Hot Docs

Hot Docs Preview – Cat Ladies [2009, Christie Callan-Jones]

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Wade in Everything, Hot Docs, Movies | 3 Comments


Cat Ladies. The title says it all. This doc gives us the inside scoop on four crazy cat ladies. Well maybe they aren’t all crazy, but they do all have issues. We all have problems in our lives. Some of us drink, some of us collect cats. What can you do?

The four characters featured in this doc all have varying degrees of cat lady syndrome. The story follows a good arc, keeping you interested until the end and answering the questions in your head as they pop up. It was produced in partnership with TVO, so it did have that made for TV feel, which really didn’t take away from anything.

One of my favourite parts was seeing Tre Smith…again. If you don’t know this guy, he is everywhere when it comes to animal protection issues in Toronto. If there is a raccoon stuck in a fence or dog with only three legs, you can count on Tre coming to the rescue and being the face of the Humane Society. He first got his start on the Toronto based reality show The Lofters (2001), where he lived in a downtown loft with Jennifer Hedger (TSN) and Arisa Cox (E!Online). You may also remember him from an incident last summer when Tre, a Humane Society Inspector, found a dog in the back seat of a car that had its windows cranked shut. After Tre busted out the cars window to rescue the dog, the dogs owner returned. Tre then handcuffed the guy to the car and took the dog to get medical attention. Bystandards then knocked out three of the dudes teeth and pelted him with stones as he stood handcuffed to the car. It was a pretty big deal at the time. Some paint Tre as a villain, I would say he is more of a hero. Anyway, Tre is in this movie, much to the delight of the single female animal loving population of Toronto.

Schedule *Screens with Statistics
6:30 PM, Friday, May 1 – Cumberland 3
9:45 PM, Saturday May 9 – The Royal Cinema
9:00 PM, Sunday May 10 – Cumberland 3

Hot Docs: Soulwax – Part of the Weekend Never Dies [2009, Soam Farahmand]

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Ricky in Hot Docs, Movies | 2 Comments

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Toronto – Given that I have been dabbling on the outer edges of electronic music in recent times, it would only make sense for me to be interested in the Soulwax documentary “Part of the Weekend Never Dies‘, a rock tour documentary about Soulwax’s travels in the summer of 2006. Many of you might know Soulwax by their DJ names – 2ManyDJs. I guess they are somewhat regarded as pioneers in this new electronic age, according to many people interviewed during the documentary (including LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, Peaches, Justice, Digitalism, Erol Alkans among others). The tour that the film was made for, was one where the people in the band Soulwax also did double duties as 2ManyDJs (Soulwax would open, 2ManyDjs would close). It’s a bit convoluted, but the documentary will explain it better.

The documentary was just filmed with one camera (whereas Beastie Boys documentary was filmed with 50) and features many interviews, concert footage and behind the scene moments that is typical of a rock tour documentary. To me, this documentary seemed like one large commercial for a Soulwax concert, but you can say that about any music documentary where everyone they interview sings praises. The editing was pretty interesting, sometimes sloppy as they splice the many many concert shots with the everyday going ons for David and Stephen Dewaele(Soulwax).

Overall, it is definitely a good look into this new age of electronic music, where DJs get treated like rock gods, tour the world over, play to thousands of people all while standing behind some knobs. I don’t think this documentary really differentiates much from other rock tour documentaries, so I guess if you are a fan of music, or soulwax or electronic music, you will probably enjoy this one.

Screening information:
Midnight, Sunday, May 3 at Bloor Cinema
9:30 Pm, Sunday, May 10 at Royal Cinema

Hot Docs Preview – Carmen Meets Borat [2008, Mercedes Stalenhoef]

Posted on April 29, 2009 by Wade in Everything, Hot Docs, Movies | Leave a comment


Wow, a documentary about Borat! Who said documentaries were boring? As the story goes it is common knowledge that Sacha Baron Cohen took advantage of poor villagers in Romania when he filmed his movie. I thought that this doc was going to be about how the villagers rose up and stuck it back to Sacha through a lawsuite. Well, that isn’t exactly how this one panned out.

The movie mostly focuses on 17-year-old Carmen who works in her father’s bar, waiting on layabouts, watching Spanish soap operas, and planning a life far, far away. As Carmen searches for a husband in her small village of Glod, big city lawyers come to town and convince her father to file the lawsuit against Borat for the way the villagres were portrayed in his movie. As the whole lawsuit thing happens, we keep watching as Carmen deals with her life as a 17 year old girl in her village.

I have been trying to connect the two distict story lines in some type of metaphorical way, but I can’t. The whole lawsuit story line is kind of a let down and the Carmen story line is what it is. The only common thread that I could find was:

(1) Borat goes to Glod and takes advantage of poor villagers so that he can profit.
(2) American lawyers go to Glod and try to take advantage of poor villagers with the promise of a big settlement so that they themselves can profit
(3) Documentary makers go to Glod, and make a movie about it all. Documetary makers are poor, but they likely will profit from this movie too, or at least they got paid to make it.
(4) Glod continues to get screwed.

Schedule
6:30 PM Saturday, May 2 – Bloor Cinema
4:30 PM Sunday, May 3 – The ROM Theatre
9:30 PM Sunday, May 10 – Cumberland 2

Hot Docs Preview – Jackpot [2009, Alan Black]

Posted on April 28, 2009 by Wade in Everything, Hot Docs | Leave a comment


This 50 minute doc takes an in depth look at five diehard bingo players. Filmed at Delta Bingos’ St. Clair West location here in Toronto, we get an inside look at the sport of bingo and the people who play it. After the initial curiosity of the bingo players wears off we get a deeper look into why these people love playing so much and the life events from their past that drive them to come back day after day.

If you are a fan of The Big Lebowski, then you are going to fall in love with Jackpot after the first five minutes. If you think about it, a bowling ally has the same aesthetics and charm as a bingo hall. Tacky wall murals, neon signs, fluorescent lighting, and a clientele who are not exactly in their prime reproductive years; yep the bingo hall has it all. The cinematography, bright colors, superb editing and instrumental soundtrack provided by locals the Fembots make this move a must see. I would suggest that you snort, eat, drink, smoke or inject whatever vice you have that helps you concentrate, not concentrate, realax, or chill out and just sit back and enjoy the visual ride.

Schedule
Friday May 1st – 10:PM The Royal Cinema
Sunday May 10th – 6:30 PM Bloor Cinema

Jackpot screens with Clubland

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