Tag Archives: movies

My favourite film of 2010: The Wild Hunt

Posted on by
1

For the last three years, I’ve been taking pretty meticulous notes on what movies I’ve been watching each year, and deciding a “favourite” for the year. In 2010, I watched 99 movies on Blu Ray, DVD, movie theatres, Netflix, and my first visit to the Toronto International Film Festival.

Last year my favourite film was the spooky, strange thriller “The Box,” a sci-fi thriller that looked at the ethics of personal wants and needs, wrapped up in a strange 70′s period piece that incorporated mystery and the anxieties of space travel. Yeah, all that is in the movie, which is why Richard Kelly is indeed one of our most important contemporary filmmakers, for all his faults and excesses, there’s nobody else like him.

This year, there were a few mainstream movies that were close to becoming my favourite; “Shutter Island” was dark and intense, despite revealing the film’s twist in the trailer,  ”Scott Pilgrim” realized the graphic novel perfectly and showed off the city of Toronto I know and love, and “The King’s Speech,” despite being Oscar bait, was that rare breed of film that was uplifting without being manipulative and schlocky.

So my choice for favourite movie of the year is “The Wild Hunt.” It’s a Canadian film about live action role players (LARPers), who gather together at a camp in the woods, where they live out their viking fantasies. The film follows one character’s trip up to the camp to reconnect and rescue his girlfriend, despite his reluctance to join in the game. And like you’d expect, the story gets more complicated as the LARPers lose themselves in the game, and the stakes become far more real than anyone anticipates.

The film is also so classically Canadian, as it tackles one of those traditional themes in our cinema: that of identity and heritage, and who are we apart from our parent’s traditions. It looks at the power of escapism, at how we perceive ourselves and how we wish to be. On top of all that, there’s a stark medieval visual style at work, mixing corpse-paint and Scandinavian imagery that in some ways feels uniquely Canadian in it’s synthesis. The actors are all tremendous, and the photography is beautiful and stark.

This is an amazing movie that’s fallen under the radar, but I urge you to give this a look when you can, it’s not to be missed!

Click here to watch a trailer for “The Wild Hunt” on YouTube.

2010: Movies watched, rated

Posted on by
7

Rating System:

A+ = Don’t Miss It, Life-Changing, Classic
A = Very Solid Recommendation, Very Well Made
B+ = Solid Recommendation
B = Recommended
B- = Alright, still worth a watch
C = Watch at your own risk
D = Avoid
F = Waste of Film, Time and Money

This includes every film I watched in 2009, including films previously screened, and rated as per that individual viewing. It also combines film screenings with DVD rentals. However, they are not listed in any order beyond the general grade rating.

  1. “The Stunt Man” (1980), Thurs, Jan. 7. – A+
  2. “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” (2009), Friday, Jan. 8. – A+
  3. “Paper Heart” (2009), Sat. Jan 9, — B-
  4. “Blood and Donuts” (1995), Sun. Jan 10 – C
  5. “The Invention of Lying” (2009), Fri. Jan. 15 – D
  6. “Whiteout” (2009), Mon. Jan. 18 – B
  7. “9″ (2009), Tues. Jan. 19 — A
  8. “Sherlock Holmes” (2009), Sat. Jan. 23 – B
  9. “The Ugly Truth” (2009), Sun. Jan. 31 — B+
  10. “Gamer” (2009), Sun. Feb. 7 — B
  11. “Couples Retreat” (2009), Friday. Feb. 12 — D
  12. “Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day” (2009), Sunday, Feb. 14 — B+
  13. “Surrogates” (2009), Friday, Feb. 26 — B
  14. “The Hurt Locker” (2009), Saturday, Feb. 27 — A+
  15. “The Informant!” (2009), Saturday, March 6 – B+
  16. “Gentleman Broncos” (2009), Sunday, March 7 – B
  17. “Shutter Island” (2010), Wednesday, March 10 – A+
  18. “Alice in Wonderland” (2010), Wednesday, March 17 — B-
  19. “Serenity” (2005), Wednesday, March 17 — B
  20. “Good Hair” (2009), Saturday, March 20 — D
  21. “2012″ (2009), Sunday, March 21 — F
  22. “To Live and Die in L.A.” (1985), Saturday, March 27 – A
  23. “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” (2009), Saturday, March 27 — A
  24. “The Omega Man” (1971), Friday, April 2 — B+
  25. “Crazy Heart” (2009), Saturday, April 3 — B+
  26. “Angels & Demons” (2009), Sunday, April 4 — B
  27. “District 9″ (2009), Thursday, April 8 — A
  28. “The French Connection” (1971), Friday, April 9 — A
  29. “Star Trek: First Contact” (1996), Sunday, April 11 — A
  30. “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” (2010), Saturday, April 17 – A
  31. “Men Who Stare at Goats” (2009), Sunday, April 18 — A
  32. “The Wild Hunt” (2009), Wednesday, April 21 — A+
  33. “Whatever Works” (2009), Saturday, May 1 – F
  34. “Architecture of Home” (2010), Friday, May 7 — C
  35. “Our House” (2010), Friday, May 7 — A
  36. “Exit Through the Gift Shop” (2010), Saturday, May 8 — B+
  37. “Wall Street” (1987), Wednesday, May 12 -- A
  38. “The Heartbreak Kid” (2007), Saturday, May 15 — F
  39. “Iron Man 2″ (2010), Friday, May22 — B
  40. “MacGruber” (2010), Monday, May 24 — B
  41. “Blue Velvet” (1986), Wednesday, May 26 — A+
  42. “An Education” (2009), Friday, May 28 — B
  43. “Lethal Weapon” (1987), Saturday, June 5 — A
  44. “Low in Europe” (2004), Sunday, June 6 — B
  45. “Life After People” (2008), Sunday, June 6 — B
  46. “Dune” (1984), Monday, June 14 — C
  47. “Logan’s Run” (1976), Wednesday, June 23 — B
  48. “Youth in Revolt” (2009), Friday, July 2 — B+
  49. “The Last Airbender” (2010), Saturday, July 3 — B-
  50. “The Girl Who Played With Fire” (2010), Sunday, July 11 — B+
  51. “Predators” (2010), Friday, July 23 — B+
  52. “Hamlet” (2009), Saturday, July 24 — A
  53. “The Bounty Hunter” (2010), Sunday, July 25 — F
  54. “Inception” (2010), Monday, July 26 – A
  55. “Cop Out” (2010), Sunday, Aug. 1 — B+
  56. “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (2010), Monday, Aug. 2 — B+
  57. “The Book of Eli” (2010), Monday, Aug. 2 — C
  58. “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” (2010), Friday, Aug. 13 — A+
  59. “The Other Guys” (2010), Saturday, Aug. 21 — A
  60. “Is This It” (2009), Sunday, Aug. 22 — B
  61. “Parenthood” (1989), Sunday, Aug. 22 — B
  62. “Piranha 3D” (2010), Friday, Sept. 3 — B
  63. “Defendor” (2009), Sunday, Sept. 5 — B-
  64. “Daydream Nation” (2010), Friday, Sept. 10 — A
  65. “It Might Get Loud” (2009), Saturday, Sept. 11 — B+
  66. “Modra” (2010), Wednesday, Sept. 15 — B
  67. “The Man of a Thousand Songs” (2010), Saturday, Sept. 18 — B
  68. “Amazon Falls” (2010), Saturday, Sept. 18 — A
  69. “Under the Red Hood” (2010), Friday, Oct. 8 — A
  70. “Get Him to the Greek” (2010), Monday, Oct. 11 — F
  71. “Gattaca” (1997), Sunday, Oct. 17 — A
  72. “Johnny Mnemonic” (1995), Saturday, Oct. 23 — A
  73. “Dinner for Schmucks” (2010), Thursday, Nov. 4 — F
  74. “Knight and Day” (2010), Tuesday, Nov. 9 — C
  75. “Labyrinth” (1986), Tuesday, Nov. 9 — A
  76. “Never Let Me Go” (2010), Friday, Nov. 12 — A
  77. “American Grindhouse” (2010), Saturday, Nov. 13 — B-
  78. “Clash of the Titans” (2010), Saturday, Nov. 13 – C
  79. “We Live in Public” (2009), Sunday, Nov. 14 — A
  80. “Teen Wolf” (1985), Sunday, Nov. 14 – A
  81. “Raising Arizona” (1987), Wednesday, Nov. 17 — A+
  82. “The Lottery” (2010), Saturday, Nov. 20 – A
  83. “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” (2008), Sunday, Nov. 21 — B+
  84. “Cry Baby” (1990), Saturday, Nov. 27 — B+
  85. “Trancers” (1985), Saturday, Nov. 27 — A+
  86. “Lost in La Mancha” (2002), Sunday, Nov. 28 — A
  87. “K-9″ (1989), Saturday, Dec. 4 — A
  88. “FUBAR” (2002), Sunday, Dec. 5 — A
  89. “Hot Fuzz” (2007), Sunday, Dec. 5 — A
  90. “Black Swan” (2010), Friday, Dec. 10 — A+
  91. “Blood into Wine” (2010), Saturday, Dec. 11 — B
  92. “Family Man” (2000), Monday, Dec. 13 — B
  93. “The King’s Speech” (2010), Wednesday, Dec. 15 — A+
  94. “Green Zone” (2010), Monday, Dec. 20 — B
  95. “The A-Team” (2010), Monday, Dec. 20 — B+
  96. “True Grit” (2010), Wednesday, Dec. 22 — A
  97. “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946), Thursday, Dec. 23 — A+
  98. “Scrooged” (1988), Friday, Dec. 24 — A+
  99. “Transformers” (2007), Saturday, Dec. 25 — B+

2009: Movies watched, rated.

Posted on by
6

Favourite film of 2009: "The Box," followed by "The Hurt Locker" and guilty-pleasure, "Law Abiding Citizen."

Rating System:

A+ = Don’t Miss It, Life-Changing, Classic
A = Very Solid Recommendation, Very Well Made
B+ = Solid Recommendation
B = Recommended
B- = Alright, still worth a watch
C = Watch at your own risk
D = Avoid
F = Waste of Film, Time and Money

This includes every film I watched in 2009, including films previously screened, and rated as per that individual viewing. It also combines film screenings with DVD rentals. However, they are not listed in any order beyond the general grade rating.

  1. Waltz With Bashir — A
  2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — B+
  3. Revolutionary Road — B+
  4. The Wrestler — A
  5. The Reader – B+
  6. Milk — A+
  7. Gomorrah — A+
  8. Rachel Getting Married – B+
  9. The Watchmen — A
  10. Role Models — A
  11. The International — B+
  12. Notorious — C
  13. The Spirit — F
  14. Angels and Demons — B+
  15. Twilight — C
  16. Star Trek — C
  17. The Day the Earth Stood Still – B
  18. 50 Dead Men Walking — A+
  19. Up — A
  20. Flight of the Navigator — A+
  21. Fanboys – B+
  22. Mean Guns — A
  23. Fast and the Furious 4 — A
  24. He’s Just Not that Into You — F
  25. Moon — A
  26. Hurt Locker — A+
  27. JCVD – B+
  28. Race to With Mountain (2008) — C
  29. Adventureland — C
  30. Knowing — B+
  31. Bruno — D
  32. District 9 — A+
  33. V (miniseries) — A
  34. I Love You, Man — B+
  35. Inglourious Basterds — A
  36. Starman — A
  37. Coraline — B+
  38. Jurassic Park 3 — B-
  39. Repo! The Genetic Opera — B
  40. Misery — A
  41. The Silence of the Lambs — A
  42. State of Play — B
  43. Close Encounters of the Third Kind — A+
  44. Kill Bill, part one — A+
  45. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs — B+
  46. Year One — F
  47. Zombieland — B
  48. Where the Wild Things Are — B+
  49. Away We Go — D
  50. Rocky Horror Picture Show — A+
  51. Watchmen — A+
  52. Into the Wild — A
  53. The Brothers Bloom — A
  54. Fireproof — B
  55. Law Abiding Citizen — B+
  56. The Box — A+
  57. A Serious Man — B
  58. Fantastic Mr. Fox — A+
  59. The Machinist — D
  60. The Running Man — A
  61. The Road — C
  62. Up in the Air — A+
  63. Disney’s Christmas Carol — B
  64. Jingle All the Way — B+
  65. Jack Frost – B+
  66. Die Hard — A
  67. Avatar — B-
  68. Julie & Julia — C
  69. Terminator: Salvation — C
  70. Total Recall – A+
  71. Taking Woodstock — A
  72. Monkey Warfare — C
  73. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus — A
  74. Die Hard: With a Vengeance — A+

I began 2009 by making copious use of my Phillips DVD player with USB port, which meant lots of movies not acquired by above-the-board methods… however, I have seen the errors of my ways and have since removed all BitTorrent software from my computers. I can’t endorse pirating any more; despite the errors that the industry has made in terms of DRM and copyright issues. Unless the product is given away freely (under say, a “Creative Commons” license or otherwise), my conscience knows that it’s still theft.

Movie theatre tickets may be too expensive, DVD/Blu-rays maybe ugly and overpriced, but that doesn’t give me the right to steal that content. Maybe it’s because I’m a content producer myself (both as a writer and musician), but when that content is taken from me (or my employer) without recognition, I know that it’s wrong.

I do see the value in freely giving away content: Keith Green did this in the 1980s for the sake of spreading the Gospel, and today writers like Cory Doctorow share their books online, entirely for free, in the fight for publicity — I myself participate in a  blend of these approaches to a certain extent with my own Christmas recordings.

So instead of downloading, I’ve started watching more matinee movies, more movies “solo,” and I’ve even signed up for a DVD rental service, Zip.ca (let me know if you want to sign up and I can “refer” you). I expect that next year the number of movies I’ll have see will be lower, and will have a higher number of “old” films, thanks to the weird rental structure of online rental services.

My top ten favourite Christmas movies, 2009

Posted on by
2

The is what the snowman looks like in "Jack Frost" (1998) starring Michael Keaton. Would you want to see this movie more if I told you Henry Rollins was in it?

I have few holiday traditions, but I’m so far working on a few that I hope will last the run of my lifetime, and the various Christmas seasons I’m able to celebrate. Christmas mix CDs have been ageless (and now morphed into podcasts!). Decorating the plastic Christmas tree has been going for five. Recording a Christmas EP has been running for three. I started doing the Christmas card mail-out this year (yes, offline e-cards). Adding clove spices to the coffee grounds is another. Church on Christmas eve. Buying presents. And one of my most favourite: the Christmas movie.

My tastes seem to change year to year, from sentimental oldies to whacked out oddities, but there’s a few usuals that seem to stick around… you’re likely to agree with me on all of these. Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without them. Without further ado, here’s my top Christmas movies for 2009.

  1. Die Hard. I need to watch Bruce Willis kill some terrorists to really get that holiday spirit. Kidding.
  2. Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All. It’s satirical and sincere all at the same time. You can tell Colbert actually believes in Christmas, but still has fun with the spirit of it. Not just that phony, entertainer-y kind of Chrismas special like Carrie Underwood or someone like that would give you. Plus! Music you actually want to listen to… I would even go so far as to call this a modern classic.
  3. It’s a Wonderful Life. Loved watching this on my old black-and-white television with rabbit ears, and now I love watching it even more with a rowdy group of friends at the Bloor Cinema.
  4. Ernest Saves Christmas. I’m not sure if I actually like Ernest, but I do remember watching all his stupid movies without understanding all the in-jokes. He’s just greasy and weird, but also genuine. It’s a shame that we have comedians like Larry the Cable Guy standing in for him these days.
  5. Gremlins. Because there’s nothing scarier than a Christmas gift you didn’t want.
  6. Home Alone. I love this because I actually love spending time all by myself in the house, just hanging out, doing things. Without the burglars of course
  7. Scrooged. I’ve only seen this once, but it became an instant classic. Who doesn’t love Bill Murray?
  8. Jingle All the Way. Set in the twin cities, this is one of those overlooked “commercialism is bad” Christmas movies, although I’m not totally sure if the film actually makes that point. And in the movie, Arnold Schwarzenegger punches a deer in the face. Then gives it beer.
  9. Batman Returns. The final Tim Burton/Michael Keaton Batman movie is actually a “goth” Christmas movie in disguise. Bascially, that’s all Tim Burton movies though.
  10. Jack Frost. Brand new addition for 2009! I caught this on TV the other day, and while I didn’t necessarily love it at first, I just couldn’t get over how bizarre this movie is. Juvenile humour. Henry Rollins. And according to the S.O., Keaton’s Frosty always has a “murderous look on his face.” Added to the top ten.

Notable mentions: The Ref (Denis Leary), Fred Claus (Vince Vaughn), the “I-can’t-actually-suggest-this-to-anyone-but-I-liked-it” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Christmas Special,” I’ll Be Home for Christmas (starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas), He-Man and She-Ra: Christmas Special, Pee-Wee Herman’s Christmas Special.

2008: Movies watched, rated.

Posted on by
4

Rating System:

A+ = Don’t Miss It, Life-Changing, Classic
A = Very Solid Recommendation, Very Well Made
B+ = Solid Recommendation
B = Recommended
B- = Alright, still worth a watch
C = Watch at your own risk
D = Avoid
F = Waste of Film, Time and Money

Another note: This includes every film I watched in 2008, included films previously screened, and rated as per that viewing. It also combines film screenings with DVD rentals. However, they are not listed in any order beyond the general grade rating.

THE BEST OF 2008

The Godfather — A+
Blade Runner — A+
There Will Be Blood — A+
Prince Caspian — A+
Wall-E — A+
Control — A+
Rushmore — A+
Tron — A+
Airheads — A+
The Big Lebowski — A+
Heavy Metal in Baghdad — A+
Synechdoce, New York — A+
Frost/Nixon — A+
Brand Upon the Brain! — A+
Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten — A+

Hellboy: Golden Army — A
My Kid Could Paint That — A
Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls — A
Gran Torino — A
Iron Man — A
3:10 to Yuma — A
Raiders of the Lost Ark — A
Speed Racer — A
Man on Wire — A
Kung Fu Panda — A
Futurama: Bender’s Game — A
What We Do Is Secret — A
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade — A
Tropic Thunder — A
Ghost Ride the Whip (doc) — A
Paranoid Park — A
The Changeling — A

THE REST

The Darjeeling Limited — B+
Wanted — B+
Forgetting Sarah Marshall — B+
The Dark Night — B+
The Counterfitters — B+
Slumdog Millionaire — B+
Be Kind, Rewind — B+
Redacted — B+
Burn After Reading — B+
War, Inc — B+
Taxi to the Dark Side — B+

The Eldritch Influence: (Lovecraft doc) — B
American Gangster — B
Shine a Light — B
The Hunting Party — B
CTV Movie: Mayerthorpe — B
Gone Baby Gone — B
The Myst — B
The Beast with a Billion Backs — B
The Rocker — B
Street Kings — B
Leatherheads — B
Don’t Mess with the Zohan — B
NetherBeast Incorporated — B

The Love Guru — B-
I’m Not There — B-
Pineapple Express — B-
Once — B-
The Happening — B-
Hamlet 2 — B -
Hancock — B -

Cloverfield — C
Chalk — C
Charlie Bartlett — C
Dan in Real Life — C
Southland Tales — C
Ocean’s Thirteen — C
Lars and the Real Girl — C

La Vie en Rose — D
Juno — D
The Tracy Fragments — D
Jumper — D
Untraceable — D
The Bank Job — D
Drillbit Taylor — D
The Hulk — D

Vantage Point — F

Classic Christmas Films

Scrooged
Gremlins
Home Alone
Bad Santa
It’s a Wonderful Life
Colbert Christmas
Ernest Saves Christmas

Not-so-good Christmas Films

Surviving Christmas
Eight Crazy Nights
National Lamoon’s Christmas Vacation

FAVOURITE NEW FILM OF 2008

Speed Racer.

BIGGEST SURPRISE/FAVOURITE RECOMMENDATION OF 2008

Street Kings