Stephen Dillane was great in the underrated Greatest Game Ever Played.

Interesting reaction, yet hardly surprising. Ironically today's Toronto Star has a typical piece on "Pieces" and its director; not raving, not condemning. It'll be a solid 2 1/2 star movie when it hits cable next year.

http://www.thestar.com/Special/FilmFest/article/253603

It sounds like the typical Canadian film; terribly well-meaning and terribly boring.

And I work in the Canadian Film Industry ...

I think there's a comparable axiom at Sundance: any movie made by a past festival darling should be approached with the same caution. Those movies seem to be automatically accepted by the fest, regardless of quality.

Did you have to pay for your ticket or did they shove it up your arse?

I tried to read the book once. Couldn't do it. It's the typical eat-your-vegetables novel that overeducated women think they should read.

Other than the occasional ones coming out of Quebec, I cannot sit through any of these depressing Canadian movies either... and I am a Canadian.... it's weird there are so many comedians from Canada, but the Anglo movie industry is so depressing....

Several years back a pal was working on an international co-production series being filmed in Toronto that (not surprisingly) cratered after its one and only season. Describing the chaos of the production he told me:

"The French partners want lots of pretty colors, the Germans want a female lead who is "fuckable", the Americans wanted lots of violence and action … and the Canadians wanted 43 minutes."

"Did you have to pay for your ticket or did they shove it up your arse?" Ahahah! That was funny. Thank you.

I hate press people who get free tickets, watch only ten minutes or the last half hour of a film and then write negative reviews. But at least Wells is an honourable man, explaining how he gets his well-founded opinion on this film.

James Berardinelli at Reelviews.net wasn't all that enthused about the movie, either, essentially calling it one of those typically safe, expected titles one opens a film festival with.

If you do run into Lantos at a party, be sure to ask him for naked stills of Rosamund Pike.

Can't speak much to his film work, but Stephen Dillane gave the single greatest stage performance I've ever seen in Stoppard's THE REAL THING a few years back. Saw the play 3 times and his work (particularly in the London production) was jaw-dropping. That is all.

The only quibble I have with Wells today is that isn't opening

Isn't it axiomatic


ripped off from Paddy Chayefsky's THE HOSPITAL (v.o'd by George C. Scott)?

I will call Wells on that indiscretion!

There's an excellent article about the great divide in Canadian cinema (Quebec and ROC) in the new, 40th anniversary edition of Cineaste.