RED ROVER (Directed by Shane Belcourt)****

A gem of a quirky film that is highly improbably yet somehow probable. David meets Phoebe, a kooky singer who convinces him he really out to try to apply for Red Rover is Calling Out to You, an org searching for contestants willing and able to go to Mars and stay there. David’s ex-girlfriend is living upstairs with a new guy and David is relegated to the basement. He also loses his job. He’s fed up with life. Every day he goes to the beach with his Geiger counter searching for something specific, but we do not know what. We only find out at the end he finds. Phoebe and David are tow opposites. He is a classic nerd geologist and she is a free-spirited artist. She produces the video for him that wins favour with the folks who decide he is perfect to go to Mars. But will he? The ending was a disappointment for me. But l won’t give away the spoiler. Filmed in Toronto, the acting was spacey good.

Montreal pianist goes live on line to keep his concerts going for his beloved senior home community

Edwin Orion Brownell, a Montreal pianist and international recording artist whose original music is played on radio stations across five continents. He's delighted audiences with live performances in Israel, North Africa, Europe and across North America,, and nothing can stop him during these challenging times because he is  now giving regular evening Facebook Live concerts online. 

Besides performing at Place des Arts and the National Arts Centre, Brownell is always composing. Some of his most stirring work has brought tears to audiences during his  evocative performances at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum - just outside of Jerusalem, and at the Ein Gedi Concert Hall - also in Israel. In fact, this gifted pianist has globally graced stages in so many other prestigious concert halls, his concerts that exude stellar technique and passion have earned him international acclaim.

Trained classically, Brownell has recorded six solo classical piano albums and has four chamber music albums of his own works, performing with musicians of the Metropolitan Orchestra. Not one to just play the ivories in just one genre, he is also a well-respected rocker, having played with the members of April Wine, Offenbach, Mahogany Rush and the Guess Who, many of whom guest on his five rock albums.

His own Model A Steinway Concert Grand is featured on all of his latest classical albums, although  his newest album, Mo’Roccan the Blues, features electric instruments and the talents of Jerry Mercer (April Wine), Rob MacDonald (Rob Lutes), Stu Patterson (Jimmy Dogs), Kelly Watling (Big City), Breen LeBoeuf (Offenbach, Celine Dion) and virtuoso harp player Jim Zeller. 

Over the last two decades Brownell has focused on performing solo at retirement homes and geriatric hospitals, and in 2019 gave an average of 14 shows each week at residences in Montreal and Ottawa like Donald Berman Maimonides, Jewish Elder Care, St. Andrews, St. Margarets, the Glebe Centre and others. He loves connecting with seniors and his music is a profound source of healing and comfort to them. At these residences he performs a mix of music including his own classical and rock compositions, romantic classical music, oldies, and jazz, rock and blues standards.  

His live audience members listen in from as far away as Indonesia, Morocco, Israel, Hungary, Latvia, Denmark, the UK, France, Brazil and the United States, and many members of our Health Care team listen to relax after their long shift at work. His first concert has been watched by nearly 3000 viewers, and hundreds tune in each evening to join his online community of love and music. 

Dedicating songs and concerts to those who are fighting or suffering from the virus, Brownell has created a safe space online for people to gather to find strength in community each night. For many, the Corona Concerts are a meaningful and effective way to connect with friends and family to cope with the loneliness caused by the plague afflicting our planet.

              Edwin remains humble; he is a gift to us all!

"I feel blessed to be able to do something meaningful, especially when it is so needed. To be able to bring  people from all around the world together, even when we are forced to be apart, is both a pleasure and an honour."

Read the comments at each concert (links found at the here links at www.brownellmusic.com/live) to get an idea of how this has helped people.

THIS IS NOT A MOVIE (Directed by Yung Chang) ****

 Robert Fisk  is a British journalist who writes for numerous newspapers and has published books. He lives in Beirut. he says
 "My job is to record people suffering."
And that is what he's done most of his life.
But this great man doggedly brings to light with passion and commitment all the war-torn regions of the Middle East. This doc starts in the year 1980. Robert is roaming though the streets of Syria, saddled by ravaged bombed buildings made more relevant as bombings and rockets and grenades are heard at the border. He is in Abadan at the Iraqi front lines as the country and Syria pummel one another.

He visits and interviews t a young girl, so many victims of the Al-Nusra at the Syrian border. He digs deep to find facts. In Lebanon, the camera shows all the dead bodies of the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, killed in a  massacre by Israelis. 1700 civilian's bodies are buried in a shallow embankment.
Robert travels to Bosnia when he finds documents of weapon sales and track down the weapons factory manger whose signature appears in the sale. The tenacious reporter want to find out where these weapons went. Who bought them. He makes a compelling point that even with legal sells that have the end certificate as proof of legality, no one bothers to find out where they are used and when. His reporting of Israel bombing and the rape of the land and usurping of the land lead him to revisit a Palestinian who takes him to see the land he once owned now occupied by Israelis. Some 20 years ago he had interviewed this man, hoping things would change. Robert ends with some grim thoughts: that no matter what is reported, it will never change things, but at least , the world can't say we didn't know. We were never told. Robert says anger increased as he got older and with it came the cynicism of reality. Still, he will never stop telling the truth. And he is not afraid of editors or feeling he must play a football game of interviewing each side, when one is not the perpetrator but the victim. There are few places he has not been when it comes to war. A man obsessed by finding out, his ultimate motivation is to stop the labeling and show that brutality is everywhere.  A great film.Watch and learn!

ADVENTURE BOYZ (directed by Howard J. Ford) ****

 I loved this action-packed, charming family film that stars two young boy (the real sons of the director: Rory Ford and Felix Ford)) who put the lessons their athletic dad  (played by the director himself) teaches them into real-life practice. About to get hooked on video games, their dad teaches them to move, to do sports and even how to pack a real punch in someone’s nose if violence is necessary and only to be done to villains. Plot-wise, priceless stash of diamonds has been stolen from a rich lady of a grand castle. The boys who have been told by their Speedway dad to seek adventure do just that, but one day while riding their bikes the find notes with clues on them that lead the boys to actually find the hiding place of the stolen diamonds. They take them back to their dad’s house, but he gets accused of being the thief, when the real thieves tattle on the house location of where the diamonds are. They find where the boys are. This is a delightful film whose actors capture your heart. Rare is it to find a film with a strong message made in such a wholesome way without manipulation and sentimentality. It is Britain’s version of a Disney family film.

ARION BRINGS BACH INTO BOURGIE HALL BEAUTIFULLY

 Arion's all-Bach program moved us into joyous rapture and contemplation in their concert, titled “Bach Ombre et Lumière” (Bach: Shadows and Light). Oboes and bassoon stole the sonoric show in the first piece, “Sinfonia de la cantate Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats”. 
Mathieu Lussier is outstanding on the bassoon and as co-artistic director with Ms. Guimond, he beguiles with his talents.

Nuria Rial

Spanish, solo soprano, Nuria Rial stirred us with her pure voice that emoted so stunningly with her two performances with the orchestra before and after the intermission. “Zerfliesse, mein Herze” from the "Passion of Saint Joan" was subtly interpreted with restraint and profound sorrow. She also came back to mesmerize us with her evocatively expressive tones and impeccable phrasing when she sang “Cantate ich habe genung”. The words in these two works seemed to be a call for death by Bach as he makes peace with the lord. The instrumental works in the program were performed with Arion’s signature understanding of nuances, dynamics and timing necessary to capture all the movements’ own rhythms and musicality in rondeaux, minuets and bourées.

Hank Knox

Claire Guimond

Hank Knox on the harpsichord and organ and Claire Guimond on flute delighted us. "Suite No 1 in C major" contrasted to the  more serious mood "No 2 in b minor" offered a great showcase for sprightly moments and dark ones too. Bach was born in 1685 and dies in 1750. These works truly embodied his profound spirit that embraced life’s darkness and light.  A well-deserved standing ovation with lots of ‘bravos' seemed to go not just to the musicians, but to Bach himself.  Nice touch of English spoken in explanations. Thank you M. Lussier!

Call 514-355-1825 for tickets to their next concert that features Handel, with guest conductor Boris Begelman, and organ soloist, Jean-Will Kunz.

LA RIVIERE SANS REPOS (Directed by Marie- Hélène Cousineau) ****

In the Far North in 1945, the Inuit were forced to comply with government ruses for kids schooling and even to move their cabins to the other side of the river. This wonderful film introduced Elsa who is determined to keep her infant son, Jimmy, with her and teach him everything about reading with the help of his uncle whom she eventually bonds with physically. Elsa and Jimmy must camp out to protect their way of life. Jimmy never does find out form his mother who is father is, and there is a very good reason for that. A beautiful film with stunning music and subtle acting. The film was based on the novel by Gabrielle Roy.Qaunrig Chapman as Elsa was brilliant, as was Etua Snowball who played her uncle. (This magnificent film was screened at Rendez-Vous Festival)

MONT FOSTER (Written and directed by Louis Godbot) ***

This Quebec-made first-time feature is unique and compelling. Mathieu with Chloé drive to her stunning country hilltop house on Mont Foster in Sutton, Quebec. She is mentally ill -- recovering from a trauma we do not find out about until the end. What is supposed to be a recuperative time turns into nightmare. Chloé deteriorates into scary actions damaging herself and her boyfriend. Somehow, he gives her a ring for marriage, but he’s actually having an affair. In the end, tragedy of the ambiguous kind happens. We may never know the truth. The scenery and cinematography are perfect, but the movie moves too slowly. The ending is rushed, confusing and needs a sequel.  Laurence Leboeuf as Chloé and Patrick Hivon as Patrick were excellent in creating such contrasting characters. (Screened at Rendez-Vous Film Festival)