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Photo courtesy Samuel Goldwyn Films

Photo courtesy Kino Lorber

Photo courtesy Britbox Canada

Our City Tonight

By Jim Gordon and Leeta Liepins

Published 11:57 PST, Mon January 13, 2025

Last Updated: 11:57 PST, Mon January 13, 2025

Spotlight on great movies, home viewing

THE VIEW #1 – Vera

It has been part of our TV viewing for nearly a decade and a half; a classic British “whodunit”, detective show called Vera. Now comes the show’s 14th and final season, available January 2 exclusively on Britbox Canada. From the beginning, the show has been led by acclaimed, Academy Award nominated actress, Brenda Blethyn, in the title role. Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope is not, and has never been, a traditional leader, nor is she there to cheerlead her team (though they are very loyal to her). What the often disheveled Vera sometimes lacks in tact, she more than makes up for in brilliantly solving heinous crimes in the north-east of England. From the popular crime novels by Ann Cleeves, each episode moves slowly (in a good way) as Vera and her team analyze, dissect, and solve the case. Shows like Vera are our preferred alternative to their big budgeted, flashy, American counterparts, with continuous car chases, shootouts and high-tech effects. britbox.com

THE VIEW #2 – Survive

This low budget film caught our eye last month with its rather unique premise: A family celebrate their son’s birthday on their boat while cruising the ocean, but that family fun is interrupted when a violent storm nearly capsizes them. Okay, we’ve seen this kind of story of survival on the high seas before but here’s where this story throws a curve at viewers. The family awaken in a desert. Huh, sorry what? Seems the earth has undergone a tragic polarity reversal, draining water from the oceans. Now it becomes a fight to survive on land, trying to get to a safe place before the water returns all while battling hungry creatures from the abyss that hunt for fresh flesh. In the Apocalyptic film genre, this a fresh, creative take, with pretty good visual effects and on-location settings, which is worth a view on a rainy weekend afternoon. Survive will be in theatres and available for home viewing January 10. samuelgoldwynfilms.com

THE VIEW #3 – Let’s Get Lost

It remains one of our all-time favourite music documentaries, but also one of the saddest. Now – finally – in 4K restoration, comes Let’s Get Lost, the story Chet Baker, a legendary jazz vocalist and trumpeter, whose epic talent was rivalled only by his appetite for self-destruction. Baker really did have it all: blessed with movie star looks, a singing voice of an angel, and the ability to play the trumpet that would’ve made Gabriel jealous. But along the way, drugs and alcohol took over, making Baker almost unrecognizable in his later years (when he died in 1989 from a balcony fall at an Amsterdam hotel, at age 58, heroin and cocaine were found in his system). Written and directed by Bruce Weber, Let’s Get Lost – which was the winner of the Critics Prize at the Venice Film Festival and nominated for an Academy Award – benefits from direct access to Baker as he tours, along with excerpts from Italian B movies, rare performance footage, as well as interviews with musicians, friends, battling ex-wives, and his children. This film is available on Bluray January 7. kinolorber.com