It’s 1957 and Nat Taylor has a problem. He’s still making money on one movie, so he can’t play another movie in his theatre! OOHHHH NOOOOO! But then he realizes he can order the new one if he plays the other movie on his smaller screen. With that problem solved, he invents the multiplex.

I don’t want to diminish the achievements of Nat Taylor, I really don’t, but… is this really worth a Be A Proud Canadian commercial? I mean, sure, I like going to the theatre and having lots of screens so I can choose which movie I want to see on them, but that doesn’t seem… that great… y’know? It really is just… more screens. I consider this achievement less important than, say, education, healthcare, sexual equality, or Superman. When it comes to “national pride”, this isn’t even up there inventing or winning some ridiculous sport. Maybe it is just me and my unmitigated antinationalist boobery, but I don’t see how this is something to be proud of. It’s like being proud that you’re from the same country as the guy who invented bigger bus stops or something.

All that said, I like Nat Taylor as he is depicted in this piece. He’s got an old-timey Charles Foster Kane sort of businessman vibe. I also love his moustache and his cigar. I enjoy the way we start out in black and white (though it really took him fifteen years to realize “I can do more screens”?). I can’t decide if I like or hate the way he first unveils the fifteen screens and then, when questioned, reveals the full twenty-one. What is the point of that little momentary hiding of six screens?

There’s practically no music and no really good quotes (though I think I’ll like referring to foreign films as “this foreign movie” when I have a chance), but all in all, I don’t dislike this one. I’ll give it Three and a Half Pieces of PDR’s Reviewing System Cake.

There’s this street in Winnipeg where a bunch of guys had to go to war. Three of them won the Victoria Cross, so they decided to rename the street to reflect the magnitude of heroism that had come out of there. That’s the story of Valour Road.

I have mentioned more than once that my favorite thing about these is the way they’ve been burned into the minds of my generation. Usually this means that we can utilize quotes from the commercials at nearly any situation in life. While someone MIGHT be able to find a use for “It’s Clark! I just heard he took out twenty Germans!” most of this commercial is not quotable. But it is still burned into my head. I know ever beat of this commercial like I’m watching some old action film I’ve seen a dozen times. The whole commercial is in my head and it is staying there. Apart from that we’ve got some quality war scenes here. I’ve seen actual movies that don’t look as good this minute-long commercial for a second rate country.

We do, however, sidestep the fact that these three war heroes were probably not the only kids from Pine Street who went off to war. I bet there were a dozen total dillholes from Pine Street that went to war and we just jerks about it. Valour Road thinks that it is so special, but they got jerks like everyone else, I bet.

Anyway, I’m doling out a healthy Four and a Half Pieces of PDR’s Reviewing System Cake for this Heritage Moment.

Years ago I discovered there was some manner of mystery regarding cereal foods. That mystery: Where all those Golden Grahams go? Well I have an update now!

I don’t go into the cereal aisle very often these days, what with most varieties of cereal foods costing money, but a few days ago I was there and I noticed Golden Grahams. More specifically, it seems to have been rebranded as Golden Graham Crunch. I admit that it had been a long time since I last tried them, but these things seem exactly like regular Golden Grahams to me. Why the chunks the name has been changed, only marketing people could explain. I’m just glad to have eaten Golden Grahams again. I’ll give them Four out of Six Pieces of PDR’s Reviewing System Cake. It’ll be a few years, probably, before I think to look for them again, so they had better still be around.

So that’s one long-running PDR plot thread that has finally been settled. What will be resolved next? Stay terned!

I don’t know quite what it is, but this feels like one of the least educational or captivating Heritage Moments I’ve seen. It’s like this: These guys are practicing music. They have to practice O Canada. They don’t do it well for a second. Then they do it well.

I like that one guy’s accent (are Les Voltigeurs de Quebec a bilingual group or is he speaking Engish because he knows he’s being used to fill Canadian children in the future with national pride?). I like the way he laughs when they don’t play well the first time (I know nothing of professional music. Are they really expected to do it perfectly the first time they see the sheet music?). That’s about all I got here. It’s not bad, it’s just there.

I’m only giving this one Two out of Six Pieces of PDR’s Reviewing System Cake. It washes over me and leaves nothing behind. That’s that. I’m done thinking about it.

This time we meet Joe Tyrrell, a scientist who discovers dinosaur bones. Surprise dinosaur bones are, like, seven times better than regular dinosaur bones. Canada wins!

This one gets a Piece of Cake for the soundtrack. Mostly I mean the native chanting there, but there’s a bit of other stuff going on. That all adds up to a nice bit of atmosphere.

I’ll dole out another Piece of Cake for Tyrrell himself. He’s got a beard worth respect. Also, this is another case of only having one person during the whole Moment. He carries it himself, aided only by the landscape, and it works out fine. Its interesting how sometimes they can fit so much story into a minute, and other times they do so little. It doesn’t hurt this piece to be simple, though, because there’s not much expansion you can do with a “guy finds surprise dinosaur bones” plot.

I’ll throw another Piece at it for being about dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are literally dinosaurs. So they’re awesome. And one more Piece for the phrase “Grandfather of the Buffalo”, which is totally cool and deserves more play (and is as close as this piece comes to a quotable bit).

So thanks to math, I know that this Heritage Moment has earned Four Pieces of PDR’s Reviewing System Cake. Not bad.