Goodbye National

How bizarre, that I'm choked up about a LA-based cinema that I have never been to. The Mann National is closing tonight with its final show being the 10:10 screening of the alright-picture Shooter.

I wrote an article earlier this week on efilmcritic.com about the cinema's closing (putting on hold my piece on the Austin, TX based Alamo Drafthouse cinemas). There you will find Cinematreasures and Cinematour links to pictures and commentary about the cinemas. I'd fire more links, but I want you to read my article first, silly!

I don't go to LA much (I actually haven't been there since November, 2000!), but I have read many articles, spoke with many LA friends and done much research about the cinema and am very sad to see it close. The closing is also a very important one, as it is symbolic of gala cinemas in larger cities closing because of nearby megaplexes. So while the National is gone in Westwood, you can still go to the Village (which is probably only still surviving because it hosts every second LA premiere) or the smaller Bruin, or head on over to the AMC Century City, the Arclight or the Grove, all of which are swanky megaplexes. Boo.

So if you're reading this and in the LA area, go tonight! I know there will be a bunch of film fans there tonight who are also a bit miffed about this gem of a cinema closing.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Short Ends: Lazy Qualicum Beach Sunday

Yay, I was sick again. After getting back from Austin and then getting a cold, I found myself trying to get back to the swing of things by going to movies, being an extra in a music video (see below post) and working hard again. Allergies kept me from updating this blog (yeah, another excuse, I know) but I've still been keeping busy.

So right now I'm sitting in my lazy jogging pants and my Issac Hayes Badass Cinema T-Shirt, drinking tons of coffee as I'm going between blog updating and talking with the parents. Relaxing in good 'ol Qualicum Beach on a beautiful and lazy Sunday morning.

New reviews on efilmcritic.com: The #1 movie of the weekend, Disturbia, as well as Grindhouse, doco We Feed The World & the godawful Canadian picture Love and Other Dilemmas. I also have an upcoming SxSW review of The Unforseen and the recent Canadian doco Sharkwater.

Also my pal William Goss and myself posted an article on why the North American populace doesn't get the recent, amazing Grindhouse experience. With a underwhelming first-weekend box office take, I am truly saddened that this great experience and love letter to cinema is going ignored by easily led automotons that would rather see Will Ferrell and Jon Heder skate gay and PG-13 horror films than inexplicably play on the first night of South By.

What else: Laura Kyle has an interesting new blog that's worth checking out (it reminds me a bit of Go Fug Yourself). Also, if anyone has thoughts on this kickass new camera from Canon, do let me know as I'm obsessed with getting a new camera prior to this year's VIFF.

I also still have an article on the Alamo Drafthouse experience to be posted this week, a bit delayed due to the fevers and coughing. Hopefully the exposure will help open up a few of these up north. *Cough* Vancouver *Cough*

Until next time,

Jason
efilmcritic.com

I am coming to Muchmusic in June!

Well, I'm an extra who's dancing wildly in the background with a group of fellow aged extras, but I am now in a music video. My first music video, and hopefully not the last.

The local recording group Immaculate Machine were back in town to record the video "Jarhand" for their new album entitled "Fables", which streets in early June. Lead singer Kathryn Calder (pictured) is the niece of The New Pornographer's AC Newman, so she has ties to the NP's and has toured with them in the past.

This three-membered band is certainly an up-and-comer. Not only do the ties to the NP's get them a bit more attention, they just returned -- as did I -- from South by Southwest and no doubt they will return for some performances in the future. They play really good indie rock and it's good to hear that their sound is improving with every new song I hear.

But anyway, back to the video shoot. About 20 or so of us met at the Metro Theatre in downtown Victoria to shoot the video for "Jarhand", which is a fun little tune from the group. We were asked to all dance behind the band in the climactic part of the song. About 10 takes were performed and I was getting redder in the face with each one. Which tells me two things...dancing is fun, and good lord is that food from the Alamo Drafthouse is still taking a toll on me. Back to the gym I go!

It will now be my second time on television. The first was when I was interviewed by a local TV network when my sister came to visit for Christmas in 2004. First local TV, next a music video, and then the world!

Tracks available on their site or on their Myspace page: Immaculate Space

Jason
efilmcritic.com

PS. Sorry, no April Fools jokes for today, although Laura's made me laugh.

Short ends: updating, redesigning,

Hey all,

Over this week I'm going to be attempting to spruce up this Blogger page a bit. Widen the columns, get a few new images going and it make it less standard blogger-ish.

I also have an article going up this week in regards to the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas. In the meantime, check out what my pal Scott Weinberg has to say about the Alamo moving to a new location downtown. I think it's incredible news.

Also, check out the extensive links to your right. It has links to my Myspace page which has a pretty sweet musical jukebox (I did the work of finding music to listen to for ya!). It also has a few other blogs and sites that I like to track.

I used to do websites yet this new 'net stuff confuses me somewhat, so bear with me, or else Kate Mara will have to shoot you.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

A week after SxSW and I'm a bit ho-hum.

(Pictured at right: Erik Childress, Eugene Novikov, Laura Kyle, Eric Snider, Scott Weinberg, Jason Whyte and William B. Goss esq.)

So I've once again let this blog fall by the wayside. With that said, I had a pretty good excuse. I was in Austin, Texas for a week and a few days getting drunk on independent film at this year's South By Southwest Film Conference and Festival. There was also a heavy dosage of music to be had, but I was stuck checking out the films and my only music experience was what I walked by on 6th street.

I didn't MEAN to fall off the face of the earth and not update, but ever since I got back I've been A: Sick and B: In a funk. I got a really nasty cold, probably from one of my three plane rides back. The throat still hurts as I type this. That'll teach me to book my flight on Expedia a bit earlier. But it was worth it, as I had such a wonderful time seeing friends, making new ones and I didn't want the experience to end. Hence, the funk.

But I have to look back on the memories!

In one short week, I:
- Met six of my fellow efilmcritic cronies for the first time. The first was Scott Weinberg at a press screening of Disturbia, then Snider who was stuck in traffic but made the screening a moment or two late, then Goss at the airport, then picked Laura up at her house and finally Erik and Eugene at registration. Until SxSW, I had only slept on Chris Parry's couch for a month and crashed at his house on weekends. How things have changed.
- Saw the funniest film of 2007, Knocked Up, with all of my efilmcritic cronies. One of my favorite moments of the festival was having EFC'er and Mr. Skin representative Erik Childress tap me on the shoulder and say "This is unofficially the greatest movie ever." while we howled with laughter at a Mr. Skin reference in the film.
- Met Bill Paxton (left) and chatted with him for a few minutes about his film Frailty and working with amazing cinematographer Bill Butler.
- Ate my weight in food at the best cinema in the world, the Alamo Drafthouse (which is moving to a new location on 6th street this year!) and even an occasional beer or two. I'll talk more about the place later, but my god do we need one of these in every major city.
- Met everyone from the Cinematical family, from Weinberg to Jette to James. Interesting clan, them.
- Made festival friends in Max, Caren, Jen, Joe, Moises and several others that I was hanging out at screenings with. I was especially jealous of Caren's music hopping and that wristband.
- Listened to Will Goss snore.
- Told Laura I thought she was a knockout in person rather than just on AIM.
- Met the hilarious Jonah Hill from "Accepted" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and told him he was a comedic genius and the world doesn't know it yet, but I do.
- Saw 48 films, sometimes hitting up as much as six films a day. And working on reviews of a good chunk of them as we speak.

MORE PICTURES
PHOTOS BY WEINBERG

More to come...

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Why telling the manager about bad moviegoing experience is sometimes a good thing.

I have this weird addiction to watching the end credits of a movie. I'm weird, or so I've been told. I suppose it's part of my life dedication to watching motion pictures, or that I'm a film critic, or I love listening to the music, or what the film was photographed on...it goes on and on. On my weekly jaunts to the cinema, I also usually have time to do this before I catch my commuter ride home.

It's not a popular opinion, as the current majority of people get up and run out of the cinema as soon as the first credit hits the screen, although I once dated a girl who was also an end credit stickler, so there's a few non-critic folk who also support it (and the fact she works 7 days a week is the reason we're not dating anymore, but that's another story).

The reason I bring this up is because here I was at the Saturday evening showing of the IMAX version of "Happy Feet" at the National Geographic IMAX theatre in Victoria, BC. Sweet theatre, has one of the largest 'max screens I've come across and they do things pretty much on the right side. You can also buy an annual pass for $39 here which takes care of your 'max viewing pretty nicely every year.

So here I am, watching the closing credits for the Happy Feet, killing time before a bus ride home and having a chat with some nearby credit watchers as the credits progressed. The film was on a busy and late schedule, and there was a next show scheduled for just a few minutes afterwards, but the show still had to end.

While the long and Cinerama-style credits for the Feet were on screen, a staffer approached me and asked me if I was staying for the next show. I responded "no" and the folks next to me said the same, to which he then says "Okay well I need you all to exit the theater as quickly as possible for the next show" as he quickly runs to clean up the place for the next show. "No big deal," I thought, "As soon as we're done watching these credits I'm outta here." I still had 20 minutes to kill before walking a block to catch my bus anyway, so five minutes less in the cold works for me.

A minute or two pass, and then the same staffer approaches us and in a strongly aggressive tone, goes "FOR THE SECOND TIME, if you are NOT staying for the next show, please LEAVE immediately through the exit doors." which basically meant that to them, the end of the movie was when "Directed by George Miller" appeared on screen. "I'm watching the credits, I will leave as soon as they're done," I said, to which the staffer somewhat frantically (and carelessly) goes "I'm sorry, but we need everyone to leave so we can get the next show in. We're behind on our schedule". "I don't care", I said, "I'm watching the credits. I paid my ticket price which includes the right to watch them. Back off." The man was still persistent and distracting me, so I finally turned to him and said "Give me a refund. If you're not going to let me stay and finish the film, I want my money back." Then he said something that I never thought any staff member would say. "Well how do I know you're not sneaking in to see the next show?" The current movie was still running, and the next film was a IMAX short which I had just seen prior to Happy Feet. Also, I have an annual pass which gets me tickets to any show I want, so why would I sneak into a show that's already sold out?

I then asked again for a refund on my ticket, to which he offered to let me speak to a manager, which they always do (and wouldn't have been much help considering they were so busy, behind schedule, which was apparently our fault), and I finally walked away from him as he offered me a pass to see another show. At this point, he thought he had won by pushing me out of the theater, but as soon as his back was turned I and the two other folks stopped in our tracks and watched the final bit of the credits as Robin Williams said "Gracias" before we left the theater.

If you're in the theater business, you know that there's some legal on your contract with the studio that says that anyone who pays to see a movie at your theater has the right to watch the film right up until the final studio logo has appeared on screen. If they turn off the movie or ask you to leave, they're in breach of contract with the studio. It's part of the movie. Some of you might think that this is all silly and why I would even bother, but it's part of a growing trend that I've been seeing in cinemas: staff treat customers like cattle and want them the hell out to convenience them and not their patrons, and there are still people who like to stay, enjoy the experience and talk about the movie with others. You may not agree with it, but it's our right and we're sticking to it.

Anyways, I was pissed. As many know, I'm really supportive of good cinemagoing habits and showmanship, and the fact that someone tried to kick me out of the theater before a movie was over and then accuse me of theater hopping was deeply insulting. The folks I was talking with a moment before were also very angry about this. "We love watching the end credits," the man said. "If they wanted to kick us out, why didn't they just shut off the projector?" as we stood in the corner and watched the end of the creds tail out, still thinking we'd have the jerk staff member come and yell at us again.

And here's what you do instead of talking to a busy manager...instead, go home and find a "Contact us" form on a website or find someone in corporate. Which is exactly what I did. I used the feedback form, sent my message and the general manager responded the next day, profusely apologizing about the situation and assuring me that he would speak to the staff member and have their operations manager talk about these policies with their staff, and even said he would follow up in a few days. I was offered a few passes, but since I only paid a few dollars to attend the screening (you pay a small $3 surcharge if you have a pass) I politely declined. The more important thing is that my complaint got to the right person, and it did, and problemo solved.

There are still people out there who care, even in a day and age where everything moves faster and the moviegoing experience is going by the wayside. The customer isn't always right, but don't let staff members rush you out of the cinema just to serve themselves. You're not cattle.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

The rest of the predictions of the 2006 Oscar Nominations

My goodness, the week sure went fast, didn't it? Instead of throwing another dozen articles at you (and I would never get them done in time!) I'd like to focus on the majority of the categories and give you some thoughts about each. For a full list of nominees, point your browser HERE.

Best Picture

It's the year of Marty. Clint had his heyday back in '04, and it seems like it's simply his time to take home the Best Picture bacon. And you know what? It's a great hear to honor him.

Who Will Win: The Departed
Who Should Win: Either The Departed or Letters From Iwo Jima

Best Director:

Marty for 2006.

Who Will Win: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Who Should Win: Martin Scorsese, The Departed

Best Actor:

Who Will Win: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Who Should Win: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Best Actress:

Who Will Win: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Who Should Win: Helen Mirren, The Queen

Best Foreign Language Film:

Who Will Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Who Should Win: The Lives of Others

Best Animated Feature Film:

Who Will Win: Cars
Who Should Win: Monster House

Best Cinematography:

Who Will Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Who Should Win: The Prestige

Best Art Direction:

Who Will Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Who Should Win: The Prestige

Best Costume Design:

Who Will Win: Dreamgirls
Who Should Win: The Devil Wears Prada (because it's, like, about costumes and stuff)

Best Documentary:

Who Will Win: An Inconvienent Truth
Who Should Win: An Inconvienent Truth

Best Makeup:

Who Will Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Who Should Win: Pan's Labyrinth

Best Music Score:

Who Will Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Who Should Win: Notes on a Scandal

Best Song:

Who Will Win: Any of the three "Dreamgirls" songs
Who Should Win: Who flippin' cares? But what the hell..one of the three "Dreamgirls" songs

Best Sound Mixing:

Who Will Win: Dreamgirls
Who Should Win: Apocalypto

Best Sound Editing:

Who Will Win: Letters From Iwo Jima
Who Should Win: Letters From Iwo Jima

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Who Will Win: The Departed
Who Should Win: The Departed

Best Original Screenplay:

Who Will Win: Little Miss Sunshine
Who Should Win: Letters From Iwo Jima

Oscar 2006 Predictions...Best Visual Effects

Moving along with my predictions for the quickly approaching Oscar season, it's time to yak about another techincal category, that pesky award known as Best Visual Effects.

All three of the nominated films are swimming in computer generated effects work which has come a long way even in the past few years. Say what you will about last year's The Fountain, yet that was a film that was end-to-end with in-camera

Best Visual Effects Nominees:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Poseidon
Superman Returns

When the mass majority of people think of Pirates, they think of Johnny Depp, nice locales and an extremely bloated running time. I don't think they'll remember the effects work that went into Davy Jones. As for Posiedon, it will enjoy the fact it was nominated, but there's no way the digital waves and boat will walk away with an award.

Superman Returns has the most thorough visual look, makes flying look easy and uses its computer imagery to forward the story of the real Superman III, and thus will grab the award.

Who Will Win: Superman Returns
Who Should Win: Superman Returns

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Oscar 2006 Predictions...Best Editing

Moving away from the acting Oscar predictions, I'd like to move onto a technical category that most Oscar viewers usually avoid and get up to make a sandwhich at this point. Still, the film editing category is a very important one for without it, these films would all be like Russian Ark, and while that flick was pretty cool, it might get pretty dull if we didn't have editors cuttin' the movies for us.

Who's Up:
Babel
Blood Diamond
Children of Men
The Departed
United 93

Out of all of these films, The Departed stands above-and-beyond. Thelma Schoonmaker, who has knocked back two Oscars in the past, has done so for a reason. She makes the cutting a character in the film, and in Departed she shows a way to connect the story and the characters without showing off. And Thelma does it all; she marries long takes, quick cuts, freeze-frame and even has a brilliant edit where the sound of tires squealing bleed briefly into a scene transition.

As for the rest of the players, Blood Diamond could have USED some editing to get its bloated running time down to something a little more tolerable. Children of Men's genius was all of the long takes the film utilized, but voters may not see that as film editing (even though it is). And United 93's only other nomination (besides Director) will just be that, despite the film somehow capturing all of the mayhem of 9/11 flawlessly.

Babel may upset The Departed for it juggles so many stories and characters, but I still think it will be the year, once again, of Thelma. But I may be wrong.

Who Will Win: The Departed
Who Should Win: The Departed

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Oscar 2006 Predictions...Best Supporting Actor

OR: Will Norbit himself win an Oscar?

Moving along on the predictions for the upcoming Oscars telecast, we now look at the Best Supporting Actor category, and once again there are some bizarre nominations to look at here.

And while I usually don't bemoan the Academy not nominating someone, come on you guys...Jack Nicholson could have easily had a fourth Oscar for his overly violent, racist mobster in The Departed. For shame!

The could-have-been-somebodies:

Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

I think the majority of us were expecting Mr. Murphy to score a nom for his James Brown-lite character in Dreamgirls, and I think he does a good job in the flick. In fact, he and Jennifer Hudson are the best things in the film, and there is a very solid chance that the two of them could be pictured together backstage holding little naked gold statues. I guess voters will have to look away from the fact Murphy just appeared in the $33 million, opening-weekend grossing Norbit which has been getting some of the worst reviews of Murphy's career.

Still, there's not much competition. Jackie Earle Haley did some great work in Little Children and will no doubt make a comeback with just the nomination in tow. Djimon Hounsou is a favorite with the academy (he was nominated in 2002 for In America) yet he's in a film where he co-stars with a great actor also nominated this year for the wrong film. The right film is The Departed, yet will voters go for Wahlberg's foul-mouthed Boston trooper? Many voters will be wondering where Jack is on the ballots.

That leaves Alan Arkin, who gives a real memorable performance in Sunshine and has most of his great work alongside fellow nom Abigail Breslin which voters will remember. It is also his third nomination (the other two were over 30 years ago!) poses the only real challenger to knock Murphy out of the game. Again, Sunshine gives me the impression that is only going to walk away with one Oscar, so this could be the upset. And if he does, Norbit was the undoing after all.

Who Will Win: Eddie Murphy
Who Should Win: Jack Nicholson....but I'll take Alan Arkin

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Oscar 2006 Predictions...Best Supporting Actress

Here is the first in a series I'll try to write about right up to the February 25th telecast of those pesky Oscars we either hate to love or love to hate.

My predictions will be based on my gut feeling, basing it on buzz of the performance, tracking previous awards and...well, I've guessed these pretty well over the years, so what's stopping me now?

I will then choose my favorite from the lot, if anyone cares.

So who's up for this particular award? The nominees:

Adriana Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

It was not surprising to see my gal Cate and Jennifer Hudson grab their noms, but I was surprised to see two noms for Babel and a score for Little Miss Sunshine herself. Young Ms. Breslin would score my vote in the category, as she was the glue to a pretty great road flick.

Cate already won two years ago for her take on Katherine Hepburn and I doubt she will repeat the win two years later for what is still a good performance. Both Barraza and Kikuchi may cancel each other out for their work in Babel, and both parts were somewhat miniscule.


Jennifer Hudson simply has IT right now. She's the hot shit and the academy knows it, and her win at the Golden Globes has her pegged for this award. And since Dreamgirls is lacking the prestigious Best Picture and Director, they may choose to give their top honor to Hudson. OR, perhaps they secretly hate this movie SO much that they may choose to pull a Color Purple and send them home empty handed.

In that case, the primo challenger Hudson has is young Abigail, who, if she wins, will be the second youngest winner to Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon. A LOT of people loved Sunshine and the academy showed their love with four nominations, so this could be the only one it walks away with. Still, it seems Hudson is destined to win.


Who Will Win: Jennifer Hudson
Who Should Win: Abigail Breslin

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Jack says you're buying The Departed on DVD

Well well well,

I did the rare thing for the first time in two months of endlessly selling off my used DVD's...I actually bought one!

I found myself in the corporate conglomerate known as Future Shop (Yeah, and I frequent Cineplex Entertainment theatres and shop at Walmart too...aren't I a hypocrite?) to pick up a limited steelbook edition of The Departed on DVD.

And as some of my pals know, I love this movie to death. It's one of the best of 2006. Not only is it one of Scorsese's best flicks, but it is a story so richly layered with double-crossings, deception, lies and levels of power, and boy does it kick butt with repeat viewings. I normally don't see movies on a repeat basis anymore, but I viewed this mofo THREE times theatrically and have been counting the days until I can spin it on my home playa.

But what else did I see at Fuhrer Shop? A multitude of different editions of this flick:

- The 1 disc, widescreen edition that contains only the feature
- The same 1 disc but in the dreaded full-screen format (do any goofnuts still buy these?)
- The preferrable two-disc special edition featuring interviews and documentaries
- The previously mentioned steelbook edition, which houses same two discs of the SE
- A film only version on Blu-Ray DVD
- A release of the film on HD-DVD with the same special features of the two-disc SE

We're going format nuts! I was amazed I didn't see a Playstation Portable version on the same shelf.

(If you're one of those folks up in the Great White North that don't care for the dredded bilingual packing of their favorite movies on DVD, you'll be happy to know that the Steelbook edition is completely free of french text. Don't be fooled by the english/french insert on the back...it comes off.)

I'm still not that ga-ga over the whole Blu-Ray and HD-DVD format war that's going on right now. They both seem like good formats if you have fully invested in HD, for sure, but who knows which format is going to fold first? Right now, Blu-Ray is winning 3-to-1 in the sales, so I guess that's good for them. When all the dust settles and I feel like replacing my current television, maybe I'll make the jump. But those regular, low-res NTSC DVD's are still pretty hard to resist considering that the $6.88 bin at Wal-Mart is now 2/$10.00.

Oh, and if you do your homework, you can score discs off of Ebay for $1. Just a tip.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

The Oscar Nominations are in, so let's start our annual pissing and moaning!

With the Oscar nominations upon us, the next 33 days until the live telecast where Ellen Degeneres will stutter and make crow sounds will be a mind-numbing endeavor. Why, do you ask? It's the time where the entire internet lights up with disapproval, criticism and negativity over the nominations, to the point where I pretty much just leave the moobynet and go watch some new movies. Also having the Victoria Film Festival in two weeks helps as a distraction.

What is bizarro is how people get wrapped up in the prestigous awards and how personal it all gets. Already I've heard people bitch about Little Miss Sunshine getting so many nominations, Dreamgirls not getting a best picture nomination, "Where's Jack?" and "Is that movie Babel really as good as people say?" Suddenly, everyone's a critic, second-guessing the nominations and think they're the authority on the Oscars.

And you know what? It doesn't fucking matter people. The voting members of the academy nominated these people and these are results of the added up numbers, so it's their fault that you didn't get what you wanted. And even if you did, there's a million people who disagree with you and think otherwise, so nobody wins by endlessly bitching.

Last year was probably the worst year of public reaction when Crash won best picture, and all of a sudden the film was a veiled piece of shit that was hated by the general populace. It made Roger Ebert's Best of 2005 list, I gave it a four star rating and it had an extremely high critic count on Rotton Tomatoes, but that didn't stop the hatred because (insert film title here) should have won instead.

So perhaps "The Departed" shouldn't win Best Picture. It's a film I love, yet if it does win there will be some weird public outcry because they thought "The Queen" should have won. Or "Babel." In the end, it doesn't really matter what you think, or what I think. Get over it and enjoy the telecast.

I'll soon be posting my list of favorite performances and technical achivements in this blog. These are who I consider the winners in cinema last year. I don't need the Oscars to tell me that.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Why are people afraid of subtitles?

Here's a new one for you movie-theatre etiqutte folk:

So a buddy and I are at a Saturday afternoon show of the ridiculously awesome "Pan's Labyrinth" (which I probably shouldn't have seen on the same day as Clint Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima" because too much cinematic awesomeness can overload your circuits) and see that there's a good amount of people in attendance. Translation: people are here to see two hours of a girl in a fantasy world and are disappointed when it turns out that it's set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War and there's lots of "above ground" activity in the flick.

But anyway, as the previews unspool and the feature begins with the subtitles on screen, an actual conversation takes place between what I assume is a father and son behind me:

Kid: Is this movie subtitled?
Dad: No, it's dubbed.
Kid: How do you know?
Dad: When they start talking it'll be in english.

And then, the movie begins and they're talking in Spanish. Immediately I thought the two were going to get up and walk out of the theatre, which I have witnessed in the past. What I also didn't get is why the dad dismissively said that the movie was dubbed because that practice hardly EVER happens anymore (remember Pinocchio?) and the advertising, theatre marquee and common sense would tell you that this film is in its original spanish language with english subtitles. I also heard an audible groan come from the back of the theatre where several teenagers were in attendance (was "Stomp The Yard" sold out downstairs?).

I have never understood why people are so against seeing a movie if it's in a foreign language and can read subtitles. You can read this, right? Well then, you can read subtitles. Like anything else, you get used to it and it's not a problem for the rest of your life.

Perhaps it's because I see over 100 movies at the Vancouver International Film Festival every year and over two-thirds of them are subtitled that I question why anyone who can read would have a problem reading subtitles. Still, if you won't see a film because of this, you're an idiot. Think of all the cinematic experience you can have just by reaching out there and not going for the typical megaplex blockbuster, but "nooo, there are like words 'n shit on the screen...somebody find my "Pirates of the Caribbean" DVD dang nabbit!"

I should also mention that KIDS WERE AT THIS SCREENING. For a 14a movie (US folk: that's like your PG-13, but you have to have an adult with you if you're under 14 unlike the "All ages admitted" moniker of the American rating) that is wall to wall with explicit gory violence and violent imagery. But you know, they see a young Spanish girl on the newspaper ad in the foreground and a costumed creature in the background...that can't be bad for kids at all, can it?

Jason
efilmcritic.com

The Iphone and the question of why people are so obsessed with Ipods.

I was reading an article on the bus today about the Itunes new thingy-majig, the Iphone. I had heard about it weeks ago, said "Hey I'll be getting that...NOT!" to myself and changed the channel to Jon Stewart. But reading the article made me curious about what the heck is the deal with this infernal racket that is nearly a year away from release in Canada.

Ladies and germs, the Iphone (tm.) It's your Ipod and your phone all rolled into one so you don't have to, like, have more gadgets. But what if I LIKE gadgets?

(Which is kind of what cell phones are doing right now. Rogers Wireless in Canada recently released a 4gb phone along with all the annoying texting, crappy digital photos, slow email downloads...oh and it also makes and receives telephone calls. Almost forgot to mention that.)

And I don't care. Why? Because, dammit, there's nothing wrong with having your phone and MP3 player as two separate things. I never grew up thinking "Man, if only this portable CD player had a phone attached to it!" There's an MP3 player in my Motorola cell phone (don't call me a hypocrite, let me finish), yet I never use it (see?)...the headphone jack is a different size than your usual headphones and they sound like garbage.

And besides...why in god's name would anyone want to fiddle with an Ipod, Itunes and all their propietary content when you can have something beautiful, compatible and user friendly like the Creative Labs Zen Vision M? From my Xmas bonus last year, I had no qualms about plunking down $300 to be the proud owner of an MP3 player is everything that the Ipod Video is not.

Let's run down the list on why you're stupid for buying an Ipod:

- Creative lets you easily transfer MP3's or WMA files even from a backed up DVD-R, so no worries about having to leave a copy on your hard drive. Just drag and drop the files. Easy peasy. Also, you can rip CD's in only a few minutes, which is groovy. Ipod makes sure that all your files are MP3 files and they have to stay on your computer, in the same folder, otherwise Itunes gets angry and explodes.

Creavite:1, Ipod: 0.

- Creative allows you to store XVID's, wmv video and various other video formats on your player, and they play back at a pretty colorful and clean 640x480 resolution. Ipod only does 320x240, has a washed out screen and only supports .mp4 video, so have fun on converting.

Creative: 2, Ipod: 0.

- My Creative has a wallpaper of my dog Fergus (and if Fergus isn't your thing -- how dare you! -- how about one of their 10 colorful skins?)while Ipod's screen stays the same from when you purchase it. Boo to the Pod!

Creative: 3, Ipod. 0

- Buying cases and screen protectors for the Zen M are a bit harder to come by, but once you hit Ebay you'll be amazed at how reasonably priced they are. Apple doesn't do cheap.

Creative: 4, Ipod: 0.

- Creative's a bit heavier but is less prone to snapping than the newer, slimmer Ipod Nano's. The 80gb 'pods are quite durable though and with a good case, should stay that way.

Zen M: 4, Ipod: 1

Tip: once you make the switch to the Zen Vision M (and you will), you may want to keep Itunes for their Podcats. Simply open up the directory file where you keep your Podcast files and drag and drop them into the Zen. Zen'll let you. It's cool like that.

(Before you yak at me by saying my Zen Vision is 60gb and your Ipod Video is 80gb, think about the fact that for a full onslaught of music and the occasional video...that's no difference. I'll never run out of space and neither will you.)

That is all. Earth's still weird.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Laura is funny and where is Goss? Ramblings.

Laura's a funny girl and Goss is nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, Weinberg is at Sundance and I'm not. That sucks.

Letters From Iwo Jima is one of the very best films of 2006. If you're not seeing it, you're probably seeing Night at the Museum so you should probably see this instead.

Earth is weird.

That is all.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Holy shit, is he blogging again?

Yeah, I dunno.

You ever have one of those days where nothing gets done and you wander around aimlessly, both literally around the room and inside your own head? Instead of doing a movie marathon today, my toilet backs up, I break the lid when trying to fix said toilet, I run out of food, then barely watch two movies, catch up on email and then have several conversations on IM, not ONE of them with Goss, which is even more strange.

Just finished watching "Dreamgirls" and dug it a bunch. What the trades have been saying about Jennifer Hudson is true. This is her flick and she's flat out amazing.

So what I'm going to try to do is have a quick post at least once a day so those who care about me can read my thoughts from time to time. The blogosphere is still 'raging a strong and might as well get back on the wagon. I also may update that "Ten Hottest Actresses" list as I have many more to talk about.

That and Laura told me to. I also felt like posting an image of Gromit. Because i can.

Talk soon!

Jason
efilmcritic.com

The 10 Hottest Gals working in the Movies right now..says me.

I don't know why, but I feel like posting a blog entry -- my first on here in ages -- about current women in film that have stirred the Jay Man's interests. No, this is not a "Chicks I Want To Bang" list (although I wouldn't turn any of them down) but rather a look into my mind at the ten lovliest gals that are in my attention span at this moment in time. This isn't THE most accurate list, but rather a look at 10 ladies, some big in the biz, some small, but ones that all have my attention. Without further ado...


#1. Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth, The Gift, The Aviator, Lord of the Rings): I first fell in love with My Gal Cate when she came onto the stage at the Golden Globes in 1999 to accept her much-deserved award for her flawless performance in "Elizabeth". I loved the film, loved her and didn't think much of her actual beauty until The Cate made her way onto the stage. I just...sat there, in awe at how perfectly gorgeous this woman was, and I've been in love ever since. Simpe

Since then, I've seen (nearly) every film she's appeared in and been absolutely blown away by her craft. She can do anything, and I love her for that. :)


02. Eva Green (The Dreamers, Kingdom of Heaven) If you've seen The Dreamers, you know why she's #2 on this list. If you haven't, a simple Google search of the ladies' name will turn up select pictures to show you why. The part-French-part-British lass exudes sexiness in every inch of her frame. I've been a fan of blondes forever, but I have no problem with her brunette locks, her healthy curveature of a frame or those pouty lips that challenge Angelina. She's channeling Anna Karina circa 60's Godard....do you see a problem with that? Exactly. Oh yeah, and as my friend Bill agrees, she has the most perfect breasts I've ever seen.

03. Elizabeth Banks (Heights, Catch Me If You Can, Spider-Man 2) You're probably wondering who the hell this is, but you may recall back in 2002 when the trailers for Catch Me If You Can hit cinemas, you saw this young angelic face react strongly to Leonardo DiCaprio's wanting to take this bank teller out for a steak dinner. I thought she was cute when I saw her in the movie, but it was not until Chris Terrio's recent film Heights where she plays an Uber-gorgeous New York photographer with an estranged husband (played by James Marsden). What strikes me about Elizabeth is that she seems simulteanously shy about her beauty yet confident and strong at the same time. It's as if you were to tell her that she's gorgeous, she'd blush, but deep down she'd know it.

04. Camilla Belle (The Ballad of Jack and Rose, The Chumscrubber) Okay, first things first: Camilla be 18, so spare me the emails. I WILL say however that Camilla was so fucking wonderful in The Ballad of Jack and Rose that she shot about two years ago as the daughter to Daniel Day Lewis (getting to act next to THAT guy must have been a challenge alone!) and was underage then. I haven't seen anything quite like her before; this part Brazillian beauty can look quaint and shy in one scene and then become totally alive with sexuality in the next. Her look has changed somewhat in the last few years, almost to the point where you can't tell the Rose apart from her picture on the right, but I'm not complaining. The girl is very Belle.

05. Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham (tie) (Gilmore Girls; Alexis - Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, Tuck Everlasting; Lauren - Bad Santa, Sweet November) Ah, my girls du Gilmore. I've been having this argument with several of my GG pals both online and in the real world, and we all have troubles deciding whether we like Lorelai or Rory more. Graham exudes smart and edgy beauty and looks like somebody you could have a long conversation with even after a long day at work, and Bledel's amazing blue eyes ("And, like, OMG, she was the perfect Lena!') and porcelain features are pretty flawless. Not to mention that even though she's modeled for years, she refuses to have the Kate Moss figure and actually has SHAPE. Both are amazing in their own ways, so how the hell can you choose which one is the better? I guess this is the only decision I can come up with at this point: threesome.


06. Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Ghost World, Girl With A Pearl Earring) Yeah, I know, for a list like this, I have the standard pick of Ms. Scarlett on the top 10, but hey, she's pretty gorgeous and to this day I'm still trying to figure out how someone gets such a perfect pair -- my efilmcritic.com editor Chris Parry calls them "gravitationally impossible" -- such as the ones featured prominently in the picture to my and your right. (Elisha Cuthbert, an "almost" on this top 10, is another example. Really, HOW?) With the major exception of Michael Bay's turdmonkey The Island, she's also a pretty darn good actress and at this rate should get herself a pretty major award at some point. Just stay away from Bay, Stephen Sommers, Lee Tamahori and Nora Ephron and the scripts of Avika Goldsman and all should be dandy.

07. Kristin Kreuk (Eurotrip, Smallville) The 2005 edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival is up and coming, and here's hoping that I actually get to run into this gal this time, a gal with such a curious, original look that has captured far too many Smallville fans as well as made the "Scotty Doesn't Know" song just a bit funnier. I've come so embarassingly close to meeting Kristin past two years; in 2003 I went to the post-screening Q&A of My Life Without Me ... to meet Sarah Polley (At least THAT was a successful meeting) all to find out later that Kristin was in attendance and had left a few minutes earlier. In 2004, she attended the same pre-fest party that I did, but apparently only hit the party for 10 minutes -- the same 10 minutes that I was obviously at the other end of the room talking with local filmmakers and actors like Laura Bertram and Kevin Sorbo. Boo. 2005 will be my year.

08. Jane McGregor (Slap Her She's French, Flower & Garnet) Okay, so I really, really like Vancouver-native Jane McGregor (and, unlike Kristin, I have met her in person once), but I haven't actually liked a movie she's appeared in. She was flat out funny in Slap Her, She's French (which eventually did get a release by ABC earlier this year with the film retitled She Gets What She Wants) although the movie itself was a big pile of turd, and her other lead performance in the B.C. made Flower & Garnet was solid...but in a bad movie. Guess I'll have to write a part for her..

09. Emily Mortimer (Lovely & Amazing, Young Adam, Dear Frankie) I love Emily. She's such a beautiful, amazing actress both in her work stateside (especially in Lovely & Amazing, left, where her infamous nude scene was so powerful it made me watch the sadness in her face instead of glaring at her nakedness) and back home in England (Dear Frankie) that I always look forward to what she's up to next. She has no problem baring all for the camera either. :)

10. Isla Fisher (I Heart Huckabee's, The Wedding Crashers) Yeah, I liked Wedding Crashers too, but Isla was already on the radar after brief bits as Uber-hot sidekick in Scooby Doo to Naomi Watts' replacement in I Heart Huckabee's. That said, her riotously funny performance in Crashers showcases not only her cute side, but shows a funny bone as well and has made her a quick star in the process. Her Gloria measures 5 foot 3 compared to Vince Vaughn's 6 foot 5 but it doesn't matter; in one classic scene she tells her new beau Vaughn never to leave her, or else "I'll find you!" which is finished with a flawless laugh complete with crazy eyes.

MORE COMMENTS FORTHCOMING:

Hottest Bad Actress: Jessica Alba
She Ain't 18 Yet: Blake Lively, Evan Rachel Wood
What Was Once Is Now Gone: Lindsay Lohan

Oy, vey, they quoted the Jay Man!

The second quote down is from my efilmcritic.com review of "Siblings", a dark Canadian comedy, which I covered at last year's Vancouver International Film Festival. What's funny is that NO ONE from TVA, who is putting out the film, or the publicist for the film (who is otherwise a VERY cool gal, so she's still fine in my books) let me know that this was going up.

Very cool, no?

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Headaches suck....and what not

Headaches suck...

Yeah, I have not made an update to this blog in ages because life just happened. Don't you hate it when that happens?

Lately I've been getting a bit back into the Blog Groove. I stopped updating my 2005 Film List at the Home Theater Forum and instead posted it at 2005filmlist.blogspot.com, where I can still update it whenever i can and it still looks pretty.

Right now, just fighting off a bit of the caffeine withdrawl after being drowned in it while up at the parent's over the long weekend. Ack. I normally never drink the stuff, but their coffee is SOOOOO good. :)

I'll hopefully be back later with some more entertaining commentary. Until then...

Jason
efilmcritic.com