Melora Koepke

There are two kinds of audiences who adored The Hangover, and they will love the sequel just as much. First, there are those for whom the whole idea of waking up in a state of sweaty- eye-balled shame like the one depicted in the first movie is inconceivable—so for them, it’s pure schadenfreude. And then there’s […]

Montreal filmmaker Denis Villeneuve brings the Polytechnique massacre to the screen Twenty years ago this December, as they finished up their last week of classes before the Christmas break, fourteen young women at Montreal’s École Polytechnique were killed by twenty-five-year-old Marc Lépine, who entered the school with a semi-automatic machine gun sheathed in a garbage […]

Nighthawk in the light of day: Tom Waits gets Real Gone on latest album and leaves the piano at home “Hi, I’m calling from Tom Waits’ office,” says the pleasant publicist voice on the other end of the line. “I’ll put Tom through now. Are you ready?” Tom Waits has an office? It strikes me […]

This American Life: Mike Judge’s Extract is another wry social satire for the masses-maybe When Mike Judge walks into our interview in Los Angeles last week, all I see at first is a mild-looking bald man in a peach dress shirt greeting me in a shy, halting, almost-Midwestern mutter. But then, as I look closer […]

Father figure: Oldman as debauched-wolf-killer in RRH remake. Ratings: You can’t live with ‘em, and you can’t make a studio movie without ‘em. When director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight, Lords of Dogtown) decided with her production team that she’d like to rejig the ancient folktale of Little Red Riding Hood as teen entertainment for the Twilight demographic, with […]

New York’s master of pork buns visits Montreal to hawk cookbook, Banh mi By the time I get to meet David Chang, the interview has been put off twice because of what a good time he’s having in Montreal. Chang, whose four Manhattan restaurants – Momofuku, Ssäm Bar, Milk Bar and the new-ish, two-Michelin-starred Ko […]

Expectations are high for Due Date, screenwriter/director Todd Phillips’ follow-up to last year’s The Hangover, a dirty little flick set on the seedy side of Sin City, starring semi-unknown actors, that became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. The Hangover‘s most memorable quality, besides the Phil Collins/Mike Tyson cameo, wasthe wildcard in a movie of wildcards: Zach […]

Delicate Essence: Jean-Pierre Jeunet finds his muse for Micmacs à tire-larigot Bienvenue chez Les Ch’tis was a monster hit in Canada and the United States, bringing French comedy films back into the limelight – though some might say that Ch’tis, though undeniably hilarious, was rather broad, and that indeed, France has a subtler and richer […]

The Real Neil Diamond: Cree documentarian finds his own fame at FIFA The receptionist at the Palm Springs Hilton doesn’t miss a beat when I dial up and ask for Neil Diamond. Apparently, he’s staying at the hotel under his own name. The Montreal-based Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond may not yet be as famous as […]