Frida Betrani Movies
- 2001
- R
Canadian indie auteur Bruce Sweeney spins this wry look at the relationship of three Vancouver couples. After dating for a mere six months, Noah (Benjamin Ratner) and Zipporah (Frida Betrani) shock family and friends by announcing that they are getting married. No one is particularly thrilled about the impending nuptials and soon Noah starts to figure out why. Noah, a waterproofing expert, is maddened first by Zipporah's condo's leaking roof and then by his wife, who has illusions of fame and fortune as a country singer but has precious little talent. Noah's buddies Peter (Tom Scholte) and Shane (Vincent Gale) -- both of whom gave halfhearted congratulations at the wedding -- have romantic issues of their own. Shane grows increasing jealous when his girlfriend and fellow architect (Molly Parker) gets a big career break while he languishes behind. Meanwhile, Peter, a literature professor, cheats on his wife, Leslie (Nancy Sivak), with a shapely student (Marya Delver), who offers him favors while he discusses the work of Margaret Laurence. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Ratner, Frida Betrani, (more)
- 2000
The Jaffa Skaara and his Goa'uld symbiote Klorel, both sharing the same body (and both played by the same actor, Alexis Cruz), are put on trial and subjected to the Triad, the Tollans' ancient justice ceremony. The trial turns out to be custody battle, with Skaara and Klorel battling for permanent possession of their mutual body. As SG-1 crew members O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and Jackson (Michael Shanks) argue on behalf of Skaara, and the Goa'uld Zipacna (Kevin Durand) represents Klorel, the possibilty exists that both personalities may have to be sacrificed "for the greater good." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
An ensemble piece that revolves around a group of thirty-something Vancouverites just beginning to confront adulthood, No More Monkeys Jumpin' on the Bed takes its name, appropriately enough, from a children's bedtime story. It's the kind of story that Claire (Nancy Sivak, a children's librarian, reads to her young patrons; when she's not working, Claire deals with the fact that she is growing apart from her live-in boyfriend Lyle (Cam Cronin). As his girlfriend becomes more receptive to the attentions of a male friend, Lyle expresses his frustrations at his unfulfilling job in a copy shop. Meanwhile, alcoholic Susan (Sophie Yendole), another troubled young professional, sells her furniture to pay for booze. Premiering at the 2000 Vancouver International Film Festival, No More Monkeys Jumpin' on the Bed won the festival's Best Western Canadian Director prize for first-time helmer Ross Weber. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Scholte, Nancy Sivak, (more)
- 1999
Awakening from suspended animation, O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), Carter (Amanda Tapping) and Jackson (Michael Shanks) are told that 79 years have passed while they slept, and that they are the only survivors of the SG-1 team. A group of scientists, claiming that they need the trio's memories to continue the fight against the Gou'ald, holographically recreate SG-1's past adventures (via excerpts from the earlier episodes "The Nox", "The Torment of Tantalus", "The Serpent's Lair" and "Secrets". Only when it is almost too late do the SG-1 team members realize that their futuristic trappings are merely an illusion, cooked up by evil Goa'uld leader Hathor (Suanne Braun)--but for what purpose? The "cliffhanger" climax of this final second-season Stargate SG-1 episode would not be resolved until the opening installment of Season Three. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Much of the action in this Canadian psychological comedy-drama takes place at the Vancouver residence of middle-aged drug dealer Angie (Babz Chula), where near-bankrupt Nancy (Nancy Sivak) lives in the basement, while Angie's son Ethan (Vincent Gale) and her mother Abbie (Abby J. Arnold) look for life beyond their loneliness. Exploring the sexual fixations of various Vancouver residents, director Bruce Sweeney was reportedly influenced by a 1991 master class with British director Mike Leigh (Career Girls). Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Scholte, Babs Chula, (more)
- 1998
SG-1 arrives at the primitive planet Tolla, where a volcanic eruption is destroying everything. The team manages to rescue a few surprisingly advanced humans, led by Omoc (Tobin Bell)--who are far from grateful. The Tollan Narim (Garwin Sanford) explains why the refugees are suspicious of SG-1's motives: Years earlier, Omoc's father had shared the Tollan technology with earth--resulting in a devastating war which stripped the planet of its civilization and left the surviving Tollans in a state of enslavement. As O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) tries to convince Omoc that the people of Earth have mended their ways, he is undermined by certain hawkish Pentagon officials, determined to wreak more havoc upon the hapless Tollans. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Pressured by the government to seek out new technologies, O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and the SG-1 team head to a planet inhabited by the Fenri, who have mastered the power of invisibility. Also seeking out the Fenri is SG-1's perennial nemesis Apophis (Peter Williams)--who manages to kill every member of O'Neill's team! Miraculously, the SG-1 crew is revived by the Nox, the peaceful, fairylike former inhabitants of the Fenri's planet, who have the ability to bring the dead back to life. O'Neill offers to defend the Nox against Apophis' Goa'uld hordes--but can he rely upon the help of another revived corpse, the Jaffa Shak'l (Michasa Armstrong), who had been killed in a previous skirmish with the Nox? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
