Film Daily
February 2: Thats right, woodchuck-chuckers – it’s GROUNDHOG DAY!
I’ll give you a winter prediction: It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.
January 7: Coming soon… my review of Land of the Lost and you will definitely want to stick around to read that one. Currently working on one for Inglorious Basterds. No, not the 1970s picture, Inglorious Bastards, try not to get them confused. Tarantino solved that problem by spelling bastards the wrong way, see. Clever girl.
January 4: What better way to start off a new year then with a month full of vampire films? One of my favourite films from TIFF ‘09 Daybreakers is finally having it’s wide release on January 8th, and to celebrate how awesome that film is, I’ve dedicated the entire month to vampire films. And as always, I have included old films from the 20s and 30s so you can see the progression of the vampire lore on film. Don’t expect to see Twilight any where near my recommendations because that would be just so wrong. If you want to see real vampires just keep checking the screenings this week page, or watch True Blood (aka one of the best shows ever).
Happy viewing, and don’t forget to sleep with the light on, and a little garlic by your bedside.
December 29: All of the Christmas movies I could recommend are up. Stay tuned to see what next month’s theme is. And I no longer want to see Nine. I just saw Chicago and was severely unimpressed. It’s not a musical in the true sense of a musical where the diegetic world the characters live in is filled with song and dance to express their emotions and actions. Instead Chicago’s music (and what it looks like is the same for Nine) relied solely on the delusions of grandeur from Roxie Hart – the music exists solely in her own thoughts/world. There were only two real musical numbers in the diegetic world of the film but the rest of them were all conjured up in the mind of Roxie. Which is lame. It was more like a film with musical number, after number rather than a musical story. I have no idea why that film won so many awards, but I can guess it’s because as always Rob Marshall used the old “razzle dazzle ‘em” technique to blind us with sparkles and lights from the true weakness that his film is. And it must have worked. And it seems to be working for Nine. But it will not work on me. I think I will take Roger Ebert’s advice (he’s the only critic I like) and just go watch 8 1/2 instead. You should too. Unless you actually liked Chicago, then go ahead and see Nine but don’t ever come back here. Perhaps Rob Marshall is not as great a director as everyone thinks he is.
December 18: I kind of wanted to see Up in the Air but I keep seeing trailers for it and it seems like the studio is really pushing the film so now I am a bit annoyed and have lost some interest in it. I hate mass marketing of films. I see more trailers for that than I do for Nine. Plus, Jason Reitman really bothers me. I can’t explain why. He’s just one of those people.
December 8: I’ve been MIA but finally updated the screenings for the end of November. So check the archives if you want some recommended war films. December is the month for films that I like to watch during Christmas so keep checking the whole month to see what I’m posting.
What films are you looking forward to? Here are my picks: Fantastic Mr. Fox, Everybody’s Fine, The Road, Nine, Ninja Assassin, Did You Hear About the Morgans?, It’s Complicated, Sherlock Holmes, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, A Single Man
November 13: Finally, I put up reviews for Zombieland, The Informant!, and a scathing one for The Watchmen. Wanna read em? Go ahead. Make my day.
November 3: So, Russian film month is over but never fear you can now look forward to a month of recommended World War I & II films. There are so many great ones that it’s going to be hard to pick just a handful but I will pick what I think are the films that stand out and the ones that are a good starting point for war films (should you wish to watch more).
October 7: All of the films I saw at the Toronto International Film Festival have been reviewed and posted.
October is Russian films month so keep checking the screenings section each week for recommended Russian films. I have picked ones ranging from the 1920s to the present, so enjoy!
September 29: This is the last week for the Zombie Films month, and as I say in the recommended screenings section of the site, a perfect way to top off the month is a visit to the theatre to see Zombieland. I know that’s where I’ll be.
September 23: I’ve been busy seeing films at the festival and writing the reviews, two are done so far and six more to go. This weeks’ recommended screenings are foreign zombie films that you should all check out – especially Tokyo Zombie!
September 15: So far at TIFF I’ve seen Daybreakers and Survival of the Dead. Both films were really good but I think I may have liked Daybreakers more than Romero’s zombie film. Reviews will be up soon, maybe by the end of the week if you’re lucky.
September 9: The review for District 9 is now up, so go read it and see the film!
Happy Beatles day!
September 7: Check out this week’s zombie films I’m recommending – according to zombie enthusiasts they’re classics with classic directors.
Also, the Toronto International Film Festival is gearing up. Tickets are already on sale so if you’re in the Toronto area try to see some films! I always go for the films that will not usually be in local theatres, which means they are usually foreign films. Sadly, there is a lack of world cinema in most theatres but at least there are film festivals to make up for that.
I saw District 9, finally. I will be posting my review today or tomorrow whenever I get around to it – that was one helluva suspsensful film. One of the best I’ve seen in a long time.
September 1: George Romero’s newest zombie film Survival of the Dead is premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival. So, in honour of his increasing originality and commitment to the zombie genre September is officially zombie films month. Because really, no one can make a zombie film like he can without making it campy or lame. Check out the screenings this week page for recommended viewings.