By The BKONTHESCENE crew
Elton John: Never Too Late, a documentary by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish, 1:15pm at Scotiabank Cinema. Nothing beats a music documentary. Nothing beats one with concert clips. Nothing beats a documentary on Elton John. This documentary film on Reggie Dwight most commonly known as Elton John, is mesmerizing.
Yes, we’ve learned about the Rocketman in his recent biopic film but this also is a very special one. Candid interviews and newly shown archival footage show a fascinating and very intimate side of Elton’s life. The doc film follows his final concert tour – elaborate costumes, his athletic moves at the piano, filling massive arenas with fans. Along the way we see clips of his childhood, his early career and the emptiness he felt even with all this success. The beauty of meeting David Furnish, his husband, and the love of their sons is very much highlighted.
We see amazing footage of John Lennon joining Elton on stage at Madison Square Garden – with Yoko hiding in the audience to not let Lennon know. It was what supposedly brought Lennon and Yoko back together and allowed them to have their son Sean. That footage alone, about half way through the film, is fascinating.
Elton’s struggles with drug and alcohol are shown as is his recovery from addiction. The strength it takes. And the realization of how wonderful life is without those struggles.
Beginning in 1975 at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium. Elton now at age 77 reflects on his trailblazing music career and the film ends at the same stadium decades later for his final concert. It’s a wonderful, emotional film. This is a brilliant documentary on Elton John’s life – one to be seen by Elton’s fans and music fans alike. Highly recommended. -SW
FANATICAL: THE CATFISHING OF TEGAN AND SARA
Tegan and Sara arrived on the Red Carpet at the Royal Alexandra Theatre for the 8:30pm screening with Director Erin Lee Carr, a documentary filmmaker & writer along with other film members. The twins spent time in dialogue with media and posing for photos on Red Carpet.
Tegan and Sara form the Canadian indie pop duo. Formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The identical twin sisters, Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin have openly identified as queer since the beginning of their career in 1998. They are both musicians, songwriters and play several different instruments.
The pair has released ten studio albums and earned a Grammy nomination in 2012 for their video album Get Along. Their most recent album, Crybaby, was released October 21, 2022. At the 2024 Juno Awards Tegan and Sara received the Humanitarian Award for the charity work they’ve done in their decades-long career to support and uplift the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
FANATICAL: THE CATFISHING OF TEGAN AND SARA – Tegan Quin (from Tegan and Sara) has been the victim of identity theft and an ongoing catfishing scam for over 15 years. While investigating, she shares for the first time how she was ensnared in toxic fan culture that revealed the dark side of fame (Disney).
Erin Lee Carr’s “Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara” is more about how artists communicate with fans and how a fanatical fan stole Tegan’s identity online for years
Canadian twins Tegan and Sara Quin became a pretty big hit on the folk-pop scene with hits like ‘Closer’. The documentary shows some very short concert clips but the premise of the film is the stalking of a fan they call “Fegan” (Fake Tegan). About 2010 Fegan had used Tegan’s name and photo online – this hacker had stolen her identity while communicating, sometimes for years, with fans. These fans thought they were communicating directly with Tegan. Very private information including passports were shared.
The story of “Fanatical” is fascinating and is even more so by Carr’s excellent telling of it. Audience feels empathetic to everyone involved. “Fanatical” tells a very difficult story very well. Carr understands the accessibility of Tegan & Sara. It’s a very sad tale as the wounds created by Fegan haven’t healed. Maybe “Fanatical” will help. It makes viewers and fans aware of famous people and fans’ vulnerability and the need to be very careful when dealing with others online. A great film not only for fans and IT people but those who enjoy excellent documentaries. -SW
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