Evans Above

I had a chance to preview Dava Whisenant’s Bathtubs Over Broadway just before Hot Docs and the film premieres tonight at the Hart House Theatre. While doing research for a musical bit on The Late Show with David Letterman, writer Steve Young comes across a record of an industrial musical. What’s that you say? It turns out that for decades, companies would wine and dine their top salespeople from across the U.S. and then entertain them with elaborate song-and-dance numbers that sometimes had bigger budgets than Tony-winning Broadway musicals. Except instead of singing about a girl named Maria, or life being a cabaret, these show tunes extolled the virtues of sliced bread, toilets, ball bearings and industrial lubricants.

This is the sort of oddity Letterman loved and Young quickly became an avid collector of these recordings, which were not for public sale but rather given out as reminders of the conferences and conventions. Young discovers that talents like Martin Short and Chita Rivera performed in these shows and artists like choreographer Susan Stroman depended on the work to keep them afloat between Broadway shows. He seeks out the lesser known names that consistently wrote or performed in these shows and Bathtubs over Broadway gives them a chance to shine again. Young develops an affection for these shows that reflect a golden age of American manufacturing and a lost time when sales required working the feet or the phone to get the job done. Utterly charming, Bathtubs Over Broadway is a must-see.

For more information on the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and for tickets and showtimes visit hotdocs.ca.

Laura Nix’s Inventing Tomorrow is an inspiring look at science-minded high school students from around the world who have assembled in Los Angeles for the 2017 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Unlike the adult politicians, these young minds believe in science and facts and have the optimism that their ideas can solve problems facing their countries.

A pair of Taylor Swift-quoting Indonesian girls devise a method to filter dangerous by-products from the country’s offshore tin mining. Another girl from India lives near a lake that occasionally catches on fire, while excessive detergents in the water lead to clouds of bubbles floating across roads. She devises a water testing system where data entry can be easily crowd-sourced. A group from Mexico devise a building paint that absorbs air pollutants, while a 15-year-old from Hawaii tracks arsenic levels in a pond in his town deposited by the debris of multiple tsunamis.

Nix takes us into their homes as they nervously prepare for the science fair, supported by proud families. We see the awe of visiting LA, their pop culture mecca, and the sweet interactions with students of the opposite sex from around the world. They defend their projects in front of tough questions from the judges and you’ll come away wondering why this group of intrepid thinkers couldn’t be in charge instead of the science-phobic fools many countries seem to be stuck with.

The saddest thing about Alison McAlpine’s exploration of the night sky, Cielo, is knowing that, if you’re a city dweller, there’s too much light pollution to see the same thing that you see above the Chilean desert. Whether interviewing the scientists at the Las Campanas observatory or local residents who debate how the solar system works, McAlpine gives us a look at how the vast amount of stars above them leads to so many questions. She gives us space (pardon the pun) to experience this ourselves, with stretches of silence that just allow us to take in the beautiful stellar cinematography. Cielo is the type of doc you have to see in a darkened theatre on a big screen. Watching this on a phone or tablet just will not cut it.

I ended my day with the first episode of Liz Garbus’ Showtime series The Fourth Estate, which takes us behind the scenes of the New York Times’ coverage of the circus sideshow known as the Trump presidency. This first episode takes us through the administration’s first one hundred days, a time that saw the resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and saw a country coming to terms with a president who tossed all norms aside. That’s a big question in this episode. How does The Grey Lady, as the Times is called, deal with an administration that is the political equivalent of an Ed Hardy shirt?

The Fourth Estate doesn’t answer big journalistic questions – at 100 days nobody’s even sure what the big questions are yet – but for news junkies it shows us how the sausage is made. We see the New York and Washington editors battle over the wording of a headline and reporters working their sources as another story breaks while the current one is still unfinished. For people who think this is all a show for Trump, one telling scene with Maggie Haberman lends credibility to that opinion. A constant target of his Twitter tirades, Haberman and Trump go way back to her New York Post days and he has an amiable conversation with her on the phone as the repeal of the Affordable Care Act falls apart. Trump seems glad to have it behind him, like a storyline on a show that was experimented with and then tossed aside. Talking to Haberman on the phone, it’s a different Trump than the one we see railing against the media at rallies. If the news cycle hasn’t worn you out already, then The Fourth Estate will be worth watching.

For more information on the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and for tickets and showtimes visit hotdocs.ca.

After yesterday’s look at Harvey Weinstein, a stain on Hollywood, it was a good moment to spend some quality time with a beloved comic figure, Gilda Radner. Love, Gilda is both heart-warming and heart-breaking, as we see the background and early work of the SNL original as well as being reminded that cancer took her away from her loved ones and fans too early. Director Lisa D’Apolito has the best narrator for the project, Radner herself, as she uses the audiobook from Radner’s autobiography It’s Always Something. Hearing the story in her own words is amazing, even when it comes from readings of her notes and letters by SNL successors Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler and Bill Hader. The common thread woven through interviews with friends and co-workers like Martin Short is that they were in awe of her talent and in love with her being. Well worth your time to seek this one out.

I then had a chance to catch a doc that I have wanted to see for a long time. Like the Hot Docs Festival itself, Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker’s The War Room is also celebrating its 25th anniversary. Following the presidential campaign of Bill Clinton in 1992, the candidate is not the star of this doc. That goes to chief strategist James “It’s the economy, stupid” Carville and media director George Stephanopoulos, the yin and yang of the campaign who steered the Arkansas governor to victory.

Compared to how fast political scandals break and explode on social media today, the pacing back then seems almost quaint. Carville and Stephanopoulos almost have time to breathe as their candidate faces a popular incumbent, an upstart outsider (Ross Perot), and allegations of an affair with Gennifer Flowers. They parse words in response to reporters and debate phrasing for radio ads. The camera is able to get into the intimate space of the campaign and the viewer feels like they have a seat at the table during discussions. You become a part of it and almost feel like you’ve earned a slice of cold pizza on the long nights of the campaign. It’s a fascinating look at how a president gets elected. Even if you’re not a complete political junkie, The War Room should be on your documentary bucket list.

Stephanie Soechtig’s The Devil We Know is one of those documentaries that makes you want to take action immediately upon leaving the theatre. It follows the town of Parkersburg, West Virginia, where chemical giant DuPont started manufacturing C8, a component of the ubiquitous Teflon that was coating cookware, microwave popcorn bags and even carpets and couches in the form of ScotchGard, When DuPont supplier 3M decided C8 was too dangerous to make, DuPont decided to make it in-house. Some female workers started giving birth to horribly disfigured children. Farmers near containment ponds had livestock dying off, while other residents downstream began noticing new ailments.

The doc shows how the EPA mostly turned a blind eye to the events as the agency’s top brass seemed to have been populated by an awful lot of people with ties to the company. It shows the depositions of DuPont execs who had barely a care for what they were causing. The most mind-numbing figure was learning that the chemical was found in the blood of 99% of Americans, so pervasive was the use of Teflon. And while the doc has a bit of a happy ending in terms of civil activism, it also hits you with the despair that nothing has really changed,

For more information on the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and for tickets and showtimes visit hotdocs.ca.

I had one film on my 2018 Hot Docs schedule today, The Reckoning: Hollywood’s Worst Kept Secret, which traces the allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein and the rise of the #MeToo movement. Director Barry Avrich has covered big entertainment figures before, looking at Lew Wasserman in The Last Mogul and Garth Drabinsky in Show Stopper. In fact, this isn’t Avrich’s first kick at the Weinstein can. 2010’s Unauthorized: The Harvey Weinstein Story looked at the producing powerhouse but didn’t amplify the well-known whispers about his behaviour as he was at the height of his power and no one wanted to talk.

This look at Weinstein acts more like a primer to the situation rather than the ultimate expose of his alleged activities. It feels like the documentary you’d be pointed to if you asked Google to quickly explain the Weinstein scandal. Avrich does manage to get interviews with journalist Lauren Sivan, who recounted a story of Weinstein masturbating in front of her in a restaurant and with actress Melissa Sagemiller, who details his aggressive sexual behaviour during the shooting of 2001’s Get Over It. He manages to get insights from former Weinstein assistant Zelda Perkins, who details the atmosphere in his company and his constant use of non-disclosure agreements to silence women. Coming out while the story is still unfolding, he doesn’t get to talk to some of the biggest voices in the story, like Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mira Sorvino.

Considering there are dozens of accusers against Weinstein, a doc on him could be a limited series. Avrich uses time in this doc to also look at the #MeToo worthy actions of Bill O’Reilly, James Toback, Donald Trump and others. With enough material for both the Weinstein and larger #MeToo movement issues, it can be argued that these should be two separate documentaries.

For more information on the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and for tickets and showtimes visit hotdocs.ca.

It’s the first full day of the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and I have a couple of screenings lined up today.

First up is Tim Wardle’s Three Identical Strangers, which tells the tale of separated-at-birth 19-year-old adopted triplets Robert, Eddy and David, who by chance discover each other and the fact that they were raised within a 100-mile radius. Reunited, the triplets are inseparable buddies who take the media world by storm, hitting all the morning shows, the papers and daytime staple Donahue. The media latches on to the superficial similarities and the guys not only become media darlings but also celebrities in the New York City social scene. They open a restaurant, they settle down, all seems good.

Then their story takes a darker turn. I don’t want to give too much away because the reaction in the audience is palpable, but the rest of the film will have you question nature versus nurture and research ethics in a way that will leave you a little shaken. Seek this one out when you can.

Ubiquity, from Bregtje van der Haak, examines electromagnetic hypersensitivity, through the lives of three people: a telecom engineer who lives off the grid and demands to be filmed with analog equipment, a young Japanese woman who fights against digital power meters, and a Dutch mother obsessed with cell towers, who takes the fight to her local government. All three claim that the omnipresent cellphone and Wi-Fi signals that surround us are causing them major health issues and van der Haak underscores their anxiety by occasionally blasting the audience with unsettling high-pitched sounds. Currently, electromagnetic hypersensitivity is not a recognized medical diagnosis and some in the medical field believe it is a psychological condition that can be treated with behavioural therapy. The audience’s own biases will determine if the doc’s subjects are canaries in the coal mine or something else altogether.

For more information on the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and for tickets and showtimes visit hotdocs.ca.

Molly’s Game, the directorial debut of screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, tells the true story of Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain), a skier who seemed to be headed for the Olympics until a freak accident ended that dream. After getting employment at a club, she found herself hosting high-stakes poker games that attracted high-rollers and A-listers until an FBI investigation becomes more than a hiccup. Molly’s Game is now available in a Blu-ray combo pack.

The AVC-encoded 1080p disc is presented in the movie’s original 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Though the video presentation does have a few issues with banding near the beginning, it is otherwise a very good transfer of a digitally shot production. Details, whether they be clothing, surfaces or skin textures, are crisp. The color palette is pleasing, and hair, skin tones, cards and those all important poker chips look great. Black levels are very good too, except for some issues at the beginning. All in all, the issues are nothing to write home about and this is a well-done video presentation.

On the audio side, we get an English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack as well as a Spanish DTS 5.1 soundtrack. Subtitles are available in English SDH and Spanish. Please note that I was reviewing a Blu-ray meant for the U.S. market. The Canadian bilingual version does contain a French soundtrack and subtitles. I’m assuming it would be DTS 5.1 as well, but will update this when I can confirm. The surround tracks put us into the scenes with natural ambient effects. The score has great fidelity and though this isn’t a super kinetic action film, the low end is effective when used. Aaron Sorkin is known for his all-important dialogue and it’s presented crisply, cleanly and properly centered.

Usually after video and audio presentations, I talk about the extras, but on this disc it’s just an “extra” called Building an Empire, in which Chastain and Sorkin talk about Molly Bloom and her story. Considering this is based on a true story, I would like to have seen some extra featurettes looking more into the story’s background and talking to Bloom herself. The combo pack also comes with a DVD copy and a digital download code.

The issue with the bonus feature is just a quibble. With great performances from Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba, as well as excellent audio and video presentations, Molly’s Game is a good addition to you home entertainment library.

When I reviewed the theatrical release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (or for sticklers, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi), I said it could be summarized in four words: “Fun. Humour. Heart. Go.” With the release of the Blu-ray, that fun and adventure can now be part of your home entertainment library.

The 1080p AVC-encoded Blu-ray disc is presented in the movie’s original 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Textures and details are amazing from facial hairs and fabrics to the battered and worn spaceships of the Resistance. While the Resistance is battle-worn, the First Order’s ships and equipment sparkle like an evil regime that went on a shopping spree. The colour palette is dull where necessary but pops when we visit Canto Bight. Black levels are deep and there is nothing worth reporting in terms of digital noise. Simply put, this is an amazing looking disc.

On the audio side, we get an English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks and an English 2.0 Descriptive Audio track. Subtitles are presented in English SDH, French and Spanish. If you’re looking for a Dolby Atmos track, you’ll need to go 4K and get the UHD release, but the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track on the Blu-ray is great. The surround tracks are put to great use as spaceships fly through the soundscape. You’re so immersed in the action, you might as well get a uniform. Low-end frequencies give the soundtrack some weight and scope, the music of John Williams has exceptional clarity, and dialogue is clear and centred. Just like the video presentation, the audio presentation is a master class on what Blu-ray audio can be.

Besides a digital download code (Movies Anywhere in the US, iTunes in Canada), The Last Jedi has over 2 hours of extras that warrant a second Blu-ray disc. Besides audio commentary from writer/director Rian Johnson, which gives great insight into his process, there’s a 90+ minute documentary called The Director and the Jedi that gives us insights from Johnson and the cast and crew, set visits and the rehearsal process. Johnson also discusses The Force and Luke, Rey and Ren’s place in it in another ten minute doc. There’s also detailed breakdowns on the making of three pivotal scenes in the film. There’s a look at Andy Serkis’ motion capture performance as Snoke and the usual look at deleted scenes.

A great film gets a great Blu-ray disc release. There’s no reason not to add this to your home library.

The Pitch Perfect franchise obviously has an audience, perhaps people who watched Glee and thought, “Gee, I wish the comedy was raunchier.” It’s been a good audience, because I’ve just used the word “franchise” and the films have taken in about a half-billion at the box office. So for those fans, sing for joy because Pitch Perfect 3 is now available to take home on Blu-ray.

The disc’s 1080p AVC-encoded transfer is presented in the movie’s original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The colour palette pops, skin tones are natural, and the black levels have good amount of depth. Details on skin, clothing and structures are very good. The transfer does have some digital noise in it and artifacts are especially visible in one scene but doesn’t really take away from the whole presentation.

On the sound side, you get English DTS:X and DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 tracks as well as a French DTS 5.1 and a Spanish DTS-HD HR 7.1 track. Subtitles are available in English SDH, Spanish and French. A movie whose whole purpose in being is song performances should have a great listening experience, right? Well, then you won’t be disappointed. The soundtrack uses the surround speakers perfectly, placing you on the stage with the singers and immersing you in the experience. The notes are clear and rich, the low-end is just right and not overpowering and yes, the non-musical moments are just as well done. An excellent soundscape.

One the extras side, Pitch Perfect 3 hits the right note, too. (Oh, c’mon, I’m allowed one musical joke.) There’s a DVD copy, a Movies Anywhere download code, additional music performances, extended musical performances, deleted scenes, bloopers, some featurettes, and two audio commentary tracks from director Trish Sie and producers Paul Brooks and Max Handelman.

Fans of the Pitch Perfect series will want to add this final hurrah to their collection.

If you’re in Toronto and looking to really get into the movie swing of things this Oscar weekend, then check out the 8th Annual Toronto Irish Film Festival. It’s being held at the TIFF Bell Lightbox from Friday, March 2nd to Sunday, March 4th.

The fest’s opening gala will be A Date for Mad Mary, which won Best Film at the 2017 Irish Film & Television Awards. Directed by Darren Thornton and starring Seána Kerslake, Carolyn Bracken and Charleigh Bailey, it’s a heartfelt dramedy about a woman recently released from prison seeking a date for her best friend Charlene’s wedding.

Nominated for Best Animated Feature at this year’s Oscars, Nora Twomey’s The Breadwinner will return to Toronto as part of the festival’s Saturday screenings. The Irish/Canadian co-production tells the story of an Afghan girl who finds strength in the love of her family and the power of storytelling. The film, which was executive produced by Mimi Polk Gitlin and Angelina Jolie, stars Saara Chuadry as the voice of Parvana.

Saturday afternoon will also feature the Irish Short Film Showcase, which will see the Canadian premieres of Aoife Doyle’s Departure, Lynne Davison’s The Climb, Sinéad O’Loughlin’s Homecoming, Mia Mullarkey’s Throwline, Selina Cartmell’s The Date, and Vanessa Perdriau’s The Widow’s Last.

Stephen Burke’s feature, Maze, will have its Canadian premiere on Saturday night. Starring Peaky Blinder’s Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, the film is based on the 1983 prison escape by 38 IRA prisoners from Northern Ireland’s infamous Maze prison. Burke has said the film is not just a prison escape action film, but also look at the lives and complex relationships of people on both sides of The Troubles.

On Sunday afternoon, Game of Thrones fans can see Art Parkinson in Colin McIvor’s Zoo. Based on true events, the film, which also stars Penelope Wilton and Toby Jones, tells the story of a 12-year-old boy and his friends as they struggle to save a baby elephant during air raids on Belfast in World War II. After German bombing hits Belfast hard, the city government decided to slaughter 38 animals to prevent them running amok in the city if the zoo should get hit. The veterinarian’s son takes it upon himself to save the young pachyderm. It’s a great tale for families and played last fall at the Chicago Film Festival.

Sunday afternoon will also see the premiere of the Daniel Gordon documentary George Best: All By Himself. As a kid, I remember hearing about Best as my dad played the British football pools. A Belfast boy, Best was a football phenom and achieved his biggest fame playing for the legendary Manchester United. He was a sports hero but a flawed one, as he was ultimately felled by a staggering addiction to alcohol. Hearing about Best as a boy, but not really knowing much about him, I was glad to have a chance to screen Gordon’s doc before the festival. The director uses a lot of audio recorded by Best himself, so in a way the famed footballer narrates his own story, with former teammates and friends filling in the other details of his storied career. As things begin to unravel, former girlfriend Jackie Glass and Best’s two ex-wives, Angie and Alex, fill in the details of his decline. This isn’t a whitewash and like so many of these stories there doesn’t seem to be a turning point but rather a decline from talent and skill driven one drink and bender at a time.

Finally, the festival will close on Sunday night with another documentary, In the Name of Peace: John Hume in America, which is being co-presented by the Irish Embassy of Canada. Directed by Maurice Fitzpatrick and narrated by Liam Neeson, the doc uses footage from The Troubles alongside interviews with Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Bono and Tony Blair as they discuss the long-serving Derry politician John Hume and his pivotal role in the Northern Ireland peace process.

Toronto may have 250,000 residents of Irish descent, but we’re also blessed with a diverse community that’s open to learning about their neighbours and in the case of this festival, checking out each other’s film industries. The Irish film industry has grown from about 1,000 directly employed craftspeople to about 6,000 in just the past seven years or so. The Toronto Irish Film Festival celebrates that film community and has been selling out screenings since 2010, thanks to the hard work of TIRFF founders Michael Barry and John Galway and their team. You’ll be doing yourself a favour checking this festival out. More information and tickets can be found at www.toirishfilmfest.com.

Disney/Pixar’s heartwarming and heartfelt Coco was a hit with moviegoers and now you can take it home with you as Disney releases it in a Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD combo pack.

The disc’s 1080p AVC-encoded transfer is in the theatrical releases 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The video is amazing with rich textures and details everywhere from rough-hewn structures to wise old faces. The colour palette is wide and bold, and black levels are deep. Nothing is lost in the movie’s darker scenes. All in all, the video presentation is amazing.

On the audio side, your ears will be treated to an English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track as well as an English DTS-HD HR 5.1 track, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 track, a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track and a Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Subtitles are available in English, English SDH, French and Spanish. Musical details are rich with great clarity that captures the strums of the guitars wonderfully. The surround tracks put you into the scenes and vocal clarity is never an issue.

Coco comes with a plethora of extras, from audio commentary by director Lee Unkrich, co-director Adrian Molina, and producer Darla Anderson to a series of featurettes focusing on music and animation development.

Coco is a film that the whole family can enjoy and adding this Blu-ray to your collection is a no-brainer.

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