Amazon skinny: Twenty years after last addressing issues of the flesh in Day of the Dead -- not to mention countless imitations and a pair of remakes later -- the filmmaker who first brought the dead back to torment the living returns with a belated fourth entry into the legendary Dead Series. While for some die-hard fans this lean and fast-paced installment may not convey the epic sense of dread and desperation that elevated previous entries to classic status, George A. Romero's latest entry is a thinking man's gut-muncher that is clearly the work of a filmmaker with much on his mind -- and the courage to let his rotting flesh-eaters sink their teeth into larger issues often too tender to be approached in a straightforward manner.
My two cents: Zombie movies rule. I dunno why i've been into undead flicks lately... maybe it's all this time spend preparing training, i feel like a zombie myself. George Romero is back from the dead after many years away from films with a new post Apocalyptic Zombie flick: Land of the Dead. My undead appreciation of this Zombie flick: Very good chill. Not as cool as Dawn of the Dead but very dead nonetheless.
Uncle George has not lost it. he knows how to make these and you can tell he had lots of fun making this one. memorable dead moments: the cameo appearance from the two young film makers who made Shaun of The Dead, The rise of the dead from the river and all around performance y the black gas attendent zombie.
Final rating: 7/10
4/30/2006
Mini DVD Review: Land of the Dead
4/24/2006
4/21/2006
2006 NHL Playoffs Finally Here!
Ahhh.. Finally. The real season starts. The 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs start off tonight with the 1st game of the Ottawa-Tampa Bay series. I'm quite happy because both Montreal and Ottawa are in (and of course Toronto is out).
I participated in my Playoff pool yesterday and here are the 16 players I ended up with:
My first round predictions are as follow:
BBC Headline: Cardinal backs limited condom use
"Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini said that in couples where one had HIV/Aids, which could pass to the partner, the use of condoms was "a lesser evil". "
Humm... lesser evil eh?
4/17/2006
New Keane Album artwork
Keane will release its second album Under the Iron Sea on June 12.
The UK trio released Hopes & Fears in 2004. That album featured a piano-bass-drum-vocal formula to create soaring melodies. It has been certified gold in the US selling more than 855,000. This time out, the band is reportedly adding guitar to the mix.
I truly can't wait for this one. Hopes and Fears is my favorite CD of recent years.
The complete tracklisting for Under the Iron Sea:
- Atlantic
- Is It Any Wonder?
- Nothing in My Way
- Leaving So Soon?
- A Bad Dream
- Hamburg Song
- Put It Behind You
- The Iron Sea
- Crystal Ball
- Try Again
- Broken Toy
- The Frog Prince
Mini-movie review: Cinema Paradiso
What to say about one's favorite film. You pretty much know you won't be disapointed. Viewing the film may be a pleasure but making someone discover the film is as enjoyable.
I showed Cinthia the film (I chose the theatrical cut). She had never heard of it. I'm glad to say that she liked it very much. For those of you with a little romance in your heart; if you love cinema, a beautiful music score, very good acting and a twist of nostalgia, give it a try. You won't be sorry.
Ratings: Cinthia: 9/10 Artoo: my favorite film.
Mini-movie review: Dawn of the Dead (2004)
I while back, I picked up this film for $6.99 somewhere with the hope of getting some cheap popcorn enjoyment out of it. I must admit that I was quite skeptical about the film. Since I missed the viewings at Trish's before Xmas, I figured that this bargain price buy was worth it.
My first venture into the Dead film series was when I was in high school. A good friend of mine was a huge fan and one saturday afternoon we watched them all on grainy VHS tapes. There is just something about flesh eating zombies and a shopping mall that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. All that to say that I have fond memories of the original series of films. 3-4 years ago, I picked up Night od the Living Dead with a Magazine subscription. Again I was not disapointed. I can only dedect that Artoo loves Zombie movies. I don't know why. They are just plain fun!
My last venture in the Zombie gore-a-thon worthy world came last year with Shaun of the Dead. Not to sound redundent but again: fun, fun, fun.
Why would I apprehend the 2004 remake film? Elleph-i-know! This thing plain rocked. I am a huge fan of Sarah Polley. She was quite funny in this role. Not her typical kind of role. Gotta try new stuff sometimes I guess... then again, this film had zombies in it. Maybe she has the same feeling towards them as I do. Who knows.
Great popcorn flick. I definately will have to check out Land of THe Dead next. I hear it to has dead people in it. ;)
4/13/2006
4/12/2006
Summer Lovin' Movies
Nice weather out. Some people getting their BBQs out (Artoo is not a BBQ fan... sorry). Folks are getting ready for the Summer. and Hollywood is putting the finishing touch on Summer Blockbusters. I thought it would be cool to take a look at which films I'm most looking forward to:
Superman Returns: I can't wait for this one. In my book, this will the film of the Summer. It's been a while since we saw a good Sup' flick. Sup'III, Sup' IV and Supergirl all were Baaaaah baaah bad!
The DaVinci Code: Looking forward to it. A little worried about them screwing it up. It is NOT an action story. The trailer pretty much makes it look like a James Bond film. Please, please, please don't much this one up.
Clerks II: Sleeper hit for die hard fans of View Askiew Universe. Could be cool. Could be so-so. Fans will love it either way!
X-Men: Last Stand: Should be ineteresting to watch. I love the X-Men and Spiderman flicks of recent years. They are cool renditions of the marvel universe. Beast looks really well done in the pictures i've seen.
Complete list of Hollywood flicks coming out this Summer
Letter to God
A little boy wanted $100.00 very badly and prayed for a week, but nothing happened. Then he decided to write to God requesting $100.00.
When the Canadian Postal Authorities received the letter to God, Canada, they forwarded it to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was so amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5.00 bill. The Prime Minister thought this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy.
The little boy was delighted with the $5.00 and sat down to write a thank-you note to God, which read: Dear God: Thank you very much for sending the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you sent it through Ottawa, Ontario and those assholes deducted $95.00 in taxes.
4/11/2006
Essential New Words for 2006 for the Workplace Vocabulary
1. BLAMESTORMING: Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.
2. SEAGULL MANAGER: A manager/director who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything and then leaves.
3. ASSMOSIS: The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard.
4. SALMON DAY: The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.
5. CUBE FARM: An office filled with cubicles.
6. PRAIRIE DOGGING: When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm and people's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going on.
7. MOUSE POTATO: The on-line, wired generation's answer to the couch potato.
8. SITCOMs: Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What yuppies turn into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids.
9. PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE: The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.
10. ADMINISPHERE: The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve.
11. 404: Someone who's clueless (from the WWW error message "404 Not Found," meaning the requested document could not be located.)
12. OHNOSECOND: That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake.
13. WOOFies: Well Off Older Folks
14. CROP DUSTING: Surreptitiously passing wind while walking through a cube farm, then enjoying the sounds of dismay and disgust -leads to PRAIRIEDOGGING.
4/10/2006
Weekender Report: 07-04 to 09-04
Friday:
Glad to say that the presentation I had to deliver as part of my Communications class on Thursday went well. I was feeling a little under the weather but the end product which was presented to the class was top notch. Happy it's over now.
Mini DVD Review: King Kong (2005)
First comment about this viewing: A question. Have you ever looked at the state of some of the DVD disks when renting ot buying from a rental store? Comment: What do people do with these disks? Fingerprints - I understand. Dust - Okay. A minor skuff on the surface - maybe if you are unlucky. But other stuff… come onnnn! Some disks look like they have been spinning on a wheel made of concrete and that kids have been strapping them onto their feet and using them as skates. Then you wonder why disks get little pixelated blocks on the sccreen or skip… rediculous. All this to say that the DVD I got skipped.
The film: Visually stunning. A little gory in some areas and a little too long. This poses a question about Peter Jackson as a director. Is he ever going to make a film that is less than 2 and a half hours? There were many parts in this one that could have stayed on the cutting room floor. I'll spare you the details but there were a few unseless relationships in the film that didn't add much to the story. Jack Black was excellent and the big monkey was really well done.
Having seen the first one many times over, I can't say that this 2005 King Kong is essential to the history of cinema. Other than showing off visual effects, it's a little bit over the top. 7/10 rating.
Saturday:
Cinthia had a wedding shower to go to so I took advantage of that and finished watching Prison Break Season 1. Second hald of the season was much better than the first. They developed quite a few characters and kept them all into the folds of the storyline. Very well done! Cliff hanger was a dud. I would have been sad had I been following this week by week and then right before the summer, they throw this at the viewer… It made me wonder if they didn't film a successful end to the quest and since they got renewed for a season 2 went with this ending instead. Who knows.
In the evening after a dismal performance by the Montreal Canadiens against the Devils, I watched the ending of Gandhi, the 1982 film that won best Oscar that year in 9 categories. What a wonderful film. Long: yes, but the crammed so much into that 3 hours. Essential movie viewing for fans of historic epic films. I would love to read more someday on the life of Gandhi. Very few men have been able to change or influence worldly events in history the way he did. 8.5/10.
Sunday:
Quiet day. My parents came over in the afternoon and we took a very nice walk down to the Gleebe. I had a good time and the weather was so beautiful.
4/08/2006
Kitten Mork goes to War!
Two weeks ago, I peeked at a few sidelinks on Super_ap and discovered this cool site where kittens go to war. Well, what do you think happened next? Mork stepped up and decided to send a picture of his kittenesque self to kittenwar!
How is he doing in the trenches? As of this post, he's won 50 battles and lost 33. Keep it up little guy!
4/07/2006
Marketing 102: Disctract invading Aliens before they land!
To celebrate their 100th issue, Maxim has put a 75-by-110-foot vinyl mesh replica of its January 2005 cover image of Eva Longoria in the desert outside Las Vegas. If you have Google Earth installed you can actually zoom in and see the image here. It's a pretty cool idea, especially considering any space aliens that plan to attack us will be momentarily distracted, giving us the necessary time to discover their weakness and defeat them. Nice try, invading space aliens.
Britney Baby... Artoo is speechless
The fine folks in New York have completely lost their minds and given Britney Spears her own Pro-Life monument at Capla Kesting Fine Art in Brooklyn's Williamsburg gallery district. The life-sized statue celebrates the recent birth of Spears' baby boy, Sean, and applauds her decision of placing family before career. Gallery co-director Lincoln Capla says, "A superstar at Britney's young age having a child is rare in today's celebrity culture. This dedication honors Britney for the rarity of her choice and bravery of her decision."
4/03/2006
Weekender Report for 31-03 to 03-04: Very lacklustre w-e.
Would you believe me if I told you that I totally missed the time shifting this week-end. Yep. I did notice the Rogers Cable TV box being off last night but it never dawned on me that this was a "spring back, leap forward or whatever it was" time this week-end.
I have always been bad at remembering dates (Easter, Labour Day, St-Patties, etc). I generally figure it out through others. Strange I know. I just seem to remember the main ones. Anyhow, needless to say that I was late this morning.
It kinda reminds me of the time when I showed Joelle (an elementary school teacher friend of mine) my new watch. I don't know why but I ended up pointing out to her the fact that I liked that watch because it had both digital and analog time on it. I told her that it had always taken me a split second more to tell time when watching an analog clock. Her witty remark came swiftly: "Ben, you do know that I teach 6 year olds that at school right?". Too funny!
Off to the Weekender
Two classmates of mine came over to work on our communications presentation. In the evening, Cinthia and I watched C.R.A.Z.Y. We both liked it very much. See my review from the W-E. if you are interested.
Worked again on that University presentation which is being delivered this coming Thursday. Can't wait for it to be done. I know my subject matter so things should go fine.
In the evening, after the hockey game, I went to Cinthia's. I knew she was out with her brother watching Ice Age 2. Before she walked in, I tuned off the light and sat on the couch. It was surreal, she walked in, dropped her keys, glanced at the living room (where I was sitting), walked over in the kitchen, checked her phone messages, then walked again near the living room, stepped over my shoes and went to the bathroom. All this without noticing that there was a stranger sitting on her couch. Gotta give this little lady some safety tips next time I see her. It was too funny!
Sunday, worked on the presentation some more and then in the evening, I started watching the 1982 film Gandhi. I'm half done. It's a great film but it's one of those epic films. Had to break it into 2 parts.
4/01/2006
Artoo's Top 10 Favorite Films of All Time
My viewing of the film C.R.A.Z.Y. last night brought me to reflect on my Top 10 Favorite Films of All Time list. It's a tough list to crack. Is C.R.A.Z.Y. good enough to crack the list... I'll need a few days and a second viewing to make up my mind.
1. Cinema Paradiso (1989)
2. Bridges of Madisson County (1995)
3. Trois Couleurs: Rouge (1994)
4. The Seven Samurai (1954)
5. Star Wars (1977)
6. Signin' in the Rain (1952)
7. North by Northwest (1959)
8. Infernal Affairs (2002)
9. Chasing Amy (1997)
10. Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)
What makes these films stand out for me? A tough question. Many of these films are solid cinematographic gems while others are personal choices that are linked with important personal memories (in other words, I can totally understand how someone else might not get the film the same way I did).
#1,3,4,6,7 and 9 fall in the first category where many critics agree with these films and chances are they would rank quite high on other people's Top10 lists.
I can see how one might not see Chasing Amy as a cinematic masterpiece. Heck, I even see many flaws with the film. Star Wars is definately an achievement of a film that will be remembered forever for creating the blockbuster and merchandizing phenomenons. Amélie: such a powerful feel-good movie.
My guess is that with time, the films that are linked with an emotional tie might slip away (as memories become more and more fuzzy) in favour of films that trigger a powerful reaction every time I watch them.
I can't see Cinema Paradiso fading away as it's as powerful everytime I see it. It's a story of timeless love (towards people and movies). Beautiful in so many respects!
I'd be curious to see other people's Top10. What would be up there?
Yes Ryan, I still remember that Zoolander is up there on your list! :)
Mini-DVD Review: Artoo crazy for C.R.A.Z.Y.
WOW! You have to see this great film! I totally understand now how the film won all those Jutra and Genie awards a few weeks back. it's a gem of a little movie.
The Amazon story: December 25, 1960: Zachary Beaulieu comes into the world, fourth in a family of five boys. An ordinary suburban family with a loving mother and a dad who's a bit gruff, but proud of his sons. The beginning of a beautiful childhood, where Christmases and birthdays follow one after the other to the ubiquitous solo of the elder Beaulieu singing Aznavour's Emmène-moi au bout de la terre, washing the car in the fresh air and trips to the snack-bar for Zac, his father's favourite. But not for long, alas!
The Skinny: It had been a while since i'd seen a film that was so fresh amd original. I'm still fuzzy as to why this wasn't nominated for an oscar as a best foreign selection this past year. If you have a chance and understand the language, do yourself a favour and watch thefilm in french. An emotianally packed film with many scenes that give you shivers.
Rarely done for a canadian film, the director Jean-Marc Vallée of the film went after some major rock tunes to support his story (pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Bowie, etc.). He has mentioned in interviews that the music was essential to conveying the message and images he wanted to share with us in his film.
It reminded me a little bit in a rock'n'roll way to Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous since it used music from the same time period. As much as I liked Almost Famous, this story is stronger in that it seems more personal and closer to our lives. We can see ourselves in some of the family dynamics that are on screen.
My rating: A solid 9/10 for me and once i've seen this film again, it just might crack my top 10 films of all time. Great one! For another appreciation, check out James's post.
Super Mario Prank!
The residents of a tiny Ohio town called the bomb squad when they started discovering "suspicious packages" littered throughout the town on April 1st. It turns out that the packages were the result of an April Fools prank in which five girls from Ravenna, Ohio (a town of approximately 12,000 residents) placed 17 cardboard replications of the iconic Super Mario Brothers power-up cubes throughout town, according to news stories carried in local papers.