The Ringmaster Documentary- Onion rings and a side of real life

THE RINGMASTER an Award Winning Documentary   will be released  by 1091 PICTURES (formerly THE ORCHARD) on DIGITAL | ON DEMAND starting OCTOBER 6^th.  

THE RINGMASTER

 A Capp Bros. Production in association 

with Asteroid and Space Metals Recovery

88 minutes | Documentary | HD | USA | English 

DIGITAL | VIDEO ON DEMAND OCTOBER 6th!

TRAILER: https://vimeo.com/323592979

 I was able to preview this documentary and could totally relate to the situation of the filmmaker who had good intentions of helping the elderly Minnesota chef and his story of how popular his onion ring recipe was but was all in and got in over his head in the production of the film which took a turn in a whole other direction.   I can also relate to the filmmaker dealing with the subject as I have had to deal with something similar in my life.  This film turns into much more than the story of a plate of Onion Rings.

You will want the onion rings and you will get invested in the life of the filmmaker and subject at the same time.

SYNOPSIS

Upon his grandfather’s death, a recovering gambling addict (ZACHARY CAPP) used his inheritance to make a documentary about well-known onion rings from his childhood and the beloved Minnesotan chef (LARRY LANG) who makes them. His project changes drastically when the fledging filmmaker becomes hellbent on improving the humble fry cook’s life, despite discovering his subject wants nothing to do with the film. The movie becomes something else entirely when the crew members secretly turn the cameras on the filmmaker, documenting his efforts and failures over a three-year journey. 

About the Filmmaker:

Zachary Capp (Executive Producer/Producer/Writer/Editor/Cast) - Zachary Capp is a writer, editor & producer from Las Vegas, Nevada. He has produced various projects including music videos, commercials, & the feature documentary "The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?" as well as an award-winning 3D short film for DirecTV original programming. Zachary has edited the majority of the video billboards for the major hotels on the Las Vegas strip. He has a degree in Television & Radio Production from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY. 

A portion of all proceeds from the film will benefit Alzheimer's research that plays an integral role in Larry Lang's life. 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

FACEBOOK: facebook.com/theringmasterfilm

INSTAGRAM: @theringmasterfilm 

TWITTER:  @RingmasterFilm

ROTTEN TOMATOES PAGE:

The Ringmaster (2019) - Rotten Tomatoes

TRAILER: https://vimeo.com/323592979

FESTIVAL ACCOLADES 

Best Documentary at Festival of Cinema NYC

Audience Award Best Documentary at Silver State Film Festival in Las Vegas

Best Screenwriting Award at DOC LA

Best Documentary North Europe Intl Film Festival in London 

3 ICFF films that fight for their land

June 14-22, 2018

Toronto -Bell Lightbox- Vaughan-Hamilton and more cities

https://icff.ca/

Fabio Ravazzi

Giuseppe Battiston

I have been going to the Italian Contemporary Film Festival for the past few years and I really enjoy the films and the festival is organized really well too.

I have only seen a few films so far but the first 3 films seem to have 3 common threads between them.

They all seem to have common themes of Family, Integrity and taking care of the Earth.   They all have a lot of love and heart as well.  I really enjoy the Italian style of comedies,  you leave the theatres feeling really great and having a bit of an escape for a couple of hours.

The film Il Vegetale has it's lead character taking over his fathers land and growing vegetables and his relationship with his family.

Tulipani has a man from Holland settling in Italy and growing Tulips and creating a new family with the people he meets on his arrival and fights the protection system that is hurting the local businesses.

The Last Prosecco has a lonely Police Officer investigating the death of a local Wine Producer with the help of his daughter who is his only heir.

I really enjoyed all 3 films and encourage you to try and find them.  I know that Il Vegetale will be coming out in September and has a local Toronto distributor to thank for that so I hope you get a chance to see it in the Fall.

The great thing about ICFF is also the Directors and Actors who come from Italy and the US for the festival as seen above with Fabio Ravazzi and Giuseppe Battiston.  Maybe not famous to Canadians but known by Italians who love Italian Cinema.

Il Vegetale

Directed by Gennaro Nunziante

FILM INFO

Year 2018  Duration 90 min  Country Italy Genre Comedy Language English

Fabio Rovazzi is a 24’year’old graduate in Communication Sciences who lives in Milan “with a view of the future”. Fabio is looking for a job, dealing with a cumbersome father and a spoiled little sister, both of whom consider him to be a useless “vegetable”. He is searching for a career that respects his ethical criteria, but he knows that his weak spot is trust, both in himself and in others. An unexpected event will suddenly change everything. Between comical situations and paradoxical finds, our protagonist will have to reinvent his life.

CAST & CREDITS

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Director	Gennaro Nunziante
Producer	3zero2tv
	The Walt Disney Company Italia
Distributors	Medusa Film
	The Walt Disney Company Italia
Cast	Fabio Rovazzi
	Luca Zingaretti
	Ninni Bruschetta
	Paola Calliari

Tulipani

Directed by Mike Van Diem

FILM INFO

Year 2017  Country Olanda/Italia/Canada/Lituania  Length 90 min  Genre Comedy/Drama Subtitles English

This story is one of passion in which pain meets irony; a voyage in the south of Italy during the ‘50s and ‘80s where the rediscovery of one’s origins and the reconciliation with the past meets the liberating powers of revenge. Anna arrives from Canada in the heel of Italy with the aim of bringing home the ashes of her mother, originally from those lands. She will discover the shocking truth regarding her family, the identity of her real parents and how, twenty-five years before, they had fought the local mafia... on a field of tulips

CAST & CREDITS

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Director	Mike van Diem
Producer	Fatt Productions
Distributors	A71 Entertainment
Cast	Ksenia Solo
	Gijs Naber
	Lidia Vitale
	Giancarlo Giannini
	Anneke Sluiters

The Last Prosecco

Directed by Antonio Padovan

FILM INFO

Year 2017 Country Italia Length 101 min Genre Comedy/Mystery Subtitle English

The story unravels on the rolling hills where Prosecco grapes are grown; a winemaker Count, fighting to protect his territory, a stubborn half Italian half Persian police inspector; the manager of a cement plant, killed by three gunshots; and a crazy man who scrapes the rust from the tombs in the cemetery. A story about the inheritance of beauty and the value of quality. In 2010, north-east Italy began to feel a recession which nobody had expected. Only one productive sector resisted: Prosecco. This film forces us to remember that anyone who destroys the land destroys the future for everyone. 

CAST & CREDITS

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Director	Antonio Padovan
Producer	K+
Distributor	Parthenos
Cast	Giuseppe Battiston
	Rade Serbedzija
	Liz Solari
	Silvia D'Amico

5 Hot Docs Documentaries you should watch

The Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival is currently running this week and ending on May 6th and I have picked a few Docs you should see at the festival or hopefully wherever they are shown after the festival.  There is a subject of interest to almost anyone and I have picked a few that had a range of subjects that were either entertaining or thought provoking.  I have broken them down by subject.



INFLUENCE & PRIVACY:
The Cleaners

This documentary has a look at the people in the Philippines who scan content from Facebook and decide whether the content should appear on their app or not.  What does "Sin" as they see it do to a person's psyche who watches it for a living.  Does it take a toll on how you look at the world.  Is there such a thing as Privacy and free speech anymore?  When you watch this film it may remind you of 1984 when Big Brother was the future of the way we were going to be watched and controlled and it seems to be a reality and starting to be revealed in the news media and how it affects the world of late.  I wouldn't say this film is the best film of the festival but it is thought provoking and revealing so it's worth a look to see what you may not know about what's put out into the world.

MUSIC:
Bachman

Bachman is the story of Randy Bachman who is best known as a Canadian music Icon from bands such as the Guess Who and BTO.  Randy Bachman is not your typical Rockstar musician but he is 100% Canadian and those roots run deep and have influenced his music and his life over the length of his career. Not much is known about Randy Bachman other than his music but in this documentary he opens up a sliver of his life to show you where he has come from and who he is when he isn't spending most of his time living and breathing music.  I was never a huge Randy Bachman fan but I always respected his long career and obvious work ethic and I found this documentary very interesting and enlightening on what a long career in Canadian Music looks like.  It's probably not what you would expect and you will find it pretty interesting I think.

COMEDY:
Bill Murray Stories

This documentary tells the story of Comic/actor Bill Murray without interviewing Bill Murray but it's told through other people's stories and videos of their experiences with him.  I have known about Bill Murray since I was in High School and the thing to talk about with my friends was what we saw on Saturday Night Live the weekend before. Bill Murray has always been unpredictable and hilarious and he lives his life the same way.  It's no secret that he is elusive and doesn't have "people" running his life and he doesn't even have a cell phone or use a computer, but he does have a 1-800 number that people can leave messages on. Sophia Coppola tried leaving countless messages for him that he never returned so she had to find another way to get him to respond to her request for him to be in her film Lost in Translation.  Bill Murray only does what he wants to do when he wants to do it.  His life is like an endless Saturday Night Live improv sketch.  He has crashed parties and washed people's dishes, and brought fans with him to baseball games and all sorts of random things.  He seems to be a guy that just wants to live life by the seat of his pants and not like a celebrity with it's restrictions. 
Everyone has a Bill Murray story and even I have somewhat of a Bill Murray story.  I was volunteering with my Entourage Team at TIFF a few years ago and during our break while the film was on we went to our regular restaurant across the street from Roy Thompson Hall.  After we had dinner we started walking back to the theatre and Bill Murray was just standing on the corner probably waiting for someone but I don't think anyone recognized him but us.  We wondered if we should say hi to him but we decided to let him just go about whatever he was doing because that's what our team does.  I wish we had asked him for a photo with us but it's still a Bill Murray story even if we don't have a picture.

THE FUTURE:
More Human than Human

This documentary will make you afraid of your future and give you the feeling that you may become obsolete sooner than you think.  With a look at many forms of AI.  Artificial Intelligence, you realize that the future that was pictured in the movies 50 plus years ago is here now and who knows where things will go in the near future.  I have been struggling with the fact that computers are taking over what used to be starter or middle class jobs.  In my own life my job will probably be replaced by a new computer system that will be taking over data entry and processing duties and the only thing that might be left to do will be to answer the phone and fix problems that this new system may create. 
Are we making progress or are we destroying the ability to build a career and a life.  You be the judge.

FOOD:
Chef Flynn

This documentary really got my heart because at the core it was all about the love and obsession of making great food but it was also a look at how a mother puts her own needs aside and supports and encourages her 10 year old son to follow his dream with her never failing assistance.  Chef Flynn McGarry started cooking out of necessity after his mothers divorce and lack of interest in cooking proper meals for Flynn and his sister so he decided to take charge and teach himself how to cook.  But he didn't just cook basic comfort food dishes, he learned how to make Michelin star restaurant worthy meals from cookbooks like the French Laundry and watching everything he could and trying everything he could by researching and obsessing over every dish.  The mother and son started hosting a pop up restaurant in their home and Chef Flynn got noticed by the New York Times which shot up his trajectory but all he wanted to do was move from his California home to open his own restaurant in New York City.  Lofty goals for an 11 year old, but Chef Flynn is a teenager with the mind of a professional chef determined to achieve success in the culinary world but do it on his own terms.

WASTED! The Story of Food Waste at Planet in Focus

WASTED! THE STORY OF FOOD WASTE

Anna Chai/Nari Kye, USA, 2017, 85 min

Slick, solution­-oriented, and featuring Anthony Bourdain at his sardonic best, 

WASTED! The Story of Food Waste is that rare social issue documentary that’s every bit as entertaining as it is informative.

Do you remember when Documentaries where things you were forced to watch in High School,  well this isn't one of those.  It's eye opening and educational but it's also whitty and interesting.  It puts food waste into perspective and you will feel a twinge of guilt the next time you throw food into the garbage and forget about it.  This documentary is one that SHOULD be shown in schools to young children so that they learn where there food comes from and where it goes if they don't eat it.

I highly recommend everyone watch this film.  It has so many well known people in the food industry discussing different aspects of the food supply chain and how everyone can do their part to make a difference.  

You can see it at the Planet in Focus Film festival in Toronto  in October 2017.

PLANET IN FOCUS Screening Times: Saturday 21 October, 6:45pm ­at Innis Town Hall

Screens with THE POACHER (Nicholas Jones) 

Devour Food & Film Fest

I should be at this festival since my Blog is called Film Food Stuff.  I even know the director of Grand Cru.  Anyone want to pay for me to go and cover the festival?   5 Days. 99 Events. 72 Films. 3 Celebrity Chef Dinners. 1 Epic Event. Devour! The Food Film Fest Announces 2017 Programming   - October 25 – 29 in Wolfville, NS -   Celebrated chefs Jacques Pépin, Michael Smith, Bob Blumer and Mark Greenaway are among 2017 participants for the world’s largest culinary film festival Films screenings include the world premiere of David Eng’s Grand Cru and the Canadian premiere of Peter Stein’s Jacques Pépin - The Art of Craft

Wolfville, NS (August 22, 2017) – The world’s largest culinary film festival, Devour! The Food Film Fest (Devour!) today announced initial programming details for the seventh annual instalment. Celebrated chefs Jacques Pépin, Michael Smith, Bob Blumer and Mark Greenaway are joining previously announced festival Guest Curator, Canadian film icon Gordon Pinsent as 2017 participants. Devour! is the world’s largest film festival devoted to all things culinary. Each year, the festival showcases engaging cinema paired with extraordinary food and wine culture over five days in Wolfville, Nova Scotia from October 25 – 29, 2017. The seventh edition of Devour! is themed “A Celebration of Canadian Cinema and Cuisine” and will bring acclaimed filmmakers and chefs from across Canada  and internationally. The festival features 99 events including 72 films in 34 screenings, 23 industry workshops, three celebrity chef dinners, 22 tasting tours, and 20 special events including dinners and parties. “In the span of just eight years, Devour! has grown to become a pre-eminent Canadian film festival and one of the most delicious events in this great country,” says Chef Michael Howell, Executive Director of Devour! “We cannot thank our many partners and supporters enough, as they have shared our vision of becoming one of Canada's must-visit festivals. We are grateful for the ongoing support of The Province of Nova Scotia and their invaluable commitment to helping the festival grow." FESTIVAL TICKETS The first round of tickets to the highly anticipated seventh edition of Devour! The Food Film Fest goes on sale Tuesday, August 29 at 10am AT. Tickets range in price from $10 to $999 (plus applicable taxes) for the exclusive Devour! The Festival Pass (limited quantities available). This all-access pass gives priority entry to the opening gala evening and all films, workshops, tasting tours, celebrity chef dinners, parties and special events. Devour! also offers a round-trip shuttle from Halifax to Wolfville for $20. For more information or to purchase tickets visit devourfest.com. PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS Film Screenings Devour! will showcase 72 films during 34 screenings. The festival’s 2017 Guest Curator Gordon Pinsent will help kick off the festivities during the Opening Gala taking place at the Fountain Commons at Acadia University on Thursday, October 26. The award-winning actor, screenwriter, director and playwright personally selected The Hundred-Foot Journey directed by Lasse Hallström as the opening screening of the festival. Film screenings also include the Canadian Premiere of Jacques Pépin - The Art of Craft directed by Peter Stein, which will be attended by culinary legend Jacques Pépin and Stein, as well as the world premiere of the Canadian film Grand Cru, directed by David Eng, who will be in attendance. Culinary Events  The 2017 line-up of visiting celebrity chefs, industry leaders, and up and comers will have even the most refined culinary palates watering. Among them are Food Network stars Bob Blumer, Michael Smith and John Higgins; top tier Scottish chefs Mark Greenaway – whose cookbook was named the world’s best cookbook at the 2017 Gourmand Cookbook Awards  – and Peter McKenna (The Gannet, one of Glasgow’s leading restaurants). The festival also features some of Canada’s best-known chefs including, Joshna Maharaj (The Drake Hotel; Toronto), Emma Cardarelli (Nora Gray; Montreal), Paul Rogalski (Rouge, Bistro Rouge; Calgary), and CBC’s Ali Hassan. From Thursday, October 26 – Saturday, October 28, these international culinary leaders will pair up with local Nova Scotia sensations to create three decadent meals inspired by select festival films. The Celebrity Chef Dinner on Thursday, October 26 is themed Scotland vs New Scotland as three Scottish and three Nova Scotia chefs face off to create a French-influenced menu in tribute to Pépin. For the first time, Devour! will bring a sample of the Devour! satellite events home with The Devour Roadshow Comes Homes on Friday, October 27.  Each chef will prepare one course inspired by a short film screened right in the dining room in Nova Scotia wine country’s most stunning new venue, Lightfoot & Wolfville Winery. The Spotlight Gala on Saturday, October 28 will be the ultimate Canadian feast inspired by the Canadian film Grand Cru. Eight of Canada’s best chefs will combine their culinary genius to prepare an unparalleled patriotic repast. Faculty and student chefs from the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver will join returning culinary programs Toronto’s George Brown College’s Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts and Nova Scotia Community College’s Culinary Arts and Tourism Management programs at Devour! as part of the festival’s ongoing partnership with renowned culinary schools to help provide real-world experience, skills development and valuable industry connections for Canada’s next generation of culinarians. Workshops Festivalgoers can participate in 23 workshops spanning the film and culinary industry. Highlights include a Food Photography workshop with influencer Dennis The Prescott, an all-day filmmaking intensive with From the Wild filmmakers Kevin Kossowan and Jeff Senger, It's Five O'Clock Somewhere: Cocktails Workshop with mixologists Jeff Van Horne and Matt Jones, culinary workshops with chefs Michael Smith, Mark Greenaway and others. Additional programming will be announced in the weeks leading up to the festival. For full programing details visit devourfest.com. _______________ About Devour! Combining cinematic talent with extraordinary culinary and wine creations, Devour! The Food Film Fest is the world’s largest festival focused on food and film. Taking place in the culinary epicenter of the province, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, the seventh edition of Devour! is slated for October 25-29, 2017. ___________________________ The Location Only one hour from Halifax and Stanfield International Airport, is the agricultural heartland of eastern Canada, a thriving wine region and the home of Acadia University, one of Canada’s pre-eminent educational institutions. A rich cultural landscape infuses the region and its people with a respect for the riches around us. No place could be more perfect as the home of Devour! ____________________________ Acclaim for Devour!  “One of the 23 Top Festivals for Foodies in the World” -American Express Essentials “The New Napa of the North” -Gusto TV “Canada's Secret Foodie Destination” -The Hollywood Reporter

Theron kicks butt in Atomic Blonde

I really wanted to love Atomic Blonde but it didn't quite have the finesse of a Bond or smarts of a Bourne film.  What it had was Charlize Theron, a strong, sexy beautiful woman who kicked butt on all the men in the movie.

Theron, a former model had the most beautiful wardrobe for a Spy as does James Bond.  The difference was that she did all her butt kicking in 6 inch heels.  Her outfits looked like she was going to walk a British Fashion week runway.  Who wears white and mini skirts when they know they are going to have to fight bad guys?  Because Charlize is a model/actress she has perfected the sexy strut and serious stare into the camera.  She is a beautiful woman who oozes sexuality and strength and she did a great job in the fight scenes but they were laughable because of the zombie men she was fighting.  People actually laughed during some of the fight scenes.  Spoiler.. one guy gets stabbed with a set of keys and just pulls it out and no blood runs and he just goes on to try and beat her up.  As a trained makeup artist I followed the makeup closely and most of it was excellent but as someone that also worked in a hospital I found that what happened during the fight scenes so unbelievable that it was distracting me from just enjoying the film.  

It's a grungy, gritty looking movie mostly shot dark and without color except for her pink stillettos.

Most of Charlize's acting was ok but I found her accent slipping all over the place.  Was she English, American, something else,  who knows.

The thing that annoyed me the most though was the directors choice to linger on Charlize's naked body for a long time at the beginning of the movie.  If a Bond or Bourne movie started with 10 minutes of Daniel Craig or Matt Damon naked sitting around and taking a bath people would go nuts about it.  If there are nude scenes with them they are short and have a point.   I would have been ok with her getting dressed and you see touches of her injuries but these scenes seemed to be for the director to watch her sitting around naked for a long time.  If you want to start a trend of women being action hero's and spies skip the lingering nude scenes and focus on their strength and character.

Then there is her female French spy lover but the film starts with a happy photo of her with a man who was killed.  Is she gay, is she bi is she just who knows what?    When Bond or Bourne have love scenes they seem to make sense in the context of the film but of course there are times when they are ridiculously timed as well.  

Then there is James McAvoy who plays an obnoxious lying arrogant shady spy.  I normally like him in films but this character was hard to like.

I know there are flaws in a movie when I watch it and think of how I would have made the movie if I was the director.  Even with my small short film experience and working on other people's films I have learned a few things and know that I would have done a few things differently.  When my mind starts to go there I know that it's not quite there.   If a movie sucks me in I don' t think about ways to change it.

I am not sure if it was the writer or director who could have made a better version.   I would have liked to see if more clever.  She comes across as smart even though her dialogue isn't very smart.  There isn't a lot of depth to this film but there could have been with a few less fight scenes and more backstory.

I really hope the film does well because that will mean they will start a flood of action films with women in them.  All the guys leaving the film thought it was amazing.  For me as a woman who has worked on films I think we can do better.  Charlize produced it but maybe the director should have been a woman and it might have had a lot more to it.

Film - New Chefs on the Block - Hot Docs

NEW CHEFS ON THE BLOCK

Have you ever wanted to own your own Restaurant?  Do you think it's easy?  

People have told me for years that I should open a Restaurant but they seem to think it's really easy to just open the doors of a space and start selling food.  

Not so much.  Nearly 30 per cent of new restaurants fail within the first year.  

It's a very high risk investment where most of the capital comes from borrowing from banks, credit cards and friends and family. 
If you aren't financially independent or have lot's of support from friends and family, you will find the process very challenging.  It takes a village to open a great restaurant.  If you want to know why your meal costs so much then you should see this film as it takes you through the behind the scenes process of building a restaurant from the ground up.

New Chefs on the Block is a feature documenting the roller-coaster ride of two young chefs in Washington, D.C., as they estimate their budgets from design to opening nights of their first restaurants.

Chefs Aaron Silverman of Rose's Luxury and Frank Linn of Frankly...Pizza! are in for a big shock as they incur increasing costs due to the number of obstacles in their way in the process of construction, permits and human resources issues that they must overcome to get to their Opening Nights. 

How important is a review from the Big Local newspaper?  It can make or break a restaurant.  Social media is also the new game changer although influenced mostly by the original big media reviews.

The Chefs featured in the film are a dedicated new breed of Chef/restauranteurs who have modelled their businesses after successful restauranteur Danny Meyer's practice of treating his staff well and building a community that stays together.  Gone are the days of the loud dictator chefs.  And the diners are better off for the changes.

Two chefs in DC struggle to open their first Restaurants.  NEW CHEFS ON THE BLOCK

Directed by Dustin Harrison-Atlas

Starring Aaron Silverman of Rose’s Luxury and Frank Linn of Frankly...Pizza! Featuring legendary chefs and restaurateurs Danny Meyer (author, “Setting the Table”), Michel Richard (2-time James Beard Award Winner), Mike Isabella (Bravo Top Chef All-Star) and Washington Post food writer Tim Carman.

Website:  www.newchefsontheblock.com

96 MINUTES | 2016 | USA | INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE | RATING: G

SCREENING AT HOT DOCS

Sat, Apr 29

TIFF Bell Lightbox 2, Toronto, ON

Sun, Apr 30

TIFF Bell Lightbox 1, Toronto, ON

Sat, May 6

Isabel Bader Theatre, Toronto, ON

Trailer

“What is good food? Food made with Love. Love, love, love, love.” -Chef Michel Richard

Tony Robbins is not your Guru.

Tony Robbins is a master at motivating people into changing their lives, although I have been reading his books and listening to him speak since the 80's I have found it hard to stick but what the new documentary: Tony Robbins: I am not your Guru explains is that you need a physical shift in the way you transform into a new way of being.  I guess I haven't had that physical change but I must say that some of the things he has said over the years have stuck with me.  I find myself thinking about a lot of it after seeing the documentary which takes you into his Date with Destiny 12 hour, 6 day seminars.  You pretty much give up everything and focus on your life in those 6 days, and I guess that's where the physical transformation comes into play.  When all you do is focus all of your attention on the things you are unhappy with in your life you start to think about what you have to do to change it.  Tony helps you zero in on what the core of the problem is and what you have to do to make the change.

I saw the documentary at the 2016 Hot Docs film festival where Tony was in attendance to introduce the film.  I have to tell you that I stood in a rush line for an hour to see the 1st screening at which he did a full Q&A and unfortunately the Rush line cut off just in front of me.  So my friend and I killed time at the coffee shop next door waiting for the 2nd screening.  I knew Tony would be there and wanted to get a chance to see the screening and hear what he had to say, even though I knew the film is going to be shown on Netflix in July.  We did get in and we did get to see Tony Robbins but unfortunately he wasn't able to stay for a Q&A afterwards but the director Joe Berlinger did.  Joe was the director of the great documentary about Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.

Joe explained that he met Tony socially years ago and didn't believe in the seminars but Tony invited him to attend one and even though he was skeptical it changed his mind and his life.  He decided he wanted to make a documentary about it and see if it was real and was persistent in asking Tony to let him do it and after a long time Tony finally agreed.  He didn't want the cameras to get in the way of the attendees experience.  Joe took a fly on the wall approach to filming and even though he did some interviews it is mostly just viewing people going through their experiences at the seminar and sharing their stories.

Because I was well aware of what Tony Robbins does after even seeing him live at a Millionaire Mind weekend seminar at the Metro Convention Centre years ago, note: don't go see him on a full stomach,  I wasn't able to stay until the end of his seminar but I got a good 40 minutes experience of it.  It's a non stop full impact high energy and very interactive presentation.  Prepare to be all in if you attend one of these seminars.  The one I attended was a weekend with many different speakers and although I was turned off by many of them because I found that most of them were just pushing books or future expensive seminars,  there were a few of the speakers that were very interesting and made a lot of sense.  I am sure Tony tried to sell some books and seminars but I left before he got to the sell part.  That was the only thing that turned me off was that most of these things get you hyped up and sucked in to spend more money, kind of like some psychics.  I am not saying Tony does this but it's because of this kind of practice that Tony has a lot of skeptics.  I do think he is the real deal and understands and can get to the root of someone's problems like a qualified psychologist.  I suppose you really need to experience it or read the books to see if things click for you.

I would suggest that you see the documentary and decide for yourself if you believe in it or not.
I do think that Tony is genuine and real and you have to be to do this for 30 plus years with countless corporations and celebrities.  Celebrities who were in attendance at the seminar shown in the documentary were Julian and Derek Hough and Maria Menounos.

He has a reputation as huge as he is and I suppose the title of the film speaks to the fact that you have to do the work and he just gives you the tools to do it.

I would recommend seeing the documentary if you don't know much about him and see if any of it relates to your own life.  Watch with an open mind and you will get something from it.

Madonna's former dancers Strike a Pose

STRIKE A POSE - Documentary - 2016

(photo by Linda Posnick)

Strike a Pose;top row: Salim Gauwloos, Oliver Crumes III, Carlton Wilborn, Kevin Stea 

bottom row: Luis Camacho, Jose Gutierez

In a continuation on my reviews of films that were screened at Hot Docs 2016 in Toronto this festival May 2016,  on the last weekend of the festival I attended the screening of Strike at Pose at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema.  I heard I missed the screening that had all the men from the film at the screening but the screening I attended was just as popular and full.  I had to sit in the stiff neck section at the front of the theatre even.

The documentary was directed by Ester Gould and  Reijer Zwaan.

The subjects of the film were Madonna's former dancers from her Blonde Ambition tour and were seen in her controversial documentary TRUTH OR DARE.

The directors take a look at what has happened to these acclaimed dancers since the Blonde Ambition tour ended.

The film is a combination of laughs, sadness, irony, tragedy and triumph with all of these characters and I mean characters with big personalities and insane life stories.

Sadly Madonna doesn't appear in the film but is seen through clips from the Blonde Ambition tour and the Truth or Dare movie.  After the tour was over they all went their separate ways even though during the tour they became like a family with Madonna being the Matriarch.

The Truth or Dare documentary was Madonna's plan to push buttons and boundaries and the world and question everything that is thought of as the norm.  But there are always consequences to these actions and Madonna's challenge to her dancers to kiss turned into a legal battle following the outing of the dancers on film.  It's one thing for you to choose to come out in a public forum but another to be pushed out by a dare.

Strike a Pose tells each dancers story from the tour until current day.  I would say that all of the dancers have had various major life struggles since riding high on the tour.  Nothing lasts forever as they say.

The dancers hadn't kept in touch even though they loved each other but it took these documentary filmmakers to bring them together many years and many lives later.

This film will make you laugh and make you think and make you feel for these individuals that never attained the superstardom that Madonna did.

Although I am not big on giving films star ratings... I would give this one a SuperStar!!

Go see it if you get the chance..  It's a fun look at where we have come from.

for more info on the film go to their website:  http://ctm.nl/

Bikes vs Cars

I went to see this interesting documentary last night.  Bikes VS Cars is a documentary that looks at what seems to be the war on cars but really is more of a war for freedom of choice to drive or bike in large cities.

Directed by Fredrik Gertten he compares how bikes and cars co-exist in major large cities mostly from the cyclist point of view but it also shows a taxi cab drivers perspective in Denmark where bikes rule the roads and make his cab driving very difficult.

Even Toronto's own former Mayor Rob Ford appears in the documentary as one of the opponents of bike lanes and a major factor in Toronto's waste of money and moving backwards in the move to give Toronto riders safe bike lanes to get them around downtown.

The documentary follows a bike rider in Los Angeles where it used to be a bikng mecca but has since turned into one large traffic jam of people just sitting in their cars for hours going nowhere.

Sao Paulo is also focused in the film with their high number of cyclist deaths because of their poor city planning.  The Mayor instigates a radical decision to secretly pave bike lanes overnight without warning to prevent interference from local businesses and removes 400,00 parking spots in one fowl swoop.  

Urban planners need to start thinking about how to design cities that can co-exist with both cars and bikes because cars aren't going away anytime soon and bike riders will never be safe unless they figure out a way for them to both be an option for commuting in busy cities.

I had a car for most of my life and I love to drive but because of financial reasons I recently sold my car.  I don't have a bike because it isn't practical for where I live and I am too out of shape to be able to ride one very far anyway.  My new normal is to take transit most of the time,  walk when I can and get a rental car when I need to go somewhere that is difficult to get to by transit or if I need to haul things.  I think the car share service is a good alternative to everyone owning their own cars.  If you don't drive everyday it makes sense to share/rent a car when you need it.  
In Toronto the city is increasing the bike share share service available downtown so that people have the option to get around on bikes if they don't have one.   With the high number of bikes that are stolen each year this is also a good option for that.  I don't know what happens when a bike share bike goes missing but I am sure it would prevent a lot of actual thefts of bikes that are then re sold.

I like to drive but in the past 5 years in Toronto it has become impossible to get anywhere between the condo construction and the increased amount of cars on the road and accidents and other delays it is just crazy trying to get somewhere in a reasonable amount of time anymore.
I am not a huge fan of the TTC for the fact that it isn't as reliable as it should be but it's the only way to move a lot of people around a congested city that isn't bike friendly.

i remember when I was a kid my mom worked from home and my dad who had a car took the subway to work downtown anyway because of parking.  I think his commute must have taken about 40 minutes.   Now the average commute can be 1-3 hours for some people.  If you add up all that time just trying to get somewhere it's time lost that could be used to spend with friends and family or more productive ways.   No wonder everyone is stressed out.  With commuting sucking a big chunk of your time there is less time to do what you actually need or want to do with your life.

I don't know if the mess large city planners have created can be reversed but small growing cities need to plan more carefully to create cities where there is space for people to live, people to work, people to drive, walk and bike to get around.  Options are the only way.   If I could find a job within walking distance of my house I would.  But it seems like there is nothing but condos for miles where I live so unless I want to clean condos or work for minimum wage in a restaurant there isn't much work available for me in my area.  All of the office jobs are all centred downtown so if I get a job downtown it's an average of about 2 hours a day in commute time.  That's 10 hrs a week just to go to a job and there are so many people that come from the 905 area to downtown and spend a lot more commute time.  It really doesn't make much sense in the long run.  People have to work downtown for the jobs but then they live on the outskirts to be able to afford a decent place to live.  If urban planners planned communities where a certain percentage was housing and a certain percentage was mixed commercial use and another percentage was recreation we might all have a choice to live a much healthier and more productive life.

It makes perfect sense but urban planners don't always operate from the place of common sense but more often because of political agenda unfortunately.  Maybe we need to change the face of politics and how it runs to be able to change our world.

BIKES VS CARS is playing at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto until Aug. 6.   Go see it.