These are my links for February 23rd through February 24th:
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Tags: architecture, brightness, computer, documentation, exceptions, free, java, LCD, Movies, photos, piracy, Politics, relationship, sad, screen
These are my links for February 3rd from 11:05 to 16:36:
- How to Make an Entire Sea Disappear –
- 1960s-Style Covers for Movie Novelizations — The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century –
- Bob Rae: Goodbye ‘Rae Days.’ Hello ‘Harper Holidays’ –
- Downloads: BatteryBar Adds a Power Meter to the Taskbar –
- Map of Popular Super Bowl Words Used on Twitter – Interactive Graphic – NYTimes.com –
Tags: aral, battery, Books, canada, climate, Economy, football, interactive, laptop, Movies, Politics, sea, superbowl, tools, twitter, water, windows
Marcy and I went to see Death of a President yesterday. It won one of the awards at the Toronto International Film Festival last month. It has generated quite a bit of controversy as a couple of the movie theatre chains in the United States have refused to screen the film.
After seeing the film though, it’s hard to understand why they would have those major objections. It’s not really as controversial as you might expect. If anything it’s fairly neutral to the policies of Bush and it’s actually more harsh on the media and protesters than anyone else. It felt to me like I was watching a documentary about the Kennedy assassination. I’m not going to give any of the plot away but there were quite a few parallels in this film to what Lee Harvey Oswald went through before getting gunned down. The atmosphere was also quite similar.
I’d recommend the film because it’s a pretty interesting piece of film work but don’t go in expecting it be an anti-Bush/war/oil/terrorism propaganda movie because it’s not. It presents a more simple plot and asks you to think about what kind of questions would you ask and what would you do if you were in a position of power and had to deal with the assassination of a president.
Tags: bush, death-of-a-president, jfk, kennedy, lee-harvey-oswald, Movies, tiff, toronto-international-film-festival
I think I mentioned somewhere before that they’re making a movie version of Fast Food Nation, the book written by Eric Schlosser. Perhaps not. In any case it’s a fantastic book that I read a couple of years ago. The movie version is directed by Richard Linklater and comes out this October (the 6th to be precise). I just watched the trailer for the film and it looks pretty interesting. I would have never thought that the book could be made into a movie and particularly not a fictional one but from the trailer it looks like they may have pulled it off. We’ll see for sure once October rolls around and it’ll be interesting to see what the fast food companies do in terms of a reaction to the film because it’s pretty damning of their practices and offerings. They won’t be getting much positive praise in the media come October that’s for sure.
During my university days fast food made up an unhealthy amount of our diet. However since graduation and particularly after getting married the amount of fast food that I eat is down near the zero range. That’s definitely thanks to Marcy; she keeps me alive in more ways than one and if I didn’t have her I’m sure my diet would consist of little “good” food. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t eat healthily but I’m more healthy because Marcy is with me. I can thank my stars for that.
The link to the trailer comes courtesy of the fantastic The Movie Blog. I started reading John’s site a few months back and it brings me my movie-related news each and everyday. It rarely disappoints.
Tags: eric-schlosser, fast-food-nation, Food, greg-kinnear, Movies, richard-linklater
Someone edited the films Back to the Future Part I and Part II to show the common scenes from both films side-by-side. It’s quite extraordinary [via].
Tags: 1955, back-to-the-future, enchantment-under-the-sea, films, hill-valley, Movies, video
We went to see You, Me and Dupree last night. It was ok; there were some funny parts in the movie but in quite a few of the scenes I felt like I was left waiting for the purpose of the scene to be revealed. I guess I was just expecting it to be funnier and not so awkward in some parts.
Tags: kate-hudson, matt-dillon, Movies, mr-cranky, owen-wilson, reviews, you-me-and-dupree
Marcy and I went to see Friends with Money today. It seems that Darren Barefoot saw it recently too. It was a rather excellent film; I really liked the pace and how the different storylines intertwined. I also liked how each couple saw the other couples (and Olivia) differently but in the end they all have their issues despite how happy any one of the couples may appear on the outside.
An odd thing happened though when we purchased our tickets. The film was playing at the Kennedy Commons AMC which has a pretty fine selection of movies in my opinion. We bought our tickets and the other man who was trying to decide what to see in the lobby asked us if it was a good film or if it was a “chick flick”. I didn’t really know what to say; we hadn’t seen the film but since we had just purchased tickets we obviously had some interest in seeing it. Marcy responded that it was supposed to be a very smart film which was true. He ended up buying a ticket to the same show and we wondered what he thought of the movie but we didn’t wonder enough to ask him. If he’s willing to risk listening to a couple of people at the theatre that he doesn’t know then so be it.
Tags: amc, friends-with-money, kennedy-commons, Marriage, Movies
This listing of ways of how to spot a bad summer movie rings quite true. I especially like #10:
10. Its main…rave…review has a…lot of…dots…in it.
You often see that and you just know that the movie ad is taking the review completely out of context.
Tags: guides, Movies, reviews, rules, summer-movies
Fox has confirmed that there will be a fourth X-Men movie with more to come after that. I guess seeing as the current one did so well at the box office despite being mediocre in my mind means that they’ve realized that they have a license to print money with the franchise.
It’s interesting how you find the cast of Grey’s Anatomy spread across so many other shows and movies. We were just watching You’ve Got Mail and discovered that George’s girlfriend on the show, Dr. Torres, was the cashier at the grocery store in the Thanksgiving scene. Ellen Pompeo has been in Friends and Old School among other things. Sandra Oh and Kate Walsh were both in Under the Tuscan Sun as a couple believe it or not. Also Sandra Oh had a big part in Sideways which I think is where her career really started to take off. Before the television show though you wouldn’t have thought twice about the people seen on the screen but once you’ve seen them all together you start noticing their past roles. The same thing happened for me after The Lord of the Rings came out; you’d see all of the old Viggo Mortensen roles on tv; of course the networks weren’t stupid and saw it as a chance to show these movies they’d bought the rights to but otherwise wouldn’t be able to get people to watch.
This is my observation for the day.
Tags: ellen-pompeo, grey's-anatomy, kate-walsh, Movies, sandra-oh, Television, the-lord-of-the-rings, under-the-tuscan-sun, viggo-mortensen
I’ve vowed never to see another Eddie Griffin movie ever again. It’s not like I’ve seen many of his movies but after seeing this one on Sunday night I think I can safely say that he is dead to me. I’ll defer to Mr. Cranky’s review:
[E]very joke under the sun comes at the audience and almost none of them stick to the wall. All one really needs to do is a microanalysis of Grant’s last name: Funkerdoder. Is it really that much funnier than “Focker”? The answer is no, but it’s precisely the type of joke this movie pummels moviegoers with until they’re beaten into a kind of obliviousness. The jokes aren’t funny. The tone never changes. “Date Movie” is like an air raid siren of bad comedy, a film best described as “deafeningly unfunny.”
There isn’t much more that I can add to that.
Tags: date-movie, eddie-griffin, Movies, mr-cranky, reviews
A gay cowboy’s top 10 movies of 2005. There are some surprises on there!
Tags: brokeback-mountain, Movies, rent
Do you remember my trip companion from last week? Well yesterday made two Mondays in a row that we shared our trip home.
Let me tell you – she’s one angry, impatient lady. I stood near her on the bus and each stop we went to she muttered under the breath urging the bus to hurry up. Then when we were waiting at Warden station she was swearing and cursing and carrying on about how late she was and how that bus had better hurry up. This was also under her breath. When we got off the bus she practically ran towards the movie rental store to return her movies (I believe The Legend of Zorro was one of them) while I walked down the street towards home.
She has the same attitude towards commuting that I had when I was 16. I was so impatient whenever other people got on or off of the bus; I too would mutter under my breath cursing each and every person who delayed my arrival. It’s like that when you’re used to driving and you have to rely on the bus driver to get you to your destination. I haven’t seen her other days so maybe on Mondays she has to commute to wherever she’s going.
We’ll see if we get a third strike next Monday.
Tags: Commuting, companion, impatience, It Happened To Me, legend-of-zorro, monday, Movies, Toronto, ttc
According to this CBC News story they are producting a sequel to Harry Potter (no surprise) and The Chronicles of Narnia. For Harry Potter it will be “The Order of the Phoenix” and for Narnia it’ll be “Prince Caspian“. The principle actors for each of the series are returning which is a good thing. They’re both scheduled for release in 2007. I’m looking forward to them.
Tags: CBC, chronicles-of-narnia, harry-potter, Movies, prince-caspian, sequels, the-order-of-the-phoenix
On Tuesday night Marcy and I went to see Capote which as I mentioned earlier that day was the only film out of the ones nominated for Best Picture that we had yet to see. It’s a fantastic movie. I didn’t really know much about Truman Capote except for a few handfuls of facts but it was incredible how well Philip Seymour Hoffman transformed himself into his character. Capote was certainly a conflicted man. If I were a wagering man then I would bet that Hoffman will win for Best Actor and as Drew says “And many years of Oscar wrongs will be righted.” Hopefully it comes to pass.
Tags: academy-awards, capote, Movies, oscars, philip-seymour-hoffman, truman-capote
We just finished watching The Life and Death of Peter Sellers starring Geoffrey Rush. It’s a great film though it can be difficult to watch people self-destruct in the way that Peter Sellers seems to have done. I first heard about this movie when we were watching the Emmys this past fall and this movie kept on winning all of the awards for television film. It’s an HBO film and that network impresses me each time I see some of their work. They do some of the finest productions on television, bar none.
Anyway so we’ve been meaning to watch this film and our local videostore had it in tonight so I rented it. It’s easy to see why Geoffrey Rush won the Emmy; he’s superb in the main role and on top of that he plays all of the other roles at some point in the film as well. I found the writing to be really quite good and the attention to detail was extraordinary.
It’s highly recommended by me.
Tags: emmys, film, geoffrey-rush, hbo, life-and-death-of-peter-sellers, Movies, peter-sellers, Television
I just read this great article on how the marketing campaign for Brokeback Mountain (previously discussed here and here) has succeeded in turning it into one of most successful presumed-Oscar contenders this year. They targeted very specific neighbourhoods in New York and Los Angeles to start the momentum going and then broke out from there. They had different posters and different messages for different parts of the country. It’s a great strategy that has certainly paid off for the production companies. It reminds me of The Tipping Point. [via]
Tags: academy-awards, brokeback-mountain, los-angeles, marketing, Movies, new-york, oscar, tipping-point
BlogTO | Karla: Worst. Movie. Ever.
It heartens me to read the audience response to this film. It’s definitely not a movie that I will be seeing and I’m glad that it’s a poorly-made film that will hopefully go direct-to-video as soon as the initial hype is over with. This is one film that I hope the Long Tail is quite short. I’m looking forward to that book.
I’m so happy Brokeback Mountain won so many awards at the Golden Globes last night. The more I think about this movie the more I realize that I love it. The reasons for loving it are obvious I think and I agree with Ebert that it really is a universal movie even though it’s about a specific dramatic arc. However I think the aspect that really brings it all together for me is the music. That simple guitar line that threads its way throughout the movie just tugs at my heart. It’s amazingly minimalist but yet it captures the soul of the movie – the heartache, the sadness, the love and the beauty. I would really like to get the soundtrack but I’m not sure that I would be able to listen to it without falling into tears.
I’m not sure that the studios really know how to advertise this movie. None of the clips in the award show showed any of the love scenes. They showed the fighting ones instead. Also Dennis Quaid made a rather tasteless comment saying the movie was controversial and rhymed with “chick flick”. The look of awkwardness at the table for the movie made me feel uncomfortable.
Tags: brokeback-mountain, golden-globes, Movies
40 Things That Only Happen In Movies – Nostalgia Central
Some of these items are quite funny. Examples:
3. Television news bulletins usually contain a story that affects you personally at the precise moment it’s aired.
25. You will survive any battle in any war UNLESS you show someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.
30. When you turn out the light to go to bed, everything in you room will still be visible, just slightly bluish.
37. Most musical instruments (especially wind instruments and accordions) can be played without moving your fingers.
We went to see Brokeback Mountain last night. It’s an amazing movie. “Heartbreakingly sad” as Marcy said afterwards. It’s another reinforcement why Ang Lee is such a magnificent director. Several of my favourite movies have been directed by him. It’s interesting though that no part of the movie was filmed in Wyoming. It was all in Alberta except for one scene in Mexico. Wherever it was filmed though it sure is beautiful country.
Tags: alberta, ang-lee, brokeback-mountain, Movies
Following Joey’s lead, I heartily endorse this movie.
Let me tell you a funny story about how we saw the movie on Friday. Friday was the day of the big storm (more later) and we wanted to go see a movie. We first tried the Colossus up at Highway 7 and the 400 but when we got there the lights were out and the employees were ushering the cars away. Strangely enough it was the only part of the plaza that seemed to have lost its power. We went to Yorkdale instead.
It was the late show (10:20) which we rarely seem to be able to stay up for. It was about 9:50 and there were few seats left for the showing. We figured that with the lines around us that we wouldn’t be able to get tickets and even if we did then we would be sitting up at the very front and we’ve had enough of those viewing this summer to last us for quite a while. We bought tickets to Red Eye instead.
We went into the theatre and picked our seats and then I went out and got us a drink. When I came back into the “restricted” area I looked at the theatre designations and noticed that we weren’t seated in the theatre for Red Eye but instead we were in the theatre showing The 40-year-old Virgin. We snuck into the movie without anyone being the wiser. How crafty and sneaky of us! Actually it was completely unintended but it was well worth the risk.
Now I’ve seen funny movies before and I’ve even seen some funny ones this summer (bingo). But after seeing this movie I’d have to say that there’s no funnier movie right now than this one. I can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard or for that long. I’m still laughing at it. I’d gladly see this movie again which is a rare statement for me to make in this day and age. There are too many good jokes to mention here and every scene has something worthwhile in it. I’ve always liked Steve Carell from his Daily Show days and now he has a real chance to shine in a starring role. It’s been interesting watching Jon Stewart’s take on the whole thing because he seems as happy as a father who’s seeing his son succeed in life. Truly heartwarming.
In short you should see this movie if only for the David Caruso references.
Tags: david-caruso, Movies, red-eye, reviews, steve-carell, the-40-year-old-virgin, the-daily-show, Toronto, yorkdale
This deal surprised me. This may not be good for moviegoers because that means that there are really only two competing theatres (at least in Toronto): Cineplex/Famous and AMC. Sure there are a few Rainbow Cinemas scattered around the area but those two will dominate. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of impact this will have.
Tags: amc, business, cineplex-odeon, famous-players, Movies, rainbow-cinemas, Toronto
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