Mike's Bloggity Blog

Anyone else?

A few days ago, a small Canadian film got a lot of attention, when it nabbed one of the coveted Best Foreign picture film nominations at this year’s Oscars.   Monsieur Lazhar was directed by acclaimed director Philippe Falardeau. The movie tells the story of Bachir Lazhar, an Algerian immigrant, who is hired to replace an elementary school teacher who died tragically. While the class goes through a long healing process, nobody in the school is aware of Bachir’s painful former life

You know, typical Quebec comedy…..

So if you’re like me, and you happen to enjoy movies, you’re probably wondering where you can see this small but acclaimed movie.  Well, it isn’t on DVD yet, but it is still playing in some theatres across the country, although won’t likely ever receive a full across country rollout.  I decided to do a little investigating and see where in Canada you can see the movie RIGHT NOW.  I’m guessing, as Oscar night gets closer and closer, the film hopefully might start to pop up all over the country, but for now, here’s what I found, as of Friday, January 27th:

Vancouver, BC:
International Village Cinemas

Edmonton, AB:
City Centre

Calgary, AB
Eau Claire Market

Winnipeg, MB
Globe Cinema

Toronto, ON
TIFF Bell Lightbox

Sherbrooke, QC
Galaxy @ Sherbrooke

Montreal, QC
AMC Forum 22

Happy viewing, make sure you report back and tell me if it’s worth the effort to see it…although I’m sure it is.

It’s not secret that Canadians are awful at going to see Canadian films.  Maybe it’s because the marketing budgets aren’t as exuberant, or the explosions as big as our American counterparts, but it seems like Canadians would rather support their stars like Ryan Gosling and Ryan Reynolds, then actually go see a Canadian film.

Telefilm is actually one of the biggest funders of Canadian projects, and they just announced their next five big funding projects and I thought I’d share them with you, you know, to see if any of them might peak your interest.  Are any of them the next One Night, Ginger Snaps or Men With Brooms?  You tell me.

The Boy Who Smells Like Fish (Ontario and Nunavut Region)
At first glance, Mica seems like a perfectly normal boy. But first glances can often be deceiving… For one, Mica’s house is now a museum dedicated to Guillermo Garibai, the legendary Spanish crooner. Mica spends most of his time there, giving guided tours to aging Garibai fans. But stranger still, Mica smells. Like fish. Numerous doctors, his life-long therapist and even his own parents are at a loss. No one wants to be Mica’s friend. Girls won’t talk to him. His life appears pointless, uneventful, doomed. That is, until Laura walks into it.

Cottage Country (Ontario and Nunavut Region)
Todd wants everything to be perfect at the family cottage, where he plans to ask Cammie to marry him. Things take a bad turn when Salinger, Todd’s lazy brother, shows up with his girlfriend, Masha. When Todd accidently kills his brother with an axe, Cammie decides not to let Salinger’s murder—or Masha’s less-than-accidental death—get in the way of the couple’s happiness. Todd’s proposal goes swimmingly (just as the bodies of the two guests disappear into the lake), and the lovers return to the cottage—where a party is in full swing, making things even more complicated. Dov, Salinger’s buddy, starts to seriously question where the missing guests are, and tensions rise (along with the number of bodies) when the cops arrive.

Foxfire (Ontario and Nunavut Region)
Upstate New York, 1953, a working-class neighborhood in a small town. In this violent post-war culture controlled by men, a group of headstrong teenage girls unite into a sisterhood of blood: they form the Foxfire gang, a secret female-only society, recognized by the flame tattoed on the back of its members’ shoulders. ‘Foxfire’ for pretty foxes, but also ‘Foxfire’ for fire and destruction. Legs, Maddy, Lana, Rita and Goldie cannot accept any longer to be humiliated and discriminated against for being poor, and being girls. Headed by the feisty Legs, the girls set on a trip for revenge, and try to pursue their impossible dream: living according to their own rules and laws, no matter what. But there’s a price to pay…

Still (Ontario and Nunavut Region)
Still is the true story of Craig and Irene Morrison.  Married for sixty-five years, Craig and Irene were still very much dedicated to each other and their family. They had lived most of their lives in the same house overlooking the Bay of Fundy, but now it was in serious need of repairs. Add to that fact Irene was now starting to show signs of dementia, and it was only a matter of time before their home would be unsuitable. Though Craig was nearly ninety, he decided to build the house himself. When he started, he never envisioned the obstacles he would confront. Still is the story of love, of independence and of dignity.

The Disappeared (Atlantic Region)
Six men, two lifeboats, the fight of their lives. If they succeed, they live. If they fail, they die. They die together, lost and alone in the vast, unforgiving emptiness of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Sadly, it doesn’t look like anyone has picked up my idea to turn CBC’s The Racoons into a full length future film, at least not yet.  I like the plot line of The Disappeared.  Sorta like Open Water mixed with Paranormal Activity.

What do you think?

Who knew being the most famous person in my family would be so hard?

First it was my grandmother, who now has her own viral video, and now my cousin Ashley McKenzie and her partner Nelson MacDonald have been named finalists of the fifth annual Air Canada enRoute Film Festival. Their film’s called Rhonda’s Party and it’s already won a handful of awards and I have a feeling it will pick up the top prize here too…

The winner of the Best Short Film Award will receive a cash prize of $5,000 courtesy of Cineplex Entertainment, plus an all-inclusive Air Canada trip for two to the Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France. Achievement Award winners will also be going to the festival in France courtesy of Air Canada.

The other Air Canada enRoute Film Festival finalists are Miles Jay and Orlee-Rose Strauss for Blink, Timothy Chan for A Starry Night.

If you’re lucky enough to be in the Toronto-area, there will be a free public screening of the nominated short films next Thursday, November 10 in Cinema 7 at Scotiabank Theatre from 7 to 8 p.m.

If that wasn’t cool enough, my cousin’s film will be viewed by millions of Air Canada passengers who will be able to view the selected short films on in-seat monitors on any Air Canada plane.

Congrats Ashley and Nelson!

No matter what you’re doing this weekend, you’ll probably find yourself wanting to watch at least one scary movie.  Since it’s such a spooky weekend, I thought I’d take a moment to share with you my three favourite scary movies. Chances are you haven’t seen them, so you’ll have to just trust me, these are the three movies you’re looking for!

Dawn of The Dead (remake).  I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this movie, which stars Sarah Polley.  It is one of those movies that the second that I see it’s on, I stop whatever I’m doing and watch it, even though I already own it.  I love it.  Scary, smart and lots and lots of gore. Definitely a must for fans of The Walking Dead.

The Mist. Not very many people know about this movie, but the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s book is terrifying, sad and seems like it could be all too real, I mean besides the monsters living in the Mist, the really scary things that happen are all cause by the humans trapped by the mysterious fog, yeah I’m looking at you Marcia Gay Harden. Oh and the last five minutes?  Unforgettable.

Drag Me To Hell. Sure people love Sam Raimi for his Spiderman movies or Evil Dead.  But me, well I love the director for his little seen Drag Me to Hell.  And while it wasn’t a box office hit, the 92% it has on Rotten Tomatoes cannot lie, this is a fantastically scary movie.  It really is a roller coaster and it’s one of those movies that I would base friendships on.  If you don’t like its humour, its scares and the twists and turns, then I don’t know if we could be friends!

Honourable mention goes to Scream 1, 2 and 4, Halloween, The Ring and The Others.

What are you favourite scary movies?

Movie buffs, grab your collections, because two of the coolest guys in cinema are heading out on tour! Acclaimed actor and director Kevin Smith joins his long-time friend and on-screen sidekick Jason Mewes across Western Canada for five exclusive engagements in Jay and Silent Bob Get Old. The duo will bring their famous comedic banter live to Vancouver (December 7), Edmonton (December 8), Calgary (December 9), Saskatoon (December 10) and Winnipeg (December 11).

If you’re fans of Mewes and Smith, It’s not like I need to tell you just how many fantastic movies these two have worked together on. Making their debut in Clerks, the first movie written and directed by Smith, they have since built a huge cult following starring in Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma and, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

Am I the only one who loves seeing how much Kevin Smith loves our country? I had a chance to check out his screening of Red State a few months ago and it was packed with fans who paid a pretty penny just to be close to their favourite director. Smith was appreciative, funny and sincere. And no, I’m not just saying that because he loves Degrassi, almost as much I as do. I said almost.

Click here to get your tickets.

Oh Vancouver and Toronto, what did you do!?!

On Tuesday night both cities will be hosting advance screenings of Paranormal Activity 3 after “winning” an online contest, why people getting to see this terrifying movie early can be classified as winning is beyond me.

It was all a part of the “Tweet to See It First” campaign, where city’s that tweeted the most about wanting to see the third movie in the franchise, got to see a screening two nights before the rest of the world. Depending on who you ask, Toronto and Vancouver are the lucky Canadian cities to win.

If you’re in either of these cities and you’re a glutton for punishment, then you have to RSVP your seat for Tuesday night’s screening. To RSVP visit the official site at www.ParanormalMovie.com. 

 I wish there was a way to tweet to not have this movie come to you’re city, it looks way to scary for my liking.

Photo via REUTERS/Mark Blinch

This story is also available on Huffington Post.

We’re only a few days into the Toronto International Film Festival and I’m already exhausted. The parties, the red carpets, the celebrity encounters. It’s absolutely draining. Oh, maybe I should clarify that I’m still in Calgary, I’m mostly just tired of hearing about the festival from Canadian media outlets, since they all seem to have given up on talking about the actual movies at the festival.

It’s not that that I don’t think that TIFF is important. On the contrary, I can’t think of a more influential festival in the entire country. (Sorry Bacon Fest.) But this time around, the original excitement of the festival definitely isn’t translating across the country. Having grown up in New Brunswick, with a quick stop over in Toronto and now calling Calgary home, I can tell you that outside of the 416 and 647 area codes, people really aren’t that interested in the world-renowned festival anymore.

And can you really blame them? Thanks to Twitter and Facebook, Canadians are now getting a second-by-second update by the festival. Sadly, it isn’t about the movies, the directors or even the actors. Instead, social media has translated TIFF into a 10-day brag-fest. TV personalities, journalists and bloggers spend their days boasting about the cool celebrities that they are hanging out with, the pricey swag they got at parties, the open bars and sending out tweets about what kind of coffee Stacy Keibler just ordered. If your profession has afforded you these luxuries, chances are the average Canadian doesn’t want to hear about it.

If I had a friend who randomly ran into Ryan Gosling in the street and they ended up talking about The Red Green Show — that is cool, they can tweet about that. But if you work for media outlet and you stood on the red carpet for three hours to talk to him for 30 seconds, because you were next in line, yeah, that’s not cool, that’s your job. It may seem like I’m grumpy (and a little jealous) but for the past few days, all I’ve read are tweets that start with, “I just chatted with to so and so.” Like they’ve been friends for years, when what they really mean is, “Their publicist gave me the opportunity to ask three pre-approved questions.” It just feels so inauthentic.

Judging from the amount of people I’ve had to unfollow this week, those attending TIFF have lost touch what initially made this festival so successful. For a while, it seemed like TIFF was a place for movies, big and small, to find a receptive and appreciative audience. Some would go on to win Oscars, others would develop a cult following. Either way, we were just happy to have them debut in our country. TIFF was a place where celebrities could feel welcome and a little adored. It was all very Canadian and I loved it. However with all this bragging and showboating, the Canadian festival, all of a sudden feels like anything but.

Okay, I don’t usually use this blog to talk about birth announcements and things of that sort, but the announcement of Sarah Polley being pregnant is like Kate Middleton announcing something simlar…at least it is to me.

News of the pregnancy comes just days before Sarah Polley returns to TIFF with her new film, Take This Waltz, which stars Michelle Williams and Seth Rogan. Now, it’s obviously great news for Polley and her new husband David Sandomierski, who were married just a few weeks ago.

I mean of course, as I’m sure most people are, there is a little bit of disappointment.  Her pregnancy means that a sequel to the fantastic Dawn of The Dead movie is that much further away.  It’s true that it has never been something that has been promised, but I’ve always held out hope that someday Polley would return to shoot more zombies in the head.

Speaking of babies, how awkward is this scene from Dawn of The Dead now:

Okay, that’s no way to end a blog post baby announcement, so how’s about a scene of the Polley’s new movie Take This Waltz instead?

Oh Google, you’re soooooooooo sneaky!

The internet giant quietly launched a new movie service yesterday for Canadians on Youtube. It’s so quiet, that you almost have to look for the new ‘Movie’ link beside the launch bar.

For $4.99 each, you can rent new movies like Paul, Soul Surfer, Sucker Punch and Battle: Los Angeles.  Once you rent them, you have thirty days to start watching and once you watch, you have 48 hours to finish!  Older movies like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Doctor Zhivago and Iron Giant for $3.99 each.  Right now, YouTube has a library of more than 3,000 titles.

Quickly looking through the selection, I’d say it is Okay Plus.  It’s a made up rating system, but basically means that if I had a gun to my head, I could find something to watch, which in itself would be a funny situation.

Obviously this a competitor with Netflix and in a way Shaw Movie Club, but since Shaw Movie Club is naturally only available to Shaw subscribers.

Take a look and let me know what you think?  Are you digging the new way of watching movies, or do you prefer your YouTube to have more cats eating spaghetti!