Cholecystectomy and Bad Movie Reviews

Abdominal surgery equals couch potato. Despite my best intentions, there's no avoiding this really. Although I have been getting out every day for an errand or two (or three - there's always something to pick up) I'm rather exhausted when I get home, and I wonder what my problem is. It's annoying to no end.

But along with prime time catching up with old blogging friends, reading books (some book reviews to come), I've managed to watch some DVDs and have discovered that cholecystectomy has done something - at least temporarily- to my taste in films.

Case in point - Day 2 post surgery: I LOVED the movie "The Dilemma" starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James. I mean, it also starred Jennifer Connolly and Winona Ryder, who I've missed (she had such a great start before shopping dysfunction...). The premise of "what would you do if you found out your best friend's wife was having an affair" provided all sorts of comedic opportunity. And I laughed, to the point of having to clutch at my stomach in case of stitch-rupture.


Second case in point - Day 3 post surgery: I LOVED "How Do You Know" starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson EVEN MORE. It's a James L Brooks film with wonderful actors - of course I should have loved it! Reese Witherspoon - the tiny thing, yeah, she's believable as a Pro-softball player faced with forced upon retirement; Owen Wilson - the lovable cad, yes, he worked for me; Paul Rudd - what's not to love about lovable Paul Rudd? Yeah, he could be a duped CEO with a loving but dysfunctional relationship with his loud angry father (yes, that would be Jack.)
Rotten Tomatoes gave both those movies squashed green tomatoes.



Case #3 - One week post surgery: I DID NOT LIKE "Somewhere" by Sofia Coppola. I had been looking forward to seeing this film since I first found out about it at the end of last year - I read a write up about Stephen Dorff's return to the big screen while on a work trip in Europe, and some sexy photos of him in those European magazines added to my anticipation of course. I was looking forward to some touching father/daughter scenes between him and Elle Fanning (gorgeous girl - Dakota must be jealous!) and although I must admit they did have some great chemistry, overall the film was one big SNOREFEST for me. Maybe I'm still too out of it to catch the symbolism and the subtleties (yeah, I know the "movie star escaping the trappings of celebrity for something real like the love of their child" wasn't so subtle) and it is a quiet film. But just way too quiet.

Would I normally love movies #1 and #2 - uh, likely not LOVE. Would I normally love movies like "Somewhere" - well yes, I would say so. For example, I really enjoyed the movie "Control", the story of Ian Curtis/ Joy Division that I finally watched a couple of weeks ago. Another quiet type of movie, shot in black and white actually, but it was different and I loved it.


So along with my gallbladder, it looks like my taste in film has also gone by the wayside. Hopefully the effect isn't irreversible.

Let's test it - next up are Cairo Time, The Fighter, Creation, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.

A mini film festival up in the air...

Anyone who ever travels for work will tell you it isn't nearly as glamorous as one would imagine.

Well, that's not entirely true, I suppose. Earlier in my career when I travelled to Paris or Manhattan or even Pennsylvania (which isn't exactly glamorous but at least I was close to one of the largest malls in America, and you don't know me by now if you don't realize how much that DOES work for me...) it was quite a fun time. There were no kids, not as many work commitments and a life partner who travelled as much as I did or even more. But once you have a family, with school aged kids at that, and a life partner who travels even more than he did before, well, things change. Big time.

We watched "Up in the Air" over the Christmas holidays, and it confirmed one thing for me - I would NEVER want to travel that much for work. But I have already started to pack extremely lightly, and have a rhythm of how to handle the security check - just like you see George Clooney deal. I've pulled out my SPG rewards card and started counting miles to see when I will be eligible for upgrades- a sad commentary, I know.

There are a couple of things that I do enjoy on the trans-Atlantic flights, though, and they are both free:

1/ Booze;
2/ Ear buds.

Both of which, if not used in moderation, will give you a massive headache.

The ear buds, however, are handy to catch up on all the movies that I never have a chance to watch when at home. So after a couple of 7 hour plus flights this past week, I offer you the following capsule reviews of the films I managed to stay awake for. Just in time for the Oscars, too.

1/ An Education: So this was what all the fuss was about - Carey Mulligan. What a find she is. What a wonderful movie. A high school girl in London in the 60's thinks about going to Oxford, but wants to experience life ... and who walks into her life but a swinging playboy played by Peter Sarsgaard (LOVE him). He seduces not just her, but also her family. This was a great movie with some fantastic performances even outside of Carey - Emma Thompson, Olivia Williams, Alfred Molina.

Very deserving of all the Oscar talk.

2/ Love Happens: I was thinking of renting this when it came out on DVD. It's got Jennifer Aniston in it, playing, well, Jennifer Aniston (although she did surprise me in Marley & Me a while back) and the fabulous Aaron Eckhart playing a widower/ inspirational author and speaker who hasn't yet dealt with his own grief.

I thought Aaron was great here (I've always loved him since I first saw him as the total prick in "In the Company of Men" and he continued to impress- see "Erin Brockovich", "Possession", even "Dark Knight" - you really should see his work in "Conversations with Other Women"... with Helena Bonham Carter - a talking movie, but an excellent one, nonetheless).

The plot of this was fairly contrived, but I like him, I really, really like him.

3/ All About Steve: A guilty pleasure, really, just for me to enjoy my latest celebrity crush, Mr. A-Team himself, Bradley Cooper. I usually like Sandra Bullock, but I found her much too annoying in this role (even though she was supposed to be annoying...). She's set up by her parents on a blind date with Bradley (Steve - a news cameraman) and thinks she's found her true love. He takes off on assignment mid-first date, honestly just relieved to be free of her; but she takes what he says at face value and decides to follow him. If I had hot red boots like hers in this movie, I would consider stalking Bradley all over the country too.

Bradley didn't have to do much here other than look good; I thought Ken Jeong was hilarious even outside his Hangover role, Thomas Haden Church a bit wasted in this role of a one-note annoying reporter.

Bradley was pretty cute. Not enough to save it, though. The movie overall - annoying.

4/ Bright Star: A Jane Campion movie about the love affair between John Keats and teenage and aspiring fashion designer Fanny Brawne. I was curious about this film, given the rave reviews about Abbie Cornish. And the Piano is one of my favourite films ever.

Abbie was quite good, but I just wasn't really feeling that passion between the two characters. The different class thing, the poor poet who develops TB, the fact that they can never really be together... or maybe it was the poetry that wasn't doing it for me... or being in the air for 7 hours. I didn't bawl when he died - and I'll bawl over anything. Maybe it's because I figure Abbie has Ryan Phillipe in real life to console her.

A bit of a disappointment for me, really. But perhaps I'm in the minority here.

5/ Lymelife: This was a surprise for me. I'd never heard of it before, but looking at the stellar cast, including Alec Baldwin, Cynthia Nixon (I keep wanting to call her Miranda), Jill Hennessy, Timothy Hutton (oh man, this guy is so good, why did he never make it to A-list?!), the Culkin brothers Rory and Kieran and the gorgeous Emma Roberts, who is giving her Aunt a run for the acting money - I had to check it out. A dark coming of age comedy about life in the suburbs, produced by Martin Scorsese. You follow the lives of these two intertwined families, disintegrating marriages and the devastation that Lyme disease can leave in its wake.

A smaller film, but I loved it. It reminded me a bit of "American Beauty", "The Ice Storm" ... and the music really added to the whole flavour of the movie.

6/ The Invention of Lying: I like Ricky Gervais in small doses. Like as host of the Golden Globes, where he rocked it. So I had to turn this movie off after the first 10 minutes as I didn't think I'd be able to bear hearing people "telling the truth" as in being brutally, insultingly honest, for two hours. I turned it off to watch Lymelife, but came back to it as I had time left. Another 90 minutes, actually.

So I watched and was actually impressed by all the cameos in the flick. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Louis CK the hilarious comic; Ed Norton; Tina Fey; Rob Lowe; Jason Bateman...kinda cool. But the fact that I missed the last 15 minutes as we landed and didn't feel disappointed, told me one thing.

This wasn't a great movie.

And I was so ready to get home.

****

If you manage to see any of these movies, let me know what you think!

Thursday Thirteen - I love my DVD

Since becoming a parent, the chances of me seeing a first-run movie in the theatre run from minimal to nil. The DVD has become my best friend.

The bonus is that our local library has a wonderful selection of all sorts of films, and are starting to get their DVD's almost as soon as the video rental store. So my choice has been to go the free route.

While I cross my fingers that I will actually be able to watch the Sex and the City movie in a dark theatre, here's a selection of the most recent 13 DVD's, along with mini-reviews, that I have watched in the comfort of my own family room:

1/ Dan in Real Life: watched this last night. I love Steve Carell, and Juliette Binoche - yes, a quirky combination, and it was an ensemble film including other familiar faces such as Dane Cook (?!), Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney... Usually when there are so many name actors, it works against the film, but it was such a pleasant surprise. A funny, touching love story about family, parenthood and finding love again in the wrong places.



2/ Atonement: Just *Wow*. What an epic; Keira Knightley was beautiful, James McAvoy's performance so heartbreakingly poignant. I love a great love story, and this was a very romantic film. Also about how one mistake can set off a chain of events with impact to last a lifetime.



3/ There Will Be Blood: I wish I could figure out how the audiocast works - I would demonstrate my best impression of Daniel Day Lewis in this film. I'm told by hubby that I'm pretty good - mind you, it helps to have had a couple of beers ahead of time. An amazing actor; crazy intensity - what a well-deserved Oscar.



4/ Juno: I really liked this movie. The performances were quite real, despite the fact that I doubt there are teenagers who talk like that in real life. Maybe I just haven't met any. Oscar nominations again, were so well -deserved, as were the wins. Yay for Canadian content.


5/ Away from Her: Another great film, although hard for me to watch. We've experienced Alzheimer's first hand in this family. Although it was indeed a love story, I watched it without hubby; I could not imagine seeing my spouse forget me and fall in love with someone else. Oy. Yay again for Canadian content - go Sarah!


6/ The Lives of Others: Won the 2006 Best Foreign Film Oscar. I loved this film, not knowing much about Stasi, and what went on in East Germany before the wall came down. Fascinating depiction of what a horrible situation it was, and how even the hardest people are human.


7/ Music and Lyrics: Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant? I usually like both of them individually, but here - no chemistry. Sorry. Sat through it and cried but not for the right reasons.


8/ Shopgirl: I love Claire Danes - she just shines in this film. Jason Schwartzmann - I have really liked him since Rushmore - really quirky actor. But Steve Martin creeped me out a bit in this role. Although I'm sure these things happen all the time, but the older man/ sugar daddy thing was a bit disturbing for me. Funny moments though, courtesy of Jason.


9/ The Queen: Helen Mirren IS Elizabeth in this film. Perfectly portrayed.



10/ Conversations with Other Women: Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter were great in this movie. It's a talking film, and it's basically just the two of them. The filming in split screen is unique, and the tension between the two of them is palpable. Acting is superb.


11/ Mistress of Spices: Beautiful Aishwarya Rai, hunky Dylan McDermott. Lovely depiction of the mystical, with romance. But didn't quite do it for me. No chemistry either. Maybe I kept trying to imagine myself in her place ... as if!



12/ Bread and Tulips: Very cute Italian movie about a housewife who feels under appreciated by her husband and two sons, and takes off on a "vacation" of sorts. She meets up with a hilarious cast of characters, and finds herself again.

13/ Good Luck Chuck: Huh? Yeah, me too. Couldn't get past the first half of it. Dane Cook is really such a goofball and annoyingly so in this one. I think there must have been NOTHING on the shelves that day.

Happy Thursday!

Surprise: the Man is still away

I wasted a couple of good hours on a movie last night. When I could have been doing something more productive... like sleeping.

It was "The Last Kiss". Don't ask me why I picked it out; perhaps it's because I usually like Zach Braff. I don't watch Scrubs, but I did like his quirky movie "Garden State". Unfortunately I was drawn in by some of the cast of this movie, which included Blythe Danner, Tom Wilkinson, Casey Affleck and the luminous Jacinda Barrett (don't know what it is about this girl, I think she's just so refreshingly pretty and likeable). Not a big fan of Rachel Bilson, but she did all right in this flick.

What was this supposed to be? A coming of age story? Well, the characters are turning 30 so it's friggin' about time that these boys grow up. And I think a couple of them do. A comedy? I could not STAND Zach's character. For such a seemingly "upstanding guy", he screwed up so royally, messing around with both his pregnant girlfriend's and a young college girl's emotions all while trying to prove that he really was just a mixed up but super nice guy.

My time was so much better spent watching "Away from Her" the night before. Very sad, but the portrayal of a love story that seemed so touchingly real.

Wow, that's a lot of movies in a couple of days, I know. Amazing what a difference an extra couple of hours makes once you get the kids to bed at a decent hour. Seems that the kids take full advantage of their Dad when he's home and puts them to bed. No messing around with Mom.

So, thirteen things I have either done or SHOULD have done in the last 24 hours:

1/ Did negotiate and bring the son to his swimming lesson whereupon he did swim.

2/ Did NOT sleep the extra two hours.

3/ Did NOT do any work.

4/ Tried again but again, did NOT do any work.

5/ Did make banana bread*.

6/ Did vacuum before 9 AM this morning.* Nothing like having a friend/colleague come over for coffee to make you notice all sorts of crap on the floor that you've been ignoring all week.

* Let's make note, shall we, that these items are NOT the natural order. Remember folks, the Anti-Martha here. This will come into play a little later down the list...


7/ Did bring the girl to preschool where she had tantrum number one.

8/ Did negotiate and bring the daughter to her swimming lesson after lunch, whereupon she threw a huge tear-soaked tantrum (#2) and only put her toes in the water. What a negative difference a week makes (grrrr!!!).

9/ Did take the girlie to the library to get more DVD's and for fun puzzle time before picking up her brother from school.

10/**Did sit in my van with my 7th coffee of the day, while my daughter slept. Watched as my son laughed with his friends on the playground, got on the swings, fell off onto his back, not get up, the crowd of kids and some parents gathered around him as his best friend ran to get me.

11/After making sure the friend's mom could watch the sleeping girl in the van, did tear up the path, heart in my throat, to see my screaming boy.

12/Did bring the boy to his doctor, got an Xray. Nothing broken, muscles bruised ... keep observing the next few days in case more bruising may indicate injury to the collarbone.

13/ Did get the kids to bed early again tonight.

I'm ready for bed too, but guess what? It's an Eli Stone night, so I'll let him take me away for the hour.

** This is what happens when I mess with the natural order. Note to self: DO NOT do the Martha while the man's away.

Happy and Sad Notes

I finally managed to watch the movie "Once" last night. I had been intrigued ever since my blog friend Gina posted about it a while ago, and then more so when the actor/singers won the Oscar for Best Song at this past Academy Awards.

Well, the movie and the music did not disappoint. The onscreen chemistry was obviously genuine as they are now a real life couple. I loved the message in the film; it wasn't an overly complicated film, just a simple story about a guy and a girl, their dreams, their friendship and their music. Beautiful. Here's a clip of their performance on the Awards show just before they won.

On a sad note, I was shocked to hear about the passing of the wonderful Canadian musician Jeff Healey. He succumbed to the rare form of retinal cancer that took away his eyesight at the age of 8 months. He truly was a fantastic musician, not only rock and blues guitarist, but Ian and I actually saw his jazz band play at a small club not too many years ago where he played trumpet and I believe clarinet. You had to see this to believe it.

Here is a clip of him performing, to give you glimpse of his amazing talent, especially as a guitar virtuoso.

The world has lost a another unique master. He was only 41 years old.

Gasp: the movie reviews

Woo-ee-oo, I look just like Buddy Holly.
Oh-Oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore.
I don't care what they say about us anyway.
I don't care 'bout that.
-Weezer

Warning, after this post, you’ll probably never think of me the same way again. But we’re still friends, right?

Who would have thought that this 100 day cough (well, I exaggerate, which is part of my M.O. according to Ian), would morph into major bronchospasmic activity in the New Year? Ack, well at least it isn’t serious, it just sounds annoying ghastly. This dry, hacking followed by desperate gasping for air that just won't come from a deflated balloon.

Which causes major air suckage into the belly, manifesting in … you guessed it, the BELCHING of which has never been experienced nor heard from through these lips. EVER. Until this past week in Tremblant. Apparently cold beverages and extremely cold temperatures can bring on these spasms, as my lungs are inflamed from all the previous coughing activity of the weeks before, and can’t expand as usual. The burping part, well, I think that was my own little creative twist on things. Lovely.

TMI, I know, but I’m actually quite proud of the fact that I’ve been fairly belchless for 42 years. What a lady. So now I'm on orciprenaline, a drug commonly used for asthma, emphysema and other lung disorders. I think mine is called "getting old and harder to shake illness" syndrome. Hopefully with this drug, all should be normal again in a couple of days. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Speaking of ladylike tendencies, I’d like to share with you my report on three 2007 movies that I watched over the holidays.

#1: Knocked Up

So what was all the fuss about? It was a pretty good movie, I wouldn't say it was GREAT, but it had some moments. I thought it could have done with a little editing though. It was a tad long, at least for me. I did take some exception to the way women in general were portrayed, but then I put that in the backseat of my mind so I could enjoy the film for what it was worth.

Katherine Heigl (Izzy from Grey's Anatomy; Allison here) plays this up and coming entertainment reporter who just gets a big break for on air duties. She goes out to celebrate with her sister (a funny Leslie Mann, who also happens to be Mrs. Judd Apatow); gets drunk and parties then sleeps with Seth Rogan's character (Ben), then finds out she's pregnant. Big problem because it was a one night stand, she doesn't remember much, and Ben is a bit of a loser, trying to start up a website that offers stats on how quickly the A-list film actors get naked. Along with a group of loser (and looks like all Canadian) pals.

The film, of course, has a happy ending, our slovenly hero wakes up and takes a real stab at being responsible, and our heroine takes it down a notch from shrew to make it palletable. I found Seth Rogan quite likeable in this role. I suppose that's what made us decide to pick up...

#2: Super Bad

This was written by Seth Rogan and a friend Evan Goldberg when they were 13, then further refined at 16, and apparently the story has been waiting for years to be picked up. Yes, a superlong time...Seth is ancient at 25. And yes, that explains a lot of the type of humour that can be found in the movie.

The connection here, of course is Judd Apatow, who also made "40 year old virgin" and I think "Anchorman" with Will Ferrell. Seth had small roles in each of those films as well. As he does here, in a hilarious turn as a lazy-ass rookie cop with a lazy-ass partner

This movie brought me right back to high school. And gave me a bittersweet reminder of what it was like to be a geek. Behind the crude jokes, the fixation about sex and the crazy way-out there antics, there lies a coming-of-age tale that sends the message that life really does go on after high school. Things can't really stay the same, but they can evolve in a good way. I get the feeling that this is more than semi-autobiographical; it's autobiographical fantasy at teenaged finest.

The two boys (Seth and Evan) are in their final year of highschool, and they've been best friends since about Grade 3. They have been inseparable since. With graduation looming, we find out that they didn't get into the same college. And they're both apprehensive about that and dealing with it in their own ways. They've never been to any parties, never been invited, and would never have thought to crash. But they get their big opportunity this time by offering to get fake ID and round up booze for this big bash-up that Seth's crush is having while her parents are away.

I remember some parties where the parents were away. Once while my parents were away, my sister had a party that started out pretty civilized, but somehow these kids wanted to get into my folks' jacuzzi; some kids got onto their bedroom balcony and were threatening to jump into the ravine backyard. OMG, crazy times. Although still not as crazy as depicted here. My favourite drink when I was 16 was a brown cow. Tia Maria and milk, yum. I wasn't into the beer yet. Certainly not as poured from a tanker sized container of Tide (you've got to see this to believe it!). And no, my parents don't read this blog, but if they do they're in for a surprise, I suppose!

Something about the way the scenes were shot, the neighbourhood, the whole vibe of the movie spelled "Scarborough" to me. There just seemed something uniquely Canadian about the whole thing, which would make sense as Rogan and Goldberg are both from BC. I felt a similar way when I watched those Wayne's World movies (and Mike Myers DOES hail from Scarborough).

The casting was great. Michael Cera played Evan - this is a young superstar from Brampton, Ontario of all places. You probably recognize him from Arrested Development, and he's currently starring in the movie "Juno" which I really want to see as well. He has this quality about him, a certain sweetness that comes through, even as he's acting as a total goofball. He reminds me a lot of the singer Beck, perhaps it's the way he dances. He's all of 19.

The role of Seth was nailed by Jonah Hill. He played a very annoying character in Knocked Up, and although he bordered on annoying in parts of this movie, he was able to let a little vulnerability sneak through in his performance. Not your typical "fat-guy" role. He was excellent. I think he was the old timer at 24, but he was very convincing as a 17 year old.

The writing, despite the exceedingly foul language at times, had a lot of comic genius to it.

I thought this was a great movie. Just won't let my kids near it until they're 18 or so. And I won't be going away without them while they're teenagers. I'd like to keep my house intact until they're off to university themselves.

#3: Shoot ‘Em Up

I was thrilled when hubs brought this movie back from the video store. Now, I'm not often a shoot-em-up movie loving gal. Ian picked this up because he likes Paul Giamatti, and, well, just look at those guns on the cover! I was focussed on CLIVE OWEN's guns... LURVE that man. So hot that Clive is, so nice of my man to bring this one home.

This film really belongs in the black comedy genre. I didn't really know what to think of it at first, and didn't really care. I'm not usually into dark-haired guys, but there's something about Clive that's exceedingly sexy. I know I'm not the only female on this planet who thinks that way.

The plot is basically this; our hero sits at a bus-stop and watches a pregnant woman run past him, followed by a man, with a gun. Hero thinks, oh crap, I've gotta go help this damsel in distress. And then shooting begins and does not let up throughout the whole movie. I think Clive pegged off two dozen leather-clad bad guys in the first shooting scene alone. I stopped counting after that. For the rest of the movie, he's eating carrots, uttering fabulous one-liners in his oh-just-so perfect British accent, and keeping a tiny baby safe

For the guys, there's gorgeous Italian actress Monica Bellucci as a hooker with a heart of gold. She is beautiful and a VERY talented actress (I first saw her in Malena, where she was hauntingly effective as an erroneously tagged village harlot). But she's just having some fun here, I think. Clive and Monica, what a smokin' onscreen couple. You've got to see the love scene to believe it - sexy and outright hilarious. I don't know how their real-life spouses handle this stuff.

And Paul Giamatti, let me tell you, he looked like he was having such a ball with this role as Villain. Don't think he'll ever be pigeon-holed into "Sideways" type of roles. He was great.

But Clive, he played this to perfection. I need more Clive.

Please Vote for Me

It's provincial election day today, and in addition to choosing the candidate and their particular party for our local riding, there is a referendum about the voting system itself. I'm not a political animal by any means, but I do feel it is important to vote, as it is our democratic right and a right that much of the world does not have. And if I don't vote, if ever I have an issue with the way things are run, I can't really complain then can I? I haven't been following the election that closely, and the referendum did throw me for a loop.

It was only a couple of weeks ago when I got a flyer in the mail, that I even knew there was a referendum and what the question was. After reading the newspaper on that weekend morning, where they detailed the highlights of the leadership debates, the phone rang and I picked it up. After hearing a very rushed introduction from a very collegiate sounding voice, I decided to give the kid a break and let him have a few minutes of my time to do a survey for this joint university study. A study that was being conducted to see how much Ontarians knew about the upcoming election, what they knew about the referendum, and what they thought about various issues. Probably to judge the effectiveness of the campaigns, media coverage, and accuracy of the polls.

Maybe I'm just a softie because of my work background with clinical studies and experience on the other side when completing my own surveys for university. When he gave me the blurb about consent and confidentiality, he had me hooked. Or maybe I was just in a chatty mood. In any event, my answers were probably all over the map. But I'd like to think that I sounded informed, even if my answers were based on my " Election Referendum for Dummies" speed reading conducted just minutes before. At least I had my husband fooled, as he listened and gestured to me with incredulity. I could see it in his eyes "How do you know all that stuff?". I guess he didn't know what a BS-er his wife could be. Scary.

Which windingly brings me to the original topic of today's post. I saw the cutest film a couple of nights ago, a documentary made in China that was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival just this past September. It's part of a series of films under the umbrella "Why Democracy". The film, called "Please Vote for Me" follows an election of a Hall Monitor in a fairly large school in a Chinese city.



Previously the monitor had always been appointed by the teacher, but this was a lesson in democracy, an emerging concept in China. What made it most interesting and fascinating is that it was a political race between three EIGHT YEAR OLDS and it was quite hilarious, sweet but cut-throat at the same time. The filmmaker followed the three candidates home to see how they coped and prepared for the election, and also how their parents supported and really pressured the kids to well. The process included a talent contest as well as debates between the candidates.

The political antics, backroom agreements, deceit, false promises ... they were all there! You have to see it to believe it! After watching this program, it really gave me a sense of what pressure is to these kids, especially given China's one child policy, and all of the hopes that parents have placed on their only children.

All I can say is after witnessing that, I'm a total softie on my offspring! It also explains some of my mother's interesting childrearing philosophies.

Catch this one if you can, you won't be disappointed.

Oscar Worthy

This is the week of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). And despite all the years of wanting to attend and living right downtown Toronto for five years B.K. (before kids) we have never seen a single film at the event! Now that we live in the burbs, I've discovered a free ticket to creating my own mini Suburbia-FF - the local public library.

I love the library. Unfortunately, it hasn't really helped my goal of being a well-read mother. Which is a lofty goal, and will perhaps be more attainable once my little home renovation project is complete. My primary reason for going there these days, (other than exposing my kids to a little-known concept of “free”) is the video library. I’ve managed to find some great movies there, movies that I never got see when they were in theatres, but really wanted to see. And the bonus is that they’re absolutely free.

In honour of the TIFF, here's my take on a couple of DVD's I watched recently. These were both nominated for acting Academy Awards last year. :


Little Children, a movie based in a suburban neighbourhood, which follows the lives of a reluctant stay-at-home mother, a reluctant stay-at-home father, in their community dealing with the recently released convicted pedophile who has moved back in with his elderly mother across from the neighbourhood playground. I remembered hearing great things about this film, and it didn't disappoint. I loved this movie as this seemingly ordinary setting has such darker themes just under the surface.

Initially, it almost appeared as an indictment of the whole stay-at-home lifestyle, as it portrays the stay-at-home mothers as such catty, judgemental women who have nothing better to do than keep their children to regimented play and snack-time schedules, and dream about the hunky stay-at-home Dad (aka "Prom King"). What fodder to add further fuel to the mommy wars. But as the movie progressed, I felt the caricature-like personas they were given provided the backdrop needed to highlight the heroine's struggles within.

The SAHM Sarah, as played by the fantastic Kate Winslet, is in such denial that she is living this life. To survive each day, she has to pretend she is conducting a study in sociology while her young daughter plays in the playground. A previous academic who feels she has given up so much by marrying an older man who's quite successful in "brand marketing" and staying home with her toddler daughter, she appears so much happier when her daughter is anywhere but with her. Sarah wants out in a huge way, and it makes it easier for the audience accept her subsequent adultery with the Prom King Brad (Patrick Wilson) when we find out that her husband is also having an e-affair with internet porn sites.

Brad also has his own issues, having completed law school but failed the bar exam twice. He is currently at home with his toddler son, supposedly studying for another attempt at the bar. He is also being supported by his gorgeous documentary filmaker wife Kathy (gorgeous Jennifer Connelly). He hasn't grown up, nor does it appear that he wants to, but he is resentful of his SAHD status as well. It is inevitable that these two dreamers gravitate toward each other as they both seek escape.

The other plotline about the released pedophile played by Jackie Earle Haley, comes in and out of the main story seamlessly and with great effect. His elderly mother is fiercely protective of him, while he is harassed by the one man "concerned parents coalition" that wants him out of the neighbourhood. As one movie review noted (and I can't for the life of me remember which one), this relationship is the only one in the movie that reflects the absolute love between a parent and child. The movie does end with some shocking events, but also with some important lessons. Extremely well done, with some exceptional performances.

Kate Winslet – even her eyebrows can act. Will someone give her an Oscar already? It's always so unfortunate when actors miss out on awards because of timing (honestly, no one could win with Helen Mirren in the running as the Queen!).

Jackie Earle Haley as the pedophile - creepy looking even as a young teen in the Bad News Bears, he is at his creepiest here. Where has he been? Coming back with a vengeance in this pivotal, dark and disturbing role. His Oscar nomination was so well-deserved.

Patrick Wilson – played the Prom King to great effect. Where has this hotness been? This type of Dad doesn't frequent any playgrounds in my neighbourhood LOL! No Oscar nods here, but it was fun to watch him. Very steamy sex scenes with Kate. OMG.


Half Nelson. Two words: Ryan Gosling. A Canadian no less! He was the movie. I can't believe I spent almost two hours watching a young man's life spiral downward and out of control on crack, but I was mesmerized by his performance. He was so convincing as Dan Dunne an exceptional and well-liked inner city history teacher and girls' basketball coach by day; crack and coke head party animal by night. He develops a friendship with one of his students, a young girl who's left on her own a lot (single mother works all the time, older brother is in prison). This young girl also has a mentor/guardian in the form of the neighbourhood crack dealer, so Dan is torn by his need to protect her from the world he is very much a part of himself.

The last movie I saw him in was the sappy love story "The Notebook". Who knew he had this in him? The Academy Award committee couldn't even ignore this performance.

He is only 27 years old so I'm sure he'll have many more opportunities. I can't wait to see what else he's got in store for us. He dated the lovely Rachel McAdams for a while, but now rumour has him linked up with Lenny Kravitz' and Lisa Bonet's daughter. A baby!!! He even dated Sandra Bullock at one time - she's older than me, so I'm not the only dirty old lady on this planet. Can you say it with me? Cougarrrrrrr!!

(DVD images from amazon.com)

A Date with Matt Damon

(chaperoned by the Hubster)

Saturday night was an impromptu date night! Whoo-hoo!

We took the parental units (how dated is that expression) out for dinner at Il fornello. They are watching the carb content in their diet, but everyone needs a treat once in a while. Especially my mother who has been cooking and babysitting almost round-the-clock since the newest grandbabies were born. It was nice for them to enjoy some sit-down time with the older grandkids, chat a bit, enjoy their pizza and pasta. The restaurant wasn't too busy so it was a very nice atmosphere for the six of us. And to top it off, Giselle actually ate some multigrain pizza (crust, anyway). The only way we could get her to eat it was to have the threat of the crust-monster, Grandpa, ready to eat up her supper if she didn't do it first. Worked like a charm, and we all got some laughs out of it too.

We got back to the condo at about 9:15. We'd been thinking about taking advantage of the situation and going to see a movie after dinner, as my parents were going to stay in anyway. Although we were both pretty tired, after getting the kids ready for bed, we decided that we should get out to see the 9:50 show. That's LATE!!! I know, but beggars can't be choosers. We headed out at 9:40 figuring the most we would miss would be the previews.

The Silver City parking lot looked packed; but when we got closer, it was mostly people vacating their spots. We hurried up the steps and into the entrance only to be greeted by another series of crowds lined up in the fastlane automatic payment lines. Somehow through my strange out-of-it meandering path I made it to the front of the line -- always amazes Ian that I manage to do that sometimes. We got our tickets, walked right into the cinema #5 and it was so quiet I commented that it looked like it was empty! Spoke too soon... once we made it all the way inside we saw that it was packed to the rafters, and we were stuck at the third row from the front. Which is a terrible spot at the best of times, but particularly bad for action. But we had to remind ourselves that this was a treat, so we were ready to make the best of the situation. We just anticipated needing some major massage therapy for the neck after the show.

The previews came on and it was crazy! One screenshot after the other of violent, vengeance and/or war related scenes. Lots of shoot-em-ups, bloodletting, loud music, (one with the requisite Mark Wahlberg - why is he always in a movie about brothers?). I hadn't heard of a single one - I am so behind on my entertainment trivia it is pathetic. I was so tense after the previews I was almost hyperventilating. Could I survive the actual movie?

The Bourne Ultimatum. Third in a series of action/suspense thrillers starring Matt Damon. Career saving series, according to him. Some people call the Jason Bourne character the James Bond of his generation. With these performances, I tend to agree.

I've seen all three of the movies. The first one was a surprise - I've never been a huge Matt Damon fan, he was all right in Good Will Hunting; I found him a little blank in "Talented Mr. Ripley". I know he was in the Ocean's series (over-hyped, inflated ego cast movies). Other than that I couldn't really name any other movies of note that he'd been in. Until Jason Bourne came along.

I'm generally a squeamish, girly-girl at these movies, but if it's well done I can be very appreciative. I was sufficiently impressed with Bourne Identity, to watch the Bourne Supremacy. I've been out of the loop with movie stuff so the announcement of the Ultimatum wasn't big news to me. Good thing it managed to hit my radar because I LOVED it!!!!

While some people say you don't need to see the first two in the series, I would say it would definitely help. The premise is that Jason Bourne is a trained assassin for the CIA, who starts having second thoughts about what he does for a living. He's been remembering each and every hit; wondering why he's killing people he doesn't even know, doesn't know who is he, who he was before. So he's trying to figure this all out. And someone doesn't want him to figure anything out, so he's continually being hunted along the way. This is the movie where it all comes together and he remembers it all.

There are amazing chase scenes, hand-to-hand combat is phenomenal. The camera work is purposefully shaky to give you the feeling that you're actually there in the fight. It works to great effect in the fight scenes, although rather annoying in the CIA office backdrop. Sure, it's a formula movie, but that's what I went there expecting and wanting, and it delivered in spades. There wasn't any real romance, although a possible hint of it showed up very briefly. Just enough to keep you guessing.

Some great actors in there, including Joan Allen (looking great!), David Strathairn, Julia Stiles, Scott Glenn (looking not so great - OLD!). But Matt was fantastic! I know he only has so many expressions on his face, but they managed to fit the role perfectly. He looked tormented, determined, angry, frustrated all at once, or within varying degrees of each other as appropriate. Too bad Matt is on record as saying this is the final time he'll play Bourne. I would see number 4 if it was ever made with Matt Damon in the cast. I don't think it would be the same without him.

After the movie, Ian asked me if I wanted to go for a drink. I said "Are you asking me out on a date?". And he said "Yeah, wanna?" We got back to the condo at about 1:30 in the morning. I felt about 19 years old again.

Yes, it's still possible to have fun without the kids!

5 loads of laundry and a movie review

I always overpack for vacation. And now that I'm a mother to a 2 year old cutie pie toddler who is as girlie as her Mom, I overpack for the both of us, and her brother who doesn't care in the least, but I must be equitable. The Dad is only too happy to wear the same golf shirt and shorts all week long. But honestly, if you're going out to Vancouver, where the weather can start out with a brisk spring morning, morph into a sunny, windy and beautiful afternoon and finish with a touch of evening chill from the mountains, a girl's gotta have an outfit for all these occasions. I was actually quite proud of myself this time - wore everything in my suitcase at least the once, with the exception of my running shoes and workout gear (who was I kidding - there was zero time to hit the gym).

Now I'm stuck with all this laundry. So while I adjust to the 3-hour time difference and clear out the suitcases, I thought I would provide some commentary on a movie that I managed to watch, almost uninterrupted, on the airplane. With the wonders of the portable DVD players that managed to keep Liam Pokeman'd and Giselle Care Bear-fixated, I was able to enjoy a small movie that I remember coming out briefly this past spring that I had no interest in whatsoever. I attribute that to weird marketing, as I think the makers of that movie were trying to make it something that it wasn't, and missed the mark on who would have enjoyed it. Namely people like me.

The movie was "In the Land of Women". Strange title, with the headliner being former OC star Adam Brody (the cute, funny guy), and the cast of women including Meg Ryan (I had no idea she was in this); Kristen Stewart (anger ridden, teenager with a passion for art); Olympia Dukakis (the demented grandma). The trailer made it look like a coming of age, teen love story between the male lead and the younger teenage star. So when the film came out I gave it a pass. Likely wouldn't have even considered it for a DVD rental.

Watching it yesterday, I discovered that it was about human relationships, between mother and daughter, between grandson and grandmother, different types of love and just life itself. It was a lovely drama, with some excellent dialogue, subdued performances, and just enough quirky humour to keep it from being totally melodramatic.

Adam Brody played Carter Webb, a soft-porn writer who has just been dumped by his gorgeous actress girlfriend and needs a change of scenery. He visits his mom (JoBeth Williams, who still looks great) who's worried about grandma in Michigan, who thinks she's dying every day. Carter decides to visit his grandmother, stay with her for a while to get away from the LA scene and make plans for her care.

While he's there he develops relationships with the neighbours across the street, the lonely suburban housewife (Meg Ryan), her angry daughter (Kristen Stewart) and the precocious little sister. The father is absent most of the time; Carter learns that he really is a good listener, and life does go on after you've been dumped. I was most impressed with Adam Brody's performance, and Meg Ryan's. It was a refreshing change to see her in a more subtle role, a role of a mother dealing with a crisis, looking at her life and being more than a bit disappointed, longing for more even though, as she described it herself, her life seems picture perfect. I thought it was one of her best performances, and I didn't even let her plastic lips distract me once during the whole movie.

A movie that actually made me cry at times. It did plod in spots, and it's not an Oscar contender by any means, but a nice small movie which was not the teen screen fare I was expecting. A happy ending in a movie that was a pleasant surprise; a lovely way to finish off the family summer vacation.

While Daddy's Away

The thing about hubster being away on business, it’s both more and less work for me. More work obviously, as I’m with the kids on my own, so there’s no extra set of hands to keep them occupied while I try to get something done. I also miss one of my workout times, which for me these days is a big deal. If I miss it, I crave it, as I really need to have the energy to keep up with the rugrats. Especially since I’m alone in the evenings so I tend to become Ms. Munch-a-lot without anyone else around. On top of that I’ve got to take out the garbage and remember to water the poor parched plants that are at my mercy whenever their reliable keeper is away. I’m known as “Black Thumb” around these parts.

As for less work – I don’t feel the pressure to necessarily keep the house immaculate every evening. Not that it ever is or ever will be immaculate. By now you probably know that I’m not the best cleaner, but it’s a necessity to pick up after the kids because every which way you turn there’s an ankle hazard just waiting to be stepped on. My daily ritual around 5:30 pm is to try (and it’s a big effort!) to transform an erupted Mount St. Helens, into some semblance of a family room. For my husband’s benefit, primarily. He’s the neat freak. It’s the constant battle between the cluttered Chinese and the pristine German in this household. So when he’s away I don’t have to try quite as hard.

With hubby off to Barcelona (I know, what’s my problem, remaining home?!), on my weekly trip to the video store with the kids, I decided to treat myself to a couple of movies. On the offchance that I might have an hour or two to myself after the kids were safely tucked into bed. And also that I might be able to keep my eyes open long enough to watch at least one of them. The thing about me is that I’m a night owl. I really treasure the time, particularly at night, that I have to myself. I’m often hitting the sack after midnight, against my better judgment. I’m either catching the Hour on CBC, or getting caught up in whichever book I’m trying to get through. So when hubster’s away, there’s no timekeeper for me. With that in mind, I rented two movies that I’ve been wanting to watch (when I remember) and that Ian probably wouldn’t mind missing: “Friends with Money” and "Born into Brothels".

Last night after finally getting both kids off (a challenge, because it’s usually Dad’s time with them) I was all tuckered out. But I felt the need to put “Born into Brothels” on, despite the fact that it would be 11:30 pm by the time I got to the closing credits. So in went the DVD, and I was mesmerized with a capital M, for the next hour and a half. I so wish I had kept this one to watch with hubby – he would have loved it.

When I saw this DVD on the shelf, I remembered reading a review about it when it first came out. Then it won an Academy Award for Best Documentary of 2005. I was supposed to put it on the list of “ movies to see” whenever I go to the video store. The imaginary list I started in my head when Liam was born that keeps growing. When I checked it out, the girl said she’s been wanting to watch it but was afraid it would make her sad. It is indeed sad, the situations depicted in the movie, but it is also very inspiring and the story is still ongoing today.

The documentary was made by a photojournalist, Zana Briski, who had spent the last 8 years of her life living among prostitutes in North Calcutta, taking photos of them to showcase their plight to the world outside. A very harsh, dark world, that very few get a glimpse of and very few even want to see. What started as a focus on the prostitutes moved into a labour of love for the children of these prostitutes, who sought her out because of their own curiosity. Through weekly classes, they developed a real love and talent for photography. Each child was given a camera and they captured their own lives in their own ways, and while doing so captured the heart of Zana and her partner, who decided to make a film about this experience.

The photos are incredibly beautiful, and the children are so wonderful, so world-weary already as they have seen so much in their short lives. The girls know their fate as they come from generations of prostitutes. As she kneeled on the ground scrubbing a dirty bowl with even dirtier water, one ten year old’s voiceover said that life is sad and painful, but she’s okay with that as that’s just the way life is. That statement just cut right into my heart – so tragic with no hope. Life shouldn’t be that way for a young child.

The film is beautifully shot. The stories are told by the children in their own voice, and by Zana as she also documents her efforts to help these children get a real shot in life.

I won’t spoil it for you as I think everyone who’s been a child, who has a child, who knows a child, should watch this film. There is a companion book to the DVD that I will be looking to get a hold of.

If I keep my fingers crossed I just may get to the second movie tonight. But I suspect it will pale in comparison to the experience I had last night.

The Devil Wears Prada

I watched the movie on the weekend - thought it was really quite good. Brought back memories though, long deeply buried memories ...

I had my own boss from hell about 10 years ago. Wasn't much older than me, quite attractive, very smart (Ph D, MBA) and she knew it. But I think the main problem was more cultural. She came from a moneyed background, raised in Latin America and boarding school in Europe. A lot of her attitude I assumed came from growing up very class-conscious.

I wasn't her whipping girl, though, unlike the movie. I was a manager, had been working in the field for a number of years and knew what I was doing. She was new to the Canadian environment so she needed me. As I said, she was smart. In actual fact, she was quite good to me, but her behaviour made working conditions really quite terrible for the whole department. She talked down to many of the administrative staff, was addicted to her cell phone (ie. she took off mid-negotiation with important government representatives to take a personal call), would only want "the best" at all restaurants (eg. always sent something back, insisted on cloth rather than paper napkins).

I travelled with her quite a bit. And like the Meryl Streep character, she was not a one-dimensional caricature. She was struggling through a divorce, setting up a new apartment, I guess trying to get herself on her own feet and so her priorities were likely all messed up. So I got more of an inside look into her life; not that I'm making any excuses, but I'm sure that had a lot to do with some of her actions.

The worst incident for me was when she had a hissy fit at the airport coming home after an overnight trip to Ottawa. She had an enormous carry-on which somehow got through the first time. But Ottawa to Toronto they wanted her to check her bag. So she made a big stink, hauled in a couple of attendants, then the head attendant, then the customer service manager etc.. etc.. We ended up missing our flight home, had to take the next one. I called into the office and they could tell from my voice that they were luckier being where they were than with me. I wished that the floor would swallow me up!

I looked for and was actually offered another job at another company. But I didn't take it - they wouldn't pay for my MBA, and the entire compensation was less than what I was making. The problem was that I loved the company, but working conditions in our department were the pits. But why should I have to take less just to move away from an intolerable person? So I stuck it out.

It turned out that I didn't have to wait long. In the end her antics actually adversely affected her performance and she "left". And I got promoted. Which was a good thing on one hand, not so good on the other. But we'll get into that some other time.

Looking back it's easy to gloss over the bad parts. I think ultimately I did benefit from the experience. She did encourage me to pursue my MBA, and she authorized the departmental budget to provide for it. Although I think in some way it was more to make her look good, it still worked for me. And it proved to me that I could work under difficult circumstances and still perform well under that pressure.

I was given a tip recently about a job at the company where she presently works. I was curious about it and asked whether it would report into her. It didn't, but I'm not in a hurry to go back to full time work anyway. And certainly not with her ... sorry, but Been There, Done That and More Than Bought the T-Shirt!!!