Dark Horse

FC:LB3 Sep 18 1pm | In brief: Filmmaker Louise Osmond follows the story of a group of friends and neighbours in a small Welsh town who pool their modest resources to invest in a racehorse they dub Dream Alliance, and soon find themselves breaking social barriers by competing against some of the wealthiest horse owners in the UK.

Ramblings: Excellent story, beautifully told. Documentary has all the ups and downs of a story, but it's all true. Will be well-received by any Film Circuit group.

Last Cab to Darwin

LB3 Sep 17 3pm | In brief: In this adaptation of the successful stage play by Reg Cribb, a 70-year-old taxi driver diagnosed with terminal cancer undertakes a 3,000-mile journey to visit a pioneering physician in Darwin.

Ramblings: Great cast. Great story. Deals with euthanasia in such a way that there's much to talk about after the screening.

My Internship in Canada

Ry Sep 17 Noon | In brief: In this satirical look at the vagaries of Canadian politics from Oscar-nominated director Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar), an independent M.P. suddenly finds himself thrust into the parliamentary spotlight, and it’s up to his young Haitian intern to help the hapless backbencher navigate the complexities and pitfalls of Parliament Hill.

Ramblings: Could only have been made in Canada. US won't/can't Americanize this one. Hilarious look at Canadian politics.

Guilty

SB4 Sep 16 9:15pm | In brief: Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi, The Lunchbox) stars in this dramatization of the notorious “Noida Double Murder Case,” which set off a media frenzy around the world in 2008. Ramblings:...

Closet Monster

LB2 Sep 17 3:45 pm | In brief: An East Coast teenager and aspiring special-effects makeup artist (Connor Jessup, Blackbird) struggles with both his sexuality and his fear of his macho father, in this imaginative twist on the coming-of-age tale from first-time feature director Stephen Dunn.

Ramblings: Absolutely stunning first feature. Coming of age movie with a difference. Does not beat you over the head. Great music. Superb acting. Exceptional story.

The Ardennes

LB3 Sep 17 1:45 pm | In brief: Two bandit brothers, one fresh from prison, the other eager to escape their criminal past, form a potentially explosive love triangle with the ex-con’s ex-girlfriend, in Robin Pront’s Cain vs. Abel update. Ramblings:...

Desda Alla

LB3 Sep 16 11:15 am | In brief: Newcomer Lorenzo Vigas’ first feature explores issues of social stratification through the story of a wealthy man who pays young men to endure a kind of contact-free abuse, only to find unexpected intimacy with one of his companions. Ramblings:...

Guantanamo's Child: Omar Kdadr

Bl Sep 16 9 am | In brief: Omar Khadr, the Canadian citizen who was captured by American forces in Afghanistan in 2002 and spent a decade imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, tells his own story in his own words, in this documentary portrait from directors Patrick Reed and Michelle Shephard.

Ramblings: An incredible documentary that should be required viewing for anyone who has an opinion on Omar Khadr and our mission in Afghanistan. Why is our Canadian government using our tax money to fight against our citizens? British prisoners in Guantanamo were returned to their home country without incident many years ago. Why is Canada so slow to release this young man and why did the Canadian government and CSIS persecute him and refuse to help him? Many questions. Not many satisfactory answers.

Love

Ry Sep 15 8:45 pm | In brief: French provocateur Gaspar Noé (Enter the Void) continues to push the envelope with this 3D melodrama featuring explicit, unsimulated sex. Ramblings:...

CAN'T RECOMMEND THIS ONE

Veteran

SB13 Sep 15 4pm | In brief: A tough cop targets the tyrannical heir to a mega-corporation in this hard-hitting thriller from South Korean cult auteur Ryoo Seung-wan (Crying Fist, City of Violence). Ramblings:... Not worth it. Lots of graphic violence. Only one stuntman was injured during the filming according to the director. Lots of people laughed but I didn't get the humour. It was supposed to expose mega-corporations but exposed little and showed police brutality even more. 

Hyena Road

LB2 Sep 15 1:30pm | In brief: Paul Gross (Passchendaele) directs and co-stars in this taut war drama about Canadian troops in Afghanistan weathering Taliban attacks while struggling to complete construction on a crucial highway link.

Ramblings: Great script which Paul Gross says was based on stories told by soldiers he met in Afghanistan. Excellent acting by Rossif Sutherland. As much action as you'd expect for a war movie. It took the first hour before I could follow the story but it fell together quite quickly after that. Shows the futility of our armed forces' expedition to Afghanistan. Difficult to get out. 

The Lunchbox (Dabba)

In brief: One of Mumbai’s miracles is Mumbai’s Dabbawallahs —a community of 5000 dabba (lunchbox) deliverymen. It is a hereditary profession. Every morning the Dabbawallahs deliver hot meals from the kitchens of housewives to the offices of their husbands, and then return the empty lunchboxes back to the homes in the afternoon. For 120 years they have provided Mumbaikars with a taste of home in the office. They navigate through the overcrowded local trains and chaotic streets—that often have a namesake or more than one name. The Dabbahwallahs are illiterate, and instead rely on a complex coding system of colors and symbols to deliver dabbas in the labyrinth that is Mumbai. Harvard University analyzed their delivery system, concluding that just 1 in 8 million lunchboxes is ever delivered to the wrong address. The Lunchbox is the story of that one lunchbox. Ramblings:

The Face of Love

In brief: Five years after losing the love her life, Nikki (Bening) falls in love again...at first sight. Tom (Harris) is an art teacher with a kind heart and a great zest for life, but what he doesn't know is that he's also a near perfect double for Nikki's deceased husband. Seduced by the chance to live as if her husband was never lost, Nikki spirals into a fantasy of the present as past, while Tom must unravel the mystery behind her immediate and unconditional love. The Face of Love is a romance filled with intrigue, surprise, and reflections on the mystery of love. Ramblings:

Watermark

In brief: Following the tremendous success of her 2006 documentary Manufactured Landscapes, critically acclaimed and award-winning Canadian filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal (Payback, Act of God) reunites with celebrated landscape photographer Edward Burtynsky for Watermark, a visually arresting and enlightening film documenting our engineered manipulation of water, and the far-reaching repercussions of abusing this valuable resource. Burtynsky’s breathtaking landscape photography is at the forefront of the film, as Baichwal investigates the role that water plays in cultures and industries in North America, Iceland, Asia and India. From the Ogallala Aquifer’s centre pivot irrigation systems in the US, to the chemical water pollution caused by India’s leather-processing industry, Watermark offers a vast exploration of water’s necessity in our global and economic survival while weaving together the various roles it plays in everyday life—and in environmental art. Ramblings:

Thanks for Sharing

In brief: On the surface Adam (Ruffalo), an over-achieving environmental consultant, Mike (Robbins), a long-married small-business owner, and Neil (Gad), a wisecracking emergency-room doctor, have little in common. But all are in different stages of dealing with addiction. Confident and successful in his career, Adam is afraid to allow love back into his life, even if that means losing a chance to start over with smart, beautiful and accomplished Phoebe (Paltrow); Mike’s efforts to control his wife, Katie (Joely Richardson), and son, Danny (Patrick Fugit), as tightly as he does his impulses are tearing the family apart; and Neil is still deeply in denial when befriended by Dede (Moore), who has just begun to take her own small steps back to health. As they navigate the rocky shores of recovery, Adam, Mike and Neil become a family that encourages, infuriates and applauds each other on the journey toward a new life. Ramblings:

The Right Kind of Wrong

In brief: The Right Kind of Wrong tells the story of Leo Palamino (Kwanten), an eccentric would-be writer forced to wash dishes to make ends meet, and whose ex-wife (Kristen Hager) makes his many flaws public in a blog turned bestselling book entitled “Why You Suck”. When Leo meets Colette (Canning), the girl of his dreams at a wedding – HER wedding – he will do anything to win her over. And so the ultimate underdog love story begins in which Leo, a fearless dreamer, risks all to show Colette and the whole world all that is right with a man famous for being wrong. The Right Kind of Wrong is an adaptation of Tim Sandlin’s novel Sex and Sunsets and is directed by Jeremiah Chechik (Benny & Joon). Ramblings:

Good Vibrations

In brief: Terri Hooley (Dormer) is a radical, rebel and music-lover in 1970s Belfast, when the bloody conflict known as the Troubles shuts down his city. As all his friends take sides and take up arms, Terri opens a record shop on the most bombed half-mile in Europe and calls it “Good Vibrations”. Through it he discovers a compelling voice of resistance in the city’s nascent underground punk scene. Galvanising the young musicians into action, he becomes the unlikely leader of a motley band of kids and punks who join him in his mission to create a new community, an alternative ulster, to bring his city back to life. Ramblings:

The Armstrong Lie

In brief: Lance Armstrong was considered one of the greatest sports figures of all time and put competitive cycling into the global spotlight, by beating cancer and winning the Tour de France seven times. That success earned him an immense fortune and worldwide fame. His was also one of the most influential and inspiring sports stories of recent memory and became a pop culture phenomenon, thanks to his Livestrong initiative. Beginning in 2009, Academy Award winning documentarian Alex Gibney followed Armstrong for four years chronicling his return to cycling after retirement, as he tried to win his eighth title. Unexpectedly, Gibney was also there in 2012 when Armstrong admitted to doping, following a federal criminal investigation, public accusations of doping by his ex-teammates, and an investigation by the US Anti-Doping Agency, that led USADA's CEO, Travis Tygart, to conclude that Armstrong's team had run "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen." Ramblings:

Adore

In brief: This movie is based on a book called "Grandmothers." Naomi Watts and Robin Wright have known each other since childhood and each has a 19-year-old son. Advertised as: "Adore establishes an aura of fable as it follows two women’s plunge into uncharted waters."
Ramblings: Great scenery in New South Wales. Great acting. Beautiful people. Very soap opera-like. But enjoyable viewing. Not sure if it's a "fable" as advertised. Although it takes place over six years, none of the main cast age at all. For having lived in Australia all their lives, Wright and Watts have not much of an Aussie accent.

Siddharth

In brief: After sending away his 12 year-old son Siddharth (Khan) for work, Mahendra (Tailang) who is a chain-wallah who fixes broken zippers on the streets, is relieved – his financial burdens will be alleviated. To contribute to the family income, the boy is sent far away from home, from New Delhi to Ludhiana, where a relative has a job for him and a place to sleep. It seems like a dream come true to his father. But when Siddharth fails to return home, Mahendra learns he may have been taken by child-traffickers. With little resources and no connections, he travels across India in pursuit, with the hope that whatever force arbitrarily took his child away will return him unharmed. Ramblings: