Transformers Triplets: Canadian, North American & UK Box Office June 26, 2009 Weekend

Well it's no surprize that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen sweeps this past weekend for all three box office charts in Canada, North America and the UK (where it's already in it's second week). It also has the highest opening weekend gross of 2009 for all three box offices bumping out X-Men Origins: Wolverine which had the previous biggest weekend when it opened in May. It will be interesting to see how Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince does in a few weeks. Other interesting box office notations - is anyone else jealous that our friends in the UK had Blood: The Last Vampire released this weekend? It debuted at #7. So far it has a July 10, 2009 limited release in the US but nothing as of yet for up here in Canada.

Top 20 Movies in Canada for the June 26, 2009 weekend
1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen *
2. The Proposal
3. The Hangover
4. Up
5. My Sister's Keeper *
6. Year One
7. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
8. Star Trek
9. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
10. Angels & Demons
11. Terminator Salvation
12. À vos marques... party! 2
13. Under the Sea 3D
14. Millenium
15. Land of the Lost
16. I Love You, Man
17. New York *
18. J'ai tue ma mère
19. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
20. Away We Go

Top 20 Movies in North America for the June 26, 2009 weekend
1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen *
2. The Proposal
3. The Hangover
4. Up
5. My Sister's Keeper *
6. Year One
7. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
8. Star Trek
9. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
10. Away We Go
11. Land of the Lost
12. Terminator Salvation
13. Angels & Demons
14. Imagine That
15. Drag Me to Hell
16. Cheri *
17. Whatever Works
18. Monsters vs. Aliens
19. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
20. Dance Flick

Top 10 Movies in the UK for the June 26, 2009 weekend
1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2. The Hangover
3. Year One *
4. My Sister's Keeper *
5. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
6. Terminator Salvation
7. Blood: The Last Vampire *
8. Angels & Demons
9. New York *
10. Sunshine Cleaning *

* indicates opening weekend in noted location, red text indicates Canadian film release

Source: Canada & North America info, UK info

Monthly Wallpaper - July 2009: Vintage Musicals

For the month of July, the Movie Dearest Monthly Wallpaper is celebrating the best of Vintage Musicals, classic black and white tuners that have never lost their luster.

Such legendary couples as Fred & Ginger, Mickey & Judy, Bojangles & Shirley and Nelson & Jeanette join with Gene, Lena, Ruby and Maurice (not to mention a certain Busby) for a full month of classic musical memories.

Just click on the picture above to enlarge it to its 1024 x 768 size, then right click your mouse and select "Set as Background", and you're all set. If you want, you can also save it to your computer and set it up from there, or modify the size in your own photo-editing program if needed.

New Moon Monday, Versus, Bets and Bitten

We are in a bit of a lull for Twilight news with the cast working on various other projects at the moment and Eclipse not yet filming. There are as always lots of photos floating around, like this great one of Kristen Stewert as Joan Jett for the upcoming film The Runaways. There has also been lots about fans going a little crazy.

Buffy Vs Edward
This video has been floating around the web for about a week and seems like everyone I know has seen it. Have you ? The Buffy vs Edward video from Rebellious Pixels is 1) hilarious and 2) interesting commentary on the question/reaction to if the character Edward is creepy stalker type 3) has Buffy kicking butt - which is what she does! It is put together really well and I'll admit it made me miss Buffy. What a great show. We need more kick butt women on TV.

Bella Vs Sookie
Interesting article over at MSNBC comparing the women protagonists Sookie of True Blood and Bella in Twilight and also lightly touches on Buffy and the upcoming TV series The Vampire Diaries. Amazing how it seems that all the vampire/romance stories the women are human and the vampires are men. I wonder if we will see a different take on this at any point.
Source: Twilightology

Twitter Following = A Bet Peter Facinelli vs Rob DeFranco = Bikini Dance
A bet made on twitter between Peter Facinelli vs Rob DeFranco has now ended with Peter being victorious and therefore Rob DeFranco will now dance in a bikini on Hollywood Boulevard while singing 'Single Ladies'. Tomorrow, June 30/09 at 10am. Vid of Peter thanking all the fans who helped him win is here. Weirdess news for New Moon Mondays so far!
Source: Examiner

Before the Dawn: A Twilight Podcast
Episode 10 is now up. Head on over to Before the Dawn to listen or download the show directly here. This week Marina & I's discuss the News of the Week up to June 26, 2009 including above noted Buffy vs Edward video.

Daybreakers Gets A Trailer
Daybreakers trailer has arrived and the film gives us a slightly new spin on vampire lore set in a world where vampires outnumber humans. Set to release in early 2010 it stars Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Isabel Lucan and Sam Neill. Pictures have also been released, check out the poster image and still of Ethan Hawke. This one goes on the will be seeing list.

When Vampire Movies Bite, in a Bad Way
Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned that TMN was having a bunch of vampire movies on in anticipation for True Blood Season 2 (which has been awesome so far)? Well, I revised Lost Boys which was a lot of fun as always. I also check out Bitten which was so bad I may write up a Non-Review for it. I made it about 40 minutes in but by then I had had enough of the gender crap, bathroom humour an general lack of anything redeeming. Sure, it's going for exploitation style and some of that worked but even so there was contradictory dialogue and unexplained solutions to things noted as problems. But, I don't think I'm the target market. I think it's for people who liked Species and also vampires. Or not. I wouldn't even say it's really a vampire film.

Before the Dawn: A Twilight Podcast - Episode 10: News to Week of June 26, 2009

Before the Dawn: A Twilight Podcast - Episode 10 is up!

What's new in the Twilight World? Head on over to Before the Dawn to check out Marina & I's discuss the News to Week of June 26, 2009 including new pictures for New Moon and the Twilight Effect all around us from runaway teens to the Buffy vs Edward video from Rebellious Pixels. Oh, and more - of course!

Before the Dawn: A Twilight Podcast is a weekly 1/2 hour podcast meeting all your audio Twilight needs!

Cinematic Crush: Cary Grant

Crush object: Cary Grant, actor.

- The epitome of cinematic class and sophistication, he was born Archibald Leach. Following stints as a stilt walker in a traveling theatrical troupe and an actor in light Broadway comedies, he came to Hollywood and was rechristened Cary Grant.

- Stardom came quickly, with such hits as Blonde Venus, She Done Him Wrong and I'm No Angel. In a string of beloved "screwball" comedies, including The Awful Truth, Bringing Up Baby, Holiday, His Girl Friday and The Philadelphia Story, he perfected the art of the befuddled romantic leading man.

- A favorite of Alfred Hitchcock, he starred in the director's classic thrillers Suspicion, Notorious, To Catch a Thief and North by Northwest.

- Additionally, his filmography reads like a list of some of the most popular movies ever made, including such favorites as Topper, Gunga Din, Only Angels Have Wings, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Bishop's Wife, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, An Affair to Remember, Charade and many more.

- Only nominated twice for an Academy Award (for Penny Serenade and None But the Lonely Heart), he received an Honorary Oscar in 1970 for his "unique mastery of the art of screen acting". In 1981, he was inducted into the Kennedy Center Honors, and the American Film Institute named him the second greatest male star of all time in 1999.

With this 100th post, Cinematic Crush will be going on hiatus for the immediate future.

Poll Results: Which is the Best Harry Potter Film? (so far)

The results are in and The Best Harry Potter Film (so far) is #4 The Goblet of Fire with 29%! I'm a little surprized, I really thought it would have been #3 The Prisoner of Azkaban which was right behind it at 27%. Although I'm currently revisiting the films and I haven't rewatched The Goblet of Fire but will today. I remember not liking it right off the bat but it really grew on me and it will be a treat to watch. The next best was going back to the roots with #1 The Philosopher's Stone at 20%, then the most recent release #5 The Order of the Phoenix with 15% and to no surprize #2 The Chamber of Secrets brings up the caboose at 6%.

Huge response on this poll, biggest yet in fact. Thanks to each and every person that voted!

Only a few weeks until we get to see the The Half-Blood Prince!

29% - #4 The Goblet of Fire
27% - #3 The Prisoner of Azkaban
20% - #1 The Philosopher's Stone
15% - #5 The Order of the Phoenix
6% - #2 The Chamber of Secrets

Creepy Trailers All Around Us!

There is no shortage of creeping upcoming films for this year, and into 2010 as well.

We start in the summer with Orphan, and there ain't nothing like a horror movie with a creepy kid in it, eh? From the trailer (which feels like it shows way too much of the film) it certainly captures that creepiness well. I know I'll end up seeing it.

A different kind of creep factor is Surrogates with Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell return to the land of Sci Fi which in it of itself is awesome. The film seems to dance with actual concepts, ideas and moral dilemnas! Promising. Plot wise it looks like a combination of Total Recall meets "Neuromancer". The trailer did leave with some reservations because there a lot of ways to misuse virtual reality + host bodies that are awful. We'll see what director Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, U-571) does with it!

The Shutter Island trailer has been kicking around for a least week now showing us what is next from Scorcese. I'm admittedly not a Scorcese fan, and this one looks suspiciously like a horror film although classified as a 'drama'. Feels like it's jumping on the horror train to me.

Also not new to the roster of trailers but certainly fits with creepy is the trailer for The Road. Very strange that it is being released same day as Where the Wild Things Are (Oct 16/09), which is based on a (creepy) kids book, but more so everyone I know who is interested in one film is also interested in the other. The Road will be a biggie though, based on a fantastic but really harsh post-apocolyptic book by Cormac McCarthy ("No Country for Old Men"), directed by John Hillcoat (The Proposition) and starring Viggo Mortenson. If this doesn't pop up at TIFF'09 I'll be shocked.

Last up is all vampires, literally. Check out the Daybreakers trailer for a slightly new spin on vampire story. Looked interesting enough to only watch the first 1/2 of the trailer.

And if you need something to wash off the creepy feelings, I suggest checking out the new Fame trailer (see Fame review here). Singing, dancing, talent, troubles and just a smidge of attitude. I can't wait!

Lists of 2009 and 2010 Upcoming Release have been revised to include new deets and of course tons of other upcoming releases.

Reel Thoughts: Two for the Road

Gee, what audience are they going after with the ads for Away We Go?

It’s not that audiences who liked Juno, Napoleon Dynamite and Little Miss Sunshine won’t enjoy watching Maya Rudolph’s perfectly nuanced performance as Verona, a mother-to-be unsure of where she should be. Anyone with a pulse should love Rudolph (daughter of the late singer Minnie Riperton) as she runs the gamut from depressed to aghast to amazed to euphoric, sometimes in the same scene. As her bearded and equally aimless boyfriend Burt, John Krasinski (The Office) is what he is, an all-purpose, somewhat-bland everyman who’s interchangeable with Justin Long and that guy who plays Chuck.

Rudolph and Krasinski play a couple that finds themselves in limbo when Krasinski’s self-absorbed parents (Catherine O’Hara and Jeff Daniels) suddenly announce that they’re moving to Belgium. Realizing that they have no reason to stay in the frigid Colorado purgatory now, the couple decides to take a series of cross-country trips to visit friends and family and decide where to settle down and raise their baby. First stop? Away to Phoenix! And a dustier, tackier Phoenix they couldn’t have found. In a hilarious vignette set at the Phoenix Greyhound Park, Allison Janney plays Lily, an old work friend of Verona’s, who brays and jokes and insults her children within their hearing range. Jim Gaffigan plays her morose conspiracy-nut hubby with scary realism — these people definitely exist in real life.


Off to Tucson, Burt and Verona go to meet Verona’s pretty sister Grace, as well as one of the funniest movie kids in recent history. After a little sisterly bonding in a bathtub warehouse, the couple leaves Tucson for Madison and a priceless visit with Maggie Gyllenhaal as LN (pronounced "Ellen"), Burt’s childhood friend who has become a militant Earth Mother and “family bed” proponent. The movie hits its comic peak as Burt and Verona try to endure LN’s pretentious and patronizing parenting lessons.

Montreal and Miami are also on the itinerary before Burt and Verona can come to terms with their lives and Burt can confront Verona with why she doesn’t want to marry him. Sam Mendes almost redeems himself after the cinematic depressant Revolutionary Road, which actually turned his stunning wife Kate Winslet into an annoying shrew, and he shows a much lighter touch with the material. He stacks the deck with a bit too much horrifying local “flavor” and drags the Montreal section on too long, but he captures the real angst of thirtysomethings unsure of what to do with their lives. The ending, while predictable yet inexplicable, is nonetheless sweet and satisfying as the meandering soon-to-be parents finally find a place to call home — each other.

If you like indie films with a lot of quirky characters and sharp dialogue, you’ll want to say Away We Go.

UPDATE: Away We Go is now available on DVD and Blu-rayfrom Amazon.com.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Reel Thoughts Interview: A Wonderful Wicked Woman

When Wicked returns to Tempe's Gammage, we'll have reason to celebrate. Playing Glinda is Katie Rose Clarke, who was so moving in the production of The Light in the Piazza that toured. If you missed that gorgeous production but managed to catch the show on PBS (filmed from its Broadway production after Kelli O'Hara left), you also got to see the talented Texas native playing the emotionally challenged Clara.

In her long reign as the Good Witch of the North in training, Clarke has made a wonderful impression on audiences and critics alike. She is able to act without batting an eyelash even when her heel broke off in her big "Popular" number, pausing to 'zap' her foot with her wand in the hope that a new shoe would appear. I had the opportunity to speak with Clarke about playing every tween girl's fantasy role in the runaway hit.


NC: How has this experience been, touring with Wicked?
Katie Rose Clarke: It's been amazing. I've learned so much and it's been life-changing for me in a lot of ways. Being in a show that's so wildly popular and so well-received is such a blessing, and I just feel really lucky. It's been a great experience.

NC: How would you contrast it with your experience with The Light in the Piazza?
KRC: It is different ... Piazza was a smaller company and a smaller scale show comparatively. Wicked is quite a spectacle, it's impressive technically. The sets and everything for Piazza were the same way in a different way, so it's been a completely different experience in great ways. I of course will always miss Piazza. It holds a very special place in my heart.


NC: Is it all fun and games "behind the curtain" at Wicked?
KRC: With a show that is so well known with roles that are so well known, it can be intimidating. It feels like there's a little bit of pressure living up to what the expectations are for a role like this. So in that way, it can be stressful, but it's still open for interpretation. There have been so many different witches at this point, so many actresses have been able to bring their own personalities and experiences to the role, in that way the pressure has been lifted. I think if the stakes weren't this high, the show wouldn't be this good, so it's also fun to meet that challenge. It's a demanding role physically and emotionally, so for me it's a lot of stress offstage to stay healthy and to be ready to perform every night. You work out, you eat healthy, you get as much rest as your body needs, and you have to try to forgive yourself when you don't.

NC: How have you put your own stamp on the role of Glinda?
KRC: I approached it as Glinda is a person who undergoes so much change and in my view of her, she comes from a place where she has to appear perfect and be perfect and be the center of attention. There's a pressure on Glinda to be a certain way and as she grows up and we track her journey throughout the show, she sees that there are certain parts of life and of the world that aren't perfect that shape her into becoming the woman that she is by the end of the show. I sort of just approached her as a young girl who grows up. To track that journey every night is pretty fun, and something that I can relate to and most women can.


NC: And you came straight from school into The Light in the Piazza, so that had to be quite a journey. What kind of reactions do you get from your fans at the stage door?
KRC: It's rewarding after a show to come outside and see that it was well-received and to get that encouragement from the people who you just sort of poured your heart out for for three hours. That's like the ultimate gratification, that never gets old! We're so fortunate to have that. I've had people who've gone through certain tragedies in their lives say that they haven't laughed that hard in months or even a year. They come to the theater and forget their problems and we can make them laugh and go to another world. That is truly rewarding and that makes it completely worth it.

Clarke admitted that performing Light in the Piazza for the cameras, knowing that it would be broadcast live made her a little nervous hoping that she wouldn't trip or fall down the stairs. "It's a scary thing, but it's also fantastic," she explained. She hasn't watched the entire show, fearing that she'll be too hard on herself.


As for Wicked, she hopes that girls watching it will appreciate the great friendship between Glinda and Elphaba (the so-called Wicked Witch of the West) and how it helps change the two women. She also agreed with me when I suggested that the show is popular with GLBT audiences because they appreciate Elphaba's struggle to be who she is and to be appreciated for her strengths and not allow herself to be shunned for being different.

The warm and charming Clarke ended the interview by thanking me, demonstrating again why she is such a successful and well-loved artist. "Thank you for knowing so much about the show and about me. It always makes the interview much better for us, so I appreciate that. Thank you!

I went online and saw some candid scenes of Ms. Clarke in Wicked and can conform that she is wonderful in the role and truly makes it her own and is not in Kristin Chenoweth's diminutive shadow. Knowing how well this mammoth show sells, you'll want to book your trip to Oz right away!

Wicked plays at ASU Gammage from July 1 to 26. For future tour dates, visit the musical's official site.

Interview by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Out in Film: Don Roos

Idol worship: Don Ross, writer/director/producer.

- He paid his dues writing scripts for such TV series as Hart to Hart, The Colbys and Matlock.

- Turning to features, he contributed the screenplays to Single White Female, Love Field, Boys on the Side and the 1996 remake of Diabolique.

- His directorial debut, The Opposite of Sex, netted him two Independent Spirit Awards, for Best First Feature and Best Screenplay.

- Since, he has written and directed Bounce and Happy Endings, produced All Over the Guy and scripted the hit Marley & Me. His next film, Love & Other Impossible Pursuits, will be released later this year.

- Next month, he will be honored by Outfest with their 13th Annual Outfest Achievement Award, which is "presented in recognition of a body of work that has made a significant contribution to LGBT film and media".

With this 100th post, Out in Film will be going on hiatus for the immediate future.

Awards Watch: Saturns 2009

The Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy & Horror Films went bats for The Dark Knight, bestowing the blockbuster with five Saturn Awards last night, including a Best Picture prize in the Action/Adventure/Thriller category. As for the science fiction, fantasy and horror Best Pictures, winners were (respectively) Iron Man, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, while WALL-E and Let the Right One In triumphed in the animated and international races.

Acting honors went to Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., as well as Changeling's Angelina Jolie, Knight's Heath Ledger, Button's Tilda Swinton and The Day the Earth Stood Still's Jaden Christopher Smith. The evening's big surprise was a win for Iron Man helmer Jon Favreau over Dark director Christopher Nolan.

Honorary awards were given to actors Lance Henriksen and Leonard Nimoy and producer Jeffrey Katzenberg. Click here for the complete list of winners.

Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 26, 2009!

Hello Film Fans and Fanatics!

Welcome to Film Fan Fridays for Friday June 26, 2009! If last weeks start of Wednesday releases wasn't enough to let you to know it is summer, this weeks heat wave here in the T-dot is a reminder. Stay cool and outta the sun, and preferable in a nice movie theatre.

I'm thrilled to share that one of our limited release this week is the beautiful and subtle Japanese drama Tokyo Sonata / Tôkyô sonata which I had the opportunity to see at TIFF'08. If you want to hear a description of the film from director Kiyoshi Kurosawa himself you can see the introduction to the TIFF'08 screening here. Need more convincing? How about being at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and 5 star reviews in both NOW and Eye (Don't click through Eye one unless you've seen the film). So yeah, it really is that good. We also have the highly anticipated The Girlfriend Experience from Steven Soderberg starring adult film star Sacha Grey as a call girl who provides, you guessed it, the girlfriend experience. Not sure what the appeal is, but people won't stop talking about it. This weeks limited releases continue with the period romance Chéri starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend and Woody Allens latest Whatever Works starring Larry David.

In wide release this week we have a sole wide release with My Sister's Keeper starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin from The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes. Other then getting the impression it will be quite the tearjerker, the only other thing I've seen about it was Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin promoting it on the MTV Movie Awards and the memorable moment of Abigail Breslin saying "Everyone wants to be an adult film star like you Cameron". Um, not quite. May I direct you perhaps to The Girlfriend Experience?

In the neither here nor there category we have previously releaesd on Wednesday Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen which opened to dismal reviews citing everything from racial stereotypes to infantile plot to being way to long. My first question is anyone surprized at that? My next question is will most people still go see it? Likely no and yes. But, in other Wednesday news we have the Wednesday July 1st releases to look forward to including Michael Mann's dive into the period crime with Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp and Christan Bale. Also up for Wednesday release is Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs which is playing some places in 3D and some in 2D so make sure to check your local listings if you have a preference.

Have a great weekend!

Shannon

Festival Watch

Parkdale Film & Video Showcase
11th Annual celebration of artists & audiences of Parkdale. All screenings PWYC (Pay-What-You-Can) and family friendly
June 26 - 28, 2009 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

ReelHeART International Film Festival
The Filmmakers Film Festival
Continues until June 27, 2009 at various locations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Friday June 26, 2009 Releases

Chéri
Dir: Stephen Frears (The Queen, Mrs Henderson Presents)
Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathy Bates, Rupert Friend
UK/France/Germany
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

The Girlfriend Experience
Dir: Steven Soderbergh (Che, The Good German, Ocean's Eleven, Solaris, The Limey)
Cast: Sacha Grey, Chris Santos, Peter Zizzo
USA
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

My Sister's Keeper
Dir: Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook)
Cast: Abigail Breslin, Sofia Vassilieva, Cameron Diaz
USA
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Tokyo Sonata / Tôkyô sonata
Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Pusle / Kairo, Retribution, Cure)
Cast: Teruyuki Dagawa, Kyoko Koizumi, Haruka Igawa, Yu Koyanagi, Kai Inowaki
Japan/The Netherlands/Hong Kong/China
Limited Release
Official Film Site: (UK, Japan), IMDb Page, Trailer

Whatever Works
Writer/Dir: Woody Allen (Vicky Christina Barcelona, Sweet and Lowdown, Manhattan, Annie Hall)
Cast: Larry David, Ed Begley Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Conleth Hill, Michael McKean, Evan Rachel Wood
USA/France
Limited Release
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Wednesday July 1, 2009 Releases

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Dir: Carlos Saldanha (Ice Age, Ice Age: The Meltdown)
Voices: Ray Romaro, Queen Latifah, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Simon Pegg
USA
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

Public Enemies
Dir: Michael Mann (Miami Vice, Ali, The Insider, Heat, Manhunter)
Cast: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, David Wenham, Stephen Dorff, Elena Kenney
USA
Official Film Site & Trailer, IMDb Page

**please note this list of releases reflects first run film released in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as of July 1, 2009**

Reverend's Reviews: A Lovely, if Odd, Film

To call the award-winning indie Lovely by Surprise "unique" would be an understatement. The film, scheduled for release on DVDand through download on July 7, is a hugely original take on familiar themes of parental abandonment, wish fulfillment and the artistic/literary process.

Movie Dearest fave Carrie Preston (of Straight-Jacket and Ready? OK!, and arguably the best thing about the recent Duplicity) gives a remarkable, nuanced performance as Marian, a talented writer struggling to finish her first novel. The book centers on two developmentally-stunted, underwear-clad brothers, Humkin (Michael Chernus) and Mopekey (Dallas Roberts, who gay viewers may recognize from A Home at the End of the World), who are trying to survive without needed adult supervision in a mobile home.


It gradually becomes clear through flashbacks that the story of Mopekey and Humkin parallels Marian's continued grappling with the loss of her mother and father while she was a child. Young Marian is shown living with her loving if unbalanced car-salesman dad, Bob (an excellent Reg Rogers). In addition to the ghosts of her past, adult Marian also has to contend with her lecherous former creative-writing teacher (the always enjoyable Austin Pendleton) and his wife (a hilarious Kate Burton).

The storyline of Lovely by Surprise is quirky in spades and murky at times, which may provoke viewer frustration. It is written and directed by talented newcomer Kirt Gunn, who gets great support from cinematographer Steve Yedlin and production designer Timothy Whidbee. Another cast member worth noting is Richard Masur, perhaps best remembered as the college recruiter in Risky Business, who plays Bob's flummoxed boss.

If you take a chance on Lovely by Surprise — and I encourage you to do so — stay with it to the end. The film may well reward you in emotional, even healing, dividends.

Click here to watch the trailer for Lovely by Surprise.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

Michael Jackson: 1958-2009

The King of Pop is dead: multi-Grammy Award winning superstar Michael Jackson died today at the age of 50.

Farrah Fawcett: 1947-2009

Farrah Fawcett, iconic sex symbol of the 1970's as one of the original Charlie's Angels, lost her battle with cancer today. She was 62.

Awards Watch: Oscar Goes to 10 in '10

Wow. A big change (perhaps the biggest) in the Oscars is coming next year. In a surprise announcement today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will double the number of Best Picture nominees from five to ten films beginning with the 2010 Oscars (honoring films released this year).

Citing a desire to recognize more films (and harkening back to the early days of the Academy, which saw up to 12 Best Picture nominees in some years), this new ruling will have major repercussions in all aspects of Oscar watching, from campaigning to predictions to the telecast of the ceremony itself. And let's face it, it doesn't take much reading between the lines to surmise that this decision was made with the TV broadcast in mind. With more slots to fill in the top category, there is a better chance that such crowd-pleasing blockbusters as last year's The Dark Knight and WALL-E would be nominated, thereby increasing interest for Joe Public, which in the end equals more viewers and better ratings.


On the other hand, it could also help the smaller movies that always seem shut out of the big race; think last year's Frozen River or The Wrestler. And, in addition to animated features, the opportunities are better than ever for foreign language films (especially those deemed ineligible in their own increasingly-frustrating category) and even documentaries.

And while some Oscar watchers are in an uproar over the news (claiming that with so many nominees, the importance of the award will be diminished; I believe that has already been accomplished when Crash won), I say the more the merrier. Two things are certain though at this point: first, Pixar (whose Up is arguably the only movie so far this year worthy of a BP nomination) is surely celebrating today, and second, the Oscars sure got a lot more interesting.

UPDATE: More Oscar changes: honorary awards to be bestowed separately, and the music branch messes around with the Original Song category some more.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Dir: Alfonso Cuarón (Y tu mamá también, Children of Men)
Regular Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, Matthew Lewis
Additional Cast: David Thewlis, Gary Oldman, Robert Hardy, Emma Thompson, Julie Christie, Timothy Spall
UK/USA, 2004

Originally Seen: During the 2004 theatrical release, in IMAX at Paramount

Revisited: June 22, 2009 *

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third film in the Harry Potter series and it is the time things get a little shaken up and we see changes happening. First up, a change in director from Chris Columbus (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) to Alfonso Cuarón whom at the time was best known for directing the racy Oscar nominated Y Tu Mamá También. I know that one had a lot of people taken aback. Then due to the sad passing of Richard Harris, the character of Albus Dumbledore needed to be filled and was with Michael Gambon who is not necessarily known for playing the 'nicest' of characters (see: Gosford Park and The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover) and that one had me a little worried. But, the fears were in vain as we ended up with one of the most well loved films of the Harry Potter series.

The film has a different look and feel from the first two, shrugging off the golden and warm colour scheme and favouring cool colours of white, black, silver, green and grey which give it a more edgy feel. Although all the films have situations and themes that involve danger, this one feels like the first time they demonstrate it in a more sophisticated manner. It literally introduces grey areas, just like the new colour scheme, where not everything is as it appears, people aren't necessarily what they seem and the solution isn't near at hand. They introduce more complex characters into the story where right and wrong it isn't clear cut. Also, the main characters of Harry, Hermione and Ron become more complicated themselves as they transition from reactionary & rudimentary magic to more active & advanced magic, which includes bringing in possible consequences for their active choices and actions. As with the second film, this is a great parallel to the world of being 13 years old where you do start to do things on your own (good or bad) as you gain independence and stronger taste of power.

Even though it branches out to new ideas and themes, it is the first of the series where I actively noticed patterns of the films. We see the introduction of new modes of transportation, new locations outside of school grounds, a new class, magical items/spells and as always new characters. This allows the viewers to gain continual but gradual knowledge of the world as a whole, but also is a great way of showing how the characters grow and become more responsible, capable and worldly every year.

One of the wonderful things about the third film is that the trio of actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint playing Harry, Hermione and Ron respectively, now feel really comfortable in their roles. I found in this film the characters and their relationships feel very flushed out, natural and believable. Speaking of characters we are introduced to a slew on new ones that heighten the enjoyment of the world including charismatic yet always tired Remus Lupin (David Thewlis) as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the eccentric Divination instructor Professor Trelawney (Emma Thompson) and Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) himself. I continue to marvel at how perfect the casting is for these films, all three of the new characters are played brilliantly. Michael Gambon also does a great job bringing a new a different take as Dumbledore, even though his character is not on the screen much we do get a taste of his more hippy vibe and sage like manner which is an interesting choice from Richard Harris who had a more Obi-Wan/grandfatherly tone. It took me a while to warm up to but now I certainly can appreciate both takes on the character.

The film really has everything going for it, the story is interesting, there is great character development, we see new ideas, characters and creatures throughout. But, some of the most charming and memorable moments for me are barely there, yet provide great additions to the tone of the film. Things like the changing of the seasons at Hogwarts, often featuring the Whomping Willow. Or bonding between the guys of Gryffindor. Even the end credits are fantastic. It's the complete package with this film, it really has it all.

Shannon's Overall View:
I love it
I own it in glorious... widescreen!
I'd recommend to fans of magic, fantasy and adventure

Return to Film Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2009

* in anticipation of the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Wednesday July 15, 2009, I am doing a weekly countdown to watch & review of the first five Harry Potter films

Reverend's Reviews: Patti & Mandy, Together Again

An onstage reunion of Evita co-stars and Tony winners Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin is always cause for celebration. The opening night June 23rd of An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles certainly didn't disappoint.

From the moment they stormed out onto the elegantly ghost light-strewn set to the tune of Stephen Sondheim's "Another Hundred People" from Company, both performers held the audience tightly in their grasp. The two-hour set featured a liberal helping of Sondheim, as well as the best of Rodgers & Hammerstein. The R & H selections included medleys from South Pacific and Carousel, and the songs were interspersed with dialogue from these classic musicals that showcased Patinkin's and LuPone's acting as well as singing abilities.

Patinkin — who also directed the production, with a choreography assist from Ann Reinking — has often been teased for his more histrionic flourishes. While he didn't disappoint his critics in this regard, especially during the Vaudevillian "God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues" from Follies, Patinkin utilized lovely restraint with his renditions of Little Shop of Horrors' "Somewhere That's Green" and "The Hills of Tomorrow" from Merrily We Roll Along. He also displayed surprisingly operatic vocal chops as Billy Bigelow during the Carousel vignettes.


I had not seen LuPone perform live before, outside of Tony Awards telecasts. I was immediately impressed not only by her interpretations but by her ability to connect intimately with the audience. She brought the house down with Company's rapid-fire "Getting Married Today," despite dropping a few words at one point and seemingly losing her breath at another. LuPone seemed disarmingly moved by the songs from Carousel and had to wipe away tears several times. And of course she reprised her signatures, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses," to tremendous effect.

The song selections were top-notch, with John Beal and the acclaimed Paul Ford providing superb support on bass and piano, respectively. An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin provides a midsummer night's dream to show tune-loving queens everywhere. But you'd better hurry: it's only playing in LA through June 29.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

Propose to the Transformers: Canadian, North American & UK Box Office June 19, 2009 Weekend

The Proposal takes the cake to the bank in Canada and North America debuting at #1 on both charts. The not-very-classy looking Year One started at #4 on both charts. In the UK Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen leads the charts, as it was released on Friday June 19. 2009 whereas it won't hit Canada and the States until today, June 24, 2009. So far the reviews have been rather grim. Speaking of, Whatever Works debuts on the North American charts at 20. Star Trek is still hanging on strong sitting in the top ten of all three charts over a month after it's initial release. We also have Canadian films in out top 20 here in Canada with À vos marques... party! 2 and J'ai tue ma mère, neither have been released yet here in Toronto but I will definitely be keeping my eye out for them in the future.

Top 20 Movies in Canada for the June 19, 2009 weekend
1. The Proposal *
2. The Hangover
3. Up
4. Year One *
5. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
6. Star Trek
7. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
8. Angels & Demons
9. Terminator Salvation
10. Land of the Lost
11. À vos marques... party! 2 *
12. Imagine That
13. Drag Me to Hell
14. Millenium
15. Under the Sea 3D
16. My Life in Ruins
17. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
18. Away We Go
19. J'ai tue ma mère
20. Easy Virtue

Top 20 Movies in North America for the June 19, 2009 weekend
1. The Proposal *
2. The Hangover
3. Up
4. Year One *
5. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
6. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
7. Star Trek
8. Land of the Lost
9. Imagine That
10. Terminator Salvation
11. Angels & Demons
12. Drag Me to Hell
13. Away We Go
14. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
15. My Life in Ruins
16. Easy Virtue
17. Food, Inc.
18. 17 Again
19. Under the Sea 3D
20. Whatever Works *

Top 10 Movies in the UK for the June 19, 2009 weekend
1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen *
2. The Hangover
3. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
4. Terminator Salvation
5. Angels & Demons
6. Drag Me to Hell
7. Star Trek
8. Looking for Eric
9. The Last House on the Left
10. Last Chance Harvey

* indicates opening weekend in noted location, red text indicates Canadian film release

Source: Canada & North America info, UK info

Ed McMahon: 1923-2009

Legendary television personality Ed McMahon, best known for his many years as Johnny Carson's sidekick on The Tonight Show, passed away today at the age of 86.

Before the Dawn: A Twilight Podcast - Episode 09: Where is Team Bella?

Before the Dawn: A Twilight Podcast - Episode 09 is up!

Looking for a Twilight fix? Head on over to Before the Dawn to check out Marina & I's discuss the all about Bella and where is or rather why is there a lack of love for our protagonist. We talk about her character in the context of all of the books so if you haven't read them yet please be aware that we will discuss them.

Before the Dawn: A Twilight Podcast is a weekly 1/2 hour podcast meeting all your audio Twilight needs!

Worldwide Short Film Festival 2009 Coverage

Pre-festival Coverage
Preview

Daily Coverage
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

Reviews By Program
Opening Gala: Award Winners from Around the World
Official Selection 1: The Edge of Reason
Official Selection 2: Lust for Life
Official Selection 11: Tech-Neurological
Official Selection 12: 90-Minute Makeover
Celebrity Shorts
Sci Fi: OUT THERE

Reviews By Film
Acting for the Camera
After Tomorrow
Alter Ego
Black Dog's Progress, The
Bipolar: An Interview with Richard
Boris
Buddies
Captain Coulier (Space Explorer)
Civilian
Cold and Dry / Tørt og kjølig
Crap / Simonac
Cutecutecute
Eve
Everyday People
Gone Fishing
Inscape
Jerrycan
Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, The
Love You More
Made Up
Marooned?
Monday Before Thanksgiving
My Name is Dominic / Tous les enfants s'appellent Dominique
Next Floor
One of Those Days
Paul Rondin Is... Paul Rondin / Paul Rondin est... Paul Rondin
Sand / Zand
Secret Life of Beards, The
Skhizein
Sound-Shadows / Lydskygger
Sparks
Spine, The
Survivor of the Hippocampus, The / Le rescapé de l'hippocampe
Token Hunchback
Tolibu Dibu Dauchyu
Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death
Website is Down: Sales Guy Vs Web Dude, The

Post-festival Coverage
Awards
Wrap Up

The Worldwide Short Film Festival ran from June 16-21, 2009 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Worldwide Short Film Festival 2009 - Wrap Up

The Worldwide Short Film Festival 2009 has come and gone and we are now left with the memories of a lot of films! One thing I noticed this year, in particular with the Opening Night Award Winning program is a sense of 'it will be okay'. It feels like recently we have gone through a long period of a long period of dark and gritty = good, it was nice to see films where the whatever happened turned out fine. They didn't die, get attacked, fall, etc... it was just .. fine. It wasn't the case for everything of course but it's was a refreshing change of pace and I hope to see more of it!

Favourite Fiction:
Cold and Dry / Tørt og kjølig and Sand / Zand

Artistic Works of Wonder:
Next Floor and The Survivor of the Hippocampus / Le rescapé de l'hippocampe

Favourite Animated:
Skhizein

Giggle-fest:
Tolibu Dibu Dauchyu

The wacky and the bizarre:
Cutecutecute

Favourite Program:
Official Selection 11: Tech-Neurological

Most Enthusiastic Crowd:
Although Opening Night was lively, the crowd during the Day 1 screening of Official Selection 1: The Edge of Reason was enthusiastic and very full. Front row-filled out full. That's impressive.

The films that caught my heart:
Paul Rondin Is... Paul Rondin / Paul Rondin est... Paul Rondin and Monday Before Thanksgiving

Themes:
Challenging preconceptions, Embracing Weirdness

Still has me thinking:
Alter Ego, after seeing this film I had a really great discussion with my sister about it that went on for ages! It really made me think, the writing was fabulous and the the performances were spot on.

Sharing is good! Some Shorts are Available online:
Black Dog's Progress, The (3 min 15s)
Civilian (4 min 01s)
Crap / Simonac (10 min 23s)
Cutecutecute (1 minute)
The Website is Down: Sales Guy Vs. Web Dude (10 min 23s)

The Worldwide Short Film Festival ran from June 16-21, 2009 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Cinematic Crush: Casper Van Dien

Crush object: Casper Van Dien, actor.

- Early television roles included stints on One Life to Live and Beverly Hills, 90210.

- 1997 was his big year: he played James Dean in the TV biopic James Dean: Race with Destiny and sci-fi hero Johnny Rico in Starship Troopers.

- Other high profile film roles included Tarzan in Tarzan and the Lost City and Bram Bones in Sleepy Hollow. He also played American Psycho Patrick Bateman in The Rules of Attraction, but all his scenes were cut.

- He starred in the prime time soap Titans as well as the drama Watch Over Me, co-starring his wife Catherine Oxenberg. The two had previously acted together in The Collectors and The Omega Code and appeared in the reality series I Married a Princess.

- Most recently, he returned as Johnny Rico for the direct-to-video sequel Starship Troopers 3: Marauder.

Worldwide Short Film Festival 2009 - Awards

The Worldwide Short Film Festival started with the Award Winner shorts screening, and now we bookend closing day with the annoucement of award winners for the festivals 15th year. For the Audience Awards, the audience rating all films from 1 to 5 after the screenings. Those ballots have been casted and counted and here are the winners of the Audience Award and Juried Awards for the 2009 Worldwide Short Film Festival. Top honours for Best Live Action Short goes to Nicolas Silhol for My Name is Dominic / Tous les enfants s'appellent Dominique which enables its eligibility for the 2009 Academy Awards. Congratulations to all the award winners and honourable mentions!

Audience Award
Paul Rondin Is... Paul Rondin / Paul Rondin est... Paul Rondin, directed by Frederick Vin (See review on Day 2)

Best Live Action Short
Winner: Nicolas Silhol for My Name is Dominic / Tous les enfants s'appellent Dominique (See review on Day 4)
Honourable Mention: Joost Van Ginkel for Sand / Zand (See review on Day 4)

Best Emerging Canadian Filmmaker
Winner: Aparna Kapur for Amma
Honourable Mention: Joseph Johnson Cami & Ayelen Liberona for Becoming

Best Cinematography in a Canadian Short
Winner: Cinematographer Miroslaw Baszak for The Water
Honourable Mention: Director/Cinematographer Pedro Pires for Danse Macabre

Best Animated Short
Hanna Heilborn and David Aronowitsch for Slaves

Best Canadian Short
Ky Nam Le Duc for Land of Men / Terre des hommes

The Best Experimental Short
Winner: Pedro Pires for Danse Macabre
Honourable Mention: Servane Phillips and Nathalie Robison for Inscape (See review on Day 2)

Best Documentary Short
Rhys Graham for Skin

The Best Performance prize (Female)
Leora Rivlin for Wind Chimes

Best Performance Prize (Male)
Jack Wouterse for Sand / Zand (See review on Day 4)

Best Performance Prize (Ensemble)
Kil-ho Kim & Tae-hoon Lee for Auld Lang Syne

Screenplay Giveaway Prize
Kate Hewlett for She Said Lenny

The Worldwide Short Film Festival ran from June 16-21, 2009 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Film Art: Here's Daddy!

To celebrate Father's Day today, here's a rare family portrait of the Torrences ... in happier times, needless to say.

Click here for more of Kirk Demarais' clever colored pencil portraits of such cinematic dysfunctional families as the Freelings and the Lundegaards.