Jennifer Jonas Movies
- 2012
- NR
Long-suppressed emotions bubble to the surface when a group of Italian immigrants throw a celebratory dinner for a struggling young actor who's finally on the cusp of success. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2011
A lonely guy gets more than he bargained for when he hooks up with a beautiful but eccentric woman in this comedy-drama from writer and director Leonard Farlinger. Robert (Rossif Sutherland) is a stockbroker whose life has not been going well for him -- he's not happy with his career, he's just been dumped by his girlfriend, and his shyness around women means he's probably going to be single for a while. Robert goes out with his friend Paul (Don McKellar) for his birthday, and Paul encourages him to get back in the game; when a pretty girl catches Robert's eye, Paul urges him to make a move, and soon Robert is sharing drinks with Daphne (Karine Vanasse). Things go so well that Robert and Daphne end up spending the night together, but the next morning, while Robert is expecting life to return to normal after a one-night-stand, Daphne fasts talks him into joining her for a trip to Ontario to visit her folks, and he soon discovers she intends to introduce him to them as her new fiancé. I'm Yours received its world premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
The founding members of a legendary female punk outfit are reunited years after their band imploded, and spend a long night reflecting on both their fractured friendship, as well as their moment in the spotlight in this raucous drama from director Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo, Pontypool). Ever since they were little girls, Victoria "Vic" Sawchyn (Tracy Wright) and Kathryn "Kat" Lake (Molly Parker) were inseparable. Eventually, Victoria and Kathryn started making music together. Dubbed Trigger, their punk-inspired band went through numerous line-up changes before hitting the perfect formula, and storming the charts. Then as quickly as success came, clashing egos and rampant excess brought it crumbling down like a house of cards. Unfortunately, Victoria and Kathryn's friendship appeared to die along with Trigger. A decade later, however, a small record label announces a benefit concert staged to celebrate women who rock. It's clear that the owners of the label expect Victoria and Kathryn to take part in the event, but when the two former friends come together over dinner both end up feeling responsible for the band's demise. Later, after the concert has ended, the two old friends prepare to attend an after-party, and the details of their turbulent relationship slowly come into focus. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Molly Parker, Tracy Wright, (more)
- 2009
A struggling farmer must choose between several desperate options in this period drama, set in Canada in the 1950s. Snit Mandolin (Keir Gilchrist) is a young man whose family emigrated to Canada when he was a boy; they were viewed with deep suspicion by their new neighbors in Saskatchewan, and when his parents died, Snit was sent to live in a group home where brutal violence was commonplace. Snit is released and returns to Saskatchewan to find that his Aunt Matilda (Gabrielle Rose) is the only person still living on the family's farm, and she's left the fields and the cattle in a deplorable state. Snit wants to turn the farm back into a going concern, but he needs money, something Matilda can't provide. Snit becomes reacquainted with Johnny (Alexander De Jordy), one of his few friends from childhood, and Johnny offers to help Snit make raise some cash by working for him. However, Johnny's business is making bootleg whiskey, and with local sheriff Roy Kane (John Pyper-Ferguson) looking for an excuse to drive Snit out of town, moonshining could cost him his farm as readily as neglect or the elements. Based on a novel by one of Canada's most celebrated authors, George Ryga's Hungry Hills was an official selection at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Keir Gilchrist, Alexander De Jordy, (more)
A straight-laced chemist begins questioning society's standards and confronting his own darkest desires after falling for the all-American homecoming queen who joined a hippie death cult and made headlines for her murderous exploits. Perry (Gregory Smith) is your typical God-fearing American: A diligent academic who landed a good job at a chemical company before proposing to his Christian girlfriend Dorothy (Kristin Adams), he always did right by the Lord and his parents. But while Perry was always fortunate in life, Leslie was irreparably damaged by her parents' divorce, an abortion, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Following Timothy Leary's advice to "tune in, turn on, and drop out," the former cheerleader joined up with charismatic cult leader Charles Manson and helped his gang slaughter an upstanding citizen in her own home. Now Perry has been chosen to serve on the jury that will decide Leslie's fate. The moment Perry and Leslie lock eyes in the courtroom, the sheltered chemist is hopelessly smitten. Could their wildly divergent paths somehow converge? The more Perry learns about Leslie the stronger his infatuation grows, and the more he begins to question the rules that society has imposed on them both. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gregory Smith, Kristen Hager, (more)
- 2008
- NR
An gay teenage zombie falls in with a pretentious experimental filmmaker who casts him in a politically themed porno while documenting his experiences as a walking corpse in this existential gut-muncher from Canadian provocateur Bruce LaBruce. Adorable twink Otto (Jey Crisfar) was wandering the streets of Berlin and feasting on road-kill when avant-garde filmmaker Medea Yarn recruited him to appear in her latest film, a porno-political-zombie flick set during the gay zombie uprising. Gradually, over the course of shooting, Medea's interest in Otto grows and she decides to make a documentary about him. Flattered by the attention lavished upon him by both the filmmaker and his smitten fellow cast-members, Otto suddenly finds his life -- or death -- gaining a newfound sense of purpose. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jey Crisfar
Luke Kirby and Keith Carradine star in director Leonard Farlinger's adaptation of author Brad Smith's laid back neo-western novel. Ray Dokes (Kirby) has just been released from prison, and now as the laconic ex-con makes his way back home he is stunned to see just how much progress has transformed the countryside of his youth. Looking to lie low for a while, Ray heads to the farm of his good friend Pete Culpepper (Keith Carradine). A garrulous farmer who's drowning in debt, Pete is a true Texas cowboy whose corn seems too stubborn to grow this season. The first order of business for Ray is to visit his old flame Etta (Lisa Ray, but things have gotten complicated since Ray was put away and making his way to the woman he loves isn't going to be nearly as easy as he had hoped. Soon after hooking up with firebrand jockey Chrissis (Rachel Leigh Cook), Ray discovers that his old nemesis Sonny Staunton (Noam Jenkins) - the wealthy heir to a thoroughbred dynasty - is currently attempting to buy up as much farmland as possible in order to start breaking ground on a luxurious new golf course. It seems that Etta is the only member of the rural community bold enough to stand up against Sonny, but when a valuable thoroughbred goes missing from Staunton Stables the desperate entrepreneur forces the sale of the area's few remaining farms. Realizing the danger of contending with such a powerful and determined man (after all, it was Sonny who got Ray locked away in the first place), Ray does his best to sideline Sonny's nefarious plan and save the remaining farmlands without making the one false move that could land him back in jail. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Luke Kirby, Keith Carradine, (more)
- 2006
A pair of pot-smoking Toronto bohemians whose dealer has just been busted are shaken from their stoned complacency by a mysterious young radical in director Reginald Harkema's contemporary urban comedy. Dan (Don McKellar) and Linda (Tracy Wright) spend their days scavenging the local garbage dumps and garage sales for undervalued curiosities, and the nights smoking weed and gazing at the stars. When their usually-reliable dealer is suddenly, and unwillingly forced out of business by the authorities, the pair's momentary panic is soon placated by the arrival Susan (Nadia Litz), an enigmatic drifter with some especially potent British Columbia bud. It's not long before Susan becomes a familiar fixture around Don and Linda's home, and as the relationship dynamics between the three gradually evolves into something of a parent/child type of bond, the trio soon discovers that there are many secrets to be discovered. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Don McKellar, Tracy Wright, (more)
A single and freewheeling travel writer finds that adapting to the nine-to-five lifestyle isn't as easy as it looks when her ailing father hires her to take control of his successful bridal magazine in this marriage-minded comedy starring Heather Graham, David Sutcliffe, Sandra Oh, and Taye Diggs. Upon returning to her hometown to once again be a bridesmaid in yet another wedding, jet-lagged, gin-soaked travel writer Pippa McGee (raham) soon learns that her tyrannical publishing magnate father has been hospitalized after suffering a serious heart attack. As Pippa rushes to his bedside and the ailing mogul asks her to take editorial control of one of his most popular magazines, her excitement soon turns sour upon learning that the magazine in question is not a political or travel magazine, but the one and only Wedding Bells monthly. Determined to succeed despite the constant reminders of just how single she truly is, Pippa is horrified to learn that the man her father has chosen as her publishing mentor is the same man that she drunkenly came on to at her close friend's recent wedding. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Heather Graham, David Sutcliffe, (more)
Adapted from a series of short stories by Canadian cult favorite Bruce La Bruce, this seriocomic coming-of-age story stars Andre Noble as Cliff, a teenager growing up in Toronto in the 1980s. While Cliff is aware of the fact he's gay and has a ravenous curiosity about sex, he hasn't been able to do much about it. However, on his 18h birthday, Cliff's free-thinking mother, Madge (Marnie McPhail), pours him a stiff drink, offers him a reefer, and politely but firmly tells him to go downtown and have some fun. Eager to lose his virginity, Cliff instead encounters Butch (Brendan Fehr), a good-looking guy in his early twenties who makes his living as a male prostitute. Cliff is infatuated with Butch from the first moment he sees him; however, while Butch appears fond of Cliff and strikes up a friendship with him, his career has forced him to develop a sense of emotional distance from others, and he isn't interested in sex with other men unless he's being paid for it. Cliff becomes a regular visitor to Butch's apartment and gets a crash course in the underbelly of the Toronto gay community, but one day Butch drafts Cliff into performing a sex act with him for a customer, leaving Cliff humiliated and heartbroken. Sugar also stars Sarah Polley and Maury Chaykin. Only the second feature film from respected theatrical director John Palmer, it was screened as part of the 2004 San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Childstar concerns an egotistical 12-year-old named Taylor who has skyrocketed to fame at that young age. His relationship with his driver, Rick, takes a turn when Taylor confides in him about the problems of celebrity and the fears of his impending teenage years. When Taylor disappears one day, Rick attempts to find the boy and help him through this troubling period. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Don McKellar, Mark Rendall, (more)
Two brothers try to sort out their differences in the wake of their father's death in this drama. Theo (David Cubitt) has long been the black sheep of his family; at the age of 30, he's made no real headway in starting a career, despite periodic stabs at becoming a writer, and his problems with substance abuse have sent him through one rehab clinic after another. Theo doesn't get along with Ryan (Colm Feore), his older brother, who has become a successful lawyer and seems to have his life firmly in control. Neither Theo nor Ryan had an especially cordial relationship with their father, whose death opens old wounds between them. However, Theo soon discovers that Ryan, long the "respectable" member of the family, has also been keeping a secret; he is gay and has been less than cautious in pursuing sexual partners in the past. Ryan's promiscuity comes back to haunt him when he becomes HIV-positive, and he is eventually forced to turn to Theo for help. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Colm Feore, David Cubitt, (more)
Exploring concepts of fate and free will, Jerry Ciccoritti's contemplative drama shows the lives of a handful of random people during the 12 hours leading up to a bloody shooting spree in a posh coffee shop. Maggie (Emily Hampshire) is a waitress in the café whose acting career is going nowhere fast. Her co-worker Connie (Sarah Polley), who is learning to love her lawyer boyfriend, is supposed to have the day off. Sheena (Catherine O'Hara), who frequents the shop, is a lovelorn bridal consultant looking for a decent man. And Brian (Stephen Rea), an exterminator/philosopher, is still mourning the death of his daughter, who died a year ago. Their petty, everyday problems gain ironic resonance when juxtaposed with the day's bloody ending. This film was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stephen Rea, Catherine O'Hara, (more)
Part high-tech spy thriller and part psychological study, Eye of the Beholder was Ewan McGregor's first feature film following his mainstream breakthrough performance in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The Eye (Ewan McGregor) is an agent of the British Secret Service, equipped with the latest in high-tech crime fighting gadgetry and assisted by his indefatigable collegue, Hilary (k.d. lang). The Eye's latest assignment is a surveillance project; the son of a well-known politician has been spending a great deal of money on someone, and they would like to know who and why. A little sleuthing reveals that the mysterious person taking the cash is a woman named Joanna (Ashley Judd), but the trail gets much stickier when the Eye witnesses Joanna pulling a knife and killing the politician's son. Normally, he'd take the shortcut to putting her behind bars, but some time ago he lost contact with his daughter when his wife left him; Joanna reminds the Eye of his daughter, and he's too fascinated with her to bring her to justice. The Eye now follows Joanna obsessively, and discovers that she's also involved with a blind man (Patrick Bergin) and has a history of emotional instability from being abandoned by her father at a young age. Eye of the Beholder was directed by Stephan Elliott, best known for the comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Ashley Judd, (more)
Francois Girard directed this drama tracing the history of a musical instrument through five countries and three centuries. In 1681, to keep the spirit of his wife alive, an Italian paints the violin with a red varnish made from her blood. It is later found in the Austrian Alps when a prodigy gives a performance in the court of Vienna in 1792. Taken by gypsies, the instrument is acquired by a Dionysian composer. After a journey by boat to China in 1966, it is hidden during the Cultural Revolution. In contemporary Canada, it is spotted at an auction house by a violin expert (Samuel L. Jackson) who becomes obsessed with it. Scripted by Girard and Don McKellar. Filmed on a $10 million budget in Montreal, China, Italy, Austria, and Oxford. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Don McKellar, (more)
Don McKellar wrote and directed this comedy-drama about the last night of the world, part of the 12-film Arte series of movies about the Millennium. Set in Toronto, Patrick (McKellar) endures a faux Christmas celebration with his family while Sandra (Sandra Oh) tries to get across town to commit suicide with her husband, a gas company employee Duncan (David Cronenberg). Meanwhile, Craig (Callum Keith Rennie) hopes to achieve sexual satisfaction with several women on his list. Still mourning his dead wife, Patrick plans his last moments alone, until he and Sandra crosspaths. Shown in the Directors Fortnight section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Don McKellar, Sandra Oh, (more)
- 1997
This 53-minute documentary, one episode in the six-part Canadian TV series, Yo-Yo Ma: Inspired by Bach, attempts to link Johann Sebastian Bach's personal and professional life with the modern world. It is structured by director Patricia Rozema (I've Heard the Mermaids Singing) around the six movements of Bach's Suite No. 6 with cellist Yo-Yo Ma performing amid traffic on an island in a busy street, on a rooftop, and at other locations around Manhattan. Olympic gold medallists Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean execute a graceful ice-skating accompaniment to the music because Ma believes "they did for ice-skating what Bach did for cello." Bach biographical information is provided by Tom McCamus. This film was shown at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. Other episodes of this series featured a Bach-inspired garden designed by Julie Moir Messervy, dimensional digital recreations of Piranesi engravings, and Yo-Yo Ma collaborations with Kabuki actor Tamasaburo Bando, choreographer Mark Morris, and film director Atom Egoyan. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Yo-Yo Ma, Jayne Torvill, (more)
- 1993
The excesses of feminism and political correctness come in for some serious ribbing in this Canadian comedy, which might just give Rush Limbaugh a belly-laugh or two, along with anyone else who has ever thought that his pet term "feminazi" was humorous. In the story, Jimmy (Bruce Dinsmore) is having a mid-life crisis, and in order to get a handle on why he has so much trouble with women, decides to participate in a college-sponsored study on male sexuality. What he doesn't know is that the study is being run by some extremely radical, doctrinaire feminists, and that he's in for a nightmarish grilling. He shows up for his first sessions, is blindfolded, and is then put through his paces as a relentless female interrogator puts him constantly on the defensive for everything he has ever done with women throughout his entire life. Indeed, these women completely turn the tables on nineteenth century (male) sexologists and, instead of questioning female orgasm (as those researchers actually did), make Jimmy wonder if there ever was such a thing as male orgasm. Other permutations on the contemporary war of the sexes are shown outside the setting of the study Jimmy is participating in. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruce Dinsmore, Miranda de Pencier, (more)
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