Dinner for 2 - CHEAP!

Last night I came home after work and made a delicious Prime Rib Roast (bought for $17.04) and spiced to perfection by Rich and me, with Roasted Potatoes ($1.95) and Sauteed Mushrooms ($1.99). A super tasty and amazing Dinner for 2 for under $21 (and I didn't have wine so I saved there too!)

This week's cover of Toronto's NOW Magazine proclaims: Eat Well, Spend Less and features TO's Top Mains Under $15. Hey - I'm doin' it! Mock Duck Curry's got NOTHING on my awesome prime rib!

For more on what haikugirl's been up to, visit: haikugirlmovies

Les Oscars 2009

Hard to believe it's Oscar time again! Going to a fun 1st Birthday party for Matteo tomorrow afternoon then coming home to watch Les Oscars (and all the red carpet action!) Here are my Oscar picks - you can play along at oscars.com

CATEGORY, Who SHOULD WIN, Who WILL WIN
Best Picture, Slumdog Millionaire, Slumdog BETTER win!!
Otherwise, I have no pick
Best Director, Danny Boyle, Danny Boyle
Best Actor, Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke
Best Actress, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslett (6th nom-ok I get it)
Best Supporting Actor, Heath Ledger, Heath Ledger
Best Supporting Actress, Penelope Cruz, Penelope Cruz
Best Adapted Screenplay, Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog), Slumdog
Best Original Screenplay, In Bruges (hilarious), Mike Leigh (Happy Go Lucky) 6th nom
Best Score, Slumdog, Slumdog, which means
Best Song, should be Jai Ho (been listening to it on my iTouch all day), Peter Gabriel WILL win for Down to Earth, the theme from WALL-E
Best Animated Feature, WALL-E, WALL-E
Best Doc Feature, Man On Wire, Man On Wire (loved it at Hot Docs)
Best Short Film, Manon sur le Bitume (was at CFC Shorts in Toronto)
Best Foreign Language Film, Waltz with Bashir, Waltz with Bashir
(France's The Class is too long and reminds me too much of teaching)
Batman (The Dark Knight) will win for Best Sound, Best SFX
Anything else? Costumes? Art Direction? Wanted will win Sound Editing

Hugh Jackman is getting his dance number overwith at the beginning of the show and sharing the stage with the stars of HSM3 (High School Musical 3) and Mamma Mia.

Not excited for the dancing but definitely excited to see Hugh carry the 3+ hour spectacle. I think he'll be great - I'll be watching the evening (and the fashions) intently.

Would love to hear your pre-Oscar predictions or post-Oscar blather - please post! Kisses to Les Boys and everyone else in Oscarland (or dreaming of being there) xxMM

excitement, drama
haikugirl loves Oscar night
tell me all your picks

DOC Soup and going GREEN

I was so busy in January I had no time to review last month's DOC Soup. The movie was excellent and I was THRILLED to see Hot Docs Director Sean Farnel back at the mic to introduce things and run the Q&A.

Recipes for Disaster is a personal film about a global issue. The Director and his family go on an "oil diet" for a year. They give up petroleum products (i.e. plastic), they give up their car and take public transit (been there, done that) and don't even succumb to buying things WRAPPED in plastic. They had to go to a special warehouse store to find "loo paper" on an industrial-sized roll.

The director's wife is the hero of the movie. She goes along with his idea and together they pass the camera and "document" their lives. The kids stay good-natured. It's the director himself who first feels the urge to cave... Anyway I won't spoil it but if it ever comes to TV (POV?) or your local video store - RENT IT.

Sean had the genius and carbon-neutral idea of connecting with the director for Q&A via SKYPE. BRILLIANT! And very effective, despite a brutal time difference for him in Finland.

This film is a great inspiration for families and government. See it then login to one million acts of green and add all the "green acts" you do everyday. START TODAY - it's amazing the difference we all can make.

one million green acts
the planet and I thank you
together we win!

xx Miss "Working for the Ministry of the Environment now" haikugirl

P.S. This Wednesday's DOC Soup is Milking the Rhino. Looking forward to it.

Of Time and The City

Finally saw Terence Davies' film Of Time and The City, his hommage (elegy?) to his hometown of Liverpool. Had tried to see it at Cinematheque at the AGO on Feb 1st but got there and it was sold out so I went shopping (still a productive afternoon).

Seeing it with Hardish at the Bloor Cinema last Wednesday was interesting. Critics raved about it at TIFF 2008 so I'm glad I got it out of my system but I'm not sending you all out to it right away. It's not a documentary as much as a tone poem, which is how I like to think of Marathon Women (a haiku about running). Except for a long, slow 4-minute pan from the downtown to the docks (for which they credit a DOP), the film is fully 72 minutes of stock archival footage from British Pathe and other sources. Davies narrates in his booming bass voice - think Boris Karloff of The Grinch, only tune up the cynicism, say, to ELEVEN. Every word is drenched with arrogance and disdain, with the faintest touch of longing only when he mentions his mother. To say he pokes fun at the monarchy is weak - he really resents them and the Catholic church and effectively contrasts "Betty Windsor's" lavish coronation ceremony with footage of poor Liverpudlians amidst their rowhouses.

A contemporary of Peter Greenaway, Davies has also made The House of Mirth (with Gillian Anderson) and Distant Voices, Still Lives. He talks about falling in love with cinema, being gay and leaving Liverpool. As the Beatles rise, he rejects rock and roll in favour of classical music and scores the movie with his favourite tracks. When the fireworks appear for Liverpool's 2008 celebration as European City of Culture, it's over. Don't see this unless you've had a large coffee and can adjust the volume levels with a remote. They just laid down the tracks with no consistent level throughout the film and at one point I had to close my ears it was so deafening. This from the woman married audiophile. MMm out of five for the archival effort.

BAFTAs and IDC

BAFTAs will be handed out tonight. Here are the nominees.

Been keeping my head down working on editing projects for my editing course at George Brown. In addition to the class assignment (which I'll post when it's done so you can see it) it has also inspired me to go back through the Marathon Women footage that Tamara and I shot in March 2007. Will post a link to that trailer soon.

IDC 2009 is coming up in a month. haikugirl is signed up again for 5 days of mad filmmaking. On Friday night the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC) screened the Toronto entries from last year at the NFB. Great to see team haikugirl's Secret Swinging on the big screen and always interesting to see the diversity of the entries.

Open Letter to Dori

Bonjour Dori en Australie! Watching the Australian Open and thinking of you! Nadal has not dropped a set! Roddick defeated Djokovic (who retired) and will meet Federer in semifinals. Roddick seems weird in the press conference.

Now that the Obama girls are in the White House, people want to know: Do Sasha and Malia have Wii? I know Tomas and Luisa have Wii. Did it come with you to Australie?

Also watching The Biggest Loser Families with guest chef Curtis Stone from TLC's Take Home Chef - my FAVOURITE! Also an Ozzie - he's showing the participants how to cook and eat right.

Getting together with the Montreal gang on Saturday. We will miss you guys!!! Hope Nouvelle Zelande was AMAZING!!! Love, MM & Rich

Dori is in OZ
Enjoy this new adventure
Salut la famille!

New year, New job, Cool books

Well, Barack Obama is starting his new job as the 44th President tomorrow. Good for him! Congratulations Barack! Historic, unprecedented, inspring. And William Peterson (aka Gil Grissom on CSI) is leaving and Morpheus (aka Lawrence Fishburne) is joining the team in Vegas.

I started a new job too! I am on a 6 month secondment with the Ministry of the Environment as Senior Project Advisor for the new Environmental Programs Division (EPD). That means I'm still with the Ontario Public Service (OPS) and working in a new ministry for awhile. I am really enjoying my new position. I love the job and the people I work with and I'm learning a lot of new things every day.

Also enjoying my new Digital Video Editing course at George Brown College on Monday nights. If you get a chance, read the compelling book In the Blink of an Eye by iconic editor Walter Murch. He edited Godfather Part 2, Apocalypse Now (it took over 2 years) and The Conversation starring Gene Hackman. Another great book on film is The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film. Michael Ondaatje interviews Walter Murch. Fascinating stuff. Murch is a genius.

Sending all my American friends lots of love (Canada has already given Obama a 52% approval rating and he hasn't even done anything yet!) Hearts to my favourite Obama Mama in Ancaster. GO MARY! Love, MM

Slumdog sweeps the Golden Globes!

Of course I was delighted to see Slumdog Millionaire - my top film of 2008 - win BIG at the Golden Globes. YAY! Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Director and Best Picture - Drama. Whoohoo! Vicky Christina Barcelona won for Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - I've been wanting to see that (Richard is not keen for Woody.) Kate Winslett certainly went on too long in BOTH of her speeches but good for her for winning. And Mickey Rourke won Best Actor - wow. Still not sure if I want to see The Wrestler. My former Director was very disappointed that Leonardo didn't win for Revolutionary Road. He thought it was "wrenching" and recommends seeing it when you feel "solid" about your life and relationships. I know it won't be an upper - even darker than American Beauty. Does Sam Mendes only do depressing stories of suburban angst and decay? Will check out RR one blustery afternoon this bone-chilling winter.

Toronto temperatures now -21C (-30 with wind chill) so we're catching up to Winnipeg, where Harry Connick Jr and Renee Zellweger shot New In Town as a stand-in for small-town Minnesota. [The discussion boards on this are funny - people saying "that's not what Minnesota is like" - well maybe because they shot it in Winnipeg!?] I just found out large parts of Across the Universe were also filmed in the 'Peg. Will have to see it again with an eye to locations...

TOP FILM NOT!

Further to my previous post on my top films of 2008. I can also name my WORST film of 2008 - and possibly of all time. That would be none other than Synecdoche, New York - a play on words of Schenectady, NY written and directed by Charlie Kaufman. The guy was so insufferable in the Q&A following the screening of his endless film that it gave new meaning to the word suffering. And it seems my friends are uncovering accolades for this crap project all over the web. Case in point: http://popsugar.com/2372843 where they call it "a visually stunning and thought provoking masterpiece." Time Magazine called it "an instant Cannes classic" - are they on CRACK???

NOT! and again NOT!
This was possibly the most boring and ridiculous film of all time, making it even borderline offensive (well at least Jennifer Jason Leigh's spontaneous German accent in the film belongs in that category!) Synecdoche (or as Keith likes to say See-neck-dosh to add that French je ne sais quoi) has become part of TIFF lore for me and my peeps and ranks right up there with Tiburzi and the Hips of JW as one of the worst TIFF films EVAH!

Another disappointment for me in 2008 was Burn After Reading. Although I love Brad and George and have tremendous respect for the Coen Brothers, the film was only okay, and did not live up to all the HYPE. I am very glad I did not pay $85+ tax during TIFF to see it as a GALA. In contrast, Quantum of Solace was far better than the negative press would suggest.

What is the lesson?
Choose films based on your gut, then
make up your own mind...

haikugirl's top picks for 2008

Now remember, I have not seen Doubt or Changeling or Gran Torino (and I refuse to see The Wrestler) but these are my top 11 favourite movies of 2008:

1. Slumdog Millionaire
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3. JCVD
4. IronMan
5. Milk
6. Man on Wire
7. RocknRolla
8. The Dark Knight
9. Quantum of Solace
10. All Together Now
11. Rachel Getting Married

You will note I have not distinguished between fiction and doc - they're here if I liked them or thought they were good. A rather eclectic list, if I do say so myself!

MMP on JCVD

My first movie of 2009 was really great! Finally saw JCVD Friday night after work with Rich at the new AMC 24 Theatres at Yonge & Dundas (those of you at TIFF would have experienced these already.) Saw Seven Pounds here on Dec. 20 - nice but sad.

JCVD is Jean-Claude Van Damme who plays Jean-Claude Van Damme. As they say in the tongue-in-cheek trailer they shopped around Cannes in 2007: "it's not a documentary, it's a biopic." Jean-Claude is trying to convince them he's perfect for the role - of course he is! It's a meta-movie with perfect casting! The Gaumont intro in the official trailer is the same as in the beginning of the film. The silhouettes crack me up every time.

JCVD is truly great. I don't want to reveal too much - the movie plays and replays scenes adding layers and perspective so the real story is never quite revealed till the end but Director Mabrouk El Mechri is on the 2008 International One to Watch List and the film is showered with glowing reviews.

Near the end Jean-Claude gets vulnerable in an emotional monologue. I haven't seen The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke (see my previous post about Mickey's bad behaviour) but JCVD has the kind of comeback performance that deserves notice. Bravo Jean-Claude! On applaudit...

JCVD is
Jean-Claude Van Damme's great comeback
Mickey should take notes

Happy New Year!

Wow - 2008 just swooshed out the door and now it's 2009!

Had a wonderful relaxing Christmas (my brother joined us from Oakville for Christmas Day now he's in frigid Winnipeg) and I've been working in between (during STBW "sucks to be working" week.) Took off Dec 31 for my b-day and had a nice lunch at Holt Renfrew Cafe with fellow December birthday friends Pavlina & Mary and then off to see Milk at Varsity. Sean Penn is outstanding - definitely Oscar-worthy. Heard Mickey Rourke was dissing Sean in a text message calling him a homophobe. Both are nominated for Golden Globes along with Brad Pitt who is amazing (and gorgeous) in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Guess we'll see on January 11 who wins and on January 22nd when Oscar noms are announced.

P.S. Was very sad to read that John Travolta's son Jett died while they were on vacation in the Bahamas. Attention Celebrities: don't go on vacation in the Bahamas! Bad things happen.

The week of January 5 is my last week in my current job - on January 12 (all bleary-eyed after watching the Golden Globes on Sunday the 11th) I'm off to a 6 month secondment as Senior Project Advisor with the the Ministry of the Environment helping the Environmental Programs Division expand their use of new media. I am really excited about this new opportunity and will keep you all updated - promise! Plus I'm taking a digital video editing course at George Brown College on Monday nights - hoping to get my chops up before the next International Documentary Challenge March 5-9, 2009. It's going to be a busy year!

haikugirl wishes
you & yours Happy '09
Have an awesome year!

Golden Globe Nominations - YAY!

Golden Globe Nominations were announced at 8:36 this morning - very exciting! Several of the nominated films are not even out yet (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on Dec. 25 and Revolutionary Road on Dec 26)

Delighted that my current fave movie Slumdog Millionaire is nominated for Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Original Score. Can't wait to see all the films and watch the GG on January 11th - 2009 is around the corner!!!

Save the Date(s)!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009, 12:00pm
- Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th U.S. President

Thursday, January 22, 2009, 5:30AM Pacific (8:30am Eastern)
- the nominations for the 2009 Academy Awards are announced

Monday, January 26, 2009 10:00am?
- Canada's House of Parliament resumes.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 3:00pm? - Budget Day
- ???

So we endured a needless 6 week Canadian election, squeezed right in the middle of an 18 month US Presidential Campaign. And in the end, the new President will be in office and we'll know who is up for an Oscar on February 22 but we won't know if we'll have a new Canadian government before the end of the month? This is ridiculous.

Is anybody else thinking about this?

*Remember to watch the Oscars LIVE on Sunday, February 22 at 5:00 PAC (8:00 EST)

Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle's latest film Slumdog Millionaire is
A. an audience favourite B. multi award-winning
C. not to be missed D. pure genius

Finally saw Slumdog Millionaire on the last day of November at Varsity. It's fully 120 minutes long but is so brilliant that it flies by. Director Danny Boyle did Trainspotting, Millions and Sunshine but this film won the People's Choice at TIFF, and was named 2008's best film by the National Board of Review and the British Independent Film Awards.

Brilliantly constructed, the film shows breakout actor Dev Patel as Jamal Malik on the Hindi version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Accused of cheating, no one can believe a slumdog "chai walla" can know the answers to question after challenging question. More and more of Jamal's life story is revealed with each question, and we see how his life experiences point him to each "final answer".

Three orphans (Jamal, his brother Salim and their young friend Latika) stick together through thick and thin like the three muskateers. With 3 actors portraying each character at various stages of their lives, the resulting performances are gripping and poignant. I LOVED THIS MOVIE! Sure, there are queasy bits (torture, hardship) but the story is irresistible. Slumdog Millionaire will make you laugh, cry, hide your eyes, reflect on your relationship with your siblings and maybe even believe in redemption (if you don't already). See it today and generate even more Oscar buzz!

Slumdog Millionaire
Brilliant film by Danny Boyle
haikugirl's top pick!

Don't believe the hype: Quantum of Solace and The Bank Job

Quantum of Solace - the latest Bond installment with Daniel Craig - was GREAT! Don't know why it got such bad reviews. Amazing action, stunning locations and the (often) cheeky dialogue kept me totally entertained for 2 hours. If anything, the villain (Mathieu Amalric of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) left a little to be desired but Bond and M were superb. Loved Ukrainian hottie Olga - could do without (Strawberry) Fields (too much of a throwback to the old helpless Bond girls with her cowboy boots and wrinkled trenchcoat - puhleeze).

Enjoyed Bond on the big screen at our favourite local theatre Beach Cinemas then came home and watched The Bank Job on DVD. I had bought it as a Christmas present but we couldn't wait. Based on a true story - a bank heist in Britain in the early 70's - it was intriguing and worth seeing but did not live up to the HYPE I had been hearing from EVERYONE. Jason Statham is always wonderful and did not disappoint.

The Bank Job is good
old school British heist movie
with Royal scandal

Quantum of Solace
is GREAT - sexy Daniel Craig
and TONS of action!

Thank you Oprah! My moai is dope!

Happened to be timeshifting yesterday and caught Oprah's show filled with thrifty tips for the holidays. Great recipes for turkey, cornbread stuffing, and fun inexpensive gift ideas. She also made some music available for free on her website oprah.com. Follow the instructions to download 8 songs and make your own mixed CD. But only for 48 hours from Wednesday at 5pm (so do it tonight).

Also found a link to Secrets of the Blue Zones, areas of the world where people regularly live to be 100, with great quality of life. Everyone interested in vital longevity should check it out! Every time I haul bags of groceries home without a car I'll be thinking of those women hauling buckets of water. Or Uma hauling water uphill as part of her training in Kill Bill vol. 2.

Speaking of Uma and Japan, here are two words you need to know from longliving Okinawans: ikigai - "that which makes one's life worth living" and moai - which means you have a social support network.

My moai is dope!
Living long is the new black.
What's your ikigai?

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends!

Where in the world is haikugirl?

You may have noticed a dearth of posts on haikugirl's blog lately. That's because I've been busy making a movie! The saga is all on my OTHER blog: haikugirlmovies.blogspot.com

On Sunday, November 2 the films from the 48 Hour Film Project Toronto are screening at the Bloor Cinema at 4pm. Come out and join the fun, "see something new - raw and alive." - I'm not making that up - they actually say it in the FAQ - but don't just believe what you read - come and experience it!

I want to thank everyone on Team haikugirl for their generous collaboration this weekend, and even after the weekend! We really had a blast - some people are even talking about doing it again next year - definitely a good sign...

Election Bozos and Scare Canada

Still amazed that our Prime Minister of Canada called a federal election on Tuesday, October 14, forcing Canadians to go to the polls after a family, fun and food filled Thanksgiving weekend. When he was elected, Harper passed a law to have a fixed election date in Canada (like they have in the US). Instead of the first Tuesday in November every 4 years, Harper chose the third Tuesday in October. Then 2 years into his mandate, he violates his own law by declaring in September that we would vote 5 weeks later on Tuesday, October 14th. After living through the past year and a half ordeal that has been the road to the U.S. Election, our PM squeezes in a big decision for Canada in the middle of the U.S. hoopla. And announces it during the filmfest? TIFF press conferences got more attention and coverage I can assure you. Harper and Dion are even campaigning today - this should be family time buddies. I am in rainy Winnipeg with my family for the Thanksgiving weekend so I voted in the advance poll and I can tell you I did not vote for any of those bozos.

Flew to Winnipeg on Scare Canada and it really was scary this time. We left 30 minutes late because the plane wouldn't start (I am not kidding folks). Some guy in a truck backed over a pylon (not inspiring confidence here) and had to BOOST the plane - I saw it all from my window. And it got so hot inside the cabin I felt I could barely breathe. It's like my friend Dori who had to boost her car so many times this week that she finally replaced the battery. ANYWAY, I finally saw Sex In The City movie en route and really enjoyed it, despite what the critics said. I will have to confer with my friends because I don't know how it ended - the plane was landing so they had to cut off the inflight entertainment.

Our turkey's in the oven and we will be having a delectable bird later this afternoon. I give thanks for my wonderful friends and family this weekend. Happy Thanksgiving and love to all!

I LOVE Tina Fey!

I LOVE Tina Fey
2 Emmys for 30 Rock
Perfect as Palin

Actually, maybe I don't just LOVE Tina Fey, I want to BE Tina Fey (but that's just my inner star talking). Heard Julia Louis-Dreyfus was hunting down her Emmy at NBC on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Apparently "that clip is "unavailable at my location" on nbc.com. Don't know why. Maybe you can view and post comments?

Off to my first 48HFP meet & greet tonight. Should be fun.

I love Tina Fey. I love Tina Fey. I love Tina Fey. I love Tina Fey.