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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJygETCXpR8

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!

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CFN – Shame is a stunningly bleak and hopeless movie.   It also is one of the best I’ve seen in the last year with not only stunning writing and direction; but truly magnificent performances by lead Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan,and Mr. Fassbender’s Penis.

Director Steve McQueen doesn’t sugar coat life.  This movie is dark and gritty as Fassbender searches for meaning in his life.

His apartment is sparse; his office is sparse; he can’t maintain a relationship and the only colour in his life is his sister who floats back into his life played by the delicious and supremely talented Carey Mulligan.  (can’t wait to see her as Daisy in the Gatsby remake!)

I jested before about Mr. Fassbender’s Penis, but it truly was used to juxtapose the sexual human condition and the search for love.   It’s featured prominently and frequently in the film.

There is strong nudity in this film, but it’s used to plonk home some points.  The most explicit scenes don’t include sex.  The rawness of the scenes between Fassbender and Mulligan in the opening spin direction and then cement the direction of the film.

Carey Mulligan’s character Cissy,  is also searching to feel things either through her art, singing, or hurting herself.  The search of the two leads to feel something even though they may not be sure what they are searching for connect with many people’s feeling of disconnection in society.

Shame prompts many questions.   It slaps you into awareness momentarily.    It’s a Shame that Shame was left out of the Oscar nominations, but it’s well worth a watch!

I give Shame 4/5 Popcorn boxes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62nelnMXW3M

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CFN –   So I’m talking with this writer tonight from Montreal and my old screenplay; Sheep Wars came up.   I’d written it in 1996 for a friend who never found the money to pay for it which is kinda normal in that biz.

What’s funny is that I actually wrote about Cornwall without ever living here.   I’d only been here for a Legends Hockey game when I was touring with the team.

So I thought I’d share the scenes from the script.   The scenes are of the lead character coming to Cornwall to ask his dad for money so that he can make his movie.

Cornwall’s changed a lot since 1996….

And Gordon Lightfoot just played Cornwall last year….

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CFN – This movie is dark, distasteful and great. I have not read the books, and as an opening I will also mention that this review shall hold barely a Synopsis. Instead of a detail overview of what happened in this movie I shall give a brief overview. Because I believe the plot of this movie is not something I should say, and that many twists and turns happen that are very important I just do not wish to give them away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL8LI-h2WFc

I did give away the plot for my Sherlock Holmes review, but that movies plot did not have as much hidden points. I could tell you what happened and not give away what really made the movie good. Not in this case.

One thing I can say is that the opening credits, have nothing to do with anything.Its like a artsy fartsy music video that tries to hard to be artistic. It may have a deep meaning, or not. I do not know. It is basically a music video that placed right before the movie. It is pretty though… I can say that.

The brief view of the Plot is there is this young woman Lisbeth Salander (Played by Rooney Mara, who does a wonderful job) who is a computer Hacker, and a journalist named Mikael Blomkvist (Played by the latest James Bond, Daniel Craig) who end up teaming together to find out who murdered a young girl forty years ago. They end up finding a completely new string of murders, under covering a lot more than they had hoped for.

Be wary when you go to see this movie. It is rated 18 A and it deserves that rating, it holds nothing back. It is dark and distasteful, and really not meant for innocent or young people, because it will rob them of their innocence. If you see this movie, be prepared for the worst of imagery.

That is partially what makes it just a great movie though. It is well written, very intriguing, and very appealing to the eye. The characters are good, and even though it takes a second to get your bearing, the plot is the best part of this movie. I want you too see it for yourself, but if you are the type of person who only enjoys my little rainbow fests and sparkles, run and run fast. The beginning fails to start the atmosphere quickly enough in my opinion, and its pacing seems just off.

I really enjoy this movie (Not just because I am aroused by Rooney Mara in this role). Its only really lacking points is a slow start and those damned opening credits.

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.   

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 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!

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CFN – Sunday afternoons are such a nice time to go to a movie in the winter.   So I paid my nearly $20 for a single seat and small popcorn with butter and settled in with some friends to watch War Horse, the new movie from director Stephen Spielberg.

Horses aren’t dogs or even hamsters.   This was very tough material.  As a screenwriter I look at this and wonder where I could’ve fixed it or improved it and frankly I was frustrated.

Not that War Horse is perfect; it just is tough to communicate some of what I’m sure the director wanted.

There are no real stars to this movie.  It’s nice to see Emily Watson give her usual fine performance although she didn’t have much to work with.

Hollywood seems so focused on streaming down the length of movies that you miss out on story and character development.  You don’t connect motivations.

The story is plain enough – colourful character buys a horse – his son devotes himself to the majestic beast until the horse is sold off to World War one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRf3SfeMRD4

It ends up working on both sides before it’s poignant moment of rescue.  I don’t want to give too much away.

There was some great potential to cover a lot of ground.  I do like that Mr. Spielberg ever so casually shows the utter pointlessness of war and how those that truly suffer the most have the least with why they happen.

And that those most innocent usually lose more than those most responsible for them.

WAR HORSE WIKI

War Horse is playing at an over priced big box theatre near you….really….nearly $20 for a ticket and small popcorn;  good thing I didn’t order a bottle of water too…. no wonder less people are going to the movies.  Grr….

I’m going to give War Horse 3 out of 5 bags of Popcorn for some lovely photography and for not being bad and actually having some good discussion points.  And yes, it’s a weeper for those of us that love animals!

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CFN – Well, that looks like a shitty thriller… Invisible things turning people to ash! Sweet! Im going to watch this movie simply to see what the hell are those alien things, then write a review on how shitty it was… Yes… I shall do jut that…

*See the movie*

Hm, That actually wasn’t that bad… I mean, it was no masterpiece… but not a shitty movie…

It starts off… I missed the beginning bit and only actually showed up to see lights falling from the sky in Moscow. One of them lands in front of a large group of people… and a police man proceeds to POKE IT WITH A STICK. Violently the light (Now invisible) lashes out and kills him, turning him to dust. People shit bricks and make a run for it.

Now the movie focused on three guys and two girls during this part. It was a lot of people running and shitting themselves away from these things. Should those words switch places… nah, I think their shitting of bricks propelled them forward.

After twenty minutes of shitting bricks, we settle on these five people. Two american girls, names I did not bother knowing yet. Two american dudes, one is the smart one, and the other is me, in a thriller movie. I freakin’ swear. Oh, and a Swedish business douche. They are, keeping themselves inside a food-cellar-thing for a couple days… which what I think is a fade in and out of each day, of them freaking out.

After what I think was five days… they leave, and I learn a new name! Shaun… the one like me. Anyway, they do a lot of running around looking for the American embassy. They find it killed to shit, after very quickly picking up a few things about the creatures.

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They cannot see through glass, and they make electrical things work around them. So they now know how to hide and tell when they are coming. If it wasn’t so BS, it would be a pretty sweet idea. It does help with suspense sometimes, I mean, how often does the lights turning ON, mean the monster will kill you.

ANYWAY, the Swedish dick dies. I think his name was skylar… BUT on the bright side they forget about him quickly… and find another safehouse. This one is housed by a crazy guy in a metal cage, which somehow hides them. The Russian guy is named… something, but the girl who accompanies him is Vike.

Um, the blonde girl f***s everything up and gets the Russian guy and herself killed. The safehouse ruined, they now have another place to go. A nuclear submarine! Which works just like metal cage… somehow… AND… they also have a microwave gun… which can stun one of those things…

Through some other BS they run into a group of people that prove that those things can be hurt. (One guy is one a horse) They offer to keep the characters there as long as they need, but they say they have to go home. They Militia guys are convinced to hep them out, and they use the metro to go quickly to the submarine. The other guy dies… what was his name… Tom? Tom dies… saving Vike… so sweet.

They make it to a boat which they use to float towards the sub safely. They dont quite make it, and a house collapsing destroys the boat and sends them all overboard. However they are saved by the russian submarine. All but um… the other girl… Natalie… I think… Shauns new lover girl.

So they go to save her, build a second microwave gun, and manage to kill one of those things. Hooray! They look silly, satanish. The militia guys kill three more by something the crazy russian told them of way back. Shaun kills one with a shard of ts own shield… biatch. Then they all live happily ever after, trying to save the world. From a sub. Shaun gets the girl, Vike gets a working Ipod. Militia stays behind, everybody wins, except for the dead people.

Overall, not a bad movie. A 5/10. It has some funny moments before the aliens show up (I got around to seeing a BIT of the beginning), and you don’t completely hate the characters. I liked all of them, even the swedish douche, cuz he had a nice emotional moment. Well, not the blonde girl, she just got on my nerves. The monsters have a good sense of suspense… and people don’t constantly make bad decisions.  A lot of how they survived was dumb luck, but it can happen.

Happy Holidays.

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.

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CFN - First off, I enjoyed this movie thoroughly. No matter what I say after this, I really did enjoy this movie a lot. So please keep that in mind, as I try to stay objective in this review of the movie.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes, or ROTPOTA’s as I will never refer to it again is a Sci-Fi, Action/Drama prequel to Planet of the Apes. It is set in present day San Fransisco, where Will Rodman, played by James Franco sets into motion a supremacy battle between Apes and Humans. The Story starts with Will having developed a potential cure for Alzheimer’s. But his chances of setting it into motion this cure is shattered when one of his chimp test subjects, Bright eyes, goes into a rampage around the lab and building before getting shot. His boss, Black Greedy Douche, shuts him down and orders the deaths of all the infected chimps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28Z_D9Grh18

Will however gets coaxed into taking Bright Eyes Newborn Chimp home, to save his life. We are also introduced to his father, who I shall call Bill. Bill Names the Chimp Caesar. Caesar is discovered to have great intellect and have gotten the smartness of his mother from genetics. Caesar has inherited his mother’s high intelligence, and learns quickly.

Skip to Eight years later and through a string of events, Caesar gets sent to Animal Control.

Will tries his best to get him out, and also finds out that the Alzheimer’s cure is not potent enough to withstand he human immune system in the long term. This sets him out to try and create a more aggressive strain, which after telling Greedy Douche about the ability the original strain had to make people smarter, he has all teh resources to do.

Meanwhile, Caesar has become distant and started dominating the Apes at the center. Now we have been introduced to multiple different apes. Buck, the Gorilla at the Center, who is locked permanently in a cage, Until Caesar frees him and gains his loyalty. Rocket, the previous Chimp in Charge, who Caesar gains the loyalty of by hitting him on the head with a metal gas can. Maurice, a ex-Circus Orangutang who seems to be closest to Caesar and is with him almost since they meet. There is Also another Ape, Named Coba who is experimented on by Will with the new, more aggressive strain. He is potentially the third most intelligent next to Maurice and Caesar since next to Caesar he had the virus the longest. He is also my favorite of the Apes, I call him Colby.
Soon Ceaser gives all the apes in his center the new strain and they all escape, and Caesar speaks. Also it is revealed the new virus is lethal to humans and has already claimed a victim. The Chimp handler.

Caesar leads the apes to free all their brethren in the city and takes them to the bridge to get to freedom, the redwoods. The apes run across the bridge, and awaiting them is a line of guns, but they find a way around this. A third of the apes go under (Lead by Maurice), and a third go above (Lead by Rocket) and Ceaser leads the rest straight into the dragons cave.

Using a very cunning strategy the Apes take out the humans with minimal casualties on either side. Buck has however, died heroically taking out a chopper. As the remains of the chopper hang precariously off teh edge of the bridge, Greedy Douche was shown to be inside and is still alive, but barely holding on. Caesar allows Colby to get the kill by pushing the chopper off with his foot.
The Apes then make their way into the woods, where Will find them and asks Caesar to come home with him. With this Caesar speaks again and says, “Caesar is Home”. The apes climb into the great redwoods and the credits roll. It is not over though and we find another has the killer virus and accidentally spreads it around the world. Roll real credits.

Overall this was a excellent movie, with a couple flaws. The ending could have been better and at points the CGI was blatant. The movie was not predictable save for a few parts and it constantly kept my interest. It does the franchise proud. The Movie does a very good job at character development and making us feel for the Apes and Main cast, however the secondary cast is nothing more than background and I usually felt nothing for them, especially when the chimp handler died. However when Buck died it brought forth emotion when you knew he was going to sacrifice himself, and when he did.

I honestly believe they should have done more with Koba, with his introduction and all the development of his hatred towards humans. They could have done more with him and they should have, I kept wanted to see him do more, like Buck and Maurice.

I also want to see a sequel. Good sign.

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.

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CFN -  Betcha that most of you reading this have never heard of Joe Bodolai.     Joe exited Stage Hollywood.  Not the first and not the last.   He left the USA seeking haven in Canada during the Vietnam years and built a career in Comedy.

The irony that many who give so much to make us laugh suffer in darkness during their lives.     Joe had a great life in many ways.  He achieved a lot; saw a lot; but because his adopted country couldn’t fulfill his career he had to go back to the US just like so much Canadian talent has to leave to reach its pinnacle or be rewarded fitly.

That’s a problem for many countries but one that Canada should not have.

Reading about Joe, reading his last blog entry; I’ve learned more about him than I knew.   I recognized his name from rolling credits of shows like Kids in the Hall.

Joe decided he’d had enough of life.

Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering – and it’s all over much too soon.

Woody Allen

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CFN –  Los Angeles based Actor/Comic Jason Stuart has written another piece on anti-bullying which he’s released in the Huffington Post  and chosen to allow us to release as well.

We are going to be doing a feature on Bullying shortly so I thought it was apropos to run his piece!

You don’t have to be Gay to appreciate the spirit behind much of  his writing.

I mean the whole idea of equality is that things apply to….all of us.

Kudos to Mr. Stuart and to learn more about Jason and what he’s up to visit his website.  LINK

He’s going to be appearing in Whistler BC shortly too for his Canadian fans!

WHEN OPPORTUNITY MEETS TALENT
By Jason StuartWhen opportunity meets talent, we can soar. This is what the SAG LGBT Committee is all about.  Our committee’s mission is to equal the playing field for openly gay actors by giving them opportunities to be considered for all sorts of roles, not simply ones defined by their gender or sexual preference.  I created it 6 years ago as a support system for my fellow actors, because  I cannot tell you how many times I have been told that I am not right to play this or that kind of role.

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I have had 35 years of people telling me the limits of casting me because I am gay, when really the limits are in their own vision.

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I recently went to a movie screening  of Pariah, the story of a young black women coming out to her family as a lesbian.  Kim Wayans gives a wonderfully deep performance as the mother of a young girl coming out as a lesbian to,  who uses religion to justify her prejudice against gays.  She is getting terrific reviews, and although people are surprised, it is not a surprise to me at all that she is wonderful in this role.  

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When we first met on the set of My Wife & Kids, I noticed what class and style she had – so different from many of the characters she did in her comedy.  Although she is known for playing sketch characters on the iconic TV series In Living Color, and was  laugh out loud funny on the show, she is talented enough to play dramatics parts too, when given the chance, as she has shown with Pariah. Kim was quick to give a supportive remark when I was shooting my scenes, and I am here to do the same for her.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5XfeGnw5R8

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Decades ago, I went to the Beverly Center cineplex to see the movie Come Back to the Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean. It starred Cher.  Because Cher was then a very big variety tv performer and Vegas regular, I figured that as an actress she would give a  camp version of her TV persona and that I’d have a good laugh.  But when Cher’s character Sissy said, “Juanita, I just wanted to get me some orange crush… its so hot out there”, I was entranced.

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She began to use a napkin to dry her underarms and I thought to myself, I will never prejudge another actor on his or her abilities. The Cher I thought I knew disappeared for that 90 minutes.  Her career broadened after that, as people saw her as a bona fide actress .   But they never would have known had not Robert Altman been willing to open his mind and look beyond her singing-diva-wearing-outrageous-outfits persona.

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Earlier this year, I was filmed the prison drama K11 about gay people in the Los Angeles prison system. The part of the mean laundry trustee was offered to me by the casting director who gave me my very first professional interview, Pam Dixon. As I read the script, I assumed that my character was gay, since that is what is usually offered to me.  Pam told me that it was a straight character, and that he was actually homophobic!  I got a bit choked up as I thanked her for giving me the chance to play other types of characters.

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Don’t keep people in boxes.  Let them soar.  

When you think one of the most prolific character actors, who’s also an outrageous openly gay stand-up comedian, one name comes to mind…. Jason Stuart. Stuart has been making people laugh out loud with his hysterical performances all over the country since coming out in 1993. He has accomplished what few other gay comics have ever achieved: brutal honesty with humor in a world that’s not always kind. Not only is Stuart an all-out crowd pleaser, but he transcends the boundaries of race, gender and sexual orientation with his edgy comedic style. Stuart’s material about his experiences as a single Jewish gay man living in Hollywood is original, cutting edge and just plain funny.

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CFN – JASON STUART celebrates with laughter at the 20th annual Winter PRIDE festival in Whistler British Columbia.

 

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