2022 - Smashed

A cinematographer I know showed me part of this film as a visual reference for something and I'd wanted to see it ever since and was happy to see it on Netflix.  It tells the story of an alcoholic couple and what happens when one of them tries to get better and the other just couldn't give a shit.  Mary Elizabeth Winstead gives a charmed performance and manages to keep her character human and likeable amidst all of the shit she puts herself through battling her addition.  Paul is fantastic as the passive aggressive husband who, in theory, wants his wife to get better, but really doesn't want her to realize that she can get more out of this life.  It's a really lovely and heartbreaking story.  Check it out if you can!

1871 - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

I've seen this film a few times, and I always think that distance will make me like it more - but I can't separate it from the books as much as I would like.  Here's the thing - I dig this film - I appreciate what a visual feast it is, I like the tone.  The cast is a who's who of a lot of my favourite actors.  My beef is the heart of it.  It's…. missing.  The big difference between this and the comic is that the comic takes place over the course of, I believe, two years.  This takes place in, maybe a week or so.  So the story is richer in the book and more about how hard it is to be in a relationship.  And I like Mary Elizabeth Winstead as an actor, but she plays Ramona Flowers as far too indifferent to make me invest in any way in the relationship.  

I'm absolutely sure that I'm too hard on this film, 'cause it's a shitload of fun - but there was a heart to the books that really spoke to me and my own experience with relationships - and mores than the awesome fights and quirk, that's what I wanted this film to nail.  Alas.  It's still a ball of fun, and a beautiful shout-out to Toronto.  If you haven't seen it you should just because there's almost nothing else like it.