Mike Bell Movies
- 2005
- PG13
A handful of oddballs and misfits cross paths at a motel overlooking one of Canada's more recognizable landmarks in this independent comedy. Phillie (Craig Ferguson) is the alcoholic and deeply depressed manager of the Niagara Motel, a shabby inn a stone's throw from the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls. Phillie's guests at the moment include Michael (Kevin Pollak), a sleazy director and producer of porn videos who is attempting to persuade Loretta (Caroline Dhavernas), a pretty young waitress at a nearby diner, to star in his latest series of adult movies; Denise (Anna Friel) and R.J. (Kristen Holden- Reid), a drug-addled couple struggling to regain custody of their child; Henry (Peter Keleghan) and Lily (Wendy Crewson), whose marriage is already starting to crumble before temptation presents itself to Lily; and Boris (Damir Andrei), the Niagara's short-tempered owner. Over the course of their stays, the folks staying at the Niagara will witness an unplanned kidnapping, meet the motel's in-house prostitute, encounter a down-on-his-luck staple salesman, and get uncalled-for advice from a born-again social worker. Niagara Motel received its world premiere at the 2005 New Montreal Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Craig Ferguson, Anna Friel, (more)
The wildly idiosyncratic Canadian auteur Guy Maddin created this exercise in semi-autobiographical impressionism. Guy Maddin (Darcy Fehr) is a gifted but weak-willed hockey player who has helped drive the Winnipeg Maroons to a championship season. However, Maddin's sense of triumph is dashed when his girlfriend Veronica (Amy Stewart) informs him that she's pregnant. Incapable of dealing with parenthood, Maddin escorts Veronica to The Black Silhouette, a combination beauty shop and brothel where a cross-dressing doctor performs abortions. As Veronica is on the operating table, Maddin spies Meta (Melissa Dionisio) and immediately falls in love with her, leaving Veronica behind. While Meta is attracted to Maddin, she will not grant him her favors until he passes a test -- he must track down the man who murdered her father and kill him using her late father's own blue hands. Shot on Super-8 film, Cowards Bend the Knee was originally created by Maddin as an art installation presented at a Toronto gallery and at the Rotterdam Film Festival, where viewers watched the film in six-minute segments through peepholes; it was later released in a conventional full-screen version. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Darcy Fehr, Melissa Dionisio, (more)
