CFN

Hot Nights, Last Dance, and a song that probably led the births of thousands of children around the world; Love to Love You Baby..  She also acted in film and television.

Interviewed by Dick Clark on American Bandstand who himself recently passed away.

Her real name was LaDonna Adrian Gaines.  Her last release was To Paris With Love.

For five decades Donna entertained so many.   She’ll be missed, but her music will endure.   What was your fave Donna Summer song? You can post below.

Donna Summer December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012

Last Dance

CFN

Today more and more movies rely on digital technology for many areas that  used to have full artistry.

Director Tim Burton has been wrestling with Technology from the 3D effects in Alice in Wonderland to this latest offering; a revamp of the old Dark Shadows  TV show.

One I watched as a kid after school eating Bugles.

This of course was not my old Dark Shadows.   Tim Burton has made it his own in many ways.   It’s one  of  the weakest scripts I’ve ever seen in a Burton film, but I could see that a lot of its was building the foundation as there most certainly will be a sequel.  I could almost hear the execs voices in the back ground screaming to make it more like Twilight

Johnny Depp gave his fans what they come to expect from him.    He really can act and has some subtle fun scenes in Dark Shadows.  Some real themes are touched on in the limited amount of space a Hollywood platform flick can offer.

It was winsome seeing Michelle Pfeiffer.    She looks great but really wasn’t give much to do.   Chloe Grace Moretz hook I won’t give away, but it was kinda predictable and lacking oomph.    Bella Heathcote lives up to Tim’s waif fetish, but the real treat is Eva Green as Angelique, the villain.

Frankly I’d love to see her back, but unless there’s some magical hook her delightful Hard Core Bitch on Wheels villain will not be back.  She completely sizzled leaving me feeling like a 12 year old boy with one gym sock!

Tim’s gal pal, Helena Bonham Carter was kinda fun too and expected to be back in the sequel.

While it was funky to see Alice Cooper do his thing and the cameo by Christopher Lee Dark Shadows is a new franchise that looks like it will take root in the dark and rich soil that the Vampire has had for three centuries of Western Entertainment and lore!

Hopefully your local theater has a better service and experience than ours which had long line ups due to short staffing.   And dear Cineplex, when I spend over $20 for a ticket, small popcorn with butter and bottle of water I really don’t want to be bombarded with commercials before the movie rolls.  More trailers please, less crap

I’m going to give Dark Shadows 4 out of 5 Popcorn Boxes!

CFN

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It is the story of a young boy who’s new social studies teacher has assigned the class the task of coming up with an idea to change the world and act upon it. Trevor played by Haley Joel Osment decides that he will do 3 big favours for 3 people that they cannot do for themselves. Rather than pay back the favour to Trevor, they must “Pay it Forward” to 3 other people.  The next thing that happens is Helen Hunt to shouting at Trevor’s teacher asking why Trevor brought a homeless man into her house.   I won’t spoil the movie for you.  It is worth seeing because it makes you really think.

This “pay it forward” concept can be seen everywhere if we just look.  A son of a friend of mine has been chosen to represent Canada at the World Disabled Hockey Championship in Finland in May.  Max aged 16 has been a volunteer at a telethon each year to raise money for Handicap transport for the last 10 years with no thought of personal reward.  Now with a need himself to fund the trip to Finland, he has received “pay it forward” donations so that he can represent Canada.

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On April 17th the Rotary Clubs of Cornwall had their annual dinner to recognize outstanding Members of our community that exemplify their motto “service above self”.  “Paul Harris” awards were presented to the following members of our community: Scott Sayers, Barb Edgell, Dr. Rachel Navaneelan, Herman Rogalsky, Bryan Snider, Pat Clark and John Warner.

It is an incredibly strong message.  While big favours or high profile volunteer work may not be your style, the website:  payitforwardday.com has plenty of ideas that can be done by anyone to make the world a better place.

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Check out payitforwardday.com and do something to make this world a better place!

CFN - 

This evening, guests attending South Stormont’s Volunteer Appreciation Gala Dinner in the adjacent hall will be treated to an advance showing of the more than 1,000 piece collection.

Cornwall Free News was invited for a private pre-screening of the exhibit.  As we arrived a team of volunteers was fussing with putting final touches on the display which took seven people two and a half days to assemble.  Please check out the video clip.  This story will be updated later in the weekend.

This weekend marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the massive passenger liner, which saw its demise on its maiden voyage.  Readers may recall that the catastrophy resulted in the loss of some 1,500 lives of the 2,224 people on board.  This is also the 15th anniversary of theTitanic movie.  As such, there is renewed interest in all things Titanic.

Some Original Titanic Footage

Next weekend, on Saturday, April 21st and Sunday April 22nd from 12-5 pm at the South Stormont Community Hall next door to the OPP station in Long Sault, Grant’s collection of over 1,000 props that were used in the making of the movie will be on display to the public.  Some of the more cherished pieces include Jack’s boarding passes, Jack’s luggage, Fabrizzio’s luggage, Rose’s purse, china, linens, an elaborate jewelry collection, wardrobe clothing, silver, life jackets, pieces of the railing, pieces of the ship, a chunk of the replica iceberg and much much more. Everyone is invited to come out and witness movie history.  This also promises to be a wonderful experience for Titanic history buffs.  Admission is free, but donations to “Laura’s Leukemia Fund” are appreciated. Schools are welcome and special tours can be arranged.

New Video of How Titanic Sank

Tammie took time to chat on camera with Cornwall Free News’ Don Smith about her collection and the passion she has for this historic event.  In the photo accompanying this article, Grant displays a few of her favorite pieces from the collection.

CFN

As a fat kid in the 70′s there was John Belushi and John Candy.   Both funny men.   We fat kids didn’t have a lot of role models back then.

The Summer of  ’82 I had just come back from California for the first time.    I’d worked in Smiths Falls in Radio which was very strange.

Drugs were different in the 70′s and 80′s compared to today.  There was no crack.   Weed was mellow not whacking you like purple micro-dot.

Cocaine was in.   I mean, you could stay up for today’s and be hyper creative.    People weren’t even aware of aspartame much at that point.   I remember being fueled on diet pills and diet pepsi until I started to have symptoms that Doctors thought was epilepsy!

John was the coolest.   In his 33 years he was in 7 movies but left an impact that still is felt today in comedy.   Many have followed in his foot steps.

As sad as it is that John perished far too young I could never imagine him as an old man.    As his fame spun out of control he ended up in some real odd film choices.    He was set to be in Ghostbusters in the role that Bill Murray made famous; but that night in the Chateau Marmot ended that from happening.

JOHN BELUSHI WIKI

Animal House blew the world’s mine and truly celebrated the outsider and individual which is something I personally cherish in this day of political conformity.  Bluto Blutarsky represented hope to a lot of edgy people.  :)

My fave line from Animal House

Samurai Delicatessen

Was that Gene Shalit one scary looking dude or what?

John Adam Belushi – Never to be Forgotten who left our world far too soon.

January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982

]]> http://cornwallfreenews.com/2012/03/john-belushi-died-30-years-ago-today-sadly-missed-never-forgotten-march-4-2012/feed/ 2 http://cornwallfreenews.com/2012/02/neverbloomers-the-search-for-grownuphood-on-cbc-documentary-channel-monday-february-27-2012-8pm-est/ http://cornwallfreenews.com/2012/02/neverbloomers-the-search-for-grownuphood-on-cbc-documentary-channel-monday-february-27-2012-8pm-est/#comments Sun, 26 Feb 2012 19:14:41 +0000 admin http://cornwallfreenews.com/?p=33545 CFN – Neverbloomers : the search for Grownuphood premieres tomorrow on the CBC Documentary channel.   LINK  Sharon Hyman’s first feature length doc is a generational retrospective navel gazing  journey.   It asks many questions; answers a few; but mostly what drew me to it and kept me watching was the connection I made.

As a 47 year old former Montrealer whose grand-father was a Cantor I too myself may be a Neverbloomer.    As I watched the scenes roll by there was a stream of connection between the interview subjects, Ms Hyman, and myself.

And that to me is the charm of this feature length Documentary.

For a pleasant view and chance for you other Neverbloomers to ponder your grownuphood check out Neverbloomers on the CBC Documentary channel Monday night starting at 8PM EST.

For more about Sharon Hyman and her film visit her website HERE.

Sharon Hyman

I had the chance to connect with Sharon on Facebook and here is some of our chat:

CFN

So what is it about filmmaking that turns you on?

Sharon Hyman

but you said Goon is everything you love about Canada, I think you can say the same about Neverbloomers, it is so diverse and cool

CFN

• Neverbloomers was a trip for me – it was nice, familiar….my age group, my former home town, some of the same questions in life.  Maybe different sub characters….  I’m interviewing you via Facebook for the write up.   Did you see Goon?  And back to my question. What is it about filmmaking that turns you on?

  Sharon Hyman

  I just enjoy it, the immediacy in my case, since I do everything myself – grab a camera and film

  CFN

  Do you think you’ll Bloom one day?

Sharon Hyman

I think as Faith Nolan says in the film, we are always in a process of blooming and drooping, at the same time.

CFN

• In another review I think it was written that your film contrasted really nicely between your parents generation; I think they even compared it to “Mad Men’s” time frame. What do you think it the biggest difference between your Mom’s life and your own?  Is being a Neverbloomer a good thing?

  Sharon Hyman 

  I think it’s easy to romaticize our parents’ generation, they seemed to have actual social lives as opposed to us who have TV and Facebook. They had cocktail parties and community events and actually got out of the house!

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  On the other hand, my mother’s generation of women suffered from lack of options, thank God feminism came around and liberated both sexes! For even though she seemed like the uber grownup to me, as she says in the film, she just felt overwhelmed.
  CFN
  Do you like Cocktail parties? After the premier of Neverbloomers what’s next for Sharon?
   What’s your next project going to be about?
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  Sharon Hyman 
  I actually do not drink. But the idea is that people socilaised, not as isolated as our generation. I am in talks to work on a project with singer Luba to work on something about women in the music industry.
  CFN
  That’s amazing as I’m supposed to be interviewing her in a few weeks in Montreal!  A great voice.

  • How do you think the internet has changed the way we consume media and interact with each other? Especially for women?

  Sharon Hyman 
  In some ways it broadens our circles – you got to meet Luba and otherwise would not. On the other hand, nothing replaces true community and personal interaction, and the Internet does not offer that.
  
  
  CFN

  • Tangent: Was there a particular reason you entered Neverbloomers instead of just interviewing others?

    Was it just the introspective of searching, and did you find your answers much different than those of the people you filmed?  You can’t touch people online; physically – shake hands, hug, smells; at least not yet

  Sharon Hyman 

  I have been doing what I call “autodocumentaries” since I was a teenager so it was natural to be in the film. I like personal, first person films.
  Sometimes I think this is the era of the Neverbloomer.
  For starters, so many of the traditional “external trappings” of adulthood have changed – people marrying later, if at all (and then ending up divorced), the percentage of women who never have children has doubled in the last few decades, there are few cradle-to-grave jobs anymore, those sorts of things.And then there’s the lifestyle changes. I don’t know about you, but my dad was part of the Masonic temple and my parents had cocktail parties and belonged to the synagogue and actually went out of the house several nights a week! Our generation has TV and Facebook. Very isolating.As a result of these seismic shifts in social and economic roles, the ways that we as a society used to delineate between childhood and adulthood no longer exist. Which leaves many of us wondering how adulthood can be now be defined, when the traditional markers have all but disappeared.However, it is also possible that people always felt like neverbloomers and either did not realize it (before therapy and Oprah and, thank God, feminism came about) or never voiced their true feelings. My mother admits as much in the film, when I ask if she felt like a grownup – married with four kids by 27 – and she says “I just felt overwhelmed!”
  The main leasson that I learned is that everyone feels like a Neverbloomer, at least part of the time. We are always comparing our insides to other people’s outsides, and falling short in our eyes. But the truth is, almost everyone feels like an impostor grownup. Everyone feels like life is one big high school experience that just never ends. All those fears and insecurities, they never go away. But hopefully with inner work (and age) we can cope better with these feelings and gain more perspective and equanimity. As I say in the film, it’s not so much grownuphood as “awareuphood”!The other main lesson is that the “external trappings” of life are not necessarily the things that will make you feel like you have bloomed.
  .
  At first I felt like a Neverbloomer because I don’t have certain of those trappings that society tells us we need to be true adults – marriage, kids, a mortgage, a driver’s license! And then I realized, it really is about how you feel inside, and what is meaningful to you. Blooming is an internal process, not based on externals or how society says you “should” be.
  
  

  NEVERBLOOMERS: The Search For GrownUphood
  A new film by Sharon Hyman
  World broadcast premiere on
  CBC’s documentary channel
  February 27, 2012 | 8:00 PM ET/PT

  
  

CFN

It’s not the most polished film.  It wasn’t expertly directed although it has its moments; same for the script too; but it nails hit like an Alexei Emelin hip check when it comes to not only what the true spirit of hockey is and to be honest what makes Canadians special.

In WW1 Canadian troops actions created the term Storm Troopers.    Our reputation was so fierce that in WW2 Hitler’s generals would follow Canadian troop movements when anticipating major attacks such as Normandy.

That’s because deep down when things are darkest; bleakest, and their most dangerous Canadian’s fearlessly jump into the breach and have miraculously achieved success.

In hockey there would be no Wayne Gretzky without a Dave Semenko.   Goon nails that.    Homey Jay Baruchel teamed up with Evan Goldberg in what probably was the most fun those guys will ever have in a movie.   Just watching Goon it looks like it was a blast to make.   The script shows that too.  The story flows.

In most stories you have the hero, in this case Seann William Scott who’s a native of Minnesota ( a State that is nearly Canadian in its love for hockey) stars as Doug Glatt.    From a good Jewish family of Doctors Doug is lost not finding his place in the world until he discovers he can become a goon on his local hockey team.

Everything has something but me.

Who has never been there in life?  Alienated, not feeling successful or accepted?    Doug’s coach played by veteran Canadian actor Nicholas Campbell to perfection turns him into a hockey player and leads to Doug’s promotion to a league one level below the majors where his job is to protect a concussed Prima Donna Quebec scoring machine, Xavier Laflamme played mightily by Marc-André Grondin.

In addition to the hero you have the villain.  In this case it’s played by the “big name” of this film in actor Liev Schreiber who we end up rooting for.   Liev’s character is a goon at the end of the road.   He’s battered, beaten, but still defiant.

There’s an amazing scene where the two end up in a late night Coffee Shop in Newfoundland.   Magic.   Liev really butched it up for this role and totally hit a home run.   The subtlety of his performance is award worthy.

In good story telling there always is a heroine.   Alison Pill doesn’t get much to work with, but she’s cute as a button as the babe, and hockey bunny.    Slap Shot was written by a woman and many of its perspectives reflect that which isn’t in Goon.

And of course in the story paradigm you have the fool which can sometimes be combined with either the Hero or Villain.  In this case co-writer Jay Baruchel shares that roll with the hero as his buddy with a camera and potty mouth.

Veteran Canadian Comedy Icon Eugene Levy helps coat the cake with his role as Doug’s dad.

Goon Trailer

Gary Bettman and the NHL must’ve had a caniption fit over Goon.  It’s not pretty.   Fighting; blood, and mayhem are full hard core and go against whatever it is that the NHL is trying to brand in the US.

As the movie says:  ”This isn’t baseball!”

Watching the Ottawa Senators this year, the team I’m rooting for as The Habs have their heads up their buttocks I root a lot for Chris Neil who I’ve written about quite a bit.   I have a hunch he  loves this movie as probably does Don Cherry.  Check out how Chara cries Uncle and Neil let’s him off the hook.

People have to understand that in this world where justice seems to be all but invisible to the “little guy” fighting in hockey is instant justice.  There are codes and when you violate them there is a real price to pay.    Maybe something we need more of in this crazy society?    No, I’m not suggesting that you go out and drop the gloves with your local corruption; but for 90 or so minutes we can watch  a film like Goon and smile.

And Goon will make you smile.

I give Goon Four Peter Pucks Out of Five as a hockey movie and 3 as a movie over all.   If you love hockey; if you love Canada; you’ll love it like I did!

CFN – *Sees no preview*

*Sees a poster on a wall and has a free movie*

*Has an expectation to dislike*

Now first you have to really know what I thought I was getting myself into when I went to see this movie. I thought it would be this boring documentary/true story type of film that really did no good, and was just out there to tell a story. Usually not my thing. I expected to honestly, dislike this movie. (Was kinda looking forward to my first negative review)

This… was not the case…

It was, by far, the best movie I have seen in in months. It had no action, no explosions, no nostalgia, no outrageous super powers. It had emotion, it had talent, and it had Marilyn. Oh it had Marilyn. Michelle Williams is stunning and wonderful. Drop dead gorgeous and deserving of her Oscar nomination.

The movie was amazing, it was sad, it was funny, it was romantic, it pulled you in and made you feel with it. The cinematography was amazing and only amplified the raw emotion. Oh my god, I’m nearly speechless. I cannot say much more, I really cannot…

I give it a 5 out of 5 popcorn bags. Damn near perfect, watch it. I cannot say anything else, just watch it.

Your Reviewer: 

Liam Morgan Sinclair-Dempster, a 17 year old student who enjoys writing, acting, and pizza, and I am a fan of movies!

I am not some big type hot shot reviewer, who believes his opinions are better than anyone else’s.

I just want to give a view to a movie from a young fan viewpoint. I’m just a guy, saying what a guy thinks of a movie. The average Joe’s review you could call it. I just want people to understand that a movie can be enjoyable, and bad, or good, and not.

You can read more of Liam’s reviews here on CFN or visit his blog.   

My Week with Marilyn  is playing at  The Port Theatre in Cornwall Ontario!   You can visit The Port on the web via their FACEBOOK PAGE.    CLICK HERE!

If you wish to sponsor Liam’s reviews call us today at 613 361 1755!