1740 - Hannah & Her Sisters

I've always said that Annie Hall is my favourite Woody Allen film, but I can't help but wonder if this one isn't sneaking in there.  It doesn't have all the wonderfully surreal stuff that it does, but as a straight-story, it could be his finest.  It's a lovely ensemble that's full of some wonderfully comic moments, and then some really dynamic drama (I'm looking at you Max Von Sydow!).  I was watching this mostly to look at the visuals again and think about it purely from that stand point.  The film I'm currently working on is similar to Woody's films in that it's quite dialogue driven, and so it helps me a fair deal to watch the films of similar wordy writers, and this is just simply one of the best. 
I always point to Annie Hall as the film that non-Woody-believers should check out if they don't think they'd like him - but I think this one deserves a mention just as much.  Please, oh please, if you've never seen it - treat yourself.  You won't regret it - and if you do… we probably can't be friends.  Sorry. 

The Dark Knight Returns

I picked this up a very long time ago and decided to give it a go since the newest instalment in the Nolan Batman series is upon us.  For those who don't know, this one has us visiting Batman ten years after he has retired.  He's 55 and his body isn't quite what it used to, and Gotham, and the world, are worse than ever.  It's enough to make an old man question what difference he's made, if any, to his world.  And just as Batman steps out of the woodwork and back into the spotlight, so do his enemies of old including Two-Face, The Joker, and even Superman when they realize that the world isn't big enough for the two heroes with different perspectives on what the world needs.
Written by comic heavy-weight Frank Miller this is a really great Batman story.  It really gets to the core of the character and redefines him in a smart and clever way, using his age as a way of really being sharp about what it means to be Bruce Wayne, to know what he knows, and how to deal with that.  The thing is full of some really great stuff.  I assume that most fans of the Bat have probably already delved into this (almost 20 year old) mini-series.  I'll aim to pick up the sequel, The Dark Night Strikes Back at some point when I'm out comic-shopping.  It's a nice little read, especially when gearing up for The Dark Night Rises.

How the WSPA lost my donation

Yesterday I was on my way to grab some lunch when I was approaching a corner where there was a young person and a clip board.  If you live or work in a city you know the type.  One of dozens of charities who solicit youths to stand on the street during peak hours in an attempt to elicit your donations.  I should start by saying that I'm not against this.  Organizations need to get their face out there, engage with the people.  In fact, my wife and I give to several organizations on a regular basis because:
A) We support what they are working towards
and
B) The tax receipts come in pretty handy around February of each year

So I often walk right by with a friendly smile, letting them know I've already given.  Sometimes it's true, that I have given to their organizations, some times it's not.  But I have given, and I can't afford to save the world. 
So yesterday I was approaching a corner near Spadina & Adelaide where I had no choice but to engage the binder holder.  (as a side note, they really need to have some kind of term - maybe they do… I suppose that binder holder will do for now…)  I've debated over whether or not I would list the name of the organization, and I think I have to.  WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals), for those who don't know I've been a vegetarian for nearing five years (technically I'm a pescatarian since I still eat fish).  If you're ever bored enough to know why I'll be more than happy to tell you, but I won't waste your time here.  At any rate my wife and I are quite aligned with a lot of what the WSPA stands for.  So when this young man stopped me I was more than happy to listen and engage.  We had a nice long conversation about the troubles currently being faced in different parts of the world, and when the time came around for the inevitable, I simply told him that I go over all my major donations with my wife so that we're on the same page.  That I'd love to take any literature that he had and I'd pledge online.  And that's when the tides turned.  That wasn't good enough.  He explained that a lot of people say they'll do that, but then they don't.  Which, I think, is their right to do so.  I get pretty annoyed when it comes to high-pressure sales people - my instant reaction is almost always to say no just on principle.  But the problem when you're representing a charity is that you're selling me something that I don't actually need.  It's not like if I walk away I'm going to miss out on something that's going to improve my day to day life - I hope I'm not coming off terribly by saying this - but if you're going to put pressure on people, there has to be a reason.  There has to be a consequence to me saying 'no' for me.  Otherwise, there's no pressure, and you're just being rude. 

So me explaining that the finances in my home were equal weren't enough for this young man.  And the fact that I didn't have my credit card didn't stop him either.  He was willing to call my bank and set up an automatic withdrawal.  At this point I was feeling pretty uncomfortable by this young man who just wouldn't believe that I would actually look into the matter on my own time.  I eventually just had to put my foot down and say that under no circumstance would I be giving him money on the street.  So he arranged to have someone call me that evening and gave me a little slip of paper as a reminder.  Then, as I continued to go about getting my lunch (twenty minutes later), I came upon another group from the same organization, and approaching them I showed them my slip and one of the girls replied in a ridiculously snarly fashion, "Oh, well congrats on getting a phone call."  It was a really shitty thing to do to someone who was seriously considering making a donation.

I got back to work, looked up the organization, and found that I agreed with much of what they had to say and what they do.  I'd pitch it at home and we'd figure it out.  We're in the process of moving and so we don't want to just throw money around right now, we generally wait until the fall and make all our donations at once, but I was almost feeling like I wanted to get the better of these two people and make the donation just out of spite.  I can be that kind of person.

And then the phone call came.  We've got two small children and so bedtime is either heaven or hell, last night it was closer to hell.  And so in the middle of it the call came in, and I explained to the person that I was putting my kid to sleep and could I please call them back.  They insisted that it would only take a moment, and I explained that I didn't have it.  I'd call THEM back.  And then another snarly response, "Yeah, I'm sure you will sir."  And that was enough.  And here's the shitty thing about it, because of all their negativity about me contributing they became a self-fulfilling prophecy.  I'm not going to give to their cause because the people that represent them made me feel shitty.  And when you're asking people to give you the money that they work hard to earn, you shouldn't make them feel shitty - you should make them feel good about it.  It's the least you can do.  So if someone from WSPA reads this, I apologize, but my money will be going to another charity.  I'm still going to give, just not to you.  The world is full of problems and it's impossible to rank which is more in need than another - but I've got to feel good about the organizations that I give my money to, and I can't say I feel that great about yours.

1739 - Jiro Dreams of Sushi

The world is going to hell.  It's something that the older generation is always saying.  And I hate to think I'm getting anywhere near the older generation, but I can't deny that I've had similar thoughts.  At it's heart this is a film about how whatever you do in life, you should seek perfection in it.  You should try to be the best at whatever it is that you do.  What a lovely goal.  I'd like to think I'm luckily surrounded by a lot of people who feel this way as well.  Even today my wife was thinking about going back to her classroom (she's a teacher) when she's finished maturity leave in November, and how she can reach her students even better (side note - she's got some wicked awesome ideas).  I think it's true that too many people these days don't want to put any effort into the jobs that make them money, but they want lots of time off to do... whatever it is they want to do.  But the old adage goes - do something you love and you'll never work.  And if you hate your job, then you must really love your bills - otherwise why stay at a job you hate just to pay them?  I'm sure that I'm being naive, and I'm fortunate to work in an industry that I genuinely love (there is absolutely nothing else that I'm suited to do), but I do believe that life is too short to do something that makes you unhappy. 
Now to the film.  It's inspiring in what I've said above, but I couldn't help but feel that it was padded a bit to get it to feature length.  It was very episodic and tangential.  It felt like the main thrust of it could have been summed up in a fraction of it's length, but we hung around longer for some nice shots of sushi.  I'm not trying to bag on the film at all, I liked it a lot, but it was just missing that certain something that made me love it.  I guess maybe I was just hoping for a bit more from his sons, or the people who work for him - but I imagine they don't get into stuff based out of respect for Jiro - not that that's a bad thing at all.  And perhaps I'd heard to much about it going in that my expectations were built up.  Could be a case of that.  One thing I know for sure is that I'm going to have sushi for lunch tomorrow.  And the other thing I know is that it's not going to be anywhere near as good as Jiro's. 

1738 - She's Out of My League

I really like this film.  I decided to throw it on (Netflix!) while doing some work on pre-production for Sex After Kids.  It still holds up.  If you haven't heard of it it's the story of an average guy who winds up dating a more than above-average girl and can't quite grasp why.
I'm a massive admirer of Jay Baruchel, and Alice Eve more than proves that she's not just some hot-young-thing.  Their chemistry isn't perfect, but it's charming and it works really nicely - more often than not they have some lovely moments together.  There's a fight near the end of the film that I have a hard time buying how it starts - but once it's into it the issues that come up are honest and real and so I can dismiss the not-so-natural set-up.
Its a pretty formulaic rom-com for the most part, but it's very funny and charming and so that doesn't bother me in the least.  A film like this is about the journey, and it's an enjoyable one.  Give it a go if you're so inclined.

Boomsday

I got this book for a birthday present some time ago and I can't tell you why it took me so long to get around to it.  I read in spurts, and I'm a much better reader now than I ever was - but I still have a rather large stack of books to get through on my current, ever increasing, pile.
But I'm glad I finally got around to this one!  Like says on the cover, this is by the same man, Christopher Buckley, that brought us the lovely Thank You For Smoking, and this new book even gives us a nice little nod to Nick Naylor in passing.  It's actually a shame that they just didn't make him the mentor character in this book...
This book tells the story of a young woman who is fed up about the idea that her generation is going to have to cover the Social Security of the Baby Boomer generation before her and decides to do something about it.  It's dark, it's funny, and dare I say relevant.  This is a book full of ideas and characters and moves along at a lovely pace, my only complaint is in it's ending.  Or lack there of, I should say.  The story doesn't build to any grand conclusion it more-or-less just... stops.  It's truly bizarre, especially given how well things were ramping up.  This isn't to say that storylines don't get wrapped up to some degree it's just... really unsatisfying.  Almost made me want to change my grading on this to merely "liked", but I have to say that with the exception of the very final pages, the rest of the book was a pure delight.  There is a film in the works and I look forward to it.  If you like poli-comedy or just good solid fun this one comes highly recommended (for the most part).

1737 - Modern Family: season three

This is one of the few really, truly great comedic ensembles.  It's a show with a large cast, but they've found a way to perfectly balance them.  They haven't tried to make one a "break-out" character, but they've really honored the idea of this being a show about a group of people and it works extremely well because of it.  I wrote a spec of this show last summer and I know from studying the writing that it's a show that's, literally, a joke a minute - and to be accurate it's actually several jokes a minute - two or three.  And most of them land really really well.  I find myself at least once or twice an episode having an actual proper, solid laugh.  The writing is solid from a comedy stand-point and in terms of character they've found a nice way to give it a really light serialization as the characters grow and move through life.  If you haven't yet checked this show out, you really owe it to yourself to do so.  I still think that their use of the mocumentary format is a bit of a lazy way to do internal jokes, and doesn't really fit the show - but I'll let it slide.  Other than that, it's all aces.  I loved the new little twist we learned tonight as well.  Well played, showrunners, well played.

1736 - Project Greenlight: season one

Like I said when I re-watched the second season on this show, I find these highly rewatchable and highly addictive.  Especially when I'm doing some prep work and wanting something fun in the background. 
I can't imagine making a film, let alone a first feature, under the microscope that this series requires.  I really enjoy behind the scenes stuff and this show does it so well.  It just doesn't feel set-up at all - like we're just watching a wonderful train wreck.  It's the power of editing, but this season highlights a lot of the film's personalities good and bad and it feels... honest?
I don't think Pete Jones is a talented writer or director.  I partly feel like he was picked because he'd make good television fodder (and he did!).  I think their selection process was corrected by the second time around, and it's a shame that this only went 3 seasons (why, oh why, have they never released a DVD of it... :( ). 
If you like the magic behind moving making, this is a great show to watch - and it's extra entertaining considering all the fuck-ups and how much of a little bitch Pete Jones can be.  I'd like to think that a lot of the things I do, it's because I saw Pete Jones doing it wrong first here.  So thanks Pete!  I appreciate the help wherever I can get it!

1735 - Stand By Me

I don't know what compelled me to watch this tonight.  This is one of those films that really makes me think about childhood.  I remember the first time I saw it I had nightmares about leeches all night. (and seriously, how after their friend finds a leech in his underwear, don't they all search their own areas right away?)  That scene stuck with me for sure.  But over the years, on repeat viewings it's the rest of the film that really grabs you.  The film has a ridiculously impressive cast - I never realize that it was Wil Wheton as Gordie in the lead - not for nothing - but I think this is easily his strongest role.    I grew up in a small town and so while I never had an adventure quite like this, I had friends like this.  And just like in the film those friendships have all moved on and are more-or-less gone outside of Facebook updates.  That's the part of the film that hasn't struck me before now. 
If you haven't seen this film it's a crying shame.  It's really a lovely coming of age story that's filled with humour and heart.  Four friends go in search of the body of a kid their age, rumoured dead by the train tracks a town or so over, and they decide that they want to be the ones to "find the body", but by the end of the trip they find something much more.  Sounds cheesy, sure - but it's a delightful fantastic film.  Rob Reiner directs the shit out of it and these actors.  It's a great great film.  And it's on netflix now, so you have absolutely no reason to not watch, or at least, revisit it.

1734 - Suburgatory: season one

This season was a really strong one for new series.  This was another show whose pilot really impressed the hell out of me.  In the end it's a series that I'm always interested to check out, but it usually ends up around the bottom of my pile of things to watch.  I'm not sure why that is.  It might be just the over-the-top nature of the show keeps it from being something I'm just dying to see.  Jane Levy as Tessa is phenomenal.  If I was a teenage boy I would fall head over heels for her.  As ad adult I merely admire the hell out of her.  The other major stand-out for me is Allie Grant - so glad that they amped up her character as the season went along.  It really is a pretty solid cast through and through, and everyone plays there part as if they are just on this side of being part of the cast of a suburban Fellini film.
This is a show that has legs, and I can see it sticking around.  For those who haven't checked it out and like your comedy a bit snarky, this one might be for you. 

1733 - Cabin in the Woods

I'm late to this film and all those in the geek-a-verse have already gone on and on about it, and I'm not going to go into specifics and ruin any of the fun.  What this is is a genre-bending meta-fest that in a really fun way plays with and deconstructs the horror genre.  It's a film that you can't really pick apart in any serious way because the whole thing is intended to be ridiculous.  You could say it's a bit too clever for it's own good, but it's a lovely amount of fun.  It's still in the theatres if you haven't treated yourself to it yet. 

1732 - Smash: season one

I was one of those people who absolutely loved the pilot for Glee, and then couldn't make it through the first season.  I love me a good musical, but just as much I love story and character development, and sadly for Glee, it doesn't really know what that is.  Smash, on the other hand, seemed to put those things first.  The pilot started with a question "Who will play Marilyn?" and I loved that it became the central question of the finale. 
Here is a show that I finding myself loving aspects of and feeling 'meh' about a great deal otherwise.  The musical numbers are, for the most part, pretty damn outstanding.  And I'll argue with anyone who claims that this isn't one of the best show series currently on television.  The biggest problem with this show is that... well... I don't really LOVE any of the characters.  I like Derek.  I like Cartright.  I like Tom and Julie.  I find Angelica Houston's character to be... well... played by Angelica Houston (nothing against her - I just have never been a fan).  And then there's the character of Ellis who I know I'm supposed to hate - but he actually makes me angry, mostly because I just have a hard time buying that they'd let the little shit stick around.  And then there's the character of Dev, who I've never liked.  And don't get me started on Debra Messing's son character...
If you like musicals and Broadway there's a good chance you'll like this show as it's a window into that world.  The biggest problem I forsee is that I just don't see how this show continues past a second season.  What keeps it motivated and interesting?  Hopefully they've got something up their sleeves.  I like this show quite a bit, but I don't love it.  Let's see if a second season can change that...

1731 - Project Greenlight: season two

I started rewatching this series last week when I was doing prep for our weekend shoot for Sex After Kids.  It's a ridiculously addictive show and I always end up watching it in marathon blocks.  I've got the first two seasons (bastards never released the third on DVD that I've been able to find :( ). 
Being right in the thick of making my second independent feature film there's a certain pride I take in watching this show and seeing them bitch about how they've only got $1M dollars to make their movie.  Boo-fucking-hoo.  They probably spend more on lunch their first day then we're spending on our entire thing.  Not that I'd turn away from a chance to make a film with a (proper) budget, but there's also a lot of waste on film and television sets.  People tend to want and need things just because they've always had them as opposed to really, actually, needing them. 
This season was different from the first in that they had separate competitions for directors and writers.  I still wonder how much of their casting is about picking the contestants that'll be the most entertaining on screen.  I'm sure they'd like to make a decent film out of the whole thing, but I imagine that the TV show does more revenue and is, therefore, more important.
If you're a film nerd and interested in behind the scenes of making a film, there's few things as indepth as these.  Check 'em out if you can find them!

1730 - The Office: season eight

I can't think of a single person who thinks this season was anywhere even close to the kind of quality the show was so famous for merely a few seasons ago.  It's not terrible.  It's just… I don't even know.  In a weird way I didn't exactly miss Steve Carell, I think what bothers me more than anything is that they have this stock pile of great characters and they don't have a goddamn clue what to do with any of them.  The show has just gotten goofy as well.  Who knows why they hell they keep Gabe around anymore (he had such great promise).  The show probably has too many characters as well, to be honest.  To the point where many of them get little to no screen time.  Pam and Jim haven't been interesting on the show for almost two seasons now - mostly because the writers have given them zero goals, they just sit adrift inside of the office.  For a show that once had a really strong narrative and trajectory, now it seems happy to just sit still and do absolutely nothing but try to maintain the statue quo while flirting with the idea of big changes being afoot.  I loved the idea of reintroducing David Wallace at the end, and I can only hope that it means that when we come back to the new season (Yes, I will come back - god knows why) that it means a crack down will occur.  Things will get series, fast, and people will start being held accountable.  Kelly and Dwight (and perhaps Ryan)  will be departing the series soon enough, so hopefully they'll be doing some interesting things with those characters when the show returns.  To be fair, they couldn't do less interesting things… I remain hopefully - though I don't know why...

1729: The Big Bang Theory: season five

It's kind of awesome how popular this show is.  It's not surprising considering that everyone, I believe, has a nerd inside of them just bursting to get out - and this show's popularity is proof positive of that.  I bet it would be hard to go back to earlier seasons before they added Bernadette and Amy into the mix - it really felt like the show went from good to great once it realized how great making the show female balanced was.  The trajectory of this season was interesting considering how last season ended on quite a "WTF" scenario.  I like how the character dynamics always stay true to who these people are, but they are all slowly growing as people as well, even Sheldon.  It'll be interesting to see how long this series sticks around and where they continue to send the characters.  I'll still be here when they come back next season.

World War Z

I've been a little zombie nerd ever since I started reading The Walking Dead comic.  Whenever I'm reading something in this genre I can't help but just see the world differently.  Take stock of the useless stuff people do and buy, how none of it would matter once the Zombie Apocalypse started.  I joined a gym, which may or may not have had anything to do with it :)  I'm not insane, I have no belief that there will be a zombie outbreak - but what an interesting subject.  You can't tell a zombie story without it really being a social commentary.  Zombie stories are always about the break down of society, and World War Z, is ultimately about - what will you do to survive?  Who will you become?  It's told through interviews with survivors and chronologically talks about just before the outbreak, through "The Great Panic", into the War with the Zombies, and then the aftermath.  I found the first two thirds to be pretty damn riveting, and then it died off really fast - the aftermath was a little less interesting to me.  The episodic nature of it starts to take it's toll and you just feel the need to get through it.
Apparently the feature film version that's coming out has very little to do with the actual book (no surprise since the book has no real protagonist outside of, I guess, the interviewer).
It's a book that's pretty good when you think about how much thought into the world Max Brooks has put into it, different countries, groups of people, etc... ideology.  It's a dark and somewhat uplifting book.  If you're a zombie-nerd you've probably already read it - but if you're new to the zombie world, give it a shot along with his Zombie Survival Guide.

1728 - New Girl: season one

Before the beginning of this new television season I had a bit of a crush on both Zooey Deschanel and Kat Dennings.  I'm not officially in love with Zoie from this show, and really have no interest in following Kat after the shit-show that is 2 Broke Girls polluted the air-waves with it's awkward desperateness.  But that's not what I'm here about.
New Girl was my favorite pilot of the year - it jumped out and announced what it was and I liked it from the get-go.  A lot of people have said that it's the show that got strongest and better as it went, but I always always a fan - however I agree that the show continued to get better the more it embraced the amazing ensemble cast that it had.  Zooey is lovely on her own, but throw the rest of this ensemble into the mix and you're kicking with gas.  The jokes are fast, furious, and smart.  I was impressed by how much ground they covered this season and never seemed to be lacking for material.  It makes me excited for future seasons.  It would be easy to label this show as being quirky, and perhaps it is, but the way it uses it's quirks are a helluva lot of fun.  It's a show that will poke the hell out of it's characters, but it's also a show that's willing to show how much they care for and need one another.  I'm a big fan of serial television, but New Girl could easily be my favorite episodic that's lightly serialized. 
If you avoided this show please give it a shot.  Jump in mid-season and you'll be just fine. 

1727 - The Avengers

I was getting pretty excited about this film the days leading up to its release.  I've been following all the lead-up and previous films.  I mean, it's a tremendous plan and very smart the way that Marvel has gone about building their universe.  You can only imagine what they'd be doing if they still retained the film rights to all of their characters.  It becomes slightly difficult to combine the reality-based world of Iron Man where regular people use machines to be super, and then something like Thor where it's something else entirely.  That said, I think this worked and the tones blended together nicely.  It's hard to juggle that many stories and characters, but Whedon does it and with grace and style.  Each character works very very well and builds on what we've seen before.  It's nice seeing Tony Stark comfortable with Pepper Potts, and cracking wise on the side.  It's awesome to watch Captain America turn into an actual leader of his dysfunctional group.  It could be that Hulk was my favorite of the whole bunch though.  I loved Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, but I thought that the choices they made with Hulk were inspired. Lots of great stuff there (although his shift wasn't well explained...)
If I have a complaint it's that I felt like waaaay too much time was spent on that ship in the sky.  I swear we spent well over half the film in that location and it made the film feel a bit small because of it.  I don't envy the Marvel team as they go back to the stand-alone films to lead up to an Avengers sequel.  Once you've put the bar so high, how do you do a stand-alone justice?  And how do you explain why these guys (or some of them) aren't just always helping the others out?
Of all the solo films coming up, the one I'm hoping for most is a Hulk film starring Ruffalo.  I'd line up for that one.

1726 - Her Master's Voice

I was recommended to check this out from my good friends at The Mind Reels and they were dead right to recommend it to me.  I'm a puppet nerd a little bit.  And so Nina Conti's film was right up my alley.  She's a ventriloquist who is on the brink of wondering whether or not she should continue on with her art, if it's something that's sustainable for her.  It's a great question to pose at the beginning of the film about an artist.  Who doesn't wonder that, despite success or failure? 
But what I loved most is how she uses the puppet's in the film to constantly play devil's advocate with her.  On the verge of telling her former mentor/lover that she's going to give up she discovers that he's passed away and inherits all of his puppets as well.  And how she uses those to get at the heart of what she's feeling is really quite lovely.  It's fun and surprisingly light (in a good way) while at the same time really being the kind of film where the filmmaker lets it all out and exposes themselves in a way that is so amazingly endearing. 
It's too late to see it at HotDocs now, but you can still see it on the BBC if you live in that part of the world and I can only hope that it ends up on Netflix as well. 
If you love puppetry, or if you're an artist who ever considered packing it all in, there are few films that are as lovely as this to help get you through the rough patch.

1725 - The Outsider

I stumbled about this randomly on Netflix.  It's a behind-the-scenes doc about director James Toback being given $2M to make a feature film, When Will I Be Loved - but the catch is that he's only for three weeks to do so.  Being that I'm in the midst of making a little film myself (but not nearly at that budget level), I was obviously interested. 
I've liked pretty much everything of Toback's that I've seen.  I can't say that this really gives insight into his creative process, although there's part of that there.  It's more a film about his character and how he interacts with others.  Sometimes wonderfully and sometimes harshly.  It feels more found-footage than carefully planned - although given that the filmmakers are running wild trying to make it work it's no surprise that this is the same kind of feel.  I suppose that I was a little let down in that I didn't feel like I walked away learning something as a filmmaker that I could use and apply to my own work.  No little tidbits, tricks, or techniques.  Shame really since I'm sure this guy is a locker full of tricks.  Alas.  And the film never really played upon the stress and the quickness with which he'd have to make it.  A tad lifeless if I'm being completely honest.  It's got some great interview subjects as you can see in the labels below.  I'd say if you're interested in the guy at all, it's totally worth checking out.  Anyone not already converted can probably let this one guy...

1724 - That Moment (Magnolia Diary)

You could say that this technically isn't a movie or a television show, or even a documentary.  It's a special feature on the Magnolia DVD, and to be honest, it's easily my favourite special feature on any film that I've seen.  It's over an hour long and it's the most entertaining behind the scenes of a film that I've ever see.  Everyone is so honest and authentic, and they have a sense of humour about it all.  Wanted to re-watch it as a reference for what some people want to do for Sex After Kids.  If you own the Magnolia DVD and you've never seen this it's a real treat - especially for any Paul Thomas Anderson fans.  I've probably re-watched this more than the film itself.

1723 - Thor

Decided to re-watch this 'cause it was on Netflix (Huzzah!), and since I believe that Loki is to be the big-bag in Avengers, I figured this was probably the most relevant of the Marvel Universe films to revisit.  This was just as fun as the first time.  I love the set-up to the character and then as soon as he enters our world it becomes a bit of a fish-out-of-water comedy for a little bit.  What a great choice by the filmmakers.  I think that Thor probably has the strongest character arc of any of these films so far.  When he gets his powers back you REALLY believe that he's earned them.  Love it.  Portman is lovely as always, even if she isn't given enough of a range of things to do with her character.  Kat Dennings… well…. I've lost my enjoyment of her ever since I saw that pilot of 2 Broke Girls.  Amazing how one little thing can kind of turn you off of someone.
I'm getting pretty excited about the Avengers this Friday.  All of these films leading up to it have been pretty well done, so it'll be nice to see what happens when they throw them all together.  Trying to keep the expectations low.