Canadian Crossing

Canadian film review: Run This Town

There were plenty of reasons not to review Run This Town. Taking a true and interesting Canadian story and using that story as a way to draw attention to an otherwise pointless film is not something to be rewarded.

Getting a chance to see the film for free and knowing people might want to watch this film, we chose to review the film.

Writer/director Ricky Tollman's major sin was taking away Robyn Doolittle from the story. What we didn't realise was the loss of journalism competence. Tollman's protagonist Bram Shriver (American actor Ben Platt) is the classic millennial stereotype of thinking he is better than he is.

Shriver is a particularly unappealing character; hard to tell if Platt is that good of an actor to portray someone no one would like or whether he isn't that good of an actor.

Tollman deals in these millennial themes: taking poor job situations because of large student debt (not as much of a factor in Canada). Ashley Pollock (Nina Dobrev) feels compelled to take this low-level job at the Toronto mayor office with a law degree. Pollock explains to her boyfriend Kamal Arafa (Mena Massoud) that people act like a law degree is like a fast pass at Disney but that doesn't get her into Universal. If you could figure out Tollman's point, you were way ahead of your humble narrator. There are several moments where the script is heavy-handed at how bad the world is for millennials without an ounce of subtlety.

The impression from the Daily Show interview in March was that Dobrev's character endured a litany of harassment over time. Tollman shows us one moment with about a dozen witnesses. Pretty easy to prove.

Tollman takes some deserved shots about journalism through Shriver's bosses (Scott Speedman and Jennifer Ehle) but most of Tollman's shots makes these actual journalists say things that even the most cynical journalists would not say. May not tell you if what plumbers are saying is authentic but do have a good sense of what journalists say.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah had a Canadian talking about a Canadian film

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Rob Ford (British actor Damian Lewis) comes across as an animatronic robotic presence. The face looks more like Max Headroom with the cheeks of a normal person instead of someone the size of Ford. Whatever we might have thought about the late mayor, he was a human being. Not so much in this film.

Tollman also takes us into bizarro land putting Pollock as the woman who Ford allegedly said he wanted to eat her pussy. The issue is that Ford doesn't say that about Pollock in the film. You can't slander the dead but Tollman's abuses as writer and director make Ford more sympathetic.

A lot of problems with Tollman's script would have been solved by telling Doolittle's actual story. Professional journalists, such as Doolittle, have an interesting story. The truth gets in the way of Tollman's diatribe.

Massoud's character would have made a better lead. Kamal thinks he is the mayor's voice, trying to make the mayor better. Given how Ford treated women, Dobrev deserved a lot more screen time. Rebecca Liddiard (Frankie Drake Mysteries) plays one of the few characters who has fun in this film, playing one of Ford's many assistants. Kathryn Greenwood, whom you might know from Whose Line Is It Anyway, plays Shriver's mother to an annoying T. Gil Bellows and Hamza Haq play detectives who end up with the video somehow in another curious rewrite of reality. They do almost nothing but are still more interesting than the lead character.

Run This Town may have a "Rob Ford" character and there was a video but otherwise this is an empty script about how millennials have a rough life. Tollman might want to see Reality Bites to get a sense of young people angst on the big screen. The 1994 film would have to be updated to reflect a world with smartphones. After having seen this film, Tollman would probably ruin Reality Bites if he tried a remake.

Run This Town is available on Hulu in the United States and Crave in Canada.

photo credits: Run This Town film; Run This Town promotional still

Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau meeting virtually is still important symbolically

On Tuesday, I’ll be meeting virtually with @CanadianPM Justin Trudeau. I look forward to renewing the strong friendship between the United States and Canada and working to tackle the shared challenges we face.

— President Biden (@POTUS) February 20, 2021

The imagery of a secure Zoom meeting isn't as glamorous as U.S. President Joe Biden landing in Ottawa to adoring fans. This is the best we will get in the COVID-19 era.

The symbolism of Canada being that first exchange is something Biden understands from past presidents doing the same, including his former boss, President Barack Obama, in 2009.

A release from the Prime Minister’s Office noted that the topics would include COVID-19, climate change as well as "their bilateral energy relationship, defence and security, and promoting diversity and inclusion."

The beginning of a dialogue is what is truly important. Biden and Trudeau had meetings when Biden was vice president but being president or prime minister is a different level. 2021 isn't 2009.

Would be nice to get Joe Biden a Beaver Tail from the Byward Market in Ottawa.

The impact of the Joe Biden presidency on Canada

Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig detainment hits 2-year mark thanks to Meng Wanzhou case

President-elect Joe Biden should make his first international trip to Canada

Factoring Canada in the 2020 presidential election

Kamala Harris, Jackie Robinson, and their association with Montreal

Looking back at when Joe Biden was in Canada

Joe Biden reinforces Canadian leadership in state visit

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden goes to Canada

The economy was the topic of Canadian members of Parliament who voted to create a special committee to focus on the economic relationship between the two countries. The vote was 326-3 with the Green Party members voted against the committee.

U.S. may not pick a permanent replacement for Ambassador to Canada until well into 2021

Kelly Knight Craft gets to stop pretending to spend time in Canada

2019 Canada Day notebook

Canadian ambassadors should know Canada really well

New U.S. ambassador to Canada should know Canada before taking job

We are diligent looking for crumbs for news on ambassadors for the Biden Administration. Katherine Brucker is the current acting U.S. Ambassador to Canada. Brucker took over for Richard M. Mills Jr., who was acting in that role from August 23, 2019 to November 9, 2020.

The transition has help from Kirsten Hillman, Canada's Ambassador to the United States since March 26, 2020. Hillman was promoted from within to the top role, unlike U.S. Ambassadors who get parachuted into Ottawa with little knowledge of Canada.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

CanadianCrossing.com U.S. politics coverage

We are still hopeful to return to the Three Amigos approach of the relationship between Canada, United States, and Mexico. We are not optimistic but hopeful.

Twitter capture: @POTUS
photo credit: Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press via AP

Canadian film review: Disappearance at Clifton Hill

We often hear about the Canadian side of Niagara Falls but know little about the actual town. Disappearance at Clifton Hill makes Niagara Falls a co-star in this mystery film from someone who knows the area.

Albert Shin did this film as the follow-up to In Her Place, the heralded film shot in South Korea. Shin directed Disappearance at Clifton Hill and co-wrote the screenplay with James Schultz.

Abby (English actor Tuppence Middleton) grew up in Niagara Falls and comes back to the town after her mother passes away. The distant memory of what she remembers as a kidnapping of a small boy when she was a child comes back to her once she is back in Niagara Falls.

Abby's sister Laure (Hannah Gross) doesn't think much of her sister's story. Abby wants to keep the dilapidated motel her mother owned while Laure wants to sell the motel.

Abby seeks out the help of a true crime podcast host Walter (David Cronenberg).

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The film uncovers layers one might expect in a small town about power and corruption. The better story is about the kidnapping, how a child can disappear even in a small town and barely get noticed.

The mystery level is rather good, not easily solved. Niagara Falls is definitely a co-star in the film, setting a special mood.

Middleton has to carry a lot of the film. In an otherwise brilliantly cast film, she is the weak link. Gross is the better actor but gets the thankless role of the sister.

Andy McQueen received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Others in the cast include Marie-Josée Croze, Noah Reid, Dan Lett, Eric Johnson, Aaron Poole, Connor Jessup, and Elizabeth Saunders.

The film works well overall. The darkness of the setting fits the film well. Shin does a good job at engaging us in the whole film not just the mystery.

Disappearance at Clifton Hill received 4 Canadian Screen Award nominations for the 2020 ceremony. We noted the Best Supporting Actor nomination earlier for McQueen as well as Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Sound Editing.

Disappearance at Clifton Hill can be found on Hulu in the United States and CBC Gem in Canada.

video credit: YouTube/IFC Films
photo credit: Disappearance at Clifton Hill film

Canadian TV notebook: Trickster one and done, Nurses ends next week in U.S.

No spoilers here for the Trickster series finale that aired on the CW last night. There are few moments in the history of television where the creators set up a season finale knowing there will be a next season, and then there wasn't. The finale would have been more gratifying if there was a Season 2.

As a season of 6 episodes, the show combined a harsh but accurate realism with the supernatural element of Indigenous stories. Trickster kept my interest all the way through with good stories, interesting characters (good and bad). The coarse language was authentic; the CBC presented it without censorship while the CW bleeped a lot of dialogue.

The U.S. audience got a peek into the problems with residential schools, but likely had to do an Internet search for "residential schools." To our non-Canadian readers doing research, feel free to ignore anything former Canadian Senator Lynn Beyak has to say on the topic.

The furor on social media has been to find another home for future seasons for Trickster. APTN and Crave are possibilities to take up the series though the rights would be tangled up with Season 1 on CBC.

We don't talk often about books on CanadianCrossing.com. Eden Robinson has written the Trickster trilogy. Trickster the series is based on her novel Son of a Trickster (2017). Trickster Drift (2018) might have been the source material for Season 2. The Return of the Trickster is slated for release in March. Robinson wrote Monkey Beach (2000), of which we recently reviewed the film version.

Watching adaptations of books is a lot of fun but those books can be enjoyed on their own.

Canadian film review: Monkey Beach

Canadian TV notebook: Trickster and Nurses on the U.S. side

Trickster coming to the U.S. on the CW in January

Transplant makes U.S. debut on NBC

Nurses is the latest Canadian TV drama to come to U.S. broadcast TV

U.S. television turns to Canadian TV shows to fill gaps due to COVID-19

Nurses ends its U.S. run for Season 1 on Tuesday. Nurses has some bright moments: the collective care for a chronic long-term patient was so beautiful. This show also gives problems to the nurses that disappear and reappear on a whim: Wolf's issue with affording a specific drug (in Canada) and Naz's needing to learn the basics. Grace's sexual assault by a doctor that got her fired (not him) from her previous job is an important story but handled poorly at times.

The Global show will have a Season 2 in Canada and likely could also run again on NBC.

Fox acquired the rights to the 12 episodes that make up 2 seasons of Diggstown. The CBC show is coming back for Season 3. Diggstown ran the last 2 winters but did not run this winter.

Vinessa Antoine is the lead about a high-powered corporate lawyer who leaves that world to join a legal aid clinic in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Love the shots of the Halifax area from the show. Natasha Henstridge, C. David Johnson, Stacey Farber, Brandon Oakes, Shailene Garnett, Tim Rozon, and Dwain Murphy are in the cast. In the era of inclusion, great to see a character who is Indigenous (Oakes) but not have that be a big deal.

We don't have a timetable for when Fox will run the show. Summer isn't ideal but that might be the path for the show.

IFC is finally airing the 5 bonus episodes of Baroness von Sketch Show a week from today at midnight Eastern on February 24.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

We don't have word on whether Pretty Hard Cases has a U.S. outlet. NBC Universal is a major producer on the project so one of their networks should eventually air the show. U.S. viewers are in for a rather unusual ride in the police drama genre.

Episodes don't end with cases wrapped up tight. There are comedic elements within the drama. There is a discussion about whether ketchup should be on French fries or off to the side.

Your humble narrator has seen the first 2 episodes. Meredith MacNeill and American actor Adrienne C. Moore form an unusual pair but fun to watch. The surrounding cast works well. Katie Douglas is part of a multi-episode arc reminding us of what we loved and hated about her character on Mary Kills People.

CBC thought enough about the series to give the second episode an extra airing last Sunday night and has used the Hockey Night in Canada games for a lot of promos. The program airs on Wednesday nights at 9 pm on CBC and is available on CBC Gem.

photo credit: Trickster/CBC

Canadian hotel rooms are nice just not $2,000 nice

In my travels to all 10 Canadian provinces, I have stayed mostly in hostels. If hostels are the difference between travel and not travel, I will pick a hostel. I have stayed in hotels in Windsor, a very different exception, a night each in Saint John and Fredericton, both in New Brunswick, and one hotel room in downtown Vancouver not recommended for those suffering from claustrophobia. I have stayed in dorms in Winnipeg and Vancouver, great for summer travel.

Canadian hotels have been prevalent in the news where the Canadian government is requiring air travellers landing in Canada to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense, starting February 22.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has used a $2,000 figure as the potential cost of the 3-day quarantine hotel stay.

Flights into Canada are only coming to Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, or Montréal. The 72 hours is required to await the results of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

The $2,000 figure seems a bit high even when you factor in security, testing, and presumably food. Canadian hotel rooms aren't any more magical than hotel rooms in other countries.

"The price will include costs associated with the room, food, cleaning, infection prevention and control measures, and security as well as transportation," said Health Minister Patty Hajdu.

If the test proves negative, those people can take a connecting flight to their final destination.

"We're aware that that we need to be thoughtful and compassionate about people who are in extremely difficult situations and absolutely need to travel. We're not trying to punish people," Prime Minister Trudeau said.

How COVID-19 is affecting Canadian snowbirds

CanadianCrossing.com border crossings coverage

CanadianCrossing.com trade coverage

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

Some areas have paid to have people quarantine in hotels during COVID-19 but that was earlier in the pandemic. The $2,000 number might be an incentive to discourage unnecessary travel. We still don't know how the snowbirds will be affected by this new policy.

There is a considerable focus on when the Canada-U.S. border will reopen. The lack of consistency in policy between the borders will likely lead to a delay in that reopening. The fact that Canadians and those in Canada can fly to the United States without issue is a concern. The "driving to Alaska" antics didn't improve the perceptions of travelers from the United States.

The new Trudeau policy is trying to get Canadians to stay within Canada. The instinct for Canadians is to travel to the United States, especially when the weather is cold in Canada. We would love for those in the States to have an instinct to visit Canada though not until the COVID-19 situation is significantly improved.

photo credit: me

Newfoundland and Labrador election delayed for about half the province

Update 2/13: In-person voting has been suspended for Saturday's election with mail-in voting continuing. The B117 variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus has been spotted in the province.

Newfoundland and Labrador had February 13 on the calendar for an election that needed to be called before August 19. The writ was dropped; the campaign was going reasonably smooth. Then the COVID-19 cases started climbing this week.

Monday had 11 new cases, significant but not huge. Tuesday brought 30 cases; Wednesday had 53 cases; Thursday reached 100 cases. Each of these numbers are unique for their days.

There were issues of people being in quarantine who were then unable to vote. A high school in Mount Pearl that saw a rise in cases. There were mass staffing shortages at Elections NL.

The affected districts are all in the Avalon Peninsula (southeastern Newfoundland, including St. John's). Those districts are: Cape St. Francis; Carbonear – Trinity – Bay de Verde; Conception Bay East – Bell Island; Conception Bay South; Ferryland; Harbour Grace – Port de Grave; Harbour Main; Mount Pearl North; Mount Pearl – Southlands; Mount Scio; Placentia – St. Mary's; St. John's Centre; St. John's East – Quidi Vidi; St. John's West; Topsail - Paradise; Virginia Waters – Pleasantville; Waterford Valley; and Windsor Lake.

The election will go as planned on Saturday for the other 22 districts. The results won't be known until everyone else votes.

Special ballot deadlines are now extended so more people can vote by mail. If approved, voters have to mail the ballots and have them arrive by February 25.

2021 Newfoundland and Labrador election preview

Liberals to form minority government in Newfoundland and Labrador

What did we learn from pandemic elections in Canada?

2019 Newfoundland and Labrador election preview

2021 Canadian politics preview

CanadianCrossing.com Newfoundland and Labrador coverage

New Brunswick, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan pulled off pandemic elections in 2020 but none of those provinces had a significant outbreak during the election process. The numbers may seem small compared to Ontario, Quebec, and multiple U.S. states. Figure that the 195 cases in the previous 5 days is half of 390, the province total number of cases in all of 2020. Outside of St. John's, the province is rather rural and remote.

Having an election postponed is a significant and highly rare decision. Politicians in Canada, such as Premier Andrew Furey, always point out that decisions are up to the elections board, in this case Elections NL.

Bruce Chaulk, chief electoral officer of Elections NL, said in-person voting would be rescheduled in 2 weeks if public health conditions improve. We don't know when there will be a specific date; presumably that election date will be on a Saturday. The voting was set up for a Saturday to not interfere with schools since some voting happens at schools. You might recall that Saskatchewan closed schools on their election date for the same reason.

St. John's got hit with a huge snowstorm, even by Newfoundland standards, about a year ago. That would have disrupted an election.

We will be ready to report the results of the election. When a date is announced, we will update this story.

photo credit: CBC News

Canadian film review: Monkey Beach

The timing of Monkey Beach around the time of Trickster is a coincidence since both are adaptations of Eden Robinson novels. Still, the projects show the different ways to interpret the novels.

Lisamarie (Grace Dove) starts out the film in Vancouver talking to her dead cousin Tabitha (Sera-Lys McArthur). Lisamarie has visions, including one where her brother Jimmy (Joel Oulette) has drowned.

Lisemarie decides to move from Vancouver back to Kitamaat, BC and Monkey Beach. There is no hesitation for the move.

Monkey Beach goes back and forth from the present to when Lisemarie was a girl. We get to see more of what she sees, the difference between spirits and ghosts, and talks with her Ma-Ma-Oo (Tina Lameman).

As the layers fall off, we see the impact of the Sixties Scoop on the next older generation from Lisemarie and how they react to the modern world. Lisemarie struggles with the visions and would rather be more "normal." Ma-Ma-Oo works to convince Lisemarie that her powers are special.

Canadian TV notebook: Trickster and Nurses on the U.S. side

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Loretta Todd's background as a documentary filmmaker serves her surprisingly well in her narrative debut. Monkey Beach is a fairly straightforward telling of the story with flashbacks.

For Trickster fans, having Joel Oulette in both projects is a nice coincidence. Unlike Trickster, Monkey Beach is more of an even-keel storytelling.

The mystical elements are engaging even if not fully explained. There is not a lot of tension in the film. Certain subplots come up but this isn't a edge of your seat type film. The ending is vague and also mystical.

Monkey Beach premiered at the 2020 Vancouver International Film Festival. The film is available in Canada on Crave.

video credit: YouTube/Victoria Film Festival
photo credit: Monkey Beach film

Tim and Sid as well as Jay and Dan are separating

So this isn't quite Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice but the partnerships of Tim and Sid as well as Jay and Dan are going through transformation.

Tim and Sid, the afternoon radio/TV sports talk guys on Rogers Sportsnet, are separating. Sid Seixeiro is leaving to join Breakfast Television, Citytv's morning talk show. Jay and Dan, the late-night SportsCentre TSN duo who briefly left Canada for Fox Sports 1, are separating involuntarily. Dan O'Toole was one of many Bell Media layoffs.

A coincidence that the second name in the duos won't be doing sports. This leaves Tim Micallef (of Tim and Sid) and Jay Onrait (of Jay and Dan) wondering who they will work with on a long-term basis.

If you think that the Seixeiro move is a bit odd, morning television might seem safer. Though the Vancouver and Calgary versions were cancelled last November for a national version from Toronto that will feature Seixeiro. Seixeiro has a job and O'Toole does not.

Seixeiro's last day is February 26 and his first day on Breakfast Television will be March 10.

Chris Cuthbert picks Stanley Cup final over TSN, jumps to Rogers Sportsnet

Jay & Dan were best thing on Fox Sports 1 sinking ship

pic.twitter.com/OiNlDZxAA5

— Jay Onrait (@JayOnrait) February 8, 2021

O'Toole could jump to Rogers to replace Seixeiro though the contrast of what worked for Jay and Dan would not work well for a Tim and Sid type program.

Micallef might be looked upon as a possible replacement to call CFL games for TSN, owned by Bell Media. Micallef has experience calling university football. Given that Canada didn't have the CFL or university football in 2020, making that kind of a move has some issues.

TSN might bring in Dave Randorf to do some early-season CFL games but Randorf would have to go back to Tampa by mid-September to call the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning games. Rick Ball is staying with Rogers to call Calgary Flames and Hockey Night in Canada games.

Despite the huge Bell Media layoffs, someone has to replace Chris Cuthbert on the CFL telecasts. TSN didn't really replace Cuthbert for the NHL, using freelancers here and there for conflicts with Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators games. Jon Abbott of TSN 1040 Vancouver filled in for a game. Then Abbott and all his co-workers lost their jobs as TSN 1040 flipped formats. The same also happened at TSN 1290 in Winnipeg and TSN 1150 in Hamilton. Bell Media eliminated the newsroom staff at CJAD Montréal.

CanadianCrossing.com TSN coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Rogers Sportsnet coverage

Last week, parent company BCE announced a quarterly profit of $889 million in the 4th quarter of 2020. This was an increase versus the $672 million from the same period in 2019.

Having a 2021 CFL season can help reduce the Bell Media losses. Having an end to COVID-19 would help as well.

photo credit: TSN
Twitter capture: @JayOnrait

14 Jours, 12 Nuits misses the Oscars cut for Best International Feature Film

Took to past 6 pm Eastern/3 pm Pacific to get the shortlist but we do have the 15-film shortlist for the Best International Feature Film for the 93rd Academy Awards.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Quo Vadis, Aida?
Chile, The Mole Agent
Czech Republic, Charlatan
Denmark, Another Round
France, Two of Us
Guatemala, La Llorona
Hong Kong, Better Days
Iran, Sun Children
Ivory Coast, Night of the Kings
Mexico, I’m No Longer Here
Norway, Hope
Romania, Collective
Russia, Dear Comrades!
Taiwan, A Sun
Tunisia, The Man Who Sold His Skin

Night of the Kings | La Nuit des rois by Philippe Lacote is technically a Canada co-production (Cote d’Ivoire/France/Canada/Senegal). The film played at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.

Announcing the 93rd #Oscars shortlists! https://t.co/j8AtB09vsO

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) February 9, 2021

Canada's entry 14 Jours, 12 Nuits was not under serious consideration.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences extended the shortlist to 15 films from the original 10 films. The International Executive Committee usually makes some saves, adding in films to the shortlist. That did not happen this year.

Canada selects 14 Jours, 12 Nuits for the Best International Feature Film for the Oscars

TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2020

Funny Boy disqualified as Canada entry for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars

A follow up to our Funny Boy Canadian film review

Canadian film review: Funny Boy

Our Funny Boy preview with debuts soon on CBC and Netflix

Deepa Mehta's Funny Boy is Canada's Oscars selection

14 Jours, 12 Nuits from director Jean-Philippe Duval and writer Marie Vien became the backup option for Telefilm Canada. The organisation put most of its eggs in the basket of Funny Boy, a film that clearly wasn't eligible due to having too much English.

Telefilm Canada rolled the dice in a year where a breakthrough was possible. Figure that 93 films were accepted and 15 made the shortlist. That works out to 16.1% of the films making the shortlist and Canada was not in the conversation. Nadia, Butterfly might have made a slightly larger impact but none of those films were going to break through.

This is a highly unusual year in that your humble narrator hasn't seen a single film on the shortlist. Only seen 3 nominations this year: Palestine (Gaza mon amour); Greece (Apples); and Hungary (Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time).

Telefilm Canada's strategy for Funny Boy to push for the film in other categories isn't likely to succeed. Can't imagine Best Adapted Screenplay is an option given the number of issues within the script. We will find out on March 15 when the other Academy Awards categories are announced as well as the Best International Feature Film shortlist being reduced to 5.

2020 TIFF wrapup

2020 TIFF preview

2020 TIFF Canadian film preview

When TIFF concentrated on Canadian films for the opening night film

2020 TIFF Rising Stars

As a comparison, the Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language category at the Golden Globes has 3 films also nominated by those countries in the Oscars for Best International Feature Film: Another Round (Denmark); La Llorona (Guatemala); and Two of Us (France). The other films with Golden Globe nominations are The Life Ahead (Italy) and Minari (USA).

The Independent Spirit Awards have their nominees for Best International Film: Bacurau (Brazil); The Disciple (India); Night of the Kings (Ivory Coast); Preparations to Be Together For an Unknown Period of Time (Hungary); and Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina). The Brazil and India films are not the Oscars submission for those countries.

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The Best International Feature Film list will be reduced to 5 when all of the nominations are announced on March 15. The 93rd Academy Awards are set for April 25 on ABC and CTV.

photo credit: 14 Jours, 12 Nuits film
Twitter capture: @TheAcademy

Super Bowl LV through the eyes of Canada

Dan Levy completed an amazing Super Bowl weekend with the M&Ms commercial during Super Bowl LV. Levy is the last in a series of people apologizing and offering the candy as compensation. Levy promises not to eat any more of the candy but reneges on that promise.

Levy hosted Saturday Night Live over the weekend so M&Ms got their money's worth. Well, given the cost of a Super Bowl ad, maybe as much value as you can get.

As we noted yesterday, this is the second year in a row where a Schitt's Creek actor ended up in a Super Bowl ad. Emily Hampshire in the Tide ad was much more elaborate. Eugene Levy made it into a Snickers Super Bowl ad in 2016. Not sure if any other father-son combo have done Super Bowl ads.

Mike Myers and Dana Carvey got back together as Wayne's World for Uber Eats. Cardi B joined in to Eat Local as in local restaurants and Support Local. The Uber Eats message of eating and supporting local restaurants would be more germane if the national company took a reasonable percentage of the local restaurants delivery charge. If you really want to support local restaurants in a pandemic, pick up the food yourself or have them do the delivery.

Myers and Carvey still have what it takes to be Wayne and Garth even at their advanced age.

The State Farm Super Bowl ad is all about stand-ins for Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes (regular contributors in the ads), and Jake from State Farm. The stand-ins for the quarterbacks are not close (Paul Rudd for Mahomes) until we see the stand-in for Jake: Drake. Drake runs through the lines except Jake tells Drake that stand-ins don't have lines.

Drake also did a Super Bowl ad for T-Mobile in 2016.

The Weeknd was the largest Canadian presence on the telecast with the halftime show. The Weeknd is the first Canadian artist to perform at halftime during a Super Bowl since Shania Twain sang Man, I Feel Like a Woman and Up in 2003.

The Weeknd set list included Call Out My Name; Starboy; The Hills; Can't Feel My Face; I Feel It Coming; Save Your Tears; Earned It; House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls; and Blinding Lights.

The halftime show came 2 days after The Weeknd released The Highlights, a greatest hits collection. The album quickly became the most streamed album of all time on Spotify.

Dan Levy joins the list of Canadians who have hosted Saturday Night Live

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif chooses health care over the NFL

Super Bowl LIV through the eyes of Canada

Canadians won't be able to watch Super Bowl LIV ads

CanadianCrossing.com NFL coverage

CanadianCrossing.com advertising coverage

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was not on the Kansas City sideline. Tampa Bay backup tight end Antony Auclair became the 17th Canadian to appear in a Super Bowl. Auclair is from Notre-Dame-des-Pins, Quebec in the Beauce region. Auclair's younger brother Adam is a defensive back for the CFL Ottawa RedBlacks.

Duvernay-Tardif got a Super Bowl ring in 2020. Auclair will get a Super Bowl ring in 2021.

Super Bowl LV aired on CBS in the United States and CTV in Canada.

video credits: individual companies
photo credit: NFL/CBS