I sit in with CKTB morning show host Steph Vivier to have a look at movies in theatres and streaming including the wonderful “Anora,” the intriguing “Conclave,” the interspecies bromance “Venom: The Last Dance,” the revenger thriller “Seeds” and thr rock doc “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band” on Disney+”.
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to tie a bowtie! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the ecclesiastical thriller “Conclave,” the revenge drama “Seeds” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Road Diary.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: Directed, written by and starring Kaniehtiio Horn, the revenge thriller “Seeds” sees Ziggy, a Toronto bike courier and Mohawk brand ambassador for Nature’s Oath Seed Corporation, called back to her rez to look after her aunt’s house. The happy homecoming is marred by spotty Wi-Fi—making it difficult for her to post on Instagram—and something more sinister that forces her to protect her family’s legacy, their stash of special corn, beans, and squash seeds.
CAST: Kaniehtiio Horn, Graham Greene, Patrick Garrow, Peter Keleghan, Dallas Goldtooth, Meegwun Fairbrother, Morgan Bedard, Josh Bainbridge, Dylan Cook, Cherish Violet Blood, Bonnie Whitley. Written and directed by Kaniehtiio Horn.
REVIEW: A revenge drama about legacy, genetic memory, social media and a cat named Potato, “Seeds” is a tense thriller that delivers its message with plenty of humor before the going gets gory.
Writer, star and director Horn starts things off on an optimistic note, as her character Ziggy signs a deal with a big company that will allow her to leave her bike courier gig and become an influencer full time. She establishes a light, breezy tone, clouded only by Ziggy’s anxiety about being on the rez Wi-Fi and her cousin’s (Dallas Goldtooth) ominous warning about the company she now represents. “They control the seeds to control the food to control the people,” he says. “They are the enemy.”
Soon though, strange things start happening in her aunt’s remote house. The place is ransacked and there are furtive shadows in doorways. The jump scares become real scares when the film’s themes begin to coalesce in the third act.
As Ziggy, Horn is motivated by a deep connection to her heritage, which manifests itself in the film’s grimly funny finale as she allows her “ancestor’s rage to take over.” No spoilers here, but the character becomes involved in a life-or-death situation, one that summons generations of wrath.
It’s memorable, but for my money, not quite hardcore enough. It is horrifying in its idea, but not exactly in its execution. Revenge movies like this trade on hyper violence, and, for once, I wanted this scene to be squishier.
Still, thematically, the finale works and is capped by a memorable final image.
At a quick 85 minutes “Seeds” features great performances— Graham Greene, as the host of a television true crime show who speaks to Ziggy in her dreams and Goldtooth are standouts—and succeeds both as a revenge drama and an expression of Indigenous legacy and power.
Self help author John Tarnoff says, “In order to create your future, you have to reconcile your past.” It’s good advice for his boomer audience, the over 50s who may be looking to reconnect and restart their lives. It’s also a theme that runs through “Into Invisible Light,” a new film starring Jenifer Dale.
Dale, who co-wrote the script with director Shelagh Carter, plays Helena Grayson a recently widowed woman who can only claim the inheritance if she heads a foundation for young artists. Sitting in the big chair, she has to figure out who gets support and who doesn’t. She’s thrust into the world of artists despite having given up her artistic objectives years ago. This leads to her to explore her own ambition, to write again. Writing allows her to find her voice again, to examine a life that felt inconsequential and repressed without an artistic outlet. Helping her spark joy is Michael (Peter Keleghan), a Samuel-Beckett-quoting former flame, now a writing professor. Examining her past, just as Tarnoff suggests, leads the way to her future.
“Into Invisible Light” is a movie for adults; a film for people who have lived a life and are in process, looking to start over again. It’s a finely tuned story of second chances that eloquently essays a reawakening.
Densely written, this thoughtful examination of Helena’s new phase of life is supported by elegant cinematography courtesy of Ousama Rawi and a moody, stark score by Shawn Pierce. It occasionally takes itself a bit too seriously, leaning on minor chord drama for effect, but the lingering effect is one of hopeful rebirth.
By Richard Crouse – Metro – Canada
For several of the stars of Big News from Grand Rock, making the film was a family affair.
“Peter and I were asked to do it first,” says Leah Pinsent of her husband and co-star Peter Keleghan, “and didn’t even know Dad was going to be part of it.”
Dad, of course, is acting icon Gordon Pinsent.
“Because it is a small independent movie we were all put up at the Super 8 Motel,” says Leah. “I said, ‘You have an opportunity where the three of us are family and we’re right next to Georgian Bay so why don’t you give us the cash for the Super 8 and we’ll rent a cottage. So we actually made it into quite a nice summer affair. Brought the dog and walked along the beach. It was pretty cool.”
In the movie Ennis Esmer stars as Leonard Crane, the editor of the Grand Rock Weekly Ledger, a small town newspaper on the verge of bankruptcy. With no real local news to draw from Leonard turns to the town’s video store for inspiration. In the hope of pumping up circulation and advertising revenues, he fabricates a series of wild “news” stories based on the plots of old movies.
Leah co-stars as the town’s mayor, a part she says she based on Pamela Wallin and Rob Ford, while Keleghan is a dimwitted reporter employed by the paper’s embattled publisher played by Gordon.
We flipped the movie’s premise on Leah and Peter, asking them to take a recent headline and turn it into a movie pitch, complete with casting.
Keleghan suggested, “Harper shuts down transparency… Kills Sun TV by mistake but CBC thrives!” As for casting he says, “John Baird is looking for a job so he would play Ezra Levant. Tom Green would be Pierre-Karl Péladeau and Raymond Burr, as he is today, would co-star as Steven Harper.”
Leah chose, “Woman gives birth in first class airport lounge while waiting for flight” as her headline. “In this particular version she doesn’t have a business class ticket so they make her pay the entrance fee as her water bursts,” she says. “The person behind the desk would be me and the woman having the baby would be me. The woman with the cart, serving food who helps birth the baby would also be me. And the baby, of course, would be me.”
“Big News from Grand Rock” is a comedy about a very serious and timely subject.
In the movie Ennis Esmer stars as Leonard Crane, the editor of the Grand Rock Weekly Ledger, a small town newspaper on the verge of bankruptcy. With no real local news to draw from Leonard turns to the town’s video store for inspiration. In the hope of pumping up circulation and advertising revenues, he fabricates a series of wild “news” stories based on the plots of old movies.
His desperate measure almost works as readers return to the paper, but, as Brian Williams recently found out, when you make stuff up eventually you’re going to get busted. Before you can yell, “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” his comeuppance comes in the form of Lucy (Meredith MacNeill), a reporter from the city who threatens to expose Leonard’s duplicity… until she discovers that one of the ridiculous stories just might be true.
“Big News at Grand Rock” generates laughs—Esmer earns his pays with an easy charm and Shawn Ashmore is laugh out loud funny as the video store clerk—but tackles a very important topic, the slow dismantling of local newspapers. With small papers biting the dust everyday—the movie was shot in Midland, Ontario, whose newspaper shuttered just weeks before the shoot—access to local news drying up or changing in such a way that you’re not going to be able to recognize it in a few years. “Big News” wants you to think about your local voice disappearing but doesn’t beat you over the head with its message.
Keeping things light are Leah Pinsent as the Grand Rock’s mayor, Peter Keleghan as a dimwitted reporter employed by the paper’s embattled publisher played by Canadian icon Gordon Pinsent.
Story wise “Big News at Grand Rock” errs on the side of predictability but a winning cast and a timely message make it headline worthy.
Tune into Richard’s “Extra Entertainment Extra” interview with “Sex After Kids” star Ennis Esmer and director / writer Jeremy LaLonde on Saturday, February 8, 2014 at 4:30 pm on NewsTalk 1010 in Toronto! (Check local listings for replays in your area.)
About Sex After Kids:
Sex After Kids is an edgy ensemble comedy that follows several couples in their post-child-coitus troubles. The newlyweds (Beckner, Ennis Esmer) with a newborn that can’t align their schedule and libidos. The aloof single mom (Zoie Palmer) whose deviant brother insists that she get back out into the world and satisfy herself sexually by any means necessary. The lesbians (Kate Hewlett, Mary Krohnert) who realize that they don’t share the same principles when it comes to child-rearing. A single dad (Kris Holden-Ried) tired of one-night stands and looking for something with substance. The empty nesters (Jay Brazeau, Mimi Kuzyk) who watch their last child leave home only to wonder if they can find that spark that brought them together all those decades ago. Their relationships and ideals will be put to the test as the question is asked: is it possible to have children and a sex life, and… is it worth it?
