‘Who is watching the watchmen?’ is seemingly a more important question now than when Alan Moore and David Gibbons did The Watchmen graphic novel back in the late 80s. A movie is on the way. The book is stacked at Chapters. Now iTunes is featuring a ‘motion comic’ of the story for download. It is [...]
The Compound Security company from the UK has created the Mosquito sound box that emits a high pitch noise only audible to people under 25.
CBC radio’s The Current reported this morning that the box is in use in school districts like Maple Ridge BC. Apparently they also use video cameras and a water cannon that [...]
via Content Wrangler
I recently caught up with Frank Capra’s 1937 film The Lost Horizon. The heroine — Jane Wyatt — reminded me of Maggie Gyllenhaal and the opening credit sequence reminded me of this CBS news clip from 1975. Wyatt is quoted in her wikipedia entry saying
“During the war, they cut out all the pacifist parts of [...]
NPR did a story this morning on book returns. Nothing new here, but it is a very well done piece. (Via)
Listen here.
Over at KCRW, Celia Hirschman’s regular audio column about the music business — On the Beat — covers the following…
Journey (old timer rock band) did a deal directly with Walmart. Look ma no [...]
What can I possible say about a play whose run ends in three days? After reading the reviews from a reportedly rocky opening night, I am tempted to try and defend it. Not much point in that, really. The highschool kids I saw it with yesterday all got it, so I think the critical reception [...]
Two guys finish work at a big-box bookstore in downtown Toronto. A guy like me would have hit the movie theatre to unwind. Brendan Gall and Matt Atkinson decided to make a feature length movie of their own. That was in 2004. This week Dakota premiered at the Royal theatre in TO.
How was it? H-ya [...]
Jason Kottke is irrationally happy about this video. I agree — video candy. SFW.
Incredible! from kwest on Vimeo.
Jim Keyes, the new CEO of Blockbuster, talks to KCRW about rescuing the franchise. His answer to Blockbuster’s woes — expand the product offering to books, magazines, and consumer electronics. Really? He is on an island and the tide has come in. Doesn’t he realize it? Interesting.
(link)
image from business week
It all started with a dead guy named Snot Boogie. I am a little late to the scene but I just tore through the first four seasons of HBO’s ‘The Wire’. What can I possibly say about this show that hasn’t been said? Nothing. Even Leah McLaren has spilled some ink on the matter. Christ. [...]
“We are a war universe. War all the time. There may be other universes, but ours seems to be based on war and games.” William S. Burroughs from a title card from King of Kong
Every month some friends and I get together for a movie double header. Two movies. Six friends. Takeout. Good times. This [...]
Charmer Eddie Chapman walks into a hotel in the late ’30s with a blond on his arm. She is not his wife. He orders some champagne and starts throwing money around. He has a lot of it. He has just dynamited a bank safe. Chapman commands attention where ever he goes. When he gets attention [...]
I caught up with the Tarragon production of Michael Frayn’s play Democracy. It tells the story of Nobel peace prize winner and German chancellor Willy Brandt. Brandt fell from power in ‘74 after it was revealed a Stasi agent was his personal assistant. I was puzzled at first because I couldn’t place the timing of [...]
It is pretty sad pickings out there in the theatres. Normally a bounty of flawed festival films are released this time of year. When I wasn’t looking Rogue Pictures dropped a high-cost sci-fi production in their midst. The movie poster didn’t telegraph the so-bad-its-good potential of this one. I almost missed it. It turns out [...]
I just caught up with the Justice League franchise. The New Frontier feels like the director set out to animate the entire comic book series, got tired, then settled for a feature length movie instead. Plot points are introduced, then dropped. The character development is uneven with Hal Jordan’s Green-Lantern-origin-story dominating. Is he a jerk [...]
Last night I rented Once for the second time. A drinking game could be based on how often “brilliant” is said on screen. The movie is brilliant, but I have been too close to it. My friend pointed out the Dogme 95 influence which I had missed.
I was keen to read The Film Club by David Gillmour then gift it to Adam Kempenaar — the co-host of the Filmspotting podcast. Adam has said he is keen for when his own kids can appreciate his favourite movies. When the time came to give Adam the book, I didn’t do it. I was [...]
Image: AxelMusic.com
Cinema confession: I am one of those 80s children who didn’t manage to see the Rambo movies, not even at a friend’s house. So how could I refuse 3 movies for the price of 1 rental? I went for it. My one revelation: having grown up where I did, I now understand the fashion [...]
I used to read books like Tom Mangold’s The Tunnels of Chu Chi when I was a kid. Not great literature, but the right mix of history and thrills — for a teenager. I haven’t read a book like it since. I had no interest. That is until the Globe and Mail reviewed Blackwater: The [...]
There are numerous scenes in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three where the characters respond with disbelief to the news of the train hijacking. At first it is beyond their understanding and then later, mystery turns to riddle — the subway tunnel is a closed loop — how will the hijackers get away? [...]
I caught up with two movies that feature racings Trans Ams.
Ryan O’Neil channels Steve McQueen as The Driver. Good car chases. Good villian — Bruce Dern plays a great jerk. More overall excitement than Bullitt, but less of a story arc than The Transporter (if you can believe it). There are holes in the [...]
Vin Diesel is still the man — in Bulgaria. I saw Hitman. I have no shame when it comes to bad movies. Diesel was to star. He executive produced instead. Principle photography was in Bulgaria (a step down from xXx’s Prague location). His money wasn’t enough to hire a decent director. The rumours were true. [...]
The epilogue of The Bank Job references the “Great Train Robbery”. I understood this to be the great train robbery of 1855 — fictionalized by Michael Crichton then later filmed by him. In fact, there was a greater train robbery in 1963 to which The Bank Job refers. In any case, being a sucker for [...]
I just caught up with The Bank Job. The trailer for this movie is really misleading. It is not a bad little flic.
For one the bumbling robbers routine is overdone in the trailer. For two Jason Statham renews himself in my mind after I just saw Revolver. The DP work here is gorgeous — the [...]
Paul Schrader wrote 1977’s Rolling Thunder. The only other Schrader movie I have seen is Taxi Driver. In both films Vietnam vets get hostile when they get back to the homeland — an update of one of Hemingway’s themes. Not really my thing.
Grand Theft Auto — the movie — is a Roger-Corman-produced Ron Howard, er, [...]
Among the preview trailers on the King of Kong DVD was a teaser for Appleseed: EX Machina. I caught up with Appleseed over the weekend. John Woo. Masamune Shirow. Shinji Aramaki. I was stoked.
After a promising first act, I lost interest.
At the Filmspotting meet-up here in Toronto, Adam raved about King of Kong — a Fist Full of Quarters. Something about Steve Wiebe toiling in his garage appealed to Kempenaar. Later he said much the same to Matty on the air.
Since then I have wanted to see King of Kong. I waited for it to [...]
I just caught up with a documentary called ‘Terror’s Advocate‘ (L’AVOCAT DE LA TERREUR) on DVD. It is about Jacques Verges, a French lawyer, the defender of some of the past-half century’s most ‘upstanding’ citizens.
I was caught off-guard by this film about a quarter of the way through when the narrative jumps the tracks. [...]
I just caught up with the Criterion edition of ‘Drunken Angel‘. I barely remember watching ‘The Seven Samurai’ when I was in highschool, so I should probably count this as my first real encounter with Kurosawa.
This is 1947 Tokyo. Films are being censored. The structure of this story is simple. The moral is seemingly obvious, [...]
I caught up with my friend Margaret Evans’ performance in ‘A Minor Symphony in Bees’. It is part of the 2008 Rhubarb Festival (February 27th - March 2nd at 8pm) at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre — see artsexy.ca for details.
As usual with Margaret’s shows, I show up at the last minute not knowing what [...]