Friday's Top 5... Historical Figures In Need of Biopics

#5: Aphra Behn

Virginia Woolf once said "All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds." She was not only one of the first professional female writers in English, she was also a spy for the court of King Charles II and spent time in a debtor's prison.

Canadian Film Review: Naked Lunch (1991), Part Two

* * 1/2
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm

Okay, let’s try this again. David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch is definitely easier to digest the second time around, though it is still an intensely bizarre film, even when you're prepared for what's coming. Naked Lunch is a very ambitious film and in many respects a technical marvel, though I'm not certain that it totally holds together. Still, it's an interesting film and definitely one that any Cronenberg fan should see.

Review: Mother and Child (2010)

* * * 1/2
Director: Rodrigo Garcia Barcha
Starring: Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington

During the first half of its running time Rodrigo Garcia Barcha’s Mother and Child is an almost relentlessly brutal film, its characters defined by the pain they feel and the pain they inflict on others. By the second half, however, those hard edges are softened considerably, revealing a delicately wrought character study about people who are all too human and all too flawed. Mother and Child is a totally riveting character-driven drama carried by three terrific performances.

Review: Made In Dagenham (2010)

* * * 1/2
Director: Nigel Cole
Starring: Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson

“Issue” movies are a staple of the cinematic landscape, but they can be difficult to pull off. There is, after all, a fine line between taking a subject seriously and presenting it in an overly earnest or reverent way. Nigel Cole’s Made In Dagenham finds the right tone, approaching the material sincerely but without drenching it in syrupy sentiment. The film pretty much came and went from theatres (at least on this side of the Atlantic), but it’s definitely worth a look and will hopefully find an audience now that it’s out on DVD.

Great Last Scenes: The Maltese Falcon

Year: 1941
Director: John Huston
Great Because...: It’s the stuff that dreams are made of. A great ending to one of the best detective movies ever made, one which is perfectly attuned to that dark humour that runs through film noir. It ties everything up nicely and gives star Humphrey Bogart some premium lines with which to send off femme fatale Mary Astor.