Reactions to the 2011 Academy Awards

Well, no surprises.I didn't think The Social Network would win Best Film, but I did think David Fincher would take Best Director. Don't get me wrong, The King's Speech is a worthy award recipient, but it taking so many categories beyond Best Actor didn't rock my world. Especially Best Original Screenplay. I had my fingers…Read More

Anticipating the 2011 Academy Awards

I've been enjoying the cottage industry of bloggers and writers discussing and dissecting the Academy Awards. The BIG SHEEW, as Ed Sullivan used to say, will be happening Sunday night, less than 48 hours from now.Of the variety of articles I've read, this one from Cracked is one of the most relevant and funny, where…Read More

Thoughts on Truly Madly Deeply

Just a heads up for anyone who will be in Halifax this coming Thursday: I'll be hosting Carbon Arc, the Khyber film society's regular screening series, presenting Anthony Minghella's first feature film Truly Madly Deeply, which for years now has been a favourite of mine. Feel free to come on down to the Khyber at 1588 Barrington…Read More

Blue Valentine review

Directed by Derek Cianfrance Written by Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne and Joey Curtis Dean and Cindy are married. They live in small town Pennsylvania somewhere. Dean's a house painter and Cindy a nurse. They have a daughter, Frankie, and their life is all golden-dappled and domestic. When the dog goes missing, you see the first signs…Read More

No Strings Attached review

Directed by Ivan Reitman Screenplay by Elizabeth Meriwether from a story by Michael Samonek and Meriwether They could have called this movie Friends With Benefits. In fact, I think that was the working title of this picture. However, there's a movie with that title coming later in 2011, starring Justin Timberlake and Natalie Portman's Black…Read More

More thoughts (inspired by The Social Network)

Friday night brought conversation with friends, ginger beef and fried rice, and a revisiting (for me, anyway) of The Social Network. I was reminded of the cleverness of the script, filled with such great use of language, witty put-downs and flashes of information delivered at a speed that would choke 100MB broadband.I was also reminded…Read More