Chopped Onion Studios

For Canada Day yesterday I watched a richly Canadian made film, Strange Brew. Based on their characters from the tv show SCTV (1976-1984), Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas play brothers who drink beer, eat doughnuts, and wear toques (all playing into the Canadian stereotype that, now reflecting in hindsight, they helped contribute to). The movie echoes cinematic pairings such as Cheech and Chong, Bill and Ted, and Wayne and Garth, and was filmed primarily in Ontario. An animated series appeared…

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I watched a film made by a Québec born writer/director Denis Villeneuve, because I have been watching some French movies made in France lately (but Canada Day is tomorrow), it is highly rated, and I love other movies Villeneuve has made, (Prisoners and Sicario). Incendies is a drama about two siblings who travel to the Middle East to fulfill their mother’s will and discover more about their family. Based on a play by Wajdi Mouawad, Incendies was nominated for best…

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I have been watching a lot of comedies and action movies lately, so it was time to offset those with dramas containing mature content. A friend recommended Kids, about a group of teens (and younger) behaving poorly in New York and Caroline and Jackie included 2 actors from the tv show Grimm (which is a household favorite), and is about thirty-somethings behaving poorly on the night of a birthday party. Both films take place during one day in the life…

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My wife and I both love watching animal and nature documentaries, and we were so happy to discover Disney (another household favorite) makes live action nature films with wonderful narration. We recently watched Bears (2014, narrated by John C. Reilly) and Monkey Kingdom (2015, narrated by Tina Fey) both having been released near Earth Day. Disney has produced live action animal films before as part of their True Life Adventure series (1948-1960) including winning 8 Oscars for their work. From…

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I recently watched a favorite film of mine, The Fifth Element (1997), which was written and directed by Luc Besson and because he is releasing a new film next month, I wanted to see more of his work. Choosing one of his earliest hits, Léon: The Professional, and a more recent film he wrote and produced, District 13: Ultimatum, I was able to see two movies of his for the first time. He was more involved with Léon: The Professional,…

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Two days ago I finished watching the Kids in the Hall mini-series Death Comes to Town (2010) and because it is Mark McKinney’s birthday, I still had a craving for more! Same Guys, New Dresses is a documentary directed by Dave Foley about the group’s 2000 tour across Canada showing scenes from their stage show but really showing more behind the scenes. Including portions of their rehearsals, traveling, eating, and talking about personal matters all throughout the film, which was…

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Unforgiven is a well respected and highly awarded western starring Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, and Morgan Freeman released in 1992. Somehow this film was still on my cinematic bucket list but as I am in the middle of playing Red Dead Redemption (a well respected and highly awarded western video game, 2010) and it was Clint’s birthday recently (May 31st), I decided to head out west. The script had floated around for nearly 20 years before it was made, Gene…

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The Kids in the Hall made a mini series after touring together, years after their show ended, and they have not forgotten how to push each other for the laughs. I started watching their original tv show (5 seasons, 1988-1994) when I was too young to understand all of the jokes and references, they have no doubt influenced my own sense of humor. It was probably the first show I really liked that my parents didn’t care for me watching,…

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I recently watched Wrongfully Accused (1998 starring Leslie Nielsen) and got a craving for more parody films so I picked 4 more recent films made between 2008-2013. Disaster Movie (an appropriate title for all 4), Vampires Suck (they are not alone), 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (yes that’s the full title), and The Starving Games (that’s not that bad a title). All of the films are rated 14A and were…

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I wish I was as positive to learn about Canada’s history when I was in school as I am today, (also got a Canadian History for Dummies book on the go). Seeing a commercial while watching This Hour Has 22 Minutes on CBC about a new mini series on how my country was formed got me excited, (enough to set the PVR anyways). Throughout each episode of Canada: The Story of Us, many well known Canadians introduce and comment on…

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