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With an exotically beautiful appearance attributable to her Canadian mother and Uzbekistani-Jewish father, brunette actress Liane Balaban was born in North York, Ontario, in 1980, and grew up in nearby Willowdale, where her parents worked as a medical secretary and a real estate agent. Balaban never seriously intended to become an actress, but a chance encounter with Canuck producer Julia Sereny (April One) -- who reportedly lived in the same neighborhood as her aunt and uncle and became acquainted with the young woman via holiday dinners -- changed all that. Sereny invited Balaban to audition for the low-budget drama The New Waterford Girl (1999), to be directed by Allan Moyle (Pump up the Volume). She not only landed the lead role of doe-eyed teenager Agnes-Marie "Moonie" Pottie in that film, but received a Special Jury Congratulation at the Toronto Film Festival and snagged a nomination at the annual Canadian Comedy Awards. Those successes set the young woman on the path to stardom, and though she spent her...
With an exotically beautiful appearance attributable to her Canadian mother and Uzbekistani-Jewish father, brunette actress Liane Balaban was born in North York, Ontario, in 1980, and grew up in nearby Willowdale, where her parents worked as a medical secretary and a real estate agent. Balaban never seriously intended to become an actress, but a chance encounter with Canuck producer Julia Sereny (April One) -- who reportedly lived in the same neighborhood as her aunt and uncle and became acquainted with the young woman via holiday dinners -- changed all that. Sereny invited Balaban to audition for the low-budget drama The New Waterford Girl (1999), to be directed by Allan Moyle (Pump up the Volume). She not only landed the lead role of doe-eyed teenager Agnes-Marie "Moonie" Pottie in that film, but received a Special Jury Congratulation at the Toronto Film Festival and snagged a nomination at the annual Canadian Comedy Awards. Those successes set the young woman on the path to stardom, and though she spent her first several years as a thespian in mostly Canadian efforts -- such as the 2001 feature After the Harvest and the 2006 miniseries Above and Beyond -- she eventually began to branch out into Hollywood roles, commencing in 2008 with a turn as the bride-to-be daughter of Dustin Hoffman in the low-key romantic drama Last Chance Harvey (2008) and a small supporting turn in the Ryan Reynolds/Isla Fisher romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe (2008). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
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The Ugly Truth
Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl in a completely predictable rom-com. She's the producer of a Sacramento early morning news show, he's the macho on-air personality and sex guru doling out dating advice to her. Gee, do you think they'll hook up in the end? It's a shame this story is so predictable, since the two leads play very pleasant characters whom you want to root for. But alas.
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November 10th, 2009
Up
I can't say enough great things about this movie. Not only is this one of my favorite animated movies of all time - and The ol' DVD Guy here is a huge animation fan - but I think this is also one of my favorite MOVIES of all time. Great story. Beautiful characters. Sharp direction provided by (Bloomington, MN native) Pete Doctor. A gem. Get the multi-pack release, for sure - you'll find a nice price on it pretty much everywhere you go, and inside you'll have the DVD, the Blu-ray, and the digital release...that'll cover all your current and potential future viewing of this 'classic-to-be.'
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© 2009
