Greetings to all the French, my cousins from the other side of the pond! Arte, a French-German over-the-air TV network, has released online the trailer of Les invincibles. This French TV series is adapted from a Quebecker TV series of the same name.
Mano (Jean-Michel Portal), Hassan (Jonathan Cohen), F.X. (Benjamin Bellecour) and Vince (Cédric Ben Abdallah) are four old friends at the end of their twenties. Moreover, they're engaged in a stable relation with their respective girlfriend. However, the four "men" believe that they haven't lived their youth as if they were no tomorrow before the beginning of their thirties. This is why they seal a deal together: on a given day, they simultaneously break up with their respective girlfriend of the moment at 9 PM. Obviously, this will be hard, but they do it in order to quench their desire for freedom (and problems?). However, the girls won't have it that way.
Finally, the first season of the show will premiere on March 9, 2010 on Arte at 10:20 PM. Moreover, the show also star Brigitte Bémol, as Meïke, Lou Doillon, as Zoé, Eve Chems de Brouwer, as Isabelle, and Marie-Ève Perron, as Cathy.
How can you tell that this film is an independent one? Obviously, it deals with a topic that many Hollywood studios want to avoid. Regardless of these two facts, I wouldn't watch Stephanie Daley a second time because the film bored me to death.
Stephanie Daley (Amber Tamblyn) is a 16-year-old girl who had her waters broken while being on a ski trip with her classmates. Stephanie will face murder charges in connection with the death of her baby. Eventually, Lydie Crane (Tilda Swinton), a pregnant forensic-psychologist, is tapped to get to the bottom of this story. As Lydie's inquiry advances, Stephanie claims that she wasn't aware of her pregnancy. Moreover, we also learn that Stephanie never talked about a sexual relationship that she once had with a guy from the town during a party.
Unlike what we're inclined to believe, the film actually has two stories: the one involving Stephanie and the other one with Lydie. Moreover, both stories are related by the moments when Stephanie is being interogated by Lydie in her office.
Unfortunately, scriptwriter/director Hilary Brougher gives us the feeling that she inserted two stories just for the sake of it and also to follow that trend established by Paul Haggis's Crash. While we get a clear view on Stephanie's perspective of what her pregnancy means in the story, we don't get to see Lydie questioning herself that much. After all, since Lydie is pregnant, it would have been really interesting to have a piece of her views on religion, abortion and motherhood while she tries to stay impartial. All in all, be aware that the film has a little plot hole.
Besides, the film might bore you to death because of its extremely slow pace. Other than that, the film can hopefully rely on the performance of its cast, especially from Amber Tamblyn. With an incredible dose of subtlety, Tamblyn manages to suggest both Stephanie's surprise and also her guilt caused by her pregnancy. Of course, even though the film takes place in a small town where people seem to care about religion, the story doesn't judge Stephanie's choices. In fact, it lets the main character judge herself through implicit statements.
Finally, the film certainly has its share of intelligence. However, have in mind that the pace is excruciatingly slow to the point that it makes it hard for you to feel thrilled by Stephanie Daley.
Rating: 3/5
Origin:
USA (2006)
Length:
92 minutes
Genre:
Drama
Screenplay:
Hilary Brougher
Director:
Hilary Brougher
Starring:
Amber Tamblyn, Tilda Swinton, Timothy Hutton and Halley Feiffer
For those who don't know, the film Score: A Hockey Musical has been on production since February 1rst in Toronto. The shooting of the film will wrap up on March 8, 2010.
In this film, Olivia Newton-John (Grease) and songwriter Marc Jordan both play the parents of a teenager (Noah Reid). This kid's mom home-schools him, feeds him with organic foods, takes him to the art gallery and becomes dismayed when he reveals a love for Canada's national sport. Moreover, with his talent, this kid will get out of obscurity to become a hockey celebrity.
The film also stars singer Nelly Furtado, as a hockey fanatic, Stephen McHattie (Maurice Richard), Dru Viergever (Would Be Kings), Hawksley Workman (The Real Howard Spitz) and Dave Bidini (Five Hole: Tales of Hockey Erotica). Besides, it will be directed by Michael McGowan (One Week).
Finally, the film is slated for a release in Canada on October 22, 2010.
Even though NBC pulled the plug on Southland, TNT, an American cable network, decided to purchase the broadcasting rights of the second season. Besides, since a few days, its teaser has been online.
To be honest with you, I haven't seen the first season. However, I'm aware that it centres on Ben Sherman (Benjamin McKenzie), a rookie officer of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz), his training officer. Moreover, the show also follows Det. Lydia Adams (Regina King) who tries to find the balance between work and motherly responsibility; Officer Chickie Brown (Arija Bareikis) who aspires to be the first woman on the elite SWAT team; and Det. Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy), whose private life interferes with his work.
Finally, the second season will premiere on TNT on March 2, 2010 at 10 PM (9 central). By the way, if you're a fan of the show, can you tell me what I'm missing, because I plan to watch the first season once it comes out on DVD?
Believe it or not, Mongrel Media, a Canadian film distributor, puts its products on iTunes. Moreover, as far as I know, downloading a film on iTunes is legal. The following is the list of some films and there are Canadian films among them.
Don't miscontrue my words: I'm a total fan of Patrick Senécal's novels and I own all of them. However, the mention of Éric Tessier, the director who slaughtered Sur le seuil, in the credit left me icy. Honestly, 5150, Rue des Ormes sure has its strong moments, but it remains an entertaining film at most.
Yannick Bérubé (Marc-André Grondin) just got accepted at a cinema school. After he had moved in an appartment, he begins to film his first film project for school. While he was bycicling in a residential neighbourhood, Yannick falls of his bike. Because of the scratches on his hands and his elbow, he asks Jacques Beaulieu (Normand D'Amour), a cab driver who is not on a shift, to call a cab for him.
Since he has to wash the blood off his hands, Yannick does the mistake of entering Jacques's house. Furthermore, because he discovered an agonizing man kept in an empty room, Yannick will get locked in this room by Jacques for the time being. Obviously, Jacques's family looks normal on the surface. However, Jacques is, in actuality, a psychopath (he kills people "who deserves it") who believes he's the last of the Just Assassins (a reference to Albert Camus's play?); Michelle (Mylène St-Sauveur), the teenager, looks more dangerous than her father; Maude (Sonia Vachon), Jacques's wife, blindly obeys to him and is a Jesus freak. As for Anne, the youngest daughter, she's mute.
While he has always tried to escape, Yannick will receive a proposal from Jacques. The only thing he has to do is to beat Jacques once in chess.
Unlike Sur le seuil, which was a total mess, 5150, Rue des Ormes surprises us with its fairly good combination of Misery and the TV series Dexter. However, the script has a minor problem. In the first half, we sense that the film's pace is not as quick as that of the novel. This is why it takes time for the film to install its sources of tension and to make Yannick fall into madness. In short, if you really lack patience, you might lose interest for the film very quickly.
On another note, while Sonia Vachon's character is as interesting as any given home appliance, the performance from the other members of the cast makes this film a treat in the second half. Obviously, pretty much everything has been said about the marvelous confrontation between Marc-André Grondin, who portrays well the loss of sanity, and Normand D'Amour, as an average Joe who hides a dark secret. While Yannick is obsessed in beating Jacques in chess, Jacques, on the other hand, is obsessed to prove that he's not out of his mind by winning at chess. As for Mylène St-Sauveur, besides looking very lovely, she sure knows how to play a character who can't suppress her psychopathy.
Finally, 5150, Rue des Ormes is far to be as intense as the novel. However, if you're patient enough, just wait for the second half of the film, because it really is, in the end, the only part that is worth watching. Moreover, the film is lucky enough to have competent actors.
This morning, the nominees for the 2009 Oscar ceremony were announced. Note that the ceremony will be held on March 7 (the day of my birthday, mind you) and there's one Canadian film among the nominees, which is The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Furthermore, this is not a thorough list, for I only put categories that matter to me. Finally, here comes the list.
1. Best motion picture of the year: * Avatar. * The Blind Side. * District 9. * An Education. * The Hurt Locker. * Inglourious Basterds. * Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire. * A Serious Man. * Up. * Up in the Air.
2. Best actor in a leading role: * Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart. * George Clooney in Up in the Air. * Colin Firth in A Single Man. * Morgan Freeman in Invictus. * Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker.
3. Best actor in a supporting role: * Matt Damon in Invictus. * Woody Harrelson in The Messenger. * Christopher Plummer in The Last Station * Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones * Christopher Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
4. Best actress in a leading role: * Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side. * Helen Mirren in The Last Station. * Carey Mulligan in An Education. * Gabourey Sidibe in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire. * Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia.
5. Performance by an actress in a supporting role: * Penélope Cruz in Nine. * Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air. * Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart. * Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air * Mo'Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
6. Best animated feature film of the year: * "Coraline". * "Fantastic Mr. Fox". * "The Princess and the Frog". * "The Secret of Kells". * "Up".
7. Achiement in art direction: * Avatar. * The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. * Nine. * Sherlock Holmes. * The Young Victoria
8. Achievement in cinematography: * Avatar. * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. * The Hurt Locker. * Inglourious Basterds. * The White Ribbon.
9. Best director: * James Cameron (Avatar). * Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker). * Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds). * Lee Daniels (Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire). * Jason Reitman (Up in the Air).
10. Best original screenplay: * Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker). * Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds). * Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman (The Messenger). * Joel and Ethan Coen (A Serious Man). * Screenplay by Bob Peterson and Pete Docter. Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson and Tom McCarthy. (Up)
11. Best adapted screenplay: * Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell (District 9). * Nick Hornby (An Education). * Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche (In the Loop). * Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious). * Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner (Up in the air).
12. Best foreign language film of the year: * Ajami (Israel). * El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina). * The Milk of Sorrow (Peru). * Un prophète (France). * The White Ribbon (Germany).
13. Best documentary feature: * Burma VJ. * The Cove. * Food, Inc. * The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. * Which Way Home.
Remember those advertisements about the Slap Chop? According to Vince Offer (i.e. the ShamWow! Guy), the presentator, you should be able to easily chop vegetables, fruits and even meats. However, a test by Consumer Reports shows that the product is not as effective as it looks. Finally, after I've seen the following video, I no longer plan to rent a comedy for tonight.
If you live in Quebec and are a CEGEP or university student, here's a contest that might interest you. MusiquePlus, the Quebecker equivalent of MuchMusic, invites you to create your own lip dub clip. The winning team will have the privilege to party with their friends and the VJs in MusiquePlus's studio.
Of course, here are some rules that must be observed:
The maximum length for a clip is two minutes.
The clip's appearance on MusiquePlus must be at its first appearance.
The deadline for the registration and the submission of a clip is on February 7, 2010. Here's where you have to go if you're interested.
Finally, the clips will be shown by the hosts of the show L'univers. Each week, two schools will face off each other through these clips and you'll get to vote online for your favourite lip dub.
