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Escaping human society is one thing, human nature quite another in “The Decline.” The Canadian thriller, available exclusively through Netflix, offers a modicum of timeliness for U.S. viewers who’ve coped with the coronavirus crisis by patronizing gun stores en masse:

A first feature for director Patrice Laliberté and several of his principal collaborators, “The Decline” is lean, credible and well-crafted, even if it never quite makes the leap from efficient suspense machine to something more memorable. Enthusiasm in the States may be tempered by the fact that Netflix’s default English dubbing (several soundtrack languages are available) tends to render the dialogue stilted and unconvincing. For those who can handle subtitles, the film definitely plays better in the original French, minus any slight disconnect between the actors’ lips and words.

The prologue is a red herring: In the middle of the night, Montreal suburbanite Antoine (Guillaume Laurin) packs...

The nominations for the 26th Gémeaux Awards, Quebec's equivalent of the Emmy Awards, have been revealed today.

1. Best dramatic TV series:

* 19-2.

* Les rescapés.

* Malenfant.

* Prozac, La Maladie Du Bonheur.

2. Best soap opera:

* Destinées.

* La promesse.

* Providence.

* Yamaska.

3. Best comedy series:

* La galère.

* Les Parent.

* Mauvais Karma.

* Penthouse 5-0.

* Tout sur moi.

4. Best actor in a dramatic TV series:

* Claude Legault in 19-2.

* Réal Bossé in 19-2.

* Roy Dupuis in Les rescapés.

* Luc Picard in Malenfant.

* Éric Bruneau in Toute la vérité.

5. Best actress in a dramatic TV series:

* Maude Guérin in Belle-Baie.

* Guylaine Tremblay in Les rescapés.

* Julie McClemens in Malenfant.

* Isabelle Blais in Prozac, la maladie du bonheur.

* Maude Guérin in Toute la vérité.

6. Best actor in a soap opera:

* Sébastien Delorme in La promesse.

* Bernard Fortin in Providence.

* Hugo Dubé in Providence.

* Normand d'Amour in Yamasca.

* Denis Bernard in Yamaska.

7. Best actress in a soap opera:

* Marie-Chantal Perron in Destinées.

Tva, a French Canadian TV network, has picked up a new comedy show called lOl:-) after it had seen the pilot of the show. Moreover, lOl:-), which is a "non-verbal" comedy just like Just for Laughs Gags, has been sold to Comédie, a French cable network, and Nippon Television, a Japanese TV network.

Now that the show has been sold to some networks, at least 1000 comic mini-clips representing 39 half-hour episodes are in production in Canada, Mexico, France, the USA and Morocco. These clips last between 30 seconds to two minutes.

While the cast hasn't been confirmed for the show, anyone who watches this clip will probably recognizes Réal Bossé, Martin Drainville and Antoine Vézina.

Honestly, I'm not a fan of comedies or sci-fi films. However, although this spin-off of a cult TV series (here in Quebec) is a disposable entertainment material, the film will make you laugh. Of course, it's easy to accept it provided that you sometimes accept the film's blatant silliness.

In 2039, Earth is gradually becoming hostile for human life because of pollution. For that matter, the ozone layer had been completely destroyed. This is why the world has turned itself to Canada since 2034 because it has a highly developed space program and it's the first world super power. As always, the crew on the Romano Fafard led by Capt. Charles Patenaude (Guy Jodoin) tries to find a planet where humanity can move once and for all.

Instead of solely sticking to their mission, the crew wants to deport Brad Spitfire (Stéphane Crête), the most hated member of the crew, on the...