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Tuesday, July 20, 2021
New York Asian Film Festival scroll down for tons of info on the festival; pictures on this website: https://www.nyaff.org/editions
Monday, June 21, 2021
WEREWOLF WITHIN, directed by Josh Ruben*
This has got to be the strangest werewolf movie to hit the screen. Towns people gather together in a lodge to voice their opinions about a new pipeline that is coming. Nobody in the groups seems with it, except the girl who hangs around with the new forest ranger appointed to the town. Then all hell strikes, the generators go off, and people are disappearing and being eaten. They believe a werewolf has come to town.
Without
giving away the spoiler, I’ll let you have fun guessing who it is. Sadly, the move
lacked credibility and the plot was doesn’t hold together. I was disappointed by
the reveal. The music is excellent and suspenseful. I wish I could say the same
thing about this film.
Monday, June 14, 2021
MY DOG'S MESSAGE FROM THE OTHER SIDE
Dear Auntie Naomi:
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| Mom and me falling asleep. I think we look alike. |
TWO LOVELY LAVAL PARKS IN NATURE - ONE SMALL, THE OTHER BIG
What a fabulous nature getaway and it's so close to Montreal. Laval is known for its green spaces - Parc des Crecerelles being one of them It's sweet and small.
***The Bois de l'Équerre team was finally able to offer its visitors a trail based on the principles of universal accessibility. Phase 1 of this 1.3 km long project obtained Kéroul (Destination pour tous) certification.
This Accessible and Senior Friendly Trail (SAADA) has been developed to facilitate access, among others, to people with reduced mobility and seniors to allow them to fully enjoy the benefits of this natural environment. SAADA further strengthens the city of Laval's status as an age-friendly municipality and the Corporation for the Development of Bois de l'Équerre is proud to be able to contribute to this recognition.
Nice views!
My friend who uses a cane had no trouble walking here. |
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| Every tree had unique markings |
Located in the Sainte-Rose district in Laval, the Bois de l'Équerre is one of the last great urban forests in Laval. Through the presence of trees and wetlands, this rural landscape and natural refuge greatly contributes to our quality of life.
These woods are managed by CANOPÉE.
Here's some information about his lush area
· 160 bird species, including 20 birds of prey (out of 27 species of raptors in Quebec)
· 20 species of mammals
· 10 species of reptiles and amphibians
Trails
· 12.95 km of hiking trails
· ***1 accessible Kéroul accredited trail (1.65 km)
· 2.5 km of groomed trails for winter walking (Lièvre trail)
49, rang de l'Équerre,
Friday, May 28, 2021
SEND THIS TO YOUR HUBBY IF HIS HUMOUR IS GREAT
You're the cream in my coffee. But it's sour. You're the shoe on my foot, But it smells, You're the icing on the cake, But it slid off, You're the ice cream in my cone, But it fell.
Friday, May 14, 2021
Austria2Australia, Directed by *Dominik Bochis, Andreas Buciuman *****
Austria2Australia, Directed by *Dominik Bochis, Andreas Buciuman *****
Two childhood friends cycle 18.000 km - 19 countries. It’s a Herculean route full of hardships, discoveries and challenges, which are powerful and unpredictable - The two Upper Austrian hobby cyclists Andreas and Dominik have a daring plan: They want to ride by bike from Austria to Australia to explore the world - and the crazy thing is: They actually do it.
When they get to Pakistan, they are surrounded by police cars and they have to travel at a snail’s pace. Where are they going? Why is this happening? It turns out they are going to a Pakistani wedding where the guests of the bride and groom a are all policemen. The surprises was nice indeed at the end of this escorting.
Delhi, they hated, but Australia was a turning point for
hatred. The flies and heat got to them and they go their separate ways only to
meet up by the ocean. They both wanted to call it quits before this, but they
stuck it out. An amazing documentary and the best “road” f travel film yet to
be made. Domiinik was struck with knee pain on route, and ended up at a Chinese
hospital to deal with the inflammation. Hurdles kept coming their way, but
their happiness diminished any doubts.
Saturday, May 8, 2021
Equal Standard Aims for Truth and Righteouness
EQUAL STANDARD, directed by Brendan Kyle
Press release excerpt
Equal Standard by director Brendan Kyle Cochrane and producers Taheim Bryan, Ice T, Treach, and Rob Simmons (Wild Oats) The heavy hitting action/ drama stars Ice-T and Robert Clohessy (BLUE BLOODS) and Maurice Benard ( General Hospital)
EQUAL STANDARD tells the
poignant, timely, and politically charged stories of police in New York City
struggling with race, rank, betrayal, and loss. The film is Taheim Bryan’s
writing and acting debut and is inspired by his personal life experience.
Here’s the reverse of what usually happens in cop shootings. An Afro-American kills a
white cop during a pullover. The driver is out fo the car as are the white
cops. But his cell phone is mistaken for a gun and pop goes the trigger of the
black cop. The film is confusing but vividly shows the impossible entanglement of
different departments trying to protect their own guys, but trying to follow the law too. Against the grittiness of gangs, intimate family scenes
of the characters were shown.
Many scenes
show blacks being targeted on the street. There is so much anger and suspicion on
both sides that it would seem black and white are so opposed to one another,
hope seems futile for peace on New York’s streets.
The film
build suspense and is so darn realistic as it reflects true events experienced
by writer, Taheim Bryan’s life experiences,
Saturday, April 24, 2021
THE RESORT (directed by Taylor Chien)***
Four friends want to enter an abandoned resort on an
obscure Hawaiian Island that’s rumoured to be haunted by a half-faced girl. This is a really clever, brilliantly edited
film that cooks up the scary moments at
just the right moments heightened with superb climactic timing.
The outcome is unpredictable and that’s what makes The
Resort a unique film for the genre. The seventy-five minutes fly by.
There’s a reason to investigate this resort –
it’s Alexander’s birthday and she’s obsessed with the paranormal, so what
better way to celebrate than to dash off to this deserted island via a piloted
helicopter who claims a small group of people still inhabit the island, but the
band of four never run into them.
There is no
reason really why the bad happens; none of them deserved what they got, but
isn’t that a part of life – or in this case death.
Friday, March 26, 2021
AFTER THE MURDER, directed by Aengus James ***
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| Paul Lima a true hero, like his father, Albert |
A documentary that follows Paul Lima and the two bounty hunters he hired to Roatán, Honduras, to find and capture his father's (Albert) killer. But nothing seems to happen with the capture until he hires Ray, whose connections with the government is second to none with his job of capturing killers on the island. In fact, the year, Paul goes down there, there have been Americans murdered. It takes 13 years and absolute determination not to give up as Paul searches for his father’s killer. He knows who he is because the murderer was not happy about being taken to court over a bakery purchase that the Honduran family once owned. Bit by bit everyone is getting killed and it’s clear that Paul is in a dangerous situation. The bad guy is eventually caught and ends up in jail, but not for life – only for sixteen years.
This is not a documentary made after the fact of Paul
going down to Honduras. The camera is with him and the people he hires and
meets to ensure true actions.
Pauls’ devotion to his father and his widowed mother are remarkable.
Sunday, March 7, 2021
COME TRUE, directed by Anthony Scott Burns ***
Julia Sarah Stone plays a disturbed teenager who is a run-away – a very tired one. She innocently enters a sleep study, only to find out her dreams and her waking life are one big horror play-out. What’s real and what’s a dream? The camera pans down a school corridor lined with lockers. In another scene, a door opens like Pandora's box. The camera pans and all merges so fluidly the real and unreal are captivating, bodies morph into scary creatures. The film plays out in titled sections as if each is a part of a dream. Suspense builds certainly with the help of the eerie music that the director himself composed. The pat silly ending was in complete contrast to the mood film's. But the weird stuff prevails. You know all is not good when Sarah asks lying all hooked up in a strange body suit – “What are you studying?” She isn’t allowed to know; nor why there are 4 males and only two females in the study. But the ending is a real let- -down Stalking takes on a whole new meaning, as does peeping Tom. I don’t advise anyone to see this film suffering from sleep disorders
Thursday, March 4, 2021
VIOLATION, directed by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli ***
Two sisters -
Miriam and Greta meet up in the country cabin owned by Dylan, Greta’s husband.
Miriam is deeply disturbed, and the extent of her aberration manifests when she
seeks revenge on Dylan who raped her when the two were sharing past school
stories by the fire they made. Camp side chatter adds a lighthearted throw-in to
the intense mood that erupts into climatic horror as the characters clash.
The gruesomely gory climatic scene hauntingly
juxtaposes against the expressionistic cinematography of the lush nature that surrounds
them. The two directors were the two sisters in the film, and their chemistry
was electric, seen most vividly when the sisters’ love-hate conflicts mount. Without giving away the spoiler, you would be
wrong to like the ice cream cones the family gathering gobbles up at the end.
The movie is confusing; the flashback scenes interrupt the flow and cause plot distortion. The film could do with more precise editing. There is too much talking and not enough action. Nonetheless, it’s highly successful in showing the inner rage that engulfs every rape victim – Miriam in this case. Never was a rape scene so quiet - even docile in tone, yet wildly fierce in the outcome. There’s a consequence to pay; suffice it to say that Dylan met a terrifying doom. I was very much pulled into this compelling film. Madeleine Sims-Fewer was brilliant as Miriam. The Call of the Wild, by author Jack London has wolves in it. This film had one, That -- combined with Miriam's rage could have led to a more apt title: The Cry of the Wild.
Thursday, February 18, 2021
Dear Comrades! Directed by Andrey Konchalovskiy ****
This intense black-and-white film redramatizes the horrific 1962 massacre in Novocherkassk, in the southeastern corner of Russia, at which between 26 and 80 persons were killed for peacefully protesting hikes in food costs.
Wages were lowered. Hunger was killing people.
A staunch defender of
Stalin, protagonist passionate totes the party line, but knows socialism is a
disaster. Yuliya
Vysotskaya stars as this Lyuda who actually has a high-up
position in the party. She feels all instigators against the regime must be
killed, but it all comes back to backfire on her and when her daughter who
marched in the protest goes missing, she sets out to find her. However, she seems
to be a little less naive about the goodness of the party. A really great film
about a dark moment - largely forgotten and those implied swore to secrecy.
Though people thought it was the army that shot upon the crowd, it was in fact
the KGB. The tragic event comes to live again in this film - a town massacre in
Russia’s brutal past that is largely forgotten.
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
MAX CLOUD, directed by Martin Owen **
In this crazy film, reality collides with science fiction space ship fun. It’s s a throw-back to the era of video game mania. Is this film a spoof or number to put on a kids’ must-have list? I would say both. The futuristic pink set is scene -stealer because the characters are corny and childish. The story is about a video game being played by rebellions Sarah who is catapulted into the game itself. Now she joins the macho captain with some of his crew – all stuck inside their pretty-in-pink space ship on the planet Heinous. The young man in the film becomes Sarah. Confusing yet entertaining, this light-hearted film will be laughed at by Star Trek fans, while novices will watch it in wonder. We aren’t exactly biting our nails in fear during the fight scenes; rather biting into popcorn is more fitting for this absurdly spacey film.
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
PREPARATIONS TO BE TOGETHER FOR AN UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME
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| Lili Horvat |
Set in Budapest, this slow love reveal is both intriguing and
confounding for viewer and protagonists. The romance features Marta (Natasa
Stork) and Janos (Viktor Bodo) two neurosurgeons who can’t find one another
literally and figuratively - even though a place to meet has been set. Marta is
obsessively in love with Janos; she even stalks him - but he is as elusive as
she is quietly persistent. Obsessive love is the root
here. Even Marta has an obsessive suitor. The plot plays out like a sensuous dance
of catch me if you can in ever the most subtle and beguiling way. Never has the
understated spoken so loudly in a film. The effect is ethereal, seeming to echo
the hearts of both of these adults in search of themselves and one another. Is Marta’s
pursuit of Janos all imaginary or is it really happening. Did they really arrange during a conference in
New jersey to meet again in the future on the bridge in Budapest?
This is the most original love story I have ever seen in a
film, and it’s beautifully crafted. Cinematically resonating the inner turmoil
of both protagonists, darkness weaves its own feelings where suspense hangs in
the obscurely lit air, like the big loud speaker does dangling on a wire high up
in the sky as it is being moved into an apartment – a dwelling where (I won’t
give away the spoiler).
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
TAILOR, directed by Sonia Liza Kenterman****
If ever there was a charming movie made that reflects a time in Greece when small businesses were eaten up by the economic crisis, this adorable movie is the one to watch. A father and his almost mute handsome son whose face nonetheless has such a comedic quality to it, are struggling with their tailor shop for men’s clothes in Athens. The father falls ill, and his son has to find a way to keep the shop going. The bank is about to repossess it. He begins selling on the street and soon he’s making wedding dresses at a steal of a price.
His upstairs neighbor and darling child soon get involved in his sewing
business and a quiet romance seems to be stirring among the chiffon and teal. I
could not help but think of Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) every time the close up of
our hero showed his big eyes and poised manner hiding a bit of humiliation. Comedic and touching, The Tailor is a made-to measure
classic. Dimitris Imellos as Nikos, the
sweet humble son, was impeccable in creating a character of such originality. His subtle expressions tore at our hearts. A gem of a Greek film - with comedic tragic elements.
Monday, December 28, 2020
Psycho Goreman, directed by Steven Kostanski ***
A cute yet gutsy spill of a horror film that has an evil monster visiting
two kids who take control of him through this magic token type beamer light
they find in the ground.
Mimi, the sister of Luke is a sassy, kick-ass brat, magnificently played
by Nita-Josee Hanna. However, unlucky Luke is constantly bullied by her. So,
this campy horror flick, packed with conflicts needs no pithy plot explanation;
rather it is the relationships in this family that cause the malice with household
moments of huge dysfunction – so despite all the ugly monsters unleashed in the
film, the real earthly monsters are embodied in the human species.
The special effects, fabulous costumes and whacky humorous scenes with
clever schtick are quite above the usual horror stuff.
The guy who plays the cop turned into a zombie is the scene stealer. His
movements are utterly entertaining and imaginative – putting new twists to the zombie walk.
Thursday, December 17, 2020
OVEN-BAKED TRADITION IS THE PERFECT FOOD FOR YOUR PET
Oven-baked Tradition is fantastic in every way
This is the only food you should be feeding your pet!
Oven-Baked Tradition is a Canadian family-owned business that prides itself on providing your pet outstanding organically baked food, made exclusively at Bio Biscuit company, in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Since 2006, the Lemieux family has worked prodigiously to create the highest standards in dog and cat food. In fact, the company even has an R & D department with specialists, a quality control laboratory, impeccable equipment with stellar standards.
Zak, my Maltese lhasa apso dog is the pickiest of
eaters, and has had several ailments from the get-go. I was feeding him vet-recommended hard food
that really was difficult for him to eat, and he hated the taste. It became
very discouraging to see his bowl full of kibbles; nothing was touched.
Sometimes, he wouldn't eat the stuff for two days, and that is when I knew I
had to find a food that he would gobble up - a food that contained every
healthy, nonchemical bio-based ingredient possible without compromising on taste
appeal, I wanted 100% purity - excluding all that dangerous stuff that most of
us can’t even read - let alone feel good about putting it in our pet’s stomach.
The Happiness Factor
I set out to discover a nutritious food that he would like. I chanced upon Oven-Baked Tradition at a local Mondou store in Montreal, and took home a few samples. It was like night and day. He loved it! His tail wagged; he had more energy, and best of all, he seemed to revert to puppy playfulness, even at the age of 14 years and nine months! Judging by how fast he ate it up - no coaxing needed now - he obviously found it all delicious. And when I introduced him to the wet food which is also 100% organic – a pate made with quail and the other - a pate made with rabbit, he was in gourmet heaven. organic. In fact, they are enlarging their line of wet food. Nice for dogs with teeth issues.
Heaps of Health Packed into its Flavorful Food
Why is my dog responding to this food with such eagerness? Why does he love it so much? Each bag contains palette-pleasing real food, and each morsel is made without wheat, corn, soy, bovine products, artificial flavors and GMD. The Lemieux family who owns the business stresses that the manufacturing process is unique as it uses slow baking at low temperatures which allows for nutrients not to be lost, nor natural flavors. Its fresh fish recipe is prepared with fruits and vegetables, and like its crunchy companions, it’s completely holistic, devoid of hormones or antibiotics. This slow baking process is their modus operandi for all their pet food products and as the Lemieux family explains, this process increases nutrition ingredient density – a super food that tackles allergy and digestion issues, strengthens the immune system and joints.
Another attractive aspect to Oven-Baked Tradition, is the variety of food it offers for both dogs and cast. For dogs, it considers all breeds and its kibbles cater to five different sizes of dogs. You’ve got lamb, fish and their chicken has been especially created for puppies as well as adults to address weight control. They have also put out a grain-free line for dogs of all sizes in different flavors as well.
The Total Package
Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, glucosamine, chondroitin, fruits and vegetables come in all bite sizes baked for small, medium and large dogs. My dog Zak won’t go to sleep without oven baked packages surrounding him, because he knows he’s going to wake up to them in the morning.
Terrific treats
Most of the treats we buy for our pets are not uber-healthy,
but we still feed our pet with them, whether it be for training or simply as a
snack, or even for doing nothing. The
awesome assortment of 19 treats at Oven-Baked Traditions lives by the motto:
variety is the spice of life. They include: dental for good breath care,
chicken with pumpkin, liver, duck, meatballs, sweet potato and yummy bacon
flavor – that is really popular for training. These goodies are organically
concocted and baked with no additives or preservatives of any kind. I enjoy changing treats, and I can with this
company. It spoils our dogs with beef treats, even meatballs, sweet potato
goodies and liver – to name a few.
Oven-Baked Tradition distributes its food beyond Canada to over twenty countries all over the world
in Europe, Latin America, South America, the United States and nine in
Asia.
Their website is:
ovenbakedtradition.com
Call:
1-888-224 4140