Maxwell McCabe-Lokos is not a loser in real life. He can pass for a loser on screen and so he co-wrote a movie about a loser who is having trouble dealing with a lot of horrible things.
Henry (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos) is a single dad to a toddler. He hates his job. He is a single dad because his wife Alyssa (Sarah Allen) is in jail for having sex with a 14-year-old boy. Alyssa was the boy's teacher.
Henry is very angry. He is upset at work, ignores his best friend Rusty (August Diehl), and stalks the 14-year-old Colin (Dylan Authors).
McCabe-Lokos uses a lot of non-verbal mannerisms to show that Henry is a loser. The deflection of his frustration to the child, as opposed to his wife, is as creepy as you would think it would be.
There are a lot of moments with no dialogue where we see how angry Henry is. The only positive trait is that he is a good father to his toddler.
Watching "portrait of a loser" might be a niche in filmmaking. The question is whether the film is genius in taking us into the world of someone who should be angry and how he handles that anger. Or is the film boring because you are watching an angry person who is almost always angry.
McCabe-Lokos co-wrote the film with Kelly Harms. Bruce McDonald directed this 2013 film. McDonald is a legend in Canadian filmmaking. The contrast for McDonald when directing a film he wrote is significantly distinct than directing a film written by others. Writing and directing your own films is more of a guarantee than just being the director.
You almost feel like McCabe-Lokos is running things from his spot as a co-writer and lead actor.
The small parts in the film have some great actors in the mix. You have fun watching Stephen McHattie as his father-in-law and Jean Yoon as the nanny.
The Husband delivers on what the film promises. The angry man stays angry. The creepiness level, especially when trying to get revenge, is burning hot.
This film is a comedy on some level and a drama on most levels.
The Husband feels true in its anger. Best to watch when you are angry or so not angry.
video credit: YouTube/TIFF Originals photo credit: The Husband film
The last time As It Happens was looking for a co-host feels like a long time ago. Chris Howden took over for Jeff Douglas to host with Carol Off a couple of months before the COVID-19 pandemic. Douglas was the co-host for 8 years before leaving to host Mainstreet, the weekday afternoon CBC Nova Scotia show.
Now As It Happens is looking for a host to replace Carol Off, who is leaving the show after nearly 16 years. Her last edition will be February 25. Off will work on a new summer series for CBC.
With all due respect to Howden, Off is the primary host of the show in terms of conducting interviews. She had a long background in reporting around the world for CBC News before landing in As It Happens.
"I was a wild animal and I was never going to be a house cat," Off said.
Off replaced Mary Lou Finlay as the co-host in 2006 and worked with Barbara Budd. The almost 16 years Off worked on the show was the third-longest tenure on the show behind Alan Maitland (1974-1993) and Budd (1993-2010). Barbara Frum, mother of David Frum, was a host (1971-1981). As It Happens has been around since 1968.
"It's the hardest job I've ever had, for sure," Off said. "It's the emotional range of it. I've laughed. I've cried. I've become angry. I have learned something. I've had my head turned around. And that's in a single day."
Replacing Off will also be a hard job. Howden had been with the show since 2003 and head writer for the show for the previous decade. That may not be the path for Off's replacement.
There will be guest hosts filling in for Off after February 25 so there will be quite a bit of time before we know the permanent replacement.
For a lot of listeners to the program, Carol Off is As It Happens. They will be very tough shoes to fill.
As It Happens airs for 90 minutes on CBC Radio One following the World at Six. The program airs in the United States through Public Radio Exchange on some NPR stations. The show is also available through the CBC Listen app and the podcast version is also an option.
The Canadian film industry, well, the English part of the Canadian film industry in 1979 was filled with tax write-offs and odd American leads. Hollywood North (2003) dives into this bizarre, yet sadly real, existence.
The film is an exaggerated version of this world. The film cleverly casts Matthew Modine (American) as the lead in this film given how the film his character is making has to have an American lead. Canadians do dominate the cast, including Saul Rubinek, Joe Cobden, Deborah Kara Unger, Alan Thicke, Lindy Booth, Fab Filippo, Clare Coulter, and Jennifer Tilly.
Bobby Myers (Modine) wants to adapt Lantern Moon, a low-key story about a Canadian schoolteacher who goes to teach children in Cuba. To get the American lead they need, Michael Baytes (English actor Alan Bates) wants script approval that blends in with his patriotism and paranoia. They also recruit a famous director Henry Neville (English/Canadian actor John Neville) who hasn't directed a film in 15 years. The Lantern Moon script suddenly becomes Flight to Bogota.
Part of what makes the film within a film Canadian is the source material, which has been completely ignored.
The fun part of the film is filmmaker Sandy Ryan (Unger) who films a behind the scenes approach to this film but intertwines her own serious film Human Voices. The indie film is more of a true Canadian film without the big budget.
As the overall film goes on, the film within the film loses control with pressure from the investors, of which Alan Thicke's character is in charge.
The making of the film(s) is the plot of the film. The writers (Barry Healey, John Hunter, Tony Johnston) and director Peter O'Brian take us through the slightly exaggerated twists and turns of the film; we imagine similar situations happen quite often.
Hollywood North might be more informative than entertaining. The film could be considered a bit inside ball where some of the jokes are highly subtle. People who appreciate the filmmaking process — trust us, we see this at film festivals — will enjoy this film.
Even if you are not a film geek, there is a rather good story here. Ambition, ego, lots of suffering to try and get some reward: good enough for this Canadian film about Canadian films.
Dave Van Horne recently announced his retirement from doing MLB play-by-play. While Van Horne spent the last 21 years in southern Florida, he will be best remembered as the English voice of the Montréal Expos from the inaugural season of 1969 through 2000.
Van Horne might have stayed to the end of the Expos run but broadcasting the games on the Internet in 2000 was a sign of things to come. Jeffrey Loria didn't get an English radio or TV outlet in Montréal for 2000.
Van Horne called the Expos games on radio on CKGM 980 (1969), CFCF 600 (1970-1988, 1991-1999), and CJAD 800 (1989-1990).
The Expos games were broadcast during Van Horne's time on CBC (1969-1989), TSN (1985-1999), a TV Labatt syndicated package (1987-1989), and CTV (1990-1993).
Van Horne worked with a number of amazing broadcasters. His most prevalent partners were Don Drysdale (1970–1971), Duke Snider (1973–1986), and Tommy Hutton (1982–1986). Drysdale, Snider, and Jackie Robinson (1972), who also worked on Expos games, were all members of the Montréal Royals minor league team as part of the Brooklyn Dodgers organization.
The Montréal Expos were the first MLB team for Van Horne. He spent 1966-1968 calling games for the Richmond AAA team, a farm team of Atlanta (MLB).
Van Horne received Jack Graney Award in 1996 by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. He was the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. Van Horne was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.
Van Horne was always busy during the times the Toronto Blue Jays played exhibition games at Olympic Stadium from 2014-2019 before the pandemic. Hopefully, the exhibition games will come back and Van Horne can be coaxed into the booth back in Montréal.
Full Release with Samantha Bee, the podcast not the TV show, doesn't mention Canada too often. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee loves its sarcastic Canadian references, mostly because the TV show is about comedy and current events.
Stanley Tucci, who has shown his love for Italy thanks to his CNN series Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy, was on the podcast with Samantha Bee some time ago (a little slow catching up for your humble narrator).
About 10 minutes into the podcast episode, Bee talked about growing up in Toronto around Italian families though not Italian herself. She loved the liveliness of the dinner table in those homes.
"Toronto's really interesting. I love Toronto. Actually, if I were to move back to North America, that's where I would live. ... It's an amazing city."
Tucci said he thinks Toronto has the highest concentration of Italians outside Italy (4th behind São Paulo, Buenos Aires, and New York City). There are Italian pockets in Toronto: College Street West is the most prominent but certainly one of several areas, including Pelmo Park-Humberlea and Maple Leaf as well as Corso Italia on St. Clair Avenue West.
Tucci mentioned Brothers, a tiny place near where he was staying to make a film about 4 years ago. Brothers Food & Wine did close in 2020 but that team is behind a new place called Restaurant 20 Victoria. Amusingly, the new space is even tinier than the old establishment.
Bee wraps up the talk about Toronto by asking Tucci about whether he loves Kensington Market. Tucci agrees with how great the neighbourhood and the city is for him.
Vancouver gets a lot of love for the weather and outdoor activities. Montréal gets a lot of love for its amazing food and cultural aspects. Toronto doesn't get as much love. Tucci lives in London so maybe he is biased toward Toronto or has done movies in Toronto. Toronto is a great gateway city, especially if you are an American who has never been to Canada.
Despite the food havens that are Vancouver and Montréal, Toronto deserves some travel love for its food and culture options. Toronto is a very cosmopolitan city. Kensington Market is very cool. Travel wherever you want in Canada. Don't dismiss Toronto without a bit of research.
Full Release with Samantha Bee comes out on Tuesdays. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee returns Thursday on TBS and CTV Comedy Channel at 10 pm Eastern.
If The New Romantic gave us a very fake presentation of the sugar daddy world, Shiva Baby presented the sugar daddy concept as the fortune cookie of a young woman's world, Sugar Daddy comes as close to telling a true story as long as the woman isn't having actual sex.
We wrote awhile back on the sugar daddy concept used in Canadian films, before we have seen all of the films. The New Romantic is one of those bad Canadian films in the Netflix queue. Shiva Baby is a really good film with no sugar daddy essence and barely Canadian. Sugar Daddy is definitely Canadian in a lot of respects and gives you, by far, more of what happens but not enough.
The scene where Darren (Kelly McCormack) talks about this sugar daddy world with her friends is worth the price of admission. The fact that McCormack wrote the screenplay is extra special. Darren is a struggling musician who can't sum up what her music is about at the moment. She is clearly talented but struggles to figure it out.
She find a "dating" service where older men pay to have dinner with her and spend time with them. The going rate is $300 Canadian and that includes dinner. "Can I get an order of beef carpaccio, steak tartare, a burger medium with blue cheese, and a basket of bread. And can you bring hot sauce, please." This is Darren's order at the first dinner with Gordon (Colm Feore).
She spends time with Gordon and on other occasions, Jim (Nicholas Campbell). Gordon is as cool as Jim is creepy. The scene where her friends ask Darren about her "career choice," the focus is on sex and whether women are property. Darren says she isn't having sex. Her friends don't believe her but the audience does.
Wendy Morgan directed the film. We noted that the three films had female directors and writers, pretty much necessary when dealing with this topic. Morgan sets up scenes where music tells part of the story, not quite like typical music videos.
The film features a number of familiar Canadian actors, including Amanda Brugel, Ishan Davé, Kaniehtiio Horn, Jess Salgueiro, Rob Stewart, Michelle Morgan, and Andy McQueen.
We could focus on why older guys would pay $300 to have dinner with a young woman who struggles to stay relevant in a fancier world. The film is really about financial survival while you try and figure out what you are doing.
Darren is a messed up character. McCormack writes her as being part of a group where most of them know more of where they are. Her writing is far beyond her years. The film chooses to not focus on the ramifications, good and bad, in exchanging sex for money. That is the worst flaw in an otherwise good film.
Accept the film will go in its own direction instead of maybe where you think it should go. Think of it as taking similar missteps as Darren takes in the film. There are plenty of really good moments in the film.
The film received 3 Canadian Screen Award nominations. Colm Feore won for Best Supporting Actor. Marie-Hélène L. Delorme won a Best Original Song CSA for her song Timid Joyous Atrocious. Christine Armstrong was nominated for Best Editing.
Sugar Daddy is available on Amazon Prime Video in the United States.
video credit: YouTube/Movie Coverage photo credit: Sugar Daddy film
Seaweed, cows, and Prince Edward Island: the idea of cows eating local seaweed and having that seaweed reduce the impact of methane that comes from both ends of cows.
When your humble narrator first heard the story, that story seemed too good to be true. Further digging showed there is great potential in such a simple solution that would make a sizable impact on climate crisis.
We explored this topic for our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com, in greater detail.
Your humble narrator has walked on some Prince Edward Island beaches. The seaweed involved came from far western parts of the province, a different area from where my bare feet walked on in the province.
The seaweed is Canadian food in a truest sense. I was thinking of dulse from nearby New Brunswick. Dulse is seaweed that is used in different kinds of food. Dulse is truly a New Brunswick food that I have had and enjoyed. A bit of an acquired taste but worth trying if you are in New Brunswick.
We love Bruce McDonald. We loved Pontypool. Dreamland incorporates Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, writer Tony Burgess, and McDonald in the director's chair.
Pontypool was wonderful at building suspense about an unknown force. Dreamland is a chaotic mess.
McHattie plays a dual role as a strung-out heroin-addict jazz trumpet player and a hitman who works for Hercules (American actor Henry Rollins). Hercules, who is into child trafficking, wants the pinky finger of the trumpet player.
The hitman doesn't like the child trafficking element. This includes his neighbour Olivia, whom Hercules has kidnapped. The hitman attacks Hercules and rescues Olivia for the moment.
American actor Juliette Lewis, who worked with McDonald in Picture Claire, plays the Countess, whose brother is the vampire who will be Olivia's soon-to-be husband. Olivia is all of 14. Lewis is great in an oddball role but doesn't have a lot to do here.
The oddball and disturbing elements might be okay if the film was more endearing as a cohesive work. Dreamland is a smattering of scenes designed to be gross without being effective or interesting. No one is having fun in this film, not even McHattie in a dual role. The trumpet player barely functions as a human being in the film.
Tony Burgess, who wrote the original novel Pontypool Changes Everything and the screenplay for the Pontypool film adaptation, co-wrote the Dreamland screenplay with Patrick Whistler.
Even if this is not your scene, the question to ask whether this is still a good film even within this genre. Those fans deserve a better written fate. Dreamland is lost in a drug-induced world of torture for no apparent purpose.
We've waited 4 years since McDonald's last film Weirdos (2016), which remains a charming film. Dreamland (2020) is not charming on any level.
If you are looking for a gross, inconsistent, not terribly interesting Canadian film shot in Luxembourg and Belgium, you are in for a treat. As for Bruce McDonald, you can't win them all.
Dreamland is available on Amazon Prime Video and on demand in Canada.
video credit: YouTube/ReelSuspects photo credit: Dreamland film
Americans call the drink a Bloody Mary. The Canadian Caesar is a similar drink with enough distinctions. IFC seemed confused and transferred that confusion, forcing the Baroness von Sketch Show in 2017 to change the wording in a sketch from "Caesar" to "Bloody Mary." How embarrassing this was for IFC that some untalented programming idiot didn't think people could do an Internet search such as "what is the difference between a Caesar and a Bloody Mary?"
Fortunately, Hulu had no issue with Letterkenny doing an episode devoted to the Caesar in its many forms. By doing nothing, Hulu proved to be smarter than IFC.
The basic difference between the drinks is that the Caesar traditionally uses Clamato juice, an actual product with clam juice and tomato juice as well as high-fructose corn syrup (glucose-fructose in Canada) and MSG. The Caesar usually has more elaborate garnishes than you will find in a Bloody Mary.
We can't vouch for a lot in this Reddit thread but this proves most Americans don't know the difference.
Even among Canadians, there are variances on what can go in a Caesar. Here are the recipes from Season 10, Episode 2 Dealership.
Hicks
Base
Booze
Rimmers
Boosters
Garnishes
100% clamato juice
3 oz. vodka
lemon juice
dash of Tabasco
celery stick
celery salt
dash of Worcestershire
dill pickle
Montréal steak spice
shot of pickle juice
Slim Jim
Hockey players
Base
Booze
Rimmers
Boosters
Garnishes
50% clamato juice
3 oz. vodka
lime juice
Frank's Red hot sauce
dill pickle
50% tomato juice
celery salt
10 dashes of Worcestershire
pickled pepper
Montréal chicken spice
shot of dill pickle juice
pickled egg
Hard to see a Caesar and not want a Caesar.
— Letterkenny Problems (@LetterkennyProb) May 18, 2019
Skids
Base
Booze
Rimmers
Boosters
Garnishes
50% clamato juice
3 oz. Beefeater gin
soya sauce
horseradish
Baffin Island jumbo cocktail shrimp
50% V-8
celery salt
lemon juice
Salt Spring Island Dungeness crab leg
lemon pepper
Macarico piri-piri sauce
PEI Malpeque oyster
Women of MoDean's
Base
Booze
Rimmers
Boosters
Garnishes
100% clamato juice
2.5 oz. vodka
Louisiana hot sauce
Slappy Mama hot sauce
jalapeno-stuffed olives
0.5 oz. moonshine
Old Bay seasoning
spicy horseradish
spicy dill pickle
Cajun spice
spicy garlic dill pickle juice
black pepper habanero beef jerky
Those are some amazing combinations. The Women of MoDean's went a very spicy route. The use of moonshine was new to me. The Skids scored wonderful points mixing in some V-8. Their garnishes are supreme, very tasty, and extremely Canadian.
The hicks get points for using Montréal steak spice though 100% clamato would be difficult to take. The hockey players added extra protein with a pickled egg though surprised jerky wasn't a garnish. Not sure about Montréal chicken spice; hopefully the spice is from Portuguese chicken from Montréal.
Your humble narrator
Base
Booze
Rimmers
Boosters
Garnishes
100% tomato juice
2 oz. vodka
lime juice
10-12 dashes of Worcestershire
deep fried dill pickle spear
2 oz. clam juice
celery salt
shot of dill pickle juice
singular ketchup chip
Montréal steak spice
horseradish
buffalo jerky
My arrangement has the taste of clam without the excessive ingredients that take away from the taste. Clam juice is easy to find. My version is weaker on alcohol though the episode did state that 2 oz. was the standard portion. Prefer lime juice to lemon juice. Buffalo jerky is a nod to the Prairies. The ketchup chip is a highly unique flair selection but feels Canadian. (Picture not included.)
Both sides of the border can get on board with making a homemade Caesar. Nothing wrong with doing a virgin Caesar if alcohol does not fit into your life. You have some very good designs with which to start enhancing your drink making experience.
Jared Keeso & Jacob Tierney co-wrote the episode. Letterkenny was created by Keeso, developed by Keeso and Tierney, and directed by Tierney (who makes occasional appearances as Glen).
Letterkenny is available on Crave in Canada and Hulu in the United States.
Twitter captures: @JenniferWhalen; @LetterkennyProb photos credit: Letterkenny/Bell Media
2021 showed us that Canadian elections early in a pandemic are a different beast than elections later in a pandemic.
We started 2021 knowing 3 provinces had run pandemic elections pretty well. That was an encouraging sign in Newfoundland and Labrador and later Nova Scotia for the party in power.
The Newfoundland and Labrador election started well and ran smoothly until the last week when COVID-19 fired up in the Avalon Peninsula. The simple solution seemed to be have everyone vote on Election Day but those in the Avalon Peninsula. The province halted the vote for everyone and switched to a mail-in format.
That went particularly poorly in Labrador, especially for those who had to learn more English to participate. Andrew Furey (Liberal) won a slim majority government after taking over for Dwight Ball. Furey would have done better if the election had been on time.
The Liberals in Nova Scotia suffered a worse fate being tossed out for the Progressive Conservatives in August. Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin, who took office back in February, ran a poor campaign. Tim Houston ran a better campaign.
Manitoba went a year early in 2019; the Progressive Conservatives ultimately voted for Heather Stefanson as the new premier. Former Conservative MP Shelly Glover did not concede gracefully.
The federal election that the pundits desperately wanted became the election nobody wanted once the campaign started. An odd Willy Wonka ad, only having 3 debates, a Green Party leader who barely traveled, and guns in the campaign were the highlights or lowlights. Justin Trudeau ended up with a similarly strong minority government.
The excitement in most provincial elections are limited to that province. The Ontario and Quebec elections will seem louder than the others. The power base living in Toronto and Ottawa as well as those in Windsor, Sudbury, and Thunder Bay are affected by what happens in Queen's Park.
On paper, Doug Ford would seem to go down easily as a 1-term leader for the Progressive Conservatives in Ontario. A few factors to consider: voting against someone is easy but the question is where those votes will go. The NDP is in opposition with the long-time leader Andrea Horvath.
The PCs will bring up Bob Rae and the 1990 election (NDP). The NDP could bring up Mike Harris but smartly won't. There is plenty of ammunition in what Ford has done and not done as premier.
The Liberals were reduced to third party status at Queen's Park with new leader Steven Del Duca. If the NDP win a minority government, the Liberals could make the difference. Would progressive voters pick red over orange?
The Quebec election will be more difficult to measure since the relative Coalition Avenir Québec popularity. Predicting is always difficult, especially in La Belle Province.
Amita Kuttner is the new interim Green Party Leader, replacing Annamie Paul. Kuttner runs the Moonlight Institute, a non-profit that deals with climate crisis solutions.
So much went wrong for Paul and the Green Party. No one apologized for the anti-Semitic accusations from Paul's senior adviser Noah Zatzman against NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Green MPs. The loss of Jenica Atwin before the election and Paul Manly's loss at the election did a lot of damage to the Green Party.
There were high hopes for the Green Party of Canada when Annamie Paul was elected by party members. The stubbornness to run in Toronto Centre, the reluctance to travel to key ridings: these were some of the downfall for Paul as leader of the Greens.
Paul, who is Black and Jewish, was the first Black permanent leader of a major federal party. She was only the second Jewish person in that role; former NDP leader David Lewis also had that role.
The Conservative Party decided to keep Erin O'Toole. This puts him a step ahead of Andrew Scheer, who did not stay around as party leader. Scheer is still an American citizen, a secret we discovered in the 2019 election.
Ontario and Quebec are up to the plate in 2022.
Here are the tentative election dates for the provinces in 2022:
Ontario — June 2
Quebec — October 3
Here is the list of the provinces and the year of their last provincial election.
Newfoundland and Labrador — 2021 Nova Scotia — 2021 British Columbia — 2020 New Brunswick — 2020 Saskatchewan — 2020 Alberta — 2019 Manitoba — 2019 Prince Edward Island — 2019 Quebec — 2018 Ontario — 2018
We now have 3 women in the opposition leader role in the Canadian provinces: Andrea Horwath (Ontario), Rachel Notley (Alberta), and now Dominique Anglade (Quebec). Anglade, former deputy premier of Quebec (Liberal), has been in that role since May 11. She represents the Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne riding.
Manitoba has its first female premier: Former PC cabinet minister Heather Stefanson defeated former Conservative MP Shelly Glover.
Sonia Furstenau (British Columbia Green Party), Manon Massé (Québec solidaire), and Alison Coffin (Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party) are female leaders of a provincial party with legislative members. Coffin lost her seat in the St. John's East-Quidi Vidi riding in 2021.
Amita Kuttner, the new interim Green Party Leader, identifies as transgender, non-binary, and pansexual, using they/them and he/him pronouns. Kuttner are the first transgender person and first of East Asian descent to lead a federal party in Canada.
Having Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig on Canadian soil was the biggest story of them all.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden will be busy with getting the border to be truly open in 2022. At least there is a permanent U.S. Ambassador to Canada in David L. Cohen.
That makes a great difference in the Canada-U.S. relationship.
photo credit: CBC News video credit: This Hour Has 22 Minutes/CBC
