1777 - Inglouious Basterds

I haven't watched this film since it was in theatres and for some reason felt compelled to throw it on in the background as I was doing some mindless work.  I've been a pretty harsh critic of QT in my recent years and I'm trying to think of why.  I think it's because while he makes films that are entertaining as all hell and he's got style coming out the whazu (apologies - I have no idea how to spell whazu - you get the drift) I feel like he's lacking largely in substance.  I'd argue that his first two outings had some - there was some moral at the bottom of it all.  But his recent films just feel like he's having fun with the medium of film while telling variations on the revenge story - not to being overly critical, but the revenge story is one of the easiest to tell - an audience will always root for someone trying to right a wrong.  And there's nothing wrong with that - hell I'm developing one of my own.  But it seems to be a like a tad bit of a crutch for QT.  This film is full of some really wonderful and clever moments.  It's also full of a fair deal of pretension and lingering on moment and shots just because he damn well feels like it.  Anything with Christoph Waltz is pretty much amazing, because that's a man that demands attention and Brad Pitt is a shit-tonne of fun here as well. 
If you haven't seen this yet, clearly you're not a fan of Quentin Tarantino, so not sure what else there is to say about it.  I suppose, at the bottom of it, I'm more curious what the non-die hards think.  I find it entertaining, but largely forgetful.  No offence QT.  I'll still watch every new thing you ever make - but I don't disagree with the comments you've made that state you've only got about 10 films in you - shame is that half of them are the same story.

1776 - The Incredibles

This was our weekend 'Movie Night' flick for my three year old.  I was worried at first because it's a pretty high-level concept, but it just further proves how well Pixar delivers for kids and adults alike.
I remember seeing this initially in theatres and really loving the set-up - the fake documentary and newsreel stuff was really great.  They set up the world spectacularly.  And Ephraim got a kick out of all the physical stuff.  I think it's a film he'll continue to revisit and appreciate in new ways as it goes along.
It's always surprised me that they haven't followed up with a sequel, but I assume it's because Brad Bird hasn't made it his focus in any way and should he ever get the right idea he'll be on it right away.  But for now we've got this gem to re-watch.
I'll say this - if no other reason - become a parent so you have an excuse to revisit some awesome "kids" movies :)

1775 - Across the Universe

When this first came out I remember a review that said watching this film and how it treated the Beatles songs was akin to watching a neighbour molest his children.  That's a bit harsh - the musical re-imaginings are actually quite good and the strongest part of this film.  I saw this film in the theatres and despite not really liking it all that much, I really liked the soundtrack.  Now, years later, my young son is really into the Beatles and so I needed something to watch/listen to in the background so this fit the bill quite nicely.
Julie Taymor  is a visual phenom - no denying that - but holy shit can she not string a story together into this clusterfuck of a film.  It's actually kind of lazy and insulting.  Characters like Prudence exists, mostly just so that other characters can sing Dear Prudence.  The leads are strong given what they've got to work with.  It's a melodramatic puff piece.  Here's the thing - it's worth checking out for the music interpretations alone - but watch it more like you would a porno - assume that it's really just all about the music/sex and that everything is merely filler to get you from one place to the next.  That's really what it is.
I vowed I'd never watch this again, but here I am - so perhaps it's not all that terrible.  And if it is your neighbour molesting your kids, well, at least they're singing some pretty great songs while they're doing it.

1774 - The Groomsmen

For some reason I completely forgot that I owned this film and here I've been looking for it on VOD all around.  This is one of the last films that Edward Burns made before he decided to go the extremely low-budget route in his filmmaking.  This film absolutely has more polish than his current work (although his newest film looks pretty slick).  Burns tells these extremely watchable character pieces.  I'd argue that this film starts to feel long - and given that it's barely over ninety minutes that's a bit of an issue.  It's the story of a man about to head into a shotgun wedding and where he and the men in his life are currently at.  There's a lot to like about this film - Matthew Lillard is a stand-out for sure.  I found it a touch uneven and also that a good deal of the conflicts in the film came up at random as opposed to organically.  That said it's full of a lot of heart and honesty and really "gets" men and our fucked up issues.  It was lovely to see Brittney Murphy again - goddamn she was lovely.  Still missed!
So while this film is by no means essential viewing, if you're going through Burns filmography it's not one you want to skip over either.

1773 - The Girlfriend Experience

I have to be honest - I assumed that this film was going to be a tad pretentious and that it was going to feel a tad like a chore to get through - it wasn't in the slightest.  Despite having a very non-linear style to it where the story juxtaposed five different days in the life of our hero and her live-in boyfriend, it was absolutely accessible and you find yourself very drawn into the world of these two characers.
Is Sasha Gray a fantastic actress?  Probably not.  Is she amazing here?  She sure goddamn is.  There's tinge of vacancy going on, and whether it's calculated or not it works.  You're seduced into this world by Soderbergh and Gray all at once.  I don't know how widely this got released but if you're into dramatic relationship films that are slightly unconventional than this is probably going to be straight up your alley.  I found it pretty damn charming and lovely. 

1772 - The Jungle Book

I haven't watched this in a really long time.  As a child I was involved in Cub Scouts and this is where all of the names of the leaders is ripped off from (well, technically I suppose they're ripped off from the book).  Tonight was a movie night with my little guy and my wife recommended this one for him (I wanted Wizard of Oz, but he's informed me that he's not old enough to not be scared of the scary witch - fair enough).
He loved the hell out of this film.  Baloo made him howl with his physical antics, and he really got caught up with the story and how it played out.  The animation style and limitations are so dated, but it's lovely to see that that doesn't matter story-wise to someone so with such fresh eyes.  I'm going to do my best to keep him in a mixture of classic and modern films - he's got enough of an attention span so long as something's good.
Every movie geek father dreams of having a movie geek child - and so far - so good!

1771 - The Sitter

I assumed from the trailer for this that it was essentially a knock off of Adventures in Babysitting, which was one of my favourite flicks as a kid - and it more-or-less is but not in the worst possible way.  It's a solid premise, but it's made it's own here.  It's cruder, has drug use, etc… and it comes off as just a big fun flick and I'm okay with that.  Jonah Hill could do this part in his sleep - and that's not to say he's phoning it in - he brings it to the role, but it's the kind of thing that's by no means a stretch for him.  Sam Rockwell was a lovely surprise and also very wonderful here as our villain (although the best friend running gag felt a tad over-done for my liking). 
If you grew up with 80's flicks like I did this will probably make you feel right at home.  I decided to give it a shot on Netflix 'cause I wanted to just chill, catch up on e-mails and watch something not too demanding - and it fit the bill perfectly.  This film knows exactly what it is - light entertainment - and there's nothing wrong with that.

1770 - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

I still have mixed feelings about this film.  I wanted something to play in the background as I did some planning and prepping for a project at my desk.  I think I'd started this commentary before and never finished it.  It's not another overly remarkable.  You don't get a super large insight into anything, really.  One of the more interesting things is how they talk about the development of the script and how it happened slowly because they started early while Bryan was still writing the books.    Everything else is just them hanging out and having a good time - and chatting about Toronto, which is always lovely as well. 
I'd have to rematch it again on it's own but I think my fundamental issue with the film sticks - and it's in comparison to the books.  The books take place over a decent amount of time - several months at least wherein the film takes place over the course of maybe a week or two.  It makes the shift about a story about how relationships are difficult to being about getting over the hang-ups of a new relationship.  Not a terrible subject matter, but not quite as interesting to me as the former.
All in all I still recommend the books over the film, and the books in general .  It's a fantastic series. 

1769 - Argo

I don't care what anyone says - nobody directs Ben Affleck better than Ben Affleck.  Hell, few direct as well as him period.  In three films Affleck has announced himself as a real talent behind the camera, and I hope he's not through yet.  I've always liked him well enough as an actor, but never been drawn to a film just because he's in it - but as a director - I'm there on opening night.
I didn't know about this story at all, and I went to see it with an American friend whom had heard about the 444 held in captivity, but not abbot the 6 that got away, and the story of what happened to them - even though it had been declassified over a decade ago.
It's the story of an American embassy overthrown and how six people who got away and were being searched for, got away.  Canada got all the credit for the mission originally, but in the film come off as little more than inn-keepers - I think that there's something in the middle that's most likely truer of the actual events and both sides involvements.  In addition, in the thrilling climax, I'm sure that the majority of it was invented for the sake of pure entertainment - and entertaining it is!!! 
Here's the bottom line - don't go to see the film as if it's history lesson - so to see it because it's a very entertaining thriller with some fantastic performances from Ben, Bryan Cranston, Alan Alda, John Goodman, and many others.  It's entertaining as hell, and despite some creative allowances gives you a pretty good glance into how fucked up some stuff has to be.  The bizarre issues between nations in this world of ours.  Highly recommend it. 

1768 - Psycho

I saw the Hitchcock trailer the other day and ever since it made me want to revisit this.  I wish I knew someone who saw this film when it was originally released, before it became such a pop culture phenomenon and all of it's sweet surprises were spoilt.  As it stands it's hard to be overly impressed by it given we're fifty years later in the history of cinema and it's techniques are over-used by today's standards and we're so used to twist endings.  I imagine at it's time it was something spectacular.  Even the shower scene now seems tame - although, again, it must have set the standard to beat for all horror films that have come since.  What's most impressive for the time though, must have been the way it shifts it's narrative from characters - to me that's the true brilliance of this film. 
I've never delved into the sequels to the series, never felt the need, and I'm curious if anyone out there thinks it's worth the effort.
If you've never seen this and you're a lover of film you almost have to just out of obligation, but I just can't imagine you'll get out of it what it's original audience must have. 

Cinderella, Vol 2 - Fables Are Forever

I read this last week and haven't had time to jot down my thoughts.  What I like a lot about this is what I miss about the Fables series in general.  It's got a real sense of fun and mixing with characters - the characters in Fables currently just don't feel like they're all that connected to the original material all that much anymore, and I miss it a touch.  But here we've got a James Bond-esque story with Cinderella as our super-spy, and it's so much fun.  This story juxtaposes the past and present showing her going toe-to-toe with one of her greatest foes and I won't ruin who that is for you here. 
The story plays with a bit of a twist near the end, which is tremendous fun, but I question if the logic of it stands up at all.  If you're into Fables you'll want to check out this series, it reminds you what you loved about the world in the first place.

1767 - Jeff, Who Lives at Home

I'm a big fan of the Duplass Brothers and their success - I think it's well deserved.  I think that, like Jeff in this film, they were in the right place at the right time and ready for it.  They tell simple stories but ones that are just rife with wonderfully comedic, but painfully honest moments - and this is no exception.  The story is, literally, about a stoner son who is sent out to buy wood glue for his mother and the events that transpire around it.  Jeff is obsessed with the idea of fate and things happening for a reason and this day will test that in really great ways.
Filled with talents that I adore - Jason Segal, Ed Helms, Susan Sarandon, and Judy Greer (who can do no wrong in my book) - each character gets a solid moment to shine here. 
Is some of it heavy handed?  Perhaps - actually - yeah, sure.  But it never steps into melodrama, it doesn't need to.  It just got added to Netflix recently so there's no time but the present to check out this really solid little flick!

Fables #17: Inherit the Wind

It probably speaks to how long it took me to getting around to picking this up as to where my enthusiasm with this series is.  This was easily one of my favourite comic series for quite a while, and if I'm honest, I stick around because I've invested so much time in it already.  So there's that.  This volume didn't help that so much in that it was a big hallway towards what's hopefully to come - and I get that books have to do that - but when there's such a huge wait between instalments, I just need a little more to hang my hat on to keep me going.  The storyline with the cubs was fine enough, but the only real thing that got me excited in the entire issue was Rose Red's Christmas story and what appears to be Boy Blue telling her to get her shit in gear and figure out a way to revive him from the dead.  Sweet lord I've been looking forward to that for… geez… five or six volumes now…
So if you're a huge Fables nerd, you'll want to get this just because - but do NOT start here - it'll just confuse you. 

1766 - Looper

I can't remember the last time I saw a film on opening weekend.  It's been a while.  I'm still behind and haven't seen Rian Johnson's last film "Brother's Bloom".
So, first and foremost, as always I enjoyed the hell out of Joseph-Gordon Levitt - he's on such an amazing streak right now.  They make-up job they do on him to make him more like Bruce Willis is pretty impressive for the most part.  The film is pretty fun - for those unaware it's about a future where time travel was invented and then made illegal, and crime syndicates use it as a way to get rid of people by having a "looper" on the other end kill them and dispose of the body.  Sound complicated?  It is.  In fact, it's complications like this that, ultimately, keep the film from really working for me.  I enjoyed it a lot.  Emily Blunt was enjoyable as well, and the kid in it was goddamn phenomenal - what a discover he was!  There's so many fun and inventive sequences and it's entertaining and worth checking out.  If I ever get around to watching it again I'll get into all the nit-picky stuff that really nagged at me, but I'll let it go and not ruin anything for you fine folks.
If you're curious, at all, as to the nature of my nit-picky, it has, mostly, to do with just the complete brushing aside of even trying to explain why and how the time travel works - it just feels a tad lazy - like an amazing concept was had and to avoid having to make it logical they just decided to avoid explanation.  Bitch, moan, just enjoy the film already, right?
It's being billed as a thinking man's action film, and I'll give it that, just don't think on it too hard or it might start falling apart on you.

1765 - Louie: season three

If you've read my reviews of the past seasons of this series, this will come to no surprise to you.  Louie C.K. is my favourite comedian, and Louie is, hands down, my favourite comedy series currently on the air.  In terms of enjoyment this series is on a par with the films of Woody Allen for me.  The humour is often subtle, but it packs an honest punch and it makes you force a mirror onto yourself and your own life, but without ever being ridiculously heavy handed.
This season told much more of a straight story than the previous.  It would appear that Louis decided to tell a more fluid story of love and loss, aspiration, and reality.  SPOILERS AHEAD.  From meeting the girl of his dreams to watching her slip away in a terrible fashion, from being groomed for one of the top spots in his profession, to suffering in a moat of depression, this season was about Louie having to get out of his lonely funk and do something about himself.  And he's succeeded admirably. 
There is absolutely no other series like this on television and it's the kind of thing that would be just impossible to replicate.  It's unique because it allows one of the greatest entertainers of our generation to just go out there and tell the story he wants to tell.  Here's hoping they let him tell lots more.

1764 - Young Adult

Holy shit it's been a long time since I've watched an actual film.  Spending my evenings on Sex After Kids has kept me more-or-less away from cinema, but since I had a break tonight I thought I'd treat myself to a film I've been meaning to see for quite some time. 
I'm a big fan of a lot of the people involved in this film, and I'd yet to see a Jason Reitman film I hadn't liked.  Let's cut the shit - we all know that Charlize Theron is a pretty damn attractive woman, but she's also one that's not scared to look or be ugly in a film, and so for a guy like me, that makes her all the more attractive.  She plays a pretty despicable person here and it works because she does it in such a fascinating way that you just can't wait to see what she'll do next.  At first I wondered, what does she really see in the Patrick Wilson character, but then it started to make more sense to me - he's not the point - he's kind of a loser himself - her issue is her bullshit ties to the past and I can identify with that.  Patton Oswalt was pretty damn great here as well and I can understand why a lot of people think he was robbed from some award nominations.
For those who see the Diablo Cody/Reitman reunion please know that this film and Juno are pretty far removed from one another - this one is a little more difficult to swallow - it's not about selfish people becoming better people - it's more about selfish people realizing that they need to be less shitty and move the hell on.  It's not the kind of film I think I'll ever need to own or revisit, but I'm glad I finally caught it all the same!

1763 - The L.A. Complex: season two

This is a tricky one to right up because I've got some friends that are involved in this series and, if I'm honest, I'd love to work on this show if it comes back for a third season (please, oh please come back for a third season).  After the first season I liked this show a lot - there were some story lines that I wasn't crazy about and characters that I wasn't big on - but this second season came back swinging and realized that it was okay to not like all of the characters, so long as they were made interesting.  What's strongest about this series is that it has absolutely no problem with upsetting the status quo and putting it's characters through hell.  You actually believe that a character might leave and never come back, because that happens, because that's true to life.  This world inside of this show is messy, and despite being a bit of a soap opera, it's also quite real.  Characters are given hard choices, and even when they win they have to do so by losing something else.  Martin Gero and his writing staff understand how much loss plays into victory, and there's always sacrifice, especially when it comes to something so personal as following your dreams. 
If you're in Canada you can watch this series for free off of Much Music's website - otherwise I'm sure there's re-runs and on-demand type stuff.  It's easily my favourite Canadian series, and I'm proud of the work they've done on it.  As Jewel Staite in the (hopefully not series) finale, "We made something".  They certainly did.  And also the season wrapped up quite well, I could personally go for another round.

1762 - Weeds: season eight

It has been a long-ass ride to the end of this series.  Regardless of quality it's one of the more unique series in it's willingness to completely re-invent itself and it did so in some pretty amusing ways.  I was ridiculously impressed when the series actually sent Nancy off to prison and forced her to pay for her crimes.  This season was all about coming full circle, getting back to the suburbs and the heart of the story, and it did so in kind of a clunky way.  What comes now will be SPOILER RIDDEN, so proceed with caution…

As previously mentioned, this series has never had an issue re-inventing itself, jumping ahead in time, etc… so it wasn't a huge shock that the finale would jump ahead…. eight years?  Is that right?  And looking at the other jumps in time, and the seasons themselves it seems as if the entire series takes place over… what 13-15 years?  That's kind of amazing, really.  It almost felt like they re-watched the first season of the series to see what they should revisit here…. Scotson.  Check!  Shane's fascination with Pittsburg - check!  Silas and Megan - check!  Andy and the Rabbi chick - check!  Doug and his gay son - check!  Jumping ahead so far for the finale also meant forcing a lot of focus on a new actor as Stevie, the character who was probably given the least amount of focus for the rest of the series.  Am I happy that they all found peace at the end?  Sure - and I like that it left Nancy feeling pretty fucked up, and that Andy never gave in.  Their relationship was always the highlight for me.  Both Mary-Louise Parker and Justin Kirk are absolutely phenomenal, and their chemistry has been a huge plus to the show, and probably the chief reason that I always returned to it.  Their scene on the spot where her first husband died was a thing of beauty and pain and was easily one of the shows finest moments. 

So farewell to this show - I can't say I'll miss it terribly as I watched it more to see how it would end up - it ceased being the must-watch show that it started out as.  Kind of like an ex-girlfriend whom you have an amicable break-up with.  You still like them but you don't love them anymore, and don't think much about them when they're away. 

1761 - Breaking Bad: season five

I'm a tad behind on writing about this one as well - although only a week so cut me some slack :)  Needless to say, this is season five (or the first half anyway - I'm still considering the next season as season six given that it's a year break) and so this is going to be ridiculously SPOILER HEAVY.  Get out now if you're not caught up of the series.  And if you're just starting, enjoy the ride!  You're in good hands.
So it's been a hell of a ride watching Walter White go from good guy to buy, from Mr. Chips to Scarface.  And it's seemed awfully effortless.  Bryan Cranston is peerless in just how fucking good he is in this type of role.  After the hell he went through last year it was delightful to watch Walt come into his own while still cleaning up the mess that his pride had gotten him into.  And what amazed me the most was how as soon as Skyler finally broke through to him… Heisenberg went away.  Walt saw that he's well-over-achieved his dream.  And beautifully, that's when the other shoe drops.  Although he doesn't know it yet.  If I have one complaint it's that we didn't get to see Hank freak out more at the ultimate discovery.  Although how goddamn exciting is it to know that Hank is in 'the know' going into the final eight episodes?  So many ways this could go down, and we know that we're in good hands with Vince Gilligan and crew.  Shame we have to wait a year, but it's worth it if the final chapter is anywhere near the quality of this series thus far.  Easily one of the best television series of all time.

1760 - Community: season two

So I'm ridiculously behind on this series (season three just added to Netflix - huzzah!).  This is a series that I admire the hell out of, even if I don't absolutely love it.  It's hilarious and has a cast that I find phenomenally enjoyable.  The guys I want to hang with, the women I want to date.  But not because they're beautiful (which they are) but because they just seem like a helluva lot of fun to hang around.  This series is unlike any other in it's ability to constantly test it's format.  You could argue that really all they do is play with genre within their own universe, but I'd argue that that's easier said than done.  They do this, sure, but they don't abandon their characters or arc to do so.  Is it about a community college?  Not really.  It's about, like all great sit-coms, a dysfunctional non-traditional, family. 
I don't imagine that this series is for everyone, but if you're a comedy fan and a bit of a nerd, you could do a hell of a lot worse.  It'll be interesting to rapidly consume the next season and then see what happens when they come back sans-Dan Harmon...