By John H. Foote (**) Isabelle Huppert is to French cinema what Meryl Streep is to North American film, a god of acting. Oddly, she might be best known to some of us for her work in Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate (1980), but to others she is known for her array of truly brilliant performances through…
By Alan Hurst It’s never listed near the top of Bette Davis’ film achievements but The Star (1952) is nonetheless one of the unsung (albeit campy) gems from a period when Hollywood was really starting to turn the focus on itself with a series of films showing the highs and lows of the movie business.…
By John H. Foote (****) On film, by 1986 Vietnam had become a comic book war won single-handedly by action heroes John Rambo or Chuck Norris. The searing truth seen in Coming Home (1978) and Apocalypse Now (1979) had given way to the macho swaggering of Rambo: First Blood II (1985), Missing in Action – Part 1and 2 (1986-87) and…
By John H. Foote Am I intentionally a contrarian? I have never believed so, but I do have my own mind and I have chosen to use it rather than follow behind like a lemming. When my friends at school were rabid Maple Leafs fans I was a Boston Bruins fan, my favourite goalies was…
By John H. Foote (****) Tootsie is, to me, the greatest American comedy ever made, a farce brimming with intelligence and sharp writing, brilliant direction and performances as well as insight into one of the most mysterious art forms known to man. Directed by Sydney Pollack, so much more gifted than he was ever given credit…
By John H. Foote Bruno Ganz, a brilliant actor died last Saturday. In honour of this fine artist, we celebrate his finest performance in DOWNFALL (2005). (****) Is it possible to humanize Adolf Hitler? Is it remotely possible to make human one of the greatest mass murderers in the history of mankind? A man who set a…
By John H. Foote (****) Having seen them all, loving the Judy Garland version, loathing the Streisand version (except the songs) and being indifferent to the first version in 1937, I was at least curious to see this new one at TIFF last September. Sean Penn had hailed it a masterpiece long before critics had…
By Alan Hurst I’ve been looking for a reason to write about two of my favourite Douglas Sirk films and, with Valentine’s Day around the corner, the timing is perfect. When Sirk hit his prime in the mid 1950’s his films were major money makers for Universal but they were not critically well received, particularly…
By Nick Maylor Having faces on money is an ancient tradition. Here in Canada, there has only been one face on the back of our coins for my entire lifetime, and that of my mother; Queen Elizabeth II. It’s just a reality of being Canadian. That’s the face on every coin (and a few paper…
For those who love cinema, there will always be cherished moments associated with seeing something for the first time. Here is my list of the cinematic landmarks of my journey through loving film. By Nick Maylor 25. RED STATE (2011) I’ve been a big Kevin Smith fan since I first was introduced to his films…