The Arts Club Theatre Company’s production of A DOLLS HOUSEis a reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic – adapted by acclaimed playwright Amy Herzog and presented in partnership with Theatre Calgary. I just watched it Thursday night with my friend Rosa.
With happy children, a pristine house, and a husband secure in a lucrative job, beautiful Nora Helmer appears to have it all. But a secret is bubbling under the surface that threatens to alter her reality.
Herzog’s take brings a contemporary edge to Ibsen’s 1879 drama, sharpening its themes of autonomy, societal pressure, and personal awakening.
The set design is a minimal and whimsical pastel-toned dollhouse. The main character Nora (played by a feisty Alexandra Lainfiesta) evokes a Barbie-like figure trapped in a surreal domestic space. Her portrayal anchors the emotional weight of the production.
Photo courtesy of The Arts Club Theatre.
Ibsen’s original play was revolutionary for its time, challenging gender roles and societal expectations. This Arts Club production honours that legacy with its reinvention.
Directed by Anita Rochon, the staging doesn’t soften the play’s iconic ending with Nora’s dramatic exit which still lands with liberating and intense force, nearly 150 years after it first shocked audiences.
Here’s something interesting I just learned about: A Doll’s House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath, premiered in 2017 at the South Coast Repertory before transferring to Broadway. It imagines Nora returning years later, confronting the consequences of her departure. The tone, language, and pacing are starkly different from Ibsen’s original, but that rupture is the point – it forces us to reckon with how far (or not) society has come.
In my opinion, the flow suffers, but the thematic resonance of freedom, independence and societal roles is amplified and relevant.
When a reinvention doesn’t “flow,” it might not be a flaw – it could be a deliberate choice to provoke, unsettle, or reframe. I had to sit with it for a while. The audience had mixed reviews.
CANCEL CULTURE was in its early stages when it took down Savannah based celebrity chef, cookbook author and restaurateur Paula Deen. Deen was right up there with Anthony Bourdain; infact, they had a bit of a feud going on which is re-ignited in this doc. Bourdain had famously called Deen the “worst, most dangerous person to America” for promoting unhealthy food, leading Deen to retaliate by criticizing his exotic and sometimes strange culinary choices.
This was one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. Any person with a keen and passionate interest in food, along with watching the Food Network knows, or at least has heard about Paula Deen and her show “Paula’s Home Cooking” which was cancelled in 2013.
I watched this one because on a recommendation from a friend living in Savannah, I had been to the famous “The Lady & Sons;” restaurant that she owned along with her sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen. I remember having a delicious Southern meal there and chatting with Bobby Deen. He told me that his mom had just been on Oprah. Since then, she’s been on almost every talk show. With her funny, gregarious personality, everyone liked her!
Her story is a real rags to riches tale. Deen’s journey from humble beginnings in Savannah, Georgia to Food Network royalty is chronicled in this documentary. That in itself is quite uplifting and fascinating.
Her downfall, triggered by a deposition in which she admitted to using racial slurs was one of the earliest high-profile examples of a celebrity losing endorsements, TV deals, and public favour almost overnight. It happened in the early days of social media’s rise, when public backlash could spread rapidly and brands were just beginning to respond to online outrage.
However, this documentary isn’t just about Paula Deen – it’s a case study in how fame, race, and media intersect in the age of cancellation. It asks tough questions: Can someone truly come back from public disgrace? Who gets to tell the “real” story? And what does accountability look like when reputations are built on charm and nostalgia?
“Within 24 hours, I lost every job,” said Paula Deen while giving an interview ahead of the premiere of the documentary.
Bombshell Revelations highlight shocking details previously unknown to the public.
Deen and her sons speak candidly about the emotional toll and their belief that the full truth was never told. She claims the scandal was fueled by misinformation and media sensationalism. If you watch it (and I highly recommend that you do), you’ll find out the shocking details of what lead up to her fall from grace. Only then, can you decide for yourself if this was the right move. And you’ll also find out how things are twisted to look worse than they are.
Canceled: The Paula Deen Storyis a provocative deep dive into the rise, fall, and attempted redemption of one of America’s most polarizing celebrity chefs. Directed by Billy Corben, it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and has stirred up renewed debate about cancel culture, media narratives, and personal accountability.
And it makes you realize that until we all hear the full story, maybe we shouldn’t be so judgmental.
CN tower is behind me and the CBC Broadcast Centre (with red cross windows) – where I once worked. I was able to walk there from where I lived on King St. W.
I give this one *****5/5
ONE MORE documentary that I thoroughly enjoyed watching at TIFF was JOHN CANDY: I LIKE ME. NO controversy here-even though Bill Murray tries hard to dig up some dirt. By all accounts, the guy was likeable.
This is a heartfelt documentary directed by Colin Hanks (son of Tom) that explores the life and legacy of beloved Canadian actor and comedian John Candy. Through rare archival footage, personal home videos, and interviews with friends, family, and collaborators; including Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Catherine O’Hara. It paints a portrait of Candy as a generous, deeply relatable figure whose warmth and humor touched millions.
It’s not just a celebration of his career in classics like Uncle Buck and Planes, Trains and Automobiles (which was probably my favorite of all his films), but also a tender look at the man behind the laughs, shaped by early loss and driven by love for his family and craft. Gone too soon!
Ryan Reynolds (Producer), Eugene Levy (longtime friend & collaborator) and his two kids Jennifer & Chris, were in attendance for this world premiere.
Exclusively on Prime Video – October 10, 2025. *****5/5
EASY’S WALTZ had its world premiere at TIFF: it’s a story steeped in moral ambiguity, and old-school Vegas charm. Las Vegas is the perfect backdrop – glitzy on the surface, but full of desperation and secrets underneath.
Photo courtesy of Toronto International Film Festival.
Nic Pizzolatto, the creator of True Detective, made his directorial debut with this feature film; a character-driven story with a touch of film noir because of its flawed characters and gritty atmosphere where glamour and decay coexist. While not shot in black-and-white, the film uses moody lighting and stylized framing to evoke that noir sensibility.
The Vegas-set drama is wrought with grit, nostalgia, and powerhouse performances. Vaughn actually sings and surprisingly, he’s not bad at all.
The film dives into the life of Easy (played by Vince Vaughn), a struggling Las Vegas crooner whose shot at stardom comes via a mysterious offer from a legendary club owner, Mickey Albano (Al Pacino). The movie blends the glitz of Vegas with a melancholic undercurrent, echoing classics like Leaving Las Vegas and Bugsy. Easy juggles self-sabotage, a chaotic younger brother (Simon Rex), a failing restaurant, and his mother’s care (Mary Steenburgen); making his rise to fame anything but smooth.
Vaughn with his wife, Kyla Weber. Photo: d. king.
Vaughn and Pacino share a compelling dynamic, with Pacino delivering a subdued but menacing performance reminiscent of his iconic mob roles. The Supporting Cast: Includes Kate Mara, Mary Steenburgen, Shania Twain, and Cobie Smulders. While some roles felt underdeveloped, the emotional core between Easy and his brother Sam adds weight.
Overall, I was mixed on this one – it was good but didn’t quite hit the high notes I was hoping for.
Vaughn’s performance as lounge singer Lew Easy earns praise for charm and vulnerability. However, the rest of the film didn’t quite match his energy. The supporting characters lacked depth, and the story didn’t give Vaughn enough to work with.
As of now, there’s no official wide theatrical release date announced beyond its TIFF debut.
Here’s another one I watched at TIFF: ELEANOR THE GREAT
Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, ELEANOR THE GREAT, is a heartfelt drama about a 94-year-old woman named Eleanor Morgenstein who’s witty, stubborn, and not ready to fade quietly into old age. After losing her best friend, Eleanor moves from Florida to New York to live with her daughter and grandson – but they’re too busy to give her much attention.
Feeling lonely and out of place, Eleanor stumbles into a group of *Holocaust survivors and, through a mix of grief and mischief, starts telling her late friend’s story as if it were her own. This little lie snowballs, especially when a young journalism student named Nina takes interest and wants to share Eleanor’s “story” with the world. What follows is a mix of emotional bonding, uncomfortable truths, and a deeper look at how we deal with loss, identity, and the need to be seen.
*With the help of the Shoah Foundation and others, Johansson was able to cast Holocaust survivors, all around Eleanor’s age, to portray the support group.
June Squibb plays Eleanor with charm and fire, and the cast includes Erin Kellyman, Jessica Hecht, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Fun fact: Johansson is the highest-grossing actor ever, after leading Jurassic World: Rebirth.
This is a poignant and character-driven drama worth watching. Expected to be released in theaters on September 26, 2025. Release in Canada by Mongrel Media.
The title intrigued me before I read the word rap in the description, so I gave it a quick pass.
Photo courtesy of Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)
I love music and rap is not music to me. Well…actually, I don’t mind some rap. I just detest the non-stop swearing and the anger.
I decided to choose another movie starring Saoirse Ronan over this one. But then, the day before the screening, James McAvoy was in the news. He got punched by someone in a bar that I walked by every day while in Toronto on the way to screenings. Had I known he was in there, I might have walked in. He’s okay though. So his movie sparked my intrigue – I looked it up and there it was – the rap movie I declined to see “California Schemin”…so I decided to read up on it some more.
Lesson learned: never judge a movie by one word! This was one of the best films I’ve seen at the fest – based on a true story that has way more to offer than just rap. The film dives into themes of identity, ambition, and the cost of reinvention.
This is McAvoy’s directorial debut. Based on the wild true story of Scottish rap duo Silibil N’ Brains.
Two childhood friends from Dundee – Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, dream of hip-hop stardom but are dismissed by the British music industry for their Scottish accents. So they reinvent themselves as American rappers from Southern California, complete with fake identities and flawless West Coast personas. And silly made up names. What starts as a cheeky hustle spirals into a full-blown con, as they land record deals, appear on MTV, and tour with their heroes.
It stars Samuel Bottomley and Séamus McLean Ross as the duo, with supporting roles from Lucy Halliday and Rebekah Murrell.
Critics are praising its mix of humor and heart, with Rotten Tomatoes showing a 92% positive rating from early reviews.
McAvoy’s direction balances the absurdity of the con with deeper questions about identity and authenticity. He plays a small role in the film as a record studio executive.
This movie is a feel-good underdog tale that dives into themes of identity, ambition, and the cost of reinvention. And the lengths young artists will go to break through a system that refuses to take them seriously.
Not to be confused with a 2014 thriller called California Scheming, which is unrelated.
California Schemin’ is already on its way to screens, with StudioCanal leading the charge. If you see it , let me know what you think.
THE CHRISTOPHERSis what happens when you lock a dying art legend, a brilliant forger, and two ultra-greedy adult children in a dusty London townhouse and shake vigorously. It’s less a film and more a masterclass in verbal fencing.
Photo courtesy of The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)
This was the World Premiere of another brilliant Steven Soderbergh film. Soderbergh is best known for films like Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve, Erin Brockovich, and the drug thriller Traffic – for which he won an Academy Award.
His latest film is about the art world and unfinished business…namely; unfinished masterpieces. I loved this film. Especially the performances. The fabulous Ian McKellen (he should win an Oscar for this role – truly!) plays Julian Sklar, a famous, gloriously decrepit art world relic who is equal parts genius and monster. He’s absolutely brilliant!
He’s the kind of character who’d sell his soul for a good review, then demand royalties. Not having painted for years, the once-revered British painter’s reputation took a nosedive after a scandal involving a reality TV program he was involved with. Now he’s a bit of a recluse.
One of the most intriguing characters in THE CHRISTOPHERSis played by Michaela Coel, who brings a layered complexity to the character of Lori Butler, an ex art-student who is hired by the artists’ materialistic kids to secretly forge their father’s unfinished paintings. But Lori’s motivations go beyond money. Coel is captivating in both looks and demeanour as the forger with a vendetta.
Their scenes crackle with tension, wit, and a kind of layered resentment.
The two estranged kids; Barnaby Sklar (flamboyantly played by James Corden) and Sallie Sklar (played by sharp-tongued Jessica Gunning who was last seen in Baby Reindeer – interestingcasting), form a hilariously dysfunctional duo whose greed fuels the film’s central plot.
It will be interesting to see how this film fares when it’s released to theatres. No matter what anyone has to say about this film, the acting is superb on all levels.
Tiff 50 (TIFFTY) has now come to a close. It was a stimulating and entertaining mix of movie watching and get-togethers. I’ll leave you with a few pictures while I sort out my next reviews for you.
On the TIFF Lightbox Rooftop after the People’s Choice Awards. Cheers to another 50!The lovely and talented Sarah MacLaghlan at the Premiere of “Lilith Fair – Building a Mystery – the untold story.” Photo: d. kingProducer of “Lilith Fair” – Dan Levy. I love this guy. Photo: d. kingExecutive Producer – Boss Lady Diane Sawyer (ABC News – btw, how amazing does she look?) with Mike Kelley, head of ABC News Studios. Photo: d. kingA little behind the scenes.Who is this man? I know I’ve seen him before. Photo: d. king
The TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL is in full swing and celebrating 50 years. Happy Anniversary TIFF! This is my second time at this amazing Festival of Festivals (it used to be called that) and it truly is a feast for any film lover with so much to choose from.
“All that matters has already been written” – George Orwell’s last words, at the age of 46, nearing death from tuberculosis.
My first film before spending 4 nights in Montreal to visit family, was the North American Premiere of 2+2=5. It was approved for a documentary by the Orwell family. I was hesitant at first because I knew it would be heavy and somewhat depressing – just like some of the books I read in high school that Orwell wrote – specifically “1984” and “ANIMALFARM.” Although totally unrelatable at the time, I was truly fascinated by those books. But now, sadly; they’re relatable!
“2 + 2 = 5” is a metaphor for forced belief in falsehoods. It shows how a totalitarian regime can manipulate reality and demand obedience; not just in actions, but in thoughts. If the Party says 2 + 2 = 5, then you must not only say it, but believe it. It’s about breaking down your ability to trust your own logic and senses. It comes down to crazy making psychological control.
If all that matters has already been written, then why bother writing at all?
Maybe because the writer’s task is to say it better, clearer, or more urgently. Don’t count on me for that. Orwell certainly did that, as his work still punches through decades later – his books are a nod to the idea that the past holds the keys to understanding the present – and that ignoring it is dangerous.
Was Orwell an unfortunate teller? Or maybe from another planet, sent to give us mere earthlings warnings of what may come if we allow it? You’ve gotta wonder.
George Orwell wrote 1984 in 1949 as a warning, not a blueprint. He had witnessed the rise of totalitarian regimes such as Stalin’s USSR, Hitler’s Germany, and the manipulative propaganda of wartime Britain. His goal was to expose how language, surveillance, and psychological control could be weaponized to crush dissent and rewrite reality.
Orwell warned of a world where truth is manipulated (think how the media is operating) and how fear keeps people in line. In the book 1984, the protagonist, Winston, works at the Ministry of Truth. His job is to alter historical records, erasing inconvenient truths and replacing them with Party-approved versions. Quite chilling.
The iconic line spoken by Jack Nicholson as Colonel Nathan R. Jessep in the 1992 film A Few Good Men. The line was an improvisation by Nicholson; the original screenplay for the scene included the line, “You already have the truth!”.
Makes you wonder what the actual truth is sometimes.
Even though this documentary was about Orwell, there were other authors who also wrote dystopia fiction and philosophical resistance to authoritarianism and such:
Aldous Huxley (BRAVE NEW WORLD) imagined a society where people are pacified by pleasure and distraction. Pleasure as control, consumerism, loss of identity.
Ray Bradbury(FAHRENHEIT 451) about censorship and intellectual freedom.
H.G. Wells (THE WAR OF THE WORLDS) is a classic example of dystopian fiction, and one of its simplest and most chilling illustrations of dystopia is this:
One day, without warning, giant alien machines descend from the sky. They’re far more advanced than anything humans have ever built. They don’t communicate. They don’t negotiate. They just start obliterating cities, vaporizing people, and harvesting humans like cattle. Society collapses almost instantly. Governments fail. Technology is useless. People flee in terror, and survival becomes the only goal. Talk about chilling! And more recenty…
Margaret Atwood (THE HANDMAID’S TALE) about gender, power, and resistance.
These authors didn’t just write fiction—they wrote philosophical warnings. Each one tackled the question of how societies can be shaped, controlled, and ultimately dehumanized.
How does this resonate with today? These versions aren’t just relics of the past – they feel like blueprints for dissecting today’s world, by recognizing the tension between individuality and conformity.
They’re like flashlights in a foggy digital age. They tackle:
Mass surveillance: Governments and corporations track digital footprints – think facial recognition, data mining, and predictive algorithms.
Disinformation: “Fake news,” deepfakes, and algorithmic echo chambers mirror Orwell’s “doublethink” and “newspeak.”
Censorship & control: In some regimes, dissent is criminalized, and history is rewritten – Ministry of Truth lives on.
So was 1984 a warning or a manual? It was unquestionably a warning, but one so precise and psychologically astute, that it inadvertently became a toolkit for control.
About the film:
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) takes a deep dive into the writing of George Orwell (1984) to explore its potent relevancy to our current times.
George Orwell titled his dystopian 1949 novel 1984, but it feels utterly current in 2025 when phrases like “Big Brother is watching you” might refer to Big Government, Big Business, or Big Technology. Orwell is overdue for a fresh look and filmmaker Raoul Peck makes for an incisive and stirring guide. Peck has long put great writers at the centre of his work, most notably in his Oscar-nominated documentary I Am Not Your Negro about James Baldwin.
“I knew that I had a facility with words and a power of facing unpleasant facts,” Orwell wrote. Those simple assets carried him far. While he’s best known as the author of Animal Farm and 1984, this film opens us to a wider range of his writing that drew from his personal experience of poverty in Down and Out in Paris and London, of colonialism in Burmese Days, and of revolutionary uprising in Homage to Catalonia.
Peck pulls lines and impressions from these works and others, enlisting British actor Damian Lewis to embody the voice of the author. Visually, Peck uses film footage from multiple adaptations of 1984 and Animal Farm. He layers in contemporary news and documentary footage to evoke the alarming rise of totalitarianism, surveillance, and government violence in our present day.
It’s both conversely reassuring and frightening to see how much analysis Orwell brought to what we’re experiencing today. –THOM POWERS
For tickets from $29 – https://artsclub.com/shows/2025-2026/a-dolls-house
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