Down In Front

"How do we inspire ourselves to greatness when nothing less will do?"

2011-05-13T11:47:00.003-06:00

Invictus

By William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

On Tuesday night I watched Invictus for the first time. Something tells me it won’t be the last time.

Invictus is about Nelson Mandela and rugby. Ok, maybe it’s a little more in-depth than that, but I’m not sure I’m qualified to put into words exactly what is at the heart of this film; only that it has tremendous heart and rings all the more true given that it is based on real events.

Lately I’ve been challenging myself to look beyond the mere quality of a film and instead try to find those truths that God speaks through the film. I’ve always believed that God’s truth exists everywhere; we just have to look for it. This can be said of all man’s accomplishments (and failures) but seems to be most prevalent in the arts: music, film, paintings, sculptures and poetry, to name a few. I think this is because of the creative nature of the arts. If God is the God of all creation, then it shouldn’t surprise us when His truths are revealed in our own creations.

"Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon."

Having said all that, I’m not sure I can pin down the truths revealed in Invictus or do it justice with my simple words. But I’ll do my best.

At one point in the film, Matt Damon’s character, Francois Pienaar, is touring the prison cell where Nelson Mandela (portrayed perfectly by Morgan Freeman) was held for 25 years. As he tries to put himself in Mandela’s shoes we hear Freeman’s voice recite the poem ‘Invictus’. This is a poem, and similarly a film, about soul. And not just any soul, but an unconquerable soul.

"I was thinking about how you spend 30 years in a tiny cell, and come out ready to forgive the people who put you there."

Two of God’s greatest gifts to us are our soul and the freedom to choose what we do with it; the freedom to choose our own path. He offers guidance, help, forgiveness, even eternal life, but ultimately we are the masters of our own fate; we are the captains of our souls. I think it is the combination of our ability to direct our own destiny and God’s willingness to help guide us, should we choose to allow Him to do so, that makes the soul of man unconquerable.

The poem speaks this truth much more eloquently that I am able to convey here. In the film it is demonstrated through Mandela’s attempts to forgive his accusers and bring together a divided nation. It is demonstrated through Francois’ determination to exceed everyone’s expectations and achieve something great. Despite being “simply” about Nelson Mandela and rugby, Invictus manages to reveal God’s truth. That with His help, in the face of grief, sorrow, pain and struggling, the challenge of life finds, and shall find, us unafraid.

3 Movie Challenge

2011-05-06T07:22:00.016-06:00

A great, new friend recently posted on his blog a series of questions from a friend of his. The idea is to pick your top 3 favourite films and then answer a couple of thought-provoking questions about those picks. (You can check out the original post here.)

The movie-obsessed-geek in me was instantly intrigued and excited about taking on this 3-movie challenge. And what a challenge it has been. If you know me at all, or have seen my movie collection, then you have an idea of how monumentally difficult this was for me. Pick only 3?!? Impossible.

On my first attempt I was able to narrow it down to my top 48 favourite movies. Not a promising start. After agonising over it for many days (seriously, ask my wife) I think I have finally decided on my top 3. Though I still think picking only 3 favourite movies is, for me, like picking the 3 most important parts of the space shuttle; they’re all pretty important.

Ultimately I had to narrow the field down by asking myself which films I would miss the most if I could never watch them again. That, for me, helped define which were my favourites as opposed to those which I thought were just really good movies.

At any rate, here are the questions and my answers:

What are your three favourite movies?

In no particular order, here are the 3 I managed to come up with:

1) The Count of Monte Cristo
2) The Shawshank Redemption
3) The Empire Strikes Back

What is the common thematic thread running through each of these choices?

Answering this question wasn’t much easier than the first, though I did have some awesome help from Shauna. More on that in a moment. I was first struck by the fact that my first two picks involve wrongful imprisonment. The third does too if you count Han Solo being encased in carbonite and shipped off to Jabba’s palace. Though technically Han was smuggling illegal goods and did have to dump Jabba’s cargo when an Imperial cruiser came snooping. So in a way his imprisonment wasn’t completely wrongful. I’m sure Leia and Chewie would argue with that logic.

But I digress. (Sorry, my geek is showing.)

Anyway, wrongful imprisonment aside, I tried to think of any other common themes running through each of these films. This is where Shauna’s insight really helped. Her first impression was that each main character (Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo and Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back) went through a period of learning and tutelage under a mentor. Andy learns from Red how to exist within the prison system. Edmond learns a number of disciplines, including reading, writing, economics and fencing, from Abbe Faria. And, as we all know, Luke learns the ways of the Jedi from Master Yoda. I disagreed only slightly in that Andy seems to already have a wealth of knowledge and he seems to be the one who ends up teaching the other inmates lessons in art, music, taxes, persistence and most importantly, hope.

Finally, Shauna came to the conclusion that the common theme in all three films is that of self-discovery. Each main character goes through a trial or series of trials that teaches them who they really are. They each find a purpose for their lives, either as a result of their situations or as a result of their decisions, good or bad. It is actually Red who discovers that hope is what drives him and ultimately finds his own destiny with Andy outside the walls of Shawshank. Edmond confronts his oppressors and while driven by revenge he ultimately learns that God’s grace is the only thing that can bring true peace to his life. And Luke chooses to abandon his training and confront Darth Vader, which ultimately starts him down the path to discovering his true identity and destiny.

Shauna also alluded to another common thread that ties in with the theme of self-discovery. Each character has their lives and relationships completely torn apart and they find themselves thrown into a new world. Andy and Red are both cut off from family and the world inside the walls of Shawshank Prison. Edmond is similarly thrown in prison, separated from his fiancée and father. And in Empire we find Luke already trying to come to terms with the loss of Obi-Wan Kenobi (not to mention his Aunt and Uncle) and his new role in the Rebellion as a Jedi.

Each finds themselves separated, in some way, from the life they knew. Each must endure the tests, challenges and confrontations that their new lives bring about. And ultimately each learns their true destiny and true identity.

What does this say about you?

I identify with film characters who are struggling to find their place and discover who they really are. No, I have never been in prison. No, I have never found a secret treasure which I then used to exact revenge on my numerous enemies. And no, sadly, I have never been summoned to Dagobah to learn the ways of the Force (I wish!).

I think I can identify with these characters because I have spent a great deal of my own life struggling to discover who I am and what my place is in this world. Specifically as a man, husband and one day, father. I did not have many positive male role models when I was growing up. I have had to discover what it means to be a good husband on my own; gathering small bits of insight from men outside my family. And some day I will have to discover what it means to be a father on my own, again drawing only from the observations I can make from other people’s fathers. For better or worse, these struggles and losses in my life have ultimately defined a large part of who I am.

When I think of the main themes of each of these movies, I cannot help but smile and look to my heavenly Father, who has shown His truth through these characters. Andy reminds us that “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” Edmond learns to put aside his revenge, finds peace with himself and God, and discovers that even when he no longer believed in God, God still believes in him. And Luke discovers that no matter how terrible the past might be, no matter how grim the current situation appears, there is always a chance for redemption and reconciliation, and for good to triumph over evil.

Amen to that.

Is "tired old cliche" one?

2011-04-21T09:39:00.006-06:00

I mentioned the other day that I’m in possession of a large number of borrowed Blu-rays, provided to me by a movie-obsessed co-worker. You think my collection is large? We once estimated that he must have over 2,500 DVDs! He doesn’t rent movies. He doesn’t go to the theatre. He buys everything he watches. And he watches a LOT. It’s great to have access to such a bountiful supply of movies, but that supply covers a very bizarre and interesting spectrum. I don’t recognize half of the movies he lends me. Which sometimes makes for some pleasant surprises. Sometimes.

On Monday night I browsed through the stack of movies currently on-loan and decided to pop Skyline into the PS3. I knew it was an alien flick. Someone once described it as a cross between Cloverfield and War of the Worlds. Cloverfield is a clever, unique film (if somewhat dizzying) and War of the Worlds is a great blockbuster with equal parts action and suspense. Both films have earned a spot in my collection. So with that in mind Skyline should have been fantastic. It should have been engaging, thrilling and intelligent.

As my wife would say, “Don’t should all over yourself.”

While Skyline had terrific special effects and a couple of exciting moments, it was, for the most part, a heaping pile of cliché. Most films include at least one or two typical clichés. You know, one of the main characters decides to wander off in search of someone or something, by themselves, while the monster/alien/texas-chainsaw-wielding-madman is still out there on the loose. Or the group of terrified teenagers decides to slowly walk backwards out of a room, their backs to the camera, not taking a single glance behind them to make sure they’re not walking into certain death.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that cliché in film is always bad. Letting that bomb tick away until the last second before the hero finally defuses it can create effective tension if done right. But when film cliché goes bad, it goes really bad. Skyline is a great example. Or a horrible example. Depends which way you want to look at it. If you want my opinion, I suggest you don’t look at it at all. The movie, that is.

The film's tag-line is "Don't Look Up".
I say "Don't Look. At this movie. At all".

I first knew things were going horribly wrong when the main character committed a particularly annoying cliché. He had been injured in some fashion. I won’t spoil how, except to say that he was psychically “burned” by the invading aliens which left his skin marked with black lines where his blood vessels were, causing him extreme pain and giving him a slight, mental insight into the mind of the alien invaders. Oops. Did I give too much away? Oh well, I guess you don’t have to watch the movie now. You can thank me later.

At any rate, when asked by a fellow survivor if he was ok, he instantly covered himself up and said “Yes, I’m fine.” This happens a LOT in film. Someone gets hurt and decides the best course of action is to hide that injury from everyone and pretend that it will just go away on its own. I guess some directors feel that this builds tension for the audience. “Ooh, I wonder what will happen with that mysterious injury?” It doesn’t. It just frustrates us and reeks of arrogance and ignorance. Not great qualities in a hero. And the person asking him if he was ok wasn’t just some random character. It was his pregnant girlfriend! Probably the closest person he knew or had a relationship with. That just made the cover up all the more frustrating.

Aliens attack L.A. 'Nuff said?

I’m not sure why I focused on that moment, but there it is. The movie really went down hill from there, although there were some cool battle scenes. But that’s just visual candy. There was no substance and the terrible clichés just reinforced the thought that these characters weren’t worth caring about.

Give Skyline a miss. Instead, watch a movie that uses some of those clichés in a much more satisfying and subtle manner. The Hurt Locker immediately comes to mind and is far more worthy of your time.

Having said all that, what are some your most annoying and frustrating clichés in film? Post a comment and let me know.

“I'm the one who's fighting. Not you, not you, and not you.”

2011-04-18T14:48:00.007-06:00

Shauna and I spent the weekend up in ‘The Park’ with some great friends (shout out to Steve, Sue, Brian, Chrissy, Meghan, Ian, Abby, Zach, Allie and Sydney), hanging out, eating giant, awesome meals, playing with the kids and generally being silly. It was a wonderful visit and I’m pleased to say that Shauna now holds the Gold Medal for best charade. Ever. Please, please, please ask her to show it to you sometime. If she doesn’t agree, I’m happy to reveal that there is video proof.

At any rate, once we got home we both immediately realized that we were in severe movie withdrawal. Ok maybe I was the one in withdrawal but Shauna has always been my biggest enabler, so we both agreed to watch something together.

We decided on ‘The Fighter’ for no other reason than it was on the top of the pile of Blu-rays that I’ve borrowed from a co-worker. He’s loaned me about 20 movies at the moment. I have this strange need to watch them all before I start catching up on the movies in my own collection that I still need to watch. It’s the only part of my movie obsession that sometimes feels like a chore. I seriously have issues. But today’s blog isn’t about my issues.

It’s about Christian Bale’s.

Or rather, it’s about Dicky Eklund’s issues, the real-life character portrayed by Bale in the critically acclaimed ‘The Fighter’.

For those of you who don’t follow Oscar buzz and don’t get obsessed with Best Picture nominations or Best Actor awards, or have been living in the Arctic Circle for the past year, The Fighter is the true story of two brothers, their relationship with each other and their own personal struggles with family, crack and boxing. Not necessarily in that order. Mark Wahlberg plays Micky Ward, half brother to Dick Eklund (Bale), a once renowned boxer who went toe-to-toe with Sugar Ray Leonard and came out on top. At least, temporarily. Micky is now training to take his own shot at a boxing career, under Dickey’s tutelage (don’t let the names turn you off). I don’t want to spoil any part of the movie for you, but I don’t think it’s any surprise that Dickey’s crack addiction doesn’t help things.

Christian Bale is a genius. This is an actor who does his homework and completely embodies the role he’s been given, both physically and emotionally. The Fighter is another link in an already impressive chain of physically demanding films for Bale. Just take note of his body weight changes through The Machinist (121 lbs.), Batman Begins (190 lbs.), Rescue Dawn (135 lbs.), The Dark Knight (back up to 195lbs.) and The Fighter (down again to approximately 150 lbs.). And since The Dark Knight Returns is currently in pre-production it’s safe to assume that Bale is already putting the muscle back on.

Weight loss aside, Bale still delivers an incredible performance, one more than worthy of the Academy Award he earned earlier this year. His speech, mannerisms and facial ticks are a sobering and accurate depiction of the effects of crack cocaine. And yet Bale also manages to convincingly display the skill and knowledge of a former, professional, Welterweight boxer. From each nervous laugh to every paranoid flinch, Bale is Dick Eklund, head to toe.

Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo also deliver note-worthy performances, but quite honestly, they pale in comparison to Christian Bale’s incredible display of acting ability. I was surprised to learn that his Oscar was in the Supporting Actor category. He deserves a Leading Role nod for this performance and although I’m glad he won, I still think he was robbed. Just compare Bruce Wayne to Dick Eklund. It’s mind-boggling that these two roles were even possible for a single actor to nail so perfectly.

Putting my apparent man-crush on Christian Bale aside, The Fighter is still a fantastic film. The boxing scenes are realistic and captivating. The characters are believable and easy to invest in (which one would hope given that they’re all based on real people and in at least one case performed by the actual person). This movie is worth your time. It will find a permanent place in my collection. Assuming I can find a place for my collection. I have officially run out of shelf space. Time for a new house I guess.

Catching Up, Part 4

2011-04-15T13:14:00.009-06:00

Four in a row! After over two years of gathering dust on the virtual shelf my blog seems to be alive once again. It feels great to be writing again and I'm excited about sharing my thoughts, opinions and unparalleled knowledge of all things "movie" with the world. I know you all missed me.

Here is the fourth and final part in my Catching Up series. Enjoy!

Casablanca

I’ve been trying more in recent years to catch up on all the “classic” films from long before I was old enough (or even alive) to appreciate good filmmaking. I had a number of films from this category that I considered including in this catch-up list (Citizen Kane, To Kill a Mockingbird, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, to name a few) but in the end it seemed appropriate to include, arguably, the most well-known classic of them all, Casablanca. I’m always interested to see if these older movies have stood the test of time. Are their characters, plots and writing still relevant? Can it still capture the attention of a 30-something guy who enjoys a good mainstream, apocalyptic film with (or without) killer robots? Well in the case of Casablanca I’m happy to announce that it does indeed pass that test. At least for me. The writing is just brilliant, but that’s no surprise for a movie that has no less than six of its quotes on the A.F.I. Top 100 Movie Quotes of All Time. The story is tried and true and Bogart is at his best. This film personifies the highest echelon of filmmaking. I’m glad I finally saw it and I’m glad it matches the hype. That’s impressive for a film that’s almost 70 years old.

Vertigo

Another in my series of movies-I-need-to-watch, though I include it for almost the opposite reason as Casablanca. Now I might be stirring up some dissention by saying this (Michael H., I apologize) but I was totally underwhelmed by this Hitchcock “classic”. I really tried to give it a fair shake, but the film bored me for the most part, confused me in some other parts, and just generally left me thinking “Really?” In this writer’s opinion, this film has not stood the test of time. The writing and acting just don’t measure up and the convoluted plot just doesn’t fit. Again, that’s one man’s opinion and I know I’m probably in the minority. But there it is. It just left me dizzy. (I agonized about including that pun, but felt it had to be done.)

True Grit (1969)

The Coen Brothers make some great films. I’m a big fan of Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou? and No Country For Old Men. The scripts are superb, the acting is top-notch and the films themselves are a pleasant break from typical Hollywood fare. When I heard that they were going to remake True Grit I knew I had better watch the original first. I’ve said before that I’m a fan of westerns, but I had never seen the 1969 John Wayne classic that earned him is first (and only) Academy Award. So I wrangled up a copy (see what I did there?) and popped it into Ye Olde Blu-Ray player (that’s a bit of an oxymoron I think). This is a great western. The dynamics between Cogburn, La Boeuf and Mattie Ross are very engaging and entertaining. And my hat goes off to Kim Darby who gives an incredible performance as young Ross. I was surprised by how well this film has held up over the years. Now I can’t wait to see the Coen Brothers’ version. Has anyone seen both? Thoughts?

The Social Network

If there’s one thing that has changed significantly in the last two years, it has to be the emergence of social networking. Facebook. It has changed the way an entire generation interacts with one another. The story behind the creation of this worldwide trend is incredible and, I think, important. Going into this film I was most interested in learning about the birth of Facebook and the people involved (that is, their involvement, not their births). What I didn’t expect was to discover one of the most well-crafted films I’ve seen in a long time. Regardless of your interest in the Facebook phenomenon, The Social Network is a brilliantly made film. From the score and cinematography to the writing and acting, this film earns high marks across the board. It’s even a technological marvel in some areas (did you know that the Winklevoss twins were portayed by a single actor?). There’s a lot more going on here than just the creation of Facebook. This is a story about character, ideas, ownership, relationships and vision. And a very well told story at that. Highly recommended.

TRON Legacy

TRON Legacy makes the list because it is the most recent “blockbuster” I’ve seen. Just last week Shauna and I sat down and had ourselves a TRON double-feature, watching the original classic and the updated ‘Legacy’ back to back. If you’re a fan of the 1982 original, which was groundbreaking with its digital effects and computerized scenery, then you’ll love Legacy which takes a good thing and builds on it. The special effects are dazzling, especially during the “games”. The light-cycle race alone is worth the price of admission. But beyond great visuals, the film also surprises with an intelligent plot and a clever villain. This is a fun visit back to “the grid” and a well made film that rightfully earns a spot in my collection.

"It feels good to be back on the grid."

It's been fun going back over some of the more memorable films I've watched during my 2-year break from the blog. I would love to hear your comments on these films, as well as some your most memorable movies from recent years. Which stand out in your mind as the most impressive? The most disappointing? The most bizarre? Let me know. I'd love to hear from all my readers. Both of you.

Catching Up, Part 3

2011-04-14T12:50:00.015-06:00

Three days in a row! This is promising. I've been very excited this week knowing that I finally got my rear in gear and gave this whole thing another try. I'm optimistic that I can keep it going.

I just realized that you can play the "in bed" game with every sentence in that first paragraph.

My beautiful and movie-adoring wife, Shauna, made a great comment to me about my first part of the Catching Up series. She commented on how my blog-talk varies between two distinct styles. The "Tom" style, where I pretty much just say what I'm thinking and write more naturally, and the "review" style where I tend to use a lot of review-talk and cliche descriptions of movies. I had never really noticed it before but after re-reading a few of my own posts, I realized that she's absolutely right.

She challenged me to focus more on my own style and not worry so much about providing a run-of-the-mill review. After thinking about this for a few days I've decided to take her up on that challenge. I enjoy my writing a lot more when I'm just being me. That probably means that my "reviews" will provide less factual information about the quality of a film and will likely focus more on my own thoughts, observations and tangents.

"Time for a switch."

However, since I actually pre-wrote all my "mini-reviews" for the 20 films in my Catching Up series, you won't see the full switch happening today. Or tomorrow. But after that I promise! No really!

Anyway, on with Part 3...

Avatar

I can’t really talk about movies from the last couple years without talking about Avatar, can I? Whether you liked it, loved it, hated it or missed it completely, the facts don’t lie; Avatar is now the single-most successful film of all time. Surpassing even Titanic and Return of the King, it managed to gross more than $2.7 billion worldwide. It also revolutionized 3D film technology and (perhaps unfortunately) started a Hollywood obsession with all things 3D. I have a standing rule about seeing films in the theatre, which I’m sure I’ve ranted about before. But I broke the rule for Avatar since I had a feeling it was going to be something new that had to be experienced on the big screen. I think I was right. Plot, characters and writing aside, the visual experience of Avatar was breathtaking, especially in 3D on the IMAX screen. 3D films up to that point were all about making things jump out of the screen into the audience’s lap. Avatar did the opposite, grabbing the audience and pulling them into the world of Pandora. It was a unique experience, one that I’m not convinced has been, or will be, repeated. Personally, I did enjoy the story and the action and the Blu-Ray is probably the best looking home-theatre candy I have in my collection. This film looks gorgeous! Love it or hate it, Avatar deserves some applause.

Ultraviolet

This film makes the list for one reason. It was the single worst film I have seen in a long, long time. Certainly the worst I have seen in the last two years. Don’t waste your time on it. I’m not going to waste any more of mine writing about it. Blech!

Appaloosa

I love most movie genres, giving equal consideration to blockbusters, indies, documentaries and yes, even the occasional rom-com. Horror films do nothing for me, however and they are appropriately under-represented in my movie collection. Westerns, on the other hand, are movies that I have come to appreciate more and more in recent years. Appaloosa is based on the book written by Robert B. Parker and tells the story of two long-time friends and partners who attempt to bring their form of law to the terrorized town of Appaloosa. This is definitely another character film with some great dialogue and a unique friendship at its centre. The gunfights, showdowns and Indian attacks are still here and they work together with a well-told story to result in a finely crafted film. Worth a look.

The Book of Eli

Apparently ‘The Book of Eli’ is also based on a graphic novel, but I don’t feel it quite has the same feel as a film like 300 or Watchmen. It feels much more like a mainstream, apocalyptic film. Which is good if you enjoy mainstream, apocalyptic films. The film is centered around Eli who is on a quest to bring a very important book to a safe place “somewhere” in the west. Or is it east? I honestly can’t remember, but like most things in life it’s the journey, not the destination, that is most important. Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman show their acting and action chops in this bleak, yet hopeful view of the future. And there’s a bit of a twist ending that turns the film into a completely different movie on subsequent viewings. I was pleasantly surprised at the film’s message; not what one expects from a mainstream, apocalyptic movie. There wasn’t a single killer robot.

Shutter Island

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are at it again in this adapted screenplay about a U.S. Marshal who is sent to a hospital for the criminally insane, on Shutter Island, to investigate a mysterious disappearance. And as you would expect, things are not what they seem. In fact, the whole genre of this movie is not what you would expect. I don’t want to give anything away, but all I’ll say is that I’ve mentioned before my dislike for horror/thriller films and I found Shutter Island very intelligent and entertaining. And like The Book of Eli, the twist ending will make you want to watch it again as everything will have changed. Great script, superb acting and a cleverly told story make for a highly satisfying film.

I'll wrap up my Catching Up series tomorrow with Part 4. Stay with me!

Catching Up, Part 2

2011-04-13T14:11:00.010-06:00

As promised, here is Part 2 in my 'Catching Up' series where I try to revitalize my blog and revisit some of the more memorable films I've watched in the last two years.

So let's get to it...

Watchmen

Graphic novels have certainly become more prevalent in recent years, particularly with the success of films like Sin City and 300. While I certainly enjoyed a comic book or two in my youth, I was never a hard-core fan and I had never heard of Sin City, 300 or Watchmen prior to their debut on the big screen. But I certainly enjoyed them all and could really appreciate the comic-book style of filmmaking. Watchmen grabbed my attention all the more when I discovered that Time magazine had listed Watchmen as one of their Top 100 Best Novels of all time. Did you get that? Best novels. Not best comic books or best graphic novels. Watchmen is right up there with Animal Farm, The Catcher in the Rye and The Grapes of Wrath. While the film itself certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea (parents: this is not one for the kids), the filmmaking is very impressive and the story is quite layered. It’s both a visual feast and an intellectual journey. Go in with an open mind and you might be surprised.

Once

If you are a musician, or you live with a musician, or you know a musician, then go watch this movie now. Preferably with said musician. This surprising little film, set in Dublin, Ireland, is a music-filled tale of a busker and a woman and the songs they write, sing and record. It certainly goes way beyond that meagre description but the telling of the story is beautiful and the songs are brilliant. Particularly ‘Falling Slowly’ which won Best Original Song at the Oscars in 2008. Worth seeing. And hearing. Check it out.

Terminator Salvation

Another “reboot” (they seem awfully popular these days) of the Terminator series made popular by the Governator. Set in the future, but not as far in the future as the future scenes from Terminator and Terminator 2, Salvation continues the saga of John Connor as he struggles to save the future from…er…the future. Yeah, these time travel movies can get confusing sometimes. Suffice it to say that Salvation carries on with the big explosions, killer robots and impeding Armageddon. Good stuff. Seriously though, I did enjoy this installment in the Terminator series and especially liked the way they handled the time-line of John Connor and his father-to-be, Kyle Reese. There are some great nods to the first couple films as well, for all you Terminator fans out there. And honestly, who of us are not Terminator fans? They’re unstoppable, killer robots. What’s not to like, right?

Inglourious Basterds

Those of you who know me, know that I’m a huge Tarantino fan. His films are some of the most unique and well-scripted movies I’ve seen. And while they’re certainly not the most G-rated films on the planet, they offer very unique characters in very interesting situations. It all comes down to the dialogue. Quentin loves to put these strange characters on screen with each other and then just let them hash it out for a while. At the same time he manages to weave an impressive plot web through quick-cuts, long-takes, flash-backs, flash-forwards and all manner of quirky editing styles. And it works. At least, it works for me. Inglourious Basterds is technically another “reboot” though it greatly improves on the original (in my humble opinion) and is similar in name only. Brad Pitt does an amazing job (as always) but even he is overshadowed by the brilliant and creepily entertaining Cristoph Waltz, who went on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. If you enjoy Tarantino, you’ll love Inglourious Basterds. Fair warning though, this film is certainly not for everyone.

Confessions of a Superhero

Another in the documentary category, though I can’t remember how I discovered it. This brilliant study exams the lives of four “actors” who dress up as superheroes and earn a living by having their photos taken with tourists outside Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Their sole source of income is the tips they collect and each has their own unique view on how those tips should work. Technically speaking they’re all buskers, basically trying to make ends meet by pan-handling. But after watching this documentary you might feel differently. You’ll certainly be amazed at the types of personalities displayed and the quirky lifestyles of these so-called superheroes. If you like documentaries at all, you’ll find this one an entertaining and eye-opening delight.

Catching Up, Part 1

2011-04-12T13:53:00.012-06:00

Ok, I’m trying this again.

Every now and then I come back and re-read some of my blog posts and although it might sound self-absorbed, I really like what I write. It makes me want to write more. I’m not sure what made me stop for so long (has it really been over 2 years since my last post?!) but I know that I want to start again.

So here we go. Again.

It would be impossible to try and bring you up to speed on all the movies I’ve watched in the last two years. Well, actually, it wouldn’t be impossible. Just time consuming. As most of my close friends know I have a bit of an obsession with keeping track of movies I’ve watched. And movies my friends have watched with me. And where we watched them. Ok, maybe it goes beyond a bit of an obsession. At any rate, I can tell you that I’ve watched almost 600 movies since my last blog post. I don’t recommend doing the math on that.

"Wait...How many movies is that? Fascinating."

Rather than try and re-cap 600 movies I’m just going to pick out a few from the past couple years; some good, some bad, some just memorable for one reason or another. You may have seen or heard of most of these already, but a good movie is worth reading about. Especially if it makes you go back and watch it again. I watch movies all the time and even I’m amazed at how much new stuff I can get out of a second or third (or seventh) viewing.

So it is with great pleasure that I present Part 1 (of 4) of my attempt to breathe new life into this blog. Let’s start catching up…

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Shauna and I love documentaries. We don’t watch nearly as many as we would like, but The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters was a great find. While the subject matter may not appeal to everyone (grown men spending hours a day trying to get the high-score on an 80’s video game) the documentary itself is fascinating and highly entertaining. At times it’s hard to believe this is non-fiction. Some of the “characters” will make you shake your head in amazement and wonder. Highly recommended!

The World’s Fastest Indian

Another little gem. With Anthony Hopkins at the helm I expected this film to have greater mileage but I’m surprised by the number of people I’ve met who have never even heard of this movie. Produced by a New Zealand film company, The World’s Fastest Indian is the true story of Burt Munro, an aging New Zealander who dreams of racing his re-built, 1920 Indian motorcycle at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967. It’s a wonderful story that takes Burt around the world and into the lives of some very interesting people. When you finally get to the end of the film and consider that it all really happened, you’ll be amazed and delighted. Not to be missed!

WALL-E

I’m sure everyone is familiar with WALL-E by now. Another Pixar classic about a lonely, but oddly cute robot tasked with cleaning up the mess we all left behind. Both a commentary on society and a heart-warming love story, WALL-E is just another example of the brilliant minds at work behind the doors of Pixar Animation Studios. Have these guys made a bad movie yet? What I love most about WALL-E is that the first half of the film contains almost no dialogue (or humans for that matter) and yet it manages to weave an incredibly engaging and entertaining story. That’s impressive film-making. The music, cinematography, art direction and characters are worth visiting again if you haven’t seen this masterpiece recently.

Star Trek

I’m not a Trekkie, per se, but I am definitely a fan of several of the films (the even-numbered ones, of course) and was an avid watcher of The Next Generation many years ago. When I heard that J.J. Abrahms was going to attempt a re-boot of the original crew I was both sceptical and excited. Abrahms is responsible for ‘Lost’, one of the most addictive and fascinating television shows Shauna and I have ever seen. To think that the mind behind that show was going to take on the Star Trek universe was intriguing, to say the least. Fortunately for me (though not for all Trek fans) I was very impressed. Star Trek is an amazing re-boot and brings with it all that is good about Trek. I could go on and on, but I’ll just leave you with the best compliment I have about the film. Each actor, particularly those portraying Kirk, Spock and Bones (the Trek-Trinity, if you will), manages to remind viewers of the original characters without reminding them of the original actors. That’s saying a lot. Plus, it’s a great space adventure. What more do you want?

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

If you are not familiar with Joss Whedon, please go watch Firefly and Serenity right now. I’ll wait here…

Done? Pretty impressive, right? Perhaps one of the best television shows ever made? My wife would certainly agree. And she’d be right to do so (she's so cool). Joss Whedon is a genius and after constant struggles with movie studios who value commercial success over artistic value and intelligence, Whedon decided to make a movie (of sorts) without the aid or intervention of any studios. The result is ‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog’, a short film in three parts that first debuted on the internet. For free. It has since gone on to achieve huge cult success in the geek world and is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray for your viewing (and singing) pleasure. Described as a “musical tragicomedy miniseries”, 'Dr. Horrible' tells the tale of a well-meaning super-villain trying to get into the Evil League of Evil and win the heart of girl-next-door, Penny. Give it a chance and you just might be pleasantly surprised. And if you really did just finish watching Firefly and Serenity then you’ll just love the first appearance of Captain Hammer.

"Hang on! There's more to come."

Stay tuned for Part 2! Coming soon, I promise.

"You have to show a movie at a party. It's a Hollywood law."

2008-11-05T09:55:00.007-07:00

Shauna and I love to watch the American Film Institute (AFI) specials that air once a year or so. Each year the AFI creates a “Top 100 Best of” movie list of various topics. Top 100 Best film quotes or Top 100 Best film songs. A couple of years ago they aired ‘AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies’, a list of the 100 best American movies. A fairly ambitious and potentially controversial undertaking, if you ask me. I was surprised by how many ‘older’ films were on the list, but that’s really a subject for a later blog. What I was interested to note was that Singin’ in the Rain was number 10 on the list. I recalled that the title song had been ranked number 3 in ‘AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Songs’ list, and perhaps not surprisingly, was listed right at the top of ‘AFI’s 100 Years of Musicals’. Clearly it’s a very popular film.

I had seen the famous Singin’ in the Rain dance sequence with Gene Kelly, I knew the song, I accepted that it was a famous, popular piece of filmmaking. What I hadn’t ever done was actually sit down and watch it. At least, not until this past Sunday. And while I may not agree with a lot of the choices in AFI’s 100 Years... 100 Movies list, I can certainly understand why Singin’ in the Rain is near the top.

At this point it’s pretty much impossible to say anything about the film that hasn’t already been said a thousand times before. The story is clever and interesting, especially for a film buff like me who loves learning about how movies are made. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, Singin’ in the Rain is set during the era of filmmaking when “talking movies” were brand new. ‘The Jazz Singer’, the first “talkie”, has just been released and Monumental Pictures wants to get on the bandwagon. The only problem is that their leading lady in silent films has a terrible voice and could be the ruin of the studio. I won’t go into any more details but the storyline is clever, intriguing and highly entertaining.
The dialogue is witty and hilarious at times, which surprised me since we’re talking about a film that was released 23 years before I was even born. I’ve seen several ‘older’ films with dated dialogue that is now campy, cliché and in some cases down-right absurd. Singin’ in the Rain somehow manages to stay fresh and funny 56 years later.

Saying that the music is great is kind of like saying that the Empire State Building is tall. I’m reminded of a quote from Fawtly Towers, “Next contestant, Mrs. Sybil Fawlty from Torquay. Specialist subject – the bleeding obvious.” I was surprised by how many familiar tunes there were, including “Make ‘Em Laugh”, “Gotta Dance” and the non-Viagra version of “Good Morning”.

Saying that the dancing is great is kind of like saying that the dancing is great. Actually, it’s exactly like saying that. The dancing is great. I know it makes me sound old but they just don’t make movies like that anymore. I really enjoyed the dance numbers with all their extravagant sets and incredible choreography. Many of the scenes with Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor were almost hypnotic. Though I did find myself wondering if their routines would get them past the judges on ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.

The Two-disc Special Edition DVD is a great package that contains the theatrical release in glorious Dolby Digital 5.1 and un-glorious Full Frame 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio. What does that mean? Well, if you have an older, non-HD TV it means the picture will look normal. If you have a new HD TV, it means you will have black bars at the sides of the frame. Unless you decide to zoom the picture or something, which you should never do because it ruins the original aspect ratio. Unless you are afraid of burn-in, in which case you should consider using the zoom like I was forced to do. In any case I don’t think anyone is going to complain much about the picture quality of a 56-year old film. Except me. Full frame? Really?

The second disc is packed with special features the likes of which I’ve never seen before. Because I haven’t watched them yet.

Bottom line, if you are a fan of movies and you have never seen Singin’ in the Rain I highly recommend it. It is a classic in every sense of the word and rightly deserves its number 10 spot on AFI’s list. If this film doesn’t make you smile then I say to you the same thing my wife says to me when I fail to cry at sad movies; “You have no heart.”

“You know you've reached rock bottom when you're told you have character flaws by a man who hanged his predecessor in a military coup.”

2008-10-28T12:45:00.007-06:00

Have I mentioned recently how much I love movies?

Shauna and I subscribe to a DVD rental company called Zip.ca, which allows you to rent DVDs through the mail. I’ll try to remember to post a blog about the site sometime so you can all check it out. The upshot is that we’ve had a chance to watch a lot of movies that you either can’t find at Blockbuster or you choose not to rent because the New Releases wall is just too tempting to pass up. Here’s a quick summary of some of the flicks we’ve had a chance to watch using Zip.

Joyeux Noel

I’ve wanted to see this movie for some time after seeing the trailer over 2 years ago. We were never able to find it at Blockbuster however. Fortunately Zip.ca carries about 20 times as many titles so it was a piece of cake to get this one delivered right to our door. It tells the true story of German, French and Scottish soldiers who celebrated Christmas together in the trenches during World War I. Told from all three sides and pieced together from letters recovered after the war, Joyeux Noel is both hear-warming and eye-opening. Shauna and I were delighted by this little gem and highly recommend it. Some may find it a little cliché, but the fact that these events really took place will hopefully transform cliché into hope.

Charlie Wilson’s War

Another war movie, sort of. Again based on a true story, Charlie Wilson’s War recounts the efforts of Senator Charlie Wilson, womanizer, party animal and casual drug user, as he conspires to make a difference in the Soviet War in Afghanistan. Starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman (one of our favourites), this film shows an interesting side of war and politics. The ultimate message is what really intrigued me, however. I won’t spoil it for you but anyone who is familiar with the history of the Soviet/Afghanistan war and how it relates to recent violence in Afghanistan will already have a good idea of what I’m talking about. Although Tom Hanks’ character is a little hard to like at the outset, he changes your mind with his actions. A great example of how our lives can either be defined by how we live or by what we do. Highly recommended.

Lars and the Real Girl

This is a quirky little film about a man struggling with loss, love and fitting in. Lars lives in his brother’s garage and has a very difficult time interacting with people. Then one day he knocks on his brother and sister-in-law’s door and announces he has a visitor. They are delighted until they realize his visitor is a lifelike sex-doll name Bianca, ordered from the Internet. Lars intentions are a complete surprise however, as the town folk discover that he’s trying to find a meaningful relationship while reconciling the loss of his mother. This movie is definitely not what you expect as Lars’ friends and family go the extra mile to accept Bianca into their lives while trying to help Lars find what he’s looking for. Shauna and I really enjoyed this look at the human psyche and the unique ways in which Lars finds healing.

There Will Be Blood

Nominated for Best Picture this year, There Will Be Blood appears to be about the early days of oil drilling at the turn of the century. There’s a lot more going on here, however. The greed fuelled search for oil is merely a backdrop for a film which is a true character story. Daniel Day Lewis gives an incredible performance in this dramatic and chilling story which, I’m told, is based on true events, or at least on real people. The characters’ motivations are the real heart of this story. The truth is somewhere beneath the surface and the constant struggle for power, money and fame ensure that, in the end, there will be blood. This is one of those “deep” movies that will keep you thinking and contains as many themes as you’re willing to consider. Definitely recommended.

American Gangster

Two of my favourite actors, Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington, star in this dramatic story of an African American gangster who takes over the drug trade in New York during the 1970s and the police detective determined to bring him down. Another character film, American Gangster is a little slow but filled with drama and intensity. It’s definitely not the action film that the trailers suggest. It is, however, a good story filled with some great acting. I appreciate films that manage to effectively show the perceived advantages of being a gangster as well as the very real, very grim reality of the consequence of such a life. I’m not sure if I would add this film to my collection or not, which is usually my stamp of approval for any film, but it was certainly worth watching once. If you’re a fan of either Denzel or Russell you probably can’t go wrong with this one.

Raging Bull

This is another title that I added to my ‘Ziplist’ as part of a collection of older, classic movies that I’ve never seen. Raging Bull was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar in 1980 and gave Robert De Niro his first Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role. While on the surface this appears to be simply a “boxing movie” (as my wife calls them), the story is much deeper and focuses on the character of Jake La Motta and the struggles he has both in, and out of the ring. I can totally appreciate the impressive performance that De Niro gives in this film, but I’m not convinced that Raging Bull has stood the test of time. Special and visual effects aside, I think if this movie were released today it would get criticized for its writing and somewhat oversimplified story points. Many consider Raging Bull to be one of the most powerful movies, ever, but I have to disagree. Perhaps it was groundbreaking and powerful back in 1980, but this is one of those classics that has lost some of its steam over the years. I’m glad I saw it, but I really don’t see what all the fuss was about.

The Grifters

I actually don’t have much to say about The Grifters. It wasn’t at all what I thought it was going to be about. Although the story does involve con-men (and women) this is definitely not a “caper film” like I’m used to. That doesn’t necessarily make it a bad film, but I just wasn’t able to buy into the characters enough to be that concerned with the events that unfold. If anyone wants to help me re-write that last sentence I’m all ears. Overall I found The Grifters a little boring and strange. Maybe my expectations got the best of me. It happens.

"Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."

2008-10-24T11:20:00.004-06:00

Wow. I can’t believe it’s been over a year since my last post.

Well, ok. Actually, I CAN believe that. I think I just gave up for a while there. I don’t really know what has inspired me to add another entry today, but here it is. Will this be the beginning of an epic Blog comeback? Only time will tell…

Regardless of the reason for getting back on the blog-wagon, I have some great things to blog about. First and foremost, I have officially entered the world of BLU RAY!!

I got a Playstation 3 for my birthday. I am not a console gamer, by any means and this is not a console gaming blog. But there are two very important reasons why owning a Playstation 3 is critical to any DVD buff.

1) It is the most cost effective and up-to-date Blu Ray player on the market. It acts as an up-converting DVD player, so your old DVDs will look great. But Blu Ray Discs (BD) look spectacular.

2) Rock Band. Ok, I know that’s not a movie but it’s worth mentioning. I’m not a musician, but now I can feel like one in the privacy of my basement.

Back to the Blu Ray thing. For the 4 of you who have not yet heard of Blu Ray it is the latest and greatest in home movie technology. Blu Ray discs can hold a LOT more information than a standard DVD. The upshot of that is movies can be stored on a Blu Ray disc at a significantly higher resolution and with uncompressed sound. This results in a stunning picture with a high level of detail and crystal clear audio.

“But my movies look good enough as they are,” you might say. Well, that may be so. Perhaps you are able to engage completely in the movies you have on DVD. It’s possible that you fully enjoy your standard definition DVD movies on your 27”, non-HD TV. Maybe you don’t need high definition Blu Ray to enjoy film.

No. That’s wrong. Trust me. There’s a small chance I’m just overly excited about Blu Ray and am unable to offer an unbiased, objective analysis of Blu Ray versus Standard DVD. But probably not.

Ok, now that we’ve settled that, go out and buy a PS3, an HDMI cable and a shiny new HD TV. Come back when you’ve got it all set up.

Done? Good. Let’s continue.

Now that you’ve got that new PS3 you’re probably wondering which Blu Ray disc to buy first. Don’t worry. I can help with that too.

Iron Man. Go buy it. Watch it. Love it.

I knew I was going to like this movie, but I had no idea how much I was going to like it. Shauna often tells me stories of how she used to watch Batman on VHS over and over again. I can recall seeing Batman in the theatre about 5 or 6 times and then wanting to watch it every day on video as well. That’s how I feel about Iron Man. It took me a while to identify the exact, special quality that makes this film so exciting for me. Was it the story? Was it the writing? The special effects? Robert Downey Jr.’s incredible performance?

I was having a hard time figuring it out because there are so many other movies I love that have those exact same qualities but are somehow different. So what was it?

I want to be Iron Man.

This movie makes me feel like I’m back in junior high again and I all want is to be Tony Stark and have my own Iron Man suit. It’s just so cool.

I could talk all day about the story (terrific), the writing (fantastic) and the witty, sharp performance given by Downey (did I say incredible already?). But ultimately the biggest draw for me is that this movie is loads of fun and makes me feel like I’m 12 years old again. I could watch it over and over again because each time I get to feel a little bit like Tony Stark. I get to fly over Malibu and dogfight with jets and take out the bad guys with mere flick of the wrist. I get to be Iron Man.

Maybe all of that sounds immature and childish.

It should. That’s kind of the point. Sometimes we complain about immaturity and sometimes we long to relive our youth when our imaginations ran wild and we didn’t care what others thought. I hope Iron Man makes you feel like the latter.

“Looks sort of like a burnt pork-chop, if you ask me.”

2007-06-05T09:07:00.000-06:00

So, if you walk into HMV one of these days (because you’re looking to buy me a present) you’re likely to see Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima on the New Release wall. Both of them are 2-disc Special Editions and both of them are currently listed at $29.99. If you look a little closer you’ll see something called the ‘Battle for Iwo Jima’ box set. This set includes both of the titles I just mentioned, as well as a two-hour documentary on the battle itself called ‘Heroes of Iwo Jima’. It is currently listed at $49.99.

That’s right, you can buy both Special Editions for $60 or you can buy both Special Editions and a cool documentary for $50. I think I know who is going to spend the $60. It will be the same lady who was ahead of me in line one day. Her conversation with the teller went something like this:

Teller: Ma’am, oddly enough the DVD you are purchasing costs $22.99 on its own, but if you buy another DVD from the same section your total cost will be only $19.99.

Lady: Hmmm. No thanks, I want to save my money and I only want this DVD.

Teller: Um, I don’t think you understand. You will be saving money if you go grab another DVD. It will be three dollars less.

Lady: It sounds like a good deal but I’m not interested.

Teller: …

Me: Uh, ma’am, if you go grab another DVD, that DVD will be free and the DVD you are purchasing will be three dollars cheaper.

Lady: No thank you.

That woman does not deserve to own DVDs. Or money, for that matter.

Anyway, now that my little rant is done, allow me to tell you a bit about Flags of our Fathers which I had a chance to watch last night.

"Everybody saw that damn picture and made up their own story about it."

It’s pretty good. It’s almost what I expected it to be. For many parts it’s ‘Saving Private Ryan’ on a different piece of land. It has really big explosions.

I won’t go into plot details, partly because I hate writing about plot details, but mostly because I loathe writing about plot details. ‘Flags’ is about that famous picture, but it’s still not what I was expecting. In fact, I didn’t really know the truth about that picture until watching the film and I have to admit that I was surprised. The details surrounding the photo itself and the War Bond Drive afterwards are sobering. It was one thing to see it in a movie, another thing altogether to realize that it actually happened.

Apparently that photo is the most reproduced photo in history. Having the facts behind it makes that statement all the more intriguing. You’ll just have to see it for yourself and although it sounds cliché I have to admit that heroes are definitely something we create ourselves.

"This isn't just any island to them. This isn't Tarawa, Guam, Tinian, or Saipan. This is Japanese soil, sacred ground. Twelve thousand Japanese defenders in eight square miles, they will not leave politely, gentlemen! It's up to us to convince them."

Anyway, the film is pretty good. It’s not great but it definitely has a very interesting story to tell. Or rather a very interesting truth. It wasn’t at all what I expected or thought I knew.

The battle scenes are top notch. They use the same style as those in ‘Saving Private Ryan’ which is startling in its authenticity. If you like a good war scene you certainly can’t go wrong with ‘Flags’.

I’m really looking forward to seeing ‘Letters from Iwo Jima’ now. The Japanese are a faceless enemy in ‘Flags’ and, from what I’ve heard, it’s the complete opposite in ‘Letters’. The two films certainly go hand-in-hand and watching one can only enhance the other.

Unless you know something I didn’t know, you’ll never look at that photo the same way again.

“Yeah, it’s a dumb movie thing, but what do you want me to do, lie about it?”

2007-05-31T07:58:00.000-06:00

I like films that break the 4th wall and do it well. For the uninformed, “breaking the 4th wall” refers to those moments when a character in the film directly addresses the audience in some way. This is not to be confused with narrating, which is simply a means of progressing or explaining the story (for the most part. I’ll get to that later). Breaking the 4th wall is deliberate and direct communication with the audience. Ferris Bueller does this a lot. He looks directly into the camera and tells us how to fake out parents and that you can never go too far.

I think I enjoy these moments so much because it’s the film’s way of saying “Hey, I know I’m a movie and I’m not going to take myself too seriously, so just sit back and enjoy.” One of the most annoying comments I hear about films is “It was too unrealistic”. Really? You want the film to be more realistic?! Isn’t the point of going to a film to escape reality for a short time (or a ridiculously long time)? People say “There’s no way that character could have survived that!” Are you serious?! You’d prefer a film where the main character dies in the first 15 minutes? You’d stand up and say “Well, that was certainly short and pointless, but at least it was real.”?!?

"For example..."

Ok, I’m kind of going off on a tangent here, but the point is that I like it when a movie recognizes those situations and takes a brief moment to simply remind us that we’re watching a movie, not real life. If you want real life, leave the theatre (or basement, in my case). Having said all that I can appreciate that we may not necessarily want reality, but we don’t want to be treated like idiots either. It’s perfectly acceptable for James Bond to be able to survive a jump out of a 3 story building as it explodes while simultaneously shooting four bad guys and landing in the driver’s seat of an Aston Martin convertible, uninjured. It’s not acceptable for Bond to simply fly out of harm’s way or turn invisible (without the aid of Q, of course). Both situations are totally unrealistic, but the former fits within the world we’ve been presented.

Yeah, so I think I went off on another tangent there. What was my point?

Oh yeah, the fourth wall.

‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ breaks the fourth wall. A lot. And it’s perfect. I found the movie all the more entertaining because it keeps reminding us that it’s just a movie. Relax. Chill out. This is not reality. This is movie. Suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the ride.

I was supposed to come back to the narrating bit. The main character in ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ narrates a lot and actually does break the fourth wall through his narrating, despite the fact that I said narrating is not to be confused with breaking the fourth wall. Did you get all that? If you’re at all confused, just watch ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ and then watch ‘Stranger Than Fiction’. One breaks the fourth wall. One narrates. Well, they both narrate but ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ is the example of narrating I’m referring to here. Er, there. Somewhere.

Anyway, the point is, I really liked ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ and ‘Stranger Than Fiction’. You should come over and watch them with me.

Also, James Bond films are fun.

How’s that for a review?

"Failure is not an option!"

2007-05-16T14:54:00.000-06:00

I love my friends and family.

Thank you all so much for the very supportive comments. You've definitely inspired me to get back on the blog-wagon. I think I'm going to take all your advice and find new ways to post my reviews, perhaps keep them a little shorter and continue to find my own voice. So stay tuned! You'll be able to live vicariously through my movie-obsession in no time.

I also have to pat myself on the back for managing to title this entry, and the last one (sort of), with Apollo 13 quotes. It just seems to fit the phase my blog is going though.

"Gentlemen, I believe this is going to be our finest hour."

"Blog...we have a problem."

2007-05-08T12:00:00.000-06:00

Here I am again, trying to determine what killed my blog. I still love movies as much as ever but I somehow lost the desire to blog about them. It would be great if I could somehow find that inspiration again.

I doubt anyone is even checking this blog anymore, but on the off-chance someone stops by, please leave a comment and give some advice on what I could do to re-kindle the fire. As I go back through old blog posts I am really proud of how my writing evolved and I think the movie reviews are quite good. I want to start doing that again. But how?

Sigh. One day, blog. One day.

I'm mostly no longer blogging....mostly

2007-02-20T13:41:00.000-07:00

It would appear that I've been lacking in motivation to keep my blog up to date and I'm still not sure why that is. Hopefully I'll get back into high gear again one day, but for now it sure looks like I'm more excited about watching movies than I am about writing about them.

Which is too bad, because I've been watching a lot of really great movies lately. I'm particularly excited about the James Bond films. I picked up the James Bond Ultimate Edition Volumes 1 through 4 and have been watching the films in chronological order. I realized that I actually haven't seen most of the early films. I can certainly see why so many people agree that Sean Connery is the only "real" Bond. However, I grew up watching Roger Moore so it will be interesting to go back and re-watch those again. A good friend of mine and I are actually planning the James Bond Obscene-a-thon for sometime in the summer. That's right, all 20 James Bond films in a single weekend. I can't wait!

I recently hosted a Star Trek Ridiculathan which was enjoyed by myself, Vince and Chris. I was a little disappointed in the video quality of Generations but that's probably only because I'm a movie-snob. I would seek professional help but it would really cut into my movie-watching time.

The Oscars are on Sunday and I've actually managed to watch a few of the Best Picture nominees. The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine were both excellent. I really hope Martin Scorcese finally wins a well-deserved Oscar for his work. It's hard to believe that such an iconic filmmaker has never won a single Oscar. Babel also came out on DVD this week and I look forward to finally seeing it.

Well, that's all for now. I would still love to hear from anyone who has some thoughts on why blogging can become such a drudgery, or better yet, some suggestions on how to make it more enjoyable and regular. I'd love to have an up-to-date blog with many readers; how do I do that?

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. Give me a call if you want to watch a flick together. It's truly one of my favourite things.

What happened?

2007-02-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

Well it's been over a month since my last blog entry and I can't help but notice that my entries prior to that were somewhat sporadic. What happened? When did blogging about movies start feeling like a chore? I've been thinking about that a lot lately and quite frankly I don't have a good answer.

Is this the end of 'Down in Front'? I certainly hope not, but it does look like I need to figure out why blogging started to feel like a "must do" instead of a "get to". Perhaps a change in my review-style is needed? Maybe fewer, full-length reviews and shorter, more frequent blog entries on movie-related topics would be better? It's something I need to figure out and I would love your input on the subject.

Despite my lack of blogging material I have been watching plenty of movies and enjoying them more than ever. The DVD collection is growing to obscene proportions and I'm ok with that. More importantly, and critically, my wife is ok with that. Thanks Shauna, I love you more than movies!

Some of you may have noticed that the link to my collection and wishlist has not been working. I have now switched to a new site (www.dvdspot.com) and I must say that it is very impressive. The link to the right should be working now and I encourage you to take a look. The statistics page is very interesting. You can use the tabs along the top of the page to see which movies I own, which ones I want to own (hint, hint), which ones I've been watching and occasionally which one I'm going to be watching next! It's a DVD collector's dream come true!

In the mean time I'll be thinking hard about this blogging thing. I don't want my blog to die as so many tend to do. Hopefully you'll be hearing from me again soon and hopefully I'll hear from you with some thoughts or suggestions.

Cheers!

"If somebody built it, somebody can unbuild it."

2007-01-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year!

I think I’ve finally recovered from the holidays and although there were a few sleepless nights (sick dog), overall it was a pretty good Christmas break. I hope all my readers had a very Merry Christmas and are enjoying a wonderful New Year!

The Christmas holiday was particularly good to me as far as DVDs go. The collection continues to grow, nearly keeping pace with my obsession for good movies. One of the first that I watched in 2007 was The Score, starring Robert De Niro and Edward Norton. This is a great little caper film with some terrific acting and several entertaining twists.

Nick Wells (De Niro) is an aging jazz club owner and a professional thief. Priding himself on never taking a long-shot Wells is thorough and precise in his “business” and is strongly considering retirement. All that changes when he meets Brian (Norton), a mentally challenged janitor at the Montreal Customs house. Only Brian isn’t who he seems either and it isn’t long before the two team up to steal a priceless sceptre from the nearly impregnable customs house. Working with Wells' fence, played by Marlon Brando, the trio must get in, get out and get rich. It’s the classic caper formula and it works well in the case of The Score.

"It takes discipline because this whole game is one big long shot and if you don't have the discipline to stay away from the fliers or from the gambles or whatever else you wanna call a stupid move then, my friend, I'm afraid to say, one day you will go down. It's inevitable."

It may come as a surprise to some readers to learn this list of high profile actors (you can add Angela Bassett to the list, as Nick’s girlfriend) was directed by Frank Oz. You know, Miss. Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Grover, Yoda. That Frank Oz. Although this certainly isn’t the first time that he’s sat in the director’s chair. The Stepford Wives, What About Bob?, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Little Shop of Horrors are just a few of his other accomplishments. It should come as no surprise then to learn that Oz does a great job in bringing The Score together into a terrific heist film with some worthwhile acting and dialogue.

The single-disc DVD presents the film in an Anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen format, which is always a good thing. The transfer itself was quite good though I did notice a few scenes that appeared grainy. It’s hard to tell if that’s because of the transfer or because of the filters used during the scenes. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is equally impressive. It won’t blow you out of your seat or anything but it does a nice job of setting the mood and presenting clear dialogue and effects. No complaints here.

"I like your place. You got good taste."

As for bonus features (and yes, I’ve actually watched most of them), there’s not much to tell. A “making-of” featurette is included but it’s really just 10 minutes of promotional material for the film. You know the stuff; actors talking about how great their characters are, the director talking about how great the film is, writers talking about how great the dialogue is, etc. There’s virtually nothing in there about how the film was actually made. A few deleted and extended scenes are also provided, including a rare look at De Niro and Brando improvising a scene several times. Most viewers would probably find this tedious but I was interested to get a glimpse two incredibly accomplished actors doing their thing. A theatrical trailer and director commentary round out the rest of the bonus material.

"When was it you started thinking you were better than me?"

If you enjoy a good heist film then you certainly can’t go wrong with The Score. Norton’s performance is worth it alone and there are enough gimmicks and twists to keep any caper fan happy. It should also be noted that The Score was Marlon Brando’s last, complete film. It’s definitely worth a look.

The Score gets 8 surveillance cameras (out of 10).
Stick to the plan and click here for ‘The Score’ trivia.

"You'll shoot your eye out, kid."

2006-12-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

Seasons Greetings!

Sorry for the recent lapse in blogging. I know my many, numerous, multitudes of readers were probably in a continual state of despair, thinking I had left, never to return. Fear not, brave blog-viewers! I was only in Las Vegas for a week and didn’t have a chance to watch many movies. I promise to make up for it over the holidays.

In fact, I managed to get in a great Christmas classic with some friends this past weekend. A Christmas Story is one of many holiday films I grew up watching. I was actually surprised to learn that several of my friends had never seen it before and it was a real treat to be with them for their first viewing. I’ve said many times that one of my greatest pleasures is to watch a really good film with a really good friend who’s never seen it before. And A Christmas Story is definitely one of those movies that really benefits from being watched with a roomful of friends.

Ralphie is a pretty typical 9-year old, getting ready for Christmas in December, 1940. And there’s nothing he wants more than an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle. A Christmas Story is told as seen through Ralphie’s eyes, with the adult voice-over giving explanation for this thoughts, plans and ideas. If you’ve ever seen the hit television show ‘The Wonder Years’ then you have an excellent idea of how the film works. In fact, A Christmas Story was the inspiration for The Wonder Years, so if you liked the TV show you’ll almost certainly enjoy the film.

"Let's face it, most of us are scoffers. But moments before
zero hour, it did not pay to take chances."

Originally released in 1983, the film was a low-budget affair based on a collection of short stories, written by screenwriter Jean Sheppard, titled ‘In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash’. It’s essentially a collection of clichés that most of us can identify with, both as children and parents: sticking your tongue to a frozen pole, getting bundled up for the cold weather, getting your mouth washed out with soap. It may not sound that interesting but somehow it comes across as very endearing. And you can’t argue with the fact that this low-budget collection of clichés has since become a Christmas classic in many homes.

The 2-disc Special Edition comes packed with bonus features. I don’t know if they are any good though because I haven’t watched any of them yet. I know, you’re shocked. Add it to my never-ending list of things to watch and report back to you on. The video is presented in a wonderful 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, with the option to switch to full frame (though no one in their right mind would voluntarily choose that). I thought the picture was pretty good considering the film’s age. But I was also seated at the far edge of the viewing area so I can’t say for certain how pristine the picture may or may not have been. The audio is a bit of a disappointment though. Dolby 1.0 (mono) is the only option. It would have been nice to have some stereo effects for some of the musical bits and some 5.1 surround would have added wonderfully to Ralphie’s many day-dream sequences.

"It's a major award!"

A Christmas Story is a wonderful holiday film that everyone should see at least once. It’s great for the whole family. And it was a real joy to watch it with some good friends. Thanks Shauna, Chris, Amanda, Jason, Joleen, Dave, Barb and Anthony for watching it with me! Same time next year?

A Christmas Story gets 8 leg lamps (out of 10).
Have you been good this year? If so, click here for ‘A Christmas Story’ trivia.

"Just consider me the best cocktail party story you ever met."

2006-12-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

I love finding a new, great movie. Especially when it’s a film that you’re not expecting to be great in the first place. I had that experience with The Matador this past weekend. I recall the trailer looked pretty funny and thought it might be interesting to check it out. While scanning the back of the DVD case I noticed that Pierce Brosnan received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the film. That should have tipped me off that this was more than just a run-of-the-mill comedy. As one IMDB user commented, “The Matador is killer comedy.”

Julian Noble (Brosnan) is an international hitman who lives a globetrotting lifestyle, ‘facilitating’ jobs around the world. Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) is an unlucky salesman who is running out of hope that anything in life will go his way. Both men are in Mexico on business when they meet each other at a hotel lounge. I know what you’re thinking. The tagline of this film sums it up nicely; a hitman and a salesman walk into a bar…

"I’m a big fan of the “Everybody’s got
to pee” theory of assassination."

What appears to be a simple, little story turns out to be one of the most cleverly written and well-acted films I’ve seen in a long time. And it’s brilliantly funny. The unlikely duo of Noble and Wright is an intriguing and entertaining combination. Each new scene adds another element that continues to draw you in to their lives. If you feel like you’ve got one of the characters pegged and you understand where they are coming from, then the writer has you right where he wants you. And it’s not where you think it is.

This isn’t a caper film or a surprise-ending film, although there are some interesting twists throughout. This is a character film with terrific dialogue and a darn good story. There’s a lot of heart in this movie and it’s easily Brosnan’s best film to date. I loved his character and hated him at the same time. I cheered for him, mourned his losses, laughed at his misfortune and ultimately found myself on the same emotional roller-coaster that Julian Noble himself was going though. If you think you’ve seen every world-class-assassin character there is, think again. Even if you think you can imagine what this particular assassin might be like, think again. Noble is, at first, contemptuous, rude and insulting. The lonely lifestyle of a hired killer has made him abrasive and crude. But there’s more going on underneath all that bravado. You’ve never met anyone like Julian Noble and neither has Danny Wright.

"Oh, so now killing people is a good time?"

One of the many things that makes this film work as well as it does is its honesty. And that honesty comes through Danny Wright (Kinnear). He is the every-man who believes in the general goodness of people and is simply trying to make ends meet. He asks the questions we would ask if we ever met Julian. Danny sees Noble the way we would see him. It draws you into the film and takes a seemingly impossible situation and makes it real. I was nodding my head as much as I was laughing. The Matador is funny and real. I’m not sure how that works, but it does.

I will definitely be picking this one up on DVD. When I get a chance to check out some of the special features, I’ll try to remember to let you know. The picture and sound quality are top-notch. Although it’s mostly dialogue driven, The Matador doesn’t lack in roaring sound effects and music. Everything comes together nicely on this DVD transfer and I haven’t a single complaint.

"I need a break. There’s no retirement
home for assassins is there?
Archery at four? Riflery at five?"

The Matador is another one of those diamond-in-the-rough ‘indie’ films (Stratus Film Co.) that shines. Do yourself a favour and pick this one up. It’s a guaranteed good-time.

The Matador gets 9 Coronas (out of 10).
Click here to facilitate some trivia for ‘The Matador’.

Chapter Title Quiz - Answers!

2006-12-04T18:15:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are the answers for the DVD Chapter Title quiz that I posted a couple of weeks ago. Good job to everyone who sent in their guesses. Everyone did very well, which means that either the quiz was too easy or you're all nearly as obsessed with movies as I am. Probably a combination of the two.

If you don't remember your answers and want to know your score, send me an email and I'll let you know how you did. Otherwise you can have a look at the answers below to see how you faired in the DVD Chapter Title Quiz.

No. 1 - Braveheart
No. 2 - Dead Poets Society
No. 3 - Finding Nemo
No. 4 - Raiders of the Lost Ark
No. 5 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
No. 6 - Napoleon Dynamite
No. 7 - Saving Private Ryan
No. 8 - Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
No. 9 - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
No. 10 - Monty Python and the Holy Grail
No. 11 - Jurassic Park
No. 12 - Ghostbusters
No. 13 - Ferris Bueller's Day Off
No. 14 - Dances with Wolves
No. 15 - Die Hard

There was a 2-way tie for First Place between Christine Sheppard (my mom) and Anthony Packwood (not my mom). Should I arrange for a tie-breaker quiz? Hmmm...

"A minute ago this was the safest job in the world. Now it's turning into a bad day in Bosnia."

2006-11-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

It was another movie-marathon weekend at the Ginn household and despite a very tight schedule we managed to watch several great caper/noir films. In fact November has been an above-average month for movie watching for me. I think it’s a combination of cold weather and Christmas; the cold weather makes me want to stay home and bask in the warmth of my glowing television and the approaching Christmas season makes me want to ensure my movie-watching skills are in top form before I receive a plethora of DVD-shaped presents.

Here’s a brief look at what I’ve been watching recently:

When you’re in the mood for a cheesy 80s martial arts movie, you can’t go wrong with Best of the Best. Starring James Earl Jones, Christopher Penn and pretty much no one else memorable, Best of the Best tells of the US National Karate Team’s match against the Korean team. I watched this film many times in my youth and every time I see it, I realize just how corny the 80s really were. However, the finale of the film stands the test of time and remains one of my favourite movie-endings. If you enjoy a good martial arts flick, or if you just want to see what I’ll be able to do when I get my black belt, check out Best of the Best.

Last Sunday I watched my first Christmas movie of the season, Die Hard 2: Die Harder. This is the delightfully charming tale of John McClane, a New York police officer who must dodge the merry Christmas crowds of a Washington airport while attempting to stop the holly, jolly antics of several terrorists intent on causing mischief on Christmas Eve. With cheerful gun fights, magically beautiful explosions and language that makes the child in all of us laugh with joy, Die Hard 2: Die Harder is an endearing Christmas classic that could even put a smile on old Scrooge’s face. If you’re looking for that one, special holiday film that the whole family can watch together, look no further than Die Hard 2: Die Harder. Yippy-kai-ay!

Pixar Animation Studios has done it again. With the success of Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, Toy Story and others, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that their latest feature-length film, Cars, would be equally entertaining. That being said, I was surprised. I don’t know why but for some reason I was expecting Cars to be a let-down. With every film they release, Pixar continues to set the bar higher and higher. Except for Dreamworks’ Shrek franchise no other studio has come close to producing the same quality films that Pixar has been creating since the beginning of computer animation. I think it’s that extremely high standard that has made me so sceptical of each new film they reveal. Well it’s time to start giving Pixar the benefit of the doubt; Cars is a fantastic film. Set in a world where all the characters are cars, all the restaurants are gas stations and the shoe stores are tire shops, Cars takes us on a wonderfully entertaining journey with Lightning McQueen, a world-class racing car who finds himself in a backwater town. I could reveal many aspects of the plot, characters, music and animation but it all boils down to one fact; if you enjoyed any of Pixar’s films, you’ll enjoy Cars. They make great movies. Period.

When you’re in the mood for a cheesy 80s martial arts movie, and you’ve already watched Best of the Best, you can’t go wrong with The Karate Kid. I’m sure it’s my own interest in karate that ultimately made me want to own it, but you certainly don’t need a black belt, or a white one for that matter, to enjoy this classic film. Daniel-san finds himself in trouble when the local karate experts start using him as their punching bag. The ever-wise Mr. Myagi agrees to train Daniel-san in the ways of karate in preparation for the big tournament where the young student hopes to finally prove himself. Oh who am I kidding? Is there anyone reading this who hasn't seen The Karate Kid? We all remember ‘Wax-on, wax-off’ and the unbeatable Crane-style kick. Despite a healthy portion of fromage, The Karate Kid is still a great movie and well worth another look.

We started off this past weekend’s movie marathon with Lucky Number Slevin. I wrote a full-length review of the film on this site a few weeks ago, which you can check out here. Slevin is a terrific little noir caper with some very interesting characters, portrayed by a host of well known actors: Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Sir Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci, Josh Hartnett and Lucy Liu, to name a few. In fact virtually every piece of this film is a character, from the sets to the costumes to the music. It all comes together in one intriguing plot that twists and turns to a powerful finale. You’ll find a lot more detail in my full-length review, but suffice it to say that Lucky Lumber Slevin is an intelligent film that entertains on all levels.

The second film of our noir/caper movie marathon was Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. To try and sum up the plot of this film would be like trying to explain how a gas engine works; there’s a lot more going on than you realize and even though you have a general understanding of the process, it’s still very complex. But don’t let that turn you off this fantastic British film. Some very witty dialogue, quirky characters and comedy-of-errors plot will keep you interested from start to finish and will have you laughing out loud throughout. This film fit in perfectly with the theme of our movie-day and I strongly recommend it to anyone.

The last film of our movie-marathon was another Guy Ritchie creation, Snatch. Banking on the success of his pervious flick, Ritchie gives us another terrific, mostly-British film that focuses on an 84-carot diamond, illegal boxing promotion and a “pikey” (Brad Pitt) with the most unintelligible accent you’re likely to ever hear. With character names like Franky Four Fingers, Cousin Avi, Boris the Blade and Bullet Tooth Tony, Snatch is a crazy, twisted, delightful piece of filmmaking. It can be hard to follow exactly what’s going on at all times, but I think that’s part of the idea. You’ll find yourself swept up in the plot with your mind reeling from the bizarre turn of events that makes Snatch so much fun to watch. Excellent cinematography and great music round out this entertaining movie. It was a great wrap-up to our Caper-a-thon.

All in all I would say the movie-marathon was a success. We laughed. We cried. Well ok, only Vince cried. But he tends to get choked up whenever he sees a Desert Eagle .50 on-screen. Many thanks to Dave, Vince and Chris, who share my obsession with movies and joined me for these wonderful films. I’m still trying to plan the Star Trek Ridiculathon but I find more and more that these movie-marathons are a lot harder to coordinate than you would think. I might have to quit my job and organize Ridiculathons full time. Now who would pay me…?

On the Scene!

2006-11-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

Here’s a new quiz for my readers to try. Below are the chapter numbers and titles from 15 different DVDs. These are the titles you see when you go into the Scene Selection menu. Try to identify the movie from the chapter titles. I tried to pick many popular movies and it’s likely that you have seen most, if not all of these movies.

No cheating! Don’t use the internet to search these titles. Cheating on DVD quizzes is punishable by law and may result in a maximum $250,000 fine or 5 years in jail. Or maybe I’ve just seen too many of those FBI warnings…

Submit your guesses to this email. Contest closes at midnight on November 30th, 2006. There might even be a cool prize for the winner!

Good luck!

Number 1
Chapter 2 - Courage and a Free Heart
Chapter 10 - Are You Ready for a War
Chapter 13 - Negotiating with a Princess
Chapter 17 - The Pledge of the Bruce
Chapter 21 - Bleed with Me

Number 2
Chapter 4 - Unorthodox Methods
Chapter 7 - The Society Reconvenes
Chapter 13 - Aerodynamic Desk Set
Chapter 14 - Siezing the Moment
Chapter 22 - Taking a Stand

Number 3
Chapter 3 - First Day of School
Chapter 9 - The Tank Gang
Chapter 21 - Inside the Whale
Chapter 23 - The Aquascum

Number 4
Chapter 3 - The Golden Idol
Chapter 10 - To Cairo
Chapter 16 - The Map Room
Chapter 19 - Into the Well of Souls
Chapter 27 - The Nazis' Secret Island

Number 5
Chapter 10 - "The Deep Breath Before the Plunge"
Chapter 27 - The King of the Dead
Chapter 40 - The Black Ships
Chapter 55 - The End of All Things
Chapter 59 - The Grey Havens

Number 6
Chapter 5 - Glamour Shots by Deb
Chapter 6 - Rex Kwan Do
Chapter 15 - LaFawnduh
Chapter 20 - End Titles/A Wedding

Number 7
Chapter 6 - A Public Relations Mission
Chapter 10 - Fubar
Chapter 13 - A Big Mystery
Chapter 19 - The Bridge

Number 8
Chapter 3 - Short Negotiations
Chapter 18 - A Wager with Watto
Chapter 33 - The Queen's Gambit
Chapter 36 - "Wipe them out"
Chapter 42 - Capturing the Viceroy

Number 9
Chapter 5 - Welcome Aboard
Chapter 8 - Aztec Gold
Chapter 10 - Keep to the Code
Chapter 15 - The Curse is Lifted

Number 10
Chapter 2 - Coconuts
Chapter 9 - French Taunters
Chapter 13 - Scene 24
Chapter 19 - A Herring
Chapter 25 - The Castle Arrrghhh

Number 11
Chapter 3 - Hammond's Invitation
Chapter 4 - The Chaotician
Chapter 6 - Mr. DNA
Chapter 9 - Start the Tour!
Chapter 15 - The Perimeter Fence

Number 12
Chapter 7 - Fried Eggs and Zuul
Chapter 12 - "He slimed me"
Chapter 20 - Keymaster
Chapter 27 - Stay Puft Man

Number 13
Chapter 3 - Emancipation of Sloane
Chapter 4 - The Car - 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California
Chapter 11 - Cameron Goes Berserk
Chapter 12 - Kill the Car

Number 14
Chapter 3 - Fort Hayes
Chapter 7 - Contact with the Sioux
Chapter 11 - Invited to the Village
Chapter 14 - A Good Trade
Chapter 21 - Retrieving the Journal

Number 15
Chapter 3 - Nakatomi Plaza
Chapter 9 - The Old Elevator Trick
Chapter 21 - The FBI Arrives
Chapter 24 - Message for Holly

"I'll probably lose my citizenship for this."

2006-11-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

When I saw the first Mission: Impossible film back in date I was very impressed. Like most people I was excited to see the motion picture version of what was already a very popular television series (two actually). I’ve always been a fan of big-budget, action adventure pictures and Mission: Impossible was very clearly one of those. We got to watch Ethan Hunt and his IMF team perform incredible stunts, ingenious planning and breathtaking action sequences. It wasn’t trying to be anything more than it was; a good, fun ride. I’m therefore a little confused why many people found the sequel, MI:2 to be such a disappointment. Certainly the new director, John Woo, had a much different style of telling what is basically the same story (IMF team must save world from imminent and lethal danger). But when it comes to a franchise like Mission: Impossible I think a different vision is needed. I recognized these differences in MI:2 but I still enjoyed it and thought it stayed true to the heart of Mission: Impossible.

All that is to bring you up to speed on how I felt about the third instalment, before I had even seen it. I was worried. I was worried because so many people seemed to react negatively to MI:2. Would their love of the first film prevent them from ever accepting any other MI movie that wasn’t exactly the same? I was worried because Tom Cruise was getting negative publicity due to his scientology and girlfriend “antics”. Would people base their opinion of MI:3 on Cruise’s personal life? The lives of celebrities have never really interested me that much. I’m certainly intrigued by the lifestyle but when it comes to enjoying a movie I’m really only concerned with the actor’s ability to portray a character. And despite his insanity Tom Cruise portrays an electric and entertaining Ethan Hunt which successfully carries over to the third MI film.

In short, Mission: Impossible III is fantastic.

"It's such a nice car..."

At the helm is first-time film director J. J. Abrams, the same man responsible for directing the hit television series Lost and Alias. In fact it was while Cruise was watching episodes of Alias that he decided to give Abrams a call and offer him the chance to direct M:i:III. Impressively, Abrams manages to deliver a film that is both exciting and dark. All the impressive stunts, technology and planning are still there (in fact there’s arguably more than in the first two films combined) but the tone of the film is what is so intriguing. It’s sinister, frantic and emotional. All these elements combine to create an exhausting ride that both entertains and astounds.

I won’t go into any major details regarding the plot. Hunt and his team of IMF agents must once again go into action trying to stop a villain from obtaining something called the ‘rabbit’s foot’. Only this time Hunt is engaged to be married and has given up field work in exchange for training new agents. This gives him a new emotional side that plays havoc with his decision to once again accept the mission. The opening scene itself shows Hunt captured and forced to watch the villain threaten to execute his fiancé. The tension that is established at the outset only builds through to the movie’s conclusion. There is a lot going on in M:i:III but it all comes together nicely.

"Well I'm assuming the rabbit's foot is some sort of a codename for a deadly weapon. Or it could just be some very expensive bunny appendage."

I have to agree with one of the points mentioned in many other reviews of this film; more Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman is the perfect villain. He plays Owen Davian, an international arms dealer whose vicious nature is only exceeded by his calm detachment. He’s not threatening Hunt when he says he’s going to find, torture and kill his fiancé; he’s stating a fact. Hoffman is magnificent at pulling off the cold-blooded ruthlessness of Davian and it is a disappointment that we don’t get to see more. Not surprisingly this film is all about Cruise.

I contemplated discussing Cruise’s involvement as producer and how his seemingly self-absorbed nature has impacted the film, but you can read all about that in the so-called entertainment magazines. I’m just interested in the movie itself and I have to admit that I was impressed and thoroughly entertained. Say what you want about Cruise, he knows how to make an incredible action flick.

The DVD transfer is presented in 2.35:1 Anamophic widescreen and looks pretty stunning, especially during the action scenes (which is a good 80% of the film). My only complaint is that the contrast seemed a bit too dark. It certainly matches the mood of the film but there were times where I would have preferred a little more detail. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack thunders. A DTS track would have been incredible but I wasn’t disappointed. Any movie that makes your wife have to travel 2 stories in order to tell you she can’t hear her own music is a good movie. Sorry Shauna.

"I need you to trust me."

The 2-Disc collector’s edition comes packed with special features, most of which I have actually watched. There is some very interesting material in here, if you’re interested in that kind of thing. Several featurettes cover the making of the film and focus on everything from the stunts to the story and the characters. Anyone with an interest in filmmaking won’t be disappointed. I was especially intrigued to learn that Cruise insisted on performing all his own stunts. If you’ve seen the film then you know how impressive that is. All in all the DVD package is well worth the money (especially if you got $10 off at Future Shop by picking it up on release day).

The latest news is that Tom Cruise is no longer associated with Paramount Pictures, which means he’s no longer associated with the Mission: Impossible franchise. I think that’s too bad. This third film is a perfect fit with the first two and makes for a sensational trilogy. I don’t know what the future holds for the IMF team but it won’t include Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, a proven action hero.

Mission: Impossible III gets 8 ½ self-destructing messages (out of 10).
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to click here for M:i:III trivia.

"You've got to pick a pocket or two, boys."

2006-11-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

I’m a big fan of blockbuster movies. Many of the films in my DVD collection are big-budget productions with lots of special effects, high-profile actors and incredible stunts. There’s just nothing like a really good explosion. So it might seem odd that I’m also a big fan of musicals. While they may not contain many special effects or explosive stunts musicals are just as entertaining. And this weekend I found time to watch two classic musicals that everyone should see at least once: My Fair Lady and Oliver!

I first saw Oliver! when I was in grade 9 or 10. My memory is a little fuzzy but I seem to recall watching it over several English classes. My English teacher at the time, Mr. Albrecht, remains one of my favourite teachers ever. Think of Mr. Keating from Dead Poets Society but with an attitude. Mr. Albrecht would often expose us to different forms and interpretations of literature from Shakespearean plays to music and film. Sadly he passed away last year but I’ll always be thankful for the ways in which he made me appreciate English as more than just a language.

I remember that I instantly liked Oliver! We had already read the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (not Edmund Wells, the well-known Dutch author) and I have to admit that I found it very slow. I think I was probably still a little too young to fully recognize the value of good literature but when I saw the same story in musical form I immediately gained new appreciation for the story. One of the reasons I enjoyed it was simply because it was something to watch rather than read; I’ve always been more of a visual learner. But ultimately it was the music that made me a fan. (Imagine that, a musical that’s enjoyable because of the music!)

It was the combination of catchy tunes, witty lyrics and impressive choreography that made Oliver! so entertaining. There should really be another word to describe “musicals” since their appeal comes from so much more than just the music. There’s more than one clever message in Oliver! and if you listen to the lyrics carefully and take note of the character’s performance you’ll see what I mean. You’ll smile during Fagan’s brilliant delivery of “I’m Reviewing the Situation” and not just because the music is pleasant. There’s a battle raging inside Fagan’s mind and heart and it’s delightfully funny and poignant to see those feelings revealed through smart lyrics and the cadence and rhythm of the song.

"It's clear... we're... going to get along!"

Oliver! was first released in 1968 and it continues to be one of the most entertaining musicals I’ve ever seen. If you’ve never seen it, or even if you have, I strongly urge you to give it a spin in your DVD player. Or come over and give it a spin in mine and we can sing along together with “Food, Glorious Food”, “I’d Do Anything”, “Consider Yourself at Home” and all the other fantastic songs.

Four years earlier, in 1964, one of the most famous and acclaimed musicals of all time was first released; My Fair Lady. I saw this film for the first time with Shauna and her mom several years ago. Everything I said about Oliver! applies to My Fair Lady. Great music, fantastic lyrics and stunning choreography. I instantly liked it and it wasn’t until last night, when we had a chance to see it again with Chris & Amanda, that I realized it is better than I remembered.

Rex Harrison stars as Professor Henry Higgins, a linguistics genius who can tell where anyone was born, within 6 miles, just from hearing their voice. Audrey Hepburn gives one of her most memorable performances as Eliza Doolittle, a lowly flower girl with a thick cockney accent who becomes the subject of a wager. The misogynistic professor predicts that after only 6 months of teaching he can pass Eliza off as a member of high society. What seems like a simple plot is the foundation for a highly entertaining and incredibly funny musical that was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and went on to win 8 of them, including Best Picture.

My Fair Lady is one of the most intelligent and clever musicals that I have ever seen. Even if you’re not a big fan of musicals this one is worth a try. I defy anyone to watch Harrison’s performance of “Why Can’t a Woman be more like a Man” and not laugh out loud. It’s one of those pieces that gets just gets funnier with time. And the music itself remains enjoyable even after 42 years. Again, I challenge anyone to watch “With a Little Bit of Luck” and not tap their feet to the catchy tune and delightful harmonies.

"Women are irrational, that's all there is to that! Their heads are full of cotton, hay, and rags. They're nothing but exasperating, irritating, vacillating, calculating, agitating, maddening and infuriating hags!"

While films like Mission: Impossible 3, Lord of the Rings and X-Men will continue to amaze and entertain with their fantastic effects and big budget productions it’s important to take a look back at the classics. Will Lord of the Rings be as incredible in 40 years? I think it will be and I certainly hope it will be. But there is no doubt that Oliver! and My Fair Lady are still incredible. They have stood the test of time very well and I hope you’ll give them a chance or a second glance.

Please sir, I want some more ‘Oliver!’ trivia. Click here.
Where the devil is the ‘My Fair Lady’ trivia? Oh, here it is.

Before you surf off to another site, leave a comment and let us all know what are some of your favourite classic films. Cheers!

"A Kansas City Shuffle is when everybody looks right, you go left."

2006-10-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was filled with more movie-watching goodness. I managed to squeeze 5 films in somehow. From my personal collection I watched X-Men: The Last Stand, Dead Poets Society and Ronin. And I decided to go out and rent a couple: Annapolis, which had very little potential and managed to cash in on none of it, and Lucky Number Slevin which turned out to be way better than I thought it was going to be. Today I get to write a review for one of those movies that just rocks!

Lucky Number Slevin tells the tale of Slevin Kelevra (Josh Hartnett) who is just the wrong guy, in the wrong place at the wrong time. After losing his job, his girlfriend and his apartment in the same day, things actually manage to get worse. He is mistaken for a friend of his who happens to owe a lot of money to the town’s two biggest crime lords: The Boss (Morgan Freeman) and The Rabbi (Sir Ben Kingsley). He is forced in to taking on a hitman contract against the son of The Rabbi and must also come up with $33,000 to pay off his missing friend’s gambling debt. With an eager neighbour (Lucy Liu) helping out and a ruthless assassin (Bruce Willis) following his every move, Slevin’s day goes from worse to abysmal.

"Sense is something you have when you have a choice."

At first glance Lucky Number Slevin looks like any other gangster movie. If anything though, the inclusion of so many high profile actors in one movie should tell you that a lot more is going on than meets the eye. This is one of those great caper films that only gives you enough information in each scene to whet your appetite for the next. The storyline unfolds in a clever and curious manner with flashbacks and jump-forwards filling in the gaps. I was not only entertained by some witty acting, but was also enthralled with the ingenious plot. Maybe I’m hyping it up too much but ultimately Lucky Number Slevin turned out to be far, far more engaging and entertaining that I thought it would. And I had high hopes to start with.

The cinematography and sets are just as curious as the plot. It’s all carefully arranged and decorated to keep your mind stimulated while trying to figure out what is really going on. And while I did figure out a few things early on I was still plenty surprised by a number of different twists and turns throughout the film. Unlike Inside Man, which I reviewed last month, Lucky Number Slevin manages to remain engaging and entertaining through to its finale. This is definitely a film that I could watch again and again.

"I was thinking that if you're still alive when I get
back from work tonight... maybe we could go
out to dinner or something?"

One of the most refreshing parts of the film was the various characters, played by actors that have seldom been seen in these rolls. Josh Hartnett portrays Slevin in a cool, relaxed and very witty manner. His interactions with the other characters are well scripted and delightfully executed. Lucy Liu is equally as clever and provides for some sharp dialogue with Slevin. Stanley Tucci even makes an appearance with a surprising and wonderfully acted finish. Morgan Freeman is probably the most startling in his role as a ruthless, yet intelligent mob boss. His manner reflects the charming and cheerful Freeman we’re used to in other films, but the heart of this character is unquestionably cold-blooded. His final confrontation with Sir Ben Kingsley’s Rabbi is chilling and revealing. And Bruce Willis does what he does best; being Bruce Willis. This is a good thing.

The picture quality of the single-disc DVD was phenomenal. Several times I was actually slightly distracted from the storyline by the clean, crisp colors and definition. This is one of those DVDs that makes you wonder how much better HD could actually look. Of course, having said that, I’ve actually seen HD and trust me, it truly is better than you can imagine. I was also impressed with the sound. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track produces a perfect balance between dialogue, music and sound effects. If you’ve ever seen the final gunfight in Open Range then you have an idea of how startling and impressive the sound effects are in Lucky Number Slevin.

"My name’s Goodkat. You can call me Mr. Goodkat."

Bonus features include two commentaries with director, Paul McGuigan, a couple of the actors and the writer. Deleted scenes and a short making-of featurette round out a fairly slim special feature offering with the standard trailer thrown in. I’m hoping this film will gain a good following like The Usual Suspects (no, I’m not comparing that phenomenal film to this quite-good film) and a 2-disc Special Edition will be available in the future. As usual, I haven’t had a chance to watch any of the bonus material. I keep saying that I’ll get back to you when I do watch it, but we both know that’s not likely. Do you really want to read a review on a movie’s commentary track?

I’ve read a couple of reviews that were very negative towards Lucky Number Slevin. I guess, like some movies, this is one that will either appeal to you greatly or will leave a bad taste in your mouth. But since you have great respect for me (you’re reading my blog aren’t you?) then you’ll obviously love Lucky Number Slevin and will be sending me numerous emails proclaiming my genius as a DVD reviewer and offering to name your next child after me in honour of my excellent taste in films.

Lucky Number Slevin gets 8 ½ broken noses (out of 10).
Look right, then go left and find ‘Lucky Number Slevin’ trivia here.

"Spiders? Why couldn't it be 'follow the butterflies'?"

2006-10-24T10:32:00.000-06:00

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of hosting the Third Official Ridiculathon of 2006: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Chamber of Ridiculousness. In one day, myself and some fellow movie fanatics watched all four Harry Potter films. While it was not the longest Ridiculathon I have ever had, it was still over 10 hours of movie-watching, not including breaks. So many thanks and congratulations to Chris, Amanda and Anne, who all made it through the entire day! And a special nod goes out to Laura and Brian who were each able to join us for one of the films.

"It's Levi-OOO-sa, not Levio-SA."

While the Harry Potter books are some of the most entertaining I have ever read the films themselves are actually not as impressive as they could be. I enjoyed watching them, especially in the Ridiculathon format, but I have to admit that they can seem somewhat lacking at times. I’m not sure if that’s because the books themselves are so full of character development and plot or if the films are geared toward a younger audience. Either way they are very entertaining but I think there is potential in the franchise that is going unrealized.

"Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary
member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five time winner
of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award."

The fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is helmed by yet another director, David Yates. I am not familiar with any of his work but am hoping that his direction manages to finally realize the full potential of J.K. Rowling’s sensational imagination. The film is currently in post-production and will be released sometime in 2007. Of course, that means I won’t see until it is released on DVD sometime later that year or early in 2008.

My only major complaint about the films so far is Harry Potter himself. I still cannot understand why he doesn’t even open his mouth when the Goblet of Fire produces his name. Despite all the accusatory looks and Dumbledore’s near fury at reading Potter’s name, Harry quietly makes his way to the room with the other 3 champions, not saying a word. Why on earth wouldn’t he immediately state “I didn’t put my name in!”? He doesn’t even try to leave the competition. He doesn’t say a word while Barty Crouch and the others are discussing whether he should compete or not. I simply don’t understand it. There are too many times where Harry decides to keep his mouth shut rather than divulge the truth. Add that to Radcliffe’s poor acting skills and you get a frustrating film version of a beloved character. He certainly looks like the Harry Potter described in the books, but I find his attitude and lack of maturity quite annoying.

"Something wicked this way comes."

On a more positive note I am more than thrilled with Alan Rickman’s portrayal of Severus Snape. I swear the character was created just for him. I can think of no other actor who could hope to pull off the same sinister and mysterious quality that defines Snape. And although Rickman is notorious for playing the bad guy, I refuse to admit that Snape is actually bad. Yes, I’ve read the Half Blood Prince, but I think there is more going on here than meets the eye. Mark my words, Snape will be justified in book seven.

The Ridiculathon itself was very enjoyable. We started the day off at approximately 10:00am and finished sometime around 10:30pm. Everyone was prepared with plenty of snacks and my lovely wife provided a delicious lunch. It was comfortable, it was loud, and it was a blast. And if you missed it, have no fear. When the fifth movie is released on DVD you can be sure that another Ridiculathon will be planned and ready.

"As from this moment, The Triwizard Tournament has begun!"

Next up, the Fourth Official Ridiculathon of 2006: Star Trek: The Search for More Ridiculousity. Stay tuned for details!

A Year in Reviews

2006-10-18T14:33:00.000-06:00

Well it’s been a whole year since I first started this little blog. Although my postings have been somewhat sporadic lately I am pleased that I’ve managed to stick with it for this long. And I’m very, very happy that some of you have found it to be interesting and entertaining to read. I hope you’ll keep coming back for another year.

As a way of looking back I thought I would take a quick look at some of the movies I’ve watched in the last year. So here are 12 movies I saw; one for each month. These are the ones I consider the best that I saw that month. Enjoy and please share your comments with me; I love hearing from all of you!

So get comfy. This could get lengthy (which is how I like my movies).

October 2005

One of the first films I mentioned when I began my blog was Batman Begins. It was definitely one of the best movies I saw that month. It was refreshing and exciting to see the Batman franchise brought back to life, especially after the catastrophe of Batman & Robin. Christopher Nolan’s dark, new vision of the caped crusader created a world that I hadn’t really seen since Tim Burton’s original. I remember gasping when one of the thugs is violently pulled inside a storage container, his scream cut short, and then silence. This was the Batman I remember reading about in the comics.

November 2005

It turns out I watched a lot of great movies in November. High Fidelity, The Pianist and Leon stand out among the rest. But I have to mention The Count of Monte Cristo, if for no other reason than I’ve watched it four times in the last year and a half. I just love this movie. The story and characters are so intriguing and the acting is incredibly well done. Everything about this film is entertaining and engaging. I even used a clip of it during this summer’s AYC (Anglican Youth Camp) as an illustration of God’s unending belief in us. That one clip caught the interest of a number of teens who then wanted to see the film for themselves. It also inspired me to read the book (given as a fantastic gift from my wife). Any film that can produce that kind of interest is well worth a look. And another. And another.

December 2005

While I had to suffer through Fantastic Four during the holiday season, I’ve got to give kudos to Mr. & Mrs. Smith. I watched it three times over the course of the Christmas week. This is just one of those fun movies that has great action and lots of laughs. Brad Pitt is in his element in this kind of movie. The action sequences are incredible, as long as you’re willing to suspend your disbelief (which is a fundamental requirement of movie-lovers) and the story is extremely entertaining. The image of Brad Pitt careening over a ditch in the back of an out-of-control car while holding his finger up and yelling “We need to talk!” is unforgettable.

January 2006

January was all about 24, Lost, and the Band of Brothers Ridiculathon (the first Ridiculathon of 2006). However, I did manage to watch a few movies (including The Count of Monte Cristo) and The Incredibles stands out in my memory. Pixar creates beautiful, hilarious, thrilling films and I think The Incredibles is one of their best. Everything from the soundtrack to the story and the animation was masterfully done. I recently watched the special features and commentary from the film and am blown away by how difficult it is to achieve some of those effects. I haven’t seen the most recent Pixar creation, Cars, but I’ve heard it doesn’t quite stand up to the studios past films. I can believe that; The Incredibles set the bar very, very high. Watch it again, soon. It’s better than you remember.

February 2006

The Star Wars Ridiculathon (the second of 2006) made its debut in February. But the one film that stuck out most for me that month was Serenity. It is based on the short-lived television series, Firefly, which I have never seen, but am keen to see. The film is a sci-fi / comedy / action / western / thriller, and it has some of the best writing and dialogue. The quips and comebacks used by the characters are what make this film so entertaining, and the story itself is pretty good too. I was pleasantly surprised by this film. I was just expecting a mindless action romp but it turns out there is a fair degree of intelligence in this little gem. I highly recommend it and suggest you all pool your money to buy my the complete Firefly television series on DVD. Only $29.99 at HMV!

March 2006

Joaquin Phoenix is fast becoming one of my favourite actors and Walk the Line is a big reason for that. Shauna and I are big fans of the ‘music-related’ movies, especially those based on real-life musicians like Cole Porter (De-Lovely) and Bobby Darin (Beyond the Sea). Apparently Johnny Cash himself, before his death, had selected Phoenix to portray him in the story of his rise to fame, struggle with drugs and tumultuous relationship with June Carter. When I first saw the film in March I was blown away by the incredible acting, and singing, talent of Joaquin Phoenix. It’s almost haunting to see how closely he resembles Cash in his performance. Great music, incredible acting and an engaging real-life story make this a definite must-see.

April 2006

It’s difficult to only pick one movie from this month. Somehow I found the time to watch 23 movies in April and Shauna and I saw several that were very, very good. Rent, King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia are just a few of the movies we managed to squeeze in. However, this was also the month in which I saw Scarface for the first time ever. I have always appreciated Al Pacino’s acting talent and I thought I should finally see one of his debut roles (and his most famous). While it’s certainly not the best film I have ever seen I will admit that Pacino does an incredible job in bringing Tony Montagna to life. I think some viewers underestimate just how much work was involved in simply getting the accent right. Pacino makes it seem second nature. And the thematic elements of Scarface have become some of the most well known, and used, in film making. Say hello to my little friend and give Scarface a viewing.

May 2006

With summer on the horizon my movie watching started to take a dive. But it’s not hard to pick my favourite from May. Russell Crowe is another favourite actor of mine and his performance in the Ron Howard film, Cinderella Man, was more proof of his ability. It’s not just a “boxing movie”, as my wife describes it. First, it’s a true story and brings to light the struggle and reality of America during the Great Depression. Second, it’s a brilliantly directed film with wonderful cinematography and writing. And thirdly, it’s a really, really good boxing movie. The movie doesn’t pull any punches (sorry, couldn’t resist) about its clichéd plot (read: happy ending) but the telling of that plot is what makes it so entertaining. I strongly recommend it.

June 2006

The low-point of the year, as far as movie watching is concerned. I only found time for 9 movies in June. I’ll never forgive myself. On the plus side it makes it very easy for me to pick my favourite from that month. The Red Violin is a diamond-in-the-rough film that Shauna and I discovered a few years ago. We both instantly fell in love with it and I’ve been hunting the globe for the perfect DVD release ever since (so far there have been problems with all 3 different versions I’ve tried). This is the beautiful story of a violin as it travels over the world and through the lives of a variety of different people. It’s a story of life, love, music, passion, violence, greed and perfection. You’ve never seen a film quite like The Red Violin and I urge you to see it if you haven’t already. This is the kind of film that could be written about and spoken of for hours and days and years.

July 2006

While watching the Band of Brothers series a while back I gained an appreciation for Ron Livingston. His performance in the WWII mini-series was phenomenal. Neither Shauna nor I had ever seen Office Space, which stars Livingston, so we decided to give it a blind buy. I’m very glad to say that our decision was not fruitless as Office Space is the definitive comedy about office politics, cubicles, staplers and life in general. This little cult classic features some very memorable characters and is a must-see for anyone who has ever worked in a Dilbert-like environment. The printer-smashing scene is one of my favourites; great music.

August 2006

My birthday month saw an unofficial Ridiculathon (#3 of 2006) with some friends (8 films in 2 days), one of whom had never seen any of the Indiana Jones films (I won’t mention any names, but his initials are Chris Siegle. Oops!). It was also my chance to work AYC and make the teens watch some of my favourite movie moments. But my favourite of the month was probably Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Quite simply, it’s a classic. Paul Newman and Robert Redford are the classic film duo in one of the last classic westerns of cinema. Like Scarface, if you have any interest in films you owe it to yourself to see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. You won’t regret it.

September 2006

Last month was the start of Lost: Season 2 for Shauna and I, so I’m amazed I was able to watch any movies at all. In addition to catching Mr. & Mrs. Smith again I was fortunate enough to discover Inside Man. While my review of the film indicated that the ending may have been a bit of a let down, the film itself is very well done and one that I will remember for a long time. If you like heist films then you’ll love Inside Man. Whether or not you discover the “mystery” early on like I did, you’ll still enjoy seeing how the robbery takes place. There are a lot of intelligent ideas in this film and the acting is top notch. Clive Owen gives a great performance as the heist leader while Denzel Washington is his usual brilliant self as the detective attempting to stop it all. A great film with some intense moments.

Well, there you go. A 12 film year-in-review. I’ve enjoyed sharing my thoughts with you and I hope you’ve taken the opportunity to see a few films this year that you’ve never seen before. Now hit that ‘add comment’ button and share with us some of your favourites from the past 12 months.

[sung] "Unhappy... unhappy... very, very, very, very..."

2006-10-17T08:45:00.000-06:00

Ever since Ferris Bueller’s Day Off I’ve been a fan of Mathew Broderick. He created a character that has become an icon for my generation and anyone else who experienced any part of the 80s. When I heard that he and Nathan Lane were starring in the Broadway production of The Producers I was sorry that I would never get a chance to see it. And finally when the stage production was turned into a film version both Shauna and I were thrilled that we would finally get a chance to see one of our favourite 80s actors in a hit musical.

Ferris Bueller, where have you gone? Bueller? Bueller?

The first 10 minutes of the film were painful. Not painful like Reservoir Dogs or Saving Private Ryan, where the agony you feel is part of the director’s intention. No, the pain in The Producers was a result of the stilted, forced acting of Mr. Broderick. It wasn’t funny and it wasn’t intelligent; it was silly and nearly unbearable to witness. Shauna and I had to literally turn the whole thing off after about an hour. Maybe the film gets better in it’s second half but I’ll never know. Don’t make me go back there!

In its defence, a friend of mine and her husband (shout out to Amanda & Chris) watched the original Mel Brooks version of the film and they said the Broderick character was portrayed almost exactly the same. So it’s possible that Broderick’s acting is not the problem; it’s the character that is so darn annoying.

I can’t justify giving a full review of this film since I didn’t watch the whole thing and therefore I won’t be giving it a score. Suffice it to say that there’s a chance you’ll either really enjoy the film or you’ll want to hang yourself before it’s half over.

A couple of the musical numbers were quite well done, specifically “I want to be a Producer”. There, I said something nice about it.

"Buses, Kojak, or I'll give you two of the longest days of your life."

2006-09-29T10:54:00.000-06:00

It seems like there’s been a bit of a dry spell lately in terms of really incredible movies. Now I know that a number of big blockbusters premiered this year (Pirates of the Caribbean, Superman Returns, X3, etc) but it still feels like it’s been a really long time since we’ve been given another Usual Suspects or Fight Club type of movie. You know, the kind of movie that really gets you thinking and messes with your head. The kind of movie that finishes with you going “Wow…what just happened? That was AWESOME!” I was hoping to have that kind of experience with Inside Man, and I’m glad to say that I did…almost.

Inside Man starts off like some of the best ‘mind-bending’ movies I’ve seen. Clive Owen opens the film with a simply monologue to the audience. “My name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and never repeat myself.” He goes on to inform the audience about the perfect bank heist he has planned. We are quickly taken to the job in question and within 20 minutes the police are already on the scene with hostage negotiators and SWAT. For the next hour or so the film is an exceptional roller coaster ride of clever tactics, flash-forwards and suspicious characters. I was giddy with excitement that I had finally found another intelligent caper film to compete with Kaiser Soze and Tyler Durden. The last 40 minutes of the film managed to dispel those thoughts, however. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

"The What is easy: recently I planned and set in motion events
to execute the perfect bank robbery; that's also the When."

A word must be said about the director. Spike Lee is known for his more dramatic, often controversial films such as ‘Malcolm X’, ‘Jungle Fever’ and ‘Summer of Sam’. There is no denying that he is a remarkably intelligent director and has a unique way of bringing characters to life on the screen. ‘25th Hour’, starring Edward Norton, is an excellent example of how diverse and different a director is Spike Lee. ‘Inside Man’ is apparently Lee’s attempt to make a more “mainstream” action/suspense film. And although the majority of the plot and action are relatively straightforward, there are certainly a number of Spike Lee-isms sprinkled throughout. References to racism and police brutality are readily apparent. However, aside from the political comments Lee may be making, the film itself is brilliantly directed. The pacing is perfect; fast enough to keep you in the action, but also disconnected enough to provide that sense of confusion and wonder we often enjoy in a good caper film.

An impressive roster of actors provides some very interesting and well acted characters. Clive Owen, Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer and Willem Defoe all give the high calibre performances we’ve come to expect from such big names. And in most cases the characters are quite dissimilar to the roles normally associated with these actors. Storyline aside it was very entertaining to watch these actors do their thing. The tension between Owen and Washington’s characters is especially exciting during the second act of the film.

"As for the Why: beyond the obvious financial motivation,
it's exceedingly simple... because I can."

I should also briefly mention that the plan itself, the actual bank heist, is brilliant. I’m not going to give away any of the details since that’s what makes the movie so enjoyable. But if you like caper films with really clever and unique ways of getting the job done, you’re sure to enjoy Inside Man. At least for the first two acts.

And that brings us to the third act. The movie sets itself up as a clever, brain-twisting piece but seems to fall flat in the end. I’m not sure if my expectations were too high, but it just felt like Spike Lee was creating something very intricate only to have the resolution be far too simplistic. I picked up on a subtle piece of information early on in the film and was eagerly anticipating the moment where my theory would be proven wrong or realize that I had made the wrong assumptions. It turns out I was exactly correct, so the final “reveal” was not very exciting for me. My wife, Shauna, watched the film as well and later admitted that she did not pick up on the same theory I did, but that the reveal was still not that exciting. The film as a whole was quite good and the story is definitely well written, but something in the end felt like a bit of a let down. I guess I’m still waiting for the next big ‘mind-bender’.

"Which leaves us only with the How;
and therein, as the Bard tells us, lies the rub."

Visually ‘Inside Man’ looks as good as any of the mainstream movies coming out on DVD recently. Though with the introduction of HD DVD and Blu Ray, Standard Definition DVDs are going to start getting lower marks. Overall I did not notice any visual artefacts or inconsistencies. The sound was definitely noticeable though, but in a very good way. The opening title-song was not only very catchy, but used the surrounds heavily and got my subwoofer thumping. A number of specific scenes also used the surround to great effect. It’s hard to explain but if you love good audio in a film then you should definitely check this one out.

I’m sure there were some bonus features somewhere on the DVD, but since it was a rental and already overdue, I had to take it back before I could have a closer look. So instead I’ll take a guess. Hmmm, I bet there are some deleted scenes, a making-of featurette and oh, I dunno, a theatrical trailer. I never really understood the point of including a trailer with the full-length film itself. It’s sort of like opening a can of coke you just bought only to hear a tiny, electronic advertisement in the can say ‘Buy coke!’ Um…I just did. Shut up and let me drink it.

"You got everybody marching to your beat,
including me, and i'm through buying it!"

Overall, Inside Man was definitely entertaining and a very well done film. I still haven’t decided if the let-down in the end was due to my high expectations or if the film was trying to be something it ended up not being. I urge my readers to give this one a look and let me know your thoughts. Ultimately I can’t really advise you to buy it since I can’t decide for myself. Probably not, I guess, since I would only be reminded of what it could have been. But then again I do seem to have a weak spot for DVDs. 285 weak spots, so far.

‘Inside Man’ gets 8 jumpsuits (out of 10).
Click here for ‘Inside Man’ trivia and I’ll release one of the hostages.

"I accuse Alcatraz of crimes against humanity!"

2006-09-21T11:17:00.000-06:00

Kevin Bacon has had an interesting career. He was cutting the rug in Footloose, experienced life after death in Flatliners, was chased by huge, underground worm/snake things in Tremors, and even had a few ‘problems’ during Apollo 13. Some of you may even recall not seeing him in the horrible, awful, complete waste of time called Hollow Man. Despite that most recent flop, one just has to watch Murder in the First to instantly recognize how talented Mr. Bacon really is. He didn’t win the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1995, the year it was released, but he should have. In fact, he didn’t even garner a nomination, but I guess 1995 was a busy year; Braveheart cleaned up.

Inspired by true events, Murder in the First retells the story of inmate #244, Henry Young (Bacon), a resident of Alcatraz in 1938. The film begins with a brief history of Young’s incarceration in solitary confinement for an attempted escape. When he is finally released from solitary, three years later, and re-enters the general population of Alcatraz his first act is murder; brutally killing the fellow inmate that sold out Young during the escape. A naïve public defender named James Stamphill (Christian Slater) is assigned the impossible task of defending Young in a case that appears un-defendable. After learning of Young’s horrific experiences at the hands of the Alcatraz Assistant Warden (Gary Oldman), Stamphill turns the trial into an attack on Alcatraz itself.

Murder in the First manages to do several things right. The story is compelling and instantly interesting. From the opening credits we are pulled into Henry’s life and made witness to his torturous circumstances. Stamphill’s narration during these vivid opening scenes are all the more intriguing as we learn of Stamphill’s education and career; there is an enormous contrast between these two lives. The acting is incredible. Kevin Bacon gives the best performance of his life, depicting the broken and bitterly sad Henry Young. Gary Oldman is wonderful as usual. And although his part is considerably smaller the few scenes he is in are chilling and mesmerizing in the way we’ve come to appreciate Oldman.

On the other hand, there are a couple of blemishes in the acting department. Christian Slayter is not one of my favourite actors and Murder in the First is just another example of his forced acting style. It can’t be easy playing the straight-laced lawyer amongst such diverse characters as Bacon’s Henry Young and Oldman’s Warden Glenn, but Slayter appears to try very hard to claim the spotlight in each scene. For the most part he does ok, but during one particularly dramatic courtroom scene, reminiscent of A Few Good Men’s “you can’t handle the truth” moment, Slayter tries too hard to reach an explosive peak only to have the scene end rather abruptly and unfinished. Fortunately the film doesn’t suffer too much from this, but it does seem to keep a great film from being spectacular.

The DVD is a bare bones release. Warner Bros. did at least provide an Anamorphic video transfer which is important given the content being portrayed. I think some of the impact of the visuals would be reduced in a non-anamorphic image as the aspect ratio on a wide screen TV would skew the characters dramatically. Basically everything looks like it would in real life, not stretched or squished. Aside from the pretty picture, however, the rest of the DVD doesn’t really measure up. A Dolby Digital Stereo audio track is provided, which I guess is sufficient given that 99% of the film is dialogue driven. But it’s not like the studio didn’t have room on the disc for more audio quality; aside from the film itself there are no special features to speak of. Not even a trailer. To be fair, the flip side of the disc contains a 1.33:1 Full Frame version of the film, but anyone who’s anyone knows that Full Frame is the 8th deadly sin; avoid at all costs. Overall, the DVD itself isn’t anything to shout about.

If you enjoy a good courtroom flick or you want to rid yourself of those horrible Kevin Bacon ‘Hollowman’ nightmares, then Murder in the First is a must see for you. Even a passing interest in Alcatraz should compel you to watch the trial that brought the institution to the ground. While not as dramatic and engaging as The Shawshank Redemption or as exciting and compelling as A Few Good Men, Murder in the First is certainly an interesting film, and definitely the best performance you may ever see from Kevin Bacon.

Murder in the First gets 7 ½ straight razors (out of 10).
Action: click here. Reaction: ‘Murder in the First’ trivia.

What's in a Name? Answers

2006-09-13T08:57:00.000-06:00

Well it’s been over two months since the ‘What’s In a Name’ contest was first posted. Sadly I did not get very many responses. In fact, I only got one. Which means the rest of you don’t get any prizes. Nothing. Nada. Zip. No soup for you. Come back, one year.

I would like to congratulate and thank my sister, Brandi, for submitting her answers. While she only got three of them right, it’s more than the rest of the sorry bunch of you. I bet you’re kicking yourselves now, aren’t you? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Brandi gets to choose from the following DVDs for her prize:

Cinderella Man
Cast Away
Fight Club
The Karate Kid
Spaceballs
The Usual Suspects
My Fair Lady

The rest of you get nothing, or did I mention that already?

Here are the answers from the ‘What’s In a Name’ quiz:

Group 1 – Edward Norton
Father Brian Finn, ‘Keeping the Faith’
Derek Vinyard, ‘American History X’
King Baldwin, ‘Kingdom of Heaven’
Aaron Stampler, ‘Primal Fear’

Group 2 – Brad Pitt
Rusty Ryan, ‘Ocean’s 11’ and ‘Ocean’s 12’
John Smith, ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’
Jeffrey Goines, ‘12 Monkeys’
Detective David Mills, ‘Se7en’

Group 3 – Ed Harris
Parcher, ‘A Beautiful Mind’
Major Konig, ‘Enemy at the Gates’
Christof, ‘The Truman Show’
Carl Fogarty, ‘A History of Violence’

Group 4 – Tom Hanks
Professor G. H. Dorr, ‘The Ladykillers’
Carl Hanratty, ‘Catch Me if You Can’
Jimmy Dugan, ‘A League of Their Own’
Andrew Beckett, ‘Philadelphia’

Group 5 – Kevin Spacey
Bobby Darin, ‘Beyond the Sea’
Lester Burnham, ‘American Beauty’
Prot, ‘K-PAX’
Hopper, ‘A Bug’s Life’

Group 6 – Kevin Costner
The Mariner, ‘Waterworld’
Lt. John Dunbar, ‘Dances With Wolves’
Ray Kinsella, ‘Field of Dreams’
Crash Davis, ‘Bull Durham’

Group 7 – Bruce Willis
Col. William A. McNamara, ‘Hart’s War’
Korben Dallas, ‘The Fifth Element’
Harry S. Stamper, ‘Armageddon’
Dr. Malcolm Crowe, ‘The Sixth Sense’

Group 8 – Tom Cruise
Nathan Algren, ‘The Last Samurai’
Lt. Daniel Kaffee, ‘A Few Good Men’
Chief John Anderton, ‘Minority Report’
Cole Trickle, ‘Days of Thunder’

Group 9 – John Cusack
Nicholas Easter, ‘Runaway Jury’
Martin Q. Blank, ‘Grosse Point Blank’
U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin, ‘Con Air’
Denny Lachance, ‘Stand By Me’

Group 10 – Ewan McGregor
Ed Bloom, ‘Big Fish’
Spec. John Grimes, ‘Black Hawk Down’
Renton, ‘Trainspotting’
Lincoln Six Echo, ‘The Island’

"I'm sorry, Mr. President, I don't dance."

2006-09-08T14:52:00.000-06:00

Often when I scan my DVD collection, looking for something to watch, I already know what kind of movie I feel like seeing. Whether it’s something loud and exciting or something musical or something simple and fun I’ve usually made up my mind about which movies I’m going to choose from and which movies are ‘off the list’. Sometimes, however, I’ll come across a movie in my collection that seems to jump off the shelf and say “watch me”; something I didn’t expect to be interested in that day. That was the case with Clear and Present Danger this past weekend. I didn’t think I was in the mood for that kind of drama/action flick, but Jack Ryan managed to convince me that he was worth watching again. Jack usually has pretty good hunches about that sort of thing.

Third in the Jack Ryan series (though 4th chronologically), Clear and Present Danger is a political/spy/military drama in which the President of the United States has unofficially declared war on the drug cartels of Columbia, South America. While Jack is filling in for his mentor as acting director of operations at the CIA he learns of the illegal covert operation and takes steps to uncover the truth and save the soldiers involved.

"Watch your back, Jack."

Like all Tom Clancy flicks Clear and Present Danger is more politically charged than anything else, yet manages to maintain an exciting pace. Harrison Ford plays the altruistic Jack Ryan with the same passion and intelligence as in the prior film, Patriot Games. James Earl Jones also reprises his role as Jim Greer, Jack’s mentor and friend. It is apparent that these characters have developed a depth and realism that comes from dozens of novels and two previous films; their relationships are believable and their actions are logical. However, this is very much a different Jack Ryan than Alec Baldwin’s performance in The Hunt for Red October. It’s hard for me to decide which actor I prefer in this role; both do a great job of bringing an exciting character to life.

Even if you’re not a fan of Tom Clancy’s novels, Clear and Present Danger is a highly entertaining film. The story is compelling because it doesn’t stray too far from the truth. We become witnesses to events and plans that could very well take place in this day and age, and may already have. Tom Clancy knows how to tell a great story while still making a comment about the political/military might of the United States and the motives behind them. By the time we get to the scene where Ryan confronts the president in the Oval Office the tension is incredible, and believable. Harrison Ford really shines in these moments. I’m convinced that the greatest roles of Ford’s career will remain Han Solo, Indiana Jones and Jack Ryan.

"I didn't sign up for this."

The Special Edition DVD is a pleasing presentation of this fantastic film. The 1.85:1 Anamorphic widescreen picture filled my screen and the picture quality contained no problems that I noticed. The contrast and colors are perfect in every scene, whether it’s the brightly lit offices of the CIA or the shadows of the Columbian rain forest. A DTS sound track is also included and does its job in enveloping you in Jack Ryan’s situations, ranging from helicopters to gunfights. I must say the DVD presentation of Clear and Present Danger is impressive; especially considering the movie is now 12 years old.

Special features include some new cast and crew interviews and a theatrical trailer of the film. Nothing too exciting here but fortunately the price of the DVD and the fantastic audio/visual quality more than make up for a slight lack of bonus material. It’s possible that a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray version of the film will contain more footage and features but until that horrible format war is over this Special Edition DVD will do the trick.

"How dare YOU, sir!"

If you’re a fan of Tom Clancy’s novels, or a fan of spy dramas, or even just a fan of Harrison Ford you really can’t go wrong with Clear and Present Danger. I would highly recommend watching The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games first. That being said, Clear and Present Danger does manage to hold its own quite nicely.

Clear and Present Danger gets 8 bags of Lindo coffee (out of 10).
Click here for ‘Clear and Present Danger’ trivia. Then report your findings to the Senate Committee on CIA Operations.

"I have vision and the rest of the world wears bifocals."

2006-08-31T13:34:00.000-06:00

I can’t remember how old I was when I first saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid but I do remember liking it instantly. I think it was my mom who suggested I see it, as was the case with most of the memorable movies from my childhood. And whenever I happened to come across it on TV I would always stop and watch whichever scene happened to be playing; there were no boring ones. I finally picked up the recent Ultimate Collector’s Edition version of the film on DVD and watched it with some really good friends. Almost 40 years after its initial release, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid remains one of the best films in Hollywood.

Paul Newman and Robert Redford star as the title characters, respectively, and base their performances on the real life members of the Wild Bunch gang (though in the film the group is referred to as the Hole in the Wall gang due to Sam Peckinpah’s ‘The Wild Bunch’ film which was released the same year). Butch and Sundance’s gang was responsible for a number of bank and train robberies in the old west. They were eventually forced to flee to Bolivia when a highly skilled law enforcement posse began hunting down the infamous duo. The majority of the film retells the story of Butch and Sundance’s illegal exploits while avoiding “those guys”.

“Who are those guys?”

For someone who hasn’t actually seen this movie it probably sounds like any other western film. I haven’t seen all that many western movies but I would venture to say that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is unique in many ways. First and foremost is the amusing relationship between the main characters. Newman and Redford became famous for the entertaining quality of their on-screen partnerships and this movie is no exception. The banter between the two is the meat of this film and provides for many memorable and quotable lines. And the delivery is perfect with Newman and Redford giving a performance that would have them teaming up again for the Academy’s Best Picture winner ‘The Sting’ 4 years later.

In the spirit of Billy the Kid, Jesse James and Bonnie & Clyde the film instantly has you cheering for the bad guys, although they are portrayed in a light that makes you wonder who the real bad guys are. Despite their thieving, fighting, shooting and blowing things up, you can’t help but like Butch and Sundance. It makes the relentless hunt that much more engaging and you find yourself watching right up to the climactic ending, hoping the anti-heroes will ultimately make their escape.

“Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?”

Despite the fact that the film was first released in 1969, the restored DVD looks pretty darn good. Presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic widescreen the video image is colourful and clear throughout. I was actually surprised at the picture quality in a few of the scenes as I had always remembered the film as a grainy, washed-out, old-west flick. Now there are still some grainy scenes and I did notice a definite aging of the film, but overall it still looks good and doesn’t detract from the storyline at all. The Dolby Digital Stereo soundtrack is also quite good, considering the age of the film.

The Ultimate Collector’s Edition DVD comes with a second disk of special features including a couple of commentaries, behind the scenes featurettes, documentaries and interviews. All Of What Follows Is True: The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of the better making-of documentaries I’ve seen for a film. Both actors, the writer and producers take a look back at Butch and Sundance and offer their thoughts on the huge popularity of the film. There are numerous insights and facts given about the movie and how it was originally conceived and created. Definitely worth a watch.

“Kid, next time I say “Let’s go someplace like Bolivia,” let’s GO someplace like Bolivia.”

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid went on to earn 7 Academy Award nominations and won 4 of them, including Best Song for ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head’ (now you know where that song came from). Although it was initially panned by the critics it became a huge success and remains one of the most popular westerns of all time. If you haven’t seen this classic Newman/Redford film you owe it to yourself to watch it as soon as possible. Having said that, I get home around 5:00pm so bring your popcorn and we’ll starting watching at 5:01. Don’t be late; the opening scene is very good. So is the one right after it. And the one after that…and the next one…

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid gets 9 and ½ sticks of dynamite (out of 10).
Reach for the sky, then click here for ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ trivia.

"Must go faster."

2006-08-18T10:55:00.000-06:00

It’s been a busy summer for me this year. It seems like it’s gone by in a blur. There was a vacation in Penticton where I actually burned my feet on the sand, literally. There was a camping trip that almost didn’t happen, a wedding celebration where I learned the art of the ‘sandwich’ (thanks Anthony), a weeklong camp with teenagers (yes, I’m insane) and a couple days at the Baker’s cabin where I water-skied for the first time. Sort of.

So basically, it’s been a terrible summer…for watching movies.

I have some serious catching up to do, but in the mean time here’s a rundown on the few flicks I did manage to watch.

When I was in high school a friend of mine and I were addicted to baseball and would spend all our time sorting through boxes of baseballs cards, practicing our curveballs in the backyard and watching Major League. While there are a few campy moments and a completely unnecessary romance plot, the finale of this film is enough to put a smile on anyone’s face. It’s a rousing, roaring celebration that comes together perfectly. An incredibly fun film with some hilarious acting by Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Wesley Snipes and a chameleon-esque performance by President David Palmer.

The Great Escape deserves a full length review, as does the excellent 2-disc Collector’s Edition DVD. For now let’s just say that if you haven’t seen this World War II classic then you owe it to yourself, and the rest of film-lovers everywhere, to see this one as soon as humanly possible. It’s the true story of a group of Allied POWs who plan a mass escape from a German prison camp and stars some of Hollywood’s most famous actors including James Garner, Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson and James Coburn. Despite being released more than 40 years ago The Great Escape remains exciting and entertaining.

The quintessential gangster movie, Goodfellas pretty much defines the roles that Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci have become famous for. The film is based on actual events, which is scary considering the kinds of things going on throughout. Goodfellas gives a no-holds-barred look at mob life in the 60s, 70s and 80s and uses clever voice-over narration to describe the thoughts and ambitions of each character. Ray Liotta gives a terrific performance in the lead role but is easily overshadowed by De Niro and Pesci who were simply born to play these characters. Another classic that deserves your attention.

I recently finished reading the non-fiction book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War by Mark Bowden. It’s easy to see how it inspired Ridley Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer to team up and create Black Hawk Down, a film based on the events of Mogadishu 1993. After finishing the book I was eager to watch the film again. It’s a completely different experience when you are familiar with the individual soldiers involved in the conflict and are aware of how they were feeling during the battle. Although a very hard movie to watch for some (it’s basically the Saving Private Ryan of modern war) I think it’s an important one. And it just happens to be incredibly exciting and entertaining as well.

It’s hard to give Hotel Rwanda a proper review (even a mini-review) since I’ve only seen it once, several weeks ago. I was so wrapped up in the drama unfolding on-screen that I never really considered how it measured up as a film. Maybe that’s a good thing for a movie that is simply retelling events that actually happened (I seem to be watching a lot of those lately). I do recall thinking that Don Cheadle is an amazing actor. Just watch Ocean’s 11 (Basher) and then Hotel Rwanda (Paul Rusesabagina). He never has to worry about getting typecast, that’s for certain. The movie itself is definitely engaging and worth seeing. I would like to learn more about the real story and watch it again before giving my full opinion though; I’ve heard rumblings that some key elements may not be entirely accurate.

Independence Day is just plain fun. What else would you expect from a movie about aliens attacking earth? This film is all about the script. When Dave and I first saw this together at the theatre back in 1996 (whoa, that’s 10 years ago!) we were quoting the film backwards and forwards every chance we got. Will Smith steals the show with his hilarious quips and Jeff Goldblum is a terrific addition. Although I felt the film was a little too patriotic, it was to be expected (it is named after the single most important American holiday). The Limited Edition DVD includes some additional footage but not much. All in all it’s just a great ride and one that will give any action/adventure seeker his fill.

That just about brings us up to date. I did manage to watch three films while at Camp (of course I did), but I’ll leave that for another day. Right now I must start watching more movies!

"Gentlemen, trials are too important to be left up to juries."

2006-07-13T15:16:00.000-06:00

In order to catch up on some important movie watching Shauna and I are heading out to Penticton for the next 10 days or so. We’ll pitch our tent, cook some hot dogs and then set up the portable DVD player and watch movies the whole time.

I wonder if Shauna knows that that’s what we’ll be doing? Oh well. I’m sure we’ll find some time for the beach and maybe a round or two of golf. And of course we’ll have to visit the many fruit stands as well as take a tour of the local micro-brewery. I think we will be swinging by the used bookstore also and possibly having a dinner a couple times at a few of the nice restaurants in town. And we’ll likely just do some sitting around, relaxing, sleeping in. You know, vacating.

Ok, so maybe I won’t have as much time for movies as I think. Regardless, I won’t be around to update the blog so here’s a brief rundown of the films I’ve been watching lately. Enjoy!

Although Apocalypse Now has been hailed as a war-classic for many years, I had never actually seen it until about a month ago. While I’m glad I got a chance to finally watch it, I’m not sure it has stood the test of time as well as some other classics. It’s obvious that the film is trying to convey the horror of war and uses Vietnam as its canvas, but the pacing feels as stoned as most of the characters. The only real shining moments are those scenes that feature Robert Duvall and the famous helicopter attack. The Redux version is particularly lengthy and drawn-out and I found myself simply waiting for the film to be over so I could finally say I had seen it. Although credited as a ‘must-see-before-you-die’ movie I really don’t think you’re missing too much if you skip this one.

Despite the fact that Tom Cruise has lost his mind recently I still think he is a good actor. At the very least he has been in some very good films. A Few Good Men is certainly among the best. His courtroom performance with Jack Nicholson is one of the most memorable in film history. Who hasn’t, at one time or another, raised their fist and firmly stated “You can’t handle the truth!”? Director Rob Reiner has an impressive resume, including The Princess Bride and Stand By Me, and A Few Good Men is just another fine example of his ability to draw the audience in and tell a great story. Definitely a must-see.

Every year Shauna and I add the Best Picture nominee films to our list of movies to see. Sometimes it takes a while to get around to actually seeing them but we finally caught Good Night, And Good Luck on DVD. This is a really interesting look at some events that took place during some big communist hunt in the States a while ago. Ok, I could probably have given a much better description of the film but I can’t really remember all the details. The performances were really good and I enjoyed the film; I just can’t tell you what it’s exactly about. But it’s good. No, really.

Another Academy Award nominee, Munich is a gripping look at a country’s retaliation against a group of terrorists who murdered the 1972 Israeli Olympic team. Eric Bana gives an incredible performance as one of the assassins secretly hired by his government to carry out the executions. The film is not only entertaining purely from an action/suspense point of view, but is also an incredibly intense look at justice and revenge. There seem to be a lot of Academy Award nominees that are best on true events and Munich does a superb job of retelling those events and the terrible consequences they had on everyone involved.

I’m a big fan of John Cusack’s films. I really like his acting style and the characters he plays are both entertaining and intriguing. Runaway Jury is no exception. Based on the John Grisham novel, Runaway Jury is about a couple who con their way onto the jury of a Federal gun case and attempt to offer the verdict, for sale, to either the prosecution or defense. Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman give incredible performances and Cusack keeps the audience guessing his true motives throughout the film. I really enjoyed this flick and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good court room suspense/drama.

Believe it or not, Shauna actually wanted to watch this one. There are only a few Adam Sandler films that we both like and for some strange reason Happy Gilmore is one of them. It’s just really funny. Adam does what he does best and takes a simple concept, in this case an ex-hockey player who has an incredibly long golf drive, and makes it interesting and hilarious. Filled a number of those wonderful, quotable lines (“That’s your home, ball. Why didn’t you go home? Are you too good for your home?!”) Happy Gilmore is a ton of fun.

My history-teacher friend, Dave, recommended that we watch Battle of Britain not too long ago. I had never seen this film classic and I was looking forward to learning more about this brief period during World War II when England faced desperate odds while defending their country against countless German air raids and bombings. The film boasts a huge roster of famous actors and it was fun to see them in their prime. While the special effects are a little dated the film itself has stood the test of time well. The pacing seems to accurately reflect the actual battle and gives the viewer an in-depth look at how battle unfolded. If you have any interest in WWII, I highly recommend it.

The Red Violin is definitely one of Shauna’s favourite films and it’s not hard to see why. Filled with beautiful music and encompassing an epic span of time The Red Violin follows the life of a magnificent violin and its numerous owners. This is a relatively unknown film that was actually produced in Canada and should be seen by anyone who has any love of music. My only complaint is that the film has been released in three separate DVD versions and two of them are horrible. I originally owned the first horrible one, sold it and replaced it with what I thought was the good version. Nope, horrible version number two is now in my collection. A good chunk of the film is in other languages and so the film has numerous subtitles. But for some reason this version of the DVD leaves the subtitles out, so the only way to understand the film is to turn on the closed captioning which gives you subtitles for everything; foreign language scenes, English language scenes, even sound effects and music cues. I can’t tell you how annoying it is. If you ever see the Lion’s Gate or Atlantis releases of The Red Violin, avoid them like the plague. If you ever see the original Universal release immediately buy two copies; one for you and one for me. I’ll pay you back. No, really.

When I get back from my wonderful vacation I’ll update you on some of the other films I’ve been watching. In the mean time don’t forget to have a look at the movie actor/character quiz that was posted last week.

I wonder if Penticton has good prices on DVDs…

"What was I supposed to do? Call him for cheating better than me?"

2006-07-11T15:25:00.000-06:00

My DVD collection contains many blockbuster films from recent years. Filled with incredible special effects and thunderous DTS surround sound, these films are fun to watch again and again. However, there are a few classic movies in my collection that are actually older than I am, and Shauna and I were able to add a few more recently.

Using a gift certificate I got from a very good friend I was able to finally pick up the Special Edition DVD of ‘The Great Escape’ (1963). It’s a fairly pricey DVD, which kept me from adding it to the collection earlier, so many thanks to JR! I also picked up two classic Paul Newman / Robert Redford films, ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ (1969) and ‘The Sting’ (1973). All three DVD editions come with bonus discs filled with special features and I can’t wait to learn more about these memorable films.

Over this past weekend Shauna and I got together with another great friend, Vince, to watch The Sting. Shauna has seen it many times and was actually the one who got me to see it for the first time while we were dating. Vince claimed he had seen it before but soon realized that he was thinking of another movie. It was the perfect audience; a long-time fan who has loved the film from childhood, an eager movie addict who had only seen it once, and an interested friend who got to experience the original ‘big con’ for the first time.

Robert Redford plays Johnny Hooker, a small time con artist in the 1930s who inadvertently scams $10,000 from a man working for infamous criminal banker Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw, ‘Jaws’). Lonnegan, looking to make an example of the petty thieves, has Hooker’s partner murdered. Seeking revenge, Hooker teams up with Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) to target Lonnegan as the mark in “the big con”. With Lonnegan’s goons still hunting for Hooker, an FBI investigation into Gondorff’s activities and a police detective out to profit from it all, Hooker and Gondorff will have to play every angle to make sure the sting goes off without a hitch.

I think the main draw to seeing this film has to do with Redford and Newman. If you’ve ever seen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, you know what I’m talking about. Of course, if you’ve seen The Sting then you would know what I would be talking about if I was talking about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The point is that Redford and Newman are an impressive duo and their chemistry on-screen is unparalleled. You can tell that these actors not only enjoy working together but that they are likely very good friends in real life. Shauna was telling me that Paul Newman is old enough that he is probably only going to do one more movie and he has indicated that he would like to do it with Robert Redford. Watching them play off each other in The Sting is impressive and incredibly entertaining. They have a way of drawing you into their scheme and making you feel like you’re a part of it all.

Each actor is incredibly talented in his own right. Paul Newman gives one of the best performances of his career in the poker scene on the train. This scene set the bar high for films like Rounders, Ocean’s 11 and Maverick. That’s impressive for a film that’s now over 30 years old. And it’s that staying power that proves how great The Sting really is. The story is one that would do well in today’s theatres, as is the acting, script and direction. It’s not surprising that The Sting garnered 10 Academy Award nominations in 1973 and went on to win 7 of them, including Best Picture. I was surprised at how modern the film felt, despite its age.

The Special Edition DVD of The Sting is a wonderful treatment of this classic film. The first of two discs contains the feature film in a beautiful 1.85:1 Anamorphic transfer. The sets and costumes might look dated (the film is set in the 1930s) but the picture quality is anything but. Colors are sharp and crisp, detail is incredible and there are no image artefacts or scratches to be seen. Universal has done a fantastic job of cleaning up The Sting and they even include a DTS 5.1 sound track! The film doesn’t really make much use of all that 5.1 can offer, but it certainly goes a long way toward drawing you into the movie. Voices are clear and the music is perfectly balanced with the action on-screen. Again, for a movie that is over 30 years old this DVD is a truly impressive presentation.

A second disc contains a number of special features, which I haven’t had a chance to look at yet. However, I am considering a full review of this DVD, along with 2 others, as part of my application for a DVD-review job with digitallyobsessed.com. So stay tuned for more details on The Sting as well as information regarding my rise to fame as a world renowned DVD critic.

The Sting is an incredible film. Paul Newman and Robert Redford are perfect together and their performances are very entertaining. The script is fantastic and keeps the story moving at a pace that will have you gripped from start to finish. In the end The Sting is just a ton of fun. This is the film that truly inspired the ‘big con’ films like Ocean’s 11, The Italian Job, The Color of Money and Heist. And, arguably, none of them have done it as well as The Sting did. You owe it to yourself to see this film.

The Sting gets 9 winks and a nod (out of 10).

Find a sweet mark, make sure everything’s jake and click here for ‘The Sting’ trivia.

What's in a name?

2006-07-05T09:26:00.000-06:00

Due to the enormous success of the movie quote quiz I posted a couple of weeks ago I’ve decided to create another quiz for my multitude of adoring fans. I’m sure all four of you will enjoy it.

This time you need to identify the actor. I’ve provided 10 groups of character names. Each group contains 4 characters that were all played by the same actor in different movies. It’s up to you to figure out which actor played all 4 roles in each group, resulting in 10 actor names.

For bonus points, identify the movie each character is associated with.

Obviously the idea of the quiz is to see how good your movie-character knowledge is; not how good your internet research skills are. So avoid using the internet, or any other source, to identify the actor names and movies. After all, if you all used the internet to do this quiz, you would all get 100% and where’s the fun in that? So raise your right hand and repeat after me: ‘I will not cheat. I am not a cheater. Cheaters never prosper. Cheaters get scratches all over their DVD collections and there is never enough butter on their popcorn.’

Email your answers to this email address and I’ll pick a winner by July 13th, 2006. Good luck!

Group 1
Father Brian Finn
Derek Vinyard
King Baldwin
Aaron Stampler

Group 2
Rusty Ryan
John Smith
Jeffrey Goines
Detective David Mills

Group 3
Parcher
Major Konig
Christof
Carl Fogarty

Group 4
Professor G.H. Dorr
Carl Hanratty
Jimmy Dugan
Andrew Beckett

Group 5
Bobby Darin
Lester Burnham
Prot
Hopper

Group 6
The Mariner
Lt. John Dunbar
Ray Kinsella
Crash Davis

Group 7
Col. William A. McNamara
Korben Dallas
Harry S. Stamper
Dr. Malcolm Crowe

Group 8
Nathan Algren
Lt. Daniel Kaffee
Chief John Anderton
Cole Trickle

Group 9
Nicholas Easter
Martin Q. Blank
U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin
Denny Lachance

Group 10
Ed Bloom
Spec. John Grimes
Renton
Lincoln Six Echo

Another nail in the coffin

2006-07-04T14:48:00.000-06:00

Last week, Shauna and I went to see X-Men 3 in the theatres.

Ok, calm down and let me explain. First of all the main intent of the outing was to meet some friends of hers from work and just have a good time. Second of all, the film does have Hugh Jackman in it, so it would have been pointless to resist. And third, since we hadn’t been to the movies since Star Wars Episode III it seemed like a good opportunity to finally compare the home theatre experience with the big screen.

Having said that I think I am officially done with the theatres. I just can’t justify the cost.

In my mind, here are the cons of going to the theatre, as compared to just watching a DVD:

It costs a LOT

I guess when a movie costs 8 gazillion dollars to make the studios need to make their money back somehow. Thus the ticket price of $10.75. I guess that’s not too bad for 2 hours of entertainment. But $4.86 for a medium iced tea? We even had a coupon for a free popcorn and our total for the evening came in over $35.00! I can buy the DVD cheaper than that and watch it whenever I want, as often as I want, with whoever I want.

Commercials

I feel like I’ve been taken complete advantage of when I’m forced to sit through 5 minutes or so of advertising after I’ve already paid a fair chunk of change to see the movie. And I’m not talking about previews for other films but rather the actual commercials we’re used to seeing on TV at home. Again, I can only assume that the exorbitant costs associated with making a blockbuster film force the studios to sell advertising time at the beginning of those films. But do they really think I can afford to buy a new car after spending $17 on a chocolate bar?

Picture Quality

This was a big one for me (no pun intended). After getting our big screen TV I was told by several people that the picture quality in the theatre is still better. I could believe this since film is about as high quality as you can get, where DVD is still a digital image and is limited by the resolution of the disc itself. I won’t go into all the technical details but I was expecting a high definition picture in the theatre. Well apparently I’ve been spoiled. Not only was the picture not crystal clear but there were scratches and lines and specks of dust throughout. Not to mention those pesky ‘cigarette burns’ that appear during every reel change (watch Fight Club for an explanation). I probably wouldn’t notice it as much if I wasn’t looking for all the defects but the fact remains that if I go searching for defects on a DVD at home I wouldn’t find a tenth as many as I did in the theatre.

Other People

We planned our trip pretty well and managed to avoid the crowds. The film had already been out for several weeks and it was a Monday night. So the theatre itself was virtually empty. And yet we still had people sitting directly in front of us, behind us and on one side. The guy on my immediate left must have had a nervous condition because he felt it necessary to rapidly tap his fingers on his knee throughout the entire movie. Tappity-tappity-tappity-tap… I would have thrown my drink at him if I didn't have to take out a loan to afford another one.

I’ll admit that I was fairly certain that my trip to the theatre wasn’t going to convince me that that DVDs aren’t the way to go. I had already decided that a while back. But I certainly didn’t plan on an experience that made me hate the theatres even more! Ultimately it’s not really the theatre’s fault; I used to love going to the movies and it didn’t seem to bother me much at all back then. But then I got a home theatre set up and I’ve seen the light. The movie theatre just can’t compare to the home theatre experience. They can’t compare to the cost, the comfort or the convenience. And it would appear that they can no longer compare to the quality either.

As far as I can tell, there are really only two good reasons for going to the theatre:

1) You get to see the movie earlier than if you wait for it on DVD. Though I guess that’s only a good reason if time is that important to you. Personally, I have no problem waiting a mere 5 or 6 months. When I finally do see the movie, it will look better and I’ll enjoy it more in the comfort of my own home. And I won’t have to sell my kidneys to afford it.

2) It’s a chance to get out of the house and have a date. It’s hard to argue with this one. It definitely is nice to get out once in a while, but I think I can come up with some alternatives to the movie theatre that are more reasonable when it comes to money and time.

Anyway, there’s my rant about the theatres. If you’ve got some opinions or thoughts, please feel free to add your comments. I’d love to hear what you have to say, especially if you’ve got some arguments for the theatre. Maybe I’m missing the big picture (pun intended).

Oh, and the movie itself was pretty good. Something about mutants I think.

Movie Quote Quiz Results

2006-06-23T08:15:00.000-06:00

The first official ‘Down In Front’ Movie Quote Quiz is now over! Well done to all those who gave it a try. And congratulations to my wife, Shauna! She got all 10 quotes right, as well as the bonus question. I’m so proud. Of course, I would expect nothing less from the wife of an obsessed movie geek.

However, in the spirit of fairness, Shauna has chosen to decline any of the prizes so that others may reap the rewards. And so we go to second place, where there is a tie between my good friend Anthony and my own Mother! That’s right folks, my MOM did better than most of you! Don’t feel bad though, she’s a pretty smart mom.

As promised, there are prizes available to both Anthony and Mom. You can each choose one of the following DVDs:

Cast Away
Fight Club
The Karate Kid
Spaceballs
The Usual Suspects
Walk the Line
Cinderella Man

And for those who did not win, stay tuned to Down In Front. There will a new quiz next week for you to try…with prizes!

Finally, here are the answers to this week’s Movie Quote Quiz:

Title (Bonus) – Fight Club
#1 – 12 Monkeys
#2 – Apollo 13
#3 – The Breakfast Club
#4 – Dances With Wolves
#5 – The Full Monty
#6 – The Fellowship of the Ring
#7 – Men in Black
#8 – My Cousin Vinny
#9 – Saving Private Ryan
#10 – Three Amigos!

Stay tuned!

2006-06-22T12:23:00.000-06:00

So far I’ve received several responses to the Movie Quote quiz I posted earlier this week. Good job to all of you have given it a try and for those who haven’t yet, you better hurry! There is definitely a prize to be given away to the winner.

Answers will be posted on Friday (tomorrow) and the winner will be announced at that time.

Good luck!

"I have to believe that when things are bad I can change them."

2006-06-22T10:57:00.000-06:00

I’ve been a fan of Ron Howard’s films (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Apollo 13, Ransom) pretty much since 1988 when he directed an amusing fantasy film called Willow. I’m also a big fan of Russell Crowe (L.A. Confidential, The Insider), especially considering he starred in two of my all-time favourite films, Gladiator and Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World. Howard and Crowe came together for the first time in 2001 to create another brilliant true-life film called A Beautiful Mind. And when I heard that they were teaming up once again to portray the life of boxer Jim Braddock I expected great things.

I love it when my expectations are realized. Especially when they’re in the form of a $7.99 previously-viewed DVD from Blockbuster.

Cinderella Man depicts not only the life of a supposedly washed-out boxer named Jim Braddock, but also the lives of most people trying to survive the Great Depression of the 1930s. At the height of his career Braddock had never been knocked out and was a contender for the championship. But the stock market crash and resulting depression took nearly everything Jim had. Cinderella Man shows the struggles and triumphs of Braddock and his family as they do everything they can to simply survive. Which just happens to include a return to the boxing ring.

There are a number of factors at work that make Cinderella Man such a terrific film. First and foremost has to be the story itself. There are many inspiring real-life stories out there but I can’t imagine a time when America would have needed one more than during the Great Depression. Ron Howard pulls no punches (pardon the pun) in depicting the quality of life for those affected, specifically Braddock (Crowe), his wife Mae (Renee Zellweger) and their three young children. Watching this family struggle through thick and thin is all the more incredible when you realize that it’s a true story. While Braddock’s rise to fame in the boxing ring is terrifically stirring, it’s Braddock’s character and integrity as a husband and father that are truly inspiring.

Added to a wonderful story is wonderful acting. Russell Crowe does a fine job as the under-estimated boxer Braddock. Not only is it obvious that he prepared physically for the role, but he convincingly displays the traits one would expect from a caring family man who must do just about anything to ensure his family stays together and survives. Renee Zellweger plays the character of Braddock’s wife with enthusiasm and realism. I’m not a huge fan of the Zellweger herself, something about her just irritates me, but I can’t deny that she’s a talented actor (e.g. Chicago, Jerry Maguire) and this is probably the best work I’ve seen her do. Paul Giamatti (Sideways) portrays Braddock’s relentless trainer and promoter, Joe Gould. I’ve always liked Giamatti and I think he’s one of Hollywood’s under-appreciated actors, though he did receive an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in Cinderella Man. Gould’s own struggles during the depression are brought to life with an incredible performance by Giamatti.
Bringing the story and the acting together in perfect unison is Ron Howard’s superb direction. There seems to be a lot going on in this film but the pacing is such that you never feel overwhelmed or confused by any of it. Everything from the sets and costumes to the lighting and cinematography are near perfect in every scene. You really get a good feel for the lives of both the rich and poor during the early 1930s while becoming wrapped up in the incredible life of Jim Braddock and his family. It might be hard not to think of Rocky when you’re watching a boxing movie, but Howard makes it easy to realize that Cinderella Man is much more than just a boxing movie. He makes you believe that Braddock really did bring a nation to its feet at a time when it needed it most.

The DVD itself is presented in an Anamorphic 2.35:1 video format and the picture is just fine. The colors are washed out slightly in order to portray a more drabby image of the depression era. However the sharpness and contrast of the film does not suffer one bit and the picture looked near high definition. A Dolby Digital 5.1 track is included and I can’t really find anything to complain about it other than the fact that it’s not DTS (for shame!). To be perfectly honest I didn’t realize pay too much attention to the picture or the sound. The story and the film are just so well done that it probably wouldn’t have mattered. In the end though, the video and audio simply add to an already enjoyable movie experience.

I realized after the fact that a 2-disc Collector’s Edition exists for Cinderella Man. You’d think I know by now there’s always another edition. As it is, the bonus features included on the single-disc version aren’t bad. Several deleted scenes are included, all of which are terrific moments that, in my opinion, could have easily been left in the theatrical cut. I guess I’m in a minority of people who actually enjoy 3 hour films. Also included are no less that 3 full-length feature commentaries and a number of featurettes that I haven’t the chance to watch yet. With all this it’s hard to imagine what else would be included on the 2-disc set. For $7.99 though, you really can’t go wrong with the single-disc version. Beware though! A dreaded ‘Full Screen’ edition also exists. I don’t need to tell you to avoid it like the plague. Right?

Cinderella Man has only increased my appreciation for both Ron Howard and Russell Crowe. They’ve managed to create another fantastic film that entertains and inspires. If you liked A Beautiful Mind I can’t imagine you not loving Cinderella Man. So leave a comment and let me know when you’re coming over to watch it. I’ll have the popcorn ready.

Cinderella Man gets 9 right-jabs (out of 10).

Duck, weave and throw a left-hook here for ‘Cinderella Man’ trivia.

"The first rule of __ is, you do not talk about _."

2006-06-19T14:03:00.000-06:00

Here’s something fun for all my readers to do while you anxiously await my next blog entry. I’ve been known to create the occasional movie-quote quiz and I thought I would use my blog as an excuse to create one more. So here are 10 movie quotes for you to ponder. The catch is that the title of the movie itself is contained within the quote, which has been removed and replaced with blanks. Fill in the blank and you have your movie title!

Some should be fairly easy, while others might give you a bit of a hard time. Your only hint is that all the answers come from my own personal DVD collection, which can be viewed by using one of the links found on this site. It may come in handy to solve the 10 quotes below and the bonus quote found in the title of today's blog.

You can email your answers to this address. If I get enough responses there might even be a prize in it for you!

Try not to cheat, and good luck!

Quote #1

“Then, they took everything about me and put it into a computer where they created this model of my mind. Yes! Using that model they managed to generate every thought I could possibly have in the next, say, 10 years. Which they then filtered through a probability matrix of some kind to - to determine everything I was gonna do in that period. So you see, she knew I was gonna lead the Army of the ____________ into the pages of history before it ever even occurred to me. She knows everything I'm ever gonna do before I know it myself. How's that?”

Quote #2

"Al Shepard's ear infection has flared up. And we've all been bumped up to the prime crew of ____________. Straight to the head of the line and the Fra Mauro highlands.”

Quote #3

“Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are. You see as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, ____________.”

Quote #4

“You are the only white man I have ever known. I have thought about you a lot. More than you think. And I understand your concern. But I think you are wrong. The white man the soldiers are looking for no longer exists. Now there is only a Sioux named ____________."

Quote #5

“No way, no, and never. In that order, kid.”
“Excuse me? No one said anything to me about ____________."
“But you heard ‘em. We got to give ‘em something your average stripper don’t.”

Quote #6

“Nine companions. So be it. You shall be ____________."
“Great! Where are we going?”

Quote #7

“You'll conform to the identity we give you, eat where we tell you, live where we tell you. From now on you'll have no identifying marks of any kind. You'll not stand out in any way. Your entire image is crafted to leave no lasting memory with anyone you encounter. You're a rumour, recognizable only as deja vu and dismissed just as quickly. You don't exist; you were never even born. Anonymity is your name. Silence your native tongue. You're no longer part of the System. You're above the System. Over it. Beyond it. We're ‘them.’ We're ‘they.’ We are the ____________."

Quote #8

“We have an attorney in the family!”
“Great. Who?”
"____________!"

Quote #9

“I don't know. Part of me thinks the kid's right. He asks what he's done to deserve this. He wants to stay here, fine. Let's leave him and go home. But then another part of me thinks, what if by some miracle we stay, then actually make it out of here. Someday we might look back on this and decide that ____________ was the one decent thing we were able to pull out of this whole god-awful mess. Like you said, Captain, maybe we do that, we all earn the right to go home.”

Quote #10

“Well, you dirt-eating piece of slime, you scum-sucking pig, you son of a motherless goat.”
“Who are you?”
“Wherever there is injustice, you will find us. Wherever there is suffering, we’ll be there. Tell us we will die like dogs.”
“What?”
“Tell us we will die like dogs.”
“You WILL die like dogs.”
“No, we will not die like dogs! We will fight like lions! Because we are…”
“The ____________!"

Roll Credits II

2006-06-16T09:54:00.000-06:00

It’s time for another look at the incredible people who work so hard to make the films we love (or hate). A while back I decided to use a portion of my blog to explain some of the titles we often see during the final credits of a movie. In an effort to shed some light on who all those people are and what they do, I bring you Part II of Roll Credits.

Line Producer – This individual is in charge of the movie’s budget. They manage all the expenses right from the actor’s salaries to the everyday costs of keeping the cameras rolling. When you see this credit scroll by on the next big, epic movie you see you can silently thank that person for ensuring that the film’s budget was so exorbitant that you had to shell out an extra $4.50 for a squirt of butter on your $12.75 small popcorn.

Film Loader – Pretty much what it sounds like, this person is responsible for loading and unloading the film magazines onto the cameras, as well as ensuring that the loading room stays clear and clean. This person is also commonly referred to as the ‘Clapper Loader’, because they are also responsible for operating the clapperboard (slate) at the beginning of each take. The loader is a very important job since it’s not only important to ensure the camera has film, but to be certain it is the right kind of film for the shot.

Camera Operator – Again, pretty easy to figure out what this person does. They’re responsible for not only operating the camera, but to ensure that the scene the director wants captured is perfectly framed. And if you’ve ever watched a behind-the-scenes special feature and heard a director yell “Check the gate!” you now know that it’s the camera operator’s job to visually inspect the film gate on the camera after each scene. He’s checking to make sure nothing has jammed in the gate, usually a human hair, which could ruin the entire shot. If there’s nothing in the gate then “It’s a wrap!”

Finding the Bourne Intelligence

2006-06-07T09:17:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago my church had their annual Parish Retreat up near Sylvan Lake. I’ve attended these retreats for three years in a row and they are always a fun, relaxing and spiritually engaging time. I was especially excited this year as the theme of the weekend was ‘Movies!’. In the words of Monty Python, “Say…no…more!”

The idea of the weekend was to see how God can speak to us through mainstream Hollywood movies, even though the movies themselves may not (and usually don’t) intend to have any kind of specific Christian message. There are times when our Pastor likes to use movie clips to help emphasize a point in his sermon and I’ve often heard a specific movie quote or watched a specific scene and thought ‘That would be a good clip to use in a sermon’. But on the whole, I rarely examine an entire movie closely to see if there are any specific themes that could relate to Christianity. It was a fun and interesting exercise to spend the weekend watching films, trying to identify scenes that God could use to illustrate a point or communicate a message.

Our first film was Finding Nemo. One of my wife’s favorites (which was too bad since she was not able to attend). I’ve seen the film a number of times but had never really looked for specific Christian themes. As it turns out, when you go looking for such themes they are all over the place. The father and son relationship, the determination and dedication of the father searching for his child, lost sheep, letting go, trust, love, faith, hope; they’re all there. At the end of the film we got into groups and wrote down the numerous moments we recognized as having a Christian theme or message. I wish I had a copy of that sheet because there were far more than I would have expected. I’m sure that if you go looking for any kind of theme in a film you’re likely to find it, but it was a unique and eye-opening way to watch a movie. Not to mention the fact that Finding Nemo is just a terrific movie on its own. I highly recommend watching it and letting yourself see those moments that maybe you didn’t recognize before. God can speak to us in so many ways.

The next day we watched The Bourne Identity. One of my favourite films. I was really excited about this one simply because Jason Bourne has got to be my single most favourite spy character around. And once again I was amazed at the number of thematic elements that could easily be interpreted with a Christian message. Searching for one’s self, examining past actions/sins and seeing how they form who we are today and who we want to be tomorrow. Forgiveness, redemption, truth, sacrifice, good, evil. I found this exercise of looking for such themes to be a very satisfying addition to an already enjoyable film. Our group started to dig a little deeper in our analysis of The Bourne Identity and started asking ourselves ‘What defines me?’, ‘Who am I?’ One of my favourite films had become one the most engaging and thought provoking.
I found out what the last film of the weekend was going to be a few hours before we actually saw it. And I have to admit that when I was told it was going to be A.I. Artificial Intelligence I was very disappointed. A.I. was one of the worst movies I had ever seen. I had high expectations for it (Steven Spielberg directing, how can you go wrong with that?) and that probably made my disgust even more acute after wasting a good 3 hours of my life on it. I was not at all happy to learn that I would be wasting another 3 hours watching it again.

Fortunately the exercise of looking for thematic elements and quotes made it much more bearable. It’s still a terrible, terrible movie, but at least I got something out of it this time. Another soul searching film that explores who we are and what our purpose is. The relationships that the robot boy, David, forms can be linked to many of the relationships we form in our own lives. Ultimately, however, the film is about unconditional love and the quest to become that which we were created to be. David was made to love and he soon realizes that he must become something different in order to love as fully and as completely as he was created to. It was an interesting way to view a Christian theme that can often be overlooked or underestimated in our daily lives. Who were we created to be and how to we change in order to fulfill that destiny?

As I’ve said if you go looking for any kind of theme or message in a film you’re likely to find it or something very close to it. The point of the weekend wasn’t to prove Hollywood movies are filled with subliminal Christian messages. It was to show that God can speak to us through anything and that He will use anything and everything to remind us of His love for us. It was a very fulfilling exercise and I strongly encourage all my readers (all 6 million of you) to take the opportunity, the next time you watch a movie, and look for some themes or messages you didn’t know were there. You’ll simply be adding to an already wonderful experience.

Your search is over. ‘Finding Nemo’ trivia can be found here.
I could tell you that ‘The Bourne Identity’ trivia is here, but then I’d have to kill you.
Intelligent, but not artificial trivia for ‘A.I. Artificial Intelligence’ can be found here.

I've mostly been remiss in my blogging...mostly.

2006-06-01T08:46:00.000-06:00

My sincere apologies to the hundreds of thousands of 'Down in Front' fans who have had nothing to read on my blog in the last month or so. I am ashamed! I admit that my movie watching has suffered somewhat over the last few weeks due to unforeseen circumstances. Ok, well maybe the circumstances weren't completely unforeseen, but honestly, how could I have known that I would get addicted to a new computer game? In the words of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, 'It's not my fault!'.

I have recently posted a brief review of Capote, which you'll find below this post. And in the coming days I promise to get caught up on reviewing a few other movies I've seen. You can find a list of what I've been watching in the sidebar to the right.

I'll also get cracking on the second installment of 'Roll Credits'. I'm sure you're just dying to know what a clapper-loader and a focus-puller are.

So stay tuned! Many great reviews are coming your way soon!

Unless I start getting close to level 30...

"It's the book I was always meant to write."

2006-06-01T08:41:00.000-06:00

I’m not sure what’s wrong with me but I haven’t been watching nearly as many movies lately as I should be. I think I only watched eleven movies this month. 11! It’s just not right. I know I should be ashamed of myself. But I’m not. I’m too busy playing computer games. Pretty soon I’m going to have to quit my job so I can play games and watch movies full time. Shauna’s going to love that…

Despite my recent addiction to WoW, I did find time to watch Capote on DVD. This is a fascinating movie about Truman Capote and how he came to write ‘In Cold Blood’, one of the first “non-fiction novels” that relates the real life events of November 15, 1959 when two men entered a house in Kansas and brutally murdered a family of four. Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Magnolia, MI:3) portrays the eccentric Capote who sets out to learn more about the killers and why they did what they did.

Essentially, Capote is a biographical film, of which we’ve been seeing many lately. Though it is one of the only non-musical biographical films I can remember. Ray, Walk the Line, De-Lovely, Beyond the Sea and a host of other films have become quite popular in recent years. Capote is no exception and delivers a thought provoking look at another famous life. Truman Capote himself is intriguing and mesmerizing in his manipulation of others. The saying about genius and insanity being separated by a fine line is evident in the life of this man who is fascinated with a brutal family murder and sees it as his opportunity to produce the greatest book of his time.

“When I think about how good my book could be, I can hardly breathe.”

Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the reason to see this film. I can completely understand why he won the Oscar for Best Actor. This character is unlike any you’ve seen before and Hoffman manages to get to the very core of who Capote was. His mannerisms and speech alone are impressive, but the subtle manipulations and chameleon-esque behaviour are without equal. Several times I was surprised and stunned by Capote’s decisions and motivations. I’ve seen Hoffman before in a number of roles but he completely disappears into this character, creating a totally believable Truman Capote.

The highest praise for this film is simply this; I would now like to read ‘In Cold Blood’ and possibly other Capote novels. At the very least I feel I got an important education on one of history’s more influential authors. It’s a wonderful look at an intriguing individual and I highly recommend it.

Click here for 'Capote' trivia.

May the 4th be with you!

2006-05-04T08:47:00.000-06:00

Today is International Star Wars day!! w00t!*

It's nice to know that one of my favorite movies of all-time has it's own International Day. Too bad it's not an International Day-off. Maybe I should start lobbying for that. Then we could all take May the 4th off to watch the Star Wars Trilogy. I think I would be a-okay with that.

In other Star Wars news, it looks like the original trilogy is going to be released on DVD. Again. Actually, this will be the 3rd release of the original trilogy on DVD. Due to overwhelming demand for the unaltered original version, Lucas is releasing this next edition in September which will include the theatrical versions of the original trilogy. That's right Star Wars fans, we'll be able to see Han Solo shoot first! Finally!

Of course, this means I will have to buy yet another copy of Star Wars. This will be my 5th version of the trilogy. Sigh...I'm so weak.

You can read about the upcoming release here: http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/release/video/news20060503.html

Have a great Star Wars day! And remember, the 4th will be with you...always.

Especially in May. Right after the 3rd.

*See Wikipedia definition of 'w00t' here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woot
(I've been playing too much World of Warcraft lately.)

"And one day there will be no more frontier...but once, we were here."

2006-04-27T10:59:00.000-06:00

While out browsing for computer games with a good friend of mine, I came across the Director’s Cut DTS Edition of ‘The Last of the Mohicans’. I had only seen the film once but from what I remembered it was quite good. Since it was only $9.99 and included the ever-coveted DTS audio track I quickly added it to my collection. For the price I paid I’m happy to say that the DVD measures up. Only just barely.

Last of the Mohicans is set in 1757, during the French and British battle for control of the North American colonies. Both sides have the help of various native American war parties and the British troops enlist the aid of local colonial militia men who are afraid to leave their frontier homes unguarded against the French soldiers and native tribes. Three remaining men of the Mohawk tribe, one adopted white son and his native father and brother, find themselves escorting a solider and two daughters of a British officer across the wild frontier. Nathaniel (Daniel Day-Lewis) falls in love with one of the women, Cora (Madeleine Stowe), and risks everything to keep her safe from the vengeful leader of a Huron war party.

My friend Dave would almost certainly be able to provide a better description of what was really going on during the British/French war in the 18th century. The film doesn’t go to great lengths to explain exactly what the battle is about or which side we should be cheering for. This is probably a good thing since the story is not about the war itself, but rather the involvement of the native tribes caught up in it. It’s a sweeping, epic view of the last days of the frontier and the start of the colonization of the Americas.

I first saw Daniel Day-Lewis in the incredible film ‘In the Name of the Father’. His character had a thick Irish accent (which my wife would have loved) and was completely different than his character in Mohicans. I found Nathaniel to be a little over the top and too serious to really take seriously. Er…yeah. I’ve heard that Day-Lewis often goes to extremes to get into character and that he actually spent several months living and camping in the wilderness prior to filming. His character comes across harsh and to-the-point, which is probably what you would expect from a man trying to survive in the war-torn frontier. It does make it a little hard to believe that Cora would fall for him so quickly, which she does. It’s a touching love story but just a little hard to believe.

The real star of the show, however, is the cinematography. As expected the sweeping vistas and scenery of the American frontier in the 18th century is reproduced with stunning results. From grasslands and forests to fog enshrouded lakes and thundering waterfalls, virtually every scene has something beautiful to see. Even the war torn forts, complete with smoking cannonballs streaking across the sky, are displayed as accurately as I would imagine them. The Last of the Mohicans is partially about the changing landscape of the time, which is terrifically displayed through the incredible cinematography.

Although the scenes themselves are something to behold, the video transfer of the DVD itself left much to be desired. I couldn’t help but notice a ton of grain, haze and distortion in many of the scenes. Colors were muted and faded and the print had an overall dissolved look. I’m not sure if this is due to the age of the film (1992) or if it’s simply a poor transfer. My guess is the latter considering the high quality video of many older films on DVD. Had the 2.35:1 Anamorphic widescreen print been of higher quality this DVD would look amazing. That being said, there is one scene in particular, where Nathaniel leaps through a giant waterfall that looks incredible.

Fortunately there is a 5.1 DTS audio track which makes up for the poor video quality…almost. I definitely felt immersed in the wilderness as the surrounds conveyed all the sounds one would normally expect to find there. Birds chirping, twigs snapping, leaves rustling. And the battle scenes are thunderous, putting the subwoofer through its paces. Overall I was quite pleased with the audio.

As for bonuses, there are none to speak of. So I won’t.

The Last of the Mohicans is an enjoyable film but it seems to lack a certain something. Everything seems to be building to an epic climax but I just wasn’t brought in enough to feel it. The music is fantastic, the scenes are beautiful and the acting, for the most part, is spot on. But the glue that holds it all together is just a little weak. I would say that if you are interested in colonial America and native tribes, then you would certainly enjoy Mohicans. If not, there’s still a chance you would enjoy this film but it’s not going to knock your moccasins off.

The Last of the Mohicans gets 7 tomahawks (out of 10).

Click here for ‘The Last of the Mohicans’ trivia.

"Ask him, Edie, how come he's so good at killing people?"

2006-04-21T09:31:00.000-06:00

Most of us recognize Viggo Mortensen from his role as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although it was the role that gave him worldwide renown, it was certainly no where close to being his first major motion picture debut. Viggo has also had significant roles in A Perfect Murder, G.I. Jane, Crimson Tide, Carlito’s Way, Young Guns II and Witness. He’s shown that he has the chops to be a good, dramatic actor, and his latest fare, A History of Violence, is no exception. The movie itself leaves something to be desired, however.

Directed by David Cronenberg, A History of Violence tells the story of Tom Stall, a mild mannered family man and owner of a diner in a small Indiana town. After killing two would-be thieves (albeit, really bad, murdering thieves), Tom is confronted by a man who claims to know his violent past. Tom must attempt to get his life back in order while reassuring his wife and children that he is not the murdering gangster this new arrival claims he is. Or is he?

One of things that I liked about this film, aside from the intriguing plot, was that the director keeps you guessing. Right from the opening scene, Shauna and I were making assumptions and guesses that I assume the director wanted us to make. Most of them ended up being wrong, which is nice, since predictable movies can often be too, er, predictable. You never really learn the truth about the whole situation until about an hour into the film, at which point a lot still needs to be resolved concerning Tom Stall and his family.

Ed Harris (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind) gives a chilling performance as Carl Fogarty, a disfigured mobster who claims Tom is really Joey, an equally ruthless criminal with violent tendencies. Some incredible tension is created in the film as Carl continues to push his case against Tom and his family, becoming more convincing with each scene. Figuring out whether Carl is right or not is part of the fun of A History of Violence. In either case, it almost certainly means some terrible consequences for the Stall family.

Although the plot and acting are interesting and entertaining, the film falls apart at several other stages. Maria Bello stars as Tom’s wife, and it seems like her only reason for being in the film is to provide a somewhat accomplished actress who is willing to take her clothes off. She has a knack for starring in questionably sub-par films, including Payback, The Cooler and Coyote Ugly and it doesn’t appear that A History of Violence is going to do anything to change that reputation. Although the film is designed to take a close look at a specific kind of violence in society, there are a number of scenes that simply didn’t need to be there. Some might disagree but I can certainly say that I really didn’t need to see them. Fair warning.

The film is also quite short, which I was surprised by since the plot seemed to have so much potential. That being said, I can appreciate what Cronenberg was trying to do. This is really just a short story, a small excerpt from one family’s life. I will admit that the movie does get you thinking and it’s likely that that is all Cronenberg had in mind. It’s definitely a film that makes you go ‘hmmm’, though I don’t think I’ll want it to make me go ‘hmmm’ a second time. I guess this is one of those movies that might be good to see once but is certainly not a re-watcher.

The DVD is presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic widescreen, which always looks good on a widescreen television. I didn’t notice anything terrible or wonderful about the picture quality though, as I was too busy analyzing the film and trying to decide if I liked it or not. I’m still not sure on that one. And although the trailers might depict this as an action/thriller, you can be sure that the moments of violence are brief. Don’t get me wrong, those moments are still very, very violent. They're just short, which is probably for the best. Ultimately it's not a movie that really needs fantastic picture quality. The audio is provided via a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack which, again, is adequate enough that I didn’t notice any glaring problems, but is nothing stellar.

There are a number of bonus featurettes included on the single-disc DVD, as well as a director’s commentary and some deleted scenes. I only watched a few of the bonus features and was intrigued by some of the filmmaking stuff, but it seemed like the majority of the information concerned the philosophical issues that the movie raises. Cronenberg’s statement is that human history is rife with violence of all kinds, and this film merely takes a look at one specific instance of violence and how it affects the lives of Tom Stall and his family. There is probably some really interesting stuff in here if you’re into that sort of thing.

In the end, A History of Violence wasn’t nearly as good as I was hoping it would be. In fact, it wasn’t even the kind of film I thought it was going to be. That doesn’t necessarily mean it was a bad film, but I can’t say it was a good one either. It had a few entertaining moments and some great acting by Ed Harris, yet it still left something to be desired. There was a lot of potential that just didn’t get realized.

I’m not sure if I should recommend this one or not. Let’s just say that if you weren’t interested in seeing it, you’re not missing anything. And if you really do want to see it, consider yourself warned, but hopefully you’ll still get something out of it.

A History of Violence gets 5 bloody noses (out of 10).

Relax, just click here for ‘A History of Violence’ trivia, and no one gets hurt.

Roll Credits

2006-04-18T09:35:00.000-06:00

I thought I would start a new feature here on 'Down In Front' to help explain all those crew roles you see listed in a film's credits. One of the many things I enjoy about watching movies is watching the credits themselves. First of all, the music is often very significant to the end of the film and I find it provides an all-encompassing feeling of what the film was about. When Shauna and I used to go to the theatre, we almost always sat through the entire credits. Usually because we wanted to see who played such-and-such a role or which composer scored the film. But often it was simply to listen to the wonderful music. Sometimes there is so much happening on the screen that we miss the subtle musical cues that can really bring a film to life.

I am also fascinated by the filmmaking process. I love learning about all the tricks and techniques used to create a feature length film. I'm amazed at how much I've learned in the last several years, especially since movie studios started including comprehensive special features as part of the DVD releases.

But I think we would all agree that there are usually just way too many names scrolling by in the credits to bother reading them all. And often the crew title itself is confusing. What the heck is a clapper loader?

Well, in an effort to encourage my readers to sit through the credits more often, I present 'Roll Credits' - a regular feature where I'll define a few of those confusing credit titles. Hopefully this will give you a better understanding of what's going on during the film making process, and ultimately give you a greater appreciation of what's involved in creating those movies we all love so much.

Gaffer - The Gaffer is the head electrician on set and reports to the Director of Photography. They arrange the lighting and electrical requirements on set as needed, and supervise the other electricians.

Grip - A grip is a person who works on set with all of the camera support equipment. They organise camera mounts when the director wants the camera on the side of a moving car, they move dollies, cranes, lay tracks and generally make it possible for the director to put the camera in more places than just on a tripod. A Key Grip is the person in charge of the grip crew and reports to the Director of Photography.

Director of Photography - A.k.a. Cinematographer. The Director of Photography is the person who is responsible for the cinematic look of the film, which includes selecting the right film stock, lighting each scene to achieve the director's requirements, choosing cameras and lenses, supervising the grips and electricians, and the other members of the camera department (camera operator, clapper/loader, focus puller, and camera assistants). Together with the Director and the Production Designer, the Director of Photography holds a key responsibility for the final look of the film on screen. In the USA and Canada, Director of Photography is often abbreviated to "DP"; in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, it is normally "DOP".

Cinematographers who have achieved a certain level of recognition amongst their peers are normally invited to join one or more of the national cinematographer societies. Members are identified in the film's credits with a series of letters after their name:

A.S.C. - The American Society of Cinematographers
C.S.C. - The Canadian Society of Cinematographers
A.C.S. - The Australian Cinematographers Society
B.S.C. - The British Society of Cinematographers (not to be confused with the Society for British Cinematographers...splitters!)

"It wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast."

2006-04-17T15:36:00.000-06:00

Before the Lord of the Rings films, I had no idea who Peter Jackson was. This was probably true for most people. After grossing more than $1 billion worldwide, I think it’s now safe to say that there are few people who have not heard of Peter Jackson. The Lord of the Rings trilogy blew me away and I was excited to hear that Peter’s next project was a remake of the classic monster flick, King Kong.

When Kong made its debut in the theatres, the critic’s response was less than stellar. The main criticism seemed to be the film’s 3 hour-plus length, though I’m sure many critics couldn’t resist comparing Kong to The Lord of the Ring’s success. Six months later I knew I would see the film on DVD, but was unsure if I would end up adding it to my collection permanently. A few friends, who know me well, advised that the movie was right up my alley and that I would not regret blind-buying the 2-disc Special Edition.

So that’s what I did. And about a week ago I hosted a movie night where myself and several good friends got to watch King Kong for the first time.

Peter Jackson, you’re my hero.

Ironically, although most people know what King Kong is essentially about I would wager that few of them have actually seen the 1933 original. I haven’t. We’ve all seen clips here and there, usually showing Kong high atop the Empire State Building or fighting prehistoric dinosaurs on Skull Island. But considering that few of us have ever watched the original from beginning to end, it’s a testament to Kong’s popularity that we all know who King Kong is. I was excited to finally have a chance to see Kong’s story in its entirety.

Peter Jackson’s King Kong tells the story of Carl Denham (Jack Black), failing filmmaker, who charters a voyage to the mysterious Skull Island to finish his masterpiece. Joining him, whether willingly or not, are Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), a struggling actress, and Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), Carl’s scriptwriter. Together they set out to explore Skull Island, where they discover a lost world filled with savage tribes people and terrible monsters. The most fearsome of them all, a 25 foot giant ape called Kong becomes obsessed with Ann Darrow, while Carl becomes obsessed with capturing Kong.

I don’t think I’m giving anything away by telling you what the crew find on Skull Island, or that Carl manages to bring Kong back to New York, where all hell breaks loose. Ultimately this is a story that most of us are familiar with and know exactly how it all ends. The joy of watching King Kong is not in discovering what happens, but rather how it all happens. Peter Jackson stays true to the story of King Kong while showing it to you in a way you’ve never seen before. It’s a wonderful tribute to the original film. It does not attempt to replace the 1933 classic. On the contrary, it made me want to watch the first King Kong. That’s about the best praise a remake film can achieve.

King Kong is a terrific story filled with interesting characters and intriguing circumstances. It’s a good hour before we finally get to see Kong himself, but trust me, it’s well worth the wait. Once on Skull Island, King Kong becomes a thrill ride the likes of which I haven’t seen in a long while. Even though there were only seven of us watching, the room was filled with gasps of surprise, moans of empathy and whatever you call those sounds people make when they get the heebie-jeebies really, really bad. I can’t recall the last movie I saw that produced so much vocal expression from its audience. Peter Jackson definitely knows how to involve you in the action and make it real enough to almost feel.

And talk about action. The roller coaster ride of Skull Island is relentless in its thrilling, terrifying and awe-inducing pace. One minute you’ll be chased by herds of rampaging brontosaurs, crying out as each thunderous footstep narrowly misses (or doesn’t) the fleeing crew. The next minute you’ll be catching your breath as the characters find some haven of relative safety and without warning you’ll be plunged head-first into the fast-paced action once again as the crew realize they are never truly safe on Skull Island. I was amazed at how many different scenarios unfolded before my eyes. It seemed almost too much, and yet Peter Jackson manages to keep you not only interested, but filled with excitement at every turn. Storytelling and characters aside, King Kong is a terrific ride.

King Kong is also filled with some incredible performances, not the least of which is Kong himself. Andy Serkis provides the motion capture and facial expression for the giant ape. That’s the same fellow who gave us Gollum’s performance in Lord of the Rings. While Kong may not have as many lines as Gollum did, the physical performance and emotional expression is on par with Serkis’ incredible ability to give CG characters a life of their own. Jack Black (Carl Denham) also gives his best performance to date. That may not be saying much, considering his somewhat typecast roles. However, I believe his acting ability has certainly gone up a notch. While there are still typical ‘Jack Black’ moments, we do get to see another side of this obviously versatile actor. Adrien Brody (Jack Driscoll) and Naomi Watts (Ann Darrow) do a fine job, though they are easily overshadowed by Kong and Denham.

The special effects alone are worth the purchase price of King Kong. WETA Workshops have raised the bar in the CG department, bringing an entire island of creatures to life. Creating creatures that are believable and realistic gives the film its ability to draw the audience in and achieve those ‘ooh-aah’ moments. I found I could easily ‘buy into’ the creatures – they looked right, they moved right and they sounded right. There was only one moment, during a brontosaur stampede, where the lighting seemed a bit off, giving away the CG illusion. Other than that the only thing convincing you that what you’re seeing isn’t real is the fact that your mind knows it isn’t real.

The DVD is presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic widescreen and looks fantastic. The colors are crisp and clear. I didn’t notice any blurring or graininess anywhere. From the depression-era streets of New York city to the lush green jungles of Skull Island, everything looks vibrant and alive. The picture quality is just stunning. The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is equally impressive. This is a film that really benefits from a surround sound system and mine was put through its paces and then some. A DTS track is always preferred but I guess there’s only so much room on one disc for a 3-hour film like this one. Extended edition, Mr. Jackson?

The second disc of the 2-disc Special Edition contains an entire collection of Peter Jackson’s post-production diaries. If you have any interest in film making then you’ll absolutely love these featurettes. Shauna and I watched all 3 ½ hours of them in one sitting and were ready for more. The diaries take you through virtually every aspect of the film’s post-production, from scoring and effects to motion capture and editing. There is a completely separate DVD for sale that contains the production diaries (principle photography) which I will almost certainly be picking up. These are some of the best special features I’ve seen since Lord of the Rings. Here’s hoping other directors and studios decide to follow Peter Jackson’s example.

I was completely blown away by King Kong. It was so much more than I was expecting. In all fairness, it was probably more than a lot of other people wanted. The 3+ hour running time is probably frowned upon by most movie go-ers. But then, I’m not most movie go-ers. The longer, the better, as far as I’m concerned. Of course, I wouldn’t say the same thing if I had to sit it out in a public theatre. I’ll take the comfort of my own couch any day of the week (and three or four times on Sundays). If you’re looking for a thrilling adventure movie and are willing to suspend your disbelief (which is the point of most movies) then you cannot go wrong with Kong.

It’s been a while since I’ve given away a 10...but…

King Kong (2005) gets 10 enormous bananas (out of 10)!

Beat your chest proudly and click here for ‘King Kong’ trivia.

Movie Review Catch-Up Part III

2006-04-05T18:39:00.000-06:00

I bet you thought I wasn’t going to post Part III today, didn’t you? Yeah, I know you. There you are sitting by your computer refreshing my blog every 30 seconds, hoping for my next posting, which usually happens much earlier in the day. You probably started to get the shakes worrying that maybe I wouldn’t post today. Well have no fear because here it is! The Movie Review Catch-Up Part III.

There’s a quote from Return of the Jedi about “delusions of grandeur”. I think it applies to me.

Courage Under Fire – I can’t even remember where or when I first saw this movie. I’m not even 100% sure how it ended up in my DVD collection. It might have been a gift. Possibly from my wife. Anyway, the point is, like the majority of the movies in my collection, Courage Under Fire is a terrific flick. Although it follows a bit of the same pattern as other military dramas the characters are very engaging and the performances incredibly entertaining. Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Matt Damon, Scott Glenn and Lou Diamond Phillips star in this story about the first Medal of Honor to be awarded, posthumously, to a woman for her actions in combat. Combined with numerous flashbacks from different points of view, Courage Under Fire is intelligent and exciting, and will keep you guessing. “It’s the consequences. Imagine a life without consequences.”

Brotherhood of the Wolf – I borrowed this movie a while back and only just got around to watching it a few days ago. I never really knew what it was about but thought it looked cool and had some potential. I knew it was a French film, with English subtitles, but most of the foreign films I’ve seen are pretty good. Well this one starts out really good with some incredible cinematography and impressively choreographed fight scenes. The story is also quite intriguing. (From IMDB) ‘In 18th century France, the Chevalier de Fronsac and his native American friend Mani are sent by the King to the Gevaudan province to investigate the killings of hundreds by a mysterious beast’. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Well, unfortunately the story falls apart about 2/3rds of the way through and what I originally thought would be an intelligent, creative explanation for the killings turned out to be quite weak. I was disappointed. I can understand bad movies being bad, but this was a good movie that went bad. Maybe the ‘best-before’ date expired while I was watching it. “Instead of singing songs, they should be saying prayers.”

The Legend of 1900 – It’s like finding $20 in your coat pocket while searching for your keys – completely unexpected and delightful. The Legend of 1900 is one those movies that few people have heard about but stands out as one of the best films I’ve seen in a long time. Tim Roth stars as 1900, born on a cruise ship in the same year (thus the name) and who lives his life on the ocean, never setting foot on land. And as fate would have it, he is a prodigy piano player. Filled with wonderful music and poetic dialogue, Legend is just as much fun to watch as it is to listen to. And the DTS soundtrack just makes me giddy when I play it. It may not have the best acting in the world, but the writing and music more than make up for it. It’s a beautiful, funny, romantic and haunting film that anyone with any taste would enjoy. So, if you don’t like it, you have no taste. My, I’m being quite judgmental today. Well it’s one of the perks of having a blog, I guess. “Land is a ship too big for me.”

The Full Monty – I’m still convinced that it was Anthony who first recommended this film to me but he swears it’s the other way around. Either way this is definitely a film that appeals to the kind of sense of humour that Anthony and I share. First of all, it’s British. And let me tell you, the British know humour. Monty Python. Need I say more? Second of all…well, there really isn’t a second of all. There doesn’t have to be. I mean, it’s British! The Full Monty is about a group of out-of-work steelworkers who get the idea to perform a male strip show in their local town to earn some extra money. And in order to top those Chippendale hacks, they decide to go for the full monty – total nudity. While it may take the novice viewer a few rewinds here and there to fully understand the dialogue, what is clear is that these chaps are not what you would expect in a male dancer. Quite the opposite, in fact. But what they lack in, er, talent, they more than make up for with heart. If you can watch this film and not have a huge grin on your face by the end, then you have no soul. Ok, I think I need to reign in the judgmental-ness a little. “Anti-wrinkle cream there may be, but anti-fat-bastard cream there is not.”

Out of Time – Another selection from my roommate’s collection and one I’ve never seen before. Denzel Washington stars in this “thrilling” film about a police chief who has to race against the clock and his fellow detectives in order to prevent himself from becoming the main suspect in a homicide investigation. Maybe I was expecting more or maybe I built it up in my mind long before I got around to seeing it, but Out of Time just didn’t do it for me. It was entertaining, a little, and had a few funny moments. But in the end it didn’t quite live up to…whatever it was I was expecting. There’s a good chance I was just in the wrong mindset because Denzel doesn’t usually disappoint and I do recall several exciting scenes during the film. Maybe I have to watch it again. Shauna is definitely into these kinds of films so she’s probably a better judge than I am about this one. I’ll have her watch it and then I’ll get back to you. How’s that for a cop-out? “A beer in the hand is worth two in the fridge.”

Well that almost covers all the movies I’ve seen in the last few weeks. I’m only a couple movies behind now so this is probably a good place to end the Movie Review Catch-Up. Thanks for reading! Send along your comments on any of these films, or other films, or anything film-related. Or un-film related. I just like getting comments.

Until next time, turn the volume up loud, the lights down low and the cell-phones OFF!

Movie Review Catch-Up Part II

2006-04-04T13:38:00.000-06:00

As part of my quest to catch up on reviewing all the films I’ve watched in the last month or so, here is the next entry in my Movie Review Catch-Up. The fan mail I’ve been receiving in regards to the lack of postings over the last little while has been staggering. Hopefully this small collection of mini-reviews will keep you satisfied.

The Jackal – It’s rare that Bruce Willis plays the bad guy. We’re so used to him being the big action super-star who ultimately saves the day. The Jackal is incredibly entertaining because we finally get to see Bruce play the cold, ruthless assassin who will stop at nothing to accomplish his mission. The brief moments of interplay between Willis and Richard Gere are intense, but it’s hard to know who to root for. Willis’ character is really cool at times, but he’s also really, really bad. A wonderfully entertaining bit with Jack Black rounds off this fantastic flick. “Oh yeah! Bring on the sprawl, baby!”

Walk the Line – I’ve been looking forward to seeing this film ever since I first heard that Joaquin Phoenix was practicing for his then up-coming role as the Man in Black, Johnny Cash. I have been a fan of Phoenix’s work ever since Gladiator and each new film with him in it just reinforces my respect for his ability as an actor. Walk the Line is one more beautiful example of how versatile Joaquin is. His portrayal of Mr. Cash is breathtaking, from the way he speaks to the way he plays his guitar and sings those haunting songs. Apparently it was Johnny Cash himself who chose Joaquin to portray him, after seeing his role in Gladiator, just three years before Cash passed away. Even if you’re not a huge fan of Johnny Cash, and I certainly wasn’t, this is still one to check out. It’s a great biographical story and is filled with incredible performances. “Don’t give me no rules. All I got are rules.”

The Princess Bride – I’m not sure if there’s any point in saying how good this film is. The three people in the world who don’t like it probably aren’t reading my blog anyway. How can you not like this film? It’s got fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love and miracles. It’s one of those movies that has a quote for every situation in life. And best of all, anyone can watch it, from age 5 to 105. The special edition DVD is a wonderfully re-mastered version of this classic and I highly recommend picking up a copy. This is definitely a must-have. “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

The Right Stuff – After watching Apollo 13 and the HBO mini-series From The Earth To The Moon, it made sense that Shauna and I would add The Right Stuff to our collection. I had rented the film a couple of years ago but made the silly mistake of watching Disc 2 before Disc 1. I could never figure out why the film seemed so disjointed and confusing. We watched the whole 3 hour flick in the right order this time and I was pleased to see that it made much more sense. Following the real life story of test pilots and America’s first astronauts, The Right Stuff is an entertaining and informative look at the space race. Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Sam Sheppard, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum and a host of other big names star in this classic portrayal of America’s reach for the stars. Does that sound as hokey and cliché as I think it does? “Request permission to relieve bladder.”

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events – This film was made for Jim Carrey. From what I understand, the books are nearly as popular as the Harry Potter franchise and appeal to the same audience – that is, anyone with an imagination and a sense of humour. Jim Carrey is the embodiment of imagination and humour and he shines as the deliciously evil Count Olaf. The movie is filled with wonderful characters and incredible sets and ends up being a very entertaining book-come-to-film. If you like Harry Potter and Jim Carrey, you’ll love this series of very unfortunate events. “This would be an excellent time to walk out of the theatre, living room, or airplane where this film is being shown.”

That should tide you over until tomorrow, when I will post Part III of my Movie Review Catch-Up. Now that you’re finished reading about these wonderful movies, perhaps it’s time to come over and watch one. I’ll get the popcorn started.

Movie Review Catch-Up - Part I

2006-04-03T11:44:00.000-06:00

Well it has been far too long since my last blog and now that I’m back from my Vegas vacation, I don’t have any excuse for not posting something. I’ve only managed to watch 4 movies since returning from my trip last Friday. I know, I know…I have a lot of work to do in order to get my average back up. Have no fear! I shall not disappoint my multitude of fans who demand nothing less than my obsessive and near-psychotic devotion to movie-watching.

Going back through my diary of movies I’ve watched, I realize that I have seen 16 movies since my last blog about Sahara. How do I pick just one for today’s posting?

I don’t. That’s how.

So how about a recap to bring us up to speed? Here’s part 1 of the ‘Movie Review Catch-Up”:

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – A Steve Martin classic. Ruprecht the Monkey Boy is comic genius. Martin and Caine join forces to con their way to riches and glory. This one is right up there with Planes, Trains, and Automobiles as one of the best comedies of my generation. Definitely a must-see movie. If you're not satisfied, just give me your address and I'll be sure to send you a cheque to make up for it. “To be with another woman, that is French. To be caught, that is American.”

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – How do you possibly condense a 700+ page novel into a 2 ½ hour movie? The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is only a few hundred pages longer and it took over 10 hours of film to capture the epic nature of Tolkien’s fantastic world. The Goblet of Fire may not be as epic as Tolkien’s work, but there is certainly much more going on than the movie can possibly portray. I’m a fan of the novels and the movies are certainly entertaining, but Goblet of Fire falls short of anything incredible simply due to the fact that it cannot hope to compete with the books. A great film. But read the book.

Men of Honor – I love movies about the underdog. Cuba Gooding Jr. portrays the real life story of Carl Brashear, the first African-American and amputee to become a Master Diver in the US Navy. Robert De Niro is fantastic as the racist Master Chief in charge of training, or failing, Brashear. It’s an interesting and entertaining look at WWII diving (before SCUBA was in use) and features some notable performances by Gooding and De Niro. Worth a look. "If it is lost underwater, he finds it. If it's sunk, he brings it up. If it's in the way, he moves it."

Michael Buble – Caught in the Act – While not a feature film, per se, this live performance is worth seeing, and hearing. Michael Buble has a voice that effortlessly revives the classics of Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and many more ‘standards’. He’s a natural entertainer and the music is just plain fun. There's even a suprise appearance by another famous young singer. I won't spoil it for you, but suffice it to say that Shauna probably bought this DVD more for her obsession with the guest star than for Michael Buble. Please pray for her.

Beyond the Sea – Kevin Spacey portrays the life of singer/songwriter Bobby Darin (Mack the Knife, Beyond the Sea). While giving a great acting performance, Spacey also manages to sing all the songs himself. The choreography is wonderfully entertaining, especially during 'Beyond the Sea' itself. If you liked De-Lovely, Walk the Line or Ray, chances are you’ll enjoy Beyond the Sea. Even if you're just a big Spacey fan, like me, you'll definitely want to see this one. "Memories are like moonbeams, we do with them what we will."

That should keep you satisfied for at least a day. I’ll be back tomorrow with Part II of the Movie Review Catch-Up.

What have you been watching?

"Why don't you tell your dreams to me? Fantasy will set you free."

2006-03-08T11:12:00.000-07:00

We watched Sahara again over the weekend and I took great delight in listening to one of my favourite scenes – the moment when Dirk and Al rebuild a wrecked airplane into a desert wind surfer. Why do I enjoy listening to this scene so much? Well it just happens to use one of my favourite songs, Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf.

When Shauna and I went on our honeymoon in Las Vegas we had a rather unfortunate experience, to say the least. I was woken up at about 4:00am on our second day there by the sound of Shauna screaming, laying on the bathroom floor. I immediately called 911 (there’s a story there, but I’ll let Shauna tell you about it) and we soon found ourselves in an ambulance on our way to the hospital. I ended up riding shotgun in the ambulance and as the driver peeled out onto the street he turned up the radio. I’m not sure if that was to drown out Shauna’s screams or if it was meant to calm me. Strangely, it had both effects, to some degree. While I was 90% terrified about what was happening to Shauna, I was 10% exhilarated to be riding fast in an ambulance with the radio turned up, blasting none other than Magic Carpet Ride – now immortalized as ‘our song’.

Star Trek: First Contact, Apollo 13 and Reservoir Dogs are just a few of the other terrific movies that have used this fantastic song. And every time I hear it, it brings a smile to face.

Every time Shauna hears it I think she grimaces in pain. Turns out she had a kidney stone. For which they gave her lots of nasty drugs, sending her on her own magic carpet ride.

"We're gonna explode? I don't wanna explode!"

2006-03-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

With my roommate currently in South Africa, I’ve been taking the opportunity to steal movies from his DVD collection and replace them with VHS copies of Three’s Company re-runs. I hope he won’t notice. I recently had the opportunity to watch a couple of “my” new DVDs. One of them was surprisingly entertaining while the other made me miss that one Three’s Company re-run I replaced it with. You know, that episode where there’s a misunderstanding? Classic.

I’m not going to go into the background on the history of the Firefly television series and explain how it got cancelled, gained a cult following and eventually sold enough DVD copies to warrant a feature film. The main reason being that I never watched the original series. I was worried that watching Serenity without having seen the TV show would leave me confused and uninterested. I was just looking for something I hadn’t seen before and that might provide some mindless entertainment. Fortunately, Serenity managed to keep me in the loop and provided some very good entertainment. And not just mindless entertainment either.

Serenity follows the story of the crew of the title-named ship. A Firefly class ship, from what I understand (thus the TV series name). Think of it like a Star Trek movie. All the same actors and characters are here from the television series. Simon and his younger sister, River, have joined the crew after Simon risked all to rescue River from the evil government, known as the Alliance. River was the subject of numerous experiments aimed at turning her into a psychic super-weapon. I know, I know, just stay with me. The rest of the crew are your not-so-run-of-the-mill characters including a war-vet captain, a trigger happy strong man, an inventive mechanic and several others. Together they must fight against the Alliance, and other enemies, to discover the secret that River carries in her mind.

The story sounds a bit cheesy and the characters do seem somewhat cliché, but I was pleased to discover that the interactions between these characters are what make the film so enjoyable. The script has numerous moments of witty banter that could only stem from a cast that has worked together before. You really feel that these people know each other inside and out. The dialogue alone is almost enough to interest me in buying the Firefly series.

The plot has a lot of potential, and sometimes that potential is actually realized on screen, but for the most part this is your basic solve-the-mystery and save-the-universe type of deal. I won’t go into details but there’s enough here to keep you interested, though it certainly won’t blow your mind.

I’m not sure how fans of the series reacted to the film version, but from what little I’ve read on the internet, it appears most of the fans are very happy with it. I don’t know if that’s because the film accurately reflects what they saw on TV or if they’re just glad to see another ‘episode’ of Firefly since the disappointing cancellation.

Apparently the Firefly series is part of the Sci-Fi Western genre. It’s easy to see the Sci-Fi part of Serenity, and occasionally there are moments that hint of a Western. It’s an interesting combination and surprisingly, one that actually works. It was somewhat refreshing to listen to the characters speaking in a dialect that one wouldn’t expect to hear in space. And the lack of laser beams and blasters is also intriguing. It’s just six-shooters and machine guns here. Oh, and the occasional grenade.

Ultimately, I was fairly impressed with Serenity. I never got bored at any point and I don’t recall groaning at anything too cliché that took place. I did laugh out loud on more than one occasion and was definitely wowed by some of the fight sequences. The special effects are also top notch. It’s obvious that CG effects were used but this is one of those ‘smart’ films that manages to make the CG look real. Not like the Star Wars cartoons. I won’t go there right now.

If you’re a fan of Firefly, chances are you’ve already seen Serenity. If that’s the case I’d love to hear your thoughts on the film, so leave a comment. If, like me, you’ve never seen the television show, consider giving Serenity a chance. While the film as a whole may not rock your socks off you might be pleasantly surprised, like me, with what you find.

Serenity gets 7 ½ primary buffer panels (out of 10).

The other movie I watched was Stealth. I know Chris wanted it because it has planes. Well, it does have planes. I'm not sure what else to say about it. The plot revolves around a new jet fighter that operates on arificial intelligence. The plot also revolves around an ackward romantic relationship, a secret political agenda and several other monotonous cliches. Sadly, none of these plots provides much depth or continuity. Once again I was just looking for some mindless entertainment. Well Stealth is certainly mindless. I'm not sure if I was entertained at all. And if I'm not sure about that then I probably wasn't.

Stealth gets 4 1/2, er, planes (out of 10).

Fight the Alliance and click here for ‘Serenity’ trivia.
Click here for ‘Stealth’ trivia. Though I’m not sure why you’d want to.

"Ferris Bueller, you're my hero."

2006-02-23T13:44:00.000-07:00

Strive to be like Ferris Bueller

“How could I be expected to handle school on a day like today?”

One of my heroes from childhood has got to be Ferris Bueller. A kid who fakes being sick so he can have the most outrageous day off in the history of days off. How many times have you faked being sick so you could have a day off? I’m willing to bet that anyone reading this has done it at least once. But more importantly, what did you do with that day off? Ferris Bueller’s answer to that question is what makes him so cool.

“The question isn’t ‘what are we going to do,’ the question is ‘what aren’t we going to do?’”

In one day Ferris did more than most of us do in a month. Actually, he does a few things none of us will ever do. Why is that? Well maybe it’s because your best friend’s dad doesn’t own a 1961 Ferrari 250GT California. But what does your best friend’s dad own? Maybe you should think about taking it for a spin.

“A: You can never go too far. B: If I’m gonna get busted, it is *not* gonna be by a guy like *that*.”

How far are you willing to go? Ferris was willing to be the Sausage King of Chicago just to get a free lunch at a restaurant he would never get into otherwise. Ferris doesn’t let a little thing like not being the Sausage King of Chicago stop him. As far as Ferris is concerned, it’s not who you are, it’s who you want to be. Who do you want to be? Are you gonna let a guy like *that* stop you?

“Never had one lesson.”

Ferris plays the clarinet. He’s never been told how to play the clarinet and probably doesn’t play the clarinet in band class. He plays the clarinet because he wants to. It makes him happy. The horrible, squeaky notes (if you can call them notes) are music to his ears. What’s your clarinet? Why aren’t you playing it?

“I asked for a car, I got a computer. How’s that for being born under a bad sign?”

Ferris’ life isn’t all roses, you know? It’s not like life is perfect for him and that’s how he manages to have such a carefree life. Ferris has problems, like the rest of us. But Ferris doesn’t let those problems get in his way. On the contrary, he uses those problems to his advantage. What are your problems? Can you use your problem to improve your situation? Ferris did. Nine times.

“You’re not dying. You just can’t think of anything good to do.”

Ferris understands that boredom is our own making. And boredom leads to sickness. And sickness leads to fear. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate…wait a minute. Wrong movie. Scratch that. The point is, Ferris understands that the cure for just about anything is a good day off. Not just a day of not working or not going to school. But a day filled with Ferraris and art museums and fancy restaurants and baseball and clarinets. Maybe you’re not really sick. Maybe you just need to sing ‘Danke Schon’ in the annual von Steuben Parade.

“Live moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

"I admire its purity."

2006-02-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

Where have all the good suspense movies gone?

A couple weeks ago I watched Alien again. As far as I’m concerned it is the quintessential suspense movie. Ridley Scott practically defined terror through suspense in his heart-stopping film about a terrifically evil Alien. And although the title character is the basis for the film, it only gets about a minute of actual screen time. When you compare this with today’s so-called ‘suspense’ films, well, there really is no comparison.

I have to agree with Alfred Hitchcock in that there is a distinct difference between ‘suspense’ and ‘surprise’. And I would also agree that most films continually confuse the two. Hitchcock uses the bomb analogy. Suppose two characters are having an innocent chat at a table. And suppose there is a bomb under the table, but neither the characters, nor the audience are aware of it. Nothing happens, and then all of a sudden ‘BOOM!’ The table explodes, the audiences screams, surprise is achieved.

Now let’s go back to the same situation but this time let’s tell the audience that the bomb is there. Perhaps the audience saw the bad guy place it there. And let’s allow the audience to see that the bomb is set to detonate at 1:00pm and let’s put a clock on the table. Now show the audience the same scene with the clock showing 12:45pm. That’s suspense.

The key is in having the audience become active participants in what is about to happen. They yell at the screen, telling the characters to stop talking about such trivial things, for there is a bomb under the table! And if the director is really good, like Ridley Scott, that bomb can go off and the audience will still be shocked and surprised, even though they knew it was coming.

Think of the air vent scene in Alien. We know the alien is in there. We’re even given a motion sensor showing the alien’s progress toward Dallas, the unfortunate crew member searching the air vent. Other characters are yelling that the alien is there. We know it’s coming. And yet when the moment happens, it’s pure terror. Why? I have a theory.

The unique concept of the Alien is that we really have no idea what it is. We hardly even know what it looks like. Granted, recent Alien films have shown us exactly what the alien looks like and how it acts. But when all we had was the first film, all we knew was that there was an alien…and that was about it. Ridley Scott knew what Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew – the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. The most terrifying part of a movie is terror itself. All Ridley Scott did was give us something to be terrified of, then he promptly hid it, rarely revealed it and never gave us any details into the motivations or workings of the alien. The rest was up to us and our own minds.

Most of my friends will tell you I’m not a big fan of horror films. It’s not that they scare me, it’s that they don’t scare me. They bore me. Sure, they probably have great moments of surprise and shock, but nothing has ever really lived up to the standard set by Alien. Granted, that could have a lot to do with my age at the time.

I first saw Alien when I was 10 or 11 years old. I was visiting family in Ontario and while staying at my Grandpa’s house I slept on the couch in the basement. This was totally cool for me because the couch was right in front of the TV and after everyone had gone to bed I could stay up late watching television. What a rebel I was!

One of the shows I discovered during my late night viewing was Alien. I had never seen it before then, although I had certainly heard about it. I caught the movie about half way through, right when Dallas is making his ill-fated journey into the air vents. Needless to say, I was scared silly. But I could not turn it off. I even had recurring Alien nightmares. But every time it was on TV I just had to watch. It terrified me and it was fantastic.

Sadly, the initial terror has long since worn off and I no longer have nightmares about aliens. But if I could go back in time and watch it again for the first time I would be overjoyed. Terrified, but overjoyed.

So the combination of innocent youth and the scariest suspense film ever created, in my opinion, were enough to effectively spoil my appreciation for any other movie claiming to be ‘suspenseful’ or ‘terrifying’. There just hasn’t been another movie like Alien. And sometimes I despair there never will be.

For now, I’ll just have to take pleasure in watching other people view it for the first time. Oh man, I can’t wait until I have kids.

In space, no one can hear you scream. But you can still read 'Alien' trivia.

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..."

2006-02-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was the date of the Ultimate Star Wars Ridiculathon 2006. Me and four good friends sat down at 9:00am and proceeded to watch all six Star Wars films, in chronological order. That’s right campers, over 13 hours of Star Wars! As I’m sure you can imagine, it was fantastic!

"The boy is dangerous. They all sense it, why can't you?"

With ample snacks and drink at hand we began with Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Obviously the prequel trilogy does not compare to the original films, but I liked this first instalment. The pod race scene is one of my favourites, especially since it looks and sounds so amazing. Jake Lloyd’s acting is pretty forced in most of the scenes and the use of CG effects is rampant. But in the end it was a great way to start the day and we all were looking forward to Episode II.

"Why do I get the feeling you're going to be the death of me?"

Of all the Star Wars films Episode II: Attack of the Clones is my least favourite. This one really looks like a cartoon. Way too many CG effects. And the relationship between Padme and Anakin really feels forced and cliché. After watching the rest of the films I can appreciate the events and emotions that Lucas is trying to set up, but it all feels too corny. Don’t get me wrong, it was great to watch. But I won’t lie and say it wasn’t good to have it out of the way either.

"It was you who would bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!"

After a quick lunch, and the first barbecue of the year, we started up Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. This is definitely the best of the three prequels and really does a great job of setting up Darth Vader’s character. I was impressed with Anakin and could easily believe he would turn into the Dark Lord we’re so amazed with in Empire and Return of the Jedi. It’s a successful setup of the next three films, which is critical given their popularity and importance.

"I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you!"

Episode IV: A New Hope. This is where it all began and it was very interesting to watch it again in the context of Episodes I, II and III. Obi-Wan and Darth Vader really benefit from the back-story of the prequels. Several moments even made more sense than they did before. It’s totally believable that Vader would hop into a TIE-fighter and take on the Rebel attackers. One thing we learned from the first three films is that Anakin was not only a great pilot, but he loved it too. It was moments like these that made the day so enjoyable. And it only got better.

"Impressive. Most impressive."

We decided to skip dinner, thanks to copious amounts of snack food already consumed, and launched right into Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. My personal favourite of all the Star Wars films, Empire was better than ever. Darth Vader’s evil moments were that much more intense with memories of Anakin’s turn to the dark side only hours earlier in the day. His obsession with Luke was more understandable as well as his devotion and obedience to the Emperor. We also all agreed that Yoda was no longer playing with a full deck after spending so many years in exile on Dagobah. And the banter among the characters was as good as it got in any of the films.

"I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

By now it was 11:00 at night and we were ready for the final chapter, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Oddly enough, I had always thought of the title as referring to Luke alone. As in, the Return of one Jedi named Luke. Having watched the destruction of the Jedi in Episode III it suddenly occurred to me that the Jedi in Episode VI was much more ‘global’. Return of the Jedi Order is what is implied and it was an incredible concept given that we had just watched the Jedi get wiped out by Vader and the Emperor. Luke fulfils the prophecy and finally brings balance to the force. The final climactic battle was that much more intense as we had experienced the entire saga from beginning to end in one sitting.

We ended the day at 1:00am, right on schedule. I had expected it to be a really long day but it actually went a lot faster than I thought. Certainly much faster than the Lord of the Rings Extended Ridiculathon, which is actually shorter in terms of movie length. We all had a great time and my own appreciation for the Star Wars saga grew to new heights.

So, many thanks and congratulations to Vince, Dave, Scott and Brian for surviving the day! Vince, your shrimp-ring defrosting powers are weak. Dave, thanks for bringing a fine collection of memorabilia. Scott, tell Megan I'm sorry that you now have to spend all your money on a surround sound system. And Brian, I don't like sand either. An honourable mention goes to Anne and Helen for bringing even more delicious snacks. And last, but certainly not least, a big honourable mention goes to my wife, Shauna, who not only encouraged me to have a Star Wars marathon, but let us watch them ridiculously loud as well. Thanks angel!

Now I can start planning the next Ridiculathon. Will it be Lord of the Rings again? Perhaps Indiana Jones or The Matrix? So many wonderful choices. I love movies.

"It's like looking in a mirror...only...not."

2006-02-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

A Few of my Favourite Movie Scenes

In recalling some of my favourite movie moments, I came to realize that they all follow a similar theme – expression. The look on the character’s face during a specific moment. A talented actor in a well directed scene can convey more meaning in a single look than others can with a page of dialogue. The downside of trying to blog about those kinds of movie scenes is that most, if not all of them are scenes that really need to be seen (scene?) in order to be fully appreciated. The upshot of trying to blog about favourite movie scenes, or anything for that matter, is that I can do whatever I want in my own blog. I’m mad with power! Mwahahaha! Hopefully you recognize a few of these fantastic moments and appreciate them as much as I do.

There is a scene in The Count of Monte Cristo when Mercedes looks across a crowded ballroom to meet the Count, whom she immediately recognizes as Edmond – a man she thought to be dead for over 13 years. The look on Mercedes face is priceless and is even more powerful given that everyone else in the film has no idea who the Count really is. He has become so different from Edmond that only his true love could possibly know his true identity. Very moving.

My favourite Face/Off scene has to be the moment when Sean Archer (Nicholas Cage), disguised as Castor Troy, is waiting to be released from Erewhon Prison and in walks Castor Troy (John Travolta), disguised as Sean Archer. The look on the real Archer’s face as he begins to realize the horrific truth that Castor is alive and free is incredible. Not to mention Travolta’s wicked smile at the knowledge that he’s now holding all the cards. The “what a predicament” scene is also pretty high on my list.

My favourite moment in The Fellowship of the Ring is when Frodo stands up during the argument at the council of Elrond and exclaims that he will take the ring to Mordor. I love the look on Gandalf’s face as he turns to Frodo, both proud and terrified of his friend’s decision. Ian McKellen is a genius.

There is a subtle moment, during a very un-subtle scene in The Two Towers, when Grima Wormtongue is listening to Saruman’s war speech. Saruman reveals a vast army of Urak Hai, ten thousand strong. The sight of this force, bred solely for the destruction of mankind, brings a single tear to Grima’s eye. It’s a fascinating dichotomy that is easily missed unless you’re really paying attention. And yes, I just used the word ‘dichotomy’ in my blog. I told you I was mad with power.

The Return of the King takes about half an hour to wrap up, which a lot of people complained about, but I found it to be the perfect way to end a 10 hour saga. After Aragorn’s coronation he walks among the thousands of spectators and soldiers and comes across his four hobbit companions who bow out of respect for their new king. Aragorn immediately stops them saying “My friends, you bow to no one.” I think I missed what happens next because some dust must have got in my eye and I was busy trying to wipe away the resulting moisture. Sniff…

It would be easy to pick just about every scene Tom Hanks is in, in every movie he’s ever made. One that comes to mind at the moment is a scene in Cast Away. Hanks’ character has been on the island for four years already when we watch a scene with him eating some fish. It’s a beautiful, tropical island with an incredible ocean view and Hanks sits with his back to the sea, staring at nothing as he mechanically consumes his meal. He seems completely unaware of everything around him, even the raw fish he’s eating. It’s a look of desperation that has long since faded to utter hopelessness.

I could probably fill several pages with my favourite movie moments, but there’s just a few for you. It fascinates me to realize just how powerful a movie can be. And it’s incredible that some actors can convey such a wide spectrum of emotion with a simple look. It’s another reason why I love movies.
Leave a comment and share some of your favourite movie moments. I’d love to hear them!

"Your produce alone has been worth the trip." (Review)

2006-02-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

Several years ago I thought of an idea for an invention – a machine that could erase specific memories. Now I know this certainly isn’t a new concept and I’m sure many people have had the same idea long before I did, but my idea for the “memory erasing” machine was born out of a love of movies. There are countless applications for such a device, but again my idea was very specific – what if we could erase the memory of a great movie, just so we could enjoy watching it again for the first time? Don’t tell my wife but I would take out a couple of extra mortgages on the house just to afford such a machine.

Being able to watch the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars trilogies again, without any knowledge of how they turn out, would be amazing. Or imagine watching something like Fight Club or The Sixth Sense again without knowing anything about the surprise endings. And I would personally take great joy in being able to erase my memory of Fantastic Four. Not so I could watch it again but so I could stop thinking about those two hours of my life I wasted. Of course, a number of questions are raised when thinking about a device with that kind of capability. First and foremost in my mind is ‘would I still enjoy Star Wars if I saw it today without any memory of the history of growing up with it as part of my life?’ But then the whole issue becomes too philosophical for my tastes. I just want to experience the excitement and newness of a great movie again and again and again.

Fortunately I have a poor memory as it is. Usually I remember quite a bit about certain movies – dialogue, music, specific scenes and frames. But sometimes I’ll watch a fantastic movie and then forget just how great it really was. That was the case with K-Pax. I had the chance to watch it again this weekend and I couldn’t help thinking ‘boy, this is way better than I remember it!’ It’s times like those when I realize the potential for my invention. It’s the 21st century already! How much longer do I have to wait?

Kevin Spacey stars as Prot, a human claiming to be from another planet, K-Pax. Apparently showing up out of nowhere Prot soon finds himself in a mental institution where Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges) attempts to discover the truth of Prot’s origins. What seems like a simple case of delusion soon becomes much more complex as Dr. Powell begins to doubt his own diagnosis, claiming that Prot is “the most convincing delusional” he’s ever met. Is Prot really from K-Pax? The short answer is...maybe.

Kevin Spacey is one of my favourite actors and it’s roles like this one that make him so enjoyable to watch. His performance is brilliant, perfectly portraying a character that will keep you guessing all the way to the end. There are several scenes involving hypnotism where Dr. Powell regresses Prot in an attempt to learn about his past. Kevin Spacey really shines in these moments as he manages to truly convince you that Prot is reliving his youth while still maintaining his conviction about being from another planet. It’s very impressive.

Jeff Bridges does a fantastic job as well. Doctors in films, especially psychiatrists, seem to be interested in only one thing – proving they are right. They figure they already know the truth, they just need to convince the patient of it. Although Dr. Powell is obviously sceptical of Prot’s origins, he seems genuinely interested in discovering the actual truth. It’s refreshing to see Dr. Powell question himself as he questions Prot. The relationship between Prot and Powell is engaging and uplifting to watch, and that’s a credit to both of these wonderful actors.

Watching K-Pax, you’ll find yourself asking questions and continually changing your mind about who Prot really is. It’s this aspect that makes the film great. Nothing is cut and dry here. In one scene you will have convinced yourself that Prot is truly human, suffering from delusions following some kind of trauma, only to have Prot himself convince you he really is from K-Pax in the next scene. I’m sure there are some great parallels to beliefs and Christianity that could be drawn from K-Pax, but it’s Monday morning and I don’t think my brain is that active yet.

The Collector’s Edition DVD looks and sounds great, but since K-Pax is largely dialogue driven there isn’t much here to really shout about. The colors are crisp and clean, in some scenes almost bordering on High Definition. K-Pax is presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic video and all my loyal blog-readers understand what that means. Right class? A DTS track is also included, and again, blog-readers can join me in a resounding “huzzah!”, knowing full well that DTS is where it’s at. Bonus features include an alternate ending, deleted scenes, audio commentary, making-of featurette, storyboards, production photographs, and a trailer. Not too shabby for a single-disc release.

If you’re a Kevin Spacey fan I can almost guarantee you’ll enjoy K-Pax. Of course, if you’re a real Kevin Spacey fan I can almost guarantee you’ve already seen K-Pax. Well, if you haven’t seen it you really need to check it out. You won’t be disappointed. And if you have seen it, well, maybe you should watch it again. Chances are you’ve forgotten just how good it really is.

K-Pax gets 8 ½ binary sunrises (out of 10).

Catch a beam of light and click here for ‘K-Pax’ trivia.

"We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented."

2006-02-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

My enjoyment of motion pictures can often be directly correlated to the emotional response that film elicits from my own person. That is, I like movies because of how they make me feel.

There are so many factors involved when deciding whether a certain movie was “good” or not. I’m sure all of you can think of at least one movie you really like that most other people really didn’t like. I can think of several dozen. The point is that movie preferences are very personal. It’s like music, clothing, books or art – everyone has different tastes. Which begs the question, why is so much value placed on movie reviews? I don’t really have the time or desire to try and answer that question. In the end, all that really matters is my opinion. (Please note use of sarcastic humor.)

The Truman Show makes me feel really good. Wait, scratch those last two words. It doesn’t only make me feel good. It makes me feel excited, proud, awed, intrigued (is intrigue an emotion?), sad and even a little angry. A few days ago I watched Ladder 49. The thing I liked most about that film was the same thing – the way it made me feel. Maybe I’m getting sentimental now that I’m officially into my late, late twenties (read: 30), but I’ve noticed I get a lot more out of movies than I used to. It’s no longer about the visual effects and thumping soundtrack and huge explosions. Ok, it’s not just about the visual effects and thumping soundtrack and huge explosions. I find myself getting more wrapped up in the characters and settings. And with a movie like The Truman Show, it’s all about the characters and the setting.

I love the concept of The Truman Show. Create a fake world, with fake people and fake events and drop a real person into the middle of it. But don’t tell the real person that everything is fake. Oh yeah, and place thousands of cameras around the fake world so the real world can watch everything the real guy is doing. I’m sure there are way better ways to explain the plot of this film, but you get the idea. Jim Carrey stars as Truman Burbank, the only true man.

This is another of Jim Carrey’s attempts to deliver a more serious performance. While The Truman Show is still quite funny, it’s certainly not as over-the-top as Ace Ventura or Dumb & Dumber. Carrey manages to pull off several pretty dramatic scenes and shows that he can be a serious actor. One of my favourite movie moments is the scene where he starts to realize that the world actually does revolve around him. He stops traffic and everything around him with outstretched hands. The music and mood during this scene is definitely one of those “feely” moments. I love it!

If you’re a Jim Carrey fan and you like a unique story, check out The Truman Show. Ed Harris also stars and received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in this film. Well worth a look.

‘The Truman Show’ trivia, live, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

"Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today."

2006-01-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

For the past few days I have been hopelessly addicted to ‘24’. I saw the last five or six episodes of Season Four a while back and when Shauna and I saw the first three seasons on DVD for a really great price, we couldn’t resist. Well, I couldn’t resist. As such, I haven’t been watching nearly as many movies as I would like. But here’s a brief look at what I have been watching.

I really liked Ladder 49 the first time I saw it, but it would have been difficult to put my finger on what it was that impressed me so much. After watching it for a second time I think I have it figured out. Aside from having spectacular visuals of some incredible fires, the film is an emotional roller coaster that takes the viewer through virtually every mountain and valley of Jack Morrison’s life as a firefighter, husband, father and friend. The thing I enjoyed most about this film was the way I reacted to each of Jack’s situations. I was excited and thrilled as he fought his first fire. I laughed and smiled when he met his future wife and hung out at the pub with his closest friends. I cheered when he saved a man’s life. I felt sorrow, joy, heartache, elation, frustration, pride, anger, delight, fear and regret. Some have argued that the film has no plot. First of all, there is a very distinct plot - it just happens to be segmented between numerous flashbacks of Jack’s life. And second of all, the purpose of the film is to show that life, Jack's struggles and victories. Ladder 49 was intended to be a celebration of the life of a firefighter and I think it accomplishes that exceptionally well. It certainly belongs right beside Backdraft as one of the quintessential ‘fire’ movies.

Anyone with a fascination for World War II, and that’s most of us, would appreciate Memphis Belle. Based on the true story of a B-17 ‘Flying Fortress’ that flew 25 missions during the war, Memphis Belle portrays the final mission of the aircraft and her crew. The film was released in 1990 and seems to have suffered during the transfer to DVD. The video quality is a bit grainy in areas and certainly doesn’t have the nice crisp picture quality we’ve come to expect from today’s new releases. There were also a couple of scenes where I felt the acting was forced, but ultimately my fondness for this movie has little to do with any of these things. The story itself is enough to keep you entertained. The characters are diverse and much of the enjoyment comes from watching them interact with each other. It’s another one of those bizarre family bonds that can only form during the harshness of war. Sean Astin, Matthew Modine, Harry Connick Jr., Billy Zane, Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan, David Strathairn and John Lithgow make for a remarkably star studded cast, though most of these actors didn’t become ‘big’ until years later. Memphis Belle is definitely worth a look.

My single most favourite comedy of all time has to be Groundhog Day. Which is ironic since I don’t think Groundhog Day is the funniest movie I’ve ever seen. I just love the concept of the film and Bill Murray’s performance is one of his best. For the three people out there who haven’t seen this gem yet, let me fill you in. Phil Connors (Murray) is a self centered weather man who is sent to Punxsatawny, Pennsilvania to film the annual Groundhog Day festival. His new producer Rita (Andie MacDowell) and cameraman Larry (Chris Elliot) accompany him. Phil’s alarm clock goes off at 6:00am, he does his report then immediately heads back home. Unfortunately, a blizzard prevents them from leaving and Phil must spend the rest of the day in Punxsatawny. The next morning his alarm goes off at 6:00am and Phil discovers that Groundhog Day is repeating itself. The exact same day continues to recur over and over, with Phil the only one aware. Imagine what you might do if you had the exact same day to relive countless times. Consider the possibilities available to you, knowing exactly what everyone was going to say and do, exactly when everything was going to happen. Groundhog Day does a remarkable job of taking us through virtually every one of those possibilities. It also raises countless philosophical questions, but that’s a blog for another day.

What do you get when you mix the sequel to an action blockbuster, director John Woo (Face/Off, Broken Arrow, Windtalkers) and mega-superstar Tom Cruise? You get a movie with a so-so plot and tons of incredible stunts, thrilling action scenes, really big explosions and stunning cinematography. Mission: Impossible 2 is supposed to be an action-filled thrill ride and that’s exactly what it is. Is it complex, deeply thematic and rife with drama and tension? No. Is it meant to be? Absolutely not. This is not a realistic depiction of spy work. But it is the kind of spy work that is incredibly entertaining and ultra-cool. If you want realism, turn on the news (and even then, good luck). If you want pure entertainment and thrill-a-minute action, turn on Mission: Impossible 2. If you happen to turn on the DVD with a good TV and home theatre system you’ll be even more impressed with the beautiful picture and amazing sound. This is a great flick!

Raising Arizona is probably one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Which is ironic since it’s not my most favourite comedy of all time. One of the Coen brothers’ first films, Raising Arizona is the story of H.I. and Edwina McDunnough and their simple desire to raise a child of their own. I’m not going to give any more details about the plot. The real humour of the film is in the dialogue and over-the-top chase scenes. If you’re familiar with the Coen Brothers you already know that this is no ordinary comedy. The characters are unlike any you’ve seen before and their actions and reactions are pure hilarity. Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter are arguably at their best in Raising Arizona. This is a comedy classic that is definitely a must-see.

Sound the alarm and click here for ‘Ladder 49’ trivia.
Bombs away! ‘Memphis Belle’ trivia is on target here.
I definitely see a shadow. Six more weeks of ‘Groundhog Day’ trivia.
‘Mission: Impossible 2’ trivia will self-destruct in 5 minutes.
Turn to the left and click here for ‘Raising Arizona’ trivia.

I used to think that was good?!?

2006-01-18T22:20:00.000-07:00

For those of you who like to keep tabs on my DVD collection and Wishlist (and I know you all do!), you'll notice that Batman Forever is currently on that latter list. I used to own it on VHS and can remember watching it numerous times. As it turns out, I think I was either suffering from a mental condition or I was sniffing glue. Industrial strength glue. The kind they use on the space shuttle. Er...yeah.

I just happened to catch the first 10 minutes of Batman Forever on TV this evening and I can't believe how corny and ridiculous that movie really is. Especially since I have such fond memories of it. (Did I just end two sentences in a row with a preposition?) I guess I appreciated Jim Carrey's humor. And let's be honest, how can you go wrong with Nicole Kidman? But ultimately, this is just bad writing, worse set design and terrible everything else. I submit exhibit A, the opening lines of the film:

(As Batman prepares to enter the ridiculous Batmobile and save the world)
Alfred: Can I persuade you to take a sandwich, sir?
Batman: I'll get drive-thru.

I would submit exhibits B through Z, but I think it might make my blog explode.

Sorry 'Batman Forever'. We had some good times, but I've grown. I've changed. It's time we moved on. I think we both knew it wasn't going to last. It's not you, it's me. No wait...it's most definitely you. Drive-thru?! What were you thinking?!

"That was totally wicked!" (Review)

2006-01-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

Every time a new Pixar movie comes out I think that it can’t possibly be better than the last one. When Toy Story 2 was released I thought it was just another Disney sequel money grab. After seeing it, however, I was convinced the sequel was actually better than the original. Then came A Bug’s Life. No way could it be better than the Toy Story franchise. Way. Monsters Inc. followed and again I was blown away by the unique story, incredible animation and hilarious dialogue. Finding Nemo was up next, proving that Pixar had once again upped the ante. And in fine Pixar tradition they’ve outdone themselves yet again with The Incredibles.

Mr. Incredible is just your average super hero, saving lives, rescuing cats and protecting the people of Metroville from countless villains. He’s one of many ‘supers’ living in a city where such heroes are almost commonplace. When a rescued citizen sues Mr. Incredible for saving him when he didn’t want to be saved it starts an avalanche of lawsuits that eventually forces the supers into hiding, giving up their powers in order to lead normal lives. Fifteen years later, Bob Parr, mild mannered insurance agent, is once again called into action and dons the suit of Mr. Incredible. But this time he’s got a wife and three super-kids to manage.

One of the things that makes the Pixar films so successful is that they’re all so different. Each has its own unique setting and premise that makes each film’s plot that much more enjoyable. Toys, bugs, monsters, fish, superheroes and, coming soon, cars. Each film is an entirely new concept and I think that plays a huge role in ensuring each movie is unique and exciting. Like all the other Pixar films, The Incredibles has terrific animation, an intelligent and witty script and fantastic voice acting. Put all these elements together and you get another ‘incredible’ animated feature.

The Incredibles definitely has a James Bond meets Superman flavour to it. The music alone inspires thoughts of bravado and wit in the face of danger. It’s an uplifting soundtrack that really adds to the experience. And like any good spy or superhero flick, it’s filled with plenty of fast paced action, right off the pages of a comic book or Saturday morning cartoon. The high speed chase with Dash in the third act reminded me of the speeder bike scene from Return of the Jedi. It’s thrilling and a ton of fun.

The 2-disc DVD is presented in an Anamorphic 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Being a computer generated film, The Incredibles looks amazing. The colors are sharp and vibrant with nary a defect to be found. No complaints about the video quality here. The sound is also extremely well done. The film makes good use of the Dolby Digital 5.1 track and it put my whole system through its paces. Whether it was the deep, booming thunder of a 6-story renegade robot or the crisp, jazzy tones of the film’s score, the sound was phenomenal throughout.

A second disc includes a number of special features including a new Pixar animated short, ‘Jack-Jack Attack’. This little bit of bonus material is hilarious and I highly recommend watching it right after you’ve seen the film. Toward the end of the main feature, Elastigirl checks her messages and receives a number of bizarre and panicked calls from the babysitter. ‘Jack-Jack Attack’ sheds more light on the situation and is created to match the main film’s dialogue exactly. It’s brilliantly entertaining. As for the other special features…um…I’ll have to get back to you on that.

Bottom line, if you like Pixar films, you’ll love The Incredibles. It’s a new story, a new setting and a ton of fun. It still amazes me that this franchise can create such terrific movies without reusing any of the same gags or ideas. The newest feature, Cars, is slated to premier this summer. If the past is any indication, this new film should be even better than the rest but with The Incredibles the bar has been set awfully high.

The Incredibles gets 8 ½ capes (out of 10)

** Yes, I finally had to resort to using half-points.**

It’s showtime! Click here for ‘The Incredibles’ trivia.

"This is a whole other game. And it's serious and it's dangerous. And it's not one you want to lose." (Review)

2006-01-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

My friend Vince is somewhat obsessed with the American military, particularly the American intelligence network. Although he’s a proud Canadian, I know he’s a little upset that his chances of being a CIA spook are fairly limited. It made perfect sense, then, that one of his Christmas gifts to me would be a copy of Spy Game, one of the best CIA movies I’ve ever seen.

Robert Redford stars as Nathan Muir, a CIA agent responsible for the recruitment and training of field operative Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt). Stationed first in Europe, then the Middle East, Bishop and Muir conduct a number of covert operations ranging from mole hunts to assassinations. When Bishop goes 'off the reservation’ and attempts to rescue an asset from a Chinese prison, Muir is summoned by his CIA superiors to explain.

What first looks like a basic spy movie, and sounds like one due to the movie’s simple title, is really an in-depth, intriguing look at how spy games really work. The real cat and mouse action takes place within CIA headquarters as Muir attempts to both beguile his superiors and gain more information about Bishop’s location and motives. Robert Redford’s portrayal of the continually surprising Muir is what makes the film so enjoyable to watch. As the audience we are privy to a number of Muir’s trade secrets but he still manages to keep us guessing as the film progresses. It’s easy to see why Vince likes this film so much. It’s an informative and revealing look at how the CIA truly operates. Or rather, how it used to operate during Muir’s ‘old school’ days.

Spy Game combines plenty of fast-paced action and espionage with equal amounts of cunning subterfuge and misdirection. Aside from the film’s tense opening sequence, virtually all of Brad Pitt’s performances take place during flashbacks where his character is explained. These scenes incorporate most of the action while Robert Redford’s wily games take place mainly through dialogue alone. And it’s these clever verbal exchanges that make Spy Game the intelligent and entertaining movie that it is.

The picture itself looks quite good, although a number of the scenes are intended to look grainy and washed out, particularly the European sequences. Colors are crisp and the detail is sharp. I didn’t notice any problems with the video at all and was quite pleased with the 2.35:1 Anamorphic transfer. The DTS 5.1 track is a welcome bonus and I’m happy to say that the sound is fantastic. The surrounds are used quite frequently and help create the right ambience, whether you’re in a Chinese prison or flying over Vietnam in a helicopter. Overall the DVD presentation is very good.

Among the special features are a couple of commentaries, alternate versions, deleted scenes, a script-to-storyboard featurette and behind the scenes information. The most interesting feature is a section which displays the requirements for CIA acceptance. Do you have what it takes to be an operative? Of course, I haven’t actually watched all the special features and I really intend on doing that one day. Maybe I’ll designate one month to be Special Features Month and I’ll watch nothing but special features and blog about them here. Ooh, I bet you’re looking forward to that!
Spy Game is a well-directed film with great acting and a compelling script. If you’re a fan of the spy genre at all then this movie is a must-see. While it may not have the high tech gadgetry of the Bond films or the ultra-classified nature of a Treadstone operative, Spy Game is one of the most realistic depictions of the CIA. Of course, there’s no way to know for sure if Spy Game is completely accurate. We could get the folks down in Langley to tell us, but then they’d have to kill us.

Spy Game gets 8 levels of eyes-only classification (out of 10).

Find a secure line and then click here for ‘Spy Game’ trivia.

"Guys...where are we?"

2006-01-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

I haven’t been watching many movies lately for one reason. Lost. I got the first season on DVD for Christmas (thanks Shauna!) and we decided to start watching it about a week ago. I don’t think I’ve really done anything else since…

I remember hearing all the hype about the show last year and figured it was just like any other new television series. Of all the new shows that come out every year one of them has to be the best and I just figured Lost was it. Nothing more than that. When it became available to buy on DVD, Shauna and I thought it would probably be worth owning, simply because of all the good things we had heard about it. Now, having seen the entire first season, I can see what all the hype was about. I think it is the single best television show I have seen in years. Perhaps ever.

The premise is seemingly simple. The pilot episode opens with a plane crash on a tropical island. The first frantic moments focus on the survivors attempting to make sense of what has happened and help those still stuck in the wreckage. The next frantic moments have the survivors exploring the island, looking for any way to find help. This was pretty much all I knew about the show before I started watching and I honestly thought that was all it was going to be about. Well, it’s not that kind of show. If you’ve seen it, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, come over and watch the first episode and you’ll quickly know what I mean.

This show must be watched. That’s the secret behind its incredible success. Lost has great characters, delivered by great performances, but a lot of other successful shows have that too. Lost has incredible production value, often looking like something you would see in a movie theatre instead of on a television network. But then, shows like CSI, Las Vegas and 24 also have pretty high production costs. In the end, the quality that sets Lost apart is that it must be watched. Not a single episode leaves you without several questions so intriguing that you’ll find yourself watching the next episode right away, if you have the DVD, or going insane waiting a whole week for the next one to air. Lost is rife with mystery, suspense, tension and plenty of ‘what the hell is going on’ moments.

That being said, I really can’t tell you anything more about it. You must watch it. I guess it stands to reason that there are some people out there who don’t like the show, but I’d say it’s a small minority. Chances are you’ll not only enjoy Lost, you’ll find yourself sucked in with the rest of us, unable to eat, sleep or breathe until you watch just five minutes more. And then five minutes more. And so on. And it’s not just the events on the island that will intrigue you. The show makes wonderful use of numerous flashbacks, showing the characters lives and events before the doomed flight of Oceanic 815. This combination keeps you guessing in both directions. Where did the characters come from? Who were they before the crash? What’s going to happen to them next?

There’s just too much going on in Lost to accurately put it into words. And there’s a lot more going on in the show than first meets the eyes. After learning something in Episode 18 you’ll want to go back and watch the first 17 episodes again to pick up on the subtle references contained therein. This is a well thought out, brilliantly written show. The plot is simple and yet more complex than you can possibly imagine.

My only gripe is that Season Two is already underway and I haven’t watched a single episode. I’m going to have to wait for it to come out on DVD sometime in the next year. When it does, I’ll have to book a week off work so I can catch up.

Get Lost.

"We're going to have to re-do every conversation we've ever had." (Review)

2006-01-04T14:49:00.000-07:00

Well, the holidays are over and I’m thrilled to admit that my DVD collection has grown rather significantly. Shauna and I had to go to Ikea (I mean ‘got’ to go to Ikea) to buy new shelves in order to fit the 224 DVDs we now own. That means a lot of movie watching for the start of 2006 and, hopefully, many new reviews coming soon to a blog near you. Stay tuned!

To start off 2006 I thought I would write a review of one of my new DVDs, Mr. & Mrs. Smith. I first saw this film a few days before Christmas when a good friend brought it over (thanks Vince!). I added it to my wishlist and was pleasantly surprised to unwrap it on Christmas morning. I watched it again that day with my wife’s family and one more time a couple days later with another good friend who is a huge Brad Pitt fan (I won't tell anyone, Chris). So, given that I’ve now watched it three times in just under two weeks you can probably figure out what I think of it.

Having never seen the original I can’t comment on any similarities or differences between the two. The 2005 version stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a modern couple whose marriage appears to be on the rocks. We quickly learn that they are actually highly trained assassins working for competing organizations and are completely unaware of the other’s true occupation. That is until they are both hired to kill the same target and learn each other’s deadly secret. And what would any self-respecting assassin do if they discovered their spouse was working for the competition? Why try to kill them, of course.

Ok, so the plot is pretty light. But then the whole movie is pretty light. The great thing is that it works. I know Mr. & Mrs. Smith got some pretty poor reviews and didn’t do so well at the box office, but I think this might be another case of audiences expecting too much. This film isn’t trying to be deep or complex or dramatic or intelligent. It’s trying to be fun and action-packed and witty and relatively simple. And it succeeds.

The dialogue alone is almost worth watching, er, listening to. It’s like Moonlighting, but with fully automatic weapons and rocket launchers. Any fan of Brad Pitt will instantly love the film simply because it includes all his classic mannerisms and witty delivery. You can tell that Brad knows the film is supposed to be fun and he obviously had fun making it (no reference to his real-life relationship with Angelina Jolie here). Combined with great action sequences, an engaging soundtrack and top-notch special effects, Mr. & Mrs. Smith delivers.

The DVD is presented in Anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen video, which is perfect for exciting blockbusters like this one. As a lovely bonus, a DTS 5.1 track is included. The gunfire and explosions will put your home theatre to good work and you won’t be disappointed with the outcome. A movie with this much action deserves to look and sound big. The DVD lives up to the task.

Special features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes and a short making-of featurette. Not surprisingly, I haven’t watched any of them yet but I’ll get back to you on them just as soon as I can.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is fun to watch and ends up being a great ride. I could watch it again tonight and it’s that re-watch-ability that makes it so enjoyable. As long as you’re not expecting an in-depth, dramatic, ultra-realistic depiction of married assassins, you should enjoy the film as much as I did. And if you don’t like it, well, I have 223 other movies you could come watch instead. I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet this year how much I love watching movies with friends.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith gets 8 percussion grenades (out of 10).

Make sure your jacket isn’t ticking and click here for 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' trivia.

"A few days in space. What's the worst that could happen?" (Review)

2005-12-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a blockbuster movie gets poor reviews and doesn’t do very well in the theatres. And sometimes that movie gets poor DVD reviews and doesn’t do well in the rental stores either. And sometimes I decide that the reviews are wrong and the movie might actually be great anyway. And sometimes the movie really is great and I’m happy I chose to watch it. Fantastic Four fits the description of those first three sentences. It does not even come close to bearing any resemblance whatsoever to the fourth sentence.

I guess it was inevitable that another comic book movie would be produced, especially considering the success of Batman Begins, the X-Men series and Spider-man. The difference between those films and the not-so-Fantastic Four is this: those other movies had good characters, great dialogue, interesting storylines and top notch direction. Not-even-close-to-being-Fantastic Four has weak characters, mundane dialogue (if you’ve seen the trailers, you’ve heard all the “good” lines already), a pointless storyline and who the heck is Tim Story? Oh wait, he directed Barbershop and Taxi. Well, I guess that explains that.

Five scientists jump on board an orbiting space station to study the effects of a cosmic storm, only to be bombarded by the intense radiation of the storm itself. In true superhero fashion the radiation fundamentally alters their DNA. Now they have super powers. The leader, Reed Richards, now has the ability to stretch himself to incredible lengths and is dubbed Mr. Fantastic (I guess Mr. Rubber-Arms just didn’t have the same ring to it). Sue Storm, Reed’s estranged girlfriend, can turn herself invisible and create force fields. Cleverly enough she is called The Invisible Girl. Johnny Storm, Sue’s brother, can light himself on fire. Ok, so anyone can do that but Johnny, a.k.a. The Human Torch, can do it without hurting himself and can reach temperatures approaching super nova. His role provides the only comic relief in the film and it’s not much. Ben Grimm is the only member of the foursome to have his appearance changed permanently. With orange rocks for skin and organs, Ben becomes The Thing (are these really the best names Stan Lee could come up with?). The fifth scientist, Victor Von Doom (can you see this one coming?), takes on a metallic appearance and can control electrical fields. Since his last name is Doom he has to be the bad guy and voila, we have Dr. Doom.

Throw all these characters together and you have, well, kind of a big mess actually. I can only assume that the comic book is much better written. The dialogue in the film is campy and corny. I groaned more than laughed through this one. And while the special effects are pretty cool, it’s really just a huge mish-mash of CGI effects. I think this film could have done very well as an animated adventure but perhaps The Incredibles was too much to compete with. As it is, it doesn’t appear that opposite-of-Fantastic Four is trying to compete with anything. It really feels like it’s relying solely on the popularity of the comic book to make it successful. I’m sure die hard fans of the series probably enjoyed the film but for the rest of us movie-goers it’s a waste of time.

Fantastic Four is presented in blah-blah-blah aspect ratio and includes a who-cares audio track. Seriously, this movie is not worth your time. A friend commented that he heard someone describe it as the worst movie ever. I don’t think it’s bad enough to garner that distinction, but it is pretty bad. I didn’t look to see if there were any special features. Like I want to go behind-the-scenes and learn how to make a crappy movie.

Bearing-no-resemblance-to-anything-Fantastic Four is over-hyped, over-done and not over soon enough. Again, if you’re a real comic book fan you might get something out of this. If not, avoid in-no-way-Fantastic Four at all costs.

Fantastic (not!) Four gets 4 Mr. Stars – I can think of uncreative names too – (out of 10).

Fundamentally altered trivia for ‘Fantastic Four’.

"But these go to eleven..."

2005-12-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

A quick description of the rating system I use:

0 to 4 - "The horror...the horror..." These are horrible, awful, terrible movies. I would describe these kinds of movies as 'complete wastes of my time' or 'a sickening offense to my senses and my home theater system'. There haven't been any of these movies reviewed on this site yet and there probably won't be many in the future. There certainly aren't any of these movies in my personal collection.

5 to 6 - These are average-and-below movies. They have some high points but overall they don't have much going for them. There is a slim chance I might own a 5 or 6 movie in my collection, but rarely would this be by my own choosing. Some of these movies are worth seeing once, but mainly they aren't that great and certainly wouldn't be worth repeated viewings.

7 to 8 - These are above average movies. Though they might have some low points here and there, they are generally good movies and are definitely worth a look, depending on your genre preferences. Most of the movies in my collection are 7 or higher and I like to say that if it's a movie I own, then it's a good movie. I'll rewatch movies with a 7 or 8 rating and will recommend them to most people.

9 to 10 - "Impressive. Most impressive." These are the cream of the crop. These movies must be seen and, in my case, must be owned. Fantastic, brilliant, wonderful, delightful, hilarious, thrilling, dramatic, intelligent and sensational - these films are why I love watching movies.

So what's the difference between a 9 and a 10? They are both exceptional, but a 10 rated movie has to be among my favorite movies of all time. It's a short list, but I'm always hoping another 10 will come along. They are rare though. In the end the only major difference between a 9 and a 10 is my personal preference. The 9s are my favorites. The 10s are my absolute favorites. How's that for ambiguity?