Dark Matter by Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie - Bell Media, 2015-

with
Marc Bendavid as One / Jace Corso / Derrick Moss
Melissa O'Neil as Two / Rebecca / Portia Lin
Anthony Lemke as Three / Marcus Boone
Alex Mallari Jr. as Four / Ryo Tetsuda
Jodelle Ferland as Five / Das
Roger Cross as Six / Griffin Jones
Zoie Palmer as The Android


Android, Four, Three, Two, One, Five and Six

When six crew members working on a derelict spaceship awaken from stasis, they have no memory of who they are or how they got on the vessel. The only clue to their identities is weaponry and a destination -- a remote mining colony soon to become a war zone. They must band together to fight off the threats that they face on a voyage that is filled with vengeance, betrayal and secrets that make survival a question mark for all on board the ship. The sci-fi series is based on the graphic novel of the same name.

Reason why I watched this series? I was doing research on Zoie Palmer (Lost Girl) and there was a tiny article on Science Fiction series that didn't make much noise but definitely got the attention, and Zoie Palmer was in it. Great! Science Fiction, and Zoie Palmer. Wait! She plays what? An Android? Ok...

So, there are so few good Space Science Fiction series, or movies, that I had to check it out. Yes, count them, Battlestar Galactica/Caprica, Fascape, V, Stargate SG1, Star Trek, Firefly/Serenity...
But really, recently? There is an overflow in the 60s and 70s. Then there are all the animated series. But a series, with actual actors in it? Or they are Science Fiction series, but not Space Travel...
Extant, but is it really space travel or just an astronaut back on Earth?
Now, besides it, currently, there is Killjoys. Again, Canadian... Do all the good SciFi series have to be produced there? And thery have been approved for a second season. Is there a heaven there (Not Haven, Canadian again)?

Ok, back to Dark Matters is telling the story of a small team, from which we know nothing, as much as they know themselves actually. Through the episodes, we get to learn more and more about the,, and eventually, also solve one problem an episode... Which is usually a pattern in series, as it help get to know the character, and keep the series with a purpose. I am hoping they will develop a larger arch next season. Production is good, special effect impeccable, the way the world is developed is closed to Firefly, as there are no extra-terrestrial beings (yet?), but it is diverse and fascinating.

One of the things I really like about the series is the sense of humor, which seems to be a constant trait in all the Space Science Fiction series I listed above. It looks like we cannot remain serious if we are to do a series about the Space. And that is good... There are way too many series that take themselves seriously. And most of the humor comes from Zoie Palmer nerdy sense of humor, which we also found in Lost Girl. I wonder if this is why they picked her. She delivers lines like no other, without a hint of humor, but turns out to be so out of place it is hilarious.
Then you have the six crew members of the Raza, with different abilities, and very different personalities. Since they are back to not knowing who they are, or knowing who are the others, we are witnessing their discoveries along the adventures. The contrast between the men in the team is so stark it creates a lot of situations where it would be impossible not to laugh. Five and Two are more the serious angle of the series, but they complete the team to a more elaborate story-line and most of all a leadership regarding two. Gender plays a role, but ultimately, ranks are not divided according to gender. Personality will define roles.

The series left us in such a cliffhanger I don't believe we will know anything until next season, and that is the good news, it has been renewed for a second season!

Lost Girl by Michelle Lovretta - Showcase, 2010-2015

with Anna Silk (Bo), Ksenia Solo (Kenzi), Kristen Holden-Reid (Dyson), K. C. Collins (Hale), Zoie Palmer (Lauren), Richard Howland (Trick), Rachel Skarsten (Tamsin), Paul Amos (Vex), Emmanuelle Vaugier (The Morrigan), Vincent Walsh (Lachlan), Inga Cadranel (Aife)


Left to right: Trick (Richard Howland), Hale (K. C. Collins), Dyson (Kristen Holden-Reid), Bo (Anna Silk), Kenzi (Ksenia Solo), Lauren (Zoie Palmer)

Bo is a small-town girl on the run after a disastrous sexual encounter with her boyfriend ends with his death. Bo learns that she is not human, but a succubus, who feeds on the sexual energy of humans. She and her kind are members of the Fae, creatures of legend, who walk among humans and feed off them in different ways. As she searches for the truth about her origins and runs from her inhuman urges, she vows to help those she meets along the way - human or Fae - who need to right a wrong.

I am definitely team Lauren...

That said, we can move on to the task at hand. This series is quite interesting, as it uses possibly all the myths we have all over this planet, and link them into one specie, the Fae, and the theory holds together. We are in today's world, with people knowing about myths, and this is fun. I have often noted that one of the best part of Fascape is that John Crichton is a human with a general knowledge of pop culture, and when he jokes, he jokes about our human pop culture, such as Clint Eastwood, Einstein, or R2D2. The same way, humans or Bo, with their ignorance of the Fae world, are allowed to make fun of Vampires and Werewolves, or Zeus or Valkyries. Because they exist in our popular culture. So many Werewolf or Vampire movies and series are suggesting that humans are completely ignorant of their concept, as if they had no literature or movie that referred to them, like, about constantly! Anyway, first good point.

Second great thing about the series is its sexual fluidity, and the non-statement of Bo (yes, the main character!) choosing to be in a relationship with a woman, and not making it about coming out, not making in a social statement, and her surrounding being completely natural about it. In fact, it is so special it is probably the only movie or series that doesn't talk about homosexuality, while having a character bisexual. Every series or movie I have seen have at some point to talk about how challenging it is, or they have to come out, or someone judge them for being gay, or it has to become about gay right. Here, the only main problem is basically, one is Human, the other one Fae, so basically, one will most definitely die before the other and that is a big problem. And perhaps also the fact that one uses sex as a regenerating boost which tends to drain the other. Minor details.

So, what is the third cool thing about the series... The series started with one case per episode, which can sometimes slow down tremendously the rhythm of the over season. Naturally the series evolved into a more complex canvas, with various intertwined story-lines, which sometimes converged. It allowed to develop not only the character of Bo, but the other characters, which have also had their interesting stories. When you have characters that are centuries old, you can afford to dig into their past. A blood-king, a well-traveled shifter, a Valkyrie, Zeus, Hades, a family of Sirens, a wanderer... Even the "humans" have their own curiosity, Dr Lauren Lewis aka Karen Beattie is the most interesting doctor. Anyway, so the series has the luxury to pick into Oriental myths, Germanic, Voodoo, South American, Greek, Native American, Eastern European, Scandinavian, Russian, Celtic... with limitless resources. And it is awesome.

Another great thing, and sad I admit, is that the series is over, but ended with a proper ending. It feels coherent, from the first episode, that this is where the series is headed, and the end is just the apotheosis that was expected, and then the series ends. (I am not gonna comment en series like Farscape and Firefly that had to have their fans striking so they would wind up doing some sort of conclusion). In other words, it is a series that you can watch like a long movie (very long I admit) with a beginning, a middle and an end. Fantastic.

What else, I think I forgot the sense of humor. It is at times sad, but overall, the characters don't take themselves too seriously, and it is funny. Number one funny, not consciously, Dr Lauren Lewis. I think her nerdy ways and the awkwardness are just irresistible. One of the best episode which makes everyone at its best is Season 2, Episode 9 "Original Skin", where Dyson is hilarious. Dex is probably one of the craziest character with the Morrigan, and those are supposed to be the bad guys... Sometimes, you would wish there would be more of them.

Anyway, the cast is really good working together, the writers were quite inspired, and even if the special effects sometimes where quite something, the production is great. I would definitely like to see more of this kind of series.


Left to right: Vex (Paul Amos), Tamsin (Rachel Skarsten), Kenzi (Ksenia Solo), Bo (Anna Silk), Dyson (Kristen Holden-Reid), Trick (Richard Howland), Lauren (Zoie Palmer

Inch'Allah by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, 2012 (R)

with Evelyne Brochu, Sabrina Ouazani (Of Gods and Men - Des Hommes et des Dieux, Le Passé - The Past), Sivan Levy, Yousef 'Joe' Sweid, Hammoudeh Alkarmi, Zorah Benali, Carlo Brandt (Korkoro - Liberté), Marie-Thérèse Fortin, Ahmad Massad

Chloe is a young Canadian doctor who divides her time between Ramallah, where she works with the Red Crescent, and Jerusalem, where she lives next door to her friend Ava, a young Israeli soldier. Increasingly sensitive to the conflict, Chloe goes daily through the checkpoint between the two cities to get to the refugee camp where she monitors the pregnancies of young women. As she becomes friends with Rand, one of her patients, Chloe learns more about life in the occupied territories and gets to spend some time with Rand's family. Torn between the two sides of the conflict, Chloe tries as best she can to build bridges between her friends but suffers from remaining a perpetual foreigner to both sides.

We cannot be indifferent to this movie. I wrote something far more heated when I just saw it and now decided to not look at it, and write with a calmer pace. Evelyne Brochu, which I just discovered in a total different role (Orphan Black) really impressed me here. She was our eyes on a situation that I think is a little too real, and the same way the movie depicts it, a circle. The progression makes us understand the same event with a different perspective. Because of the things Chloe is witnessing, because the movie is set mostly in a refugee camp where Palestinians have been moved with very poor living conditions, the movie takes a turn in which we cannot avoid be partial. At the same time, it keeps us viewers in a position where we are allowed to be smarter, and get angry at the simplistic views Chloe has, no matter how involved she is. It allows to see how tension is now based on the lack of communication. And how dangerous and saddening in both side the conflict has become.

Watch trailer:

Barney's Version by Richard J. Lewis, 2010 (R)

for once I am putting two posters, because one pays homage to the traditional movie poster of the beginning of the century, and I really like it :) The other one is just the other one, the official.





with Paul Giamatti (Duplicity), Rosamund Pike (Pride and Prejudice, Surrogates, An Education), Paul Gross, Minnie Driver (Sleepers), Scott Speedman (The Vow, Adoration), Dustin Hoffman (Kramer Vs. Kramer, Tootsie), Jake Hoffman, Mark Addy, Saul Rubinek, Rachelle Lefevre (Twilight Series), Bruce Greenwood (Deja Vu)

Golden Globe winner Paul Giamatti stars as Barney Panofsky, a Jewish Canadian television producer who reflects in flashbacks on three strange decades -- and three wives -- in this adaptation of Mordecai Richler's acclaimed novel. There's Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), a free-spirited proponent of free love; "Mrs. P" (Minnie Driver), a self-centered princess; and Miriam (Rosamund Pike), the right woman who comes along at the wrong time.

It is an unexpected movie. First you believe it is about a murder, of his best friend. Then you believe this is about finding no evidence of the murder, thinking at some point of his life, it will come back to him. And then, it evolves into a love story, then the story of humans, imperfect, living a life that had mistakes, trying to fix them, to go one. And finally it is about aging, looking at life again, remembering, forgetting, remembering still, the essential. Paul Giamatti made me cry. And it was not an easy thing to achieve, since he is so far from the romantic guy, so uncharming, so not likable. It leaves you perplex the fact that the story shows him at the center of an amazing life. Perhaps to show you how much he had to loose. Or perhaps how much the other had to loose by not looking beyond the appearance. Perhaps this is why it takes such a long time to understand why a woman like Miriam (amazing Rosamund Pike) falls for him. The movie is dynamic, with dark humor and loud, with a humanity that reminds me I know nothing about Canadian humor, but I am ready to learn!

Watch Trailer:

Incendies by Denis Villeneuve, 2011 (R)

with Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard, Abdelghafour Elaaziz, Allen Altman, Mohamed Majd, Nabil Sawalha, Baya Belal

When their mother's will implores them to deliver letters to the father they thought was dead and a brother they never knew about, twins Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) journey to the Middle East and attempt to reconstruct their family's hidden history.

The themes of the movie are very strong. I don't know that we can understand it to the extreme that it reaches. The movie takes alternatively place in the past and in the present in Canada and in the middle east. And it unravels slowly, just giving you enough clues at the time to make you anticipate the next scene, with horror, before having the confirmation of it. It is a sad movie, with powerful characters, excellently played. Worthy.

Snow Cake by Marc Evans, 2006 (NR)

with Alan Rickman (Alice In Wonderland, Harry Potter), Sigourney Weaver (Alien), Carrie-Anne Moss (Fireflies in The Garden, Chocolat, The Matrix), David Fox, Jayne Eastwood, Emily Hampshire, James Allodi, Callum Keith Rennie, Mark McKinney

Alex (Alan Rickman), a British man stranded in Ontario and haunted by a fatal accident that took place there, is forced to confront his past when he meets the autistic Linda (Sigourney Weaver). Linda is the mother of the teenage girl who died in the accident, and though she's sustained an unimaginable loss, it is she who helps Alex find his way back to a life once again filled with hope.

I believe I was randomly looking for movies either with Alan Rickman or Carrie-Ann Moss when I found this. I do not know when it actually came out, if it did came out, what was the general welcoming of this movie by the critics or the audience. I watched it quite amazed by the aesthetic of something that was reminding me so much of a Danish movie. It is a movie that really feels like the north. But it is Canadian. And it is with a British actor. And it is about people, which somehow means more than a country. But the cinematography is something I remember sharply. The acting as well, because the characters are all believable, and interesting. You learn on the way not to judge them, to respect their story and their behavior, and eventually to love them. And the lightness to it, the poetry of the story is something that we rarely see in movies, it is a little jewel. Well, now reading other reviews, I believe this is quite unanimous, although they describe the movie as a diamond, not a jewel!

Adoration by Atom Egoyan, 2007 (R)

with Devon Bostick, Scott Speedman (The Vow, Barney's Version), Arsinée Khanjian, Rachel Blanchard, Noam Jenkins, Kenneth Welsh, Aaron Poole, Katie Boland, Duane Murray

Assigned to translate a terrorism-related news story for his French class, teen Simon (Devon Bostick) weaves personal details into his tale, which soon leaves the Internet swirling with rumors that Simon's dead father was an actual terrorist.

I have seen this movie a long time ago now, but I am astonished how this movie comes back to me from time to time, always more accurately. Or is it that I started creating a story around the story, like Simon did while translating is assignment. It made me so close to the character, and at the same time, the absurdity of certain scene, the surrealism of others brought me away, in a more personal dream. I had never seen Arsinée Khanjian and I found her - i don't know that astonishing is really the word, so lets find another one - so strange: captivating, unusual, right on and at the same time, so bothering. It was a very good and unique experience.

Watch Trailer:

Chloe by Atom Egoyan, 2009 (R)

with Julianne Moore (The Kids are All Right, Crazy, Stupid, Love., A Single Man, Game Change, The English Teacher), Liam Neeson (The Other Man, The Next Three Days, The Grey, Love Actually), Amanda Seyfried (In Time), Max Thieriot, R.H. Thomson, Nina Dobrev (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Mishu Vellani, Julie Khaner, Meghan Heffern, Laura DeCarteret
From the director of "Adoration"

Suspecting her husband, David (Liam Neeson), of infidelity, doctor Catherine (Julianne Moore) hires sexy escort Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) to seduce him and test his faithfulness. But as Catherine checks in on Chloe's encounters with David, Chloe's reports become increasingly lurid. Soon, the relationships between all three intensify in unexpected ways.

I love how the movie tricks you into something that was much sexier and manipulative than what the plot seem to be. Really dangerous! Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried are perfect. I still have a preference for "Adoration" tho.

Watch Trailer: