TIFF 2006 - the Buzz has begun

I've been checking out the News Releases on the TIFF 2006 website at bell.ca/filmfest. One GALA All the King's Men features an INCREDIBLE CAST of stars, including Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Patricia Clarkson, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, and Sir Anthony Hopkins. Unfortunately, we won't be seeing that this year since A) GALA tickets are almost $40 - I'd rather see a play or live music and wait to see the film in the theatre) and B) the last film we saw with Sean Penn (The Assassination of Richard Nixon) was pretty slow and dull, saved only by his appearance before the screening - only rent it if you can't sleep because it would be more effective than Ambien.

I'm also excited about the Talent Lab - TIFF invites leading filmmakers (Paul Haggis and Mary Harron are coming this year) to share their expertise and stories with up and coming filmmakers esspecially selected for the program. Talk about a dream come true! One of the lucky directors is Lara Fitzgerald - I know her sister Justine through David Chemla who used to room with her and went with her to Law School at McGill.

Another interesting GALA is Dixie Chicks - Shut Up And Sing - a documentary of the Dixie Chicks after the lead singer's remark about George Bush on the eve of the Iraq war. I bet they'll come to the screening - it's the first time a documentary has been screened as a GALA in 14 years.

Guy Maddin is screening his latest silent film Brand Upon the Brain! this year with orchestral accompaniment. Likely in the 9:30 VISA series and we switched to the 6:00 VISA sreenings this year. Now that we have a new time slot we will need to stake our claim to our regular seats on the right hand side of the Elgin near the front - the perfect spot to see the stars walk by as they come offstage.

I am still on tap to do my annual Learning Lunch presentation at work for my former Ministry of Finance colleagues. It's always a lot of fun to eat lunch and talk movies for an hour and give them tips on how to buy last minute tickets. I have started preparing my presentation and have to finish while I'm away in Winnipeg because that's the week the schedule comes out.

To prep for the SJR Reunion, Anne Gregory came over Thursday night and we spent the evening scanning old photos from "back in the day". I need to get that montage ready, but first - another coffee!

high school reunion
lots to do before the day
better book my flight

Little Miss Sunshine

A friend gave us a pass to an advance screening on Wednesday night of the movie Little Miss Sunshine. This film was laugh out-loud funny and maybe the best movie I've seen this year. Each character is so well drawn and the performances are truly amazing. It's a family road movie that will have you laughing and sometimes crying at the same time.

I LOVED IT! SEE THIS MOVIE when it comes out this Friday, Aug 4th - the start of the August long weekend. And check out the trailer and soundtrack on the website.

August means I only have 1 month to get ready and confirm things for the SJR Reunion in Winnipeg. Can't wait!

Uma as G-Girl and British Open

My Super Ex-Girlfriend was fun. Uma was a great super-hero but her character was pretty neurotic and she did really mean things to Luke Wilson (like throw a shark at him!) Luke was okay and Anna Faris (of Scary Movie fame) was quite funny. Wait to rent it unless you love Uma like we do. I will re-watch Kill Bill for my Uma fix next time.

We saw it last night at Yonge & Eglinton because it wasn't playing at any of our regular theatres downtown. Afterward, we wound up at a nice little restaurant in south of Eglinton: Mirabelle. Yummy prix fixe menu and great chat with the South African owner afterward.

Because of him I got up to watch Ernie Els and Tiger Woods play in The Open Championship (they only call it the British Open in North America). Very challenging course in Liverpool and then in a flash thunderstorm our satellite went out so I only caught the end result (Els had come back from -10 to tie Woods at -12 (71). Quite an amazing comeback. Looking forward to Sunday.

The Devil Wears Prada

Finally saw The Devil Wears Prada with Ivana and Antonio Wed night. Our book club was supposed to go see the movie together and discuss it afterward but nobody's schedule could coincide.

Liked the movie and especially the fashions. Meryl Streep was perfect and Anne Hathaway had the BEST Chanel outfits (I wanted them all). Paris in March looked great (if a little chilly) and Stanley Tucci was fun.

The clothes were so amazing my hairdresser said "It makes Sex in the City look like Old Navy." Brilliant and true! Well, I took the quiz and found out the designer for Sex and the City is the same as The Devil Wears Prada movie (Patricia Field). Take the quiz on the website and learn ALL YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW about fashion. I scored 100% on my second attempt and here is what Miranda said:

"Never in wildest imagination did I suspect you would actually succeed. You've done fairly well and while I detest fawning over anyone, I am, in my own way, rather proud of you. Now get out of my sight - you are as irritating as that vulgar thing you call a shirt."

Next movie: Uma in My Super Ex-Girlfriend.

Scotland

R & I just got back from 6 days in Scotland. Flew into Glasgow on Canadian Affair - nice service and meals included - and then caught a train to Edinburgh. Stayed in the hip Hudson Hotel on Hope St. near St. Charlotte Square. After 1 attempt at a Scottish breakfast (including Haggis and Blood pudding) stuck with Starbucks for lattes and muffins the rest of the trip ;-) Edinburgh is a gorgeous, medieval city with Edinburgh Castle on the hilltop at one end and then across the Royal Mile The Palace of Holyroodhouse - the Queen's home in Scotland. Both lovely to tour and we covered the entire city on foot (tiring but worth it!) On to Glasgow where the people were also very friendly. Lovely seafood dinners at the Mussel Inn in both cities - fresh mussels with a spicy tomato sauce. mmmmm. Bit of shopping then turnaround and come home! Next time we'd go further out into the Scottish countryside but only with a driver since I am not comfortable on the wrong side of the road.

Gone wireless!

We finally took the plunge and bought a wireless modem. Only problem is we still have a problem with our home Internet connection so we're mooching off somebody else's wireless in the 'hood and trying to do basic things like pay bills and search for flights. Meanwhile work is still hectic (someone said if I were a cartoon character, I would have circles around my body and exclamation marks around my head - like the Tasmanian devil.) I think it's more like my head is spinning around like the girl in The Exorcist (that's v.o. version originale les amis, not some cheesy 21st century remake) and I actually feel like there are sharks swimming around that.

Let's see if I can successfully book tickets for Spamalot using this wireless connection. STAY TUNED!

Happy 40th Birthday & Happy 4th Anniversary

Today is Richard's 40th birthday. Happy Birthday Rich!

It's also our 4th wedding anniversary. Hooray!

Tonight we're celebrating with dinner at Canoe.

A toast to you all... From us and the Topless Girls of Glitter Gultch.

Check out the latest updates on the sjr81 blog

My friend Joe the filmmaker

Got an email from my friend Joe Kuehne in Washington, DC who is one of my filmfest buddies. He recently entered the 5-day Documentary Challenge and placed in the Top 12 worldwide!! Here is his email:

It was a documentary short competition (9 minutes max) that was open to teams worldwide and had to be completed in five days. We did it at the end of March, and found out two days ago that we were selected as one of the Top 12 from the competition. That means our film will be packaged with the other 11 finalists as a feature-length series that will be sent to film festivals around the world.

They already have commitments from events in DC and New Zealand, and there's even one in Canada (I think it's in Toronto). That last one is sponsored by the National Film Board of Canada and the Documentary Organization of Canada. There's also a TV distribution deal in the works, and we're still eligible for all the major
awards for the competition, which will be given out in July here in DC. I'll keep you posted on dates and other info.

CONGRATULATIONS JOE!

Met in line at TIFF
Now documentary STAR
Joe we're proud of you!

Joe also spent the past weekend doing the 48-hour film project, also in DC, which started Friday at 7:00pm (read: NO SLEEP this weekend.) He is directing, his cohorts are writing and another TIFF buddy Shawn is the DP.

GO TEAM JOE! We can't wait to see the final product - pls bring tapes to TIFF in September.

Breast Friends Forever

I'm posting this message from my friend Joelle Segal on the anniversary of this event:

One year ago today, my sisters, friends, and I held Breast Friends Forever for the first time ever, an evening designed to tribute the strength and courage of all women & men who have battled breast cancer. The whole concept was inspired by my mother, Dody Segal, who lost her own battle with breast cancer in 2004. The night was both magical and extremely successful!!

With about 100 cancer survivors attending and about 400 supportive guests, we raised over $30,000 for Gilda’s Club Barrie Ontario! To celebrate the first anniversary of Breast Friends Forever, we’ve re-vamped the website, adding pictures, slideshows, and videos from the best moments of Breast Friends Forever 2005. If you were unable to attend the event, or if you did attend and you would like to re-live the magic, TAKE A LOOK!

-> Click on http://www.breastfriendsforever.ca/
-> Go to the Video and Pics page
-> Now have some fun!

My personal favourites are the BFF Video Clip (a brief synopsis of the evening, rolled into a very entertaining 1.5 minutes) and the Atmosphere/Action at the Silent Auction. You will also find Laugh Therapy, Silks performances, the amazing singer Liz Rodriquez, who made everyone cry, and more! You might even see yourself on the videos!

Due to popular demand, we are in the works of trying to bring Breast Friends Forever back next May 2007. If you have any suggestions, or if you would like to be involved, please email me at joelle_segal@yahoo.ca

Thanks again for all your 'support'!

Joelle Segal
34A

Akeelah and the Bee

See this charming movie! Akeelah and the Bee is a fictional story (unlike the documentary Spellbound) which follows an 11 year-old girl through a series of spelling bees. Starbucks Entertainment is a co-producer so they are advertising on all their coffee sleeves.

I love how Akeelah taps or skips as she spells and it's lovely to watch the relationship develop between her and her coach (Laurence Fishburne). I especially liked the idea of "50,000 coaches" - how everyone we know plays a role in our success.

Great message - nice movie - take your kids (but note the 2-hour running time) MMMm

Viva Las Vegas II

Flew to Vegas April 20 on WestJet for a quick 4-day, 3-night package. For the second year in a row, it was the perfect getaway. Stayed at the Hilton once again, right on the Las Vegas Monorail (my favourite mode of transport). Richard and I walked the strip and saw all the hotels, went shopping one morning, had an amazing dinner at Joe's Seafood & Steakhouse (delicious) in the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace (beautiful) and saw Cirque du Soleil "Mystere" at Treasure Island (ti).

We got to meet up both with my Uncle Wes and Aunt Marcella AND with my parents whose trips coincided with ours. Here we all are at the Freemont Experience - the lightshow in old Vegas.

Addicted to Sopranos Season 6

Okay, I never gave this show the time of day for the first 5 seasons but now I am hooked on The Sopranos Season 6. They had a catch up weekend and showed the first 4 episodes back-to-back on Saturday and then the 5th episode on Sunday night. It is so well done. Forget the violence, it is a total psychodrama. I must see all the episodes this year.

I've seen 3 episodes of Huff season 2 and it's okay ("a-ight"). It seems to be missing some soul. But Tony Soprano has got soul and self-discovery in spades.

Or maybe I'm just watching too much TV.

I admit I'm hooked
Sopranos on TMN
Tony - what a guy

See you in September!

I received the letter from the SJR Alumni Office this week. We finally got it out! Don't recognize some of the names of the missing - are they sure they're part of our class? Still, looking forward to seeing people in Winnipeg this summer.

Another STAR SIGHTING: Saw Dustin Hoffman outside the Indigo at Bloor and Bay last Thursday. He was smiling so I knew it was him (didn't talk to him, though - did wonder if he thought Indigo was better than Borders in the US.)

Maybe I'll hit a movie this weekend. The premiere of Huff on Monday night was aight but depressing.

Still need addresses!

Hey Class of '81!

Please email your current mailing address to Kari Parke at SJR parkek@sjr.mb.ca to receive a letter with more reunion details.

Check the Reunion evite for updates or post your comments at the sjr81 blog.

A History of Violence

Cronenberg in Cannes
Snapping shots for Premiere mag
movie was intense

Saw A History of Violence on DVD last night. Pretty intense. A clutch grabbed my heart when it started and didn't let go until the closing credits 95 minutes later. This is a violent film but it is compelling and has great performances. MMMM out of 5.

The DVD Special Features really gave insight into Cronenberg's style and approach as a director and it was fun to watch him work. His experience shines as we see him effortlessly create a relaxed set and manage to direct without being controlling. The short piece about their premiere at Cannes was enjoyable. And in one deleted scene, Ed Harris gets blown away by a shotgun and is lying there with a massive hole in his chest. Cronenberg comments: "Well, normally I would have had him take a gun out of his chest but I already did that. It would be like an hommage to myself. Which I am not above, by the way." That cracked me up. And William Hurt sounding exactly like Maria Bello's Uncle Pete from Philly was funny too.

Anyway, watch it and let me know what you think.

Reflections on Oscar

Oscar Night '06
Gangstas, Cowboys and Bacall
No surprise with Crash

That about sums up my reflections on Oscar Night 2006, Sunday, March 5th. I was worried for Lauren Bacall and wondered if she would make it through her introduction. She should have had a buddy like Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep who co-presented for Robert Altman.

Of course the surprise of the night was Best Original Song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp". Jon Stewart did a great job improvising on that one. Overall, I was pleased with him as host for the evening. I was nauseated the next morning by Seamus O'Regan's dismissal of Reese Witherspoon's acceptance speech as "too earnest". I used to like him on Canada AM but now he annoys me. Alison S is right - he is a poor interviewer, especially at 7am.

I wasn't completely surprised about Crash. It was a great way to acknowledge a massive cast and position a movie internationally 2 days before it's DVD release. I even enjoyed seeing it again on The Movie Network recently - I had forgotten some of the nuances and was reminded of the fall and redemption (or redemption and fall) of each of the characters. I think it's interesting that it takes a Canadian to shine the light on U.S. domestic problems so effectively. Too bad no one will do that for us.

Jon Stewart was fun
Hooray for Oscar Winners
George and Reese and Paul

Check the AMPAS official site Oscars.org for a complete list of winners and the official site of this year's telecast Oscar.com for the latest fashions and trends.

The Zen of Starbucks cups

Found a great quote on my Starbucks cup today (The Way I See It #53):

Be exceptional. Make tremendous efforts to be extraordinary. What a privilege to be here on the planet to contribute your unique donation to humankind. Just make sure you do so...
-Shelby Lynne, musician

Shelby says she's just "a running fireball full of shit and emotion" who believes each song she writes "needs to be individually great - better than great. There's no room for mediocre in my thinkin'. My standards are pretty high."

I don't believe in mediocrity either. Make it an extraordinary day.

Visit the sjr81 blog

I created a companion blog to this site. Visit http://sjr81.blogspot.com to see the latest reunion discussion.

Be sure to forward the e-vite link to anyone we've missed and check back for the latest RSVPs!

Reunion e-vite

Now it's official. This week SJR finalized the date for the 2006 Homecoming and this morning Hardev called to discuss the Class of '81 Reunion plans.

Now the e-vite is live so please save the date in your (electronic) calendars and be sure to join us in Winnipeg on September 1, 2, and 3, 2006! Wouldn't it be nice to exceed the 80% turnout rate that the Class of '80 achieved last August? I personally want to see all those people I haven't thought about in 25 years...

Where are you Class of '81?
And what are you doing September 2nd?

Enron and Flight Plan

Picked up these 2 movies from Blockbuster to watch Saturday night. The guy around the corner from us went out of business so we have to go further afield to rent movies now.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is an interesting exposé of the Enron scandal. Lots of interviews with the author of the book of the same name and several others who were at the company at the time (surprisingly several women). It's stunning to see the Enron execs incriminate themselves as they reassure not only investors but employees to keep their stock while unloading their own. A fascinating portrait of hubris and treachery done with more flair than Michael Moore. MMMM

Flightplan - not so cerebral. The movie trivia is more interesting. Jodie Foster is okay. Peter Sarsgaard is good at being bad. Bad guy Sean Bean takes a turn at being the good guy pilot. MMm

Caché

Saw Caché (Hidden) at the Cumberland Friday night with Mary and Pavlina. This French film was at TIFF 2005 but we couldn't fit it into our schedules or get tickets. Overall, I liked it but parts of it really bugged me. Nevertheless, it does spark a lot of discussion and theorizing.

Caché stars Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche as a married couple who receive a series of videotapes showing their tony French apartment under surveillance. The tapes are accompanied by violent but almost childish drawings. At first they dismiss is as a prank by one of his fans (he plays a famous TV talk show host a la Bernard Pivot) but the tapes persist and it adds to the conflict in their already-strained marital relationship (we never see them kiss or touch - only argue).

Now, if this story took place in a major North American city, most of us would have gone to the police after the first tape. Somehow Auteuil refuses to contact them but lies to everyone telling them of course he's gone to the police. In fact, he goes off solo to confront the person he suspects (someone from his childhood that he wronged). Would any one of us ever show up ALONE at a low-rent apartment to confront a stranger we suspected of terrorizing us? Of course not. This is why this film starts to get infuriating, like my most frustrating movie of all time: A Simple Plan.

As frustrating as this movie can be, it is chilling and thought-provoking as we start to connect the dots and concoct our own theories about who's behind the tapes. And the stark way Michael Haneke shot and directed this adds to the suspense. See it, but you'll have to suspend your disbelief if you are a CSI fan like me. MMMm

Straight Dude's Guide & Brokeback to the Future

First there was The Straight Dude's Guide to Brokeback:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10342237/

Then there was Brokeback to the Future. It's pretty funny to watch this video. I can't believe someone would take the time to go through all 3 versions and splice together these scenes.
Make sure your sound is on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfODSPIYwpQ

Star Sighting at Starbucks

This morning I was getting my traditional Grande Non-Fat Extra-Hot Extra-Foamy Latte at the Yorkville Starbucks (Bay & Cumberland) when I saw Clive Owen walk in behind me. After I ordered I turned to tell him: "I loved you in Closer and thought you should have been Bond." He said "Thank you" and ordered his Grande Skinny Cappucino. He looked his typical rugged self but pretty good for 9:00am and was wearing a white down parka and jeans. Seeing him certainly cheered up my morning.

What's been keeping me up at night

I have been working on an e-learning project with people in the Office of the Provincial Controller (OPC) in the Ministry of Finance (MOF) - former colleagues when Modern Controllership Training was still in that ministry.

It's been a long, hard road. We started last June with a plan and didn't get humming until November and December 2005. Now we are almost finished building the course and it has grown to 100 pages online. The toughest part was getting all the content together in enough time - the main SME or Subject Matter Expert was still giving me pages to add on Thursday. Definitely not cool but my consultant/developers (former colleagues from Sun) have been amazing at turning around the endless changes.

The e-learning course looks amazing and when we launch this coming week (after a pilot with representatives from other ministries) we hope it meets the goal of helping all 25 ministries to complete their procedures at year end.

Olympics in HD

It was quite something to see the Opening Ceremonies live from Torino on Friday night in glorious 16:9 HD. The spectacle was so imaginative and surreal. And hearing Pavarotti sing was very moving - I thought Nessun Dorma was a good choice. The only problem is, it looked like he was lip synching like Ashlee Simpson on SNL because the sound and picture were not synchronized. On Saturday's coverage, it was the same story - and just as distracting. But only on English CBCHD. The French SRC had it synched. I know it takes coordination (Richard says HD poses even more problems than a normal TV feed) but HEY. You got the contract so make it work! I will update this post if I see CBC has resolved the problem. Stay tuned (or post a comment if this is a problem for you!) I remember watching the Opening Ceremonies from Nagano in 1998 (obviously pre HD) and the Japanese hosts organized a worldwide relay with different groups singing Beethoven's Ode to Joy. It was unbelievable how everything was perfectly synched and nobody missed a beat (I remember Peter Mansbridge marvelling at this on air too). And now 8 years later Canada seems to be struggling with the new technology. Guess we'll have to wait and see how this turns out...

ed. note: by Sunday Feb. 12 they had this bug worked out. Even Don Cherry was in sync ;-)

Alison's 40th

Alison and her husband Paul hosted a perfect party - a wine tasting evening in celebration of her 40th birthday (officially January 29th). Her parents, in-laws and several friends came from Montreal. Paul even flew in Alison's sister Lisa and her family (husband Mike, daughter Lucia and baby Henry) from London, England as a surprise! I'm sure it was as big a thrill for Alison to see her extended family as it was for her kids Ethan, Emily and Sophia to hang out with their cousins they don't often get to see. The evening was so SMART:
Spectacular organization
Memorable wines (5 to sample - everyone had a different favourite)
Amazing food (the birthday cake was divine)
Riveting conversation (especially about movies & music with David XXX Ray)
Terrific party!

Alison and Paul
Awesome hosts with super wines
Thanks for a great night!

Looking forward to Alison's birthday dinner later this month with les Filles...

Good night, and good luck.

After a relaxing Pilates class at the Yoga Sanctuary, I walked across the street to the Carlton (the original multiplex - now people have home TVs bigger than these screens) and made the 7:40 screening. 93 minutes later I emerged, thoughtful and smiling. Loved this movie! Great cast, Cool black and white, Cool jazz (I went out later that week to buy the soundtrack.) David Strathairn is so good as Edward R. Murrow. Too bad he'll lose to Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote on Oscar night. George Clooney did a great job co-writing, directing and producing. Bravo George! Who cares if Angelina doesn't want you as godfather. This movie was an especially perfect alternative to a night at home watching the other George (Dubya's) State of the Union.

Le sofa est arrive!

We finally arranged to have the sofa delivered. They were supposed to come Friday, January 20th but apparently they were still dismantling the giant sectional and could not deliver it until Saturday around noon. (I had to phone them 2 hours after they were supposed to be here to find this out but HEY I'm only the client....) So today on a snowy Saturday they showed up and took 5 pieces of leather sofa down to the basement (they still had to remove the back door, Richard cringed when they scratched his paint job). And then they began to reassemble it. It took these 2 guys an hour and a half but it looks gorgeous. Jan was our guest from Vancouver for part of the weekend and she agrees that the contrast stitching looks cool and the new favourite seat in the house is the chaise end of the sectional - with a perfect view of the HDTV.

ex-Montrealers Unite!

Saturday night we had 15 people in our home: 10 adults and 5 kids. This was the first test for the new basement and according to Tomas (Dori's son) "the basement is perfect." Phew! He was impressed with the open space ("good for playing hockey") and of course the new TV. Emma and Luiza forged new friendships and "les boys" Gabriel and Alexandre were in fine form. David C (our Top 40 under 40 lawyer) brought hors d'oeuvres and was an amazing sous-chef helping me prepare all the ingredients for my jambalaya (mmmm). Shelley must have spent 3 days chopping every vegetable known to mankind which meant we had plenty to dip in delicious eggplant dip (from Sun valley) and more to enjoy in the refreshing salad. Tom B provided another amazing dessert: homemade Black Forest Torte. (mmmmmmm) Gina (with her arm in a cast after a spill in Florida), Linda, Jeff and Bruce rounded out the guestlist. A wonderful evening of food, wine and friendship.

Anticipation... frustration

Last year, you read about the trials of our basement reno. In 2006, we thought we would finally move ahead and start using the space more often (hence the incentive of our TV purchase) so I bought a new leather sectional to complete our "basement loft". Yesterday I came home early from work to take delivery but the two guys couldn't get it into our basement. (They actually reminded me of the demented movers we used in November 2002 - not strong problem solvers.) After removing the door and tilting it, part 1 of the couch got stuck in the stairwell. Tossing and turning tonight in my bed I felt they should have tried removing the legs or some other way to maneouver it in the space but like I said, thinking out of the box was not their strength. Basically they seemed bitter about doing the things they needed to do (i.e. taking the door off its hinges) and didn't even come with their own tools (I supplied the measuring tape, screwdriver and hammer.) We thought of putting it upstairs and moving our current sofa and love seat down but we weren't sure they would fit in the stairwell either. And then I'd be paying these bitter guys extra to do it all. Richard and I will need to go back to the store and check out our options. A real drag since we are expecting 15 people (friends and their kids) for dinner on Saturday. I think Simon at work jinxed me because he kept saying about my delivery "it's not coming, it's not coming" and now he's right. Stay tuned for the next chapter...

Mary's Birthday Dinner

Tonight Mary Long invited a few of her closest friends for dinner at Pure Spirits Oyster House in the Distillery District to celebrate her 40th birthday. It was an absolutely wonderful evening from start to finish. The food and company were divine. We started with a round of Cosmopolitans for our toast to Mary then fresh oysters followed by soup or salad and a choice of mains. I had the salad with beef tenderlion and portobello mushrooms (very tender and tasty) and ended with dessert and chocolate espresso martini (pretty intense). Mary opened her presents and got to visit with everyone throughout the evening. We finally closed the place at 1:00am. I agree with Carol: 40 is the new 30. Happy Birthday Mary!

Birthday and Brokeback with Les Filles

Tonight we celebrated my birthday with Les Filles (Sarah, Pavlina and Alison). We met at Winners and took the streetcar east to Gio Rana's, 1220 Queen St. E at Leslie. It's an old bank ("a strip mall style bank" as Alison noted) and there's no sign outside - just a big nose over the door like at his other location near Yonge & Eglinton. The place filled up quickly even at 6:00 on a Friday and we got started with beers and then a yummy Shiraz. Scrumptious appetizers and sides and my main (ossu bucco with Cremini mushrooms) was so tender it fell off the bone.

No time for dessert because we decided to try to see Brokeback Mountain at the Beach cinemas a short cab ride away. We got there and grabbed coffees but the only seats available were in the front row. Pavlina and I bailed and found single seats further back but Alison and Sarah didn't want to move (despite the annoying people around them). It was a heartbreaking movie and the performances were very strong. Heath Ledger deserves every prize he wins - muttering like a young Brando in cowboy boots with a convincing accent that belies his natural Australian one. Jake Gyllenhal is also very good as are the supporting actresses Michelle Williams (Heath's new partner) and Anne Hathaway (sporting a Farrah-like blonde hairdo - a sharp contrast to her natural rich brunette in Ella Enchanted and Princess Diaries).

I kept thinking about the movie the next day - it's not so much a gay cowboy movie as it is a movie about nurturing your relationships and being true to yourself. These guys probably couldn't have been together because of the era, and so they settled for the standard choices of marriage and kids and only came alive once or twice a year when they got together. Although most straight men won't see it, they should. And the Alberta mountain scenery is gorgeous. MMMM

Merci les Filles for
Osso bucco and Brokeback
Ang Lee is redeemed

P.S. Anne Hathaway is also starring in The Devil Wears Prada which will be released in June 2006. Les filles will go to the movie ensemble and then we will review both the film and the book at The Pilot (since we're a bit behind in our book club meetings) ;-)

What are you doing New Year's Eve?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And thank you for the warm birthday wishes. We ended 2005 with a relaxing Christmas and a low key New Year's Eve/ birthday celebration. As usual, we spent much of each day on the phone talking to family and friends. Santa was very good to us this year. Christmas started early when we took delivery of our new 32" Sharp LCD TV on Tuesday, Dec. 20 (after they cancelled delivery once we finally got satisfaction from our salesperson because the customer service line was useless.) We got a bunch of our fave DVDs including Kill Bill vols. 1 & 2 and some great CDs (thanks Rich and Steve!) Thank you also to Uncle Wes and Marcella and Mom and Dad in Calgary and Winnipeg for your Christmas packages. Richard gave me a Bose Sound Dock for my iPod - it looks cool and sounds great. It kept me company in the kitchen while I was cooking Christmas dinner. No turkey this year - just a veal chop with scalloped potatoes and vichy carrots...mmmm... And of course a great wine from Uncle Wes and Marcella. New year's is also quiet - just watching the celebrations from Nathan Phillips Square and Niagara Falls. Who would imagine we would spend so much time in our basement but it's great to be finally using the space after starting the reno last spring. There are always things to work on (the bathroom!?) but it is teaching me patience and a new acronym: GEPO (good enough, push on).

Richard and I look forward to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2006 and wish you the same.

Dinner with The M Club

Tonight The M Club (Mary, Marlene, Manny and Mary Margaret) met for a delectable Christmas dinner at Avant Gout (8 Birch St just north of the Summerhill LCBO). It's a narrow house that has about 9 tables. The interior is painted a dark red and when you walk in you feel like you're in the dining car of the Orient Express. The chef is North African from France and my meal was delicious: fresh greens in a vinaigrette with goat cheese and salmon tagine. We even had a warm chocolate cake for dessert. I brought Christmas crackers and all the Ms were such good sports, everyone wore their party hats!

KONG is KING

See the mighty Kong
Skull Island and dinosaurs
Listen to Jack Black

WOW! Really enjoyed King Kong which we saw Saturday afternoon at the Beach Cinemas. I heard Director Peter Jackson say that the Lord of the Rings trilogy was "just a warm-up" for making Kong. At 3 hours (+ 20 minutes of trailers), it's not short but neither did it drag. Jackson did a great job and got wonderful performances from Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Kong - very emotive (it's all in their eyes). In the end, King Kong is a sad and touching movie that just happens to have sumptuous 30's sets and costumes and awesome CGI dinosaur fight scenes that blow Jurassic Park out of the water. (I'm sure we'll see a Skull Island ride at DisneyWorld or Universal Studios soon.)

As we were leaving the theatre I noticed a kid who couldn't have been more than 4 or 5. I really don't know what some parents are thinking because I feel Kong needs a height requirement: "You must be this tall to see this movie". Many scenes are graphic and scary (giant bugs eating peoples' faces and massive dinosaurs chomping at people and other dinosaurs.) My friends' kids have trouble with scenes in Stuart Little.

That night after a wonderful party with friends, we caught the tail-end of Saturday Night Live featuring guest host Jack Black. Here is Jack's opening monologue and The Kong Song on SNL - pretty hilarious.

Winning at Winners

As many of you know I work at College Park above the best Winners in Toronto. I have regular weekly (daily?) shopping therapy sessions at Winners and this week I have to share my fantastic find. Che, even though you were dissing Winners saying it had been picked over before Christmas I found 6 Nachtmann crystal Bordeaux wine glasses (the website says they're handblown) for $3.99 each!!!! That's 6 Grande lattes at Starbucks (talk about the latte factor) and probably less than the price of 1 glass at William Ashley's. I found a photo of the glasses on the Nachtmann website: (the one behind at left)

Can't diss Winners now
Source of my favourite glasses
Bordeaux anyone?

Finding Balance

I meant what I said in the last line of my previous post: I really can't wait for time off. Work has been INSANE for the past month and it is only now starting to ease up. As my friend Dori notes, I'm putting in private sector hours in a public sector job. And most evenings I'm working in the dark (they turn the lights out at 7:00 on my floor at College Park and I have often been there late working by the light of my monitor until 8:00 or 9:00pm). What up?

So now I am "taking back the night" and reclaiming some of those lost hours. The first step is seeing more movies! Last night's was the first in 6 weeks - highly irregular for Haikugirl's natural moviegoing habits.

In early December I took a course on Work-Life Management led by Dr. David Posen, author of The Little Book of Stress Relief. The course was amazing and couldn't have come at a better time for me. I am working at bringing more balance to my life at work and at home. One strategy is to just deal with the next 15 minutes (instead of getting overwhelmed by everything we have to do). Another is to do something for yourself every day. I made a commitment to blog, play piano, or walk at lunch at least 30 minutes each day to shift the focus away from work.

Wishing you and yours balance at the holiday season. May you have as relaxing a Christmas as we hope to have, filled with family, food, song and DVDs.

Christmastime is here
May peace and love fill your home
Enjoy your time off

The Squid and the Whale

Caught The Squid and the Whale last night at the Cumberland with Alison and Pavlina. A real spur-of-the-moment movie outing after we celebrated Pavlina's birthday dinner with Sarah at Saigon Sister. We wanted to see Jake and Heath in Brokeback Mountain but all screenings were sold out. Back to the film: Laura Linney is married to Jeff Daniels and they split up. The story follows the kids going back and forth between houses. Amazing performances by the whole family, although Jeff Daniels plays a pr*** and we didn't see enough of Laura Linney. Son #2 Frank is played by Owen Kline, son of Kevin and Phoebe Cates (he's got his mother's eyes). The soundtrack is sweet - just what you'd expect from the co-writer of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Writer/director Noah Baumbach made a nice film about a sad subject (his friend Wes Anderson of Life Aquatic and Royal Tenenbaums fame produces). Alison is glad she didn't know that until afterward or else we might not have seen it. More movies on tap for this weekend.

N-E-1-4 Kong?
Brokeback Mountain? Family Stone?
can't wait for time off

Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great... was GREAT! An inspirational, strong woman who had the right idea: Behave so the kind will love you, the evil will fear you, and all will respect you. An astute collector of art, a woman who loved the finer things and had the flow to buy them, a master communicator and marketer who knew how to create and use her brand. Really the whole package. She counted Rousseau and Diderot as friends and loved Voltaire. No wonder there is a cult that follows Catherine the Great. The gilded Coronation Carriage was impressive, but so was the story of the transport of the Thunder Stone from the rural woods to the heart of St. Petersburg. It forms the massive base of the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, often called The Bronze Horseman. They slid the stone on rails filled with large ball bearings and when those sunk into the mud, they waited till things froze to continue. A really enlightening two hours - amid the construction chaos of transformation AGO. On now only until January 1, 2006 (be sure to get the audio guide).

After the tour, Mary, Pavlina and I walked over to Cafe la Gaffe on Baldwin street. Delicious food, not not great service, but a wonderful place to catch up into the wee hours.

Mary and Pavlina both remembered fims they saw of Catherine the Great. Mary's was in colour (and starred Catherine Zeta Jones) Pavlina's was in black and white - I don't think IMBD goes back that far ;-). Anyone out there with Catherine the Great movie experiences?

Catherine the Great
Girlpower au maximum
Master marketer

Glorious Monterey

Richard and I had an absolutely wonderful time with Uncle Wes and Marcella at their beautiful home in Monterey, CA. We flew into San Francisco late on Thurs. Nov 10 and they were there to meet us and whisk us away two hours south to Monterey. Their condo is in a forest on the hill. You can see the ocean through the trees from the balcony. Their newly renovated guest bathroom is amazing (it's inspiring us to finish our project in the basement). We spent our time enjoying delicious food, great wine and driving along the coast and through the forest. Lunch at Nepenthe in Big Sur was a highlight: the restaurant is perched atop a cliff overlooking the ocean. The clear blue skies, unseasonably warm weather and crisp Chardonnays made us feel like we had recaptured summertime. We also saw the Monterey Bay Aquarium and took a trip to the Carmel Valley where we had lunch outside at the Corkscrew Cafe. On the way home we stopped at Bernardus to pick up some wines. This was our second visit to Bernardus - on Nov 11 Uncle Wes and Marcella had treated us to an unforgettable WINO dinner at the Bernardus Lodge. My parents had been their guests last year and met all of the wonderful people in the Carmel WINO chapter (Wine Investigation for Neophytes and Oenophiles) The final WINO dinner of the season was absolutely amazing: delicious food, awesome wine pairings from Stephen Ross Dooley (a native of Minnesota) and the most outstanding service we had ever experienced. I'll be posting photos soon (please come back!)

Many, many thanks to Marcella and Wes for their bottomless hospitality - you are truly the greatest and most gracious hosts around and we thank you for every glorious minute we spent in the Golden State! Here are some haiku for you:

Bernardus WINOs
The friendliest bunch around
Pour us some more wine!

Marcella and Wes
You are such amazing hosts
Thanks for everything

Love, Marusia and Richard

Capote

The Film Club saw Capote at the Varsity on Friday November 4. Phillip Seymour Hoffman turns in an uncanny performance of writer Truman Capote - definitely Oscar-worthy - but if you're craving action or had a long day at work, don't see this film. I want my family to see it because it was filmed in Winnipeg. Hints include: the Old Dutch chips in the 50's style corner store, the prison shots of Stoney Mountain Penetentiary in the blistering winter sun, the St-Charles Hotel in the Exchange District downtown. Here's a piece of MM trivia: Dr and Mrs Hrushovetz had their wedding reception there in 1962 - I don't think the place looked as gritty then.

Ultimately, I found the film engrossing. It was probably a very accurate portrayal of this self-absorbed egotist who couldn't even be happy for his friend Nell Harper Lee when Capote attended the movie premiere of her book To Kill a Mockingbird. (Who knew that author Harper Lee was a woman? Catherine Keener turns in a note-perfect, low-key performance). Capote was also a master manipulator. The scenes in the prison when he keeps returning to talk to the accused murderer Perry are haunting. As the centre of attention at the cocktail parties in his circle, Capote repeatedly talks about honesty and truth, but he strings Perry along with lies that he's hardly written a word. All this so he can get him to reveal the events of the night of the murder. Strange that Capote never completed another book after In Cold Blood. Maybe I'll suggest it for book club. MMMm

Memories from TIFF 2004

I was rooting through the pile of photos on our external hard drive and found these treasures from TIFF 2004. Enjoy the panoplay of stars...



Sean Penn at the screening of The Assination of Richard Nixon, the 2004 group pick. Notice the crummy walls at the Ryerson Theatre. The reno in time for TIFF 2005 was a big improvement. As for the movie, like Sean said, "I can't say 'enjoy the film', but..." His performance was great but don't rent this unless you're an insomniac...















A good shot of Director John Waters and TIFF co-Director Noah Cowan. Johnny Knoxville striding by in his white suit. Not my favourite people or film but I like my pix of them ;-)

Red carpet shots of Chris Cooper and Daryl Hannah with Antonio - our own resident star. Plus, the entire cast of Silver City (can you find Billy Zane behind the chic at the mic?) Proof that the quality of the film is indirectly proportionate to the number of people onstage.

TIFF Top Picks

Attention filmlovers: If you attended TIFF 2005, I want to hear your Best and Worst picks of the fest. List at least 3 (and up to 5) in each category. This year, I saw 11 films (less than a third of Joe's 35) and enjoyed the diversity of my choices and the access to stars on the red carpet. After 13 years, I also think I'm getting better at film selection, but you be the judge:

MM's BEST of TIFF
1. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (for Robert Downey Jr's narration and the director's surprises)
2. Thumbsucker (for Keanu's lines and Tilda Swinton's and Lou Pucci's performances - see it in theatres now!)
3. C.R.A.Z.Y. (because it was real, touching and uniquely 70's Canadian)
4. a tie: Corpse Bride (for the chance to meet Johnny Depp on the red carpet at the Elgin) and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (because I got to see it with Les Boys and it prompted such discussion afterward)
5. Sketches of Frank Gehry (for the relaxing pace and beautiful examples of his work)

MM's WORST of TIFF
1. Beowulf & Grendel (we walked out - need we say more?)
2. Entre ses mains (In His Hands) - how many times can you walk back into the arms of a killer?
3. Nanook of the North (well, at least the throatsingers were interesting)

Okay TIFF (and VIFF) veterans - let's hear from you! Post your comments on this blog or email me - you know where I live!

haikugirl / MM

When bad movies happen to good actors

As promised, Jan's review of The Dying Gaul.... really, really dying....

Hi MM
Saw The Dying Gaul last night - Campbell Scott, Patricia Clarkson & Peter Sarsgaard - how could you go wrong? Lotsa ways apparently. Sarsgaard plays a fledgling screen writer that has written a screenplay called The Dying Gaul - the story of a homosexual couple based on his own relationship with his former lover, now dead from AIDS. Scott plays the movie mogul that buys the play for one million dollars, on the condition that it is rewritten as a hetrosexual aids story. Clarkson is Scott's bored, smart, frustrated screen-writer wife. The couple form a tight relationship with Sarsgaard - Scott becomes his lover, and Clarkson begins to anonymously chat with him on gay chat sites. All sounds fairly promising, and you can't really blame the actors for the problems with this one. The pacing is off, and there are some bizarre cinematic choices, particularly to show the "chat" between Sarsgaard and Clarkson - at one point it is shown as their disembodied speaking heads. Made me think of SCTV's takes on Bergman, and I don't think that was the intention. Clunky, awkward, and boring. Have to give Sarsgaard points for the hysterical weeping breakdown he has after a sexual encounter with Scott - bizarre high pitched choking crying that was genuine enough to be uncomfortable to watch, but my praise ends there. This is apparently based on a play - can see that it could work well on the stage, but this is one reaaaaally bad adaptation.
-Jan

I love Jan's reviews
Too bad for Peter Sarsgaard
Just rent Garden State

Letter from VIFF

I wanted to post this letter with reviews from a friend attending the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) - thanks Jan:

Hi there Mary Margaret!
Hope all is well. Am currently in the throws of VIFF - and what a different experience! Imagine being able to get tickets to films you want to see just by walking up to a ticket wicket and asking for them...also, nice price (10 films, $87). Of course, you don't get the celebs either.

Have seen a couple of winners so far - The Squid & the Whale, which should come out soon. Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels as a couple, both writers - he also a prof, with a writing career on the demise, she on the rise. They divorce, and the story is largely about how it affects their two sons. Really liked it, an not just because Jeff Daniels' self-involved demi-god-wannabe character confirms every suspicion I have about profs/writers. Both funny & painful. Also a great comic role by Billy Baldwin as a local tennis pro. Also lovely was a french film When the Tide Comes In, about a travelling actress who gets involved with one of her audience members. Nice not only because the protagonists don't fit the ideal specs you'd find in a North American film. And finally, saw Life With my Father, Quebecois film about two sons dealing with their charismatic, ailing, womanizing father. Shades of the Barbarian Invasions, which I gather was being filmed at about the same time. Needed some editing, but otherwise quite good.

I am looking forward to seeing E.I.I. once VIFF is over - saw a bit on Gogol Bordello on The New Music, looks very fun. My next review will be for The Dying Gaul, with Campbell Scott.

Jan

Everything is Illuminated

This movie was at the festival on Mon Sept 12 at 9pm but I couldn't see it because I was at Dave Chappelle's Block Party. Instead, Mary Long and I picked it for our movie night out Fri Sept 30 when it opened in Toronto. We loved Everything is Illuminated MMMM and recommend it to friends and family. Other reviewers don't seem to agree.

Written for the screen and directed by Liev Schrieber (he of Scream 3, Manchurian Candidate and Hamlet fame) this is a solid directorial debut. Based on the critically-acclaimed novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, this film is all about the characters - including the dog. Elijah Wood (Jonathan) goes to Ukraine in search of a woman in an old photo who apparently helped his grandfather Safran escape the Nazis. Jonathan is a 'collector' literally collecting things he encounters and bagging them so he won't forget. When he gets to Ukraine, he finds Alex Jr as his 'trusted interpreter' and Alex's grandfather Alex Sr. as the 'certified guide' who says he's blind and won't travel without his 'seeing eye bitch' a hilarious dog named Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. This unlikely band travels through rural Ukraine (the credits suggest it's really Czechoslovakia) in their 'rigid search' for Trachimbrod - the town where the photo was apparently taken. This proves to be tougher than they thought because no one has heard of it.

Alex Jr's English is 'not so premium' but the actor Eugene Hutz he is also the lead singer of Gogol Bordello and wrote and performed much of the music on the movie's soundtrack - a kind of Ukrainian gypsy/pop/klezmer music. I think I'll pick it up to add to my own collection. This film is funny and touching, some scenes are wonderous, and it will make you pine for your own grandparents and past. My brother Steve should be the first to see it.

road trip through Ukraine
everything in the past is
illuminated

P.S. Movie clubbers, our next film is Elizabethtown, then Paradise Now.

ADPi photos

The ADPis are tired of being proper and prim... so starts one of our many songs. Coming soon to this space: photos and captions of the reunion. Stay tuned!

ADPi Reunion

Spent a wonderful, whirlwind weekend in Winnipeg at my sorority reunion Sept 23-25. Alpha Delta Pi (Beta Theta chapter) celebrated 75 years at the University of Manitoba campus and sisters travelled from far and near to attend: Anna Dovolis came from Minneapolis, Shelley Blair came from Hamilton, Jennifer Yeo came from Vernon, BC, Laura Drosdowech came from New York, and Karen Arnold and Monica Hertzberg were there to laugh, sing and party. I got to attend all the events with my Mom because she was an ADPi before me (making me a legacy). We had lunch and a tour at the Manitoba Legislature on Friday, Sept. 23rd, a gala Dinner & Dance at the Hotel Fort Garry on Saturday night, complete with a group photo and lots of singing, and a brunch on Sunday before I had to leave on the Air Canada flight with Shelley to come back to Toronto. It was so heartwarming to see so many dear friends and mothers again (several of us were legacies and some Moms have been in sorority over 50 years). The ADPis also sing to a sweetheart at every formal and this year my Dad was chosen as sweetheart. I even managed to squeeze in a drink with my movie reviewer friend Alison Gillmor on Friday night at the Hotel Ft. Garry - what a beautiful living landmark! Hardev, sorry I missed you but it gave me lots of ideas for our 25th SJR Reunion next year. Photos to follow.

Sketches of Frank Gehry

I liked this documentary of architect Frank Gehry. Directed by his friend Sydney Pollack, I loved seeing shots of Frank's buildings around the world, watching him work with paper models in his studio, seeing him react to the people and things he encounters in his world. Lots of great interviews with artists and celebrities who have commissioned him. A great example of how a documentary can inspire instead of bore. I want my Dad to see it. MMMM

Last VISA: Nanook

Nanook of the North was our last VISA screening at the Elgin. I liked the original score and Inuit throatsingers. Antonio found the movie interesting but didn't like the accompaniment. Rich didn't really care for it. He perked up at a late nite steak dinner. This is considered one of the original documentaries filmed in the last century. Critics say it was staged. Yeah, well so is reality TV. There were a lot of long shots. I mean endlessly long shots. And when you watch Nanook kill and eat all the animals it got kind of depressing. Did I mention the music was nice? Anyway, it wasn't my last film so there is a chance for redemption. MM for the orchestra - thanks for coming out.

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

This is the third vengeance instalment by South Korean Director Park Chan-Wook, who introduced the film. He did Old Boy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is an interesting but sometimes gory film - nothing as pointless or bad as Beowulf. Through an interpreter, the director told the audience his film had a reputation for being violent but he said he showed it to his 10 year-old daughter who was unaffected. I think he's nuts. Lady Vengeance spends time in a tough female prison for a crime she didn't commit. The real perp is a male teacher who kidnaps students, sexually abuses and kills them, then moves to the next school. He kidnapped Lady V's young daughter to blackmail her into taking the fall for his crime. Her time in prison is punctuated by a series of bizarre and kinda evil cellmates. While in prison, Lady dabbles in revenge, killing meaner inmates when they torment other, weaker ones. When Lady is released, she focuses on finding the real kidnapper and then brings the parents of his victims together to give them a chance to get even. This part is the most fascinating/ grisly/ humourous and is the reason to keep watching till the end. From the sumptuous opening titles, this film is a pretty good thriller (better than the originals of The Ring and The Grudge.) See it if you're in the mood to watch bad karma in action. MMMm

Lady seeks revenge
Kills to find a kidnapper
Prison girl with plan

Beowulf & Grendel

Okay. Not all filmfest movies are good. Seems the more cast members they bring onstage the worse the film is (another case in point: Silver City by John Sayles). Ivana and I left Beowulf & Grendel after 25 minutes. The constant grunting, deadly swordplay and hairy Grendel and his family got to us. After a tiring week, we didn't have the strength to put up with a film like this at 9pm Wednesday. Only redeeming thing: Gerard Butler was Beowulf and he is also in the running to be the next Bond. He looked pretty good.... Unless you loved this poem in university, don't bother. I give it only M for effort.

Thumbsucker (with Keanu)

"Have you seen my photo of Keanu?" That's been my opening gambit with everyone I meet for the past 24 hours. Saw him on the red carpet Tuesday night Sept 13 along with Tilda Swinton as a towering platinum blonde . I told her: "I loved you in Constantine." She responded: "Thanks. He's here." And 10 minutes later Keanu made his way slowly toward us through the lobby of the Elgin. Writer/Director Mike Mills was also there along with stars Kelli Garner and Lou Pucci, who did an outstanding job playing Justin - a 17-year old in Oregon who still sucks his thumb. Justin's new-age orthodontist Perry (Keanu) tries using hypnosis to help him stop. Justin goes along for a while but is still floundering at school and in his relationship with Rebecca (Kelli Garner). His anger at Perry erupts and he and his parents Audrey (Tilda Swinton) and Mike (Vincent D'Onofrio) are called in for a meeting at school. Justin is pegged as ADHD and prescribed Ritalin, which his parents reluctantly let him take. Justin's transformation is dramatic: he reads Moby Dick in a single night and provides college-level analysis in class. He becomes a compelling debater and leads the school team to several successive victories. His new-found confidence and clarity are impressing everyone and scaring his teacher Vince Vaughn. Meanwhile, Audrey - an RN who is fasinated with a TV star played by Benjamin Bratt - takes a new job working at a celebrity drug rehab facility and Justin is convinced they are having an affair. When Justin's debating rival sees him taking Ritalin before a competition, he berates him: "Don't you know it's just speed. It's only 3 molecules different than cocaine." Justin adopts this battle cry and we watch as changes continue in life without the drug.

This is a movie with many small, beautiful moments and fabulous writing and performances. Keanu's monotone delivery is perfect for his role; Tilda Swinton is lovely as the loving mom and dedicated nurse; Benjamin Bratt has a delightful cameo as the addicted star. I really loved it when Justin's kid brother tells him: "You think you're the only one with problems? While you were out being crazy, I had to step up and be normal." SEE THIS FILM! You will finish by cheering for Thumbsucker the movie - and the actor. MMMMM

More Johnny

For all of you who LOVE Johnny Depp and were downloading my photo with him (maybe the silliest photo ever taken), here are some unadulterated photos of him.




And Tim
And Helena

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Lots of fun and eye candy
red carpet action

Dave Chappelle's Block Party

Okay, this movie's for Richard's niece Lisa who loves rap music. Dave Chappelle is boy from the 'hood who became a successful comedian - so successful that he's worth $50 million. So he decides to throw a block party. And he walks around inviting people with a bullhorn. And even travels to Dayton, Ohio to invite the band from Drumline and other locals (the middle-aged lady who runs the corner store whom we see struggling with her packing saying "I don't know what to wear to a rap party.") Lots of memorable moments on film. Three busloads of people from Dayton show up in Brooklyn at this designated street corner (which is not really publicized but people just go and figure it out) and Dave is his ineffable self throughout. Laugh-out-loud funny, this film gets MMMM from me for being a great 'home movie'. Said hello to Director Michel Gondry who did Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and directed several innovative music videos for The Chemical Brothers, Bjork, and The White Stripes. As Now writer Cameron Bailey said when he introduced the film and director: "If your music collection includes nothing but bands that Michel Gondry has made videos for, you're doing all right." This film is a work in progress but I loved its raw quality and the eclectic mix of people at the Elgin. Lots of great rap performances - which, I'll admit got a bit tiresome after a while - but seeing Lauren Hill and Wycliffe Jean at the end and Dave's hilarious banter (and musical riffs) throughout made up for the two hours I had lost the night before. Block Party would be a good DVD to rent and put in the background at a party. Music and laughter truly are the universal languages.

Entre ses mains

Saw this French film Sunday night Sept. 11 with Director Anne Fontaine, lead actress Anne Carré and producer Philippe Carcassonne in the house. Piers said this was a thriller in the style of Claude Chabrol. He means French New Wave Director Claude Chabrol who did the thriller "La Femme Infidèle" in 1968, which was the basis for the American remake Unfaithful with Diane Lane and Richard Gere. Just like that film bugged me, so did Entre ses mains. The title means "In his hands" which is stupid because it was all about a female insurance adjuster who gets increasingly involved with her client, a vet. Meanwhile we keep hearing reports about Dr. Death, the serial murderer loose in town. The vet (who is already creepy looking and keeps visiting her at work) is an obvious suspect, especially when he makes comments like: "they say he uses a scalpel, much like this one" while he's suturing a sedated lionness. Anne even brings her daughter to visit this guy at the zoo where he also works. Even his mother is scary looking. Meanwhile Anne has a beautiful daughter and loving husband at home. But she keeps going out to meet this guy, just like those crazy people in movies who run back into the burning building or head straight for the basement when they're cornered by an axe murderer. Stuff like this really pisses me off. So really, Entre ses mains was not "in his hands" at all - all Anne's (lead and director) had options which they ignored. And they set the film in Lille, possibly the least romantic city in France, especially during the winter when this film was shot. I give this frustrating piece MM, which is generous. Don't see this unless you a) like watching smart women make foolish choices or b) have a couple of extra hours in your life to burn.

C.R.A.Z.Y.

Saw TIFF veterans Joe & Shawn at the Osgoode subway before meeting the group.



C.R.A.Z.Y. was this year's group pick - a tender movie about Zac, one of 5 brothers in the Beaulieu household in Montreal. Zac is born on Christmas Day in 1960 and we follow him growing up, struggling to fit in and coming to terms with his sexuality. The family scenes are very real and touching and although this movie was long I enjoyed it and gave it MMMMm. Based on the true story of the writer's life, it took 10 years to get made. Richard was less enthusiastic and found it tedious. Moses Znaimer was there but I don't know his reaction. I thought the performances were outstanding - especially Zac and his father Michel Cote. This should get a lot of Genie nominations.

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

Sat. Sept 10 was Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and it was exciting to see everyone on the red carpet. Got Johnny Depp's autograph and saw both Tim and his life partner Helena all looking fabulous. The movie itself is a 78-minute stop action animation based on an Eastern European fairy tale. Johnny Depp is Victor who is betrothed to Victoria (Emily Watson). After a few missteps at the wedding rehearsal, Victor is told by the pastor emphatically: "Learn your vows." He goes off into the woods to practice and is overheard by Emily (Helena Bonham-Carter) who immediately accepts his unwitting proposal. A few pints with the dead later, Victor gets back to the living to find Victoria but Emily whisks him back down below before they can reconnect. Resigned, Victor makes plans to go ahead with his marriage to his corpse bride while Emily's parents find a new suitor in Lord Batchkiss, who is only after Emily's family fortune. Everything comes together in the big ol' wedding scene at the end, but which bride will prevail?

Fans of Tim Burton and The Nightmare Before Christmas will love this film. Richard wondered who this guy's audience is. I give it MMMM - for the excitement of seeing Johnny Depp and the adorable skeleton dog Scraps. Music by Danny Elfman (who was also at the screening) was great fun. Not sure if kids can handle the scary looking imagery (eyeballs in soup, talking maggots) but it captured and held my attention. If you're not a diehard Burton fan, wait for the DVD.

We love Johnny Depp
Gracious on the red carpet
Tim's Corpse Bride is fun

Shopgirl

Friday Sept 9 at 9:00pm was Shopgirl starring Steve Martin, Claire Danes and Jason Schwartzman, all of whom were onstage at "the beautiful and historic Elgin Theatre" with TIFF Director Piers Handling and film director Anand Tucker. This was a nice film about romance and longing in everyday lives but afterwards I didn't know whether I felt more sad or more hopeful. Piers called it "note perfect" but since he is the co-conspirator who practically invented The Code, I don't quite agree. I think Ivana's comment that it's "this year's P.S." is more accurate. See both and let me know what you think.

Interesting that my first two films at the fest both had voice-over narration: Thursday's used to perfect effect, Friday's used to insert as much of the text of Steve Martin's novella as possible. After the almost-jarring unpredictability of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Shopgirl seemed to reflect a few familiar cliches. Still, I liked how this movie was shot. It had a languid style that reminded me at times of Wong Kar Wai's In The Mood For Love (and with a similar pervasive and haunting soundtrack). The charming shot of the starry sky that pans down to the glowing skylight in Mirabelle's bedroom is as magical as the swoopy camera moves that I loved in Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. We're seeing his latest fable (Corpse Bride) tonight.

I would rate Shopgirl MMMM. That last M is a capital and not lowercase only because Claire Danes is so compelling as Mirabelle Buttersfield. It's really about her everyday life working at SAKS in LA after moving from Vermont. When romance disrupts her routine, at first she is reluctant to let it in, but then she starts to embrace it with growing desire (and nudity). Steve plays Ray Porter, a rich computer executive and sexy sugar daddy (is that what most girls want?) while Jason plays Jeremy, the an offbeat (wierdo?) artist whose unbelievable cheapness and crazy comments on their first dates makes everyone's (including Mirabelle's) eyes pop. Both Ray and Jeremy have different ways of showing their loving side and it's interesting to watch how these relationships unfold. It's also hilarious to watch the scenes with Bridgette Wilson-Sampras but ultimately, this movie has a cast of three. When Ray and Mirabelle are intercut debriefing their relationship (he with a shrink and she with her girlfriends) it is chilling to see the canyon that exists between their perceptions and the onscreen reality. Mirabelle's visit home to her parents in Vermont is also unsettling but her wardrobe is as amazing as Cate Blanchett's in The Aviator - rent the DVD if you haven't yet!

Claire Danes as Shopgirl
Does she want Steve or Jason?
three lives in LA

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Saw this film opening night Sept 8 when everyone else was at Water. Loved Kiss Kiss Bang Bang enough to give it MMMMM (that's 5 M's on the MM rating scale!) Robert Downey Jr. & Val Kilmer were both at the screening looking fabulous and sounding hilarious. Also onstage with TIFF managing Director Michele Maheux (alaso looking fabulous) was the beautiful co-star Michelle Monaghan, and Producer Joel Silver (of The Matrix fame and fortune) dressed in a pink suit with pink hi-tops. Writer/Director Shane Black (he of The Long Kiss Goodnight and Lethal Weapon fame) did a brilliant job on this film: snappy dialogue, hilarious and creative scenes and images, all narrated by the adorable Downey Jr (who came to the fest with his new wife.)

Right from the hypnotic opening credits - part James Bond, part 60s cop show - this film kept me guessing and laughing and left me with questions even after the credits rolled. Downey Jr plays Harry Lockhart - a petty thief who stumbles into an audition, gets the part, and jets off to Hollywood where he meets "Gay Perry" (Val Kilmer) - a real-life private detective who also consults on movies. Harry also runs into his childhood sweetheart Harmony (Michelle Monaghan) and the next five days and nights begin to unfold. When Perry takes Harry on a stakeout, the body count starts climbing and the boys realize they are working on a bigger case they they thought - one that may involve Corbin Bernsen (shocking, I know;-) Lots of twists and turns - and some of the most original, memorable movie lines in years. GO SEE THIS FILM when it comes out September 16. Be warned, some parts are very violent - and poor Harry goes through way more in 5 days in the Valley than anyone would want to endure in their lifetime - but the resolution is worth it, even if it does beg a few questions. Like: who was that girl in the bear commercial? Anyway, please come back and post your movie comments/theories once you see it this fall. And now for Haiku 1 of the fest:

See Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Robert Downey Jr is
so adorable

Green Acres

I read today that this year's Emmy Awards on Sept. 18, Donald Trump and Megan Mullally (Karen from Will and Grace) are just two of the stars who will be singing musical tributes to TV theme songs. The two will sing a duet of the theme song from the 60's TV show Green Acres starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor. It made me want to remember the words, since I usually know all the words to all the songs, and I had seen the show so many times when I was young.
So here's what I remember - please sing along if you recall the tune:

(he) Green Acres is the place to be
Farm livin' is the life for me
Land stretching out a far and wide
Keep Manhattan - just look at that countryside!

(she) New York is where I'd rather stay
I get allergic smelling hay
I just adore a penthouse view
Darling I love you, but give me Park Avenue

do-do-do-do-do (he) The chores
do-do-do-do-do (she) The stores!
do-do-do-do-do (he) Fresh air
do-do-do-do-do (she) Times Square

(he) You are my wife
(she) Goodbye city life
(both) Green Acres we are there!

So were you humming along? I hope so.
Thursday night I see my first film... please check back throughout the fest for my reviews!
Good night.... MM

Bon festival!

The results are in! For the first time, the festival box office let me know my final picks via email. No need to line up for hours on Labour Day - whoo hoo! Here is my schedule for the week:

Thurs Sept 8 - Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
Fri Sept 9 - Shopgirl
Sat Sept 10 - Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Sun Sept 11 - the group pick: C.R.A.Z.Y at 6:00 at Paramount 2
followed by Entre ses mains at 9:00 at the Elgin
Mon Sept 12 - Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Tues Sept 13 - Thumbsucker
Wed Sept 14 - Beowulf & Grendel
Thurs Sept 15 - Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
Fri Sept 16 - Nanook of the North
Sat Sept 17 - Sketches of Frank Gehry

That's a total of 11 films in 10 days - all with a full-time work schedule. Can't wait!

It's festival time
Toronto's ten-day party
Watch the stars come out

Frustration and elation

Tried calling the TIFF box office and going online today to see which box number they chose to start processing ticket orders. When Pavlina and I dropped off our picks on Thursday after work, we were in Box 20. Ivana was dropping off on Friday before the 1:00pm deadline. Wish I could get some response. Guess I won't know till tomorrow - the holiday Monday is when we can start picking up our tickets and see how many of our first choices we got.

Saturday night we were invited for a lovely dinner with friends. Amazing food, great company, wonderful conversation - a perfect evening!

Filmfest box office
When I call there's no one home
Want to know my picks

Sweet Saturday night
Dinner with the Azoulays
Thanks for a great time!

Decisions, decisions

Now that the screening schedule is released, it's time to pick our film for the annual group outing. Please note: I have VISA screenings each night at 9:00 so I'll have to run if we choose something before those. Also, Pavlina had suggested the GALA Elizabethtown at 9:00 on Sat Sept 10 but I have Tim Burton's Corpse Bride that night and don't want to give it up. We could all go to Elizabethtown on Sunday noon at Ryerson but not sure if the stars will come out. Whatever you all prefer. Here are my suggestions - please give me your top 3 to ensure 2nd choices:

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Thur. Sept 8 9:45, Ryerson
It's by the screenwriter of A Long Kiss Goodnight and stars Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer in a "buddy film noir". Could be fun and the trailers look good (even though Rich HATES Val Kilmer) and it's the first night of the fest so I have no other movie commitments.

Shopgirl Fri. Sept 9 9:00, Elgin VISA Screening Room
Based on the novella by Steve Martin, he also stars with Claire Danes and Jason Schwartzman (I heart Huckabees). I'm already going (it's in my VISA series) but would love to meet before for drinks/dinner if anyone's free.

Romance & Cigarettes Tues. Sept. 13, 6:00 Elgin
Susan Sarandon, James Gandolfini (singing Tom Jones), Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi and Christopher Walken. Directed by John Turturro. Produced by the Coen brothers. Nuff said.

Second choices are on Sunday and Tuesday:

Thinking (but not too hard) about The Mistress of Spices (with that gorgeous woman from Bride and Prejudice) OR Bee Season with Richard Gere. Both are Sunday around 6:00, same as...

C.R.A.Z.Y. Sun. Sept. 11, 6:00 Paramount 2
Set in Montreal in the 70's (Alison do you hear the call?) We haven't been to a Canadian film in a while but I haven't seen any of this guy's work so who knows but description sounds good (we know the danger of the 'code')

Thumbsucker Tues. Sept. 13, 9:00 Elgin
I am going since it's in my VISA series but Vince Vaughn and Keanu should make it kinda neat. So if you wanna join Ivana and I, please do....

3 Needles Sun. Sept. 11, 11:45AM Paramount 2
By the Canadian director who did The Hanging Garden. The repercussions of AIDS on 3 continents. Could be heavy but may be heralded. Stars Chloe Sevigny, Sandra Oh, Olympia Dukakis and Lucy Liu.

Please weigh in with your comments or other suggestions and we can decide. We have to hand in the tickets by Friday.

Las peliculas

Today the Toronto Internation Film Festival (TIFF) released the official film list - everything that will appear at the 2005 festival from September 8-17. Scrolling through the list of titles and directors (no links to descriptions yet) things look pretty good. I am already hedging my bets about which films might be in my VISA Screening Room series each night at 9:00pm and thinking about which additional films I want to cram into my 10 days of movie madness.

For the second year in a row, I will be giving an informal lunchtime presentation on the topic of the film festival. About 30 colleagues usually attend and I plan to talk about this year's notable films (and stars), how to buy tickets and my not-so-scientific-method of picking what films to see. I usually approach it first by director, then by title ( if it's particularly unique or interesting) and finally by word of mouth or buzz.

More on my film selection theories in the next blog. Now it's time for RockStar: INXS!

Red Eye and Me and You

Saw Red Eye on opening weekend. New "it girl" Rachel McAdams from Ontario did a great job (opposite that creepy Cillian Murphy who was recently in Batman Begins). She's even more fun in Wedding Crashers. (See Aug 10 blog entry "Summer Vacation" for more on that film.)

Still want to see Broken Flowers (trailer looks awesome) but did get to the small, charming movie Me and You and Everyone We Know written and directed by performance artist Miranda July.

Oh, and you've got to rent Kung Fu Hustle. Although a bit gory, it was so much fun and the soundtrack was great. Rent it and send me your comments.

SJR Reunion

Discussion is already underway about the 2006 SJR Reunion... it will be 25 years for the class of '81. We started a team blog: www.sjr81.blogspot.com

Consensus on the dates is on or around the August Long Weekend in 2006. The school is holding a Homecoming in Winnipeg this weekend, Aug. 26-28 2005 so we may want to coordinate with that date next year to maximize attendance and support.

We'll get an evite out shortly so start collecting email address.

Class of '81
Come to Winnipeg next year
Can't wait to see you!

Summer Vacation

Just got back from our summer vacation out west: Calgary and Winnipeg. Nice to see family but what a whirlwind! I managed to read The Rule of Four in 4 days (is that part of the rule?) The pacing and puzzle is similar to The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Rich is now reading Angels and Demons. (I get it next.)

Saw Wedding Crashers in Toronto before we left - lots of fun. My Uncles tell me they used to crash all kinds of weddings in Winnipeg. Who knew?

My brother Stephen is a star dancer at the Ukrainian-Kyiv pavilion at Folklorama, Winnipeg's annual cultural festival. Too bad we missed him perform because we had a plane to catch. My brothers, Richard and I hit a few pavilions ourselves on Saturday night including the Celtic Ireland Pavilion. It had been almost 20 years since I was singing along to the Unicorn song with an Irish Rover (first time at Expo '86 in Vancouver.)

Looks like there are a lot of reunions to plan/attend in 2006: 20 years since Expo, 25 years since SJR, and an ADPi 75th Anniversary coming up fast this September. Anna and Shelley - I'll go if you go... We'll see in a month.

Next movie I plan to rent is Kung Fu Hustle. The trailer looks awesome! Ivana will be sorry she dissed it!

Club Book et Club Film

Club Book meets tonight at The Pilot to discuss Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth.

Club Film meets next Friday. Ivana suggested Don't Move (Non ti Muovere) which sounds good. It screened at Talk Cinema in April and the discussion afterward was apparently "feisty". Penelope turned 31 yesterday and supposedly does a good job in Italian in this one. Check out the imdb writeup.

I just hope it is playing by next week. Otherwise, there may be other stuff to check out starting May 6 (except Crash which Ivana and I saw at the fest which was good but I don't want to see it again.) Tell Them Who You Are (a popular documentary made by the son about his filmmaker father) starts May 13 so that would be my alternate vote. Look for your choices at etonline, my best source for release dates.

Finally, don't go see Sin City. It hurt. (I think Frank Miller is a misogynist.) Do rent the combination of Finding Neverland and Spongebob Squarepants (The Movie). "I'm ready promotion, I'm ready promotion...."

Accomplishments

It is always such a pleasure to connect with old friends - virtually and in person. Yesterday I got an email from a high school buddy who just finished writing a novel. Then I met up with some former coworkers for a beer or two at the Duke of York and we toasted to projects completed and projects to come.

Speaking of projects completed, our basement reno is (mostly) over. Over 7 weeks total and still stuff left to be done. It's starting to look good which is encouraging. Too bad I am not encouraged to clean (as I explain in my haiku)

where do I begin
to clean my disheveled house
let's rent a movie

On another note, I am so proud of my Dad. He started a blog when he was here in Toronto and is adding to it regularly. Visit him and post a comment at http://docsam.blogspot.com

6 weeks down, 1 to go

After 6 (seemingly endless) weeks, our basement reno is ALMOST finished. R & I are off to Vegas but my Dad is kindly housesitting while we are away. Still working on that slideshow to depict all the transitions - the changes are quite staggering and exciting. "And expensive," adds Dad.

Wallets are empty
Dust covers our lungs and home
Vegas is calling

Looking to win big
at Casinos on the Strip
Viva Las Vegas

Sweet Saturday

Aaaaaah! Saturday morning, 9:00am: no sound of construction - yet. For the past 5 weeks, we have been renovating our basement and back entrance. A dirty job - glad we're paying someone else to do it. And they're almost done now (phew!) but we are still waiting for it to be over. Although it might not be the massive stress or displacement of a kitchen or bathroom reno, any job - no matter what size - still turns your routine and your home upside down. The glimmer of hope is that soon we will be enjoying the fruits of their labour - just in time for Spring. Already we have seen such incredible progress and such quality work. Only 5 more days to go...Hooray!

Last night I was out with my wonderful friend Michelle and saw Loser Takes All (Qui Perd Gagne!) at Cinefranco - the 8th Annual French film festival held at the Royal Cinema on College St west of Bathurst. The movie was fun and starred Thierry L'Hermitte (love him) as a gambler in the south of France who helps police catch a lottery scammer. The story ends up in Vegas and so will I in a week. Michelle & I enjoyed a delightful martini and dinner beforehand at Kalendar. Very cute place and we sat on the patio. More aaaaah. Now I have to get down to my taxes. Blech.

Thierry L'Hermitte
Still sexy at fifty-three
Aaaah, les hommes français