Canadian Crossing

'Monsieur Lazhar,' 'Keyhole': Canadian films hitting American cities

Whetting an appetite for an Oscar-nominated foreign language film is only helpful if you get a chance to see the movie. "Monsieur Lazhar" has been making its way through the United States this month. True, the itinerary is major U.S. cities, but the fact that this tour includes quite a few American cities is a better sign that eventually you would be able to see it.

For those who may not recall the film, the story is of a man of Algerian descent who comes into a Quebec classroom after the previous teacher has committed suicide.

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'Monsieur Lazhar' makes up for Oscar loss with 6 Genies

'Monsieur Lazhar' and Christopher Plummer get Oscar nominations

This fall's Canadian film crop: will they come to the United States?

A more obscure film that I spotlighted last fall was the latest from Guy Madden entitled "Keyhole." The film is coming to Chicago next week, but I'm not sure of where else the film might play.

If you've never seen a Guy Madden film, the experience isn't easy to follow. But you will be entertained.

Finally, an even more unusual film came through a couple of weeks back as part of a festival devoted to music in films. "Roller Town" is set in the late 1970s and follows the cliche pattern of trying to save a roller disco from the forces that hate things that young people like. The plot sounds slightly better than "Xanadu" from that same era, but the people who created this throw in some pretty funny jokes. Hokey, true, but if you are going to see a film of this genre, this is the film to see.

If nothing else, you get to see cool shots of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

James Cameron admits he's Canadian on 'Colbert Report'

Stephen Colbert occasionally interviews Canadians for his show "Colbert Report." And usually, the guests don't admit their Canadian stature.

Colbert brought it up when former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm was on his show, but not when David Frum was on the next night.

Colbert triggered Cameron's admittance, but didn't realize Cameron was Canadian.

Cameron shared his journey to going to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. He referred to the depths as being 7 miles, "36,000 feet or 11,000 meters."

Colbert pleads with Cameron to not go metric, "Please, no meters. We don't broadcast in Europe."

Cameron explained to Colbert that he's Canadian. "You're Canadian."

"I'm Canadian, m-----f-----."

"That might be the least polite thing I've ever heard a Canadian say."

Point of reference: Stephen used that same 12-letter expletive on Cameron earlier. Colbert enjoyed being the recipient of the return verbal volley.

"Colbert Report" doesn't go to Europe, but Canadians can watch the show on the Comedy Channel and CTV.

'Goon' is no 'Slap Shot,' but a pretty good movie, if you can deal with fighting

 

It's no "Slap Shot," but "Goon" is a heck of a lot better than "Score: A Hockey Musical."

This is a movie about fighting; if you like fighting, there is a lot of fighting.

Seann William Scott is surprisingly decent. Scott's character is a fighter, true, but he is nice otherwise and dumb. The film contrasts this by portraying his brother and father as doctors.

The film attempts a number of sub-plots that aren't really fleshed out too well. Alison Pill plays the female lead; the trailer paints her out to be a "slut," for lack of a better word. However, you never get the impression that she is that kind of person. Pill's talents are clearly wasted in this movie, a doubly sad point since Pill is now engaged to Jay Baruchel, co-writer of the script and also appears in the movie as Scott's sports-obsessed friend.

Scott's character is supposed to help this French-Canadian hockey player who plays like a spoiled brat that is wasting his talent. Eventually, the young gun learns his lesson, though even after seeing the movie, I have no idea how that happened.

"Goon" does a good job at setting up the battle that will end the film, Liev Schriber's veteran goon vs. Scott's young goon.

This movie would have made more sense in the landscape a few years ago. The tragic deaths of NHL fighters in the past off-season made for bad timing. The juxtaposition  of real-life fights from book co-author Doug Smith is worth sticking around for the film credits. The fighting in the movie is set up with the theme of retaliation, not fighting for the heck of it.

You might recognize former Montréal Canadiens enforcer Georges Laraque, who has a cameo in the film. Laraque assumes the role of a fighter on the ice, a role for which he didn't need to do any more research. Eugene Levy is the most well-known Canadian to have a role in the film, playing Scott's father.

"Goon" was filmed throughout Manitoba, in Brandon, Portage La Prairie, and Winnipeg. You see exterior shots of Halifax, Nova Scotia and probably St. Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Most of the hockey is fairly realistic. Even if you aren't a hockey fan, "Goon" is a pretty good movie. The screenplay flows well, minus the previously mentioned flaws. The actors are clearly enjoying their roles in the film; Schriber really looks like he is enjoying being in "Goon."

"Goon" might be the second best hockey movie you'll ever see, though that isn't saying much.

"Goon" is playing in select cities and is available, where available, On Demand.

Day 4 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Ben Mulroney, torchlight skiing, and Canadian cuisine

Canadian word of the day: Ogopogo

The Calgary Stampede Show Band opened and closed the final chapter of Kelly Ripa's adventures in Banff. Ripa's co-host on Thursday was Ben Mulroney, an actual Canadian. Mulroney works for CTV as host of ETalk and "Canadian Idol." (CTV airs Live with Kelly.)

Mulroney was born in Montréal and grew up in Ottawa. Ben was 8 when his dad became prime minister. Tying in the show band, the hosts talked about this summer's 100th Calgary Stampede. Mulroney noted that Canada is a young country, having been created in 1867, so 100 years make it a nationwide cultural icon. Calgary is about 145 km (90 miles) from Banff.

Mulroney did a really nice job as co-host. I argued that Ripa needed Canadian presence in the chair. And it showed well on Thursday.

Theresa Montague of Banff introduced the Canadian Word of the Day; an ogopogo is a mythical creature that lives at the bottom of the lake. Montague said the creature is green and 50 ft. long. I confess I didn't know that word either.

We mentioned yesterday the oddity of promoting trips with the trivia game while promoting Banff and Alberta. Well, sure enough, the trip up for grabs on Thursday was for the Fairmont Banff Springs.

David Torres of Fairhaven, MA was the player. Torres had heard of Calgary and Alberta but not Lake Louise. Not too bad. Then Torres blurted out his critique of Alberta beef "not the best looking, but it is the best tasting steak."

Torres won the trip to the Fairmont in Banff Springs because he knew the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City the same year as Banff National Park. You got the impression that the show would have been more pissed than the contestat if he didn't get the question correct.

David James Elliott was the primary guest. Elliott is a native of the Toronto area, but had never been to Banff. He teasingly went after Mulroney for his father being in charge. Ben said "Take a number." Elliott was known for being on "JAG" but is now on "GCB." At the end, Ripa noted that GCB aired on ABC; Mulroney sneaked in that the show also airs on CTV. (That is too many initials in one paragraph.)

One of the issues with the coverage in Banff was that we only saw winter shots, forgetting how pretty the area is when the snow isn't on the ground. We got a shot of Horse Thief Canyon, a lovely shot of the area without snow.

Kelly never did see a moose, even if Mulroney wore a moose hat for her. And Ripa snapped her 2-day string of mentioning poutine.

Speaking of food, Kelly and Ben were treated to Rocky Mountain cuisine courtesy of the executive chef of the Fairmont Banff Springs.

The difficulty of defining Canadian cuisine is that this depends on the region of the country. Poutine travels well beyond Quebec. But it is easier to get elk and bison in the Rocky Mountain region. We also got trout, salmon bouillabaisse, beef tenderloin carpaccio, cheese fondue with truffle, and poached pears with maple mousse.

Mulroney said, "nothing says Canada like maple, huh." Ripa dipped the poached pears with maple mousse in the cheese fondue.

Ripa reacted fondly to the food by kissing the executive chef and the sous chefs. This is about local cuisine, but it's also about food for people who can afford the luxury of such a trip.

Kelly was aggressive in selling Banff, Alberta, and Canada. Unlike Monday, it came across better and reflecting the time that she has had in that area. When people think of Canada, Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver leap to mind. Full credit where credit is due: the show went to two places that are very little known in the States and showcased them on U.S. television in ways that even the best of commercials couldn't do.

As much as we have teased about watching the show, I haven't been to Prince Edward Island or Alberta. And I want to see both provinces.

Previous: Day 3 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Snow shoeing, Melanie Fiona, and a beaver hat

Previous: Day 2 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Poutine, Calgary Fiddlers, and Caroline Rhea

Previous: Day 1 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Dog sledding, ice carving, and Regina jokes

Day 3 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Snow shoeing, Melanie Fiona, and a beaver hat

Canadian word of the day: Ginch

According to Wikitionary, ginch is from Alberta and British Columbia and refers to briefs, as opposed to boxers. For the record, ginch is not in the Canadian-English dictionary I own. Bunny hug, Tuesday’s word, isn’t in the dictionary, but I knew what that was.

Episode 3 started out with the Alberta Caledonia Pipe Band playing the bagpipes and drums. Ryan from Toronto gave the Canadian Word of the Day. But he clearly knew of ginch, so perhaps the word has drifted throughout the country.

Kelly's co-host was Peter Facinelli. Facinelli was a guest on the Prince Edward Island episodes, and had shot a movie in Banff. Kelly touched briefly on the fact that Facinelli is coming off of a divorce. He allegedly was having an affair with a Canadian woman. When Kelly brought up the divorce, one audience member clapped. Kelly said. “So kind of you. You must be American.”

The opening banter lasted quite long since there was only one non-musical guest. At one point, they mentioned that the mayor of Banff was in the audience. The conversation shifted to various mayors, so Kelly used it as an opportunity to make another Regina joke. Facinelli replied, “That’s not a real place, is it? It’s a real place?”

Kelly assured Peter that Regina was a real place. “Speaking of Regina, I got you a beaver hat.”

Melanie Fiona performed, just as she did in Prince Edward Island. Fiona is from Toronto and had not been to this part (Banff) of Canada. Fiona flew in from Ottawa where the Junos were.

The outdoor activity was Kelly going snow shoeing. The views were quite impressive. This showed off the park much better than Gelman’s skiing. Still, the lake where Kelly ended up on Wednesday (Lake Louise?) would have been amazing without all that snow.

Other highlights included:

-- They played the phone trivia game. The woman was from Babylon, NY (New York City area). Kelly asked her, "Joanne, have you ever been to Banff?” “No, I never even heard of it before you went.” The crowd booed that.

She won the trip to St. Lucia. Giving away a trip to somewhere else while enticing people to come to Banff seems odd, but they did this during the Prince Edward Island trip. So maybe she'll go to Banff after her St. Lucia trip.

-- Before they introduced Johnny Galecki, Kelly noted that this was “Day 2 of my poutine addiction.” Kelly had to explain that it was not a dirty word, but Canadian French fries.

-- They are shooting the episodes at the Banff Centre. Kelly noted that prominent alumni include Kim Cattrall and Eric McCormack.

-- They mentioned Balkin, a Greek restaurant in Banff, a couple of times.

-- Don’t know if you noticed this, and our Canadian friends didn’t see this, but I saw a Travel Alberta ad in the first break of the show.

Previous: Day 2 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Poutine, Calgary Fiddlers, and Caroline Rhea

Previous: Day 1 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Dog sledding, ice carving, and Regina jokes

Day 2 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Poutine, Calgary Fiddlers, and Caroline Rhea

Canadian word of the day: Bunny Hug

"I am in love with poutine" — Jayma Mays

Kelly starts out by noting her producer says Jayma Mays had fallen in love with Canadian French fries. Ripa, co-host Chris Harrison, and Mays eat from a large bowl of poutine. "It is heaven on a plate," said Mays. "It's heaven in a bowl."

"That is incredible," Ripa said after she tried it.

Mays had not been to Banff, but her husband has gone swimming. The couple had worked together in Vancouver.

Caroline Rhea was introduced as "Canadian royalty." Now you had a segment earlier in the show on poutine. You have a guest from Montréal, home of poutine. And they don't ask Rhea about poutine.

Rhea noted that she flew in from Vancouver where she was filming a movie with David Hasselhoff. At the end of the segment, Rhea ended, "I want everyone in Canada to follow me on Twitter because they are coming for our oil and I want you to know."

The second show started out with the Calgary Fiddlers. Ripa and Harrison showed pictures of Marilyn Monroe in Banff in 1953.

Yasmine, Betty Jo, Colleen, and Cheryl introduced the Canadian word of the day: Bunny Hug. A bunny hug is a hooded sweatshirt. The lovely ladies were adorned in bunny hugs. As Kelly mentioned yesterday's word, toque, she mispronounced toque as "toke," as in "one toke over the line."

The outdoor adventure was Live's producer Michael Gelman doing cat skiing. Everyone had fun with the idea of cats skiing. Unfortunately for the segment, cats skiing would have been more interesting.

The terrain is clearly pretty, but with a lot of it covered by snow, they could have been anywhere. Early in the segment, they did note that they were going from 8,000 ft. to 9,000 ft. The significant altitude is the one element that has been missing from the coverage.

Previous: Day 1 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Dog sledding, ice carving, and Regina jokes

photo credit: WABC-TV New York

Day 1 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Dog sledding, ice carving, and Regina jokes

Canadian word of the day: Toque

See there was some Canadian content on Day 1 of the Live with Kelly experience in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Well, that and Regina vagina jokes.

Okay, this was the first episode I have seen of this show without Regis. Kelly Ripa tried too hard to give Travel Alberta its moneys worth, pounding home the point of coming to Alberta. You can be smoother about the idea.

Oh, and Regina is in Saskatchewan.

Kelly and her co-host husband Mark Consuelos entered the theatre with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Kelly and Regis were accompanied by the RCMP in Prince Edward Island. Still, Ripa acted surprised.

Ruth from Calgary introduced the Canadian Word of the Day, a cute feature.

One major Canadian highlight was when Mark went dog sledding and passed the Great Divide Arch, marking the Alberta-British Columbia border. A nice moment to show how large the park is. They did talk about how Banff National Park is the third oldest national park, and pictures of Banff then and now.

The major reason to tune in was gorgeous scenery of the area, and they had plenty of shots. A beautiful moment to be captured in HD.

This isn't to ignore ice carver Scott Harrison, or the fact that Ripa was white-hatted, or the couple telling the story of their son, Joaquin, being conceived in Montréal.

Oooohh, Jason Biggs had an elk burger in Banff. That was the singular highlight of the guests from Day 1.

Perhaps this isn't fair to compare what happened in Banff vs. Prince Edward Island. Being indoors and surrounded by snow makes telling the story more difficult.

'Live with Kelly' Alberta schedule light on Canadian artists

That Alberta scenery better be really beautiful.

If you are tuning in to see Canadian stars on "Live with Kelly" this week, you will wait for most of that Canadian content until Thursday. If you're looking for Canadian stars that weren't also in Prince Edward Island with the show in 2010, blink and you could miss it.

Kelly Ripa's husband is co-hosting on Monday. Thursday's co-host isn't well-known to Americans, but Ben Mulroney is a CTV host, also host of "Canadian Idol," and son of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Peter Facinelli is the co-host on Wednesday; Facinelli was also a guest on the PEI episodes. while Facinelli is not Canadian, he reportedly had an affair with a Canadian woman that ended his marriage to Jennie Garth. Not sure if Kelly will bring that up in Alberta.

Caroline Rhea (Tuesday) and R&B singer Melanie Fiona (Thursday) are repeat guests from the PEI episodes. The lone newcomer is David James Elliott, who will also be on Thursday's episode. The guest list for Monday and Wednesday has no Canadians; Thursday is all-Canadian.

We also have no guests with Alberta connections, unless one of them has summers or winters in Alberta, so we may find an ulterior motive for why they are on the shows in Alberta.

So, Johnny Olsen, tell them what else will happen in Alberta:

"During the show's visit to Canada, "LIVE" also will showcase the abundant outdoor activities that Alberta has to offer. From snowshoeing and dog sledding, to torchlight skiing and cat skiing, "LIVE" is taking advantage of it all in the midst of the breathtaking majesty of Banff National Park. Each "LIVE" broadcast will originate from the Eric Harvie Theatre at The Banff Centre, a national arts training center located in the heart of the Canadian Rockies in Banff."

By being indoors, this reduces the chances of Kelly's skirt flying up like it did at Prince Edward Island. We'll have to see how much of the outside beauty we will see if they are in a theatre.

"Live with Kelly" airs in syndication out of WABC-TV in New York City and on CTV across Canada.

'The Firm' showcases more than just Canadian actors

"The Firm" takes place in the Washington, DC area but is shot in Toronto. So you figure that exterior shots will be vague enough to look like they could be anywhere.

When I saw this segment open in "Chapter Eight" from a few weeks back, I thought it looked familiar. Not just that I had seen it, but I had been there at that exact spot.

The W Burger Bar sure seemed familiar, so I double checked the address: 10 College Street, Toronto. I smiled, knowing I had eaten there. I remember the blonde waitress who was jealous that I was from the United States. She wanted to move there; I wanted to move to Canada. If only we had looked alike, we could have switched passports.

We also discussed how they couldn't cook the burger medium-rare because she said that would violate Ontario law. Well, I had better cooked burgers later on in that trip.

This shot is steps away from Yonge Street, the marker between west and east in Canada's largest city. Old-time hockey fans will know that Maple Leaf Gardens is a couple of blocks east on Carlton (College becomes Carlton east of Yonge).

If you saw "Chloe," Cafe Diplomatico is about 2.5 km west of W Burger Bar.

Your other clue that the scene isn't in Washington, DC is "Copy Centre," two business east of W Burger Bar. The "re" spelling makes that Canadian, or certainly not American.

We haven't written much about "The Firm" even after it moved to the dustbin of U.S. TV that is Saturday night. Still, at least NBC is running the episodes.

Previous: 'The Firm' mixes in Canadian actors and settings to Southern legal drama

Can't say I would watch if it weren't for two of my favorite Canadian actors, Molly Parker and Callum Keith Rennie. The show has too many elements going on, and that's for those of us that have watched every episode. Still, if you only watch the scenes with Parker and Rennie, you get great acting and you don't have to spend 46 minutes watching the show.

And if you know Toronto well enough, you might see a bit of the city in the background.

'Monsieur Lazhar' makes up for Oscar loss with 6 Genies

While "Monsieur Lazhar" fell short on the world stage, the Oscar-nominated film did win 6 Genies, Canada's movie awards, last night in Toronto.

The film won Best Picture and editing. Director Philippe Falardeau won for director and adapted screenplay. The two acting awards went to Mohamed Fellag (actor) and 11-year-old Sophie Nélisse (supporting actress).

David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" took home 5 Genies, including Viggo Mortensen (supporting actor) and Oscar-nominated Howard Shore (original score).

Vanessa Paradis won the best actress award for "Café de Flore," which won 3 Genies overall. "Starbuck" won for original screenplay and original song; the film also won the Cineplex Golden Reel Award for topping the Canadian box office in 2011 at $3.5 million.

All but the Cronenberg movie were featured in our coverage of the 2011 Windsor International Film Festival.

If you look purely at the Oscars and Genies, the similar pattern is that major awards didn't always rdsgo to Americans/Canadians. Of the 4 major acting awards, 3 of them were from outside Canada. Fellag is from Algeria, Paradis (think Johnny Deep's SO) is from France, and Mortensen is from the U.S. Then again, Canadian Christopher Plummer won an Oscar. This is just the world of film we live in today: cross-pollination.

Nélisse did a really good job in this movie, especially since she was 10 when the film was made. While "Café de Flore" didn't win as many awards, in a year without "Monsieur Lazhar," it would have won more Genies.

This was the 32nd annual Genies held in Toronto. Andrea Martin ("SCTV") was supposed to co-host with CBC late-night host George Stroumboulopoulos, but had to pull out at the last minute due to prior commitments. The program is carried on the CBC, so those Americans that can pull in a signal can watch along with Canadians.