Canadian Crossing

The art of making Canadian burgers

Our friends at our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com, are a little obsessed with medium-rare burgers and how they virtually don't exist in Canada. 

Mary Berg demonstrated on how to make a Canadian burger in her TV show: Mary Makes It Easy on CTV Life Channel in Canada and Food Network in the United States. Berg showed the TV audience how to make hamburgers "juicy" in Season 2, Episode 24: Back to the BBQ.

She made a fancy version of a panade, typically milk and bread. If you are thinking "this sounds more like meatballs or meatloaf," you are on the right track.

The law in Canada requires an outcome of 71°C (160°F), defined as well-done, with minor exceptions.

How to make Canadian burgers (BalanceofFood.com)

CanadianCrossing.com BalanceofFood.com coverage

CanadianCrossing.com food and drink coverage

They suggested a Canadian burger could go well with poutine, a combo of French fries, squeaky white cheese curds, and brown gravy over the top of both.

You can check out the column for yourself. Might pick up a few tips, even if that is for meatloaf or meatballs instead of hamburgers.

photo credit: CTV Life Channel/Food Network

Finding safe spaces within Canadian film

Schitt's Creek created a safe space for the sexuality of its characters from David's pansexuality to Ronnie's implied lesbianism. The creators of Something You Said Last Night and Solo have spoken of the need for safe spaces and how their films create these safe spaces. We agree that Something You Said Last Night has that safe space and disagree somewhat about the safety within Solo. Sophie Dupuis notes the parental support of the protagonist in Solo yet the father and stepmother are in a single scene and barely drawn as characters. Plus a major character who is gay is someone who loves gaslighting.

Where we definitely disagree is the idea that a safe space film has to be a poor film. Being positive, let's share some recent films that are safe spaces and far more enlightening than those 2 films.

Backspot A film about cheerleaders in a lesbian relationship with loving and supportive moms.

Frontières | Frontiers One of the adult sisters is a lesbian. While the other characters don't scream support, no one cares that she is a lesbian.

Seven Veils This Atom Egoyan film has a lesbian relationship between Canadian actors Rebecca Liddiard and Vinessa Antoine. No one cares that they are in a relationship.

The Five Devils This French film focuses on a woman who was in a lesbian relationship who later married the woman's brother. No one cares about her past in terms of being with a woman.

I Don't Know Who You Are The protagonist is a gay man where the film reflects on raising money for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) after he is sexually assaulted. No one involved in the film cares that he is gay. 

Days Of Happiness has a lesbian relationship at the core of the film. The issue might be conflict of interest with the protagonist being the conductor and the other woman being a musician within the orchestra. No one otherwise cares about them being in a relationship.

Fitting In This film doesn't feature a LGBTQIA2S+ theme but the protagonist has a very supportive mother in all things sexual.

All of these films played at the 2023 Windsor International Film Festival.

A couple of notable films from the 2022 Windsor festival (same festival as Something You Said Last Night): Rosie featured drag queens among other characters. This isn't a completely safe film because one of the drag queens is told to dress as a man for his mother's funeral. This person was loved and supported by his closest friends and loved ones. The Origin of Evil features a protagonist who is a lesbian who impersonates her ex-partner to try and get a family fortune. No one knows she is in a relationship of any kind. A good film yet maybe not too safe.

Soft feels very safe. Young people where we aren't sure where they are sexuality wise and no one cares. The foster mother is highly supportive and they are in a world in Toronto where no one truly cares who they are and how they identify. Soft played at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

Celebrating Pride with Canadian films and television

Canadian film review: Soft

There were films that aren't safe that played in the 2023 festival. Blue Jean (UK) is a period piece from the 1980s during Margaret Thatcher's reign where a physical ed teacher sees one of her students in a lesbian bar. L'Immensita (Italy) is also a period piece in 1970s Rome. Clara (Penélope Cruz) is accepting of her oldest child Adriana, who rejects being a girl and identifies as a boy named Andrea. Her husband Felice is much harsher about what is happening. Monster (Japan) from director Hirokazu Kore-eda is subtle in revealing that the young boy Minato is gay.

These films are well done and show a sense of what was, and sometimes is, for gays and lesbians and others.

You can argue the merits of whether no one cares in a film is enough of a safe space. Something You Said Last Night is more about family acceptance, treating each of their children the same. Solo is generally accepting of being gay and a drag queen. The sister character loves her brother. Dupuis's attempt at parental love was thinner than the walls in a motel room.

Being a straight person, I don't get to define what is a safe space for LGBTQIA2S+ people. As an ally, I welcome the idea of films that are a safe place. As an advocate of film, I do like good films that share those stories, whether in a safe space or not. Penélope Cruz's character in L'Immensita is particularly encouraging and supportive at a time where that was very unlikely.

Canadian film review: Better Than Chocolate

Canadian film review: When Night Is Falling

If you are looking for an outstanding Canadian film that feels like a safe space way ahead of its time, go back in time for Better Than Chocolate (1999). A lesbian relationship, a trans character, and a bookstore owner trying to get female erotica across the border into Vancouver. Also, just an amazing film to watch, no matter where you are on the spectrum of sexual identity.

Xavier Dolan creates safe spaces in some of his films, especially the Quebec 5. J'ai tué ma mère | I Killed My Mother (2009); Les Amours imaginaires | Heartbeats (2010); and Juste la fin du monde | It's Only the End of the World (2016) would be safe space films. Laurence Anyways (2012); Tom à la ferme | Tom at the Farm (2013); and Matthias & Maxime (2019) explored intriguing issues within those films.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Canadian films might be better at telling stories from this community. Thom Fitzgerald films may not be true safe spaces yet he creates complex and interesting characters who happen to be gay or lesbian or bisexual. These films include The Hanging Garden (1997), Cloudburst (2011), and Splinters (2018). Stephen Dunn's Closet Monster leaps into view as well as Giant Little Ones from Keith Behrman.

C.R.A.Z.Y. (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2005); I've Heard The Mermaids Singing (Patricia Rozema, 1987), and Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives (Lynne Fernie and Aerlyn Weissman, 1992). Guidance is the debut film from Pat Mills (2014). When Night is Falling (1995) from Patricia Rozema.

Really good Canadian films that happen to be about people who are in the LGBTQIA2S+ spectrum. Some of them are very safe. others are somewhat safe, and a few films aren't safe yet tell a good story. Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives is full of stories that aren't safe yet helpful in teaching the history of how far we have come.

Let us know a good safe space Canadian film we might have missed.

photo credits: Soft; Seven Veils

Ryan Gosling, Celine Song, To Kill a Tiger get Oscar nominations

Ryan Gosling waited 10 years in between his first and second Academy Awards nominations. This is "only" a 7-year wait for the third Oscar nomination. Gosling is up for Best Supporting Actor for Barbie. Gosling has twice been nominated for Best Actor: Half Nelson (2006) and La La Land (2016).

The most serious contender in that category is likely Robert Downey Jr. for Oppenheimer. No Saturday Night Live cast member has ever won an Oscar. Dan Aykroyd, Canadian and SNL alum, was nominated in that category for Driving Miss Daisy (1989).

The announcement comes the day after we learned of the death of legendary Canadian director Norman Jewison, who passed away at 97. Jewison is the only Canadian director to have 3 Academy Awards nominations: In the Heat of the Night (1967), Fiddler on the Roof (1971), and Moonstruck (1987). Jewison was a beacon of light convincing Canadians that they could be a film director.

Here are other Canadians with 3 or more Academy Award nominations.

Norma Shearer (6) — The Divorcee (1929/1930)*; Their Own Desire (1929/1930); A Free Soul (1930/1931); The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934); Romeo and Juliet (1936); and Marie Antoniette (1938).

Walter Huston (4) — Dodsworth (1936) and The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) Best Actor; Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)* Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer (3) — The Last Station (2009); Beginners (2011)*; All the Money in the World (2017) Best Supporting Actor

* — Oscar winner

We are incredibly saddened to learn that film director Norman Jewison has passed away (1926-2024). To learn more about Jewison’s fascinating early Hollywood career, watch Douglas Jackson's 1971 documentary NORMAN JEWISON, FILMMAKER: https://t.co/OHFcj3utCZ

— National Film Board of Canada (@thenfb) January 22, 2024

Celine Song has had a dramatic rise with her directorial debut Past Lives. The film has been nominated for Best Picture and Song has an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Sarah Polley, who won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay last year for Women Talking, also had an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay in her directorial debut for Away From Her. All of these films, except for Away From Her, are American, not Canadian.

Stories We Tell and the documentaries inspired by the Canadian film

We are a bit shocked that To Kill a Tiger made the cut for Best Documentary. Your humble narrator has tried really hard to find this film and has had a series of bad luck in that effort.

We have seen Four Daughters (Tunisia), a contender in this category. Both Four Daughters and 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine) made the shortlist for Best International Feature Film.

Advice to self: Stop being shocked and enjoy the experience. Daniel Roher and Odessa Rae won for Navalny last year in this category (shared with Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, and Shane Boris). Fire of Love, a co-production, was also nominated last year (Ina Fichman shared with Sara Dosa and Boris).

🥰It's such honour to be alongside such outstanding nominees in this category. Thank you again, @TheAcademy, for this nomination!

Stream @NishaPahuja's TO KILL A TIGER (@tokillatigerdoc) for free in #Canada here → https://t.co/Tu4qZaWKuP #NFB #Oscars2024 #Oscars https://t.co/sMFDVoqI3q

— National Film Board of Canada (@thenfb) January 23, 2024

Canadians Oscars nomination scoreboard

Robbie Robertson was posthumously nominated for his soundtrack work on Killers of the Flower Moon. Quebec filmmaker Vincent René-Lortie is in the running for Invincible for the live action short category.

Ben Proudfoot, who has been here before, received a nomination for co-directing The Last Repair Shop for best short documentary.

Gosling might sing I'm Just Ken, which is up for Best Original Song from Barbie.

Rojek misses the Oscars shortlist cut for Best International Feature Film

We are down to the Top 5 for Best International Feature Film for the 96th Academy Awards. Here are the 5 finalists:

The Teachers' Lounge — Germany
Io Capitano — Italy
Perfect Days — Japan
Society of the Snow — Spain
The Zone of Interest — United Kingdom

The films from the shortlist that didn't make the cut are Amerikatsi (Armenia); The Monk and the Gun (Bhutan); The Promised Land (Denmark); Fallen Leaves (Finland); The Taste of Things (France); Godland (Iceland); Totem (Mexico); The Mother of All Lies (Morocco); Four Daughters (Tunisia); and 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine).

The Zone of Interest as well as Anatomy of a Fall are up for Best Picture and Best Director. Sandra Hüller, who is in both films, is now the 3rd German actress nominated for Best Actress. Four Daughters (Tunisia) is up for Best Documentary.

The Zone of Interest is up for Best Adapted Screenplay while Anatomy of a Fall is up for Best Original Screenplay.

Can't find much inspiration based on other awards this season. Anatomy of a Fall won the Golden Globe for Best non-English language film as well as the Critics Choice Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The film was not entered in the Oscars race in this category.

The 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be February 25. Here are the Independent Spirit Awards' 5 nominees for Best International Film.

Anatomy of a Fall (France)
Godland (Denmark, Iceland)
Mami Wata (Nigeria)
Totem (Mexico)
The Zone of Interest (UK, Poland, USA)

Anatomy of a Fall (France) also won Best Screenplay at the 2024 Golden Globes. The film beat out Fallen Leaves (Finland); Io Capitano (Italy); Past Lives (United States); Society of the Snow (Spain); and The Zone of Interest (UK).

The film won the Critics Choice Awards over Godzilla Minus One (Japan); Perfect Days (Japan); Society of the Snow (Spain); The Taste of Things (France); and The Zone of Interest (UK).

Ryan Gosling did not win for Best Supporting Actor for Barbie. at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. Alma Pöysti (Fallen Leaves) did not win for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes.

Sarah Polley gets Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay but not Best Director

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

There was very little chance of American actor Glenn Howerton getting an Oscars nomination for the Canadian film BlackBerry. Not likely yet not impossible.

Brendan Fraser and possibly Sarah Polley would make Oscar presentations to give the awards they won at last year's Oscars.

The 96th Academy Awards will be held on March 10, 2024 on ABC in the United States and CTV in Canada. Remember, if you have a choice, the feed is the same but CTV won't censor anything, unlike ABC.

Twitter captures: @thenfb (x2)
photo credits: Past Lives; Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Canadian film review: Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe

As much as I learn about Canada, there are some impressions, memories that you can't experience as an outsider. I certainly knew of Mr. Dressup in many conversations with Canadians. The warmth was there but I didn't know much about the show.

Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe is a straightforward documentary about the life of Ernie Coombs aka Mr. Dressup. The documentary points out that Coombs wasn't originally Canadian, born and grew up in Maine.

Coombs meets Fred Rogers, yes that Fred Rogers, working with him in Pittsburgh. Rogers was invited to work in Canada for the CBC and asked Coombs to join him in Canada. Coombs worked as a puppeter for Rogers on Misterogers. When Rogers went back to Pittsburgh, Coombs stayed in Canada.

Butternut Square featured Coombs from 1964-1967. This is where Coombs created Mr. Dressup and met the puppets Casey and Finnegan. Mr. Dressup was the spinoff of sorts. Coombs would go into the Tickle Trunk to put on costumes. Judith Lawrence, who created Casey and Finnegan, featured prominently in the prime years of the show. Casey was a child whose gender wasn't clear in a time where boys and girls were very specific. Finnegan was Casey's dog.

Robert McCallum interviewed prominent Canadians who have memories of growing up with Mr. Dressup, including Eric McCormack, Michael J. Fox, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Bif Naked, Scott Thompson, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, and the Barenaked Ladies. There is an unfortunate practice in documentaries to rely too heavily on these types of celebrity mentions. Fortunately, McCallum knew a little was good and avoided too much, which would have been bad. Sometimes, the art of editing is knowing when to stop.

Often, you could argue about the use of shorthand that Mr. Dressup was the Mister Rogers of Canada. Similar in tone: not talking down to kids, using puppets to deal with friendship and similar values. Mr. Dressup did more with crafts, which reminded your humble narrator of Ray Rayner on WGN-TV in Chicago, Rayner making children feel better about being imperfect.

Coombs also did a traveling live show. You can imagine a child's excitement at seeing Mr. Dressup live in person.

Mr. Dressup lasted 3 decades (1967–1996), 32 years when you count Butternut Square. Coombs became a Canadian citizen in 1994.

How Mister Rogers got his start on camera in Canada on the CBC

The appeal of the documentary is obvious to those Canadians who grew up watching the show. The film does a good job at telling this wonderful story. The children of today don't have the same kind of relationship with television.

Americans should watch this documentary because of the parallels between Coombs and Rogers, their friendships, and similarities of the shows. You also should watch this documentary to find out elements of Rogers career missing from Won't You Be My Neighbor?. We have noted that when famous Americans have Canadian chapters, somehow those chapters aren't told (e.g., Jackie Robinson).

2023 TIFF wrapup

2023 TIFF preview

2023 TIFF Canadian film preview

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe won the People's Choice Award for Documentaries at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.

Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe is available on Amazon Prime Video in Canada and the United States.

video credit: Prime Video Canada
photo credit: Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe

Why New Brunswick is mostly absent from Canadian film landscape

We have seen a lot of Canada in Canadian films. Films shot across Canada. Ontario and Quebec, the largest provinces in land size, produce more than their share of Canadian films. Plenty from British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Manitoba (mostly Winnipeg). A few from Prince Edward Island. There have been some beautiful films from Alberta and Saskatchewan.

New Brunswick is the one province where we see almost next to nothing in Canadian film.

We aren't talking about films, Canadian or otherwise, shot in Canada where you can't tell where you are. These are films where place is distinct. New Brunswick would be an ideal setting for Canadian films and other films, but is mostly invisible in terms of filmmaking. We don't hear about New Brunswick and film tax credits the way we hear about them in Nova Scotia and Alberta. The mostly rural province would be ideal for horror films yet is missing on this battlefront.

New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province in Canada. Other than a rare Franco-Ontarian film, almost all of the French language films in Canada come from Quebec. New Brunswick certainly has a huge need to create jobs in the province. This seems almost a match made in cinema yet we don't even hear the crickets in that province.

Beerocracy is a Canadian film that we know for sure is set in New Brunswick. The documentary is about getting craft beers into provincial government stores. All the Wrong Reasons seemed to be set in New Brunswick. The province did supply funding to the film. The film was shot in Fredericton, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Fredericton is the provincial capital.)

Quebexit explores the idea of crossing a border between Quebec and New Brunswick. The border setup isn't real and even if that was New Brunswick, the footage wouldn't even cover a kilometre into New Brunswick. Still Mine (2012) is set in rural St. Martins, New Brunswick.

Some of the discrepancy is that filmmakers tend to like to shoot in places where they know. Mina Shum usually shoots in Vancouver. Thom Fitzgerald loves to shoot in Nova Scotia. A New Brunswick filmmaker would want to make films in the home province.

New Brunswick films (NFB)

Maybe New Brunswick has some good films yet we don't know much about them. A lack of publicity is also a concern for the New Brunswick film industry.

Race Against The Tide is a CBC show shot in New Brunswick that does put the Bay of Fundy on display. A summertime reality show is a good start and a great showcase for the power of the Bay of Fundy.

Canadian film review: Quebexit

Canadian film review: Beerocracy

We've talked about the contrast in education and opportunity in New Brunswick versus even the other Atlantic Canada provinces. Yet Newfoundland and Labrador has many film and TV opportunities. New Brunswick would love to have a Republic of Doyle or even a Hudson & Rex.

Nova Scotia has lot of film work and even TV shows such as This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

Prince Edward Island doesn't have a huge output of Canadian film or television. The legacy of Anne of Green Gables helps plus Jeremy Larter films such as Pogey Beach and Who's Yer Father?. PEI shows this isn't easy in a rural setting yet this can work.

Jeremy Larter on Who's Yer Father? and filmmaking on PEI (Q on CBC Radio)

A proactive film and television tax credits plan could draw filmmakers, Canadian or otherwise, to a mostly rural province. New Brunswick has the Bay of Fundy. Saint John offers the potential for uphill chases downtown. Horror films would have plenty of rural territory for filming.

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976), technically a Canada co-production, was set in Maine and shot in Quebec. Maine and New Brunswick are neighbours. There are possibilities for New Brunswick.

Canadian film review: Still Mine

Canadian film review: All the Wrong Reasons

If you lived in Toronto or Winnipeg and had never been east of Quebec, your first pick for travel would likely be Halifax or St. John's. We have seen them enough in films or TV that would draw people to those destinations. I personally went to the bar that on the outside is the bar for Republic of Doyle. The real bar has the best gravy I've tasted on this planet.

Your humble narrator has been to New Brunswick: Hopewell Rocks, Moncton, Fredericton, and Saint John. There are challenges to film in New Brunswick yet there are solutions to those challenges.

Everything's Gone Green was a wonderful showcase of Vancover. waydowntown showed us a side of Calgary most of us don't know. Rare Birds showed us rural Newfoundland. Fitzgerald knows Nova Scotia. Larter knows Prince Edward Island. Don McKellar knows Toronto. Jared Keeso knows Sudbury. A few filmmakers have shown off Winnipeg and rural Manitoba. Some many Quebec filmmakers are wonderful at showing Montréal, the Eastern Township, and more rural areas of the province.

Campobello Island is barely in New Brunswick. The island was made famous for having the summer home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.

You could have a hostage film on the ocean floor at Hopewell Rocks before the 40-foot tides come into the space.

New Brunswick, being the only official bilingual province, could even have a bilingual production in the era of subtitles. We would be curious to see what comes out of New Brunswick with a bit of effort. Maybe a film that incorporates the Acadian areas in northeastern New Brunswick. Perhaps a story where people from New Orleans go back to Acadia in Canada.

CanadianCrossing.com New Brunswick coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

We know New Brunswick will not likely rise to this Canadian film and television challenge in English or French. We are just pointing out that there are missed potential opportunities to drive work and, yes, tourism to New Brunswick.

Let us know in the comments if we missed a Canadian film distinctly set in New Brunswick.

photo credit: Beerocracy
video credit: YouTube/Canada's Podcast

Canadian film review: Until Branches Bend

Most British Columbia films centre around Vancouver. Until Branches Bend shows us the interior of British Columbia with a plot that feels reasonable for that part of the province. Robin (Grace Glowicki) brings attention to a potential invasive insect inside of a locally grown peach.

Robin plays the role of the messenger where everyone blames her for the bad peach. Not a note of "hey, maybe you are helping the entire peach growing region." People just randomly slash her tires or yell at Robin.

The owner of the farm lies in such bad way at the big town meeting. His lies seem obvious to the viewing audience but the people trapped in the film can't see what is happening.

Robin's sister Laney (Alexandra Roberts) is sort of an ally until she can't take the break anymore.

Writer/director Sophie Jarvis adds in an American-style abortion plot for Robin straight out of the American South where she has to keep waiting for the procedure. The film should be concerned for Robin's physical health but the subplot isn't considered important.

The other major issue with the film is that Robin is the only complete character. Laney has slightly more complexity than the other characters. Glowicki is a good enough actor to carry the load. None of the other characters have 2 dimensions, much less 3 of them.

Robin's world is spiraling and that action might be enough to sustain the film if you are watching it in the background while doing something else.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Until Branches Bend feels like a bad TV movie. There is a psychological dilemma within the film but you have to search within the film, like finding a bug in a peach.

There is a good story in the film but you have to work too hard to get a decent reward as a result.

The film could have some appeal if you are 1) related to Glowicki; 2) love Penticton and want to see it on the big screen; or 3) are searching for an awkward asinine abortion subplot.

Until Branches Bend premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

Until Branches Bend is available on Crave in Canada.

video credit: Photon Films and Media
photo credit: Until Branches Bend

Canadian film review: Lovesick

A love triangle with Jay Baruchel, Jessica Paré, and Jacob Tierney. Sounds like a Tierney film in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood of Montréal.

Lovesick has those people, though writer/director Tyson Caron is in charge and the film is set and shot in Winnipeg.

Dash (Tierney) is an artist who dated Lauren (Paré). Lauren is recently engaged to Mark (Baruchel). Dash is trying to move on but clearly is struggling with that approach. Dash keeps painting Lauren.

Dash meets Nora (Ali Tataryn), a recovering alcoholic. As much as Dash thinks he is doing well with Nora, his preoccupation with Lauren is a dealbreaker for Nora.

Caron gives us mostly Dash. Dash is very sad through a lot of this film. Mark is a character brought in only as needed. Lauren does interact with Dash, mostly telling him no, mostly.

One surprise in a film such as this is that Caron doesn't give Dash a singular male friend voice as part of the film. He does have a male therapist and has a couple of male friends. Dash also has female friends and Lauren tries to help Dash, even if she is engaged to Mark.

We get that writers can give whatever name a character has but Dash doesn't feel like a good fit for the character.

The wedding is set at the Manitoba Parliament building. We know most Canadians and virtually all Americans wouldn't spot that point. The space is gorgeous yet feels like way too much for 2 random people to get married.

Tierney is a more talented writer and director than an actor. Carrying this 2016 film, as Caron requires him to do, is not his strong suit.

We have watched Paré is a number of projects on both sides of the border. Paré tends to shine in Canadian projects and isn't treated as well (with the exception of Mad Men) in the United States. If you feel like Paré is more beautiful than talented, we gratefully invite you to see Stardom or Lost and Delirious.

Canadian film review: The Trotsky

Canadian film review: Good Neighbours

Lovesick is a better than average love story, smartly written. The drawback is too many scenes of a very sad Dash alone.

This is a love story film where you don't have to think too much. Pleasantly enjoyable.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Lovesick is available on Amazon Prime Video in the United States.

video credit: eOne Films Canada
photo credit: Lovesick

Examining Top 10 Canadian film lists of 2023

We don't have a Top 10 list of Canadian films for any year, mostly because we don't have access to enough Canadian films to make that judgment. So we are leveraging those with a list of top Canadian films from 2023.

Barry Hertz from The Globe and Mail has a pretty good list. A film with commercial appeal (BlackBerry). A film with a reference to Michael Snow (Skinamarink). A reference to a Cronenberg, Brandon in this case, (Infinity Pool).

A film I loved that I saw more than a year ago (So Much Tenderness). A documentary I've seen (Swan Song) and a documentary I have not seen (Concrete Valley).

A feature film with flaws yet still worth the watch (I Don’t Know Who You Are) and a feature with a lot of flaws that you should fast forward through (Solo). A feature film I look forward to finding (Seagrass). A feature from a director (Pascal Plante) whose previous film I enjoyed (Red Rooms).

Someone Lives Here was a more interesting documentary than Swan Song. Fitting In, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, and Backspot would have made my list.

Film critics go wild for anything Cronenberg related and seem captivated by Sophie Dupuis' brand of fake drama and poor writing.

A good Top 10 list should be a cross section and this list has a variety. 2 films are in French: Solo and Red Rooms.

2023 WIFF Canadian films in review

Let's contrast this with a Top 10 selection of Canadian films from Thom Ernst, Northern Stars film correspondent.

BlackBerry, Seagrass, Infinity Pool, and Swan Song are also on his list versus the films from Barry Hertz. Ernst has Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person and Someone Lives Here, excellent choices.

Hey Viktor!, which sounds promising, is on his list. Somehow, My Animal is on his list. We saw this in Windsor and wanted to like it, much less love the film. The premise is great but the delivery doesn't come close to satisfaction.

Ernst smartly doesn't have Solo on his list so that is a good sign.

Hertz has 10 Canadian films that truly are Canadian. The Dead Don't Hurt from Viggo Mortensen is a co-production with Canada low on the pole. Though we like the idea of this sentence from Ernst: "Vicky Krieps’s performance as Vivienne Le Coudy, an independent French Canadian woman surviving alone in a remote settlement for a while." Krieps is one of our favourite actors in the world.

Like Red Rooms on Hertz's list, Cynara was brand new to us. Likely not the easiest film to watch, at least we are aware of these films thanks to the Top 10 lists.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is the only French-language film on his list.

Hertz doesn't give an honourable mention. Ernst mentions Solo, Whose Yer' Father, Backspot, Irena's Vow, In Flames, Mr. Dressup: That Magic of Make Believe, The Queen of My Dreams, and Seven Veils. Loved Whose Yer' Father though comedies struggle to make a Top 10 selection.

TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2023

Let's remind ourselves of the TIFF list of Canadian films for 2023.

BlackBerry
Hey, Viktor!
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
Kanaval
Seagrass
Seven Veils
Solo
Someone Lives Here
Tautuktavuk (What We See)
The Queen of My Dreams

Kanaval or Tautuktavuk (What We See) didn't make either of the first 2 lists. Ernst notes Seven Veils and The Queen of My Dreams in his "just missed" list.

The TIFF list has 3 films in the French language (Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, Kanaval, and Solo) and a film in Inuktitut with Tautuktavuk (What We See).

Rojek misses the Oscars shortlist cut for Best International Feature Film

The Toronto Film Critics Association announced its finalists for Best Canadian Film (BlackBerry, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, and Solo) and Best Canadian Documentary (Rojek, Someone Lives Here, and Swan Song). All but Rojek, the Telefilm Canada nomination to the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, have been mentioned on at least one list. No list understandably picked that film.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person wins 2023 WIFF Prize in Canadian film

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Seagrass and BlackBerry are on all 3 lists. They might make my list, if I had one, though I haven't yet seen Seagrass.

We should acknowledge that these lists are English language dominant. We enjoyed Frontières | Frontiers, Simple comme Sylvain | The Nature of Love, and Les Jours heureux | Days Of Happiness. 23 décembre | Two Days Before Christmas was a cute film but not a viable option for a Top 10 list.

You do have a number of options, well more than 10 Canadian films to consider for watching in 2024. Get the popcorn ready.

photo credit: Seagrass
video credit: TIFF Trailers

Success of a PWHL franchise in Ottawa could expedite a NHL arena in downtown Ottawa

Tuning in to history, together.

Our inaugural game reached 2.9 million Canadian viewers on New Year’s Day across our three Canadian national broadcast partners: CBC, Sportsnet, and TSN.
📰 https://t.co/4XfdTTA6Ed pic.twitter.com/C8g9c9AEKB

— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) January 5, 2024

A wonderful turnout for Opening Day of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) experience. We love the balance between 3 Canadian franchises and 3 American ones.

We are curious about the potential success of the Ottawa franchise, not factoring in the ice performance. PWHL board member Stan Kasten said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman first suggested to him that Ottawa could be a strong market.

"I will tell you this wasn't necessarily on our opening list of cities. Gary was the first one who said 'you ought to think about Ottawa,'" Kasten said before Ottawa's inaugural home opener against Montréal at TD Place. "He gave me a lot of good advice. I'm really happy I was smart enough to take his advice."

The Ottawa home opener had a sellout crowd of 8,318, setting a then record for a pro women's hockey game.

LARGEST ATTENDANCE EVER

8,318 packed into TD Place tonight for the first PWHL in Ottawa.

That’s a world record crowd for professional women’s hockey. pic.twitter.com/o1AVm1mJXm

— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) January 3, 2024

We will praise Bettman for his suggestion. We do have a caveat since Bettman never does anything for the sake of others. Bettman's greed isn't such a bad thing in this case.

Let's say you work in downtown Ottawa. You reach the end of your workday and want to stay downtown and watch a hockey game. You have to get all the way out to Kanata to watch the NHL Ottawa Senators. They are not that good these days.

Where to visit Canada in 2024

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

You could stay downtown, grab a nice dinner, and go over to TD Place to watch the Ottawa PWHL franchise. CFL fans likely know that TD Place (the arena), home rink of the OHL Ottawa 67s, is literally underneath TD Place (the stadium), home of the Ottawa RedBlacks.

We generally recommend the 6 and 7 buses from downtown down Bank Street to get to the arena. There are buses for special events, such as 450, 451, 452 and 454, 455, 456.

Traditionally for Ottawa RedBlacks, Ottawa 67s, and other events at TD Place, a ticket to the event gets you free transit on all OC Transpo routes, starting 3 hours before the event and 3 hours after the event. We hope that also applies to the PWHL games at the arena.

We did that for a RedBlacks game and thought that was a wonderful perk in traveling to and from the game.

If you are on the Confederation Line of the O-Train, get off at the Parliament | Parlement station (underneath O'Connor and Queen streets) and catch the 6 or 7 bus to TD Place.

We think Bettman's enthusiasm for having a PWHL team in Ottawa will enhance the idea of a NHL arena in downtown Ottawa at LeBreton Flats. Sometimes sworn enemies can agree on a few things.

The other Canadian franchises don't have that kind of pressure since those cities have strong downtown arenas. Getting to the PWHL sites isn't too difficult in those cities.

The Montréal franchise plays at Verdun Auditorium, near the De L'Église Metro station on the Green Line heading toward the Angrignon station. The De L'Église stop is 6 stops west of the Peel station in downtown Montréal.

The Lucien-L'Allier station on the Orange Line, near the Bell Centre, is 5 stops away, though you have to transfer to the Green Line at the Lionel-Groulx station. You could walk above ground a couple of blocks and get on the Green Line downtown at the Guy-Concordia station for an easier trip.

The Verdun Auditorium has about half the capacity for hockey as Ottawa does at 3,795.

The Toronto franchise plays at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, essentially the old Maple Leaf Gardens, with a 3,850 capacity. You can take the TTC subway to the College Street stop at Yonge and College to 60 Carlton Street (College turns into Carlton east of Yonge Street).

You can walk over from the Queen's Park station at University and College and walk a little further to the arena.

The 506 Carlton streetcar runs from High Park to the Danforth neighbourhood and can take you to the arena. You have good choices.

As for the U.S. teams, the New York and Boston teams aren't in the city with Boston playing in Lowell and New York playing in Bridgeport, CT (though 4 games will be at the new New York Islanders arena).

Minnesota had 13,316 fans at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul for its home opener, setting a new record for a professional women's hockey game. Minnesota broke the mark set by Ottawa in its PWHL opener.

NHL the month in preview January 2024

Happy Holidays 2023 includes the final Letterkenny season

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

You might be a NHL fan and love live hockey. You might not have a lot of money and find that the PWHL fits your budget a lot better. You will likely have a better seat closer to the action at a PWHL game.

We envision people visiting Canada in warmer times. A business trip or a great off-season hotel rate might draw you to a major eastern Canada city.

Staying downtown in any of these cities can put you really close to a PWHL game. Something to consider to add to your Canadian travel experience.

Twitter captures: @thepwhlofficial; @Devin_Heroux
logo credit: PWHL

Canadian TV notebook: 2024 CW premiere dates

We recall the "large" gap between the CBC debut of Schitt's Creek, as in about a month, versus the Pop TV debut of that same show for Season 1 way back in 2015.

Wild Cards debuts on CBC on January 10 and the CW on January 17. We wrote about the show for the CBC winter preview. The show runs in the same timeslot in both countries, though the CBC feed runs at 8 pm within each time zone, except for Newfoundland.

Giacomo Gianniotti, Vanessa Morgan, and Jason Priestley are well-known on both sides of the border.

The CW is also picking up Sight Unseen from CTV. We don't have a CW debut date. We found this paragraph compelling for a Deadline article on the shows:

"The CW says its creatively involved in all aspects of production and developed both series from scratch in partnership with CBC and CTV. While they will also be airing on CBC and CTV, they are fully CW original series, the network added."

We like the idea of sharing television between the countries. We do think shows end up better if they are not too influenced by the Hollywood mentality.

The Spencer Sisters felt more like a CTV show that aired on the CW. Sullivan's Crossing felt like a CW show that happened to air on CTV.

Sight Unseen will air on Monday nights on CTV at 10 pm Eastern starting January 22. CTV will air the pilot early at the same time on January 21 following the NFL Divisional Playoffs.

2024 CBC television winter preview

The 2 surviving Canadian TV comedies on the CW have Season 3 debuts this month. Season 3 of Son of a Critch debuts January 9 on CBC and January 25 on the CW. Season 3 of Children Ruin Everything ran this fall on CTV and debuts January 11 on the CW.

Son of a Critch stays at 8 pm while Children Ruin Everything shifts to 9:30 pm. The CW, in lieu of not having Run the Burbs on its schedule, is showing reruns of The Conners, a program that airs on ABC. WTAF?

Hulu picked up Run the Burbs as of New Year’s Eve, a wonderful holiday present. While we prefer Run the Burbs to Children Ruin Everything, we would have fought for either show. The CW halted airings after Season 2, Episode 3. Season 3 of Run the Burbs is on CBC (and CBC Gem) this winter.

If you thought "didn't we just see Season 2 of Family Law," you might wonder why we are getting Season 3 of Family Law so quickly. Season 3 of Family Law debuts January 17 following Wild Cards at 9 pm Eastern and Pacific. We don't have a debut date for Season 3 on Global, the show's network in Canada.

Season 1 of this show was a lot more fun than Season 2. Let's hope for more entertaining/less depressing episodes in Season 3.

Hamza Haq gives the inside scoop on the viral ambulance scene from season 3. Stream #Transplant now on https://t.co/yKJiHIYIjM and the @CTV App, and don’t miss all new episodes starting Jan 5th on CTV pic.twitter.com/oQivTkWnWY

— Transplant (@TransplantCTV) December 8, 2023

There are 3 more Transplant episodes on the Canadian side on CTV for Season 4, the final season. The show returns tonight on CTV.

Those on the American side are more than a bit behind. Transplant took a holiday break and finally came back last week. Here is where things get tricky, not that we are surprised. The show currently airs on NBC on Thursdays at 9p/8p Central and is moving to Fridays — starting January 12 — at 8p/7p Central. The NBC release says that timeslot is in place "until its finale." This means either the Season 3 finale or the Season 4 finale, which would be the series finale.

Time placement doesn't mean as much as it once did but Transplant is not a first-hour prime time show. Ugh.

The U.S. audience would rather not wait too long between Season 3 and Season 4 of Transplant. There are 13 episodes in Season 3 and 10 episodes in Season 4 of Transplant.

Citytv will debut Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent on February 22. There will be 10 episodes in Season 1. Rooting for an eventual deal in the States.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

We primarily cover more film than television on the blog. We recognize that Canadian stories are just that: stories. A nice The Globe and Mail story talks about 3 popular Canadian TV shows that are ending on their own terms: Sort Of, Letterkenny, and Transplant. All 3 have been impactful and have a home on the U.S. side.

photo credits: Family Law/Global; Wild Cards/CBC/CW
Twitter capture: @TransplantCTV
video credit: Citytv