Thank You!!

Big huge fat thank you to everyone who showed up at Evil Film School's FREAK OUT last night. It was one of our best turn outs ever (I almost broke even!) & really helped renew my dedication to this project. Wasn't Skidoo so much better than you expected?

Hope to see all of you at our next event May 26. Details to follow.

~meeko

Reminder: Evil Film School This Thursday!

Hey Everybody!

Just wanted to remind y'all that Evil Film School's "Freak Out" is happening this Thursday @ Blim (197 E. 17th @ Main).

Doors: 7pm
Movies: 7:30
Admission: a mere $5

For more info go to www.evilfilmschool.com

Sorry This Isn't A More Substantial Post...

But I'm all for flighty distraction right now.




Your theme song is Groove is in the Heart!


What's Your Theme Song?

Brought to you by Tickle

(Note: This test was recommended by a friend. I didn't realize it was a dating site at the time.)

Movies I Watched Instead of Writing Part 13

The Demon Seed [1977] -- When the words "Based on a Novel by Dean R. Koontz" came on screen, we should have taken that as the warning it was meant to be. But no, it had Julie Christie in it. She was a classy actress, wasn't she? While watching her performance I had such trouble believing this that I actually had to get up and check IMDb to figure out what she had been in. Guess Doctor Zhivago had been a long time ago by the time she got involved in this mess. The physical manifestation of the computer was pretty cool, but the "social/political" overtones that others have sited are not only dated but half-arsed. Right up there with Orca.

The Entity
[1981] -- Way creepier than it had any right to be, likely thanks to the fact that it was based on a true story. Obviously certain things had been changed to make it more marketable, like the stupid ending w/ all the 'splosions, but when it was just trying to be spooky, it was a damn good scary movie. Ron Silver was perfectly typecast as the obsessive psychiatrist and Barbara Hershey gives a solid, sympathetic and engaging performance. Highly recommended.

Sympathy For Lady Vengeance [2005] -- Beautiful, lyrical, sick... Seriously dood, what more do you want from a Park Chan-wook movie? Yeong-ae Lee was surprisingly good in the lead, despite her tree-like performance in J.S.A. While still true to the whole "vengeance trilogy", it does have a distinctly "feminine" feel to it, which is odd since no doubt Park Chan-wook is considered a "male" director in North America because of the violent content of most of his films to this point. Elegant and epic. Also highly recommended.

Capote [2005] -- After waffling for a few years there, Philip Seymour Hoffman is again on my list of potential sires for my illegitimate love-child. A stirring portrayal of the breakdown of someone wracked with guilt over his own confused motives. An important film for writers I'd say. And of course, Chris Cooper, Bruce Greenwood & Catherine Keener are fabulous in supporting roles.

16 Blocks [2006] -- Fairly standard action/buddy/cop movie that gets derailed by a few too many endings. It was nice to see David Morse as a bad-guy (he's so good at it) and Mos Def is quickly becoming one of my faves, despite spending most of the movie doing what seems like his best Chris Tucker. Bruce Willis was practically a non-presence due to his efficiency as the drunken washed up cop, and part he seems to be able to play in his sleep at this point.

Block Party [2006] -- Funny, inspiring & humane. An important concert film and an eye-opener for people like myself who had never developed a taste for rap music. But really, with Dave Chappelle & Michel Gondry working together, how could I not like this movie?


Re-Animator [1985] -- Jeffrey Combs, also in the running for sire of my illegitimate love-child. I spent much of the film clapping my hands and squealing like a five year old at Christmas. My friend described his performance as "a special effect unto himself". Seriously, why has it taken me thing long to see this movie? I am going to dig up every scrap of Stuart Gordon I can find (bearing in mind that I have already sat through Robot Jox & Fortress).

The Squid & The Whale [2005] -- Devastating, beautiful, honest. And very, very funny. Not a good movie to watch if you're in the middle of a break-up though. Jeff Daniels gives a brave performance as a thoroughly unlikeable character. And the little kid, Owen Kline, is amazing (then again, what do expect from the spawn of Kevin Kline and Pheobe Cates?)


Next Stop Wonderland [1998] -- Intelligent, hopeful indie-romantic comedy of the sort I used to watch all the time with my sister. Neither of us could figure out how we'd managed to miss this one. Hope Davis' character is an inspiration and it was nice to see Callie Thorne in something other than Homicide.

Concert Review

Went to the Narduwar Doot Doola Doot Doot DVD release party last Tuesday, so being that it's been a full week since I actually saw the show, I figured I'd finally post a review of it. Luckily, Chart Online beat me to it, so I'm gonna be lazy and link to their review since I don't have much to add, except that I did have to pat myself on the back for not humping Chris Murphy's leg when I was sharing Nardward stories with him (oh god, did I just out myself as a Sloan fan? I think I did). Oh, and the theremin lazer battle was beyond rad. Even though Beej was dying of a cold he nearly jizzed in his pants when he heard that ethereal hum. A little sad there weren't more people dancing, but they did it in the movie theatre at UBC, and it is Vancouver afterall.

Canada's Oscars!!

The Genie Awards happened last night, and not surprisingly Quebequois film was first and foremost with sleeper hit C.R.A.Z.Y. taking away the most statues. I think it played in Vancouver for about 15 days. The rest of the winners are listed here.

Interesting that Global opted not to broadcast the actual ceremony since last year too many people made acceptance speeches in French only. Can they help it if their movies are interesting and make money?

Otaku Alert!!

Do you have a lot of time to kill? Like, A LOT of time?! Then go here and you too can have your own Dream Avatar. Exciting!

(Eva, I don't know whether to kick or kiss you.)

And the Winners Are...

Since I posted about the Alternative Oscars, I figured I might as well run down the winners as well.

Best Picture: Transamerica
Best Director: Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know)
Best Actor: Felicity Huffman (Transamerica)
Best Actress: Laura Linney (The Squid & The Whale)
Best Supporting Actor: Jeffrey Wright (Syrianna)
Best Supporting Actress: Thandie Newton (Crash)
Best Canadian Feature: Water
Best Non-Human Actor: Penguins (March of the Penguins)
Worst Picture: Dukes of Hazzard

Movies I Watched Instead of Writing Part 12

Brokeback Mountain [2005] -- Finally decided to check out what all the fuss was about. While it was very pretty and well acted, I have to admit it didn't really do that much for me. The fact that I was bloated from too much Chinese food couldn't have helped, but I found the story too simple to really move me in any significant way. I'm still trying to figure out why Syrianna wasn't nominated for best picture...

The Weatherman [2005] -- Really well made, beautifully shot, acted and written movie about mediocrity that goes... nowhere. I sort of enjoyed the non-ending, and Nick Cage & Michael Caine were really funny, but my God, couldn't anything good happen in this movie? I really liked it and I'm glad it was made, but I understand why it didn't make a red cent. Who wants to spend $12+ to sit through 2 hours of someone else's crappy life? I'll recomend it, but be warned, it's a downer.

My Wife is a Gangster [2001]-- Not nearly as goofy as I'd feared, it's more a comedy of manners in a lot of ways. At least, that's when it seemed to work best for me. Eun-Kyung Shin is excellent as the reluctant bride and her sense of movement and deadpan delivery make what could have been another tedious wacky Korean comedy suprisingly entertaining. I kept thinking about what an American remake would be like and the only word I could come up with is "awful". What was a charming dissection of gender roles in a country that's still getting used to the idea of women in the work force would be reduced to a lame vanity piece for a washed up starlet and whatever Hollywood Roadkill was still hanging around.

Criminal Woman: Killing Melody [1973] -- Predictably plotted, but well paced entry into the "Female Boss" subgenre of Pinky Violence that doesn't lack blood or boobies. It also opens and closes with a Reiko Ike/Miki Sugimoto cat fight, which frankly sold me right away. Reiko Ike is at her bitchy best, and while Miki is mostly relegated to pouting and looking hot with a full back dragon tattoo, seeing the two of them together in something that makes more sense than Sukeban Guerilla was a perfect birthday treat. And Ryoji Hayama from Bloody Territories is in it too!

Of Movies and Men

So, a couple of years ago the Washington Post posted an article about the enduring legacy of the movie Sixteen Candles and the character of Jake Ryan in particular. I found this very amusing since, while I never really did understand why so many women would obsess over Mr. Ryan, my sister was a big fan of Sixteen Candles and could be counted amongst their ranks (to the point where I had to get her this t-shirt when I found it in L.A.)

Well, this year they posted a companion piece, this time about a movie crush I could relate to: Say Anything's Lloyd Dobbler. Now, while my sister can also count Mr. Dobbler amongst her fantasy crushes, I think the fact that I just don't get the whole Jake Ryan thing brings up some interesting points about what these sorts of things say about our personalities.

The protagonist of Sixteen Candles, Samantha Baker (Molly Ringwald), basically spends the entire movie complaining about how no one ever notices her and how her whole family managed to forget her sixteenth birthday. My sister, being the middle child, can no doubt relate and for many years honestly believed that bad things were destined to happen on her birthday (it also didn't help that bad things did have a habit of happening on her birthday, but that also depends on you definition of "bad things").

The protagonist of Say Anything, Diane Court (Ione Skye),is a bookish golden girl who has a hard time believing guys find her attractive. Now, while I don't suppose myself to be nearly as smart and gifted as Diane Court, I certainly was a bit of a nerd in highschool.

Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) is, to borrow a phrase, "perfect" (personally I find him boring as hell, but that's me). He's rich, good looking, is kind to those lower than him on the social ladder and he drives a bithin' car. My sister's boyfriends, in general, have come from good families, been good dressers and almost all had cars that they could drive her around in.

Lloyd Dobbler (John Cusack) is aimless, neurotic, and totally devoted to Diane. My boyfriends, in general, have been loyal and awkward, with a penchant for wearing hightops and or trenchcoats.

I'm not really sure where I was going with any of this, but I guess what I'm getting at is that all this pop culture crap that we latch onto really does have a bearing on our personalities. Whether the crap shapes those personalities, or whether our choices in crap are influenced by pre-existing predilictions is hard to say as both films were a part of our formative years. But it matters none the less.

So, out of curiousity, where do you stand? Jake or Lloyd? (Boys can comment too...)