
While normal people spent their Labour Day Weekend texting each other about mulch or wondering if they couldn't get another round of golf in before they head off to see their mistresses, I watched little films that could. Films that were made for very little, with a very specific audience in mind, and can never truly aspire to be anything other than a cult favourite.
In short, my kind of movies.
The first was a British construction entitled FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TIME TRAVEL. I had a trailer linked, but it was extremely fucking twee and gave too much away about the film. It's about three losers who discover a time traveling pub. It stars some familiar faces if you watch THE IT CROWD and BEING HUMAN, and it's also surprisingly fun. It's also clever, and if you're a time travel addict like myself, you will only hate yourself until you've seen it. Most importantly, it's fun and light for people who like to read books as a pasttime. Others may find it confusing, or simply turn it off because the actors aren't American.
The other l'il film was DEFENDOR. Granted, this looks like the recipe for Bad. A man tries to be a real superhero without having any money or, apparently, common sense. But I thought it worked fairly well. The cast is good, from Woody Harrelson as the lead, and a familiar assemblage of Canadian actors who can always be relied upon, like Clark Johnston and Elias Koteas (can any other Canadian actor play Slimy Creep better than him?) Kat Dennings is also good, but doesn't get enough screen time. Her forte is humour and deadpan delivery, and casting her as the Hooker With A Heart Of Gold Somewhere Deep Inside seems a bit of a waste. Like SCOTT PILGRIM Pilgrim, DEFENDOR doesn't hide that it takes place in Canada (it was filmed in Hamilton), but they only refer to the city by one of its many nicknames--The Hammer. But we do have the Hamilton Spectator on view, and a court room scene is clearly of the Ontario variety.
The script is also a surprise. It isn't cheesy, or God forbid, wacky. It's just a good, solid, little film that rewards your time spent watching it. And it takes place in Canada, with the apparently requisite Metric song on the soundtrack.
Right. Now to see if I can get a tee off on the back nine with Tiger...



