The Fabric of a World Unfolding

Empire State

2012-01-31T20:27:00.000-05:00

This came off another top-ten list from the end of the year. While seemingly quirky for the sake of it, the tagline of "A love story (or not)" is actually quite accurate.
It's the story of a twenty-five year old... loser? from Oakland. Loser is a bit harsh, he's just not applying himself properly. It's the story of how he follows his female best friend to New York to try and win her over. What I found really refreshing about this story and Shiga's approach was that the two love interests were not attractive people by any stretch of the imagination, and it struck me as how rare it is to see that (especially given how many not-so-pretty people there are in the world). And on top of that, while this kid wants to be a graphic designer, upon meeting a professional one he realizes just how little he knows about it and how far he is from his dream. It's all a little sad really.
If I have a complaint about this one it's that there was a bit of a time jump back and forth in places and I had a hard time knowing where I was sometimes - maybe there was a visual cue that I missed. I know he used different color palettes. But that's a small thing compared to how interesting the rest of it was. It's a pretty solid book with some unique art and a fast pace read. Give it a go.

Mister Wonderful

2012-01-31T09:16:00.000-05:00

I was looking forward to this as Clowe's Ghost World had left a really lasting impression upon me. It says right on the cover that it's a love story, but I don't think that's accurate at all. It's the story of the first twenty-four hours of two broken people, coming out of shitty relationships, and giving it another go with one another. But they don't fall in love (nor should they) and we, or at least I, didn't even care if they actually got together. The narrative keeps telling us that they're bubbly funny people, but the scenes themselves don't express that. Clowes relies heavily on an inner-monologue that often eclipses the dialogue, and so the whole thing almost plays more like a one-sided audio book. We're never given a reason to like or root for our heroes.
It's a super quick read, so if you're a Clowes die-hard, than by all means pick it up - but I was pretty disappointed in it's lack of engagement. Oh well.

1687 - Foolproof

2012-01-30T23:11:00.000-05:00

I always like to look through Netflix's Canadian category to catch up on homegrown cinema that I might have missed. This film was 2003 and so it was just before Ryan Reynolds broke out huge. Kristin Booth is fantastic here as well, and still a Toronto girl - bless her!
As far as Canadian films go this one is a winner. It's not your typical Canadian fare at all (if that's a bad thing for you) as it fits in nicely with heist films from the other side of the border. A group of friends plan imaginary heists for fun, but then find themselves in trouble when one of their plans is stolen and then they're forced to work with a crime lord or risk exposing themselves.
It's a great little heist film with really solid production values and story turns. It's a shame that it didn't do so well as this is the film of film that needs to be made more in Canada. And it's the kind that more Canadians need to try and watch - luckily for you now it's on Netflix and you've got no excuse. Watch it. Now.

1686 - Wendy and Lucy

2012-01-27T22:54:00.000-05:00

I meant to see this film when it first came out but never got a chance to. Michelle Williams is probably one of our most underrated actresses - although I do believe that she's starting to get the credit that she deserves. This is such a simple little story, simply told, but so much emotion, sadness, frustration, is conveyed through Williams face. It's an amazing performance.
The film is about a woman on a trip across the US, from Indiana to Alaska (because she heard they're hiring people out there) and her car breaks down on the way, and then when she shop lifts dog food so that her Lucy can eat, she gets arrested for it and returns to find her dog now missing.
The film is emotional in a small way, and what's lovely is that it's not just a film about watching a girl get her ass kicked by life for making a bad choice, it's about how life can deal you a bad card, but then life will present you opportunities as well to improve your situation.
This is a really lovely little indie film and it's on netflix if you're interested. If you're not a Michelle Williams fan yet - you're about to become one.

Morning Glories: volume 1

2012-01-27T21:10:00.000-05:00

I discovered this through some "top" list which I can't recall... It's about a group of teens, all with the same birthday who as whisked away to an elite school for reasons unknown. They're, apparently, special. Through the entire first trade we're give no idea outside of the fact that the kids are, maybe, smart, and it probably has something to do with science. Although interesting, I have to admit that the 'mystery' aspect to it feels a tad coy and like they're just enjoying fucking with their audience. I got it through the library, and I've ordered the second trade, but I'm on the fence about this series right now. Right now it feels like they're stalling and doing a slow set-up, and it if doesn't start paying off in the next book I'll probably tune out.

1685 - It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia: season seven

2012-01-27T13:37:00.000-05:00

Aha! And now I'm finally caught up on the exploits of "The Gang!". I got behind on this show but I'm finally up to speed. What I love about the photo above is how well it actually captures the spirit of the show. These people are a family. A fucked up family to be sure, but they are that. They don't always get along, they almost always put themselves before anyone else, and will throw someone else under the bus at a moments notice, but when the chips are down (and everyone else is against them) they'll beat the odds to... get back to status quo.
Some critics have made a point of commenting about how this is the most uneven season of the show thus far, and also how 'meta' is it. It never bothered me, and when characters like these guys become self-aware from time to time, it's pretty damn rewarding. I have to say though, I think that Dennis Reynolds wins the award for character who has officially gone to the dark side. They really played with his sexual exploits this season, and the reveal of his 'tools' in the finale was perfect.
I don't feel the need to go into specifics of the season as revealing even the episode titles gives the best of gags away, but I think that the show is doing a good job of keeping things fresh while still remaining true to what it is. They've signed up for at least two more seasons so I'll be interested to see where they head. Will Matt stay fat? That'll be interesting...

1684 - Newlyweds

2012-01-26T10:19:00.000-05:00

I finally got this film to work after having a massive pain in the ass with the iTunes video rental store. It's a service I've used only when the films I buy come with a free digital download and I've never had a problem with that, so hopefully this doesn't speak ill again. If it happens again on another rental, I won't bother and use a competing service.

I've had Edward Burns on my mind a lot lately. He's, without question, the current King of truly independent cinema. And it's because as smart and talented he as as an artist, he's just as smart as a businessman. He knows that the theatrical audience for art house and indie cinema is gone, they're not going out to the theatres like they once were - they're at home on their couch. And so what Ed's been doing is delivering the content directly to them. It's brilliant. And all it takes is for the filmmaker to accept his situation and forgo theatrical, which is really a big cost suck anyway. Many people say that Ed Burns can get away with making films for next to nothing because he's Ed Burns and so people will watch his stuff anyway - sure I think that there's some truth to that. But I think the smaller your budget, the less people you need to see your film anyway. I guess the bigger problem is that ultimately it's hard to make a living this way, and can really only be done as a side thing… regardless - Ed has inspired me - and so instead of waiting for someone else to tell me that I can make my second feature film I think I'm going to start trying to put together something using this model and the great contacts I already have in the Canadian film industry.

Now, to the film. Either you like this kind of film about people and relationships and ideas, or you don't. And those that like those kinds of films will love Newlyweds. It has a great look and feel to it, that is clearly a bi-product of the budget, but it adds to it rather than taking away. It compliments the subject matter in a way that's very of-the-moment. I love it. It's about a couple, both on their second marriage, and their attempts to get it right this time despite the insanity of their families on both sides. It's a really lovely little story about the fragility of relationships and what can and does happen to them over time. I think, for now, it's only available through iTunes, so give it a shot. It's cheaper than leaving the house to see a film!

Mid-Life

2012-01-25T09:50:00.000-05:00

This was a delightfully refreshing read. I've been pretty brutal with my reading lately. I've been trying to read a lot, but I also have little patience if something doesn't grab me fairly quickly - life is too short and all that. So I was happy to come across this ode to the mid-life crisis. Perhaps ode is a bit extreme, but it's a great book and I think a lot of people will relate to it.
It's the story of a man in his forties who first became a father at the age of seventeen, and now with the kids from that marriage grown up he's in his second marriage with a newborn. He's a man who's been responsible and married for pretty much his entire adult life and now he's starting to feel like he missed out on the days of running around free and having fun. On the other side it's the story of a children's musician who is at the peak of her career but wonders if she hasn't sold-out and if she should return to her earlier grittier roots of songwriting, even if it means walking away from the fame and the money. A man tied down by life, and a woman free to make her own way. Both in need of something. These stories are juxtaposed with one another and then, as you might have guessed, come together at the end.
The art work is really interesting in it's sketchbook quality. It doesn't feel like it's been labored over, in a good way. The whole thing comes off as a very brutally honest reflection of life that's at times extremely funny, and often poignant. If you're near a Canadian city you should be able to find it quite easily. You can also download the first chapter of it here off Joe Ollmann's website.
Give it a whirl! I highly recommend it.

1683 - Cedar Rapids

2012-01-22T22:57:00.000-05:00

I've had the script for the film for a long time, back when it was on the black list, but I never got around to reading it, and decided not to when I saw that it was slated to be made. Now I'm really curious to see what, if anything, changed during production.
It's the story of a man from a small town insurance company getting a chance to represent his firm at a big conference. This man has never gone anywhere, nor really experienced life to the fullest. He's about to. It sounds like a really simple and not terribly interesting premise, but it's a really lovely story. Ed Helms is fantastic here, Reilly is delightful as it Anne Heche, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. It's not so much a laugh-out-loud comedy as it is the kind that just puts a smile on your face and keeps it there the entire film (which, I think in the end, makes it a better film).
This film never really got the wide release that it should have, but it's on netflix now, and really worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of any of the actors I mentioned above. It's a lovely little film, and well worth your time.

1682 - Did You Hear About The Morgans?

2012-01-21T22:57:00.000-05:00

This came to us through zip.ca because, I'm sure, of Emily. It's been sitting there for a while and so I finally popped it in. Here's the thing - it's by no means terrible - I think it got trashed in reviews and it flopped at the box office, but I think that's largely due to the terrible title. Parker and Grant are both draws, so I can't imagine any other reason...
For those who don't know, it's a rom-com about a power-couple who aren't getting along due to him having diddled around who witness a murder and have to go into witness relocation and, you guessed it, re-connect in a way they never would have without it having had happened.
It's charmingly directed by Grant's apparent director-of-choice Marc Lawrence, and the thing flows along nicely, even though we know what's going to happen (I will say that the climax is terribly written, I'm sorry - it just is - the moment of their firm reconciliation is just, well, kind of embarrassing in terms of how cliche it is - feels like it was out of a different film altogether). Elisabeth Moss, whom I adore, is given a small role here and does everything she can with it and easily steals all her scenes.
So I don't think this deserves the flack it got, it's a perfectly fine rom-com - it's nothing phenomenal, and light entertainment at best, but there are a hell of a lot worse out there. What you've got here is a perfectly fine hour and a half with some very charming actors and a decent enough story. A great rainy afternoon film.

Big Questions

2012-01-21T13:05:00.000-05:00

I picked this up from the library on the recommendation of the A.V. Club's top graphic novels of 2011 list. The thing is massive. It's around 600 pages, but due to it's form it's actually a pretty quick read. Someone with the time could get through it in a single sitting - and you very well may want to as it pulls you into an almost hypnotic trance.
It's the story of a flock of songbirds and how their mundane lives are disrupted by bizarre events. Sounds bizarre, but it's glorious. Lots of thoughtfulness, some wonderful catty and dark humor, and over all a really original and solid story. It's not the kind of book that's going to make you rethink the universe by any means, but it's a lot of fun to think about it while hanging out with these birds and the many other creatures that pop up. I think if it were humans dealing with these events the book might come off as a tad pretentious, but it doesn't at all with it's animal counter-parts. Funny how that works out.
If you're in Toronto I'm sure that they've got copies of this at The Beguiling, otherwise you might have to order it online or get it at the library. It's a lovely book, and don't be deterred by it's size - it's a breeze of a read, and if you stand up while doing so your arms get a work-out. Bonus!

1681 - Todd and the Book of Pure Evil: season one

2012-01-20T22:26:00.000-05:00

Full Disclosure: the company I'm working with right now (Frantic Films) produces this series. Which might mean that I'm got a big bias, but just for the record if I watch something connected to people I know and I don't like it, I actually omit it from the blog. So there's that.
I loved the shit out of this show, and I feel bad that it's taken me this long to get around to watching the full season. I checked out an episode awhile back, but then got busy and didn't get back to it - big mistake. The concept is awesome - it's a slacker-comedy about a group of teenagers and their guidance councilor who are fighting a book that can make people's wildest dreams come true - but always to horrible extremes - in one episode an emotionally abused gay teen turns the rest of the school gay, in another a fat girl uses it to make herself skinny (but the fat that leaves her body is evil and turns against them all), etc... it goes through so many amazing ideas that it makes you wonder what they've left up their sleeves for future seasons. It's a rare comedy that has procedural elements, although it starts to become much more serialized as the season goes on.
It has it's fair share of potty humor, but it's so well crafted that you can't help but admire it. This is one of those rare shows that actually makes me belly laugh - it's smart, clever, and over-the-top funny. I really can't recommend this enough, especially if you like your comedy on the dark side. You really can't beat this. It's closing in on it's second season and I'm not quite sure if they've greenlit a third season or not yet. This is one of those shows whose writing staff I would absolutely love to be a part of if the chance ever arose (nudge, wink). It airs on Space, but you can also buy the DVD. Watch it. Now.

Vera's Ghost

2012-01-18T21:57:00.000-05:00

I don't think I've ever told anyone those buy I have a secret desire to one day do a graphic novel. I think that it's partially because I'd really love to be able to draw. I have a great respect for people in this art form, probably because I envy it so. I can't draw for shit, I really can't. This is a fantasy that I will probably try and live out through my children. Poor little buggers.
This was on a top ten list this year and rightly so. It tells the story of an outsider teen who comes across the ghost of a girl her age who is able to seemingly fix all of her problems. It's a very funny, clever, and heartfelt book. Deep down it's about fitting in and how that feels, how far you'll go to do it, and if that ever matters. It's a solid first book from Vera Brosgol and I really can't wait to see what she does next. According to her website she'll be at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival this May, so I might try and go and meet her. That would be lovely.
Please check this book out, it's a sweet little coming of age story with a twist. I loved it.

Life With Mr. Dangerous

2012-01-18T09:33:00.000-05:00

Now that I'm through my current stack of library books I can start on the even larger stack of graphic novels that I got from there. The first is Paul Hornschemeier's Life with Mr. Dangerous. This was my first experience with Paul's work although it won't be my last. It's a simple little story of a young woman trying to figure out her place. Where she belongs. Who she is. Not exactly high stakes material, but it's so well drawn (literally and emotionally :) ). As Patton Oswalt comments ont he back cover, it has it all and it will make you cringe. A lot. But in such a lovely way.
I fell in love with this book pretty quickly while reading and will probably give it another look over before I return it. Chances are I'll hunt it down to purchase as well. If you like coming of age comics this one is a no brainer. Check it out.

Cinderella Ate My Daughter

2012-01-17T22:26:00.000-05:00

I've gotten through a shitload of books recently. Last year my resolution was to read more, and I think I did a pretty fine job this year. I've burned through a stack of books that I'd bought over the years but never cracked open, and I also started taking advantage of Toronto's wonderful public library system - although I have to admit that there's been a pretty steep learning curve in terms of using it's website. Here's a tip - you're allowed up to 50 books at a time (for three weeks - ridiculous amount of books) and so if all the books you want are available right away they send them all to you. There are ways to keep books on your list and not have them send them and I've since learned it. Either way I was saddled with a dozen books, and so while I read a good chunk of them over the last month there were some where after twenty pages I just couldn't be bothered anymore. Sorry books, but if you're not grabbing me after twenty pages, chances are you're not going to grab me any further in. I apologize for the books that pique late.
This that brings me to this book, which I think I was inspired to read after having read about it on a friend's blog. First off - I do in fact have a daughter now (tiny though she is) and so a book like this appealed to me greatly. It's mostly about how girls are marketed to and treated as a whole - it later delves into girls roles in social media and sexting, etc... but the brunt of the topic comes early on. My issue with the book is that despite a whole lot of wonderful and interesting topics and lessons, I never quite felt like Peggy Orenstein had decided what her book was to be about and what stance she took. She even, at one point, mentions through a conversation that she has with her husband that she has difficulty making up her mind on the issues.
Listening to her as she writes about beauty pageants for five year olds and how a New York toy air was about 75% pink are equally frustrating and tantalizing. It's a tricky subject when you're a progressive parent, and as Orenstein notes, it's even trickier when you're sending your kid out into a world where the people aren't as progressive. Kids are going to want crap that you don't want to have them to have - we're dealing with that with our two year-old-son right now. It's tough and it's hard to know where to draw the line, and this book gives you some food for thought. She clearly has her ideas and while they aren't always firm, they're articulate. My biggest complaint about the book is that the first hundred pages is super solid and engaging, and then the majority of the back half almost feel like she needed to pad it out to make it 'book size' including a chapter long description of the lives of people like Lindsay Lohan and Miley Cyrus and their rises and falls from grace. It's a decent talking point, but we don't need a full chapter for stuff like that - and there's several examples of it through-out the back half of the book.
I found it to be a good read with solid information. If the back-half were as strong as the front I'd easily recommend it, instead it's more about "is this your kind of thing?". If you're the kind of person who wants to buy your kid the newest and hottest toy and puts them into pageants, this book is probably just going to go a long way in pissing you off. But if you're a mother, you owe it to yourself to give this book a shot. Pretty easy to get your hands on through the library.

This Is Where We Live

2012-01-14T15:01:00.000-05:00

This is actually a different cover than for the book I read, but somehow I think it fits better. I picked up this book from the library based off a 'best of' list that I can't even recall. I was hesitant at first when it started off talking about the lead character's film directing aspirations. I'm guilty myself of writing stories about artists, although I haven't lately, but I know that a lot of people do as a scapegoat for writing about something more personal. I have to say that my fears quickly vanished. What this book is really about is getting over yourself and accepting that you can't just be a flippant artist all the time, that you have to be someone else as well, and that sometimes other things will come before your work. That's a hard lesson to learn and, to be truthful, one I still deal with. Janelle Brown does a really good job of taking an honest look at these problems and really putting her characters through the ringer. I love how much she punishes them, and I know that there were a few instances where I got pretty emotionally involved and thinking - come on! Give them a break here, please! And I'm glad that she didn't.
It's a strong novel with strong characters and themes and I think could make a pretty lovely film if done properly.

1680 - Midnight in Paris

2012-01-13T21:48:00.000-05:00

Emily missed this while it was in the theatres and she got it for me for Christmas so I've been excited to revisit it ever since. Woody Allen has two types of comedic films. The first is complete character comedy - stuff like Annie Hall, Manhattan, even the one before this You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, and then he has situation (high concept) comedy like Zelig, Bullets Over Broadway, and of course this film. And we're lucky enough that he excels at both of these - but this may very well be one of (if not) his best of the situation comedies. The entire cast is completely wonderful here. Owen Wilson is, in a word, adorable. Rachel McAdams has to play the uppity cunt, but I don't think you hate her - that job is done wonderfully by Michael Sheen. Alison Pill is really fantastic as Zelda Fitzgerald, and I could just go on and on about the rest of the supporting cast. I'm honest enough to admit that while I get a lot of the references I'm by no means cultured enough to get them all. What I love most about this is just Allen's decision to make a film about nostalgia and what that means to people, and I love that he explores the different aspects of it. The idea of living in the past and realizing that everyone feels like there was a better time, it's one of his strongest themes and I think it has a lot to do with why the film is as successful as it is. I think the films where Woody hits really universal films are the ones that strike a nerve with audiences.
I'm deliriously excited that Woody has seen the biggest hit of his career at this point. As if it wasn't already, I think this absolutely cements his ability to make the films he wants for the rest of his life. And I'll enjoy them as they continue to come along!

Full Dark, No Stars

2012-01-09T22:08:00.001-05:00

I often forget how masterful Stephen King is. My grandmother would buy me one of his books every Christmas, and I always enjoyed them - somehow I never really sought him out on my own, and usually just read the ones she gave me. Weird. I remember reading Christine the book and then seeing the movie and I think it's the first time, as a twelve year old I thought "They totally fucked that up!". It's a delicious book, and a terrible film. Sorry John Carpenter, it is.
I haven't read all of King's work and if I'm honest I find that I always tend to prefer his shorter work, especially books that are… kind of anthologies, to his full novels. That's not to say I don't like a lot of the books of his that I've read. At any rate here's my thoughts on the four books contained in this collection:

1922: This one really knocked me on my ass. It's a simple story of a man trying to protect his land by any means necessary from a wife who would rather sell it and move to the city. He makes a terrible choice and is haunted by it for the rest of his days. This story has one of the strongest narrator voices I've read in a long time, you can see it being read by someone like Jeff Bridges or the like. The story would make a really wonderful film, depressing as shit, but it could be quite lovely. Not sure it's my kind of thing, but it just might be. I know that King gives the rights to his stuff away for next to nothing. Might be worth looking into. It's a really wonderful read.

BIG DRIVER: Just like the first in this collection I had a really hard time putting this one down. It's the story of a detective novelist who becomes the victim of a sex crime and decides that instead of taking her injustice to the police, that she'll take matters into her own hands. At first I had a hard time buying that this woman wouldn't go to the authorities, if I were to adapt this for the screen I think that there would be ways to fix this in the set-up to the "event" that would make it make more sense before the reveal of what she plans to do. This is essentially a revenge story as told by Stephen King and it's pretty damn delicious. The more I read in this collection the more I want to read of King in general.

FAIR EXTENSION: This is the shortest of the stories, but it's by no means short on substance. It's an old story about the man who has been dealt a bad hand, and is offered the chance to change his luck - but he has to give someone else the bad luck in return. Typically this kind of thing turns around and bites the man back in the ass but the interesting thing about this iteration is that it seems more like an exercise in watching a man enjoy the torment he puts upon someone that he genuinely disliked and thought got a life that they didn't deserve. Almost similar to Breaking Bad in which we watch a man go from hero to villain. Like the other two I imagine that you could get an interesting film (probably a short) out of this one. A nice brisk read.

A GOOD MARRIAGE: This was a great story to finish off the collection. It's essentially about the idea of - how well can you know someone? A woman in a happy marriage of twenty-seven years discovers a very dark secret about her husband and she has to decide what to do about that news… Like all the rest of the stories in this collection it's the story of an ordinary person thrown into an extraordinary situation. All of these stories have made me step back and wonder, well what the hell would I do in that situation? I won't say which, but I think I'm half and half for which ones I'd be similar to and which ones I'd make the opposite choice.

I can't say that I have a favourite of these four excellent stories. 1922 stands out, but it could be because it was the first and it surprised me. It's fair to say that any of these could have had that effect had they been the first in the book. This collection is absolutely a page turner and it really makes me want to read more King once I get through the massive pile of books from the library that are threatening to swallow me whole. If you're a fan of King you've probably already read this, if you're not then maybe you should consider giving it a shot (so long as you don't mind harsh and somewhat brutal tales - it's not called Full Dark, No Stars for nothing). I say without exaggeration, this was a pretty excellent work, and each of its stories would make an excellent film...

1679 - Life's Too Short: season one

2012-01-09T13:32:00.000-05:00

I think that it goes without saying that Merchant and Gervais are two of the most inspiring people working in comedy today. Their first two series The Office and Extras are near perfect - especially their finales. I was ridiculously excited to see this new series, the title alone along with the concept was a lot of fun, and the idea that Merchant and Gervais would be playing themselves. It's their usual awkward humour, and it's probably never more awkward than it is here. And I know that I'm echoing this from other reviewers, but it really does feel that Warwick has been asked to turn himself into the next David Brent (which he does wonderfully). You're never rooting for him so much as you're excited to see just how terribly he's going to mess up whatever situation he's in. Or when something good happens, how bad it's going to become shortly thanks to karma. I can't imagine that in real life that Davis is anything even close to the asshole he plays on the show, but he's quite terrible here, and it ultimately makes me wonder if this show isn't just about amusing the creators themselves... all you need to do is watch some one of the behind the scenes videos to see how enjoyable it is for Gervais to watch Warwick doing uncomfortable things. And it's not unlike their reality series An Idiot Abroad, where he admits to the show being about him really like watching him put his friend in terrible situations. Given that another season on this series has already been announced it might be far too early to write it off, but given where and how it ends I'm just not sure where it can and will go, and sadly, I'm not sure I care. Unlike Extras and The Office there aren't any characters here who I actually like and want to root for, instead it's more like slowing down to watch a car wreck - which is fine the first time through, but hard to talk yourself into going back for a second glance. The Huffington Post put it quite well:

There were laughs of course, and by the standards of average TV sitcoms Life's Too Short was excellent. But Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant will never be measured against the standards of average TV sitcoms - nor would they wish to be. The Office and Extras, particularly the denouements, made comedy into something stirring and beautiful and new.
In the end the disappointing thing about Life's Too Short wasn't that the falling out of cars and not reaching door bells felt like exploitation - it's that they felt like the freshest ideas on offer.

So if you love Gervais and Merchant then you'll want to give this a go, but it's far from their best work.

1678 - Louis C.K.: Hilarious

2012-01-05T22:51:00.000-05:00

I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I love this man. This might be my favourite of his specials so far. I love his stuff on perspective, how people bitch about stuff that doesn't matter, how they're so hard done by. I think what I like about Louis is that the same stuff that annoys the hell out of him about people annoys the hell out of me as well. We live in a time where people bitch about stuff just so they have something to talk about. Everyone feels like they have to have a shitty day story. Everything's great, but no body is happy. He's got some amazing stuff on child raising in this volume that speaks to me in a way that makes me wonderfully uncomfortable. I can't think of a single thing that he's said in this or any of his specials that I can't get behind entirely. What Louis does that I don't see any other comic doing is that he calls people on their shit, I know that he's made me think twice about the way I act in some situations. Louis is holding a mirror up to our society and saying "look how ridiculous you all are - are you aware of how you come off, how you're perceived? It doesn't have to be this way…"
I can't recommend Louis CK or his comedy highly enough. For me he's without a doubt my favourite comic, and I think the strongest one working today. I'll watch anything he's part of without a second thought. You should too.

Better Living Through Plastic Explosives

2012-01-05T22:10:00.000-05:00

I have a bizarre relationship with short fiction. I love it in that it's, well, short. I love that I can take my time with the book as a whole because I only need to concentrate in small clumps. That sounds terrible, but with two small children and a busy personal and professional slate, that kind of thing appeals to me. And with that I've also got a rather large stack of books begging me to read them - many on loan from the library (I swear I'm just now learning how to manage my 'holds' so I don't get a dozen books at a time). So when a book doesn't grab me within the first chunk of pages, I move on to the next book and don't give it a second thought - life's just too damn short to force yourself to read something. When it comes to short fiction I'll at least try to read each story in the connection and only skip when I'm just not feeling it at all. Which brings me to this book of topic.
I think that Gartner can turn one hell of a phrase, she's a strong writer, great visuals and the usual technical praise. If I'm honest though, in the entire collection there were only two stories that really grabbed me FLOATING LIKE A GOAT, and SUMMER OF THE FLESH EATER - the later I enjoyed so much I read it several times and I can't help but think that there's a film in there. It's about a man who moves onto a street filled with men that are more concerned about what rub to put on their piece of meat than how to kill the animal that it came from, and he's more of the killing the animal kind. It's a fun and smart story that really plays on man's feelings with how the world has changed and so we've changed with it. Floating Like a Goat is written as a letter from a parent to a teacher condemning for giving their daughter a "does not meet expectations" mark on her report card when, really, the whole point of art is to not meet expectations. It's a really cute and clever piece.
For me the rest of the book was just fine, but these two pieces were particularly strong. If you like short fiction (Canadian at that!) then it might just be up your aisle. It was a finalist for the Giller Prize last year as well.

1677 - Homeland: season one

2012-01-04T22:30:00.000-05:00

Let me get the generic stuff out of the way so that I can talk about specifics. I'll let you know when I head into spoiler territory...
So I'm just slightly behind others on this season but my wife and I quickly caught up over the holidays. This is a series about a CIA operative who is told that a POW (Prisoner of War) has been turned and then months later one shows up, having been gone for nearing eight years. What follows is a hell of a lot of cat-and-mouse as you try to figure out whose in on the plot and if the CIA agent, played absolutely brilliantly by Claire Danes, is brilliant or crazy (minor spoiler - she's a bit of both :) ). While not a perfect show it's pretty goddamn great and well worth checking out if you haven't yet.

And now. SPOILERS BELOW!!!

I was pretty impressed with how quickly they burned through story here, and quite shocked that they had Danes and Lewis hook up - although the reasons make sense for the story it surprised me a bit for her character. Still not sure how I feel about that. I loved how this season played on your prejudices - as we watch Brody take part in a morning Islamic prayer we have to force ourselves to remember that just because he's converted to Islam doesn't mean that he's a terrorist. It's a very effective thing to make us feel bad about our thoughts.
I was also impressed by how harsh they went with Danes character in the end of the season. Having her removed from the CIA was a bold move and I was sure that Brody would be found out just to help clear her name - it but wasn't so - he'll be around next season... and I'm not sure how I feel about that. To be fair, I'm not sure this is a show that can go on for too many seasons without diminishing returns. Already this season ended with us feeling like the system can never be beat - the powerful will always be corrupt and rise above the others. The idea of potentially giving Danes amnesia is annoying and a bit of a cliche. I like that the "mole" is still out on the lose, as well as the recording that Brody did and hid in the wall (who took it??? very exciting!). But now we're back to square one, Danes suspects Lewis but no one is going to believe her, and whats worse everyone knows that she's a bit crazy now. How do you keep that fresh? And how do you keep the twists coming when you've more or less given everything away about your turncoat? With Brody alive and entering the political arena I can't see the show keeping up to itself. How would the CIA stay involved? How does Carrie? All great questions and I have to put faith in the creators who gave us a pretty damn solid first season of television. I'm intrigued to see where they'll head next in this story and how they'll keep it exciting. It's no small feat.

And last but not least, I love Mandy Patinkin in this series. I love him in general, but he's the warmth that a show like this absolutely requires.

Give this show a shot, for sure, but be prepared for frustration with how the season ends...

1676 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2012-01-03T23:05:00.000-05:00

This is absolutely one of my favourite films. I remember the first time I saw it and just having my socks blown off. It's one of those films that makes a writer just feel absolutely ashamed that they haven't written something as clever, honest, and rich as it. I normally revisit this film regularly anyway, but I did so tonight in preparation for a project I'm going to start up to be inspired with a metaphysical love story. For those that have never seen this film it's about a man who learns that his ex has had him erased from their memory and decides to have the same procedure, only to change his mind half way through.
In a lot of ways it's a really simple and basic concept - who doesn't have things they wish they'd forgotten? Probably the reason that this film is so well loved is because it speaks so well to so many people.
Having seen Michel Gondrey's more recent work it's clear that the man is not much of a writer, however as a director with a great script it's easy to see how well he can take his unique visual style and really evaluate a project. There is an enormous attention to detail in this film, in particular with how the memories of each scene transition to the next, how items, or weather, etc… carries over. I can't imagine how complicated all of that stuff was to do from a projection stand-point. Kudos to Gondrey and his team for making it look effortless.
This film is full of talented actors and yet it has most of them delivering the performances of their careers. Jim Carrey has never been better before nor since. Kate Winslet is so adorable here, and fantastic as well. Kirsten Dunst is heartbreaking and lovely. Elijah Wood plays the role of the pathetic wanna-be to a tee (he's truly wonderful here) and Tom Wilkinson and Mark Ruffalo round out the cast in a really great way as well (not to mention small roles from the always awesome David Cross and Jane Adams).
What I love most of this film and I hope that I carry over into my own project, is how well approached the core idea is, and how it translates to the stories of all of the characters - it's all wonderfully interrelated, and yet everyone involved has a different take and thought process on how it all works - if it's a good thing, etc… I love the side stories as much as the main story, and that can't always be said of films.
This is an absolute gem of a film and it never gets boring no matter how many times that I've watched it. If you like smart films and you've never seen this one you really really have to - it's on netflix as well. Enjoy!

1675 - The Fisher King

2012-01-01T23:45:00.000-05:00

This film was one of my gaps - and I've got a bunch of other Gilliams that I need to watch at some point. I don't know why but I'd always regarded this as one of those "must see films" and I have absolutely no idea why. Not to say that it isn't any good. It's the story of a Howard Stern-esqe radio guy whose life falls apart after a caller goes off and kills six people, 'causing at least one to go insane and later, ironically, save the said-radio hosts life.
Both Williams and Jeff Bridges are phenomenal here, engaging and dynamic, but I feel like they're doing a lot with a little. I never get a sense of real drama, stakes, or goals for these two guys until perhaps near the end of the film. In the end I suppose it doesn't quite live up to the years-long-hype I've been unfairly giving it. There are some quite lovely moments, and then some that are just pure zaniness under Gilliam's direction. All of which make it more than worth checking out at some point.

1674 - Limitless

2012-01-01T08:54:00.000-05:00

I've never read the source material for this, and while I like Bradley Cooper he isn't a draw for me to see a film - I really liked the idea of the premise and I wanted to see what was done with it.
It's more or less the story of a charming slacker who is given a miracle drug that unlocks his potential and how he manages to keep going with it. Neil Burger keeps the film going at a really strong clip and he's very clever in how he visually represents what the world is like on and off this drug. And now I'm going to get into SPOILER material...

I'm not trying to say that films have to follow tried and true structures, but in stories like this usually the hero has to get what he wants at the end without the aid of his super powers, and for the most part that's not true here - it's a crutch from the beginning of the film and it never stops being one. The film's end suggests that he's found a way to get off the drug and keep the effects, but because it's an epilogue that's jumped forward a year we have no way of knowing if this is true or of it's just Eddie's way of fucking with DeNiro's character as he tries to box him in. There's something fun about not knowing, but it kind of makes you feel a bit cheated. The other big problem with the film is that you're just never really given any reason to root for Eddie - he's a lovable loser, so there's that - and he mentions at one point knowing what he "has to do", but that he needs the money to make that happen - however he's never specific even though we're pretty sure it's about becoming president. What happens in the final minutes would have been a far more interesting and personal storyline for the film to follow than a corporate merger. Alas.
So it's an okay film that has some pretty strong moments. If you like the premise then chances are you'll probably dig it to some degree - it's far from perfect but it's worth checking out.

The (new) Movies I Saw This Year (in order of appreciation)

2011-12-31T15:35:00.001-05:00

So this isn't a true top of the year list by any means, but what you see below is a list of every film that I saw for the first time this year (including ones that came out in other years - many go decades into the past) and the order in which I enjoyed them. Full disclosure - I didn't go into a painstaking thought process with this list, and if I were to make this list tomorrow there's a good chance that the order might shift in places here and there. (I do think the top ten is pretty solid though... shame Moneyball and The Muppets didn't sneak into there though ;-) ). Also keep in mind that I'm terribly behind on a lot of new films, so you'll probably see those in my next year's list :)

Top Ten
50/50
Blue Valentine
Crazy Stupid Love
Midnight in Paris
Bridesmaids
Love and Other Drugs
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part II
Drive
The Whistleblower

Everything Else
Easy A
Thor
127 Hours
Crazy Heart
The Muppets
The Road
Moneyball
Where the Wild Things Are
Win Win
About Last Night…
The Freebie
Departures
Breaking Upwards
Nights & Weekends
Only
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Cyrus
Tangled
Cowboys & Aliens
The Proposal
My Flesh & Blood
Good Hair
Beauty Day
The Hangover: Part II
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About his Father
The Blind Side
No Strings Attached
Our Idiot Brother
Moon
Red State
Blast From the Past
Take Me Home Tonight
Going the Distance
Paul
Macho
Defendor
Tiny Furniture
The Virginity Hit
Nice Guy Johnny
Catfish
Scream 4
How to Lose Your Lover
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
At Home… By Myself… With You
Horrible Bosses
Paranormal Activity 2
Nurse.Fighter.Boy
Baghead
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Feast
Sidewalks of New York
The Business of Being Born
The Myth of the American Sleepover
Conan O'Brien Can't Stop
Dinner for Schmucks
Pirate Radio
Return to Me
Morning Glory
Cube
AutoErotic
My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
Repo Men
Nine
Party Girl
Good Dick
The Baby Formula
Premonition
Valentine's Day
Gamer
Flakes
Bride Wars
Taking Woodstock
Death Wish
Starter for Ten
Four Christmases
Year One
Naked in New York
Cop Out
Couples Retreat
Then She Found Me
Prom Night (original)
Public Enemies
Confessions of a Superhero
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
Leap Year
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell
The Ex
Grown Ups
I Love You Phillip Morris
Guess Who
The Box
iMurders
Tiptoes
Outing Riley
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

1673 - Bridesmaids

2011-12-31T14:57:00.000-05:00

I caught this when it was in the cinema, but I was happy to find the bluray in a discount bin (WTF?!) at the grocery story. The bottom really is falling out of the home video market when a film like this ends up going on sale for $10 just a few months after it's release. Bizarre.
I don't think I need to regurgitate the storyline of this film since it was a pretty massive hit when it came out, and rightfully so. It's a damn funny film. It's got a great cast, but the story and the writing is pretty stellar as well, and I think that a lot of that comes from the mentorship of Judd Apatow. I think I mentioned this in my first little review of this film, but I think that anyone looking to study comedy writing really needs to study this film, in particular the first part of the second half of the film. Once things start going poorly for Annie they go really poorly. The film carefully sets up her life and then absolutely crushes it in one massive sweep - that is how to deal with a character in a comedy - you punish the shit out of them, and all the while you keep the audience smiling. I think that has a lot to do with why this film is such a success - sure it's funny and a tad raunchy, but as with most Apatow projects, the story is pretty damn solid. He understands that your first job as a writer is to punish your characters as much as you can - put them through a shit-storm.
I look forward to watching the special features on the disc - the line-o-rama features on Apatow's discs are a really great insight into how they work the comedy and come up with some fantastic alternate material. (helps to cast really funny, smart people :) ).
So if you still haven't see this, and you aren't a stick in the mud, do yourself a favor and get on it!

1672 - A Christmas Carol

2011-12-27T23:08:00.000-05:00

So this is probably the last "holiday" film I'll watch - unless I can think of a solid New Years one - but either way I figured I'd go out with one of my favorite stories, and this is also the third iteration I've covered this season - the first being the Muppets, then Scrooged, and so it's interesting that it ends with something that is, more or less, aiming to be faithful to the source material (of which I've never read... I should do something about that...).
What makes this version unique is the motion capture CGI and Jim Carrey playing Scrooge as well as all of the Ghosts. For the most part the motion capture and CGI are welcome additions, making the story visual in a way that's just not possible otherwise. There's an opening sequence that really gives us a sense of the city - I loved the opening scene with him taking the coins from Marley's eyes - great set-up to the character. This is clearly designed to be a showcase for Carrey as an actor, however the real scene stealer here is Gary Oldman as Bob Cratchet. Oldman brings you to tears in the scenes following the potential death of Tiny Tim. He's phenomenal.
The medium lends itself to give this story a really cinematic flow, allowing the characters to morph into one another to dramatically illustrate points, and that works very very well. However it also feels sometimes like Zemeckis just might be showing off a tad with a few little action set pieces that do little to add to the emotional and dramatic impact of the film, they're really just there to add to the visuals, which is a shame since Zemeckis is clearly talented to do both at the same time - shame he doesn't.
I really quite liked this - far more than I thought I would, so it's easy enough to recommend - however this is not a film for small children - the treatment is almost horror film quality in moments and I'm sure it could easily give kids nightmares, so there's that. It's a gorgeous looking film and a solid argument for the advancement of technology in certain stories. I'll do my best to read the source material as well over the course of the next year!

1671 - Tangled

2011-12-27T13:08:00.000-05:00

This came highly recommended and despite the fact that I've always liked big epic kid films, since Ephraim doesn't watch a lot of television yet (just starting to introduce him to television and whatnot) I haven't watched many outside of PIXAR lately. Of course I was at my sister's and the twins picked this up halfway through, so I caught the back half, then when I got back to the farm I noticed that it was on netflix, so I was able to pick up and see the whole thing.
The quality of this is, I believe, in no small part to the fact that John Lasseter is now the CEO of Disney and oversees their production slate. The film is gorgeous, and despite the use of CGI animation it really feels like it pays homage to the old Disney fairytale films that made that place such a powerhouse.
I think that they did a really lovely job of taking the foundation of the Rapunzel story and turning it into an epic tale. I liked what they did with the magic and the hair and it's connection to the witch, I thought that was really smart. And I liked how connected everything was to the main storyline of her being a lost princess. The characters were really excellent, particular the non-speaking roles of the horse Maximus and the little chameleon dude. Eugene and Rapunzel are a really fantastic pair and you really root for them. The fact that she beats the hell out of him when he climbs up his tower really sets the tone for the flick (wonderful reoccurring gag with the frying pan as well). Mandy Moore is delightful as our heroine and you develop a bit of a crush on her as the girl, and then you're downright smitten with her by the time she has her transformation at the end.
I thought that this was a really great flick and it's the kind that I look forward to showing my kids once they're old enough for it. I'm looking forward to whatever else Disney kicks out under Lasseter's direction as well.

1670 - Frosty the Snowman

2011-12-27T08:52:00.000-05:00

Got up this morning and Ephraim wanted to watch something, so I took the chance to introduce him to this. I remember it from my own childhood, but... well... I guess some things age really well and some age just okay. There are some cute little moments for the adults, but for some reason I just remember this seeming like a much more grand adventure. Little things that drove me nuts were the inconsistency of what Frosty knew about and didn't. He had no clue about traffic lights, etc... but he seems to be well aware that there's such a thing as a President of the United States. I realize this is just a 'silly little kids film' but come on, have some consistency of character.
Ephraim seemed to like it, so by children's standards I think it still holds up just fine. Not sure I ever need to revisit it again myself though. If you've never seen it... I don't know... your call :)
The DVD we have features a sequel with the voice talents of John Goodman and Elisabeth Moss (way before Mad Men) so I might watch that just based on them being in it.

1669 - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

2011-12-26T20:53:00.003-05:00

It's been a long long time since I've seen this and I watched it with my nephews last night. Ephraim got it, along with some other great classics for Christmas, so I'm sure I'll revisit this and those at some point as well. I'd seen this so many times as a kid that the story, songs, and characters are really etched into my brain. I love the dentist elf, love the island of misfits, and just the claymation style in particular. This is one of those classics that if you haven't seen, and especially if you've got kids, you really need to check it out. It's not on netflix, sadly, but I think you can find a copy on DVD fairly easily, and they play the hell out of it on television around the holiday season. Might still be able to find it this week actually...
And believe it or not there is a Wii game of this film. Here's a review for it here. Apparently it's terrible :)

1668 - Dreamworks Holiday Classics

2011-12-26T20:48:00.000-05:00

Ephraim was up at 4:30am on Christmas morning, and while I don't agree in using television as a babysitter I'm more than happy, from time to time, to curl up with him and watch something that will keep him occupied in the wee hours of the morning and me not having to think too much :) Given the morning that it was, this seemed like a pretty good option. Four in the series, my thoughts below:

Merry Madagascar
I've only seen the first film in this series, but what I thought was particularly impressive was how they were able to weave this story into the continuity of the series - play to their big goal while ending in a place that puts them exactly where they started. This is actually a really solid companion piece in addition to being a nice little Christmas short.

Donkey's Christmas Shrek Spectacular
This was kind of lame, and easily the worst of these four by a wide margin. I don't think they even bothered to try to string together a storyline, mostly just a few clever sight gags. Should Ephraim be interested I could revisit the others in this series, but much like Coppola's installment in New York Stories, this is the one I'll skip on repeat viewings.

Dragons: Gift Night Fury
I've only seen bits and pieces from How to Train Your Dragon but enough to know that they did some pretty wonderful things with the world here. Much like the first Madagascar one they did a really great job of telling an awesome story that really fit the themes of this world, and still being able to return it to where the story was when we first came in. Makes me want to try and watch the entire film.

Madagascar Penguins
I know that the penguins were some of the break out characters of this series, and I enjoy them but never loved them the way that some do. This one falls under the good, not great category.

Over-all it's the first Madagascar and Dragons that are really quite good and worth seeing if you're a fan of the films that inspired them. The others, sure if you've got the time and interest.

1667 - Scrooged

2011-12-24T22:15:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorites and has been since I was a kid. It's funny, I grew up watching this on television, which was edited down for time and so now that I've got the DVD of it, it still feels odd to see the extra scenes - like they aren't supposed to be there.
This film has a wonderful darkness to it and it really is one of the great dark comedies. I love how accurate they stay to the Christmas Carol story and yet how free form they are in their interpretation. Bill Murray is fantastic here - a joy from start to finish. Carole Kane is probably my favourite amongst the ghosts.
It's probably too late given that tomorrow is Christmas, however if you've never seen this film you really owe it to yourself to check it out - as much as it's a Christmas classic, it's just pure classic as well.
Happy holidays!

1666 - Tiny Furniture

2011-12-23T22:38:00.001-05:00

I remembered there being some buzz about this film when it was first being released so I was pretty excited to see it end up on netflix. This is my first intro into Lena Dunham, but she seems to be doing pretty well for herself - on top of this successful indie she's got a series in the works at HBO with Judd Apatow. No small feat.
It's hard to describe this film without resorting to the cliches - it's a coming of age story about a girl who thinks her life is far more tragic than it is. Now that sounds like it's terrible but it's truly not. Dunham is always aware whenever her character is acting a little out of sorts and the scenes play accordingly. She has absolutely no issue making herself the butt of the joke - all to our pleasure. This could have been a terribly pretentious film but thanks to the vision of the film it actually works quite well. There are loads of stuff that's never truly resolved and it's got a, more or less, anticlimactic and somewhat unsatisfactory ending, but there's some really lovely stuff in and amongst all of that. Dunham is also exciting as an actress and you really do find yourself falling for this woman as the film goes along.
If you're not into somewhat arty films you won't like this at all, and if you're into really arty films this might not be your bag either. If you live somewhere in between those two than you might just want to give it a try. I'm glad I did.

1665 - Community: season one

2011-12-23T19:16:00.000-05:00

I'm late to this show, clearly, but it's without a doubt one of my favourite television comedies. The writing on this show is pretty goddamn amazing, and it features what is probably the strongest comedy ensemble cast currently on air. Each character on this show is absolutely dynamite and no matter what the combination you put them with, pure gold comes out of it. I could write a paragraph on each of them but I think that the surprise stand-outs are Abed (Danny Pudi) and Troy (Donald Glover). And I'd by lying if I didn't admit to having a massive crush on both Gillian Jacobs and Alison Brie. And it's not just because they are both extremely beautiful ladies, but more so because their comic timing is absolutely impeccable. Both stand-out stars in every regard.
One of the running things I love about this show is it's use of vintage pop-culture, but also it's style of comedy - it's extremely self-aware, more so than any show I've ever seen. As the show went on they got more free-form with the style and starting importing other genres in to play around with - it looks like they get even crazier with that as the show continues on.
I'm really looking forward to catching up with the rest of this series. That is the one benefit to coming to a show late is that you can really indulge in a pile of greatness as opposed to having to wait week after week.
If you love good solid comedy there might not be a better series than this for it.

1664 - The Muppet Christmas Carol

2011-12-22T22:39:00.000-05:00

It's funny, having revisited a lot of the Muppet collection recently this may very well be one of my favorite among them. I think the original is still tops, but this might be my second favorite (will confirm that when I revisit the newest film...).
I was a teenager when my mother passed away at Christmas time and so it was always a bit of a gloomy time of year for me, but if nothing else this was one of those films that could always put a smile on my face and get me into the holiday spirit. I really do need to find a DVD version of the film as my VHS is starting to get a tad worn...
If you've never seen this it's a real treat - it stays extremely true to the Dicken's story and is easily the Muppet's best (and probably only good) adaptation of a classic work. Full of catchy and delightful music, and a really solid performance from Michael Caine, this is a holiday classic that you just can't miss. I love it to pieces!

Fables #16: Super Team

2011-12-22T11:56:00.000-05:00

I'll be honest, I hate the title for this volume - I get why they use it, but it just feels odd for the Fables universe to go here in the superhero parallel - mostly because it opens up a bit of a hornet's nest to me... because how Fables works is that the characters are from works of fiction that runs the gamut and the globe - anything and everything is up for grabs so long as it's a created character, really... so technically Superheroes are Fables as well in a way... am I right? I don't think that Fables are subject only to fairy tale characters... although I guess it's pointless to hang onto this... I digress...
So this volume finds our friends getting ready to take down Mr. Dark for once and all, and Pinocchio takes a page out of superhero comics to assemble the perfect team to do so. There's some fun to be had in it, but it doesn't really amount to anything and it's really just a way of filling time until the (anti-climatic) show-down. Being that this is the sixteenth book of a series I think I'll have to throw down the SPOILER WARNING and talk more in depth about the volume below...

First off, I quite liked this volume. I liked the story between Bigby and his father and the set-up to what's to come down the pipe, however I feel a bit cheated... if the North Wind could have come in and defeated Mr. Dark so easily at any time, why did it take this long? It feels like for all the set-up and devastation that it was a really easy fix. Although who knows... maybe that story isn't quite over... after all the (now smoking hot) Mrs. Spratt is still kicking around and maybe she's got something up her sleeve. I'm still enjoying these books but I can't help but feel like we're getting to a point where they're not going to have anywhere interesting to go... I hope that Willingham has some new core-conflict up his sleeve to propel us into the next big arc(s), but it's feeling like it's going to start retreading. Gepetto is going to try and start another uprising, etc... Right now the series is quite good, but I want it to be great again... Here's hoping...

Criminal: The Last of the Innocent

2011-12-21T09:56:00.000-05:00

There is something about Brubaker's writing in this series that is just so silky smooth. It feels effortless, perfect even. Not being up on all the top crime writers I can't imagine that Brubaker isn't high among them. He plays the noir genre like his instrument of choice and even though we know the rules of the game, he still delights us with his turns. This volume is about a man who decides to murder his rich, cheating wife and pin it on another man. Now we know that in the world of noir crime never pays, but Brubaker likes to take liberties with the rules, and he doesn't always make people pay in the way you'd expect…
And what they do in this particular story is telling a really fucked up version of Archie, really. If you're familiar with that gang you'll see how each of those characters translates to the characters here and it's really quite well done - even down to the imitation art work used to show the flashbacks.
I absolutely love this series and I hope that Brubaker has many many more of these in store. I know that someone is currently adapting the first trade of Criminal into a film, but I'd love to see the whole world done up properly.
If you're a fan of noir, crime fiction, or just solid writing in general, do yourself a favour and read this series.

The Walking Dead - Vol 15: We Find Ourselves

2011-12-20T22:29:00.000-05:00

I can't lie - I much preferred it when I was behind on his series and I could read it in spurts. It's painful having to wait for each new trade to come out. And if Kirkman is telling the truth about wanting this series to go all the way to issue #300, then we've got literally decades to go with this story. That's twenty-five years at the rate this comic gets published. Boggles the mind.
So this particular volume comes on the heels of a great catastrophe wherein the "secured village" was overrun by Walkers and despite an awesome battle, almost no one was lost on the human side, and in true Walking Dead fashion the ones that did died did so in ways that were wonderfully horrifying.
There's a lot of criticism that this issue didn't have a lot going on. And to be fair, it didn't. I think that the whole thing takes place over the course of a single day, but it's also very much a hallway to whatever's going to come next. The writes of the television series would do good to study this issue to see just how well they deal with the psychology of everyone and how they function within the group.
I liked this issue a lot - while a shortage of truly exciting set pieces I was happy enough to spend time with these people as they try and figure out just what kind of life they can and should rebuild. How they should and shouldn't feel about certain things…
I have no idea where they'll go next, but I'm super excited that Kirkman already has several years worth of material to pour through. The next volume can't come fast enough for my liking.

1663 - Dexter: season six

2011-12-19T21:52:00.000-05:00

So we're six seasons in, which means that this review is going to be extremely SPOILER HEAVY. If you want to know my thoughts on previous seasons, click the link at the bottom of this.
Let's get the worst of it out of the way… this was a terrible season of Dexter. I'll defend the last (Lumen) season quite a bit, but I have a hard time doing so here. That's not to say that the entire thing was worthless. Mos Def was a great addition to the cast - shame he wasn't used more - and there was a lot of fun in having Dexter's deadly brother take over for Harry as his voice-over partner in the middle of the season. I don't know about others, but I hate the Harry character (he was absent in the season finale - thankfully), he seems to be there just so that the writers can fill in bad exposition. Often they misuse the voice-over to do the same thing. I don't like to think that the writers think we're idiots but… well… you listen and tell me what you think.
The big-bads this season was pretty lame. I like the idea of tackling a religious fanatic, but it was pretty clear, pretty early on that Gellar was not alive and just a figment of Travis' imagination. But it treaded along and then tried to shock us with the reveal, which was just kind of sad by that point. I think that they tried too hard to make Dexter feel a personal connection to the killer, whereas other seasons it was quite organic. This felt like a stretch, and a majority of this season felt like filler. There were some great moments - the four horsemen, etc… but all-in-all it felt like they were treading water.
Have I written the show off? No. Because they've made a great move at the end. First, I'm curious as to where they're going to go with creepy Louis. But, as everyone is, I really can't wait to see how they deal with Deb having witnessed Dexter killing Travis. On one hand she's going to be relieved that the DDK case will be closed, but on the other hand, she's just found out something about her brother that's going to change their relationship far more than them hooking up romantically. Rita's death was a huge shock, and a great one, but this is actually a far better game-changing-ending for the season. Lots of different ways that it can go, so it'll be interesting to see what they do with it. This could be a chance for the show to return to greatness, putting Dexter under intense pressure, or they could just as easily screw it up the way that they have the rest of the season. We'll have to wait till next fall to find out. With at least two more seasons left the show has an opportunity to go out on a great note, or just slowly die. Hopefully it's the former.
If the writer's are reading this I have but one request for next season - kill Quinn - and make that annoying asshole suffer. LaGuerta can go too if you'd like. Oh, and find a purpose for that new detective 'cause he just kind of stood around this season. Boring. Touch Jennifer Carpenter and we'll have issues - I'll probably stop watching. She annoyed me when the series began, but over the last few seasons she's shown how talented she is, especially in this season finale when she's battling her feelings. I'm fine with an incest subplot so long as they keep Carpenter around.
So all in all, a very very bad season, but I think that there could be light at the end of the tunnel. Or it's an on-coming train. We'll see...

Walks With Men

2011-12-19T21:48:00.002-05:00

It's pretty random how I decide to read a book. Sometimes it's recommended or loaned, but by and large it's because I saw it on a list somewhere and decided to throw it on my library list. Most often I'm wonderfully surprised (books usually end up on lists for a reason, right?) But I can't recall how this book got on my list, nor anyone else's… To be fair it's by no means terrible. The writing itself flows quite nicely, and luckily it's more a novella than anything else, clocking in just around a hundred pages or so, but it's a story that I would classify under "first world problems". It's about a lazy writer who is uninspired and two relationships she has with men who couldn't be more different. If that doesn't get you super excited I'm not surprised. It flows along, has some interesting thoughts, but that's about it. And even at it's short length I find it hard to recommend. The author has a slew of books, so I assume that she has a following of some kind, but I found this pretty uneventful and unnecessary. I can't say that I myself write anything that's life-changing or vastly important, but I was hard pressed to even find a story within these pages. Felt more like a random selection of scenes cut out of the life of someone who wasn't all that interesting to begin with.

1662 - Steve Jobs: Billion Dollar Hippy

2011-12-18T21:48:00.000-05:00

Having been an Apple nerd for as long as I even knew that it was an option to be so, I know the history of the company, the great quotes, etc... so I wanted to watch this to see if there was anything new, some amazing new insight...
Not so much. The tv-doc often yadda-yadda's through what appear to be some of the more interesting aspects of the stories, and ultimately it only feels like the coles notes. Never really focusing on anything, outside of the theory that it's that he kept to his hippy roots that made him the success that he was - and perhaps that's true - but it's no big amazing moment to reveal such a thing.
If you're a casual Jobs admirer than this might interest you and give you more to learn about - but if you're an Apple nerd chances are that you already know more of the stuff that they discuss in here. Not a terribly television documentary, but nothing amazing - mostly feels like they're cashing in.

1661 - The Family Man

2011-12-17T00:07:00.000-05:00

It's been a good many years since I've seen this film, but decided to watch it while doing some Christmas wrapping since it has a vague connection to the holiday season. For those who haven't seen it it's about a workaholic who magically gets to experience what his life would have been had the one-that-got-away, not gotten away, and he not been a workaholic. It never hurts when your wife is played by Tea Leoni either.
There's an awful lot to like about this film from the performances to the themes. In terms of logic and plotting, just let that slide - it's a maturation plot type film so that's the key here. The chemistry between Cage and Leoni is really quite excellent and there are some sequences with the daughter character that, while potentially cheesy, are pretty damn warm and lovely.
If you've never seen it, it's worth your time to check it out - it's up on netflix as well, so no excuses people!

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

2011-12-16T21:33:00.000-05:00

I couldn't help but use the above photo to represent this book because it's exactly how I felt about it. Oh how I loved the beginning of this book. It starts out as the story of a twenty-something who ends up having to raise his young brother after both their parents die within weeks of one another. A great premise - one that I'll borrow thank you very much - and the first hundred or so pages are really quite wonderful. But then as the book moves along it starts to become a lot more about Eggers and his desire to start his own magazine and how that will work, he tries to get on The Real World San Francisco, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I don't care about because what I really truly cared about in this book was the story of the family, and so whenever that was absent, so was I. There's a lot of really fun self-referential stuff going on in the style of the book, but my problem is that as he's mocking himself for being a tad pretentious, he comes off as absolutely pretentious in such a bizarre way. I absolutely loved the first half of this book and absolutely had to force myself to continue through-out it's second half. Don't get me wrong, Eggers is a talented writer, he's able to keep you going and the man knows how to turn a phrase, but this book lacks focus and it's poorer for it, which is a shame since it's first half shows such promise. It's a hard one for me to recommend to be honest, but I wouldn't tell you not to read it should you be interested. How's that for being slightly passive-aggressive?

1660 - The Myth of the American Sleepover

2011-12-13T22:10:00.000-05:00

I remember having seen the trailer for this some time ago and being intrigued. It's an ensemble piece following a group of teenagers on their last day of summer before school resumes. It's a very subdued style and it takes it sweet time. Like teenagers themselves it's a tad bit moody and mysterious. Lots of restraint here.
Without going into details and spoiling anything I'll say that the film is full of a lot of really great performances by an unknown cast, however I was far more connected to some stories than others. Not to say that it's hit or miss by any means, it's just not the kind of film where you're gung-ho for anyone in particular.
If you like coming-of-age stories this one is pretty decent. It's the kind of film Altman might have made if he'd be interested in teenagers. It's on netflix should you be so inclined.

1659 - Red State

2011-12-13T20:13:00.002-05:00

I have to say that if I hadn't seen the credits for this film I would never guess that it was made by Kevin Smith. Once you deconstruct it it starts to make sense to some degree - the religious commentary, the long-heavy handed speeches, but visually and performance wise this is nothing like a typical Kevin Smith film. For those who don't know, it's the story of a Fred Phelps type cult and the random events that lead to them being taken down.
There is an immediacy to this film that we haven't seen from his other work. And it's refreshingly non-predictable. It could go anywhere at any moment and it feels extremely true to life. We're not following a character so much as we're following the details of a situation.
The cast here is pretty damn impressive, and most of them are gone as quickly as they come. We've got a lot of televisions best performers here in quick roles, but no one steals the show quite like Michael Parks (John Goodman isn't too damn shabby himself). Parks is the character and as much as you despite him, you're enthralled. The real beauty of this film is how you emotionally shift perspectives while watching it - no small feat.
While completely different from most of Smith's work, it's something that really shows us how goddamn great he could be - especially coming off of such a stinker as Cop Out. He's reportedly retiring in the very near future, which is sad considering how strong of a filmmaker he's becoming.
I wasn't expecting to like this film at all, but it's quite good. It really grabs you and pulls you along for a ride. Well done, Smitty.

1658 - Louie C.K.: Chewed Up

2011-12-13T08:50:00.000-05:00

It was an early morning in my house. Our newborn was not wanting to sleep so I took the little bundle of joy into the man-cave and as she dozed away in my arms I noticed that netflix had one of Louie's older specials, so I dove right the hell in!
I've seen a lot of this special over the years from clips here and there, a lot of them are on YouTube. A lot of what I could say here I already said in the review I did yesterday for Louie's newest special. Louie is my favorite stand-up because I think he speaks to me, and he represents me in a way that no other does. In the way he talks about the horrible things that he thinks, the way he acts or doesn't act. How he realizes how awesome it is to be a white male, to the way he worries about his children. If there's a funnier, more thoughtful comedian working today please let me know, 'cause for my money, Louie is the tops. I'll watch absolutely anything he does.

1657 - Louis C.K.: Live At The Beacon Theater

2011-12-12T19:38:00.000-05:00

Readers of this blog will know that I've got a lot of love for Louie CK. He is without a doubt my favorite stand-up, and he currently has what is probably my favorite television series. As a creative force Louis CK is more or less untouchable right now and I for one sure as hell hope it stays that way. He's a man who is unafraid to work his ass off - to throw away an entire years worth of material and start again each year from scratch. He's a true professional.
Before I get into the meat of this particular show, know that Louis himself put up all the money for the show, he paid the crew, the theatre, and to distribute it he's doing it himself through his website. And how much does it cost? $5. That's right, by going around the middle men he's giving it to us for a low, low price (probably the profit he'd make from it anyway... actually that's probably more than he'd make from it). A lot of his professional friends have given him shit and said that doing it this way will make it easy for people to torrent, but Louie is trying to see if people are given something they want, at a fair price, from the artist them-self, if they'll be decent and buy it. I sure as hell did. So if you want to as well, here is the link right here. Please don't steal it, it's so damn cheap.
Now, for the special itself. It's fantastic. The style of it is exactly in keeping with Louie's show, and uses that as his credit bed. The material he covers is stuff that makes me feel like he's walking around inside of my head. If I were a stand-up, I would cover similar material to Louie, I probably just wouldn't do it as well. He talks about a kid that's in his daughter's class that he absolutely hates, how his grandmother donated her body to science, and how men have no choice but to be dirty pigs. It's a burden! And what's amazing about Louie's style is that he does all this as if the stuff is just coming to him. He seems like he's pulling it out of thin air, while you know that it's a heavily crafted act - this man knows how to play an audience and a joke, he's playing a violin making it look like it's a recorder. There is so much skill and thought put into it that, like a magician, you never see how the trick works.
When talking about him with a co-worker today they said that Louie CK is on his way to becoming one of the greats. I disagreed. I think that he already is one.

The Book of Lost Things

2011-12-09T21:09:00.000-05:00

I bought this book years ago, the cover drew me in and I think I skimmed the first chapter, and so I picked it up on a complete whim, and now that I'm on my mission to read all the books I've accumulated over the years, I've finally got to it!
So I should start by saying that it's pretty damn rare that a book gets me emotional at all, it's even rarer that it makes me cry, and not only did this book do that - but it did it on page six, on the subway. Congrats John Connolly, that was no easy feat.
It doesn't hurt that the opening pages are discussing a teenage boy going through the process of watching his mother die to disease, which is a story I know all too well myself, but still the way that it's written is just pure beauty. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the author has a similar background in how he just nailed the honest emotions and thoughts of it. It's truly amazing.
On the surface this is the story of an angry teenager who ends up in a fantasy world and needs to find his way home, but underneath it's a book about a child becoming a man, and dealing with life and death and the feelings that come with it. It is a powerful damn book, but it's also wonderfully entertaining. The fantasy world is a hodge-podge of all the fairy tale characters that we know and love, but re-imagined in a way that so fits with the tone and style of this book. It's not really a children's story at all, it's barely a teenager's story, although they would enjoy it. It's a rare treasure and a treat and I highly recommend it. The paperback version also comes with over a hundred pages of appendices explaining the research he did, and the back story to the fairy tales he used - pretty interesting stuff.
If you love fantasy, you'll love this, and if you hate fantasy but love great coming of age stories, I don't think the fantasy stuff will bother you one bit. It's a great read.

1656 - It's Always Sunny in Philidephia: season six

2011-12-08T12:40:00.000-05:00

So I got distracted by life and totally missed an entire season of this show (and apparently missed comment on seasons four and five as well - my bad). So now I'm playing catch-up so that I can get to the seventh season to see what's going on with Fat Mac.
This is a show that's been described as Seinfeld-on-crack, and I don't think that's a terrible description of it by any means. At one point I considered writing a spec for this series and all my ideas stemmed from title ideas, which are a highlight on this series. This season included "Mac Fights Gay Marriage", "Who Got Dee Pregnant?", and "The Gang Gets Stranded in the Woods" to name but a few. I liked how this season had a few carry over stories, like Dennis getting married - Dee and Charlie working at the school - Dee's pregnancy. The extra continuity adds to the fun, I think, even though this series works quite well in it's standalone nature.
I've already written about the Christmas special which ended this season (pure wonderfulness), so click on the tags below for that.
There's a lot to like about this show and it truly is a unique and original show that takes from successful shows of the past and really makes it their own. The FX comedy model is a great one and I think we'd do well to do a similar one here in Canada. If you haven't caught onto this show yet and you like your comedy on the dark side of things, this is a no-brainer. Check it out.

1655 - Talking Funny

2011-12-07T22:23:00.000-05:00

Ricky Gervais has a pretty great career at this point. He's in a place where he can, more or less, do whatever he wants and more importantly do things that amuse him. He even says that in this special, that he's not an every man, but there are enough people out there that respond to what he does, that he's able to be successful at it. And here he's assembled some of the top comedy minds to talk with him for an HBO special. Clever man, doing something he wants to do anyway and get paid for it. So as you can see above he's with Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and my personal favorite of the group, Louis CK.
For something that is really just four people sitting around talking this is a very very fast moving hour long special. What I especially love about these four is how individually gifted they are, but how much they respect each other's opinions. I love the different sides of the different topics. I love listening to them and how they work their material and how much care and craft they put into it.
For any lover of comedy, and especially students of it, this is absolutely required viewing.

1654 - How to Lose Your Lover

2011-12-05T22:58:00.000-05:00

One of my new favorite ways to pick which film to watch is to chose randomly via Netflix in the made-up-categories. As a fan of both Jennifer Westfeldt & Paul Schneider it wasn't hard to get me to want this. A guy gets tired of living in L.A. and so decides to destroy his life there, but on the way out of town he meets the seemingly perfect woman and decides to stick around to test her out and deciding to be his true self and see if she'd still want to stick around.
This really is quite the charming and sweet film, nothing spectacular but easy to recommend. I even liked Tori Spelling in it! If you want a fun alternate indie rom-com, you could do a lot worse than this one. And if you can't find it under this title the alternate is 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.

1653 - The Muppets Take Manhattan

2011-12-03T14:32:00.000-05:00

Found the above photo and couldn't help but use it. Ephraim and I got through these a lot faster than I thought we were, even though we watched them in sections. I remember not being particularly fond of this one as a kid. It's my wife's favorite, and I think it was the first film she saw in the theatre. I guess for me it just didn't feel big enough - most of it takes place in a diner and the gang is more or less broken up for the majority of the film. Not to mention they all disband and leave Kermit to carry the heavy load, essentially saying, "We're all going to move on with our lives, but give us a shout if you so happen to find a way to make us all rich and famous". Kind of makes them all assholes, really... and there are just too many easy plot moves at the end. Kermit's amnesia is great but them finding him is way too easy. I know this is a kid's film, but I still think the storytelling was just a tad weak in this one. Also... I kind of think Miss Piggy is annoying... there, I said it. And so any time she's mad at him for being with another woman, I kind of like it... :)
I'm railing on this one a bit, but I still enjoyed it enough, it's just not a great film. I still think that the first one is the strongest of the original three, and I've got a better appreciation of the newest one as well, which I'm going to try and revisit sooner rather than later...

1652 - The Big C: season two

2011-12-02T23:04:00.000-05:00

The first season ended on quite the gut-punch that could have easily been a finale - it was ridiculously strong and made me weep like a child with a skinned knee. This season ended on a different kind of kick to the gut - but I'll get to that. And, clearly, here's your SPOILER warning up front.

I think this show has improved quite a bit. The first season was good, but this one really stepped it up a notch. I like that their relationships are moving in new directions and that they don't just keep beating the same horse. The stuff with the brother and the baby was solid and heartbreaking. Wonder if we'll see the lovely Cynthia Nixon again. I like her a lot. I loved that we saw Cathy dealing with her cancer and getting involved in other patients. I loved her relationship with her son and husband. I was meh on the son's sexual issues and felt like the Parker Posey storyline died way too fast. But the worst storyline, or worst two, come off of the same new character - Mick. The storyline with Andrea was clearly obvious from the get-go and she was a smarter person than that for it to have never come up. And the cocaine thing just didn't feel like it fit at all... In fact, if they really have decided to kill Oliver Platt off then they've made a seriously bizarre choice. He's a great actor and addition to the cast. Although it would create an interesting dynamic - everyone has been working to mentally prepare for Cathy's death, but it's a death that they weren't expecting that they have to deal with - that I think is quite interesting. They've renewed the series for another go-around so I suppose we'll get to see how they play it out. I'll be there.

All in all a solid season for a show that continues to improve. Give it a whirl - both seasons are on Netflix.

1651- Melinda & Melinda

2011-12-02T22:49:00.000-05:00

This is probably one of my favorite posters for a Woody film. I don't know why I wanted to revisit this one, but here I am. It really isn't one of Woody's finer films by any means. The premise is very interesting - can a story (and therefore any story) be a drama or a comedy based on how it's told? The film follows parallel story lines with only Radha Mitchell's Melinda carrying over from one to the other. Great premise, years ago I thought about writing something like this, I think I still might at some point as my take would be a quite different. I think the main problem with this film is the casting is wrong and, honestly, doesn't really work. He'd originally planned it for Winona Ryder and Robert Downey Jr, and I think that would have worked a lot better. The dialogue feels written and a bit stilted here, and I don't think it's overly different from the majority of Allen's writing, so I'm going to blame the cast. This film came on the backend of a series of films that were not so successful for Woody and so he probably didn't have his usual situation where he could re-cast and re-shoot stuff if needed. Luckily we're back into a golden age for Woody and shouldn't have to have those kinds of things hurting his films and process.
So this isn't essential Woody - it's got a great premise and a few enjoyable scenes and moments, but it feels cold and empty, sadly. Not one of his worst films by any means, it hovers somewhere in the middle.

1650 - Bullets Over Broadway

2011-12-01T20:58:00.000-05:00

So for my second film of my Woody Allen birthday fest I've picked something from the same time period as the previous one. Woody had his a stride around this time in the early-mid nineties with a lot of solid comedies. I think he went through a period of wanting to do lighter material, perhaps in response to his personal life being a bit heavy - although, what's the point in assuming? Let's talk about the film!
John Cusack stars as a pretentious playwright who opens the film declaring "I'm an artist!". He's had two flops on broadway which were, obviously, the director's fault. This time he's going to direct - but the only way that his producer can get someone to finance the film is if he's willing to cast a mobster's girlfriend in the show - and she just happens to be an absolutely terrible actor. It's such a great premise and it's an even better film - especially once the bodyguard meant to protect the girlfriend turns out to be the only true artist and we see just how far he's willing to go to make a great piece of art. It's chock full of phenomenal performances, great plot turns, and clever lines. In terms of story it might be one of Woody's more clear-cut films - and perhaps that's more to do with his co-writer than himself, but it's a really great example of comedy through character and situation. It's bizarre to think that this film is almost twenty years old now (probably because it just makes me feel old), but it's another one of the classic Woody films that if you haven't seen, you really owe it to yourself to check out.

1649 - Mighty Aphrodite

2011-12-01T13:20:00.000-05:00

Today is Woody's birthday and so I'm celebrating with a little mini-fest - helps that we've got a newborn and we're kind of planted into the house. I wanted to watch some of his films that I haven't seen in awhile. I've got all of his films, but a good chunk of them are only on VHS, which I hadn't hooked up to my big TV since I bought it over a year ago, so this was a good enough reason.
This is the story of a man who has an adopted son that is amazing and wonders where the good genes came from, so he goes in search of his natural mother and discovers a "hooker with a heart of gold" played brilliantly by Mira Sorvino in her Oscar Winning performance. And to boot the whole thing is narrated by a greek choir. It's awesome. I'm the kind of guy who always finds something to like in anything Woody does, however I can't imagine how people could trash this one - it's nice and light, but smart and ridiculously funny. I'd never be able to do a Woody top-ten last (that would only be a quarter of his films), but this one easily ranks high amongst his pure comedies. It's solid gold. If you've never seen it do yourself a favor and check it out. It's another reminder of why I need to fully update my Woody Allen collection to DVD/Bluray.

1648 - The Great Muppet Caper

2011-12-01T09:29:00.000-05:00

One benefit to our two-year old being an earlier riser is that I can revisit some of my favorite childhood films, and he's really starting to take a shine to the Muppets, in particular Sweetums :) (no, I don't park my kid in front of the television as a first resort - and when I do I watch with him and we talk about what we're watching - which is even more fun to get the commentary from a small child).
I still prefer the original film to this one, but what this one does really well is steps up just what the Muppets can do and how they can function in the real world (almost to the point where it seems like they might be showing off just a little bit - nothing wrong with that).
I've never been a Charles Grodin fan and he just feels awkward here. He's probably the only weak spot to the entire film for me. The songs here are really quite good. I didn't get to really intensely watch the film as I was also playing with blocks at the time :) But from the majority I was able to focus on it's still as good as it ever was. Lovely to be able to revisit these films :)

1647 - Pirate Radio (The Boat That Rocked)

2011-11-30T23:22:00.000-05:00

The trailer for this really intrigued me, besides being a who's who if British film actors it's also a pretty interesting topic - 1960's Britain had banned rock and roll from their radio stations and so people like this set up pirate radio as a legal way to broadcast the music of choice to the masses. This is the story of those people and how an uptight politician tries to destroy them.
The film is enjoyable enough, it's got great cast and they all fit well together. I suppose my biggest critique is that I'm not sure the motivations of anyone. I never get a real sense of why this music was seen as so harmful or why this politician has such a bee in his bonnet about it. Why doing this was so important to either side... I wanted to care - all of the filmic ingredients were there, but I just didn't know why I should and so, ultimately, I didn't...
This was a good film that could have been a great one if they added a bit more heart and grounded us in something a little firmer. Great soundtrack. It's hard to know if to recommend this at all - my suggestion is to check out the trailer and if it grabs you, chances are you'll dig the film as well.

1646 - Woody Allen: A Documentary (PBS American Masters)

2011-11-29T22:17:00.000-05:00

Anyone that knows me creatively knows that Woody Allen is my largest inspiration. I've seen absolutely everything he's been involved in and I've read a lot of stuff on him, so there was a lot in here that I was already aware of - however the way that Robert B. Weide captures him and his work here is probably one of the best tributes that you can give the man. It doesn't pull punches, it doesn't try to hide who he is at all, how he feels about it all. I can't imagine anyone watching this wouldn't be at least somewhat infatuated with Woody. The film captures not only every project he's ever worked on (I wasn't keeping a count but I'd be surprised if there were any missing), but it also captures so much about his personality, how he works, what's interesting to him about stories - why he keeps going the way he does. The entire thing is completely inspirational and charming at the same time. I'd like to think that the success of Midnight in Paris will get more people to watch this as well as look back at some of his earlier work. A lot of people say it in here, but Woody Allen is without a peer when it comes to filmmaking. Is he the best filmmaker ever? That's far too subjective to answer - but very few, if any, have the body of work he does, and have it with such wonderful things. Woody doesn't always make a great film, but he always goes for it - and hits more than he misses. I think it's safe to say that I'd have a hard time working (respecting) with anyone who writes him off completely. A living legend. If you're not a fan, but would love to know where to look to become one let me know and I'll try to point you in the right direction! :)

1645 - The Muppet Movie

2011-11-29T22:06:00.000-05:00

This is easily one of my favorite films is all time - I can (and will) rewatch the original three Muppet films with ease. Partially because I saw the new one last week I wanted to revisit this one, but also we're starting to allow our two and a half year old to watch stuff and because we've got Muppet dolls (and an original poster from this film in his room) he's been asking more and more about the characters and so I decided to let him watch this over the course of a few sittings. Nothing makes you fall in love with this film all over again than watching it through the eyes of a child experiencing it for the first time. The scene near the beginning where Kermit is rolling towards a asphalt roller was terrifying for him, and then when he heard Kermit talk about hopping out of the way he laughed his ass off. Likewise the sequence at the end where Animal becomes huge and saves the day had him reacting in absolute amazement and delight. These films literally engage multiple generations and they replay so damn well. Ephraim loved the music, loved the characters. I'll probably throw the other two at him at some point in the near future as well, and maybe even the Muppet Show since we have it on DVD (the ones they've released anyway - hopefully this new film will cause them to get their butts in gear on the last two seasons). If you've never seen this film then there's absolutely no excuse - get on it. And if you don't like the Muppets then... well... I'm just kind of sad for you...

1644 - The Walking Dead: season 2 part 1

2011-11-29T15:19:00.000-05:00

Since the series is on hiatus until February I figured I'd chime in with my thoughts so far. Full disclosure - I'm a big fan of the comic series that this is based on, and so that often effects my thoughts on this. I'm not big on some of the casting of this series. I think that Rick, in particular, was miscast. The actor is starting to win me over a bit now, but it's really a very different character from the one in the comic (not that there's anything wrong with that). And in a lot of ways I think that this is Robert Kirkman's chance to go back and shift things for the narrative - in particular he keeps a few characters around that didn't last so long in the book, and vice versa.
The pacing of this season has been pretty damn slow, and I know it's frustrated most reviewers of the show as well. For me it's mostly frustrating because I know how much damn good stuff there is in the comic that they can go to when they want. Although I suppose there is a question of budget... There is a particularly strong arc at one point involving a character called The Governor, which could probably last two or three seasons in and of itself. And based on how this series is at this point I think they might even be willing to "go there".
I won't go into detail as other reviews have - but I will say that if the beginning of this season frustrated you and you abandoned the show because of it, do yourself a favour and at least watch the mid-season finale (episode seven). It is a pretty great episode all the way through (and the opening will catch you up) but it's also got a final scene that very well may be one of the best scenes in television history. It's really a solid solid piece from all angles - writing, directing, performance, and it damn sure makes you excited to see what they'll do when they come back in February.
It's not a great show, but it could be...

1643 - The Muppets

2011-11-25T08:16:00.000-05:00

It's time to start the music...
I'm a big Muppets-nerd. I grew up with them, loved the toys, the shows, the films, the dolls, you name it - I loved it. One of the main characters, Walter, is very similar to that. He grew up identifying with the Muppets (he happened to be one). So on top of that it appears that this is set to be one of the best reviewed films of the year - currently at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes (with over a hundred reviews in!) So with all that, combined with all of the hype, publicity, and press that's been going on the bar has been set pretty damn high for our fuzzy friends. So, did the film reach it?...

I think so. I have to be honest, it took me a little while to warm up to the beginning. I started to worry that this would be a Jason Segal film co-starring the Muppets (not that I dislike Segal - I like him a lot), but what I wanted was the reverse, and eventually it became that, and that's when the film really started to work for me (although the opening dance number worked pretty damn hard at winning me over). What's really quite interesting about this film is that it's really geared towards the adult Muppet fans. Sure, they're clearly trying to introduce the Muppets to a new generation, but it really feels like the film is made for us (how awesome is that?). After being subjugated to a series of pretty terrible made-for-TV films they have finally been given the proper love and treatment. The film is about how no one cares about the Muppets anymore, and how cynicism has taken over, and that's where the heart lies. There is a series of really funny moments, and a few that aim high and miss (I might be in the minority, but Chris Cooper was... not great... he tried his best but it just wasn't a good fit to me...).
The biggest issue that the film faces, and the thing that keeps it from being a perfect Muppet film to me, is just that it's really really hard to service all of those characters that have accumulated over the years. If you look at the original Muppets film it's just filled to the brim with these tender moments that really identify and make you pull for the characters. Rolph's "I Hope that Something Better Comes Along" and Gonzo's "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday" are not only two of the best Muppet songs ever, but they work so well emotionally for the story and the characters. We don't really get anything like that in this film, and that's what I feel is missing. It feels like we round up all the characters and have a bit of fun with them - kind of like a 'best of' album, but it's hard to say that any of the characters really get a 'great moment' here. So as a re-introduction to the Muppets I think it's pretty damn great and works well - but for their next outing (please please please let them make more quality projects) I really want it to focus on these guys, their hopes, dreams, flaws. Sure, get the celebrity cameos in there (there are some brilliant ones in this film), but I want the Muppets front and center the whole time.
Okay. So I think I did a good job of not giving anything away. I realize that my review might not seem the most positive, but know that I really loved this, I smiled the whole time, laughed a lot, and got emotional at a few moments. It's not perfect, but it's pretty goddamn great. If you're going to give someone your money at the theare in the near future, give it to a Muppet!

A Lion Among Men: Volume Three in the Wicked Years

2011-11-25T07:47:00.000-05:00

I'm a big nerd when it comes to taking known stories and playing with them. I loved both the musical Wicked as well as the book that it was based on. The way the story worked within the confines of the original was clever and intelligent. Based on his other books this seemed to be Maguire's thing to do these twisted fairy tales. I think I read somewhere that he never originally intended to create an Oz series himself, but that Wicked was the only book he thought he'd write. Now there's a forth (which I plan to read soon), but it doesn't come as a shock that he never planned for this series...
Here's the thing... I don't think Maguire is as good of a writer as he is an idea's man. He's got some really clever and smart stuff going on, but with the exception of a few portions of this book I found myself really just wanting him to get to the point. The man goes on a lot of tangents, and some of then interesting, but some of them just feel like page filler. The only really gripping parts of this book are when he's dealing with characters that have come before - the Lion's story itself, while good and heartbreaking in spots, just feels a bit 'meh' as a whole. I think the character and how he's built him is interesting but the way it's told just has such little energy.
If you loved the first two books in the series (I only liked the second) then you're probably going to (or already have) read this. If you're not sure, I suggest starting with Wicked and going from there. This is by no means essential reading, but you might like it anyway. Not exactly a high recommend, but a moderate one.

1642 - Undeclared: complete series

2011-11-23T23:04:00.000-05:00

I missed both this and Freaks and Geeks during it's original run. It's a shame that neither of these were given a fair shake, although who knows how their success would have shaped the futures of their respective casts. Perhaps if Freaks had of gone several seasons we never would have gotten this series. Let's not think about that.
As far as network college comedies go this is probably one of the better (if not best) I've seen. These actually feel like people that are in college, what they deal with, how they talk to one another. How it's slightly awkward. Really enjoyed that about it. Not a bad character in the bunch, and I loved how they managed to get pretty much the entire cast of Freaks in somehow (where the hell was Franco?!).
The cast is great, I'm a fan of all of them, and it's nice to see them all doing pretty damn well for themselves. If you missed this great show during it's (too short) run you can find it on DVD now. Seventeen episodes, and the box set is loaded with commentaries and other goodies.

1641 - Take Me Home Tonight

2011-11-22T21:24:00.000-05:00

First off, I'm a big fan of Michael Dowse and I'll check out anything he's involved in. It kills me that they shelved this film for four years because they were scared of all the cocaine use. Especially considering that that was probably all in the script. I suppose the reason is that it's because it's a comedy… weird. So. I think this film might not have done super well at the box office which is a shame because it's a pretty damn good film. It's feels like an eighties teen comedy - not a parody and that's the big difference, it never feels like they're trying to send anything up here. This just feels like one of those films that I grew up loving, although updated for modern audiences.
It's about a group of twenty-somethings who don't know what the next step of their life is going to be, and so they stumble through figuring it out over the course of a single evening at the end of summer. A lovely little coming of age film with a lot of laughs and a decent amount of heart. I love Topher Grace as an actor and there is this really great sequence involving himself, Teresa Palmer, and a trampoline that is a really wonderful and great moment. All comedies with romance plots should have a scene as good as that one.
This is an easy recommend, it's funny, it's full of characters you root for, there's absolutely no reason not to give this film a try - especially if you're a child of the 80's!

1640 - Nurse.Fighter.Boy

2011-11-21T23:01:00.000-05:00

Another product of the Canadian Film Centre. It describes itself as "an urban love story about the soul of a mother, the heart of a fighter, and the faith of a child". It's a lovely description and it's a lovely little film as well.
This is the kind of film that will appeal to the art crowd a little more than the mainstream. It's subdued and retrained. It takes it's time, it doesn't waste scenes with endless dialogue. There's a very specific feel and look to this film. If I'm honest, from time to time it meandered just a tad too much for my liking, but my interest was never lost due to my intrigue and care in the characters. It's gorgeous to look at with great performances and a pretty great soundtrack. This is up on Netflix for those of interest. Give it a shot!

1639 - Cube

2011-11-19T23:24:00.000-05:00

I'm preparing a film proposal package for the CFC Feature program, and so I thought in the days leading up to it I might as well watch (and in some cases re-watch) some of the films that they've already produced. For those that are unaware it's a program that helps low-budget films to be made. You can check out all about it by clicking on this link.
Cube is probably the film that they are most well known for, and it even spawned two sequels. The film is about a small group of people whom all wake up inside of a massive structure of linked rooms. They don't know why they are there, and all they've got to help them escape is a series of numbers on each of the adjoining doors. Luckily they've got a math genius or two amongst them!!!
This film has a pretty decent cult following and I'm a tad ashamed to admit that this is the first time I'd seen it. (it's on netflix!)
The way the film was shot was pretty damn clever, and even though you can completely understand how the film was made on a low-budget it never feels cheaply made at all and has a number of special effects that are pretty damn impressive.
I've heard that I should avoid the sequels and so I probably will - but this original is easy recommended to anyone who enjoys a mystery that's on the light side of horror.

1638 - AutoErotic

2011-11-14T22:24:00.000-05:00

Saw this randomly on netflix and thought I'd give it a shot. It wasn't until a few minutes in that one of the director's names started to nag at me, then I realized that Joe Swanberg also directed Nights and Weekends which is another indie comedy that I found on netflix. I can't imagine these films are costing (or making) all that much, but good on Swanberg for pumping them out. His imdb page shows that he's made roughly ten films in the last two years. Just a ridiculous output, especially considering that his films are pretty darn entertaining. I don't think they'd appeal to all, but they definitely speak to an audience. I'd love to chat with the guy about his process and just how he gets it all done. Very fascinated by this guy.
So this film is more like a series of vignettes that tells four stories all based around the sex lives of four couples. A man whose penis is too small, a girl who is turned on by everything, a pregnant woman who has lost the ability to orgasm, and a man whose now-engaged ex wants him to delete the porn videos they made together. The first of the stories is the most over-the-top and the rest have a far more grip on reality. Regardless of how you feel about the film itself you have to give kudos to the cast for just being absolutely fearless when it comes to the material. Good on them.
In terms of pure cinema it's by no means a dynamic film. To say that it's poorly shot would be missing the point, perhaps, but I think that the visuals in this film are probably the least of the filmmakers concern. They serve their purpose.
I quite enjoyed this and I'm pretty sure that I'd give anything Swanberg made at least a chance based on the two films of his that I've seen. Looking forward to checking out the rest of his work as it becomes available (I can only assume) on netflix.

Earth (the Book)

2011-11-09T19:20:00.000-05:00

This came out sometime last year and I meant to snag it then, but as luck would have it they were giving away free copies of it at the comedy awards, so I grabbed one there! On a laugh-per-page count this book ranks pretty damn high in being one of the funniest things I've ever read. Written as a guide to our planet for alien visitors to find after we destroy our race, it's a pretty nasty look at ourselves as a race and tackles pretty much every subject associated with us. I was tempted to throw some of the better comments in my review here, but they often rely so heavily with the photos associated with them. If you're a fan of Jon Stewart and his people this is absolutely a must-own, or if you just like to take a cynical look at our species it's hard to go wrong with this. A perfect coffee table book and a great gift. I would pay for this had I not gotten it for free!!!

1637 - Cop Out

2011-11-07T23:35:00.000-05:00

This is kind of a bizarre film. On one hand I really think it's Smith's homage to 80's flicks. When I think about it this reminds me of cop comedies from when I was growing up. But the problem is that it's going to be judged based on the standards of films today and by comparison, it falls flat. I have no doubt that this was a hilarious script, but the execution is off, and sometimes awkward. There are quite a few lines that feel really really written and it doesn't help when the line falls flat. I don't know if it's that the film wasn't cast properly, but it just felt odd in a lot of ways. Alas.
There's a number of fun moments here, but it's all clouded by some pretty lame plotting and a weak central story about a cop who wants to pay for his daughter's wedding - mostly out of pride - her rich stepdad could pay for it. But no, it makes more sense for the character to risk his life than let the wedding be paid for. The worst part is that, by the end, I'm not even sure that the issue of pride is even solved for the character.
Smith says that after Red State that he's only got one thing left, the currently in production Hit Something before he hangs up his directing mantel. Smith is always the first to knock himself down, and I hate to be a dick, but this script feels a lot like it's just a really decent pay check for all involved. Hopefully Smith got points on since this is his biggest to date.
If you're in the mood for a "modern 80's" flick this could very well be for you. It's not terrible by any means, but it's a hard one to recommend. Red State just became available on Netflix, so I'm sure I'll be checking that out rather soon.

1636 - Moneyball

2011-11-06T00:18:00.000-04:00

So first off, I'm not a sports guy. I don't hate sports, but outside of the odd football and baseball game when I was younger, I don't think I've ever really sat through an entire game. It's just not my thing. I enjoy playing sports. I like watching them live. Something about the sport on television however does absolutely nothing for me. So there's that.
That being said, this was a really enjoying and, hell, riveting film. Pitt is enjoyable, and I'm by no means the first to say this, but he really feels like a Robert Redford here. He's wonderfully charming here, as is Jonah Hill. In a lesser film he would just be the lovable sidekick, but he really brings his own here. I hate to say it but I really don't know what Phillip Seymour Hoffman is going here. Feels like a bit of a waste of a good actor - I assume it's cause he and Miller really liked working together on Capote. Nothing wrong with that. It's not really an actor's film though, mostly just in that there's no real show piece scenes. It's just a really compelling story, which is enough in and of itself. It's no surprise to see Sorkin's name on this, he's a man who really enjoys the behind the scenes of anything, and here it's the background of baseball and trying to figure out a winning formula.
This is the kind of film that's really worth checking out, but once finished you don't really feel like you'll need to revisit. It's more about the outcome, this one. It's actually a great matinee film, I think. Not to downplay it at all. One lovely little surprise was the musical number featuring Kerris Dorsey - I even bought it off of iTunes.
I'm late to this film so I'm sure that everyone who was going to see it has, but I think it's going to be something we see pop it's head back up around award times. If you're even remotely interested in baseball, or like to see the inner workings of things you might want to check this out.

1636 - Louie: season two

2011-11-04T09:41:00.000-04:00

This could very well be my favorite show right now. Louie is a show that is absolutely unlike any other. There are moments of it that are a tad frustrating, and one could even argue indulgent, but I'll allow those moments because, at it's core, this is a show about how fucked up we all are, but how we can't help but keep trying. For those who haven't been exposed to it's brilliance, Louie CK plays a version of himself the stand-up comic. And no, it's not some bad imitation of Seinfeld. The beauty of Louie is that it doesn't really have any kind of standard format or cast, outside of Louie CK himself. We see regular people come and go, but this is a show about a man trying to figure out how he fits into a world that he loves and is frustrated by at every turn.
It's a treat because each little sequence is us watching Louie try and make sense of his world, or play with the ideas inside of it. From visiting a racist elderly relative, to getting concert tickets for his daughter from an enemy, to professing his love for someone who has absolutely no interest in him, it's a show that is fearless and honest and uncomfortable and real. Few artist get to a place of freedom like Louis has with this series, and of those that do, I'm not sure any are as successful as getting their point across as he is.
If you start watching one new series, make it this one. It's phenomenal.

1635 - Return to Me

2011-10-31T22:52:00.000-04:00

That's right, on Hallowe'en I choose to watch a rom-com - albeit one with a slight supernatural twist. A film starring Duchovney and Driver (what's she doing these days??? she's lovely, I miss her!) is enough of a draw for me, but the premise is intriguing too. When his wife dies in a terrible car accident her heart is donated to a woman in need, whom randomly meets up with the husband a year later and they start to fall for each other. But what will happen when they discover their true connection?
Let me just say that this is a lovely and charming film - the actors are delightful, little moments with all the old men are wonderful. So there's all that. The premise is original, certainly. But the the conflict and concern feels pretty fabricated. I have a hard time buying that, quirky as she is, Driver's character wouldn't take so long to tell him about her operation. She must have been with some really shallow dicks before if that's the case (and they should have shown up that rather than just hearing about them).
Despite the story issues it's a sweet and fun little film. And kudos to Boonie Hunt (a decade late) for her first feature. I guess shes' too busy with her talk show to make more.
This is on netflix if you are so inclined...

I Found This Funny

2011-10-31T09:29:00.000-04:00

Although Apatow's name is slathered all over the cover, I think it's mostly just clever marketing - I'm not sure how one "edits" a collection... outside of selection... regardless the proceeds for this book go to a good 'cause and not his wallet, so it's all well and good!
I have a love and hate relationship with short fiction. When it's good it's absolutely phenomenal, but I'm also a person who likes to be told a story, and there are many a short fiction writer who just likes to play around with tangential material in short fiction, and I find myself skimming that stuff. This collection was a little from column A and a little from column B in that regard. I won't go into details on them, but below are the ones that really stood out for me in the collection:

Judd Apatow - How I Got Kicked Out of High School: a Freaks and Geeks Diary

Raymond Carver - Elephant

Dave Eggers - Your Mother and I

Paul Feig - And Now a Word from the Booth

Jonathon Franzen - Two Ponies

Ian Frazier - Coyote v. Acme

Jack Handey - My First Day in Hell

Simon Rich - Six Selected Pieces

Rodney Rothman - Vivian

Paul Simms - For Immediate Release

Robert Smigel - & Conan O'Brien - Lockwell: a TV Pilot

Jon Stewart - Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Sitcom

The collection is a nice mix bag of different styles as well. In addition to the above there are some pretty fantastic cartoons in there as well.

If you like to laugh, or read intelligent funny writing, I'm sure that there's something in here for you.

What Alice Forgot

2011-10-23T21:18:00.000-04:00

In all the lead up to my film being released I completely forgot to write about this until I saw a note on my desk that was to serve as a reminder. I saw this book randomly when were were in P.E.I. this summer and the premise intrigued me. It's about a woman who gets a concussion and loses ten years of her life's memories. The last thing she remembers is being pregnant with her first child and happily married to the man of her dreams, and then all of a sudden she's forty with three children, and moments away from finalizing the divorce from said man-of-her-dreams. And the good goes about her filling in those blanks. There's a lot of charm to it - it's being adapted into a film, and I think that's actually the better medium for this story. I did enjoy the book, but it had these two other narrative bits which included her sister's letters to her shrink, and a great aunt's (I think) letters to an old lover. Neither needed to be in the book. The sister's helps out the narrative a bit in the beginning but very quickly just becomes filler.
The writing is good, even if it does feel like tangent after tangent in several sections of the book. One review I read for it said that it was the perfect beach book, and perhaps that's the aim for this, in which case, I agree. That being said, it's completely charming and it's no surprise that this book has become popular. It's good, not great, but it's worth the read if you're even remotely curious.

Paul Shepard: REVIEW ROUND-UP!

2011-10-21T08:43:00.002-04:00

Today is the day! Anyone living in the greater Toronto area needs to get their butts to the Carlton this weekend to see my film The Untitled Work of Paul Shepard, screening at 4:25pm and 9:20pm daily. For those who don't know, the opening weekend of any film, particularly small films, is crucial. For a film like ours it's the difference between only running one week in one city, and get expanded. If we do well this weekend the chances of the film moving on to another city is very good, as well as getting an extra week in Toronto.
So, to the reviews. A lot of filmmakers will claim they don't read reviews, and I'm sure some don't. I haven't been doing this long enough not to care what other people think. For a small film like ours a review can be the deciding factor on whether or not someone wants to give it a shot. So without further adieu, here they are... Click on the name of the paper (the heading) to get the actual review, otherwise I'll just talk about it briefly:

The National Post: I'd be lying if I didn't say that getting this three star review meant a lot to me. But what meant even more was that this reviewer really seemed to "get" the film. And to boot they said some really lovely things.

The Toronto Sun: While I'm sure she doesn't remember it, Liz Braun reviewed a short film festival a few years back where she commented on my film and said that I had done in five minutes what others like it couldn't do at feature length. It was a nice thing to say. And she has more nice things here, in particular that this is a film that should make Canadians proud.

The Toronto Star: Not our biggest supporter, but still nothing to shake your fist at. No film is for everyone and considering how routinely romantic comedies get slammed by critics, I think we did just fine here.

The Grid: The black sheep of our reviews. I very well can't post all the positive and leave out the negative. I'm trying to avoid reviewing the reviews, however I can't help but think that from reading this one that this reviewer just hates the mockumentary format to begin with - so it's no surprise that we didn't get much love. You can't win them all!

These are all the reviews I've seen so far, if anyone spots any more please let me know - post in the comments. Otherwise, get your butt to the theatre and tell everyone you know!

Three 2 Five Questions: Kris Holden-Ried

2011-10-20T09:35:00.000-04:00

I was lucky enough to get a chance to sit down with the wonderful Mr. Kris Holden-Ried to do one of these interviews. He's the star of my film The Untitled Work of Paul Shepard and he'll be attending our screening and Q&A tomorrow evening following the 9:20pm screening. So be there if you want to meet Kris in addition to other members of our lovely cast including Zoie Palmer, Mary Krohnert, and Tricia Braun!

Three 2 Five Questions: Mary Krohnert

2011-10-19T09:39:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I've done one of these - I have another that will be up in the days to come - but for now, it's all about the lovely Mary Krohnert! One of the stars of my film The Untitled Work of Paul Shepard which is having it's theatrical release starting this Friday at the Carlton in Toronto. 4:25pm and 9:20pm daily! Mary will be at the Friday night screening for part of the Q&A.
So the audio, as usual, is what it is, I did this outside of the Film Canteen at the Bell Lightbox. I hope you enjoy it! Mary will also be appearing in an upcoming episode of Flashpoint, and Little Mosque on the Prarie.

The Untitled Work of Paul Shepard THEATRICAL RELEASE!

2011-10-18T11:46:00.000-04:00

At long last my first feature is being released in to the theatres! For those that live in the GTA (or that feel like traveling at all!) It will be screening at the Carlton (Yonge/Carlton) from Friday, Oct 21st to Thursday, Oct 27th. The showtimes are 4:25pm and 9:20pm (apologies that there are no early evening screenings - I have absolutely no control over that).
We've been nominated for several awards along the way as well as having played as several of Canada's top film festivals, and others around the world. The programmer at the Calgary International Film Festival had this to say about the film:

Part HIGH FIDELITY, part THE OFFICE with a dash of SPINAL TAP thrown in for good measure, THE UNTITLED WORK OF PAUL SHEPARD is a mockumentary with genuine heart to go with the genuine laughs.

So get your butt out and support a great Canadian film! And on Friday and Saturday nights get a chance to meet some of the cast at the Q&As! We are expecting reviews in all the major papers, so we'll post them here as well (unless they absolutely trash the film, and then I'll say that 'I don't read reviews...')
Looking forward to seeing you all out there. Spread the word!!!

1634 - Breaking Bad: season four

2011-10-12T20:01:00.000-04:00

I saw the first three seasons of this show back to back because I was late to it, so this was the first time that I had to wait week by week, and if you're a fan of the show you know that that's torture. I have to be honest in that I was getting pretty impatient with the beginning of this season. The first episode was pretty solid - and I'm sure that if you watched it back to back with last's seasons finale, the pace was a nice relief. The three episodes or so that followed felt a tad labored though. I know that they probably needed it to set up what was to come, but I can't tell you how sick I was of Hank and his rock collection. And when the show resort to watching Marie deal with her kleptomania, you know that you're not in the most exciting part of the season. Given how much those characters fall to the way-side once shit hits the fan it should be a pretty significant sign to the creative team that these cast members aren't that important, and so spending ridiculous amount of screen time on them just makes us want to get back to the characters that are.
The rest of this is going to be pretty SPOILER HEAVY, I can't imagine anyone would be reading this that hasn't seen the season - but there's your warning. Take it or leave it.

First, for anyone interesting click here to get a link to an interview that the A.V. Club did with the showrunner Vince Gilligan - it breaks down every episode this season and it's a pretty awesome window into how they work on the show.
Gus has been an amazing villain, and a real opponent for Walt and Jesse. The game of chess that they played this season was extraordinary. And just as you were starting to really dislike Walt they had Gus come in and knock him down a few notches so that you could feel sorry for him. Brilliantly played. This show is easily one of the more visually styled show on television, and it almost always work in their favor. With the exception of those early episodes this season, this has been a series that is always top notch. The stakes are high, which helps, but the brilliance is that the show never takes itself uber seriously. There is always a bit of a wink there. Take Gus' death in the season finale - no way that man walks out of that room, but it's fine because if anyone, he deserved a kick-ass death.
The dynamic between Walt and Jesse was superb this year and it really tested their relationship - and will continue to do so based on the path that Walt is now on. I'm going to make a bit of a prediction. Given that next season is their last, I really believe that the focus is going to shift ever so slightly. Walt is finally going to fully transform into the shows villain (all hail Heisenberg) and it'll be about Hank and/or Jesse taking him down in the end (unless the cancer gets to him first, which would be the ultimate irony).
This is a great show and it's been a (mostly) great season. Can't wait to see where they go next. Just hope that they don't take as big a break as they did between the last season and this one.

1633 - My Girlfriend's Boyfriend

2011-10-07T23:05:00.000-04:00

Every now and then you find a real gem on netflix. This is said gem. I don't want to ruin anything, but it's essentially the story of a girl who meets two really amazing guys on the same day and starts a relationship with both, unable to find a good excuse to break up with either. There's more than that going on, but you'll have to watch it yourself to find out more.
What I like best about this is that neither of the guys are jerks or assholes. They are both really good options for this woman. The woman is Alyssa Milano, who I'm certain that I had a crush on back in the Who's The Boss days, but she is a real doll here. She's beautiful, clearly, but she carries the witty banter with the air of a nerdy girl that makes her all the more attractive. It's the kind of thing that makes me wonder why the hell we don't see more of her. She's absolutely terrific in this.
The writing is pretty fun. For what it's worth there isn't a lot of laugh out loud moments, rather it's just the kind of film where you have a consistent smile on your face the entire time that you're watching it and there's something to be said for that. My other highlight is Christopher Gorham. The who make a really sweet couple.
I really liked that the film tackled a core conflict (although not till the very end) that we don't see that often in the movies.
So for those who like romantic-comedies this is a pretty decent one - and for those who like rom-coms and have netflix, you have absolutely no excuse not to check this out.

1632 - Our Idiot Brother

2011-10-05T23:04:00.000-04:00

Paul Rudd can pretty much do no harm in my eyes. I think that the guy is just hands down pretty fantastic, and this is a great role for him. He plays a slacker brother to three girls whom are all at a cross-roads in their lives, and when their idiot brother gets involved all their stuff starts going to hell, of course it's not his fault, but of course he's the one to blame. It's one of those stories where it's those around our lovable idiot that need to learn the real lessons.
This film has a great packed cast and is full of a lot of fun and lovely little moments. Slightly unbalanced and not perfect, it's a cute little film and those who love Rudd, like I, will greatly enjoy it!

1631 - The Time Traveler's Wife

2011-10-03T23:36:00.000-04:00

This is a re-watch from after having read the book - feel free to search for my previous thoughts.

All you need to do to understand the difference between good and bad acting is watch the first scene between Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana. She is phenomenal. You believe in an instant that she is head over heels in love with this man, that she is experiencing a miracle by seeing him here. And he… is dead. And it's not just about situation he's in and he's aloof - he's just… not good. Not charming, not interesting, nothing. It should be the moment where the lover's meet and you want them to be together, and the only reason you do is because you like her. Let me get this straight - I don't dislike Eric Bana - but he's not well cast here - it's a shame, really.

Having now read the book, this is a crappy adaptation. That sounds harsh. There's a lot of stuff that's here in the movie just because it was there in the book. The book has this thread where Clare is a terrible cook, and near the end Henry teaches her how to cook. In the book there is a scene where we watch her seemingly learn how to cook. And it's absolutely meaningless due to the fact that there is absolutely no context. Most of the film is like this. And he spends a lot of time talking about how he can't change the things that are meant to happen, yet he can't change anything, and yet he can somehow rig the lottery? Again, the film is full of these inconsistencies.

The worst part about this film is that it's not really about anything. I'm not sure why we're supposed to care about this relationship. It has a lot of ideas but doesn't lock down onto anything that you can grasp to. It gives itself these big emotional moments, but nothing clings and it just feels like they're well photographed as opposed to well maenad. It's a gorgeous looking film, but a crane shot doesn't do anything for me if I don't give a damn.

Both the book and the movie set up a premise that they just don't know what to do with and both, sadly fall short. The only real reason to watch this, I think, is Rachel McAdams. I praised her at the top and I'll do it again. She's fantastic here, it's just a shame that she wasn't given a bit more to work with.

The Time Traveler's Wife

2011-10-02T09:12:00.000-04:00

I bought this book for my mother-in-law when it first came out. The premise really grabbed me and I thought she'd dig it. When she finished I borrowed it and it's say on my shelf ever since. The film came out, which I've seen (which I'll probably revisit this week), and of course having Rachel McAdams in it assures that I'll watch it at some point.
For those who don't know the story, this is about a man who time travels without control of when or to where, and so this is a love story about he and his wife at different points in their lives. Sometimes they are both in the present. Sometimes she's 6 and he's 43. Sometimes he's 28 and she's 20. It's a very charming premise.
Now, first off, I did enjoy this for the most part - there is a lot to like beyond just the clever concept. But since this is my own personal soap box, I think I'm allowed to gripe. The book is an international best seller - me poking holes in it is not going to hurt it :) So, with that said, SPOILERS AHEAD.

At 500+ pages this book is at least a hundred pages heavy. I'm a big fan of keeping things tight and moving, but in novels you don't always get that. There are numerous sequences wherein you wonder what the point of this is. Why does it matter. Early on in the book Henry mentions that there is a cage in the library where he works, and if he gets stuck in there he'll never get out. And, of course, many years later he does get stuck in it. But he gets out. 'Causing him to get stuck makes him have to out himself to his co-workers - but there's no consequence to it. It doesn't make a lick of difference. The book has a lot of stuff like this.
I think that this book would do well for the religious crowd who believes that your life is mapped out and that there is something else controlling it all. I'm a big believer in freewill, and so there was a lot of frustrating stuff here. Henry continues to insist, as he moves through time, that he can't change anything - everything has already happened. If I'm to a tad cruel, a more ambitious writer would try and challenge both sides of that argument - but not this writer - she just plods along and everything you've been told will happen, happens. It's like watching a ball slowly deflate. Not very exciting. The book starts off extremely well - the first half is great, and then it just starts a slow and steady decline, and I started to get more annoyed and frustrated by these characters, caring for them less and less. There is a sequence in which Henry wakes up early to watch the Twin Towers on September 11th, because he wants to remember what the world was like before it changed. I don't know about you, but reading that I just thought that Henry was a complete asshole. He knows that thousands of people are about to die, and he's done nothing to try and prevent it - it's hard to come back from something like that.
So for me the book was interesting - I give it a soft recommend - the writing is good - but I just think that the story is a bit weak.

1630 - 50/50

2011-10-01T00:17:00.000-04:00

The reviews warned me, but I didn't listen. Sometimes I hate reading reviews because all they really do is fuck with my expectations. In this case the reviews were pretty consistent in saying that it's a cliche for a film to make you say, "I laughed, I cried" but in this case you did. And I did. I sure did.

This is a film about a young man who discovers that he has a rare spinal cancer, and what happens with his treatment. Heavy stuff. Could easily be movie of the week material - hell, it IS movie of the week material, but not the way that it's handled here. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is phenomenal here. There is a moment near the end of the film in a car that just shook me. He dazzles on screen (and that's not a word that I use lightly). The entire cast sizzles. Rogen is delightful and doesn't over do it. Howard is lovely as usual, but Anna Kendrick is simply a sight to behold. She's a very unique actress and I think that it's going to serve her well - what I absolutely love about her is the moments that she plays inbetween moments. And I normally don't care much for Angelica Houston, but she really did grow on me here.

I'm not going to give away any details because this is the kind of film that you just need to see for yourself. There is some stuff that may appear inappropriate, however I think you'd have a heart of absolute stone not to be drawn into this film. Easily one of the best of the year. Go see it.

1629 - Nice Guy Johnny

2011-09-29T23:25:00.000-04:00

It's hard to talk about this film without talking about the approach that Edward Burns took to making it. However I'll separate them as best I can. Hell, I'll even use titles to do so!

The Film
Okay. So I really quite enjoyed this. For a guy who just made his first feature on the cheap, I was pretty impressed by just how cheap this was made, and yet it didn't feel like they were skimping and saving. Burns has truly utilized all he could to put this together without it feeling like a shoestring budget. It's a genuinely sweet coming-of-age film, the characters are interesting, the actors well cast. It's just a really solid little film - and it's brand spanking new and already on Netflix!

The Process
So this film was made for $25K. For those that don't know - this is not an easy thing to do. It makes me jealous as shit. It makes me just want to take one of my cheap scripts and grab some people and just make a damn film. It's inspiring in that way - but that way also leads to danger. A film like this can work because Edward Burns has a name for himself already. He can make a film this cheap and insure that people will see it because he himself is a name, especially in the indie world. It's easy for Burns to say that more people should be doing what he's doing, because for him it can't be that hard. He doesn't need to make money on his own films because his acting roles pay the bills (I assume).
All that being said, good on him. I'd like to think that down the road I'll get to a point where I can just make whatever film I want to and that'll be it - there's something freeing in that.
However, my advice to young filmmakers, realize that this process works for Burns because is Edward Burns, people know him as an actor, he has made multi-million dollar films as a director as well. He is able to make a film at this price and get it out into the world because he, himself, is a commodity. If you want to take your own hard earned money and make a film out of it, please just do me a favor and treat it the same as gambling - only play with what you're willing to lose.

1628 - Blast from the Past

2011-09-28T23:23:00.000-04:00

I missed this film when it first came out, and then remembered it when a friend of mine raved about it last year, so in search of a nice simple comedy for this evening, I found myself watching it. It's a comedy about a man who seals himself and his pregnant wife in a fall-out shelter after he thinks they've been hit by a nuclear weapon. Thirty-five years later his son emerges to get more supplies and, hopefully, find a girl for himself.
The first thing I thought about when watching this was - damn, Alicia Silverstone just disappeared off the face of the planet (she didn't actually - but she can be found by clicking on this awesome blog). The comedy plays well to the concept. The only thing that kind of threw me was their relationship. I'm not sure exactly what drew him to her - why she'd suddenly become attracted to this guy. That could have used a little more laughter and thought.
I don't want to say to much and run some of the better running gags. For those in the mood for a nice light comedy, look no further!

1627 - Conan O'Brien Can't Stop

2011-09-28T19:40:00.000-04:00

I can't say that I was ever a huge Conan fan, mostly out of lack of watching late night. I'm not a late night guy. Especially now that I have kids, but I never really liked late night shows, and so besides watching some select clips I just don't know a whole lot about that world. But Conan was always one of the guys that I liked best.
It's pretty common knowledge what happened to the guy. He was slated to take over for Jay Leno on the tonight show - he did - and then seven months later Jay Leno was given the show back - the film explains all this in far better detail - but essentially Conan got screwed over. They gave him a pretty sweet severance package, but part of the deal was that he wasn't allowed to appear on television (and perhaps radio as well) for six months. And because he's a workaholic (attention whore?), he decided to do a live stage show.
It's hard to call this a documentary - based on the title you'd think it would be a more introspective look into this type of personality - what makes it so that Conan just can't take a break? What are the pros and cons of that? But outside of the title it doesn't get into it at all, and that's a shame. Instead we get what's more like a behind the scenes featurette. We see him lovingly abusing his adorable assistant, and generally egotistical about a lot of things. But at least he's willing to show that on camera - a lot of others wouldn't.
This is really for die hard Conan fans, I'm not really sure that there's anything in here otherwise. I enjoyed it enough, but don't feel like I really got anything out of it.

1626 - Weeds: season seven

2011-09-27T22:47:00.001-04:00

Weeds has never been shy about showing Mary-Louise Parker off as a sexual object - especially in it's press material as seen above. And who are we kidding? She's pretty damn sexy in this show - and not only that but other characters consistently call her on her bullshit, which keeps you from hating the hell out of the character.
One thing Weeds does that no other show does is re-invent itself. It's first three seasons took place in the 'burbs, but then it boldly shifted, and continued and continued to shift, until last season ended with Nancy being taken off to jail. And now, it's three years later, and she's out on parole. If you don't want to know any more I suggest you stop reading here. There will be SPOILERS AHEAD.

So. It's a fairly common trend these days for shows that have been on for awhile to do a time jump. Mad Men did it, as did Desperate Housewives and most recently, True Blood. It's a nice way to reset the cast and give them new things to do. I liked the idea of shifting the series to New York and giving as a completely different playground to play in. I loved bringing Heyla James back into the fold, and I liked seeing the other characters in different places, and I ALWAYS love Justin Kirk - who is as adorable and funny as Parker is sexy and charismatic.
Weeds is one of those shows that is good at putting their characters into a big pickle and then easily getting them out. For a more dramatic version of this, see Breaking Bad. And while the entire season was like this, it's finale took it to a whole other level - one that I might just not buy. Having Shane commit murder - great season hanger. Having Nancy dragged off to prison - phenomenal. Having Nancy with a sniper rifle on her, and ending with an unknown BANG... well... that's just a bit shitty. Either the show gets cancelled, and the series ends with Nancy finally getting her comeuppance, or the show continues and they need to bullshit there way around this - either way I don't think it's ideal.
Will I tune in next season? Of course I will. Nancy is a great character in a series rich with them, and when the writing isn't so-so, it's pretty damn great. That and I really want to see Nancy and Andy hook up (even if I do think that he can do sooooo much better)...

1625 - Buried

2011-09-27T22:11:00.000-04:00

The limited location thriller is almost a genre unto itself now - and if that's the case, consider this the most gutsy, and probably successful, of the bunch. The first Saw film can probably hold claim to being one of the first really break-out successes, but others like Open Water, and Frozen are also in league but none are so cinematic given such limitations. I found myself a bit frustrated at times, and I'll get to that, but the thing that was most impressive was simply the performance of Reynolds, how much he conveyed given such limitations - that and the sheer emotions of the storytelling. Rodrigo Cortés directed the hell out of this film and all he had was a rectangle box and an actor - imagine what he can do with more...
Before I get too far ahead, Buried is a film about an American truck driver in Iraq, who is kidnapped for random and buried alive with little more than a cell phone and some illumination to help get him out. The film is an intended exercise in frustration and also a comment on similar situations in the world, I'm sure. If you like dynamic semi-political thrillers, this one might just blow you away a little. So there's that, and now for my complaints, which will come by the way of SPOILERS BELOW...

My only real beef with this film is how it didn't given in totally to it's premise. Sure we see the bars on the phone going down and down - but on it's last bar he's still somehow able to record two videos (one rather long one) and upload the other to another phone, not to mention make several calls. Some battery on that phone! And even in the end, there was never any real risk of the phone dying. Given the harsh ending that the film has, I think that it could have very easily cut out (the phone) when he was having his final talk with his wife. On a similar note the oxygen thing bothered me - he spent a lot of time freaking out, using the lighter, all of which would deplete the oxygen - sure he mentions it a few times, but he doesn't really suffer from it (unless you count the very ending - but I think that falls under something completely different). I wish I could let that little shit go, but with a film like this the devil is in the details, and I think that kind of stuff could have been just a tad stronger.

Overall this was a well written, amazingly acted, and phenomenally directed film. Highly recommend it.

1624 - Coupling: series one

2011-09-26T23:25:00.001-04:00

I'm extremely late to this, but luckily the BBC does short seasons so it won't take much to get through the entire catalog. Those that know me know that I'm a big fan of anything to do with relationships - and this series is a dozy in that way. Kind of a riskier British version of Friends, really. It's frank about the relationship between men and women, attacking both sexes with equal ferocity, creating much laughter and much "I know exactly what you mean..."
The cast is quite enjoyable, and despite the very broad tone I found it working for it as opposed to against it. It's a simple service that allows itself to function well and run a slew of different topics for relationships and couples and explore them from six unique perspectives. This series (UK version of seasons) covered a wonderful width of topic that was quite delightful. It's got a tame feel to it, but underneath it's pretty open minded even if being a tad bit dirty. It doesn't pull any punches when it comes to sex and relationships and it's all the better for it.
If you've got netflix and you like shows about people and the battle of the sexes, you could do a lot worse than this. I highly recommend it.

1623 - The Secret of My Succe$s

2011-09-25T22:12:00.000-04:00

This is one of the few eighties hits that I never saw - and if I did I don't recall it at all. Fox stars as a kid from Kansas with dreams of making it big in New York. He gets a job in the mail room in his uncle's company since no one will give him a chance in a business job - so he makes up an alias and works for the company in a higher capacity anyway.
There is a fair amount of mistaken identity fun going on here as Fox's character must share his duties as a mail room clerk along with being an executive - hopefully no one on either side becoming the wiser...
The film is pure eighties in terms of style, costumes, you name it. So if you love that stuff you'll love this. The thing that makes me saddest watching this is knowing that Fox's career is forever changed because of his Parkenson's, and who knows how many great performances we've been robbed because of it (although, this season's finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm wouldn't be possible without it, so theres that as well).
If you like eighties film this one is just fine. Give it a whirl.

1622 - Dinner For Schmucks

2011-09-23T00:14:00.000-04:00

It very well may be safe to say that I'll watch anything with Paul Rudd and/or Steve Carell in it. I loved the title sequence to this film. I haven't seen the original version of the film, but it's no surprise why they thought that this title would translate over here.
So let's just start by saying that this is a pure fun movie, nothing more and nothing less. And that's totally fine. It's entertaining as hell. The set-up is that a man is trying to get a promotion at his company, but to become part of the "boy's club" he must bring a dinner guest to their secret dinner, but it has to be someone that is just over-the-top weird.
I didn't love the film, but I quite liked a lot of it - I thought they did a nice job of integrating the plot threads and giving a nice escalation. The bank scene in particular was pretty damn well done. The ending felt a little easy, but I'll let it fly.
Jemaine Clement also features here as, essentially the Russell Brand character (nothing against Clement by saying that, he's actually delightful here).
If you want a fun film to watch this might be your cup of tea.

1622 - Closer

2011-09-20T23:21:00.000-04:00

I don't know why I'm just realizing this now, but this might be one of my all-time favorite films. I know I've revisited it a lot more than other films in past years. I'm currently doing notes on a new project idea and for someone reason I just knew that I had to rewatch this to get inspired.
If you're not familiar, this is a film about four people who just can't stop getting in each others way romantically. It's based on a play, and it's not hard to tell. There are very few scenes (compared to most films), and they take their time, but I have to say I've never ever been bored watching this film. The writing just crackles in conjunction with four tour-de-force performances. This film was perfectly cast - each and everyone of them has a least a few showcase acting moments - although it never feels like that's what they were aiming for, or was the intention. No matter how many times I see it I always get hypnotized by it.
It's been out for years now, and it's up on netflix. If you like any of these actors and you want to see them at the top of their game, this is it. It's so good. Finishing it and thinking about it makes me want to watch it all over again - and that's exactly what great story telling does.

1621 - Louie: season one

2011-09-19T21:43:00.000-04:00

I was late to this series, and I've got a whole other season to catch up on still. But that's the best thing about discovering a new show that you love - that there's this treasure trove of goodness for you to just dive into - and that's exactly how I feel about this show.
It's hard to explain what this series is about. For those that don't know Louis CK is a stand-up comic, and in my opinion, one of the most intelligent, hilarious, and heart-breaking that there is. There is an emotion behind his comedy that just resonates with me - it's like listening to a kindred spirit. A lot of his stuff is about family and things revolving around that - and his signature style is that he's a bit rough an inappropriate, but you know that it all comes from a place of love.
It's a difficult show in terms that there aren't really structured episodes - it became slightly more structured near the end of this season, but it's mostly watching Louie do some stand-up and then there are these scenes/skits/whatever-you-want-to-call them that help illustrate the point. Those scenes are hilarious mostly because they come from a place of frightening honesty. There is a level of comedy going on here that I think could make most comedy writers jealous. It's pretty inspiring stuff, and you know that it all comes from a place in his life that's more often than not, painful.
It's even more impressive to know how much work Louis puts into this show - he writes and directs each episode and edits a fair share of it as well. I'm really excited to see the next season of this. I'm even more excited knowing that it's network FX, is on it's way to Canada. Here's hoping they're looking to make the same quality of show here. If you're a fan of stand-up comedy, especially Louis CK's, then this is something that you don't want to miss.

1620 - Drive

2011-09-19T16:25:00.000-04:00

I'm going to do a little something different for this review posting. I didn't even know this film existed until I saw a friend's (Matt Williams) facebook posting going on and on about how amazing he thought it was - and so I found myself at a theatre last night at 10pm to see it (this is late for me). And so what's below is our un-edited e-mail back-and-forth about the film. Please proceed with extreme caution as we talk freely about the entire film so there are
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Jeremy: So I went to see Drive. I really enjoyed it. I even dug the bad 80's soundtrack that they made work for it. A few little things drove me nuts a bit, but the pros FAR outweighed the cons. The only thing that really bothered me was just the focus on style over substance in some moments. For example near the end, when he goes to kill Nino. Absolutely no reason for him to bother with the mask besides the fact that it "looks cool" :)

Matt: Nice, glad you liked it. I agree about the mask - upon rewatch today, I realized that it totally wasn't necessary. Nino never would have seen his face anyway, and if he had, like on the beach, it wouldn't have mattered. Also, in the elevator, when he sees the guy has a gun, he wouldn't take the time to kiss Irene before bashing the dude's head in - the guy could kill him first. But, those moments worked for me, because sometimes style is substance (rarely, and only if done with complete precision). Plus, I don't tend to get bogged down with small details like that. The kiss, for example, represents something very important, even if realistically speaking, a normal person wouldn't turn their back on a guy who's about to kill them to give a girl a kiss.
It just all worked for me. A perfect film, in my opinion. And, imo, there's probably been only 6 or 7 of those in the past 5 years. The film really takes on the personality of the Driver, in a masterful way.... few films accomplish that with great effect. Recently, The Departed did a decent job of doing that. But I don't know if any film has done it like Drive. And it's fucking suspenseful as hell. I haven't felt that much tension since The Hurt Locker, or Breaking Bad for TV.
I LOVED the soundtrack. Just loved it.
I really hope, depending on what else is released this year, that Refn wins Best Director. Seriously one of the most well-directed films I've ever seen.

Jeremy: A perfect film is, obviously, a subjective thing. Having spent the evening and morning thinking about it I'm not sure I can agree with a lot of what you're saying. To me Drive was a REALLY well executed genre film. It's gorgeous to look at, but I think that style does not equal substance, and I think that a large part of why film has taken a downturn in recent years is that people think that it does. I can agree that it's a very well directed film, but I think that it's a stretch to think that he'll win, let alone get nominated. With the exception of Tarantino (and he is the exception, not the rule) the academy doesn't really respond to genre films. And this one in particular is missing the key ingredient to that - substance. Gosling is essentially playing a more aesthetically pleasing version of Travis Bickle, minus all the stuff that makes Bickle a truly unique character and one that still stands out today. And Carey Mulligan (who is absolutely adorable - I love her) is simply the damsel in distress - given how paper thin her character is, she makes up for it in wonderful ways by how she looks at him - and we can see her desire for someone to take care of her. But that's all there is to her character, sadly. She's just a male fantasy who is drawn, for reasons unknown, to sociopaths - both her husband and The Driver. And The Driver's only redeeming qualities is that he protects those who need protecting (also for reasons unknown). Albert Brooks and Bryan Cranston easily had the best characters in this film - the scene where Brooks kills Cranston could be the film's best. It was so understated and simply, and yet mildly horrifying. Loved it.
As I mentioned with 'the mask' that was just an obvious example of how empty a lot of the decision making in this film was. Things were often done because it 'looked cool'. Christina Hendricks' (whom I also adore) character could have been completely cut out of the film and it wouldn't have made a difference at all - it would have been really easy to do. But it looked cool to have a smoking hot woman help rob a store. Her character made zero difference to the film. The Driver had already met 'Cook' so it's not inconceivable that he could have found him on his own, or asked after him like he had to do anyway after Hendricks was killed. The kiss, actually, was fine for me. I saw it as The Driver using it to throw the gunman for a loop and confuse him, thereby giving The Driver the upper hand.
The ending, in particular bothered me, in that it didn't fit. Very often films like this go for a "down ending" because it's cooler than letting people be happy. It made sense for The Driver to walk away with nothing, and for the other people who got involved, but Carey Mulligan's character should have at least walked away with the money. She was an innocent and she was punished for no reason. Had they have her get involved in a sexual relationship with The Driver then I could see her ending up with nothing, but as it is, she gets nothing and for no reason. What's it to The Driver? Why would he leave all that money with the body at the end? Probably because it looked cool.
Now, all this being said, it was very entertaining, and it was a visually great looking film. But, for me, that's about all it was. It's not something I imagine I'll ever need to revisit, nor something that I'll need to reference down the line. Pretty much got everything I needed out of it the first time around.

Matt: I never said that I think he will win an Oscar, I said I hope he will, depending on what else comes out this year (it's a bit too premature to say for sure, especially since most of the best films come out in these next few months).
And I agree that style over substance is what destroys most modern films. That's why I walked out of The Tree of Life. That was almost entirely style over substance. But, sometimes style *can* be substance - Tarantino does it a lot (successfully making style also substance - he also fails a lot). And the Coens do it a lot. Or, in some situations, style isn't taking the front seat to substance; they're both side by side, which is the case with a lot of this film. The Driver is, as you say, essentially a Travis Bickle type character, but also more like Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name. More like him in that we know nothing about his past, and he doesn't seem to have much of a life - two things that Travis Bickle does have (though I guess he doesn't have much of a life either, but at least we see some of it). "Drive" is an existential study - it deals with those most important and basic of human emotions and needs, but does it better than any film in recent memory that I can think of. Mainly because of the acting. There is so much here in this film that couldn't have been on the page, unless the writer literally wrote "Driver thinks so and so." I knew every moment what the characters were thinking, despite them not saying anything. If that isn't the perfect storm of acting and directing, I don't know what is. Going off the existential idea - Nietzsche, as I'm sure you know, wrote of the Ubermensch - or "overman", sometimes "superman." What the Ubermensch really is is a person who has acquired total control of their life; someone with complete freedom. And the Driver is very much that - and when something threatens to unravel not only his freedom, but Irene's, he steps in and takes command. While I'd argue he has already, at the beginning of the film, achieved Ubermensch status, he doesn't fully realize it until the end of the film. And therein is why I'd also argue that this is much very a superhero origin story. So I think the Driver is very much a unique figure - he isn't stripped of character at all. He may not say much, but you know what he's feeling.
Existentialism also deals very much with guilt and regret - and when Standard is killed, Driver very much feels guilt and regret, which is not something an Ubermensch can feel. So his life is thrown out of whack by this. And to regain his ubermensch status - restore his life to normalcy - as well as ensure the protection of the kid and the girl, he does what he does. And why does he leave the money? Because Irene doesn't want it, and he doesn't want it - that isn't part of his goal. She doesn't get 'punished' - she outright rejects the money.
To me, it's a very philosophical film. Very existential, a lot like the recent The American or Le Samourai from the 60s. Many of the silent moments have great depth to them, and every shot is composed with care, precision, and meaning.
Yes, obviously perfection is a subjective thing. I don't deny that. Somebody could argue this is the worst movie in the past decade, and if they argued it with intelligence, I'd respect that opinion. I wouldn't agree - but I'd respect it. I respect your opinion of it, and other films, even if sometimes I do not agree. I once read a paper that argued Abraham Lincoln was the worst president ever. The writer didn't actually believe it, but they wanted to take that position and see if they could defend it. It was actually well-thought out and intelligent. Even if I (and most) don't agree.
For the record, to compare, the only other films in recent memory that I would call perfect, let's say the last five years, would be: The Wrestler, No Country for Old Men, The Hurt Locker, The Social Network, 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days, A Serious Man, United 93, Chop Shop, Up in the Air, and this film. But that's just my opinion.

Tricked

2011-09-18T20:12:00.001-04:00

I like slice-of-life character pieces, and from reading Box Office Poison I knew that I was in for a treat with Alex Robinson's other work. I picked this up at this year's Toronto Comic Arts Festival (the cover itself is worth the purchase for design geeks).

It takes just a little while to get used to the rhythm of the book, especially considering that we're following six main characters - but Robinson wisely makes each player and their story pretty unique, so it's not exactly difficult to tell them all apart.

It's hard to really commend something like this - I liked it. It was a nice casual read, great characters who I loved and loathed (as they were designed to), but this isn't the kind of book that everyone is going to love - so proceed with that in mind. If you like character based drama - go for it.

1619 - She's the One

2011-09-15T23:08:00.001-04:00

What I'm about to say is going to sound horribly vain, but it takes a fifteen year old film to remind you just how smoking hot both Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz were when they burst out into the screen. That's not to say that they aren't still attractive, but there was a noticeable difference. Here they are sex on a stick, now they are really beautiful women. If that makes any sense at all.
I haven't seen as many Ed Burns films as I should, his catalogue is pretty impressive in terms of the cast and tiny budget - and what he does now is even moreso. Any young filmmakers out there, you'll find time well spent searching out articles with Burns talking about getting films made and out there in the world. He's one of those "just fucking do it" guys that I greatly admire.
This film is about the nature of love as explored through various relationships intertwined with two brothers and some unlikely partners. Can you know someone a short period of time and know that they are the perfect match for you? Or do you painstakingly look for the perfect somebody knowing that it could very well end in heart break? These are the kinds of question that the film isn't afraid to ask it's characters.
With some great performances, writing, and directing all around I think it's pretty easy to recommend this film for those who like rom-coms in the guise of an indie film. Check it out if you can find it.

1618 - The Pixar Story

2011-09-14T22:48:00.000-04:00

It's safe to say that Pixar is a household name. Not many production companies can boast the same. I find them to be incredibly inspiring, and not only because of how good their films are - it's more than that. It's the way they approach the process in a collaborative environment where everyone helps contribute to everyone else's story and make them all better. It's the kind of thing that I'd like to have down the road - a big production office full of wonderfully creative people, all working on their own things, but all contributing to the whole as well.

This is a cute little doc about how this company came to be. I knew a lot of this going into it, but for those unfamiliar with their story, it's a very interesting one and worth checking out for sure, especially if you have a love for the company's films.