Alex Ivanovici Movies
- 1999
Histoires D'Hiver/Winter Stories is a nostalgic story set in Montreal in 1966, where 12-year-old Martin (Joel Drapeau-Dalpe) eats, sleeps and dreams hockey. Martin's favorite team is the Montreal Canadiens, an enthusiasm shared by his Uncle Maurice (Denis Bouchard), who loves to spin tales of the team's glorious past, but Martin's father seemingly couldn't care less about the icers. Meanwhile, Martin concocts a scheme to score tickets for a Montreal game by writing star player Henri Richard and claiming to be seriously ill, which does not go as he had hoped. When not thinking about hockey, Martin finds romance first entering his life thanks to his schoolmate Vera (Maude Gionet), and his bohemian English teacher introduces the class to protest music (in this case, Barry McGuire's Eve Of Destruction). Filmed on location in Montreal, Histoires D'Hiver/Winter Stories recieved enthusiastic notices for its strong performances and fine camerawork. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel Drapeau-Dalpe, Denis Bouchard, (more)
- 1999
Quebec filmmaker Jean-Phillipe Duval debuted with this madcap comedy about a graduate student sucked into Montreal's criminal netherworld. Ph.D. candidate Gilles (Alexis Martin) literally runs into waitress Guylaine (Guylaine Tremblay) at the beach while he is reviewing his dissertation. The two immediately hit it off, and when he returns to his abode in Montreal he heads straight to the low-rent bar where she works. The lovebirds begin talking about the future, until Guylaine's gun-toting brother Bob (Gary Boudreault) staggers to their doorstep after getting worked over by the mob. Fearing for his life, he pleads with Gilles to deliver a message to Matroni, the big boss. On his way to hand off the note, the overly ethical Gilles has a moral crisis: the letter lists names of other soon-to-be-ex-hoods. His actions start a series of bizarre and unforeseen incidents. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexis Martin, Guylaine Tremblay, (more)
Sin City author Frank Miller's sweeping take on the historic Battle of Thermopylae comes to the screen courtesy of Dawn of the Dead director Zack Snyder. Gerard Butler stars as Spartan King Leonidas and Lena Headey plays Queen Gorgo. The massive army of the Persian Empire is sweeping across the globe, crushing every force that dares stand in its path. When a Persian envoy arrives in Sparta offering King Leonidas power over all of Greece if he will only bow to the will of the all powerful Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), the strong-willed leader assembles a small army comprised of his empire's best fighters and marches off to battle. Though they have virtually no hope of defeating Xerxes' intimidating battalion, Leonidas' men soldier on, intent on letting it be known they will bow to no man but their king. Meanwhile, back in Sparta, the loyal Queen Gorgo attempts to convince both the skeptical council and the devious Theron (Dominic West) to send more troops despite the fact that many view Leonidas' unsanctioned war march as a serious transgression. As Xerxes' fearsome "immortals" draw near, a few noble Greeks vow to assist the Spartans on the battlefield. When King Leonidas and his 300 Spartan warriors fell to the overwhelming Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, the fearless actions of the noble fighters inspired all of Greece to stand up against their Persian enemy and wage the battle that would ultimately give birth to the modern concept of democracy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, (more)
