Dave's Bizarre Movie Rants

Batman: City of Scars Review!

2010-06-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

As of late I became aware of a new Batman fan film called City of Scars; through www.joblo.com cool videos section. I will try an not reveal any significant plot details but SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW, SO BE AWARE!

I thought this was the best Batman fan film that I have seen, although it is only the second one that I have seen; the other one that I saw was Ashes To Ashes (review to follow soon). The actor who played Batman/Bruce Wayne is not an ugly man but is not boyishly handsome enough to pull off playing the Bruce Wayne part, which maybe why for 95% of the film he is in the Batman suit. I believe he played a great Batman; scruff on his face added to the grittiness of his portrayal of Batman and his voice as Batman was a little raw and deep (thought that was great). His suit is the suit that features grey in the torso section with the small, but revamped batman symbol below the neck. I thought it was nice that they were not trying to imitate Bale's Batman suit. The black eye makeup around his eyes was a nice throwback to Keaton's Batman; nice touch.

The cityscape shots of what is supposed to be Gotham City were very good. The presence of both Detective Montoya and Allen were also a nice touch; a nod to the Gotham Central comics, Batman Gotham Knight and other Batman comics that feature those characters. I enjoyed thematically and visually how they ran with the theme of scars in the film. This is achieved by alluding to Bruce Wayne's emotional scars, showing his physical scars and featuring characters who have facial scars such as the puppet character Scarface; who looks great. I thought the Joker looked great, however his voice deliver was not theatrical and over the top enough; he channels Mark Hamil at times but holds back with his voice volume and intonation when he really should play it up more. Bat-cycle is featured briefly, although it is really just a sport bike, but does feature a batman themed heads up display; again I thought it was great how they were not trying to imitate what Nolan did with his Bat-pod. Batarang, utility belt are shown briefly, batarangs are used once and a his bat arsenal tools/weapons are showcased briefly; the prop people did a nice job.

The closing of the film is just great. A shot of batman on a rooftop with his face posed next to two gargoyles looks excellent. If you are a Batman fan, I highly suggest you check this film out; can be found on youtube (I believe), I screened it off of joblo.com and it may be on www.batmanfanfilms.com .

Excited about watching Batman fan films in the near future,

FanboyDave

3D, Why Are you overcharging Me?

2010-02-13T05:50:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

Is it just me or are you tired of all the movies coming out in 3D. Avatar has made hundreds of millions of dollars. Guess how?; 3D. It would have been nearly impossible to see this film in 2D. I saw it in 3D, although I tried to see it in 3D Imax, but a bunch of eager beavers bought their Imax tickets online and sold out the showtimes. Currently, I have only seen two films at the theatre in 3D; My Bloody Valentine and Avatar.

This list of coming films that will be in 3D is huge. However, I am still annoyed. Take Pixar as an example. They offered last year's film Up in 3D; however the DVD release did not feature a 3D version. This is likely because Pixar was offering this 3D theatrical release as a "roadshow" attraction to get a higher box office return. I do not like paying 13 plus dollars for 3D so I chose not to see it in 3D. Back to the list of 3D films coming soon. Here's a very truncated list; Toy Story 3, Halloween 3, Gremlins 3 (rumored), Shrek 4, Piranana (may change), James Bond 23, Spiderman 4, and a host of others. What I do not like about this increased tendency for 3D production, aside from the cost of buying a ticket, is how it is effecting production. James Bond 23's (no official title as of yet) production is allegedly delayed because they have decide to do it in 3D. James Bond films are great and do not need to be made in 3D to get more people to see them.

I am not totally against 3D films. I believe that there have been some decent films done in 3D. I have not seen Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs or Christmas Carol (jim carrey one), but I believe them to be decent films. I believe in 3D release for kids films, the occasional horror film and made an action film every once in a while.

I do believe that the only reason for the rumored Gremlins 3 is to have it released in 3D. I also believe the same for the Halloween 3 non-Rob Zombie film. They tried to do Friday the 13th part 3 in 3D, but did not do well with the 3D and the DVD release does not feature the 3D, however the 3D sequence towards the end of Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare does appear on the Nightmare on Elm Street boxed set DVD release of that film.

Ultimately, my problem with 3D releases are how they affect a film's production (delays and such) and how they affect the writing of a film (scenes plugged into a story just so 3D technology can be used).

What are your thoughts on the wave of 3D films that have come out and are continuing to come out? Let me know. I would love to hear from you.

Yours Truly and slightly Disgruntled,

Fanboy Dave

The Rebirth of Mockumentary Horror Films

2010-01-07T09:36:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

I hope that everyone out there had a great Christmas. I did; my in-laws and my wife got me every DVD that I wanted and I am currently trying to get through everything that I got, which will take me to the spring at least. I am currently cranking the newest Lady Gaga CD as I write this blog, which is of course totally unrelated to the blog topic..anyway..

On Decemeber 29, I acquired a copy of the mockumentary horror film Paranormal Activity and I just got around to watching it January 5Th. I was aware of the film when it was in theatres but did not get a chance to go to the theatre to see it. This was also the case with the other mockumentary horrors The Blair Witch Project and Quarantine (which I just picked up PVed for 7 bucks). I have no aversion to seeing these films in theatres, I just did not get to the theatre to see them.

I wholeheartedly enjoy these mockumentary horror films and hope to see more of them in the future. Some may say that once you have seen one of these types of films that you cannot really watch them anymore or they lose something because you are familiar with the technique of this neo-genre, however I disagree. As much as these mockumentary horrors are all shot on digital video, often used unknown or non-actors and have limited set locations (1-2 locations in total), there is something different about each one and I will explain what is different between these three films and what I take as a viewer from each one. First I will give a brief (haha...I have no idea no brief) rundown of The Blair Witch Project, and then Quarantine and then Paranormal Activity. SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW. BE AWARE. I DO NOT WISH TO INTENTIONALLY RUIN ANY OF THESE FILMS FOR YOU BUT IF YOU WISH TO SEE THEM AND HAVE NOT STOP READING!!!!

The Blair Witch Project came out in 1999 and hit film and more specifically horror film fanatics by storm. No one saw this movie coming. It cost approximately $ 60,000 and is estimated to have made roughly 248 Million Dollars worldwide, which I believe makes it the highest grossing independent film of all time or one of the highest grossing independent films of all time.

The Blair Witch Project, of course follows a documentary film crew who are shooting a documentary about an urban legend witch (called the Blair Witch...who saw that coming?). The film although not a lengthy film (approx. 81 min.) is rich in mythology and was fueled at the box office by the Internet website and Internet buzz (Many believe it to be the first film that was made as in money by the Internet buzz and chatter about it), word of mouth, deceptive missing posters featuring the three actors in the film which could be bought it some stores and finally what fueled my renting of said film was a sly and manipulative little documentary (really a mockumentary)which featured an introduction to the Blair witch myth/story and interviews with family members of the supposedly missing stars of the film. Myself and many others saw this on local cable and believed the story to be true, however we quickly learned once the film was out that it was simply a playful lie and that the stars of the film were alive and well and that the film was a mockumentary horror film. This film is very Hitchcockian, in that it does not show a witch or any creature in fact, but you believe that horror that the three people are enduring is real and you believe that they actually see something (one moment in the film, Heather is running out of the tent and she yells, "What the F^&K is that?"). This film does not scary everyone but I will admit that it freaked me out when I first saw it and when I do watch it it still creeps me out. The rich mythology, but more importantly the extremely significant box office profits lead to a second and very significantly weaker Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows film, which featured no use of 16mm or digital camera and is not shot from the actors perspective or the documentary style of the first.

The Blair Witch Project is a horror classic (although it is currently only 11 years old) and began a short-lived trend of documentary Horror films (see St. Francisville Experiment) ,which had just now returned with 2009's Paranormal Activity with I will discuss at the end, but next up is Quarantine.

Quarantine (2008) features a reporter and her camera and residents of a 3 or 4 story apartment building and deals with their plight as a super-rabies virus claims them all. Quarantine runs about 89 min, so it is slightly longer than The Blair Witch Project but these types of films tend to be somewhat slow in the beginning and build to a very tense last half an hour and run about 90 min at most. I cannot directly claim this film to be the rebirth of the horror mockumentary that began with The Blair Witch Project because it is actually a remake of a Spanish film called REC (as in record, clever huh?) which strangely runs 85 mins (whoa...I just blew your mind eh?). I have not see REC, but probably should it came out in 2007 and just last year was followed by a REC 2, so obviously it does not end the same way Quarantine does. I could say that REC was inspired by or is in the spirit of The Blair Witch Project, but Quarantine itself is just a Hollywood remake of a foreign film. There's Hollywood for you, quickly adapting filming techniques from independent movies and phasing them into the Hollywood mainstream.

Quarantine, unlike The Blair Witch Project features known, but not big actors Jennifer Carpenter (Showtime's Dexter), Steve Harris (TV's not forgotten The Practice), Marin Hinkle (2 1/2 Men) , Jay Hernandez (Friday Night Lights..the movie not the show, although the show is great as well) and Greg Germann (Fox's 90s hit Ally McBeal). So as you can see using TV or former TV actors means this movie was paid on the cheap, although Jennifer Carpenter probably got thrown a bit of money (just watch Dexter, it's great). The reporter and residents collectively the help of a vet played by Germann figure out is a rapidly acting form of the rabies that infects humans. No until almost the end of the film do we discover throw yellowed newspaper articles pasted to an apartment wall that the virus is tied to a terrorist group and that group has a scientist created a 'doomsday virus' and wouldn't you know that scientist lives in this apartment building, has not been seen by the super for a month, and appears in his apartment to be infected and quickly kills the reporter and her cameraman.

Although the infect have rabies what comes to mind is zombies from George A. Romero's Night of The Living Dead and the rage virus infect from 28 Days Later and the surprising quite good 28 Weeks Later. Quarantine seems to be in the spirit of those two films while at the same time using the techniques of The Blair Witch Project, although not shot on 16mm but on digital video both give a home video feel to the look and sound of the film. Just in case you were wondering Quarantine runs 89 mins ; just under my 90 min limit. Although the reason behind the human rabies virus is eventually shown to the viewer there does not seen to be much of a mythology or backstory there, which is fine, it just does not lend itself to a franchise or to any kind of bleed over to other mediums; specifically books or comics. I will not discuss Paranormal Activity.

Paranormal Activity (2009) was made for approximately $15,000 and has made approximately 107 million in the North America as of Decemember 13Th, 2009. This film features unknown actors; Katie is working now, but Micah does not have anything in the works right now. Both the actors first names are used as their first names in the film, very Blair Witch of director Oren Peli, who is slated to be writing Paranormal Activity 2 slated for 2012...if we make it...haha. The film runs 86 min but the extended edition runs 99 min, but I am going by the theatrical cut's length, so the film is again under 90 min. The trailers for this film made you believe that the house was haunted but it turns out as you watch the film that you discover that Katie is actually being pursued by a demon (i would call it a poltergeist cause poltergeists can movie things but they are powerful spirits of dead humans, whereas a demon is a powerful entity that was never human). A psychic who comes to the house tells her, after she explains that she has been 'haunted' before that this entity is after her and will pursue her if she flees; this is not escape. This tells you that the whole coarse of the film will take place...you guessed it....in their 'haunted house'. Like The Blair Witch Project nothing is really seen, save for shadows, however doors are slammed, voices are heard and tense, screaming behaviour from the terrorized couple ensues. This film begins the rebirth of mockumentary horror that started with The Blair Witch Project, so hopefully you enjoy this type of horror cinema because you are going to see more of it...so get read...change your underwear...turn the lights down and get ready to scream.

All three films (The Blair Witch Project, Quarantine, and Paranormal Activity) take themselves seriously and are presented as truth, however the artifice (artificial nature) of Quarantine is more noticeable because of casting known actors in the film. The Blair Witch Project stared the first cycle of mockumentary horror films (see also St. Francisville Experiment) which was somewhat short-lived. Quarantine was evidence of a rebirth in interest for mockumentary horror but did not go all the way like Paranormal Activity did with their unknown actors and home video style shooting technique. These mockumentary horror films started with The Blair Witch Project, an independent American film, were somewhat brought back to the surface by modestly priced (1.5 mil)small studio Spanish film REC, which Andale Pictures remade and have been resurrected with the low budget sleeper Paranormal Activity. I am hoping that this cycle last longer than the other one cause I can only say with certainty that The Blair Witch Project, The St. Francisville Experimnet and Session 9 truly belong to this first cycle.

I highly recommend all the films that I have mentioned and hope that you have seen them or will take the time in the future to see them

Sincerely,

FANBOY Dave

R U Game(R)?

2009-09-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Yesterday afternoon I saw Gamer, along with my friend and co-worker Sharif. I have been following this film for a bunch of months; when it was original called The Game and then became Gamer.

I enjoyed the casting of Gerard Butler (great in 300, also Phantom of The Opera, Rock N Rolla) and Michael C. Hall (he was great in Six Feet Under and is great in Dexter but it is cool to see him a film). I thought they determination and sheer will of Gerard Butler's Kable met Michael C. Hall's megalomaniac Ken Castle's drive to control the world through his technology very well. They were both evenly matched as opponents.

I would have liked a longer running time; the film was only 95 minutes. I believe that the film could have been about 20 minutes longer and it would not have dragged. They could have featured a few more scenes with Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges or inputed a couple more action sequences.

I regard this film as a Running Man for the new technological era. This of course, being the era that we live in and will continue to live in until, our obsession with technology leads us to our destruction; if of course this happens.

The films deals with how people use video games to escape from their own misery but also how super real video games could lead to the employed enslavement of lower class citizens who are forced to be the puppets of these gamers so that they can care for their families. This I believe is the most intriguing aspect of the film and involves the hyper interactive video game called Society create by the Ken Castle character who later created Slayers (the game which Kable is played in as a character).

I was a little disappointed with the film but I am currently unable to articulate how I was disappointed or what disappointed me, so do not hold that against the film. I would say if you are a action film fan or a gamer to go see this film and you will be entertained and may even start thinking about the deeper message which the film is expressing.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to recommend topics, make comments or ask questions.

Sincerely,

fAnBoY DaVe

H2; Trashy Horror!

2009-09-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

A couple of weeks ago, specifically the opening weekend of Halloween 2, I went to see...wait for it..Halloween 2. I did see Rob Zombie's take on the first Halloween film and did enjoy it; it was not as brutal as I thought it would be from hearing about his previous films, which I still have not to this day seen. SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW. BE AWARE.

Firstly, I will say that it is more brutal and gory in content than the Zombie's first Halloween; I did not mind this. I was kind of glad that it was rated 18A because that means the director or studio is not afraid of excluding younger moviegoers and therefore the content or vision of the director does not have to be compromised to sell more tickets.

Rob Zombie's panache for featuring trashy looking and acting characters is featured in this film, although largely absent from the first film. Laurie's middle class lifestyle, albeit her tendency for saucy talk with her somewhat slutty friends in the first film has been transformed in this film. Laurie, now living a year since the incidents of the first film is living with Annie (her friend who survived the first film) and her father, Sheriff Bracket in their trashy house, she dresses in a grungy rocker style (torn pants, rock t-shirts, messy hair) and hangs out with some trashy, slutty girls who are all dead by the end of the film (SURPRISE). You can say that Laurie's genes catch up with her in this film; her lifestyle is similar to the one that her teenager sister was living at the beginning of the first film. I am not a fan of Rob Zombie's trash horror cinema, I do however enjoy how he handles horror in the Halloween films.

Zombie turns Dr. Loomis from a devoted, concerned and action oriented doctor in the original Halloween films into a sensationalist, 'anything for a buck' writer, played aptly, once again by Malcolm McDowell; just Knight him already. I enjoyed the altruistic, take action Dr. Loomis played by Donald Pleasance but am willing to accept this different take on Dr. Loomis which seems a bit more realistic. Malcolm McDowell's Loomis does attempt to make good on all the bad he has done; see the film cause I will not go into greater detail.

Zombie uses the hospital setting from the original Halloween 2 as a jumping off point and is not featured as a principal set location. Zombie begins to do something with Laurie that Carpenter never did and that is to draw a genetic connection between her and Michael. I cannot go into further details, less a spoil the ending for you. The film ends with resolution in one way and the possibility for a new beginning in another way. I had an inkling of how the film was going to end, although I was still a bit taken aback by it and cannot decide whether I liked the ending or whether I was a bit disappointed.

Rob Zombie has said that this will be his final film delving into the world of Halloween. There is a possibility for the franchise to be rebooted. If handled appropriately it may world but I am very apprehensive because I believe that there is a strong chance that a franchise reboot will require too much effort that the studio is not willing to put behind a horror franchise.

If you enjoyed the first film or consider yourself a horror fanatic than I highly recommend that you see this film. If you do not fit into either or the two groups but would like to see it, I suggest you rent the dvd when it comes out, however if you are really interested from trailers, reviews or word of mouth then you should check it out.

Thanks for reading.

FANBOY dave

Inglorious Basterds; An exercise in Alternate History!

2009-08-28T06:21:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

and a special Shout out to CANUCKITUDE, my one and only follower on my blog. Feel free to leave comments, questions, or topic suggestions. And thank you for reading my blog.

About three weeks ago, I saw Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds and attempted to do a video blog entry; it did not work out. I will attempt my video blog entries at a later date.

I was surprised that Inglorious Basterds was rated 14A (in Canada) because I assumed it would be pretty brutal and gory. It was not too gory, which is not necessarily a minus, just a surprised.

The cast was great; Brad Pitt was hilarious as Aldo Raines; his comedic performance fit in really well within Tarantino's film. Eli Roth as Donny Donowitz/"The Bear Jew" did very well; i was surprised because I had never seen him act before and only know him as the director of the movie that emotionally scarred my wife, Hostel. Christoph Waltz as the German Col. Hans Landa was excellent; a great movie villain.

I did find that some scenes seemed to drag a bit (i.e. the basement bar scene). I found that some scenes need a bit more comic banter to help deal with the longer scenes. I would have like a couple more action sequences, however the action scenes in the film were all very good.

This film is a signature Tarantino film; dialogue, swagger of characters, excellent casting and the uniqueness of the story being told. Definitely a top Tarantino film even though I only consider Jackie Brown as his only disappointing film.

I continue to look forward to seeing high caliber Hollywood actors in Tarantino's films in the future.

I hope all that have not gone to see Inglorious Basterds will do so in the near future because it was a very entertaining and interesting film.

Fanboy DAVE.

Video Blog Coming Soon

2009-08-21T23:10:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

Just writing to let you know that I will soon attempt a to turn this blog into a video blog because frankly I am sometimes too lazy to type and i have a web cam that I do not use, so once I figure out how to get recording I will post a video blog entry. I just hope that I do not have a face for radio. Who I am kidding I know that i have a face for radio; oh well.

Take Care. You'll be seeing me soon, whether you want to or not.

fanboy Dave

P.S. Here's a picture of me playing guitar hero.

The Secrets of District 9

2009-08-19T14:25:00.001-07:00

Hello All,

I believe that the secret behind District 9, before it came out is that it was (still is) a great F&*king movie. Do not ask follow up questions, just get off the computer, get in your car, obey traffic signals, purchase your ticket(s) and enjoy.

What I hear from some of my friends is that they film was made for 30 million dollars, which is almost unbelievable for how much you get for 30 million dollars; great acting from unknown actors, great special effects and a very interesting, exciting, intelligent humanist story.

After the film finished, I thought to myself that was a great movie and then I started thinking about how they could make a sequel and then how they could make this first film as part of a trilogy. Some of you may say that it would ruin the first film; so to that I saw they could do a really decent sequel and leave it at that. I hope that this happens.

The action in this film is also great; once the alien weapons start being used, prepare to be blown away. The film also has some dramatic elements to it that fit into the story and are not overdone; i will not elaborate because spoilers would ensue.

To summarize my blog; GO SEE DISTRICT 9. GO SEE DISTRICT 9. AND GO SEE DISTRICT 9.

Thank for reading.

faNBoy DAve

P.S. In the picture, my shirt says I love Dexter. I do love him. haha

P.P.S. The picture at the top of this blog entry is me; surprise; man I am ugly...anyway I am at TGI Fridays near the Walden Galleria in this picture. TGI Fridays rocks by the way.

G.I. Joe and Dumbfounded Moviegoers

2009-08-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

My wife and I saw G.I. Joe yesterday. We arrived about an hour or just under an hour before the movie was to begin. In the last fifteen minutes before the movie started to about 3 minutes after the commercials start, dumbfounded moviegoers walked into the theatre with dumb and surprised looks on their faces; their internal monologue was probably saying, "Ohhh. What? There are hardly any seats. But the movie hasn't started yet". It is freaking opening weekend and these Re:tards acted surprised that it was sooo busy. G.I. Joe was probably in the top five for biggest kids TV shows in the 80s; along of course with Transformers and in the early 90s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Where have you people been the last 25 years? Under a freaking rock? In a tree? Ohh well, enough complaining for now..wait. Parents, take your kids to the movies when they are old enough to not ask you every 10 F$#king seconds what is happening. If they cannot follow the movie...maybe they should not be watching it. Okay...I am done now, although I am slowly becoming Paul Rudd's character from Role Models; hilarious movie; check it out.

G.I. Joe was awesome. Not too much dialogue; cause dialogue in action movies is not very good...anymore...well since like Lethal Weapon 2 and Die Hard; there are other exceptions but I do not have time to think of them right now. Thrilling action sequences, but not toppled onto each other to the point where it gets a little annoying; like in Transformers 2 [it was good, but not enough story]. Casting decent to great Channing Tatum, Dennis Quaid, Marlon Wayans, Rachel Nichols [HOTTTT], Arnold Vosloo, Sienna Miller [HOTTERRRRR], Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ray Park F*&king Rocked and Rocks as Snake Eyes. The Story was actually better than one might have expected. I was somewhat surprised that it was as good as it was, but I did believe that it would be done decently.

Top Five Movies of the Summer (in no particular order):

Star Trek
The Hangover
Wolverine
G.I. Joe
Transformers 2

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

fAnboY daVe

P.S. I continue to watch The Watchmen but I am currently watching Pineapple Express.

I got a GRUDGE TOO,

2009-08-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

I know that it has been a while since my last post, but I have been busy...; playing wii [lego star wars, guitar hero metallica], watching movies, reading True Blood novels [currently on book 7 of 9 (haha Jeri Ryan haha)] and other wholesome and unwholesome activities.

What is my grudge about you may be asking yourself? Well, after loaning a bunch of my horror movies to my friend Sharif at work, I finally asked him to borrow a movie (really the second time cause he loaned me Rawhead Rex; interesting movie), which was....you guessed it..The Grudge 2: No Closure (should be the subtitle for the film). I enjoyed but did not purchase/currently own the first film in the grudge trilogy (i know I did not know they made a third one till I saw a copy of it at one of my local HMV stores). I am getting really pissed of with these remakes of Asian cinema films (exception: Infernal Affairs remake The Departed; I should not have to explain why that is an exception to you and If I do, please stop reading my blog because you do not get it at all). Hollywood has run out of ideas for horror movies so they remake Asian Horror films, instead of just importing Asian horror films into North American theatres, which may in fact be a better idea if they are not going to make an effort with their horror films, however it appears that there is light on the horizon.

You may be asking yourself, what light on the horizon? I will answer that question by saying in Hollywood's current trend of remaking 80s films they have hit the jackpot with remaking 80s horror films; granted not all of them will be good but there are at least a few good ones. The Halloween remake directed by Rob Zombie was brutal, awesome, insane but I did really like it (i do not currently own it but plan to in the near future). The Friday the 13th remake featuring my friend Eryn's hunky crush Jared Padelecki, was not great but watchable and reboot this franchise has a lot of potential because a lot of viewers are familiar with the original franchise, so you have familiarity with the formula and the character types and the gore/content is not to a HOSTEL level intensity, alienates viewers but to an acceptable level. I was at first, very very apprehensive about the upcoming A Nightmare on Elm Street remake, but the casting of Jackie Earle Haley (great underrated actor; nothing short of incredible in Watchmen and great in Little Children) as Freddy Krueger has me thrilled and excited about this forthcoming film. I am also looking forward to seeing the cast (currently: Katie Cassidy [hot], Thomas Dekker [john connor himself], Connie Brittion [MILF from friday night lights], Clancy Brown [awesome evil preacher from late HBO series Carnivale] and Kyle Gallner [that's right Barry Allen [the flash] from Smallville]. For the record, I do not work for anyone associated with the production or promotion of this film...but I would like to. HINT HINT STUDIO THAT IS REMAKING A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET; I do not know what studio because I do not want to get imdb pro cause you know after a month you have to pay and I ahhh have to buy ahhhh...movies and games for the wii....so yeah.

I hope that I have reassured you readers regarding the state of Hollywood horror films. Now, that I have done that I will piss you off again by telling you that I have heard within the last couple of years that the Studios want to remake the following films; Hard Boiled, Red Sonja (that may actually work), Total Recall, Robocop (i expected this one to be good, but you never know), Tomb Raider (megan fox is super hot though and may or may not be in this), Arthur, They Live, Back to School, Metropolis (ohh yeah they remade this it was called BLADE RUNNER; well somewhat), Conan, The Karate Kid, Deathwish, Footloose, Red Dawn, Short Circuit, The Birds, Hellraiser, Poltergeist, Oldboy (LEAVE IT ALONE IT WAS A GREAT FREAKING FOREIGN FILM), Logan's Run, Child's Play, The Last Starfighter (great underrated 80s sci-fi adventure film), Near Dark, Barbarella, Rashomon (oh God; I have not seen it but I know that is sacrilegious), Highlander (LEAVE IT ALONE 2), Evil Dead (LEAVE IT ALONE 3), Escape From New York (LEAVE IT ALONE 3), and The Thing (they remade that with John Carpenter in the 80s; originally The Thing from Outer Space it does not need to remade again). I figure that I had infuriated your readers enough, so that is all.

Good Night, and Good Watchin'

FAnbOy daVe

P.S. I still Watch The Watchmen in case you were wondering.

P.P.S. The picture of our Jack Russell Terror...I mean terrier Teegan. She has a grudge too; she hates having her picture taken.

Who Watches The Watchmen? I did, Twice!

2009-03-13T16:25:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

Today, I saw the Watchmen at my local movie theatre for the second time. I went last Saturday for the first time and have to say that it was just as enjoyable as the first time. I was thinking about it the other day and told my wife that I wanted to see it again and asked her if she wanted to go with me. She was unable to go with me previously because she was sick at the time. My father-in-law also came along with us. Both of them really enjoyed the film as well, although neither had read the graphic novel. I have read the graphic novel once, but did not remember all of it, but I flipped through it today and noticed that they did not leave much out; I knew that from memory but I could not remember what they had left out. SPOILER
FOLLOW.

The biggest plot element that was left out was the young man who reads the Tales From The Black Freighter comic at the newspaper stand, although both the characters were featured briefly in the film and the Tales From the Black Freighter comic story is feature in a short animated film that will be out on DVD March 24Th, featuring the voice of 300's Gerard Butler. They also did not kill Hollis (the original nite owl)who is killed in the graphic novel. There was also a bunch of people that go missing in the graphic novel that worked on a movie that featured a giant squid creature, which is brought into reality in the graphic novel. These plot elements were a bit bizarre and I did not miss that they were not included in the film. Overall, I would say the resemblance between the graphic novel and film is very strong.

Now, back to the movie proper. Casting; Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson and Carla Cugino were all excellent. Matthew Goode and Malin Akerman were both pretty good. I loved the soundtrack song selections (bought the soundtrack after I saw the film the first time), but thought that the score was just alright (Tyler Bates is a pretty good composer, but I prefer David Julyan and John Murphy). I thought the characters had a lot of depth to them and this indebted to the way the story unfolds with flashbacks of the past so you get a feel for how the characters interacted and viewed each other.

I think that most dramatic and well done character background segment was Dr. Manhattan's. I enjoyed the music in this sequence very much (philip glass ensemble from music from Koyaanisqatsi), I thought the voice-over was very well written and spoken and was shot very nicely (artistic but not over the top; great special effects). The prison break sequence fights were very well choereographed, but not overly stylistic and not overly long. I love the way Rorschach spoke; a voice that was for a guy who looked bigger and rougher than Rorschach did.

I believe that the end of the movie is a yearning for change in the world and definitely in North America. I think that the unity between The United States and the U.S.S.R./Soviet Union at the close of the film is what should have happened globally after 9/11, and it is partially what happened after 9/11 but then the U.S. government used the emotions and anger over 9/11 to convince the American public that they need to go to Iraq and take down Saddam Hussein and now the United States is in a recession because of this and the global financial market is affect by this. I take the ending of the Watchmen as cautious but hopeful for the future.

I hope that in the future, movie fans will continue to be able to see darker, more realistic comic book films, which feature more character depth and better writing. I would like to see a comic book film nominated for best picture at the Oscars within the next 3 years. The Dark Knight should have been nominated and Watchmen should be nominated but it very likely will not be, but it will still be on my list of top films of all time whether it wins awards or not.

This is fanboy Dave signing off and please if you have not seen the Watchmen, please go this weekend. You will not be disappointed.

Confessions of a Fanboy

2009-02-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

In the past I had posted blog entries pertaining to my opinion about certain films that I have watched or just some of my ideas about movies, trends in movies or the film industry itself (not in depth though). I thought that it would be a good idea to take a more in depth look at my obsession/interest in films and the whole fandom of movies.

I was born in 1982, so basically I grew up during the blockbuster era (it had already started in 1975 with Jaws; my opinion, someone else may say that it started before that). I grew up watching the Indiana Jones films and Star Wars (second hand mind you because the first Star Wars came out in 1977 and the last one Return of the Jedi came out in 1983 when I was a year old or under). Batman came out in 1989 and I remember seeing it on video because it was probably too adult for me to have gone to the theatre to see it. I do remember seeing the rest of the Batman films in theatres to date. I did get a chance to see the Star Wars films in theatres in 1997; I believe that I ended up going alone to the theatre to see them, but went because I just had to see these films in theatres given the opportunity.
I do not consider myself a hardcore star wars fan (I do own on the films) and I also do not consider myself a trekkie (I own all the movies, but have only watched full episodes of the Star Trek The Next Generation Television show). I am more a citizen of the North American world of cinema, I would like to say that I am a citizen of the World of Cinema (I did study film for four years at the University of Toronto and watched a lot of foreign films, but I do not believe that I have seen enough foreign films to justify that title).
I got into the fandom of Sin City (I own 3 of the Sin City Actions figures, a replica of Rafferty's badge (Christmas Gift; Thanks Dad) and I held out about 5 months for the special edition DVD and after seeing the film in the theatre, within about 3 months I had purchased all the Sin City Graphic novels and am currently eagerly awaiting the sequel; c'mon Robert Rodriquez, I need my fix.
I am currently in my Watchmen phase (I admit that I did not read the graphic novel until I heard that there was going to be a film version, but I was interested in reading it before news of the impending film); so far I have the graphic novel and the Watchmen and Philosophy book (I love those books; call me a nerd, but I like them, although I did not major in Philosophy, cause...you know I wanted to be able to get a job with my education and not stand in the unemployment line; haha Simpsons referring, albeit a roundabout one). I am currently think about purchasing a Watchmen T-shirt, but I have not seen them in stores yet and would really like to not have to order one online. I was not impressed by the Watchmen action figures (you did a crappy job DC Direct (I crave more detail); in the future contract out all your action figure designing/sculpting to Todd McFarlane's Toy Company.The 1:6 scale collector action figures (like sideshow collectible dolls) actually look decent. I think that The Spirit figures were better looking than the Watchmen action figures, although I heard the movie was crap; still have not seen. You see this is how crazy/how much of a fanboy I am, I admit that I am not the level of the Ain't It Cool News Guy Harry Knowles; I am a few steps about the average moviegoer in my movie fandom.
Action figures and doll; Yes, I admit that I have some; Michael Myers (No, not the guy who played Austin Powers), Freddy Kruger, the Crow, Jason Voorhes and others. I am not ashamed of them or my Frank the Bunny figure or my V from V For Vendetta figure and no I do not play with them because they do not go out of their blister packaging cause they are collectibles to me and not toys; okay they are sort of toys but not the kind that you play with.
You may ask yourself as you are reading this, how did this guy get this way? Nature or Nurture; a little from column A and a little from column B. I grew up with a father who was really into movies (although not as much as I am today), specifically James Bond (my Dad, I believe has one of the biggest James Bond collections in North America; yeah I am bragging and I bet that my dad could beat up your dad; my Dad was a cop for over 30 years want to contend with that. My father also grew up/was grown up during a great period in North American cinema...that right The New Hollywood Era (1969-1980 or Easy Rider to Raging Bull; I know I stole that from Peter Biskind and his book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls). My Dad told me that he used to work midnights as a stock boy at a grocery store, get paid, take the bus/streetcar to the movies, then go home and sleep. He told me that him and my uncle went to see The Exorcist at the theatre and when it got out, they got back in line (likely a very long line) and saw it again. Unfortunately, I was born in 1982,so the 80s movies phenomenon was second hand to me; I got stuck with the 90s blockbuster era. There were some good blockbusters in the 90s though; Speed, Terminator 2 (best action film ever), Die Hard 2, but that's kind cancelled out by Die Hard With A Vengeance (there mistake was not having it take place at Christmas time, although Live Free or Die Hard avoided that problem with decent writing and great action). Unfortunately, I did not get to see Terminator 2 in theatres because I was only 10 at the time but I remember waiting at the theatre for my Dad who went to see it while my sister, my mom and I saw Bingo; what a great one that was. I also got stuck with Jean Claude Van-Damme; he had some good ones though Double Impact, Hard Target and my favourite Van-Damme film Universal Soldier. I am, however looking forward to seeing JCVD; a fictional tale, but somewhat autobiographic story of a former action star who has faded away getting caught up in a bank heist in France; check out the trailer; looks like a good one.
Why are films so important to me? Well, I am a fanatic, but where does that come from? I think that I associate watching films with spending time with family. Growing up, my Dad would rent two movies on a Friday or Saturday night and we would all watch them together. When I got a bit older, and my father and sister got busy, my mom and I would watching movies and some TV shows together; we would rent and go to the theatre. My mom will talking on the phone with a family friend or relative, would call out to me, "David, have I seen (insert movie title here)?", I would reply "Yes, it's the one where (the guy does the stuff with the things." I would add. I think because I associate films with family time, I do not like going to the theatre by myself, although I have and will do so, if I really want to see a film, but cannot get someone to go with me to see it. After my mother passed away, about a year later, I met my wife and she is really into films. Our arranged date, with her cousin Denise (I was nervous, so I asked my friend Denise to go with us; I had only met her about a week or two before) was to see Tim Burton's Big Fish which is interest because it is a film about a life and my wife and I were just beginning our life together as a couple when we saw that film. About two weeks later, as a couple we went to see The Butterfly Effect (if you have not seen it, just rent it already; awesome movie). At our wedding, which had a loose movie theme to it, we feature tables with movie Titles with a mini printed posters instead of table numbers, we did movie quote trivia as a game to get us to kiss if we could not name the movie that the quote was from, our centrepieces were a night at the movies theme (featured a DVD, a package of liquorice, a bottle of Coca Cola and a bag of microwaveable popcorn) and our prizes for the spot dance were movie passes. By and large, my wife and I can watch any film together. There are certain types of films that I know that she is not into so I either watch them on my own or watch them when she is asleep (zombie films, foreign films, thrillers [the really brutal ones]). I do watch chick flicks with her on DVD and at the theatre; she does however go to see some chick flicks with friends and I do not go with them). I begrudgingly watched Freaky Friday (lindsay lohan version) with her, which is probably her best movie; so it looks like her better days are way way way behind her. I admit that I would not and did not go see Alexander with her (her cousin Denise went with her) because I really really did not want to see; I should have gone cause now it will be held over my head for the rest of my life but that is not the worst thing, so I guess that I can live with it.
Together my wife and I have around 930 DVDS (both TV Shows, Films, stand-ups etc.). I am into action, comic book,comedies, horror, a bit of sci-fi, a bit of foreign, a bit of documentaries, a touch of westerns and of course thrillers and dramas. You may be think, what else is there? Well, I am not really into musicals (I loved The Phantom of the Opera with Gerard Butler though). My wife is into chick flicks, comedies, dramas, some thrillers and some indies (she watches a lot of films for the actor or actress that are in them so often, she stumbles across a few indies; i.e. half of Nick Stahl's filmography (see Wasted). She is into Johnny Depp, Steven Dorff, Nick Stahl, Joaquin Phoenix and the late River Phoenix.
I have read books on films for school and for pleasure. I have read a bunch of the British Film Institute guides on certain films, I have read books on certain periods in cinema (new hollywood, indie era and hollywood era)and I often see a film and then go back and read the source material, that is the novel that it was originally based on, if I really enjoyed the film and want more of the story than the film running time allows.
I also enjoy film soundtracks and film scores; film scores more so. My most recent film score purchase was The Dark Knight; which is great, although I did not pick that up immediately. I sort of resented the fact that Danny Elfman was not doing the music for Batman Begins and that Christopher Nolan was not allowed to use his regular composer (David Julyan; Memento, great score) on Batman Begins, in favour of James Newton Howard and Hanz Zimmer (love Unbreakable score by Howard and The Rock score by Zimmer). The Batman Begins score, still to this day does not impress me, what they did with the Dark Knight score was a lot better. I do however, think that David Julyan is very very underrated, as is Brian Tyler (see Bubba Ho-Tep).
Let's see how far this obsession goes. I have paid 50 dollars (USD) for a DVD; it was a limited edition/never released in stores [still do not know why] two disc edition of Spielberg's Munich. I really enjoyed this film and would not settle for the one disc edition that they chose to release in stores. Currently there are 3 used copies of this DVD starting at 100 bucks on amazon.ca and new copies (6) starting at 45 buck and 20 used starting at 24 bucks. I emailed Universal Studios as to why this DVD was not released in stores because I am curious, but I have received no response yet. I also paid 180 (CDN) for the Nightmare on Elm Street Collection (7 films, one bonus disc) in 1999 and it is now going for 35 bucks on amazon.com. If that is not fandom I do not know what is. I will pay more cause I want to get these DVDs right when they come out. I do not want to wait a few years or even 6 months to wait for the price to drop. Everyone has an obsession; EVERYONE. Mine is movies. Some people are obsessed with comics, shoes, clothes, jewelery, stamps, coins, porn, x-files, james bond and so on. I define obsession to mean intense enthusiasm for something whatever it may be. Part of who I am is defined by what I like; I talk about movies a lot, I wear graphic t-shirts that feature movie posters or characters on them. I am also into music and reading (novels, comics etc.), but my love of movies is one of the things that defines me. I believe that I enjoy movies some much because I enjoy stories; watching the drama of human lives unfold whether it be in a horror, action, comedy, thriller etc. I enjoy being engaged emtionally by my favourite entertainment medium and my favourite art form (believe me film is an art that is not also the motive for some films and not all films are artistic or have the qualities that would justify calling them an art piece but many do and some of the films that I enjoy I may consider an art object but others may disagree. Tastes are different, as are opinions. I think the real hinge point with films and whether they are decent, great, good, crappy, bad,etc. is whether they achieved their end/goal (you laughed, you cried, you got scared, your were thrilled etc.)and whether the film achieving their goal and how they did that spoke to you. If you like horror films but one in particular did not scare you or maybe it scared you with a more realistic/plausible story maybe you really enjoyed that experience or maybe you hated that because you went to see the film to escape from reality. Me, personally I got to see films for both reasons. I may become engaged in the drama of a film in a way that others do not. I guess the escapist element fits more so with films that entertain rather then raise questions about the essence of being or the human experience and therefore the human drama, essence of being, emotional engagement elements fit in better with film as a art form and films as art objects.
I know that this blog entry has been winding and long winded, but I hope that you enjoyed reading it and I would love to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Fanboy Dave

"And I Always Get Nostalgic With That Song..."

2008-12-06T12:29:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

I have some unexpected time off currently, so because of this I will attempt to post more blog entries. I hope that you will enjoy that and I hope to keep up with it as long as I have the time

Music for me holds a very important place for me in films whether that music is the score or soundtrack music, diegetic (inside the world of the film) or non-diegetic (outside the world of the film) or whether the music is vocal or instrumental.

I will detail what I feel are some very ironic, interesting or mind-blowing uses of vocal music in some of my most enjoyed films. None of these films are in my top ten, but they are still films that I enjoy. By and large, these films are dramas, but two of them happen to be comedies and one is a horror film. This list is a list of ten; I attempted to compile a list of ten and in this case I was successful. So, without further a due, here is my list of top ten uses of vocal music is some of my favourite films, in no particular order. I will be detailing the circumstances in the film where these songs are used, so spoilers may follow; BEWARE.

New Born by Muse, featured in High Tension (Haute Tension)

This song by Muse is pumped into this film, as Marie is in pursuit of a sick rapist and murdered who killed her friend Alex’s family and kidnapped her from her parents’ country home. Marie pursues the killer’s truck in a bumblebee painted new ford mustang (I do not know anything about cars, so I do not know what year the music is). This song is used perfectly as it is a high energy tune used in a tense car chase sequence. I would suggest you see the movie just for this scene, although the film is great in itself, so do me a favour and just watch it.

Ordinary World by Duran Duran, featured in Layer Cake

This song is first heard from a diner radio as Mr. X and Morty have coffee and regroup. The song swells on the soundtrack just before Morty gives a former friend Freddy (who is responsible for Morty serving ten years in prison) a savage beating, which includes kicking, smashing on the head with coffee cups and pouring hot tea on Freddy’s face. As Morty beats Freddy the songs cuts out a bit to give the viewer a scene of the distortion in Freddy’s hearing as his is brutally beaten. I find that the use of this song really adds to this scene and makes it stand out as a major action point in the film. Just see this film because it is amazing.

Honourable Mention – “She Sells Sanctuary” by The Cult.

The Man Comes Around by Johnny Cash, featured in My Best Friend’s Girl

This song is featured at the climax of Dane Cook’s latest film, which I think is Dane’s funniest film to date (Good Luck Chuck was decent, but this one is just hilarious). At this point in the film, Tank (Dane) has decided that despite his love for Alexis (Kate Hudson) that she deserves better than him and so he begins to sabotage the relationship by doing unimaginable things at her sister’s wedding. The song begins to play as Tank lights a cigarette inside the church and soon after puts it out. Later her propositions Alexis’ mother for a blow job, by undressing and telling her “it won’t suck itself”. This song has a dark feel to it and it used really well in this comedy. When I heard the song playing in the film, I sort of giggled because I knew what was coming. Give this film a chance because it is really funny.

Mad World by Gary Jules, featured in Donnie Darko

This song is featured at the end of this film, as the character of the eponymous film (Donnie) decides that he must sacrifice his life to save the entire world from the tear/rupture in the space-time continuum. A montage of the characters of the film either waking up and silently reflect on the current state of this lives follows. It is as if they realize that something terrible has happened to someone that they know and subconsciously they may know that that person has martyred themselves for their benefit. This song fits perfectly into the world of this film and I belief that it was re-recorded as a cover song specifically for this film; it is originally by Tears For Fears. If you have not seen Donnie Darko, but now you really have no good excuses.

Without You by Harry Nilsson, featured in Rules of Attraction

This song is featured in the film as love letter girl (she sends anonymous love letters to Shawn [James Van Der Bek]) lies naked in a bathtub and slits her wrists. This song completely sets the mood of the scene as utterly tragic, as this girl has gone unnoticed by Shawn, as a quick montage of scenes from earlier in the movie are shown and the camera pans to the left or right to show love letter girl watching Shawn (although he is completely unaware of her). She decides to killer herself and the soundtrack plays “Without You” which gets distorted as you, the viewer are almost hearing this song from her perspective and the songs cuts out and fades as she loses consciousness and dies. Lauren (the girl Shawn thinks is sending him the love letters) discovers the dead girl, just after she goes to visit Victory, whom she is in love with, even though he is totally unaware of whom she is. Just see this film it is a great, hip character mosaic based on the great Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name.

Honourable Mention – “Faith” by George Michael

Hey Man, Nice Shot by Filter, featured in Tales From The Crypt Presents Demon Knight

This song plays as the crypt keeper’s tales (Demon Knight) begins. Breaker /The Demon Knight (William Sadler) is being closely pursued by The Collector (Billy Zane) in car chase, in an attempt to get a hold of the 7^th key that he requires for the demons to take back the Earth. This is just a really rocking song that fits with the bad ass nature of the film and the characters. This is the only tales from the crypt movie that is any good, so if you are a fan of the show then see this film.

Blower’s Daughter by Damien Rice, featured Closer

This song is featured in the opening and closing of the film. In the opening, Alice (Natalie Portman) is walking down the streets of London and is caught by the eye of Dan (Jude Law). Dan gets closer to her and helps care for her after a near miss car accident. This song beautifully fits into the film, although I enjoy the bittersweet use of the song at the end of the film. At the end of the film, the song is played as Alice returns to America, Anna reflects as she lies in bed with Larry and as Dan walks across a cemetery where he and Alice walk to when they first meet, where he sees a gravestone with the name Alice on it and he realizes that is where she took the name from; her name was not really Alice; she lied to Dan because she never really trusted him. This song is a lamentable tune and is used at the end of the film as the characters are shown for one final time and you as the viewer reflect on the characters and glean from their faces whether or not they are really truly happy. This film is a great drama; probably because it is based on a play.

Honourable Mention – “How Soon is Now?” by The Smiths

Help Is Just Around the Corner by Coldplay, featured in Wasted

This film is, with no doubt in my mind, the best film that MTV has ever produced and is likely the best TV movie of all time. This rarely heard Coldplay song (featured on the Yellow Single) is featured towards the end of the film, as Chris (Nick Stahl) contemplates going to Owen’s house to dispose of some heroin that Owen (Aaron Paul) is sure the police will find when they search his house. Following this Chris goes to Owen’s house and overdoses on the heroin and dies; although none of this is shown, but is assumed because you later learn that Chris has died and all the evidence points to this conclusion. This song is used in a very sad and mournful part of the film. Luckily, Samantha (Summer Phoenix) a friend of both Owen and Chris learns from their mistakes and is able to kick her heroin habit and eventually get to college. This film is hard to find, but If you get a chance to watch it, please do so.

Honourable Mention – “Alive” by P.O.D.

California Dreaming by The Mamas and The Papas featured in Chung King Express

This is only one of my two foreign film entries (High Tension is the other) in this top ten uses of vocal music in some of my favourite films, and it is just as good as the other entries in this list. This song is one that Faye (Faye Wong) plays on her cassette tape stereo while she works odd and late shifts at the Midnight Express restaurant/snack bar. The use of this songs shows that American influence on director Wong Korowai’s films, as much as the femme fatale female character in the blond wig from another segment of the film or the Asian Air Hostess from yet another segment of the film. This song also has a meaning to Faye; it is what she dreams about, that is about going to California and living there, which she does by the end of the film as she tells the former police officer who used to come by the midnight express and now has bought it off of her uncle. I believe the use of popular 60s and 70s music in foreign films makes them more accessible to North American audiences. I find that the use of this song and a few other elements in this film make it more accessible for me, as a North American viewer. In my humble opinion, this film is Wong Kar-Wai’s best film, but I have not seen Ashes of Time, which I hear is great as well.

Honourable Mention – “Dream Person” (cover of Dreams by the Cranberries) by Faye Wong

I, Swear by All-4-One, featured in Just Friends

I just love how this song is used in this very, very funny Ryan Reynolds comedy. In the opening of the film, Chris (Reynolds) is writing an admission of love letter to his long time friend Jamie (Amy Smart) and after her finishes that I, swear by All-4-One plays and Chris sings along with the CD until his brother’s friends catches him and Chris yells at him to leave his room. Again at the end of the film the song plays, only this time Chris lip syncs the entire song; it is just hilarious. The use of this song in the opening really places the story in the time of 1995 when All 4-One were popular. The rest of the film however takes place 10 years later, where All 4-One are nowhere to be found.

Honourable Mention – “Eyes” by Rogue Wave

Alas, all good things come to an end, and so does this blog entry, however I have a few comments to say in closing. There are those of you that might say films such as Garden State and more so Pulp Fiction, as well as the rest of Quentin Tarantino’s oeuvre feature great music used sarcastically, ironically or for otherwise comic effect and you may wonder how come these are not on my list. I did not place any songs from Tarantino’s films on this blog entry listing my top ten uses of vocal music in some of my favourite films because all of Tarantino’s films feature music used for various comic or other mood setting effect; that is how music operates stylistically in his films. I was looking for mostly mainstream films that I enjoy that had great and fitting music placed to heighten the tension in dramatic moments or turn the laughter up in comic moments. Tarantino and other auteur calibre directors revolutionize the use of vocal music in their films, and that is a blog entry for another time.

I hope that you have enjoyed this usually long blog entry and please feel free to send me criticisms, feedback, comments, suggestions, etc. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Sincerely,

Fanboy Dave

My Favourite Scares!

2008-11-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

Hey Y'all,

Here is a special Halloween Blog entry (I know that it is now November). I am going to list a bunch of my top horror films, in no particular order.

A Nightmare On Elm Street - This film is when the idea of Freddy Krueger was so new and fresh and a lot dark than any of the other films, with the possible exception of Wes Craven's New Nightmare. The cast is great; led aptly by Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund; John Saxon is also very good, as is Johnny Depp in his first film role. It is obvious to say that all the films in the series are indebted to this film as is the entire history of New Line Cinema (which no longer exists) and other horror films that have come out since. This film has made an indelible mark on cinematic horror; as has The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, The Exorcist and others.

Tales From The Crypt Presents Demon Knight - Billy Zane and William Sadler rock in this film. This film is also the only good Tales From The Crypt Movie (although I have not seen Ritual; so I cannot judge that one). Great story, great scares, great ending. Just watch it; that is all I can say.

28 Days later - I just love this movie; it is in my top five of all time. Nothing more can be said.

30 Days of Night - I love the graphic novel; I was a little disappointed with the movie right after I saw it because I became such a fan of the graphic novel, even though I only read the graphic novel because I wanted to see the film. I do really like this film; great atmosphere, great and brutal horror and decent story. Not many horror films these days are this extreme.

Friday The 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan - I do not really like the first 3 Fridays; I believe the series picks up on the third one and I feel that the best one is part 8; Jason Goes To Hell and Jason X are both terrible. I like Jason killing the kids on the cruise ship; particularly the victim POV when Jason beats the girl to death with her own guitar; great kill. I like Jason killing those two New York thugs. Simply put, a great slasher.

Jeepers Creepers 2 - I prefer the sequel to the original film, although the first is probably more well acted (Justin Long is pretty good), but I find it to be too slow. I prefer the horror, pace and premise of the second better and the ending.

The Silence of the Lambs - I cannot say anything about this film. Just watch it if you have not already.

Don't Look Now - Great Gothic horror from arty director Nicholas Roeg (also The Man Who Fell To Earth). Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie are both great in this film. A story that throws curves at you throughout; builds to a shocking and dramatic and horrific conclusion.

High Tension - Foreign Slasher from director Alexandre Aja (who 'borrowed plot points from Dean Koontz novel Intensity; whether or not he admits it; I know the truth; he admitted that he had read the book after saying that he had not heard of it) that is thrilling, shocking and utterly brutal and fantastic.

Dawn of the Dead (Original and Remake) - I enjoy the down trodden and apocalyptic elements in the original film and the brutality and fatalistic nature of the remake, the cast and that fact that it was primarily or entirely (not positive) shot in Ontario. I highly recommend both versions.

I Am Legend - What I most enjoy about this film is the apocalyptic feel of it. The horror and the 'zombies/infected' are fast and scary. Will Smith's performance is excellent; but he is great in everything that he is in.

I hope that you have enjoyed this special Halloween blog entry. Please feel free to send me a list of your top horror films or films that you may suggest that I take a look at.

Sincerely,

Fanboy Dave

Their Games Are Not Funny!

2008-10-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

If you have the desire or inclination to see either the Original or US Version of Funny Games DO NOT READ THIS BLOG BECAUSE IT WILL BE FULL OF SPOLIERS. If you do not mind then read on. Thank you for your time.

Funny Games (the original Michael Haneke version) was recommend to me from a friend of friend and eventually I found it for a decent price at Best Buy (no surprise there). Eventually as I worked through my pile of DVDs to watch I got to Funny Games.

What is really good about this movie is that it totally plays with the conventions of traditional Hollywood/American thrillers. The bad guys are really bad and you expect them to get their 'just desserts' and one of them does but then the other 'baddie' gets the remote control for the TV and rewinds the actions that led to his accomplices demise and prevents it from happening. The director does not let the viewers have the satisfaction of seeing these bad guys die. One obvious message behind this film is that sometimes the bad guys win or according to the director sometimes that bads guys should win in films because too often they are defeated; plus he is working against traditional American thrillers. One of the most dark moments in the film is at the end when one of the 'baddies' looks directly at the screen with a dark grin on his face after he sets up his next victim; to which he will do what he did to the protagonists earlier in the film.

I cannot say conclusively whether I enjoyed this film, but it got me thinking and that is important. I will let it sit and then give it a watch again. I did jar me as a film fanatic and few films tend to do this. If you want to have a film experience that will disturb you then give it a watch, but if you are squeamish then skip it. I am serious; do not watch it.

I hope this entry will be enjoyed by whomever is reading me blog. I appreciate anyone who reads my blog. Please feel free to leave comments, criticisms, questions, etc.

Sincerely,

Fanboy Dave

Direct-To-DVD...Ohh Damn!

2008-09-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

And by everyone I mean me, cause I do not really know if anyone is reading this blog, so if you are please leave a comment or just leave a note saying that you read my blog. Thanks.

You know what really grinds my gears? (I know I stole that from Family Guy). I hate when I download movie trailers that often feature a reasonably well-known actor who I enjoy watching in films and then check on them later only to discover that they are either direct-to-DVD or only in a few theatres in the U.S.. I have two options when I find this out: one, drive to the nearest state that is playing the film (I am about an hour and forty five minutes from the border; not including time waiting to get into the country) or wait X number of months until the film is release on DVD and rent it.

A few films that I am referring to are, The Nines (Ryan Reynolds), Pathology, Bubba Ho-Tep (Bruce Campbell), Chaos Theory (Ryan Reynolds again) and My Blueberry Nights (starring Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, directed by foreign auteur Wong Kar-Wai). There are of course others direct-to-DVD films that I am upset about, but I cannot remember them right now, so that is it for the list. Regarding Pathology, is strangely was playing in South Korea and elsewhere abroad (UK, Thailand, The Philippines, Estonia, Singapore, Russia, Germany, Iceland, and Turkey), but not in Canada. Why not? It starred heartthrob and TV It Boy Milo Ventimiglia.

Another upcoming soon to be direct-to-DVD in film in Canada will be My Name Is Bruce, which will be in U.S. Theatres (limited release) October 30th. It stars Bruce Campbell as Bruce Campbell; check out the description on imdb.com. I fear that Bret Easton Elllis' (based on his first book) will also be direct to DVD as it is complete and only has a listed theatrical release date for Austria (Oct. 31). I just hope that once his last book (Lunar Park) is release that they same fate will not befall it. This guy wrote The Informers, Rules of Attraction and American Psycho as well and although they were not great films they were based on some original and bizarrely interesting gory, sexual, thrilling, horrifying subject matter. I recommend Rules of Attraction over American Psycho (although Christian Bale is great in this film), but if you have time see both.

Well if you are anything like me you seek out films that are harder to get a hold of to see if they are any good. I recommend many bizarre and off the beaten path films to friends and in some of my blog entries. I, like many others get jaded with Hollywood films and wish to enjoy some independent films or studio released low-budget films created by unknown, but talented filmmakers.

Well I hope that you (whomever you are) have enjoyed my latest entry in a long time.

Sincerely,

f@nB0Y D&v3

AHHH Yeah! Batman

2008-07-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I just saw The Dark Knight and everyone should see this movie. It was amazing; action-packed, smart, well-acted, entertaining and so on. I believe that Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker has totally eclipsed Nicholson's performance in the first Batman film and I believe, along with other that Ledger should be nominated for an Oscar. Terry Gilliam is apparently saying that such talk is a publicity stunt, but we will find out in January when the Oscar nominations are announced. BEWARE SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW.

Again, as in Batman Begins, the cast is amazing; Ledger, Eckhart, Bale, Caine, Oldman and Gyllenhaal. Probably, the best ensemble cast in any comic book film, so far.

Everytime Ledger is onscreen you savour his performance as The Joker because you know that you are getting something special. The possibility of his performance warranting an Oscar nomination, I do not believe is hype. I think that his final completed performance deserves, at the least a nomination. His performance is indeed that good, especially because he seems to pull it out of nowhere. Of couse, Ledger was a great actor and was excellent in Brokeback Mountain, but still his performance as The Joker was and is astouding.

Throughtout the film and definitely at the end, is the birth of the dark knight. As much as Batman was alone in the past film, he will appear to be alone very much in the forthcoming Batman film. The caped crusader will once again be on the lamb from the law, at his and Gordon's choosing (i will not explain; you must see the film for an explanation).

I have no way to tell what they will do for the next film or what it will be like but there is speculation that the villian will be The Penguin. All I can say is keeping coming. Nolan is the King of the comic book film adapation and that would make Bale his Knight and of course he will be Nolan's Dark Knight.

In the film, Eckhart as Dent says that the night is darkest before the dawn and that seems to be true but I believe that it will get much darker before any light seeps through. Be prepared to wander through the darkness for awhile before you get out into the light.

Enjoy the film. Savour the film and stay through the credit, you will be rewarded.

Sincerely,

Your Light Knight,
Fanboy Dave

It's Incredible; Okay, it's not but it is pretty good.

2008-06-20T18:40:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone,

Went to see The Incredible Hulk today. I did have some expectations; I figure that it would be better than the earlier Hulk film starrring Eric Bana. It was better than the other Hulk film. It was very entertaining; not a great film, but entertaining. The problems that I had win the Eric Bana Hulk was that the writing was terrible (the climax at the end of the film with The Hulk fighting Absorbing Man who his father turned into [it was retarded]), The Hulk was too green, he was able to jump way to far [too a point way beyond realistic] and it was not entertaining enough [not enough explosions and fights etc]. The casting of the original Hulk film was fine. SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW.

Okay, the new Hulk movie. Edward Norton was pretty awesome, Liv Tyler was alright (Jennifer Connelly is a better actress), William Hurt was very good as General Ross and wicked wicked cameo of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark even though it was only for like a minute. I loved the locations they used; mostly because they used a lot of the University of Toronto campus and I went there so I could recognize the buildings etc. Tom Roth was also very good, but he always seems to be good (IE. Reservoir Dogs). The fights, the explosions and the visual effects were all pretty awesome. The writing was good; the development of Tim Roth's character into Abomination was fine (done pretty briskly), the love story between Bruce and Betty Ross (not overdone) and the back story about how he came to be the hulk was cool (over the opening credits), however they could have done it as a quick montage with him telling someone about his problem perhaps someone who was in Rio in the beginning of the film. The back story would have been a little less confusing this way; my wife had trouble understanding it and it was confusing because the back story was different from the original hulk film.

I would have to say that if they made another hulk film with this cast that I would definitely pay to go see it at the theatre. If you love comic books or comic book movies then I highly recommend this film. If you like some comic book films then I would not recommend you go to the theatre but you may want to rent it.

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Fanboy Dave

It's Happening Right Now

2008-06-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

This is my first new movie in theatres entry since I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall a while back. Yesterday, I went to the movie theatre to see M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening. I will not say too much because I do not want to give much away, but I will say that there is not really a twist at the end but sort of a turn, but it is predictable because a running theory proves to correct. Of course, I will not tell you what that theory was. SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW, PARTICULARLY IN THE SECOND TO LAST PARAGRAPH.

I was thoroughly disappointed with M. Night Shyamalan's previous film Lady In The Water; so much so that I did not buy the film even when it was in the remainder bin at HMV; I think it was for 10 bucks or under. One of the only good things about that movie was the casting and even then there were limited performances from many of these good actors. Freddy Rodriguez, Jerffrey Right, Bryce Dallas Howard, Noah Gray-Cabey and Paul Giamatti. Paul Giamatti had a bit of character development and background, but if more was done with him it would have been beneficial to the film. Brcye Dallas Howard's character was too limited and too vague in the film.

I also enjoyed the casting of Happening and was really excited when I heard that Mark Wahlberg and John Leguizamo were going to be in it. Unfortunately, Wahlberg's performance was mediocre at best. I think this may be indebted to mediocre dialogue. There was some genuine emotion between husband and wife Eliot and Alma, played by Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel. John Leguizamo pulled off a decent performance although he did not have a lot of actually screen time.

The suicides in the film can be somewhat brutal so if you are sensitive at all with regard to suicides, blood or brutal death scenes, either do not see the film or wait for the DVD and rent it so you can pause or fast forward if you need to.

Do not expect great things from this movie, but if you do see it you will be feeling a little better about M. Night Shyamalan as a filmmaker. I have faith that although his last few efforts (The Village, Lady in the Water and this film) have been weak to crappy to somewhat decent, that the quality of his work will improve, not expecting him to top The 6Th Sense, but at least pull off another film of Signs like quality.

The last thing that I will say about this film is that the turn in the film deals with a current global concern or problem.

If you consider yourself a fan or a big fan of Shyamalan's film then I suggest that you see this film, if you are not a fan then probably you should skip it.

Sincerely,

Fanboy Dave

ROCKY IV and V

2008-06-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW.

Today I watched the final two Rocky films in the series that I had not seen. Rocky IV I thought was pretty good; you could tell from a Russian being cast as the villain that it was somewhere in the 80s (the detente period; but where the U.S. still liked to paint the Russian as villains). It was sad to see Apollo Creed get killed, but at least he made it 3 movies; Jamie Kennedy did not make it alive into the 3 Scream films, which was a damn shame. The heart that is in all the of the Rocky films was still alive and well in the 4Th installment.

I have notice a funny pattern in the Rocky films. This pattern is that Apollo or Rocky go from thinking of one of their fights as a show and then once they get beat, seeing their next fight as a real brawl and then back to show again. Apollo Creed was all showman in the first Rocky film. In the second film, Apollo considered his fight as a real one, although he did lose the film. Then Rocky in the 3rd film did not take his fight against Mr. T. serious, he lost the fight and then trained like hell and managed to beat him in the next fight. Sadly, in this 4Th installment of the Rocky series, Apollo bit off more than he could chew, in what was supposed to be an exhibition fight and ended up getting killed by a hopped up Ruskie. What bothered me was during the montage of Rocky and Drago training, a syringe was shown during a shot of Drago's training, which seemed to insinuate that he was on steroids (I had also heard this from a friend a few years back) but it was not discussed or addressed in the film at all; unsettling. Oh well, I guess that I can get over; but I am still upset about this, JFK's Assassination, Area 51, Roswell 1947, O.J.'s Acquittal, Robert Blake's Acquittal and a bunch of other shit that I cannot remember right now, but when I do remember you will certainly hear about it.

In summation, Rocky IV was pretty decent, but I personally prefer the first two films. Now, Rocky V did had some good moments, such as in the beginning of the film when Rocky tells Adrian that something is wrong because his hands will not stop shaking. What was lacking in this film was a sanctioned boxing match for Rocky at the end of the film. The street fight with Tommy Gunn at the end of the film, although it was an entertaining fight it was weak (not Blade: Trinity Climatic fight between Drake and Blade weak, but still weak). The riches to rags element of Rocky V with him going broke was an interesting idea, but it was not orchestrated as well as it could have been. I feel that Rocky V was a weak effort and am glad that Stallone eventually added to the Rocky series with 2007's Rocky Balboa, which probably will be the final film, as it was pretty much Rocky's curtain call. I would say that Rocky Balboa was better than at least Rocky IV and V and possibly better than Rocky III, but I cannot say that for sure.

I would now consider myself a fan of the series and although I enjoyed the films to different degrees I did enjoy all of them. My favourites in order from most favourite to least favourite are as follows; Rocky 1,2,6,3,4,5.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading my somewhat tangled thoughts and I hope that you were able to make sense of them. I also hope that there was at least one coherent thought in there.

Sincerely,

Fanboy Dave

WATER

2008-06-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Again,

Last night I watched the Canadian directed film Water (dir. Deepa Mehta). I had not seen this film in my Canadian Cinema class at the University of Toronto, unfortunately. SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

I was expecting this film to be more sombre than it was; that is not to suggest that it was not sad. One of the two may characters does not make it to the end of the film alive. At about an hour and half through the film, the story got to a happy place. I thought to myself, if it ended here that would be the happiest possible ending that there could be for these characters. It however did not end at this point in the story, but went on for approximately another half hour.

I thought the film was a really interesting rumination of people of a country caught between old traditions and the new modern ideas that were coming out of the west and influencing the world over. Some characters welcomed the changes in tradition while others seemed to think that there was nothing wrong with the way they lived even though they were being subjugated and forced to either live as widows in a sort of convent/nunnery or marry the brother of there dead husband. I think that in the end the message of the film was that some of the country's ideas/tradition were backward and outdated, but that there was nothing wrong with many of the cultural traditions; the ones that did not infringe on the individual freedoms of women. Maybe I am off on this. I do not know. If you have insight into this culture or this film that I may lack , please leave comments for me and we can begin a dialogue. In the future, I welcome the idea of seeing Fire and Earth; the earlier films of Mehta's Elements trilogy; I know there are four elements, so do not bother pointing that out, please; ha-ha. I am funny. I do not care what you say, besides my wife says that I am funny and I have to believe what she says.

I hope that if you do not have an interest in seeing this film that you attempt to watch a film every now and again that you take a gamble on; whether it is a foreign film, independent or possibly direct to video (please exercise extreme caution when picking a film from this category; I mean it). I would love to hear your thoughts on some films that you may have seen recently, so please feel free to leave comments on my blog.

Thank you sincerely for reading.

Fanboy Dave

ROCKY III

2008-06-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

You may have notice that I have not had a new post in a while. There are a few reasons for this; my wife and I bought a wii and it is insanely fun and addictive, we prepared for and took a trip to Vegas and I have not been watching that many new films and am also trying to enjoy the nice and hot weather that we have been getting. As always MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

At some point in mid May, my beautiful wife Veronica bought the Rocky boxed set. After we saw Iron Man at the movie theatre, my wife said that she wanted to rent Rocky Balboa and I said okay but that we should probably rent the original Rocky as well because neither of us had seen the film. We watched both films; out of order mind you. We watched Rocky Balboa and then Rocky. The new film really had an interesting dialect with the new film; references, parallel montages etc.

Last night, my wife and I watched Rocky 3 and it was somewhat surprised that both Rocky 2 and Rocky 3 were both reasonably good efforts for sequels. Many people rave about how good the original Rocky film is and say that the sequels are not as good, but I think that they honour the original film pretty well. The character development of the Rocky character is very interesting to see and he struggles to keep going and defeat opponents while running the risk of losing everything that he has fought hard to get in the first place.

I was having a discussion with a fellow movie lover, a friend of mine named John (I know it is a common name, but I have a lot more friends named Mike and my name is David, but I do have friends with more original names; Sharda, Sumit, Heather-Anne, Denise [not too common] and others). Where was I...John said that although he did enjoy Rocky Balboa, he thought it was really glossy like an HBO type film or a hyped up ESPN/Pay Per View boxing event. I agreed with him on his point because the original films, specifically the first film have a more home video like contrast to them, partially because of the dated nature of the film stock that was then transfer to DVD and also because of the type of camera, film stock, and lighting techniques that were being used around the time of the first film. I am a big fan of Digital Video and older films that have that more realistic contrasty look to them (i.e. Mean Streets). Having said that I feel that aside from better technology and a likely bigger budget for Rocky Balboa, the reason why they may have made the film so glossy and pay per view event, because of the strength and popularity of the Rocky franchise that Stallone felt that the character really deserved the 'star treatment' for his final epic fight; I agree with this...I did say it and it is my theory so I kind of have to agree with it..I guess; ha ha.

I was surprise to see Hulk Hogan in Rocky 3, because I had never seen it and although I had not seen it, I was unaware that he was in the film. I figure that Mick was going to die because I was able to see the clues telling me (the viewer) that this was going to happen. Mr. T. I thought was a great opponent for Rocky because he was so tough and fast, of course Apollo Creed is likely his most known, respected and popular opponent. Paulie was really starting to piss me off at the beginning of the film, but of course that was the filmmaker's intention. He is one of those characters that you rhetorically ask, What the hell is his problem? Paulie's problem, as far as I can tell is that he is part of something big, but he does not have any of the money or glamour associated with Rocky's fame because he has always been somewhat of a problem for Rocky, so Rocky keeps him at a distance from the business of what he does because although Paulie does have big ideas, he does not have the common sense to appropriately put those ideas into motion without pissing off Rocky. I have notice a somewhat diminished role of Adrienne in Rocky 3 or less screen time anyway. I think that although she may not have a lot of lines, her character does have a strong impact on Rocky; quality of her screen time over quantity in minutes of screen time or number of lines. I am glad that they are continuing to feature Apollo Creed in the Rocky films because he is of course a very important part of the man that Rocky is becoming in his life. I would have to say that I believe Rocky 3 is as good as the 2ND film and that I am somewhat anxious to see if the movie lover maxim will prove to be true with Rocky 4. The maxim that I am referring to is the one that says often but not always, a movie franchise starts to head south in the 3rd film or that they 3rd film is usually a weak one, even if the franchise picks up after that film or after the next one (i.e. The Batman Franchise).

I hope that if you have not seen any films from the Rocky franchise that you go out an rent the first one and give it a try.

Sincerely,

F@nBoy D&vE

Forgetting Some Girl

2008-05-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

Yeah, it's me again. This passed weekend I watched a few films that I had not seen before; Iron Man, Rocky Balboa, Rocky and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I just did a post on Iron Man, so now I am going to do one for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Again, the following paragraphs COULD CONTAIN SPOILERS.

If you are going to see this movie, there are two things that you need to know. Firstly, Jason Segel's penis is visible about half a dozen times in this movie; first at the beginning when his towel drops when Kristen Bell (Sarah Marshall) breaks up with him and towards the end of the film when he tells a fellow actor that he is going to change out of his unitard (DON'T ASK). Be prepared to either so his penis or to avert your eyes. The second thing that you need to know is that Mila Kunis is really hot and tanned in this movie. I watched That 70's Show but she was not my cup of ass...I mean tea, but she is super hot in this movie.

Jason Segel not only stars in this film, but he also wrote the story for the film; he does a pretty good job with that. Jason Segel is quite capable of carrying a movie himself, as long as it is well written. Jason is a composer who composes music for a very popular TV show called Crime Scene; I wonder what show they are making fun of with that one. His girlfriend Sarah Marshall (played by Kristen Bell) is one of the stars of the show and the other is..haha Billy Baldwin; ohh how the mighty have fallen..oh wait he was never mighty..I must have been thinking of Alec Baldwin. Sarah breaks up with Jason Segel's character, so he tries to move on with a series of one-night stands and then decides to go to Hawaii for a vacation, where he finds Sarah there with her new boyfriend (a ridiculous british rock star who heads a band called Infant Sorrow). Jason's characters starts to get with Mila Kunis' character and hilarity and some cute moments ensue. I will not spoil the rest of the film. Watch for cameo performances from Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill and Bill Hader (not enough of him in this film). It would have been cool for Seth Rogen to have a cameo in this film, but he does not. Oh well.

That is all for now, but watch out for Pineapple Express, which will be out August 8th. If you did not know, it stars Seth Rogen and a funny, long haired, hippy looking drug dealer played by James Franco.

Sincerely,

F&nB0y d@vE

Man of Iron?

2008-05-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I began my quest in seeing all the top movies this summer, last night with Iron Man. I am vaguely familiar with Iron Man through the brief run of the cartoon series that was on Fox in the mid-90s. I know that he is a Millionaire who owns his own company that makes weapons. I also know that his buddy Damien Rhodes becomes War Machine (he gets a suit of his own). That is about all that I knew about the Iron Man mythology going into it.

SPOILERS/POTENTIAL SPOILERS
I thought the casting of Robert Downey Jr. was brilliant; he is so cheeky and is such a smart ass and that is really capitalized on in the film. The rest of the cast is fine; Gwenyth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terence Howard are all decent in the film. Like The Fantastic Four, this is a real popcorn movie, but with a twist; it has a little bit more depth to it; that is during Tony's change in temperant from a rich playboy to a caring and morally bound superhero. I just loved seeing him building the suits; particularly the revised suit or the finished one. Even before the movie was over, I was ready for another Iron Man movie (HINT HINT HOLLYWOOD PRODUCERS). I laughed like a little school girl when Damien Rhodes looked at the iron man suit and said "Next time, baby". Bring on War Machine in part 2. I also laughed like a school girl at the bonus scene that came after the credits. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury trying to recruit Tony Stark/Iron Man to the Avengers. What? Blows my mind. I also laughed when Clark Gregg's characters told Gwenyth Paltrow's character to call the organization that he was from S.H.I.E.L.D. instead of long form of what it stands for; I cannot remember what it does stand for.

In summation, Iron Man is just a really really fun movie to watch. I recommend this film to everyone or particularly to all who watch the comic book films. I hope that you all go out and see the film, cause I thought that it was awesome.

ENJOY THE SHOW.

F@nB0y d&v3

Sweeny Todd; He's the Demon Barber of Fleet Street

2008-04-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I did not see this movie this weekend; I saw it last weekend. I saw the play in November with my in-laws Kirk and Linda and my wife Veronica, with the intention of seeing the movie and I knew that Tim Burton was adapting the play into a film version when I agree to go see the play. I, however did not get a chance to see the movie when it was in theatres; I think I got caught up with other films and Christmas and such. It is quite a bizarre musical; one part horror, one part musical. The plot is one of revenge, so that was a quick draw for me.

To the film itself. The costumes and the set design and all that looks really amazing; the film is totally enamoured in the old tyme England (do not ask me what period because I cannot remember). The acting was great; Johnny Depp is always good, I have nothing against Helen Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman is very good and everyone else in the movie does not suck. Oh yeah, Sacha Baron Cohen is evil and funny in this movie. I recommend this movie to anyone who is into revenge movies, horror (there are murders and blood and so on) and those who enjoy musicals (remember there is blood, so if you are queasy at the sight of movie blood be aware otherwise enjoy).

Now, can anyway in the film actually sing? Yes, they all can, but Tim Burton and the producer Richard D. Zanuck did not know if Johnny Depp could sing well into pre-production and were relieved to hear him sing and know that he was good or at least passable. The songs are not as catchy as those in Grease or Rent or Phantom of the Opera but they are very well written and are good songs.

Possible Spoiler
Just to let you know, do not expect a happy ending; the movie is pretty dark and does not falsely prepare you for one. The film ends the way that it has to end. If you cannot see that the film has to end the way it does then email me and I will tell you why I believe the film has to end this way.

Thanks again for reading.

Sincerely,

F@nb0y D&\/E

ReVolver

2008-04-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I have been interested in seeing Revolver (Guy Ritchie's latest film) since I heard about it being screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, but sadly it was in limited release in Canada, so I did not get a chance to see it at the movie theatre, so alas I rented it.

People, I have heard, did not respond well to this film. I think this is because the film starts off as a Guy Ritchie gangster film and then morphs into a delving into the world of Freud (not fully). The narrative style is that of Ritchie's other films; sound bridges joining separate characters in separate locales to convey important plot points. I am a big fan of Jason Statham; all always enjoy his performances and have been told by a mike friend of mine to see his latest film The Bank Job. The narrative towards the end gets very perplexing and convoluted because it gets bogged down by big ideas; those of Freud and the Ego. I think that Guy Ritchie is getting bored with the comedic thriller gangster film; I hope that I am wrong because he makes films in this trifecta hybrid genre so well. Andre Benjamin from Outkast puts in a decent performance; in the future I would not mind seeing him more in films; I think that he is really trying to be a better actor and is making progress. I doubt that I will buy this film but was glad that I got to see it because I have Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch in my DVD collection and like them both.

If any of you would like to know more about this or any other film that I have seen or any film that you have questions about please contact me and I would love to talk to you. Take Care and thanks for reading.

F@nB0y D&\/E

Got Blood?

2008-04-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

More on another crazy movie weekend. First off, I would like to thank my friends John and Heather-Anne for coming over last night and watching There Will Be Blood with my wife Veronica and I. Secondly, I would like to apologize to them for the movie being crappy. I am sorry guys I did not know. I would like an apology from Paul Thomas Anderson for his crappy movie. I would not call myself a fan of his but I did enjoy Boogie Nights and Magnolia, but I never did see Punch Drunk Love but I heard it was weird and stupid or crappy I cannot remember. This does not bowed well for me and PTA; the last two of his films that I saw were turkeys. He has got quite a hole to dig himself out of with me. I probably will not get that apology much like my desire to get an apology from M. Night Shyamalan for Lady In The Water, which I have cleverly (well obviously) nicknamed Lazy in the Water. However, I am a fan of M. Night Shyamalan so I will keep seeing the films that he puts out even if the last one of his was crappy. Anyway, I am going off on a huge tangent; back to the movie.

First of all, There Will be Blood was probably about 40 minutes too long; the running time was about 2 hours and 40 minutes. The pacing was very slow; an intolerable slow, not A History Of Violence or No Country For Old Men slow (I highly recommend that everyone see those two films). This film was the turkey in the Best Picture Oscar nominees; it is the only of the Oscar nominated films that I would recommend you skip, however if you really have to see if for yourself then do so. If someone said not to see it too me, I would still have to see for myself, so I do understand. In order of most favourite to less favourite of the five Best Picture Oscar nominees, according to me; No Country For Old Men, Juno, Atonement, Michael Clayton and There Will Be Blood. This film won for Best Cinematography, which should have really gone to The Assassination of Jesse James (I cannot remember if this was nominated or not. I am not a fan of Daniel Day-Lewis; I have nothing against him. I have only seen him in Gangs of New York, which I did enjoy and he was great in it. Daniel Day-Lewis plays a sly and clever Oil Tycoon were well; he is very smooth talking and had me going; I was ready to let him drill for oil in our backyard, but I do not believe that he should have one for best actor. He has been nominated for for Best Actor four times and has one twice. So he is batting at 50%; so it seems like every few movies he gets an Oscar nom and every two noms he gets an Oscar. I am not sure that this is totally deserving. I have heard that he was great in My Left Foot, which I have not seen but would like to. I think that Tommy Lee Jones should have won for his performance In The Valley of Elah , but I have not seen Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises, so perhaps he is more deserving, I do not know. Paul Dano (The Girl Next Door, Little Miss Sunshine, Taking Lives) puts in a great performance as Eli, a preacher who tries to use the oil flowing in his hometown to his own uses, as Daniel Day-Lewis does to same, as he tries to exploit the town. Paul Dano should have at least been nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting role; this seemed to be lost on the members of the Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences of America. So, it appears that this year I am a step ahead of them; hahahaha. The music in this movie at times was annoying and at other times made me feel uneasy like something horrible or shocking was going to happen. I am puzzled as to the title of this movie for two reasons; first, the book to which the film is based on is called Oil and second, there was actually very little blood seen or spilt in this film. I can only speculate that the actions of Daniel Day-Lewis at the end of the film justify (somewhat) the title of this film.

Thanks for reading everyone. Take Care.

F@nB0y D&\/e

He is...Awake

2008-04-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

Another crazy movie weekend is upon us. So far, I have watch two new films this weekend and am likely to watch two more. Last night, my wife and I watched Awake and Reservation Road. Today, I aim to watch There Will Be Blood (the last Oscar nominated best picture that I have yet to watch) and Revolver (Guy Ritchie's latest film; the one without Madonna in it). Some SPOILERS may follow; I apologize in advance, but you have been warned.

Awake
First off, I have to say that if my wife had not rented this film then I probably would not have watched it. I am not a huge Hayden Christensen fan, but some of his films are actually good; Shattered Glass, and Life As A House. Terence Howard is also in the film; I love this guy; the last 3 or 4 years this guy has been in everything or a lot anyway. The film is about a rich business man (Hayden) who needs a heart transplant and is hiding his relationship with his mother's assistant (Jessica Alba) and against his mother's wishes (Lena Olin), he marries Alba and that night gets a call that a heart is read. The rest of the film surprised me because I had no expectations for where the film was going to go from there. The remainder of the film was an interesting mix of thrilling and dramatic conventions. My only problem with the film was that all the shocking/surprising plot points were spewed out all at once; it would have been smarter to weave these plot points with the dramatic elements of the film; his mother's overprotective nature and her not wanting to lose her son because he is all she has; her husband died in an accident year previous; this is discussed in the film, so I will not get into it. I previously did an entry on Jumper; which was cool at time but on the whole was a waste of time. If you like Hayden or are interested in both films, do yourself a favour and rent Awake; do not waste your time on Jumper; it will only disappoint you.

Reservation Road
This film was a little bit of a disappointment to me, which is really perplexing because I had very minimal expectations for the film, because I knew little or next to nothing about this film. It has some great stars in it, so that was really the draw for my wife and I to see it. I am talking about the always good Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo. Also, Jennifer Connelly and Mira Survino are not terrible; Survino did win an Oscar for Mighty Aphrodite. The story is about a couple (Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly) that loses there son in a hit and run accident when a distracted Mark Ruffalo hits their son on the side of the road. The film juxtaposes the grief that Joaquin is feeling and how he is trying to deal with his son's death and the regret and fear that Ruffalo is feeling. Where it goes from there I cannot say. The performances from Joaquin and Ruffalo are very well done. I thought the ending was sort of abrupt; there is a part of me that wants total closure, but the film basically ties up the loose ends; through a little bit of extrapolation on the viewer's part with, regard incidents that they have witnessed previously that tells them how the story will end, eventhough it is not shown.

Well that is all for now. Take Care everyone. I hope that you have enjoyed my babbeling.

Fanboy Dave

Sad Movies that I Have Watched Recently

2008-03-31T15:32:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone,

Over the last few weekends I have watched some sad, sad movies. My wife says that I watch depressing movies; this is true, but they are are still very good. MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Two weekends ago, I watched Children of Men, which my wife bought for me on boxing day; that is how backlogged that I can get with my movies. I knew that it was going to be a sad movie, so I waited until my wife feel asleep and then I bought it on.
Children Of Men
I consider myself to be a Clive Owen fan; it would have been really cool to see him play James Bond, but it would have to have been like 10 years ago when Brosnan was playing Bond. The film depicts a bleak, terrorist-filled world (much like the world of today; with all the fanatics), but still features a glimmer of hope. The decay of society (buildings, morals, people) is done stylistically in a sort of home video type way; I do not think that it was shot on digital video though. This type of depiction of the future is a change from the Back To The Future 2/Minority Report type future that is very slick. It is sad, but is decently done and is worth a viewing. I do not think that it is a great film, but it is a good film.

Casanova
I bought this Heath Ledger film along with Ned Kelly (remake) and Candy because there was a good sale on amazon.ca in January on Ledger's films; I got the 3 of them for 47 bucks USD. This was a cute little romantic comedy starring Ledger (obviously), Sienna Miller (HOT; rent Layer Cake), Oliver Platt (he is always funny; see Huff Season 1) and Jeremy Irons (bad guy from Die Hard 3: sucking hard [it was a big disappointment]). There are cute little instances of mistaken identity and shenenigans. I do not like the fashions of the time mid-late 1700s; I am not a period piece fan; it's too old. I thought that I would give the movie a try and it is pretty much what I expected. Cute little film. Ledger was always great.

The Ice Storm
My wife has been telling me for a few years that this was a good film and I am a fan of Ang Lee (Eat Drink Man Woman, Brokeback Mountain, The Hulk [it was not his fault, it was the stupid studio and the screenwriter and the stupid special FX for absorping man [Nick Nolte] and that whole fight at the end of the movie was crap, crap, crap. I digress. My wife told me that this film was about a bunch of couples that go to a key party during which a tragedy occurs (I am not saying that the tragedy occurs at the party but one occurs). Knowing this, I could really see the the tension building; I could tell that something tragic would occur. The film teased you with options as to what it could be, who it would happen to or who would perpitrate the act. What happened was not what I expected; I expect something a little bigger, but it was very dramatic and epiphanic for some of the characters involved. It was an interesting look into a very uncertain period in American society (1970s). The film showed that it was a period of questionable morals, uncertain politics and general unease; it was as it the free love of the 60s was being paid for in the 70s. All the excesses of the 60s came to a head at some point in the 70s about the time when this movie takes place or a little before that time. Kevin Kline, Joan Allen and Sigourney Weaver all put in good performances. Katie Holmes and David Krumholtz (Freaks and Geeks, Superbad, TVs Numbers) have brief parts. Tobey Maguire provides voice-over narration ocassionally during the film which helps to shed light on how to view the characters in the story; using The Fantastic Four characters as a metaphor for his family; interesting. Christina Ricci and Elijah Wood show how good they were as young actors and their parts are important to the message of the film. I recommend this to fans of American Beauty cause I get a bit of an American Beauty vibe from this movie, but it sadder than American Beauty gets so be prepared. The decision for characters to change their ways comes at the end of the film, so you do not get that move to change their lives to make themselves happy that you have in American Beauty.

I hope you have enjoyed my brief fore into sad sad films. Thanks for reading. Leave questions, comments or suggestions if you like.

Have A Good One.

Fanboy Dave

Crazy Movie Weekend

2008-03-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

This weekend my wife and I watched 6 movies; Horton Hears A Who, The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Into The Wild, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, August Rush and Atonement. I would like to talk about each individually; I will try an avoid giving the films away but they MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Horton Hears A Who
Some of the principle reasons why I wanted to go and see this film were that it features a lot of celebrity voices (steve carrell, jim carrey, jonah hill, seth rogen, isla fisher and others), the CGI looked pretty cool and I knew it would be well written because it was based on a Dr. Seuss story. It was a cute little film; I was entertained, I laughed and the film did not go on too long unnecessarily. The moral of the story is pretty obvious to any viewer over the age of 10, but it is a Dr. Seuss story, so you expect that, but it is not too preachy like some of the Disney films can be. Anyone can enjoy this film; not everyone will want to or needs to go to the theatre to see it, but I believe everyone can enjoy this film.

The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
I believe that this film was robbed of a Best Picture Oscar Nomination; I am glad No Country For Old Men won, but this film should have been nominated. The story is about Jesse James as seen through the eyes of his assassin Robert Ford, whose brother ran with Jesse's gang. Robert Ford idolized Jesse James as a child and young man, but then he begins to see how trouble Jesse is a person, a father and a husband. Casey Affleck was great as Robert Ford and was worthy of the Oscar nomination that he received for his performance in this film. This film also had a beautiful score that should have been nominated for an Oscar; I am not saying that if nominated that it should have won, but the score for Atonement (which won for best original score) was annoying, predictable and totally unspectacular and should not have won. This film is pretty long (2 hrs. 40 mins) and does drag a little at times, but the performances are always great (Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell in particular). The first 40 minutes of the film features some great landscape shots; great cinematography. The voice-over that pops up every 5-10 minutes was great and detailed thoughts and feeling of some of the characters. The voice-over only enhanced the film that was already pretty well written. This is likely the only film (with the possible exception of Horton Hears A Who) that I watched this weekend that I intend to buy in the near future and by near future I mean payday, which is Thursday (sweeeeeeet). If you consider yourself a reasonably patient person then you will get through the slower points in this film. One of the best films of the year, which is really last year (2007).

Into The Wild
The true story of a young man (Chris) who decides to give up a possibly meaningless material existence for a life on the open road; a road which he plans to take to Alaska. Emile Hirsch (Lords of Dogtown, Alpha Dog, The Girl Next Door) plays Chris, who travels America and has random, but meaningful encounters with other people on his journey to Alaska; Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, Hal Holbrook play the main characters that he encounter on the road. It is a very sad and tragic story, but it totally worth seeing. The film is capably directed by Sean Penn and features great music composed by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Kaki King and Michael Brook. The music enhances some of the emotion behind some of the principle scenes of the film. Worth a watch.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
My wife Veronica wanted to see this film and I did not really want to see it, but I thought what the hell; I watch movies so why not give it a try. It was cute and magical; in more of small scale way then something like Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (the original). It was also a little unexpectedly sad, but not cry your eyes out sad. If you want to see it, you want to see it and if you don't you don't. Dustin Hoffman does his wacky Willy Wonka type character, but is not as extreme as that and the film does not necessitate him to be any more extreme in his performance than he is. Jason Batemen and Natalie Portman are very capable in their performances of the not totally fleshed out characters that they play. The young boy in the film that helps out at the store (Eric) is a very cute, wise, original and somewhat odd little kid that adds to the film and helps keep the story going when it seems like the film may be over to a sad end for the store and some of the people who tend to it.

August Rush
This film was, I think a very underrated and rarely seen film; almost a sort of indy film; it had a limited release and was only playing in one of the two theatres in my hometown. The story is about an orphan boy who desperately seeks to find his parents and seeks to call to them with the music that he plays and music which he eventually composes. His parents played by Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (great actor, great singer/musician) who had a chance encounter, but were never a couple and who both seek each other out when each has a sort of mini-epiphany. Keri Russell finds out from her father on his deathbed that the child that she was carrying did not indeed die when she was hit by a car 11 years earlier, but was illegally put up for adoption by him (he forged her signature). She rushed to find him as he is trying to find her and his father with his music. The music in this film is great. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers who has an Irish Country band with his family needs to start his own band and start releasing albums because he is a great potential rock star; great voice, good guitar player and he played Elvis in that TV movie that was on in 2005 (I think). If you are into music or like Jonathan Rhys-Meyers or just want to see a good flick check it out.

Atonement
I am not a fan of Ian McEwan's novels, but I have never read any of them, so I gave this movie a chance. I am also trying to watch all of the Best Picture Oscar Nominees (There Will Be Blood will be the last one that I have to watch still) of this year and make a final decision as to what film is/was the most deserving of the Oscar; it is coming up No Country For Old Men still. This film won for Best Original Score, but sadly this was an unworthy win. Unfortunately, I did not see 3:10 To Yuma, The Kite Runner or Ratatouille, so I cannot judge from those films which score should have won the Oscar, but as previously mentioned, The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford should have been nominated in this category. Keira Knightley is not a bad actress and pulls off a fairly decent performance, although I prefer Natalie Portman because she is a better actress. James McAvoy pulls off a much better performance of the two, possibly because he is just started to get recognized by Hollywood (see him next in action flick Wanted with Angelina Jolie) whereas Keira has been around Hollywood since Bend It Like Beckham gained international acclaim in 2002 and I worry that her best days may be behind her. Prove me wrong, Keira. The protagonist of the story, Briony played by younin' Saoirse Ronan (she is only 13) annoyed me and I do not really understand Saoirse's Oscar nomination, but I think whenever a young child is nominated for an acting award, I am always stunned or caught unawares; I do not understand how they decide that some of these young children deserve the nomination; I guess that I believe they are deserving of the nominations...sometimes. The story was part love story, part war epic, part coming of age story. There were a few good twists towards the end of the film, but for me it fell flat. My bias though I think is that I am not a fan of any sort of modern filmed war epic love story (The English Patient) films. I believe that I am more of a fan of the black and white 40s and 50s war epics such as the coming home subtype as seen in The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946). The film is very sad, a little sappy, boring at times and was unworthy of the nomination; I mean Atonement, if you lost me there. Every year at the Oscars there is one or two films that were off in their nomination for Best Picture. In 2005, I believe that Capote and Goodnight and Good Luck were unworthy of their nominations and I was disappointed that Brokeback Mountain lost, but still excited that Crash won. If you really want to see this film then by all means see it, but all I can tell you was that I did not enjoy it and I really did not have any expectations for the film, so I was pretty open to it and it did very little for me.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this insanely long post and that you make an effort to see one of the films that I have reviewed, discussed or bitched about; maybe not Atomenent. Take care everyone and thanks Denise for telling me that people were unable to leave comments on my blogs; I have resolved this or at least tried, so you should now be able to freely leave comments. If any of you would like recommend films to me that you believe I should see, please feel free to let me know.

REVISED
Since posting this blog originally, I have read Atonement and rewatched the movie. I still stand by what I said about Keira Knightley. I am looking foward to seeing more of James McAvoy in the pictures; possibly as an action star; his next film is Wanted with Angelina Jolie; I know that I already mention that in this blog entry. There are things about this film that annoy me, like how this young girl's unreliability ruins McAvoy's character's life. But it is a good story. I am not usually a fan of the war epic type pictures, but it is very dramatic and sad and I like those sort of elements in films. I now feel that this film's nomination for best picture was deserving but I think that it is the third best film of the 4 of the 5 that I have seen that was nominted (1; No Country For Old men, 2: Juno, 4: Michael Clayton; these ratings may change slightly as I have not seen There Will Be Blood yet; if this happens I will update, you the readers.

Take Care Everyone.

F&nb0y D@vE

My Foreign Film Collection

2008-03-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I just bought Lady Vengeance (the second part in the Vengeance Trilogy; I think it is the second part anyway) the other day and thought that I would do a rundown of my entire foreign film collection, which depending on whether I get rid of my cheaply purchased copy of Ameile is between 28 and 29 in total. I thought Ameile was cute but I do not know how much I would want to watch it in the future, so I think that I will give it another try. I however hate Jean Paul Jeunet's Alien Resurrection, which is in my eyes and the eyes of my friend Chris, the only truly crappy Alien movie, because Alien 3 is not bad, not great, but not terrible. Anyway, I go off on tangents, but no more I say, no more (sorry). The following may contain spoilers. I try to be as general as possible to just give, you (the readers) a general idea about what to expect if you were to watch any of these foreign films as well as my feeling about them. Enjoy.

I am going to start this alphabetically starting with the two 3 Extremes compilations. I first saw one of the segments in my Theories of Generic film class at the University of Toronto. The segment was called Going Home (Directed by Peter Chan) and was about a widower police officer and his son moving into a soon to be demolished apartment building. Strange things begin to happen when the officer's son disappears and he begins to suspect the only other tenant in the apartment block; a man who wheels around his comatose wife and frequently carts leaking garbage bags to the dumpster. This episode is very eerie, sad, intriguing and I think very beautiful. Both of the 3 Extremes DVDS feature 3 episodes from Asian filmmakers (Peter Chan, Ji-Woon Kim, Nonzee Nimibutr, Fruit Chan, Chan-Wook Park and Takashi Miike). I prefer Going Home and Cut (directed by Chan-Wook Park). Cut is about a film director that is being held hostage by a sadistic extra who has been in all of his films, but has remained unnoticed by the director. Beautifully set decoration in this sick and twisted horrific hostage and torture situation. Various Asian Countries.

I am now just realizing that this entry is going to go on forever. The describes of the other foreign films in my collection will be much briefer.

Audition (dir. Takashi Miike) is probably the most horrific film in my collection. It is sort of a very twisted Asian version of Fatal Attraction. There is more to it than that but I am trying to be concise. Japanese.

The Barbarian Invasions (dir. Denys Arcand) won the foreign language film Oscar a few years ago and is the sequel to Arcand's earlier film The Decline of the American Empire. It is a rumination on how Quebec society is changing and becoming more technocratic. It is also a story about what makes up a life etc. French-Canadian.

Cache (dir. Michael Haneke) is a bizarre film about a family that keeps receiving videotapes of someone spying outside their house and their efforts to find out who it is. I did not really get this film; I think that I missed something; I only watch it once and need to give it another try. Some of my fellow students in the University of Toronto Cinema Studies department kept talking about it so I rolled the dice and decided to buy it when it came out and give it a try. French.

The Celebration (Festen; its Danish Title, dir. Thomas Vinterberg) is a great dramatic thriller (yeah I made that up) that masterfully constructs a style by taking away many of the tenants that make up a film's style in a Hollywood film. One of my top five films of all time. Danish.

Chungking Express (dir. Wong Kar-Wai) is a mosaic narrative about the love lives of two Hong Kong police officers and the females that they interact with in their daily lives. Also one of my top five favourite films of all time. Chinese.

Cinema Paradiso is a great Italian film about cinema, growing up and love. Possibly my favourite Italian film of all time; I think that The Easy Life is my most favourite Italian film. Italian.

Crazy (dir. Jean-Marc. Vallee) is a coming of age story about a gay man as he grows up in a religious French-Canadian household. Great film; my second favourite French-Canadian Film.

Days of Being Wild (dir. Wong Kar-Wai) is a film about a reckless youth who is trying to find his origins in an attempt to understand who his relationships with women are so damaged. Very good. Chinese.

The Decline of the American Empire (dir. Denys Arcand) is sort of a French-Canadian precursor to The Big Chill (I have heard and read this but I cannot confirm because I have not seen The Big Chill). It is about the sex lives of a bunch of Quebec Intelligensia University Professors as is discussed and shown over the course of a cold, Quebecois winter. Very funny and thought provoking.

Eat Drink Man Woman (dir. Ang Lee) is about the love lives of three woman and their father and the different romantic circumstance that each find themselves in. Very cute little movie. Taiwanese

Fallen Angels (dir. Wong Kar-Wai) is the companion film to Chungking Express. Wong Kar-Wai often pairs films together (see also In The Mood For Love and 2046). It is a mosaic narrative love story; on one side about a hitman and his handler who he has never met, but she seems to be in love with him and on the other side about a mute and his father who he hassles [very funny segment]. I love it second only to Chungking Express. Chinese.

La Femme Nikita (dir. Luc Bresson) is about woman junkie who is discovered at a crime scene and is train to be a hitman or hitwoman, whichever you prefer. Very good spy/espionnagesque action film. Probably Bresson's best film. French.

Goodbye Dragon Inn (dir. Tsai Ming-Liang) is about the final screening at a movie theatre in Taiwan before it is to be torn down (the movie being screened is an old swordplay/marital arts film that was filmed in Taiwan when Taiwan was still part of Mainland China; the film is called Dragon Inn). The film basically a lamentation on the lost lustre and prosperity that Taiwan once had when it was part of China, but has since lost and has never gained back. This is all told as you observe the lives of the people watching the film and running the theatre. There is no dialogue in this film for the first 40 minutes or so; movie is only about 80 minutes but seems longer because of the lack of major action) This is a watch for only those who have more an average amount of patience. I believe there is a pay off if you sit through the entire film, but others might disagree. Taiwanese.

High Tension (Alexandre Aja) closely resembles the first 100 pages or so of a Dean Koontz novel entitled Intensity (see my brief blog entry on this from Jan. or Feb.). It is a slash film with a cool twist set in the French countryside. One of my favourite horror films of the last ten years. French.

Irreversible (dir. Gaspar Noe) is a hard to watch thriller told in reverse chronology about a woman's rape and the violent actions that her boyfriend and her ex-boyfriend take to 'payback' the responsible party. French.

Infernal Affairs (dir. Andy Lau) more commonly known as the film Martin Scorsese adapted with his recent Oscar wining film The Departed. The story is pretty much the same, although there are differences (the ending and others). The acting is great and story is well written; it is just a great foreign cop film. Chinese.

Intacto (dir. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo; also 28 weeks Later) is a interesting little film about group of people that gamble away their luck and try to get it back before they end up dead. Spanish, but has English dialogue at times. An interesting little watch.

Jesus of Montreal (dir. Denys Arcand) is about a group of struggling French-Canadian stage actors who perform a controversial Passion Play (about Jesus, the cross and all that business) that upsets some church leaders because it attempts to humanize Jesus Christ to a level that they are uncomfortable with. Probably my favourite French-Canadian Film.

Lady Vengeance is another revenge film (apparently the last in the Chan-Wook Park's Vengeance Trilogy; the second is Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance) from Korean director Chan-Wook Park. It is not as violent as Oldboy but it is still pretty disturbing, but worth seeing. I prefer Oldboy. The performances are all very good and the protagionist for Oldboy is also in this film, but this time around he plays 'the bad guy'. I need to see it again to piece everything together in my head better.

MPD (multiple Personality Detective) Psyho was a miniseries that aired on TV in Japan in 2000 and is based on a popular Japanese manga comic. It is about a detective who hunted and killed a serial killer who can transfer his soul in the bodies of others through phone lines. The detective developed a second personality that has taken over his life since a sad and drama encounter between the killer and the detectives wife. The film continues with him hunting this serial killer and trying to stop his transfer into other bodies. It is much weirder than you think. I need to take it in all again. Japanese.

Oldboy (dir. Chan-Wook Park), I thought was going to be a cool revenge film with a lot of violence (there is violence in the film), but turned out to be a much deeper film than I thought, with a really nice glossy polish to the film (what I mean to say is that the film has a reasonable budget and looks like a really well made film). I highly recommend this film. Korean.

Pan's Labyrinth (dir. Guillermo Del Toro) is about a young girl's glimpse into a dark, but magical fairy tale world while she is in the Spanish countryside with her pregnant mother and new Spanish Commander stepfather during the Spanish civil war in 1944. Very dark but very good. If you are a horror fan then give it a rent. Spain.

Run Lola Run (dir. Tom Tyker) is about a woman who races to help her boyfriend recover a mobsters money that he has lost. Three possible versions of her struggle to help him get the money back make up the film. Very cool, fast-paced and entertaining film. German.

To Live (dir. Zhang Yimou) is about a family and how they are affected by the changing society in China from about the 1930-1970s. A very good brief overview of China's history. Slow paced at times but is a very good foreign melodrama. Chinese.

Tout Va Bien (dir. Jean-Luc Godard) is a film about the changes in French society in the late 1960 involving the May 1967 protests in France involving the death of a protestor at the hands of the French Police Department. The narrative shifts between a couple and how their politics are pulling them apart, protestors at a supermarket and workers hold the head of a factory hostage in his office to get higher wages and breaks during their workday. Film had a very interesting narrative structure. Good foreign film about the turbulent decade that was the 1960s. French.

Yi Yi (dir. The Late Edward Yang) is about a family from Taipei who in different ways reflect on and question their lives and their place in the world around them. Very long but a very good foreign film. My favourite Taiwanese film. Taiwanese.

I hope that those of you reading this blog entry have seen or aim to see some of the films I have briefly discussed; I think they are worth seeing.

Looking forward to spring coming soon,

FaNbOy DaVe

I love That Poster!

2008-03-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I do not know about those of you reading this, but I love movie posters. I love finding unused poster concepts on some of my DVDs, such as Batman Begins. I find that a lot of times the better posters are the ones that were not used or those that were used in Europe.

I am a big James Bond fan, but at first I did not like the teaser posters for Quantum of Solace, but now I love it. A shadow of Bond with a machine gun set against the stone ground. It nicely shows how the storyline from Casino Royale will continue into this new film.

I just saw the Official Iron Man poster earlier this week; check it out online. I think it looks like a Star Wars posters, not like most of the basic Superhero posters.

I really love the US One sheet of Blade Runner. Rachel Rosen smoking a cigarette in the middle to the right, Harrison Ford in the middle of the poster with his gun held up at the side of his head and a futuristic looking building at the bottom of the poster; very noirish.

The 1997 Re release of the original Star Wars films I thought were great looking; even better than the original release posters.

I absolutely love the Donnie Darko posters with the Frank the Bunny mask that is composed of images from the film. I love it so much that I bought it and have it in an ikea frame in my house.

Back to Star Wars. The newer Star Wars films had posters that practically mirrored the format of the 1997 Re released posters for the original Star Wars films. The advance/teaser poster for Phantom Menace I thought was great; anakin as a boy with his shadow appearing on a sand house as the shadow of Darth Vader; really nice. The US Banner for Revenge of the Sith with Anakin's cape forming the vader's mask was really interesting to see and seems to continue the idea from the Phantom Menace advance poster.

The Terminator 2 poster with Arnold as the Terminator on the motorcycle all done up in leather is one of the great action film posters of all time.

The European poster for The World Is Not Enough is so much better than the US release poster for the film; the European ones are usually better, but not always.

The Dark Knight poster with Ledger as the Joker painting 'Why So Serious?' in blood on a transparent screen is great looking, as are all the posters with Ledger as the Joker in them.

I also loved the Casino Royale (2006) poster with Bond at the casino table; that would be a great poster to frame and have in one's home; ah maybe one day.

The Pan's Labyrinth posters were very eerie, but also very beautiful looking, appealing to both the dark and fairy tale qualities that exist within the film.

Well I hope that you enjoy my brief discussion of movie posters that I love. Are there movie posters out there that you love? If so, leave a comment on my blog. I would love to hear your opinions etc.

Take Care everyone. Winter is almost over.

FaNbOy DaVe

Oscar Agreements and Bereavements!

2008-03-01T14:36:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

I do not know how many of you reading this watched the Oscars. I did; it is the only awards show that I watch anymore. Here I will list my agreements and bereavements for the winners for all the categories; some of my comments will be very brief and others lengthy (like a good hallmark card). Enjoy.

Costume Design - Elizabeth: The Golden Age won in this category. I have no problem with that. I heard that the Elizabeth movies were good, as I have not seen them but maybe someday I will give them a try.

Animated Film - Ratatouille won in this category. I heard it was good and I heard that it was not so good, so I do not know what to think. I guess I should see it. I actually did not see any of the nominees in this category

Make-Up - La Vie En Rose won in this category. I suppose they did a good job because they made a relatively hot women (actress Marion Cotillard) look like Edith Plaf, who in my eyes was not attractive; not ugly just not attractive.

Visual FX - The Golden Compass won in this category, which mildly upset me because I thought that Transformers had great visual effects and should have won, but I do not cry myself to sleep about it...anymore cause it has been almost a week.

Art Direction - Sweeney Todd won in this category. This seemed to be worthy of the win with the sets, costumes etc ( I am not really sure what this category means). I still have to see this film; OUT ON DVD APRIL 1.

Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Me) won in this category and it was a much-deserved win for him; everyone in that film was great.

Short Film - Les Mozart Du Pickpockets won; way to go. I never see short films, so any fight here.

Animated Short - Peter and the Wolf won and I think this film was based on a children's book. Way To Go.

Supporting Actress - Tilda Swinton won this Oscar; she is great in whatever she is in and I supposed that she did a good job; I have mixed feelings about Michael Clayton though.

Adapted Screenplay - No Country For Old Men won in this category and as I read the book before I saw the film, I am in a prime position (which is rare) to compare the two and The Cone Brothers did a great job adapted the amazing book by Cormac McCarthy; only minor things were changed in the translation from book to film.

Sound Editing - The Bourne Ultimatum won this Oscar. They did a good job with all that sound edition stuff.

Sound Mixing - The Bourne Ultimatum also won for this category; again they did a good job with all the sound mixing stuff.

Actress - Marion Cotillard won for her portrayal of Edith Plaf, who I think was a French singer in the 40s. I am guessing here. If you know better please let me know. I had no pick for this category, but it would have been cool for Canuck Ellen Page to win or even Cate Blanchett who did win for the other Elizabeth movie (90 % sure).

Film Editing - The Bourne Ultimatum won for film editing and I feel this film deserved it; there were little to no clunky bits for story or character development that slowed down the plot of the film to any annoying level.

Foreign Language Film - The Counterfeiters won for foreign language film; I wished I lived in Toronto, so I would actually have a chance in having seen any of the films nominated in this category maybe next year I will try an see some.

Original Song - Falling Slowly ('Once'); After hearing all the nominated songs, I was glad that this song won because I felt that it was the most deserving. I have heard also that the film is very good so I aim to try to rent it in the near future.

Cinematography - There Will Be Blood won for cinematography; I still have to see this film.

Original Score - Atonement won for original score; still have to see the film. I thought that I had not seen any of the film nominated in this category but I did see Michael Clayton but released it was nominated after I saw it and did not get a chance to see it again and decide whether or not the music was any good. I think a lot of the film scores that I enjoy were not nominated or if they were did not win Oscars.

Documentary Short - Freeheld; Sure it deserved it but again never saw it.

Documentary Feature- Taxi To The Darkside won for best doc. I wanted Sicko to win but I have more confidence in the doc, and animated film categories that those most deserving win the Oscars. Maybe I am being to trusting. I do not know.

Original Screenplay - Juno won for this category; I thought it was a good story. So hats off to you Diablo Cody; Crazy, Hot name. She is hot did you see her? She used to be a stripper, so she has to be or should be pretty nice to look at naked or not.

Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis won for his performance in There Will Be Blood; again I did not see this film but I thought that it would be cool if Viggo won or even cooler if Johnny Depp won or really nice if Tommy Lee Jones won for in the Valley of Elah (very good movie; I recommend).

Director - The Coen Bros won for best director(s). They are pretty awesome. I have only seen No Country For Old Men, Raising Arizona and the Big Lebowski.

Best Picture - No Country For Old Men most deservedly won for best picture. I did enjoy Juno, but Michael Clayton was a disappointment (it was good but I had higher hopes because it was nominated for best picture; in the valley of elah would have been a more deserving nominee) and I did not see the remaining two films. I would have been really upset if any film other than No Country For Old Men won. I cannot wait for the DVD release. This film masterfully deals with tension and action in story (see also History of Violence). Great performances from Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem and Woody Harrelson can be seen in this film.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my thoughts on the Oscar winners. take it easy. watch a lot of films and tell me about them.

FaNbOy DaVe

Dean Koontz's Intensity and High Tension

2008-02-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Recently, I began reading a Dean Koontz book called Intensity that my grandmother gave me (along with a few other books by Koontz) and I am still reading it. I noticed some undeniable similarities between Intensity and the French film High Tension (Haute Tension). Apparently, I am not the only one who has noticed that the two have similarities between them, as I find blog posts and message board entries from people who have seen the connections between the two. The book was published in 1996 and the film was released in 2003 (I think), so there is no doubt, which came first. On a blog entry that I read, someone listed details from an interview that someone had with Alexandre Aja and stated that he was asked if he was aware of the book Intensity, to which he uncomfortably replied that he was aware of the book and had in fact read the book. Intensity was adapted into a 3 hour TV movie in 1997, starring Scrubs Doc. John C. McGinley as the murdered. The TV movie is currently not available on DVD (as far as I know), much to my chagrin. If you are a fan of High Tension, I would suggest that you give Intensity a read (it should be available at a decently stocked Chapters, Indigo or if you live in the U.S.: Borders, Barnes and Noble or Walden Books). Apparently, Dean Koontz has not made any comments regarding High Tension's relationship to Dean Koontz's Intensity, which saddens me because I think that he has complete and total cause for a lawsuit, but as that has not happened yet then it probably will not happen. I thought this relationship between the Koontz book and the French film was interesting, so there it is.

Take It Easy Guys.

Fanboy Dave

The Nines

2008-02-17T12:07:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

The Nines is a film that I have been waiting for. I downloaded a trailer for it and thought that it looked good. Unfortunately, it was either in limited release at theatres in Canada or did not play at theatres in Canada at all. Then I had to wait for a DVD release date, so I could rent it. That day came and I rented the film and it was not what I expected, but I thought that it was really interesting. I would not give the film away but will provide a basic description. The film is broken into three segments; each features Ryan Reynolds as the main character and Hope Davis (The Weatherman) and Melissa McCarthy (Gilmore Girls) in important supporting roles; some other minor characters are also featured in each segment. The first segment is about an actor (played by Ryan Reynolds) who is in a popular crime scene detective drama TV show called Crime Lab (of course referring to CSI and its popularity), who is under house arrested for a few crimes he committed (driving under the influence, arson and there may be more but they are not specified). The second segment is about a TV writer (Ryan Reynolds) that is trying to get his pilot filmed and picked up by a TV Network; this segment is shot like a reality TV where it show him trying to get his pilot made, getting it made and trying to get it picked up. The third segment is pilot that the writer from the second segment was trying get made and picked up by a TV network. Ryan Reynolds again plays the main character in this pilot. In this third segment it is explained as to how these three segments are related to each other. The mysteries or unanswered questions from all three segments are pretty much all explained; they may still be unanswered questions but the main ones are addressed. What it all means is explained at the end of the film and I think that it is pretty big and has a lot of meaning. Others may not agree but it really spoke to me and I thought that it was a really great and interesting idea; not the run of the mill mystery or thriller, although it considered a comedy; it had comedic elements, but also dramatic ones and elements of mystery, so it is somewhat hard to classify. I would recommend this film to anyone who wants to watch a film that is different. If you are tired of the run of the mill Hollywood films (no matter what genre), I would suggested this film to you.

Take Care and if you watch this film, please email me and tell me what you thought.

Fanboy Dave signing off.

I wish I was a Jumper!

2008-02-17T11:48:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

My wife and I went to see Jumper yesterday; It was more of a rental for me, but my wife wanted to see it and I enjoy going to the movies, so to the theatre we went. Her and I talked about the film afterwards and agreed on a number of points regarding the films' strengths and weaknesses. If some of you are not familiar, Doug Liman, who directed The Bourne Identity and Go, which are both films that I enjoy, directs the film. If you want to be entertained, then Jumper is a movie for you to see. Very quickly the action begins in the film (after about a half an hour). Seeing Hayden Christensen and Jamie Bell teleport (or jump as they call it) is very cool, but the film had some problems with regard to writing. ATTENTION SPOLIER ALERT (MINOR SPOILERS). Hayden and Jamie are jumpers and Samuel L. Jackson and his cohorts are Palladins (religious fanatics) who are out to kill the jumpers because they believe that no one should have that power but god. Jamie Bell tells Hayden that the jumpers and Palladins have been at war since the medieval times. No more background is given regarding the feud between the jumpers and Palladins and no information is given as to where these powers come from. The film was only about an hour and a half, so if the film had been extended by 15 to 30 minutes more background and explanation could have been given, without it being bogged down with a lot of plot, because for me the plot did not have enough. I was not expecting a lot of plot, but the film was not die hard, it had a little bit more to it because the characters can violate laws of science and you would think that more explanation would be given, regarding how they are able to teleport. ATTENTION SPOILER: Hayden's character was abandoned by his mother when he was 5, but comes into the movie as Samuel L. Jackson starts to pursue him and she had a part in this war between the jumpers and Palladins; that is explained to Hayden by her and then not followed up by any real explanation. The ending of the film for me felt flat. I felt that there should have been more resolution. I can enjoy and take ambiguous endings, but only where the film prepares you for this. As Jumper is a pretty mainstream Hollywood film, I believe it should have more resolution. I do not expect total resolution in any film and some films cannot have a lot of resolution because it does not work for the story of the film, but this film needed more resolution. I believe that the ending can save a film, if it is big enough or meaningful enough. Some films, such as Jumper cannot be saved by its ending, but should have had a better one.

Take Care.

Fanboy Dave

It's Killer Time!

2008-02-11T14:19:00.000-08:00

There is no doubt some of you reading this blog are familiar with the Showtime Television Show Dexter. Now, you may not have seen the show but you likely have heard of it. I would just like to say that I am a big fan of that show; it is very well done. A show about a serial killer who kills killers is an interested but not unheard of idea; see Suspect Zero, where a remote viewer (can tune into what others see) becomes a serial killer, who kills other serial killers. I not just interested in this idea, but in trend of films about serial killers. The first thing to do would be to attempt to find out when this trend began. A big cult film about a serial killer, Henry: Portrait of a Serial killer came out in 1986 and is still a cult favourite today (see also Psycho (1960), Peeping Tom [1960] and Badlands [1973]). Now, of course that was not the first movie about a serial killers, but it was a popular one done in the 80s (late 70s maybe), which is where I am going to plot my starting off point. I am a big Nightmare On Elm Street fan and I would consider the film's villian/star Freddy Krueger as a serial killer; he kills teenagers whose parents burned him to death as an act of revenge for him killing their children (that is his MO; Modus Operandi) and he is a dream demon, so he kills them where he resides (in the dream world). The Nightmare On Elm Street films are often considered slasher films, which they are but they are also horror films. The Friday The 13th films also contain a serial killer; of course I mean Jason Voorhes. Unlike Freddy, Jason kills teens in the real world where he exists as a sort of superhuman undead monster. His MO is killing teens who try to restart Camp Crystal Lake, where Jason drown when he was a boy as the camp counsellors that were supposed to be watching him were busy having sex or making out. Again, The Friday The 13th films were seen as slasher films with regard to their subgenre and genrically were horror films. Michael Myers from the Halloween series is also a serial killer, but his MO gets a little bit hard to pin down after Halloween 2 (remember he is not in Halloween 3: Season of the Witch; do not let the title fool you, there is no witch in this movie) (see also Texas Chainsaw Massacre). I believe that the current trend with regard to depicting serial killers in film and TV is indebted to Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lector book series. Thomas Harris' first Hannibal Lector book, Red Dragon was first adapted in 1986 with the film Manhunter (one of my favourite films), but the trend does not start there, as the film was regarded as somewhat campy. It was an early serial killer film that dealt with psychological profiling. Harris' second Hannibal book, The Silence of The Lambs was released in 1992 and basically made Anthony Hopkins a huge start with American audiences. Some of you may be aware that it won the Best Picture Oscar in 1992. Spawing from this, you get films such as House of 1,000 Corpses (2003) , The Devil's Rejects (2005), From Hell (2001), Suspect Zero (2004), Seven (1995), Zodiac (2007), Saw (2004), Mr. Brooks (2007), Perfume: Story of a Murderer (2006), Identity (2003), "The Profiler" (1996) TV, "Millennium" TV (1996), and a host of others. I am not attempting to discount any novels or graphic novels (From Hell is based on a graphic novel on jack the ripper) that exists as source material, I am simply stating that the trend begins with Harris's Hannibal Lector books and with The Silence of The Lambs having such financial success and literary acclaim. With the continued success of Showtime's Dexter, it is unlikely that the trend in film and TV of depicting serial killers is going to wane or fade out at all. Having said that, some of my favourite serial killer films include the following, American Psycho, Disturbia, Se7en, Zodiac, Manhunter, Mr. Brooks, and Candyman.

I hope that you all have enjoyed my ideas about where this 'serial killer mania' in film and TV began.

Singed,

That Crazy Guy; Fanboy Dave.

Ten Things That Make Me Sad About Heath Ledger Being Dead!

2008-01-31T16:34:00.000-08:00

The first film that I saw Heath Ledger in was 10 Things I Hate About You. It was not his first film, but it was really the first film that a widespread North American audience would see him in. I remember the scene where he sings 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' to Julia Stiles as she is in the middle of a soccer game. A security guard begins to chase after him and somehow he gets behind the guard, pats him on the butt and runs off. What a funny start to such a short Hollywood film career and life. The next film that I saw Heath in was The Patriot, where he played Mel Gibson's idealist son, who against his father's wishes signs up to fight in the Revolutionary war against the British. Although the film was not really historically accurate; the British did not kill wounded American soldiers (as my friend Mike tells me; I should really know anyway because I took American History in high school), the movie I think was very good...in a guilty please kind of way. Next, Ledger had a small part as Billy Bob Thorton's son in Monster's Ball; his part was small but he did very well with it. Ledger was also in A Knight's Tale (my wife has it but I have not seen it yet), and remakes of both The Four Feathers and Ned Kelly (I missed those too, but will probably see them sometime in the near future). The next time that I came upon Heath, was in The Order; a religious thriller about sin-eating. As for religious thrillers go, it is one of the better ones; I would recommend it over Stigmata, which is not terrible or anything. In Lords of Dogtown, he played a surfer/entrepreneur who was a big part of the beginnings of skateboarding in the 70s. He was very convincing and commited to his performance for this film, but I think he was always committed to his work. He played a grimm brother in The Brothers Grimm, which was a comedy with some dark grimm fairy tale elements added to it; not great but entertaining and worth seeing. Brokeback Mountain was that last film that I saw him in and was upset that he did not win an oscar for his performance. The last films that he did are the following; Casanova, Candy, I'm Not There, The Dark Knight and the still in production The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. I know that I will be seeing his last completed performance this summer; The Dark Knight.

The following are the ten reasons why Heath Ledger being dead makes me sad;

1. His Family - By family, I mean his parents (obviously), his ex-girlfriend Michelle Williams, his baby daughter Matilda and his close Hollywood friends (i.e. Jake Gyllenhaal). I feel sad for their loss because I know he meant a lot to them because my family means a lot to me.

2. He Never Won An Oscar - There are a few actors that I believe will eventually win an oscar, such as Ryan Gosling, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Walberg, Mark Ruffalo and of course Heath Ledger. Heath was an amazing actor and he shown his talent in all his performances, whether or not they were great, emtionally deep movies or not. I know that he will be missed in the films of Hollywood.

3. Sad Watching His Films - With Ledger dead, I cannot help but feel sad whenever I will watch one of his films, knowing that he is dead and that I will never see him in another film that has not already been shot. I cannot imagine what performances he might have put out in the future and sadly none of those performances will ever happen.

4. My Wife Is Sad - My wife was watching 2 1/2 Men on dvd, when I found out on imdb.com that Ledger was found dead in his apartment. I told her that I had bad news and she stopped the dvd and I told her the news. My wife was really sad about Ledger being dead because she was and is a big fan of his and it is hard enough to get through the cold winter with the cold and the lack of sun that celebrities that you like dying does not make getting through the winter any easier.

5. Jack Nicholson Saying Stupid Things - I read on imdb that Nicholson said that he either warned against or warned Ledger about the rigours of playing such a dark and demented character; The Joker in The Dark Knight. Upon Ledger's death, Nicholson was asked what he though about Ledger's death and Nicholson said, "I told him so". How insensitive is that? That really helps his family and everyone else who is mourning him, to know that Jack Nicholson warned him about playing The Joker; that really brings him back doesn't it. I hate it when celebrities bad mouth or say insensitive things about other celebrities; why can't we all just get along? Jack Nicholson should shut his mouth because he did so many drugs in the 60s and 70s that he should probably be dead (see also Margot Kidder, Martin Scorsese, Karen Black and others, see book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls). FYI, Nicholson is a product of incest; he thought his mom was his sister and his grandfather was really his father; that is why he is crazy.

6. I Will Never Get To Meet Him - I have not really met many celebrities (Matthew Good, Nicholas Lea, Richard Kiel [Jaws], Shawn Ashmore), but I hope to live a long life which will included meeting at least a few celebrities. I would have liked to meet him and tell him that I thought that his work was great and that I respected him.

7. His Death Will Hang Over TDK - His untimely death will forever hang over The Dark Knight when it comes out and will be known as his last entirely filmed performance. I am sure that he is going to be great it the film but it will add a sadness and seriousness to the film that will make my wife and I cry.

8. His Death Overshadows Brad Renfro's Suicide - My wife was really big fan of Brad Renfro and a week before Heath Ledger died, Brad Renfro died of a drug overdose; it is not known whether this was suicide or an accidentally overdose. With Ledger dying a week after Renfro and Ledger being a more popular actor, his death overshadows Renfro's. It is just all so unfortunate; that both of them died and that Ledger died so close to when Renfro did that all the media attention is going to Ledger and his death. I am looking foward to seeing Brad Renfro's last performance in this summer's The Informers (see my blog on book adaptations).

9. His Life Was Incomplete - Ledger died at 28 (my sister is 28 and my wife is close to 28); so young, too young. He likely had goals and aspirations that are left undone because of his death. He likely wanted to progress professionally, as well as improve in his abilities as a dad, with his baby daugher Matilda. Sadly, she will grow up with little or no recollection of her father and will only know him through family and the media.

10. Will Not Get To See Him In Any New Films - Ledger's resume is now finite; with his death, obviously his resume will cease to grow. Once I have rented or bought all the outstanding films of his that I have missed, I will have nothing left to see him in. I will have a bunch of films to enjoy him in, but a limited number and that will be it.

Sadly, the rest that he could not get in his last few weeks alive, he has now achieved and finally he will not be plaqued by the darkness of his last completed performance.

I hope that upon ready this you will go seek out one of his films and be able to apprecite Heath Ledger's immense talent and remember that he will live on in his films.

Your Truly,

Fanboy Dave

Top Ten Movies of All Time!

2008-01-29T16:04:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow moviegoers,

Here is my top five favourite movies of 2007 and following that my top ten films of all time.

Top Five Movies 2007
1. Transformers - I went to the movies to see it and thoroughly enjoyed it and when I bought it on DVD, I watched it 3 times in that one week. I am not a purist fan of transformers. I have a vague to moderate memory of the television series. I think that the film was a great blockbuster/popcorn film. It kept me entertained and I enjoy watching it again and again and can not wait for the sequel in a few years.

2. Sicko - I have enjoyed all of Michael Moore's documentaries (I have not see The Big One though) and am a big fan of his. Sicko is a good mix of bring up issues that are important or of concern to Americans/North Americans and doing so in an entertaining way. It is not too depressing, like Bowling For Columbine or Fahrenheit 9/11 Can be. Very entertaining and scary.

3. No Country For Old Men - I am not a huge fan of the Coen Brothers, but I loved this movie (also the Big Lebowski was hilarious). I read the book before I saw the movie and really believe that The Coen Brothers should win for best adaptation because the book and the film are nearly dead on. I would also like them to win for Best Picture because it was great. It paces slow at time but pays off when the action gets intense. Well developed characters and a tense atmosphere throughout. I highly recommend this film.

4. Pan's Labyrinth - I include this film with 2007's films because althought it was in release before the end of 2006, to qualify for the 2007 oscar's, it was not in full release until 2007, and I bought it when it came out on dvd. It is very dark and depressing. It is a fairytale for adults. It is colourful and magically, but very very dark.

5. Knocked Up - I love this movie; I can keep watching it and still find the humour funny; much like how I feel about 40 Year Old Virgin. It has a great ensemble cast, but is capably headed by Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl. Enjoyable for all ages (except young children cause they will pick up all the curses).

Top 10 Films of All Time (Subject to change with notice; in no particular order)

1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day - In my opinion, this is the greatest action film of all time. Arnold was in his prime in this film, the effects were state of the art; totally cutting edge and at the time it was the most expensive film ever made; 120 million, later to be surpassed by Titanic at 500 million. I love the blended sci-fi and action elements of this film. Other Notable action films include; Die Hard, and Predator.

2. 28 Days Later - The reasons why I love this film include; the music (John murphy's great score and the wonderful use of godspeed you black emperor's East Hastings), the cinematography (shot on digital video gives it a more realistic look), the plot (infected people causing anarchy all over London and feeding on survivors), the apocalyptic elements of the film (the deserted streets, the ruminations on the end of the world in the character dialogue) and the performances (Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, and Christopher Eceleston are all great in this film). See also Trainspotting, and Sunshine.

3. The Celebration - Very anti-Hollywood in how the style operates and how the story is narrated. Shot on digital video makes it look like a home video. Very important narrative information is dealt to the viewer very bluntly and this causes a jolt in the viewer. Shocking in a way that is not gory or bloody or anything visceral like that but shocking in a horrific way as to how evil people can be.

4. Donnie Darko - Very original story; time travel, the apocalypse, living in Reagen Era USA. It is amazing that all of that can be weaved together in an intelligible narrative. The music (both the soundtrack, features 80s music and the film score by Michael Andrews are both very good; I enjoy the score more so, but that may because I was born in 1982 and 'grew up' mostly in the 90s). Casting of 80s icons Drew Barrymore and Patrick Swayze in this film is very cool. Jake Gyllenhaal really carries a lot of this film (the whole cast is very capable but donnie, obviously is the central character) and his character Donnie is very strongly developed. A very good sci-fi thriller/80s film.

5. Chungking Express - Chinese love story/mosaic character narrative; much like all of his films (see also Fallen Angels, Days of Being Wild). Characters are very tied up in American Cliches (flight attendants, 'California Dreaming', blond wigs) and this helps make the film more accessible to North American audiences.

6. Memento - Great score by David Julyan (see my blog on film scores), great story by the director's brother Johnathan Nolan, amazing performances from Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss (Joe Pantaliano does a nice job as well), great dialogue and a complex and complicated weaving narrative that is a challenge to dicipher, but when you do it total adds to the whole film experience. See all of Nolan's films; Following, Insomnia, Batman Begins and The Prestige.

7. American Beauty - Great score by Thomas Newman, great acting (Kevin Spacey [won an oscar for this performance], Annette Benning, Chris Cooper) and an intelligent, emotional story written about life, love, death etc. Chances are you have seen this film and If you have not, why not? It is a great great film. See also Jarhead, but Sam Mendes.

8. Manhunter - Some saw or see this film as a bit campy (that is how my dad said it was received when it was out in theatres). William Petersen, who most people know from CSI, is great in this film; he reads his dialogue with so much emotion, his performance is easily the best in the film; second to it is Tom Noonan's performance as Francis Dollarhyde a.k.a. The Tooth Fairy killer. The style is best described as monochromatic ; devoid of a lot of colour and when colours are featured they are very bland colours. Very nice cinematography by Dante Spinotti. Other notable Michael Mann films include; Miami Vice, Collateral, and Heat.

9. Unbreakable - I prefer this film to the 6th Sense because I feel that the message in this film is more applicable to normal people in their everyday lives. I feel that this message is that if you do what you love/what you are supposed to be doing for a living or with your life that you can sort of be a superhero because you will excel at it and be the best at it that you can be. I also really enjoy the film's score (done beautifully by James Newton Howard). I love the Mise-en-Scene of this film as well; the blues and purples used in the costumes, the bizarre characater of Elijah (as the villian), and the grey or grey look in the sky that seems to pervade the entire film. I love the scene in the train station when David (Willis) stands in the middle of the station and as the people brush past him, he can sense their sins/evil deeds. I think that these evil deeds that he senses are very realistic for a film that, deals in the unreal or the marvellous (as M. Night Shyamalan says is the first act in a superhero's origin story). All those evil deed are horrific, but realistic and plausible.

10. Casino Royale (2006) - I include this bond film because I believe that it is the best 'film' of all the bond films. The music is very well done (a lot of the bond films have great music), Craig is great as Bond (so was Connery and Brosnan), the action was intense and the worldview was very realistic (no crazy unrealistic gadgets, realistic depiction of terrorism). The romance story line was very well written and developed by the actors and the character development for Bond was never so well written and developed as in this film. It is not just a bond film, but an espionnage film, an action film, and somewhat of a romance-adventure film.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading my top movies lists and I hope that you have seen some of the films or will see some of them in the near future. I would not mind hearing from any of you as to what your favourite movies are.

Take Care.

Fanboy Dave

27 Yeses: A review of 27 Dresses.

2008-01-25T19:16:00.000-08:00

The second film in my Friday double bill was romantic comedy 27 Dresses. My wife really wanted to see this film and I was not averse to seeing it. I will watch anything; although there have been films that at times I would not see with my wife and I have gotten into trouble for such resistance. She has sat through more than a few films that she did not want to see, but I insisted on, so...there it is.

Since, Knocked Up, I have been a fan of Katherine Heigl cause why not, not only is she hot but she is a capable young actress, who is a decent actress in a sea of mainstream Hollywood mediocrity (teen stars such as Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Bynes and stars such as Cameron Diaz and Jessica Alba and more but I do not have time to name them). James Marsden, I have liked as an actor since teen horror/thriller flick Disturbing Behaviour (Katie Holmes before that Egomaniac Tom Cruise). I saw him in the X-Men flicks and in the more recent Superman Returns; he has also given a good performance in the film Gossip, which had a lot of potential but lacked the will to act on that potential. If you disagree on that one, just think of the title; it is called Gossip, just think about it.

The film is a cute little romantic comedy that is not totally predictable; it has a few unexpected or unconventional twists. It has a little more depth than some of the romantic comedies, possibly because Katherine Heigl's character lost her mother as a young child and helped raise her slightly younger sister, which leads to a bit of repressed anger that predictably comes out at the rehearsal dinner; you see it coming, trust me. James Marsden, plays a New York Journal (is that a real paper) commitments/weddings reporter, who (you guested it) covers the big weddings that take place in New York. He begins to do a piece on Katherine Heigl's character, who has been a bridesmaid 27 times. Again, you guested it; the pieces is basically 'always a bridesmaid never a bride'. He wants to do this piece because he is sick and tired of reporting on weddings because...of a bad experience; at first he just seems cynical about the commericalization of weddings, but there are of course much more than this. I know because I am married and I believe that your wedding is what you make it. It is not just a business deal or a commercialized occasion like Christmas, Halloween etc. It is the joining of two people who love each other and want to grow old and raise children together and share life experience together. For my wife and I that it watching films together for the first time, sleeping in on weekends together, having morning coffee, travel to places together and telling each other that we love each other, which we do to a sickening degree, but we mean it every time, perhaps more every time.
Sorry about the tangent there, but I mean it. I hate it when people knock marriage. James Marsden's character does do this but he is covering up old wounds. This I believe makes his character less 2 dimensional and a little more three dimensional, not that he every gets to that point (Mark Ruffalo is closer to getting there with his performance in Just Like Heaven, which is actually more of his story than of Reese Witherspoon's character), but it adds more to his character.

Basically, the movie is about being afraid to live your own life and feeling like you have to be there for everyone else. Katherine Heigl has been there for everyone and eventually people are there for her by the end of the movie; surprise. But it is also about not letting a bad experience prevent you from going for the things that you once wanted. 27 Dresses is a cute little romantic comedy that the average man should be able to sit through; it is not too chicky and not annoy and features at least a few jokes that a man can laugh at. If you believe yourself to be a bit more tolerable of romantic comedies than the average man, then you will probably laugh more.

I hope that you have enjoy this review. I am sorry if it is a little vague, but I do not want to give too much away if you want to see this film.

Your friend,

Fanboy Dave

Juno? No, the name of the movie is Juno, it is nominated for an Oscar.

2008-01-25T18:54:00.000-08:00

The first film that I saw today on my double bill with my wife Veronica, was the Academy Award nominated film Juno. A few of my friends have seen the film and of course being a big movie fan, I had to ask how it was. Previously, I had downloaded the trailer on apple.com and thought that it looked good. I had before seen Superbad, so I was aware of who Michael Cera was; I have yet to watch all the seasons of the show Arrested Development, which he was in, but do not worry Melanie and Dad, cause I will watch them; the show is really funny for those of you that have not seen any episodes. For those of you unaware, Michael Cera is a Brampton boy; he is from that sleepy suburb of Toronto, where I was born and currently live. Ellen Page is also Canadian, but I think that she is from Winnipeg.

I did not really have high expectations for this film. I thought that it would be funny and entertaining. It was sarcastically funny, not really laugh out loud funny, but kind of funny in a bit of a Garden State. The music, which I always pay attention to was very odd. I did not really recognize any of it. It was all vocal music from musical artists/band and there was no score or background music played in the film. I thought the music was odd, but not terrible or annoying, just odd. Ellen Page was cute as a tenth grade sarcastic and pregnant teen, who decided to give her baby up to a deserving couple. Michael Cera plays the odd, awkward teen that he usually plays but is a more capable one then the one that he played in Arrested Development and in Superbad. The film featured a decent supporting cast including Allison Janney (as Brenda, Juno's stepmom) and J.K. Simmons (as Juno's father). Jason Bateman played an interested grown man who just did not want to grow up. In the course of the film, him and Juno form a sort of bond that goes into an interesting place. Jennifer Garner plays Bateman's wife who is just so willing and able to raise a baby, but unfortunately unable to conceive a child herself. The film, like I previously stated has a bit of a Garden State feel to it. It is funny and comical but no laugh out loud funny, but still has some serious dramatic moments to it.

The film is worth seeing; I am not saying that you will definitely like it, but I am sure that you will enjoy parts of it at least. Do I think that It should win the best picture Oscar? No, I think that No Country For Old Men is a more deserving film, although I have not yet, but may see Michael Clayton, Atonement and There Will Be Blood. If I do see these films, reviews will be added and I will update what my Oscar pick will be, if it changes.

A blog entry will be added before this on what I thought of romantic comedy 27 Dresses, but I saw Juno first in my Friday double bill.

I hope that this review gives you somewhat of an understanding of what to expect from the movie Juno, if you choose to go see it.

Your friend,

Fanboy Dave

The Impossible Transition: From Novel To Film.

2008-01-24T16:48:00.000-08:00

I have watched some films that I immediately took to and after the viewing , I go back to the source material and by this I mean the novel (in cases where the film was based on a novel) and will often read the novel . After watching The Bourne Identity, I attempted to borrow the book from the library, but there was a long waiting list for the next available copy, so I just went out and bought it. For those of you that have not read the book, it is nothing like the film, but still a very good read. It is very difficult for directors and screenwriters to adapt a story from the novel to the big screen, obviously because the film medium is limited because of time constraints and therefore only so much of the depth of the story and character development can end up in the completed film. In the last ten years a lot of adapted stories have been from comic books (X-Men, Spiderman) and more recently from graphic novels (Sin City, V For Vendetta).

Viewing films for all my life, I have noticed that certain authors have had the novels adapted into film very frequent. These authors include John Grisham (The Firm, Runaway Jury), and Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, Timeline). Other notable include Thomas Harris, who has had all five of his book adapted into films (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Hannibal Rising, Black Tuesday) and Elmore Leonard, who most recently had his short story 3:10 To Yuma adapted into a film again and also had his novel Rum Punch adapted in 1997 by Quentin Tarantino as Jackie Brown. Despite, Harris and Leonard having their work adapted very recently (Hannibal Rising and 3:10 To Yuma), there has been a shift towards adapting the stories of other authors, who are not even new authors but authors have have been around for at least 10 years if not longer.

The two "it" boys for having a bunch of their novels adapted into films right now are Dennis Lehane and Cormac McCarthy. Lehane's novel Mystic River earned Clint Eastwood's film version a best picture Academy Award, his novel Gone Baby Gone was adapted by Ben Affleck for his directorial debut and Martin Scorsese is currently underway adapting his novel Shutter Island, to star Scorsese's muse Leonard DiCaprio. Cormac McCarthy who previously had his novel All The Pretty Horses adapted by Billy Bob Thorton, into a film in 2000, has since won a pulitzer prize for his novel The Road and it was also picked by Oprah for her book club, but the story does not end there. No Country For Old Men has been adapted into a film starring Tommy Lee Jones and has been nominated for a best picture Academy Award. The Road is currently being made into a film starring Viggo Mortensen, as is Blood Meridian and possibly The Crossing; I cannot confirm conclusively or not because I am too last to sign up for the free 14 day trial for imdb.pro at imdb.com, so I will just have to wait like everyone else. So things seem to be looking up for both Lehane and McCarthy. As for my personal opinions, both No Country For Old Men and The Road were great reads. I just wanted to get through them so fast; they are really page turners. I have not read any of Lehane's novels, but may do so in the future. Gone Baby Gone, I did see in the theatres when it was out and I really enjoyed it. So, for anyone interested in the film I highly recommend it. Ben Affleck capably directs the film and is aid by great performances from Casey Affleck, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, and Michelle Monaghan and Amy Ryan, who is nominated for a best supporting actress Academy Award. There are still two more authors whose work is beginning to be increasingly adapted. These authors are Bret Easton Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk; fortunately, I have read all ( I am currently reading Glamorama) of the fictional works of Ellis and Palahniuk, so will be able to aptly compare the upcoming films to their previously published novels.

So far, Bret Easton Ellis, who was a wunderkind novelist in the 80s has had three of his novels adapted into films; Less Than Zero, American Psycho and Rules of Attraction. The Informers, which is a collection of bizarre characters weaved together in 80s L.A. culture was written by Ellis when he was still in college. The film features Winona Ryder, Mickey Rourke, Brandon Routh (the new superman), Billy Bob Thorton and Brad Renfro (this is his last film, as he died of a drug overdose just over a week ago). His most recent novel Lunar Park is in an early stage of being adapted and may be a few years out before the film is made. If you are not familiar with Ellis' work, it frequently deals with social and sexual relationships between teens in an 80s cocaine filled backdrop.

Chuck Palahniuk has had two of his novels adapted into films; Fight Club starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton and Choke, which will be at the Sundance Film Festival, which has begun or will begin very soon. Like Ellis, one of novels is currently in some sort of stage of adaptation. This novel being Invisible Monsters, which is in my opinion is his most bizarre novel. It deals with gender identity and beauty in a very different sort of way. It will be interesting to see how those ideas are adapted, but hey if they can adapt a novel about a guy who has another personality inside his head and make it somehow work on screen then I guess there is a lot then can do with film despite its shortcomings of having only a limited period of time in which to tell its story.

I hope that those of you reading this blog gained some knowledge from it. If you have any questions or comments please leave them and I will get back to you.

Yours Truly,

Fanboy Dave

It Sounds Good! Film Scores and Composers That Stand Out.

2008-01-21T14:51:00.000-08:00

Those of you reading my blogs may not know that I am a big fan of movie scores. If any of you are uncertain as to what a film scores it, it is the 'background' music that plays during the course of a film. For anyone who has studied film they will know this 'background' music as non-diegetic music; that is music that exists outside the world of the film.

Three of my top five movies of all time (which will of course change at some point during my lifetime) feature great musical scores. These films being 28 Days Later (music by John Murphy), American Beauty (Thomas Newman) and Memento (David Julyan).

John Murphy usually collaborates with Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) and has so for 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Millions, but has also done music for Snatch and Miami Vice. His films scores stand out in the films that they are contained in and came be listened to on their own, as I sometimes do. "In The House - In a Heartbeat" from the 28 Days Later soundtrack has been used in promotional trailers for at least three films. I cannot remember which ones, so I have not stated them for that reason. It was however, used early on in the 28 Days Later sequel, 28 Weeks Later, which is also a great film. If any of you own or would like to see 28 Days Later, pay attention to the film score and I am sure you will also enjoy the great music.

Thomas Newman's score for American Beauty matches the mood of the film through its entire running time and helps to make the film memorable and great. I am not going to list the other scores that he has worked on but he did compose the theme for Six Feet Under. It you want to see his resume check it out on www.imdb.com .

David Julyan's music I first heard when I watched the film Memento, which became one of my top five favourites films once I had a general understanding of what the hell was going on in that movie. He frequently composes music for Christopher Nolan on his films; Following, Memento, Insomnia and The Prestige. When one listens to a composers music across a number of films, one begins to notice similarities between films scores, as I have between Julyan's scores for Memento and Insomnia. What is somewhat surprising about the score for Memento is that it is such a beautiful score for such a low budge movie (around 50,000 dollars). Julyan's scores are always great, but unfortunately he was not given the chance to do the score for Nolan's Batman Begins, instead this was left to Hans Zimmer and James Horner (who are both great composers but they are heavies in film scoring therefore they are somewhat overrated), leaving me more than somewhat disappointed. I can always hope that Julyan will be allowed to do the score for the upcoming Batman film The Dark Knight, but I doubt the studio will allow him to do it because they did not for the last film but also because they may want to go with a more established composer (i am just guessing here).

The bizarre horror comedy Bubba Ho-Tep features at least one piece of great music from composer Brian Tyler, who has also done music for 2 Fast 2 Furious, Paparazzi, War, Constantine and most recently for the new Rambo films called...you guessed it Rambo. The piece of music is what I would call a lamentation for Elvis (played in the film by Bruce Campbell). It is a beautiful piece that carries a lot of emotion behind it and is feature in a flashback sequence in the film, recurs briefly through the film and plays again at the very end of the film. This film is really off the beaten path. I would not have known about it if my friend Matt, had not been a big fan of Bruce Campbell and mentioned the film during an msn conversation.

Most of you probably have not heard of Canadian non-vocal rock band Godspeed You Black Emperor!, but a condense version of one of their songs was featured in 28 Days Later, but did not appear on the soundtrack, because the band chose not to authorize it for the soundtrack/score (this is what I have read; I might be wrong. I know that you are thinking, "No, Dave is never wrong" but alas this is untrue. Sometime I am wrong. Do not tell my wife I said that). They are really popular in the United States and have toured there a lot but I do not think that they tour much in Canada. They currently have 4 albums (I own 2), which consists of about 3 to 4 songs (their songs are like 20 minutes each). Each song usually begins with some sort of audio clip, fades/builds up into the song and the song ebbs and flows from quiet to loud and back again. I would consider their music film score music that is not for a film. I am hoping at least David (my cousin-in-law) has heard of this band. I hope that one day Godspeed You Black Emperor are approached to do a film score because I believe they have the talent and skill to put out a great film score and really add to a film that should already be pretty good.

I would also like to say that Godfrey Reggio did an amazing score for the documentary/visual essay Koyaanisqatsi. The documentary has no dialogue, but has Reggio's music over footage of urban life; people walking down city streets, skyscrapers being demolished, people at sped up speeds walking through grand central station. If anyone out there is interested in this film, rent it or you may be able to borrow it from me. I would say that they other two films in the qatsi trilogy, Powaaqatsi and Nayoqatsi are not worth seeing, so skip them.

Some other notable film composers are James Newton Howard (The 6th Sense, Unbreakable), who commonly works with M. Night Shyamalan, Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, Hannibal), who frequently collaborates with Ridley Scott, and Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings, The Departed), who has been known to work with David Chronenberg. James Horner (Titanic, Apollo 13), who composes for no one in particular (I could not find a common collaborator) , Danny Elfman (Batman, Spiderman) who composes a lot of TV show themes and works a lot with Tim Burton and John Williams who is of course responsible for the great Star Wars music and is no question, the best film composer in film history. If you have heard his music you will not consider this a bold statement. If you want to fight about my above statement, I will fight you, but I should not have to, because it is simply fact not opinion.

I hope that those of you reading this blog enjoyed it even if you are not familiar with most of the film music that I referred to. I suggest that If you get a chance to listen to any of the music that I referred to that you take that chance and reported back to me because I want to know what you, the readers think of that music that I have discussed.

Take Care Readers.

Fanboy Dave

What The Hell Is Cloverfield?

2008-01-19T20:52:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

I now know that that includes at least three people; one of which is my beautiful wife Veronica. Thanks for reading honey, it means a lot to me.

Today, myself and one of my friends named Mike went to see Cloverfield. Like many people who saw the Cloverfield trailer this passed summer, I was also pissed off that no title was given and that the creature was not shown. Of course, all of this was just a brilliant Blair Witch Project inspired buzz campaign, which of course including internet rumours, speculations and wall posting on movie sites. This all lead me to go and see the film and as I started to see the TV spots I kept saying to myself, what the hell is it? I will not tell you what it is though. If you really want to know call or email me and I will tell you because I am not going to spoil it for everyone.

First off, I love the use of digital video in this film. I think it adds an element of realism to the a film. I also enjoyed it being used in Collateral, Miami Vice, 28 Days Later and danish dogme film The Celebration (in my top five favourite movies). Sadly, because the entire film is shot on digital video leading there to be no omnipotent narration, the only music in the film is diegetic (exists within the world of the film), so no great and memorable music score, which I enjoy in a few films. The acting was decent; not great, not terrible. Jessica Lucas who is in the film happens to be Canadian, so it is nice to support Canadian actors, so if you are Canadian and you do not see Cloverfield you are unpatriotic. Michael Stahl-David plays the main character in the film (if there can be one in this seemingly small ensemble film) and his performance is probably the best in the film. The pace of the film is pretty quick; the monster attacks about 15 minutes into the film and the time flies by (the film is about 90 minutes). The camera movements are really shaking at times, but this does not usually last longer than maybe 20 or 30 seconds at most.

In closing, the film was entertaining and held my interest. It is more than just a monster movie because the monster is not depicted too much and because you are following the characters through this disaster and before the monster attacks you get glimpses into the lives of the 6 main characters and see their desires, ideas and concerns carried out in this just barely feature length film. If you want to be entertained then see this film, but if you are expecting a monster movie or a sci-fi movie then you are either misreading the trailers and TV spots, you have not seen any of them or you are ignoring or misreading any of the buzz or info that you are reading in magazines or on the internet.

Cloverfield, as I have read from www.joblo.com's review of the film is a boulevard in Santa Monica near the film's production offices.

I hope you have all found my review helpful and informative or at least somewhat entertaining. I should have a new movie related rant up in a few days.

your friend,

fanboy Dave

Citizen Snipes or Where Is Wesley Snipes? His Dinner Is Getting All Cold and Eaten.

2008-01-18T16:49:00.000-08:00

Perhaps there are some of you fellow movie fans out there that have been wondering whatever happened to Wesley Snipes? Me too. Last seen in Blade Trinity (saved only by Jessica Biel and Ryan Reynolds being in the film) in 2004, Snipes has since done 5 direct to DVD films and has an upcoming zombie shoot'em up film due to be released in 2009. Recently, he has been having legal troubles, owing the United States government money in unpaid taxes. He is also rumored to have a gambling addiction, as a friend told me he had heard on the questionably reputable new program Celebrity Justice. Where did it all go wrong Wesley?

Snipes was once seen as the next rising action star. Starring in films such as the Blade films, Murder at 1600, Money Train and The Art of War. Vin Diesel was also supposed to be the next action star, but seems now to be more interested in the business end of it. He helped developed the Chronicles of Riddick video game. He has also expressed interested in appearing in a once discussed Guys and Dolls remake, although he admits that he cannot sing or dance but would like to learn. Diesel starred in the action-comedy The Pacifier, which is as Arnoldesque as one can get, so it seemed likely that he would become the next Schwarzenegger, but that has not happened. Next, former wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars in Doom (I can imagine Schwarzenegger playing Duke Nukem if they were to have done a film version) and then in The Gameplan, that seems to have a Kindergarten Cop vibe to it. Currently, The Rock is in the much delayed Southland Tales from Donnie Darko genius creator Richard Kelly. Coming to a theatre sometime in my lifetime...I hope.

Anyway, I digest. Yes, I stole that from Family Guy Presents Blue Harvest. Wanna fight about it? (Yes I stole that from a Family Guy episode. Don't act surprised. It seems that with Wesley fading away or burning out, depending on your opinion, the only actor poised to fill in the gap that his presence in Hollywood filled is Will Smith. Smith of course gained fame as a rapper and star of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in that late 80s into the 90s and continued on into mainstream film, alternating his time between comedic films and action/sci-fi films, mixing in a few drama roles as well. He has most recently been seen in I AM LEGEND (the third adaptation of the book of the same name) , which had previously been in development with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the main role, but budget estimates scared the studio into delay until recently.

Snipes might be seen as a "Falling Star", although despite Kevin Smith's joke about dodging his "Falling Star" friend Ben Affleck, Affleck is no longer a "Falling Star" with his directorial debut Gone Baby Gone being regard as a very good thriller/drama (according to me, but I am sure a few others agree at least). Gone Baby Gone is of course from the Dennis Lehane novel of the same name. Lehane is becoming increasingly adapted (see also ELMORE LEONARD) since Eastwood adapted Lehane's book Mystic River into an Oscar winning film a few years ago. Scorsese is using Lehane's novel Shutter Island for his next film starring....Leo DiCaprio (but surprise eh?); DiCaprio is great though, so don't be hating. Lehane's short story Until Gwen is currently being adapted into a film version, making is seem likely that he is becoming the next Michael Crichton (who has at least 11 of his roughly 20 books made into films). Of course, there are differences between the two author's. Lehane being a good writer. OHH Take That MICHAEL CRICHTON! What are you going to do? Write another book? I dare you. Make it a good one, so they will make it into a film and then I will go see it.

I keep going off on tangents. Well, readers get used to it cause I am going to be doing a lot of it in my blogs. Snipes' paychecks went from 7 million in 1994's Drop Zone to a much undeserved 13 million in 2004's Blade Trinity. If you have not seen the flick, I will tell you that he phoned it in Christian Slater style in Alone in the Dark. I have a theory that it was the gambling that did Snipes in. This is not a good theory though cause he is still married to his wife of a bunch of years and has 4 kids with her. But if on his deathbed he whispers partypoker. net then we will know that I was correct.