Christine Haebler Movies
- 2011
- NR
A man with Cystic Fibrosis travels to Mexico to scatter his best friend's ashes at a popular spiritual shrine, and is joined on his mission by his deceased friend's sister in this poignant seriocomic road movie. From the scenic Pacific Coast to the heart of Baja, Mexico, the two travelers experience a journey that will forever change the way they look at life and death. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
A girl looking for kicks gets a whole lot more than she bargained for in a singularly curious town in this dark comedy. Caroline Wexler (Kat Dennings) is a clever but cynical 17-year-old whose father is still adjusting to the death of his wife. Caroline's dad takes a new job and they move to a strange community where the sky is always dark thanks to an industrial fire that's been burning for several months and isn't going to be put out anytime soon. Caroline doesn't have much use for her backward drug-addled classmates, and so to relieve her boredom she sets out to seduce Mr. Anderson (Josh Lucas), the best-looking man on the school's faculty. While Mr. Anderson tries to avoid responding to Caroline's blunt sexual overtures, it isn't long before he succumbs to her charms and is sleeping with his new student. But Caroline's new romance turns into a romantic triangle when Thurston (Reece Thompson), one of her stoner classmates, falls head over heels for her and she gives him a chance to impress her. Before long, Thurston is declaring Caroline the love of his life, Mr. Anderson is angry over having a rival for her affections, and the local serial killer begins to make their presence known, picking off the town's teenagers one by one. Also featuring Andie MacDowell and Ted Whittall, Daydream Nation was the first feature film from writer and director Mike Goldbach. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kat Dennings, Reece Daniel Thompson, (more)
- 2010
Filmmaker Bruce McDonald returns to the mockumentary format of his 1996 cult favorite Hard Core Logo in this sequel of sorts. In this film's alternate universe, McDonald left his native Canada after the box-office success of Hard Core Logo for the United States and a successful career directing cable television projects. Now his career has gone into a tailspin and he's working on a cheesy reality show on Wiccans to pay the rent. In the course of his research, he encounters Care Failure, the manic, drug-fueled lead singer with the punk band Die Mannequin, and learns she's convinced she's been possessed by the spirit of the late Hard Core Logo frontman Joe Dick. Fascinated and needing a new project, McDonald and his crew document Failure as she and her band rehearse for their next album, with some help from iconic singer and songwriter Bucky Haight (Julian Richings). Hard Core Logo II was an official selection at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Academy Award-winner Cuba Gooding, Jr., Val Kilmer, and Michael Ironside headline this sci-fi action flick about a man who must fight for his life after receiving a lethal brain implant. Luke Gibson (Gooding, Jr.) nearly died in the car accident that killed his wife and unborn child, but upon awakening in the hospital it quickly becomes clear that his life is still in danger. A microchip has been implanted in Luke's brain, and now his every move is being monitored by Hope Industries, a powerful corporation headed by a ruthless executive (Kilmer). If Luke doesn't get it out of his head soon, he'll become another brain-dead casualty of our corporate overlords. In order to regain of his own mind and prevent Hope Industries from achieving global domination, Luke seeks help from a team of highly intelligent computer hackers. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Ashley Judd headlines this earnest psychological drama centered on the monumental inner struggle of Helen, a successful music professor and happily married mother suffering from severe mental illness. After years of suppressing her bipolar disorder, Helen suffers a crippling emotional breakdown. Subsequently hospitalized, she befriends Mathilda, who offers a sense of understanding and emotional solace that her family cannot. But in time Helen's suffering becomes overwhelming, and she begins to believe that death is the only solution. Desperate, Helen's husband and daughter fight to prove to her that life is worth living, and convince her that there are other options for overcoming her illness. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ashley Judd, Goran Visnjic, (more)
Director Peter Greenaway explores the life of Dutch Golden Age artist Rembrandt in a biographical feature that uses the 1642 painting "Night Watch" as a launching point to explore the 17th Century artist's life from an entirely new perspective. British film and television star Martin Henderson assumes the role of the prolific painter, with Eva Birthistle, Jodhi May, and Emily Holmes assuming the roles of his wife and mistresses respectively. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Martin Freeman, Eva Birthistle, (more)
A writer who was dumped at the alter attempts to impress his flaky ex-fiancee by helping her father movie in this dialogue-driven comedy from Canadian writer/director/actor Benjamin Ratner. Gene Maxwell (Ratner) was preparing to exchange his wedding vows when his fiancée Liz (Elizabeth Berkley) vanished without a trace. Three years later, Gene has published a best-selling novel entitled "Fear Knot." Gene lives at home with his dysfunctional parents and autistic sister, and when Liz appears on his doorstep the broken-hearted writer can't help but hope that the flame will be rekindled. But all Liz wants is for Gene to help her elderly father Malcolm (John Neville) move while she jets off to Prague to act in a low-budget sci-fi flick. But while any hope of continuing his romance with Liz proves less likely with each long-distance telephone call he receives, Gene does manage to form a warm bond with Malcolm over the course of the move. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Berkley, Benjamin Ratner, (more)
- 1999
Former editor for such noted Canadian directors as Don McKellar and Guy Maddin, Reginald Harkema debuts with this Jean-Luc Godard-inspired comedy/drama about male-female relationship in the 1990s. Though Trevor (Andrew McIntyre) has no trouble meeting and even bedding attractive women, he cannot seem to find the woman of his dreams. When he isn't talking at length about music with his two slacker buddies, he dates Clarissa, Karen, and Lisa, one immediately after the other. The latter (played by Aeryn Twidle) is an ex-model wasting away from anorexia and particularly catches the eye of the beauty obsessed Trevor. When Lisa is unable to overcome her loathing of her own body to get physical, he starts dating Janice (Marnie Robinson) the peppy guitarist of a Riot Grrrl band. Though he is still smitten with Lisa, the romantic chemistry between Janice and Trevor is undeniable. At this point, the question becomes: will Trevor let go of his image of the perfect girl, or will he let his nascent relationship with his punkette girlfriend wither? A Girl is a Girl was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Andrew McIntyre, Paige Morrison, (more)
Fast cars, quarreling lovers, two-faced drug dealers, and a house full of marijuana collide head-on in this comic road movie. Cole (Breckin Meyer) and Bruce (Jake Busey) run an auto repair shop for vintage cars; the shop is steadily losing money, thanks to Bruce's refusal to work on cars he believes are beneath his dignity and his habit of supplementing his pay by dipping into the cash register. Cole also has problems at home, where his long-time girlfriend Angie (Tanya Allen), is giving him grief about his immaturity. Angie gets word that her brother Ben (Jaimz Woolvett), who grows marijuana in Vancouver, has been busted and needs someone to clear out his grow house before the cops can get to it. However, Angie is in a race with Ben's double-crossing girlfriend Eve (Elizabeth Berkley), who hopes to sell Ben's marijuana behind his back. Angie needs to make tracks to Vancouver, and Cole offers to help her, but Angie is not happy when Bruce and his crazy girlfriend Wendy (Denise Richards) invite themselves along and turn the trip into a road race. Tail Lights Fade features a stellar alternative rock soundtrack, including songs by The Minutemen, The Lyres, The Demolition Doll Rods, The Misfits, Buffalo Tom, and The Modern Lovers. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Denise Richards, Breckin Meyer, (more)
In his first film, The Suburbanators, Canadian director Gary Burns took sharp comic aim at the meaningless, numb lives of a group of Canadian suburban teens. This sophomore effort focus on the same social group, offering a fast and funny take on upper-middle-class gatherings, comparing a teen beer-bash to it's adult counterpart, the dinner party. Because his parents are attending the latter fete, Scott decides to host his own soiree. Unfortunately, his mother is super-uptight about having a pristine home, and so he calls it a kitchen party. Kids from all social groups show up, including Scott's sweet girlfriend Tammy. Meanwhile, his anti-social brother Steve hides out in the basement and listens to loud rock music. The adult party across town goes swimmingly until everyone gets pie-eyed and they become involved in a series of minor accidents outside the local liquor store. Things turn ugly when Scott's father off-handedly suggests that another father's son is a homosexual. Back at Scott's house, things take a similarly downward turn when Tammy goes off with the mysterious Steve. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Scott Speedman, Laura Harris, (more)
Bruce McDonald directed this mock-documentary (and appears onscreen as himself) which looks at a veteran punk rock band taking one final stab at the big time. Singer Joe Dick (Hugh Dillon), guitarist Billy Tallent (Callum Keith Rennie), bassist John Oxenberger (John Pyper-Fergson), and drummer Pipefitter (Bernie Coulson) were the members of Hard Core Logo, a Vancouver-based rock band that was one of Canada's biggest and most influential punk outfits for the better part of a decade. Formed in 1978, Hard Core Logo broke up in 1991 after releasing seven albums and playing over a thousand shows; Joe went on to play the occasional solo gig, Billy moved to L.A. and has been sitting in with platinum-selling alternative pop band Jennifur while their guitarist tries to kick drugs, John has been putting his life back together after a severe nervous breakdown, and Pipefitter hasn't been doing much of anything. Word begins to circulate that Bucky Haight (Julian Richings), one of the seminal figures of Canadian punk and Joe's mentor, lost a leg (or maybe both) following a mysterious incident in which intruders shot him after breaking into his prairie farmhouse. Joe organizes a benefit for Bucky, with Hard Core Logo reuniting for the occasion; the show is a huge success, and Joe persuades Billy to join him, John, and Pipefitter for a five-date reunion tour to cash in on the benefit's notoriety. Billy, killing time while he waits to find out if his spot in Jennifur will become permanent, is more than a bit preoccupied, and his desire for professionalism doesn't mesh especially well with Joe's take-it-as-it-comes attitude -- especially after it becomes evident that Joe's purposes for reuniting the band weren't as benevolent as they seemed. Actual Canadian punk legends D.O.A. make a cameo appearance as one of Hard Core Logo's opening acts, and American punk godfather Joey Ramone appears briefly in a news report about the Bucky Haight benefit show. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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