CT Movies recently posted some more reader feedback, including the following response to one of my reviews: I did not agree with your review of Herbie: Fully Loaded. A review should be easy. Was I entertained? Yes. Same goes for my entire family, neighbors and friends. We all agree that it was a wonderful and fun family film. If you want to read about how Herbie made me a Christian please visit Herbiemania. “A review should be easy”? What does... Read more
The Pacific Cinematheque’s program for July and August is now online, and one of the earlier items is Summer Shorts 2005, the “sixth annual presentation of short films by members of Women In Film & Video Vancouver.” One of the films in question is: Steps (Documentary) Vandalism at a local Mennonite church is met with an imaginative response by a free-spirited skateboarding pastor. Director-Writer-Producer: Donna Williams. Co-Producers: Michelle de Leurme, Candice Sareen/2005. 5 mins. The series screens the evening of... Read more
My review of War of the Worlds is now up at CT Movies. In truth, I’m still figuring out what I make of this film — it’s such a visceral experience — and this was definitely one of those times when I wished I had more than a few hours of writing time between the end of the screening and my copy deadline. JUNE 30 UPDATE: A few other thoughts have occurred to me since I wrote the review, and... Read more
Has it really been two centuries since H.G. Wells wrote The War of the Worlds? Well, no, not quite, but he did write it in the late 19th century, and in it, he criticized the European and especially British imperialism of his time; just as the world’s colonial superpowers had wiped out the dodo, the bison, the aboriginal tribes of Tasmania, and others, so too they would now feel what it was like to live under the brutal domination of... Read more
Just a few quick links. 1. Koyaanisqatsi is my official fourth-favorite film of all time. And while I don’t care for the sequels so much, I do love the soundtracks to all three films. So I rather like the New Yorker‘s current music column, which is divided roughly in half between a consideration of soundtrack composition in general, and a look at Philip Glass’s music for these Godfrey Reggio films. 2. Speaking of composers, FilmStew.com reports that there are currently... Read more
From tonight’s Variety: Brian De Palma has returned to the scene of the crime for “The Untouchables: Capone Rising,” a Paramount Pictures prequel to his 1987 hit film about lawman Eliot Ness’s takedown of Al Capone. . . . Linson got the prequel going at Par, drafting “Rounders” scribes Brian Koppelman and David Levien to write a film that centers on young Al Capone’s arrival in Chicago and his rise to criminal kingpin status. The drama charts his collision course... Read more
My earlier post on the Billy Graham movies of the 1950s and 1960s cheated a bit, by including a couple of 1970s films. Time to Run (1972/1973) was, in spirit, a 1960s film, or so I argued; and The Hiding Place (1975/1975) was just a great film that I didn’t want to wait to write about. But now I have seen the rest of that decade’s output, and the big surprise for me is that I just might like another... Read more
Now this is funny. From today’s New York Times: The publicity blunders leading up to the release of Paramount Studios’ “War of the Worlds” turned into a pratfall on Thursday, when heavy security at the movie’s New York premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater meant that guests had to stand in long lines to reclaim their cellphones and handbags. Even Tim Robbins, Alec Baldwin and Steven Spielberg were required to check their phones, a Paramount source said. Paramount had security guards... Read more
As you may have heard, Paul Winchell and John Fiedler, the voices behind Tigger and Piglet in Disney’s Winnie-the-Pooh movies, both passed away this past weekend. I never wrote a formal review of any of these films, but I have fond memories of The Tigger Movie (2000), which had a weird sort of unexpected resonance for me and my own struggles with doubt and faith; click here for a few more details on that. Oh, wait, the actor who provided... Read more
Here are the figures for the past weekend, arranged from those that owe the highest percentage of their take to the Canadian box office to those that owe the lowest. The Perfect Man — CDN $1,016,249 — N.AM $10,783,000 — 9.4%Mr. & Mrs. Smith — CDN $11,772,246 — N.AM $125,438,000 — 9.4%Madagascar — CDN $14,223,472 — N.AM $160,056,000 — 8.9%Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith — CDN $31,213,228 — N.AM $358,606,000 — 8.7%Batman Begins — CDN $10,088,231 —... Read more
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