Cafe de Flore aka They should have left it on the cutting room floor

Dear reader Why can't I warm to Canadian movies ? I guess this is a question for my shrink. I will explain to her that I find the plot development implausible at best; the endings a cop-out; the acting mediocre at best and that ultimate I just don't care. And I should be Blanche, I should. So unless you have to (a) see every Canadian movie ever made (b) see every French Canadian movie ever made (c) see every movie ever made with children with Down’s Syndrome (d) all of the above, forget this one.

Yours for less Canadian content, DVP

The Nutcracker - Let the Over-eating and Fake Fellowship Begin

Dance (The National Ballet of Canada at the Sony Centre,Toronto)  It doesn't matter what I write about this old chestnut- I mean timeless classic. Nostalgia and boredom will drive parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and other sordid - I mean assorted- folks to take quickly bored children to see this ballet.

In fairness, I thought this production better than many I have seen. The costumes didn't feel so heavy - except the red and gold ones that always have too religious an air for me. The dancing was fine and thanks to Karen Kain and company for recognizing that black children can dance- imagine.

So loosen your belts for too much egg nog and turkey and let the festivities begin.

Yours in Holiday overindulgence, DVP

Mayans - Developed Language and Calendars- Who knew ?

The Mayan exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto is an excellent display of an ancient and interesting civilization. I recommend that for your first walk around you take a tour with one of the museum's docents and then just meander around the beautiful statues, clay pots and jewellery on show. It is a large exhibit so give yourself at least an hour and a half to get through it.

Yours in people's faces even older than mine, DVP

I knew nothing about the premise of the Descendants when I went to see it. I went because It got good reviews and George Clooney is in it- not in priority order. It took me a few minutes to realize that it was meant to be humorous even though there was a person in a coma from the outset. Once I did, I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. This is not for those seeking intellectual nourishment or those who think there is nothing funny about death - and life. I do and so did the cast of perfectly likeable characters on the screen. It is predictable but I didn't mind that either.

Yours for anything with George Clooney in it!

J. Edgar- The dullest Gay Guy Ever

Even Leonardo DiCaprio couldn't make J.Edgar Hoover interesting , let alone likeable. He remained an enigma to me at the end of the film and mostly I just didn't care what made him tick.The film was so bland that I didn't even feel outraged by all of the dirty tricks he pulls- barely indignant.

Leonardo DiCaprio acted very well and the make up and wardrobe were great but I sure hope he loses all that weight he gained for the part post haste.I f you have to see every Leonardo DiCaprio movie made or every movie with a closeted gay character ever made, go ahead. Otherwise you can do much better.

Yours with no patience for dull films.

Margin Call - A cautionary tale of our Times

Margin call is a realistic depiction of what probably took 24 hours before the latest crash in a brokerage firm. It is filled with great actors like Jeremy Irons and Demi Moore working for peanuts to tell this tale. The entire film was made for $3, a pittance in movie terms. It is told in a manner that allows even those of us who know nothing of the markets to see what is going on, if not exactly why. The film"s style reminded me of Mamet's Glengarry Glenross, which I always would have been better as a play. This would have made a great play but then it would not have reached the wide audience it has. Definitely worth seeing.

Martha Marcie May Marlene -Brilliant, Mesmerizing Manson-inspired film chills to the Bone

This is one of the best films of its genre I have seen. It is the story of a girl drawn into a cult but starts as she is leaving the cult and trying to reintegrate into society.

She returns to her sister and her sister's husband without telling them where she has been for the past two years. Her behaviour is bizarre but not surprising to those of us in the know. The directing is wonderful, moving back and forth from her time in the cult to present day. Elizabeth Olsen is amazing as the cult survivor and the supporting actors especially the cult crew and their leader is chilling and believable. The plot quietly but surely builds suspenseful to an enigmatic but nonetheless satisfying ending in my view. A must see.

Yours in Getting Ascared.

The Skin I Live In- Retro Almodavar , But Why ?

I love Pedro Alomodavar's films but this one is like a slick, trite revisiting of gender identity themes of early Almodavar. Unless you must see every Allmodavar film or every gender identity film or every film with Antonio Banderas or every Spanish language film every made or are having trouble sleeping, skip this one.

Yours in insomnia.

50/50- Hilarious, Poignant, Realistic Tale of Fighting a Life-threatening Illness

This was a hilarious romp through the land of hospitals, doctors visits , tubes and pills and needles that make up the fight for survival against cancer. It is realistic, utterly believable and an ode to life. People with HIV, hepatitis or any other serious disease will recognize some aprts of their lives in this film. It was much better than I thought it would be. Don't miss this uplifting but not sappy film.The acting is very good too.

Yours in thumbing our noses at death,

The Guard- Outrageous Romp in Smalltown Ireland.

Do not miss this side-splitting Irish film about a policeman in a small town in Ireland who has to work with his opposite number from the U.S,. Don Cheadle, to intercept a big drug deal.The local characters are riotous and realistic. The dialogue is side splitting. A great movie for the Holidays. Don't miss it.

Hugo- An hommage to early films dressed up as a child's tale

Yours Feeling Bah-Humbug

Live Entertainment

Prince, the Artist Presently known as the King of Bling or Love your Hair ( and Butt) , Hope you Win

Prince is 53 but looks 23; he dances like its 1999 and does a 3 hour non stop show; he is so sexy he still doesn't put on underwear (my assessment) ; his voice is as strong and fluid as ever. One of the best live shows I have ever seen. Too bad if you missed it.

Yours gloating and fantasizing.

Chagall and Avant-Garde Russian Artists Exhibit - Art Gallery of Ontario - Great Scene

Grace Kelly Exhibit - Toronto International Film Festival Building

Clothes, jewels, her wedding dress - very nice little exhibit. The most amazing fact I learned was that Grace Kelly was one of those rare women in which the clothes did not make the woman but the woman made the clothes.Some of the outfits on display look like ugly housefrau dresses and beside them are pictures of her in those dresses and they come alive. How does she do this ? Oh yes, may it's that's thimble-like waist and spectacular beauty.

Yours in love her and hate her.

Red - A Play-Goers Play at Canstage

Plays rely on two things - great dialogue and great acting- okay three , minimalist sets. So sayeth the Dame. This play had exactly that chemistry. Written by Josh Logan and directed by Kim Collier, it was an absolute delight. It is ostensibly about Mark Rothko the abstract impressionist artist who was also treated as second fiddle to Jackson Pollock. In the dialogue between Rothko and his assistant we cover the gamit of the history and theories of art, the meaning of living in the here and now and an ode to change and the ability to know when pass te torch without feeling a failure, a has been. Somethings about which everyone thinks including the great dwone, if you see it that way, death,I strongly recommend if you like pure, unadorned, intelligent thetare.

Yours in haute culture

Dame Velveeta Peron

I don’t think I’ve ever seen urban dance – hip hop, breakdancing et al – featured so prominently on stage as in the two exciting shows currently running at Harbourfront in Toronto as part of their Next Steps season-long program of innovative modern dance. Which is another way of saying that if you are an urban/street dance fan – or perhaps you’ve seen it only on So You Think You Can Dance - and are looking for an entry point in to watching modern dance on stage, these two shows seriously warrant your consideration.

The first is the simpler, straight-ahead, more user-friendly of the two. Enter the Shadow (above, shown in rehearsal) comes from a young company called Break it Down, and features a large crew of twenty-something b-boys and b-girls showing you their best moves.  It is very much a primer in b-boy culture, and also a primer in urban dance moves. At one point in the show, for instance, a b-boy cast member explains the vocabulary of hip-hop while dancers behind him illustrate his words.

It’s all highly accessible. There is a somewhat thin story line – we go from block party to video shoot to prison to dance contest – all of which serve as a platform for a LOT of dance. Much of it is spectacularly good, particularly so in the solos and small group numbers and in the lyrically choreographed “Riders in the Storm.”  That number also highlights another of the show’s strengths; the music selected is unconventional, so you’ll find little hard hip-hop or rap here, but surprises instead.

The show is not without its failings. These young people are "emerging artists" in every sense of the word, so the show lacks polish. It needs much firmer direction too.  Still, it has an endearing let's-put-on-a-show quality to it, a likable cast and knock-your-socks-off dance moves a-plenty. It runs only to November 27 at the EnWave Theatre,

Much more polished but nevertheless something of a companion piece is Klorofyl (above) from the dance company Gadfly, presented across the way at Harboufront’s Fleck Dance Theatre. What the two shows have in common is a grounding in urban street dance. Gadfly, though, moulds it and mixes it up with other modern dance styles in a highly sophisticated way. Add top notch production values, atmospheric lighting, talented and extremely committed dancers and an impressive score and this is first class dance fare all the way

What’s it about? Read the program and you’ll learn Klorofyl is based on The Seven Samurai. In truth I didn’t get the connection, but no matter. We seem to be in some post-apocalyptic landscape where the warrior inhabitants are dressed in futuristic black military outfits that include insect-like goggles.  It’s intense, not least because the soundscape by the extreme violinist Dr Draw is insanely frenetic, and the choreography matches it note for note. In fact I have never seen a piece so demanding of its dancers as this. At just over  an hour with no intermission it really is an incredible tour de force.

While the two shows are madlly different, the novelty is in seeing them share similar moves. They make for a nice double bill, which is in fact how you can buy tickets for the two. Both shows are reasonably priced, but run only to November 27.  Go to the Harbourfront website for further details and to buy tickets.