‘Beware of Mr. Baker’ thunderously drums it’s way to the bloor cinema
Starting an exclusive run this Friday Jan 18 at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema is the new rock documentary of one of the true ‘wild men’ of rock, “Beware of Mr Baker”. “Beware of Mr Baker” opens with the man himself, Ginger Baker, approaching a parked car in which the filmmakers are sitting. Moments later Baker has his cane inside the window attacking and beating the director and crew with it. Very few films can say their opening scene involves the main character breaking the director’s nose, but as this film’s title suggests Ginger Baker is a man to approach with caution. Featuring interviews with his ex-wives, his children and many of the greatest living musicians who know him (including Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Charlie Watts, Mickey Hart, Carlos Santana, Femi Kuti, Neil Peart and Marky Ramone) this is a look back at a tumultuous career through explosive interviews with one of rock’s greatest characters.
Beware of Mr Baker Official Trailer
Beware of Mr. Baker
Starring: Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton, Charlie Watts, Steve Winwood, Mickey Hart, Carlos Santana and Neil Peart
Written and Directed by Jay Bulger
A madman and a genius best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith, (more…)
‘Quartet’ features one excellent supporting performance
With over 70 acting credits under his belt, according to IMDB, Dustin Hoffman makes his directorial debut with “Quartet”, opening in theaters nationwide from Alliance Films Jan 15. The story of a retirement home for musicians and the reluctant star moving in that changes everything has been adapted for the screen by Ronald Harwood from his own stage play. So has all the films that Dustin Hoffman appeared in prepared him to step behind the camera?
Quartet Review
Starring: Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay,Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Sheridan Smith and Michael Gambon
Written by Ronald Harwood
Beecham House for retired musicians is buzzing ever since the rumors have started circling that the home is soon to play host to a new resident, and word is it’s a major star. (more…)
Arnold Schwarzenegger makes his ‘Last Stand’
The Last Stand (2013)
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Eduardo Noriega, Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzmán, Peter Stormare and Genesis Rodriguez
Written by Andrew Knauer, Jeffrey Nachmanoff and Goergeo Nolfi
Directed by Jee-Woon Kim
Making his first starring bow since leaving his office as Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger returns this week with his new film: The Last Stand. The film also marks the English language debut of Korean director Jee-woon Kim, the director of atmospheric thriller “I Saw the Devil” and the western homage “The Good, The Bad and the Weird”. But will Jee-woon’s frenetic style mesh with the action veteran Schwarzenegger’s own signature style?
Sheriff Ray Owens (Schwarzenegger) moved out of Los Angeles and settled into a life fighting what little crime takes place in the sleepy border town (more…)
Spend some time in ‘The Waiting Room’ (review)
The Waiting Room
Directed by Peter Nicks
Today (Friday, Jan 18), the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema begins an exclusive run of another of its 2012 festival favorites, The Waiting Room. When the shortlist of documentaries up for nomination for this year’s Academy Awards was released back in early December, director Peter Nicks found his film among the contenders. And even though it did not make the cut the film was in the mix for a reason, the day in the life of a U.S. hospital is an impactful and insightful piece of film making.
The Waiting Room is a riveting day in the life of an Oakland, California, public hospital’s overtaxed emergency room. The purely observational character-driven documentary expertly weaves the stories of several patients, most of them are uninsured, and who come to the inner-city facility because they have nowhere else to go. (more…)
`Zero Dark Thirty` brings us behind the enemy lines of Al Qaeda (Review)
Zero Dark Thirty (2013)
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler,Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, Edgar Ramirez, Chris Pratt and James Gandolfini
Written by Mark Boal
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Returning to the big screen for the first time in four years, Academy Award winning director Kathryn Bigelow goes back behind enemy lines to bring us Zero Dark Thirty. Zero Dark Thirty is the tale of the hunt and eventual termination of the world’s most wanted terrorist: Osama Bin Laden. The real question is can Kathryn Bigelow deliver a film based on the saga of the hunt for Bin Laden that is as gripping and thought provoking as The Hurt Locker?
Starting from the attacks of September 11 2001, exhibited here as only sounds over a pitch black screen, we follow the career of CIA operative Maya (Chastain) as she starts her decade long obsession into finding Osama Bin Laden (more…)
Silver Bear award winner ‘Barbara’ arrives at the TIFF Bell Lightbox
The winner of the Silver Bear for best direction at the 2102 Venice Film Festival and Germany’s entrant for the best foreign language film Oscar this year, Christian Petzold’s Barbara starts an exclusive run at the Tiff Bell Lightbox in Toronto and select theaters across Canada on Friday Dec 28. The story of a disgraced nurse in early 1980’s East Germany features another very strong performance from the emerging powerhouse that is Nina Hoss. A relative unknown to the majority of North American audiences, Petzold’s muse (she has starred in 5 of his productions) may finally breakthrough with this strong and intimate portrayal of a woman forced to make a life altering decision and decide between following her head or her heart.
Barbara
Starring: Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Jasna Fritzi Bauer, Mark Waschke and Rainer Bock
Written and Directed by Christian Petzold
After being removed from a prestigious medical post in East Berlin and reassigned to an underfunded (more…)
‘The Central Park Five’ look to clear their names at the bloor cinema (Review)
Back in 1989 a horrendous attack in New York’s Iconic Central Park shocked New Yorkers and captivated people worldwide. The attack and the following investigation involving corruption, deceit and intrigue has become the stuff of legend. Documentarian master Ken Burns teams up with his daughter and son in-law to tell the story of the 5 teenagers convicted and jailed for the crime, and their journey to redemption, in “The Central Park 5”. Starting Christmas Day, The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto begins an exclusive theatrical run of the film with additional screenings over the next 2 ½ weeks.
The Central Park Five
Written and Directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon
The film examines the infamous 1989 Central Park Jogger case, where a young white woman was raped and brutally (more…)
Will ‘Les Misérables’ steal the Christmas box office? (Review)
Starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, with Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen
Based on the Original Stage Musical: Boublil and Schönberg’s Les Misérables
Screenplay by William Nicholson, Herbert Kretzmer Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg
Directed by Tom Hooper
The director of 2010’s multiple award winning “The King’s Speech”, Tom Hooper, is back with his latest Oscar baiting offering, an adaptation of the award winning and long running play based the Victor Hugo book “Les Misérables”. The production is a huge undertaking and has assembled a high profile cast under Hooper’s guiding hands to bring the tale to the screen. But is Hooper ready to helm a film that is well beyond the scope and scale anything he has ever done?
Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story full of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice (more…)
Judd Apatow proclaims that “This Is 40” (Review)
This Is 40 (2012)
Starring Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Megan Fox, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow, Chris O’Dowd, Jason Segel, Melissa McCarthy, Graham Parker, Lena Dunham, Annie Mumolo, Robert Smigel, Charlyne Yi, Lisa Darr with John Lithgow and Albert Brooks
Written and Directed by Judd Apatow
With This is 40, Judd Apatow’s latest directorial effort, we delve back in to the world that he created years ago with “Knocked Up”, this time focusing on the lives of Pete and Debbie instead of Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigel’s Ben and Allison. In fact Rogen and Heigl are completely missing from the entire film this time around. The real question is can Apatow craft a successful follow up to “Knocked Up” by going a completely different direction with it?
Five years after “Knocked Up” introduced us to Pete (Rudd) and Debbie (Mann), we are re-introduced to the couple approaching a milestone
The Bloor Cinema invites us all to ‘Meet the Fokkens’
With the holiday season fast approaching, the fine folks at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema have decided that with all the holiday themed options around the city they would offer up some cinematic counter programming. Starting Friday December 14th the cinema starts an exclusive run of the Hot Docs festival alumnus “Meet the Fokkens”. The seemingly innocent documentary based on a pair of 69 year old twin ladies living in Amsterdam might even remind you of your own lovely grandmother. Until you find out that the pair has been working the notorious Red-Light district of Amsterdam for over 40 years! And one of them is still active today!
Meet the Fokkens
Starring Louise and Martine Fokkens
Written and Directed by Gabrielle Provaas and Rob Schroder
“Meet the Fokkens” follows Louise and Martine as they go about their daily routines, (more…)
‘Jason Becker’ proves he’s ‘Not Dead Yet’…………..(Film Review)
After a triumphant set of screenings at this year’s Hot Docs Film Festival this past April, Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet makes it return to Toronto screens when it starts Friday Dec 12th at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. Not Dead Yet is the inspirational story of one man’s fight and struggle to continue making music after a debilitating disease strikes him down at a young age.
Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet
Starring : Jason Becker
Directed by Jesse Vile
Jason Becker was already a gifted musician before he hit his teens. In 1989 when doctors diagnosed the then 19 year old with Lou Gehrig’s disease (aka ALS) he was an international virtuoso about to join David Lee Roth as lead guitarist for Van Halen. He had also released a solo album and a debut album (more…)
Blood In The Snow 2012: In The House of Flies Review
Starring: Lindsay Smith, Ryan Kotack, Henry Rollins and Ryan Barrett
Written by Angus McLellan
Directed by Gabriel Carrer
Making its World Premiere as part of the Inaugural Fright Nights: Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival this past weekend at Toronto’s Projection Booth East cinema is the newest film from Canadian director Gabriel Carrer (Kill, If a Tree Falls), In the House of Flies. The micro budget indie makes use of a small cast and minimal settings to create a suspense thriller about abduction, suffering and sacrifice. But will In the House of Flies be the film to catapult Carrer onto the world stage?
Set in June of 1988 In the House of Flies tells the story of young lovers (more…)
Hot Docs Doc Soup dishes out ‘The House I Live In’ for December’s consumption (Review)
This month’s Doc Soup presentation from the venerable Hot Docs programmers is The House I Live In. The award winner from this year’s Sundance Film Festival makes its Toronto premiere with 3 showings at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, on Wednesday December 5th at 6:30 and 9:15 and Thursday the 6th at 6:45. The House I Live In is a detailed look at the war on drugs in the US, but from the other side of the coin.
The House I Live in
Written by Eugene Jarecki and Christopher St John
Directed by Eugene Jarecki
In America a war is raging, not just overseas but at home as well, costing countless lives, destroying families, and inflicting untold damage on future generations. For (more…)
Brad Pitt tries ‘Killing Them Softly’ but without much fanfare (Review)
New this week in theaters from Alliance Films and the Director of the polarizing ‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’ Andrew Dominik is his newest collaboration with Assassination star Brad Pitt,Killing Them Softly. The crime drama features Dominik’s now trademark long pauses and drawn out sequences, but is the story as fascinating as the real life drama that inspired and spurred on The Assassination of Jesse James?
Killing Them Softly
Starring: Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini and Ray Liotta
Written by Andrew Dominik based on the novel by George V. Higgins
Directed by Andrew Dominik
Frankie (McNairy) and Russel (Mendelsohn) are 2-bit hustlers that are convinced to pull a job that is very ill advised, holding up a (more…)
The ‘Bones Brigade’ are here to tell their own story with their ‘Autobiography’
Better known as a filmmaker nowadays, with acclaimed films like Dogtown and Z-Boys and Riding Giants under his belt, former Z-Boy and Skateboarding Hall of Fame inductee Stacey Peralta brings us his latest project based on his historic mentorship of some of skateboarding’s greatest innovators, Bones Brigade: An Autobiography. A decade after the now seminal Dogtown, and after being pestered by the Brigade members for a Bones Brigade film for almost the same amount of time, Peralta has finally delivered a follow up showing the 1980`s segment of his skateboarding career that saw him move behind the scenes and put young stars in the spotlight.
Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
Starring: Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Rodney Mullen, Lance Mountain, Mike McGill, Tommy Guerrero, Tony Alva, George Powell, Christian Hosoi and Stacey Peralta.
Directed by Stacey Peralta
Shortly after retiring from competition, Peralta teamed with business partner George Powell to form Powell-Peralta (more…)
“Hitchcock” focuses on “Psycho” and the woman behind the man……..
Hitchcock (2012)
Starring Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Toni Collette, James D’Arcy, Jessica Biel and Michael Wincott
Written by John J. McLaughlin based on the book “Alfred Hitchcock and the making of Psycho” by Stephen Rebello
Directed by Sacha Gervasi
New this week in theaters, opening exclusively at the Varsity in Toronto and expanding nation-wide in the weeks to come, from Fox Searchlight comes Hitchcock. The biopic about the master of suspense himself Alfred Hitchcock, despite the inference of title, is not a story of the man and his life, but the shooting of his seminal film Psycho and his relationship with his wife and most trusted collaborator Alma Reville.
Hitchcock starts at the premiere for Alfred Hitchcock’s (Hopkins) (more…)
What discoveries will “The Fruit Hunters” have for you…..
The Fruit Hunters (2012)
Written by Yung Chang and Mark Slutsky – based on the book by Adam Gollner
Directed by Yung Chang
After a highly successful Toronto debut screening as part of last week’s Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival Richmond Hill program, Yung Chang’s The Fruit Hunters starts an exclusive engagement this weekend at the Hot Docs Bloor Cinema. The film about people obsessed with seeking out and growing exotic fruits from around the world spans the globe in search of these hidden treats and director Chang introduces us to people of all nationalities. From the South American trying to save the banana business from extinction to the Hollywood celebrity trying to launch a community orchard in the Hollywood Hills, we are invited into all of these stories through Chang’s lens.
The Fruit Hunters is indeed a globetrotting tour of places with the (more…)
Reel Asian 2012: Cold Steel Review
Starring Peter Ho, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Jia Song, Mickey Ho, Ringo Yu and Wilson Chu
Written by David Wu, Li Xiao-Min
Directed by David Wu
Making a welcome return to Chinese action filmmaking after a long absence working in North American television, frequent John Woo collaborator David Wu brings us Cold Steel. After a very successful showing at Fantasia in Montreal this year, the war-time epic has finally made its Toronto debut thanks to Reel Asian and co-presenter Toronto After Dark. So how does Mr Wu’s Cold Steel stack up to the classic films of Woo’s that he worked on?
In 1938, during the second Sino-Japanese War, Mu Lianfeng (Ho), (more…)
ParaNorman will save your homes soon (Theatrical Review)
ParaNorman (2012) (Theatrical Review Repost)
Starring the voices of Cody Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin and John Goodman
Written by Chris Butler
Directed by Chris Butler and Sam Fell
From the same studio that brought us Henry Selick’s Coraline we get a new stop-motion animated film also dealing with the slightly macabre, ParaNorman. From directors Chris Butler, storyboard artist on Coraline, and Sam Fell, director of Tale of Despereaux and Flushed Away, comes the story of a boy with the gift to talk to the deceased and a mission to fulfill. But can these two directors live up to the brilliance that was Coraline?
Norman Babcock (Smit-McPhee) is an awkward child with an extraordinary gift, (more…)
Reel Asian 2012: Cha Cha for Twins Review
Starring Huang Peijia, Paul Chiang, Lun Ou Yang
Written by Yi-Chien Yang
Directed by Jim Wang, Yi-Chien Yang
Kicking of Saturday’s lineup at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts is the award winner from this year’s Taipei Film Festival, Cha Cha for Twins. This coming of age story centers on the tale of twin sisters who, now that they have turned 17, are discovering just how different, and alike, they truly are as they both strive to emerge as individuals apart from each other. But growing pains aren’t called ‘pains’ without reason.
Poni and Mini (Peijia in a dual role) have always done everything together. (more…)
Reel Asian 2012: Wolf Children Review
Reel Asian Film Festival 2012
Wolf Children (2012)
Starring the voices of Aoi Miyazaki, Takao Osawa, Haru Kuroki, Momoko Oono, Yukito Nishii and Amon Kabe
Written by Satoko Okudera, Mamoru Hosoda
Directed by Mamoru Hosoda
Considered by many in Japan as the heir apparent to the anime crown currently adorning the master animator Hayao Miyazaki, director Hosoda delivers a fairy tale/fable with a very sophisticated and adult message, Wolf Children. An anime master in his own right, Hosoda shows off classic hand drawn characters on sophisticated backgrounds in a coming of age story with a very worthwhile message at its core. But how will Wolf Children measure up to the classic Miyazaki fare like Princess Mononoke, Ponyo and Spirited Away?
Reel Asian 2012: Graceland Review
Starring Arnold Reyes, Menggie Cobarrubias, Dido De Le Paz and Ella Guevara
Written and Directed by Ron Morales
One of the grittiest films to play Reel Asian this year is the crime thriller Graceland from the Philippines. Not to be confused with the lavish estate of Elvis in Memphis, Graceland in this case refers to the seedy underground that inhabits and seeps out of every pore of the city of Manila. A place where everything has a price and nothing appears to be as it seems.
Marlon Villar (Reyes) is a pious family man who minds his own business (more…)
TAD 2012: Wrong Review
Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2012
Wrong (2012)
Starring Jack Plotnick, Eric Judor, Alexis Dziena, William Fichtner, Steve Little and Regan Burns
Written and Directed by Quentin Dupieux
The infamous Quentin Dupieux, aka musician Mr Oizo, the director of the movie about a car tire on a killing spree ‘Rubber’, is back with his newest absurdist comedy ‘Wrong’. With Rubber being an extremely divisive film, and Dupieux’s penchant for the bizarre, I knew this would not just be simply a story of a man trying to find his lost dog. I also knew that this was likely to be the most loved and most hated film of this year’s Toronto After Dark lineup.
Dolph Springer (Plotnick) wakes up one morning to realize he has lost the love of his life, (more…)
TAD 2012: Game of Werewolves Review
Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2012
Starring Gorka Otxoa, Carlos Areces, Secun de la Rose and Luis Zahera
Written and Directed by Juan Martinez Moreno
The closing night film from this year’s Toronto After Dark Film Festival was the Spanish horror comedy ‘Lobos de Arga’. The translation literally meaning Wolves of Arga (pronounced r-e-ah) but retitled Game of Werewolves for the international market. Game is throwback film. Wearing its influences like a badge on its chest, Game is clearly inspired by the Universal Monster films of old and more modern masterpieces like An American Werewolf in London and The Howling. The only question remaining is does it belong in the company of these classic films? (more…)
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