Film Dictionary

July 7, 2007

June 6, 2007

Exactly like ''Shakespeare In Love'', ''Becoming Jane'' is a fictional film about a famous English writer, whose plot is inspired by her various novels. Both films suggest in turn that those writers might have been inspired by those romantic adventures in their later works. Both William Shakespeare and Jane Austen are perfect subjects for such films, because very little is actually known for certain about their lives. What is known for certain, however, is that Jane Austen is one of the greatest English novelists. It could be argued that her entire oeuvre is composed only of masterpieces. Every single novel of hers is the best in some particular way. ''Sense and Sensibility'' is her most touching work. ''Pride and Prejudice'' – her wittiest and cleverest. ''Emma'' – her most enduringly popular (and modern). ''Persuasion'' – her best written one (and most critically-acclaimed). ''Mansfield Park'' – her most complex and profound. And ''Northanger Abbey'' – her most entertaining. All of those novels have been adapted for the screen, most memorably with ''Pride and Prejudice'' in 1940 (starring Laurence Oliver), ''Sense and Sensibility'' (with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet), and ''Persuasion'' (both in 1995). ''Emma'' has been adapted twice - a modern version called ''Clueless'' in 1995 with Alicia Silverstone and a more faithful period adaptation from 1996 starring Gwyneth Paltrow. And then, there was Patricia Rozema who literally massacred Austen’s ''Mansfield Park'' in 1999, completely misreading this complex novel, and turning a masterpiece of clever humour into a serious and heavy-handed melodrama. Directed by Julian Jarrold, ''Becoming Jane'' tells a purely fictional tale of young Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) courted by a handsome Irish aristocrat (James McAvoy). Inspired by her various novels (especially ''Pride and Prejudice''), the dialogue is full of Austen’s witty phrases and clever retorts. The performances are superlative. It is definitely a great and very entertaining film.

Cashback (2007) ***

Originally, ''Cashback'' was a 19-minute short film, nominated for an Academy Award in 2005. It was a story of a grocery-store clerk (Sean Biggerstaff, best known as Oliver Wood in the ''Harry Potter'' movies), who was able to make all other humans froze in place, allowing him to undress the girls and use them as nude models for his sketches. ''Cashback'' was so successful, director Sean Ellis then turned it into a feature, using exactly the same cast and including every scene of his original short. The story mostly revolves around Sean courting another grocery-store clerk (Emilia Fox), but we actually never see much of Emilia. Instead, most of the film's nudity involve actresses in brief cameo roles, like Irene Bagach, Keeley Hazell, Janine-May Tinsley, Hayley-Marie Coppin and many others. In fact, almost all of those nude scenes come from the short film. Surrealistic, whimsical and gently ironic, ''Cashback'' is a perfect date movie, despite its adult content.

Hot Fuzz (2007) **

Often hilarious, but uneven British comedy about a dedicated cop.

Poor Boy's Game (2007) **

Boxing drama about racism in Halifax.

Atonement (2007) ***

Young Triffie's Been Made Away With (2007) **

Strange comedy set in Newfoundland.

Shake Hands With the Devil (2007) **

The true story of Romeo Dallaire, the UN commander in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide.

The Tracey Fragments (2007) ***

Who Loves The Sun (2007) **

Silk (2007) *

Breakfast with Scot (2007) **

Nice Canadian film about a gay couple taking care of an orphan boy.

May 5, 2007

Nos vies privées (2007) ***

Nitro (2007) ***

Bluff (2007) **

Ingenious film set in the same appartment over a number of years.

La Capture (2007) *

Tense drama about abuse and revenge.

Le Peuple invisible (2007) **

Shocking documentary about the plight of Algonquin Indians in western Quebec.

The End Of The Line (2007) *

Canadian horror movie about terrible mutants wrecking havoc in subway tunnels. Directed by Maurice Devereaux ("Slashers").

Durs à cuire (2007) **

Documentary about two culinary chefs. Directed by Guillaume Sylvestre.

L'Age de tenebres (2007) ***

Panache (2007) *

Memorable documentary about hunters. Directed by André-Line Beauparlant.

Ma tante Aline (2007) *

A comedy from Quebec.

Contre toute espérance (2007) *

Depressing film about a couple losing their home.

Toi (2007) ***

Surviving My Mother (2007) ***

Le Ring (2007) **

Interesting film about a young boy from a poor neighborhood dreaming of becoming a wrestler.

Roméo et Juliette (2007) **

Ma fille mon ange (2007) **

Les 3 p'tits cochons (2007) **

La Brunante (2007) **

À vos marques, party! (2007) *

A cross between "Pretty In Pink" and "She's All That", but with a French-Canadian flavor.

Sur la trace d'Igor Rizzi (2007) *

Well-directed, but extremely slow movie about an ex-football player hired as a hitman.

April 4, 2007

1234 (2007) ****

A Feist music video directed by Patrick Daughters.

Upgrade U (2007) ****

The Same House (2007) ***

Touching film about a reunion of three childhood friends.

Paper Planes (2007) ***

A music video by M.I.A.

Dust Bowl Ha! Ha! (2007) ***

Impressive short film about unemployment.

DANCE (2007) ***

A Justice music video directed by Jonas and Francois.

Umbrella (2007) ***

Excellent music video from Rihanna.

The Colony (2007) ***

Le Gout du temps (2007) ***

Barber Gull Rub (2007) ***

Bizarre film inspired by Guy Madden.

Perle (2007) ***

The Tonto Woman (2007) ***

Men's Needs (2007) ***

Plaster Cast Of Everything (2007) ***

Le Mozart des Pickpockets (2007) ***

Amusing French short about pickpockets.

White Robe (2007) ***

Beauty Is Nothing Without Brains (2007) ***

Irreplaceable (2007) ***

Nothing To Hide (2007) ***

Cosette (2007) ***

Moi (2007) ***

A young man has to face his disability.

Les Grands (2007) ***

Short film about bullying in school.

La Lili à Gilles (2007) **

Curious film about three generations.

Une Robe blanche (2007) **

Directed by Dominic Goyer. A man presents a woman to his mother.

The Job (2007) **

A group of well-dressed businessmen and women gather outside a mid-level office park. The silence is broken by a pick-up truck blaring mariachi music. The driver needs two lawyers, an accountant and a CEO. When this film was made in 2007, it was clearly a satire about illegal immigrants and the way they're treated by employers. But then, after the economic crash of 2008-2010, the film has acquired an entirely new meaning - a satire on white-collar unemployement.

Birthday Girl (2007) **

A birthday celebration with an open casket.

Code 13 (2007) **

Violent film about a taxi driver.

Sari's Mother (2007) **

A short documentary, set in Iraq, about a young child suffering from AIDS.

Zackary Samuel: Illusionist (2007) **

Short film about an impotent magician.

Roastbeef (2007) **

Weird film about a butcher.

Enfin février (2007) **

Strange film about a robot.

Can You Wave Bye-Bye ? (2007) **

A single mother with a crying baby.

L'Appel du vide (2007) **

Short film about a suicide in a motel.

Tanghi Argentini (2007) **

Oscar-nominated Belgian short about tango, love and altruism.

Il Supplente (2007) **

Oscar-nominated Italian short about a crazy substitute teacher.

At Night (2007) *

Depressing short film set in a hospital.

Freeheld (2007) *

Sad documentary film about a police officer dying of cancer and unable to leave her pension to her lesbian partner because of homophobic county officials in New Jersey.

Pourquoi on fait ça ? (2007) *

Short film about war.

On attendra pas l'printemps (2007) *

Short film set during the winter.

Normand From The Top (2007) *

Short documentary about a homeless artist.

Maïté (2007) *

Short film directed by Denis Côté.

Souffle (2007) *

A short film about a hunter.

Eau Boy (2007) *

Weird short about a very wet boy.

L'Education nautique (2007) *

Short film about swimming.

Papillion noir (2007) *

Intense and violent film.

Les Fiches safari (2007) *

French short film about a brother-sister relationship.

Même les pigeons vont au paradis (2007) ***

Surprising cartoon about a miser, a priest and a Grim Reaper. Nominated for an Academy Award.

Madame Tutli-Putli (2007) ***

Impressive, Oscar-nominated cartoon set on a train.

Peter And The Wolf (2007) ***

Excellent cartoon based on the famous Prokofiev's music piece. An Oscar-winning co-production between UK and Poland.

I Met The Walrus (2007) ***

An inventive cartoon based on an interview of John Lennon by Jerry Levitan in 1969. Levitan, then 14 years old, tracked Lennon to his hotel room in Toronto. The animation is based on Levitan's recording of the interview, which was edited down to 5 minutes. Josh Raskin's focus was on the interview itself: "I just wanted to literally animate the words, unfurling in the way I imagined they would appear inside the head of a baffled 14-year-old boy interviewing his idol". Directed by Josh Raskin and produced by Jerry Levitan, the film was nominated for an Oscar.