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.

---

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.

One last post for today. HALO 3 TRAILER!!!

It's no secret that I love dogs. Dog stories are one of those things that can make me all sentimental (ok, I guess I can be a sentimental person over a lot of things...).

Anyway, you all need to check out this crazy story about "Faith, the bipedal dog" who walks about on her two hind legs because she doesn't have front legs. It's amazing. I didn't believe it until I saw this video (care of YouTube and Montel Williams). Wow. Amazing what a creature can do when it's necessary for survival.

Guess who's on the TIME 100 list this year? The man who had the guts to do his bit right infront of the President. The guy who gives us not the facts, but truthiness. That's right: Stephen Colbert.

As they say in Star Wars land, "This will be a day long rememebered." Basically all the old school Star Wars fans can just shut up with the complaints and allegations that Lucas has been trying to bury the original Star Wars films and replace them with his what-they-see-as-inferior versions. Well, we can all cheer and celebrate the love, as the Ewoks once sang and will sing once again! The Original Theatrical versions of the Star Wars Trilogy are coming out on DVD this September!


Oh, and what would an Anders blog post be without a couple of movie trailer links.

The new Superman Returns trailer is up. It makes me more curious than the last ones, but I still have reservations. But who am I kidding? I'll still be seeing it.

And even more exciting is the trailer for Casino Royale, and it looks like Bond is going to kick some serious ass in his twenty-first film. Sure Daniel Craig is no Connery, but I think he'll pull this one off nicely. And speaking of nicely, that's how Eva Green is going to do as Bond girl Vesper Lynd. Very nicely.

To everyone out there, I wish you a happy Easter.

Unfortunately, most of my Easter afternoon is going to be taken up with finishing (as much as possible of) my last essay of the semester before I fly out of here tomorrow night.

I like to write my essays to music; with iTunes I make big multi-hour playlists so that I can just work and not worry about changing songs or searching for things. Here's the song of the day for all out there in blog land.

It's been around for a while, but Scissor Sisters cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" is fantastic. Hopefully you enjoy it.

"Comfortably Numb" - Scissor Sisters

It's been a while since I posted anything. I'm a delinquent blogger.

I have two things to say at the moment.

1) Writing massive papers for graduate school is like pulling teeth. I know I have to do it, and I can do it. I just don't like the idea of it. It's hard to get out.

2) The Stone Roses rule. (And yes, their defining album did come out 16 years ago. But I was 7 at the time).