Flashpoint, Toronto and the character of Setting

 
Flashpoint is a hit show both here in Canada as well as in the USA, and its Toronto setting is a part of its success. But, what took so long for Toronto to be front and centre?

Setting is an important part of story-telling. Setting is often actually a form of character, and certain stories can only be told in certain settings, because the character of setting impacts the story.

For some strange reason, Toronto had yet to be embraced as a setting in which a compelling story could be told...but I've never understood why. Thanks to Flashpoint, however, those days could finally be over.

Gran Torino: Shows that sometimes the simple message is better

I’ve been debating for a while on how to approach this particular film. With all the hype with all the sci-fi superhero films with heavy CGI out now, sometimes we overlook the simpler films that are also out there. 

The ones that many not have the flashy CGI or over-stimulated action sequences with explosions galore, yet send a quiet but powerful message. No, this isn’t about “Passion of the Christ”, (I think one of our other bloggers will post on that film later on if not already) this one is about “Gran Torino” one of the 2008 films directed and started Clint Eastwood. Why this film you ask?