Kimjongilia

So I got NetFlix today.

Recommended to me was Kimjongilia.

Considering my love of The Red Chapel at HotDocs last year (the year before?), I am quite pleased and impressed by the suggestion. However, I was a little surprised as to why they said I’d like it.

(For the record, I love Invader Zim, but I don’t know how NetFlix knows this, or what it has to do with North Korean documentaries…)

Canadian Movies/TV Series to watch

I was asked by an American friend for top 5 Canadian movies to see. Here is my response:

“One Week”. Even though I’ve never seen it I heard it’s really good. “Canadian Bacon”. Even though I’ve never seen it I heard it’s really good. “Margaret’s Museum”. It’s depressing, but it’s got its funny parts too. I just love LOVE FRIGGIN LOVE Helena Bonham Carter in it. “Terry”. It’s got our favourite X-Man, Bobby/Iceman, playing Terry Fox (quite the inspirational Canadian hero…I did the “Terry Fox Run” every year in elementary school). “Trudeau” sort of historical but really interesting. I remember enjoying it… he was a very progressive prime minister (legalized abortion and homosexuality?), and the film touches on how Quebec really doesn’t like being a part of Canada.

Classic Canadian family-friendly TV-dramas include “Road to Avonlea”, “Anne of Green Gables”, or “Little House on the Prairie.” Contemporary humorous TV shows include “Corner Gas” & “The Red Green Show”. “Due South” is about a mountie in Chicago (humorous crime-drama). They filmed Resident Evil 2 in Toronto and the final battle takes place at City Hall (very, very recognizable landmark) – and I love Resident Evil for some reason. Great Canadian stand-up: Russel Peters. And then there’s the Kids in the Hall stuff. Anything with John Candy is typically enjoyable…

Oh, and if “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” comes out in a theatre near you, you should watch it. Based on a graphic novel by a Toronto comic artist (that is a friend of a friend of mine – for real!) and filmed in Toronto… but it actually takes place in Toronto, too! None of this “and we rented yellow taxis and now it’s New York…” stuff.

Summer Movies

So Apple trailers has a summer movie guide here.

Here is my take.

Green = want to see

Purple = has potential to be good, but I’ll have to wait and see what other people say. Wasn’t sold on trailer alone, or I have my reservations.

Red = do not want

Yellow = I might end up seeing this, but likely because it’s a crowd pleaser, not because I particularly desire to see it

Question mark = what the heck? way to fail at garnering any anticipation for your release whatsoever. I have no idea who you are.

No border = you’re not worth the effort to define, you forgettable movie you.

Flemingdon Park

I grew up watching National Film Board of Canada films…

That little eyeball/man was burned into my young mind.

They used to play these sorts of films in class when I went to public school (Kindergarten to grade three).

Today I watched this documentary by them. I really hope this isn’t the sort of tripe I watched in school as a child.

http://www.nfb.ca/film/flemingdon_park_the_global_village

Using vintage footage and commentary from former residents, this documentary examines the history and current reality of Toronto’s Flemingdon Park. Now a subsidized housing project, it was built in 1961 as a trendy urban utopia for artists and young professionals. A decade later it was sold, and Flemingdon became home to tens of thousands of refugees and new immigrants from around the globe.

Often cited as a model of urban planning for communities from Los Angeles to Shanghai, Flemingdon Park’s flip side is a history of violence and racism that residents have fought to overcome. Yet despite challenges, the community succeeds in making people from around the world feel at home in a different kind of utopia – one where differences are celebrated and new visions are possible.

The vintage footage, was about 3 minutes worth. Maybe. Shots of white anglo-saxon protestants lounging on lawns and enjoying the idyllic modern architecture of the fifties.

While it really seemed to be waving the “multiculturalism is AWESOME” flag that we Canadian-er-Torontonians love to taut around with us whenever we’re talking about what makes Canada unique (our lack of uniqueness? our lack of culture? I won’t get into that…) I really felt that what this REALLY LAME (sorry, what’s the opposite of interesting or cutting-edge or investigative journalism or creative?) documentary managed to was just reinforce stereotypes.

“I used to be called nigger. Just kid stuff. It didn’t hurted [sic] me.” – one of the residents who played hockey, considers himself as Canadian as can be, father of two kids from two different moms

“There’s white, and then there’s the white trash, that’s you know, third-generation Canadian.” – Indian guy who was differentiating between ‘white’ turkish and greek people, and other white people. We find out later he’s ‘gifted’ and doesn’t fear anything (the result of having his cousin killed in a car accident).

“I don’t know if I want my daughter growing up here. I was picking her up (from her single-mom) and heard 6 gun shots… I learned later it’s a Jamaican salute.” (he smiles, as if it’s kinda cute and “cultural”) – white guy who grew up in Flemingdon, and has worked for Fed-ex for the last 13 years – “it just started as a summer job”.

“Maybe if my parents had saved I could’ve gone to college, or something. Maybe be a doctor or a hockey player or a football player. Maybe if I had a coach I could’ve been scouted in the NHL.”

Well visionary film-makers from the NFB, you really tried to paint a beautiful picture of the community there. Oh wait, no you didn’t. You just talked about 4 individuals. The only cross-cultural dynamic was that the white guy saying “curry smells nice” and the Indian/White couple.

The white guy you interviewed actually was pretty interesting… until you realized he fell under the category of “white-trash” that you allowed your other interviewee to so poorly define earlier. And it was exciting watching the black guy lacing up in his Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, and talk about how good he was at hockey, until you realize his dreams were dashed because he didn’t have opportunity…

Here’s an idea, how about you talk about something interesting, like why all the white people left, or maybe, who the white people are that are still there. Or why the government made Flemingdon the place to be for refugees coming in from all over the world for the last 40 years? Why no comment on overpopulation? Why no comment on the crime? On the relation to poverty and crime?

You started out saying this was a MODEL for cities… what are the consequences of the model you made? What’s your response to reports that this model looks a whole lot like a ghetto?

“a new kind of utopia where differences are celebrated” … unless you’re a racist. Who wrote this, a white person? Are you totally ignorant of the dynamic of having people from 100 different nations in one place? You know the gangs are primarily race-based, right?

Yea, curry smells really nice. How great it is to be exposed to so many different foods! That white guy sure is cultured. Thank goodness we have multi-culturalism so we can see that immigrants are ‘just like us.’  (when this started I figured the audience for this film must be elementary school – but then the rest of it didn’t match up…especially the non-diegetic rap music with the N word in it played at the beginning and end of the film )

Why no comment on the gangs in Flemo? Why no voice from the police? Why no footage from inside some of those apartment buildings? From people who hated it? From those who are ACTUALLY SUCCESSFUL despite the challenges? Where’s the hope for the future? The kids going to university, or the programs that exist in the community?

There was that guy who now runs a small restaurant. If he wasn’t a douchebag, that would’ve been interesting. And the Indian/White couple who worked at the school were totally awesome, until the mom said, “Natives and my daughter are the only true Canadians. Because she’s not White, she’s not Indian, that’s all that’s left – Canadian.” *smacks forehead with palm*

Oh, and I loved this line from the douche-bag restaurateur:

“I always felt like an ‘other’ wherever I traveled in the world but in Toronto, there are no ‘others.’”(to explain, he travelled across Europe or something and the locals thought he was a foreigner and the foreigners thought he was a local because he’s an Indian man who is Canadian – or as I like to call it, “no accent.”)

Actually, in Toronto, EVERYONE is an ‘OTHER.’

I had so many issues with this film, but I think they all stem from the same thing. This film went into Flemo to paint a pretty picture of the Canadian mosaic. To make us feel proud to be Canadian. But after the warm and fuzzy tales of liking the Toronto Maple Leafs or  going canoeing in the Don River, you realize that these people have been severely affected by racism, poverty, and/or lack of education. Except for the gifted douchebag (whose arrogance is a defense mechanism?), and the happy couple that met in grade 13 and now work at the local school (where they don’t use the words for the national anthem, because it says “God keep our land”? because it says “in all thy Son’s command?” not sure). Why not do a documentary actually about Flemingdon Park? About what it was and what it is now. Our glorious multi-culturalism isn’t the ONLY issue we care about in Toronto, you know. It’s not the most fascinating thing.

Bah. End of rant. That was just such a poorly made documentary.

Movies to See

Looking for Eric (almost cried in the trailer)

Ondine (Irish, Colin Farrell, who wouldn’t?)

The Other Guys (maybe not if it looks really crass or really stupid, but from what I’ve seen so far it looks reasonably funny)

Best Word Movie (documentary … watch the trailer)

Beetle Queen Conquers Toyko (documentary … gross yet fascinating. I find Japan fascinating)

Iron Man 2 (wee!)

Salt (double wee!)

Babies (documentary … looks so cute)

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (because, come on, Toronto comic book artist who happens to be a friend of a friend of mine got a movie? gotta watch it)

Exit Through the Gift Shop (about graffiti art)

A Matter of Size (funny Israeli fat man movie)

And I will never watch it because it looks too emotional for me (I’m very sensitive to heartbreaking portrayals of old men) but the trailer is enough to blow me away:

Harry Brown little did we know Alfred was a former navy seal, eh?

Terminator Salvation

Is one fun film. I really enjoyed it. Don’t know why it bombed or why it was so universally panned by critics. It’s an end-of-the-world action adventure. Is fun. Moreover, Sam Worthington is hot.

Movies to See…in December

I probably won’t see these movies in December. Or maybe I will. I suspect I am going to be insanely busy (already am) in the following weeks before Christmas. Maybe I’ll need a movie break.

(I saw Fantastic Mr. Fox in theatres. It was Fantastic.)

The Lovely Bones I read the book. It’s creepy. But I want to see how Peter Jackson does it.

Salt (Out in July, actually) Because Action Adventures are awesome with Angelina Jolie.

The Road But only at home, with the lights on, on a small screen.

must…watch…this movie

Trailers

All I want to do is watch Apple Trailers!!!

specifically, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Earth Days, Extract, An Unlikely Weapon, The Invention of Lying, World’s greatest Dad,  Where the wild things are, Despicable Me, Love Aaj Kal, Heart of Stone, White on Rice, The Way We Get By.

There are movies where the write-up has made me want to watch the trailer.

Comedies, Family films, Animated, Foreign films, and documentaries. Yup.

I’m predictable.

The Fall

Absolutely beautiful. And I’ve never been so taken by a child actor before. She didn’t seem to be acting. She just was this cute, english-as-a-second-language five-year old. And Lee Pace (the lead) was so good with her, and he played both the antagonist and protagonist so well. AAhhhh, I loved this story.

It’s not a movie for kids, because of the violence (lots of people get shot, thus earning it’s R rating), but this wasn’t gratuitous violence and you probably won’t notice it at all.

The Fall

I want it in 1080p. This is one of those films that is BEAUTIFUL and SO well done.