Maria Friedman’s feature direction of the live version of 4-time Tony-winning Broadway musical Merrily We Roll Along surprised me in all the right ways. Now in theatrical release it follows a trio of friends, lyricist Charley played by Daniel Radcliffe, composer Franklin from Jonathan Groff with Lindsay Mendez as writer Mary over twenty years -backwards!  Expecting it to feel hemmed in, limited to a single set, “theatrical” and confusing, it’s a brilliant experiment that cas

Jane Seymour’s Irish private investigator series Harry Wild has proven to be a fan favourite for Acorn TV.   To celebrate, the current S4 ends with a bang with a feature length episode that has all the series’ bells and whistles. Seymour’s deeply intuitive approach to her work, is aided by her young, rather brilliant “intern” Fergus (Rohan Nedd) who shares her gift and drive for the job. They attend the wedding of Vicky and Cormac, a couple of upper crusties and everyone’s

Michael Greyeyes, Carmen Moore, Alex Rice and Michelle Thrush lead a small cast in Meadowlarks from Tasha Hubbard. They’re Cree siblings – Anthony, Connie, Marianne and Gwen, taken from their shared mother and sent to non-Indigenous homes. The Canadian government took by force native children from their home and families to send them to residential schools. There, they would be taught to be white Christians.  The horrific practice under four Prime Ministers – John Diefenbake

Ok, so Frank Hathaway and Lu Shakespeare (Mark Benton, Jo Joyner) had a “disagreement” and broke up their two-person detective agency in Stratford-Upon-Avon after four seasons. Shakespeare and Hathaway S5 launches on BritBox Nov 25 but what to expect? After two years not speaking, and launching separate agencies, they find themselves thrown together to investigate Rina and Preston a pair of celebrity TV home renovators.  Both “couples” are spatting.  Our dicks are called in

Publishing feminist pioneer Jule Campbell is the subject of a documentary with a cultural edge, written and directed by her daughter Jill. Beyond the Gaze looks at the groundbreaking career of the photographer’s decades putting together the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. The annual issue dramatically outpaced any other by leaps and bounds , the highest earner, typically bringing in $15 M a year (equivalent $78M today). A no brainer, right?  Sports fans – presumed to be

How heartbreakingly ironic that just days before the release of Sallywood , the fact-based feature on her career and bond of friendship with a fan that could have relaunched it, Sally Kirkland passed away. She’d entered hospice in Palm Springs yesterday for an unknown condition. She died today (Nov 11) leaving a legacy of 275 film projects, one Best Actress Oscar and a heartbroken young friend. Kirkland plays herself in the true story of a young dreamer/writer and number one

Guillermo de Toro’s florid version of Mary Shelley’s classic horror story Frankenstein gets the full CGI, over the top treatment typical of the filmmaker. It could have benefitted from a slightly less in-yer-face with some degree of naturalism, more suggestion than showmanship. It’s the famous fable about playing around with death, as Dr. Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) did in enlivening corpses by applying artificial energy. He felt he’d taken medicine to a new level to help peo

A traumatic event occurred in high school when we members of the senior class were shown a black and white documentary called Night and Fog, by Alain Resnais.  We were flooded by gruesome films and stills that taught us more thoroughly than any lecture could have – the irrefutable truth and reality of Germany’s Nazi concentration camps.  I’ve never forgotten the impact of that film that laid out unspeakable acts, officially sanctioned with the intention of wiping out a race.

Times are troubled globally, and many people feel hopeless. Richard Gere’s documentary Wisdom of Happiness: A Heart to Heart with Dalai Lama may comfort and strengthen those who feel stuck. In brief, AI describes the Dalai Lama as “the current spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and the head of the Gelug school, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, Nobel Peace Prize winner. He is seen as the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion and was recognized as such at age tw

John Candy was a giant of his generation. Physically big, yes, but in spirit, personality and comedy gifts, a behemoth. Born in Newmarket, Ontario and once established, a Queensville farm owner, his artistic journey to the top of the comedy heap was rapid. Colin Hanks and Ryan Reynolds’ documentary John Candy:  Like Me is thorough and incredibly moving. Son, daughter and wife Chris Candy, Jennifer Candy-Sullivan, Rosemary Candy offer heartfelt love and admiration of the late

The ninth annual, three-day Weengushk International Film Festival and Cultural Event on Manitoulin Island launches Friday with a full slate of Canadian and global indigenous films, live storytelling, arts and culture and free virtual screenings. This year’s theme is Legacy Makers: Honouring Chiefs Who Paved the Path Forward .  Artistic Director Dr. Shirley Cheechoo’s aim is to wishes to “create lasting impact that honours the past, embraces the present and builds a strong fu

Let’s celebrate June Squibb! Hardworking, tiny, mighty, she has an uncanny acting gift – a mix of power and subtlety She’s enlivened more...

Five-time Oscar winning filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, The Godfather and more superb films cemented him as a great...

TIFF offers its final two chances to see fest fave, Chloe Zhao’s critically acclaimed film Hamnet today and tomorrow. Paul Mescal is...

Darlene Naponse’ brilliant, wordless documentary AKI “earth, land, or ground in relation to the Anishnaabe homeland” was filmed in her...

Filmmaker Darlene Naponse’ arresting documentary AKI – “earth, land, or ground in relation to the Anishnaabe homeland” – was filmed on...

I Swear , the true story John Davidson is wrenchingly hard to watch, but it’s so easy to empathise with him and his struggles. The...

Riefenstahl by Andres Veiel raises the spectre of the Third Reich and its ignominy, focussing on its première filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl,...

… dreams indeed … Dust to Dreams Babystar Morgenkreis I Saw the Face of God in the Jet Wash 09/05/82 Franz My Father’s Shadow Nadja In...

Netflix ‘ Mae Martin miniseries Wayward casts an intriguingly odd and threatening spell in a remote forest where locals navigate...