PIF 2012: Lost Rivers Review
Planet in Focus Environment Film Festival 2012
Lost Rivers (2012)
Directed by Caroline Bâcle
This year’s opening night of the Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival kicked off with the world premiere of Caroline Bâcle’s Lost Rivers. The documentary aims to inform us of the rivers under major cities around the world, and the efforts from a dedicated few to save them.
Once flowing through nearly every developed city in the world, rivers provided the infrastructure upon which most modern metropolises were built. Lost Rivers leads us down the drain into vast underground museums of urban development that have sprung up surrounding the protection and unearthing of these flowing rivers. The films takes us through the hidden river networks of London, Brescia (Italy), Montreal and Toronto where intrepid groups of subterranean explorers known as “drainers” reveal the buried waterways that house the secrets of each city’s past. The film also explores some of the recent government funded initiatives to resurface and revitalize these forgotten waterways in Yonkers and Seoul, and the more grassroots efforts in places like Toronto……..
Paranormal Activity 4 Review
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
Starring Kathryn Newton, Matt Shively, Brady Allen, Aiden Lovekamp and Katie Featherston
Written by Chad Feehan, Zack Estrin and Christopher Landon
Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
New this weekend in theaters from Paramount Pictures comes the latest installment in the Paranormal Activity series: Paranormal Activity 4. Starting with superbly crafted tiny indie film that became a sensation that was the first PA, the series has gone on to generate millions in revenue for little cost for Paramount and has managed to supplant the Saw films as the recurring new film each year for Halloween in theaters. But has the film series exhausted itself creatively, and perhaps more importantly has it outstayed its welcome with its audience?
Paranormal Activity 4 takes place five years after Paranormal Activity 2, which ended with Katie’s (Featherston) dispatching of her sister’s family and the abducting of their baby, Hunter. The 4th film follows the life of teen Alex (Newton), along with her boyfriend Ben (Shively), her parents and her little brother Wyatt (Lovekamp). Alex’s mom takes Robbie…………………………………..
PIF 2012: Bay of All Saints Review
Planet In Focus Environment Film Festival 2012
Bay of All Saints (2012)
Directed by Annie Eastman
Part of the lineup at this year’s Planet In Focus Environmental Film Festival, Bay of all Saints takes us deep into an area of a world we rarely get to see. In Brazil’s Bay of all Saints district the otherwise homeless have taken to the water for refuge. Rows and Rows of palafitas, haphazard hand built shacks supported directly over the water on stilts, house this makeshift urban community. When the government decides that the land is too valuable as a development project to allow these palafitas to continue to exist, the residents are slated for relocation. Over the course of six years, Norato, a friendly and flirty refrigerator repairman raised in these sea-lodged slums, guides us through the personal histories and daily struggles of Geni, Jesus and Dona Maria, three single mothers that have settled on the bay.
The Barrens Blu-Ray Review
The Barrens Blu-Ray
Starring Stephen Moyer, Mia Kirshner, Allie MacDonald, Peter DaCunha, Erik Knudson, Chantelle Chung, David Keeley and Shawn Ashmore
Written and Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman
New this week to DVD and Blu-Ray from Anchor Bay Entertainment comes The Barrens. This take on the classic campfire stories that have dominated family camping outings for decades comes from the enigmatic Darren Lynn Bousman, more known for his inconsistency than any one film in particular. So what does the director of Saw 2-4, the divisive Repo, The Genetic Opera and the outright abysmal 11-11-11 have in store for us this time?
It’s known as the Jersey Devil, the long rumored winged beast spawned 400 years ago,……………………………………………..
TIFF 2012 Clip and Picture Day Reviews
Photo from TIFF.net
Starring Isidora Simijonovic, Vukašin Jasnic, Sanja Mikitišin, Jovo Makisc and Monja Savic
Written and Directed by Maja Milos
Jasna (Simijonovic) is a teenage girl living in the poor suburbs in the south of Belgrade, Serbia. She, like many girls her age, likes to record everything around her using a mobile phone camera. She is making videos of herself, her school friends, family and Djole (Jasnic), the boy of her dreams. Her family life is a mess, her father is terminally ill and mother is barely coping. Jasna cannot figure out how to cope with this and it leads her further down the wrong path, leading to more and more time hanging out with her school friends, partying and drinking. At one of the parties, she finally starts a conversation with Djole and later they develop an intense sexual relationship. When he realizes that she will do anything to be close to him, Djole starts using her as a sexual object. Jasna……………
Dead Air Episode 21: Toronto After Dark Preview Show
Here is my latest guest spot on the Dead Air podcast!! This time we launch into out Toronto After Dark 2102 Preview!! We do a day by day rundown of the ENTIRE lineup! So join Jeff Konopka, Shawn Savage and myself as we count down all the reasons you need to see the fest!! And last but not least the Pub After Dark Pub Nights!!! And if you see Jeff and me around the pub come say hi, or better yet buy us a beer! 🙂
Sinister Review
Sinister (2012)
Starring Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Michael Hall D’Addario, Clare Foley, Fred Dalton Thompson and James Ransone
Written by C. Robert Cargill and Scott Derrickson
Directed by Scott Derrickson
In theaters this weekend from Alliance Films, just in time for Halloween, we get the newest horror title from director Scott Derrickson, the director of the Exorcism of Emily Rose. With the mainly lackluster theatrical year we have had to date for the horror genre, Cabin in the Woods withstanding, the real question is can Sinister deliver where others this year have failed? And can one of us, online film Critic C. Robert Cargill, aka Ain’t it Cool News’ Massawrym, really write a film that lives up to the hype?
Princess Bride 25th Anniversary Blu-Ray Review
Princess Bride 25th Anniversary Blu-Ray
Starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Fred Savage, Peter Falk, Carol Kane and Billy Crystal
Written by William Goldman
Directed by Rob Reiner
Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year is The Princess Bride, a small fairy tale that over time has become a timeless classic spanning generations. Featuring new packaging as well as a brand new 30 minute long special feature on top of all of the features from the 20th anniversary edition, the 25th anniversary edition turns out to be a packed Blu-ray. The question remains: is this edition worth the upgrade if you already own a copy of this classic yarn?
In case you don’t know the story, when a young boy falls ill his grandfather pops round to visit him. In an attempt to cheer up his grandson (Savage), Grandpa (Falk) has brought a…
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TIFF 2012 No One Lives Review
TIFF Midnight Madness 2012 – No One Lives Review
Starring: Luke Evans, Adelaide Clemens, Lee Tergesen, Derek Magyar, America Olivo, Lindsey Shaw and Beau Knapp.
Written by David Cohen
Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura
Returning to Midnight Madness for the first time since his 2000 film Versus, Director Ryuhei Kitamura brings us a messy, bloody and disturbing case of why it pay to not judge a book by its cover with No One Lives. The twisted tale of a team of break and enter specialists who pick on the wrong person is unflinching and forces you to root for someone where there is no presented worthy of it. But does No One Lives deliver on the promise of its premise?
Detropia Review.
Detropia (2012)
Written and Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
The once bustling city of Detroit is a shadow of its former self. Starting back in 2010 when the economic downturn was in full swing, Detroit went from downturn to depression in a heartbeat. With the closures of local automobile production plants, the heart of Detroit’s manufacturing industry, other key business people started leaving Detroit in droves. Once one of the fastest growing cities in the world, Detroit now ranks among the highest cities in lost population over the last couple of years. While the families have moved on, the younger generation of bloggers and performance artist have now claimed it due to cheaper housing and access.
Detropia starts before the economic buyouts that turned around the auto industry in Detroit. These were the leanest of days, focusing on the few that stayed fighting and trying to rally the…
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Chained DVD Review
Chained DVD
Starring Vincent D’Onofrio, Julia Ormond, Eamon Farren, Gina Phillips, Evan Bird and Jake Weber
Written by Damian O’Donnell and Jennifer Lynch
Directed by Jennifer Lynch
After her trials and tribulations in India directing the film Hisss, documented in the excellent feature documentary Despite the Gods, with her next effort Jennifer Lynch wanted to get back to the friendly confines of small indie horror that spawned her, the result is Chained. Armed with a script she adapted herself and a stellar lead actor in D’Onofrio, Lynch set out to once again carve out her unique vision with the level of creative control only an indie film can provide, although it should be mentioned that the title was changed from Rabbit to Chained.
Coming home from a routine trip to the movies, eight-year-old Tim (Bird) and his mother, Sarah (Ormond), are picked up by a psychopathic cab driver named…
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Brawler DVD Review
Brawler DVD
Starring Nathan Grubbs, Marc Senter, Pell James and Michael Bowen
Written by Chris Sivertson and Nathan Grubbs
Directed by Chris Sivertson
New on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada, is an MMA inspired fight film that explores the seedy side of underground fight clubs, Brawler. Based on a true story, the familiar tale of brother versus brother, realized most recently onscreen in last year’s Warrior, is familiar ground. The real test of the film will be if it can deliver a realistic product inside the cage.
Brawler is the tale of two brothers, Charlie (Grubbs) and Bobby (Senter) Fontaine, who find themselves in a vicious, bone-breaking, jaw-smashing underground “fight club” circuit under Mafia control set on the riverboats of New Orleans. Sidelined by an injury incurred while protecting his young brother, Charlie is blindsided after a devastating betrayal by Bobby and his new wife Kat (James). The two…
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Magic City Season 1 Blu-Ray Review
Magic City Season 1 Blu-Ray Review
Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Olga Kurylenko, Steven Strait, Jessica Marais, Christian Cooke, Yul Vazquez, Taylor Blackwell, Dominik Garcia-Lorido, Elena Satine, Michael Rispoli, Kelly Lynch and Danny Huston.
Series created by Mitch Glazer
New this week from Starz Network and Anchor Bay Entertainment comes the first season of the acclaimed series Magic City. The lavishly conceived and staged production set in 1959 Miami Beach is a crime ridden gangster drama with a gloss and charm set to draw you in and make you stay a while. Producer Mitch Glazer used recollections, both fantasy and fact, to craft this series based on the Miami Beach he knew growing up. But does Magic City hold up with the quality of other contemporary cable shows?
As Ike Evans (Morgan) rings in the New Year, with the Chairman of the board himself Frank Sinatra crooning in the Grand Ballroom…
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The Story Of Film Preview
The Story of Film: An Odyssey
Written and Directed by Mark Cousins
Last year Mark Cousins in conjunction with the BBC brought us a 15 part epic series entitled The Story of Film: An Odyssey. Starting last weekend and continuing through to November The Hot Docs Bloor Cinema is presenting the entire series in 2 part chunks on Sunday nights with replays on Tues nights, only taking a break to present the Toronto After Dark Film Festival in late October. Starting from back at the turn of the 20th century, The Story of Film attempts to present the most complete version of the history of film production put forward. Not content to just focus on the Hollywood scene, Cousins spans the globes for the most influential films and filmmakers of their time and presents their stories in detail.
The first two episodes cover the start of film, from the…
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Bait 3D DVD Review
Bait 3D DVD
Starring Xavier Samuel, Sharni Vinson, Alex Russell, Phoebe Tonkin and Julian McMahon
Written by Russell Mulcahy and John Kim (with additional writing by Shayne Armstrong, Duncan Kennedy, Shane Krause and Justin Monjo).
Directed by Kimble Rendall
From the Gold Coast of Australia Anchor Bay Entertainment brings us Bait 3D on DVD and Blu-Ray. The film stars a cast of rising stars from Australia including Xavier Samuel (Loved Ones, Twilight Saga: Eclipse), Sharni Vinson (Step Up 3D, You’re Next), Alex Russell (Chronicle) and Phoebe Tonkin (TV’s The Secret Circle, Tomorrow, When the War Began). The cast is further rounded out with some veteran presence in the form of Julian McMahon. The question remains with the overabundance of Shark based thrillers out there is Bait more part Jaws or Sharktopus?
After a gargantuan freak tsunami hits a sleepy beach community in Australia a group…
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The Victim Blu-Ray Review (Kirk Haviland)
The Victim Blu-Ray (2012)
Starring Michael Biehn, Jennifer Blanc, Ryan Honey, Denny Kirkwood and Danielle Harris
Written Reed Lackey and Michael Biehn
Directed by Michael Biehn
New this week from Anchor Bay Entertainment comes the directorial debut of 80’s action star and cult icon Michael Biehn, The Victim. Having written the film as a vehicle for his wife Jennifer Blanc and himself to produce under their new production label, after a rumored wayward promise to director Robert Rodriguez on the set of Planet Terror that he would direct his own film. The only question that remained was whether Biehn could take on all hats behind the scenes and deliver in front of it?
Annie (Blanc) is a dancer by trade and a party girl by nature, but one day her life is put in jeopardy after she’s witnesses the horrific murder of her closest friend Mary (Harris) at a party…
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TIFF 2012 Yellow And Tim Buckley
Starring Heather Wahlquist, Sienna Miller, David Morse, Gena Rowlands, Melanie Griffith, Lucy Punch, Max Theriot, Ray Liotta and Daveigh Chase
Written by Heather Wahlquist and Nick Cassavetes
Directed by Nick Cassavetes
Mary (Wahlquist) is a substitute teacher who flounders through her days with nonsensical daydreams and sneaking out to her car to drink mini-bar sized bottles of alcohol and pop at least 30 pain pills a day. Her shrink, or so we believe him to be, thinks she’s over-medicated and her complaints of not being able to feel anything stem from this. When Mary disappears into a broom closet to have sex with the parent of a student during a PTA meeting, even she knows she has gone too far. Broke after being fired by the school, she packs up her car and sets out alone on a road trip back to see her family to confront old…
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Lola Versus Blu Ray
Lola Versus Blu-Ray
Starring Greta Gerwig, Joel Kinnaman, Zoe Lister-Jones, Hamish Linklater, Bill Pullman and Debra Winger
Written by Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones
Directed by Daryl Wein
Currently one of Hollywood’s latest “IT” girls, the talented Greta Gerwig steps into one of her first starring vehicles in the new Blu-ray release from Fox Entertainment, Lola Versus. The story of an about to be 30 year old that goes through a life altering situation was written by co-star Zoe Lister-Jones and Director Daryl Wein seemingly with Gerwig in mind as it seems to be tailor made for her brand of “dramady”. But is Gerwig ready to be the main attraction?
When 29-year-old Lola (Gerwig) is dumped by her fiancé Luke (Kinnaman) just three weeks before the wedding, she embarks on an emotional, year-long adventure of self-discovery. Guided by the advice, good and bad, of her close friends Alice (Lister-Jones) and…
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Spartacus: Vengeance Blu-Ray
Spartacus: Vengeance
Starring Liam McIntyre, Peter Mensah, Manu Bennett, Katrina Law, Lucy Lawless, Viva Bianca, Craig Parker and Nick E. Tarabay
Created by Steven S. DeKnight
From Anchor Bay Entertainment and Starz Network in the US, The Movie Network for us up here in Canada, comes the long awaited second season follow up to Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Spartacus: Vengeance. After the illness that sadly took the life of season one star Andy Whitfield, and the prequel production Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Liam McIntyre steps into the sandals of our lead Spartacus and throughout the course of the season leads a furious bunch of rebels out for revenge against the Romans after events of season one. But is McIntyre capable of taking over the iconic role?
After the bloody escape from the House of Batiatus that concluded Spartacus: Blood and Sand, the gladiator rebellion has erupted and begun to…
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TIFF 2012 Much Ado and Secret Disco
Starring Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Clark Gregg, Jillian Morgese, Fran Kranz, Reed Diamond, Nathan Fillion, Sean Maher, Riki Lindholme, Tom Lenk and Ashley Johnson
Adapted by Joss Whedon, based on the play from William Shakespeare
Directed by Joss Whedon
Claudio (Kranz) and Benedick (Denisof) have just returned home to Messina after a successful campaign abroad. When Claudio confesses his adoration for the lovely Hero (Morgese), daughter of Messina’s governor Leonato (Gregg), Don Pedro (Diamond) vows to woo Hero in the vocally clumsy Claudio’s stead. Benedick’s scorn for love is matched by that of his long-time nemesis and verbal sparring partner Beatrice (Acker), Leonato’s niece. Determined to ruin the affair is the villainous brother of Don Pedro, Don John (Maher). As the love-struck Claudio and Hero make plans to marry, Benedick and Beatrice resume the “merry war” of insults they have long waged all while Leonato, Pedro…
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Resident Evil: Retribution Review
Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
Starring – Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez, Aryana Engineer, Boris Kodjoe, BingBing Li
Written and Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
Coming back to the Cineplex, from Allliance films, this weekend for the 4th follow up to 2002’s Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Retribution goes back to its roots. Writer/Director Paul W.S. Anderson brings back characters from all of the previous films, including Michelle Rodriguiez’s Rain from the first film, and this time around takes us to the iconic Racoon City. But will this Resident Evil be the fun joyride of the first or continue the lacklustre trend of its follow ups?
Retribution starts directly from the end of Resident Evil: Afterlife with Alice (Jovovich) managing to escape the carnage of the incoming onslaught at the end of Afterlife, only to end up in The Umbrella Corporation’s custody, barely alive and breathing. The Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus…
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Matchmaker Review
The Matchmaker (2012)
Starring Tuval Shafir, Adir Miller, Dror Keren, Bat-el Papura, Dov Navan, Maya Dagan, Tom Gal and Neta Porat
Writen and Directed by Avi Nesher, based on the novel by Amir Gutfreund
This week sees a small Israeli film that played at TIFF back in 2010, The Matchmaker, open in Toronto for a highly exclusive engagement. This coming of age story set in the backdrop of late 1960’s Israel is a little charmer that deals with a lot of serious matters under the surface but maintains a quick witted exterior to help keep the audience enthralled.
As young Arik Burstein (Shafir) is out playing and goofing around with his friends on a summer afternoon the group stumbles upon a strange man. Yankele Bride (Miller), a Romanian survivor of the Holocaust with a scarred face and a noticeable limp, is a relentless matchmaker that specializes in difficult cases. He…
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TIFF 2012 The Hunt and The Gatekeepers
TIFF 2012 Capsule Reviews
Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp, Lasse Fogelstrom and Susse Wold
Directed by Thomas Vinterberg
Set in a small suburban town, Lucas (Mikkelsen) is a divorced daycare worker who is hoping to win custody of his estranged teenage son Marcus (Fogelstrom). Well-liked and easygoing, Lucas has lived in the town all his life and formed lifelong friendships with Theo (Bo Larsen) and Bruun (Lars Ranthe). Beloved by the children under his care, Lucas also has a special bond with Klara (Wedderkopp), the young daughter of Theo and his wife Agnes. When Klara kisses him on the lips one day, a shocked Lucas rebuffs her, telling her that only mommies and daddies should kiss in that way. Hurt and angry, the child tells the unprepared and incompetent head of the daycare Grethe (Wold) that she has seen things she shouldn’t have. This…
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TIFF 2012 10 Most Anticipated
Kirk here, as the Toronto International Film Festival begins I’m here to spotlight my top picks for the fest and perhaps fill those leftover vouchers or last minute gaps in the schedule with some films that have definitely caught my eye. I will be brief in detail to avoid spoiler type material, but for further info on all titles go to the TIFF website by clicking on the titles below.
Painless – Dir. Juan Carlos Medina
Spanish Horror Thriller about a man who slowly unravels the truth about his origins, and a series of experiments conducted on children at the dawn of the Spanish Civil War.
Screening Sat Sept 8th, Sun Sept 9th and Sat Sept 15th
Berberian Sound Studio – Dir. Peter Strickland
A British sound engineer (Toby Jones) starts a descent into madness when he starts to work for a flamboyant Italian…
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MOVIE JUNKIE TO'S Entertainment Fix 