'Bruno'



I consider Borat one of the better comedies we've had this decade- it delved into our society and made a proven point that bigotry still exists no matter where you go. Not only was it funny but it was smart and highly reminescent of 17th centruy Irish satirist Jonathan Swift. Bruno is the same -albeit more vulgar- setup but it doesn't feel as fresh and its mean spiritedness gets to be a bit too much. Ok, To tell you the truth I was too distracted with this awesome girl sitting right next to me in the theatre- but that's another story. From what I did see of Bruno, it is everything you'd expect from Sacha Baron Cohen- it's crude, vulgar, mean and highly graphic. At one point during the film he vows to be 'The biggest austrian celebrity since Hitler'- yea it's just that kind of a movie. I don't think I've ever seen this many penises in a Hollywood film before. I also have no idea how he ended up interviewing a Hamas terrorist -calling Osama a 'sleeveless wizard' in the process- and pitching a TV show to NBC execs with a talking Penis. On a side note, that very same terrorist ended up threatening Cohen on Al Qaeda just a day ago and putting a bounty on his head. Even worse is the finale, where Bruno ends up fighting a cage match in a homophobic filled Alabama arena- This is essentially what the film is about: Shock value. Sometimes Cohen forgets about his goal to satirize/smarten up his subject and instead gets lost in his own bewildered wonder to entertain. It's a mess of a movie- or I could have just been highly distracted by the girl sitting next to me.

Outrageous Momma



Ah yes, a face only a mother could love. Flipping through channels the other night, I stumbled upon a film I had seen many years ago- Throw Momma Off The Train. A dark -and incredibly strange- comedy about a man that has the most despicable and repulsive mother imaginable and ends up hatching a plot to try & kill her. Althought it was a highly forgettable romp back when I saw it many eons ago, I cannot help but remember Anne Ramsey Playing Momma- she is absolutely, terrifyingly funny and will haunt any decent human beings dreams. Just look at that horrid face. In no way shape or form did I continue watching it the other night but I just have to lay it out to people that this movie DOES actually exist.

'Milk'



'I'd rather be black than gay because when you're black you don't have to tell your mother.'

It took me a while to finally get to watch this one. As with any film that is 'Gay Themed', the mainstream audience will undoubtedly talk about the scenes where Sean Penn sleeps with James Franco instead of actually focusing on the theme and emotion of the story. Same thing happened with Brokeback Mountain-a far less superior film to Milk. Both films are conventional and both films deal with what it is to be queer in America. I always go back to the saying 'Closets are for clothes' in which the dealing of homosexuality is given an abrupt and unequivocal challenge.

Penn Plays Gay Civil Rights leader and -first openly gay politician- Harvey Milk. He won an Oscar for it and there's not enough praise to let you know it's the sweetest, most endearing performance of his career. I never thought I'd see Sean Penn kiss so many men but there he is, Gay as a kite and you believe in his sincerity, his honesty and his humble gestures. A gay friend of mine admitted that he had a few 'Oprah like' moments watching the film because 'that was our history on screen, the struggle and the continuation of it'. That is precisely why a movie like Milk is important, People can deny hatred all they want but that does not mean it ceases to exist and there can only be continuation to the ignorance- it's everywhere. Just look at the marriage bans all across the states and the countless Religious zealots that still believe in it being a disease. I guess you can call this an important film.

Huh?



Supposedly this new picture of Obama is causing quite a stir.
I don't get it. Is he not allowed to look? This is what happens when a thoughtful, litterate Democrat comes to office. Republicans try to find every single possible way to lower his image and make him vulnerable for the next 4 years. If the picture above would be considered highly profane, then what would the picture below be considered-

Exhibit B?


Exhibit C?


And so on and so on..

Food Inc.



A new documentary by Robert Kenner is making waves in the cities its being screened at. I'm not sure why. Firstly, its topic is an important but highly overused subject- the decline and horrid consummation of processed food & the importance of Organic/Raw. Yes, I do know what we're eating is bad, yes I do know that Natural is the way to go,- although way overpriced-yes I do know about the way Cattle is treated and the many diseases that come along with it, yes I do know about fast food chains etc. I could go on and on- it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure all these things out and although these are important stories for non believers, I felt like I was being preached upon by a raw obsessed cult. At least what Morgan Spurlock did with Super Size Me 5 years ago was highly entertaining and memorable- while incoporating the neceassary educational stuff. They should have renamed this doc- 'Organic Food 101 for dummies'. I decided to get a double cheeseburger right after the movie was done, weirdly enough the same thing happened after watching Super Size Me.

Late night thought



I'm somewhat taken aback at the lack of coverage from Iran during the past few weeks on television. A revolution is happening yet all we're hearing about is Michael Jackson. It doesn't mean I wasn't a fan of the guy- I was even suckered into buying a memorial shirt off the street- but what's happening in Iran is enormous. A country known for dictatorship and the denial of free democracy through censorship, is waking up. Its citizens are rebelling and there is an undeniable sense of rebellious courage running through the people's veins. Youtube has helped enormously in transmitting the message and so has Facebook with its numerous groups and posted videos. We are not only seeing a revolution happening in Iran but this is also a landmark time for the way news is being served to its audience. People are no longer reading newspapers, people are no longer watching CNN or Fox News- instead people are looking for more truthful and personal accounts through internet blogging and video posting. No one even knew what was going in Iraq during the invasion in 2003, 6 years later and we know a little more. People are blaming the economy for ruining newspapers worldwide but maybe the picture is greater than we think. Soldiers posting personal video journals on Youtube and internet bloggers giving various opinions have opened up the internet to a whole new breed of journalists- the citizen.

Indie support (Moon & Girlfriend Experience)



If the summer movie season is a mix of hell fire and flatulence for film buffs, there are always a few small independent movies that come out of nowhere and remind you that intelligence and originality still exists in a land of mediocrity. Sometimes it's better not to know anything about a film and just go watch it. Directed By newcomer Duncan Jones- David Bowie's son- and starring a never better Sam Rockwell, Moon is exactly that. A film made for a chump sum of money -5 million dollars- and a film creating more energy and excitement than any scene involving Megan Fox in Transformers 2. The plot is simple yet there is layer after layer of intrigue in here. An Astronaut is nearly done his 3 year stint at the moon and about to leave in just a few days- then things start to get weird and he meets a man that is his exact twin. I need not say more, just go watch it. It's the kind of film that will get more and more popular as word of mouth spreads around cities screening it- Don't pay attention to the trailers or IMDB, just don't find out a thing.



I'm not a porn connoisseur but supposedly Sasha Grey is very big in the business, in fact she's huge. So much so that Steven Soderbergh (Traffic & Erin Brokovich) hired her for his new film, The Girlfriend Experience. It's definitely something different but its originality is pure Soderbergh. There is no typical narrative, the story is basically told in 5 different times but it blends well and kept me interested. Grey surprised me, she's rarely naked and when she does have sex on screen, it is not graphic- in other words this is not a movie for her fans. It's sophisticated and very pronounced. Basically what Moon and The Girlfriend Experience offer is something mature and something very different- an alternative of sorts to the firecracker fest populated in these dog days of summer. They offer up hard questions and stylish cinematography that lures you into their intriguing and fascinating webs. These films leap into the wild blue and dare you to leap with them. Go for it.

Random thoughts



It's a question that can probably never get answered. What's the greatest film of all time? Is there such a thing? I clearly don't believe in it, there is no such thing as universal acclaim. If there ever was, I wouldn't be writing about film and we'd all be robotic figures. But seriously, why get into a debate about what's THE best, when you know there will never be a unanimous consensus. Not just in film but in any artistic concept, universality does not exist. I can be a pompous ass and claim that Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thief is the most flawless work of cinema I've ever seen -it is- or that The Godfather Part 2 is as good a hollywood movie as I've ever seen -it is- but numerous opinions -and polls for that matter- will disagree with me. As I've said before; Art is not meant to be rated, it is meant to be seen as a creative expression- now why in the hell would I want to rate that?

'Blame it on the lies that killed us'



I guess you can say I'm infatuated by Bruce Springsteen- I see him at least 3 times every tour and I personally consider his discography as the third best one in Rock and Roll, behind The Beatles and Dylan. Those who claim he is no longer relevant have no idea what they are missing. He still pulls out 3 hour shows -with no break- and plays a heavy batch of new songs from the past 10 years of music. His latest appearances at Bonnaroo and Glastonbury have only heightened his relevance and kick started a wave of younger new bands that cite him as an immense influence (The Killers, Hold Steady, Arcade Fire, Coldplay, Gaslight Anthem, The National). Consider this- during his hot streak this decade, he has released 3 great records and sold out countless stadiums worldwide. His older records have aged admirably well and are only gaining more and more listeners. Where to start ? Buy -or download- Born To Run and Nebraska, two admirable and highly different records that hold the spirit of what makes him so great.

'Public Enemies' & 'Drag Me To Hell'



Michael Mann's outstanding new film Public Enemies opens today. It's a crime saga with flair, style and an interest all its own. Only problem? it's too long- which wouldn't surprise most cinematic connoisseurs familiar with Mann and his stylishly overdone epics. Heat, Ali, Collateral, Manhunter and The Insider- All fascinating but all flawed and epic in length. Structurally it is very much in the same style as we would expect from the crime genre but stylishly Mann is unto a whole other ballgame here. He shoots in Digital video and -unlike Miami Vice- it actually works and suits the picture very well- in fact It's more a character study than a action driven movie. The thing I've always liked about Mann is the way he injects steroidal machoism to his films but has always managed to keep it artistic and -especially with this film- relevant to our times. What would I cut from the film ? maybe the last 10 minutes, which go out in a very conventional -dare i say- safe way and the Romance with Cottilard does tend to slightly drag the film near it's conclusion but Mann's macho heroism is at full swing here and there's something very iconic in seeing Depp portray crime king Dillinger in a playful, playboy-esque manner. In these dog days of summer, I'd say Public Enemies is a blessing from the sky and an incredible alternative to the drivel we've been getting of late- Transformers anyone?



Going into a screening of Sam Raimi's latest, I was literally dragged. My expectations were low and I didn't really want to see a movie about a gypsy curse and the poor farm girl that comes into contact with it. Boy was I surprised. This isn't only one of the stronger movies I've seen this summer but it's also one of the most amusing ones. Some of the stuff in here can be traced way back to Raimi's Army Of Darkness roots and has a spalsh of what made Spiderman 2 one of the more entertaining superhero movies of the past decade. It also has one of the most forumla convulting twists I've seen in a while. Basically whatever you would expect from the typical horror film is blown away here and twisted upside down. I guess you can say I liked it.

Image Of The Day 7/1/09 *Canada Day Edition*



This being Canada Day, what better way celebrating than to showcase an image that perfectly describes Canadian cinema- Actually change that to French Canadian Cinema. Marie-Jose Croze in Denis Villeneuve's sexual, dreamy Maelstrom. Criminally underrated, highly worth seeing and much better than his follow-up, this year's Polytechnique.


Has there ever been a more devastating loss in the music industry than Michael Jackson's death? Artists like Michael Jackson come far and few. There was Elvis Presley, John Lennon and now The King Of Pop. I can still remember listening to Thriller for the first time -not a bad tune on an album full of great ones, Heal The World at summer camp, You Are Not Alone on Top 40 radio. He defined what a musician can and cannot do and then broke the barriers with everything he was gonna do next. Forget about the controversy and think of the talent. Remember the moves, forget the accusing. Remember the songs, forget the wrongs. He was one of a kind and no matter how many imitators, there is only one innovator.

Suffice to say Farrah Fawcett's untimely death was completely overshadowed last night by The King Of Pop. She didn't have much of a film career and was most notably known for her role on Charlie's Angels and in an Iconic 70's poster but I'm reminded of a woman that fought the battle hard and long. She was brave, courageous and undeniably strong in documenting her long, arduous battle with Anal Cancer. So much so that she agreed to air it as a documentary on ABC just a month ago. If her film career had always fizzled, I'm reminded of one of her last roles in the late Robert Altman's Dr. T And The Women. She only shares the screen for but a few minutes but it's a comic and silly thing to see her dancing naked in a shopping mall- long after she's gone and the main characters settle in, her presence is still deeply felt in the film.

'Bloody remake'


I'm a self proclaimed 'Coen-head'. There's nothing wrong in admitting it, Joel and Ethan Coen have created some of the greatest movies of the past 3 decades. Now here comes news that completely stunned me. Renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou is remaking their classic Blood Simple in his own language- renaming it San Qiang Pai An Jing Qi (The Stunning Case of the Three Gun Shots) I'm so used to seeing Americans remaking Asian Cinema (The Ring, The Grudge, The Eye) that it's astonishing to see a great Asian filmmaker remaking an American film. That's why I'm somewhat mixed with this idea of a remake, why mess around with something that's already great ? or it could just be total ignorance on my part and this turns out to be highly watchable.

This is where the Coen Brothers' journey in cinema started, it is their first and most horrifying film. In fact, I'd go as far to say that it's almost as good as their future masterworks No Country For Old Men and Fargo. There are many influences here, including french cinema and also -quite heavily-film noir from the 40's. Not many people have seen it, which is a shame and is a perfect opportunity for you to get your ass to the video store and rent the director's cut of this incredible 1984 film noir. Tout de suite !

'Too weird to live and Too rare to die'


"We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, laughers, screamers... Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls."

Watching Fear and Loathing with a buddy a few days ago got me thinking. Have I ever seen the film sober? It's just that kind of movie, a hallucinogen all in itself and a film some folks can only GET if under the influence of something. I do believe it's a great movie and what director Terry Gilliam has done is absolutely brilliant. It's become a cult classic- a movie perfectly suited for the midnight crowd. It's Gilliam's most misunderstood picture and is -to this day- still highly snubbed by te mainstream. "I want it to be seen as one of the great movies of all time, and one of the most hated movies of all time" exclaimed Gilliam before the film's release. It's definitely not a perfect film- in fact it's quite messy and has no real structure, but there's ambition in that statement and it's that same ambition that makes me like it.

Depp plays Gonzo Journalist Hunter S. Thompson, whom in 1970- as the Vietnam war was headed to its prime- went on a road trip to Nevada with his Attorney Oscar Zeta Acosta. Thompson was supposed to cover a motorcycle race and bring back a 500 word piece with mostly photographs- instead he goes to Vegas with Acosta and uses every possible drug known to man. Trippy doesn't even begin to describe the film- it's more than that, it's a document of a time far gone and a surreality that most of us will never get to. It's a social document of a time when America was it's worst and was assaulted with paranoia by its government- still sounds relevant to this day.

'Up'


Finally my thoughts on Pixar's latest. It's one hell of an imaginative romp and touching as hell. There's a montage scene near the beginning that's as good as any montage scene I've ever seen the last decade. It's become quite redundant to say that -yes !- pixar has created yet another terrific film, so much so that you wish they would just cough up a bad one. Glenn Kenny said it best in his review a few weeks ago-

"I'm almost reminded—and this is gonna sound weird, but bear with me—of a certain period in the career of the reliably dyspeptic post-punk band The Fall, whose run of albums from the early '80s to 1990 was so staggering that by, say, 1985's This Nation's Saving Grace, one ceased to be quite so staggered."

It's a perfect description of what's happening with Pixar this decade. If movies are on a total downfall, the animation these wizards are creating is at an all time high -yes, even better than Disney in the 40's and 50's. With Up they've managed to have an 80 year old geriatric as a hero and a 10 year old boyscout as his accomplice. They've managed to sneak in hilarious talking- collared dogs, a weird lookin' colorful bird, a helium flown balloon house and one mesmerizing action sequence after another. My praise cannot be high enough and although there's that customary happy ending that you expect, that also feels right.

So what's the best Pixar movie this decade? I personally cannot choose. Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, WALL-E, Cars and Ratatouille have all become classics and exhort a powerful hold on me. The weakest one -Monsters Inc.- is still an indelibly made romp. Up next is Toy Story 3 and I highly doubt that one will be a failure. The last 10 years of film have been dominated by pixar animation, the next decade looks to be the same.