So that’s it, another year come and gone. 2008 was a slightly spotty year at the movies, but one that brought with it some cinematic brilliance nonetheless. Part of thinks we should soak it up, since that nasty writers’ strike is bound to have a ripple effect on next year’s offerings. Here’s hoping I’m wrong.…
Holly Jolly Christmas
Edit: This top five was posted last year, but given that many of you weren’t reading this space back then, I figured I’d trot it out again. Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays! – Hatter. There are all sorts of Christmas traditions for my family. Midnight mass. Betting on how long it will take my…
Everything Old is New Again
While part of me is morbidly curious about this weekend’s realease of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL remake, most of me knows that this movie is a bad idea. The original was a low boiling, poignant, sci-fi masterpiece that felt like a stellar episode of “The Twilight Zone”. Gauging by advance footage, the remake…
Missed the Boat
Around this time last week, I feigned shock upon hearing that some fellow movie lovers hadn’t seen titles that I consider “essential viewing”. Even today, I was stunned to learn that a fellow cinephile had never seen IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE. I’m sure in every case, these titles are, as I always say, “on the…
Life, In A Nutshell – Top Five Documentaries
So last night there was a fun little meet up of a circle of fellow film enthusiats from Toronto (Sidebar – It’s good for movie geeks like me to know we’re not alone sometimes. Sorta makes me feel like the Bee Girl at the end of the Blind Melon video). We drank, we laughed, we…
What’s My Name Again?
So there was me and my good friend Finn, sitting in a jammed theatre waiting for QUANTUM OF SOLACE to begin. He mentioned to me that there didn’t seem to be much coming out that looked too good…that it might indeed be a pretty dull year-end. I disagreed, but in a moment that would make…
When You Wish Upon a Star
Believe it or not, today is Mickey Mouse’s eightieth birthday! On this day back in 1928, the leader of the gang that’s made for you and me debuted in the animated short STEAMBOAT WILLIE. The rest, of course, is history. The dapper rodent looks pretty darned good for eighty (though between you and me, I…