snowywolfowl: (Owl face)
....and I regret nothing! :-)


Yes I did watch Star Wars today. Don't worry, I'm not going to post spoilers but I will say that I really, really liked it and am looking forward to see where the story arc goes.

And that's all I'm going to say. Again, just don't want to spoil it.
snowywolfowl: (Owl face)
This was released in 1981 and I never new about it? Something tells me this might be the oddest movie I've seen since I watched that North Korean monster movie last year.

Somehow I'm having trouble believing it but its on imdb.com and the CBC did a feature on it, so maybe? If it is then this has to be perhaps the greatest Darwin Award every filmed!

I am so definitely renting this.

snowywolfowl: (gecko)
A few on my friends list are getting excited by trailers for "The Hobbit" so I decided to see if I could find footage from the first movie version I ever saw as a kid. Lo and behold I not only found some but I found the most influential of all time. Seriously, I've had managers who I think took this completely to heart! :-p

snowywolfowl: (gecko)
A few on my friends list are getting excited by trailers for "The Hobbit" so I decided to see if I could find footage from the first movie version I ever saw as a kid. Lo and behold I not only found some but I found the most influential of all time. Seriously, I've had managers who I think took this completely to heart! :-p

snowywolfowl: (gecko)
A few on my friends list are getting excited by trailers for "The Hobbit" so I decided to see if I could find footage from the first movie version I ever saw as a kid. Lo and behold I not only found some but I found the most influential of all time. Seriously, I've had managers who I think took this completely to heart! :-p

snowywolfowl: (Phantom)
Granted to me "UFO" means "Unidentified Flying Object" and NOT "Little Green Men". I'm pretty sure that what I saw was just a very bright satellite, and not the results of intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic gazing upon us with envious eyes, drawing their plans against us. *

Still, its always cool to be able to gaze up into the sky, see something, and walk away thinking "Just what exactly was that, really?" I guess that's why we continue to gaze into places that we really don't belong, whether its the vastness of space, the depths of the ocean, or the unknowable mysteries of the human heart.

School starts again soon. Time to find out what I see for myself I suppose.



"Hey, what can I say? I loved reading H.G. Wells as a kid, and the 1953 George Pal film version is a sci-fi movie classic well worth seeing for any fan of the genre."

snowywolfowl: (Phantom)
Granted to me "UFO" means "Unidentified Flying Object" and NOT "Little Green Men". I'm pretty sure that what I saw was just a very bright satellite, and not the results of intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic gazing upon us with envious eyes, drawing their plans against us. *

Still, its always cool to be able to gaze up into the sky, see something, and walk away thinking "Just what exactly was that, really?" I guess that's why we continue to gaze into places that we really don't belong, whether its the vastness of space, the depths of the ocean, or the unknowable mysteries of the human heart.

School starts again soon. Time to find out what I see for myself I suppose.



"Hey, what can I say? I loved reading H.G. Wells as a kid, and the 1953 George Pal film version is a sci-fi movie classic well worth seeing for any fan of the genre."

snowywolfowl: (Phantom)
Granted to me "UFO" means "Unidentified Flying Object" and NOT "Little Green Men". I'm pretty sure that what I saw was just a very bright satellite, and not the results of intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic gazing upon us with envious eyes, drawing their plans against us. *

Still, its always cool to be able to gaze up into the sky, see something, and walk away thinking "Just what exactly was that, really?" I guess that's why we continue to gaze into places that we really don't belong, whether its the vastness of space, the depths of the ocean, or the unknowable mysteries of the human heart.

School starts again soon. Time to find out what I see for myself I suppose.



"Hey, what can I say? I loved reading H.G. Wells as a kid, and the 1953 George Pal film version is a sci-fi movie classic well worth seeing for any fan of the genre."

snowywolfowl: (Default)
I watched "It Might Get Loud" last night and as might be expected I really did like it.* I really found it interesting to see the actual staircase where the drum track for "When the Levee Breaks" was recorded, among other things. It was also interesting to see the different philosophies Jack White and The Edge have regarding the use of technology to shape a guitar sound.

*It's a documentary with Jimmy Page in it...of course I'm going to find it interesting! I mean why even try to be impartial?   :-p
snowywolfowl: (Default)
I watched "It Might Get Loud" last night and as might be expected I really did like it.* I really found it interesting to see the actual staircase where the drum track for "When the Levee Breaks" was recorded, among other things. It was also interesting to see the different philosophies Jack White and The Edge have regarding the use of technology to shape a guitar sound.

*It's a documentary with Jimmy Page in it...of course I'm going to find it interesting! I mean why even try to be impartial?   :-p
snowywolfowl: (Default)
I watched "It Might Get Loud" last night and as might be expected I really did like it.* I really found it interesting to see the actual staircase where the drum track for "When the Levee Breaks" was recorded, among other things. It was also interesting to see the different philosophies Jack White and The Edge have regarding the use of technology to shape a guitar sound.

*It's a documentary with Jimmy Page in it...of course I'm going to find it interesting! I mean why even try to be impartial?   :-p
snowywolfowl: (Default)
 The second movie review of the night takes us from the blood soaked fields of Belgium in WWI to the blood soaked fields of Rwanda in 1993. In “Shake Hands with the Devil” Quebecois actor Roy Dupuis plays General Romeo Dallaire, the commander of the ill-fated UN peacekeeping mission to Rwanda. Over the course of 100 days Dallaire and his men bare witness not only to the horrors of organized genocide but also the indifference such events were met with by the world at large. Throughout the massacre Dallaire pleads time and time again for reinforcements to stop the atrocities unfolding around him, only to be met with refusals and troop withdrawals.

The acting here is very good. Dupuis is very convincing as Dallaire, showing the man's transformation from optimism that the ceasefire between Tutsis and Hutus can hold, to frustration with the indifference of the world to the massacres, to finally emotional collapse into PTSD, despair, and a failed suicide attempt. The supporting actors are also quite good and well utilized by the screen writer and director, especially in the scenes where Dallaire is speaking to the therapist treating him after his diagnosis with PTSD. Their presence in the room, while at first a little confusing, becomes a very effective Greek chorus to reflect and explain the events unfolding before us, and oh, what events they are.

As “Shake Hands with the Devil” sits squarely within the genocide film genre it is full of disturbing imagery. Civilians slip on blood before being taken away to be killed, children's bodies lie in the path of UN vehicles and so must be pulled to the side for the convoy's to pass, and perhaps most horribly the sound of machetes hacking into people is never too far away. Through all of this the impotence of the UN to do anything is showcased again and again, with Dallaire's telling one high ranking Hutu officer that “the world will not approve” being met with complete contempt and disdain. In another scene an injured Tutsi woman, her family dead, when being told that the UN cannot use its guns to stop the killings demands of him “well what good are you then?”. While it would be easy for the writer to have slipped an answer in the decision to have no answer at all most accurately shows the value of the mission to the victims of the genocide.

It's this last point that is probably the most painful about this movie, and the one that should provoke some soul searching among those of us watching dramatizations of such events from the safety of our own living rooms. If this movie raises any questions its not “is UN peacekeeping a bad idea?” but rather “why do we spend resources (money and lives) for peacekeeping in countries we don't care about?” As is pointed out in the movie Rwanda, for all its death toll, is a forgotten and ignored operation. Instead it is Bosnia that commands the lion's share of the military, political, and humanitarian resources. When one considers that several peacekeepers lost their lives in Rwanda to accomplish practically nothing it would seem that answering that question is the least we, as citizenry, can do.

As for the victims of this and future genocides, we already have the answer.


 


 


snowywolfowl: (Default)
 The second movie review of the night takes us from the blood soaked fields of Belgium in WWI to the blood soaked fields of Rwanda in 1993. In “Shake Hands with the Devil” Quebecois actor Roy Dupuis plays General Romeo Dallaire, the commander of the ill-fated UN peacekeeping mission to Rwanda. Over the course of 100 days Dallaire and his men bare witness not only to the horrors of organized genocide but also the indifference such events were met with by the world at large. Throughout the massacre Dallaire pleads time and time again for reinforcements to stop the atrocities unfolding around him, only to be met with refusals and troop withdrawals.

The acting here is very good. Dupuis is very convincing as Dallaire, showing the man's transformation from optimism that the ceasefire between Tutsis and Hutus can hold, to frustration with the indifference of the world to the massacres, to finally emotional collapse into PTSD, despair, and a failed suicide attempt. The supporting actors are also quite good and well utilized by the screen writer and director, especially in the scenes where Dallaire is speaking to the therapist treating him after his diagnosis with PTSD. Their presence in the room, while at first a little confusing, becomes a very effective Greek chorus to reflect and explain the events unfolding before us, and oh, what events they are.

As “Shake Hands with the Devil” sits squarely within the genocide film genre it is full of disturbing imagery. Civilians slip on blood before being taken away to be killed, children's bodies lie in the path of UN vehicles and so must be pulled to the side for the convoy's to pass, and perhaps most horribly the sound of machetes hacking into people is never too far away. Through all of this the impotence of the UN to do anything is showcased again and again, with Dallaire's telling one high ranking Hutu officer that “the world will not approve” being met with complete contempt and disdain. In another scene an injured Tutsi woman, her family dead, when being told that the UN cannot use its guns to stop the killings demands of him “well what good are you then?”. While it would be easy for the writer to have slipped an answer in the decision to have no answer at all most accurately shows the value of the mission to the victims of the genocide.

It's this last point that is probably the most painful about this movie, and the one that should provoke some soul searching among those of us watching dramatizations of such events from the safety of our own living rooms. If this movie raises any questions its not “is UN peacekeeping a bad idea?” but rather “why do we spend resources (money and lives) for peacekeeping in countries we don't care about?” As is pointed out in the movie Rwanda, for all its death toll, is a forgotten and ignored operation. Instead it is Bosnia that commands the lion's share of the military, political, and humanitarian resources. When one considers that several peacekeepers lost their lives in Rwanda to accomplish practically nothing it would seem that answering that question is the least we, as citizenry, can do.

As for the victims of this and future genocides, we already have the answer.


 


 


snowywolfowl: (Default)
 The second movie review of the night takes us from the blood soaked fields of Belgium in WWI to the blood soaked fields of Rwanda in 1993. In “Shake Hands with the Devil” Quebecois actor Roy Dupuis plays General Romeo Dallaire, the commander of the ill-fated UN peacekeeping mission to Rwanda. Over the course of 100 days Dallaire and his men bare witness not only to the horrors of organized genocide but also the indifference such events were met with by the world at large. Throughout the massacre Dallaire pleads time and time again for reinforcements to stop the atrocities unfolding around him, only to be met with refusals and troop withdrawals.

The acting here is very good. Dupuis is very convincing as Dallaire, showing the man's transformation from optimism that the ceasefire between Tutsis and Hutus can hold, to frustration with the indifference of the world to the massacres, to finally emotional collapse into PTSD, despair, and a failed suicide attempt. The supporting actors are also quite good and well utilized by the screen writer and director, especially in the scenes where Dallaire is speaking to the therapist treating him after his diagnosis with PTSD. Their presence in the room, while at first a little confusing, becomes a very effective Greek chorus to reflect and explain the events unfolding before us, and oh, what events they are.

As “Shake Hands with the Devil” sits squarely within the genocide film genre it is full of disturbing imagery. Civilians slip on blood before being taken away to be killed, children's bodies lie in the path of UN vehicles and so must be pulled to the side for the convoy's to pass, and perhaps most horribly the sound of machetes hacking into people is never too far away. Through all of this the impotence of the UN to do anything is showcased again and again, with Dallaire's telling one high ranking Hutu officer that “the world will not approve” being met with complete contempt and disdain. In another scene an injured Tutsi woman, her family dead, when being told that the UN cannot use its guns to stop the killings demands of him “well what good are you then?”. While it would be easy for the writer to have slipped an answer in the decision to have no answer at all most accurately shows the value of the mission to the victims of the genocide.

It's this last point that is probably the most painful about this movie, and the one that should provoke some soul searching among those of us watching dramatizations of such events from the safety of our own living rooms. If this movie raises any questions its not “is UN peacekeeping a bad idea?” but rather “why do we spend resources (money and lives) for peacekeeping in countries we don't care about?” As is pointed out in the movie Rwanda, for all its death toll, is a forgotten and ignored operation. Instead it is Bosnia that commands the lion's share of the military, political, and humanitarian resources. When one considers that several peacekeepers lost their lives in Rwanda to accomplish practically nothing it would seem that answering that question is the least we, as citizenry, can do.

As for the victims of this and future genocides, we already have the answer.


 


 


snowywolfowl: (Default)

 So, over the past week I decided to spend some spare time with some Canadian cinema. I like to do that if for no other reason than that we are a nation full of great stories that deserve to be told. With that in mind here are a couple of reviews of two well told tragic tales.

The first is “Passchendaele”, which was written, directed, produced and acted in by Paul Gross, the actor best known for playing Constable Benton Fraser in “Due South”. While it was based on a few anecdotes Mr. Gross's grandfather shared with him about that battle it isn't a straight biopic. It's a drama, with the requisite love angles, massive set piece battle scenes and themes of heroic self sacrifice. So if it has all this what makes it worth watching, especially when movies and series like “Saving Private Ryan”, “Band of Brothers”, and “The Pacific” would appear to have already cornered the market?

Well, three things come to mind in answering that question. The first is simple novelty, and the second the historical importance of the events in question. World War I movies are not nearly as common as movies on other conflicts, and movies showcasing Canadian involvement are perhaps rarer still. Since World War I was one of the defining moments in the creation of Canadian nationhood its a time period that deserves to be seen and understood by all generations of Canadians as well as those who wish to understand a bit of the Canadian mindset. While no movie can ever hope to explain everything about an event it can inspire viewers to learn more.

The third part is the strength of the movie is showing the Canadian home front of WWI and its accompanying issues. We're not only shown the issues of PTSD that returning soldiers faced but also the incredible pressure society put on young men to prove their manhood by signing up to fight the “godless Hun”.* Individuals who didn't were often shunned and shamed by their own neighbours, behaviour that nowadays, despite the permanent warfare that Western nations are likely to experience for the next several decades, would be foreign to most viewers.

With regards to the battle scenes themselves they are as intense and often as horrific as one might expect. As a hint of foreshadowing the myth of Germans crucifying Canadian soldiers against barn doors is explored and explained as being the result of artillery fire and psychological trauma. The Canadian troops are shown as living, fighting and dying up to their shoulders in mud, blood, and other assorted gore. While terrible to watch it does serve to illustrate the horrific casualties the battle involved.

Ultimately if you are a fan of history and/or war movies “Passchendaele” is a very worthy flick to check out. I give it four out of five stars.

*Direct quote from a recruiting poster in the movie. My apologies to any and all Attila the Hun fans.


snowywolfowl: (Default)

 So, over the past week I decided to spend some spare time with some Canadian cinema. I like to do that if for no other reason than that we are a nation full of great stories that deserve to be told. With that in mind here are a couple of reviews of two well told tragic tales.

The first is “Passchendaele”, which was written, directed, produced and acted in by Paul Gross, the actor best known for playing Constable Benton Fraser in “Due South”. While it was based on a few anecdotes Mr. Gross's grandfather shared with him about that battle it isn't a straight biopic. It's a drama, with the requisite love angles, massive set piece battle scenes and themes of heroic self sacrifice. So if it has all this what makes it worth watching, especially when movies and series like “Saving Private Ryan”, “Band of Brothers”, and “The Pacific” would appear to have already cornered the market?

Well, three things come to mind in answering that question. The first is simple novelty, and the second the historical importance of the events in question. World War I movies are not nearly as common as movies on other conflicts, and movies showcasing Canadian involvement are perhaps rarer still. Since World War I was one of the defining moments in the creation of Canadian nationhood its a time period that deserves to be seen and understood by all generations of Canadians as well as those who wish to understand a bit of the Canadian mindset. While no movie can ever hope to explain everything about an event it can inspire viewers to learn more.

The third part is the strength of the movie is showing the Canadian home front of WWI and its accompanying issues. We're not only shown the issues of PTSD that returning soldiers faced but also the incredible pressure society put on young men to prove their manhood by signing up to fight the “godless Hun”.* Individuals who didn't were often shunned and shamed by their own neighbours, behaviour that nowadays, despite the permanent warfare that Western nations are likely to experience for the next several decades, would be foreign to most viewers.

With regards to the battle scenes themselves they are as intense and often as horrific as one might expect. As a hint of foreshadowing the myth of Germans crucifying Canadian soldiers against barn doors is explored and explained as being the result of artillery fire and psychological trauma. The Canadian troops are shown as living, fighting and dying up to their shoulders in mud, blood, and other assorted gore. While terrible to watch it does serve to illustrate the horrific casualties the battle involved.

Ultimately if you are a fan of history and/or war movies “Passchendaele” is a very worthy flick to check out. I give it four out of five stars.

*Direct quote from a recruiting poster in the movie. My apologies to any and all Attila the Hun fans.


snowywolfowl: (Default)

 So, over the past week I decided to spend some spare time with some Canadian cinema. I like to do that if for no other reason than that we are a nation full of great stories that deserve to be told. With that in mind here are a couple of reviews of two well told tragic tales.

The first is “Passchendaele”, which was written, directed, produced and acted in by Paul Gross, the actor best known for playing Constable Benton Fraser in “Due South”. While it was based on a few anecdotes Mr. Gross's grandfather shared with him about that battle it isn't a straight biopic. It's a drama, with the requisite love angles, massive set piece battle scenes and themes of heroic self sacrifice. So if it has all this what makes it worth watching, especially when movies and series like “Saving Private Ryan”, “Band of Brothers”, and “The Pacific” would appear to have already cornered the market?

Well, three things come to mind in answering that question. The first is simple novelty, and the second the historical importance of the events in question. World War I movies are not nearly as common as movies on other conflicts, and movies showcasing Canadian involvement are perhaps rarer still. Since World War I was one of the defining moments in the creation of Canadian nationhood its a time period that deserves to be seen and understood by all generations of Canadians as well as those who wish to understand a bit of the Canadian mindset. While no movie can ever hope to explain everything about an event it can inspire viewers to learn more.

The third part is the strength of the movie is showing the Canadian home front of WWI and its accompanying issues. We're not only shown the issues of PTSD that returning soldiers faced but also the incredible pressure society put on young men to prove their manhood by signing up to fight the “godless Hun”.* Individuals who didn't were often shunned and shamed by their own neighbours, behaviour that nowadays, despite the permanent warfare that Western nations are likely to experience for the next several decades, would be foreign to most viewers.

With regards to the battle scenes themselves they are as intense and often as horrific as one might expect. As a hint of foreshadowing the myth of Germans crucifying Canadian soldiers against barn doors is explored and explained as being the result of artillery fire and psychological trauma. The Canadian troops are shown as living, fighting and dying up to their shoulders in mud, blood, and other assorted gore. While terrible to watch it does serve to illustrate the horrific casualties the battle involved.

Ultimately if you are a fan of history and/or war movies “Passchendaele” is a very worthy flick to check out. I give it four out of five stars.

*Direct quote from a recruiting poster in the movie. My apologies to any and all Attila the Hun fans.


snowywolfowl: (Default)
I haven't really watched any movies in about a year or so, so what do you suggest as good?

Don't feel shy. I'm very eclectic in my tastes and if something doesn't appeal to me at one specific moment it will no doubt appeal at a later time.

Suggestions?
snowywolfowl: (Default)
I haven't really watched any movies in about a year or so, so what do you suggest as good?

Don't feel shy. I'm very eclectic in my tastes and if something doesn't appeal to me at one specific moment it will no doubt appeal at a later time.

Suggestions?

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