Movies
On the Ice
OTTAWA PREMIERE | BEST DEBUT FEATURE, BERLIN INTL FILM FESTIVAL 2011 Three teenage friends leave on a seal-hunting trip. Only two come back. Thats the deceptively simple set up for this this uncommonly involving thriller (Roger Ebert) set in in the native Inupiat community of Barrow, Alaska. Cold as ice
The Lady
Luc Besson (The Professional) takes a break from producing action films to direct this biopic of Burmese democracy advocated Aung San Suu Kyi (Michelle Yeoh, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Tracking both the political and personal prices she paid for her activism including long separations from her husband and children
Keyhole
OTTAWA PREMIERE | OFFICIAL SELECTION, TIFF 2011 It should come a no surprise that Guy Maddins new film a noir-inspired tale of gangsters on the run is not a straight-ahead caper film. Rather, its a claustrophobic, Homeric odyssey into the depths of memory, family and mortality that is
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Jiro Ono is 85 years old. His restaurant is located in a Tokyo subway station. It seats 10, and serves only sushi. A meal runs US$300, and theres a three-month waiting list for a reservation. This is yours. Inherently fascinating as a character study, [this doc] reveals the heroism in
The Island President
OTTAWA PREMIERE | PEOPLES CHOICE, BEST DOCUMENTARY, TIFF 2011 Having brought democracy to his homeland, President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives now faces an even greater challenge: rising waters caused by global warming threaten to literally sink his low-lying nation. Following him to the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Conference, Shenk’s doc
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
MAYFAIRS 80TH BIRTHDAY FUNDRAISER | 8 GREAT DECADES: THE 80S We continue our celebration of the Mayfairs 80th birthday with your picks for the best films of the 80s. The Ark of the Covenant. The Holy Grail. And some glowing rocks? Temple of Doom may lack a cool artifact,
The Hunter
A haunted, solitary mercenary (Willem Dafoe at his craggiest) is hired to track down the Tasmanian Tiger, a creature believed extinct for nearly a century. On the hunt, he rediscovers his own believed-extinct humanity, and the film grows from a simple tale of man versus beast to a complicated parable
The Hunger Games
Are the odds in favour of a good time if you come see the big-screen adaptation of The Hunger Games? The consensus is yes: It has epic spectacle, yearning romance, suspense that won’t quit and a shining star in Jennifer Lawrence, who gives us a female warrior worth cheering. (Rolling
Granito: How to Nail a Dictator
PRESENTED BY THE NOBEL WOMENS INITIATIVE | FILMMAKER IN ATTENDANCE Pamela Yates astonishing new film doesn’t just document history it makes history. Part political thriller, part memoir this riveting, haunting tale people determined to reveal a genocide and bring a malevolent dictator to justice will transport and change you.
God Bless America
OTTAWA PREMIERE | OFFICIAL SELECTION, SXSW 2012 The latest pitch-black comedy from director Goldthwait (Sleeping Dogs Lie) follows a terminally ill man who decides to better society by eliminating its most repellant citizens including American Idol contestants, double-parkers and (thank you!) people who text during movies. A violent and