Since Half Of America Is Going To Move There Now..."Being Canadian"

Being Canadian (2015)

Not Rated

Written and Directed by Robert Cohen

The Story:

Cohen left Canada to come to America and become a comedy writer. Along the way, the more he met people, the more he began to realize how misunderstood the world sees Canadians. He set out on a cross country trek across his homeland to see if he could discover what it truly means to be a Canadian.

Now, as I'm not Canadian, I cannot vouch for the confirmation of 90% of all stereotypes that Canadians are known for that Cohen runs across in the film.

But yeah, he pretty much ticks them off, like a checklist, and most are confirmed as true.

However, don't let that get you down, as the majority of Canadian stereotypes are not exactly a bad thing.

Excessively polite.
Very funny.

You could actually stop right there, and yes, those two are indeed addressed in the documentary.

Each trek of his journey tackles another facet of being Canadian, and he gets answers from everyday Canadians as well as many who have become quite famous on either side of the border.

It's light, it's breezy, it's fun.

Final Grade: A-

Nothing Says Spring, Quite Like "A Christmas Horror Story"!!!

A Christmas Horror Story - (2015)

Rated R

Starring William Shatner, George Buza,

Directed by Grant Harvey, Steven Hoban, Brett Sullivan

The Story:

4 holiday horror stories intertwine on Christmas Eve as Dangerous Dan (Shatner), a local radio DJ plays some tunes and gets some holiday feelings off his chest.

The first story has some teens break into their school to shoot a documentary about some students that died in that place previously.

Next, there is a family that goes to visit their grandma, but by behaving poorly, unleash Krampus to wreak vengeance upon them.

Third, a couple take their little boy into the woods to chop down the perfect tree. The boy gets separated from his parents, and they find him much later in a hollow tree. He comes home but is acting much, much differently than before.

Finally, Santa is dealing with the zombie apocalypse as the elves have begun to turn and they are hunting him down. It's kill or be killed with Christmas on the line!

First, they were wise in going the anthology route with this film, because none of the stories, at least as written or presented was strong enough to carry a 90 minute horror film.

It is quite possible they could have been fleshed out and expanded, but for an anthology film, this works.

The problem or the best part is, depending on the viewer, is the cutting back and forth between the stories. Some stories are stronger than others and getting pulled out of that story and having to wait 3 turns for the next bit to see what happens next can be annoying.

Or, if you don't mind the switches, it can be the perfect remedy to create suspense where there might not be any.

Nothing too remarkable here to make this a must-see or repeat viewing during the holiday season (Halloween or Christmas) but good enough for at least one go round.

Final Grade: C

William...Shatner Presents..."Chaos.....On The Bridge"

Chaos On the Bridge (2014)

Unrated

Written and Directed by William Shatner

The Story:

In 1987, the fledgling UPN wanted to revive the Star Trek franchise and have it boldly go where no previous Star Trek had gone before: First Run Syndication! Go with William Shatner as he talks to the actors, directors and producers who struggled to get the franchise off the ground.

I liked Star Trek growing up. Watched the original series in syndication after school when the cartoons, Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island were over.

I've even seen a few of the movies.

In 1987, I think I saw an episode or two of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I've probably seen 5-7 total episodes from their 7 year run. And that's most likely bits and pieces, but rarely an entire episode. I know I saw Generations as well.

You would think that a revival of a franchise that a generation loved would be smooth sailing, especially when you have Gene Roddenberry at the helm to oversee the production.

Well, it turns out that one of the biggest obstacles to the show even seeing the air was Roddenberry himself.

It's an eventful, fun and surprising hour of your time at the backstage politics of bringing a show to life, especially back then for a network trying to establish itself as a real channel.

This was before the days of Netflix, Amazon and dozens of other channels trying to launch their own shows to grab your attention.

So it's a time capsule of another time trying to launch a show that would itself become beloved for another generation.

Shatner makes for a genial host, only inserting himself into the proceedings when he really feels it necessary, otherwise he simply walks us from point to point on how the show went from an idea, to a show, to a franchise.

Currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B- (your love of Trek could push this one much higher)