I’ve decided to confront the whole “Wilner hates Canadian movies” thing head-on with a short essay in this week’s NOW. So, you know, if anything happens to me in the next few days, just tell the CSI guys to push Atom Egoyan and Ari Lantos a little harder on their alibis. I just don’t trust them.
Also: Here’s the long-overdue link to my latest Sympatico/MSN DVD column, which casts a baleful eye on “Pineapple Express” — and, to a lesser extent, “The Wackness”. As I said last summer, there’s a pretty good movie somewhere inside “The Wackness”; it’s just crushed under Ben Kingsley’s rampaging showiness. Seriously, somebody has to save this guy from himself.
No mention of any films from Quebec in the NOW piece? Strange since they are consistently the source of many of Canada’s best films.
Yeah, I know — but there’s only so much you can do in 300 words. (I did include “Continental, a Film without Guns” in that list of last year’s disappointments, but cut it because I figured no one would even remember it.)
There are a number of Quebecois films coming up that I’m really eager to see — Denis Villeneuve’s “Polytechnique” is at the top of the list, with Philippe Falardeau’s “C’est Pas Moi, Je Le Jure!” a close second — but they’re 2009 releases.
When did Canadian movies become exempt from the “90% of everything sucks” rule? And why can’t a feller get more than 300 words in print these days?
Pontypool was a nice surprise at TIFF this year. I’m looking forward to seeing it again.
On an entirely different note, any guesses who the final toaster is?
The brave little toaster? He really doesn’t get enough work.