Starbuck!

I attended the Vancouver International Film Festival this past Friday with a friend who I would easily call a bit of a diehard when it comes to VIFF and she is always enthusiastically trying to get us to come along. This year I took in a double header with her, and was very pleasantly surprised by the incredibly delightful film Starbuck.

Starbuck comes to us from Quebec, directed by Ken Scott, starring Patrick Huard as a lovable loser David Wozniak. David gets thrown for a loop when he finds out that the sperm bank he frequented (many, many, many times)to make extra cash back in the 80’s made an error and gave all their clients his sperm, and he is now the proud father of 533 adult children, 142 of which are seeking to find out his identity.

From an unbelievable concept comes a laugh-out-loud heartwarming tale of a middle aged screw up who finds out that he actually makes one heck of a dad, full of quick and clever dialogue and great characters, I can already see Hollywood trying to re-make this but see the original if you can!

One scene in particular where David and his bestfriend/lawyer argue over the value of a Hall & Oates guitar pick was especially priceless.

P.S. Starbuck will be playing for a limited time at fifthavecinemas , check it out!

x0 J

As you wish...

Vizzini: He didn't fall? Inconceivable!

Inigo: You keep using that word, I don't think it means what you think it means

This just made my life... Entertainment Weekly is doing a reunion issue and one of the featured reunions is the cast from The Princess Bride, check out here for a peek at the article and a great behind the scenes video of the photo shoot.

All my DVD's are boxed up in anticipation for my move in December but I kinda want to dig through them to find my copy of The Princess Bride, what better way to recover from a turkey coma this weekend. When I first watched the special features on the DVD the part where Robin Wright talks about Andre the Giant brought tears to my eyes!

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to everyone here in Canada!

xo J

"Blue Valentine" is Blue but Good for Some

Hey Peeps,

Welcome to the weekend! I hope that you all had a great week.

I just went to see Blue Valentine starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams with Jessy and some of our friends. It's a gritty movie that looks at one relationship at the beginning and end. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams give very moving performances - with moments of charm and moments of total heart-rending tension. This movie certainly gives you a lot to chew on and isn't the easiest to watch - but if you're into movies that are a collision of rawness and grace, love and pain then this is a good one for you.

I've reviewed it in video form below - hope you enjoy it and hope you have a lively weekend. What are your plans?

xo
Jenny C

ps. Ryan Gosling knows how to wear a hoodie. Wowza!

Never let me go....

“I keep thinking of this river somewhere, with the water moving too fast. And these two people in the water, trying to hold onto each other, holding on as hard as they can, but in the end it’s just too much. The current is too strong. They’ve got to let go, drift apart. That’s how it is with us. It’s a shame, Kath, because we’ve loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can’t stay together forever” - Kazuo Ishiguro, Never let me go

“A page turner and a heartbreaker, a tour de force of knotted tension and buried anguish” - Time

I really enjoy comparing books to the movies they inspire, hence I took a really great film & literature class in my SFU days (the fact that they were doing The Virgin Suicides book and movie had me signed up immediately) I am always really interested to see how a film director adapts the story and characters, some people hate this and think that often their image of the book they loved is now ruined, I’ve never had that problem.

When I came across the movie trailer for Never Let Me Go I knew immediately that I HAD to read the book, and so glad I did. Kazuo Ishiguro, a British author of Japanese descent, has created such a subtly dynamic tale, at once a coming-of-age to romance, at once dramatic and tragic to thoughtful and insightful. I loved every page.

Is it sad? Yes, incredibly so, but it is beautiful. Although never explicitly explained, the lives of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy, are planned out from the moment they were created. They grow up knowing their purpose yet not fully knowing and as they move from children to young adults the realization and acceptance of this is heartbreaking for them and us the reader. From what I have seen so far of the film adaption director Mark Romanek has captured the essence and feel of the novel perfectly, and the casting is on point.

It is a bit of a tear jerker in the end but sometimes you need a good cry.

(I promise I also read up-beat books with happy endings, despite my tendency towards the meloncholy!)