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7 articles from 2009
Viff 2009: 'Leslie, My Name is Evil'
7 October 2009 8:36 PM, PDT
| CinemaSpy
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In his opening remarks before the screening of his new film, Leslie, My Name is Evil, writer-director Reginald Harkema suggested to the audience, "think of this movie as a trip."
Boy is it ever.
Steeped in hallucinogenic imagery and walking the fine line of absurdity, Lesliel is an outrageous and not very subtle commentary on American society. And it's winking from the very first scene.
It's the fourth film from Vancouver's Harkema, who is now living in Toronto. As with the previous three, this one also is about the messy connections between boys and girls. But this one is both a romantic comedy and courtroom drama, set during the trial of Charles Manson and three women from his "family".
That I watched this film while California attempts to extradite Roman Polanski — whose wife Sharon Tate was one of the Manson family victims — was not lost on me.
Told in two parts,
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Don McKellar And Bruce McDonald Declare This Movie Is Broken
13 July 2009 9:41 AM, PDT
| Twitch
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The Canadian indie-rock and indie-film worlds have just collided with potential glorious results. Director Bruce McDonald (Pontypool, Hard Core Logo) has joined forces with frequent collaborator Don McKellar (Last Night, Twitch City and a Tony-winner for writing The Drowsy Chaperone) to create This Movie Is Broken. And yes, as the musically savvy among you may have surmised from the title, the story of the film revolves around a performance by local indie icons Broken Social Scene with sometime member turned huge solo hit Leslie Feist also turning up and bringing Emily Haines of Metric and Amy Millan of Stars along with her.
A sticky hot T.O. summer day. Caroline Rush wakes in a strange bed. New to the big city, she’s accepted the hospitality of a friend
from her home town, Bruno. And now it seems they’re lovers. Over brunch, Bruno tries to impress her with his connections.
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- Todd Brown
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Exclusive: Bruce McDonald talks ‘Pontypool’
3 June 2009 7:16 AM, PDT
| FilmSchoolRejects.com
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Canadian auteur Bruce McDonald has attracted a small but passionate following with movies like Hard Core Logo and The Tracey Fragments, experimental works with some fierce defenders. In a just world Pontypool, now playing in select theaters and on IFC On Demand, would exponentially increase the size of his fan base.
That’s because it’s as smart and thought provoking a horror movie as any released in years. The screenplay by Tony Burgess, based on his novel “Pontypool Changes Everything,” imbues its zombie story with deep rooted philosophical underpinnings and McDonald brings it the meticulous technical expertise of a master filmmaker. Stephen McHattie stars as Grant Mazzy, a radio DJ working in the small Ontario town of Pontypool, forced to stay on the air one cold, blustery morning as mysterious foreboding events begin to happen outside the studio. In an exclusive interview, Film School Rejects spoke to the director.
The
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- Robert Levin
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Exclusive: Hugh Dillon Interview
30 April 2009 2:09 PM, PDT
| PopStar
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It takes a strong man to resist past temptations but that is what Hugh Dillon does on a daily basis. Fifteen years ago Hugh Dillon was the lead singer of The Headstones the hottest and most successful band in Canada during the 1990's. Hugh was known for his wild on stage behavior and his wiliness to give into the demons that accompany the rock star lifestyle. Pushing through the dark times Dillon came out on top and is currently starring in Flashpoint the hottest crime drama on television. The native Canadian was pushed into acting in 1995 when director Bruce McDonald cast him in his film Dance Me Outside. McDonald showcased the raw talent that Dillon had and many people took notice. This film opened more doors for Dillon and allowed him a chance to temporarily move away from the madness that became his life to a new career in acting.
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- cjoyce@corp.popstar.com (Colleen Joyce)
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Exclusive: Hugh Dillon Interview
30 April 2009 2:09 PM, PDT
| PopStar
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It takes a strong man to resist past temptations but that is what Hugh Dillon does on a daily basis. Fifteen years ago Hugh Dillon was the lead singer of The Headstones the hottest and most successful band in Canada during the 1990's. Hugh was known for his wild on stage behavior and his wiliness to give into the demons that accompany the rock star lifestyle. Pushing through the dark times Dillon came out on top and is currently starring in Flashpoint the hottest crime drama on television. The native Canadian was pushed into acting in 1995 when director Bruce McDonald cast him in his film Dance Me Outside. McDonald showcased the raw talent that Dillon had and many people took notice. This film opened more doors for Dillon and allowed him a chance to temporarily move away from the madness that became his life to a new career in acting.
»
- cjoyce@corp.popstar.com (Colleen Joyce)
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Pontypool Review
8 March 2009 11:19 PM, PDT
| FilmJunk
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Pontypool
Directed by: Bruce McDonald
Written by: Tony Burgess
Starring: Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, Georgina Reilly
Although there is no shortage of filmmaking talent in Canada, it's almost expected that any successful Canadian actors and directors will eventually fly south in pursuit of Hollywood aspirations. Director Bruce McDonald, however, is an anomale. Despite receiving critical acclaim for some of his early films like Dance Me Outside and Hard Core Logo, he has maintained a base of operations in Toronto for a good twenty years, preferring to remain a permanent fixture of Canada's cultural landscape rather than chasing down fame and fortune.
Perhaps part of the reason why he has remained north of the border is the fact that his sensibilities are much more attuned to
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- Sean
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From Pontypool to the Metaverse in 98 minutes: A Conversation with Bruce McDonald
5 March 2009 6:43 PM, PST
| Twitch
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So, a mighty piece of genre entertainment is opening tomorrow in Toronto. Pontypool. This talkative apocalyptic nightmare in small town Ontario deserves some love in the face of the marketing juggernaut of Watchmen hitting crescendo to the point of blocking out all else. Both films feature the fabulous character actor Stephen McHattie (although Pontypool has the good sense to actually use him!) and both land in Toronto this week (with further Pontypool expansion over the ensuing weeks). At Twitch, we have been following this ‘semiotic infection’ film (don’t use the Z word, some websites get mighty testy on this) since its filming earlier in the 2008, nursing it (and viewing it often) on its journey to the multiplex because, hey, this makes us happy. Pontypool is one of several smart and entertaining pieces of genre film, one could call it a mini-renaissance of sorts coming from Canadian filmmakers, not seen
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- Kurt Halfyard
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7 articles from 2009
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