen Burstyn, Amanda Plummer, Mary McDonnell,
Ted Levine, Mark Blum, Macha Grenon, Jacob Tierney, Genevieve Bujold, Roc
Lafortune.....A dysfunctional family gathers in their father's hospital
room. Quirky serio-comic pic boasts a good cast, and Levine is particularly
sympathetic (Burstyn, Levine, Blum and McDonnell are Americans and even
Plummer and Bujold live in the States -- but at least it's set in
Canada). The script can be amusing in spots, but the direction is too heavy.
And by the end, all you've got is a bunch of messed up people -- but you
knew that from the beginning (and a sub-plot with Bujold remains enigmatic).
Forays into seriousness are hard to match with the blatantly surrealistic
scenes -- we're supposed to accept the characters as real people even as
they behave in sometimes unreal ways. Presumably it all made sense to the
filmmakers. Might find an audience among European Art film fans. Working
title (?) Hyper-Allergenic. sc: Oren Safdie. dir: Shimon Dota. - female
nudity, partial male nudity, sexual content.- 106 min.
YOUNG CATHERINE (TVMS)
* * setting: other
(1991) (/Europe) Julia Ormond, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher
Plummer, Franco Nero, Marthe Keller, Mark Frankel, Reece Dinsdale, Anna
Kanakis, Maximilian Schell.....Saga of the early days of Catherine
the Great (Ormond) and how she became Empress of all the Russias. Indifferently
put-together historical drama. Won the Gemini for Best Mini-Series (its
only competition was The First Circle). 4 hours.
sc: Chris Bryant. dir: Michael Anderson.
A YOUNG CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN
KING ARTHUR'S COURT * 1/2
set: USA/other
(1995) (/U.K./France) Michael York, Theresa Russell,
Nick Mancuso, Philippe Ross, Polly Shannon, Jack Langedijk, Paul Hopkins,
Ian Falconer, David Shaeffer.....Misadventures of a modern American
teen (Ross) thrown back in time to the days of King Arthur (Mancuso). Smarmy,
at times even appallingly bad made-for-TV comedy-drama suffers from what
you'd expect: an unwillingness to be out-right comedy (ala Mel Brooks or
Monty Python) or straight dramatic adventure, and instead rambles about
in the middle, improving slightly toward the end. Why is it that on the
rare occasions Canadians are willing to try something flamboyant and commercial,
they blow it with these self-conscious, unambitious little inbetweeners
(A Switch in Time is another example)? Langedijk
(as a villain) and Falconer (as Lancelot) come out best, while top-billed
York has just a small part as Merlin. Mark Twain's novel isn't even credited
-- how's that for arrogance?! Funnily ennough, in 1989 the American's did
"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" with a juvenile lead, and
shortly after this TV movie aired, the Americans released "A Kid in King
Arthur's Court" to the theatres...and it sank like a stone. Conclusion?
A lot of film executives think turning Twain's novel into a kiddie vehicle
is a good idea, but they may be the only ones. Filmed in the Czech Republic.
Followed by Young Ivanhoe, which aired a month later. sc: Frank
Encarnacao, R.L. Thomas. dir: R.L. Thomas. - violence.- 93 min.
YOUNG IVANHOE
* * setting: other
(1995) (/U.K./France) Stacy Keach, Margot Kidder,
Nick Mancuso, Kris Holdenried, Rachel Blanchard, Matthew Daniels, Tom Rack,
James Bradford.....Teen-aged nobleman (Holdenried) in the Middle-Ages
becomes an outlaw, is tutored by a reclusive knight (Keach), and battles
an evil Count (Mancuso). Frustrating made-for-TV historical adventure which,
though budget-conscious, has crowds, costumes, big sets, a good performance
from Keach and a truly great one from Mancuso...but is ultimately weighed
down by the teen-aged leads who just aren't up to the task (and, to be
fair, are saddled with awkward, coloquial, tongue-in-cheek dialogue --
unlike the adults who are allowed to play it straight). Too bad the filmmakers
didn't have the courage to do a straight adaptation instead of condescending
to an (imagined) audience. Filmed in the Czech Republic. A follow-up, of
sorts, to A Young Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. sc:
Frank Encarnacao, R.L. Thomas (loosely based, uncredited, on the novel
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott). dir: R.L. Thomas. - violence.- 92 min.
THE YOUNG MAGICIAN see Le jeune magicien
YOU'RE DRIVING ME CRAZY
* * setting: USA.
(1991) Kahil Karn, Madeleine Dominique; Attila Bertalan,
Richard Raybone; Laird Evans, Isabelle Truchon, Claire Riley; Norman Fell,
Victoria Barkoff, Robert Ozares.....Three psychiatrists trade stories
concerning three different patients: a teen who thinks his parents are
aliens; a TV producer who commits murder; and a nice guy who turns bad.
Low-budget and stories that seem too long for their cute ideas work against
this anthology-suspense flick. sc: George Slobodzian, Douglas Taylor, Robert
Ruffo. dir: Michel Wachniuc. 84 min.
__Z__
ZEBRA LOUNGE *
* setting: USA.
(2001) Kristy Swanson, Brandy Ledford, Cameron Daddo,
Stephen Baldwin, Dara Perlmutter, Daniel Magder, Vincent Corazza....Married-with-kids
American couple (Cameron and Ledford), fearing their relationship is losing
its zing, decide to experiment with the "swingers" life-style of spouse
swapping with another, enigmatic couple (imports Swanson and Baldwin);
but when they want to stop, the other couple proves dangerously more clingy.
Late addition to the urban angst / stalker genre -- largely begun with
"Fatal Attraction" and which boasts dozens of straight-to-video Canadian
made entries. Decent production values and a respectable cast are a plus,
but the movie is awfully formulaic, rarely offering any true surprises...except,
maybe, for the resolution, which is just plain awkward. Has a couple of
reasonably sexy scenes, and isn't bad...but it's a little too paint-by-numbers
overall. Top-billed Swanson actually has the least to do of the four leads
(and doesn't strip down much past her underwear, leaving the nudity to
Ledford and, briefly, Baldwin). sc: Claire Montgomery, Monte Montgomery.
dir: Kari Skogland. - sexual content, partial female nudity, brief male
nudity, violence.- 92 min.
ZERO PATIENCE
* * 1/2 setting: Ont.
(1993) John Robinson, Normand Fauteux, Dianne Heatherington,
Richardo Keens-Douglas, Bernard Behrens, Charlotte Boisjoli, Brenda Kamino,
Von Flores.....Victorian explorer Sir Richard Burton (Robinson), alive
and well and working in a present day Toronto museum, prepares an exhibition
of diseases, focusing on AIDS and a muck-racking approach to Patient Zero
-- the French- Canadian flight attendantt rumoured to have brought AIDS
to North America. Meanwhile the ghost of Patient Zero (Fauteux) shows up
to set the record straight. Billed as the world's first musical-comedy
about AIDS, it almost pulls it off, despite its obvious low-budget. Part
comedy, party drama, part music video (with some good music by Glenn Schellenberg)
and a whole lot of politics relating to AIDS and homosexuality in general,
the film is weird, off-beat, well-acted, consistently interesting and not
for those easily shocked (the singing anus scene being the best example)
but as an overall movie it falls a bit short. Journalist Ann Medina provides
some of the narration. sc./dir: John Greyson. - male nudity.- 100 min.
ZEYDA AND THE HITMAN
* 1/2 setting: Man.
(2004) Judd Hirsch, Danny Aiello, Gil Bellows, Mercedes
Ruehl, Conrad Dunn, Reagan Pasternak, Richard McMillan.....A retired,
law-abiding business man (Hirsch) befriends a wanna be hit man (Aiello)
doing community service, and the two concoct a scheme to bump off the former's
obnoxious son-in-law (Bellows) who's keeping him from his grandson. Though
inspired by a true story, this CTV movie is played as a comedy (not unlike
the earlier U.S. film, "I Love You to Death"). Unfortunately, it just ain't
funny for the most part. The filmmakers seem to think that as long as they
emphasize the characters are Jewish, it will inherently be funny, and they
don't have to bother with witty lines or clever scenes. Picks up a bit
in the later half. The movie seems to act as if it has a message...but
what that is is unclear (unless it's that if you plot a murder that has
humorous aspects, you aren't such a bad person after all!) Heavy use of
Aiello's narration kind of makes you wonder why they didn't just do it
as a talking book instead. The original case took place in Toronto, but
this has been relocated to Winnipeg. Hirsch, Aiello and Ruehl (in a thankless
part as Hirsch's wife) are all American imports, as is the director (and
actress) Mayron. Mayron has a cameo as a contestant on a TV game show,
along with Karl Pruner as the host. sc: Michael Amo. dir: Melanie Mayron.
86 min.
|
(2003-2005) (/U.S.) * * * Joely Fisher ("Zoe Busiek"), Chris Potter ("Dan Lennox"), Rae Dawn Chong ("Sofia Mason") (1st), Loretta Devine ("Pearl McGurire") (2nd), Bronson Picket ("Marcos Morales") (1st), Vikki Krinsky ("Taylor"), Jamie Johnston ("Clifford"), Aislinn Paul ("Hannah"), with Jayne Eastwood ("Jeannie"), Corey Sevier ("Julian"), Yanni Gelman ("Ryder").....Serio-comic mystery-drama set in Chicago, USA about an earthy, ex-Las Vegas card dealer (Fisher) who works as an investigator for an insurance company...while also acting as a single mom to her dead sister's three kids. Potter and Chong play fellow insurance company employees; Picket her nephew's gym teacher, and her ex-flame (a romantic triangle was formed by Potter-Fisher-Picket); Krinsky, Johnston, and Paul play the kids (Krinsky the oldest, a teen, Paul, the youngest) -- Devin Douglas Drewitz played the nephew in the pilot episode. Chong was gone by the second season, replaced by Devine. Eastwood plays the helpful neighbour and Sevier a neighbour teen "Tracy" has a thing for. Of the above names, Fisher, Devine and Picket are American, everyone else is Canadian, though none of the characters are supposed to be Canadian. One of a number of TV series co-produced between Canadian and American producers, aimed at American speciality channels catering more toward "family" demographics (Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye, Mysterious Ways). The episodes divide their time between the mystery/investigation cases and the domestic front trials and tribulations of the heroine dealing with the kids' school and social problems. The cases themselves are usually light-weight, generally involving fraud and the like. Even when things stray into the more gritty and adult areas of murder and racy material -- such as an episode about a suspicious death at a strip club -- it's handled discreetly (the death took place long before the story started, and the dance routines aren't focused on). The down side is that the series can seem a bit bland, lacking dramatic impetus occasionally...the up side is that it can be easy going entertainment for those getting a bit jaded by too many crime series that focus on serial killers and the like. The actors are personable, the characters get along, the mysteries are moderately interesting, and the badinage is humorous enough. But it says something about the vagaries -- and ineptitude -- of the Canadian TV industry, that thiis, more or less, clean cut series, was originally aired by the network in a 10 PM time slot -- when most of its target audience will probably be getting ready for bed! Created by Lynn Marie Latham, Bernard Lechowick. Two seasons of hour long episodes, shown in Canada on CanWest-Global. |
ZOMBIE BEACH PARTY a.k.a. Zombie King and the Legion of Doom
ZOMBIE KING AND THE LEGION
OF DOOM * setting: USA.
(2003) Jules Delorme, Jennifer Thom, Raymond Carle,
Rob Etcheverria, Sean K. Robb, Nicholas Sinn, Jason Bareford, Contessa
Oblivian, Sarah Marr.....Parody of Mexican wrestler/super hero movies
as masked wrestlers investigate a zombie outbreak in a small American town.
Considering Mexican wrestler movies are a pretty minor sub-genre, this
is actually the second (extremely low-budget) Canadian movie made spoofing
them (after Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter).
It has a few funny lines, at first, but not nearly enough. Of course, that
may be because it might also be intended as an homage as much as a spoof.
So to fans of those flicks, it might offer something, but to everyone else,
it's a (deliberately) bad, campy version of a genre that's already considered
pretty bad to begin with. And it's a Canadian movie riffing on a Mexican
genre...and still it's set in the U.S.! a.k.a. Enter...Zombie
King and Zombie Beach Party. sc: Bill Marks, Sean K. Robb. dir:
Stacey Case. - extreme violence.- 76 min.
UN ZOO LA NUIT
* * * setting: P.Q.
(1987) Roger Le Bel, Gilles Maheu, Lorne Brass, Germain
Houde, Lynne Adams.....Just released con (Maheu) trys to make up with
his ailing father (Le Bel), while, at the same time, deal with his vicious
ex-partners (Houde and Brass). Touching father/son story works better than
the ultra gritty crime element. Visually stunning and pretentious, but
cliched and marred by its moral ambivalence. Look for filmmaker Denys Arcand
as a customer in a sex-shop. Won a record thirteen Genies including Best
Picture, Actor (Le Bel), Supporting Actor (Houde), Script and Director.
English title: Night Zoo. sc./dir: Jean Claude Lauzon (his first
feature). - violence, sexual content, casual male nudity.- 110 min.
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