Trigger (DVD Review)

DVD Review of Bruce McDonald's brilliant women of rock drama Trigger starring Tracy Wright & Molly Parker

Image Courtesy of eOne Films

Dir: Bruce McDonald (This Movie Is Broken, Pontypool, Hard Core Logo, Dance Me Outside, Roadkill, Highway 61)
Cast: Tracy Wright, Molly Parker, Don McKeller, Sarah Polly, Callum Keith Rennie
Canada, 2010

Reason to see: Bruce McDonald films are always must-see films for me.

Trigger stars Molly Parker and the late Tracy Wright as friends who reunite, reignite and walk down memory lane to their rock'n'roll days. It have a nice strolling pace to it, but it certainly isn't misty eyed of the 'good old times', but rather is quite clear about the darker shadows of each of their pasts and the challenge and reality of deal, or not dealing, with those shadows in their current day life.

I loved how it incorporated nostalgia on the good and the bad fronts, and how moving ahead if life can lead to different directions for different people. Looking at the choice of 'keeping it real' vs 'making a living', along with posing the question of at some point to you have to make the choice between prosperity and art and if have to be mutually exclusive. I also loved that it featured women in the arts as rock stars, their effect on others and their relationships which all felt truly authentic.

As the film firmly centres on two women, it's a absolute treat that we are privy to the sensation performances by Molly Parker and Tracy Wright. They have great dialogue to work with and they really stay present throughout the film, with an understated comfort level that really resonates of a longterm friendship, even though they haven't seen it each other for many years and obviously have unfinished business, but still are there for each other as friends. It's so great to see a different but very authentic side of women in terms of the lives, friendships and relationships.

The film also have a lovely and gentle Toronto-ness about it. I'm sure fellow Torontonians will have fun picking and recognizing many of the locations, but it's not overly broad casted in the film, which is a choice I really enjoyed. That's one of the amazing things about the film overall is that it deals with harsh things gently but truly, keeping the emotions real and issues up front but always in a very respectful, intriguing way. I absolutely loved it.

DVD Extras:

• Table Read (2 minutes) footage with Molly Parker and the late Tracy Wright from table reading on January 16, 2010 - a unique addition for a DVD extra and touches on several of the emotional moments in the film and shows the strength of the actors in every moment.
• One Breath (5 minutes) beautiful & inspiring video directed by Dale Hildebrand on the power and belief of being able to change the world and connect to greater understanding. Plus, lots of Toronto footage to boot!

Trigger is available on DVD as of July 26, 2011. Check it out over at Amazon.ca

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I own it
I highly recommend it

Return to Film Reviews or see more DVD Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2010-2011
Originally reviewed for Theatrical Release - October 1, 2010


Tracy Wright and Molly Parker in TRIGGER Courtesy of eOne Films


Tracy Wright and Molly Parker in TRIGGER Courtesy of eOne Films

Trigger (DVD Review)

DVD Review of Bruce McDonald's brilliant women of rock drama Trigger starring Tracy Wright & Molly Parker

Image Courtesy of eOne Films

Dir: Bruce McDonald (This Movie Is Broken, Pontypool, Hard Core Logo, Dance Me Outside, Roadkill, Highway 61)
Cast: Tracy Wright, Molly Parker, Don McKeller, Sarah Polly, Callum Keith Rennie
Canada, 2010

Reason to see: Bruce McDonald films are always must-see films for me.

Trigger stars Molly Parker and the late Tracy Wright as friends who reunite, reignite and walk down memory lane to their rock'n'roll days. It have a nice strolling pace to it, but it certainly isn't misty eyed of the 'good old times', but rather is quite clear about the darker shadows of each of their pasts and the challenge and reality of deal, or not dealing, with those shadows in their current day life.

I loved how it incorporated nostalgia on the good and the bad fronts, and how moving ahead if life can lead to different directions for different people. Looking at the choice of 'keeping it real' vs 'making a living', along with posing the question of at some point to you have to make the choice between prosperity and art and if have to be mutually exclusive. I also loved that it featured women in the arts as rock stars, their effect on others and their relationships which all felt truly authentic.

As the film firmly centres on two women, it's a absolute treat that we are privy to the sensation performances by Molly Parker and Tracy Wright. They have great dialogue to work with and they really stay present throughout the film, with an understated comfort level that really resonates of a longterm friendship, even though they haven't seen it each other for many years and obviously have unfinished business, but still are there for each other as friends. It's so great to see a different but very authentic side of women in terms of the lives, friendships and relationships.

The film also have a lovely and gentle Toronto-ness about it. I'm sure fellow Torontonians will have fun picking and recognizing many of the locations, but it's not overly broad casted in the film, which is a choice I really enjoyed. That's one of the amazing things about the film overall is that it deals with harsh things gently but truly, keeping the emotions real and issues up front but always in a very respectful, intriguing way. I absolutely loved it.

DVD Extras:

• Table Read (2 minutes) footage with Molly Parker and the late Tracy Wright from table reading on January 16, 2010 - a unique addition for a DVD extra and touches on several of the emotional moments in the film and shows the strength of the actors in every moment.
• One Breath (5 minutes) beautiful & inspiring video directed by Dale Hildebrand on the power and belief of being able to change the world and connect to greater understanding. Plus, lots of Toronto footage to boot!

Trigger is available on DVD as of July 26, 2011. Check it out over at Amazon.ca

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I own it
I highly recommend it

Return to Film Reviews or see more DVD Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2010-2011
Originally reviewed for Theatrical Release - October 1, 2010


Tracy Wright and Molly Parker in TRIGGER Courtesy of eOne Films


Tracy Wright and Molly Parker in TRIGGER Courtesy of eOne Films

The Tree of Life

Image: Mr. O'Brien (Brad Pitt) and his son, in The Tree of Life. Courtesy of eOne Films

Writer/Dir: Terrence Malick (The New World, The Thin Red Line, Badlands)
Cast: Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, Hunter McCracken, Sean Penn, Laramie Eppler, Tye Sheridan
USA, 2011

Reason to see: It's on my list of Most Anticipated Films of 2011 (#15)

I absolutely loved The Tree of Life. It's powerful, it's smart, it made me feel and it made me think. It almost made me cry. I'm actually surprized it didn't make me cry, actually. It likely will on repeat viewings, which I look forward to even though it's 2 hours and 18 minutes and often is in no hurry to get where it's going. It felt felt oddly optimistic and idealistic even though it was often a very dark journey. It seems so throwaway to set the setting stage of following a family in the 1950's including the parents (played by Brad Pitt & Jessica Chastain) and their three sons, but in calm sea of a wildly experiential film we do need an anchor so they are are our anchor. It is fair to say the film is about life, and it is about family but it's also plays like science fiction which is oddly unsettling with this 1950's family that feels so accessible and real.

The Tree of Life is a film where after I've recovered from the power experiential process of getting thought it, I want to call it 'smart SciFi', but that feels almost like a disservice for some reason, even though I'm a huge fan of science fiction, and likely will talk about this film during my Summer of SciFi Marathon. It is more comfortable, or perhaps safer, to call it spiritual but in all honesty it firmly feels like both to me. It's about the journey. It's experiential. And it's an extremely powerful film.

One of the things that makes it so powerful is that it is rich in it's visual depiction of complicated emotions. The film weighs on you with the emotional journeys of the characters, from their love to their neediness. From their hurt to their desire. From their pain and their sorrow. There is a lot of emotion here and it's so clear that it almost defies words. The cast brings this to life with their all around formidable performances from Brad Pitt & Jessica Chastain but I was particularly taken with Hunter McCracken who plays one of the sons. I also was blown away but the weight of Sean Penn's performance. They were all exceptional. The oddest thing for me about the film was seeing Brad Pitt playing a character that literally felt like the embodying my own grandfather (brown sweater and all!), but somehow that just continued to add to the beauty of the film.

The Tree of Life provides a truly rare and beautiful film going experience. It's a film where I can say with certainly I don't understand everything about it, and that is completely fine. In fact, I think it would be strange to not end up reflecting about the film for a long time after seeing it. It really stays with you. highly & widely recommend it. You do not want to miss experiencing this film. It's a Perfect Film.

The Tree of Life opens in the following cities across Canada:
Friday June 10, 2011 in Toronto
Friday June 17, 2011 in Vancouver, Montreal
Friday June 24, 2011 in Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, Winnipeg
Friday July 1, 2011 in Ottawa

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it.
I can't wait to watch it again.
I highly and widely recommend it. It's a Perfect Film.

If you enjoyed The Tree of Life, I'd also recommend watching Mr. Nobody, Never Let Me Go and The Adjustment Bureau. For those feeling really adventurous, try Enter the Void.

Also see: All 2011 Films Reviewed, Most Anticipated Films of 2011 and All Film Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2011


Image: Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain in THE TREE OF LIFE Courtesy of eOne Films


Image: Mrs. O'Brien (Jessica Chastain) with her two boys in The Tree of Life. Courtesy of eOne Films

The Tree of Life

Image: Mr. O'Brien (Brad Pitt) and his son, in The Tree of Life. Courtesy of eOne Films

Writer/Dir: Terrence Malick (The New World, The Thin Red Line, Badlands)
Cast: Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, Hunter McCracken, Sean Penn, Laramie Eppler, Tye Sheridan
USA, 2011

Reason to see: It's on my list of Most Anticipated Films of 2011 (#15)

I absolutely loved The Tree of Life. It's powerful, it's smart, it made me feel and it made me think. It almost made me cry. I'm actually surprized it didn't make me cry, actually. It likely will on repeat viewings, which I look forward to even though it's 2 hours and 18 minutes and often is in no hurry to get where it's going. It felt felt oddly optimistic and idealistic even though it was often a very dark journey. It seems so throwaway to set the setting stage of following a family in the 1950's including the parents (played by Brad Pitt & Jessica Chastain) and their three sons, but in calm sea of a wildly experiential film we do need an anchor so they are are our anchor. It is fair to say the film is about life, and it is about family but it's also plays like science fiction which is oddly unsettling with this 1950's family that feels so accessible and real.

The Tree of Life is a film where after I've recovered from the power experiential process of getting thought it, I want to call it 'smart SciFi', but that feels almost like a disservice for some reason, even though I'm a huge fan of science fiction, and likely will talk about this film during my Summer of SciFi Marathon. It is more comfortable, or perhaps safer, to call it spiritual but in all honesty it firmly feels like both to me. It's about the journey. It's experiential. And it's an extremely powerful film.

One of the things that makes it so powerful is that it is rich in it's visual depiction of complicated emotions. The film weighs on you with the emotional journeys of the characters, from their love to their neediness. From their hurt to their desire. From their pain and their sorrow. There is a lot of emotion here and it's so clear that it almost defies words. The cast brings this to life with their all around formidable performances from Brad Pitt & Jessica Chastain but I was particularly taken with Hunter McCracken who plays one of the sons. I also was blown away but the weight of Sean Penn's performance. They were all exceptional. The oddest thing for me about the film was seeing Brad Pitt playing a character that literally felt like the embodying my own grandfather (brown sweater and all!), but somehow that just continued to add to the beauty of the film.

The Tree of Life provides a truly rare and beautiful film going experience. It's a film where I can say with certainly I don't understand everything about it, and that is completely fine. In fact, I think it would be strange to not end up reflecting about the film for a long time after seeing it. It really stays with you. highly & widely recommend it. You do not want to miss experiencing this film. It's a Perfect Film.

The Tree of Life opens in the following cities across Canada:
Friday June 10, 2011 in Toronto
Friday June 17, 2011 in Vancouver, Montreal
Friday June 24, 2011 in Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, Winnipeg
Friday July 1, 2011 in Ottawa

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it.
I can't wait to watch it again.
I highly and widely recommend it. It's a Perfect Film.

If you enjoyed The Tree of Life, I'd also recommend watching Mr. Nobody, Never Let Me Go and The Adjustment Bureau. For those feeling really adventurous, try Enter the Void.

Also see: All 2011 Films Reviewed, Most Anticipated Films of 2011 and All Film Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2011


Image: Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain in THE TREE OF LIFE Courtesy of eOne Films


Image: Mrs. O'Brien (Jessica Chastain) with her two boys in The Tree of Life. Courtesy of eOne Films

The King's Speech (DVD Review)

Image Courtesy of Alliance Films. Legal Line © 2010 The Weinstein Company. All Rights Reserved. Distributed exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved. © 2010 The Weinstein Company. Tous droits réservés. Distribué exclusivement au Canada par Alliance Vivafilm. Tous droits réservés.

Dir: Tom Hooper (The Damned United)
Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Jennifer Ehle, Derek Jacobi, Timothy Spall
UK/Australia, 2010

Reason to see: I knew from the trailer I would see the acting-heavy, inspiring-looking biopc with Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter.

Now, *this* is all the good things that awards season can bring us. Phenomenal actors, heart wrenching historical stories and Colin Firth (A Single Man) winning us over, again. And it won over many hearts and minds as it picked up 4 Academy Awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Colin Firth) and Best Original Screenplay.

The King’s Speech is a biopic though, and biopics can be tricky to write about as each viewer of the film may have a different level on knowledge of the history we are seeing on the screen, and for readers of this review I don’t want to spoil any of the plot with historical facts as one of the beautiful things about The King’s Speech is that it plays strongly as a drama with all the complications and conflicts along the way be they personal notations or public knowledge. So I’ll tread lightly.

In The King's Speech, Colin Firth stars as a royal with a stammer, his wife (played by Helena Bonham Carter) enlists the untraditional help of Australian Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush) to help him. It’s a fascinating, trying and compelling story about power, duty and personal pride as well as having historic relevance to boot. From the human connection perspective, the ability to express yourself, to get your message across, is a powerful thing and an important ability to each an every person in the world. Seeing a film where a person of great prestige and duty is struggling with such an everyday thing is astounding. Colin Firth projects to perfect amount of composure of someone of such an important stature, but seeing him struggle is something the audience can easily relate, sympathize with and we are most certainly cheering for him, hoping that he will overcome this burden.

The magic really happens when we see the relationship created between his character and Geoffrey Rush’s, who has taken on teaching him to work through his stammer through unconventional methods. It’s a beautiful, bumpy, real relationship that we get to see build throughout the film and the both Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are delightful to watch. It’s a perfect story of story, characters and actors who are all top notch. The importance of duty and image coupled by the personal journey of expressions plugs the story into every emotional fibre of the viewer. It’s absolutely brilliant and easily one of the best films of the 2010 and easily made The Perfect List.

DVD Extras:

• Audio commentary with director Tom Hooper a really interesting audio commentary and it's amazing to hear that challenges of the film and the absolutely spectacular specificity to details throughout from indicators of the score to choices of character interactions, as well as lots of lovely notations to working with the fabulous cast. A pretty technical, but still very accessible commentary, which will be especially of interest if people are curious about the creative process.
• The King's Speech: An Inspirational Story of an Unlikely Friendship (23 minutes) film clips and interviews with director Tom Hooper, producers Iain Canning & Gareth Unwin, screenwriter David Seidler, actors Colin Firth, Guy Pearce, Helena Bonham Carter, Timothy Spall & Jennifer Ehle on journey of the main character, the relationship between Bertie and Lionel, the importance of speech, the pressure and challenges of the newness of live radio, the casting, working together and characters as well as the production and costume design and the discovery and contribution of the diaries from the actual Lionel Logue.
  
• Q&A with the director and cast (22 minutes) Q&A with director Tom Hooper and actors Colin Firth, Guy Pearce, Helena Bonham Carter & Claire Bloom, moderated Matt Holzman from KCRW with a live audience and answering questions on working together, on creating the stammer, on their characters, the relationships between the characters, on why choosing this story and why it had not been previously told.
• Speeches from the Real King George VI (2 speeches) Pre-War Speech Radio Broadcast Sept 3, 1939 (5 minutes, audio played while showing image of King George) and Post-War Speech from May 14, 1945 (2 minutes, video footage).
• The Real Lionel Logue (10 minutes) film clips along with interview with Mark Logue (Lionel Logue's grandson and co-author of The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy) on how he came to the project, on Lionel Logue and his background and how he came to help people with their speech issues, the diaries of Lionel Logue and the relationship built between the King and Logue.
• The Stuttering Foundation (1 minute) Public Service Announcement from The Stuttering Foundation

The King's Speech is available on DVD as of April 19, 2011. Check it out over at Amazon.ca & Amazon.com

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I'll watch it repeatedly
I highly & widely recommend it to all

Return to Film Reviews or see more DVD Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2010-2011
Originally reviewed for Theatrical Release - December 26, 2010


Colin Firth stars in The King's Speech, an Alliance Films release (Image: Courtesy of Alliance Films).


Geoffrey Rush stars in The King's Speech, an Alliance Films release (Image: Courtesy of Alliance Films).

The King's Speech (DVD Review)

Image Courtesy of Alliance Films. Legal Line © 2010 The Weinstein Company. All Rights Reserved. Distributed exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved. © 2010 The Weinstein Company. Tous droits réservés. Distribué exclusivement au Canada par Alliance Vivafilm. Tous droits réservés.

Dir: Tom Hooper (The Damned United)
Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Jennifer Ehle, Derek Jacobi, Timothy Spall
UK/Australia, 2010

Reason to see: I knew from the trailer I would see the acting-heavy, inspiring-looking biopc with Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter.

Now, *this* is all the good things that awards season can bring us. Phenomenal actors, heart wrenching historical stories and Colin Firth (A Single Man) winning us over, again. And it won over many hearts and minds as it picked up 4 Academy Awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Colin Firth) and Best Original Screenplay.

The King’s Speech is a biopic though, and biopics can be tricky to write about as each viewer of the film may have a different level on knowledge of the history we are seeing on the screen, and for readers of this review I don’t want to spoil any of the plot with historical facts as one of the beautiful things about The King’s Speech is that it plays strongly as a drama with all the complications and conflicts along the way be they personal notations or public knowledge. So I’ll tread lightly.

In The King's Speech, Colin Firth stars as a royal with a stammer, his wife (played by Helena Bonham Carter) enlists the untraditional help of Australian Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush) to help him. It’s a fascinating, trying and compelling story about power, duty and personal pride as well as having historic relevance to boot. From the human connection perspective, the ability to express yourself, to get your message across, is a powerful thing and an important ability to each an every person in the world. Seeing a film where a person of great prestige and duty is struggling with such an everyday thing is astounding. Colin Firth projects to perfect amount of composure of someone of such an important stature, but seeing him struggle is something the audience can easily relate, sympathize with and we are most certainly cheering for him, hoping that he will overcome this burden.

The magic really happens when we see the relationship created between his character and Geoffrey Rush’s, who has taken on teaching him to work through his stammer through unconventional methods. It’s a beautiful, bumpy, real relationship that we get to see build throughout the film and the both Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are delightful to watch. It’s a perfect story of story, characters and actors who are all top notch. The importance of duty and image coupled by the personal journey of expressions plugs the story into every emotional fibre of the viewer. It’s absolutely brilliant and easily one of the best films of the 2010 and easily made The Perfect List.

DVD Extras:

• Audio commentary with director Tom Hooper a really interesting audio commentary and it's amazing to hear that challenges of the film and the absolutely spectacular specificity to details throughout from indicators of the score to choices of character interactions, as well as lots of lovely notations to working with the fabulous cast. A pretty technical, but still very accessible commentary, which will be especially of interest if people are curious about the creative process.
• The King's Speech: An Inspirational Story of an Unlikely Friendship (23 minutes) film clips and interviews with director Tom Hooper, producers Iain Canning & Gareth Unwin, screenwriter David Seidler, actors Colin Firth, Guy Pearce, Helena Bonham Carter, Timothy Spall & Jennifer Ehle on journey of the main character, the relationship between Bertie and Lionel, the importance of speech, the pressure and challenges of the newness of live radio, the casting, working together and characters as well as the production and costume design and the discovery and contribution of the diaries from the actual Lionel Logue.
  
• Q&A with the director and cast (22 minutes) Q&A with director Tom Hooper and actors Colin Firth, Guy Pearce, Helena Bonham Carter & Claire Bloom, moderated Matt Holzman from KCRW with a live audience and answering questions on working together, on creating the stammer, on their characters, the relationships between the characters, on why choosing this story and why it had not been previously told.
• Speeches from the Real King George VI (2 speeches) Pre-War Speech Radio Broadcast Sept 3, 1939 (5 minutes, audio played while showing image of King George) and Post-War Speech from May 14, 1945 (2 minutes, video footage).
• The Real Lionel Logue (10 minutes) film clips along with interview with Mark Logue (Lionel Logue's grandson and co-author of The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy) on how he came to the project, on Lionel Logue and his background and how he came to help people with their speech issues, the diaries of Lionel Logue and the relationship built between the King and Logue.
• The Stuttering Foundation (1 minute) Public Service Announcement from The Stuttering Foundation

The King's Speech is available on DVD as of April 19, 2011. Check it out over at Amazon.ca & Amazon.com

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I'll watch it repeatedly
I highly & widely recommend it to all

Return to Film Reviews or see more DVD Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2010-2011
Originally reviewed for Theatrical Release - December 26, 2010


Colin Firth stars in The King's Speech, an Alliance Films release (Image: Courtesy of Alliance Films).


Geoffrey Rush stars in The King's Speech, an Alliance Films release (Image: Courtesy of Alliance Films).