Sarah-Polley Movie Reviews

"One Magic Christmas" is a wonderful film for the entire family to watch during the holiday season. Its very dramatic for a Disney family film, but comes out with a happy ending. Mary Steenburgen plays a mom who has completely lost the whole Christmas spirit in her. It takes the help of her six year old daughter along with a guardian angel and Santa Claus to change her mind about Christmas. Great moments in this film portray a slight realistic approach about a family trying to cope with what they can spend on Christmas gifts. As said earlier, this movie also comes with some very dramatic moments in it. Get this film for the whole family and enjoy it for years to come!

For some odd reason, this film has been out-of-print on home video for a while, but has been made available again in 1999 on home video thanks to Anchor Bay Entertainment. Its available on standard VHS version, widescreen VHS edition, and also on the DVD format as well. Shame on the Disney company for not re-releasing this film on video, and my applauds towards Anchor Bay for doing this. "One Magic Christmas" is a Disney film and yet Disney doesn't have the video rights for it or something? I don't understand that.

This is a great OVERLOOKED CLASSIC movie to watch all year round especially during the holiday season. Now available on DVD in a WideScreen format!!
One Magic Christmas is a classic story about a struggling family who lost the Holiday Spirit and the mother the belief of "Merry Christmas". Through some hair raising events they regain their faith and belief in themselves and others.
In Summary: A Christmas Angel (Harry Dean Stanton) is sent to help a family re-discover the "Spirit of Christmas". The Angel uses the daughter (you'll love this 7 year old, Elisabeth Harnois - the cutest girl with the most adorable blue eyes) to help restore her mother's (Mary Steenbergen) lost Christmas Spirit and belief in "MERRY CHRISTMAS".
Through some tough choices & lessons the mother has her faith in her fellow man, family and the Christmas Spirit restored.
The Angel and the daughter's beliefs guide us through the events and we even get a trip to the "North Pole and see Mr & Mrs Santa Claus!!!! With the comfort and protection of the Christmas Angel our journey is both eye opening and satisfying.
A Christmas Classic to add to your DVD holiday collection.
This is "ONE MAGIC CHRISTMAS" you won't forget!!!!!!!

I have loved this movie for at least 10 yrs. What a wonderful story of coming to realize what things are important in life. Enjoy

"One Magic Christmas" is a wonderful film for the entire family to watch during the holiday season. Its very dramatic for a Disney family film, but comes out with a happy ending. Mary Steenburgen plays a mom who has completely lost the whole Christmas spirit in her. It takes the help of her six year old daughter along with a guardian angel and Santa Claus to change her mind about Christmas. Great moments in this film portray a slight realistic approach about a family trying to cope with what they can spend on Christmas gifts. As said earlier, this movie also comes with some very dramatic moments in it. Get this film for the whole family and enjoy it for years to come!

For some odd reason, this film has been out-of-print on home video for a while, but has been made available again in 1999 on home video thanks to Anchor Bay Entertainment. Its available on standard VHS version, widescreen VHS edition, and also on the DVD format as well. Shame on the Disney company for not re-releasing this film on video, and my applauds towards Anchor Bay for doing this. "One Magic Christmas" is a Disney film and yet Disney doesn't have the video rights for it or something? I don't understand that.

This is a great OVERLOOKED CLASSIC movie to watch all year round especially during the holiday season. Now available on DVD in a WideScreen format!!
One Magic Christmas is a classic story about a struggling family who lost the Holiday Spirit and the mother the belief of "Merry Christmas". Through some hair raising events they regain their faith and belief in themselves and others.
In Summary: A Christmas Angel (Harry Dean Stanton) is sent to help a family re-discover the "Spirit of Christmas". The Angel uses the daughter (you'll love this 7 year old, Elisabeth Harnois - the cutest girl with the most adorable blue eyes) to help restore her mother's (Mary Steenbergen) lost Christmas Spirit and belief in "MERRY CHRISTMAS".
Through some tough choices & lessons the mother has her faith in her fellow man, family and the Christmas Spirit restored.
The Angel and the daughter's beliefs guide us through the events and we even get a trip to the "North Pole and see Mr & Mrs Santa Claus!!!! With the comfort and protection of the Christmas Angel our journey is both eye opening and satisfying.
A Christmas Classic to add to your DVD holiday collection.
This is "ONE MAGIC CHRISTMAS" you won't forget!!!!!!!

I have loved this movie for at least 10 yrs. What a wonderful story of coming to realize what things are important in life. Enjoy

"One Magic Christmas" is a wonderful film for the entire family to watch during the holiday season. Its very dramatic for a Disney family film, but comes out with a happy ending. Mary Steenburgen plays a mom who has completely lost the whole Christmas spirit in her. It takes the help of her six year old daughter along with a guardian angel and Santa Claus to change her mind about Christmas. Great moments in this film portray a slight realistic approach about a family trying to cope with what they can spend on Christmas gifts. As said earlier, this movie also comes with some very dramatic moments in it. Get this film for the whole family and enjoy it for years to come!

For some odd reason, this film has been out-of-print on home video for a while, but has been made available again in 1999 on home video thanks to Anchor Bay Entertainment. Its available on standard VHS version, widescreen VHS edition, and also on the DVD format as well. Shame on the Disney company for not re-releasing this film on video, and my applauds towards Anchor Bay for doing this. "One Magic Christmas" is a Disney film and yet Disney doesn't have the video rights for it or something? I don't understand that.

This is a great OVERLOOKED CLASSIC movie to watch all year round especially during the holiday season. Now available on DVD in a WideScreen format!!
One Magic Christmas is a classic story about a struggling family who lost the Holiday Spirit and the mother the belief of "Merry Christmas". Through some hair raising events they regain their faith and belief in themselves and others.
In Summary: A Christmas Angel (Harry Dean Stanton) is sent to help a family re-discover the "Spirit of Christmas". The Angel uses the daughter (you'll love this 7 year old, Elisabeth Harnois - the cutest girl with the most adorable blue eyes) to help restore her mother's (Mary Steenbergen) lost Christmas Spirit and belief in "MERRY CHRISTMAS".
Through some tough choices & lessons the mother has her faith in her fellow man, family and the Christmas Spirit restored.
The Angel and the daughter's beliefs guide us through the events and we even get a trip to the "North Pole and see Mr & Mrs Santa Claus!!!! With the comfort and protection of the Christmas Angel our journey is both eye opening and satisfying.
A Christmas Classic to add to your DVD holiday collection.
This is "ONE MAGIC CHRISTMAS" you won't forget!!!!!!!

I have loved this movie for at least 10 yrs. What a wonderful story of coming to realize what things are important in life. Enjoy

This is a movie that I watched and loved growing up and still love today. I bring it over when I babysit sometimes. It's a movie the kids love and someone my age can sit through and actually enjoy. The songs are catchy and the storyline has a lot of heart. Some scenes when Retaxus's troops take the elephants hostage might be frightning for younger kids. But I got frightened easily as a kid and if I can handle it, most average kids probably can too. I'd recomend this to anyone who wants to watch a movie with their kids they both can enjoy.

This movie is absolutely amazing! It tells the story of Babar as a young elephant, and his struggles of ruling a country. His friends' village is attacked by evil rhinos who enslave the elephants living there. The movie is action-packed, but I wouldn't recommend it for very young children. The rhino attack scenes are a little intense, but nothing really awful. The songs are wonderful, and the lesson really stuck in my mind. This movie is perfect for almost any child.

This is a brilliant movie. It's been about five or six years since I've seen it, but I remember that from about age 3 to age 8 I checked this movie out about 40 times (I am not exaggerating). There are always a few special things from every person's childhood that that person will remember, and this is one of them for me. It is certainly my favorite item of all the Babar books and videos.

Catherine Chapman (Sarah Polly) is an intelligent young Canadian university student who happens to be very angry. She see's her countries White European culture being sacrificed for the sake of multiculturalism. As she begins to question the value of a multiracial society, an anti-racist organization targets her campus for its activism. Lead by your rank-n-file self righteous Leftist, this organization holds a rally to promote its ideology - Catherine attends. She isn't afraid to approach the microphone and openly question their position and multiracialism in general. As expected, she is ridiculed for daring to oppose them.

She takes her anger to the internet where she soon discovers a group of like minded people who also oppose their governments multicultural policy. The group is named The National Identity Movement and believes that only the most extreme solution can save White Canada i.e. Nazism. She befriends member Tanya Allen and soon finds herself a member as well. She also finds comfort from older member Lynn Redgrave as a kind of Nazi mother. She becomes something of a spokesperson for NIM and wipes the floor with those who debate her. However, terrorist attacks by violent anti-racist activists and the Canadian governments policy toward White Nationalists convince Catherine that the world of White Nationalist activism may be far more violent and dangerous than she can handle.

The film soon turns formula as Catherine finds herself in over her head and decides to 'betray' her organization in an attempt to sever her ties to it. I'm sorry, but if Catherine becomes the spokesperson for this group, she has fully accepted their ideology and it would take a VERY powerful reason for her to turn her back on her friends. Not so in this film. But that doesn't matter as the the film's writers have to make it clear no matter what that Catherine was wrong and must repent.

For a television movie, White Lies stands apart with its good acting and stylish approach. The fair treatment of the White Nationalists was also a welcome surprise. Recommended.

White Lies is a captivating film. I first saw it on CBC television and waited nearly two years for them to rebroadcast the film. Sarah Polley is amazing to watch onscreen. If you are a fan of hers, this is a good one. If not, the film touches on a subject that many people are afraid to look at. It also shows the emergence of the new powers of white supremacy and how they may be influencing the younger generation through new mediums, particularly the internet. A very interesting and through look at the process of a young woman's struggle to find herself and her beliefs.

It is refreshing to see a film written on such a contravercial subject which does not go over the top yet is so honest and intelligent you can forget it is just a film. The charactors are all special, lovable and dare I say understandable, this is due to the daring script and direction, casting and great acting, I wondered whether they were acting.The dialogue is obviousely well thought through, amusing in places, and extemely powerful, which is an important part of this film being what it is. White Lies has everything, emotion, humour, enough violence and action to satisfy even hardened Romper Stomper fans and twists and turns which left me an emotional wreck at the end. I spent the entire film changing who and what I was supporting, and it left me with profound thoughts at the end. So much so that I had to watch it again and again and then bore my friends talking about this unforgettable experience, known as White Lies.

"My Life Before This" is one of those movies (usually relegated to the "arthouse" movement these days!) that really leaves you thinking about what you have just watched, and you will be thinking about this film long after the movie has ended! The film deals with the impact of our choices and decisions in our lives. Even the most mundane and seemingly "unimportant" choices can have life-altering, and even catastrophic results, as the characters in this artfully crafted drama soon find out! The film begins in a coffeshop, where we are introduced to most of the films main characters. The lives of everyone in the coffeshop is forever changed when a crime being committed in a nearby building spils over into their midst. Next, the film switches gears and takes us back in time, showing us an "alternate" view of what COULD have happened that day in the coffeshop, if only different, seemingly "unimportant" choices had been made by some of those involved. The film then ends back in the coffeshop, showing us the results of this "alternate" set of choices. The film's message will really stay with you. It will really make you consider the decisions that you make in day to day life, and how those decisions may effect others. The film shows a hint of influence from the great Canadian director Atom Egoyan, and so I was not suprised to see some familiar faces from Egoyan films, namely Sarah Polley and Alberta Watson, who previously appeared together in Egoyan's masterful "The Sweet Hereafter". Another familiar face to art-film buffs will be Stephen Rea, who previously appeared with Polley in the underrated "Guinevere". (And was also excellent as a faded rock star in "Still Crazy".) The whole cast is quite good in their roles, and comic actress Catherine O' Hara (of "Second City TV" and "Home Alone" fame) takes on a slightly more serious role as a bridal shop worker who is herself, unlucky in love. (She does manage to get in a few of the films only comical lines). One thing I must say is that if you don't plan to pay attention to this film, then don't even bother! With its interweving characters and plotlines, this film will need your full attention to be truly appreciated. That being said, I would highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys thought-provoking arthouse cinema...But be prepared to think after you watch!

"The Life Before This," never before has tradegy been displayed so beautifully. Out of jest one night, I was pacing up and down the aisles at the local video store. Nothing was looking good at all, and after just skimming titles, I decided to get 'int depth' about certain movies that looked appealing, yet none that were quite mainstream. So after doing so, I just saw the cover of this box. It seemed to display a story already just from the simple imagery on the cover. Right away I was enticed to see what this tale was about... to sum it up, you know when you have a decidsion or you nee to decide what to do for a certain evening, and I'm sure we've all had these moments where we can't decide between the two or so more options give. Well imagine going with one...just see what happens that night. Good or bad, it's a given. Now imagine if you were to do the latent of the two, the other thought that you had in mind..if only you've stuck with that one, where would it take you?

'The Life Before This,' deals with that. It takes this small circle of charcaters whose life all communicate with eachother in someway, and it takes the last night of their tragic death and transforms it into a fairytale, if they were only to do one simpe thing different the day of their passing. This movie yes, isn't the most uplifting, but it has a beauty to it that could never be describe with the most of elegant words. It starts off displaying the ending, but take syou througha dream of sadness, happiness, life and regret through each different standpoint allowed... what if this were your last day to breathe? Would it end in a peaceful fashion, or one which you'd always wish you'd have said more... 'The Life Before This' is recommended for any seeking anything from a deeper philosophical meaning, to just someone whom just appreciates a good movie. It is most definitely, not the type to let down.

The Age of Reason. A time when men are ruled by logic and emotions have no place. Fantasy is dead. Where does such frivolous things belong in the world today?

But their is always a place for war. And a city is besieged by the Turks, heroism met with death instead of cheers. Why? It's not rational. Even though the government frowns on it, the common people turn to fantasy to forget their woes. The theater is putting on a production of 'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen', much to the Baron's chagrin. And so begins an adventure where the aged baron, longing to die then live in a world that has no use for him, goes to end the war because a little girl believes in him.

Along the way he'll find old friends, travel to the moon, inside a volcano, the belly of a giant fish and occasionally delight us with a tale of adventures past.

This delightful film is a marvelous treat for both young and old. The cast is delightfully filled with John Neville as Baron Munchausen, the wonderful Eric Idle as one of his servants, Oliver Reed as Vulcan, Uma Thurman as his bride Venus, and Robin Williams as the King of the Moon whose head is constantly at war with his body.

The story is rich and whimiscal, serious where it needs to be. The special effects are top notch, making you believe the fantastic is real.

This is one of Terry Gilliam's finer films. And is highly recommended for the young or the young at heart.

Terry Gilliam's mostly-ignored fantasy-adventure is without a doubt my favorite film to watch. The highly imaginative production (infamous for blasting past its budget limit, and for being underdistributed by Columbia) is an incredible film, a treat to watch again and again. A host of major British actors (including John Neville) team up with a menagerie of character players (Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce) to create the exaggerated, fantastic adventures of the 18th-century cavalry officer Karl Heironymous Friedrich Baron von Munchausen as he flies to the moon in a hot air balloon, falls back to earth into an active volcano, and then gets swallowed by a giant sea monster, all in an attempt to defeat The Sultan. Families: some immoral innuendos, brief female nudity, and a frightening incarnation of Death may make this one unsuitable for some.

For those who can watch the film in the spirit in which it was
made, the experience is WONDERFUL. If you cannot or will not enter into the spirit of the (now dying) "TALL TALE", then the film must be an utter bore. I found it WONDERFUL. Like any work
of art, one can only get from it what one already brings.

The Age of Reason. A time when men are ruled by logic and emotions have no place. Fantasy is dead. Where does such frivolous things belong in the world today?

But their is always a place for war. And a city is besieged by the Turks, heroism met with death instead of cheers. Why? It's not rational. Even though the government frowns on it, the common people turn to fantasy to forget their woes. The theater is putting on a production of 'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen', much to the Baron's chagrin. And so begins an adventure where the aged baron, longing to die then live in a world that has no use for him, goes to end the war because a little girl believes in him.

Along the way he'll find old friends, travel to the moon, inside a volcano, the belly of a giant fish and occasionally delight us with a tale of adventures past.

This delightful film is a marvelous treat for both young and old. The cast is delightfully filled with John Neville as Baron Munchausen, the wonderful Eric Idle as one of his servants, Oliver Reed as Vulcan, Uma Thurman as his bride Venus, and Robin Williams as the King of the Moon whose head is constantly at war with his body.

The story is rich and whimiscal, serious where it needs to be. The special effects are top notch, making you believe the fantastic is real.

This is one of Terry Gilliam's finer films. And is highly recommended for the young or the young at heart.

Terry Gilliam's mostly-ignored fantasy-adventure is without a doubt my favorite film to watch. The highly imaginative production (infamous for blasting past its budget limit, and for being underdistributed by Columbia) is an incredible film, a treat to watch again and again. A host of major British actors (including John Neville) team up with a menagerie of character players (Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce) to create the exaggerated, fantastic adventures of the 18th-century cavalry officer Karl Heironymous Friedrich Baron von Munchausen as he flies to the moon in a hot air balloon, falls back to earth into an active volcano, and then gets swallowed by a giant sea monster, all in an attempt to defeat The Sultan. Families: some immoral innuendos, brief female nudity, and a frightening incarnation of Death may make this one unsuitable for some.

For those who can watch the film in the spirit in which it was
made, the experience is WONDERFUL. If you cannot or will not enter into the spirit of the (now dying) "TALL TALE", then the film must be an utter bore. I found it WONDERFUL. Like any work
of art, one can only get from it what one already brings.

I was always rather surprised that when Kevin Sullivan decided to turn to another Lucy Maud Montgomery novel after doing the first four Anne of Green Gables novels in a couple of celebrated mini-series he turned to "Jane of Lantern Hill." I would have thought the "Emily of New Moon" trilogy would come up next (it is currently a Canadian television series) and would not have minded seeing "Magic for Marigold" adapted, but Sullivan selected "Jane of Lantern Hill" instead.

Montgomery's novel is distinct from all of the others because both of the heroine's parents are still living. However, Jane Stuart is an emotional orphan because her overbearing maternal grandmother (Zoe Caldwell) has psychologically battered Jane's mother, Robin (Patricia Phillips) into submission and the family has led Jane to believe her father is dead. However, Andrew Stuart (Sam Waterston) is not only alive, he is insisting on his parental rights and wants Jane sent to him on Prince Edward Island. Despite the chasm between them, father and daughter quickly bond, and Jane begins to question why her parents having been living apart. Meanwhile, Jane becomes involved with the spunky young vagrant, Jody Turner (Sarah Polley), and old Hepzibah (Colleen Dewhurst), the local "witch" lady.

The adaptation of Montgomery's novel by Fiona McHugh holds true to the emotional center of the story while collapsing the narrative's period of time and jettisoning most of the domesticity as well. Unfortunately this means that one of my favorite scenes from the novel, where Jane finally gets in the face of Grandmother Kennedy, is lost. The performances in the production are so wonderfully understated except for Polley, who pours it on thick with the accent, although Dewhurst does get to ham it up a little bit at Hepzibah. Bennett gives a quiet performance that speaks to the fragility of Jane's relationship with her family while Waterston exhibits a simple, natural charm from start to finish with his estranged daughter that cannot help but win her over. In the end, it is Jane's simple determination to set her world in order that brings all the plot threads together in a satisfactory conclusion. Fans of Montgomery and/or Sullivan will not be disappointed by this quiet little film.

Note: Young Mairon Bennett did the audiotape version of "Jane of Lantern Hill" and did an exceptional job. Given how restrained her performance necessarily was in the film to suit Jane's character, Bennett shows marvelous interpretative range for someone who, at the time, was so young. If you enjoyed the television movie and stumble across the audiotape, then make a point of picking it up so you can give it a listen.

I loved this movie. The combination of misunderstandings through unspoken feelings between a husband and wife, plus the interference of relatives of each of them, and the longing of a young daughter to bring her parents together, all make for a need-a-hankie-near-by story. A sweet and satisfying ending wraps up the story just fine. I love stories that stir the emotions, especially romantic ones. Don't want to give away any plot lines; this movie is one we'll watch several times. The main reason we bought this video was because it starred Sam Waterston. He's excellent in caring and nurturing roles. You just feel he's probably as likeable and loving a family man in his personal life as he portrays in this movie.

This is an excellent movie because of [mairon bennett] she carries the movie on her shoulders and this should have lead to bigger movie roles and if i was a producer it would have.

First of all, Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan's lavishly intense film is NOT to be mistaken for "Showgirls," nor for any triple-x movie (although it IS R-rated).
Although the film presents certain elements of mystery (and one must pay extraordinary attention to both detail and innuendo), the intensity of the characters and plot propel the film across several levels. The viewer hangs on every word, both to pick up (almost desperately) clues toward understanding the over-lapping stories, but also because the characterizations are so thoroughly riveting.
Bruce Greenwood displays excellent range as he portrays both a care-free young family man as well as that character in middle age, besought with layer upon layer of tragedy and "baggage."
Mia Kirshner similarly impresses as we see her character at various stages: as a troubled pre-teen, replete with pony tail and braces, and also as both a mature college graduate and, quite convincingly, as an exotic dancer.
Elias Koteas is stunning as an anguished and lost club DJ/poet.
Don McKellar and Arsinée Khanjian are also quite brilliant in supporting roles.
Be prepared to want to immediately view the film a second time -- to do so is not merely repetition but serves as an opportunity to continue to fathom the depths of the characters and the film's unrelentingly passionate intrigue.

While Canadian writer-director Atom Egoyan may be best known for his sweeping, 1997 adaptation of Russel Banks' novel The Sweet Hereafter (for which he was nominated for a best directing Oscar), Exotica vastly surpasses Hereafter in its deeply layered secrets and complexity. "You have to convince yourself that this person has something hidden, that you have to find yourself," states a character at the beginning of the film. Each of these characters--the DJ of Club Exotica (Elias Koteas), the pregnant owner of the club (Egoyan's wife Arsinee Khanjian), the mysterious, school girl dancer (Mia Kirshner), her most frequent customer (Bruce Greenwood), and the lonely owner of an exotic pet store (Don McKellar)--has something hidden, deep within the interactions between each other and the non-linear storytelling of Exotica, which multiple viewings enhance to even greater detail.

After winning many Genie Awards (the Canadian equivelant of the American Oscar) including best director and picture, as well as being hailed as a "Miramax Classic" on the box, one would think that the DVD would be filled with lots of added bonuses, and at the very least: a theatrical trailer. Alas, the Exotica DVD boasts no special features, if you don't count the gorgeous widescreen transfer, much to my own dismay.

Since many critics praised the film when it was released in 1994, especially Roger Ebert, there is hope that a new DVD will be created. The Criterion Collection includes numerous foreign, avant-garde, cultish films on DVD, most all of them boasting quite a few, excellent special features (especially the sadly-out-of-print Sid & Nancy DVD; but not for the feature-less Night Porter disc). One would hope, with the support of a few major critics and strong following, that Mirimax (or Criterion) would release a new version of this DVD, featuring all the added features, commentaries, bios that the film rightfully deserves.

this one gripped me from the beginning till the shocking end. Bruce Greenwood goes to a stripclub called Exotica, there he only sees one dancer, who both they know eachother, the stripper played by Mia Kirshner in one of her more better roles also has a connection with the DJ of the club, Elias Koteas who sees Greenwood always around her and becomes jealous. Greenwood also is friends with Don McKellar(whos gay), but that doesnt ruin the fact that this movie is truly a masterpiece. the connections of each is amazing , piled up with the intense ending where Greenwood goes to kill Koteas but then Koteas confronts him head on and how Greenwood knows Kirshner is the big bang. also in the mix is Victor Garber(Alias, Titanic) and Sarah Polley(The Sweet Hereafter). one of 1994's best