Author Archive: Mark R. Hasan

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ArtScopeTO 03: Hanna Kostanski’s 20th Century Toronto: Intersections & Interactions

ArtScopeTO 03: Hanna Kostanski’s 20th Century Toronto: Intersections & Interactions

August 21, 2017 | By

ArtScopeTO Podcast interview with Hamilton-Toronto painter-photographer Hanna Kostanski, whose series 20th Century Toronto: Intersections & Interactions can be seen at The Urban Gallery.

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CanCon 101: The Filmplan International Comedy Trilogy

CanCon 101: The Filmplan International Comedy Trilogy

August 19, 2017 | By

Reviews of 3 forgotten / best forgotten? CanCon classiques produced by Filmplan International: The Funny Farm (1983) on Blu + DVD via Code Red, Gas (1983), and Dirty Tricks (1981). I may have saved 4.5 hours of your life.

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DVD: Funny Farm, The (1983)

DVD: Funny Farm, The (1983)

August 19, 2017 | By

Not to be confused in any way with the 1988 Chevy Chase film, this CanCon production predated the Tom Hanks drama Punchline (also 1988) in examining the world of standup comedy, albeit through the lenses of goofy glasses. The cast of comedians is perhaps a key reason the film managed to sneak its way to DVD via Code Red, treating it with affection…

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Film: Gas (1981)

Film: Gas (1981)

August 19, 2017 | By

When the second oil crisis hit North America after the Iranian Revolution and supply was taken down a notch, causing  prices at the pump stations to balloon, a few filmmakers exploited the paranoia. Americathon (1979) poked fun at a broken U.S. economy, while the CanCon cult film The Last Chase (1981)…

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Film: Dirty Tricks (1981)

Film: Dirty Tricks (1981)

August 19, 2017 | By

There may have been an earnest effort to successfully translate Thomas Gifford’s novel “The Glendower Legacy” to the big screen, but perhaps by being a classic CanCon tax shelter production, that earnestness was severely diluted, with the final product being a dismal attempt at wacky comedy and political commentary…

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