Our Schedule (click here) from TIFF came in this weekend - and we were not entirely pleased. 27 out of 30 with 3 duplicate films, 2 time conflicts and 3 coupons to redeem.
Waltz with Bashir THU 9/4/08 09:00pm
Three Wise Men FRI 9/5/08 05:30pm
Wendy and Lucy FRI 9/5/08 07:45pm
Detroit Metal City SAT 9/6/08 12:00pm
Nick and Norah's Infinite... SAT 9/6/08 06:00pm
Katia's Sister SAT 9/6/08 08:45pm
Nick and Norah's Infinite... SUN 9/7/08 09:30am
The Burning Plain SUN 9/7/08 09:45am
La Fille de Monaco SUN 9/7/08 12:15pm
Wendy and Lucy SUN 9/7/08 12:45pm
Le Silence de Lorna SUN 9/7/08 06:00pm
Genova SUN 9/7/08 08:30pm
The Hurt Locker MON 9/8/08 06:00pm
Gigantic MON 9/8/08 09:45pm
Nuit de Chien TUE 9/9/08 06:15pm
The Brothers Bloom TUE 9/9/08 09:00pm
What Doesn't Kill You WED 9/10/08 06:30pm
Good WED 9/10/08 09:15pm
Uncertainty THU 9/11/08 06:30pm
Revanche THU 9/11/08 08:45pm
Control Alt Delete FRI 9/12/08 06:00pm
Deadgirl FRI 9/12/08 09:00pm
The Wrestler SAT 9/13/08 09:00am
Genova SAT 9/13/08 12:00pm
Martyrs SAT 9/13/08 04:00pm
Once Upon a Time in Rio SAT 9/13/08 07:00pm
The Other Man SAT 9/13/08 09:30pm
Sunday, August 31, 2008
TIFF08 minus 5 days - shock
I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
In rehearsal mode for TIFF, descended back into the world of the AMC 24 at Yonge and Future Shop and it was not totally unpleasant. Comfortable seats - good sound system for sure - pristine prints - the downside was the presence of other sapiens sitting in the theatre as well and acting as if they expected to stay here too. This is not the regular home theatre experience - so girls in short skirts and flipflops propping their feet on the chairs ahead of them munching on popcorn which is another thing - some people know how to chew popcorn quietly and others are just plain rude about it.
And the final shock - trailers! trailers for movies that were about to open and we were planning to see at TIFF08 ! Burn After Reading ! An indie Coen brothers movie ! Really ? a movie that would be individually 45 $ for one ticket or one of the 8 for $350 Gala pass ! Appaloosa ! An Ed Harris movie with a trailer ! This was going into shellshock territory. And movie posters ! Rocknrolla ! a gala movie denied to anyone without the Gala pas. The Day The Earth Stood Still ! And finally Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist - the next Michael Cera movie everyone is falling upon as the next Juno for some reason - a movie we picked three times for our TIFF list and hoping for the best. And if you read the freebie magazine you would find out that Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a P*rno would actually be in a movie theatre in October !
So there it is in a nutshell - a movie that you pick at TIFF may actually be seeable in the near future
Friday, August 29, 2008
TIFF08 minus 6 days
How did it come to all this madness - with its maddening lineups, its maddening scheduling riddled with spacing and conflicts, the maddening days of too little sleep nights, the maddening realization at 3 in the morning that the selections have to be handed in the morning and the realization that those last few picks and desired movies will just not fit or the decision on what those are in the first place ? And because the decision was made to not skip the employment and instead see TIFF at night during weekdays and weekends and purchase the Festival *Lite* package of 30 tickets. Yet it ends up going into work late so that you could [ and see below ] anyway end up on this final day to get the selections in before the 1 p.m. deadline, racing downtown in the morning on The Better Way [ knows as take the car to all the propagandists ] to the box office gives an appreciation to what it is to not to have to make that daily commute downtown. And still the necessity to buy that one more cup of A&W coffee in the Eaton Centre Food Court and open up the advanced schedule book to make the final markings of first and second choice and still taking another hour to complete the book with yellow first choice and green second choice and end up making way too many yellow markings and hoping for the best that the conflicts will play themselves out to a model daily schedule of movie watching perfection then to get to the Toronto Life Building across the scrambled crosswalk and fly past the volunteer pointing up to the escalator to the final destination - only to see another lineup just to drop off the envelope into the dropbox - and to be floored by the sight of people huddling at steel tables in the food area still poring over pieces of paper and now you know the rest of the story.
[ The lineup - at the end of it was a table of more TIFF volunteers to meet and have them ask if any last minute help was needed in going over the book to which the reply was what could possibly go wrong now - and then the envelope is handed over and being told that it is going into Box 50 ]
[ Then the race to get back north up the TTC way to the place that pays for all this movie mania in the first place. Fun? Wow ]
This just in from TIFF - oh oh
Aug 29 - Box #9 has been selected as the first to be processed in the Advance Order Procedure. There were 78 boxes in the draw. Completed orders can be picked up only at our Festival Box Office at Toronto Life Square, starting Monday, September, 1 at 10am.
Lucky 50
The lucky box is number 50 at 10 am
It has to be
( song of the moment - Joy Division Disorder )
It has to be
( song of the moment - Joy Division Disorder )
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Lucky Ones
It seems the lucky ones to see
The Lucky Ones will be the gala types after all.
This is a reversal of procedure from last year - it seems only the elite few who can shell out the $45 for the gala ticket can enter the Elgin now.
http://tiff08.ca/images/films/luckyones.jpg
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
/* Here's looking at you kid */ - Casablanca bringing the crowd together at Toronto Life Square
August 26, 2008
On a perfect cool summer evening in Toronto but still with fashionable strappies and shorts in abundance - and the feel of real downtown - Toronto International Film Festival 2008 opened up for serious business - today was the first day to pick up the big programming books and the schedule is online - and now comes the pondering and the grr-ing as we head towards that Friday at 1 p.m deadline. The evening was jacket and sweater type of cool in Toronto - and down at Toronto Life Square in the outdoors it was a perfect night - standing under the big lit advertising signs - holding the TIFF bag full of all the programming goodies - including chocolates, Starbucks coffee and a box of TARDIS filled with a Stella Artois glass - and a marker pen and a penlight - and the programming book - and the just out Best Buy exclusive Heroes box complete with season 2 and a Kensei helmet ! [ we had to buy that separately - that's not part of TIFF ]
But we digress - for this summer eve was devoted to Summer Romance - on the theatre screen in on the stage at Toronto Life Square - amidst the hubbub of Toronto's busiest tourist intersection that is Yonge and Dundas and the glare and the glow of the overhead billboards lighting the evening - especially one touting the Traveling Pants 2 and the Sisterhood looking so fetch - the screen sprang to life with the story of German couriers in Africa during the Second World War carrying two exit visas - and three people.
It was a perfect day and night - chill in the air - sitting on the ground on a carpet or lucky enough to bring a chair - the people sitting under the stars drawn together by the chemistry of the stars and the on screen magic that is movies.
Have a great Festival !
The schedule is up !
08TIFF
It's the final countdown
The schedule is online now and out to the world !
Now begins the most hectic 75 hours of your life - trying to juggle all your movie choices into the precious little time that is ten days and nights - and make that schedule.
Good luck!
[ ... more to come ]
Friday, August 22, 2008
/* Are you in or you out? I'm in */
I'll go pack my stuff
It's that time of year to dive again into the heady world of Toronto International Film Festival - the 08 edition.
Somehow the thought of those undeserving dimwits at E! Canada et al [ nice guy al but a dimwit ] covering the red carpets while we remained at home just did not sit well in the tummy. Even though it might not be possible this year due to the outside world to attend all 50 tickets on the Festival pass - we still have to be there.
First things first. Where do you buy the pases this year and where do you pick it up?
What are the top 20 fun movies to see for now ? Feel free to let us know - and drop by TOfilmfest '08 - a good place to be.
For relaxing times make it Suntory time
Friday, August 15, 2008
/* Oh Max */ - Would you believe Get Smart is smart fun
The new 2000s Get Smart movie delivers the spirit of the original television show of the incomparable Don Adams role Maxwell Smart without the original chaos or KAOS. At best Steve Carrell [ from The Office and Little Miss Sunshine amongst other things ] channels the mannerisms of Don Adams without strictly imitating his iconic gestures and Anne Hathaway embodies the independent strength of Barbara Feldon's 99 and is smoking hot to boot. And even she gets to deliver her trademark "Oh Max."
Aside from all that notwithstanding the moving nods to its predecessor, the movie Get Smart really bears little resemblance to a Get Smart episode but gets by on sheer fun and personality. Some new nuances are the duo of Heroes Hiro and a super bad virgin. The Chief's sidekick Larabee was never this annoying or bumbling - played as a Vince Vaughn type wannabee by David Koechner. And Fang was a mutt. The quick backstory is Maxwell Smart is a field analyst in CONTROL who yearns to be an agent in the field - and the day finally comes where he is promoted to Agent 86. There are obviously elements that harken the show: the Cone of Silence is de rigeur and Agent 13 jammed in some tiny nook or cranny - and the passageway of the doors - and that great theme song. Alan Arkin is the put-upon Chief who suffers the slings and arrows of misfortune - sorry about that Chief - but he is no Edward Platt [ yes he of Rebel Without A Cause ] .
Just sit back and enjoy the ride - and follow the development of the chemistry between 86 and 99 onwards to see Get Smart again?
Aside from all that notwithstanding the moving nods to its predecessor, the movie Get Smart really bears little resemblance to a Get Smart episode but gets by on sheer fun and personality. Some new nuances are the duo of Heroes Hiro and a super bad virgin. The Chief's sidekick Larabee was never this annoying or bumbling - played as a Vince Vaughn type wannabee by David Koechner. And Fang was a mutt. The quick backstory is Maxwell Smart is a field analyst in CONTROL who yearns to be an agent in the field - and the day finally comes where he is promoted to Agent 86. There are obviously elements that harken the show: the Cone of Silence is de rigeur and Agent 13 jammed in some tiny nook or cranny - and the passageway of the doors - and that great theme song. Alan Arkin is the put-upon Chief who suffers the slings and arrows of misfortune - sorry about that Chief - but he is no Edward Platt [ yes he of Rebel Without A Cause ] .
Just sit back and enjoy the ride - and follow the development of the chemistry between 86 and 99 onwards to see Get Smart again?
Smart People - smart and witty viewing
Ellen Page as the arch conservative Republican with the arch wit fits in well with this small ensemble cast of Dennis Quaid who delivers a very curmudgeonly professorial persona which given the circumstances fits him to a T.
/* Unfortunately she drank too much and passed out */ - My Sassy Girl - Elisha Cuthbert sassy to the end
Write well.
The tale of an accidental prone relationship between Charlie Bellows and Jordan Roark [ with two syllables ] told in narrative by the boyfriend looking back upon his first love.
The movie's charm relies on the cute as a button Elisha Cuthbert - the love at first glance with a sassy spirit and a penchant for aggressive behaviour as she starts drinking too much which is part of her zest for living. Charlie played quite affably by Jesse Bradford who is once caught up in the net of an attractive girl a la Swimfan.
Studious Charlie is trying to follow in his father's footsteps trying to move ahead in the company - only this time by going through college and moving forward through management ranks. But one day in the subway and trying to be gallant and noble, he saves the drunken girl from mishap and the course of his life is changed.
I wish you a story with a happy ending.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Mad Detective
Mad Detective seen at TIFF 2007 is making a slow release in the US at the moment.
A bizarre film of a detective with an unconventional method of "profiling" - without giving the whole story - he gets inside people's heads. Recommended if you have the patience for letting the movie unravel and getting through the plotline and subtitles. The lead is not the nicest character on the block so give the story time.
A bizarre film of a detective with an unconventional method of "profiling" - without giving the whole story - he gets inside people's heads. Recommended if you have the patience for letting the movie unravel and getting through the plotline and subtitles. The lead is not the nicest character on the block so give the story time.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Let the TIFF madness begin at midnight
Like whatever
It's been the best of times the worst of times during Midnight Madness at TIFF in the past - from lining up in the frozen cold of September for the *midnight* showing of Underworld - but the good part was having Kate Beckinsale to look at in person. Mickey Rourke "you're the man!" showing up for Spun at the late Uptown Bloor cinema
And now onto 2008 and the recent announcement without further ado:
Down-and-out action star Jean-Claude Van Damme, movies featuring a handful of heroic kids and more than two dozen avant-garde films and videos are among the latest additions to the Toronto International Film Festival bill.
Organizers announced on Wednesday the lineups for three programs: the popular Midnight Madness, the challenging and artistic Wavelengths and the family-friendly Sprockets.
The action- and horror-focused Midnight Madness opens with JCVD (France/Luxembourg/Belgium), starring Van Damme as himself. In director Mabrouk El Mechri's film, Hollywood's faded "Muscles from Brussels" must deal with being an ordinary Joe when caught in the middle of a real-life heist.
The late-night lineup will also include:
The Burrowers (USA) - A recovery troop searching for settlers who have mysteriously disappeared falls prey to the unexpected culprits.
Deadgirl (USA) - The discovery of a naked, presumably dead girl in an abandoned asylum tests the friendship of two teens.
Sexykiller (Spain) - A medical school's attempt to uncover the bloody serial killer within the community leads to victims returning to life.
Detroit Metal City (Japan) - Based on the popular manga, the film follows a bubbly pop musician trying to maintain his own life and woo the girl of his dreams, while maintaining his undercover identity as a death metal rocker.
Not Quite Hollywood (USA/Australia) - A documentary about Australia's maverick filmmakers of the 1970s and 1980s.
Acolytes (Australia) - A trio of high schoolers who decide to blackmail a murder suspect see their scheme go awry.
Chocolate (Thailand) - The director and action choreographer of the martial arts hit Ong-Bak reunite for this film, about a female martial arts savant who decides to collect some long-unpaid debts to help her cancer-stricken mother.
Eden (France) - A sci-fi tale that begins with a man finding himself at the bottom of a cave next to a corpse.
Martyrs (France/Canada) - A woman who, as a child, disappeared for a year seeks vengeance on the family she believes responsible.
Wavelengths will feature 26 films and videos by a host of established and emerging artists, separated into six distinct programs:
Films by Nathaniel Dorsky and Jean-Marie Straub
Lost and Found
Horizontal Boundaries
RR
Trips
When It Was Blue
Finally, a quartet of kids films making their world premieres will make up the Sprockets lineup:
Krabat (Germany) - A 17th century-set film based on the Otfried Preuler bestseller about a 14-year-old miller's apprentice who discovers his master is an evil sorcerer involved in the dark arts.
Mia et le Migou (France/Italy) - A young heroine's decision to rescue her trapped father from a construction site brings her into contact with the Migou, a mysterious species who protect an important tree threatened on the same construction site.
The Secret of Moonacre (U.K./Hungary/France) - A 13-year-old orphan set to live with relatives happens upon an ancient curse and embarkes on a quest to undo it.
Sunshine Barry & the Disco Worms (Denmark/Germany) - An earthworm living a dull existence decides to become a disco music star.
The Toronto International Film Festival gets under way Sept. 4 and runs through Sept. 13.
It's been the best of times the worst of times during Midnight Madness at TIFF in the past - from lining up in the frozen cold of September for the *midnight* showing of Underworld - but the good part was having Kate Beckinsale to look at in person. Mickey Rourke "you're the man!" showing up for Spun at the late Uptown Bloor cinema
And now onto 2008 and the recent announcement without further ado:
Down-and-out action star Jean-Claude Van Damme, movies featuring a handful of heroic kids and more than two dozen avant-garde films and videos are among the latest additions to the Toronto International Film Festival bill.
Organizers announced on Wednesday the lineups for three programs: the popular Midnight Madness, the challenging and artistic Wavelengths and the family-friendly Sprockets.
The action- and horror-focused Midnight Madness opens with JCVD (France/Luxembourg/Belgium), starring Van Damme as himself. In director Mabrouk El Mechri's film, Hollywood's faded "Muscles from Brussels" must deal with being an ordinary Joe when caught in the middle of a real-life heist.
The late-night lineup will also include:
The Burrowers (USA) - A recovery troop searching for settlers who have mysteriously disappeared falls prey to the unexpected culprits.
Deadgirl (USA) - The discovery of a naked, presumably dead girl in an abandoned asylum tests the friendship of two teens.
Sexykiller (Spain) - A medical school's attempt to uncover the bloody serial killer within the community leads to victims returning to life.
Detroit Metal City (Japan) - Based on the popular manga, the film follows a bubbly pop musician trying to maintain his own life and woo the girl of his dreams, while maintaining his undercover identity as a death metal rocker.
Not Quite Hollywood (USA/Australia) - A documentary about Australia's maverick filmmakers of the 1970s and 1980s.
Acolytes (Australia) - A trio of high schoolers who decide to blackmail a murder suspect see their scheme go awry.
Chocolate (Thailand) - The director and action choreographer of the martial arts hit Ong-Bak reunite for this film, about a female martial arts savant who decides to collect some long-unpaid debts to help her cancer-stricken mother.
Eden (France) - A sci-fi tale that begins with a man finding himself at the bottom of a cave next to a corpse.
Martyrs (France/Canada) - A woman who, as a child, disappeared for a year seeks vengeance on the family she believes responsible.
Wavelengths will feature 26 films and videos by a host of established and emerging artists, separated into six distinct programs:
Films by Nathaniel Dorsky and Jean-Marie Straub
Lost and Found
Horizontal Boundaries
RR
Trips
When It Was Blue
Finally, a quartet of kids films making their world premieres will make up the Sprockets lineup:
Krabat (Germany) - A 17th century-set film based on the Otfried Preuler bestseller about a 14-year-old miller's apprentice who discovers his master is an evil sorcerer involved in the dark arts.
Mia et le Migou (France/Italy) - A young heroine's decision to rescue her trapped father from a construction site brings her into contact with the Migou, a mysterious species who protect an important tree threatened on the same construction site.
The Secret of Moonacre (U.K./Hungary/France) - A 13-year-old orphan set to live with relatives happens upon an ancient curse and embarkes on a quest to undo it.
Sunshine Barry & the Disco Worms (Denmark/Germany) - An earthworm living a dull existence decides to become a disco music star.
The Toronto International Film Festival gets under way Sept. 4 and runs through Sept. 13.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
/* Kill the Batman */ - Batman Returns in The Dark Knight
no intentional spoilers
The fully expanded Batman returns in this grim reaper follow-up to the beginning.
In the harsh glory of reality if this is the second of any trilogy this is what George Lucas would call the dark episode.
This movie harkens back to comic conventions - there are definite start and end points of each episode of the movie as if in a graphic novel to keep the audience hanging on - and the descent of the dark knight is grim indeed.
This Gotham City is more realistic - seen in the harsh reality of day.
Director Chris Nolan is afforded the time to let the characters have full conversations on screen - not just the short blurb and keep it moving style of Lucas in his Star Wars - and not just with major characters but between lieutenant and mayor for instance.
Joker is the new nemesis in town seemingly wreaking havoc just for the sake of it making him dangerous and unpredictable. Heath Ledger's in his penultimate role as Joker leaves a lasting impression that beckons the call of award recognition.
The fully expanded Batman returns in this grim reaper follow-up to the beginning.
In the harsh glory of reality if this is the second of any trilogy this is what George Lucas would call the dark episode.
This movie harkens back to comic conventions - there are definite start and end points of each episode of the movie as if in a graphic novel to keep the audience hanging on - and the descent of the dark knight is grim indeed.
This Gotham City is more realistic - seen in the harsh reality of day.
Director Chris Nolan is afforded the time to let the characters have full conversations on screen - not just the short blurb and keep it moving style of Lucas in his Star Wars - and not just with major characters but between lieutenant and mayor for instance.
Joker is the new nemesis in town seemingly wreaking havoc just for the sake of it making him dangerous and unpredictable. Heath Ledger's in his penultimate role as Joker leaves a lasting impression that beckons the call of award recognition.
Friday, July 18, 2008
TIFF FEVER: 2008
Just a slight tinge of the buzz.
Passes are on sale now as you read this - and the prices for the Festival passes have not gone up - and the Festival Lite 30 ticket package is back.
However, gala tickets are going through the roof. Once upon a time to see the films at Roy Thomson Hall were an exorbitant $18 - but this year it seems $43 is the price to see the red carpet and the attending stars. However, you do not have to pay to get in of course if you choose not to. Lining up across the street with the mob is always fun - and did we mention we were in fear for our mortality during the Orlando Bloom walk along the crowd for Elizabethtown while getting crushed against the fence as arms reached across our neck trying to reach out to him? [ he was really pleasant too during Haven] and in full gaze at Kirsten Dunst too?
Passes are on sale now as you read this - and the prices for the Festival passes have not gone up - and the Festival Lite 30 ticket package is back.
However, gala tickets are going through the roof. Once upon a time to see the films at Roy Thomson Hall were an exorbitant $18 - but this year it seems $43 is the price to see the red carpet and the attending stars. However, you do not have to pay to get in of course if you choose not to. Lining up across the street with the mob is always fun - and did we mention we were in fear for our mortality during the Orlando Bloom walk along the crowd for Elizabethtown while getting crushed against the fence as arms reached across our neck trying to reach out to him? [ he was really pleasant too during Haven] and in full gaze at Kirsten Dunst too?
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Happy Canada Day
It might be a bit early but
Happy Canada Day to you all !
It has been a while - seen lots and lots of movies but life gets in the way ...
Many movies from TIFF07 have come and gone lately through Toronto - often showing up in the Carlton for all of a week or two - or sometimes like Le Ballon Rouge or Diving Bell and the Butterfly at the Cumberland - but lately with the arrival of AMC 24 finally at Yonge and Dundas there is a new comfy place to see There Will Be Blood or Ironman orThe Incredible Hulk with digital prints - and that's the future. No more trying to poke above or through the heads ahead of you and substandard sound and scratchy prints after the first day. [ The Incredible Hulk was really incredible this time around and it was fun to see Yonge Street get seriously hulk smashed up - even the fencing covering what would be AMC and Future Shop is in there - and The Big Slice ? Ironman was serious fun.]
It has been a good year for Ellen Page and kudos to her. Even at the exalted MTV Movie Awards where she accepted for Juno she was still the same humble girl who was promoting X-Men The Last Stand at MTV Canada. Showcase is back to her episodes of Regenesis and just finished Trailer Park Boys season 2. And there was that Academy Award nomination ...
Now TIFF 08 is just around the corner and seriously considering staying away this year is an option. But who are we kidding ?
We are getting the TIFF buzz
Happy Canada Day to you all !
It has been a while - seen lots and lots of movies but life gets in the way ...
Many movies from TIFF07 have come and gone lately through Toronto - often showing up in the Carlton for all of a week or two - or sometimes like Le Ballon Rouge or Diving Bell and the Butterfly at the Cumberland - but lately with the arrival of AMC 24 finally at Yonge and Dundas there is a new comfy place to see There Will Be Blood or Ironman orThe Incredible Hulk with digital prints - and that's the future. No more trying to poke above or through the heads ahead of you and substandard sound and scratchy prints after the first day. [ The Incredible Hulk was really incredible this time around and it was fun to see Yonge Street get seriously hulk smashed up - even the fencing covering what would be AMC and Future Shop is in there - and The Big Slice ? Ironman was serious fun.]
It has been a good year for Ellen Page and kudos to her. Even at the exalted MTV Movie Awards where she accepted for Juno she was still the same humble girl who was promoting X-Men The Last Stand at MTV Canada. Showcase is back to her episodes of Regenesis and just finished Trailer Park Boys season 2. And there was that Academy Award nomination ...
Now TIFF 08 is just around the corner and seriously considering staying away this year is an option. But who are we kidding ?
We are getting the TIFF buzz
Friday, December 07, 2007
"Did you take the test yourself" - Blade Runner : The Final Cut
was going to eat this during Blade Runner : The Final Cut yesterday
of course we are not going to "review" Blade Runner now - only to say this film still among the top of my favourite movie list
[ no spoilers here ]
admission: $10
medium popcorn: $4.50 plus 50 cents for *real* butter
chance to see Blade Runner The Final Cut : priceless
the biggest pleasure of seeing Blade Runner on the screen again [ having seen this in rep in original and director's cut version when the *big deal* was the removal of Deckard's voiceover narration ] was actually seeing the film grain - Harrison Ford and Sean Young still look handsome and mysterious respectively - in the final cut [ not being the expert here ] certain scenes seemed to play longer - and some dialogue we do not remember - there was not an over the top addition of any CGI a la Star Wars IV - the biggest enhancement was in the sound - the Vangelis soundtrack even on the Regent theatre sound system [ which is surprisingly good ] was remarkably clear and clean - and we are not giving away any ending details
and as we left the theatre a stunningly handsome lady walked through the entrance
[ possible spoiler question below ]
going to have to check on my Director's Cut to see if Rachel asks Dekkard in that version
"Did you take the test yourself"
of course we are not going to "review" Blade Runner now - only to say this film still among the top of my favourite movie list
[ no spoilers here ]
admission: $10
medium popcorn: $4.50 plus 50 cents for *real* butter
chance to see Blade Runner The Final Cut : priceless
the biggest pleasure of seeing Blade Runner on the screen again [ having seen this in rep in original and director's cut version when the *big deal* was the removal of Deckard's voiceover narration ] was actually seeing the film grain - Harrison Ford and Sean Young still look handsome and mysterious respectively - in the final cut [ not being the expert here ] certain scenes seemed to play longer - and some dialogue we do not remember - there was not an over the top addition of any CGI a la Star Wars IV - the biggest enhancement was in the sound - the Vangelis soundtrack even on the Regent theatre sound system [ which is surprisingly good ] was remarkably clear and clean - and we are not giving away any ending details
and as we left the theatre a stunningly handsome lady walked through the entrance
[ possible spoiler question below ]
going to have to check on my Director's Cut to see if Rachel asks Dekkard in that version
"Did you take the test yourself"
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Control - he's quite famous - not to me, I still wash his underpants
Control is Joy Division seen from the women's point of view - taken from the book by Ian Curtis's wife Debbie "Touched from a Distance" it is clear that Debbie Curtis had not the foggiest notion of what Joy Division were. Of course, who might blame her - married at 16 in high school, then having to take care of him and their daughter Natalie in a joyless marriage - the mistake of his life.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Welcome to Barrow - top of the world ! - bloody brilliance in 30 Days of Night
There's no way out
Barrow, Alaska is the northernmost city in the world - 80 miles away from nowhere - can you say remote and barren? miles and miles away from the closest city.
We live here because we are the only ones who can.
These toughened denizens of this world of cold, snow and ice each year face one month of total dark without a dawn. It is not uncivilized by any means, with a bar, a grocery store, and a power generation station on the edge of town.
30 Days of Night is sheer bloody brilliance - with even more graphic violence that you would expect from a graphic novel [ from Steven Niles ] which is totally shocking in this day and age. Sometimes the sheer violence and the rapidity of it is masked but only sets you up for the next attack. Director David Slade maintains a relentless tension and does not let up on the carnage. The look of the film is surreal with a shaded colour palette which is strong on the red.
It is either get out or stay time as once a year, the 30 days of night approaches, and Melissa George [ as Stella ] is stuck. Trying to get out of Barrow to return home, her car is totalled in an accident. Josh Hartnett and Melissa George as Eben and Stella are the law - they used to be a married couple, but now are on nonspeaking terms in splitsville; but once upon a time they would do anything for each other, and that is the key to the movie. Their thawing iciness towards each other cements the movie and draws the audience into caring what happens to their relationship and the small group of people left trying to stay alive for the duration.
Then there was six
For once Josh Hartnett's closed emotional range was the right tone for the film - just a grim determination to survive 30 days of night until the next dawn against a horde of sharp toothed creatures led by a philosophical speaking fiend who wish to keep their existence a secret and wipe out the town - and Melissa George is cute and tough as all get out [remember her in Alias as Sydney's nemesis? ] - and the story does make you care about the characters so sinking into the bloodfest was as right as a blizzard in Alaska. The band of demonic creatures speak in guttural speech, possessed of sharp teeth, sharp fingernails, and an ungodly speed and strength. The townsfolk become prey and serve as bait for those who lurk and wait.
30 Days of Night is also not just about survival and survival tactics, but about family and friendship, their willingness to sacrifice themselves so that the couple can stay together, that tge others can live while trying to outwait their nemesis and countdown to the last day.
warning: lots of audience participation and shoutouts during the key sacrificial scenes - woohoo!
Barrow, Alaska is the northernmost city in the world - 80 miles away from nowhere - can you say remote and barren? miles and miles away from the closest city.
We live here because we are the only ones who can.
These toughened denizens of this world of cold, snow and ice each year face one month of total dark without a dawn. It is not uncivilized by any means, with a bar, a grocery store, and a power generation station on the edge of town.
30 Days of Night is sheer bloody brilliance - with even more graphic violence that you would expect from a graphic novel [ from Steven Niles ] which is totally shocking in this day and age. Sometimes the sheer violence and the rapidity of it is masked but only sets you up for the next attack. Director David Slade maintains a relentless tension and does not let up on the carnage. The look of the film is surreal with a shaded colour palette which is strong on the red.
It is either get out or stay time as once a year, the 30 days of night approaches, and Melissa George [ as Stella ] is stuck. Trying to get out of Barrow to return home, her car is totalled in an accident. Josh Hartnett and Melissa George as Eben and Stella are the law - they used to be a married couple, but now are on nonspeaking terms in splitsville; but once upon a time they would do anything for each other, and that is the key to the movie. Their thawing iciness towards each other cements the movie and draws the audience into caring what happens to their relationship and the small group of people left trying to stay alive for the duration.
Then there was six
For once Josh Hartnett's closed emotional range was the right tone for the film - just a grim determination to survive 30 days of night until the next dawn against a horde of sharp toothed creatures led by a philosophical speaking fiend who wish to keep their existence a secret and wipe out the town - and Melissa George is cute and tough as all get out [remember her in Alias as Sydney's nemesis? ] - and the story does make you care about the characters so sinking into the bloodfest was as right as a blizzard in Alaska. The band of demonic creatures speak in guttural speech, possessed of sharp teeth, sharp fingernails, and an ungodly speed and strength. The townsfolk become prey and serve as bait for those who lurk and wait.
30 Days of Night is also not just about survival and survival tactics, but about family and friendship, their willingness to sacrifice themselves so that the couple can stay together, that tge others can live while trying to outwait their nemesis and countdown to the last day.
warning: lots of audience participation and shoutouts during the key sacrificial scenes - woohoo!
Monday, October 15, 2007
All you need is love - Across the Universe triumphs
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
on fifth watch
Across the Universe is Julie Taymor's vibrant and vividly psychedelic travelogue through the '60s American anti-war movement. Unreserved recomeendation for Across The Universe. In what should be the last take on the Beatles in such a manner, Taymor - responsible for the hit musical The Lion King along with Anthony Hopkins' Titus and Salma Hayek's Frida - presents her bold and colourful musical Across the Universe. It could have been sacrilegious to use Beatles lyrics as narrative, but Beatles fans should breathe easily.
Across the Universe is wonderfully nostalgic, leaving a wistfulness for the music, but it is breathes life back into the '60s as seen and experienced by the people of the time. Across the Universe is well-researched and relives '60s era America and watermark moments of the era, dwelling on how Vietnam affected a generation as seen through two youths Jude and Lucy who hail from opposite sides of the ocean and come together.
Setting a youthful and vivacous cast including the stellar Evan Rachel Wood, the lynchpin for the movie as Lucy in her privileged life in private school at Brookline in Massachusetts, and the charmer Jim Sturgess as the "limey" Jude working the shipyards of Liverpool to support himself and his single mom, Across the Universe is an exuberant and vibrant exploration of the United States in the "gory glory days" in the last years of 1960s. The songs are sung by the actors live as often as possible, but the delivered performances and interpretations that can be seen and heard are entirely novel. There is a division between red and blue period with more leaning towards the blue 1967-70 era with a brief smattering of a surprising choice of early Beatles songs. And the list of songs in the film is not a parade of #1 hits by any means.
The tale of Jude and Lucy starts off on the other side of the ocean in Liverpool as Jude sings a solo version of
Is there anybody going to listen to my story
All about the girl who came to stay?
She's the kind of girl you want so much
It makes you sorry
Still you don't regret a single day
which then jumps to Lucy and her girlfriends on a prom night dancefloor at her high school Brookline - Lucy launches into a remarkable "it feels so right" Hold Me Tight - a song of joyous innocence and bliss where the imagery jumps back and forth between the ballroom floor and the packed interior where Jude is with his girlfriend at the Cavern Club with a leather jacketed Beatles band on stage.
The handsome Jude in Liverpool sets out for America to find his father who abandoned his mother after a relationship during the second world war, leaving his girlfriend and mother behind. At Princeton, Jude bumps into Max, a student more dedicated to diversions and fun than books, and Jude finds out his real father instead of being the "next Einstein" actually works as a maintenance person. Jude stays with his father in the basement and become close friends with Max, indulging in a bit of "i get by with a little help from my friends" and partaking in night golf on the roof. Max takes Jude home for Thanksgiving weekend, a tradition not known in England, along the way they pick up Lucy from high school and Jude meets Lucy for the first time. Jude witnesses firsthand at the dinner table the source of familial fighting between Max and his relatives, Max himself, and the proverbial what are you going to do with the rest of your life? whereupon Max announces he is dropping out of school. But on that night, all go out for a spot of fun and bowling during a rousing high-energy I Just Met A Girl routine with Jude singing, and all the others bowling and sliding down the slippery bowling lanes.
Max and Jude set out for New York City that night leaving academia and parents behind.
The irony of nothing's going to change my world is reinforced by the shattering of Lucy's life as her boyfriend Dick is killed heroically in action. Lucy sets out for New York City to stay with her brother for the summer instead of going to Europe with her parents and there she gives Max, no longer a student, the dreaded draft notice. Across the Universe explores the world of Lucy and Jude in New York City, as she becomes increasingly political - joining the anti-war movement Students for Democratic Revolution, while Jude turns his artistic bent to designs for Rat magazine, drawing cartoons and posters, and then a logo for Strawberry Studios.
The anger and violence of the ever increasing radical anti-war movement is the background to Across The Universe - the madness of the war is seen through the eyes of Max while in America there is chaos, the calling out of the National Guard at the race riots in Detroit set to a haunting black choral version of Let It Be where Jojo's brother, a young boy is shot to death, and the references to the Weathermen ...
Max, Lucy and Jude become part of the Village nightlife, their landlord is the sexy Sadie who has a burgeoning career as a club singer - and into town comes JoJo - a Hendrix-style singer and guitarist who prowls the streets of pimps and ladies of the night on his first time in town while Joe Cocker delivers the earthy growls of Come Together. Sly Beatles references abound, for instance, the outsider Dayton Wildcasts high school cheerleader Prudence comes through Sadie's bathroom window one rainy night. The bohemian village holds the Psychedelicatessen which was actually part of Julie Taymor's world and the What, Huh? club where Sadie sings at night. Jojo auditions for her band and becomes the guitarist of Sadie and the Poh Boys.
A protest march down Fifth Avenue brings back the days of the Bread and Puppet theatre and the loud chants.
They are all introduced to the counterculture by Sadie's manager at publisher Luna Park's hosted party for Doctor Robert and his book, the lizardking Bono singing I Am The Walrus and the young kids drink the pink lemonade - and set out Flying on a psychedelic magical mystery tour and wake up to find themselves wondering where they are 3000 miles later to find themsleves somehow at the home of a Doctor Geary and his League of Spiritual Development. Max, Jude and Lucy part ways from the bus as it heads back to California. Then they hear the music in the distance and come face to face with Eddie Izzard as Mr Kite and in turn find Prudence again.
Because which follows is another psychedelic experience taking place underwater as the bodies of Lucy and Max intertwine, and other cast members floast about, the whole of which merges into the experience of Max in the war.
A rift comes between Lucy as she becomes more involved and radicalized with many late nights and Max becomes jealous of Paco, the leader of the Students for Democratic Reform. Unable to cope with Max's disdain for Paco and after a angry tirade of Revolution at the SDR offices, boy loses girl and Lucy packs up and leaves Max. As Sadie's career climbs to the top with a dynamite Janet Joplin style Oh Darlingperformance at the Fillmore East, her own personal life hits the skids when JoJo walks out on her to go solo. Max later returns from the war a shell of what he once was.
The star-crossed story of Lucy and Max is seemingly doomed after Jude trying to rescue Lucy from armed arrest at the Columbia protest is taken to jail as well. While Jude's natural father after a call from Lucy tries to unsuccesffully keep Jude in the country, Jude is deported. Jude finds himself back in the shipyards of Liverpool, while Lucy stays committed with the SDR. She discovers one night the militant nature of the friends as Weathermen style. "I thought the other side were the ones who dropped bombs."
Liverpool newspaper headlines blare the news of the explosion in a apartment building and Jude instantly thinks of Lucy. He returns to New York and again meets up with Max.
The had to be finale of the movie conjures the last nostalgic memory of the Beatles together on that rooftop but Across the Universe demands it and pulls it off with joyous triumph for that last Max and Lucy moment - because as you know All You Need Is Love.
on fifth watch
Across the Universe is Julie Taymor's vibrant and vividly psychedelic travelogue through the '60s American anti-war movement. Unreserved recomeendation for Across The Universe. In what should be the last take on the Beatles in such a manner, Taymor - responsible for the hit musical The Lion King along with Anthony Hopkins' Titus and Salma Hayek's Frida - presents her bold and colourful musical Across the Universe. It could have been sacrilegious to use Beatles lyrics as narrative, but Beatles fans should breathe easily.
Across the Universe is wonderfully nostalgic, leaving a wistfulness for the music, but it is breathes life back into the '60s as seen and experienced by the people of the time. Across the Universe is well-researched and relives '60s era America and watermark moments of the era, dwelling on how Vietnam affected a generation as seen through two youths Jude and Lucy who hail from opposite sides of the ocean and come together.
Setting a youthful and vivacous cast including the stellar Evan Rachel Wood, the lynchpin for the movie as Lucy in her privileged life in private school at Brookline in Massachusetts, and the charmer Jim Sturgess as the "limey" Jude working the shipyards of Liverpool to support himself and his single mom, Across the Universe is an exuberant and vibrant exploration of the United States in the "gory glory days" in the last years of 1960s. The songs are sung by the actors live as often as possible, but the delivered performances and interpretations that can be seen and heard are entirely novel. There is a division between red and blue period with more leaning towards the blue 1967-70 era with a brief smattering of a surprising choice of early Beatles songs. And the list of songs in the film is not a parade of #1 hits by any means.
The tale of Jude and Lucy starts off on the other side of the ocean in Liverpool as Jude sings a solo version of
Is there anybody going to listen to my story
All about the girl who came to stay?
She's the kind of girl you want so much
It makes you sorry
Still you don't regret a single day
which then jumps to Lucy and her girlfriends on a prom night dancefloor at her high school Brookline - Lucy launches into a remarkable "it feels so right" Hold Me Tight - a song of joyous innocence and bliss where the imagery jumps back and forth between the ballroom floor and the packed interior where Jude is with his girlfriend at the Cavern Club with a leather jacketed Beatles band on stage.
The handsome Jude in Liverpool sets out for America to find his father who abandoned his mother after a relationship during the second world war, leaving his girlfriend and mother behind. At Princeton, Jude bumps into Max, a student more dedicated to diversions and fun than books, and Jude finds out his real father instead of being the "next Einstein" actually works as a maintenance person. Jude stays with his father in the basement and become close friends with Max, indulging in a bit of "i get by with a little help from my friends" and partaking in night golf on the roof. Max takes Jude home for Thanksgiving weekend, a tradition not known in England, along the way they pick up Lucy from high school and Jude meets Lucy for the first time. Jude witnesses firsthand at the dinner table the source of familial fighting between Max and his relatives, Max himself, and the proverbial what are you going to do with the rest of your life? whereupon Max announces he is dropping out of school. But on that night, all go out for a spot of fun and bowling during a rousing high-energy I Just Met A Girl routine with Jude singing, and all the others bowling and sliding down the slippery bowling lanes.
Max and Jude set out for New York City that night leaving academia and parents behind.
The irony of nothing's going to change my world is reinforced by the shattering of Lucy's life as her boyfriend Dick is killed heroically in action. Lucy sets out for New York City to stay with her brother for the summer instead of going to Europe with her parents and there she gives Max, no longer a student, the dreaded draft notice. Across the Universe explores the world of Lucy and Jude in New York City, as she becomes increasingly political - joining the anti-war movement Students for Democratic Revolution, while Jude turns his artistic bent to designs for Rat magazine, drawing cartoons and posters, and then a logo for Strawberry Studios.
The anger and violence of the ever increasing radical anti-war movement is the background to Across The Universe - the madness of the war is seen through the eyes of Max while in America there is chaos, the calling out of the National Guard at the race riots in Detroit set to a haunting black choral version of Let It Be where Jojo's brother, a young boy is shot to death, and the references to the Weathermen ...
Max, Lucy and Jude become part of the Village nightlife, their landlord is the sexy Sadie who has a burgeoning career as a club singer - and into town comes JoJo - a Hendrix-style singer and guitarist who prowls the streets of pimps and ladies of the night on his first time in town while Joe Cocker delivers the earthy growls of Come Together. Sly Beatles references abound, for instance, the outsider Dayton Wildcasts high school cheerleader Prudence comes through Sadie's bathroom window one rainy night. The bohemian village holds the Psychedelicatessen which was actually part of Julie Taymor's world and the What, Huh? club where Sadie sings at night. Jojo auditions for her band and becomes the guitarist of Sadie and the Poh Boys.
A protest march down Fifth Avenue brings back the days of the Bread and Puppet theatre and the loud chants.
They are all introduced to the counterculture by Sadie's manager at publisher Luna Park's hosted party for Doctor Robert and his book, the lizardking Bono singing I Am The Walrus and the young kids drink the pink lemonade - and set out Flying on a psychedelic magical mystery tour and wake up to find themselves wondering where they are 3000 miles later to find themsleves somehow at the home of a Doctor Geary and his League of Spiritual Development. Max, Jude and Lucy part ways from the bus as it heads back to California. Then they hear the music in the distance and come face to face with Eddie Izzard as Mr Kite and in turn find Prudence again.
Because which follows is another psychedelic experience taking place underwater as the bodies of Lucy and Max intertwine, and other cast members floast about, the whole of which merges into the experience of Max in the war.
A rift comes between Lucy as she becomes more involved and radicalized with many late nights and Max becomes jealous of Paco, the leader of the Students for Democratic Reform. Unable to cope with Max's disdain for Paco and after a angry tirade of Revolution at the SDR offices, boy loses girl and Lucy packs up and leaves Max. As Sadie's career climbs to the top with a dynamite Janet Joplin style Oh Darlingperformance at the Fillmore East, her own personal life hits the skids when JoJo walks out on her to go solo. Max later returns from the war a shell of what he once was.
The star-crossed story of Lucy and Max is seemingly doomed after Jude trying to rescue Lucy from armed arrest at the Columbia protest is taken to jail as well. While Jude's natural father after a call from Lucy tries to unsuccesffully keep Jude in the country, Jude is deported. Jude finds himself back in the shipyards of Liverpool, while Lucy stays committed with the SDR. She discovers one night the militant nature of the friends as Weathermen style. "I thought the other side were the ones who dropped bombs."
Liverpool newspaper headlines blare the news of the explosion in a apartment building and Jude instantly thinks of Lucy. He returns to New York and again meets up with Max.
The had to be finale of the movie conjures the last nostalgic memory of the Beatles together on that rooftop but Across the Universe demands it and pulls it off with joyous triumph for that last Max and Lucy moment - because as you know All You Need Is Love.
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