Category: Film Classification

As Expected, Ontario Gives Film Classification to Industry

I’ve been studying film classification systems, or movie age ratings, for years. I wrote undergrad essays on the subject, an MA thesis on it, and have published journal articles. You can find some here. There are also many blog posts. I’ve concluded that, for all their flaws, film classification systems are necessary, desirable, and best… Continue reading As Expected, Ontario Gives Film Classification to Industry

Ontario Film Authority Gone – Now What?

The Ontario government announced last Friday that it is shutting down the Ontario Film Authority. This is the provincial government agency that classifies films and home video distributed in Ontario. The plan is to create “a modern framework for film classification.” Meanwhile, films still require classifications. Ontario will temporarily use the classifications from British Columbia.… Continue reading Ontario Film Authority Gone – Now What?

Baby Doll (1956)

Baby Doll is a 1956 American film based on a pair of one-act Tennessee Williams plays. It’s a steamy love triangle between a young virginal wife, her husband, and his rival. Although passed by the Production Code, it was condemned as immoral by the US Roman Catholic Legion of Decency, and banned in several areas.… Continue reading Baby Doll (1956)

Defending the Courts against Self-Defense

Self-Defense is a 1932 western/melodrama from Monogram. Katy owns and runs a gambling bar in a small town in northern British Columbia, but has sent her teenage daughter, Nona, to a boarding school in California. Nona believes her mother runs a high-end hotel, and Katy doesn’t want Nona to learn the truth. A local trouble… Continue reading Defending the Courts against Self-Defense

Film Sound and Censorship

Censoring of silent films required removing scenes with offensive imagery, and removing or replacing title cards. This was easy to do, by physically cutting out the offending strip of film, and splicing the sections before and after the cut. When done well, a viewer would never even know a cut had been made. In some… Continue reading Film Sound and Censorship

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

This review contains spoilers. Rogue One is another disappointment in the Star Wars franchise.  It doesn’t have the excruciating moments of the prequels, it’s well made, and there is an assortment of cameos and references to other films, and not just Star Wars film. However, the referenced films include Saving Private Ryan and Apocalypse Now,… Continue reading Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Suicide Squad

I confess that a) I have not seen Suicide Squad, b) the trailer left me with no desire to see it, and c) I still can’t remember which comic characters are Marvel and which are DC, let alone what they did in their last movie.  That said, I did find Deadpool a guilty pleasure, so… Continue reading Suicide Squad

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising. Promotional image ©Universal Pictures, used by permission.

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, is of course the sequel to Neighbors, with a sorority instead of a fraternity. As the classification advisories/presence of Seth Rogen make clear, there is the crude comedy, however this is a rare case of a sequel improving on the original film, not just echoing the story. The added complexity comes… Continue reading Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising