Grinning Fellow

American Gangster: Pretty good fare, with a ton of cameos (John Hawkes! Jon Polito! Idris Elba!) that made me smile. I enjoyed how little violence was in the story, and how it was driven by the characters, which were interesting. Far from Scott's best, and quite long, but a decent film.

 

Michael Clayton: An excellent little neo-noir, with several incredible performances. Clooney and Wilkinson were great as always, and Tilda Swinton continues to impress. The story was engaging and ratcheted up the tension nicely. I thought the ending was a bit of a cop-out, but the last scene in the cab saved it for me. I'm a bit disappointed this movie came out in 2007, where it was buried by titans like No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. While obviously not their calibre, it would've been nice if it had come out this year, and perhaps received a lot more Oscar recognition, as it's clearly a more deserving film than at least 4/5ths of this year's crop.

Went to a Flogging Molly concert on Tuesday. They usually come around to Toronto once a year, so this was the second time I've seen them. As usual, they put on a great show. Wasn't into the pit very much this time (still suffering from the vestiges of a cold), so I stood back and enjoyed the music. Their venue this year wasn't as good as last's, so the sound was a bit shitty, but overall, I was quite pleased. They played a few of their less-known songs, as well as most of their new album, which was brimming with energy. Overall, a great show.

The Good News: After some heavy considerations and talks with professors, I've decided with finality to switch over into the English Literature program at my university, and pursue and doctorate in the subject. The professors all seem really great and I can't wait to get started.

 

The Bad News: I have an absolute bastard of a cold, and a philosophy paper on Sartre due in the morning.

Congrats on your decision to doctorate that subject! You are at Trent...no, Brock, right?

 

You do know what the ramifications of this decision are, yes?

 

Yup, I go to Trent. If by ramifications you mean a lengthy studying career ahead and surrounding by stuffed shirts, then yeah, I see them on the horizon.

The Good News: After some heavy considerations and talks with professors, I've decided with finality to switch over into the English Literature program at my university, and pursue and doctorate in the subject. The professors all seem really great and I can't wait to get started.

 

The Bad News: I have an absolute bastard of a cold, and a philosophy paper on Sartre due in the morning.

Coraline: Great little film, and a worthy addition to the canon of dark fairy tale stories. The animation was gorgeous, the voice acting was spot-on, and the film effortlessly combined a sense of fun and darkness. It was a little bit different from Gaiman's book (which I read about four years ago and don't remember too well), but overall, it was a good adaptation.

 

Primer: This melted my brain. It was a good movie, and impressive that they filmed the whole thing on a ridiculously low budget, but once the paradoxes kicked in, I understood so little of it, that I'm not sure if I liked it or not. Definitely one I'll have to watch again.

Just got back from Frost/Nixon. It was a good film, and Tom's right on the money when he says Langella put in a career performance, as he was absolutely captivating as Nixon. Sheen was alright as Frost, but not particularly engaging. I enjoyed Bacon and Rockwell in their supporting roles. The movie itself was an okay drama, and leagues better than Benjamin Button, but I'll be disappointed if this is the best this year can offer.

A few I just finished:

 

The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway: I liked this a lot. Aside from a short story, this was my first foray into Hemingway. Enjoyable story about a group of people completely lost among the waves of history, and doing as little as possible to find some meaning. Rather depressing at times, but very well-written. A lot of people describe Hemingway as an "economic" writer, and I definitely see what they're saying. I'll be checking out his other works based on this one.

 

Absolute Friends - John le Carré: again, I enjoyed this one a lot. I've always liked le Carré, and his unabashedly bleak view of the world. The characters in this one are incredibly well-defined and three-dimensional. It's quite a bit of a departure from the last book of his I read (The Looking Glass War, which reached David Simon-levels of institutional bankruptcy and bleakness), but a great read.

 

Mortal Causes - Ian Rankin: my first venture into the John Rebus series as well (a half-off sale at a local bookstore allowed me to pick up a bunch). This was pretty good. The plot was pretty straightforward for a detective novel, though it kept me engaged, but I really enjoyed Rankin's characterization of Rebus. I'll stick around with this series as well.

 

Currently, I'm making my way through Ellison's Invisible Man, which can be a bit dense at times, but is magnificently engrossing.

I feel your pain. I live with someone absolutely obsessed with both shows. Any time I come home, there's a decent chance I'll walk in on Potential Slayers or Angel, Attorney-At-Law. It's painful.

The Man Who Knew Too Much: A pretty great Hitchcock film. Some of the best camera-work I've seen from the man, and Jimmy Stewart is on-point as always, and Doris Day as his wife was just as awesome. The whole thing was well-cast in fact, and the ending punchline was pretty enjoyable. Not my favourite Hitchcock, but a fun film.

Watched Chris Nolan's first film, Following. It was a decent film, though very flawed. Not particularly deep, and the film's non-linear structure doesn't add much of anything once you get wise to the fact its out of order, but concept was suitably interesting, and the plot had enough twists and turns to keep me interested. Not an amazing film, but a decent way to spend an hour.

 

Also, belatedly, I'm going to throw in my love for Brick.

Guys, I'm coming out of retirement to side fully with Abhi on this one.

 

Saw it last night, and it was absolutely perfect.

 

Heath's Joker is one of the most monstrous, yet mesmerizing screen presences I've ever seen. Without getting into too much detail, at many points in the movie, the audience was laughing at what the Joker was doing. I'd assumed it was because they were idiots, but my friend pointed out to me that the Joker is actually so grotesque and evil that people aren't sure how to react to it. If that's the case, Nolan truly is a visionary.

 

Also, Balth, don't worry, Eckhart is a great Dent. In fact, all the characters were extremely well-done.

 

Seriously, at the end of the film, my friends and I didn't even talk about it that much (which is odd). We all knew how amazingly good it was, and we were content in revelling in it in silence.

 

Everyone should see this movie, post-haste.

This is an absolute joy to read. So many things for the avid Doctor Who fan to love. It's an excellent comic.

I've just finished the second season of Father Ted. It's good stuff.

As per usual, I've dipped into this thread to wait until Mr. Willecome posts his list, then shamelessly head to the torrents to scavenge them.

 

Indeed, the new Band of Horses album is excellent. I really liked Everything All the Time, but Cease to Begin trumps it, easily.

I'm about two-thirds through Blood Meridian right now, Abhi. It's good. Depressing, and not as good as No Country for Old Men (the film), but definitely a good read.

I found a comic shop that sells at American cover prices (probably since the Canadian dollar has just become equivalent with the American), and so, to celebrate, I picked up:

 

100 Bullets: Once Upon A Crime

Lucifer: Mansions of the Silence

Lucifer: Exodus

 

All three were excellent, and I particularly loved the one issue of Lucifer where he gives jobs to Elaine and Mona. In fact, while I love the more serious tone of the series, the recent developments in Lucifer's cosmos involving Elaine and Mona have been ridiculously enjoyable. This comic is only inches behind The Sandman for me, and not infrequently matches/surpasses it. I truly love it.

Gotta few things I'm reading at the moment:

 

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon

Slouching Towards Nirvana by Charles Bukowski

Hartnell - Best: The Daleks / Worst: The Sensorites

Troughton - Best: Tomb of the Cybermen / Worst: N/A

Pertwee - Best: The Silurians / Worst: Colony in Space

Baker - Best: City of Death / Worst: Warriors' Gate

Davison - Best: The Caves of Androzani / Worst: Time-Flight

Baker - Best: Revelation of the Daleks / Worst: The Twin Dilemma

McCoy - Best: The Curse of Fenric / Worst: Time & The Rani

Eccleston - Best: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances / Worst: Aliens of London/World War III

Tennant - Best: The Girl in the Fireplace / Worst: Love & Monsters

While this picture was taken on the same day (and indeed, at the same time) as the one I posted last time, it's slightly different (one will notice the lack of paper in my hand):

 

Jason, I know you're speaking sense, but at the moment, all I can think about is getting back closer to my comfort zone. Though, in a practical manner, I'm heavily considering joining the Toronto Police Service, and I think I'd get more experience in Toronto than Ottawa.

 

Christian, I hope you're right. I really do.

I'm at UO, Bili. While I do like the city a lot, and I know how much things will change from right now (my 1.5th day on campus), and when school ends on April, but right now, I feel this overwhelming urge to transfer to Toronto the second this is over. I know it's completely contrary to growing up and staking out on my own, but Toronto is closer to everyone, and I think I'd feel more comfortable.

 

I know that this might change, though.

I just moved into university yesterday. It looks to be exciting, but at the moment, I'm feeling nothing but absolute loneliness and homesickness.

 

I lived in Hamilton, and my university is in Ottawa, which is about six hours away. All my friends from high school are either in Hamilton, or Toronto (which is seven hours from where I am), so there's no real chance to see them on any regular basis. I know that it was just high school, and it's an incredibly lame thing to say, but I really did love some of them, and I miss them so much.

 

Being on campus is sort of unreal. All the people around me only seem interested in drinking, and friendships seem to form from that. I have no problem with that, but it's not exactly my favourite thing to do. Basically, I miss all my friends and feel I won't make any here that'll compare.

 

I know that it's incredibly lame of me to whinge on like this, but if any university/former university students who have felt the same thing have anything to say on the matter, I'd be glad to hear from you.

Happy belated birthdays, Malin and Wolvy.

 

Hell, I almost forgot my own birthday. I woke up late for work, and was more concerned with getting my shirt on the right way (failed that task) and getting their on time. I don't think I realized it until around 11:00 in the morning.

Saw Stardust last night, and I echo everything Lou said (well, the theater wasn't having sound trouble, but there was a three-minute part of the movie where part of the film had been scratched, or something, and left this distracting mark on the screen).

 

Definitely the best movie I've seen in theaters since Pan's Labyrinth. It was pure fun from beginning to end. Every scene with Robert De Niro and his band of sky-pirates was insurmountable joy.

Same friend who got me that screwdriver got the Cyberman toy for another friend and Who-fan's birthday. It too is pretty awesome (I like mine better, though).