Latest Blog Entries by Sarzy at VideoSift.com

The REAL James Bond -- He won't let you down

Sarzy (http://sarzy.videosift.com) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:57:53 -0700

(1 comment - 73 views)

- Sarzy

Toronto Film Festival highlights

Sarzy (http://sarzy.videosift.com) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 10:03:44 -0700

(7 comments - 118 views)

Well, I just finished watching 28 films over the last eight days, and I think it's safe to say that I'm all movied out. I think TIFF is one of my favourite times of the year -- as a movie city, Toronto may not have the cache of New York or L.A., but as far as film festivals go we've got everyone else beat. I saw some really great films at the festival this year, and some not-so-great ones. A few highlights:

The Wrestler -- Wow. Easily the best film of the festival. I wasn't sure what to expect from this one going in, but this was an exceptionally well made character study (featuring none of Darren Aronofsky's usual stylistic quirks) with an absolutely stunning lead performance from Mickey Rourke. Yes, you heard that right: Mickey Rourke (!) gives the performance of the year, if not the decade. He's that good.

Still Walking -- From Hirokazu Koreeda, director of stuff like After Life and Nobody Knows, this was an extremely low-key and slow-paced drama about a family gathering -- under a lesser director it probably would have been pretty dull, but Koreeda's style suits the material perfectly. This has been compared a lot to Tokyo Story, but I like it even better than that film.

RocknRolla -- This is coming out really soon, but I'm a fan of Guy Richie's, so I couldn't resist. Richie doesn't exactly cover any new ground here, but if you enjoyed Lock Stock and Snatch, you'll enjoy this.

Chocolate -- Prachya Pinkaew's follow-up to Ong Bak and the Protector, this kicks some pretty serious ass, despite the absence of Tony Jaa. It takes a bit too long to get started, but once the action starts it pretty much doesn't let up until the end credits roll. Good stuff.

Che -- Ah, Che. This was my most anticipated movie going into the festival, and while it's seriously overlong at four-and-a-half hours (!), I'm still glad I saw it. It's worth it if only for Benicio Del Toro's powerhouse performance as Che Guevara.

Of course, there were some duds too -- Three Monkeys was dull beyond belief despite getting some positive buzz, and Deadgirl (about a couple of guys who stumble onto a nude zombie in an abandoned sanatorium and proceed to use it as a sex toy) was one of the worst films I've seen in a while -- but overall it was a pretty good festival.

- Sarzy

Cats and dogs living together... mass hysteria!

Sarzy (http://sarzy.videosift.com) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:45:16 -0700

(2 comments - 180 views)

If you build it, they will come... depending on the disparity between the American / Canadian dollar.

Apparently, they've just opened Toronto's biggest movie studio, the Filmport, only... no one's interested. It's empty. The part that really struck me from the article was this:

Additionally, Universal is eyeing Filmport for its "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" project, which is based on a comic by local writer Bryan Lee O'Malley and set in Toronto. But with the Canadian dollar at near parity with the American greenback, and New York offering a 35 percent tax credit, Universal producers also are considering the Big Apple as a stand-in for Toronto.

New York as a stand-in for Toronto?? Wha...? Toronto has doubled for New York in what I'm sure amounts to hundreds of movies and TV shows, but New York doubling for Toronto? Has that ever happened? What has the world come to?

- Sarzy

What kind of theatre is that again?

Sarzy (http://sarzy.videosift.com) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:42:30 -0700

(4 comments - 162 views)

Apparently this happened half-way between changing the marquee from Hancock to the Dark Knight...

- Sarzy

I just saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Sarzy (http://sarzy.videosift.com) — Sun, 18 May 2008 17:00:34 -0700

(10 comments - 335 views)

I liked it. Quite a bit, actually. My expectations were very low -- I just rewatched the first three films, and they were even better than I remember them being, particularly Raiders. Plus, while I think that Spielberg and the '80s are the best combination since peanut butter and chocolate, I haven't liked most of his films in well over a decade.

My first apprehension with this film was Janusz Kaminski, Spielberg's cinematographer (who has a very distinctive stlye, which was one of the contributing factors in Spielberg's creative downfall). I was afraid he'd shoehorn his usual aesthetic into the film, which would have been completely out of place (though I think it's been out of place in pretty much every Spielberg film since Saving Private Ryan, but I digress). But he was actually able to tone himself down (for the most part), and did a good job of mimicking the look of the first three (again, for the most part). Spielberg did a pretty spiffy job himself, emphasizing longer takes during action scenes rather than the more fashionable super-quick-cut style.

Then there's Harrison Ford, who seems to be getting gruffer and gruffer as he ages, and losing some of his charismatic appeal. He was in peak form here, and seemed perfectly at home with the usual assortment of fisticuffs and stunts despite his advanced age. The rest of the cast was just as good, even Shia LaBeouff (I know, I'm as shocked as you are). It was also nice seeing Karen Allen back as Marion Ravenwood, though I wish they had at least tried to keep the fact that she's in the film a secret (she doesn't appear until at least 40 minutes in).

Don't get me wrong, it's far from a perfect film -- it's easily the slowest of the four films, and probably a tad too long as well. And despite Spielberg's claims to the contrary, there's clearly a lot of CGI in the film. A lot less than your average summer blockbuster, but it is there, and it is noticeable. Also -- without going too far into spoiler territory -- there's a lot of sci-fi stuff (particularly in the third act) which feels a bit out of place within the context of the Indy universe (there's a difference between the mystical stuff from the first three and... well, you'll just have to watch it, I don't want to spoil anything).

It's definitely the weakest of the four films, but not by much -- it's actually fairly close in quality to the two sequels. The reviews seem to be really mixed so far, so your mileage may vary, but I thought it was quite enjoyable -- the type of rollicking adventure we don't see nearly enough of these days.

- Sarzy

I had to start a blog just to post this...

Sarzy (http://sarzy.videosift.com) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:52:53 -0700

(4 comments - 301 views)

I'm not sure why, but this made me laugh out loud:

- Sarzy