HEAT (1995) and Alex Colville

Director Michael Mann cites Canadian artist Alex Colville's painting "Pacific" as a source of inspiration for the scene (which really is the crux of the whole movie) where De Niro comes home to his gorgeous--and empty--seaside house.

Peter Sellers

Sellers as Group Captain Mandrake in Kubrick's sublime DR. STRANGELOVE

Norman McLaren's NEIGHBOURS (1952)

This won an Oscar. Have a look at this short experimental film, a mixture of stop-motion animation and living action film, by Canadian animator Norman McLaren. It is a fantastic and poignant short that becomes quite vicious and brutal by the end but is a wonderful metaphor for brinksmanship and war. McLaren is arguably Canada's greatest animator, and certainly one of it's most prolific. He had an enviable carte-blanche deal with the NFB in the 1950s, who at the time had a seemingly bottomless funding which enabled McLaren and others to experiment, create, and pioneer some fascinating work. NEIGHBOURS is brilliant. On top of its Academy Award, it was recently added to UNESCO's "Memory of the World" programme which includes the most significant documentary works in film history. Enjoy!

SUBMARINE (2011)

Hello!
I have returned. I was away for some months and now I am back! To get back in the swing of things, here is the trailer for British comedian Richard Ayoade's film SUBMARINE. I think it looks wonderfully original and kind of evokes some of whimsical Francois Truffaut stylings (even without the soaring French soundtrack that accompanies the trailer). Which is an interesting comparison as it was the late French New Wave director's 79th birthday two days ago. Anyways, back to SUBMARINE, have a look at this terrific trailer!