Enough to be a Buff

September Recap: TIFF and other film ventures.

2010-10-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

I’m sorry I never got to recapping all the films I saw at TIFF so I’m gonna get to that. Basically this’ll just be a ranking via preference of my favourite films I saw in September plus one that I saw just yesterday.

The Bad

14) Everything Must Go – D+

This has just gotten worse in my mind since I saw it last time, but you can read my paragraph if you want to know my thoughts on the films.

13) Brighton Rock – D+

Just plain too much of everything, too much score, too much acting, too much directing, too poorly done.

The Mediocre

12) Miral – C

My thoughts from earlier have yet to change feel free to read them.

11) The Town – B-

A huge let down yet a good movie. I just expected a lot more considering how much I liked Gone Baby Gone and how enjoyable Boston crime dramas are for me.

10) The Kids are All Right – B-

Just read my previous thoughts they’re pretty much unchanged.

The Good

9) The Conspirator - B

No changed thoughts.

8) Never Let Me Go - B

One of the best acted film’s this year, and a visually dazzling one at that. But at the same time I felt the story was never fully developed, that they just felt like jumping around leaving out so much and just giving us three great characters with very little else.

7) Rabbit Hole – B

My thoughts are the same as they were though I feel my ranking was a bit too high. I’d just like to point out that though I thought Nicole Kidman was great in this I still think the best performance was from Aaron Eckhart.

The Great

6) The Kings Speech – A-

My thoughts aren’t much different though I think I’ve gained a bit more appreciation for the film since I feel I was a bit to harsh on it when I first saw it.

5) Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Elliot Spitzer – A-

A great fun film. Best Documentary I’ve seen so far this year (though that’s only two), and one of the better films I’ve seen in general. A lot more intense a story then you’d expect.

4) Little White Lies – A-

Nothing changes; still think this is one incredible, enjoyable mess of a film.

The Amazing

3) The Social Network – A

No masterpiece but pretty fucking amazing. The whole cast is incredible. Fincher does a great job in translating Sorkins outstanding dialogue filled script to the screen. The truth is though everyone says the brilliance of the film is in Sorkins screenplay, while I read half of it before the film was released I never thought it could be as great as it was with Fincher at the helm and the great cast it got.

2) 127 Hours - A

So incredibly crafted, a story made so differently then you’d ever expect. Brutal and gruesome at times yet beautiful. James Franco is pure brilliance in the role; this is his best performance and probably the best performance of this year. Boyle does something truly amazing with a story of a man in one spot for the whole film. It’s a brilliant film about community that is truly heartbreaking just an amazing film all around.

1) Black Swan – A+

One of the things that bothered me about the Wrestler is that it seemed like at times it cared more about the profession then the story it was telling and while many people loved it I just thought it was okay. The other one was the very grainy cinematography. The thing is about Black Swan is that it has both these things, especially at the beginning, yet as it moves on it becomes something completely different, something so unique, so amazing, so intense that I could not take my eyes off the screen. I was in love with the film from the moment Mila Kunis comes in and turns this whole film into one of the best mind bending dramas I’ve ever seen.

September Awards:

Best Actor: James Franco (alt. Colin Frith and Aaron Eckhart)

Best Actress: Natalie Portman (alt. Carey Mulligan and Annette Bening)

Best Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush (alt. Andrew Garfield (NVLMG) and Andrew Garfield (TSN))

Best Supporting Actress: Mila Kunis (alt. Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest)

Monday and Tuesday TIFF Summary

2010-09-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

Everything Must Go:

This film gets a lot better as it goes along but to be honest in between the fifth minute and around the thirtieth, the film tends to get very boring. Will Ferrell is decent in the roll but he’s not very funny at all and is actually a bit bland and repetitive. The film itself is a mediocre first effort, the storyline has premise but doesn’t go too far with it and at the same time is a bit cliché at times. It’s a huge shame, this film has so much potential, yet fails to even come close to reaching it. C-

Little White Lies:

This film does not deserve the high rating I’m going to give it. Honestly the film is stuffed to the brim with drama, every character has so much going on and the film tries to deal with all of it. This leads to an over long running time that isn’t enough to give every character the amount of time their melodramatic stories deserve. Yet at the same time the film is probably my favourite melodrama, it manages to blend comedy and drama together flawlessly and the film turned out to be my most enjoyable experience at the festival for me thus far. A-

Miral:

The film is a very flawed result of a great filmmaker putting to use his talent and style while working from a poorly written screenplay. At several times in the movie the dialogue still plays as the visuals turn into archive footage, and each time I suddenly felt like I was watching something on the BBC. The storyline is somewhat boring and a lot more uneventful then you’d think, to be honest not much interesting happens. Even the lead actress isn’t that good in the roll. One of the few things this film has for it is that Schnabel for some reason or another chose to direct this odd screenplay. C+

Rabbit Hole:

I often have problems with films based on plays, Doubt was a very uninteresting adaptation and similar to it, Rabbit Hole seems a bit dull and more fit for the stage then the theatre. At the same time JCM does a good job in making this less apparent and the performances are so good they make up for several of the films issues and they keep it interesting at all times. B+

Quick TIFF Weekend Summary

2010-09-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

The Kings Speech:

Being sixteen it’s acceptable for you to think this movie probably wouldn’t have been as enjoyable for me as to an older generation that the film is targeted to. And with this in mind I’ll have to admit that I didn’t get as much out of the film as many are, but I still did really enjoy it. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush both bring their A-game, and when the two are in a scene together the magic happens. Firth is showing a side of him that two years ago I’d never have seen, but he really gets into the character of Bertie, and he really makes me believe he’s the stuttering king, not quite as great as in a Single Man but really it’s very difficult for any actor to reach that level. Director Tom Hooper has a style where he shoves the camera right in the actor’s faces and in doing so helps us see the incredible performances. The film is shot in a bit of dark scrappy way, and there is definitely a lot of dialogue, but it manages to never bore and overall it is a great achievment that will likely end up in several Oscar categories this January including Actor, Supporting Actor, Picture, Director, Screenplay and probably some technical ones as well. B+

The Conspirator:

I have to agree with many other reviews when I say that it really does feel like a History Channel movie. It’s very dialogue heavy after the first few minutes, and it’s shot in a very grim awkwardly lit way. But the thing that really pushes it from being a History Channel film are the great performances and Redfords ability to get us emotionally involved in this incredibly intriguing unknown story. Incredibly at no point in this movie was I bored. I was always interested at what was happening on screen and very curious on how the story would end. Since it seems like a somewhat week year in the supporting categorie I could see Robin Wright or Kevin Kline grab an Oscar nomination, but beyond that I don’t think the film will do any beyond technical nominations for costumes and such, but besides that it’s still an enjoyable movie. B

Non TIFF Film…

The Kids are All Right:

Well scripted and incredibly acted, especially by Annette Bening and Mark Ruffalo who go beyond the material and are likely to be rewarded for it come awards season. The film itself seems to be to dependant on it’s actors doing all the work and seems to forget that anything else is needed. At times leaving it completely to the actors and at other times trying to alter the films mood all together. The screenplay has some clever jokes but not enough to get past the overly melodramatic feel the film reaches at times. But the story is interesting and the actors are good enough to keep you intrigued. Overall a pretty good film that isn’t quite as good as a lot of people seem to believe, but the performances are everything you’ve heard and more. B-

Cramming it all in

2010-09-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

Nest week I’ll be spending a lot of time at the 35^th annual Toronto International Film Festival. Though I tend to have a lot of trouble continuously posting on this site, I’m going to try my best to give a short review of each film I see at TIFF. As well as TIFF I also plan on seeing several other films this upcoming week, including the opening film at the 1^st ever Toronto Independent Film Festival as well as catch with several films I missed this summer at the Bloor cinema and the Revue. So if all goes well by the end of TIFF I’ll have seen ten films at the festival, as well as 3-5 at the Bloor and Revue, and the opening film at the other TIFF.

After I manage to watch The Kids are All Right, Winters Bone and Get Low I’ll post my top five summer films, which so far only has two open spaces. Once that’s done I’ll rank my TIFF films in order of preference, but for now I’ll rank them in order of which I’m most excited to see.

10) Miral: A few days ago this probably would be in the top three of this list, but the buzz just keeps getting worse and worse, and the reviews are pretty awful as well. I’ve been so excited to see the next Schnabel film, but everyone who hates it also seemed to be excited for it as well. I trust him enough to not switch films and just hope for the best, fingers crossed.

9) The Conspirator: I like the story and I have a feeling the Robin Wright will be amazing in this, yet I also have a feeling this may be very boring, and Redford hasn’t exactly made any good films in a while so I’m a bit worried.

8) Brighton Rock: I know almost nothing about this film so all I can do is hope its good.

7) Little White Lies: Same as above, except I know the director and I trust him with this.

6) What’s Wrong With Virginia: Didn’t like Milk that much yet I still trust Lance Black as a director. As well the plot seems interesting so I’m looking forwards to it.

5) Rabbit Hole: Looks a bit too baity… except for the director. Hope he can handle this kind of material and provide a great film with great performances.

4) Everything Must Go: The script is supposedly fantastic and since Stranger then Fiction I’ve begun to trust Will Ferrell in dramatic performances, especially ones with comedic twists.

3) 127 Hours: I was very excited for this and still am, just with reservations. Personally the trailer didn’t do much for me and I’ve heard the goodbye arm scene is extremely graphic… I don’t know if I can handle that.

2) The Kings Speech: a few days ago this and Miral would have switched positions on this list, but now every things changed. Word has come out that this isn’t the boring Oscar hungry trash I was expecting. What a relief

1) Black Swan: Have you seen the trailer?

As you can tell I’m trying to keep low expectations for all these films so incase they suck I wont be that let down. It’s also evident that I didn’t choose a single film coming out before mid November, including several without any distribution what so ever. Besides these films I may also try and buy tickets to one or two more films such as Inside Job, Blue Valentine, Another Year or Three. The films I wan to see most are The Town and It’s Kind of a Funny Story but those will be out sooner then later so I’m not to worried.

Also just to make this post as crammed as possible I’m gonna throw in some pre Toronto Oscar Predictions for the main categories. * Indicates predicted winner.

Best Picture (in order of most likely to be nominated)

The Social Network

The Kings Speech*

The Fighter

True Grit

Inception

Another Year

127 Hours

Toy Story 3

Winters Bone

The Way Back

Director

David Fincher*

Tom Hooper

David O. Russell

Christopher Nolan

Danny Boyle

Lead Actor

Colin Firth*

James Franco

Jeff Bridges

Mark Whalberg

Robert Duvall

Lead Actress

Annette Bening*

Jennifer Lawrence

Lesley Manville

Natalie Portman

Carey Mulligan

Supporting Actor

Christian Bale*

Geoffrey Rush

Sam Rockwell

Mark Ruffalo

Andrew Garfield (Social Network)

Supporting Actress

Helena Bonham Carter*

Mellisa Leo

Dianne Wiest

Barbara Hershey

Mila Kunis

About Time

2010-07-18T15:48:00.000-07:00

This summer has finally presented some worthwhile entertainment, and man is it worthwhile. Only a few weeks ago I was complaining about how awful this years films have been thus far, then suddenly it’s all changed. Only few weeks ago I finally saw a film in theatres that genuinely entertained me, Toy Story 3 is the first film I’ve seen this year that would even get an A- (sorry Shutter Island but after repeated viewings a B+ is all you get). Now this isn’t saying I just hated all the films but more I’ve been seriously slacking, and the raised ticket prices are giving me even more excuses to skip out on films like Greenberg, The Ghost Writer and How to Train Your Dragon, all of which I attempt to catch up on by the end of the month. It’s also quite difficult to get friends to put up the money to join me in the theatre, and only certain films can get them excited enough to tag along, sadly films like The Kids are All Right and Winters Bone are not high on their must see list. Luckily this weekend I was able to finally find a film that both my friends and I would be happy to pay the $17 admission to see (not literally, my friends got me a free ticket since my birthday’s coming up). This film was Inception, and boy was it worth it. I don’t really have anything new to say that a hundred other people haven’t told you, but I can tell you something, it was a definite A+ film for me, and one I can see me rewatching soon and owning when it’s DVD becomes available. It is already my favorite movie of this year, and of the few years before that. If it came out last year it would definitely find a spot on my best of the decade list. Now there isn’t much new I can say but I’m still going to get to some points why I liked the movie so much.

It’s not confusing, it’s complex: It’s not that confusing, though that seems to be the main complaint that several critics have. Sure the first 15 minutes or so will have you confused, but if you have enough patience you’ll be able to understand what’s going on soon enough. If you go into the movie and just try and follow along you’ll be able to understand the plot, honestly it’s really not that hard.

Some characters don’t really have much depth to them, but I don’t really think it’s that necessary. Sure some of Dom’s crew don’t really have much depth to them, but they don’t necessarily require it. The emotional story is more about Dom and His wife as well as with Fischer and his father. All the characters are well acted and are three dimensional enough, an why must they all have their own troubles? How much more depth do people need? If we went in depth on all of these characters and explored their issues, this movie would be at least an hour longer, and trust me at two and half hours it’s long enough.

To me the movie was nearly perfect. The action sequences were amazing, the special effects were outstanding but did not dominate the film, the acting was great all around, and the film was just exceptional. Hopefully this movie season is about to turn around, and we can have some more Toy Story’s and Inception’s instead of Twilight’s and Airbender’s.

Been a While

2010-06-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader(s)

It's been a while since I've checked this blog and I feel like something new should be posted. So there... happy?

Just kidding, but honestly there isn't much to write about. This summer is going on and I honestly can't say much, by last year I had already seen some really good films like Up, the Hurt Locker, Startrek, the Hangover and others. This year the only good films I've seen are Shutter Island, Toy Story 3 and Get Him to the Greek. I'm honestly having trouble convincing myself to go to the theater's, it's that bad. Me, not wanting to watch movies, that's just wrong.

Even the Cannes film festival seemed to have let down all of it's visitors, warning us that not only have Oliver Stone and Woody Allen once again proven that their filmmaking talent is a thing of the past, but that the only films with any promise what so ever seem to be foreign, and knowing myself I'll have to hope they come to TIFF if I'm ever going to see them... if I even want to. Nothing against foreign films but honestly, a film with a talking catfish sex scene doesn't sound like my cup of tea.

Hopefully Inception will come and turn this year around, because honestly I doubt Eclipse or The Last Airbender will do much. The one good thing I can say is that this September looks to be very promising with such films as the Adjustment Bureau, The American, The Town, It's Kind of a Funny Story, as well as whatever TIFF has to offer. As well their are a lot of films that are still without release dates or distributors, if these get picked up and hopefully released before 2011 begins then who knows, the second half of this year may make it possible for me to get over the horrible slate of films that the first half has presented us with.

If Inception is any good you may hear from me before the summer ends, if it's as big a let down as the rest of the year you may have to wait until TIFF for us to talk again.

Love, Kid

P.S. If you'd like to know what I think will come out as the 10 best Picture nominees then here you go:

Another Year*

Inception*

The Kid's Are All Right

Miral

Rabbit Hole

The Social Network

Toy Story 3

Tree of Life* (if it ever comes out)

True Grit*

The Way Back*

* indicates a director nomination as well

Already Focusing on Next Year

2010-02-09T16:23:00.000-08:00

I know this is a stupid idea, and the current oscars haven't even been handed out. But it's fun and it gets me excited since this year winners are already obvious this gives me a chance to make daring guesses and look back on them and laugh come next year.

If I get more then 2 correct in any category come next year, I that will be incredible.

Main films I expect to be in contention this time next year are… Biutiful, Hereafter, Inception, Miral, Rabbit Hole, The Rum Diary, The Conspirator, The Social Network, The Tree of Life, True Grit, The Way Back, Black Swan, The Beaver, Another Year, The Fighter, The Kings Speech, Love and Other Drugs, Fair Game, We Need to Talk About Kevin, The American, Robin Hood, Never Let Me Go, Somewhere, a few we have no Idea about yet and sadly not Shutter Island.

Here’s my predictions plus 2 extra in each categories, they are sorted by what I think their chances of getting in are.

PICTURE:

The Way Back (Winner)

True Grit

The Tree of Life

Rabbit Hole

Inception

Biutiful

The Social Network

Hereafter

Miral

The Rum Diary

Somewhere

The Conspirator

DIRECTOR:

Christopher Nolan (Winner)

Peter Weir

David Fincher

Coen Brothers

John Cameron Mitchell

Alejandro Gonzalez Inniritu

Julian Schanbel

alts: don’t count out Clint Eastwood and Terrence Malick.

ACTOR:

Robert Duvall (Get Low) (Winner)

Brad Pitt (Tree of Life)

Johnny Depp (The Rum Diary)

Leonardo Dicaprio (Inception)

Stephen Dorff (Somewhere)

Javier Bardem (Biutiful)

Jeff Bridges (True Grit)

ACTRESS:

Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole) (Winner)

Carrey Mulligan (Never let me Go)

Hiam Abass (Miral)

Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk about Kevin)

Robin Wright Penn (The Conspirator)

Helen Mirren (The Tempest)

Annette Bening (Mother and Child or Kids are All Right)

SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Ed Harris (The Way Back) (Winner)

Sean Penn (The Tree of Life)

Djimon Hounsou (The Tempest

Mark Ruffalo (The Kids are All Right)

Jim Broadbent (Another Year)

Josh Brolin (True Girt)

James McAvoy (the Conspirator)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Keira Knightly (Never Let Me Go) (Winner)

Saoirse Ronan (The Way Back)

Frida Pinto (Miral)

Elle Fanning (Somewhere)

Amy Adams (The Fighter)

(No Idea after that…)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

True Grit (Winner)

The Way Back

Rabbit Hole

The Social Network

The Rum Diary

It’s Kind of a Funny Story

The American

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

The Tree of Life (Winner)

Inception

Biutiful

Here After

Another Year

The Beaver

Black Swan

AVATAR's Source Material

2010-01-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

I think you guys should check this out but ONLY if you have seen AVATAR. It's a funny little comparison but contains a lot of spoilers.

Enjoy

http://web.me.com/pascalboogaert/Site/foto3.html

Not quite a "Best of the Decade" list Part 2 - Top 15

2010-01-02T21:38:00.000-08:00

The 15 films here are all so good in my books that at any day of the week I could of easily reversed the order and still be happy with the result. On my list the top four films were all at one point number one during the construction of this list. As I stated earlier, every film on this list is here based on my own personal experience and enjoyment I had during each time I view these films.

Also if you are curious about the lack of foreign film's on this list I'd suggest you look at the post before this which explains why none are included as well as many other warnings for reading this list.

The 5 that almost made the Top 10

15: Where the Wild Things Are

dir: Spike Jones

It's a much darker version then many expected and it is in no way a children's movie. One of the most haunting and realistic tales of childhood created in film. Max is in no ways a nice child and Spike Jones shows that, by making all of the wild things their own distinct characters with there own faults and attributes Jones makes them relatable and allows the viewer to emotionally connect with them. Spike Jones's film is a perfect mix of style and substance and is one of the finest from this past decade. Will it stay this high after repeat viewings? All I can do is hope so.

14: Gladiator

dir: Ridley Scott

Gladiator is not just an epic film, but an artistic one at the same time. Ridley Scott crafted with Gladiator, not just a regular summer blockbuster but a film that properly combines artistic style, epic action and great storytelling. The action sequences are brilliantly crafted, and Russel Crowe gives a great heartbreaking performance. Besides Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix gives a horrifying performance that reminds us of how talented he once was and how he should give up on this joke he's pulling and return to real acting.

13: Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

dir: Andrew Dominik

Assassination is a poetic film, brilliantly crafted like a Terence Malick feature. The film perfectly portrays the final years of the Mid-West and provides great performances and beautiful photography. The brilliance in this film is that while you expect it to end with the obvious forthcoming assassination, instead the film just gets better, getting deeper and deeper into the characters.

12: Revolutionary Road

dir: Sam Mendes

The most brilliant portrait of a crumbling relationship since Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet both give career best performances and Sam Mendes manages to explore deeply into the characters, understanding their dreams and aspirations as well as allowing us to understand why they feel trapped in their own lifestyle.

11: Letters from Iwo Jima
dir: Clint Eastwood
I don't really know whether I'm allowed to include this on my list since it's not in the English language but it is an american production. This film is not just a war story, but it is a character study, a horror movie and a horrific yet brilliant depiction of one of the most brutal slaughters in history. Just for the scene when all the men are informed they must commit suicide, the look in their eyes and the undeniable fear they are experiencing. These men are all aware that their chances of survival are slim to none. Eastwood deals with the subject subtly and beautifully.

The Final 10

10: Brokeback Mountain
dir: Ang Lee
Heath Ledger gives two of the best performances of the decade as the Joker in the Dark Knight and as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback. Ang Lee crafts one of the finest films I've ever seen, one both beautiful and haunting. The dilemmas these characters face is heartbreaking and the love story in the centre is the most beautiful homosexual romance ever captured on film.

9: 25th Hour

dir: Spike Lee

This is possibly Spike Lee's best film since Do the Right Thing. Edward Norton is brilliant in this film, as are the rest of this incredible cast. This film uses the post 9/11 New York atmosphere brilliantly referring to the attacks but never over doing it. Spike Lee crafts one of the best monologues in recent films as well a brilliant ending that doesn't exactly tell you how this film really ends, I would actually go as far as calling this the best ending in a film this decade.

8: Pixar Films (If I have to choose then UP)

dir: too many to name

This includes (in order of preference from worst to best) The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., Ratatouille, Wall-E, Finding Nemo and Up (Cars is there only film not good enough to make this list.) Every one of these films are great on their own, with their own great message, though I find they all kind of follow the same general structure. My favourite of these films is Up because I believe it is their most mature one yet, and even just the first fifteen minutes deserve it a spot on this list (the rest of the movie doesn't hurt). Up is such a great movie because I believe it is the most emotional animation film yet, and the only one to bring me to tears.

7: Requiem for a Dream

dir: Darren Aronofsky

Aronofsky's masterpiece is a perfect mixture of style and substance with superb performances from the whole cast, including one of the decades finest female performances from Ellen Burstyn. Requiem is one of the hardest films to sit through and has the most painful endings of the decade. The intervening story lines work perfectly together, the score fits the filmperfectly and the message against drugs and addiction is both affecting and horrifying.

6: Mystic River

dir: Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood is the only director with two films on this list and that doesn't suit me to well, especially since his last two films were terrible in my mind. I find that Mystic River works so well not solely based upon his direction but more because of the brilliant story and the oscar worthy performances from Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon, as well as the rest of the talented cast. Mystic River is likely the greatest classic mystery style movie from this past decade and by all likelihood it will, along with Tim Robbins haunting performance, stick with me for many years to come.

5: I'm not There

dir: Todd Haynes

I'm not There is both a bio pic on Bob Dylan and the farthest thing from one. It's saying that Dylan's life can't be told as one person but instead as a mixture of personalities that all describe a part of himself or a period in his life. The whole cast is extraordinary, especially Cate Blanchett and the soundtrack is brilliant. Todd Haynes focuses on style over substance but in result provides a masterwork of storytelling and one of the best most original bio pics ever made.

4: Minority Report

dir: Steven Spielberg

I remember first seeing Minority Report when I was just eight years old and being utterly confused by the storyline and everything that was going on. Just at the beginning of last month I decided I might as well give the film a second chance, and after renting the film the next day I went to HMV and bought it, within those next two weeks I saw the film another three times and enjoyed it more and more each viewing. The film poses a strong philosophical question as well as has some top class acting from both Tom Cruise and Samantha Morten. The film is an intense drama, an involving character study and a heart pounding action film.

3: The Departed

dir: Martin Scorsese

I've called this film one of my favourite's of all time for so long that it even surprises me that it didn't top this list. I may have earlier claimed that Revolutionary Road was DiCaprio's career best performance but to be honest it's actually a tie with the Departed, in which DiCaprio get's so deep into his troubled character. It's funny how both these performances were snubbed by the Academy Awards, at least The Aviator and Who's Eating Gilbert Grape got him nominations since they're almost as great. I think the Departed mean's so much to me since it was the winner of the first Oscar's I actually started paying attention to and was the first film that year that I actually fell in love with, when it won the Oscar I couldn't of been happier.

2: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

dir: Michel Gondry

I can watch this film a million times and be affected the same way each time. In my opinion this is the best film about a relationship I've ever seen. it is touching, comedic, romantic, depressing, heartfelt, beautiful and many more things as well. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet give outstanding performances as three dimensional characters with their own distinct personalities. Charlie Kaufman's script is layered and original and Michel Gondry directs this film like a piece of art.

1: Children of Men

dir: Alfonso Cuaron

This film nearly missed this list completely and oddly enough it is the only film in my top four I don't own. It was only yesterday when I convinced my self to re-watch this film. I remembered a few years ago seeing this film and enjoying it quite a bit, but only recently did I realize how brilliant it is, when my friend kept convincing me to re-watch it based on how much he loved it, I took his advice and obviously I was pleasantly surprised. The film is pure brilliance, it is a believable vision of what the world might actually look like if everyone was infertile. It is depressing beyond belief but at the same time leaves us with hope. A film so well made, strong and affecting, based solely on it's affect on myself I find it incredibly difficult to put it any lower then number 1.

That's my personal opinion on the matter, whether you agree or disagree thats your own opinion and if you care to share I'd love to hear it.

Not quite a "Best of the Decade" list Part 1 - The Set Up

2010-01-02T16:36:00.000-08:00

This isn't a list of the best films of the decade. First off I feel as if I have no right to declare anything the best of the decade. Instead, I feel I can only go as far as calling something a personal favorite. Also I feel this would be an unfair title because based on my viewing experiences I don't believe I can fairly judge the whole decade in film.

One of my limitations in creating this list is that I only started viewing films, big time in the past two years. It would seam than that most my choices would have been of films released in those years, but that isn't the case. Instead my favorite films tend to be either ones that my parents showed me before I was a film nut, or ones that have been recommended to me since I started focusing more towards artistic and non blockbuster filmmaking.

As well, as a sixteen years old Canadian, I've seen a little number of foreign and documentary films and therefore I find it unfair to include any on this list. This is not saying that I haven't seen any foreign films that are good enough to make my list. For example, a film like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly would most likely come near the top of this list.

So it seems as if a more fair title for this list would be something along the lines of "my top ten favourite American/ British narrative film's I've seen from the last decade," but that seems a bit long and unnecessary, doesn't it?

As a final notice before I state my favorite films, I'd like to inform you that as soon as I view any films that I believe should of been on this list, I will do my best to post my beliefs and notify you of them as soon as I can.

Here's a list of a bunch of my favourite films that just missed this list.

A Beautiful Mind (just because of the first time I saw it and the effect it had on me)
Almost Famous
Anchor Man
Catch Me if You Can
Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Far From Heaven
Gangs of New York
Garden State
Gone Baby Gone
Hustle and Flow
In Bruges
Juno/ Up in the Air (Jason Reitman is a director to watch for)
King Kong (you may think it's too long, I like every moment of it just how it is)
Knocked Up
Little Children/ In the Bedroom (Todd Field is a director to keep an eye on)
Lord of the Rings franchise
Lost in Translation
Mulholland Dr.
No Country for Old Men
O' Brother Where art Thou?
Precious
Shaun of the Dead
Slumdog Millionaire
Super Bad
The 40 Year Old Virgin
The Aviator
The Constant Gardener (I always preferred it to City of God for several reasons)
The Hours
The new Batman franchise
Training Day
Walk the Line
Zoolander

For my Top 15 films tune in Tomorrow

What ruins Holmes?

2009-12-30T13:17:00.000-08:00

I liked Sherlock Holmes, I really did. Downey Jr. was great as the detective and his chemistry with Jude Law, who plays Dr. Watson is beyond entertaining. But in the end I could only manage to give the film a C+ in my mind. And that got me thinking, why?

It definitely wasn't the acting, as I already mentioned Downey Jr. and Law are terrific together and every scene they share together are some of the best parts of the movie. It seems as if Downey is attempting to create a sort of Johnny Depp/ Jack Sparrow character with Holmes, and to my surprise he managed to do so very well. It isn't as great as Jack Sparrow but it sure is enjoyable.

So if it's not the acting that hurts Sherlock Holmes then could it be the writing? Well it's definitely a part of it. The dialogue between characters is great, but when Holmes is describing how he solved his mysteries he often gets way to scientific for the audience to keep interested.

Is it the plot? Maybe partly, as it turns out it's more interesting when Holmes and Watson have there bromance drama then when they're trying to solve a mystery. The demonic thing is kinda interesting and is a lot darker then you would expect from a christmas blockbuster, but the evil characters are not fully developed and some of the bad characters cause more laughter then fear. Most of the action scenes are pretty boring and nobody ever seems to have a gun when they need one, plus shouldn't sherlock have figured most of it out once they found the Ginger Midget?

I think the main thing that ruins this film is the direction by Guy Ritchie who for some reason thinks it's necessary to explain what's about to happen right before it does as well as go randomly into slow motion so you can watch run back and forwards into bombs (it looks even worse then it sounds). Ritchie nearly ruins this film by over directing it on several occasions. He creates a nice atmosphere but fails to bring anything else to the film, leaving Downey Jr. and Law to clean up his mess for him.

And on a parting note. I have to ask did anyone know who Moriarty was?

A mini rant on the Blind Side

2009-12-30T12:17:00.000-08:00

This morning after waking up I decided to watch the film that was getting all this best actress buzz and was sure to cross $200 million. This also happened to be the film with the worst trailer I've seen a long time, one so typical, so schmaltzy that it made me angry just to think of it getting any oscar attention. After finally seeing it I'm glad to say it was better then the trailer... but thats not much to brag about.

The Blind Side is such a by the books kind of film, the characters are boring, the dialogue is terrible and there are never any consequences. The family barely ever doubt there actions, even after the main character gets in a car accident with their young son all they do is support him and then never bring it up again. The film tries to be overly sentimental but there is not one moment that makes you come close to tearing up. In an attempt to make you better understand Michael the director keeps taking us to flashbacks of his past but none of it is ever dealt with or fully explored, leaving me even more confused.

The football is boring and his rapid improvement makes no sense, like one conversation will make him into a better player. To top it all off Jae Head and Quinton Aaron both give Razzie worthy performances, just watch as Michael cries out I'm sorry and try to take him seriously. On the bright side (yes you heard me there actually is a bright side), Sandra Bullock gives one of the finest performances of her career which is often hard to find behind that terrible dialogue and unfunny humor. Saying the best of her career isn't saying that much for Sandra Bullock though, and though I won't be screaming with anger when she gets her oscar nomination, I will still be upset. I'm not going to give this movie an F because I've seen a lot worse and there were definitely parts where I wasn't hating every moment so I'll be generous and give it a D/D+

What have I seen recently?

2009-12-19T15:35:00.001-08:00

Since I've been away for a while I thought I would give you a short recap of what films I've seen recently.

In Theatres:

The Invention of Lying: Not a great a movie at all, though there are some laugh inducing parts and the relation with religion was clever. All in all the clever story line is wasted by badly written dialogue and several wasted cameo's. C

A Serious Man: A well acted, incredibly written and flat out hilarious film. The Coen brothers created one of their funniest films that should definitely show up at this years Oscar race. If your a jew or a fan of the Coen brothers you should really enjoy this film, If you're both like me there's a good chance you'll love it. A-/B+

An Education: This is a great f

ilm. The acting is amazing, both Carey Mulligan and Alfred Molina are oscar worthy and Rosamund Pike and Peter Sarsgaard deserve nominations. The second half of the film isn't nearly as good as the first but all in all it's still an amazing film. A-/B+

The Men who Stare at Goats: This film is okay, it has a great last third but the first two thirds are boring at times and just plain weird at others. The cast is great but modern day parts are annoying and the parts in the past are funny but just not enough to make up for the rest of this lacklustre effort. C+

Precious: I don't understand the backlash towards this film, It's one of the most powerful and hard to watch film's I've seen in a long time. The acting performances from Gabby Sidibe and Monique are some of the best performances of the year. I believe that the film goes over the top a lot and never gives you a break from the drama. A-

The Road: After Precious I saw this film, and trust me it was

one of the most depressing afternoons I've ever had. This film is bleaker then imaginable yet at the same time feels as if your witnessing a very possible unliveable near future. Viggo Mortensen is amazing in this film and Robert Duvall has a great cameo in this film. B+/B

Up in the Air: Well acted, funny at times, depressing at others, great

characters, beyond great film. Jason Reitman has crafted one of the finest scripts I've seen in a long time and put together one of the best films of the year. George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick all give amazing performances and should all get nominated this February. This film refuses to end as expected and provides both great comedy and drama. A-

Invictus: Morgan Freeman is incredible as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon does what he can with the little he's given but besides some good one liners and some enjoyable rugby games the film is pretty boring and overly cheesy. Clint Eastwood overdoes the slow motion in the final rugby match and so much attention is put towards the security that when it leads you nowhere it seem's like he's wasted your time. One of Clint's weakest efforts. C

Broken Embraces: Not one of Almodovar's best efforts, but whenever Penelope Cruz is on the screen the film works wonderfully but whenever we're in the present with only her pictures to remind us of her the film crumbles. B-

Been a while

2009-12-19T15:10:00.000-08:00

I haven't been using this site at all in the last few month's and as the year is about to end I feel like I want to start using it again. I'm going to set some goals and I'm going to meet them. The first post will be my most looking forward to in 2010 list which should come up a few days after new years, while my best and worst of the year will have to wait until I see Where the Wild Things Are on the 29th or 30th, Avatar and a Single Man this week, Nine and Sherlock Holmes near the end of the year and the Lovely Bones on the weekend on the 15th as well as several other films. This goes with best of the decade list as well. After that I will put out a list of what I think should be nominated for and win the main Oscar categories as well as some made up categories if they were up to me. Until then I bid you a due.

TIFF

2009-09-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

From the original list I posted about films I would be seeing at TIFF I have had some cancelations and some additions to the lineup. First off I was upset to hear that it wasn't possible for me to get tickets to films an Education, Micmacs and Broken Embrace due to scheduling issues. On the plus side I did manage tickets to Triage staring Colin Farrell, Defendor staring Woody Harrelson and A Serious Man, the Coen brothers latest. So far I have seen 11 films at the festival and I'm planing to attend leaves of Grass tomorrow and the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus on saturday as well as the Cadillac peoples choice award winner. After seeing all films I will rundown all the ones I have seen from worst to best (should be three days work). I'm not going to write any reviews or grades before this in order to keep the surprise factor intact.

What will September have to offer?

2009-08-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

TIFF.

I should be seeing any where from 10-15 films at this years Toronto International Film Festival, so expect a lot of news from tiff. Films I may see are.

The Informant

The Men who Stare at Goats

Precious

The Road

Ondine

Leaves of Grass

Baaria

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Micmacs a tire Larigot

Up in the Air

Broken Embraces

An Education

A Prophet

I'm also hoping to get tickets to a Serious Man (very unlikely), Triage (don't count on it) and several other titles that shall be at the fest this year.

A Summer of Blockbusters

2009-08-27T21:39:00.000-07:00

*This is an unedited post

In the last few years I have become a huge fan of the cinema and have set out to see all of the Oscar candidates come Oscar night. Therefore I try to see as many films through out the year as I can, yet I have several setbacks keeping me from being a true cinema geek. Being a 16 year old high school student is quiet an issue as I'm unable to see a lot of films during the school year and being the kind of student I am I can't take myself to a movie alone, and trust me it's quiet hard trying to convince my friends to see an unknown indie, a foreign language film or a biopic about someone they never even knew existed. Plus I'm not a critic and I don't get any free screenings so I'm only able to see a select amount of films throughout the year. With this in mind understand that I haven't been able to see a lot of films this summer but since it is reaching it's end and I am just beginning I thought I'd give my much appreciated yet nonexistent readers a little look at my taste in movies by showing them my five favourite movies of the summer that was.

5. Star Trek

Walking into this film I knew nothing about the Star Trek saga, having not seen a single Star Trek film previous to this one and having never seen an episode of any of the series. Coming in with no Star Trek knowledge was not a problem though as the film explained itself thoroughly leaving nothing unanswered. The film was not just a blockbuster, though it had action that kept you on the edge of your seat it also had a lot of strong characters with added tension between the films two leads, a romance and comic relief there wasn't a boring moment throughout the film. B+

4. Public Enemies

This film is a great character piece that works so well because of it's great direction and incredible performances all around. As the films lead Johnny Depp is incredible as John Dillinger fully understanding his emotions and allowing the audience to do the same. Just like Depp, Marion Cotillard also completely embraces her roll as do the rest of the cast. Michael Mann directs this film incredibly allowing the film to flow through naturally, sparing no details getting the audience to understand the characters and feel for them emotionally. The films largest fault is the camerawork which sometimes is so shaky and out of focus you can't focus on what is actually going on in the film. A-

3. The Hurt Locker

Possibly the most intense movie of the summer. The Hurt Locker is a well acted, character driven, action packed war story that allows the viewers to understand the characters motives and what goes through their minds. A fast paced never boring film that ignores the politics behind war and instead focuses on the soldiers who do the real work. The film is not just an action film, it's a dramatic look at the psychology of war and it's heros. A definite oscar contender and a more then just entertaining watch. A-

2. Inglourious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino's best film since Pulp Fiction is a great mixture of comedy, drama, action and strong dialogue done in the incredible way that only Tarantino can do. The films stars are all quiet good but all are overshadowed by the incredible Christopher Waltz who will give chills to every audience member in the theatre every time he goes on screen, delivering each of his lines perfectly from the first scene to weeks after viewing it's impossible to forget Waltz's pitch perfect performance. The Basterds are not the lead characters in the film but they do provide great comic relief, especially from Brad Pitt who is hilarious particularly while speaking Italian. This is a film to see over and over again, one I will no doubt purchase on DVD. A

1. Up

The best Pixar film since Finding Nemo, Up is the most stunning scenery wise film Pixar has ever created with some of the funniest characters and most touching first 15 minutes ever shown in an animated film. Up is probably the funniest, most heartfelt and deep animated film I have ever seen. With memorable characters and all around perfect craftsmanship Up is one of Pixar's grandest gems. A+