(Baileys + Friends)x 7.4 = Good Holidays

Almost New Year's so there is still time to sneak in a few matinees if you plan it right. Yesterday my father-in-law and I decided to take a break from the Baileys and chocolate Bark to catch Valkyrie. 

This was a solid three out of five "pops" on the movie scale. Good performances all around in a star studded cast, costuming and set design were intricate and engaging, and all of this in a very compelling story.  This episode from WWII is something more people should hear about. I and my Father-in-law were both familiar with the story surrounding the final assassination attempt on Hitler's life in 1944. Due to our prior knowledge the film lacked a certain level of tension  that would have made the film a little more thrilling.  Even though the film is a real collection of talking heads the pace of the movie keeps it moving along briskly. If you have already seen  Synecdoche, New York Valkyrie is not a bad way to wile away a couple of hours.

In home video news...

The true end of the stunted man child films has arrived (of course I have yet to see Role Models ) Step Brothers. If you enjoyed the chemistry between John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights you will love Step-Brothers. This is a truly absurd film that seems to appeal to a wide variety of people I have talked to. A good friend of mine who we will call Lil' Ripper (to protect his anonymity) -who is himself a stunted man child- enjoyed it enough to insist on being called Night Hawk throughout our Christmas vacation together. It is funny and over the top, but the genuine belief apparent on each character's face in what they are doing or saying is enough to convince me to recommend this movie.   

Hopefully when I return to the ranch today we will have the interwebs again and I can maintain this blogging pace.

Happy New Year

Sean

A Nation of Step-Brothers

I hope everything went swimmingly for everyone yesterday and many glad tidings were wassailed your way. In my own case I've had two Christmas so far and am in for one more turkey dinner tomorrow. I know, I know your all thinking in the words of Napoleon "Lucky!". Let me regale you with a lovely piece of home video news. My always thoughtful sister-in-law gifted me with my very own copy of Pierre Perrault and Michel Brault's stunning NFB documentary from 1963 Pour la suite du monde. 

This is a very narrowly focused film dealing with regionalism and changing times. As with most movies that deal with disappearing modes of being/speaking/thinking/doing it is at times a bittersweet experience. Although the lively residence of the Ile-aux-Coudres are filled with a joie-de-vie that provides more sweet than bitter making this film uplifting and joyous in many ways.

The reality of this documentary is a little constructed because at the behest of the filmmakers the residence of the island resurrect an old and abandoned whale hunting tradition. This tradition had lain dormant for years and the younger men of the island had to relearn the process from the older residents who dimly recall the hunts of their youth.

I found this film to be a moving, interesting investigation of part of our nation's past. The spirit and humour evident in this film is a truly enjoyable experience. Seek this out at the Public Library, order it from the NFB, beg your local video store to order it, or if your nice you can borrow mine.

Until next time "Call me Dragon"

Sean

Christmas!!!???

Seasons Greetings from the interweb. Let's get the yuletide business out of the way up front.

Two (maybe three) must sees over the holidays.
1. Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas- Jim Henson creates a vibrant and sweet tale of yuletide spirit plus it has a jug band! Tremendous for all ages.
2. Santa Claus- a non-traditional tale of redemption and temptation from Mexico. Quick synopsis Santa with the help of his good friend Merlin battles the Devil and his minions for the soul of lil' Lupita. Mexican Christmas Madness must be seen to be believed.
3. A tie between It's a Wonderful Life and Home Alone for the more traditionally minded.

All of the above are available at your favorite video store give yourself a present this Christmas and come see us at Alternative Video.

Now on to some other business. Bullitt, those of you who know me are already rolling your eyes. (Great Sean's going to talk about Bullitt again.) In my defense I have a new co-worker here at MHS who wants me to lend him some films over the break and Bullitt is one of these.

So here is my simple attempt at explaining my fanatical fascination with Peter Yates' film.

I find this one of the most electrifying films of that very fertile period in Hollywood that lasted from 66 until roughly 74. This time produced Easy Rider, The Godfather, and The Wild Bunch classics all. Each of these films produced many imitators and provided clear signposts for other filmmakers to follow. Easy Rider was the birth of independant filmmaking, The Godfather reestablished the perfection of the Hollywood apparatus to create fully realized worlds, and The Wild Bunch signaled the end of an era and spoke in a new way about violence, Vietnam and the fluid nature of a culture's ideals

What did Bullitt bring to the table? A dynamic new sense of action and drama. The one thing most often mentioned in conjunction with Bullitt is the “car chase”. While the chase is awesome (and uses montage editing borrowed from silent soviet cinema), and McQueen did all his own driving this is not the reason I fell in love with the movie. The film plays out with long sections that contain no dialogue. These silent spaces are filled with information and characterization that Yates lets you see for yourself. This is a show-don’t tell movie in the most visual of art forms.

The other reason this film lasts is the effortless ease McQueen brings to the no nonsense role of Frank Bullitt. Polite and determined this is a cop that does his job. No flying off the handle, no yelling at the stupid chief, no swearing and demanding everyone capitulate to his every whim, he just efficiently does his job as does the film.

"Look Chalmers, let's understand each other... I don't like you."

S

PS- sorry about the varied font sizes. I don't know how it works...Goodbye Folks.

An Epistle from an Apostle

An Open Letter to Mr. Michael Myers.

Dear Michael, 

Perhaps its my fault and I am willing to shoulder some of the blame. I willingly spent money and saw Austin Powers in Goldmember in a theatre. I even went to the first two Shrek movies and rented The Cat in the Hat. That probably was when I should have written you instead of putting it off for so long (like this blog...sorry Mr. Grywul). It is clear in retrospect that you had to be crying out for help. You need to rest. Just stop a moment and think. Each movie I make is getting less and less funny, and Lord knows the last thing anyone wanted was a Shrek Christmas special. 

Maybe its working with the black hole of comedy Eddie Murphy (post 1988) that forces you to don the garish and unfunny makeup that serves as an increasingly present crutch to prop up your jokes. 

Mr. Myers as a fellow Canadian it pains me to say this but just stop. It is clearly over when you make a film that puts our sport (what our American friends refer to as "ice hockey") front and centre in the plot and manage to completely screw that up. I understand if you live in LA and Rob Blake is your buddy. Fine. Put him and the Kings in the film, but what in in the name of Bob Cole and Harry Neale is he doing taking a face off at all- let alone in the crucial final moments of the Stanley Cup final! Of everything that was oh so wrong about The Love Guru this may have been its most egregious misstep. You have lost it and me. Go home, pick up a six of a good Canadian beer and watch So I Married an Axe Murderer  a couple of times and ask yourself where it all went sideways on you.

I hope you understand that I must be cruel to be kind.

Sean