20 May 2005, late afternoon
Rushmore is one of my favourite films. If you haven’t seen it before you really should. It was directed by Wes Anderson, who went on to do The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic. Like both those films, Rushmore is a comedy with dramatic elements to it. The humour is quite subtle, though I think this is much more the case in Anderson’s later films. The story is about a young student Max Fischer’s crush on his Teacher Rosemary Cross and friendship with Herman Blume. Jason Schwartzmam, Bill Murry, and Olivia Williams are all excellent in the film. I think Anderson is an amazing director. The visual style of the film is excellent. Owen Wilson and Anderson wrote a great script together. I can’t recommend this film enough. It may well be Anderson’s best film.
Reviews of Rushmore at Rotten Tomatoes
[4] Movies
19 May 2005, terribly early in the morning
Star Wars III was everything I had hoped for and more. I’ll write more in the morning.
Update: I wanted to watch Star Wars III opening night. I didn’t know there were midnight showings till I read it on Ahilan’s site Wednesday (yesterday) morning. I should have known there would be shows that night; this has been the case for all the other films. My friend Howard was the only one willing to watch it so we both headed off to a theatre out in the boonies. (Woodbridge to be exact.) We arrived at the cinema at 10:30 or so. I wasn’t sure if we could get tickets that late; this was Star Wars after all. Thankfully, going out to the middle of nowhere paid off. There was no line up for tickets, and more so, the theatre was basically empty. We had perfect seats for the film.
An hour and a half later, the movie begins. Lucas has really redeemed himself. The plastic, artificial, look of the first few films is gone (in my opinion). The special effects are amazing. It really feels like Lucas pushed his people to the very limits of what can be done on the big screen. The movie opens with a space fight which looks stunning. The light saber fights, the computer animated characters, the sets, basically everything looks great. This is what I had expected in all the other films. I thought the special effects in Star War II were good, but nothing exceptional. This movie really impressed me in this regard. It is very hard in this day and age to really dazzle people with spectacular special effects, since they have become such common place now. However, I think Lucas will succeed in really impressing people with the visuals of this film.
The movie does suffer from some bad dialog at times; though nothing as horrific as what was witnessed in Episode II. Other than this, the plot is pretty good. All the loose ends are neatly tied up. The movies conclusion basically paves the way for the earlier films. As has been said in reviews I’ve read, the film is pretty gruesome at times. The way they explain how Darth Vader ends up the way he is, all mangled and robotic, was awesome. Palpatine taking control of everything is explained well.
So, yeah, it was good. It feels really good to be able to say, “watch this film.”
Reviews of Star Wars III at Rotten Tomatoes.
[17] Movies
18 May 2005, early evening
Last night, after watching Crash and eating Chinese food with Dave, I headed off to Lee’s palace to try and catch British Sea Power in concert. Laura and Heather, two friends of Tyler’s I have successfully annexed (or have they annexed me?) already had tickets to the show, so I thought I’d try my luck getting in. Sometimes I’m lucky. I walked to the door, and the guy in front of me was asking the bouncer how he can return a ticket he had bought online. That was convenient. $15 dollars later I was inside. I found my friends and listened to the opening act play. They were good, though I don’t think the girls were as impressed. British Sea Power were quite good; definitely a band my brother would have liked. They played British pop/rock music. Heather thinks the lead singer sounds a lot like David Bowie, and I would agree. I also think he sounds a bit like Bryan Adams. The show was quite long, and quite good. They made their exit in a somewhat cliche but nevertheless impressive crazy rock-and-roll fashion: climbing on top of speakers, jumping into the crowd, and basically acting like maniacs. Torontoist has put up a few MP3s of the bands music, so you can give them a listen.
[3] Life | Music
18 May 2005, terribly early in the morning
I actually didn’t know what Crash was about before I saw it today. Judging from the trailer, I figured it was some sort of crazy-intense film. (I was right about that.) Crash is about racism. The film presents the subject in all its ugliness. Crash is filled with an array of interesting characters, each effecting one an others lives. I liked the film a lot. It’s easy for a film about racism to be trite, preachy, or melodramatic; Crash was none of these things. The acting was top notch. The film features a stellar cast. You’ll recognize most everyone from other films and television appearances. Even Ludacris did a good job providing some comic-relief in a very serious film. Shima would be happy to know the film also featured an Iranian family. (The mother was played by Marina Sirtis of Star Trek fame.) Crash was really good, and definitely worth watching. (I should note that you get to see Jennifer Esposito from Spin City naked, which was awesome.)
Reviews of Crash at Rotten Tomatoes
[7] Movies
15 May 2005, late at night
The Last Shot is a film about an FBI agent who dupes a director into thinking he’s making a film in order to ensnare some mobsters on racketeering charges. Matthew Broderick plays the director, and Alec Baldwin plays the FBI agent. They both are hilarious. The film is really worth watching. It’s one of those films that probably should have done better than it did. There are so many great moments in the movie. If you are looking for a new good comedy to watch, this should be at the top of your list.
Reviews of The Last Shot at Rotten Tomatoes.
Movies
13 May 2005, evening time
I saw Unleashed (also know as Danny the Dog) by myself at Paramount. I don’t know why I watched it alone, since I know people who want to see it. The film was quite good. Jet Li plays a killer who goes mental when you take off a collar he wears around his neck. He ends up meeting Morgan Freeman’s character, who tries to teach him that he doesn’t have to be a maniac. The fight sequences are pretty intense, really violent stuff. Jet Li is always entertaining to watch, and I think he does a good job playing a precocious maniac. The british gangsters were all wicked-cool. Bob Hoskins does an especially good job playing the lead villain. You should definitely check out the film. The films score, done by Massive Attack, was also awesome.
The official Danny the Dog web site
[4] Movies
12 May 2005, early afternoon
The guy who needed help asking a girl out to the prom ended up asking her out. She said yes. This of course caused a new Ask.Mefi thread on good prom stories. In Canada, proms are called formals.
[8] Interesting Links
10 May 2005, lunch time
I’m in love with the Shoestrings. I can’t stop listening to their CD.
I first heard them when I was in Waterloo for my first year of university. I was living with a fellow called Steve who wanted to go see a fellow called Momus at what would end up being my favourite place in Waterloo, Jane Bond. Momus is a one-eyed synth pop-star song-writer extraordinaire. I enjoyed his performance, but was more in love with the soft-spoken Japanese French starlet Kahimi Karie. I thought her wispy voice and bubbly pop music was excellent. I bought her CD KKKKK as soon as her set was finished. It came with another album, a compilation called Was it Him or His Music. My favourite track on that CD was The theme from Kiss Me Goodnight. The song is sappy, but thoroughly charming.
5 or 6 Years later, Le Grande Magistery re-launched their web site. Le Grande Magistery are the same label Stars put music out on way back when. CDs on the site were on sale for $15 bucks, which included shipping to Canada. I hate paying for shipping. It’s the biggest scam in the world of e-commerce. The free shipping was enough for me to shell out my money for the Shoestrings first CD. I hadn’t heard anything on the CD, and the sample MP3 on the site didn’t work, but I guessed it would be good.
And the CD is good. It opens with a short acoustic song, Rollercoaster, featuring the feminine half of the Shoestrings, Rose, singing a few words. It then jumps into a bouncy pop number Coffee. My favourite track on the CD is Whipped, a canonical pop-song if there ever was one. The music is quite light and accoustic for the most part. The album ends with a more melancholy number 1st Grade Love Affair, which still seems to fit with the spirit of the album.
You can grab a copy of the CD from Le Grand Magistery. I imagine they aren’t going to press another one anytime soon, so you should grab a copy while you can.
When I feel your presence
brush along side my body
I feel, I feel content.
When you whisper in my ear
I hear the oceans in the sea shells
I feel, I feel content.
— Oceans In the Sea Shell by Shoestrings
[1] Music | Life
7 May 2005, terribly early in the morning
I remember when Electra first came out it was 7% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. This rating remains to this day. I would have to agree with the critics, the film just isn’t very good. I remember when the trailer first came out I thought it looked quite promising, like an attempt to do a live-action version of Ninja Scroll. The movies action sequences are alright, but nothing exceptional by todays standards. The story is pretty stupid. Elektra is sent on a mission to kill some people and she ends up trying to protect them from rival assassins. There isn’t much depth to the story whatsoever. If the film focused more on Elektra and her past it could have been more interesting, but they opted to go a different route with the film. That said, if they keep making comic book movies I’ll keep watching them.
The official Elektra web site.
[5] Movies
4 May 2005, lunch time
“Did you see the new Enterprise? It puts the Ho back in Hoshi,” said Dave some time last week.
Ho? Hoshi? I haven’t watched Enterprise in quite some time, but if they managed to slut up Hoshi I thought why not give the show another chance. I could only imagine what they’ve done to T’Pol.
In a Mirror, Darkly (part 1 and part 2 ) is another look at the Star Trek mirror universe. The mirror universe was featured on Deep Space Nine and in the original Star Trek. Basically, it’s like our universe, only everyone is evil. There was no interaction between the real characters from Enterprise and their mirror counterparts in these episodes, so the writers had a lot of freedom with what they could do on the show. Basically, the two episodes don’t effect anything whatsoever in terms of continuity. The plot basically follows enterprise as they track down a ship from our future that has wandered back in time into the mirror universe. Evil Archer wants to use the ship to put down a rebellion being waged against the evil Federation (called the Terran Empire in the mirror universe).
They definitely put the Ho back in Hoshi. She’s looking quite good on the show. T’Pol is as always looking good. That said, It’s a shame they let Enterprise get so bad. I thought the first season was quite good. They shouldn’t need to resort to such blatant attempts at getting ratings through overt sexuality. Though to be fair, the first season did have the decontamination room.
If you haven’t watched Enterprise before, the two parts of In a Mirror, Darkly are probably worth watching since they are independent of the rest of the series.
[10] Television
3 May 2005, the wee hours
Stephen Chow is really coming along as a director. I thought his latest effort, Kung-Fu Hustle, was really good. The film has touches of comedy, but is for the most part an old-school gangster film crossed with an old-school martial-arts film. The movie is a bit light on plot, but it makes up for it with some really good fight sequences. With the state of special effects nowadays, creative people can do some pretty impressive things that just couldn’t be done before with wires alone. The movie itself is put together quite well. I think Chow has a good eye for cinema. I think in the next few years we can expect more good films from him.
The official Kung-Fu Hustle web site
[3] Movies
1 May 2005, early evening
David Mack
Two years ago I went with Dave to a big comic book convention in Toronto. I had started reading Daredevil—I’m not sure why—and wanted to get the rest of the trade paperbacks I was missing. At the convention I got to speak to Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack. I asked David Mack to sign my copy of Wake Up, which he illustrated and Bendis wrote.
While signing, David Mack asked me if I had read any of his other comics. I hadn’t. He promptly went on to explain the details of his Kabuki series. He spoke at length on Kabuki, and how each volume in the series had a unique art style that suited the story. He was quite passionate about it all, so I felt a bit obligated to buy something. I bought Circle of Blood, the first trade paper back in the series.
It was good—really good. (When I’ve read the whole series I’ll definitely sit down and write about it.) Unfortunately, getting the rest of the series proved a little bit difficult. Most comic book shops I visited either didn’t carry it, or were missing books. I decided I would buy the rest of the series next time I saw him.
Dave, Howard and I went to the 2005 Toronto Comicon yesterday afternoon. There were several writers and illustrators we were all fans of at the show, including David Mack. We got there after lunch and started wandering around. This convention was much smaller than the one Dave and I went to two years ago. This may be in part due to the fact this convention wasn’t also part of an Anime and Sci-Fi convention. All the big name artist and writers were at the back of the convention centre, all sitting behind a long row of desks.
There was a huge line-up to see Bendis. He now seems to be writing every single title Marvel puts out. As such, he is a popular fellow. Sitting next to him was David Mack, and thankfully, the line to see him was much shorter.
“I bought Circle of Blood last time I was here, and I thought it was great,” I told him.
“Thanks. I’m glad you liked it,” he replied.
“Can I get the rest of the series?”
He paused for a second, and then said, “Yeah sure.”
We struggled with trying to figure out how much the comics were worth in Canadian money. I handed him a wad of cash, and left with the rest of the Kabuki series and a print of one of the characters he created for the Daredevil series, Echo.
Independents
There were lots of independent artists and writers at the show. Howard was harassing one artist about how he had seen his artwork in a Batman comic before. The artist was quite sure he hadn’t been featured in a Batman comic. He actually knew which artist Howard was thinking about. Howard, nevertheless, bugged him a bit more about how he had seen his work somewhere.
At the last comic convention Dave and I went to, we saw a black dude in a pimp outfit tearing up an original XForce something or another comic. He was ranting about how the industry was lame and generally causing a scene. His name is Mathew Mohammed, and he writes The Black Bastard. The comic, as one might guess, is about a black dude who is a bastard. We saw him again at this convention. I bought the first issue since the dude was from Scarborough. It’s not the most sophisticated of comics, but it has its moments.
Howard and I bought greeting cards from one artist. His cards were all pretty interesting. The one I liked the best was his rendition of Captain America, done up so he looked like a soldier from WWII. He had a Galactus card. I don’t know who you could send that too.
Andy Lee
While Dave lined up to speak to Bendis, I watched Andy Lee paint. He was sitting two spots down from Bendis. He was covered in paint. I can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone paint the way Lee does. Someone would ask him to paint something, and his body wouldn’t stop moving for the next 10 minutes. It was really amazing watching him work. I stood there for a good while watching him paint. I would snap the occasional photograph while he worked; I hope they turn out.
I asked him to paint me a picture of Daredevil. The first thing he did was dip his fingers in the water he used to clean his brushes, and rub that water on the middle of the page. He then got to work with the brushes, moving them here and there in no conceivable pattern. He works so fast. Slowly you start to see what he is seeing, and the image takes on a shape you can understand.
“Do the comics you do also look like this?” I asked. I was so impressed with his work, but I couldn’t imagine a comic book with art work like his.
“Yes,” he replied, “That’s why I don’t get many jobs.”
[1] Comics and Books | Life
30 April 2005, terribly early in the morning
The initial reviews for The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy were not so great—at least this is what I was told; I don’t like to read reviews early. I watched the movie tonight with Dave and some friends, and really enjoyed it. I barely remember the story from the book, which may be a good thing. The movie’s protagonist, Arthur Dent, is saved from the destruction of the earth by his good friend, Ford Prefect. They then wander the galaxy in an attempt to find out what the ultimate question of the universe is. Everyone played their parts superbly. The president of the galaxy was particularly funny. Mos Def plays Ford Prefect, and he is also surprisingly good. The film is definitely worth checking out.
The official The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy web site.
[2] Movies
28 April 2005, late morning
A Perfect Fake was a creepy film to say the least (and the 6th documentary I watched this week). The movie starts of by examining the state of the art in computer animation, and asking questions as to how advances in computer graphics effect our understanding of each other, of beauty, and of art. It then moves on to examine the state of the art in computer animated pornography and virtual women. Oh yes. From there the movie transitions in to the bizarre world of life-like (sex) dolls. We are introduced to some unique characters throughout the film. There is a fellow that has on the order of 40 or so dolls (all of which he has fucked he tells the audience). There is a fellow who takes some amazing (albeit strange) photographs of the 4 dolls he owns, though he doesn’t seem to have a sexual relationship with any of them. I’m not sure if that is better or worse. There are interviews with doll makers, video game makers, and a professors, who all discuss the changing nature of our interaction with the virtual world (and by “our”, I suppose I mean “mens”). The movie was really quite good, though quite graphic at times. The section on computer animated pornography leaves nothing to the imagination.
Information on A Perfect Fake at the HotDocs web site
[3] Movies | Hot Docs 2005
28 April 2005, late morning
Lifelike was the fifth film I watched at the HotDocs film festival, it screened with A Perfect Fake. I had no idea what the film was about, but went because I wanted to see Tyler before he jets off to Seattle. I was pleasantly surprised to find out the film was about the very strange world of taxidermy. The movie looks at the lives of several people; the first set of characters are taxidermists who are preparing for the premiere taxidermy competition in Canada; there is a woman who is having a taxidermist preserve her pet dog; finally there is a fellow who has the largest collection of stuffed animals in Canada. (His collection is very huge; it features: a Giraffe, an Elephant, a Tiger, a Lion, a Rhino, and a slew of other animals.) The movie was quite funny, and surprisingly interesting. It’s definitely one of the better movies I have watched this week.
Information about Lifelike at the HotDocs web site
Movies | Hot Docs 2005
27 April 2005, early afternoon
Little Jesus was the third film I watched at this years HotDocs festival. I should have bought a pass. The movie is a look at how the lives of the filmmaker Andre-Line Beauparlant and her family were effected by the birth (and death) of her brother Sebastien. Her brother is born severely handicapped, which places a heavy strain on her family. Each member deals with this strain differently. It’s interesting to see how each person reacted to the boy; for some he is seen as the very embodiment of God, for others he is a sad figure that evokes their pity and nothing more. I thought her brother was the most interesting person in the film. Sebastien’s life and death seems to have had the biggest effect on him. The movie was quite good. If you are interested at all in religion, it’s pretty interesting at times.
Information about Little Jesus at the HotDocs web site
Movies | Hot Docs 2005
27 April 2005, lunch time
Jason Kottke was all like, “6A is like a black hole for creative people.” And then Mena Trott was all like, “Oh no you didn’t.”
Oh Snap.
(Actually, the discourse is more intelligent than I would have you believe. Jason discusses the recent hype around Internet technology, while Mena discusses a few things, the most interesting being the fact that people are a bit too self-obsessed in the blogosphere, and the nature of her company SixApart.)
Interesting Links | Weblogs
26 April 2005, lunch time
Stroke was the second film I watched as part of the HotDocs festival. The movie was made by Katarina Peters as a sort of diary documenting her life during the aftermath of her young husband’s stroke. The subject matter is very moving, but Peters attempts to inject art-house really detract from the film. At times the movie seems very forced. When she brings the camera back to her husband, the film really picks up. He is what makes the film worth watching. His attitude after the stroke is amazing; he is filled with so much hope and a new love of life. My opinions on the film are mixed. It’s difficult to be critical of a film whose subject is so amazing. The film’s ending was really lovely.
Information about Stroke at the HotDocs web site.
Movies | Hot Docs 2005
26 April 2005, lunch time
HotDocs, Toronto’s documentary film festival has been underway for a few days. I watched two films on Monday, the first being Operation: Dreamland. The movie focuses on the lives of a squad of US soldiers stationed in Fallujah, just before that city went to hell. Shima and Riadh, who I watched the film with, were unimpressed, but I thought it was done well. Though the film-makers were both against the war, the movie itself comes off as quite apolitical. The film’s focus is always on the soldiers themselves, and it doesn’t try to push any political message. The soldiers are an interesting group, some quite bright, others not so much. They surprise you: one soldier, a high-school drop out, argues quite sharply about why they are in Iraq in his opinion (to make money for people like Cheney). There is a lot of cynicism, but at the same time a lot of patriotism. One of the soldiers, very vocal in his criticism of the army, challenges anyone to call him unpatriotic (he is after all getting shot at each and everyday). And I guess that is what it takes to be in the army, a willingness to put aside introspection (at least till you’ve done what is required of you). Gunner Palace is the film about soldiers in Iraq that is getting all the hype at the moment, but I think Operation: Dreamland is well worth a look.
Information about Operation: Dreamland at the HotDocs web site.
[2] Movies | Hot Docs 2005
25 April 2005, the wee hours
Dave, Mezan, Martha and I watched Hotel Rwanda late Saturday night. The film is of course about the Genocide in Rwanda. Don Cheadle plays the manager of a 4-star hotel in Rwanda who works to save the lives of 1200 or so Tutsis who are taking refuge in his hotel. The film was done really well, and deserves all the praise it got. Hotel Rwanda might have been a more life affirming film if there wasn’t another genocide in the making taking place in the Sudan. It’s a little bit sad that in all this time, so little has changed.
Movies
23 April 2005, mid-afternoon
I watched Mamma Mia with Shima last night. The musical takes place at a wedding; the first act is the day before the wedding, the second act is the day of. The story is simple, but funny enough. There aren’t any flashy dance sequences or crazy sets; I don’t think the show needs them. The show is of course written by the two Bs in ABBA. As such, the music is top-notch. It’s interesting to see how they managed to work all the music into the story. I don’t remember the last time I listened to a song by ABBA, but it was really nice to hear so many of them again. I don’t think I appreciate just how strong an emotional attachment I have to the band. I think just like talking smack, loving ABBA is something I picked up from my mother.
[3] Life | Music
20 April 2005, lunch time
Carvill needed to buy some shampoo; I needed some solution for my contacts. We were in the pharmacy inside of the Wal-Mart at the Scarborough Town Centre looking for the items in question. While trying to decide what contact solution to buy, two middle-aged woman approached me; one of the women was Middle-Eastern, the other Indian. They walked past me, and stood a few feet away looking at another shelf of pharmaceutical products. The Indian woman worked at the store, and was helping the Middle-Easter woman find what she was looking for. I started to laugh—quietly, to myself, but laugh nevertheless. I looked over to Mezan, who was busy entertaining himself looking at random stuff on the shelf next to the shelf with all the contact solution; he hadn’t noticed what I had noticed. What was the woman buying? KY-Jelly. And it wasn’t for her, it was for her mother.
[3] Life
18 April 2005, terribly early in the morning
I finally watched Sideways tonight with Dave and Steph. The film was hilarious. The movie begins with two men, Miles and Jack, heading off to the wine region of California to drink wine, play golf, and spend some time together. One of the men is getting married; he wants to do nothing more than sleep around with women and generally act like a hedonist. The characters in the film are all great. Paul Giamatti does a great job playing the neurotic wine-freak Miles. The dialogue in the film is awesome. The story is quite good. This is definitely a movie to check out.
Movies
18 April 2005, terribly early in the morning
Bay St. Video has a very large selection of Criterion DVDs; my friends and I rented one this past weekend, The Vanishing, a Dutch thriller. The movie is about a man whose girlfriend is kidnapped and presumably killed. The man becomes obsessed with trying to find out how and why she was kidnapped. The film also examines in great detail the nature of the kidnapper, what it is that makes him tick. I liked the way the film was shot. The movie has a very slow pace to it, so I don’t think it’s for everyone. I thought the film was alright. My friends all hated it, except for Mezan. (Sometimes he likes films just to be difficult.)
A review of The Vanishing
Movies
14 April 2005, early evening
Mena Trott, of Six Apart fame, runs the blog Not A Dollar Short. This in and of itself doesn’t make her particularly interesting; however, her bizarre childhood certainly does. I enjoyed reading about her dreams of being on Star Search. I have long dreamed of lying to my children about anything and everything I can; her parents had the same idea, telling her she had a brother she didn’t and that she didn’t need a rock tumbler when they were shopping one day since she had a rock tumbler at home. There are some pretty melancholy stories too, which I can’t help but like. Her particularly bleak entry about camp is excellent. So, How do you like them apples?
[2] Interesting Links | Weblogs
