Holidays = Friends, Music, Movies and One TV Series
Ok, I have just eaten one truffle, half a French mint chocolate bar, 1/3 of a quiche and a salad. I am jacked and am going to list some movie and music that is/are worth checking out. I managed to really enjoy my holidays and balance friends, family and enlightenment with relative ease. Luckily I can say any holiday tears I shed were not a result of repressed anger bubbling up from mass alcohol consumption and complete loss of emotional control, but from some pretty amazing journeys I went on courtesy of some new, returning and prolific artists. Ok, highlights of 2009 Holiday funtimes:
Music
NIN @ V-FEST Ok, this one has nothing do to with the holidays, but was one of the most notable performances of 2009 in Toronto. It was seamless, powerful and honest. The band was so on point and so committed, they got a standing ovation and posted it on the NIN website.
PHOENIX A friend brought me to a show this spring and I am happy my first Phoenix experience came from the stage. They are a true live performance band, and that's rare nowadays. Go buy their album.
30 SECONDS TO MARS (THIS IS WAR) Don't judge. There is an epic quality to most of the tracks. They make a major effort to build solid songs that come from somewhere and end up in another place. They use their fans for some of the choir bits and I have Stranger in a Strange land on my shuffle. I imagine myself climbing up Victoria Peak in Hong Kong where I once gave myself the worst shin splints of my life.
BRYN CHRISTOPHER (THE QUEST) I have had this album for over a year, but it is so good, I need to mention it each year for the rest of my life.
Movies
500 DAYS SUMMER Beautiful on all accounts. It is well written, well acted, beautifully created by the Director, DOP, Cinematographer, etc. Love is a series of emotions that are interconnected. You can't have the sky without the sea. 500 days is a fav.
NINE Pretty to look at. Pretty to listen to. Pretty to watch. It's a series of scenes that come together to tell a story about a man. A tortured man who can't keep his hands to himself and physically cripples himself with his deceit and lying. The final scene is worth watching the whole movie. My only problem with the movie is I really don't care about the male character played by Daniel Day-Lewis. He can breathe air into a bag and it will entertain, but the soul of this character is bare and the contribution he makes to the world sort of neutralizes his
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR.PARNASSUS The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a fantastical morality tale, set in the present day. It tells the story of Dr. Parnassus and his extraordinary 'Imaginarium', a travelling show where members of the audience get an irresistible opportunity to choose between light and joy or darkness and gloom. Heath Ledger passed away during the filming of Dr.Parnassus, so the movie got a little over hyped. It was good and was otherworldly, but it's not a complete film. It's a small, tiny, little look into the window of the minds and imaginations of Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown. Worth watching and will have a lasting effect.
SHERLOCK HOLMES Whatever...That's pretty much all I have to say. They should have donated the money that it took to make the movie to youth shelters around the world or donated it to the makers of the COVE. Waste of my time and truly a waste of time for some amazing actors.
THE NARROWS So the Bush family is good for something and that something is Sophie Bush. She's a pretty good actress. Very surprised. Kevin Zegers plays a 19 year old Brooklyn boy who is torn between two worlds; life of crime in Brooklyn and the high art world of NYU when his photography portfolio wins him a partial scholarship. Bush is the love interest, Vincent D'Onofrio plays Zegers dad and does a good job. A nice surprise.
EXTRACT Disappointing and weak use of talent like Kristen Wig and Jason Bateman. There were a few funny scenes and may be worth a watch on a Sunday afternoon when nothing else is on. Don't spend time looking for it.
ALL ABOUT STEVE (Don't judge me) Sandra Bullock is a neurotic crossword puzzle engineer. Bradley Cooper (The new hot thing...Why I ask) is a cameraman who goes on a blind date with her and within five minutes runs for his life. So what does any intelligent, sophisticated women do; run after him. It's a lame movie with some funny parts. Katy Mixon is a highlight of this film and many others such as Four Christmases and Eastbound & Down. Check her out!
DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS (Yet again, Don't judge me) Wow, so there was nothing else in the theater I hadn't seen and felt like punishing myself...And punish myself I did! Sarah Jessica Parker yet again plays a New Yorker, but this time an uppity neurotic one A la Family Stone. Hugh Grant plays a lawyer who gets caught up in himself and forgets to pay attention to his wife. They get separated, then witness a crime and get placed in the witness relocation program and what ensues is an exercise in patience for the viewer. I really wish I had those two hours of my life back, but I don't so please don't make the same mistake I did!
THE COVE Using state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.
AVATAR Ok, so it was amazing and it was industry changing and it really truly is a film that puts all the other animated/live auction films to shame. My friend Randall said " It is something I have never seen or experienced and you only say that about films a few times in your life. The story was even good. It was very topical and at the same time spoke to the century long battles that have raged over land and power. The more things change, the more they stay the same. A truly timeless story set against some of the most advanced cinema and GC ever created in the world. I am not going to illiterate and go on with any attempt at further describing AVATAR. I would embarrass myself and do the movie no justice. Just go see it and remember it's 3D...Takes time for your eyes to adjust.
BROTHERS Boring. Good acting. Boring. Good cinematography. Boring.
SINGLE MAN Beautiful. A visual symphony. A Beautiful and poetic story that marries harmoniously with the aesthetic and tone of the film. Please go see it.
INVICTUS A Disney version of a time in history when Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Matt Damon is pretty with his blond highlights and Morgan Freedman does what he does, acts the shit out of things. The story moves as if we are watching Evan Almighty; light and fluffy. There is no grit, no dirt. I could actually visualize the talent wranglers behind the screen waiting with towels and water bottles for the "acting" rugby players so they can get the "set dirt" off their face as soon as the director yells cut. There is ONE thing that is worth watching this movie for. Through all the Hollywood shine that is Invictus, you get a small picture of a man who defied all odds and truly exemplified a person who can forgive and extend empathy with a whole heart. He sacrificed his personal life for his country. We can only aspire to be a 1/10th of the man Mandela is.
THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES A waste of Evan Rachel Wood and Uma Thurman's talent. It was an interesting spin and story, but nothing about the film left a permanent impression. If it is in your hands and free, watch it. Otherwise, keep scanning the shelves.
Television
WONDERFALLS An awesome series about an over educated Brown graduate who chooses to live in a trailer park and work in a Niagara Falls souvenir shop rather than get a "respectable job" and live in the lap of luxury in her parents house. It is smart, funny and so sadly only got one season.