Best-Known and Most-Loved Canadian Comic Actors

Written by Kirk Baird

From Dan Aykroyd and Jim Carrey to Dave Thomas, some of Hollywood’s best-known and most-loved comic actors were born and raised in Canada. Here’s a partial list of some big names that provide big laughs, along with some film and TV highlights:

Will Arnett:

Arrested Development: Season One

Arrested Development: Season Two

Arrested Development: Season Three

Blades of Glory (2007)

Monsters Vs. Aliens (2009)

The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret: Season One

Dan Aykroyd:

Saturday Night Live: Best of Dan Aykroyd

Saturday Night Live: Complete First Season

Saturday Night Live: Complete Second Season

Saturday Night Live: Complete Third Season

Saturday Night Live: Complete Fourth Season

Blues Brothers (1980)

Neighbors (1981)

Trading Places (1983)

Ghostbusters (1984)

Dragnet (1987)

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

Sneakers (1992)

Tommy Boy (1995)

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

John Candy:

SCTV Network/90: Volume 1

SCTV Network/90: Volume 2

SCTV Network/90: Volume 3

SCTV Network/90: Volume 4

SCTV: Christmas with SCTV

SCTV: Best of the Early Years

Heavy Metal (1981)

Stripes (1981)

Going Berserk (1983)

Splash (1984)

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

Spaceballs (1987)

Uncle Buck (1989)

Home Alone (1990)

JFK (1991)

Cool Runnings (1993)

Thomas Chong (of Cheech and Chong):

Cheech & Chong Up in Smoke (1978)

Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie  (1980)

Cheech & Chong Still Smokin’ (1983)

AKA Tommy Chong (2006)

Jim Carrey:

In Living Color: Season 1

In Living Color: Season 2

In Living Color: Season 3

In Living Color: Season 4

In Living Color: Season 5

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1993)

The Mask (1994)

Dumb and Dumber (1994)

Cable Guy (1996)

The Truman Show (1998)

Liar Liar (1999)

Man on the Moon (1999)

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Me, Myself & Irene (2000)

Bruce Almighty (2003)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Horton Hears a Who (2008)

Yes Man (2008)

I Love You Phillip Morris (2011)

Dave Foley:

The Kids in the Hall: The Best of, Vol. 1

The Kids in the Hall: The Best of, Vol. 2

Newsradio: Compete 1^st and 2^nd Seasons

Newsradio: Compete 3rd Season

Newsradio: Compete 4th Season

Newsradio: Compete 5th Season

A Bug’s Life (1998)

Kids in the Hall — Death Comes to Town (2010)

Michael J. Fox:

Family Ties — Complete 1^st Season

Family Ties — Complete 2nd Season

Family Ties — Complete 3rd Season

Family Ties — Complete 4th Season

Family Ties — Complete 5th Season

Back to the Future (1985)

Teen Wolf (1985)

The Secret of My Success (1987)

Casualties of War (1989)

Back to the Future Part II (1990)

Back to the Future Part III (1990)

Doc Hollywood (1991)

The Frighteners (1996)

Spin City — Season 1

Spin City — Season 2

Spin City — Season 3

Spin City — Season 4

Stuart Little (1999)

Stuart Little 2 (2002)

Eugene Levy:

SCTV Network/90: Volume 1

SCTV Network/90: Volume 2

SCTV Network/90: Volume 3

SCTV Network/90: Volume 4

SCTV: Christmas with SCTV

SCTV: Best of the Early Years

American Pie (1999)

Best in Show (2000)

American Wedding (2003)

Greg the Bunny Complete Series (2004)

Taking Woodstock (2009)

American Reunion (2012)

Rick Moranis:

SCTV Network/90: Volume 1

SCTV Network/90: Volume 2

SCTV Network/90: Volume 3

SCTV Network/90: Volume 4

SCTV: Christmas with SCTV

SCTV: Best of the Early Years

Strange Brew (1983)

Ghostbusters (1984)

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Spaceballs (1987)

Parenthood (1989)

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

My Blue Heaven (1990)

Brother Bear (2003)

Mike Myers:

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Mike Myers

Wayne’s World (1992)

Wayne’s World 2 (1993)

So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Shrek (2001)

Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

Shrek 2 (2004)

Shrek the Third (2007)

Shrek Forever After (2010)

Martin Short:

SCTV Network/90: Volume 1

SCTV Network/90: Volume 2

SCTV Network/90: Volume 3

SCTV Network/90: Volume 4

SCTV: Christmas with SCTV

Three Amigos! (1986)

Father of the Bride (1991)

Dave Thomas:

SCTV Network/90: Volume 1

SCTV Network/90: Volume 2

SCTV Network/90: Volume 3

SCTV Network/90: Volume 4

SCTV: Christmas with SCTV

SCTV: Best of the Early Years

Strange Brew (1983)

Which comic actor is your favorite and why?

Order Status Update for The Artist

Due to a change to the DVD version of The Artist (#10714792), this title will not be made available for purchase. Instead, we have been notified that they will only be producing this title as a Blu-Ray/DVD combo (#10726040).

If you wish to order The Artist (Blu-Ray/DVD combo) please do so using the new item number.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Customer Service at 866.698.2231 or info@cvsmidwesttapes.ca.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters Review

Written by Kirk Baird

The other day I watched The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters for the third time. Director Seth Gordon struck documentary gold with this 2007 tale of perennial second-place finisher Steve Wiebe who sets out to be the best Donkey Kong player in the world. Standing in his way is Billy Mitchell, the current world record holder for highest Donkey Kong score, who will go to great lengths to keep his title.

Theirs is a classic gaming battle for the ages, one that’s had several twists since the film was made. (But wait until AFTER you watch the movie before you Google an update.)

More than a blast from the past for those who frequented arcades in the early 1980s, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is replete with unexpected drama, humour, and emotions, along with subtle commentary about the human condition and what it means to be the best. It’s also the kind of compelling underdog story that’s often reserved only for sports movies. Think of The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters as The Hustler meets Hoosiers, and you’ll only begin to appreciate it.

Ridley Scott Oeuvre

Written by Kirk Baird

Filmmaker Ridley Scott returns to his roots with Prometheus, a pseudo prequel to the director’s classic 1979 sci-fi horror film Alien. Scott isn’t finished mining his past for new films, with an announced sequel to his 1982 masterpiece Blade Runner, tentatively scheduled for a 2014 release.

Here are the highlights from his oeuvre:

The Duellists (1977)

Alien (1979)

Blade Runner (1982)

Thelma & Louise (1991)

Gladiator (2000)

Black Hawk Down (2001)

American Gangster (2007)

Also worth noting: Scott directed the landmark 1984 Super Bowl commercial for Apple’s first Macintosh computer launched in 1984. 

Which of Scott's films is your favorite and why?

Charlotte Gill, Patrick deWitt, Penguin Canada Among Winners at 2012 CBA Libris Awards

At its annual conference in Toronto, the Canadian Booksellers Association announced the winners of the 2012 Libris Awards. Chosen by independent booksellers, the awards recognize outstanding contributions to Canadian literature, publishing, and bookselling.

Here are a few of this year’s winners:

Fiction Book of the Year

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

Non-fiction Book of the Year

Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe by Charlotte Gill

Author of the Year

Michael Ondaatje

Editor of the Year

Louise Dennys, executive vice-president of Knopf Random Canada

Publisher of the Year

Penguin Canada

Bookseller of the Year

Blue Heron Books

Lifetime Achievement Award

Margaret Atwood

What are your thoughts on this year’s picks?

Prometheus Aims to Explore Origins of Life on Earth

Written by Kirk Baird

Ridley Scott’s new Alien forerunner Prometheus is as much about the age-old big question — the origin of life on Earth — than it is a horror film with extra-terrestrials. But Prometheus, released in theaters this week, isn’t the only science fiction film to explore man’s attempt to reach into the stars and find our maker.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier: William Shatner directed this 1989 theatrical outing of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew as an obsessed Vulcan claims to communicate with God, takes over Captain Kirk’s ship, and speeds everyone along in a voyage across the galaxy to meet our maker.

2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: The Year We Make Contact: Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey dealt with man’s attempt to contact alien life near Jupiter — the same aliens that brought life to our planet and helped it grow. In the 1984 follow-up, 2010: The Year We Make Contact, humankind must deal with the consequences of contacting that life. The films are based on two of the novels in Arthur C. Clarke’s Space Odyssey series.

Contact: Jodie Foster plays a young astronomer who is given the opportunity to travel into space and meet the alien species that contacted us in 1997’s Contact, based on Carl Sagan’s novel. What she learns in the process is that humans are not alone in contemplating the meaning of life and the origins of our universe.

The Hatfield-McCoy Blood Battle

Written by Kirk Baird

If you missed the History network’s well-received and quite popular Hatfields & McCoys, you need only wait until July 31. The six-hour mini-series about a legendary blood feud between two families makes its Blu-ray and DVD debut July 31 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Hatfields & McCoys stars Oscar winner Kevin Costner (Dances With Wolves) and Golden Globe nominee Bill Paxton (Big Love).   

Which family would you side with?