I’m a white Canadian woman, and it would never in a million years occur to me to comment on, try to touch, ask for explanations about, or discriminate against someone’s hair.

Yes, I immediately thought of the Reena Virk case when I saw that scene, and thought ‘They copied this from that event’, they were so similar. (I’m from the Southern Interior of B.C. and remember the case well, sadly.)

I haven’t seen any of this year’s nominees, but am watching where the awards go simply because I think Jon Batiste is a wonderful human being and a brilliant musician, and it makes me happy to see him collecting so many awards for Soul (and happy again when I see his obvious joy coupled with humility when he’s…

Conan Doyle did (infamously) embrace Spiritualism; what had been an interest since the 1880s became a passion after his oldest son Kingsley died in the Spanish Flu pandemic after WW I. However, it was really just an interest until then, and even after he fully embraced it he resisted any urge he might have had to make…

They built the Most Dangerous Game sets extra big so that they could do some preliminary work on Kong while the first movie was in production, and then move in when it finished.

I taught my son young that old black and white movies could be things of wonder, not something to be shunned. The result was that when we went to see Jackson’s version of Kong in the theatre when my son was eight, he had already seen the 1933 version a couple of times, and his verdict when we came out of the theatre…

Oliver’s dismissal of McGoats - ‘Get out of here! You look like a furry who can’t commit!’ - just hit my funny bone after a not great day. I laughed so hard I almost snorted tea out of my nose.

When Penguin Books published the unexpurgated novel in Britain in 1960, it was tried under the Obscene Publications Act 1959. The subsequent court case, R. v Penguin Books, was a media and public sensation. Penguin won, probably aided by things like the chief prosecutor showing how out of touch the law (and the…

We’ll see what the grandest theft in Canadian history was all aboot next week.

It doesn’t sound as if the show addresses the fact that if Ginsburg had decided to retire in, say, early 2014 at the age of 81 - after 21 years on the Supreme Court - Obama could have moved ahead with (more or less comfortably, i.e. without Republican stonewalling) confirming a replacement, meaning the balance would…

The one thing I have found makes it easier to take people with an Aussie accent seriously is listening to people with a Kiwi accent.

Why does Robert Downey Jr think he can do one? Americans doing Australians come up sounding like South Airfricans.

If Stewart and Hepburn ran away together, that would leave Cary Grant and Ruth Hussey together, and given their chemistry and easy relationship in the film I’d be absolutely fine with that version.

There is only one person who has the ‘take no nonsense’ attitude to play Jackie Weaver, and that is of course Oscar-nominated actress Jacki Weaver.

A great actor and a great Canadian who stayed true to his roots while achieving worldwide success.

He was one of the finest portrayers of Sherlock Holmes, in 1979's Murder by Decree, teaming perfectly with James Mason’s stellar Watson. However, my favourite of his many great film roles was a small one: as Rudyard…

I transferred schools several times as a kid (my dad was a Mountie), and ended up reading ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ in three separate middle, junior high, and high schools. The third time round I kind of rolled my eyes and thought ‘Not again,’ but the teacher gave me a demonstration of how you can always find…

Same here: I catch up with ‘Closer Look’ and Colbert on YouTube most days, although sometimes I watch at least the monologue from Colbert’s show when it airs at 11.35 p.m.

Such a great show. I watched it when it originally aired, and loved it. I always felt the best guest stars were the ones who ‘got’ the Muppets: not just the anarchic spirit but who treated them like Kermit or Fozzie or Gonzo, not like puppets being operated by Jim Henson or Frank Oz or Dave Goelz. John Cleese and the…

I’ve been seeing the trailers for this for a while and it looked fun. Now, having read this review - and as someone who has no knowledge whatever of the MCU beyond what I’ve gleaned from popular culture - I have no desire whatever to see it, because it sounds as if I’d have to do WAY too much homework to ‘get’/enjoy…

The PBS station in Seattle has been rerunning the fairly recent Georges Simenon adaptations starring Rowan Atkinson as Chief Inspector Maigret, and they’re excellent. Anyone who only knows Atkinson as Mr. Bean or Johnny English or Blackadder (my favourite) is in for a surprise, as he’s a gifted dramatic actor. I’ve…