The history of Michael Hollingsworth's "epic play-cycle" The History of the Village of the Small Huts is almost as storied (and confusing) as the events they represent. Many are familiar with the plays only since 2000, when VideoCabaret's residency began in the back room at the Cameron House. Since then, they have produced a new Hollingsworth play every year (with the exception of 2004), making the currently-running Laurier the eighth play in the cycle.......

It’s funny that we mentioned The Rocky Horror Picture Show in our introduction last week, because it’s showing tonight at 11:30 p.m. at the Bloor. It’s been a while, in our memory, since the last time it showed, which would imply that the fans in Toronto aren't as rabid as elsewhere, but we’d still recommend that you don't head along unless you’re very familiar with the film. Who knows what could happen. Speaking of......

Slightly different beginning to our Film Friday today, because we’d like to highlight the fact that our favourite film in ages, Reprise (pictured above), was released on DVD this week. We really feel it should have been given the same kind of cinematic release it’s getting right now in the UK, rather than an astonishingly bare-bones DVD transfer with burned-in subtitles, but what are you going to do? You really have to see it......

Jim Jones was not your typical self-proclaimed messiah. The man preached love for all races and classes, freedom of speech and socialism through Christianity. In 1978, Jones and more than 900 followers, known as Peoples Temple, moved from California to Guyana. They were going to build the ideal society. Dubbed Jonestown, after Jones himself, it was to be a utopia for the disenfranchised; a place where believers of all races and classes could lead self-sufficient......

This week our attention is almost completely owned by Cinematheque Ontario’s offerings, even with the thought of Christina Ricci chained to a radiator in Black Snake Moan grasping at us. Not only are Cinematheque Ontario hosting the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, they’re also showing From the Tsars to the Stars, a series of Russian sci-fi. How awesome is that? (There’s more to Russian sci-fi than just Solaris, doubters.) Maybe they’ll do a season......

Ah, convergence. It's a word fraught with different meanings, competing motives, and opinions up the proverbial wazoo. To some, convergence is a paradise of synergy, cross-promotion, and massive profits. To others, it's confirmation that more and more information is being disseminated by less and less people. Wherever you stand, however, the world of Toronto media overlords might be on the verge of becoming a whole lot smaller, as Alliance Atlantis confirmed today that one......

Following the success of Spamalot, another part of the Monty Python canon is about to be "lovingly ripped off". This time it's the British comedy troupe's 1979 film, The Life of Brian. The story, which follows the life of a man born on the same night and street as Jesus Christ, will be adapted by the same duo that worked on Spamalot: Python Eric Idle and John Du Prez. The oratorio will debut in Toronto,......

True Love: The latest film from the superb Adam Brodie and Dave Derewlany, it is, like so many of their works, a little hard to distinguish from a comedy sketch, unless you remember just how bad sketch shows currently are. This goes a little farther than most though by taking its flight of fancy to wonderful extremes, keeping the joke going well into the credits. Completely brilliant. 4.5/5 Citizen Duane: This Torontoist will be honest:......

A quick update to an old story before we get onto all the new releases that are going to make us as depressed as ever – Remember You, Me and Dupree? We hypothesised that movie-execs came up with the title “while explaining what was going to happen during some sick, cocaine fuelled orgy”. Turns out we were right, as long as during the sick, cocaine fuelled orgy was to the tune of Steely Dan’s Cousin......

It’s an interesting and potentially important time for English language Canadian filmmakers, with several Canadian films managing to reach cult hit status, such as It’s All Gone Pete Tong and The Life And Hard Time of Guy Terrifico. With only five percent of movies seen by Canadians made by Canadians (according to the program guide) and the writer of It’s All Gone Pete Tong Michael Dowse expressing a wish for Canadian content quotas for cinemas......

Torontoist has long felt that Canadian history, our most dreaded subject all through secondary school, is always better left to the theatre artists. The talented folks over at Video Cabaret persist in proving us right with the latest installment of Michael Hollingworth's 15-play cycle The History of the Village of the Small Huts. The Canadian Pacific Scandal is play number six in a series that chronicles the history of our nation from New France to......

This week in film we come to you first of all with news from the last week in film (uh…) Most of which we slightly embarrassingly forgot to mention, as it’s all good stuff. First up, if you happen to know any filmmakers (or budding ones) who are also children somewhere between grade 3 and 12, submissions for this coming April’s Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers’ Showcase, part of the Sprockets Children's Film Festival, are......

Some of the best lines in cinema come from mocumentaries, like "Spinal Tap is swimming in a sea of sexual retardation," "Blaine is the stool capital of the world" or "Turn down the suck" (Ok, maybe not the last one). Now we can add "Hump the drum" to that list, thanks to local director Michael Mabbott's contribution to the genre, The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico. It features Ex-Superfriendz front man Matt Murphy......

So… The festival has been on for a full day, and Torontoist has very little to actually report, having stayed in for the night. Well, it did see the star of Short Cuts Canada film ‘Patterns’ (by Jamie Travis) wearing a stylish lime green dress and looking a bit confused, so there is that, if anything. That film is in Programme 5: Genre Redux, if you like the sound of her. Visions -- “The......

JEWS: The Toronto Jewish Film Fest is on, which means for the next week the Bloor Cinema will be Bubbes a Go Go. Now likes Watermarks, Eye likes Campfire, and TOist likes it when our Bubbe remembers to unwrap her candy before the start of the film. But don't count on it. CUES: Go For Zucker. A German Jewish black comedy about pool. Nuf said. BOOS: Some things are so bad they go past good......

Today, the provincial government announces a much needed relief package for the city's flailing film industry. The news drops at the Toronto Film Studios, and you can bet the usual ACTRA activists will be on hand. - Meanwhile, Torontoist offers up a film relief package for all you holiday filmgoers. A few day's back we reported (ahem) that the Toronto Film Critics Association had voted Sideways as the year's best movie. We erroneously attributed this......

With New Order's "Ceremony" featured prominently in the The Life Aquatic trailer, one might assume that Wes Anderson had updated his soundtrack cuts from the late 60's pop gems of Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums to now include like-minded pop gems from the late 70's. With this week's release of The Life Aquatic Origninal Soundtrack, that assumption proves only half right. The soundtrack does hover around the latter half of the disco decade,......