September 2006 Archives (26 posts)
Jesus Camp
Back in August, James mentioned a new documentary film called Jesus Camp that looked pretty interesting if not disturbing. A few days ago a clip called Bill Maher Discussion about Jesus Camp showed up on YouTube that is excellent.
The discussion allows for several different viewpoints that I found fascinating. I think that I’ll have to fire up Xtorrent and get the September 22 broadcast of Real Time with Bill Maher.
Posted in Movies and Television at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)
Best ending to a college football game ever?
Wow! I just watched the ending of the Cal vs. Stanford game from November, 1982 on YouTube. The announcer, Joe Starkey goes nuts at the end of the game which adds to the drama. Watch it all here. Link via digg.
Posted in News at 9:27 AM | Comments (4)
Do the Bobble Thing
David Dylan Thomas in Philadelphia created a short film called Do the Bobble Thing on Current TV (Al Gore’s new network).
Posted in Movies at 2:17 PM | Comments (0)
Donner’s Director’s Cut
Just saw a post on Jump Cuts about Superman II — Donner Gets Director’s Cut of “Superman II” After 26 Years. The DVD will include two versions of the film directed by Richard Lester and Richard Donner. Thanks to Jason for the link.
Posted in Movies at 2:06 PM | Comments (0)
Top Gear, Heroes and Xtorrent
Somehow I missed all the buzz surrounding the new show, Heroes on NBC. A couple of people (Neal/Dave) told me to check it out. So I’m downloading a copy of last night’s episode now using Xtorrent.
Up until now, I’ve been using Azureus to download my torrent files. Why switch? Xtorrent is a much slicker app—simpler and more Mac-like in terms of interface. Thanks to Ryan for suggesting I check it out.
Another story I missed concerns Top Gear. Apparently one of the shows stars, Richard ‘Hamster’ Hammond crashed a jet-powered dragster at 280 mph. The accident almost killed Hammond and now the show is postponed indefinitely.
The Daily Mail is reporting that Hammond wants the BBC to show the crash. He’s also willing to film from his hospital bed as he recovers from a serious brain injury.
Jeremy Clarkson, one of the show’s hosts said, “Swarms of bureaucratic bluebottles are nibbling away at the crash site on York airfield desperately trying to find some reason why Top Gear should be banished from our screens.” Hopefully the show will continue. It’s one of my favourites from the UK.
Posted in OS X Software and Television at 12:56 PM | Comments (0)
Bill Clinton vs. Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday
Last night, Clinton was set up interviewed by Chris Wallace on Fox News. In typical Fox News fashion, Wallace went after Clinton, trying to say he didn’t do enough to capture Bin Laden. Clinton was invited on the show to discuss his work on climate change and problems in developing countries.
After a few jabs from Wallace, Clinton appeared flustered and said,
You set this meeting up because you were going to get a lot of criticism from your viewers because Rupert Murdoch’s supporting my work on climate change.
And you came here under false pretenses and said that you’d spend half the time talking about — you said you’d spend half the time talking about what we did out there to raise $7-billion-plus in three days from 215 different commitments. And you don’t care.
The interview is one of the best I’ve seen and Clinton appeared ready for the ‘fair and balanced’ style of Fox. I think he made Wallace look like an idiot. My favourite part of the interview came when Clinton says to Wallace, “you’ve got that little smirk on your face and you think you’re so clever.” Great stuff!
Full transcript of the interview is here on Fox News. Watch the interview on Google Video.
Posted in News at 10:24 AM | Comments (4)
Web 2.0 Winners and Losers
Wired News has a quick overview of Web 2.0 Winners and Losers. I’m all over flickr but I still haven’t bothered using del.icio.us.
For a complete list of some of the most popular ‘Web 2.0’ sites, click here.
Posted in Web at 9:32 PM | Comments (3)
Retro Style - Part 2
Welcome to readers of Design Melt Down.
Bombippy.com is one of the websites featured in an article called Retro Style - Part 2 on the Design Melt Down website. It’s an interesting read on what makes a website look “retro”.
If you’re a web designer, be sure to bookmark designmeltdown.com. It has some great articles, links to design resources and plenty of examples that are sure to inspire.
Posted in Web Design at 1:16 PM | Comments (0)
College Football Road Trip
I’m off to West Virginia and then Pennsylvania for some college football, golfing and maybe a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game. This is my fifth year of doing this and it’s always a blast.
I have to learn to spread things out a little. I just realized that in less than 30 days I will have done a Nascar weekend, a film festival and a 4-day road trip with the boys. I’m going to be exhausted by next Monday.
Posted in Travel at 9:21 PM | Comments (3)
Mon Meilleur Ami (2006)
Mon Meilleur Ami (My Best Friend) was my last film at TIFF and my favourite. It’s a French comedy that is actually funny! Daniel Auteuil (Caché) and Dany Boon star.
Auteil plays an arrogant antique dealer that realizes he doesn’t have a single friend in the world. He makes a bet with a colleague that he can produce his ‘best friend’ before the end of the month.
His search to find this best friend is pathetic and quite funny. Without being too corny and over the top the film plays itself out nicely. To say much more would spoil it if you intend to watch Mon Meilleur Ami. It was the perfect way for me to end the festival.
½
Films are rated from 1 to 4 stars.
Posted in 2006 TIFF and Movie Reviews at 3:33 PM | Comments (5)
Mon Colonel (2006)
Mon Colonel is another French film that deals with the Algerian War in the 1950s. Most of the story is told through a series of black and white flashbacks. A 23-year-old French officer is sent to Algeria under the command of a brutal colonel who will do anything to win a losing war.
The French were in a guerilla war that neither side could win. It was a complete disaster trying to fight terrorists on their own turf. The same thing is happening in Iraq right now. History repeats itself.
I don’t want to give away too much but if you’ve ever watched The Battle of Algiers (1966) then you’re sure to enjoy this film.
Films are rated from 1 to 4 stars.
Posted in 2006 TIFF and Movie Reviews at 2:46 PM | Comments (0)
Cœurs (2006)
I had high hopes for this film but it turned out to be a huge disappointment. It’s based on a stage play that to me, just doesn’t work. I knew within the first five minutes that I wasn’t going to enjoy this film.
Parts of it were almost funny—the type of funny where women in their 70s chuckle apprehensively and 3 people (out of 1,300 in the Elgin Theatre) laugh hysterically at everything.
The best thing about Cœurs was the performance by Lambert Wilson. He was the villain with the fabulous French accent in The Matrix Reloaded (2003).
Okay, I’ve got nothin’. Sorry Monsieur Resnais but your movie blows.½
Films are rated from 1 to 4 stars.
Posted in 2006 TIFF and Movie Reviews at 11:46 PM | Comments (1)
Indigènes (2006)
Indigènes is one part Glory, one part Saving Private Ryan and one part Band of Brothers. Instead of
African American soldiers in a civil war, we have North African soldiers fighting for France during World War II.
The film chronicles the struggle of four African ‘brothers’ as they serve in the First French Army. They are referred to as indigènes or natives. When France was occupied by the Nazi’s during the war, 130,000 North Africans enlisted to fight for their colonizer.
Instead of respect and gratitude, the French military treat the North African recruits with disdain. Aside from fighting the Nazi’s, the indigènes have to fight the bigotry, and racism of the French. To this day, France has withheld pensions from the North Africans that graciously served in World War II. Incredible! Typical.
I hate to criticize Indigènes because the direction and performances are terrific. But every now and again I felt like I was watching a scene from Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan. C’est la vie.
Artistically, there are some really nice aerial views that transition into a scene when the story moves to a new location. See this one on the big screen.½
Films are rated from 1 to 4 stars.
Posted in 2006 TIFF and Movie Reviews at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)
Rescue Dawn (2006)
Rescue Dawn is a true story about US fighter pilot, Dieter Dengler. During the Vietnam war his plane was shot down. He was captured and spent some time in a POW until he was rescued.
In 1997, Herzog made a documentary film about Dengler called Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) which will be on my list of films to watch.
It would be easy dismiss Rescue Dawn as ‘another Viet Nam movie’ but in the hands of Herzog it is a solid film. It is beautifully filmed—saturated colours and lots of film grain and incredible landscape shots. I hate to sound like a broken record but the sound mix is spot on. In many scenes, you feel like you’re in the jungle with Dengler.
As Jeremy Davies said in his Q&A, Christian Bale, the star of the film, is one of the most underrated actors working today. His performance in Rescue Dawn is intense and very convincing. It was also nice to see funny man, Steve Zahn in a serious role, as a POW.
Films are rated from 1 to 4 stars.
Posted in 2006 TIFF and Movie Reviews at 3:27 PM | Comments (2)
The Killer Within (2006)
Bob Bechtel is a psychology professor in his early 70s. He’s kept a secret from his family and colleagues for 50 years. In 1955 he went on a shooting rampage and killed a classmate in his sleep. He claimed temporary insanity, spent five years in a hospital and was then released.
Director Macky Alston was there when Bechtel decided to tell his daugters, his colleagues and his friends. It had the potential to be another Capturing the Friedman’s but it falls completely flat.
The direction is weak, the editing is weaker still and the cinematography is, well, weak. The story never seems to go anywhere. Poor Bob seems confused throughout the film as they revisit the past. He’s also unrepentant which ads to the mystery.
Before you know it, the film is over, the credits are rolling and you wonder if there is going to be a sequel. I can’t believe that TIFF selected such a sloppy film for the festival.
Films are rated from 1 to 4 stars.
Posted in 2006 TIFF and Movie Reviews at 10:16 PM | Comments (0)
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Pan’s Labyrinth is a fabulous mix of horror, drama and fantasy. It takes place in 1944, just after the Spanish civil war. Ofélia (Ivana Baquero) and her pregnant mother go to live with the evil Captain Vidal, Ofélia’s new stepfather. Captain Vidal is only interested in his unborn son and destroying the remaining rebel forces.
Ofélia can’t stand her new stepfather and retreats into a world of fantasy and what a world it is! Guillermo del Toro has a dark and creative mind that comes to life in a frightening way on film.
The monster in the picture above might not look like much but wait until you see this film. I’ll be having nightmares tonight. I haven’t been that creeped out since I saw Nosferatu (1922) as a kid.
Guillermo del Toro is the guy that directed Blade II and Hellboy so I knew there would be some gore. During his introduction he was apologizing for the violence in the film, blaming it on a messed up childhood. If he didn’t do such an amazing job of directing he would probably be in an asylum somewhere.
His writing and direction is excellent. Everything comes together perfectly to create a highly entertaining film. The sound mix is absolutely chilling and completes the film. There are also some really nice transitions from one scene to another. This is one to see on the big screen.
On the way out of the theatre, I noticed this short guy with blonde hair. Vincent, Hellboy, Ron Perlman was beside me and he’s tiny! He’s going to be filming Hellboy 2 with Guillermo del Toro.
Films are rated from 1 to 4 stars.
Posted in 2006 TIFF and Movie Reviews at 9:15 PM | Comments (2)
Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show (2006)
Vince Vaughn introduced the film—a documentary about Vaughn and 4 other comics that perform 30 standup shows in 30 days. They travel across the US in a couple of buses from Los Angeles to Chicago.
At first I was worried that Vaughn would be the entire film but it’s really about comedians Bret Ernst, Ahmed Ahmed, Sebastian Maniscalco and John Caparulo. Each of them has a style of comedy that is unique and very funny. You’ll bust a gut when you watch this.
Aside from the performances there are some wonderful personal stories behind each comic. We get to meet their parents and find out where they’re coming from. We also gain a little insight into what drives a lot of their routines.
There are a few rough spots in the film that just feel awkward. They don’t fit. They’re nice moments (visiting hurricane Katrina victims) but they disrupt the overall rhythm.
I watched this film at Ryerson which looked fabulous in high definition using a Christie HD projector. The sound was also excellent.
Vince Vaughn and the entire cast did a Q&A after the film that was the icing on the cake—entertaining and informative. With a documentary film like this, you always want to know what happens to the main characters after filming. It was nice to hear that each of them is pursuing their dream of performing standup comedy and not waiting on tables. Once this film hits theatres, their job should be a little easier.½
Films are rated from 1 to 4 stars.
Posted in 2006 TIFF and Movie Reviews at 2:46 PM | Comments (0)
Lights in the Dusk (2006)
Lights in the Dusk also focuses on an outcast named Koistinen—a lonely security guard who works nights in Helsinki. Koistinen doesn’t have any friends or family that we know of. He isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer and he’ll do anything for a woman that shows an interest in him.
Koistinen’s is naive, kind-hearted, innocent, a loser. He’s easily duped by a beautiful blonde and set up for a robbery. He’s beaten up several times. His life is a miserable series of injustices.
As depressing as all of this sounds, Kaurismäki has crafted a touching film that retains his trademark style of quirky characters, retro props, vintage cars and live music. ½
Films are rated from 1 to 4 stars.
Posted in 2006 TIFF and Movie Reviews at 5:31 PM | Comments (0)
Borat at TIFF!
This image sums up the excitement and craziness at the premiere for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. I got to pretend I was part of the paparazzi last night.
Borat came riding in on a cart which was pulled by some women from Kazakhstan. The crowd went nuts as he ran around giving ‘high-fives’ to the crowds around him.
Michael Moore spent about 45 minutes on the red carpet talking to the press about his new hair style. I snapped a photo of who I believe to be director, Sir Ridley Scott talking on a cellphone.
More photos of the evening can be viewed at Bombippy Photos.
Posted in 2006 TIFF at 4:56 PM | Comments (5)
BBEdit 8.5 Upgrade
Version 8.5 of BBEdit has 160 new features and enhancements to the interface. How many new features can a text editor have?
To be honest, I won’t use a quarter of the new features but there is always something new that will end up saving me time—improved workflow, better user interface, customizable menus, improved syntax checking.
If you’re still coding websites using Dreamweaver or worse, Frontpage then do yourself a favour and take a look at BBEdit. As the people at Bare Bones Software say, it doesn’t suck.®
Posted in OS X Software at 9:43 PM | Comments (0)
Where the Hell Is Matt?
Imagine being able to travel around the world for free. The catch? You have to videotape yourself dancing like a fool in every country that you visit. That is what Matt did. Watch his video here.
Thanks to “the lovely” for the link.
Posted in Humour at 1:50 PM | Comments (1)
OS X Dictionary/Thesaurus
In most Macintosh applications, if you spell a word incorrectly, it gets underlined in red (you can turn this off). This is part of the operating system. You can right-click (or control-click) on any word to look it up in OS X’s dictionary/thesaurus.
What I didn’t know is that if you simply put your mouse pointer over any word, press and hold the Apple+Control+D keys, a dictionary/thesaurus pops up. Very handy.
Posted in OS X Software at 9:09 AM | Comments (0)
iTunes Challengers
BusinessWeek published a story this morning called Meet the iTunes Wannabes which shows why Apple dominates the market in legal music downloading. Some of the new competition that Apple faces includes Microsoft, MySpace, AOL, Samsung, Nokia.
None of these companies are trying anything new or innovative with their music services. Microsoft is the biggest challenger with its upcoming Zune media player — a weak copy of the iPod at best. None of these companies seems to understand the terms simplicity and innovation. Not that I’m complaining.
Posted in Apple at 12:13 PM | Comments (1)
You are a regular when…
You know you are a regular customer when, the woman in the coffee shop sees you coming from across the street, makes your medium regular coffee and has it ready when you walk up to the counter. Now that, is service.
Posted in Observations at 10:53 AM | Comments (1)
Luck of the draw
You hope for the best when you submit your film list for the Toronto International Film Festival. Sometimes disaster strikes.
Out of 9 films, I received tickets for 3! I had to line up for almost 4 hours and scramble through the TIFF program guide to find 6 new films.
Both screenings of Borat? Sold out. Manufactured Landscapes. Sold out. Panic!
Fortunately there are a lot of great films to choose from (at least I hope they will be great). Here is my revised and final list of films that I will see this year. (Film titles link to the TIFF website).
FRI SEP 8
12:30 PM / Lights in the Dusk (Finland / Aki Kaurismäki)
9:00 PM / Vince Vaughan’s Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights – Hollywood to the Heartland (USA / A. Sandel)
SUN SEP 10
3:00 PM / Pan’s Labyrinth (Spain / Guillermo del Toro)
6:15 PM / The Killer Within (USA / Macky Alston)
MON SEP 11
10:15 AM / Rescue Dawn (USA / Werner Herzog)
TUE SEP 12
11:15 AM / Indigènes (France / Rachid Bouchareb)
3:00 PM / Cœurs (France / Alain Resnais
WED SEP 13
9:15 AM / Mon Colonel (France / Laurent Herbiet)
12:00 PM / Mon Meilleur Ami (France / Patrice Leconte)
I’m going through a French film phase right now. My last four films are all from France. The great thing about TIFF is that you can see films that may take a year or two to arrive in theatres or on DVD. Then again, some of these films may never get released in North America, which makes the festival a film fanatic’s dream.
I’ll be posting reviews of each film as I did last year. If you’re looking for more festival reviews then be sure to check in with consolationchamps.
Posted in 2006 TIFF at 12:04 AM | Comments (5)
Early Picks for 2006 TIFF
Next week is the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. I’m going to be seeing 9 films this year. Here are my preliminary picks.
THU SEP 7
11:59 PM / Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (USA / Larry Charles)
FRI SEP 8
9:00 PM / Vince Vaughan’s Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights – Hollywood to the Heartland (USA / A. Sandel)
SAT SEP 9
3:00 PM / Manufactured Landscapes (Canada / Jennifer Baichwal)
6:15 PM / Indigènes (France / Rachid Bouchareb)
SUN SEP 10
3:00 PM / Paris Je T’aime (France / 18 directors including the Coehn Brothers, Gérard Depardieu, Walter Salles and Gus Van Sant)
TUE SEP 12
3:00 PM / Coeurs (France / Alain Resnais)
7:00 PM / Renaissance (France, Luxembourg, UK / Christian Volckman)
WED SEP 13
12:00 PM / Mon Meilleur Ami (France / Patrice Leconte)
9:30 PM / The Hottest State (USA / Ethan Hawke)
On Monday morning I find out if I have tickets to all of these films. If not, I have to choose some alternates, line up and hope that my second choices aren’t sold out. The joys of TIFF.
Half of the films I’ve picked this year are French. Indigènes and Paris Je T’aime both received good reviews in Now magazine. I’m also looking forward to the documentary film about photographer, Edward Burtynsky called Manufactured Landscapes.
Posted in 2006 TIFF at 11:44 AM | Comments (3)
