Antz
Existentialism. Marx. Thomas Moore. Woody Allen. Computer generated bugs. As Seseme Street or the SAT’s would so eloquently put it, which of these does not belong? Frighteningly, and perhaps...
View ArticleHillary and Jackie
HILLARY AND JACKIE is the story of two musician sisters whose competitive urges drive them to great artistic heights and deep, personal lows. Based on the life of the du Pré sisters, this film is a...
View ArticleLittle Voice
LITTLE VOICE is a compelling, touching story of a mute woman who can only speak through the imitated voices of others. Based on the West End play that was commissioned to showcase the inimitable...
View ArticleThe Mighty
THE MIGHTY is hardly that – a derivative, manipulative film that makes SIMON BURCH look like an Oscar contender. It is an After-School special masquerading as a festival film, and proves to be little...
View ArticlePecker
John Waters returns after his traditional hiatus between flicks with this quirky portrayal of a young photographer’s rise to fame. Set, as always, in the city of Baltimore, PECKER is a quirky, fun film...
View ArticlePermanent Midnight
The proliferation of sub-genres in Hollywood continues to impress. You can imagine the pitch for this film – “yeah, it’s LEAVING LAS VEGAS meets WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, with the heroin stuff from...
View ArticleRed Violin
Perhaps the greatest epic that Canadian filmmaking has ever produced, RED VIOLIN is a masterpiece of contemporary film making. Shirking the traditional Hollywood formula of linear story telling,...
View ArticleArticle 9
A long time collaborator with the Coen brothers, Raimi’s film is a pastiche of many of the elements that made films like FARGO so enjoyable. Incompetence, treachery, shotguns and snow can often make...
View ArticleLa Vita è bella (Life is Beautiful)
Already celebrated at Cannes, this magnificent film bravely toys with the twins of dramatic presentation, comedy and tragedy. What is remarkable about this film is not just that one can laugh whilst...
View ArticleWithout Limits
The latest film by CHINATOWN scribe Robert Towne, Without Limits is the second film in as many years about the American track runner Steve Prefontaine. It is perhaps no surprise that the press...
View ArticleDiary 1
Another year, another festival. Ten days of feeling that you are missing films rather then seeing them- there’s just too many, and you are bound to miss the big new discovery while you sit through a...
View ArticleDiary 2
Few days have been more psychotic. My introduction to the press conference scene, the day has been memorable. I started with a morning talk by the makers of the wonderful RED VIOLIN. I’ve long been a...
View ArticleDiary 3
I wrote last year about how the Midnight Madness screenings are a fantastic tradition of this festival. As I predicted, seeing the films that get screened late night simply aren’t the same with a room...
View ArticleDiary 4
The Sunday of the festival is always reserved for the mammoth bar-b-que held by Norman Jewison at his Canadian Film Center. Hundred of people gathered around drink tables and skewered meat and shrimp...
View ArticleDiary 5
Don’t lend out your pens. This is my advice to fellow journalists. I’ve lost maybe 15 pens in the last four days. The worst part is that I keep seeing the people I lent them too. Particularly with a...
View ArticleHappiness
New Jersey has seen the emergence of two extremely quirky filmmakers – Kevin Smith, auteur of such films as CLERKS and CHASING AMY, and Todd Solondz, bespectacled brain behind WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE....
View ArticleClay Pigeons
I hate films that rest upon one mistake that could readily be rectified. In the first five minutes, with a little bit of forensic investigation, the whole downfall-into-chaos could be averted. Once...
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