I'm going to interrupt my long in gestation top ten list to post my predictions and a few comments on tomorow nights 79th Annual Academy Awards. Please bear with me. I just have to throw in my two cents.


Best Motion Picture of the Year

Who Will Win: Little Miss Sunshine
Who Should Win: The Departed
Missing: Children of Men

In all fairness, it could go to either The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine, or Babel. It's too close to call with certainty, but in the spirit of such silly predictions I will make a choice.


Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Who Will Win: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Who Should Win: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Missing: Ivana Baquero, Pan's Labyrinth

Really this is Mirren's category, and one of the few awards that the Academy will get right. Her performance was astounding. Sometimes I wonder why the Academy still gives out awards based on gender. I guess it's so you can give out more awards. Silly, naive me.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Who Will Win: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Who Should Win: Leonardo Dicaprio, Blood Diamond
Missing: Sascha Baron Cohen, Borat: Cultural Learning's of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

From what I hear Whitaker is great, but it's hardly a "Leading Role." Leo was nominated for the wrong film, though he was great in both. And Sascha Baron Cohen gave one of the greatest comedic peformances of all time. Peter Sellers would be proud.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Who Will Win: Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Who Should Win: Djimon Honsou, Blood Diamond
Missing: Jack Nicholson, The Departed

Regardless of no Best Pic nod, Dreamgirls will rake in the awards and Murphy will get this one (Norbit aside, the Academy loves sentimental favourites). Djimon Honsou was great, though his was arguably a co-lead with Leo in the film. And as good as Wahlberg was, Jack was the real firecracker in The Departed.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Who Will Win: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Who Should Win: Rinko Kikuchi, Babel
Missing: Maribel Verdu, Pan's Labyrinth

See the Dreamgirls comment above. Kikuchi was by far the best part of a film that I really don't feel worked at all, so that's saying something.

Best Achievement in Direction

Who Will Win: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Who Should Win: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Missing: Darren Aronofsky, The Fountain

This is Marty's year. Finally. Though if he doesn't win he is in good company (Kubrick, Hitchcock, Welles).

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

Who Will Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Who Should Win: The Queen
Missing: The Fountain

As good as Pan's Labyrinth is, The Queen is a remarkable work of speculative fiction (which is good to keep in mind when we criticise United 93 for being speculative).

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Published or Produced

Who Will Win: The Departed
Who Should Win: Children of Men
Missing: Casino Royale

The Departed is great, don't get me wrong, but Children of Men is a fantastic revisioning of P. D. James' novel. And Casino Royale sucessfully adapts Fleming's novel for the 21st century, while staying true to the source material.

Best Achievement in Cinematography

Who Will Win: Children of Men
Who Should Win: Children of Men
Missing: The Fountain

Best Achievement in Editing

Who Will Win: The Departed
Who Should Win: The Departed
Missing: The Prestige

Best Achievement in Art Direction

Who Will Win: Dreamgirls
Who Should Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Missing: A Scanner Darkly

Best Achievement in Costume Design

Who Will Win: Dreamgirls
Who Should Win: Curse of the Golden Flower
Missing: The Prestige

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

Who Will Win: Babel
Who Should Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Missing: The Fountain

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

Who Will Win: something from Dreamgirls
Who Should Win: "Our Town," Cars
Missing: "You Know My Name," Casino Royale

Best Achievement in Makeup

Who Will Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Who Should Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Missing: The Queen

Best Achievement in Sound

Who Will Win: Dreamgirls
Who Should Win: Flags of Our Fathers
Missing: Children of Men

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

Who Will Win: Letters from Iwo Jima
Who Should Win: Letters from Iwo Jima
Missing: Children of Men

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Who Will Win: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Who Should Win: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Missing: Children of Men

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Who Will Win: Happy Feet
Who Should Win: Cars
Missing: A Scanner Darkly

Best Foreing Language Film of the Year

Who Will Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Who Should Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Missing: Letters From Iwo Jima (ineligible though)

Best Documentary, Features

Who Will Win: An Inconvenient Truth

Best Documentary, Short Subjects

Who Will Win: Recycled Life

Best Short Film, Animated

Who Will Win: The Danish Poet

Best Short Film, Live Action

Who Will Win: Eramos pocos

I recommend checking out The Arcade Fire's official myspace page to check out their latest post from the upcoming album Neon Bible, "Keep The Car Running." I think they might have done it again. (Album out on March 6th.)

8. A Scanner Darkly

Dir. Richard Linklater
100 min; R

Linklater's Waking Life was a fascinating experiment of a film -- a series of vignettes about life and dreams shot on digital film and then animated over top. The result was a psychedelic, dreamlike film. And though it was interesting, the film (purposely) was not unified in visual style or narrative. If you were wondering what it would be like to take that style and apply it to a story in an effective manner, wonder no longer: A Scanner Darkly is such a work. Based on a novel by Phillip K. Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), this film is a fascinating examination of identity, drugs, and a society that is frighteningly not too dissimilar to our own (a theme which comes up in more than one film on my list). Keanu Reeves is suprisingly effective in the film, playing his own "stoner" image
to tragic results. The first time I watched the film in the summer I enjoyed it a lot though I wasn't sure it would end up a favourite; a second viewing in the fall confirmed in my mind that it was a bold visionary statement. This film ranks among Linklater's best films (Before Sunset, Dazed & Confused) and while it is ostensibly science fiction, it also revisits the themes of human relationship and identity that seem to be Linklater's -- and Dick's -- interest.

9. The Prestige

Dir. Christopher Nolan
128 min; PG-13

Christopher Nolan's follow-up to Batman Begins was one of my most anticipated films of the year. It had, what in my mind was, a fantastic cast: Jackman, Bale, Scarlett, Oscar-winner Michael Caine, David Bowie, and even Andy Serkis. The novel was great source material and Nolan's past projects left nothing but anticipation for what he was going to do next. Even with all my expectations, and knowledge of the source material, Nolan managed to surprise me. The Prestige - which refers to the final stage of the three parts to a magician's act - in that respect is a filmed magic trick. We are the audience of the magician - Nolan. While some have compared this film to The Illusionist, the similarities end after the subject matter. The Prestige is more elaborate in its set up and in the payoff. It's not a fairy tale or love story. It's a carefully constructed piece of entertainment, like a good detective story or murder mystery. And while some have complained that the film is too emotionless and calculating, I feel that those elements work well to give the film its unique feel. In the end, it's a fantastic piece of craftsmanship and definitely one of my favourite films of the year.

ANDERS' TOP TEN FILMS OF 2006

2006 ended up being a good year for films. It seems that the good films continually get pushed back until the very end of the year, and many don't open in Saskatoon until after the new year has started (e.g. Pan's Labyrinth, Letters from Iwo Jima). With that in mind, this list is the best of what I've seen over the past year of films that had their theatrical release listed as 2006 in North America. That means that it is limted to films that played in Saskatoon or Victoria, and that I got around to seeing.

It was a year for originality. Last year we saw some really good franchise films, but this year only one franchise film made my list (and it is a fairly radical revisioning of the franchise at that). A couple of franchise films -- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Mission: Impossible 3 -- almost made the list, but I'm going to give honourable mention here for improving on the films that came before them and offering some of the best thrills of the summer. Other franchise films left me cold -- or seething: Superman Returns failed to impress and X-Men: The Last Stand made me glad to see the franchise end.

That said, my top ten this year is dominated by original films, adaptations, and personal projects that all were the best film going experiences of the year. With the intro out of the way, here's number ten.


10. El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)

Dir. Guillermo del Toro
112 min; R

Del Toro presents here a fairy tale for grown ups: a dark moral fable set during the Spanish Civil War, in which a young girl (Ofelia) faces the challenges of a faerie world and the horrors of fascist Spain. Del Toro is best known for his imaginative horror/fantasy comic book films (Hellboy, Blade II) which I love, but here he creates a moving and challenging film that dazzled me with its creative vision and moved me with its compelling characters. Pan's Labyrinth only made it to Saskatoon in the last week of January, so I only recently saw it, but it stands up with the best films of 2006 and was justly rewarded with six Oscar nominations as well. Definitely worth catching, though not for children.

Wow. It's been ages since I've posted. I don't have the desire to blog as much as I used to, but inspired by Aren's and Luke's year end TOP TEN lists, I feel like sharing mine. So, those of you who used to check this blog and still do occasionally, there should be some content in the next few weeks.

Also, I'm going to be playing around with the cosmetics of the blog, so bear with me as I fumble my way through that. I'd like for this blog to be a place where I can post my movie reviews, music discoveries, and general thoughts on culture and art -- and for people to comment back. In the months since I stopped regularly posting, it seems that blogger has improved as a venue for commenting and dialogue, so that's encouraging. I hope to hear your comments as I begin to post again.

Just a heads up that they're streaming the new Bob Dylan album, Modern Times over at AOL Music.

Here goes Sean Penn again, following in his Mystic River mode. Translation: taking an otherwise really good-looking film and ruining it with his "realistic acting" and a laughable accent. Check out the trailer for All the King's Men.

No joke, Penn's accent reminds me of Bob Odenkirk's southern right-wing Senator Tankerbell from HBO's Mr. Show with Bob and David. Of course, Penn wouldn't get the joke. He had his sense of humour removed during a fund-raiser for Iraqi Hurricane victims.

Fall movie season is finally upon us. Common wisdom holds that summer is full of big, dumb films that are meant to appeal to the lowest common denominator and that with fall comes the serious Oscar contenders and critical favourites. People who know me also know that I sometimes like those big summer films as much as the fall ones, but this year has really disappointed and lived up to the stereotypes of summer dreck. Only a handful of pictures really satisfied me (Pirates of the Caribbean 2, M:I-3, A Scanner Darkly) and many of the one's I was looking forward to were trainwrecks or at least mildly disappointing (Superman Returns, X3, Nacho Libre). The fall however brings great promise with lots of interesting premises, great directors and great actors/actresses getting into the game. Here's a few of the one's I'm looking forward to each month, and until then I'm going to go see Snakes on a Plane and at least get intentional laughs out of a big dumb movie.

September seems to be the month of "true crime" thrillers based in Hollywood. Hollywoodland looks at the mysterious death of George Reeves (Ben Affleck), while The Black Dahlia is directed by Brian DePalma and has a screenplay from the writer of L.A. Confidential that explores the famous "Black Dahlia" murder.

But it's not all murder in September; The Last Kiss sees Zach Braff return to drama-comedy for young adults in this film penned by Paul Haggis. And Beatles buffs like myself will want to see the documentary The U. S. Vs. John Lennon which explores how Lennon's politics were opposed by the United States government in the late-Seventies, reminiscent of the book John Lennon and the FBI Files.

For more esoteric fare, there's this uniquely animated action thriller starring the new Bond, Daniel Craig, called Renaissance. Or check out director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) in The Science of Sleep.

October is when the big directors start dropping their films. In her follow up to Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola takes us back to eighteenth-century France with Marie Antoinette starring Kirsten Dunst. Martin Scorsese, who is always exciting, tackles this remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs called The Departed starring Scorsese's new go to guy Leonardo DiCaprio along with Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, and Matt Damon. What a cast! This is probably one of my most anticpated films of the year along with Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, which I've commented on before. This cast is equally crazy with Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, and Scarlett Johansson. Which film will end up thrilling? Let's hope both.

Clint Eastwood directs and Steven Spielberg produces what is likely one of the sure fire Oscar contenders, Flags of Our Fathers. Eastwood's story of the Battle of Iwo Jima is the first of a two part project which then looks at the Japanese side later in another film, titled either Letters from IwoJima or Red Sun, Black Sand (I've heard both titles thrown about). Pretty ambitious project, but not really doubting it will be good with those two names attached.

Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys) brings us a poker film starring Eric Bana called Lucky You and the director of Amores Perros and 21 Grams, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, gives us Babel starring Brad Pitt.

November contains a good mix of comedy, drama, Oscar contenders and action flicks. We start laughing with the brilliant satirist Sascha Baron Cohen (Ali G) in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. If you haven't seen Borat yet and been inundated with your friends quoting him, stay away from me and my brothers in November. Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny should also be a good laugh, as Jack Black and Kyle Gass bring the greatest band in the world to the big screen. And then Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, and Dustin Hoffman star in Stranger Than Fiction from the director of Finding Neverland in a plot worthy of Charlie Kaufman.

A Good Year reunites Russell Crowe with Ridley Scott in this story of a London businessman in Provence. Also in November, Richard Linklater releases his second film of the year (the first being A Scanner Darkly), Fast Food Nation in the adaptation of the non-fiction bestseller. Then Christopher Guest and company bring us another mockumentary For Your Consideration and this time also starring the brilliant Ricky Gervais (BBC's The Office).

The big blockbuster of the month is the revival of the James Bond franchise with Casino Royale, which I am feeling enthusiastic about. Daniel Craig's James Bond looks to take the character in a new direction, while still feeling like Ian Flemming's classic character. Also, Darren Aronofsky (Requim for a Dream) finally gets to release his long in gestation sci-fi epic The Fountain. It looks great.


December has a mix of films as well, including the seasonal films like Catherine Hardwicke (thirteen, Lords of Dogtown) directing the Whale Rider star Keisha Castle-Hughes as Mary the mother of Jesus in The Nativity Story. The guy who last brought the Bible to the cineplex has instead turned his attention to the story of the ancient Mayan culture in Mel Gibson's Apocalypto.

Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney reteam for The Good German which I know very little about, but the fact that those two are involved is enough to make me interested. And director Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai) directs Leo and Djimon Honsou in Blood Diamond.

Will Smith tries his dramatic chops again as a single father in The Pursuit of Happyness which looks pretty good to me. And Jamie Foxx tries to do for Beyonce what Ray did for him in the musical drama Dreamgirls.

Finally on Christmas day we get Clive Owen starring in Alfonso Cuaron's new film The Children of Men which gives us a fascinating apocolyptic future where people are unable to conceive children. We also have Oscar bait starring Ewan McGregor, Renee Zellweger, and Emily Watson in the biopic about the Peter Rabbit author, Miss Potter.

It should be a good fall with that line up. At least it will keep me busy, and probably therefore blogging as well. Get your Oscar predictions ready, because it's going to be a good fall for movies.

TV On The Radio's new album, Return to Cookie Mountain is among the best new albums I've heard so far in 2006.

I had the opportunity to see them last fall in Seattle when they opened for Franz Ferdinand. They were good, but this new studio album is a big step forward. This is a big sounding experimental rock album, full of layers, distortion, and atmosphere - but not obtusely so, like so many of indie rock bands.

The band's arrangement with a major label (this is their Interscope debut), has also afforded them the opportunity to have David Bowie provide backing vocals on "Province"; but the song holds its own, the rock legend's vocals merely providing the icing on the cake.

If there is one song that defines this album it is "Wolf Like Me," the first single and fifth track off the album. It's sonically dense and engaging with a barrage of noise, but it's also a straight up, hard rocking single that should be seeing more radio play than it has been getting.

Definitely check out TV On The Radio, it's a great late summer album to put on when you're tired of dancing your feet off, but still want to rock out a little bit before the end.

This (long overdue) post is in response to my good buddy Luke's concerns about one of my favourite food products here.

Now, I haven't seen the ad in question, but the fact is that when one claims that Nutella is "FREAKING CHOCOLATE," that is inaccurate. Nutella is a HAZELNUT spread that contains cocoa as one of the ingredients. In fact, cocoa is fourth on the list of ingredients. The jar that I'm looking at says it contains 106 roasted hazelnuts, 1 3/4 cups of skim milk...and "a hint of delicious cocoa."


Mmm...

According to Wikipedia (which granted may not be a perfect source), Nutella isn't chocolate but an Italian confection called gianduja made by blending chocolate and hazelnut paste. And apparently cocoa makes up only 7.4 % of the mixture. Hard pressed to call it "chocolate."

Ok, now I'm having a wee bit of fun with Luke here in my "defense" of Nutella, but I would imagine that my prime concern with giving Nutella to a child EVERYDAY wouldn't be that it has cocoa (or chocolate) in it, but rather that the most abundant ingredient in Nutella is...sugar. But so are many peanut butters and cereals in the same camp.

But then again, I eat Nutella nearly everyday and I can attest to my own good health and slim size, so maybe the ad isn't lying...

What I'm currently listening to:

Shoegazer Mix AKA A Short History of the Genre, 1990 - 2005 (Thanks to Kwaya Na Kisser via Opuszine)

Galaxie 500, "Here She Comes Now"
Ride, "Vapour Trail"
My Bloody Valentine, "Come In Alone"
Swervedriver, "Rave down"
Drop Nineteens, "Delaware"
Catherine Wheel, "I Want to Touch You"
The Lilys, "Claire Hates Me"
Slowdive, "Some Velvet Morning"
The Boo Radleys, "Lazarus"
The Verve, "Weeping Willow"
Brian Jonestown Massacre, "Jennifer"
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, "Shade of Blue"
Autolux, "Turnstyle Blues"
Engineers, "Let's Just See"

The CDs currently piled on my desk as I work on my Master's Essay:

Editors - The Back Room
Elbow - Cast of Thousands
Goldfrapp - Supernature
The Libertines - s/t
U2 - Zooropa
U2 - Pop
U2 - Boy
The Stone Roses - s/t
She Wants Revenge - s/t
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Elbow - Leaders of the Free World
Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisted
Jeff Buckley - Grace
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
Joy Division - Substance
U2 - October
Madonna - Ray of Light
The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Pulp - Different Class
LCD Soundsystem - s/t
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Jacksonville City Nights
Kanye West - Late Registration
Sigur Ros - Takk...
The Smiths - Meat Is Murder
The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
Jets Overhead - Bridges
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Joy Division - Closer
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
The Organ - Grab That Gun
Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better
Depeche Mode - Violater
The Darkness - One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back
Metric - Live It Out
Metric - Old World Underground

For my artist friends.

This is just so much fun, and beautiful.

I finally got around to seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest last night. After a summer of disappointing films it was nice to have a film that was nothing but fun from beginning to end. By far the best movie of the summer thus far. Really, there aren't too many films this summer that I was dying to see anyway, at least compared to summers past.

Speaking of films that I'm dying to see, here's the trailer for what may be my most anticipated film of the year. Christopher Nolan. Hugh Jackman. Christian Bale. Michael Caine. AND Scarlett Johansson. Based on a book that I read and really enjoyed, here is The Prestige.

Am I Predisposed to Not Like the new Superman film?

NOTE: I have not yet seen the film and this is just based on what I've seen and read, and what I, as a long time comic book fan, would like to see in a Superman film. If Singer's film delivers, I will happily eat my words and admit I was wrong.

I'm getting the impression from some that people might think I'm against Superman Returns without going to see it. This is not entirely true. Oh, of course I'm going to see it, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it (like Luke said on his blog, it's gotta be better than X-Men: The Last Stand, right?).

I'm not even saying I think it's going to be a bad movie. It's just that from everything I've read and seen, Singer's vision of Superman is not what I would do if I was making the film. I just don't think that making this a psuedo-sequel to the first two Chris Reeve films is a good idea. Why handicap yourself and tie yourself to continuity that way. Especially a continuity that, nostalgia aside, had some pretty stupid elements to it that took away from the epic feel of Superman (e.g. Otis, turning back time, amnesia kisses, levitation beams?). I think that the series could have used a fresh start like Christopher Nolan did with the Batman films. Though, I guess I would keep John Williams iconic Superman theme. That I'll give Singer. Good idea.

Heck, if I was going to make a Superman film with a $250 million dollar budget, I'd go back to Byrne's 1986 Man of Steel mini-series and use that as a basis for a screenplay with a few modifications. Here's what I'd put in the film. A Luthor who is a legitimit threat -- a billionaire scientist with the tech to actually take on Superman, and whom the world trusts and loves, and who's lust for power and glory makes Supes a rival. A love triangle for Superman and Lois -- involving Luthor no less; I know this was done on Lois & Clark but it worked. Not killing off Pa Kent, as the love of his adopted parents is what helps keep Clark grounded in the human world. Those are just a few things that I would work into a film.

As for casting, I cast a Superman who's a bit older than Brandon Routh. Superman can't look like a kid. We already have a young, inexperienced hero -- his name is Spider-man. Routh's age wouldn't be a problem, but if we're to believe that this is the Superman from the first two films who's been away for 5 years shouldn't he be like in his mid-thirties at least? That said, I do like the idea of casting a non-movie star in the role. I really can't see any of today's Hollywood elite as Superman, and then he brings no baggage to the role (I'll give Singer this, Routh makes me much happier than Burton's ill-concieved idea of casting Nicholas Cage in the role).

As for supporting cast, I'm looking forward to seeing what Kevin Spacey does with the role; I hope he takes Luthor and really goes with it, because the last thing I want to see is a Luthor in the vein of most of Spacey's roles; you know, the self-righteous, soft spoken guy who's just so smug. I want a Luthor with a bit of kick to him. I was thinking, "who would I cast?" and I came up with what I think would be a really interesting bit of casting: Ed Harris! Just think, he's got the aggressive, intelligent, determined thing going for him. He can play great villians, and we're used to seeing him bald anyway so that wouldn't be a distraction for people (like Spacey's egghead is). I think Ed Harris as Luthor would kick ass!

Now for the most important casting decision: Lois Lane. I'm sorry, I don't know if I'll be able to buy Kate Bosworth as a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Lois has to be not just beautiful, but someone who you believe could track down a story, who could win the heart of the most powerful men on earth through her energy and aggression. I always thought that Terri Hatcher was the best Lois in any of the live action incarnations. She was easily the best part about the Lois & Clark show. But her time has passed, and she's now known to most as one of those Wisteria Lane women. Why not go after another TV actress, an up and coming starlet who I think would do a good job playing both a gutsy and beautiful Lois Lane. Why not Evangeline Lilly from LOST? I think she would do a fine job. What do you think?

With the right casting and the budget that Singer had, I'm positive we could have a definitive take on the Superman myth. But we have what we have, and I guess I'm going to have to see it for myself this week.

Well, I'm almost half way done my essay at the moment, and it seems to be coming together alright (I don't feel like I'm stretching my material at all).

I recieved an invitation from my friend Ryan Fisher to attend Superman Returns. I'm still not sold, as the reviews come pouring in. I'm very skeptical of how marrying the new film to the old films will work. I have a feeling it will be awkward. The fact is that the Superman comics are much more interesting than the old films (for example, why have Luthor be a crook who has to come into possession of his fortune. He's much more interesting in the comics as a multi-billionaire whom the public thinks is a good guy). I guess I'll know for sure how I feel on Thursday night.

That said, here's a film that I'm sold on from the beginning. This looks good. Real good.

Forget Superman. SPIDER-MAN RETURNS!!!

Well, it's been a week now since The Loss. And it's been ages and ages since I posted anything on this blog. And I'm working on the final essay for the final class of my MA program. Victoria has been HOT lately! In excess of 30° and wonderfully sunny. I spent most of Saturday at the beach reading and getting a nice tan/burn. Of course, beach weather interfers with one's concentration when you're trying to get a paper done for Wednesday. The papers not due until Friday, but I'll be back in Saskatoon on Thursday morning so I figured I might want to get it done before then.

...

A few thoughts on the Oilers. Now it was a glorious--and more importantly UNEXPECTED--ride to the Stanley Cup , which makes the ending that much more sad. Why? Well, given the state of things, you never know when they're going to be able to repeat that again. In the "new NHL," basically every team is competitive and could make a similar run if the stars align properly. It's both the hope and the frusteration of any fan hoping to see their team make regular runs at the silver. You have to enjoy it when it happens. So with that said, I'm getting over it. Really.

However, Edmonton Oilers fans can now move on to the fact that our "Conn Smythe candidate" defenseman, Chris Pronger, has requested a trade from Edmonton for "personal family considerations." Translation: his wife doesn't like Edmonton and would like to move out east. Harsh blow: lose the cup, now possibly lose your franchise player?

Things are not nearly a dismal as it might seem though. Pronger has just finished the first year of a 5 yr, $ 6.25 million a year deal with the Oilers. He's just come off a Playoff MVP quality post-season run. He's arguably one of the best defenseman in the league. So what's that hope I'm talking about? The hope is that Pronger is a huge bargaining chip for Oilers GM Kevin Lowe (and that story says that the calls are already pouring in). Lowe, known for being one of the shrewdest GMs in the league, knows this and this makes the next week fairly exciting for the prospects of making the team strong.

Of course player Free Agency begins on July 1st, and Lowe is going to want to re-sign a few of the key players that are UFAs this summer; prime among those I would imagine are Pisani and Roloson. Of course, the signing of Roloson and what happens among other teams on July 1st is going to make a big difference in the decision that Lowe makes.

Firstly, if Roloson doesn't re-sign with the Oilers, filling the space between the pipes is going to be Lowe's first concern. Barring that, Lowe's concern is going to be getting fair market value for Pronger. Now, Pronger wants to move out east, so those are the teams to be looking at for this deal. The reports are that Toronto is interested in Pronger, and the offer of Kaberle and Steen has been thrown out there. Now, Kaberle would be ok for shoring up the defense of the Oil, but neither of these guys are really on the level of Pronger (I'd be more interested in McKabe). For me, the more interesting move would be to make a deal with Ottawa. Both of Ottawa's star defensemen are UFAs this summer, and if Ottawa fails to sign Chara and Redden, they could be very interested in Pronger. I think that if this happens that Havlat/Heatley/or Spezza and a defensemen like Phillips could be a good option for Edmonton.

The next week or so should be very interesting for a lot of teams.

...



Last night I re-watched Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction with a couple of friends and it just reiterated how great a film it is in my mind.

It's such a cliche to say such a thing, but the film honestly just cracks with energy, despite the fact that it's a two-and-a-half-hour film that is very dialogue heavy. But Tarantino makes the most of this with his outstanding cast. Just about ever actor is perfect for their role, and brings so much to their portrayals.

Take Uma Thurman's Mia Wallace (above). Not only does she handle the QT's dialogue in a way that never seems forced or contrived, but she brings all the little things to the role that make it memorable. The tension between Mia and Vincent throughout the entire chapter is apparent, just in the way she moves her eyes, or drags on her cigarette. It's no wonder QT brought her back as The Bride in Kill Bill.

Apologies for the long time between posts.

Anyway, anyone who was dissapointed/enraged by X-Men: The Last Stand should check out this hilarious webcomic: "X-Facts! The 'X-Men' comics vs. 'X-Men: The Last Stand.'" Hilarious!

Oh wow! Anton! Aren! Everyone! I've been wanting to see this for ages and now here it is. Any Star Wars fans should make sure they watch this! YouTube can be an amazing power for good!

Presenting, the Biggs-Luke Anchorhead scene that many claim was in the film with some prints in the original 1977 release of Star Wars.





(Thanks to Peter Chattaway for noticing this first.)

The Oilers won! What a fantastic game. I was ecstatic. Being down 3-1 in the middle of the third and then coming back to win 6-3 is a wild game. A great performance by all the Oilers. Be sure to check out the highlight reel to see Samsonov's crazy goal coming out of the penalty box, picking up a huge bounce and stealing it away from Toskala to tuck it into the empty net.

Of course one of the great things about living on the west coast here is that games finish up relatively early, allowing one to do other things with one's evening. I was in the mood to celebrate, but everyone was either out of town or not doing anything. What does that mean I'm likely to do? Hey, it's summer movie season! I'm going to the theatre.

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When you watch a movie and a character has to hold their breath underwater, do you ever catch yourself holding your breath along with them? Well, then Poseidon might not be the best movie for you.

Based on the novel and the 1972 disaster flick The Poseidon Adventure, starring Gene Hackmen and Shelley Winters, Wolfgang Peterson's new film is a solid summer film. The cast performs admirably for what is expected of them, but there is the slight case of knowing who is going to live at the end and who will die (Hint: Lucky Larry may not be so lucky).

But overall, while it's nothing profound, Poseidon is better than the original film and doesn't outstay its welcome. Peterson spends less than 20 minutes setting up the characters and situation before we are plunged (pun intended) into non-stop thrills and suspense, as our group of heroes attempt to find their way out of the doomed ocean liner that has been flipped on its back (as Dreyfus's character Nelson points out, "these ships aren't built to stay afloat upside down"). The movie's runtime is a brisk 99 min: short for this genre. But it's just enough to enjoy the heroics and special effects, which are impressive given that the Poseidon was created entirely in CGI. Everything is convincing and suitably impressive.

Sure the film falls into cliches at times (one particular sequence I like to call "the Armageddon moment" could be seen a mile away, and of course the loner gambler (Josh Lucas) is going to fall for the single mom and her precocious son). And really, some people in the audience may not be interested in seeing such large scale destruction for mere entertainment. But if you're looking for a good suspense action movie that's something different from superheroes or spies this summer, Poseidon isn't a bad choice.