tenny talks.

no. 1, indeed.

once in a while, a series comes along that immediately grabs your attention, delights your senses every second of every minute, and leaves you smiling from ear to ear as the credits roll. 'the no. 1 ladies' detective agency' would be one of those.

the story centers around precious ramotswe, a woman who uses her inheritance after her father's death to open the only woman run detective agency in botswana. grammy award winner jill scott does a tremendous job bringing precious to life with a warm and natural charm. she is joined by an infallible supporting cast, my favourite being precious' incredibly loyal secretary, mma grace makutsi. played masterfully by anika noni rose, she is an absolute joy to watch, especially when paired with the talented scott.

based on the popular series of books by alexander mcccall smith, the series started off as a two hour movie produced and directed by anthony minghella and exec produced by sydney pollack. HBO then picked it up as a 7 episode series, but sadly, minghella and pollack passed away before that evolution. having left us with this visually, creatively and socially enthralling project, it only serves to show how much their enormous talents will be missed.

• 'the no. 1 ladies' detective agency' aired its two hour premiere tonight on HBO canada, with repetitions throughout the week. subsequent episodes will air on HBO canada sunday nights at 8 pm.

last minute.

was driving by the royal just now and noticed that philippe falardeau's 'it's not me, i swear!' ('c'est pas moi, je le jure!') was playing. was sad i missed a chance to let you know about it, but i checked and it's playing again tomorrow at 7.

the tale of a dysfunctional family in 1968 quebec is told through protagonist léon, a suicidal out for attention ten year old. he gets up to no good while his family is falling apart, and wins your heart in the process. it's plenty quirky, but at the core, the film evokes a sadness that is hard to shake. due in part to the fact that it's based on a true story, it's also owed in equal measure to falardeau's tender delivery and antoine lécuyer's winning performance. i know it's last minute, but if you get a chance- see this one.

• 'it's not me, i swear!' is playing at the the royal cinema (608 college st.), thursday march 12th at 7 pm.
   

the last (l) word.

the l word is nearing its end, and it's sad times for fans. not only because the show's in its final season, but also because it's been a pretty strange one so far. the writing has been all over the place- from hilarious and heartwarming, to eye-roll stupid. some storylines have been less than interesting, and others less than believable (don't even get me started on max's beard). but. it is the last season. so we're devouring each episode like last meals before our execution. with talk of a women's prison spin-off and an l word movie, we'll likely see some version of these women in the future. for now, however, enjoy your last few episodes. it was a helluva run.

•  l word airs tuesday nights at 10 pm on showcase, with the series finale airing march 17th. (for anyone downloading or watching streaming showtime episodes- the last episode airs sunday march 8th.)