By Allan Tong

Mexico City at 9:17 p.m. sees computer geek Lolo (Y Tu Mamá También’s Diego Luna) spying on the lovely girl next door. Unfortunately, she discovers his cameras hidden inside her apartment and proceeds to rampage over his computer system. Her attack triggers a chain reaction that jeopardises a deal involving 20 diamonds with the Russian mob and entangles quarrelling pharmacists, bloodthirsty hairstylists and nosy cops. Nicotina is a black farce set in real time (93 minutes), loosely strung together by the motif of cigarette smoke — the point is that everyone’s fate ends up in smoke. There are some good laughs in Nicotina and director Hugo Rodriguez keeps us following all the madcap turns without losing our attention. However, the best black comedies make a point — witness Joe Orton’s plays exposing the sexual hypocrisy of a repressed England of the ’60s with wicked glee. There is little beneath the surface of Nicotina, though it is entertaining and fun. Like a cigarette, Nicotina gives the viewer a rush but leaves him wanting more. (Altavista)


Emily Hampshire’s performance in A Problem with Fear is a stunner — as funny, cartoon-ish and wholly original as Mira Sorvino’s star-making turn in Mighty Aphrodite. Hampshire’s Dot looks like Annette Funicello with fire engine red lipstick and braces — she’s a nerdy girl with a fierce sense of determination and a goofy speech impediment. ...Read More
Dogville - Dir. by Lars von Trier
Lars Von Trier is best known in film circles for having devised a half-joking manifesto called Dogme 95; in it, he outlined "rules" that would help save films from Hollywood formula. They included only using natural light, hand-held cameras, existing locations, natural environmental music (no score) and a vague "no clichés" rule. ...Read More
The Barbarian Invasions - Dir. by Denys Arcand
Canada’s greatest living filmmaker returns to form with The Barbarian Invasions. Denys Arcand reunites the cast of The Decline of the American Empire, his 1987 hit that put Quebec on the international film map, and revives Empire’s style of intellectual banter laced with sharp wit. ...Read More
Alexandra’s Project - Dir. by Rolf de Heer
Alien: The Director’s Cut - Dir. by Ridley Scott
Bon Voyage - Dir. by Jean-Paul Rappeneau
The Agronomist - Dir. by Jonathan Demme
The Human Stain - Dir. by Robert Benton
The Republic of Love - Dir. by Deepa Mehta
The Saddest Music in the World - Dir. by Guy Maddin
The School of Rock - Dir. by Richard Linklater
The Yes Men - Dir. by Chris Smith, Dan Ollman and Sarah Price
Veronica Guerin - Dir. by Joel Schumacher
Zatoichi - Dir. by Takeshi Kitano
Mary J. Blige - Stronger with Each Tear
Mary, we love the fact that you're happy ― no more drama ― and that your personal issues seem to be a thing of the past. Trouble is, your pain was what fuelled your passion. It's the reason why What's the 411 was a classic, and why subsequent albums were usually measured by whethe... Full Review
Toronto Punk Finds A Voice
If you've ever wondered why Toronto's first wave punk scene lacks the oral histories, band biographies, and memoirs pouring out of similar scenes, Treat Me Like Dirt is for you — as evidenced by a first printing selling out a week before its release. "I didn't know that any of this had happened the way I knew that New York and London had these great punk movements," says author Liz Worth.... Read More
The Hurt Locker Dir. by Kathryn Bigelow
Taking a break at about the halfway mark of director Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq war drama, The Hurt Locker, I realized my jaw was sore. I had been unconsciously clenching it from the first moment of The Hurt Locker, which chronicles a three-man team of explosives ordinance disposal (bomb s... Full Review
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