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In the mid 1990s, David Levien and Brian Koppelman set out to develop a film that would tell the true story behind the underground world of poker. Their efforts eventually produced Rounders (1998), a film that told the story of the fall and resurgence of Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) in the world of underground poker. It became a cult classic and is pointed to as being the quintessential film about the game. If you missed it, here are some great reasons why you should check out Rounders. The beginning of the Texas Hold’em craze Back in 1998, the game...
Hopefully you read this month’s TFS List concerning movie characters who are more than just their LGBT status. Writing great, well-rounded people to populate your film is always a challenge for a screenwriter, no matter how they identify, let alone creating a character who one should aspire to be like in their real, not-at-all-like-a-movie, life. Here are just a few who rise to the occasion: Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin), Scott Pilgrim Vs The World A lot was done by screenwriters and directors alike to preserve the witty and gritty humour that Wallace Wells exudes. Luckily for the film-goer, it all paid...
In 1991 LGBT themes weren’t terribly prominent in film and television. There were gay characters in movies and TV shows, usually relegated to comic relief or to be used as a dramatic way to prove a point, but the characters were often flat and unformed. Gus Van Sant did a great deal to change that situation with My Own Private Idaho. His mash-up of Shakespeare and youth culture presented a more human approach to gay characters in films and was widely recognized as a great cinematic achievement. His film continues to inspire new generations of filmmakers, having been released in...
Remember the Canadian band Rusty? You probably need a little bit of a memory jog, but they had a music video about 1995 or 1996 called Misogyny, it was on heavy rotation on MuchMusic for a while (back when they played music videos more than shitty TV shows), and the song was pretty catchy. But what caught my attention more than the song or the grungy good looks of lead singer Ken MacNeil, was the video itself. The video opens with flashes of a topless, tanned and smooth bodied, male model and Madonna ex-lover Tony Ward. The video moves between...
What with the excellently weird doc Room 237 being released this week at both the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema and TIFF Bell Lightbox, it seems that the cinephiles of Toronto are also being treated to a handful of retrospective screenings of the film that inspired all of the crazy conspiracy theories – Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. As someone who loves The Shining enough that I’m already planning my weekend around a big screen viewing, but not quite enough that I feel the need to spend hours dissecting it a la the nutsos aficionados in Room 237, I thought I’d write...
In times of war, countries and governments turn to propaganda to inform, recruit, and entertain the masses. When thinking of the word propaganda, we may not necessarily think of Canada. Personally, my mind goes straight to Nazi Germany, where the truth was distorted and manipulated. I think of Leni Riefenstahl’s propaganda film, The Triumph of the Will, a documentary to transform the Nazis and Hitler into gods. While Canadian propaganda film never reached that controversial level, there is still a rich history of films geared towards the war effort, and there is plenty of art work accompanying these films. While Germany had...
Have you ever wanted to take a trip across Canada? I know I have. It seems the best way to see the country is via train. Imagine the sights you would see, from Newfoundland, across the prairies and the Canadian Rockies, only to end up in one of the most breath-taking spots in the world, right on the Pacific ocean. Canada is a beautiful country. But since I can’t afford this type of trip, I want to share with you the next best thing, a wonderful little movie called Helicopter Canada. What’s that you ask? That’s what I thought. It...
Last year’s sensational American documentary A Queen of Versailles felt like a reality TV era wink at Citizen Kane. The premises match nicely: a disgustingly rich American businessman builds himself a palatial estate in Florida. Similar ingredients: a lot of ambition, self-mythologizing, American super-sizing. A handful of decades later, things have changed a bit: Xanadu becomes Louis XIV’s palace; a newspaper fortune warps into the largest time-share real estate empire ever; and Kane’s second wife, a singer, gets replaced by David Siegel’s third wife, an engineer turned beauty queen. These differences are details, though. The myth of American excess has...
In case you missed it, I wrote a post on the many reasons why you should be obsessed with Nature Docs. To follow that up (and prove my point even further), I’ve put together a list of some beautifully filmed and conceptualized nature documentaries, both in feature-film and serialized form. Each and every one of these films is guaranteed to get your inner mountain hermit packing up the camper and heading out for a wilderness adventure extravaganza. Winged Migration This is a lovely one. There were obviously there were some scandals and questions involved in the maker’s raising of specific...
Why watch nature docs? Indeed, that is the question. Well, simply-put, nature docs are awesome, in many ways, but mostly because of the cute little critters they feature. Not convinced? Well I shall attempt to convince (hypnotize) you otherwise for the duration of this article. Here are a few reasons that, I believe, make nature docs unique and possibly better, than any other type of doc. Enjoy. First off, I would like to take a minute to remind you of a certain constant in everyone’s lives. Think back to the last time you turned on your TV, or went on...
Alright-y then, this blog post shall be about everyone’s favourite topic: weddings. Rather, movies about weddings, or rather, female-oriented wedding comedies. I’ve only just realized how hilariously under-qualified I am to write on this topic. Shall I list thee ways? No? Well I’ll do it anyway. 1) I am not wise on this topic 2) I do not think about marriage 3) Rom-coms sometimes make me cringe 4) Rom-coms about weddings tend to make me cringe 5) Blah 6) Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah 7) Why did I take this assignment? 8) BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Anyway moving right along, you’ve probably noticed the prevalence of the...
When it came time to write an article about chick flicks that guys could enjoy, my name quickly found its way to the top of the list. Who better to write an article such as this one than the guy who openly admitted to finding Eat, Pray, Love a fantastic film? They almost don’t come more ‘chick flick-y’ than that one. While that film may not add up to a fantastic evening with your girlfriend, although she may enjoy it thoroughly, this list should include at least a few films that any guy can enjoy with the women in his...
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