i'm in the process of actualizing my grad school self. expect more words at a late date.

Hot Docs Recap

I got sick during Hot Docs this year so unfortunately I didn't get to see as many movie as I wanted. I bought the late night pin for $10 and saw 4 movies, so i am happy i got my moneys worth. Here's some thoughts on each one.

TalHotBlond

On the whole the topic was interesting, but there needed to be a little more liberties with the editing. It kind of felt like this moderately talented documentarian fell upon a really good story. It does really ring true for those of us who grew up with the advent of the internet though. I remember going into chat rooms when I was 9 and people asking a/s/l, to which i always answered 16/f/california. It seemed totally normal to me at the time, but i guess is kind of disturbing in retrospect.

4/8

Parking Lot Movie

For what was probably a student film this was amazing. Take a boring monotonous job and infuse really interesting characters and you've got an interesting film. Almost everything about it evoked working at Queen Video, all the in-jokes and shenanigans and pranks we pull. Also, the drummer from Yo La Tengo was in it.

7/8

People Vs George Lucas

I saw this on May 4th, and I waited in line. One could say I am kind of a Star Wars nerd, though I don't own any apparel or movies. They are representative of my childhood and my love of movies, though. I liked this doc, it was charming though lets face it the topic has been well charted. After watching it all I wanted to do was go home and watch the original Star Wars.

6/8

We Don't Care About Music Anyway...

This one was basically all Japanese noise rock which would normally be a turn off, but it was so artfully done and so deep (hate to sound cliche). One guy hooks up lights to his chest and they flicker with his heart beat while he is performing in the dark. It is worth it for that scene alone, but the doc had so much more to offer.

7/8

Ghost Writer

Walking into a Roman Polanski film, I was riddled with anticipation. At the same time, I haven't really heard too much buzz around his new film, Ghost Writer. After his arrest, and court drama, I really thought this film would be a big deal but I am glad it wasn't. I think that would have over-hyped it for me. The film was extremely well done, but it's not one of Polanski's best. That being said, the screenplay was ridiculously tight, and the last shot of the film was nothing short of an art piece. Ewan McGreggor manages to be suspenseful and comedic at the same time, which is a feet. Ghost Writer also had Tom Wilkinson in it. I love that guy. During the course of the film I kept thinking about how enjoyable it was as a filmic experience, before I remembered it's a Polanski film. He's made some amazing movies, i shouldn't have been surprised. It was a nice change from the wannabe cinematic drivel I've subjected myself to in the past. Ghost Writer is definitely something to see in theatres if you're even mildly interested in the storyline.

The Runaways

One image stuck in my head after watching The Runaways: Dakota Fanning singing Lady Grinning Soul in hot pants. I'm not going to lie, I felt kind of dirty but that was the point wasn't it. Kristen Stewart was pretty dead on as Joan Jett, she got the mannerisms down and I feel like i can think of her as something other than a replacement Jenna Malone or a tween bore. The sex, the drugs and some of the rock and roll were all there but the girls needed a little more bite. It seemed like the girls were their managers puppets a little too much to buy into the girlpower selling point of the film. I did like how nonchalant the Joan/Cherie hook-up was. It was an all around enjoyable experience. The Runaways is a fun 2 hrs, nothing more, nothing less.

I'm With Streisand: Oscar Commentary

I'm not going to lie, ever since the very first time I laid eyes the Oscars telecast i wondered where all the women were, specifically in the best directors category. By my teens i played with the idea of doing it myself, but after last night's Oscars, history was made. I was routing for Kathryn Bigelow, and when she won I was no less than ecstatic. I identified with Barbara Streisand's teary eyes when she announced that winner and I could not wait to hear what K Bigs had to say. After the speech was done I realized she thanked mostly men and one girl and made no mention of being the first woman. Perhaps I have thought about this moment too long that I had certain expectations. As she left the stage I wondered where feminist film sat. Is it dead now that the Oscars finally awarded a woman? She didn't have to thank women and focus her speech on her gender, many would argue not calling to her gender is more productive. This is a big and exiting win, but I am plagued with the question, to what end?

Also, this years Oscars were so anti-climactic otherwise. The best speech was the woman who won best costume designer. Also, the stars of Twilight seemed so useless at the oscars, their acting is far far from Oscar par and everyone knows it. Don't think we didn't notice the brief twilight clip haphazardly thrown into the Horror montage. We know it's no Horror movie and they threw it in there to pretend you have a use other than drawing a more youthful Oscar following. We weren't fooled. Why did you get to speak but somehow no one gave Lauren Bacall a mic. How embarrassing. Why didn't anyone clap for Eric Rohmer in the In Memorium section? There were lots of why's in this years Oscars. I want the glam back!

Revanche

The Austian film Revanche made a big splash in 2008, and was even nominated for an Academy Award. In 2010 it got the criterion treatment, and usually I dislike it when Criterion releases new films (cough: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) but it really helped the overall image. Most of the allure to Revanche derives itself from the meaning behind what is said. The film explores a succession of events that inevitability intertwine and mulls them over within each character so poignantly. The characters react with such calm the idyllic setting further perpetuates the dissection of meaning that distances itself from typical question of mortality. Revanche is a film so rigorously dedicated to endearingly flawed characters that the seemingly flawless countryside accentuated through the cinematography prove to be that much more captivating.

Shutter Island

Walking into a Scorcese movie is not like walking into any movie. You go in with certain expectations and an idea of the sorts of characters he likes to construct. Shutter Island plays like an idea i've seen done before but with better cinematography. It's like in 3rd grade, when a kid in my class got an A++ for his project on Australia even though he basically printed off everything the online encyclopedia had and it being the early 90's most kids didn't have access to such things. The acting was well done and the writing, though predictable and somewhat muddled, was still entertaining. The strongest aspect of the film was the cinematography. Scorcese definitely took cues from Kubrik, and some of the cranes shots were amazing but somehow it still felt like I was watching a print of a Scorcese film and not the real thing. He went through the motions, but it just didn't compare to his other works. All the same motifs and personas were there, but it all just seemed so tiresome. I did not dislike this film I just wish I could have left the film with more.

Valentine's Day (the movie)

Don't worry I didn't pay to see this movie. Valentine's Day is a film so clearly made by a 75 year-old man, and comes with such a sanitized version of love that Disney looks like Filmore's. I think the last thing I wanted to see was Emma Roberts preaching abstinence or Taylor Swift in general. I did go into the film with very low expectations, but usually there is one charming moment that though I realize is a candy-like craving, makes the 90 minutes seem worth it. What can I say, my filmic preferences have a lot of depth, but sometimes I need Hollywood schlock if even to poke fun at.

I liked Valentine's Day the movie as much as I like Valentine's Day itself, so not at all. Unlike this year when I was pleasantly surprised, I was not at all by this film EXCEPT for the gay football player but that was just too minor of a character to win me over. Come on, they don't even kiss. Wasting time blasting or critisizing a movie like this seems like a moot point, its all-star cast is just smoke and mirrors to draw in the general public despite having an overly cliche...well everything. The over abundance of heteronormativity, while nothing new, was kind of frightening. I mean the film made even heterosexual sex look boring. I can't wait for this shit to catch up with the times.

Frozen

These guys are drinking at a party. One guy says to the other "Man, i thought of such a great movie." The other guy, intrigued, asks what it is about. The guy looks him square in the eye and tells him this: "Okay, so these three people are snowboarding and skiing and whatever and they just have to go on one last run. They beg the chairlift dude to let them on, and he does but he leaves and they get stuck. Here's the thing, the hill won't be open for another week. So they like start freaking out and one guy jumps off the chairlift to try to get help but he breaks his legs. Then like wolves come and totally tear him apart. The other two like freak out but decide to try to wait it out but like they wont make it because its so cold so the other guy tries to escape but he also gets eaten by wolves. Then there's like one chick left who falls off the chairlift, almost gets eaten by wolves but like makes it. The end. How rad is that?" After hearing this story, the guy drunkenly calls his producer friends and then movie magic happens.

A Headless Woman

Sometimes it is refreshing to see a subtle film. A Headless Woman demands a deep performance from the lead actress by basing a feature length film around the effects of a 10 second event. The additional characters accent the experience of said event, but with remarkable and unspoken loyalty. The silent malaise of the main character works to curb any dramatization of the categorically terrible event so as not to distract from the more deep rooted emotions that become more and more evident as the film progresses. A Headless Woman works as an interesting character study over a case study, and should be watched without distraction.

A Single Man

I watched an interview with Tom Ford a month ago where he stated that his filmmaking and his fashion are two separate entities. After watching A Single Man, it was clear to me that he was being a little too ambitious about that statement, which worked wonderfully. Not only was the fashion of the film completely breathtaking, interesting and remarkably diverse, but the cinematography was on point. The sudden outburst of colour at opportune times during the film really called to popular film as an art. Yes, it was a pretty film, but what was even more surprising was the complexity and precision of the plot. A fashionable film is often devoid of a decent storyline, but Colin Firth as a grieving professor was particularly intriguing. He showed great depth, and I understood some of the hype around his performance. A Single Man is essentially Tom Ford's wet dream, but who cares when it works out so well!

James Cameron, racist.

Okay so I am being a little facetious with the title, but was anyone buying it? Not only is it basically the plot line to Dances With Wolves (and I'm sure I am the millionth person to point it out) but it's so blatantly problematic. Apparently coming up with an 'alien race' really meant blending a couple that already exist on earth. Wow, SUCH creativity. Furthermore, the white man saves the day again? And not only that he does it while posing as an Avatar. Sure, they've accepted him into their tribe, but somehow by the end of the film the message is: White man can perform your identity better than you can. It's silly, and I can't believe that in 2010 this kind of shit is still being made, and not only that but POPULAR. Don't even get me started on the ablest problems as well. I just think that there should be more questioning of these portrayals of identity, and more accountability. Avatar, really?!!

Costa-Gavras a Go-Go

I've been too poor to go to the theatre lately, so we'll be throwing it back this rainy and overcast afternoon. Between the Kenneth Anger shorts i've been consuming (and of course requisite episodes of Gossip Girl, Modern Family, and Park & Recreation) I watched two Costa-Gavras films. My co-workers were aruging as to which was better, so i watched both, and concluded that both are amazing in their own ways. Depicting politically charged events without seeming preachy is kind of a feet, but both films are just so remarkably engaging that it's hard to feel they are talking at you.

Z (1969)
Based around the murder of a leftist politician during a crowded and heated situation between the followers of the politician and the protestors against him. I liked that the murder was during the begining yet the film didn't lose any momentum. I remember when I saw the murder, I felt so outraged. I wanted to yell at my TV screen. That alone would prove a successful film, but it is to stylisically advanced that it really deserves it's criterion release. The depiction of the wife's grief was a highlight.

Missing (1982)
Probably more accessible than Z, Missing stars Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek. The story revolves around the "true events" of the dissapearance of American jouralist Charles Horman, and depsite the fact you pretty much know at the begining he is dead, you can't help but wish and hope with the father and wife. I enjoyed how Lemmon's character, a Christian scientist, sat in almost complete ideological opostion to Horman's wife, played by Sissy Spacek. Missing is equally engaging as Z, but some of the scene are overwhelming and heart breaking, the helpless feeling by the end when Horman's coffin slides from the airplane edges it ahead.

Ultimately, if your interested in watching a movie that really envelops you but not in an escapist way, both Z and Missing are good choices. Actually, watch them both.

2012: Don't worry, it looks cool when you're doomed

First and foremost, I should say that 2012 is not ostensibly a "good" film, in fact it's complete schlock, but in the best way. As an avid fan of disaster cinema I couldn't help but pick out all the references to other movies (*cough* Posiedon Adventure) though it doesn't do so in a smart way, but i'm easy. Though more disaster porn than disaster cinema, I couldn't help but share in Woody Harelson's aw at the distruction of our planetin 2012. Throw in lots of non-sensical plot points and a reaffirmation of the nuclear family and you've got a high concept film. Oh, and just so you're sure to fill the theatre, base it around not leaving Joe Shmoe behind in the midst of a recession. Well, actually only one family so don't all come running at once.

Feminist FlashBack: Born In Flames

As part of my independent higher learning, I'm ghost taking a course. By that I mean, I have the syllabus, and I am just going through it myself by watching the films and doing the readings. Most of it 've already done in previous classes but there are a few films I haven't seen, one of them being Born In Flames. From the title song that plays throughout to the seemingly found footage implanted at opportune times, Born In Flames caputres the feeling of a movement in one of the most provocative ways i have seen to date. Since I usually concern myself with as many female filmmakers, women's films, and anything of feminist interest, I figured there was a reason i hadn't seen this yet. Midway through, and after I cleaned up all the drool from being so enamored with it I asked myself WHY haven't I seen this? And furthermore, is that Kathryn Bigelow? The answer is, yes it is, and not seeing this film must be a fluke. Born in Flames put all of the femnist film theory, particularly that of constructing a women's history through it's own filmic means, into perspective. Watch and learn, ladies (and gentleman), watch and learn.

Zombieland

Horror-Comedy tends to be a pretty interesting genre because it seems to be easy to mess it up since you have to turn horrific events into something comical. Zombieland takes a nerdy kid, turns him into a reluctant killer and pairs him with the complete anti-thesis to him. The hilarious rules, mixed with well-placed narration over pretty gorey zombie killings is perfect. I knew i'd like it from the opening credits, and the film upholds throughout, though falling a little too sentimental for my tastes about a 3/4 of the way through. The BEST part for me was Emma Stone in a pretty breakout performance and of course the Bill Murray cameo. Seriously, i laughed until I cried at that part. Add in the "Zombie Kill of The Week" and you realize that the writers had just as much fun writing the film as you did watching it.
4.5/5

Jennifer's Body V.S Sorority Row

First off, clearly Jennifer's Body is the best written/shot etc. of the two. I saw Jennifer's Body and the opening night of Midnight Madness at TIFF, so the experience was prime. However, Sorority Row had the entertainment value of a "bad film", so instead of giving you a few psuedo-funny lines about both, i'd suggest at some point SEE both and take into account the following grading system. What am I saying they'll be some lines, let's face it, i can't NOT.

Jennifer's Body
Eye Candy:A-
I'm not a Megan Fox fan looks wise as most, in fact I found Amanda Seyfried quite cute in it. The grade would have been lower if it wasn't for the fact they make out.
Gore Factor: A
Pretty awesome, though a little cheesy at times.
Witty Lines: A
Diablo Cody wrote it, enough said
Special Add-Ons: Midnight Madness experience with the whole cast, directors and Diablo Cody in attendance.
Overall: A
Tightly written and darkly funny, Jennifer's Body put women in the Horror genre in a smart an interesting way. The Heathers references were ablaze which would probably only irk hardcore Heather fans, but Cody is obviously very schooled in the genre.

Sorority Row
Eye Candy: A
Briana Evigan turns out to be quite the babe by the end.
Gore Factor: C+
Unnecessary stuff, not fun, already overdone .
Witty Lines: B+
Sorority Row is ostensibly a pretty poorly written film, but in the best way. Actually, the Jessica character says pretty tasteless things throughout the film. It was thoroughly entertaining.
Special Add-On: We snuck in some Rum for our coke. It's a group movie thing.
Overall: B-
Okay, it's not the best film, or a good one at all, but its so much FUN to see, and I swear it wasn't just the alcohol. Did i mention Briana Evigan is a babe in it?

Summer Hours

Summer Hours is a film that reminds me why I love modern French films, and I would categorize it as quintessentially French. There's a certain subtlety i really enjoyed, as well as the Renoir-esq setting. At first glance, not too much particularly happens after the death of the matriarch passes on, but the question of what to do with her worldly possessions engrosses each character in their own way. Summer Hours is an interesting character study worth emersing yourself in.

Exracting a decent plot

We went with a couple friends to see Extract, the new Mike Judge film, in hopes of being entertained for a couple hours. Thankfully, all four of us generally were. There were a few laughs, cheap stoner jokes, and the suspicion that either Judge's humour is lacking or i've just outgrown it. I loved B&B growing up, HATED King of The Hill and completely praise Office Space, but Extract is kind of all three in detention. It seemed like he was supplementing gloriously childish humour for a more refined sense of comedy. Unforunately for Judge, there is a reason why not every kid gets an A in the class. Bateman and Wiig who are usually on point, turn into dodgeball dropouts in this mess of a film.

The Inglorious Hills

Okay, so I was lazy with the title.

I've been failing as a video store clerk lately, and haven't been watching too many movies, and by that I mean i've only watched 4 this week. Mostly all my spare time has gone to writing and watching the Hills. At first I thought, what a bunch of rich mindless girls concerning themselves with the most minute things, and I watched it because I wanted to watch something light. It became sort of a guilty pleasure, and i've been watching it (on DVD) until pretty late at night. I think, for me, being in basically the complete opposite position it was kind of like watching people at a zoo, which sounds pretty condescending, but it's because i can't identify with most of it. THEN i sort of realized, they arent as stupid as they initially sound, and sometimes they would say things I would say or use certain phrases etc. This is not to say I identify with the girls of the Hills, it just became more fascinating than revolting. I especially like Whitney. I read she got a degree in Gender Studies, which made me feel less bad about finding her the most interesting character/person. I still don't know where I stand on the show or it's characters, but I do know that it can be fascinating stuff. At hte very least, it has the best establishing shots of any TV show. Seriously, despite all the ipod billboards, they are beautiful.

I spent so much time talking about the Hills, and sort of defending my interest that i haven't talked about seeing Inglorious Basterds.

Everytime I try to hate Quentin Tarantino, he makes a movie like this. I don't dislike him as a director per se, mostly how he is taken up. I do dislike how much he "creatively borrows" from other films. Putting Uma Thurman in the exact same outfit in Kill Bill as Bruce Lee in Game of Death is more than just a nod, considering half-wits now identify it with Uma instead of Bruce. Not quite his fault, but still, pretty lame. Back to the film , I love violence nuanced with nonchalant humour, and Tarantino pulls it off so well. Cinematography wise it was really good, too. He just seems to have a humour about himself through film that I can't help but like. You win again, Quentin, you win again.