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Reviews
Sweet Substitute (1964)
second masterpiece in as many tries...
After completing "The Bitter Ash," (which was the second film of Kent's I saw), he then made "Sweet Substitute." In this case, it was the last of his films I was able to get a hold of and I wasn't disappointed at all. This has to be one of the most enduring films to stay with me after viewing (along with "Faces" and it's honesty and sincerity have certainly had a profound effect on me. The characters and plot line both allow the times to shine out with the date of this film, but are relevant today, and being that the piece is ultimately about human relationships, expectations, and insecurities, I believe it will always be a landmark in independent art film. Unfortunately not enough other people have had the good fortune of discovering such great work as I have, but hopefully that will change in the future.
The Bitter Ash (1963)
Greatest Film Ever
Wow, a simply brilliant and stunning film, and I only saw the last half or less. Being from B.C. and just coming home from school in Vancouver I feel robbed for 19 years of my life that no one told me this film existed, what a crime. Now I can't find it anywhere on VHS or DVD, that's even worse. The saddest part is that I spent the last year at film school and they talked more about **** films like "sex, lies, and videotape" and "The Silence of the Lambs" when quality time was wasted that could have been spent on this great independent film, and on made in B.C. by a Canadian. That's why film school is ****. Too much about the industry and money and selling out rather than art. I only hope Larry Kent and this film earn the respect Cassavetes has gotten south of the border with "Shadows" and his other films.
Gross Misconduct: The Life of Brian Spencer (1993)
canadian pov
Good tv movie i remember seeing about 10 years ago along with "Net Worth." Good to see that it was done by arguably the best canadian director around
today, Atom Egoyan. Love the way the chapters work and how the fathers story intertwines into brian's (kinda like memento with the normal scenes and then lenny b&w on the phone in his room). also liked how the old classic NHL footage was mixed in (especially for the very last frames). dont know how accurate it was but ive been to ft. st. james and like most small canadian towns, it takes pride in its successful hockey players, brians being one of a few. i liked the parallel between young and old brian and how the almost seemed the same (young brian more mature in some scenes). i would rate this pretty good for a tv movie and a cbc movie. was glad to see that egoyan improved alot from this in his later works likely because he had more creative control. only complaint is the hockey scene which just didnt feel 60's-70's "old-time-hockey." thats probly cause egoyan being from middle east and that likely never played hockey and i think shouldve found some way to do these scenes better by cloning the old stock nhl footage. i found it good to see (if u follow the nhl now) how the nhl expansion effected hockey and its players. guys like spencer were shipped round "journeymen" and really found themselves in poor cities that couldnt (and still cant support) their teams. finally i just gotta add how much i love brian's story of meeting bobby orr.