The Scary Door

7. The White Stripes - Icky Thump

2008-01-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

The White Stripes are very good at creating great singles and the song "Icky Thump" is no exception. I thought that Icky Thump was a return to their roots for the Stripes and I definitely thought it was better than Get Behind Me Satan. The song "Conquest" has become a certain love of mine, which is strange considering that it is critically known as the worst song on the album. This year, my love for the Stripes grew exponentially due to their amazing Canada Day concert. Aside from holding the best concert I have seen in my life, they did a very cool secret concert for free at Eastview Bowl. I know that most of you know that this occurred but I don't think that you were there. I was anyway, and it made for a great afternoon. All in all, this is not their best album but a very fine one.

8. Radiohead - In Rainbows

2008-01-14T16:22:00.001-08:00

I haven't been a Radiohead fan until recently when my brother gave me a copy of The Bends. I know that The Bends is perhaps their most accessible album and that it isn't the best representation of the tone of the band but it definitely got me into them. With In Rainbows, I nurtured my newfound love. Radiohead is known for their soft vocals, great melodies and intricate lyrics. With a song like "Nude", I found how deep certain songs can get. I know that my admiration for them will grow with more time but at least now I can understand why Radiohead is one of the few critics' favourite bands.

9. Kings of Leon - Because of the Times

2008-01-13T17:09:00.000-08:00

Oh those sweet, sweet southern Gothic rock melodies. Kings of Leon is not for everyone and I will never pretend that they are but for those who are able to appreciate the prog rock/post-punk hybrid, Because of the Times is oh so good. Followill really comes into his own in the song "Knocked Up". This album shows how the band has matured over the years and how they were really aiming to make a great album. The tones in Because of the Times are serious and break away slightly from their previous albums. I know of some Kings of Leon fans who were not thrilled with this album, but for me, I am able to understand and applaud the band's maturity.

10. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

2008-01-11T18:08:00.000-08:00

The amazing electric sounds of LCD Soundsystem start off this top ten countdown. For some reason, among people at school I have begun to be known as "the electronica guy". This is because I am a fan of popular techno bands like LCD Soundsystem, Justice, Daft Punk and for some reason, my avid love of Death From Above 1979, which isn't a techno band, has branded me as this. It's interesting and I don't begrudge the title because I am a fan of good electronic beats. LCD Soundsystem laid down some great beats on its first album, self-titled LCD Soundsystem. Now Murphy has outdone himself with Sound of Silver. The great thing about LCD Soundsystem is that Murphy is able to create all these amazing, monotonic beats with traditional rock instruments. He is not completely dependent on the mixing board like other artists of the genre. I know my older brother really digs this album and although my love for it isn't as much as his, I have to admit that it is a great album.

Honourable Mention: Limbeck - Limbeck

2008-01-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

I couldn't fit this into my top ten just because the quality doesn't match the others on the list. However, I feel that I have to give due credit to Limbeck for putting out one of the best summer albums I have heard in a long time. This album contains some great tracks like "Trouble" and "Big Drag" but all of the songs convey a sense of joy. It brings across the good times that summer holds and definitely filled empty hours of boredom for me. I am excited to see what they have in store for their sophomore album.

2007: Year in Review

2008-01-03T10:53:00.001-08:00

The year is over and I feel it is now time to reflect a bit on the past year. It was a year full of great games, great music and great movies. All around, it was a great year. I watched more movies than I have ever done before, totaling at 331 for the entire year. 46 of those films were new releases. It is now time to do some top-ten lists. My top ten list will appear on the Motion Picture Appreciation Society blog instead of here. This blog will hold my video game and music lists. I will start with music so expect that one soon.

One to a Kill

2007-12-10T14:37:00.001-08:00

I recently made this film for an SRC Pep Rally. It seemed to be a fairly large hit so now, here it is on my blog. Enjoy and don't insult it too much. I apologize for some of the sound errors but I am not an expert at sound editing.

Movie Journal Revamp

2007-11-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

It is about time that I start posting my Movie Journals online and thus, here it is. This is my journal from October (yes, I know that didn't post between December 06-September 07 but forget about that, I am not doubling back). I am also including the best movie I saw in theatres, the best movie I saw for the first time on DVD and the best re-watch of the month. I will also include the actor which I feel does the standout performance in the film. Enjoy.

3 October 2007 – The Jungle Book (1967) directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, DVD, 7
5 October 2007 – The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) directed by Robert Fuest, DVD, 6, first time viewing
6 October 2007 – The Kingdom (2007) directed by Peter Berg, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
– Friendly Fire ¥ (2006) directed by Michele Civetta, DVD, 4, first time viewing
– American Psycho (2000) directed by Mary Harron, DVD, 9
7 October 2007 – Shaft (1971) directed by Gordon Parks, DVD, 7, first time viewing
9 October 2007 – The 11th Hour (2007) directed by Nadia Conners and Leila Conners Peterson, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
10 October 2007 – The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) directed by John Lounsbery and Wolfgang Reitherman, DVD, 10
11 October 2007 – Smiles of a Summer Night a.k.a. Sommarnattens leende (1955) directed by Ingmar Bergman, DVD, 7, first time viewing
12 October 2007 – Face Like a Frog ¥ (1988) directed by Sally Cruikshank, Internet, 6, first time viewing
– The Fly (1986) directed by David Cronenberg, DVD, 7, first time viewing
– Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) directed by Irvin Kershner, DVD, 10
– Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) directed by Richard Marquand, DVD, 10
13 October 2007 – The Proposition (2005) directed by John Hillcoat, DVD, 9, first time viewing
– Across the Universe (2007) directed by Julie Taymor, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
15 October 2007 – Michael Clayton (2007) directed by Tony Gilroy, Theatre, 9, first time viewing
19 October 2007 – A Good Year (2006) directed by Ridley Scott, DVD, 5, first time viewing
20 October 2007 – The Great Train Robbery ¥ (1903) directed by Edwin S. Porter, Internet, 7, first time viewing
– Dune (1984) directed by David Lynch, DVD, 5, first time viewing
– Ed Wood (1994) directed by Tim Burton, DVD, 9, first time viewing
21 October 2007 – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) directed by Andrew Dominik, Theatre, 9, first time viewing
23 October 2007 – Maestro ¥ (2005) directed by Geza M. Toth, Internet, 7, first time viewing
– Mon amour ¥ (2006) directed by Alexander Berberich, Internet, 9, first time viewing
– Gone Baby Gone (2007) directed by Ben Affleck, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
24 October 2007 – Jules and Jim a.k.a. Jules et Jim (1962) directed by Francois Truffaut, DVD, 9, first time viewing
25 October 2007 – The Conformist a.k.a. Il Conformista (1970) directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, DVD, 7, first time viewing
26 October 2007 – A Bucket of Blood (1959) directed by Roger Corman, Television, 6, first time viewing
– Hotel Chevalier ¥ (2007) directed by Wes Anderson, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
– The Darjeeling Limited (2007) directed by Wes Anderson, Theatre, 9, first time viewing
27 October 2007 – Hud (1963) directed by Martin Ritt, DVD, 8, first time viewing
29 October 2007 – The Bad Sleep Well a.k.a. Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru (1960) directed by Akira Kurosawa, DVD, 9, first time viewing
30 October 2007 – Shadow of the Vampire (2000) directed by E. Elias Merhige, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
31 October 2007 – Army of Darkness (1992) directed by Sam Raimi, Theatre, 8

Best Film I saw in theatres: Michael Clayton; Standout Performance: Tom Wilkinson
Best Film I saw for the first time: The Bad Sleep Well; Standout Performance: Toshiro Mifune
Best Re-watch: Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi: Standout Performance: Harrison Ford

Most Anticipated Films this Fall

2007-09-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of my most anticipated films coming out this fall. Many of them look like they will be up for Oscar nominations and I won't miss out on any of them...not if I can help it. Here they are:

1. American Gangster (Ridley Scott) - Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington in a film together and pitted against each other is probably all I need to say. Plus the fact that Ridley Scott is directing only sweetens the deal.
2. No Country for Old Men (The Coen Brothers) - This is probably the most talked about movie this fall and if the trailer is any indication, it does look excellent.
3. Atonement (Joe Wright) - I am a big fan of Wright's Pride and Prejudice and am looking forward to this WWII love story.
4. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik) - A Terrence Malick inspired western starring Brad Pitt? Awesome.
5. Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg) - If it is as good as A History of Violence, I will be extremely happy and right now, it looks better.
6. The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson) - I am a fan of Anderson's and a new film of his starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Swartzman sounds amazing.
7. In the Valley of Elah (Paul Haggis) - This one seems like the first good film to deal with the War in Iraq. Should be interesting to see Tommy Lee Jones star.
8. Rendition (Gavin Hood) - After watching the trailer and reading Ebert's review, I am really looking forward.
9. I Am Legend (Francis Lawrence) - I'm a big fan of The Omega Man and a remake with Will Smith sounds awesome.
10. The Kingdom (Peter Berg) - Jason Bateman in a dramatic role is more than enough for me.

Others I am looking forward to but not dying to see:
We Own the Night, Michael Clayton, Lions for Lambs, I'm Not There

2007-08-26T16:17:00.000-07:00

I had a very interesting weekend in which I am very thankful to be alive right now. On Friday evening, my brother and his wife, my mother and myself departed to Alberta for a wedding. We left at 6:00pm because my brother was working until then. At 9:50pm, my mom hit a deer on the road completely decimating the car. Luckily, we all walked away without a scratch. What a weekend.

Motion Picture Appreciation Society

2007-08-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

This is officially my new blog which is a joint thing with my Facebook group. Here is the link and I will put a link in the sidebar also:
http://motionpictureappreciationsociety.blogspot.com/
Even though I have this new blog, The Scary Door is not shutting down. I am still keeping it as a personal blog while MPAS is only for Movie Related information like reviews.

New Blog

2007-08-19T10:40:00.001-07:00

I am thinking of creating a new blog that is based entirely around one thing. So don't be surprised if a new blog by myself surfaces in the next few days. Just a heads up.
Aren

R.I.P. Ingmar Bergman

2007-07-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest directors of all-time, the great Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, died this morning in his home in Faro, Sweden at the ripe old age of 89. Having influenced many directors, most noticeably Woody Allen, Bergman is a legend in cinema. His many films include "The Seventh Seal", "Wild Strawberries", "The Virgin Spring", "Fanny and Alexander", and "Scenes of a Marriage". He mill be remembered forever for his large role in film history.

Updater 2.0

2007-07-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since my last post and I feel that I should bring this up to date. School is now done. Yipee! Also, The White Stripes had their concert on 1 July, better known as Canada Day. I had the opportunity to go see them play an amazing concert in the evening. The highlights were Icky Thump, Union Forever and Seven Nation Army. I was also very lucky to see them perform at Eastview Bowl in the afternoon in a short, secret concert. It was short but sweet and I got to see Jack White throw a couple of gutter balls. All in all, the summer is shaping up pretty well. My new movie, "Fists of Retribution AKA Flying Vengeance" is going to be made soon and it will be very sweet. I leave you now with a picture of The White Stripes at Eastview Bowl.

The Case of the Ivory Pin: Part II

2007-04-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

The long, long, long awaited part two of Newstead: The Case of the Ivory Pin.

He awoke early the next morning and boiled himself some water for tea. He sat down at his kitchen table and drank his tea while glancing at the ivory pin. He wondered why the pin had been left at the crime scene; the girl’s body showed no evidence of her struggling. She had no bruises or cuts on her body apart from the knife wound on her neck. Whoever did this made it to look like she had slit her own throat and had done it so perfectly that the girl didn’t even notice him there. He was done his tea and it was time to go.
The Inspector walked over to his desk, opened the drawer and pulled out his revolver. He hoped he wouldn’t have to use it but he could never be sure. He slipped it into his holster and walked out the front door locking it behind him. He proceeded down the street and hailed a taxicab.
“Merchant Row, in Cobblestone Park,” He told the driver as he got into the cab.
The driver whipped the horse and they were on their way. He arrived in Cobblestone part at half past eight. He gave the driver six pence and continued along into Merchant Row. The street was littered with shops left and right containing items of all sorts. He inquired about ivory items with an elderly shopkeeper and the man pointed him to Louis the Peddler’s Shop. Vallon entered the shop and immediately caught sight of the shopkeeper.
“No, no, no policemen in ‘ere. I do not want trouble. Get out!” Louis spat in his thick French accent.
“Hold your tongue Frenchman, I’m just here to ask a few questions,” Vallon retorted. “I hear you have a lot of ivory items for sale here and I was wondering if I have anything like this.”
Vallon set the pin down on the counter and waited. Louis had an air of shock about him but kept a calm composure.
“Where did you get that, Inspector…I didn’t catch your name?” asked Louis.
“My name is Inspector Vallon and you don’t need to know where I got this,” Vallon replied. “Now, did you sell anything like this in the past few weeks?”
“Why does it matter?”
“It matters enough to make you try to hide something from me. From that last statement I am going to assume that you sold this particular item and that you are trying to hide whoever bought it. So Louis, you got a mistress you are trying to protect? Tell me who you gave this pin to and I won’t ever be seen in here again.”
“That pin was stolen from my shop two weeks ago. I would appreciate it back thank-you kindly-
“I think I will hold onto it for now if that’s alright with you?”
“Fine, do whatever you want but if you wouldn’t mind I have customers to attend to so please, leave.”
“So long Louis.”
Vallon knew that Louis wasn’t telling the truth but no evidence to bring to the police. Vallon was a resourceful man however and he wasn’t going to let it go.

Macbeth

2007-04-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

The Evan Hardy Arts and Souls production of William Shakespeare's Macbeth is readily approaching and everyone should check it out. I am playing the part of Banquo, and it is a pretty sweet part, so if nothing else, check it out for the ability to cricitize my acting. It opens on April 25th and runs until the 28th. Check out the trailer at this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi36DGdz2y4

I'm not going to lie, this play is going to be amazing. You will be doing yourself a service by going to see it.

2007-03-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

It has been very long since my last communique but it doesn't mean I have given up. Recently I finished reading the book Dune which I must put as one of the greatest pieces of fiction ever. Honestly, the book is so imaginative and so clever that you stand in awe of it, and it is just a book. It has definitely become one of my favourite books of all time and I am disappointed by the fact that no good movie of Dune has ever been made. At least it leaves it open for me to make a film of it.

Oscar Predictions

2007-02-23T16:54:00.000-08:00

Well it has come to this time of Oscar predictions. Here are mine and I have done extensive research to come up with these.

Best Picture: Although this year is still very open, there are three films that have a definite advantage on the other two. These films are Babel, Little Miss Sunshine and The Departed. I say these have the advantage because as much as people like The Queen, nobody would give it Best Picture and Letters From Iwo Jima is definitely the dark horse because very few people have seen it. Of the others, all have a good chance of winning but it comes down to this. Is the Academy going to give such a negative film as Babel the Oscar. Is the Academy joining in the surge of Little Miss Sunshine lovers or are they going to go with the most popular one The Departed. It can go any way. Though if I had to choose, I would have to go out on a limb.
Will Win: Little Miss Sunshine
Should Win: The Departed

Best Actor: The winner of this is basically locked and although I disagree with it, I will accept it. Sacha Baron Cohen never got his rightful nomination so I will say no more except that I absolutely love both of Leonardo DiCaprio's performances this year.
Will Win: Forest Whitaker
Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio

Best Actress: Though I liked Sacha Baron Cohen's performance so much, it wasn't as perfect as Helen Mirren's. She has given probably the best performance of the decade, let alone this year.
Will Win: Helen Mirren
Should Win: Helen Mirren

Best Supporting Actor: For this I don't get some of the nominations but I accept them and will just go with my favourite of them. I haven't seen Dreamgirls so I would know how good Eddie Murphy was but I don't exactly care.
Will Win: Eddie Murphy
Should Win: Mark Wahlberg

Best Supporting Actress: As I said before, I haven't seen Dreamgirls and I probably never will so my choice is based on the one I thought was best in the situation.
Will Win: Jennifer Hudson
Should Win: Rinko Kikuchi

Best Director: This is the year.
Will Win: Martin Scorsese
Should Win: Martin Scorsese

For the other categories I will just give the predictions without a write-up.

Best Original Screenplay:
Will Win: Little Miss Sunshine
Should Win: Pan's Labyrinth

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Will Win: The Departed
Should Win: The Departed

Best Cinematography:
Will Win: Children of Men
Should Win: Children of Men

Best Editing:
Will Win: Babel
Should Win: United 93

Best Art Direction:
Will Win: Dreamgirls
Should Win: Pan's Labyrinth

Best Costume Design:
Will Win: Marie Antoinette
Should Win: Curse of the Golden Flower

Best Original Score:
Will Win: Babel
Should Win: Pan's Labyrinth

Best Original Song:
Will Win: Dreamgirls
Should Win: Cars

Best Makeup:
Will Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Should Win: Pan's Labyrinth

Best Sound:
Will Win: Dreamgirls
Should Win: Flags of Our Fathers

Best Sound Editing:
Will Win: Letters from Iwo Jima
Should Win: Letters from Iwo Jima

Best Visual Effects:
Will Win: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Should Win: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Best Animated Film:
Will Win: Cars
Should Win: Cars

Best Foreign Film:
Will Win: Pan's Labyrinth
Should Win: Pan's Labyrinth

Best Documentary:
Will Win: An Inconvenient Truth
Should Win: An Inconvenient Truth

2007-02-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

So the Oscars are beginning to creep up very quickly on us and the word around town is that Babel is the frontrunner followed very closely by Little Miss Sunshine. I think that Little Miss Sunshine has built up too much buzz but it is fading quickly and it is still not Oscar night. Babel however is standing strong while The Departed is catching up again. It seems a film like The Departed is already wavering in people's opinions on the Oscars. It seems that they think that it is not possible for the people's favourite to win, instead they assume that the Oscars have never been known to give it to a pure enjoyment flick. I could use a similar arguement against Babel though. Babel is unbelievably negative and sense when do negative films win. I know there are people who see Babel as this year's Crash but honestly has Babel really had the same effect as Crash. Last year, about a month before the Oscars Crash started to pick up an enormous amount of support and eventually win the Oscar. Babel however has been seen as the frontrunner for the last two-three months and now that Dreamgirls is out of the running, people think that it is a lock. All I am saying is that Babel will probably win but don't count The Departed out yet because this year there will be a big upset in one of the top five categories. Since when do the Oscars give an award to the people that everyone says to. Theere will be an upset because the Oscars don't conform to others opinions and do their own thing a lot of the time. Basically, I hope that the Oscars will actually be interesting to watch.

If the Oscars Were Mine.

2007-02-04T14:26:00.000-08:00

If the Oscars were mine, the nominations and obviously the results would end up different from the Academy's own choices. If I could nominate who I thought deserved it, it would go like this in the top six categories.

Best Picture:
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Casino Royale
Children of Men
The Departed
United 93

Best Actor in a Leading Role:
Blood Diamond - Leonardo DiCaprio
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - Sacha Baron Cohen
The Departed - Leonardo DiCaprio
The Fountain - Hugh Jackman
The Prestige - Christian Bale

Best Actress in a Leading Role:
Casino Royale - Eva Green
The Curse of the Golden Flower - Gong Li
Little Miss Sunshine - Toni Collette
Pan's Labyrinth - Ivana Baquero
The Queen - Helen Mirren

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Blood Diamond - Djimon Hounsou
The Departed - Jack Nicholson
Hollywoodland - Ben Affleck
Little Miss Sunshine - Steve Carell
The Queen - Michael Sheen

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Babel - Rinko Kikuchi
The Departed - Vera Farmiga
Little Miss Sunshine - Abigail Breslin
Miami Vice - Gong Li
Pan's Labyrinth - Maribel Verdu

Best Director:
Children of Men - Alfonso Cuaron
The Departed - Martin Scorsese
Pan's Labyrinth - Guillermo Del Toro
The Prestige - Christopher Nolan
United 93 - Paul Greengrass

1. The Departed

2007-02-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

Is it possible that the most entertaining and enjoyable film is the best. Yes because when done by a master such as Scorsese, a film is enjoyable and fantastic. The Departed exceeded my expectations by a mile. At first the thought of Scorsese remaking a Hong Kong thriller was intriguing but nothing more. Also, the trailer was good but nothing to pump you up, not like the movie. This film gives you enjoyment out of everything in it. Leonardo DiCaprio gives a powerful performance, Matt Damon shines, Jack Nicholson is crazily fabulous and Mark Wahlberg is super funny. This film deserves the Oscar every bit and if it doesn't win I will be disappointed.

2. Children of Men

2007-02-02T16:05:00.000-08:00

A very powerful film does a lot to a person. It affects them in a profound and inspired way that nothing but film can do. When people say that film is for entertainment solely, they are so wrong. Children of Men is one of those films that has the raw emotional power that it literally makes you shake but without showing emotion blatantly at all. If anything, the film distances itself from emotion in the same way Clive Owen's character Theo does. He avoids the world because if he was to absorb the actual horrors, he couldn't handle it. Alfonso Cuaron does a brilliant job at directing and is truly inspired when it comes to visuals. Some of the shots in Children of Men are just fabulous and awe-inspiring. Absolutely fantastic film.

3. United 93

2007-02-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

There are few films that have had as much of an impact as United 93. When the film was over, I was almost in tears from the absolute power of the film. It's funny how this year has seen two of the most emotionally charged films about the state of the world.
This film is brilliant and handles 9/11 ever so carefully that none can dispute it. It is not sappy, ficticious, drawn-out or over emphasized. It merely shows the events of that awful day as spectulated by the general populace. The cast in this film should have won the Ensemble awards because together they paint such a picture of realism and desperation that the audience feels that they are watching the actual events as opposed to a representation of them. In short, this film is brilliant.

4. Casino Royale

2007-01-29T14:10:00.000-08:00

Easily one of the best Bond films ever. Casino Royale is everything I wanted and more from a Bond reboot. It has one of the best Bonds played brillianted by Daniel Craig. It has the deepest and argueabley most attractive Bond girl played by Eva Green. It has a great villain, Le Chiffre, and also a great plot that is based on the first book in the series.
Casino Royale delivers on every level. The action scenes are intense and leave you saying to your buddies "That was amazing!". The drama scenes are surprisingly well-done and emotional and the torture scene leaves you cringing. This film is spectacular and if you like action, Bond, attractive girls, fast cars, big explosions, poker, and all around cool stuff than you will like this film.

5. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

2007-01-28T14:52:00.000-08:00

One of the funniest films ever. No joke. This film has you clutching your sides about twenty minutes into it and never lets go. Sacha Baron Cohen is a genius, plain and simple. This mockumentary, road-trip film has to go down in my short-list of funniest films ever. Maybe only rivaled by This is Spinal Tap, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Life of Brian. I don't know if I can say anything more except that Sacha Baron Cohen got my vote for best performance this year. He is amazing.

6. The Fountain

2007-01-28T14:41:00.000-08:00

The Fountain resembles 2001: A Space Odyssey very closely. It is a hypnotic, beautiful, and almost drug-enduced film that is so beautiful, it's hard to believe. It is simply put, amazing and much, much better than critics will let you believe. Darren Aronofsky is one of those director's that who is not appreciated by all. He is too scarely heard of and when he is known he is sometimes seen as a wannabe director. I disagree. He is a master of making films with a low-budget, making them visually amazing and adding in some of the weirdest ideas into films but making them look believable. If you haven't seen Pi yet, I suggest you do.
Hugh Jackman stars as the hero of the story, and pulls off his best performance ever. He is emotionally damaged and depressed yet driven by the love of his wife. Jackman pulls off the part to a tee. He definitely should have been nominated for an Oscar for this film. Rachel Weisz is excellent though her screen time is limited and her character is not as deep as Jackman's. Overall this film is seriously misunderstood and should be seen.

7. The Prestige

2007-01-27T11:03:00.000-08:00

This film is an amazing show of quality, from every member of the cast to the director to the set pieces. It is all superbly done and has no evident flaws to it. Christopher Nolan is a director for movie fans. He gives these movie geeks exactly what they want so I being one of them, obviously think that he is a great director.
Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman star in this magic period piece. Bale does the superior job as he is totally engrossed in his character and gives such intensity to a rather shallow character shows his true gift in the craft. Jackman is good as the supposed good guy who isn't that good after all. His obsession with Borden ruins him and everyone around him. These actors are some of the best there are.
Altogether I feel that The Prestige is just a great film and though it fell short of expectations, it is still a solid film that is unlike any other.

8. The Queen

2007-01-25T13:59:00.000-08:00

The Queen is one of those very nice films that everyone can enjoy. It has absolutely nothing bad in it but it isn't and that is an amazing thing to do. Helen Mirren does an outstanding job as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and will definitely win the Oscar for it. A wonderful supporting cast including Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair and James Cromwell as Prince Philip really add a lot to the impressiveness of this film. It is actually quite amusing that Michael Sheen looks extremely similar to Tony Blair and it is odd that the one actor who looks like him could pull it off so well. Stephen Frear's does a wonderful job of blending the dramatic acting with the real life clips from the Media. All around a great film.

9. Blood Diamond

2007-01-24T15:59:00.000-08:00

This films strengths lie heavly on the greatness of its performances. Leonardo DiCaprio is absolutely fantastic in this film as the typical Hollywood hero, a bad-guy turned good. His accent is fabulous and some may criticize it but I ask them the immenint question "Have you ever heard someone from Rhodesia or even South Africa speak?" Most would answer no but I have and Leonardo copies the dialect fabulously without losing his own voice. Djimon Hounsou is also great in this film. I must say that he easily has the most intense role of the year as in most of his lines are delivered with him shouting and spewing at the mouth. Great work though.
Edward Zwick has shown that you can easily balance a message with entertainment because that is what Blood Diamond is. The film warns people against diamond purchases and shows what the diamond trade does to Africa but it also gives the viewer some sweet action and amazing visuals too. The only flaw of the film is the ending which seems to be Edward Zwick's greatest problem. He can't end a movie quickly, he has to prolong it and make sure the audience knows everything is okay. Though this film does have better ending than The Last Samurai, the ending is not its strong point.

10. Letters from Iwo Jima

2007-01-24T15:52:00.000-08:00

The companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers is a terrifying, harrowing experience. Never before has a film looked into the mindset of the enemy so well and yet still kept it in your mind that they are the enemy. The only other film that I can compare it to is All's Quiet on the Western Front which also is about the other side but it portrays them accurately. They are still people, they don't enjoy war but unlike us they have an honour system that comes into play. For a Japanese man, it is more important to die with honour than to live without any. This is very evident throughout most of the film.
Ken Watanabe gives an excellent performance as General Kuribayashi but most of the film focuses on the simple baker-turned-soldier Saigo brilliantly played by Kazunari Ninomiya. Clint Eastwood once again shows that he knows how to make a film and a great film at that.

Top Ten Films of 06 - Honourable Mentions

2007-01-24T15:45:00.000-08:00

A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater) This fim has all the qualites of the Philip K. Dick book itself. It's weird, it messes with your head and it has great visuals. The rotoscoping technique that Linklater uses is amazing and gives you a really clear view into the messed up world of the film. Keanu Reeves is perfect for this type of role. Nice to see Winona Ryder in a good role again.

Mission: Impossible III (J. J. Abrams) The best of the trilogy. Was a great film in a season of shit coming out. Tom Cruise is so intense in this film. It seems that Abram has a gift for visual flair that he shows off in this film.

World Trade Center (Oliver Stone) Even though it is a little sappy, this film has all the components of a great film. It is an accurate portrait of that awful day and shows that even the worst of times have some light to them.

Game of the Year

2007-01-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

The GAME OF THE YEAR this year was a good one. I have to say this year completely stood out as opposed to last year. With two absolutely awe-inspired games how could I choose one over the other? I didn't. They tied. I know that is kind of lame but they tied.

Gears of War (Xbox 360)
Fantastic. The visuals in this game are unsurpassed and the gameplay is amazing. This what Halo was to the original Xbox, an amazing shooter that can carry the system on its back. From the stop-and-pop action to the chainsaw machine gun, this game keeps your adrenaline up the entire time. It is true that never before has a game kept up the tension level at all times and this is what GoW did. I smell a sequel. I really do.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Xbox 360)
The most immersive game I have ever played. So massive and so unbelievable customizable that no matter what, no two people in the world would play this game the same way. When you have AI that think and do things for themselves and a forest that creates itself, you know you have a great game. Also, added in with great gameplay and a storyline that matches LOTR on depth it is great. If you like RPGs at all, then buy this game without delay.

YouTube Glory

2007-01-20T08:43:00.000-08:00

I recently started up a YouTube account and have been uploading videos now. I have four of them, three of them are video game comedy things that me and Keegan made one day last winter and the other one is my Bio 20 Birds video. It rocks so check them out. My username is the thedrillking as a reference to Caveworld. Here is the link to check them out:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=thedrillking

Golden Globe Predictions

2007-01-14T19:46:00.000-08:00

I know I still have to post my top game of 2006 but since the Golden Globes are tomorrow, I feel I should give my predictions. Here they are.
$-What will win
*-What should win
? - Haven't seen any in category

Best Motion Picture - Drama
Babel
Bobby
The Departed$*
Little Children
The Queen

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan*
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls$
Little Miss Sunshine
Thank You for Smoking

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond*
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland$

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Sherrybaby
Helen Mirren - The Queen$*
Kate Winslet - Little Children

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Drama
Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat$*
Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Aaron Eckhart - Thank You for Smoking
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Kinky Boots
Will Ferrell - Stranger than Fiction

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Annette Bening - Running with Scissors
Toni Collette - Little Miss Sunshine*
Beyonce Knowles - Dreamgirls
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada$
Renee Zellweger - Miss Potter

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Ben Affleck - Hollywoodland
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls$
Jack Nicholson - The Departed*
Brad Pitt - Babel
Mark Whalberg - The Departed

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Adrianna Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls$
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel*

Best Director - Motion Picture
Clint Eastwood - Flags of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood - Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
Martin Scorsese - The Departed$*

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Babel
The Departed
Little Children
Notes on a Scandal
The Queen$*

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Bobby (Never Gonna Break My Faith)
Dreamgirls (Listen)$
Happy Feet (The Song of the Heart)
Home of the Brave (Try Not to Remember)
The Pursuit of Happyness (A Father's Way)*

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
Babel
The Da Vinci Code
The Fountain$*
Nomad
The Painted Veil

Best Foreign Language Film?
Apocalypyto
Pan's Labyrinth$
The Live's of Others
Letters from Iwo Jima
Volver

Best Animated Film
Cars*
Happy Feet$
Monster House

Ring in the New Year

2007-01-01T11:28:00.000-08:00

Well it is 2007 and 2006 is over. After a long year my life continues on. IPA is almost over and my 16th birthday is long gone. I feel I have grown a lot over the last year but more importantly I have seen a lot of movies. My total count for the year of 2006 was 301! This amount of films means that I saw 6 movies a week for the entire year. That is a lot. Also I saw 38 new films and went to the theatre 42 times. I feel I have done a lot but not at all. Happy New Year to everyone.

November Movie Journal

2006-12-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted much lately but I was busy with Footloose. Here is my movie journal from the previous month. Enjoy.
1 November 2006 – The Maltese Falcon (1931) directed by Roy Del Ruth, DVD, 6, first time viewing
3 November 2006 – Ghost Busters (1984) directed by Ivan Reitman, DVD, 8
4 November 2006 – Hound Hunters ¥ (1947) directed by Tex Avery, Television, 7, first time viewing
– Hero a.k.a. Ying xiong (2002) directed by Yimou Zhang, DVD, 9
5 November 2006 – The Queen (2006) directed by Stephen Frears, Theatre, 9, first time viewing
7 November 2006 – The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) directed by James Algar, Clyde Geronimi and Jack Kinney, DVD, 8
10 November 2006 – Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) directed by Larry Charles, Theatre, 9, first time viewing
11 November 2006 – All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) directed by Lewis Milestone, DVD, 8, first time viewing
15 November 2006 – M (1931) directed by Fritz Lang, DVD, 9, first time viewing
16 November 2006 – Babel (2006) directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Theatre, 6, first time viewing
17 November 2006 – The Producers (2005) directed by Susan Stroman, DVD, 7, first time viewing
18 November 2006 – Casino Royale (2006) directed by Martin Campbell, Theatre, 9, first time viewing
26 November 2006 – The Thing (1982) directed by John Carpenter, DVD, 9, first time viewing
28 November 2006 – To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) directed by Robert Mulligan, DVD, 9, first time viewing
– Dark Passage (1947) directed by Delmer Daves, DVD, 8, first time viewing
– Carrie (1976) directed by Brian De Palma, DVD, 7, first time viewing
Best Film I Saw This Month: Hero; Standout Performance: Tony Leung

Break my code...If you can. You never will.

2006-11-06T18:06:00.000-08:00

The code is breakable but you must be smart to get it and all the letters in the code are used so enjoy.
GDONSEEKEETEHWESPIRHETSTTAIRGOEBOR

The Top Video Games of All Time 31-40

2006-11-06T17:41:00.000-08:00

Since last time posting pictures for every game turned out really bad so I am not going to post any pictures. I don't think anyone cares for this point in the list and also nobody really reads this blog anymore so whatever. Here it is the "Long Awaited 31-40".

31. Call of Duty 2 (2005) Activision - This game really is the best in its business. The Call of Duty games take a different approach to WWII than other shooters of the genre but I think, the Call of Duty style is the superior. You don't feel annoyed when your team loses flags because you don't have capture and hold style gameplay for this. It is just a straight out shooter than happens to be WWII. Also, the sounds in this game are fantastic from the character acting to the shells go off to the left, right and centre. And the Campaign mode is so good that you will come back for a second helping, on a harder difficulty.

32. Mario Kart: Double Dash (2003) Nintendo - Taking all the good points of the original and expanding on it is what makes this game great. It is one of the few games that can literally consume all your time with friends and is just so damn addictive. The addition of another rider is a brilliant move on Nintendo's part and the new levels are just so fun.

33. The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons (2001) Nintendo - This game is better than its partner Oracle of Ages and is really well made. The underground land in the game is so cool and the story is fantastic. The enemy Onyx is so cool that you wish he didn't die at the end of the game.

34. Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988) Nintendo - Although some may argue this game is not very good, it is amazing. The throwing of vegetables, the eating of mushrooms and the killing of weird bird like monsters is just really fun. An unconventional Mario game that doesn't lose any of the fun.

35. Metroid II: The Return of Samus (1991) Nintendo - Adding to the greatness of the original, this game really hits home for a fun, sometimes scary, side-scroller. The amount of weapons is great and one freaky final boss makes for an amazing game experience.

36. Pokemon Gold and Silver (2000) Nintendo - More monsters, better graphics, more fun.

37. Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen (2004) Nintendo - A revamped version of the originals. Fun in all the same areas.

38. Final Fantasy II (1991) Squaresoft - Great gameplay combined with an amazing storyline and a great battle system make this one of the best of the FF series.

39. Final Fantasty VII (1997) Sqauresoft - I really haven't played this as much as I should but from what I have seen, this game belongs on every Great Games list.

40. Punch-Out (1987) Nintendo - Delivering one hilarious punch after another, Punch-Out serves as a great comedy and fighting game. The game mechanics work surprisingly well and everything is great. One problem is that Mr. Dream should be able to be beaten.

I am going to finish this post by saying that everyone should go to the Evan Hardy Showcase tomorrow night. I will be performing in it. Show up at Evan Hardy around 6:30-7:00 and bring money. Also, don't forget to come on Wednesday night for the Music Showcase which I am the Master of Ceremonies for.

October 06 Movie Journal

2006-11-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

This month I did not watch nearly as many movies as past months because of school becoming busy and all but I still got some solid films watched.

1 October 2006 – Out of Africa (1985) directed by Sydney Pollack, DVD, 8, first time viewing
2 October 2006 – Goodfellas (1990) directed by Martin Scorsese, DVD, 10, first time viewing
4 October 2006 – Collateral (2004) directed by Michael Mann, DVD, 8, first time viewing
6 October 2006 – The Departed (2006) directed by Martin Scorsese, Theatre, 9, first time viewing
7 October 2006 – Omega Man (1971) directed by Boris Sagal, DVD, 7
8 October 2006 – Forbidden Planet (1956) directed by Fred M. Wilcox, DVD, 8
9 October 2006 – My Neighbor Totoro a.k.a. Tonari no Totoro (1988) directed by Hayao Miyazaki, DVD, 8, first time viewing
15 October 2006 – Trainspotting (1996) directed by Danny Boyle, DVD, 9, first time viewing
16 October 2006 – Marnie (1964) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DVD, 9, first time viewing
17 October 2006 – Logan’s Run (1976) directed by Michael Anderson, DVD, 3, first time viewing
19 October 2006 – Mr. Arkadin (1955) directed by Orson Welles (Corinth version), DVD, 8, first time viewing
20 October 2006 – The Prestige (2006) directed by Christopher Nolan, Theatre, 9, first time viewing
22 October 2006 – Flags of Our Fathers (2006) directed by Clint Eastwood, Theatre, 8, first time viewing
23 October 2006 – The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) directed by Henry Selick, DVD, 7, first time viewing
24 October 2006 – The Frighteners (1996) directed by Peter Jackson (director’s cut), DVD, 7, first time viewing
26 October 2006 – Village of the Damned (1960) directed by Wolf Rilla, DVD, 7, first time viewing
28 October 2006 – Rushmore (1998) directed by Wes Anderson, DVD, 10
30 October 2006 – Poltergeist (1982) directed by Tobe Hooper, DVD, 7, first time viewing
31 October 2006 – The Omen (2006) directed by John Moore, DVD, 6, first time viewing
– 28 Days Later… (2002) directed by Danny Boyle, DVD, 9, first time viewing

Best Film of October: Rushmore - Standout Performance: Bill Murray

The Top Video Games of All Time 41-50

2006-10-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

I am starting a new "all-time list" on my blog. This time it is for the greatest video games ever. Please post your comments on where you agree our disagree with my choices.

41. Pikmin (2001) Nintendo - A RTS cross with an Adventure game, Pikmin took an entirely fresh look on video games. With amazing characters, great graphics and some great gameplay, Pikmin is definitely a great. The game's hero, Captain Olimar really is one of the most hilarious characters in any game, ever.

42. Super Mario Bros. (1985) Nintendo - The one that started it all. This game made the side scroller. It made Mario the Nintendo mascot and is one of the most classic games ever, enough said.

43. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (2001) Nintendo - This game used time-traveling (A Zelda staple) but used it in an entirely new and fresh way. The use of dungeons that are half in the past and half in the present is genius and the characters are just great in this.

44. Super Mario Sunshine (2002) Nintendo - This game which is as bizarre as it is great utilized the Gadd water pack to it's full extent. And with some weirdly amazing story ideas, this game really hits home.

45. Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike (2003) LucasArts - This game added a whole new and desperately needed dimension to the Rogue Squadron series, the ability to leave your ship which added for some extra fun and some really great land battles. Still, the excellence of this game lies in the amazing dogfights and the stunning graphics.

46. The Legend of Zelda (1987) Nintendo - Another bonifide classic, this game started something new for all video games. Besides being the first of the greatest video game series ever, it was the first game where the player could save his or her adventure to continue it another time. Absolutely brilliant idea.

47. Metroid Fusion (2002) Nintendo - Another fantastic addition to the sidescrolling genre, this game has amazing moments and a compelling mystery story. The whole fact that the game is not entirely about Metroids makes it better and the great hand drawn graphics really help.

48. Battlefield 1942 (2002) Electronic Arts - This game rebooted the whole WWII videogame genre with an amazing capture and hold style of gameplay. Also, the whole customizability of the game adds more to the fun of it. Also, the multiplayer is hard to match by any other PC game s.
49. StarCraft (1998) Blizzard Entertainment - This game really started of the whole fascination of RTS games and really hit home with sales. It is wholy immersive and hugely fun so no wonder it was such a great hit. Also, the aliens and story really are some very creative things.

50. Luigi's Mansion (2001) Nintendo - This game was a great launch title and officially the Resident Evil for little kids. It has it's laughs, it's scares and most importantly, it's amazing gameplay that make it one rockin' game.

Well, there you are. Please, I can't stress it enough that you state your opinions on this or else there would really be no point in posting it. Also, if you want to post your own list, feel free to, I don't hold any right over this idea.

Sloan - October 21 2006 At The Odeon

2006-10-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

Last night I when to the Sloan concert at the Odeon in downtown Saskatoon. The concert was very good but just a little too loud for me, my ears are still ringing. It started out with me and my brother showing up at around 8 thinking that the opening band would start to play already. The opening band was the Yoko Casionos who I wasn't too impressed with. So we showed up at 8 but the band didn't start to play until quarter to 9. I had to amuse myself by doing Borat impressions to my brother and making endless Spinal Tap jokes to pass the time. When the band finally came on, they played their generic rock music for about 45 minutes than left the stage saying "Sloan will be out any minute." They were wrong because Sloan didn't come out for another 45 minutes. In the mean time I was horrified to find out that my most hated teacher was working at the bar. Yes that's right, Ms. Baumgarten works the bar at the Odeon. Luckily I ran into Shamus Currie and Brad Charles which made the time pass easier. They told me how they had seen two other teachers from my school at the concert, Mr. Scadden and Ms. McGillivray, who apparently had been drinking and were very amusing to watch. This was hilarious but still Sloan hadn't come on yet. Finally Sloan came on stage starting off with "Flying High Again" and then with "Who Taught You To Live Like That?" Altogther the concert was a huge hit and Sloan was amazing. I still hear the songs ringing in my ears so that is a good sign I think.

Most Looking Forward to Films of 2006

2006-10-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

There are many films that I am looking forward to this year but none am I more looking forward to than The Prestige. It has potential to be an amazing film and when starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johansson and Michael Caine, than it is hard to not be great. Still Casino Royale and The Fountain both look amazing and could take it over The Prestige. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan has the making to be one of the best comedies ever and Flags of Our Fathers could go down with Saving Private Ryan as one of the all-time great war films.
Then there is Mel Gibson's Apocalypto which could be the most bizarrily amazing film of the year and The Good Shepherd has an all-star cast backed by Robert De Niro to try and tell the story of the CIA. Blood Diamond looks like it will make for a sweet action/drama and Marie Antoinette is taking a unconventional take on historical fiction. Then Babel looks like it could be this years Syriana esque film.
Other films that are looking good but I am not sure about are Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower, Deja Vu, A Good Year and Let's Go To Prison. They all having the makings to be some good films but they may fail. This year is shaping up to be a lot better than I had expected.

September Movie Journal

2006-10-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

I watched a lot of films considering that I had school. Here you go and also now I have a new feature that goes with my Movie Journal, it is called best film of the month. I say which was the best film I watched during the month and the standout performance in it.

2 September 2006 – Sanjuro a.k.a. Tsubaki Sanjuro (1962) directed by Akira Kurosawa, DVD, 8, first time viewing
–π a.k.a. Pi (1998) directed by Darren Aronofsky, DVD, 8, first time viewing
4 September 2006 – The Illusionist (2006) directed by Neil Burger, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
– Rent (2005) directed by Chris Columbus, DVD, 4, first time viewing
5 September 2006 – Crank (2006) directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, Theatre, 6, first time viewing
6 September 2006 – The Hustler (1961) directed by Robert Rossen, DVD, 8, first time viewing
9 September 2006 – Hollywoodland (2006) directed by Allen Coulter, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
12 September 2006 – A Scanner Darkly (2006) directed by Richard Linklater, Theatre, 9, first time viewing
13 September 2006 – United 93 (2006) directed by Paul Greengrass, DVD, 9, first time viewing
14 September 2006 – Unforgiven (1992) directed by Clint Eastwood, DVD, 9, first time viewing
– Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) directed by Nicholas Meyer, DVD, 7
15 September 2006 – Chicago (2002) directed by Rob Marshall, DVD, 5, first time viewing
– Fight Club (1999) directed by David Fincher, DVD, 10
16 September 2006 – The Black Dahlia (2006) directed by Brian De Palma, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
17 September 2006 – Reservoir Dogs (1992) directed by Quentin Tarantino, DVD, 9, first time viewing
19 September 2006 – The Protector a.k.a. Tum ym goong (2005) directed by Prachya Pinkaew, Theatre, 6, first time viewing
20 September 2006 – Memento (2000) directed by Christopher Nolan, DVD, 9, first time viewing
21 September 2006 – Seven Samurai a.k.a. Shichinin no samurai (1954) directed by Akira Kurosawa, DVD, 10
22 September 2006 – Fearless a.k.a. Jet Li’s Fearless a.k.a. Huo Yuan Jia (2006) directed by Ronny Yu, Theatre, 8, first time viewing
23 September 2006 – Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) directed by Quentin Tarantino, DVD, 10
– Clerks (1994) directed by Kevin Smith, DVD, 7, first time viewing
24 September 2006 – Se7en (1995) directed by David Fincher, DVD, 10, first time viewing
25 September 2006 – American Psycho (2000) directed by Mary Harron, DVD, 9, first time viewing
26 September 2006 – Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) directed by Quentin Tarantino, DVD, 10
27 September 2006 – On the Waterfront (1954) directed by Elia Kazan, DVD, 9, first time viewing
28 September 2006 – The Untouchables (1987) directed by Brian De Palma, DVD, 9, first time viewing
29 September 2006 – Mallrats (1995) directed by Kevin Smith, DVD, 7, first time viewing
30 September 2006 – Mission: Impossible III (2006) directed by J. J. Abrams, Theatre, 9
– This is Spinal Tap (1984) directed by Rob Reiner, DVD, 9

Best Film of September: Seven Samurai - Standout Performance: Toshiro Mifune

The Ten Best Films of the 2000s.

2006-09-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

Here it is, the long awaited sequel to Best Films of the 90s, the best films of the 2000s.

1. Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith (2005) directed by George Lucas - The best of the prequels and arguably one of the best of the series.

2. Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones (2002) directed by George Lucas - Worst of the series but still better than almost anyother movie.

3. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) directed by Peter Jackson - The beginning of one of the best film series ever.

4. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) directed by Peter Jackson - A most deserved Best Picture winner.

5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) directed by Peter Jackson - Just plain amazing.

6. Minority Report (2002) directed by Steven Spielberg - One of the greatest Sci-Fi films ever and one heart-pounding thriller.

7. Munich (2005) directed by Steven Spielberg - So amazing and so misunderstood.

8. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) directed by Quentin Tarantino - All style.

9. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) directed by Quentin Tarantino - Tarantino doing what he does best: dialogue.

10. Gladiator (2000) directed by Ridley Scott - The greatest historical epic of the 21st Century.

Honourable Mentions:
Batman Begins (2005) directed by Christopher Nolan - The best of the Batman series and the best superhero film ever
Spider-man 2 (2004) directed by Sam Raimi - So enjoyable and so well done.
A Beautiful Mind (2001) - The greatest mathimatical thriller.

The Ten Best Films of the 90s.

2006-09-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

There are many great films of the 1990s. I have compiled a list of films that I view to be the best.

1. Schindler's List (1993) directed by Steven Spielberg - The best Holocaust film and truly heartbreaking. You MUST see this film.

2. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) directed by George Lucas - I know many disagree with me here but this is a great film.

3. Saving Private Ryan (1998) directed by Steven Spielberg - This is the best war film in my opinion and totally deserved the Oscar that year.

4. Pulp Fiction (1994) directed by Quentin Tarantino - Amazing dialogue and sweet scenes make for a great film.

5. Fight Club (1999) directed by David Fincher - Great story and superb acting with one of the greatest story twists in films ever.

6. Princess Mononoke (1997) directed by Hayao Miyazaki - One of the best animated films and has fantastic animation.

7. Rushmore (1997) directed by Wes Anderson - A brilliant and dark comedy about the most absurb of high school students.

8. The Lion King (1994) directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff - Top of the line animation and a sweet rendition on Hamlet make this a great film.

9. JFK (1991) directed by Oliver Stone - Stone's masterpiece.

10. Se7en (1995) directed by David Fincher - With great acting and chilling crime scenes, this is the best of serial killer films.

Honourable Mentions: Films that I think are amazing but not in the top ten.

The Last of the Mohicans (1992) directed by Michael Mann - Amazing story and sweet action sequences make one great old style movie.

Beauty and the Beast (1991) directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise - Amazing animation that started off the Disney Renaissance.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994) directed by Frank Darabont - Super inspirational story about fighting against the odds.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World

2006-09-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a book that I suggest you all read. It is fantastic. It is full of adventure, mystery and horror and is an obvious source for Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park. It is my favourite non-Lord of the Rings novel and is a fantastic read. I suggest it to everyone. Enjoy.

Connery Contest

2006-09-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

As you can all see I have a new format on my blog. It is very nice and should look better than before. Also, I have a new post for some reason. It is quite random but I came up with a great (at least in my opinion) fake Bond quote that Sean Connery would say in a Bond movie, most likely You Only Live Twice. It takes place in a Japanese bath house and Bond gets into a fight with a bunch of Japanese badmen who happen to be in the bath house at the time. When Bond pulls off the bath robe of one of the men and sees the man's ass, he remarks "CHEEKY BASTARD", then whips him with the robe. I think that it would be a great place to say it and it is totally like some of Bond's other quotes. Now to the contest, whoever can come up with a scene in which Bond can use this line but is better than my idea, I will give a prize to. I will not say what the prize is because I haven't thought about it that much but I assure you there will be a prize, if, someone can top my idea. And I am the judge of whether it is better than my idea but I will admit when something is better so without further ado, BEGIN!

August Movie Journal

2006-09-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

I watched a hell of a lot of movies this month. Feast your eyes.

1 August 2006 – Miami Vice (2006) directed by Michael Mann, Theatre, 8, first time viewing
2 August 2006 – Bringing Out the Dead (1999) directed by Martin Scorsese, DVD, 8, first time viewing
– Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984) directed by Leonard Nimoy, DVD, 6
3 August 2006 – Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope a.k.a. Star Wars (1977) directed by George Lucas, DVD, 10
– Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back a.k.a. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) directed by Irvin Kershner, DVD, 10
4 August 2006 – Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi a.k.a. Return of the Jedi (1983) directed by Richard Marquand, DVD, 10
– Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) directed by Peter Weir, DVD, 9, first time viewing
5 August 2006 – Time Bandits (1981) directed by Terry Gilliam, DVD, 3, first time viewing
– Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) directed by Adam McKay, Theatre, 6, first time viewing
6 August 2006 – Rebecca (1940) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DVD, 9, first time viewing
7 August 2006 – Spellbound (1945) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DVD, 8, first time viewing
10 August 2006 – From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) directed by Robert Rodriguez, DVD, 8
12 August 2006 – The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) directed by Lewis Gilbert, DVD, 7, first time viewing
13 August 2006 – The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) directed by Wes Anderson, DVD, 9
14 August 2006 – Jurassic Park (1993) directed by Steven Spielberg, DVD, 9
– The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) directed by Steven Spielberg, DVD, 7
15 August 2006 – Rush Hour 2 (2001) directed by Brett Ratner, DVD, 7
16 August 2006 – World Trade Center (2006) directed by Oliver Stone, Theatre, 9, first time viewing
17 August 2006 – Inside Man (2006) directed by Spike Lee, DVD, 7, first time viewing
18 August 2006 – Easy Rider (1969) directed by Dennis Hopper, Theatre, 9, first time viewing
– Snakes on a Plane (2006) directed by David R. Ellis, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
19 August 2006 – The Man Who Would Be King (1975) directed by John Huston, DVD, 8, first time viewing
20 August 2006 – Citizen Kane (1941) directed by Orson Welles, DVD, 10
– An Inconvenient Truth (2006) directed by Davis Guggenheim, Theatre, 8, first time viewing
21 August 2006 – Scarface (1983) directed by Brian De Palma, DVD, 9
22 August 2006 – Snakes on a Plane (2006) directed by David R. Ellis, Theatre, 7
24 August 2006 – Kingdom of Heaven (2005) directed by Ridley Scott (director’s cut), DVD, 9
– The Big Heat (1953) directed by Fritz Lang, DVD, 9, first time viewing
25 August 2006 – Escape From New York (1981) directed by John Carpenter, DVD, 7, first time viewing
26 August 2006 – Hotel Rwanda (2004) directed by Terry George, DVD, 9, first time viewing
– The Warriors (1979) directed by Walter Hill, DVD, 2, first time viewing
– Chinatown (1974) directed by Roman Polanski, DVD, 10, first time viewing
27 August 2006 – Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) directed by Leonard Nimoy, DVD, 8
– Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) directed by William Shatner, DVD, 5
28 August 2006 – Yojimbo a.k.a. Yojimbo the Bodyguard (1961) directed by Akira Kurosawa, DVD, 9, first time viewing
– The Mummy (1932) directed by Karl Freund, DVD, 6, first time viewing
29 August 2006 – Little Miss Sunshine (2006) directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Theatre, 8, first time viewing
30 August 2006 – Die Another Day (2002) directed by Lee Tamahori, DVD, 5, first time viewing

Everybody Loves Regenerator: Issue #2

2006-09-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

The long waited for, sought after, Issue #2.

So Long Steve

2006-09-04T08:51:00.000-07:00

Steve Irwin more popularily known as the Crocodile Hunter died early this morning in a diving expedition off the coast of Australia. He was stung by a stingray in the chest and was dead before medics arrived on the scene. I always enjoyed his antics of wrestling crocodiles and other deadly creatures and it is sad that he was killed by a stingray, something he couldn't have avoided. Truly sad. Well I know I will miss him along with a whole bunch of other Discovery Channel viewers.

2006-08-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

The more and more I think about Snakes on a Plane, I think this has to be one of the funniest shots and parts. The guy is holding the snake in front of his face and screaming. It is just so damn funny, at least to me. Tell me what you think.

The Case of the Ivory Pin: Part I

2006-08-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

It was the day after the last in Newstead as Inspector Vallon approached the crime scene. The Inspector was about six feet tall wearing a grey overcoat with a grizzled face. He was not happy to be there. It started to rain as he turned the corner. Throughout the street, the townspeople parted as the Inspector and the police force moved across the gloomy road. There it was the scene of the crime. They were near a run-down apartment complex on the edge of the city. No one knew what had happened to her; something unknown had struck down the dame. Vallon was there to find out what.
The police force hastily started to rope the whole street off. They quickly surveyed the crime scene and assured the crowd that had gathered that there was nothing to worry about.
“What do you think happened?” a policeman asked the Chief.
“Seems like a typical homicide, but why would she do this to herself?” The Chief replied. He took of his hat and continued the conversation with the policeman.
“Maybe she didn’t. We can’t rule out the possibility of murder.” The Inspector added, interrupting the conversation.
“No evidence, no motive; no homicide. It’s not like the girl was tied up in any ugly affairs. She was just a normal townsperson. Also there are no bruises on her body and no evidence that she put up a struggle. And the door was locked when we came in with the key still on her body?” the Chief said forcefully.
Before the Inspector could answer he saw something lying next to the place where the victim was found. It wasn’t big, but it was there. It was a small pin of some sort made of a white stone.
“Why hadn’t the others noticed it?” Vallon thought to himself. “I might as look into it myself. No need to bother the others.”
Vallon walked up to the Chief. “I’m leaving. There is nothing more for me to see here.” Vallon explained.
“Good.” The Chief answered completely unaware of the object in Vallon’s hand.
Vallon left the crime scene and headed back to his house. He lived on Marks Street in the heart of Newstead. His apartment was on the second floor. He walked up the stairs and opened the door. He threw his jacket on a chair near the door and sat down at his desk. He pulled out the small pin from his pocket at checked it over. He had earlier concluded that it was some sort of stone but that was all. He walked over to the book shelf. Vallon pulled out a geology book that he owned and started to flip the pages. He looked at many other books but couldn’t find out what stone he had. His anger got the best of him and he threw the book he had full force at the shelf. Many books fell to the ground as a result. One book caught his eye. It was on African treasures and on the cover was an ivory necklace. Vallon looked back at the pin on his desk and realized the resemblance it had to the necklace. He then knew that the pin was made of ivory and was worn on the wrist of a shirt as a piece of jewelry. Vallon knew of only a handful of venders that sold ivory, being such a rare item and was going to pay them all a visit in the morning. Vallon got that familiar feeling in his gut and knew he was on the right path.
* * *

Relax. They're first class fliers.

2006-08-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

You must see this movie. End of story. It is too funny, too ridiculous and too fun to miss out on. Go right now and see it.

2006-08-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

I have made some recent edits on my top fifty movies list at Flixster so I think you should check it out. Here is the link.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

2006-08-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

This movie looks great. You should definitely watch the trailer if you already haven't. Check it out. Here is a link. http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/borat/trailer/

July Movie Journal

2006-08-01T08:19:00.001-07:00

I watched a lot of movies this month.

1 July 2006 – Kung Fu Hustle a.k.a. Kung Fu (2004) directed by Stephen Chow (English-dubbed version), Television, 9
-- Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) directed by Brad Silberling, Television, 6, first time viewing
3 July 2006 – Witness (1985) directed by Peter Weir, DVD, 9, first time viewing
5 July 2006 – From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) directed by Robert Rodriguez, DVD, 8
7 July 2006 – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) directed by Gore Verbinski, Theatre, 8, first time viewing
8 July 2006 – Layer Cake (2004) directed by Matthew Vaughn, DVD, 8, first time viewing
9 July 2006 – The Searchers (1956) directed by John Ford, DVD, 10, first time viewing
- The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) directed by Blake Edwards, DVD, 7, first time viewing
10 July 2006 – Jackie Brown (1997) directed by Quentin Tarantino, DVD, 9, first time viewing
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) directed by Robert Wise (Director’s edition), DVD, 4, first time viewing
11 July 2006 – Rushmore (1998) directed by Wes Anderson, DVD, 10
13 July 2006 – Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan a.k.a. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) directed by Nicholas Meyer (Director’s edition), DVD, 9, first time viewing version
- House of Flying Daggers a.k.a. Shi mian mai fu (2004) directed by Zhang Yimou, DVD, 8, first time viewing
14 July 2006 – The Killing (1956) directed by Stanley Kubrick, DVD, 8, first time viewing
27 July 2006 – Ocean’s Twelve (2004) directed by Steven Soderbergh, DVD, 7, first time viewing
- Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) directed by Kevin Smith, DVD, 7, first time viewing
28 July 2006 – Fargo (1996) directed by Joel Coen, DVD, 9, first time viewing
- Braveheart (1995) directed by Mel Gibson, DVD, 9, first time viewing
29 July 2006 – Lady in the Water (2006) directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
- Changing Lanes (2002) directed by Roger Michell, DVD, 7, first time viewing
30 July 2006 – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) directed by Steven Spielberg, DVD, 10
31 July 2006 – Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) directed by Quentin Tarantino, DVD, 10
- The Hidden Fortress a.k.a. Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (1958) directed by Akira Kurosawa, DVD, 9, first time viewing

I'm back.

2006-07-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

I have returned from my 10 day trek to Ontario and neighbouring areas and feel that it was worth going but not the funnest thing in the world. Now that I am home I am more interested in movies coming out soon. Here is a list of films that I am looking forward to the most in order of anticipation:
The Fountain
The Prestige
Casino Royale
Apocolypto
Snakes on a Plane
The Departed

There are more films but I can't think of them right now. Well now you know I am back so give me a call if you want to do something. Later.

2006-07-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am off to Ontario, unfortunately. It is not that I don't want to go, it is just that I don't want to spend all my time in Kingston. 11 days is long quite long enough to be gone. Well I will see you all in due time. Farewell.

POST 100: June Movie Journal

2006-07-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

Well it has already been 100 posts. What a day and age we live in where I have so much time as to be able to post on a blog stuff that I feel I need to say. Wow! What a world.

8 June 2006 – The New World (2005) directed by Terrence Malick, DVD, 9
9 June 2006 – 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) directed by Richard Fleischer, DVD, 8, first time viewing
12 June 2006 – Double Indemnity (1944) directed by Billy Wilder, DVD, 9, first time viewing
13 June 2006 – Cars (2006) directed by John Lasseter and Joe Ranft, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
14 June 2006 – Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) directed by Jack Arnold, DVD, 5, first time viewing
17 June 2006 – Nacho Libre (2006) directed by Jared Hess, Theatre, 6, first time viewing
18 June 2006 – War of the Worlds (2005) directed by Steven Spielberg, DVD, 9
20 June 2006 – Of Mice and Men (1992) directed by Gary Sinise, DVD, 7, first time viewing
21 June 2006 – Nosferatu a.k.a. Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) directed by F. W. Murnau (93-min. colour tinted version with Donald Sosin score), DVD, 9, first time viewing
- The Terminal (2004) directed by Steven Spielberg, DVD, 8, first time viewing
- Fight Club (1999) directed by David Fincher, DVD, 9, first time viewing
22 June 2006 – The Sea Hawk (1940) directed by Michael Curtiz, DVD, 8, first time viewing
23 June 2006 – Life of Brian (1979) directed by Terry Jones, DVD, 9, first time viewing
24 June 2006 – The Legend of Drunken Master a.k.a. Jui kuen II (1994) directed by Chia-Liang Liu (English-dubbed version), DVD, 9
26 June 2006 – Psycho (1960) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DVD, 10, first time viewing
27 June 2006 – The Chinese Connection a.k.a. Jing wu men (1972) directed by Wei Lo, DVD, 7, first time viewing
- Superman Returns (2006) directed by Bryan Singer, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
28 June 2006 – Jaws (1975) directed by Steven Spielberg, DVD, 10

I have another Updater as you may call it.

2006-07-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

Here is another Updater but this one won't be brief. First of all I am done school! Yipee! My marks were good, great in some classes but English and Gym dragged it down. For some reason I bombed on my English final but the final was multiple choice. What the hell right? Well whatever. Also for some reason Gym went down when I was doing better in it. Doesn't really make any sense but I can't complain. I came out with a 89% average. Good but no 94% from last semester. Hopefully it is enough to keep me on the top ten. My marks in my classes were this: Biology-90%, Gym-80%, History-95%, English-86% and Math-93%. All pretty good marks but not the best I ever had.
Lately I have become obsessed with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System or SNES. This system is by far the best of all video game systems and I just can't stop playing game after game on it. First I beat Donkey Kong Country all the way through. Then to take a break from monkeys I have been playing Super Mario Bros. 3 which is a remarkable game but nearly impossible. Me and my friend spent 3 hours playing Mario until we got stuck on the Fortress in World 8 and violently turned off the system due to the game's cheating. I love hard games but nothing should be impossible. Well I must say that regardless of the 3 hours wasted I still love the game a lot but I prefer Super Mario World which I consider the best Mario game followed closely by Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario 64. I love old games and I will continue to play them till I die though during this post I realized that I need to be playing more Halo 2 and I think I will starting this afternoon. In conclusion, I am loving summer.

2006-06-20T06:48:00.000-07:00

Edmonton lost. I hate Carolina. I hate the refs and I hate the fact that Rolosen had to get injured in the first game. Why does everything bad happen to Edmonton? I am truely depressed.

Updater

2006-06-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

So I haven't blogged in a while so this is a kind of updater. First of all today in History class we did this really cool Da Vinci Code web quest which is fun and challenging and has very little to do with the actual story. It is super fun but it takes a while to crack the codes. There are three things that you have to know though. First of all when you are asked to contact Robert Langdon instead go to www.relic-bay.com. It saves you a lot of time. Also, your account number is 1123581321. I wont tell you what the number is for but it is really useful. Thirdly when it tells you to phone 1 212 782 9920 go to www.doubleknightbooks.com instead. Saves time. Here is the website if any of you want to do it http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/davinci/index-ctc.html.

Next I made a short film for Biology class and it is on Birds. If you would like to see it go to Google Video and type in my name or just use this link. Enjoy.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6550353759014205854&q=aren+bergstrom

NEW DOG!

2006-06-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

I finally have a new dog. She is a chocolate lab and her name is Lucy. Here are some pics of her.

2006-06-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

May Movie Journal

2006-06-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

This month I did not see nearly as many movies as in the past but I still fit in some time to get a couple great ones in. Tell me what you think.

4 May 2006 – Mission: Impossible III (2006) directed by J. J. Abrams, Theatre, 9, first time viewing
5 May 2006 – A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) directed by Elia Kazan (125 minute original director’s-cut), DVD, 9, first time viewing
6 May 2006 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) directed by Kenneth Anderson, DVD, 10
- Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2004) directed by Tetsuya Nomura and Takeshi Nozue, DVD, 8, first time viewing
8 May 2006 – Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1954) directed by Norman Foster, DVD, 9
10 May 2006 – Davy Crockett and the River Pirates (1956) directed by Norman Foster, DVD, 8, first time viewing
11 May 2006 – Sin City (2005) directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, DVD, 8, first time viewing
12 May 2006 – Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) directed by Quentin Tarantino, DVD, 10
13 May 2006 – Pulp Fiction (1994) directed by Quentin Tarantino, DVD, 10
- Meng long guojiang or Return of the Dragon (1972) directed by Bruce Lee (US Release Version), DVD, 7, first time viewing
18 May 2006 – The Lady Vanishes (1938) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DVD, 9, first time viewing
19 May 2006 – Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) directed by Woody Allen, DVD, 8, first time viewing
22 May 2006 – Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) directed by Guy Ritchie, DVD, 8, first time viewing
23 May 2006 – The Da Vinci Code (2006) directed by Ron Howard, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
25 May 2006 – X-Men (2000) directed by Bryan Singer, DVD, 8
- X2 (2003) directed by Bryan Singer, DVD, 8
27 May 2006 – Kingdom of Heaven (2005) directed by Ridley Scott (director’s cut), DVD, 9, first time viewing
- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) directed by Brett Ratner, Theatre, 4, first time viewing
- Star Trek: First Contact (1996) directed by Jonathan Frakes, DVD, 9
28 May 2006 – The Merchant of Venice (2004) directed by Michael Radford, DVD, 8, first time viewing
- Batman Begins (2005) directed by Christopher Nolan, DVD, 10

2006-05-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

This is a list of the video games that up to this moment, I feel are the greatest of all time. Please tell me what you think even if it doesn't coinside with what I think. These are all great games regardless of what anyone says.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) Nintendo
2. Halo 2 (2004) Bungie Studios
3. Donkey Kong Country (1994) Rare
4. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003) Bioware
5. Metroid Prime (2002) Retro Studios
6. Super Mario World (1990) Nintendo
7. Pokemon Red and Blue (1998) Nintendo
8. Star Wars: Dark Forces (1994) LucasArts
9. Perfect Dark (2000) Rare
10. Golden Sun: The Lost Age (2002) Camelot Studios
11. Golden Sun (2001) Camelot Studios
12. Resident Evil 4 (2005) Capcom
13. Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) Nintendo
14. Chrono Trigger (1995) Squaresoft
15. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2003) Nintendo
16. Halo: Combat Evolved (2001) Bungie Studios
17. Super Mario 64 (1996) Nintendo
18. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest (1995) Rare
19. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (2003) Square Enix
20. Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire (2002 Nintendo
21. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (2000) Nintendo
22. Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) Nintendo
23. GoldenEye 007 (1997) Rare
24. Pikmin 2 (2004) Nintendo
25. Snow Bros (1990) Romstar
26. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) Rockstar Games
27. Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (1999) Microsoft
28. Final Fantasy VII (1997) Squaresoft
29. Metroid II: The Return of Samus (1991) Nintendo
30. Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988) Nintendo
31. Star Fox Adventures (2002) Rare
32. Mario Kart: Double Dash (2003) Nintendo
33. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (2001) Nintendo
34. Pokemon Gold and Silver (2000) Nintendo
35. Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen (2004) Nintendo
36. Final Fantasy II (1991) SquareSoft
37. Punch Out (1987) Nintendo
38. Battlefield 1942 (2002) Electronic Arts
39. Pikmin (2001) Nintendo
40. Super Mario Bros. (1985) Nintendo
41. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (2001) Nintendo
42. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) Bethesda Workshops
43. Super Mario Sunshine (2002) Nintendo
44. The Legend of Zelda (1987) Nintendo
45. Metroid Fusion (2002) Nintendo
46. F-Zero (1991) Nintendo
47. StarCraft (1998) Blizzard Entertainment
48. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003) Nintendo
49. Splinter Cell (2002) Ubisoft
50. Contra (1988) Konami

X-Men: The Last Stand makes you thank God it is their Last Stand

2006-05-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

I saw X3 otherwise known as X-Men: The Last Stand which in my humble opinion fails as a movie and as a X-Men film. Before I go into further detail I have to say that if you haven't already seen this movie, then you shouldn't read any further.
*STOP HERE FOR SPOILERS*

Please don't rob yourself of yelling in anger when seeing this movie and stop reading unless you have already seen it.

This movie undoes all the great things the other X-Men movies did. First of all it makes Storm one of the main characters which really pisses me off. Halle Berry can't act and she definitely can't be the main focus of a movie. Also, this film has so much packed into the story, it seems so rushed all the time. Thirdly they kill off or undo the powers of a lot of awesome characters. Now here is the overview of the story. Firstly you find out that there is a cure for the mutant gene. Secondly you find out Jean Grey is alive and reborn as Dark Phoenix. Then you learn that she is uncontrollable and she goes on her little rampage. Magneto then turns her over to his side and goes to attack the company that is making the cure for mutants. Then finally the X-Men save the day somehow. That is the storyline which could have been polished and trimmed down. Now here I will go on a rant. I absolutely hate the fact that they kill off characters. In the first fifteen minutes of the film they kill off Cyclops. I am like, how can you kill off Cyclops? He is one of the main X-Men. Then later the worst thing in the world happens. They kill off Professor X. WHAT?!?! How can you kill off Patrick Stewart. He is the main protagonist and is the backbone of the X-Men. Then in the end they kill off Jean Grey which had to be done for the storyline to work. All of these deaths piss me off and thus make the movie unenjoyable for me. Then along the way the take away the powers of Mystique, Magneto and Rogue. These people all have sweet powers and they just take them away. Ridiculous. Altogether this movie made me angry walking out of the theatre so I would not wish this upon any of you. I enjoyed the action but that is about it. This film makes me sad because I find the other X-Men films to be quite good and very enjoyable. Very upsetting.
5/10

A Few New Wikipedia Pages For The World To Enjoy

2006-05-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

I have created a few new wikipedia pages. They are great, in my humble opinion. Here are the links to them, they are short but amusing none the less. Mr. Hayes is the only one that works due to the fact that the wikipedia editors thought that the others were complete nonsense. They were probably right.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

2006-05-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

I have just found out that the Halo movie isn't coming out till 2008!!! This is going to ruin my life. I was so pumped for next summer and now they ruin it by pushing back Halo. DAMN THEM!

Top Films of the 90s.

2006-05-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

I have decided to make a list of the best films of the nineties. Here it is:
1. Schindler's List
2. Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace
3. Saving Private Ryan
4. Pulp Fiction
5. JFK
6. Princess Mononoke
7. The Last of the Mohicans
8. Rushmore
9. The Lion King
10. Beauty and the Beast

Here are some others in no particular order:
The Shawshank Redemption
Army of Darkness
The Fugitive
The Godfather Part III
Heat
The Insider
Jurassic Park
L.A. Confidential
T2 Judgement Day
The Truman Show
The Matrix

There you are. My personal pics for some of the best of the nineties. Please comment on what you think.

2006-05-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

I saw the original footage of the Luke-Biggs Tatooine scene on Ander's blog and it was so sweet. I can't believe that I would live to see the day. You see to me Star Wars is the greatest thing ever, better than absolutely everything else, and to see more of a movie that you thought was perfect is just so... perfect. I can't believe I saw that. Also I finally got my Flixster Review board up with some help from Anders. That thing is cool. Go to West Word in my index and check out that Star Wars video. It rocks.

M:I:III May contain spoilers

2006-05-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

I saw Mission: Impossible III on thursday night and I have to say, I loved it. From start to finish the film has such a grasp on the viewer and that is partially due to a beginning which grabs the audience and makes them say "Oh, my God! He just killed her!". Phillip Seymour Hoffman was a great choice for the villian. His character is cold, cruel and downright without any soul. Tom Cruise once again shines in his favorite movie franchise. But I think the best part of the movie was the directing. J. J. Abrams made the shots look real, fantastical and close up all at the same time. Through most of the movie, you feel you are right in their with them especially when Owen Davian threatens to kill Ethan Hunts wife. You are on the edge of your seat as he shoves the gun into her skull and all Ethan Hunt can do is plead with him not to do it. This film was one of the most enjoyable movie going experiences I have had in a long time.

****/****

2006-05-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

I didn't watch as many films this month as in previous ones but 15 isn't too bad when you have a musical at the beginning of the month and Oblivion the rest of it.

2 April 2006 – The Shawshank Redemption (1994) directed by Frank Darabont, DVD, 10, first time viewing
9 April 2006 – The 39 Steps (1935) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DVD, 8, first time viewing
11 April 2006 – The Ten Commandments (1956) directed by Cecil B. DeMille, DVD, 9
13 April 2006 – The Godfather (1972) directed by Francis Ford Coppola, DVD, 10
- The Godfather Part II (1974) directed by Francis Ford Coppola, DVD, 10
- The Godfather Part III (1990) directed by Francis Ford Coppola, DVD, 9
14 April 2006 – Touch of Evil (1958) directed by Orson Welles, DVD, 9, first time viewing
15 April 2006 – Thank You for Smoking (2005) directed by Jason Reitman, Theatre, 8, first time viewing
16 April 2006 – Ben-Hur (1959) directed by William Wyler, DVD, 10
19 April 2006 – Hauru no ugoku shiro or Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) directed by Hayao Miyazaki, DVD, 9
21 April 2006 – Enter the Dragon (1973) directed by Robert Clouse, DVD, 8
- Rebel Without a Cause (1955) directed by Nicholas Ray, DVD, 9, first time viewing
24 April 2006 – The Patriot (2000) directed by Roland Emmerich, VHS, 6, first time viewing
- Pulp Fiction (1994) directed by Quentin Tarantino, DVD, 10, first time viewing
27 April 2006 – Shaft (2000) directed by John Singleton, DVD, 7, first time viewing

2006-05-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

Driver's Ed is an interesting class and I don't mean I am interested in the subject. I don't tink that there is a class which is more outdated than this. The simulaters at Hardy seem like they were made in the seventies. They have mph instead of kph and they don't even work very well. They should really invest in some new ones like they got at Murray. Also, my teacher has the strangest accent ever. I can't put my finger on it. I think that it is Eastern European but I am not quite sure. She is kind of weird so the accent suits her. Also, I get my Driver's Ed test results back tomorrow. If I passed both test then I can get my learner's license. That happens on May 9th, the vision test is May 8. Also on May 9 Munich comes out on DVD. I will buy the two-disc special edition. I love that movie. Also, my first soccer game is tonight and it is like crap outside. Rainy and shit. It will be an interesting game.

BEWARE THE PURPLE MONKEY DISHWASHER!

2006-04-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

2006-04-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

So, Silent Hill is supposed to suck so I am not going to go see it. It is kind of disappointing because the trailer was good and the movie has Sean Bean in it. Oh well. I knew that Halo will be the first good video game turned movie. Also, I watched Rebel Without a Cause today and I thought that it was really good. I need to buy a jacket like James Dean has in the movie. You know, the red one. It rocks.

Metroid Prime Hunters

2006-04-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

I purchased Metroid Prime: Hunters yesterday and I am very pleased with it. The game has very advanced graphics for the DS, the cutscenes look fantastic and the gameplay is innovative buy really fun and engrossing. This game takes the Metroid Prime series (I call it the Metroid Prime series instead of the Metroid series because that is what the new series is called. It is like Ultimate Spider-man) into the genre that it was classified as, a first-person-shooter. This game is more about blasting your enemies than finding special upgrades and artifacts like Metroid Prime 1 and 2. Of course in the Adventure Mode you still have to find artifacts, it usually involves blasting up a rival bounty hunter of fighting a guardian robot. The main focus of the game has to be the multiplayer mode. You can play one-cartridge games where only one person actually owns the game, you can play multi-cartridge games where they get more advanced because all of you own the game and then there is the main type, WiFi games. Those are online games where you can play with anyone around the world. Also, the best addition to the game is the fact that you can choose between 7 bounty hunters including Samus. This game has it all and I know I just got it yesterday but I would say that it is most likely the best game for the DS, MarioKart DS is really fun but so is this game. I love the Metroid games and contrary to many people I think that Metroid Prime is the best game for the Gamecube, even better than Wind Waker or Resident Evil 4. This game is definitely worth buying and I think it is worth buying a DS for also.

2006-04-13T14:23:00.000-07:00

Well guess what? I actually have a 81% in English because on one of my projects, Ms. Baumgarten put down that I got a 40% instead of a 75%. 81% is not bad but it should be better. I still hate her but I don't think that she should die anymore. She should just be fired in disgrace and paraded in the streets as a terrible teacher for all to scowl and insult. That is my dream.

2006-04-12T19:38:00.000-07:00

This is what should happen to Baumgarten yet I (luckily for her) have more self control.

2006-04-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

So yah, I got my report card today and everything looked fine until my eye happened to glance at my English mark. Guess what it is. It is a 68%. A fuckin 68%. I hate Ms. Baumgarten so much. She better get fired or I am going to kill her. I hate her so much. She is the worst teacher every. Quoting my friend "She would fail her own class." That is how stupid she is. I hate her. There is no way that Aren Bergstrom can have a 68% in a class. My other marks were 92%(Math 20), 94%(History 10), 94%(Biology 20) and 82%(Physical Education). A 68% is not usual for Aren Bergstrom considering last semester I had a 94% in English. She sucks.

2006-04-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

This one is all for Stefan. The Spiral Monkey lives on.

March Movie Journal

2006-04-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

I watched 29 movies this past month and I have to say that is quite a bit compared to my 6-7 that I watched in March last year. Some good movies this month.

2 March 2006 – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DVD, 6, first time viewing
4 March 2006 – Blade Runner (1982) directed by Ridley Scott (director’s cut), DVD, 9, first time viewing
- Walk the Line (2005) directed by James Mangold, DVD, 8, first time viewing
6 March 2006 – Spartacus (1960) directed by Stanley Kubrick (1991-198 minute restored version), DVD, 9, first time viewing
8 March 2006 – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) directed by Mike Newell, DVD, 9
9 March 2006 – Good Night, And Good Luck (2005) directed by George Clooney, Theatre, 9, first time viewing
10 March 2006 – Hauru no ugoku shiro or Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) directed by Hayao Miyazaki, DVD, 8, first time viewing
11 March 2006 – Gladiator (2000) directed by Ridley Scott (2005 extended edition), DVD, 10, first time viewing version
12 March 2006 – The Lady and the Tramp (1955) directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske, DVD, 8, first time viewing
- Notorious (1946) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DVD, 10, first time viewing
- To Have and Have Not (1944) directed by Howard Hawks, DVD, 8, first time viewing
13 March 2006 – The Passion of the Christ (2004) directed by Mel Gibson, DVD, 9, first time viewing
14 March 2006 – Hell’s Angels (1930) directed by Howard Hughes, DVD, 6, first time viewing
15 March 2006 – Army of Darkness (1993) directed by Sam Raimi, DVD, 9
16 March 2006 – V for Vendetta (2005) directed by James McTeigue, Theatre, 7, first time viewing
17 March 2006 – Dial M for Murder (1954) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DVD, 8, first time viewing
18 March 2006 – Foreign Correspondent (1940) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DVD, 8, first time viewing
19 March 2006 – Courage of Lassie (1946) directed by Fred M. Wilcox, Television, 6, first time viewing
- Hollywood Scout ¥ (1945 directed by Joe Ansen, Television, 6, first time viewing
- The Wrong Man (1956) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DVD, 7, first time viewing
20 March 2006 – Four Weddings and a Funeral (1993) directed by Mike Newell, DVD, 7, first time viewing
22 March 2006 – Outbreak (1995) directed by Wolfgang Peterson, DVD, 5, first time viewing
23 March 2006 – Lord of the Flies (1990) directed by Harry Hook, DVD, 6, first time viewing
24 March 2006 – Majo no takkyubin or Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) directed by Hayao Miyazaki, DVD, 8
26 March 2006 – Alice in Wonderland (1951) directed by Clyde Geronomi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske, DVD, 9
- Casablanca (1942) directed by Michael Curtiz, DVD, 10
27 March 2006 – Rope (1948) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DVD, 8, first time viewing
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962) directed by David Lean (228 minute director’s cut), DVD, 10
28 March 2006 – Come Live with Me (1941) directed by Clarence Brown, Television, 7, first time viewing

Upcoming Musical

2006-03-31T18:55:00.000-08:00

Come see GUYS AND DOLLS at Hardy this next week. The shows run from April 4-8 with a Saturday matinee. This show rocks and besides, it has me in it. Come on, go get a taste of Broadway at the finest performing arts school in the city. Come to Evan Hardy and see the show!

2006-03-25T20:01:00.000-08:00

I finally got Oblivion after a long wait. And don't worry, the wait was worth it. This game is fantastic. It lived up to everything I thought it would be. The visuals are fantastic, the gameplay great, the options limitless and the best part is that they cleaned up a lot of the glitches that appeared in Morrowind. This game is fantasitc. Go out and buy a 360 and this and I promise you, you won't be disappointed.

2006-03-20T19:53:00.000-08:00

Check out Anton's top films list using this link. They are interesting to look at but man does this guy love Lawrence of Arabia. Here is the link.

2006-03-15T19:51:00.000-08:00

Only a handful of days now till Oblivion comes out. I can't wait. This game is going to consume so much of my time that it is sick. In other news, the Star Wars TV show is official and they say it is to come out in 2008. It will chronicle the story of Luke Skywalker in the 20 years between Episode III and IV. I can't wait.

... I know I said "I can't wait" twice in this post but whatever.

2006-03-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

I strolled up to the Broadway Theatre at about ten to seven and unexpectedly I was met by about 100 people waiting in line for Good Night, And Good Luck. I finally got to the front of the line, bought my ticket and when into the theatre. Good for me, the film hadn't started yet and I didn't miss anything except for commercials. The film finally started and the credits rolled up. That was the last thing I remembered because I was so dragged into the story of this film that the time just flew by. This is a film that tells the story of Edward R. Murrow, a journalist for CBS in the 1950s who had a heroic battle with infamous Senator Joseph McCarthy (I'm not sure if I spelled his name right) using his television program as the frontline. This movie tells not only about the fear that McCarthy struck into the hearts of Americans but also of the decline of television. Television used to be able to change people back when Murrow was on it. Nowadays the only program that may sway peoples' minds is 60 Minutes which I don't even know if it is still on. Television is not only for entertainment purposes and is a tool to be used. You should see this film not just as great entertainment but as a window into the dark past of America.

Crash won best picture!

2006-03-05T20:40:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought? Crash beating out Brokeback Mountain to win Best Picture. It was quite an upset but honestly I am glad because with all the buzz that Brokeback was making, people gabbing about how this film is breaking down barriers and so forth when really nobody is going to remember this film in 10 years time. Now I must see Crash and I am probably going to see Good Night, and Good Luck tomorrow so yah. I don't care about seeing Brokeback anymore. Why should I? Too bad Munich didn't win though, we all know it should have. Well once I see Good Night and Good Luck, I will be sure to post a review of it. So that's all for tonight and yah, I beat everyone else in posting about who won. Take that!

It's Official

2006-03-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

It's official folks. On March 20, Bethesda Game Studios is releasing the long, long, very long awaited RPG The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. This game is going to be so, so good. I am going to go into more indepth description of the game. First, he graphics are amazing and this game features the voice-talents of great actors like Sean Bean and Patrick Stewart. Secondly, the main quest of the game takes about 20-25 hours if you stay focused to it. That isn't bad considering that is how long some games take. Then there are 4 guilds you can join, The Fighter's Guild, The Thief's Guild, the Sorceror's Guild and some other guild. Each of these Guilds offers another sub-story line which takes about the same length as the main one. So now this game takes about 125 hours, approximately. On top of that there are over 200 dungeons in the game. Each dungeon taking from about 30min to 90min. I think that is what I heard. Then on top of that there is 16 miles of walkable in game land that you can go through. Much of it is forest and here's the great thing about the forest. The game has been programmed to create the forest on its own so that means that every person's seperate game disc is going to have a different forest. Then the best part is that there are 1000 "Radiant A.I." in the game. A Radiant A.I. is an A.I. that decides what they want to do by themselves. They are scripted at all. You can follow them around and they will do different things. They could just sit and read or eat some food, take a walk, talk to a friend, do some target practise or beat their dog. I am not joking about the dog thing, it is in one of the videos. So this game is going to be amazing and it is going to take up so much of my time. I am already predicting that this is going to be the best game on the 360 and maybe one of the best games ever. I recommend that whoever owns a 360 should purchase it cause I know I will.

February Movie Journal

2006-03-02T14:21:00.000-08:00

These are all the films I watched last month. I didn't get around to watching very many but whatever. I still saw some key ones in here.

2 February 2006 – Soylent Green (1973) directed by Richard Fleischer, DVD, 8, first time viewing
3 February 2006 – Grizzly Man (2005) directed by Werner Herzog, television, 9, first time viewing
4 February 2006 – Kaze no tani no Naushika or Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) directed by Hayao Miyazaki, DVD, 9, first time viewing
5 February 2006 – Capote (2005) directed by Bennett Miller, theater, 8, first time viewing
8 February 2006 – Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) directed by Steve Box and Nick Park, DVD, 9
11 February 2006 – The French Connection (1971) directed by William Freidkin, DVD, 9, first time viewing
- Siu lam juk kau or Shaolin Soccer (2001) directed by Stephen Chow, DVD, 7
12 February 2006 – Scarface (1983) directed by Brian De Palma, DVD, 9
13 February 2006 – Road House (1989) directed by Rowdy Herrington, DVD, 6
– Family Plot (1976) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, DVD, 6, first time viewing
14 February 2006 – Dark City (1998) directed by Alex Proyas, DVD, 8, first time viewing
15 February 2006 – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) directed by Peter Jackson (extended edition), DVD, 10
- Spider-man (2002) directed by Sam Raimi, DVD, 9
16 February 2006 – Spider-man 2 (2004) directed by Sam Raimi, DVD, 10
17 February 2006 – Minority Report (2002) directed by Steven Spielberg, DVD, 10
21 February 2006 – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) directed by Steven Spielberg, DVD, 10
25 February 2006 – A Shot in the Dark (1964) directed by Blake Edwards, DVD, 8
- The Sugarland Express (1974) directed by Steven Spielberg, DVD, 7, first time viewing
26 February 2006 – Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) directed by Steven Spielberg, DVD, 10

Future Purchases

2006-02-28T13:04:00.000-08:00

I have been browsing the Criterion Collection website and there are a couple of films that I want to purchase in the near future (not all Criterion.) First is the French film "Le Samourai" which I absolutely love. It is about a contract killer who becomes the chief suspect in the murder he committed. Through his cunning intellect he is able to escape the police and disregard the murder charge. The other Criterion movie that I want to get is "The Most Dangerous Game". Most movie people should be familiar with the film which was made by the same people as "King Kong" on much of the same sets. It is extremely entertaining and quite short being only 1 hour long. The other film I want to purchase is "The Pink Panther" collection. It comes with the 5 good Pink Panther films all starring Peter Sellers. They have dropped the price on this film considerably so it is now in my price range.

For none movie things, all I want is "The Elder Scroll IV Oblivion". It is going to be so DAMN good. I have watched all the movies of it at IGN and I think you should check them out if you are thinking of purchasing the game. This game is going to so immersive and so long, it is unbelievable that it is only a one-player game. I can't wait. The other 360 title I am interested in is "Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter". I want to play this game before I decide if I want to purchase it or not because I haven't played any of the Ghost Recon games in the past, but if it is as good as "Rainbow Six 3" it will definetly be worth purchasing. The final game I want is "Metroid Prime Hunters" for the Nintendo DS. This game has potential see as the demo is one of the best things on the DS. Too bad I don't have wireless internet because I could play online. Also, my neighbours got wise to me "borrowing" their wireless internet so they turned it off. Anyway, I can't wait till Oblivion because it is going to ruin my life, technically speaking.

2006-02-25T17:53:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness! Do you know what this means? It means VENOM is in Spider-man 3. This is going to be awesome. Check out Aint it cool news for more details. I am already more excited for this film than any other this year. Not saying the MI:3 or Miami Vice is going to be bad just 2007 has so much more to offer. Halo, Spidey, what else does there need to be to make a sweet year for movies. I can't wait.

Oscar Predictions

2006-02-18T20:11:00.000-08:00

This is my list of Oscar winner predictions. I think it is pretty acurate and it differs from some people to make it more interesting to read. Here they are:
$-predicted winner
*-prefered winner

Best Picture:
Brokeback Mountain$
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich*

Best Actor:
Brokeback Mountain- Heath Ledger
Capote- Philip Seymour Hoffman$*
Good Night, and Good Luck- David Strathairn
Hustle & Flow - Terrence Howard
Walk the Line- Joaquin Phoenix

Best Actress:
Mrs. Henderson Presents- Judi Dench
North Country- Charlize Theron
Pride & Prejudice- Keira Knightley*
Transamerica- Felicity Huffman
Walk the Line- Reese Witherspoon$

Best Supporting Actor:
Brokeback Mountain- Jake Gyllenhaal
Cinderella Man- Paul Giamatti
Crash- Matt Dillon
History of Violence, A- William Hurt
Syriana- George Clooney$*

Best Supporting Actress:
Brokeback Mountain- Michelle Williams
Capote- Catherine Keener*
Constant Gardener, The- Rachel Weisz$
Junebug- Amy Adams
North Country- Frances McDormand

Best Director:
Brokeback Mountain- Ang Lee$
Capote- Bennett Miller
Crash- Paul Haggis
Good Night, and Good Luck- George Clooney
Munich- Steven Spielberg*

Best Writing Directly for the Screen
Crash$
Good Night, and Good Luck
Match Point
Squid and the Whale, The
Syriana*

Best Writing Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Brokeback Mountain$
Capote
Constant Gardener, The
History of Violence, A
Munich*

Best Cinematography
Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Good Night, and Good Luck$
Memoirs of a Geisha
New World, The*

Best Art Direction
Good Night, and Good Luck$
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong*
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride & Prejudice

Best Costume Design
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Memoirs of a Geisha
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice$*
Walk the Line

Best Sound
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The
King Kong$
Memoirs of a Geisha
Walk the Line
War of the Worlds*

Best Editing
Cinderella Man
Constant Gardener, The
Crash$
Munich*
Walk the Line

Best Sound Editing
King Kong$
Memoirs of a Geisha
War of the Worlds*

Best Visual Effects
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The
King Kong$
War of the Worlds
Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith was snubed here and should win.

Best in Makeup
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The$
Cinderella Man
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith*

Best Original Score
Brokeback Mountain- Gustavo Santaolalla$
Constant Gardener, The - Alberto Iglesias
Memoirs of a Geisha- John Williams
Munich - John Williams*
Pride & Prejudice - Dario Marianelli

Best Documentary
Darwin's Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Marche de l'empereur, La$
Murderball
Street Fight
Grizzly Man was given the snub here and it should win.

Best Animated Feature Film
Corpse Bride
Hauru no ugoku shiro (Howl's Moving Castle)
Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit$*

The Top Fifty Films of All Time

2006-02-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

I have been doing lots of thinking lately and I have decided to make a list of my top 50 films of all time. So Viola! Here it is.

1. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) directed by Richard Marquand
2. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) directed by Irvin Kershner
3. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) directed by George Lucas
4. Star Wars (1977) directed by George Lucas
5. Citizen Kane (1941) directed by Orson Welles
6. The Godfather Part II (1974) directed by Francis Ford Coppola
7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) directed by Stanley Kubrick
8. Schindler’s List (1993) directed by Steven Spielberg
9. Lawrence of Arabia (1958) directed by David Lean
10. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) directed by Steven Spielberg
11. The Godfather (1972) directed by Francis Ford Coppola
12. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) directed by George Lucas
13. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) directed by George Lucas
14. Il Buono, il brutto, it cattivo (1966) directed by Sergio Leone
15. Saving Private Ryan (1998) directed by Steven Spielberg
16. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) directed by Peter Jackson
17. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2002) directed by Peter Jackson
18. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) directed by Frank Capra
19. The Third Man (1949) directed by Carol Reed
20. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) directed by David Lean
21. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) directed by Peter Jackson
22. Shichinin no samurai (1954) directed Akira Kurosawa
23. Ben-Hur (1959) directed by William Wyler
24. Vertigo (1958) directed by Alfred Hitchcock
25. Fantasia (1940) directed by James Algar and Samuel Armstrong
26. North By Northwest (1959) directed by Alfred Hitchcock
27. Rear Window (1954) directed by Alfred Hitchcock
28. Pinocchio (1940) directed by Hamilton Luske and Ben Sharpsteen
29. Casablanca (1942) directed by Michael Curtiz
30. Minority Report (2002) directed by Steven Spielberg
31. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) directed by Ken Anderson
32. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) directed by John Frankenheimer
33. Jaws (1975) directed by Steven Spielberg
34. The General (1927) directed by Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton
35. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) directed by Steven Spielberg
36. Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Just Love the Bomb (1962) directed by Stanley Kubrick
37. JFK (1991) directed by Oliver Stone
38. The Sting (1973) directed by George Roy Hill
39. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) directed by George Roy Hill
40. Charade (1963) directed by Stanley Donen
41. Mononoke-hime (1997) directed by Hayao Miyazaki
42. The Last of the Mohicans (1992) directed by Michael Mann
43. Amadeus (1984) directed by Milos Forman
44. Rushmore (1998) directed by Wes Anderson
45. The Lion King (1994) directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff
46. E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) directed by Steven Spielberg
47. A Hard Day’s Night (1964) directed by Richard Lester
48. Beauty and the Beast (1991) directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise
49. American Graffiti (1973) directed by George Lucas
50. King Kong (1933) directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack

Men's Hockey in Torino

2006-02-16T13:17:00.000-08:00

The Canadian Men's Ice Hockey team has taken their second victory against Germany today. Their first game was against Italy which was easily won even though the Canadian team was extremely jetlagged. They were like slugs out there and they destroyed the Italians. Today, it was a little more of a normal hockey game. The final score was 5-1 with goals by Gagne, Doan, Sakic, Redden, and Heatley. There was a fantastic save by Adam Foote as Luongo was out of the net and Foote dived in front saving an easy goal. Then to make things better, on the turnover, the Canadian team scored. It was a great play. I was surprised by how many shots the German goalie Griess saved and if it wasn't for him, the Germans would have been completely crushed. I am looking forward to seeing them play again and win another Olympic Gold.

January Movie List

2006-02-09T14:25:00.000-08:00

This is my January film journal. There are a lot of movies on there, some of which are shorts but whatever. Good month.

¥ = short film
ŧ = television movie

1 January 2006 - Guys and Dolls (1955) directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, DVD, 7, first time viewing
- The Outsiders (1983) directed by Francis Ford Coppola (2005 complete novel edition), DVD, 9, first time viewing version
- Road House (1989 directed by Rowdy Herrington, DVD, 6
2 January 2006 - Ben and Me ¥ (1953) directed by Hamilton Luske, DVD, 9
- Alice’s Wonderland ¥ (1923) directed by Walt Disney, DVD, 8, first time viewing
- Paul Bunyan ¥ (1958) directed by Les Clark, DVD, 7, first time viewing
- Noah’s Ark ¥ (1959) directed by Bill Justice, DVD, 3, first time viewing
- Ferdinand the Bull ¥ (1938) directed by Dick Rickard, DVD, 9, first time viewing
- Chicken Little ¥ (1943) directed by Clyde Geronimi, DVD, 9, first time viewing
- The Hire: Hostage ¥ (2002) directed by John Woo, DVD, 7, first time viewing
- The Hire: Ticker ¥ (2002) directed by Joe Carnahan, DVD, 8, first time viewing
- The Hire: Beat the Devil ¥ (2002) directed by Tony Scott, DVD, 5, first time viewing
- The Hire: Ambush ¥ (2001) directed by John Frankenheimer, DVD, 8, first time viewing
- The Hire: Chosen ¥ (2001) directed by Ang Lee, DVD, 5, first time viewing
6 January 2006 - War of the Worlds (2005) directed by Stephen Spielberg, DVD, 9
7 January 2006 – Lethal Weapon (1987) directed by Richard Donner (director’s cut), DVD, 8, first time viewing
8 January 2006 – The Fugitive (1993) directed by Andrew Davis, DVD, 9
- Munich (2005) directed by Stephen Spielberg, theater, 10, first time viewing
13 January 2006 – Duel ŧ (1971) directed by Stephen Spielberg, DVD, 8, first time viewing
17 January 2006 – Planet of the Apes (2001) directed by Tim Burton, DVD, 5
18 January 2006- Lethal Weapon (1987) directed by Richard Donner (director’s cut), DVD, 8
19 January 2006 – The Maltese Falcon (1941) directed by John Huston, DVD, 9, first time viewing
20 January 2006 – Planet of the Apes (1968) directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, DVD, 9
- The Wild Bunch (1969) directed by Sam Peckinpah (1995 Restoration), DVD, 7, first time viewing
21 January 2006 – The New World (2005) directed by Terrence Malick, theater, 9, first time viewing
22 January 2006 – Le Samourai (1967) directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, DVD, 9, first time viewing
23 January 2006 – A Beautiful Mind (2001) directed by Ron Howard, DVD, 10, first time viewing
24 January 2006 – The Bourne Identity (2002) directed by Doug Liman, DVD, 7, first time viewing
- Enter the Dragon (1973) directed by Robert Clouse, DVD, 8, first time viewing
25 January 2006 – Mission: Impossible (1996) directed by Brian De Palma, DVD, 8
- A Hard Day’s Night (1964) directed by Richard Lester, DVD, 10
26 January 2006 – The Insider (1999) directed by Michael Mann, DVD, 9, first time viewing
- Lord of War (2005) directed by Andrew Nichol, theater, 6, first time viewing
27 January 2006 – Waiting for Guffman (1996) directed by Christopher Guest, DVD, 8, first time viewing
- Rain Man (1988) directed by Barry Levinson, DVD, 9, first time viewing
- The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) directed by Judd Apatow, DVD, 8, first time viewing
29 January 2006 – The Matador (2005) directed by Richard Shepard, theater, 7, first time viewing

Honourable Mentions of 2005

2006-02-05T14:48:00.000-08:00

Here is the list of my honourable mentions of last year. There are only a couple and one of them would have made my top ten list had I seen it before I made it.

The New World, directed by Terrence Malick. This is a great film. The visuals are stunning and the story is remarkable interesting considering it is about Pocahontas. Also, Chrisian Bale is in it much longer than I thought before which makes it even better. This would have been placed at #7 on my top ten, bumping out Pride and Prejudice.

Pride and Prejudice, directed by Joe Wright. I already told you why I liked this film. As of now it is an honourable mention.

Grizzly Man, directed by Werner Herzog. This film follows Timothy Treadwell, a man who lived with the Grizzly bears up in Alaska for 13 summers before he was killed and eaten by a bear. This man walked the line between hero and absolute maniac. A great film. Contrary to what others think, I feel really bad for Timothy because no matter how crazy you are, nobody deserves to be eaten by a Grizzly bear.

The Weather Man, directed by Gore Verbinski. This is a really good film and Nicholas Cage's better one this year (Lord of War just wasn't great at all. It was good and parts were enjoyable but not rewatchable at all.) This film is very good considering when I saw the trailer, I thought it looked like the stupidest thing ever. "Why does Nicholas Cage carry around a bow and arrow." Good stuff.

The 40 Year Old Virgin, directed by Judd Apatow. This movie is very, very funny. The story is enjoyable and the character is extremely likeable. I think that it is probably better than Wedding Crashers, mostly because it is genuinely funnier. This film is much better than I anticipated.

That is it. I am probably going to see Capote tonight so yah. Good night ya bastards.

"I am such an asshole sometimes."

2006-02-05T14:43:00.000-08:00

For some reason, when I edited my template to add more links on this blog, it deleted my last post. Screwy stuff. Kind of pisses me off. Why can't technology work properly.

The Scary Door

7. The White Stripes - Icky Thump

Top Ten Video Games of 2007

8. Radiohead - In Rainbows

9. Kings of Leon - Because of the Times

10. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

Honourable Mention: Limbeck - Limbeck

2007: Year in Review

One to a Kill

Movie Journal Revamp

Most Anticipated Films this Fall

Motion Picture Appreciation Society

New Blog

R.I.P. Ingmar Bergman

Updater 2.0

The Case of the Ivory Pin: Part II

Macbeth

Oscar Predictions

If the Oscars Were Mine.

1. The Departed

2. Children of Men

3. United 93

4. Casino Royale

5. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

6. The Fountain

7. The Prestige

8. The Queen

9. Blood Diamond

10. Letters from Iwo Jima

Top Ten Films of 06 - Honourable Mentions

Game of the Year

YouTube Glory

Golden Globe Predictions

Top Ten Video Games of 2006

Ring in the New Year

November Movie Journal

Break my code...If you can. You never will.

The Top Video Games of All Time 31-40

October 06 Movie Journal

The Top Video Games of All Time 41-50

Sloan - October 21 2006 At The Odeon

Most Looking Forward to Films of 2006

September Movie Journal

The Ten Best Films of the 2000s.

The Ten Best Films of the 90s.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World

Connery Contest

August Movie Journal

Everybody Loves Regenerator: Issue #2

So Long Steve

The Case of the Ivory Pin: Part I

Relax. They're first class fliers.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

July Movie Journal

I'm back.

POST 100: June Movie Journal

I have another Updater as you may call it.

Updater

NEW DOG!

May Movie Journal

X-Men: The Last Stand makes you thank God it is their Last Stand

A Few New Wikipedia Pages For The World To Enjoy

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Top Films of the 90s.

M:I:III *May contain spoilers*

BEWARE THE PURPLE MONKEY DISHWASHER!

Metroid Prime Hunters

March Movie Journal

Upcoming Musical

Crash won best picture!

It's Official

February Movie Journal

Future Purchases

Oscar Predictions

The Top Fifty Films of All Time

Men's Hockey in Torino

January Movie List

Honourable Mentions of 2005

M:I:III May contain spoilers