Don Haig Movies
- 1997
It took six years for debuting Canadian director Daniel Cross to make this insightful, sympathetic and surprisingly intimate documentary portrait of three homeless men living on the streets of downtown Montreal. Cross's odyssey into the world of hobos and panhandlers began in 1990. His first two subjects are John and Danny Claven. At the film's beginning, John has decided to live on the streets after he is evicted from his apartment; John only plans on living without a home for a short time. His drug and alcohol-addicted 25-year-old brother Danny has been on the streets since age 11. Suffering from severe mood swings, Danny has real problems relating to people or holding down jobs for any length of time. Both brothers hang around with Frank O'Malley, the self-styled "King of the Hobos." An Irish immigrant in his mid-50s, Frank is a diabetic and a severe alcoholic who during the making of the film had to have his left leg amputated after it became gangrenous. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
New Zealand author, economist, and former politician Marilyn Waring offers her opinion on just about everything in this Canadian documentary profile. Waring is a strong woman with a keen take on the state of the world. Highlights include her views on the subjective, arbitrary truth underlying notions of "civilized" society. Most recently, Waring has focused on taking an unflinching, highly critical view of a world banking system that bases itself on war-making efforts while putting down the role of women in the world. The filmmakers then show ample examples to support her viewpoints. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
This documentary allows pro and anti-UFO advocates, cultists and theorists to speak for themselves, and does not advocate any particular point of view about the phenomena. In addition to interviewing such figures as the Pentagon employee and self-appointed head of the "Citizens Against UFO Secrecy" Larry W. Bryant, the filmmakers also interview the heads of several UFO cults. Among these are Ruth E. Norman of the Unarius cult and Alan Mosely of the Aetherius Society. Some classic old movie clips are included, as well as clips from a Unarius-made movie. The filmmakers also interview men-on-the-street in L.A., including quite accidentally one former UFO B-movie actress (Sherrie Rose). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Hill
- 1993
- PG
This documentary shows the evolution of the 1960s dance craze called "the twist." Interviewed are several singers and musicians who contributed to the trend, notably Hank Ballard, Chubby Checker, and Joey Dee. Also shown are clips from TV shows showcasing the twist, such as American Bandstand, and films made to cash in on the fad, such as The T.A.M.I. Show, Go, Man, Go!, and Twist All Night. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chubby Checker
- 1991
- R
When police officer Sean Craig (Martin Kove) is shot while on the job, he is pronounced dead, but remarkably comes back to life. When he is haunted by the strange dream he experienced while he was clinically dead, he sets out to find the mysterious woman who appears in the visions. With the help of a curious doctor (Martha Henry), Craig makes another attempt to attain a near-death state and piece together the rest of the puzzling vision. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Kove, Martha Henry, (more)
- 1989
Maggie (Isabelle Mejias) is an ordinary Canadian girl who has signed on to work in a Catholic mission in modern-day Africa. She is comes to the job amply supplied with enthusiasm and ignorance, and manages to consistently do things which show her lack of understanding of the local culture and which trample on local sensibilities. For instance, when she discovers that some things in her house have been stolen, she foolishly reports the theft. This results in her houseboy being arrested and sent away to prison for ten years. It is not a question of who was guilty (he might have been), but of the abitrariness of his treatment. This jars the heretofore clueless girl out of her complacency, and she belatedly makes some attempts to understand her environment. In this, she is aided by her houseboy's wife, who has, despite everything, allowed Maggie to become her friend. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Mejias, George Seremba, (more)
Though aimed at those fastidious comic book collectors who spend exorbitant sums for old DC first editions (only to leave them unread and wrapped in plastic), Comic Book Confidential manages to convey the fanaticism and fun of this hobby to non-aficionados. Canadian director Ron Mann traces the history of the comic book industry, the idiotic purging of so-called violent comics in the 1950s, and the growth of the collectibles industry. Throughout the film, any comic book which does not meet Mann's exacting standards is trashed (Dell and Harvey, beware!) Among those interviewed are Marvel Comics mavens Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and EC mentors William M. Gaines and Will Elder. The underground "comix" movement is represented by Robert Crumb. Though he clearly loves comics, Ron Mann might have more successfully conveyed this with fewer clever camera angles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynda Barry, Robert Crumb, (more)
- 1989
To the noise of almost universal execration, this derivative horror story anthology made a brief appearance at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival. The baseline story is that of a newscaster who is held captive by a deranged collector, as each object in his collection has its story re-enacted. In one story, the dead rise from their graves to punish the greedy gravediggers who have been selling the extra dirt from each burial to a nearby golf course. In another, a pizza delivery boy has a really, really difficult time getting paid for his delivery to 1313 Bram Stoker Blvd. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Landers, Dean Richards, (more)
- 1989
- R
Colleen Dewhurst plays Molly Dushane, the widowed matriarch of a small-town family. A tragedy occurred years earlier when her late husband committed suicide after threatening their daughter with a gun, and the family has fumbled with their difficult lives since. Though she often escapes reality by drinking, it doesn't seem escape enough as she finds out her ex-lover has died. In addition to being an alcoholic, she is also suffering from a terminal illness and longs to go to Italy once before she dies. Daughter Micheline (Megan Follows), finally confronting her own life, decides to take her mother to Italy where they find the different perspective they have needed. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colleen Dewhurst, Megan Follows, (more)
- 1988
- PG
In the thriller Shadow Dancing, the head of the Beaumont Theater of Dance has been haunted for decades by one of his dancers who died suddenly during a performance of "Medusa." Despite the bad memories surrounding "Medusa," the company is set to stage a production of the ballet nearly 50 years later, and a young dancer is obsessed with winning the title role. After she receives it, she begins to assume the physical and emotional characteristics of the woman who died years earlier, and as it gets closer to the actual production, it becomes apparent that she is headed toward her doom. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nadine Van Der Velde, Christopher Plummer, (more)
- 1988
Janet (Valerie Buhagiar) is an aspiring prostitute who befriends the drag queen Rocket (Stan Lake) in this offbeat comedy. She hopes to convert him into a "real man." When their male prostitute friend George is killed, Janet goes off with the man suspected of George's murder. Rocket heroically tries to rescue her from impending danger. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valerie Buhagiar, Stan Lake, (more)
- 1988
- R
This low-budget Canadian weirdness involves the diabolical schemes of pop psychologist Dr. Blake (David Gale, who played a far more convincing horror villain in Re-Animator), the host of an incredibly popular TV self-help show called "Independent Thinking." Blake takes a particular interest in the case of a juvenile delinquent (Tom Breznahan), whose brain is fitted with a special transmitter linking him to a giant, bug-eyed, fanged brain monster, which begins to remotely control his will. Sort of a blend of Videodrome and The Brain from Planet Arous by way of EC Comics, this would have come off as a fairly clever sci-fi/horror sleeper if not for the ridiculous special effects: the monster is essentially a big brain-shaped rubber balloon with a cartoonish face on it. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Breznahan, Cyndy Preston, (more)
- 1988
Director Morley Markson interviews political radicals of the 1960s in this informative social documentary. Twenty years after riots were sparked by anti-war protesters at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, the same activists take a retrospective look at the turbulent times. Newsreel clips are inserted in between interviews with Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, John Sinclair, Fred Hampton Jr., poet Allan Ginsberg, and LSD guru Timothy Leary. Also interviewed are Chicago Seven defense attorney William Kunstler, John Cox, and Deborah Russell. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, (more)
- 1987
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Lensed on a smile and a shoeshine on 16 millimeter, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing effectively shifts from black and white to color and back again to make its artistic statement. Sheila McCarthy stars as a self-effacing amateur photographer who goes to work for yuppie art-curator Paule Baillargeon. Ms. McCarthy expresses her admiration for Ms. Baillargeon by secretly submitting the latter's paintings to some appreciative critics. Baillargeon responds by behaving atrociously towards McCarthy. This shakes up McCarthy to the point that she realizes she'll never succeed as an artist on her own terms long as she hides behind the accomplishments of others. This apparently autobiographical first film by director Patricia Rozema (we say "apparently" because Sheila McCarthy's character name is rhythmically and ethnically close to Rozema's) won the Prix de la Jeunesse at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sheila McCarthy, Paule Baillargeon, (more)
- 1987
- R
A priest tries to help a young prostitute escape the life of sex and drugs in this exploitation drama. Father Jack (Chuck Shamata) tries to help 14-year-old Lindsay (Heather Kjollesdal) get off the streets to save her young life. Monsignor O'Brien (Art Carney) becomes concerned when Jack seems to be spending too much time trying to save the girl he believes belongs in a shelter. Lindsay left home after suffering from an incestuous relationship with her father, but now she turns tricks for her sleazy boyfriend Lenny (Daniel MacIvor). Jack hopes to intervene before the young teen ends up dead. Contains nudity and profanity. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Shamata, Heather Kjollesdal, (more)
"Bix" Beiderbecke (1903-1931) was one of the best (and self-taught) cornetists in U.S. jazz history, playing at a time when Louis Armstrong was acclaimed for his jazz renderings, yet in no way similar to Armstrong in sound and style. Bix had hardcore conservative parents whose stance against jazz was unbending -- and who never appreciated Bix's attainments. The story of his successes and tragedies is told through interviews (including some with his contemporaries), historical footage, still photos, images of Edward Hopper's paintings (that emphasize Bix's period and Midwestern origins), and the music itself. Although Bix was playing the piano at the age of three, he later taught himself the coronet and made his fame on that instrument. At first, he did not read music but when he lost one job due to that inability, he took time out to learn. Some of his greatest solos include "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" and "Singing the Blues." Already addicted to alcohol in his early 20s -- partly at the influence of his so-called "friends," his health broke down at the age of 27, and although he tried to rehabilitate himself, he died of alcohol abuse one year later. Dorothy Baker's book and the later 1950s movie of the same title -- Young Man with a Horn -- was inspired by the life and legend of Bix Beiderbecke. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hoagy Carmichael
- 1981
This Canadian feature-length oddity was produced, directed and written by Clay Borris; it starred its director and his brother Gary Borris, along with the rest of the Borris clan. The loosely constructed plot revolves around two grown-up siblings who still live with their parents. Their already precarious lifestyle is threatened when their mentally unbalanced aunt comes to stay. The best scenes occur in the streets of Toronto, as we watch con-artist Gary Borris plying his trade on the unwary. Critics loved the exceedingly modest but engagingly energetic Alligator Shoes, labelling it the ultimate in cinema verite. Nonfans of Clay Borris' what-the-hey technique tend to regard this independent production as something along the lines of "Canadian's Most Dysfunctional Home Movies." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronalda Jones, Clay Borris, (more)
- 1979
This provocative Canadian drama observes the aftermath of a passionate incestuous affair between a brother and sister. Afterwards the two are appalled and split up. The brother heads for the city where he gets involved with another woman. Soon after moving in with her, he discovers that his sister is also in the city and that she has become a prostitute. He begins searching for her in the worst areas of town. During his journey he meets a variety of sleazeballs and scumbags until at last the siblings are reunited and able to make peace with each other. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Hauff, Paully Jardine, (more)
- 1974
After a hotel is willed to him by a relative, a rock star decides to sell his new inheritance. The rock star had been forced into a mental institution due to not being able to live day-to-day with other people. He arrives at the hotel to settle the deal, and as he gets strange fantasies about the place, odd things begin to happen, plaguing those around him. ~ All Movie Guide
