A vacuum of comic timing

The most scathing review of my career, for a terrible little film called College, is available here.

Good fences make good neighbours

My review of Neil LaBute's excellent new film, Lakeview Terrace, is available here.

The doctor is in

Those of you excited for the upcoming film adaptation of Watchmen, check this out

It's an eye opening 'found' newscast from 1970, extolling the virtues of one Dr. Manhattan...

A version of this news story appears in the original graphic novel too - very cool.

Another day, another awards show

The Screen Actors Guild Awards were held last night; the complete list is available here.

Slumdog Millionaire continues to clean up, winning the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture prize (essentially Best Picture for the SAGs), despite said cast being made up of entirely unknown actors in North America. This movie's on a roll.

Highlight of the evening: Meryl Streep's uncontainable enthusiasm after winning for Doubt (she rushed on stage, kissed Ralph Fiennes on the mouth, then dryly remarked that winning awards doesn't mean anything to her).

The little phenomenon

Finally caught Slumdog Millionaire, and it's everything everyone says it is.  This is the real deal, moving at a breakneck pace from start to finish, full of life and love and tragedy.  It's got some surprisingly dark moments, things that'll sting in your chest and burst your balloon, but it's all in the name of a truly moving conclusion.  Director Danny Boyle was born to make this film.

Weekend Box Office: January 23-25 2009

Here's the estimated take from this weekend, courtesy of Box Office Mojo.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop reigns again, meaning Kevin James can finally make that little independent film he's always wanted to.  Underworld makes a good showing, despite the lack of Kate Beckinsale in this prequel.  And Gran Torino shows that Clint Eastwood's still a major box office draw, closing in on the $100 M mark.

Henry Poole was here

My review of Henry Poole Is Here, a solid film that manages to overcome a lousy title, was published on Tuesday and can be read here.

Oscar speaks

I'm back, with a New Year's resolution to blog more often (not doing too well so far, though) on this exciting day for movie geeks everywhere - Acadamy Award nomination day.

The complete list can be found here.

A few thoughts about this year's chosen pack:

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button now holds the honour of having received the third-highest number of Oscar nominations in history, behind Titanic and All About Eve. And it couldn't have happened to a nicer film. Benjamin Button currently sits as my favourite film of 2008, a sweeping, romantic, ambitious, thoughtful picture that pushes forward what's possible in this artistic medium. The seamless computer graphics and special effects help tell a lovely story that it's hard not to enjoy.
• Despite doing quite well at the Golden Globes, Revolutionary Road didn't get nearly the love it was expected to.
• Slumdog Millionaire is this year's Little Miss Sunshine, and I would argue it's probably Benjamin Button's toughest competition for Best Picture - but I don't think it'll get it.
• Kudos to the Academy for recognizing the strikingly funny and surprisingly moving In Bruges for Best Original Screenplay - this anti-PC little Irish movie is really quite fantastic, and carries an unexpected amount of weight.
• Nearly the entire cast of Doubt received a nomination, yet the director gets shut out?
• Wall-E scores 6 nominations, and is probably the best example of why the Academy shouldn't have a separate Best Animated Feature category, as it would've surely been in the running for Best Picture otherwise.
• The Dark Knight doesn't get a Best Picture nomination despite rampant speculation that it would, but it's a lock in two categories: the late Heath Ledger for Best Supporting Actor and Wally Pfister for Best Cinematography (not only was it a beautiful movie to look at, but it was the first feature film to shoot with IMAX cameras.

I'm sure more musings will come later, but for now mark Feb 22 on your calendar to find out who takes home the prizes.