Here is the list of my ten favourite 2013 narrative films that were not eligible for the Oscars. I am excluding documentaries; will probably do a separate list of those. Most of these were foreign films that I saw at VIFF.

1. I Belong / Som du ser meg (dir. Dag Johan Haugerud)

2. The Lunchbox (dir. Ritesh Batra)

3. A Hijacking / Kapringen (dir. ( Read more... )

With the Oscars tonight, I thought I would post some shallow lists and comments, my opinions on some of the films that were, and were not, nominated.

Of the nine nominees for Best Picture, I've seen only six. I have no interest at all in seeing Philomena, and I never got around to seeing Captain Phillips or Nebraska (I don't usually love Alexander ( Read more... )

Introduction
The Canadian Senate is an unelected body. Senators are chosen by the prime minister. Under the Constitution, the Governor General appoints Senators, but by the constitutional convention of responsible government, the Governor General must take the prime minister’s advice concerning Senate appointments ( Read more... )

Introduction
The Supreme Court of Canada heard a case last month whose result will affect the next century of Canadian history. The issue is the interpretation of Part V of the Constitution Act, 1982, the procedures for amending the Constitution of Canada ( Read more... )

In the Supreme Court of Canada hearings on the Senate Reform reference this week, one of the lawyers was asked how Canada could be transformed into a dictatorship, would it require unanimity of all the provinces, or just seven of them. (In the video, via CPAC, watch the interchange from time 71:00 to 76:20 ( Read more... )

This week, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear a reference case about the procedures necessary to effect Senate reform. This is the first time the SCC will take an in-depth look at the meaning of Part V of the Constitution Act, 1982, which sets out the procedure for amending the Constitution of Canada.

What follows is a chart of the position taken ( Read more... )

This is my roundup of the 26 films I saw at the Toronto International Film Festival this year. First, here are my five favourites:

1. Gravity (dir. Alfonso Cuarón). I generally avoid the Hollywood blockbusters at TIFF (because why waste a film festival ticket on something that will be released within a few weeks) but this year I admit, ( Read more... )

My favourite documentaries of 2012; most of these seen at DOXA or VIFF.

1. Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (dir. Matthew Akers). Completely engrossing portrait of performance artist Marina Abramović.

2. Street Dogs of South Central (dir. Bill Marin). Dramatic and engaging, this great little documentary brings us into the world of ( Read more... )

Key of Life (dir. Kenji Uchida, orig. title Dorobô no method). I loved this comedy, obviously a great premise - a down-and-out loser makes a spontaneous decision to steal another man’s identity, but then discovers he is impersonating a hitman - and then the film’s structure keeps ladling out surprises. The two male leads are terrific. 9

A World ( Read more... )

So, more than halfway through TIFF I’ve still only blogged about the first day. My favourite films seen here so far are Amour and Midnight’s Children. I will try to say a little about all the films I see at TIFF; for now here are the ones freshest in my mind (the scores on a scale of 0 to 10 are how much I like the film):

Byzantium. I don’t see a ( Read more... )