The Weekend In Movies: Don't let Mr. Brooks Knock You Up to Death.

Hey, look ma, another addition to my Blog Series! This one is a brief rundown of what's opening in my home town of Victoria, what I'll be seeing, and my thoughts on each. Bonus points if I've seen them already, and in this case I've already seen two!

Mr. Brooks (* 1/2) - Imagine A History of Violence but Viggo's bad guy has an imaginary friend following him around, and, how's this for irony, he's played by William Hurt! This lousy, clunking bore of a thriller picture casts Kevin Costner as businessman by day, killer by night, and also throws in Demi Moore as a rich cop who's out to get him. (Odeon, Silvercity)

Knocked Up (****) -- The year's funniest film -- brought to you by Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin) -- and by far an event film for the summer. Watch the hilarious Seth Rogen accidentally impreginate Katherine Heigl (from Gray's Anatomy). Watch Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann own the film as a bickering married couple. Watch some of the best comedic timing and writing of any film you'll see this year. (Odeon, Silvercity, University 4)

Bug (N/A) -- For some odd reason, Lions Gate didn't get this film to Vic until this weekend, but I'll still be happy enough to check out William Friedkin's new film, which looks equal part spooky (it helps that Mr. Spook himself, Michael Shannon, is cast here) and a lot of fun. Here's hoping! (Odeon)

What else: The Roxy is double-billing Meet The Robinsons and Blades of Glory starting at 7:15. I'll be attending the former as I still haven't seen the latest Disney picture (which got good reviews), but forget the Will Ferrell is Gay Skate Comedy as I could hardly watch it the first time.

What else you could see that's playing this weekend: After The Wedding at the Vic, Hot Fuzz at the Capitol, Zodiac at UVIC Cinecenta, Away From Her and/or Waitress at the Odeon. Failing all of that, how about catching a series of food documentaries at the UVIC international Food Conference this weekend?

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Watanabe says you're picking up Letters From Iwo Jima on DVD this week.

In trying to resurrect my DVD of the Week series (and this whole blog in general), I'm hoping that at least once a week I can pick a movie for you. For those times that you're in a Ballbuster, a Rogersless or Flick Gallery, or wherever you rent the DVD's, and you have no idea what to look for. Well, now you do.

In the trilogy of the best films of 2006, Letters From Iwo Jima stands tall and strong. It is Clint Eastwood's followup to his very good, if not great, Flags of our Fathers which was about a group of Americans involved in the Iwo Jima battle. This film tells from the perspective of the Japanese side and Eastwood has made a war masterpiece that ranks along the works of Kurosawa. It's a bit difficult to compare to other war films, as we really haven't had many stories on Iwo Jima in the past. If anything, it earns comparisons to Das Boot in the way we are given a complex view of war from the "other side".

It also helps that Ken Watanabe gives one of the best performances of last year as the strong-headed general Kurbiyashi. He is also supported by a strong group of characters, all with their own perspective of the Iwo Jima battle, who add to the horrors and the brutal reality of this war of which they lost.

The film is beautiful in many ways. Along with the complex characters and performances, Tom Stern's bleak and dank cinematography adds to the horrors of the situation, and Clint Eastwood's haunting score stays with you days after you've seen it.

This is an unforgettable film that would make a great addition to your collection. Oh, and I don't want to hear any bull about you not reading subtitles. There is no english dubbing, there are instead simple and elegant words along the bottom of the frame to help guide you along this great film.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Return Your Phone Calls.

Well, what do you know, I've been stood up again.

I had plans to have fun with some friends out of town. A friend called about a week ago about us getting together when they arrived in Victoria. I then asked if I should secure two days during the week off, friend said yes, and then I did. This friend promised that night to talk the other night about getting together yesterday (tuesday). I should mention again that I was able to secure two days off in the middle of the week.

Well guess what, they didn't call. Nada. Zilch. I just wasted an entire day sitting here on my ass writing, fixing my computer and watching Gilmore episodes on DVD. I even called once earlier tonight and left a message, and my calling late-at-night rules are pretty lax (I keep late hours). The phone didn't ring. No explanation.

This is something that has been bothering me for a long time and I've went over into the reign of I'm Mad As Hell and I'm Not Going To Take It Anymore. People who don't return phone calls suck, and I am now going to get on your case if you are one of these people. Now, I normally don't use the word "suck" to describe anything (except for when I'm drunk, perhaps), but when I take the time to call someone to connect and I don't hear back from them in less than 24 hours, I consider it being ignored. It's personal. And it sucks, it really really sucks.

Has this ever happened to you? I'm sure it has. You call, their voicemail works, you leave a message and you don't hear back. You then try again a couple of times, but still to no avail. You don't want to overdo it. You wonder why they haven't returned the call. Are they busy? Are they in surgery? You backtrack to wonder if any previous conversation made them not call you back. Is their cell phone dead?

If you have a cell phone, normally the "I'm busy" excuse is bullshit. You ALWAYS have time to return a phone call, when you're walking from one place to another. If you're working, take a moment of rest and pick up the phone. If you're going to be out of town or unavailable to return a call, here's a wacky idea: update your voicemail message to note this. Or even better; if you are the kind of person who doesn't return phone calls, say this in your message!

What makes matters even worse is that I rearranged my schedule for nothing. Since this day was supposed to be about spending time with friends out of town, then they suddenly pull a Claude Rains and I have no idea what's going on. My friends leave for home on Thursday and I don't think I'll be seeing them for another nine months because of this.

If anything, this makes me question who my friends really are. I may not be seeing them in nine months after all.

Oh, and since this blog is normally about movies, er...Go see Grindhouse. Or if you haven't seen it yet and are looking for a good DVD to rent, try the Howard Beale Show. You don't want to not return that guy's call.

Okay I'm done. At least in this opinion I'm not alone.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

The BATMAX Experience!

When I first heard that Christopher Nolan was taking on the Batman franchise a couple of years ago, I was blown away. Batman is my favorite comic book character and I enjoyed the movies -- but didn't adore them -- and it was about time that someone made a REAL film on the Dark Knight. Nolan succeeded in 2005 and Batman Begins was #5 on my list of that year's best films.

The wait for the upcoming The Dark Knight is already a long one, especially after seeing recent glimpses of Heath Ledger easily fitting into the shoes of The Joker. Nolan clearly knows what he's doing, so I have total faith in this film. And now it's getting even bigger.

Scott Bowles of USA Today fame has reported that Nolan will be shooting four segments of The Dark Night in the 15-perf, 65mm IMAX format, one of which includes the entrance of the Joker (which now means I should probably avoid all of the trailers for the film which are sure to reveal these).

Since Warner is a big gambler in the IMAX, DMR blow-ups, do we think that a great step has been taken towards, I dunno, shooting an ENTIRE FEATURE FILM THIS WAY? Or at the very least in the Super Panavision 70mm format, which would also allow cinemas to project this superior, stronger film format and allow easier transfers to IMAX/DMR prints?

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Lazy Sunday Short Ends: Computer a Troublin, New Photo and Pirates BOFFO BOX OFFICE! Because that's all that matters.

Well, Lazy Sunday wasn't much of one, as I was working. An anti-Lazy Sunday if you will.

At your left is a picture that I took from a moving bus on my way into Victoria last weekend. Pictured is a neighborhood gas station near the Dean Park area, where I grew up. The weekly quotes I enjoy to glance at on my ride into town every week.

Prior to that, I had a brief power outage last night and I couldn't get this lousy computer of mine to work properly. Which is partly my fault as this current PC is an absolute mess thanks to years of downloading, writing and burning archives and I look forward to getting it restored -- or possibly replaced -- soon.

Aww, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. You didn't break Spider-Man 3's monetary record, but you came close. Watch as Disney will tabulate the weekend numbers and say it's "The Biggest Pirates of the Caribbean Opening on Memorial Day Weekend Ever!"

And what a sluggish movie it is! Unbelievably overlong at 168 minutes, there were so many zigs-and-zags, far too many characters and pacing problems that had me checking my watch for nearly half the running time. It looks great, of course, and you can never take your eyes off of Keira Knightley, but this was dull and forgettable as Dead Man's Chest was, just in a different way.

Before the film, I was blown away to see that there's an upcoming sequel to one of the worst films of 2004, just in time for the holiday season! Not even the radiant Diane Kruger will get me into the moobyplex for this one.

Already this summer season is a dreary and boring one. Why can't people flock to some better movies in their area instead?

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Fuckin' A, Stuntman Mike!

As excited as I am about the prospect of getting to see Death Proof on its own in a director's cut, in another way I'm a bit saddened to think that the great version that exists as the better half of the Grindhouse experience may be ignored after this comes out. It won't by me, that's for damn sure.

Thankfully, Mr. Snake Plissken agrees. He's in Cannes promoting the director's cut and isn't too happy with the reaction to the film over here. Here's the news feed from IMDB Pro:

Source: WENN

Kurt Russell has warned U.S. cinemagoers [and Canadian s too!] they will regret not savoring the recent Grindhouse movie because there will never be a cinema experience like it again. The double bill helmed by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez aimed to replicate the grindhouse experience of the 1970s by showing fake trailers between the two movies - but the films will be released separately for its European theatrical release after a poor showing at the U.S. box office earlier this year. And Russell, who starred in Tarantino's installment Death Proof, is saddened by the audience's response. Speaking at Cannes Film Festival, he says, "There will be no movies made in the next five years like Planet Terror and Death Proof. These two movies are going to go off with a life of their own, but my prediction is that 20 years from now, you'll want the Grindhouse experience. You won't want them separately. For the full effect, the other experience is something bizarre that I've never experienced before and I like the short version."

I've seen Grindhouse five times. I'm one happy repeat customer, and will go check out the 192-minute, 12-reeler with all the missing reels, scratch marks and watch Zoe the Cat until I get sick and tired of it all (which is a long way's away). I'm more than positive that the director's cut of Death Proof will be great, but we can't ignore what is already there.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Short Ends: Look at the new Look!

As we're about to embark on a weekend of trying to figure out which screening of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 is the least busy (hint: if you're living in Victoria, BC, might I suggest going here this weekend), I thought I'd update and mention the nice new look of the blog which so far I'm enjoying.

Utilizing the new Blogger software, the columns are widened just a bit, there are new tag and link sidebars on the right, and you might have noticed that new banner on the top! I'm still working on THAT as well, so you may see a new one later this week.

(For now, the left-to-right includes me pointing a camera at you, friends of the VIFF group, Fergus The Dog pictured at the beach, dad and me at VIFF together, a wacky shot of myself dancing at the VIFF gala and a shot of my friends at SxSW this spring.)

My new camera is wonderful and I'm still working out some of the kinks. Not every photo I'm taking is flawless but that's understandable given the nature of the beast. Hopefully when the sun comes out later this week I can grab some new outdoor shots for my next Lazy Sunday contribution.

The reopened National Westwood (formerly Mann National, now run by an independent) is playing one of my favorite films, Paris Je'Taime, so if you're anywhere in the area, go line up and enjoy Paris beauty on one of the biggest screens in the world. The place also looks like it's turning into showing art house, foreign and independent, so if it turns out to be successful, then that might take the bite out of it getting redeveloped.

Some funny new updates on Laura's Funny Celebrity blog, and I'm hoping that she puts up a future post on why a particularly famous, former Alcohol Anonymous members probably shouldn't have Svedka Vodka as a sponsor for your next birthday party.

Also, coming soon to efilmcritic is a discussion on why you should watch The Fountain on DVD. Goss, Brian, Rob and myself will all be ordering you to run out and rent it, because you were too silly to miss it in cinemas. You silly bean.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Jay Has Camera.

Well, I finally decided to make the jump.

If you've been talking with me with the past while, you know what I'm talking about. For those that don't, I finally purchased my (hopefully) last digital camera which I have been obsessing over to buy.

It all started with my friend Curtis' Sony Digital Mavica, which got pictures as big as 640x480. Huge, 3.5" floppy drive and everyone looked pasty. I remember being down in LA for a Home Theater Forum convention and literally stealing that thing from him.

For years, I had been taking picutres with a tiny little Fuji Finepix A101 that my lovely and amazing parents got me for Christmas a few years back. Since that number is low, it can kind of give you an idea of its basic-ity. 1.3 megapixel, handled low light really badly and it was embarassing for some indoor shots I took.

(Still, that camera has had its success; for one, the front page of the official website for The New Pornographers contains a nicely drawn graphic of a picture I took at their Vancouver concert in 2005 from that very little contraption.)

Last September, I made a small jump and purchased a nice digital camera, Canon's Powershot A-700. Already obsolete, this 6.0 megapixel camera did beautiful daytime shots, some good night shots but was still a bit tricky on indoor photography, unless you were shooting really up close. Red and orange-eye were also huge problems.

And after months of research, I finally decided to purchase the Canon Rebel XTi, a 10.1 megapixel digital SLR behemoth. The camera usually comes with a 18-55mm lens, but on ordering I said "scrap it" due to negative reviews and ponied up for a 28-135mm IS USM lens, a 75-300mm USM lens and a Wide Angle lens. And also a bunch of accessories that also help keep the camera easy to use.

I think the obsession began at this year's SxSW, where I ran into a guy at the Bill Paxton panel who politely asked me to take a few pictures with Bill. He handed me a Nikon SLR and gave me a few quick pointers on how to use it, but I instantly fell in love with it and knew how to frame, focus and take shots in a matter of seconds. As he talked with Bill, I snapped a few shots of them talking and immediately thought to myself "Jay Man, get yourself one of these damn things!"

It's not like this was my first foray into SLR's, however. I have handled several over the years (Paul Duchart, a actor/photographer friend of mine in Vancouver, has asked me to take shots of him with actors and filmmakers MANY times over the years), and I knew the passion was there, but as I was standing in front of Paxton, I knew I finally had to get a camera like this. And this Canon is much easier to use than you think; it's a breeze to take the shots that you want on auto or manual focus and adapt to different lenses. It's a bit heavier, of course, but I look forward to studying photography and taking better pictures. It's been a hobby of mine for many years and now I finally have a tool that can definitely help down the road.

I'm going to try to have a new little addition to this blog, where I update every Sunday with a new photo I have taken with my Rebel. The series will be called Lazy Sunday in addition to still trying to redesign the blog for easier readability.

(This image at the top is a bit blurry, since it's a reflection of myself in a sliding glass door sitting in my driveway, which is to be installed later this week. I was out on friday morning grabbing tons of shots and thought this one was rather amusing, as well as this one here, a shot of me photographing into my bathroom mirror, which I then mirrored in Paint Shop Pro. Tee hee.)

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Shrek The Third: Most Useless Film of 2007?

Have you ever go to a party you're invited to and not have a good time? We've all had those parties that we go to and just something isn't right about it. Maybe no one is talking about anything interesting. The booze isn't that good. The only people you know are off entertaining others. So you sit there, bored out of your mind, as everyone else is laughing it up.

It's just like those movies you go to and everyone else around you is yukking it up (kind of like earlier this year where I sat in aghast over an audience full of giggling goofnuts at a pre-screening of Wild Hogs) while you sit there wondering exactly what everyone is laughing at.

I'm just not getting it anymore. I've had it with sequels and cash-grab summer movies. I've had it with audiences lining up to see the same shit over and over again while other good films get the chop. At my local 10-screen megaplex in Victoria, NINE of the screens are devoted to sequels while current "lesser" releases like Waitress, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, Paris Je'Taime and Inland Empire (among many others) refuse to even enter the city.

Shrek The Third may go down in my personal history books as the most useless film of 2007. The party where I sat and sulked in the corner. I see no reason for this motion picture to exist other than to rake in an insane amount of money and try to debunk Spider-Man 3's opening weekend. "Will it make more money?", "Will it enter the highest grossing films ever?", "Will that Antonio Banderas cat make the sad eyes again?" (I'll save you $10, he does) are the questions being asked to me by many at work and prior to last night's screening I attended. Who flippin' cares? We're just turning the gears...

Which is not to say that Shrek The Third is downright awful...well, okay, yeah it is. I will admit that I laughed on a few occasions, one in particular where a tricked-out Snow White sings a song directly used from the original classic film. And guess what...no one else laughed.

Why couldn't have a filmmaker used that joke in a completely new film, a new concept? A spinoff movie for the Snow White character, perhaps? Why is it that we have to sequel the crap out of something just to get people out to watch it? The demand for more comedies and less action films in the past few years has worked, but why not the sequels? Why aren't people voting against this by not spending their dollar?

Do people really think that all they want is to see the exact same film, over and over again? It reminds me of that classic Simpsons episode where a new Malibu Stacy doll is brought out onto the market with a new hat. Lisa is quick to point out that it's the exact same Malibu Stacy but just with a hat on it. To which Smithers retorts "But...she has a new hat!" as the exact same Stacy's fly off the shelf.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

When Teenagers Took Over: The IMDB Forums

I'm a subscriber to IMDB Pro, just because it's easier to get around and it has industry contacts. It helps out when I'm covering film festivals, and it's pretty reasonable for a one year subscription. And yet there's just one element of it that exists in both the Pro and regular versions that just irks me...those bloody message forums.

If you've never visited the forums at IMDB...don't. It's basically an endless amount of teenagers and young adults running around to various movie and actor pages giving ignorant, uninformed opinions about the movies that they saw. Many claim to think they are true film fans yet only go see about 5-10 films a year, all of them major blockbuster flicks and seem to be obsessed with box office numbers. It pretty much goes like this:

SuperDisturbiaFan6969: OMG! I saw, like, Disturbia and it was like SO scary i like screamed out soooo much it wasn't funny
AntiMovieLover: you suck it wasn't scary ripoff of rear window ur gay
SuperDisturbiaFan6969: omg beep you i like scared out of pants mmm cookie

I'm sorry, you're not a real fan of film if all you do is come on and whine about how much something "sucked" or all you care about is if Shrek The Third will beat Spider-Man 3 in the box office. I suppose because the place is so under-moderated that all of this garbage is permitted.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon the movie page for Disturbia. I was adding the film to my 2007 Film List and needed a reminder on who the cinematographer was. I don't know why, but I then clicked on the message forum (probably to laugh at the teenagers who liked the film, I suppose) and not only found the same run-of-the-mill, but I also found a few threads on people who had seen the film out of frame and were seeing those "boom microphones" in the frame. "Simple framing error," I thought, "I'll explain it to them and provide a link!"

It's a basic thing, people: depending on how a film was shot, if the film showed a boom microphone or any other piece of camera equipment, the film was run out of frame in the film's projector. I wrote about this and posted a link to a British DVD/filmmaking page that proved everything I said was correct. Yet as much as I tried to explain this, absolutely no one listened and continued to blame the editors and the filmmakers for this "stupid goof", even though editing and filmmaking has nothing to do with it. The projectionist framed the film wrong. This is a FACT, and yet still no one listened.

What is going on here? Since when was someone coming along and TRYING to help understand a situation slammed down on a message forum? Then I realized that with so many people running amok here, threads get bogged down by other, more important threads, and since people have so much to track, they're spending less time about thinking before posting. Either that or they're so in love with their own opinions that they won't let anyone else's in. If that's the case, then why are they even there?

I used to run a message forum for actress Julia Stiles and 3/4 of the battle was closing all the redundant topic headers, booting stalkers and desperately trying to keep people on the topic of conversation. It was a horrible job at times, but nowhere near the scum and awfulness of this place.

If there was a way you set up the forum filter to delete anyone's post under the age of, let's say, 16 or 17, then I'm all for it. Either way, it's time for a change, to either moderate the lousy talk-back of this great website, or get rid of it altogether.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Ladies and Gentemen...THE GIRLS!

And it's all over.

Some of you know that I'm a die-hard Gilmore Girls fan, some don't. I don't know; I really don't discuss the show with many folk, but I do know that fellow efilmcritic cronies Brian, Laura, Collin, Jay Seaver and others are huge fans.

There are other friends who don't share the love; I had a near fifteen minute argument with my friend and editor Chris Parry, live on his Simon Fraser University funded CJSF radio show and Scott Weinberg and I have also lobbed a few arguments back and forth regarding this show, but at least we agree on the Drafthouse.
Whatever the case, this has been a great seven years of quality writing and storytelling. I didn't watch every tuesday night (life gets in the way and setting VCR tapes, Bittorrent and Emule downloads have certainly helped over the years) but today, seasons 1 thru 6 sit on my shelf while I await the time to make a slot for season 7. I'm a completest, you see.

I can't exactly remember where I jumped in. I have this odd knack for discovering shows when they are already in progress (this also happened with my all-time favorite TV show, Freaks and Geeks). I remember seeing various episodes of the Gilmores on our Canadian affiliate, Global, in season 1 and season 2. I liked the show but for whatever reason, didn't make a point to start following.

That all changed in season 3, in my favorite episode where Rory (Alexis Bledel) throws a party for her mother Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and the present is one of the world's largest pizzas. Not only was I totally digging on the referential dialogue and the way one story element led to another, but I also finally began to admire the relationship between parent and child. And as I began to back-track episodes, I became more involved in all of creator Amy Sherman-Palladino's world, from not just Lor and Rory but equally the people that revolved around them, from Kirk to Jess, from Sookie to Lane, and all in-between.

When the show began, Lorelai was finally managing a local hotel and wanted to send her sixteen year old kid to a prestigious prep school. Estranged from her parents, she finally decides to come back and ask them for financial help to send Rory to Chilton Prep School. They accept, but on one condition: that they both attend dinner on friday night to keep tabs on both of their lives. The following seven seasons are all of the stories, up and down, that eventually wound back up right back at that table where they began.

This was more than just an average mother-daughter television show. Gilmore Girls is really about something, about the bonds that two people can make that can last a lifetime. It asks us to follow and understand a woman who had her daughter when she was 16, rejected the silver spoon upbringing of her parents, make a name for herself and for her family and hope that her daughter gets the life that she wants and one she so deserves.

Add to that, the two have connected so closely that they are also friends as well as mother and daughter. The success to the show -- and this is important -- is how Bledel and Graham take these characters, make them work off one another, and let them fly into our hearts. The show was also brilliant in how it favored intelligence, learning and kindness over, well, everything opposite of that.

It is also about the people that come in and out of their lives, some good and some bad. For Lorelai, she had Luke Danes (Scott Patterson), the owner/operator of his own diner. The best coffee cup in town was only a stone's throw away from the house, and it was fascinating to see the world from this perspective. Lorelai had several male suitors throughout the series, but it always came back to Luke, even in the end.

For Rory, she had nice guy Dean, tough as nails Jess, a brief stint with a hopeful Marty and then Logan, who we believed was finally a personality and smarts match until a rushed marriage proposal brought everything down. In the end, Rory is without companionship but she still has her whole life to figure out as it is. That it ends on this bitersweet note for Rory is more than anything the point of her character.

I'll be honest with you...I really don't watch that much TV. I grew up a fat kid on the boob tube and when I moved into my new house, it was mostly DVD's and my endless internet addiction/obsession. But I had my Gilmores and it was something that was in my life schedule, refusing to get out. (I also followed The OC for four years until it was canceled last year. To this day, I still don't know why.) These days it's SNL reruns and late night, and not much else.

I will miss this show, of course, but it was something that was inevitable like all good things. Sure, Season 7 may have had its' brutal start with David Rosenthal at the helm, but it came to a wonderful conclusion with Rory graduating and moving on to a successful job, while Lorelai moves ahead with her life, her Luke and a strong relationship with her parents that took all this time to rebuild.

And if anyone read wayyy back on this blog a few years ago when I couldn't decide on whether I crushed on Lauren or Alexis more...I'm still not sure.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

Short Ends: Broom! Ragweed! Pollen! Mann National re-opens!

I think I need to move. As some of my older posts have stated, I have allergy problems, especially in the spring/early summer when all the dust, broom, pollen and other outdoor terrorizers mess with my system. Oh, I've had my allergy attacks in the past few weeks. NOT fun.

Where would I move to? Well, I'd make a move to a city where it's cinema that just had its tenth anniversary and is moving to a new home in a few months.

Yeah, that would be a good place to move to, wouldn't it? Queso fries and Porky's Pepperoni Pizza while I go nuts watching Weird Wednesdays and Terror Thursdays. Maybe one day.

In other news, the Mann National has surprisingly re-opened (debunking my original article) to show a godawful Zach Braff comedy. But it may not be open for long, as there are rumors of redevelopment for retail, in an area of town that already has enough of it. To which I say...fuck that! Keep the damn cinema open!

Say it to yourself, people: The National Drafthouse. The National Drafthouse....

What else: Goss and myself also are over at efilmcritic.com talking about why you should run out and rent Todd Field's gem of a flick, Little Children. There's also a piece on the end of the Gilmore Girls, but since I still haven't watched the series finale yet (I should be watching my tape tonight after work) I'm being VERY careful on where I surf to avoid spoilerage.

Jason
efilmcritic.com

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