“Everyone deserves a second chance”

The movie is full of characters that you either despise, don’t like, or would rather not know. For me, the only character that was decent was the nurse Ada (played by Angela Finocchiaro). Oh, and the daughter’s boyfriend who never speaks might have been ok too ;->

Visually the only thing that really awed me was the opening scene of the car wreck with a straight down shot of the scene with the pouring rain.

More @ Chris Nolan.ca

The story follows a group of 3 women after they are laid off from their job after the whole company is shutdown. Alice, who’s in hear late twenties/early thirties, has the idea to start a costume shop where people can live out their fantasies. She enlists the help of Ada, the oldest of the group who will be their seamstress, and Jana the youngest of the group who will be the make-up artist.

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Originally posted @ Chris Nolan.ca – http://chrisnolan.ca/ID/942.

The iconic Canadiens hockey player, Maurice ‘The Rocket’ Richard was the subject of this morning’s TalkCinema (newly renamed ‘ReelTalk’) screening. But this was no documentary.

The Rocket, as the movie is title in English Canada, or just Maurice Richard as it was called when it was released in Quebec last fall (and as already earned a great deal @ the box office there) is a historical drama presented as a classic sports film with deep roots in the politics and culture that is Quebecois.

If you’re a hockey fan, you will really enjoy this telling of the tale that is Maurice’s life with the NHL. We’re introduced to Maurice as a 17 year old kid working in the factories during the Depression, and playing on his local hockey team after work, then fast forward 5 years to when he tries out for the team and then follow him through to the mid 50s and the outbreak of ‘The Richard Riot’, when thousands of fans rioted after The Rocket was suspended for hitting a ref – “No player is bigger than the game” after all.

If you’re not a hockey fan you may be able to see this film as the transition between when the game was played for the love of the game and not for the blood. NHL hockey is nothing more than a modern day gladiator arena. It is sensationalized brutality that exists solely to sell beer and box seats. This history is presented in the fact that the league was on it’s knees during WWII and made the decision that they’d do whatever was necessary to entertain, no matter the blood spilled or the heads broken. Maurice Richard was the first great show man of the game who was also the gravy train the team owners road to the bank.

This beautifully shot mythic presentation of the man is also an allegory for the struggle of the French Canadians prior to the Quiet Revolution. Most sports films you’ll see will have a very strong undercurrent of American patriotism, this movie follows that but replaces it with Quebecois “patriotism”. We see how the French were treated by the English, the seething prejudice from everyone from the league commissioner, Clarence Campbell on down.

Roy Dupuis turns in a wonderful, though subtle performance as Maurice Richard in a film directed by Charles Binamé opening in English Canada April 21, 2006.

Thanks to Tom Harrington of the National and Eye Weekly film critic Jason Anderson for being excellent guest speakers.

Just a note to whom ever added the (Fan Film) to the title. This wasn’t a fan film, it was a studio produced movie that was never released. The rumor goes that if they didn’t make it, they’d loose the rights and if they couldn’t have the rights they didn’t want anyone else to get them.

“People don’t want a hero. They want to eat a cheeseburger, play the lotto, and watch tv”

While a few times I was a bit annoyed with the translation as I was pretty sure the words used wouldn’t have been used by the author – I don’t know what I think that but I did – this was a really moving read for me.

It’s not often a comic book can bring tears.

I never knew that Shazam! was an acronym before.

Solomon – wisdom
Hercules – Strength
Atlas – Stamina
Zues – Power
Achilles – Courage
Mercury – Speed

If you haven’t read any of these Alex Ross painted oversized graphic novels you should check them out. e.g. Batman: War on Crime, Superman: Peace on Earth etc.

The version of this I watched was the ‘Nature of Things’ TV version, not the full length one, but on that I can’t recommend it. Having been to a lecture Dr. Mann gave a couple of years ago, he was able to share much more about what he does and why in that 1.5h lecture than this documentary was able to get across.

Cyberman @ the CBC – http://www.cbc.ca/cyberman/

Cyberman @ WearComp

This is an amazing story of the Warsaw Ghetto uprisings of April, 1943 told from the perspective of a 15 year old boy.

Joe Kubert, the famous comicbook artist decided to tell the story in a sort of alternative personal history. He imagined himself as the title character, Yossel, if only his parents had standed in Poland and not emmigrated when he was a baby.

The choice of sticking with the original pencil drawings instead of inking them out is amazingly powerful for the story. It makes it that much more real, as a reader to imagine that these are the real images that Yossel drew as things were happening all around him that he had difficulty expressing except through the pictures in his mind.

A definite recommended read.