1908 - The Husband

The Husband tells a story of the saddest guy ever.  His wife, a teacher, has slept with one of her teenage students, and while off to jail has left him alone with their newborn child (when exactly did this affair take place, given how young the baby is?... was it before?...).  On top of that he's being further emasculated at work by younger employee.  It's just a shitty situation for this guy.  So we're programmed to have nothing but empathy for him... except I didn't... and that's what I bumped up against in this film.  I'm not against the choice of having the main character seem pissed off the whole time 'cause of the shitty situation he's been dealt - I get that - but the film has made the choice to make him... well, unlikeable.  I should have had nothing but empathy for this guy - but I didn't and I'm trying to figure out why.  Mostly it's probably because the choices the guy made - he just kind of ... acted, without and kind of a plan - and when we seem him trying to break out on his own career-wise, well, he just doesn't seem all that good at his job.
I really wanted to like this film, and there's some good elements going on with it, but I really had a hard time finding an in with the main character.  From the reviews I read, I think there's an audience for this type of film, and likely it just wasn't the right fit for me at the time I viewed it.  Please, though, if it seems interesting to you at all, please give it a shot and judge for yourself!

1436 - This Movie is Broken

I'm only a casual fan of Broken Social Scene (which will probably change now) but I loved the idea and the trailer for this film, and since it was playing on my flight home from Calgary I couldn't pass up the chance to watch it. I love how Bruce is turning out films these days, but his quality doesn't suffer do to it. The love story here is pretty simple, and the film actually plays, more or less, as a concert doc that has this side love-story going on with it. The film cleverly using music to enhance the emotional impact of the relationship - some would call it a crutch, but I think it's intentional and serves it well. It's beautifully shot and you feel like you're at one of those most amazing unique concerts ever. I'll definitely be putting an effort into listening to more Broken Social Scene now. With the exception of a sequence later on in the film that doesn't feel like it fits at all to me, this is a pretty lovely film. Check it out.

1413 - Trigger

It's almost not fair for me to write about this film. I had just come from a luncheon that I was invited to as part of my Irving Avrich Award, so I was rushing in, and at the same time I was dealing with a frenzy of e-mails dealing with some stuff for our film, so my head wasn't in the right place, and I think I missed a good chunk of good stuff. I will say this, of what I was able to focus on I liked. I tagged this under "like" but upon another viewing (and I damn well promise to watch it again) it could easily elevate to a "loved it". Tracy and Molly are fantastic and play off of each other like old friends. Don McKellar has a cameo in this that is unlike anything he's ever done. He slayed me. Brilliant.
Like I said, I'm not going to say a whole lot 'cause it's not fair - but I will say that I'm really looking forward to a rewatch of this film. It's a great tribute to Tracy and her ablities. She'll be missed.

1113 - Hard Core Logo

Look at me, I go from no Bruce films to two in one week. Am I a proud Canadian or what? I have to say that this is a heads and tails difference between this and Dance Me Outside. The acting, the visual style, everything about it seems so rejuvenated. This really is a lovely little piece of film and I love that McDonald is creating this little saga of other related films to go along with it. Excited to look out for those. Hugh Dillon and Callum Keith Rennie both give electrifying and interesting performances in a film that relies a lot on subtlety. I definitely need to re-visit this at some point with a more serious critical eye. It's a truly great film. Proud to have a poster of it in my office. Now I won't feel as bad about walking past it.

1112 - Dance Me Outside

I'm embarrassed to say that this is the first Bruce McDonald film that I've seen. Given the resources I imagine they had it's a nice little film. A little over-lit in a lot of the interiors, but it's easy enough to get past it. The non-professional cast is quite good and there's enough good moments in this film to easily recommend it.