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.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
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).
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).
Sunday, January 25, 2009
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.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
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 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.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
An appeal to baser instincts
The historic goings-on in our government are most certainly divisve - especially here in Alberta, where the tired 'western alienation' arguement is being bolstered with words like "coup," "take-over," and "coalition of seperatists." And that's exactly how Mr. Harper likes it.
Regardless of your stance on the proposed coalition - and for the record, although I think it's less than ideal, I am for it - it's hard to deny that the blame for this whole brouhaha lies at Harper's feet. A number of staunch Conservitave supporters with whom I have spoken have gone off on tirades about his gigantic misstep, the poisoning of what was supposed to be a 'new era of cooperation' in Parlement with the first bill put forward.
And yet, rather than try to regain the confidence of the House, Harper and his team immediately embarked on a campaign of sound bites, twisting the facts and ignoring recent history. Just over three years ago, Harper was in negotiations with the Bloc to form a coalition and take down the Liberal government, and the Conservatives 2006 budget passed only because of support from the BQ, yet the main talking point is to charicterize the current coalition as one threatening national unity because of the Bloc's involvement. Clearly, the Conservatives had no problem accepting Bloc support in the past, and anyone who follows politics knows this - but Harper's targeting those who aren't paying attention, looking to rouse the ire of those who take his words at face value. He knows his supporters won't be turned off by the misrepresentation, so it's all upside from a partisan perspective.
Harper is a master of the soundbite, and chooses his words carefully - there's a reason we don't have quotes from him explaining why he violated the spirit of his own fixed-election date law, why he criticized the Martin Liberals for postponing a confidence vote when defeat was imminent yet is doing the same thing himself, why a coalition that was a good idea when his party was in opposition becomes undemocratic when the tables have turned. It's because there's no upside to being on record addressing these things; better to keep plowing forward, consitency and accountability be damned. It frustrates his opponents and stirs up the base.
I'm sure some who are reading this are aginst the idea of a coalition, and hope Harper finds a way to hold onto power. Fine - the beauty of our country is that we can disagree, and there are doubtless many valid arguements against a coalition govenrment at this time with these players. But please, before you settle, immovably, on a position, read some of the generally well done journalism being practiced over the past few days. As opposed to the shamefully shallow coverage of the election campaign, that accepted every premise the Conservatives put forward ("Not a leader") with little scruitiny (uh, the Conservatives didn't even have a platform), there are reams of intellegent articles being written on both sides of the current debate. Take some time, have a look, and make up your own mind.
Regardless of your stance on the proposed coalition - and for the record, although I think it's less than ideal, I am for it - it's hard to deny that the blame for this whole brouhaha lies at Harper's feet. A number of staunch Conservitave supporters with whom I have spoken have gone off on tirades about his gigantic misstep, the poisoning of what was supposed to be a 'new era of cooperation' in Parlement with the first bill put forward.
And yet, rather than try to regain the confidence of the House, Harper and his team immediately embarked on a campaign of sound bites, twisting the facts and ignoring recent history. Just over three years ago, Harper was in negotiations with the Bloc to form a coalition and take down the Liberal government, and the Conservatives 2006 budget passed only because of support from the BQ, yet the main talking point is to charicterize the current coalition as one threatening national unity because of the Bloc's involvement. Clearly, the Conservatives had no problem accepting Bloc support in the past, and anyone who follows politics knows this - but Harper's targeting those who aren't paying attention, looking to rouse the ire of those who take his words at face value. He knows his supporters won't be turned off by the misrepresentation, so it's all upside from a partisan perspective.
Harper is a master of the soundbite, and chooses his words carefully - there's a reason we don't have quotes from him explaining why he violated the spirit of his own fixed-election date law, why he criticized the Martin Liberals for postponing a confidence vote when defeat was imminent yet is doing the same thing himself, why a coalition that was a good idea when his party was in opposition becomes undemocratic when the tables have turned. It's because there's no upside to being on record addressing these things; better to keep plowing forward, consitency and accountability be damned. It frustrates his opponents and stirs up the base.
I'm sure some who are reading this are aginst the idea of a coalition, and hope Harper finds a way to hold onto power. Fine - the beauty of our country is that we can disagree, and there are doubtless many valid arguements against a coalition govenrment at this time with these players. But please, before you settle, immovably, on a position, read some of the generally well done journalism being practiced over the past few days. As opposed to the shamefully shallow coverage of the election campaign, that accepted every premise the Conservatives put forward ("Not a leader") with little scruitiny (uh, the Conservatives didn't even have a platform), there are reams of intellegent articles being written on both sides of the current debate. Take some time, have a look, and make up your own mind.
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