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film/dvd review: “pan’s labyrinth” directed by guillermo del toro
AT THE CINEMA
With Ron Boyer
***** Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). If you’re curious, but haven’t seen it yet, now is the time to enjoy one of the truly outstanding films of the last year, recently released on DVD. Directed by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (No, not Benicio del Toro, the actor-the other one!), Pan’s Labyrinth was my favorite film last year. Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film, Pan’s Labyrinth lost out to the equally brilliant and socially-relevant drama The Lives of Others, arguably the two most important films of 2006.
Film Review: “Ten Canoes”. Directed by Rolf de Heer.
AT THE CINEMA with Ron Boyer
*** Ten Canoes. In this visually beautiful but wandering story-within-a-story by filmmakers Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr, we are introduced to the fascinating and magical world of an exotic and primitive people, the Yolngu Aborigines of Australia’s Northern Territories. Part anthropological field work and part epic ancient legend, the parallel storylines begin a millennia ago (about the time William the Conqueror invaded England), then use that time as a point of departure to visit the primordial past, the mythical Paleolithic “dreamtime” of the Aborigines. The twin stories unfold as an ancient aboriginal leader relates a much more ancient legend of his people, a parable of how a tribal leader in a similar position to his own once addressed the difficult moral and social problem confronting him, with the fate of the tribe hanging in the balance.
SiCKO – Privatized health care is terrible
**Warning** there are references to the movie in this review.
Rating: 3/5
There’s a lot to say about this movie as Michael Moore tells the tale about the diminished American health care system. The system, according to Moore, is in dire need of assistance which is crippled by its health insurance companies across the nation. It seems like you’re no better off being with health care insurance than without; with numerous examples of people being denied by the system. Why? Because it’s all about saving money. But this doesn’t just stop at health care, an intuitive viewer would also realize that the message about saving money would also be true for any other industry which deals with similar claims – like car insurance!
Posted in A&E, movies, Reviews
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Film Review: Away from Her
AT THE MOVIES with Ron Boyer
“AWAY FROM HER”. Directed by Sarah Polley. Co-starring Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent. Supporting roles by Michael Murphy and Olympia Dukakis.
Not long ago I had the pleasure of attending the Toronto screening for Sarah Polley’s directorial debut, “Away From Her”, based on “The Bear Came Over the Mountain, a short story by author Alice Munro. Now playing at local theatres, the film is the feature debut of Canadian actress-turned-director Polley, a former child actress best known for starring roles in film’s like Atom Egoyan’s “The Sweet Hereafter”. Here, as director, she tells a sad love story with a twist: a husband and wife who’ve passionately loved each other deeply since their youth are inevitably torn apart late in life by the devastating onset of Alzheimers.
It’s like YouTube in 30mm
This weekend marks the ending of the Worldwide Short Film Festival happening all around Toronto. Showcased in two theatres: Cumberland 4 and Innis Town Hall, the Worldwide Short Film Festival is a program of many award winning short films.
Walking through the DO’s and DO-NOT’s of Date Movies
By Laneway Davey
A good friend of mine once said that there was no better way to kill a first date than to go to a movie. I honestly couldn’t disagree more, and maybe it’s because I’m a film nerd (which is really just a regular nerd that gets out more) but I think going to a movie on a first date is an awesome way to spend some time with someone you barely know. Movies are the most non-threatening of the date choices (karaoke being the most threatening, of course). I think I can understand where my friend was coming from though – it’s the type of movie you choose to see that can be the difference between “Date Number 2”, and the first date equivalent of The Hindenburg.
Allow me to walk you through the dos and do-not-dos of Date Movies.
