Nov 29, 2015


But first...

Some News (That I Actually Care About)

  • I guess that you can count Ridley Scott as a big Michael Fassbender fan since he decided that he wants the actor in two roles for the upcoming Alien: Covenant. More David? @ScreenDaily
  • Box office report: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 had a pretty strong second weekend, finishing up at $75.8 million which is sure to have Lionsgate at least considering more sequels or even some spin-offs. Pixar's The Good Dinosaur came in at #2 with a $56 million haul. While that's not a bad number, it's not the kind of sterling result that Pixar usually gets. For a movie that had a pretty troubled production, parent company Disney is sure to be disappointed. The big news here is Creed which surprised most analysts by punching above its weight. With an American Thanksgiving take of $42.6 million, it's the kind of victory lap that Rocky Balboa deserves. @Variety
  • Looks like director David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence are going to continue their seemingly endless domination of Award Season talk. @GoldDerby
  • Leonardo DiCaprio is also (unsurprisingly) looking like a very strong contender for Best Actor due to his turn in Alejandro González Iñárritu's The Revenant@Vulture
  • Bond 25 is to start pre-production this spring. Sam Mendes who directed the last two Bonds is apparently not returning but the door remains open for Daniel Craig who last said that he'd rather "slash my wrists" than play another James Bond again. So is that a yes? @Flickering Myth
  • Czech movie pirate Jakub F. went forward with a deal that got him out of paying any damages by producing an anti-piracy film of all things. The terms of the deal included getting at least 200,000 views on YouTube which lucky for Jakub has already happened. @BBC
  • Are you a Star Wars fan? Do you use Chrome as your internet browser? Well then maybe you'd like an anti-Star Wars spoiler browser extension which you can read about here: @Independent
Video of the week: So The Revenant looks pretty brutal...


Number of movies watched: 11

Average rating: 5.55

November 22nd


The Snow Walker (2003)

Rating: 6.5/10

What is it: A Canadian survival film based on Farley Mowat's novel Walk Well, My Brother
What's good: Barry Pepper is reliable, first-timer Annabella Piugattuk is a pleasant surprise, nice scenery
What's bad: Has that Canadian melodramatic movie feel, Pepper's character is annoyingly whiny

Soundtrack (2011)

Rating: 5/10

What is it: A Bollywood remake of Canadian/British film It's All Gone Pete Tong
What's good: Interesting story
What's bad: Melodramatic, over-the-top acting, mockumentary format adds nothing of interest

November 23rd


Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)

Rating: 7/10

What is it: A collection of six animated short films done in an anime style
What's good: Each film has a unique style, Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
What's bad: Some of the films are less interesting than others

November 24th


A Very Merry Mix-Up (2013)

Rating: 4.5/10

What is it: A Hallmark Christmas film involving love, holiday spirit and the wrong family
What's good: Acting is kind of OK, Alica Witt makes for a surprisingly decent protagonist
What's bad: Crammed with fanciful fluff, male love interests suffer from a serious lack of depth



Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

Rating: 5/10

What is it: A patriotic worst-case scenario fantasy of the White House coming under attack
What's good: Some OK action in places
What's bad: Takes itself super super seriously, characters might as well be made of cardboard



The Christmas Choir (2008)

Rating: 4/10

What is it: A Hallmark Christmas film based on a true story about a homeless choir
What's good: Filmed in my hometown of Montreal, singing is OK sometimes
What's bad: Lame attempts at working in message of forgiveness, love interest isn't much of an actress

November 25th


VeggieTales: Lord of the Beans (2005): Worst Movie of the Week Award

Rating: 3/10

What is it: A blatant family/Christian rip-off of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy
What's good: Some good (for VeggieTales) animation in places
What's bad: Not funny in the least, embarrassingly tries to spoof LotR, songwriting is a special kind of horrendous



A Season for Miracles (1999)

Rating: 4.5/10

What is it: A Hallmark Christmas film featuring nice old ladies, an angel and a good guy cop
What's good: Cast is surprisingly all-star for a production like this, acting as a result is a step up
What's bad: Easy and predictable story, inescapable and suffocating cheesiness 

November 26th


Magoo's Puddle Jumper (1956)

Rating: 7/10

What is it: The second of two Mr. Magoo cartoons to win Best Animated Short for UPA
What's good: Magoo finds himself in a very amusing situation, Jim Backus' voice acting
What's bad: Doesn't feel like an Academy Award Winner

November 27th

Birds Anonymous (1957): Best Movie of the Week Award

Rating: 8/10

What is it: A Sylvester/Tweety cartoon that intelligently satirizes Alcoholics Annonymous 
What's good: Laugh out loud funny, Mel Blanc's versatile voice acting, great twist on the typical cat vs. mouse storyline
What's bad:

November 28th


Superman/Doomsday (2007)

Rating: 6.5/10

What is it: A DC Animated Universe film that adapts The Death of Superman comic book storyline
What's good: Some pretty thrilling action sequences, surprisingly violent, good score
What's bad: Ann Heche as Lois Lane is hit or miss, Sappy at times

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