March 2014

• Only Yesterday - w/sis - 8
• 300: rise of an empire - times square cinema in Tyler, TX - 4
• The wind rises - Alamo drafthouse, Austin TX - 8

February 2014

• Her - Scotiabank - w/jenn & kev - 9
• The Past - Varsity - 8
• The Great Beauty - Varsity - 7
• Garden of Words - w/sis - 9
• Heavenly Bodies - w/sean - 7
• The Wolf on Wall Street - 7.5

January 2014

• ghost in the shell - w/sis - 8.5
• akira - w/sis - 8
• Wolf Children Ame & Yuki - w/sis - 7
• Her - 10
• American Hustle - 6
• Inside Llewyn Davis - 7
• Prisoners - 6

December 2013

Call of the Wild, Mortality, Oh What A Paradise It Seems, the curious incident of the dog at night time, blue is the warmest colour, Short cuts

• Don Jon - 5
• Seventh Seal - 9.5
• Johnny Guitar - 9
• 12 years a slave - 8
• Indie Game: The Movie - 9

November 2013

The Arrival, The Sandman: Endless Nights

• Before Sunrise - 9
• Blue is the Warmest Colour - 9.5
• Harrendale - 9
• Aladdin - 5
• Making The Shining - 6
• The Wind That Shakes The Barley - 7
• The Shining - 9
• Bottle Rocket - 7

October 2013

- Ojingogo, vintage monro, where i lived and what i lived for, tales of belkin, Domestic Peace

• Gravity - IMAX 3D w/d & boc - 8
• Cosmopolis - PCL - 7
• M.A.S.H - PCL - 6

Sept 2013

- The Alchemist, Outer Dark

• This Is The End - PCL - 3
• Tropic Thunder - PCL - 4
• Under The Skin - TIFF: Ryerson Theatre w/Edward - 8
• Three Interpretation Exercises - TIFF: Scotiabank - 4
• Stray Dogs - TIFF: Jackman Hall AGO - 7
• Why Don't You Play In Hell? - TIFF: Scotiabank 1 - 9
• Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari - TIFF: Cinema 2 - 7
• A Touch of Sin - TIFF: Cinema 1 w/ anthony - 8
• Walesa. Man of Hope - TIFF: Ryerson Theatre - 7
• Bastards - TIFF: Jackman Hall AGO - 6
• Proxy - TIFF: Bloor Hot Docs Cinema w/ edward & matt - 3
• When Evening Falls on Bucharest - Metamorphasis - TIFF: Scotiabank - 8
• Escaflowne: The Movie - Condo w/edward, kevo, jenn, johnson & Ben - 2
• Visitors - TIFF: Elgin Theatre - 3
• Three Landscapes - TIFF: Cinema 4 - 8
• Song & Spring - TIFF: Cinema 4 - 7, 8
• Like Father, Like Son - TIFF: Winter Garden Theatre - 6
• All Cheerleaders Die - TIFF: Ryerson Theatre - 7
• The World's End - Yonge & Dundas - 6

August 2013

• Raise The Red Lantern - Matt's w/ Edward - 9
• Only God Forgives - Lightbox w/ matt - 8
• La Notte - 10
• Blue Jasmine - Yonge & Dundas w/ patty - 6
• Eagles Documentary - half - 2
• L'avventura - 8.5
• Memories - Magnetic Rose - 6
• Blow Up - 8
• Beauty is Embarrassing - 7
• A Prophet - 8

July 2013

• Pacific Rim - 5
• Into the abyss - 5
• Chasing Ice - 6
• Much Ado About Nothing - 7
• Battleship - 2

June 2013

• Before Midnight - 8
• Chungking Express - 9
• Upstream Color - 10
• Jurrasic Park - 7

May 2013

• To The Wonder - 5
• Mud - 5
• Star Trek 2 - 2
• Encounters at the End of The World - 8
• The Brown Bunny - 6
• Encounters at the End of The World - 8

APRIL 2013

• The Killing of a Chinese Bookie - 6
• Spring Breakers - 8
• The Place Beyond the Pines - 4
• Heartworn Highways - 5
• Flight - 4
• Evil Dead - 6

MARCH 2013

• Moonrise Kingdom - 8
• No (by pablo lorrain) - w/ daniella - 6
• Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry - 7
• Grizzly Man - 7.5

FEB 2013

• Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask - 5
• The Kid With A Bike - 9
• Vice Docs - frog & truffle - 5
• Escape from New York - 6
• Big Trouble in Little China - 7
• The Master - 8
• Sunshine - 7
• American Movie (documentary) - 6
• Blue Velvet - 7
• Dan's shorts - royal cinemas - 7
• A Woman Under The Influence - 9
• The Shipping News - tvo - 3 (while trimming bamboo)
• Starting out in the evening - tvo - 2 (while trimming bamboo)
• Tokyo Drifter - 7

JAN 2013

• Atonement - 5
• Holy Motors - 6
• Killing Them Softly (half)
• In The Mood For Love - 9
• Seven Psychopaths - 6
• Liberal Arts - 4
• Assorted Agnes Varda Shorts
• Annie Hall - 8
• La Bonheur - Happiness - 8
• Amour - 9
• 2046 - 9
• Days of Being Wild - 8

DEC

• Nobody Knows
• The Hobbit: Unexpected Journey
• Waking Life
• Boy meets girl
• cloud atlas
• the silver lining playbook
• anna karinena

Nov

• James Bond: Skyfall
• life of pi
• Room 666
• all about lily chou chou
• lincoln
• man with the iron fists
• Match Point
• Hotarubi no Mori e
• 2 days in new york
• 2 days in paris
• vertigo (half)
• argo
• wreck it ralph
• arietty

Oct

• cabin in the woods
• sweet and lowdown
• hausu
• samsara
• looper
• dark night rises
• the master

SEPT

• Masculin Feminin
• Post Tenebras Lux
• Bestiare
• Leviathan
• The Bright Day
• Across the street at night (half)
• Post Tenebras Lux
• Miss Lovely
• Wavelengths 4
• Everybody has a plan

AUG

• Intouchables
• Ruby Spark
• Queen of Versailles
• 3 Women
• My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
• The Assassination of Richard Nixon (Parts)
• Rob Roy (End)
• Videodrome

JULY

• Dark Knight Rises
• Whisper of the Heart
• Fractured Movement / Constituent Parts
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Dark Knight Returns
• Punch Drunk love
• Batman Begins
• Sky Crawlers
• Transformers
• To Rome With Love
• Take This Waltz
• Afterlife

JUNE

• SLC Punk
• Retreat
• The World According To Garp (2/3)
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Zodiac
• Prometheus
• Pusher
• Greatest Movie Ever Sold
• Tekkon Kinkreet

MAY

• Bully
• The Avengers
• The Three Burials of Macquando Eseves
• Pennies From Heaven
• The Avengers
• Haywire
• Who Cares?
• American Psycho
• Iron Man

APRIL 2012

• Unbearable Lightness of Being
• Cabin in the Woods
• A Man of All Seasons (half watched)
• I Heart Huckabees (half watched)
• Eros - The Hand
• Jiro Dreams of Sushi
• Shadows of our Forgotten Ancestors
• Monsieur Lazhar
• Payback

MAR 2012

• 21 Jump Street
• The Raid
• Hunger Games
• Shadows - first cassavetes, raw and full of life, inspiring for search for truth - 8

FEB 2012

• Y Tu Mama Tambien - 8
• Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors - 8
• Hiroshima Mon Amour - With Marsh downstairs - 9
• Oscar Animated Shorts - With sis at lightbox
• The Grey - double billed, dialogue issues second time around, all characters ask questions, liam neeson answers, cgi not great, still enjoyable - 6
• Chronicle - with sean at paramount, really enjoyed, certain characters well done, others flat (father, the love interest) more pros than cons - 7
• Chloe - with sean at josie's, clean cut asthetic, fell asleep 3/4 in, interesting to spot sights of toronto but otherwise poorly acted and overwrought soundtrack - 5
• The Descendants - decent story but lacks magic, does not stand out, goes for realism and achieves it with a wimper - 6
• The Grey - double bill with d, surprisingly well done, interesting shots and cuts from memories of his wife to present reality (pulling the blankets towards the camera) philosophically inclined ('go back to what? this is all i want', themes of death (liam neeson close to committing suicide) - 7
• Kodachrome 2010 - doc on kodak’s first color print, over at end of 2010 - 6
• March of the Penguins - half watched with mom and sis - 6
• The Maltese Falcon - morning at pat's, couldnt sleep, enjoyable story and interesting protagonist - 7
• Synechdoche New York - a portrait of a dying man who cannot accept living. constantly looking backwards and forwards, torn between the two and never in the present. full of grief and sorrow as he seeks something pure and genuine; deep down, compassion. to the point where he creates an entire reflection of his existence. the jumps through time were amazing, reminiscent of kundera's narrative in the old dead must make room for the young dead. an ideal moment of death will never manifest, only the moment itself. - 8
• (SHORT) Un Chien Andalou - youtube, version with soundtrack by Christiano Melli, not too impressed by the sound, distracted from the image, or i suppose, my original experience of Un Chien Andalou silent 3 or 4 years ago. first eye cut sequence still great, dragging the piano with carcasses, ants, shifting cuts from indoors to outdoors, interesting. wondering where the poeticism is in this surrealist milestone - 7
• The Joke - Jires & Kundera, great story, flashback sequences were really well handled by Jires, a world without forgiveness is hell, he lives in hell with remorse and ill feelings to everyone around him. near the end, he gets a glimpse of compassion, his whole life feels like a joke - 8
• (SHORT) Machine Man - makes all my problems feel very small indeed. a very well done short documentary - 8
• (SHORT) My Name is Peng - existence and struggles of a new immigrant, loneliness and optimism - 7
• Legend of the Suram Fortress - less surreal and objective than colours of pomegranites, but still very vivid sequences (becoming a fortune teller, the dream of death and hell sequence) the legend itself is thought provoking, the young man sacrificing himself to be entombed within the fortress symbolizes the warriors who have fought for family and country. that is the beauty of this self sacrifice; for others. the tragedy of the first lover who turns into a fortune teller is interesting because she foretells the death of her 'son' as revenge for the betrayal of her lover. - 7

---

JAN 2012

• A Separation - thoroughly engaging, rarely noticed camera or technical elements, although at times camera movement, amazing story & acting, shows that any human being is good natured and living and existing, capable of good, yet also capable of misunderstanding, of incompatibility with other beautiful human beings, all characters in the film were intrinsicly good individuals, however circumstance and social disparity is what causes so much pain and sorrow. - 9
• (SHORT) Kiev Frescoes - last half more contemporary music, more relatable - 7
• Colours of Pomegranites - crazy, marsh: "its as if those people are stuck in the frame, subjected to only those minimal movements and they're trapped by themes of grief and torment. if they were to see us they'd be equally as confused by our freedom and movement." very painter-like, jarring sound, almost no camera movement each a painting, scene of the lovers in the same room, yet never at the same time was memorable, also the death at the end, sing sing die, headless chickens and mother nature looked beautiful. - 8
• (SHORT) Hagop Hovnatanian - 10 min short by parajanov, scenes of stills, of paintings , hands , jewlery and faces, with background sound, transcending movement to convey universal ideas, watched in a trance, inspiring to film anything and compose in my own way set to music - 8
• Solyaris - at kevo's with marsh, bluray, beautiful detail, relieved wife did not look like a man, themes clearer with every screening, beautiful weeds underwater - 9
• Tampopo - reminds of lesser phantom of liberty, interesting camera work and concept episodes, main story line to string together everything is week, many humours parts - 7
• Redline - pure style and visual brilliance, amazing pulse - 9
• Children who listen to lost voices from deep below - surprised shinkai is capable of this, out of his element, too broad in concept, still enjoyable adventure just not deep at all - 6
• A Dangerous Method - at scotiabank with marsh, sean, jenn, sarah, hannah and alex, dry and intro to psyche, some themes brought up interesting, however overall not impressive cronenberg - 6
• Toni Takitani - in marsh's room, slow fitting pace, captivating murakami - 8
• (SHORT) Bleu Shut - 36 min short by nelson, name guessing funny, certain amazing technical shots, interesting feelings - 7
• (SHORT) Oh Dem Watermelons - 10 min short by nelsen, first screening, playful confusion, second screening more appreciative of technqiue, third screening with marsh at kevo's two weeks later, fun - 7
• James and the Giant Peach - chinese new years with chrystal, annie and sophie, fun movie, creative and well done - 8
• Carnage - interesting cross section of inter-personal relations, we are children, animals underneath all our values and fashion - 7
• (SHORT) Ani-Kuri 15 - 1min shorts by different anime directors, lots of fun glimpses, kon, arias and shinkai most memorable - 7
• Crazy Stone - not very well done, mainland production and humour, certain funny moments and overly smart interwoven story - 5
• Power of Kangwon Province - at kevo's, kevo sat at back, slice of life simple story told plainly, essence is magical and universal - 8
• Tinker Tailor Soldier - double bill at varsity, large theater sat in back, conservatively filmed - 6
• Shame - self at bloor varsity, little querks, overall memorable and impactful, similar to melancholia, extreme psychological analysis - 7
• Happy Together - with marsh downstairs, got a lot out of it than first screening, beautiful emotions, shot of cryng into recorder amazing, editing top notch, lights of out doors, green orange and reds, their dialogue is amazing, so much spoken conflict while deep down pure yearning - 8

---

DEC 2011

• 2001: A Space Odyssey - with crew at lightbox, 70mm amazing sound really piercing highs, beautiful picture, beautiful deaths - 9
• Pina 3D - with mike & hooty at lightbox, only way of expressing, their language is movement, no other way can they express themselves, diverse cast, completmentary cinema style, secondary to motion - 8
• The Artist - self at sheppard, was amazing, great acting - 8
• Girl With Dragon Tattoo - with marsh, well acted, well shot, pretty dissapointed, not memorable at all, very meh - 5
• Young Adult (2011) dir. Jason Reitman - with steven, pretty meh, interesting character study but hard to relate and overall flat, theron great acting however - 5
• Double Life of Veronique - with marsh with bad subs
• Hubble 3D (2010) dir. Toni Myers - beauitful - 9
• Everest - amazing, loved the detication they showed, perseverance - 9
• The Ides of March (2011) dir. George Clooney - with D, awesome story - 7
• J. Edgar (2011) dir. Clint Eastwood - with D, pretty bad - 3

NOV 2011:

• Thin Red Line
• Outrage - great first half, loses steam midway, good finish, awesome accents, not much substance - 6
• Tucker & Dale vs Evil - in sean's basement with crew, funny going into it, lulls as it progresses, fell asleep
• My Neighbour Totoro - english dub in class, english dub was surprisingly good, and allowed focus on animation, wonderful film - 8
• Adaptation - end of 4 movie marathon with marsh alek and sean, beautifully handled, hard to digest/accept last 20 minutes but necessary, will look forward to another viewing - 8
• Kicking and Screaming - great dialogue, well done ending - 7
• Valhalla Rising - well done, ship part lagged, as meant to be, beautifully shot nature, especially second half, reminiscent of bergman - 6
• The Lookout - okay, largely forgetable - 5
• Hugo - double bill with marsh, feel like a child when watching, good humour from sacha baron cohen, hard to get into the acting for first 1/3, very strong second half, tribute to melies, great use of 3d - 6
• Immortals - double bill with marsh at fairview, brainless fun, lots of logistical holes, but if ignored, enjoyable enough on a aesthetic level - 5
• Princess Mononoke - religion in film class, first half had start menu at bottom, distracting, also was all in dubbed, movie itself is amazing however, great everytime i see it. gray area characters, blurred line of good and bad, wonderful animation - 7
• The New World - watched in marsh's room, amazing, lengthy but beautifully shot and told - 7
• Tree of Life - on zoomers, hard to get into, mind kept wandering - n/a
• Blair Witch Project - watched with jenn & marsh downstairs, nice gradual build up, some parts felt creepy, overall well produced - 6
• stigmata - watched in class, more positives to it than faults, sparks of interesting editing, enjoyable - 6
• Stigmata - watched in car, badly written but seems enjoyable n/a
• Inni - at lightbox with marsh sean galen and sarah, stoned on pot brownies, was incredible, brackage-esque envelopment of sights and sounds, great last song, looked like explosion of snow, passed by in no time at all - 8
• The Thing - in basement with marsh & sean after patty was done practicing guitar, great effects - 6
• The Thin Red Line - self with headphones, visceral and moving, so much pain, what is this war in the heart of nature. scene of big ambush, climax where both american and japanese are killing and killed, frames of certain japanese soldiers meditating while chaos all around them. cried my eyes out, truly felt the horrors of war, experienced the sound and image as if they were my own. last shot of newly budding coconut is beauitful. - 9.5
• Marcy Martha May Marlene - bloor versity with marsh and sean, didnt feel it, interesting themes but dialogue was too forced in presentation of social themes. wonderful guitar scene. - 6

OCT 2011:

• A Clockwork Orange - Tiff lightbox with the crew, incredible - 9
• Take Shelter - bloor varsity with marsh and sean - 7
• Drive - sauga cineplex, nearly empty theater, with D, only two others during screening, really enjoyable screening - 7
• Days of Heaven - 7
• Millenium Actress - home at 4am, coming back from waterloo. Naive themes but expressed beautifully and fluidly - 6
• A Serious Man - Religion in Film screening in Renison, wonderful dialogue, amazing ending - 7
• Drive - double bill, alek joined, amazing pacing, some of the warmer parts felt too much, but sits well in contrast to tension and action, excellent stylization and acting, gosling as autistic main character was expressive despite little dialogue, he expressed self through action and through subleties in his face, great restrained story and nice soundtrack selections (night call in the beginning definitely set the mood) wish there was more prominent cliff martinez - 8
• Moneyball - double bill varisty cinema with kevo, jenn, marsh, sean, erin and 2 germans - 6
• Contagion - double bill fairview, suprisingly amazing, soderberg stylisticly reflects a realistic future, present by present, great storylines and balance of huge cast, well shot and amazing sound track by cliff martinez - 8
• 50/50 - double bill self at fairview, after a good day browsing for books downtown, very formulaic, not life to characters or story, some funny moments - 5
• Ratatoulle - with jenn & kevo at kevo's, excellent pacing at beginning and end, the critic's monologue in end was incredible, humble and inspiring - 6

---

SEPT 2011:

• Ivan's Childhood - good first film by tarkovsky, his style is clearly present - 6
• Melancholia - free TIFF tickets from sarah, was supposed to watch with galen but didnt pan out, great dramatic scenes in first half 7
• Generation P - TIFF with Dmitri 7
• Bob Dylan No Direction Home - watched half or more while still in bed in jenn's basement with sean and marsh. n/a
• Star Wars - at kevo's with marsh sean jenn and kev, very nostalgic, last half felt rushed, still well done, imaginative and really easy to enjoy, john williams score prevails. 7
• Loneliest Planet - TIFF solo, suppose that expectations got too high, it was uniquely made but difficult to find life, easy to get lost in the scenes of nature and travels, set points were interesting awakenings because you feel like everything was shot improvised, last set point felt forced, first was amazing, the emotions of humour then terror at gun point was extremely well executed, enjoyed the long still shots with the jarring instruments at first, however the music got too much for last one or two stills. difficulty to communicate aspect was cool. 7
• Dream - watched with mike and bing, not very well made, dissapointing compared to spring summer fall winter and spring, over acted and self inflicted pain overwrought, theme of not being able to let go of passions and desires as self torture too in your face, interesting ideas with 4 different characters in 2 individuals, not well executed overall. 4
• On Poppy Hill - TIFF with sis, she had a blast which was great, movie was decent but not memorable nor spectacular, club house scenes were interesting, not much else. 4

---

AUG 2011:

• Tree of Life - watched at historical revue cinema, newly revived earlier in the summer with marsh edward and sean. was great, first time was full experiencial emotions and visuals, immersive, second time plot and dialogue began to piece together coherantly, story line was clear and beautiful. This time production was very apparent, which scenes were used and when it cut to other scenes, why certain things were visually shown, flow and awe. 9
• Attack the Block - watched at downtown amc with sean marsh and edward, enjoyable pace and brit slang, certain themes too forced, marsh: 'it was exactly what you'd expect' - 6
• 8 1/2 - blown away. watched at tiff light house with marsh and james, remarkable in every respect. fluid, tempo, thought, style everything, things beyond my comprehension. deeply thought provoking, beautifully expressed, a remarkable experience watching this in 35 mm. words cannot compare at all. just wow. - 10
• Howl's Moving Castle - watched with marsh and cora, fun movie, very imaginative and unconventional (unconventional = for me, unwestern) 7
• Senna - watched in vaughn cineplex collosus with steven and dmitri, very well done doc, well paced and viewed like a movie - 6
• Wild Strawberries - watch on own, reflected on it for quite a while after while lying on the couch and staring at the ceiling - 8
• Beats Rhymes and Life - watched at yonge and dundas amc with steven, great sound, wished they played songs all the way through, interesting to see the back stories for the albums, q tip is shown as the creative force, always thinking about music, inspiring, unfortunate end to the tribe - 6
• Horrible Bosses - yorkdale silvercity with bing and mike, great humour, charlie day was great, enjoyable story, laughed quite a bit, had very low expectations going in, interesting to watch with two long time friends and watch 3 guys on screen going through a funny adventure - 6

- korean film with mike & bing

• Election 2 - watched at mike's, first half was horrible, standard editing, bad acting and off vibe, like a b-movie, however after johnnie chops the man into pieces, the turning point of his character, the movie felt amazing, deeply brooding, moody and felt like an entirely different movie, even better than the first, interesting contrasts - 7
• Election - watched at pad with mike, bing, alek and marsh, was very diff than exiled, much faster pace and flurry of characters, very enjoyable, good pacing - 7
• 12 Angry Men - amazing acting, amazing screenplay, classic that stands the test of time, one room yet thrilling and well shot and choreographed, first shot in the room was genious, very satisfying and full filling - 9
• Exiled - first johnny to film i've seen, suprisingly well shot, crisp colours, nice exaggerated pacing and build up, action scenes are quick and over in a hectic flash, reminded me of classical music, the calm and then the storm, the comedy was childish and cheesy at times, but stylistically stood on its own - 7
• Another World - Watched by self at bloor varsity, horrible acting by the male lead, directionless story and uninspired cinematography, disapointing - 4
• The Fountain - So much makes sense now compared to first time of contemplative confusion. the essance of now, and impermanence, embracing death and in that, life itself. beautiful abstract effects. - 8
• Beginners - In theaters at carlton cinema, packed house, nice and poignant, great acting by all, colour stills of the rainbow flag was highlight, felt like it lost steam halfway through, but ending was fairly strong - 7

---

JULY 2011:

Tree of Life again @ bloor

• Tree of Life - 9
• Vivre Sa Vie - 8
• Stay - watched at pad with marsh, great cinematography, some pacing issues, feel like that's from pressures from the studio, great acting from ewan mcgreggor, shivers at the blind man re-seeing part as well as near ending, great stairway shots, repetitions well done, nice jump cuts - 7
• Alien - watched at kevo's with marsh, alek, edward, pat and dave, water themes were great, especially the blast off in the end, also the part where the robot stuffs jodie foster's mouth and there were the adult magazine clippings in the background, very well paced movie, nice and slow and events well spread, some writting flaws and dated special effects but overall enjoyable viewing - 7
• Wake up Sid - 75% paid attention, in living room on tvo sat night at the movies, very cheesy, relatable, long but interestingly well paced, interesting to see a bollywood movie, even though it is considered contemporary bollywood with western storytelling style - 5

---

JUNE 2011:

• Tree of life - 8
• Dogtooth - off kilt, watched in two halves while on oxy, interesting - 7
• Badlands - watched in lightfox with marsh alek sean, adrian and jenn i, cool 70s footage was faded and freyed, loved the nature scenes and shots with no characters in it, very well acted, martin sheen was amazing, great pace and surprisingly uplifting ending, last shot of clouds was beautiful, their home in the woods was also beautiful, want to watch days of heaven really badly - 8
• Eyes Wide Shut - downstairs with marsh, dissapointed because it was kubrick but meh film otherwise, the acting was horrible, editing was off, the windows looked cool with the blue hues and red curtains, liked the christmas tree, though the story line was going to go insane with the ritual scene at the mansion but it flopped back to meh, the masks were great, some dualities of characters were interesting, a better cast would have changed this film - 7
• Midnight in Paris - watched with same crew plus sean and alek who watched it a second time, hilarious, lots of fun references, well casted, not a serious film at all nor should it be taken as such, very easy to accept and enjoy woody allen's paris in the 20s - 8
• Super 8 - watched at varsity cinema with marsh, steven, kevo and jenn, really cheesy and uninspired, some acting was okay, jj abrams has a thing about jack & sawyer and love triangle with kate as the dead wife, very blah film, first 1/4 much stronger than rest, could be very camp in 30 years - 3
• Meek's Cut Off - watched at bell light house with alek sean & marsh, great movie, nice slow pace with unease throughout - 8

---

MAY 2011:

• Fast Five - watched after Thor, unrealistic yet entertaining, rock cant act, action well done, the two grenades exploding had great sound production, those 2 seconds were very memorable, overall not a great movie but fun - 4
• Thor- imax 3d with dmitri after hockey, was entertaining, screen wasnt imax but sound was good, bad acting by natalie portman but she looked great, humour was good when thor enters earth, antagonist character much too shallow, could have been a deeper character - 5
• Mind Game - in jenn's basement with the crew, was a great experience, second time watching, very nicely paced, interludes struck me more as excellent style experiements - 8

(short) the terry's - hilarious, brilliant

• Sherlock Holmes - bleh, downing jr was good with adding a disorder to holmes character, however the overall effort of the film was meh compared to what guy ritchie has done before - 4

64 Animal Kingdom - liked how certain key moments are in slow motion and events creep up subtly (the older uncle watching tv and watching the two sleep, the swat team entering the house) second half felt rushed, pacing felt off but necessary as first half was slow and liquidy, second half was about events and the people, quick cuts of events lead to a great last sequence. - 7

• Tangled - with sis in living room, enjoyable however very disney, deux ex machima abound but beautiful animation. pixar is doing well with the big eyes - 5

---

APRIL 2011:

• a bande apart - dance dance dance 8
• Your Highness - watched in mississauga with sean, alek and dmitri. had beers before hand and was necessary, very low brow humour but hilarious for our mind set. great one-liners, easily could have been a terrible view experience if it wasnt for the beer. - 6
• I saw the devil - watched at erin's house sitting pad with marsh, sean, alek and two of erin's friends, gore porn and extreme, however enjoyable and fascinating how many ways one could harm another, old boy's performance was good, his lines were stellar, 'who is this psychopath?' 'why's he so crazy' self reflexive. marsh felt the last 15-20 mins was not necessary and i agree in retrospect, movie could have ended at the messed up house, but i can also see how they needed the actually ending to push for the theme. in the end the detective 'wins' however is overwhelmed by the devil within himself. - 7
• Somewhere - watched last night at midwood in waterloo, meandering however sits well, i was impatient, perhaps wasnt in the mood, i could see what coppola was trying to convey, however didn't feel it. when main character breaks down in the end, feels like he knew this was coming at the very beginning with the twin strippers. his loneliness is however nicely reflected from the disconnect felt from his environment and his car. requires another viewing in time - 6
• The Two Escobars - watched half, sparked interesting conversations between dmitri and I - n/a
• Unbreakable - finished in the early morning, excellent second half, the over the top plot is rewarding in the end, surprised by how entertained i was, m night did a great job, what happened to him since? - 8
• Hanna - decent and different, however pacing was flawed, particularly the middle section, emotional appeal felt forced, notable was chemical brothers soundtrack, very well suited to the stylized escape, excellent cuts. the surreal playground near the end was memorable, however the opposing characters were not fable/fantasy enough, main character well acted, blanche's southern accent was horrible. - 6
• Limitless - was okay, character doesnt grow in the end, cool sequence of entering a vortex, and some drug effect shots interesting - 4
• 13 samurai - blah with dmitri and maceij, dmitri fell asleep, blah, hate - 2
• Unbreakable - m night shamalamadingdong, only watched 1/3, while waiting for 13 samurai to download, well shot, story and script were over the top, often - n/a
• Four Lions - second viewing, with dmitri and macjei, laughs, left quicker and better paced than previous viewing - 6
• Synecdoce new york - fell asleep, interesting pacing, plays with audience in terms of what is reality, drives into the mind of the main character, must finish
• The White Ribbon - final screening, hanake knowns how to take the worst, pessemistic of human interactions and analysize it on screen, makes you feel depressed, but is a testiment to his skill of creating and presenting people and subdued drama - 7
• Castaway on the Moon - in waterloo room, in own room in toronto

---

MARCH 2011:

• California Dreamin' (Endless) - decently enjoyable, dark humour, when the soldiers pulled out, was hard hitting, fire works and the killing of the father. flash backs were necessary but didn't sit well - 6
• Double Life of Veronique - Flew by as well, was awesome as well, on painkillers as well, recent long repeats i've watched have all flown by. puppet & concert - 9
• 2001: A Space Odyssey - Flew by, was awesome, on oxycodine painkillers - 9
• All About My Mother - melodramatic, interesting characters, vivid background, boring cuts, uninspired shots - 7
• Blue Valentine - watched on birthday, amazing acting, free form direction of actors who were IN their role, it was them on screen, night alone with the camera following, poignant, sad, beautiful - 9
• The Tit and the Moon - fun movie, scenes from a child's point of view bordering on fantasy were amusing, quite funny, fart jokes tiresome and loses a bit of steam near the end - 7
• Solaris - watched halfway, much better than what i was expecting however still decent - n/a
• Solyaris - sci fi screening, second viewing, 140 mins went by fast, story was clearer, themes were well meditated, car scene & sound was epic, girl unfortunately started to look like a guy 3/4 way through, themes of who people are and how we view them, what is real, them or our conceptions of them? - 8

"Tarkovsky at that festival was given the Telluride Medal and then stalked to the edge of the stage, a fierce mustached figure in jeans and cowboy boots, to angrily say: "The cinema, she is a whore. First she charge a nickel, now she charge five dollars. When she learns to give it away, she will be free,"" - Ebert

• The Social Network - second viewing, much higher impact than first viewing, appreciated the pacing and story telling in the first screening but even more so during this screening. acting is great, sound track subtle, and is a poignant capsule of our time. - 9
• Iron Ladies - youtube stream, formulaic sports movie with qlbt glitter, albeit interesting characters, even though they were played by straight actors - 3
• Before Sunset - on laptop in toronto on painkillers, still numb, got really frustrated when interrupted during the guitar scene. great ending. - 8
• Before Sunrise - on laptop in toronto on painkillers, felt numb - 7
• The Illusionist - watched at carlton theaters with sister story by jacques tati, very very sad story, down and out characters and very mature themes of growing up and realizing that reality is a harsh dark place with no magic. beautifully drawn, utterly depressing - 9

"Chomet fills it with the hope of youth and the dark romance of a man coming to terms with his own disappearance." - Amy Biancolli

"A handcrafted jewel of a movie, “The Illusionist’’ understands the illusions that sustain us in youth and that we have to let slip in the end." - Ty Burr

• How to train your dragon - watched on laptop with sister, enjoyable but formulaic story and boring dialogue - 4
• Silences of the Palace - Tunisian film, interesting music, did not watch all - n/a
• Fahrenheit 451 - sci fi film screening - 8
• Trembling Before G-D - laptop, slightly interesting topic, presented blandly, memorable scene: 50-something man who has gone through electro-shock therapy, wanting his father to accept him - 4
• Incendies - original princess theaters (very old) with dmitri, the historical backdrop almost bled into the story of the characters and there was a realism to it all, possible biblical themes, the birth of the 'cursed child' was like a sin of both christianity and muslim, and all this chaos and destruction happened to the people which spawned/from this sin while the palestine war was raging in the background - 9
• La Phantome De Henri Langois - screening, quite long but interesting history and backbone of he french new wave, also interesting to see old clips of truffaut and godard - 6

---

FEBUARY 2011:

• Unknown - interesting personal drama in first half, smooth transition into action dazzle in final half, liam neeson was on top form, dianne kurger's accent was painful, story was decent, if not captivating during the first half - 5
• 127 Hours - On laptop, dazelingly shot, heavy danny boyle signature, very well paced, the emotions felt, in particular the tension and the nerve cutting scene was exhilerating and taxing, would be difficult to watch again, ending felt cheesy and themes felt forced, certain lines of dialogue felt uninspired but was okay - 8

PERSONAL NOTE: segment where he discusses how he was fated to be trapped under this rock, "You know I've been thinking. Everything is.. just comes together. It's me. I chose this. I chose all of this. This rock. This rock has been waiting for me my entire life. It's entire life. Ever since it was a bit of meteorite, a million, billion years ago, out there in space. It's been waiting. To come here. Right, right here. I've been moving towards it my whole life. Every minute since I was born. Every breath I've taken. Every action. Has been leading me to this crack on the out surface." felt like saturday feb 26th 2011 trip to me in that all our trips were fated to carry out the way they carried out, mine in particular was a personal struggle, aron's will to live and my will to better my flaws coincided, his visions and thoughts when he was dehydrated and near death, how his brain focused on the will to love was similar to altering our brains on saturday and truly shows how endlessly capable the human mind is in thought, processing and creating our reality and in turn forming who we are, who we were and who we want to be in the future. PUT THOUGHTS TO ACTION, BECOME WHO YOU WANT TO BECOME, STRIVE FOR CHANGE AND LET NOTHING HOLD YOU BACK FROM THE SUCCESS YOU HAVE THE ENDLESS CAPACITY FOR

• Winter's Bone - On laptop, great atmosphere, unique characters and dialogue - 7
• The Kids Are All Right - On laptop, first 25 mins, skimmed middle, last 10 mins, filmed like tv movie television drama, uninspired soundtrack - 3
• Four Lions - At Alek's, humourous without borders, committed to their characters, interesting aspect in end during interview of brother, who is religious fanatic but not terrorist - 5
• The King's Speech - At cineplex with Dmitri, interesting story, fantastic acting by colin firth, well made movie however not outstanding - 6
• Y Tu Mama Tambien - In seans basement with crew (kev, jenn, alek & sean) beautifully shot, fascinating story and character development, interesting use of narration, liked how camera lingers a few seconds long to reflect on the culture of mexico - 9
• Blue Valentine - At Alek's, excellent acting, realistic portrayal of deteriorating marriage, strong beginning and end - 6 after talking with jenn and crew regarding michelle william's character and that character's motivations and reasons behind her actions, - 8 need to rewatch
• A Jihad For Love - documentary 3
• Fire - uninspired vision, had message & symbolisms but pounded it in your face, horrible soundtrack - 4
• It Came From Outer Space - 7
• Suddenly - At home, downloaded - 5
• Suddenly - In viewing room under MC, no subtitles spanish, fell asleep - NA
• Forbidden Planet - delightfully retro, and deep to a degree - 6

---

JANUARY 2011:

• True Grit - at galaxy cinema, dissapointedly conventional, acting felt highly forced - 4
• Black Swan - at princess cinema with Dmitri, delightfully enjoyable, imperfect at moments, shivers at end - 8
• Madchen in Uniform - global queer cinema screening, less impactful second time - 8
• Old School - Watched at MKV, better than I remembered, well paced - 5
• Madchen in Uniform - in st. jaromes screening room with anthony & nadine for group project - 9
• Tongues Untied - global queer cinema screening, saw just a bit more than half
• Other Guys - Watched at MKV with Dmitri, quite humourous - 5
• Phantom of Liberty - sat in on screening for another class, inspiring surrealism - 7
• Enter the Void - bell light box with alek, pretty insane, some parts repetitive - 8
• Rohan - Watched at MKV, racial humour - 4
• Paris is Burning - global queer cinema screening, viewed 2/3 of film
• Aelita: Queen of Mars - sci fi cinema screening, interesting costumes - 5
• Howl - on plane, not in entirety, half decent but still dissapointing - 4
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives - on plane, interesting, realism hightened creepiness and bizarre moments - 7
• Catfish - on plane - 6
• Score: A Hockey Musical - on plane - 4
• let the bullets fly - theaters in guangzhou, terrible 3d effects, unconventional plot & geyou was refreshing - 3

---

DECEMBER 2010:

rush hour 3 - watched 1/2 or 2/3 of film while on train to xia men with jacob

on the waterfront - dl from icefilms, watched at hai an, great acting by brando - 6

the social network - dl from icefilms, watched at hai an - 6

scott prilgrim vs the world - icefilms, breaks between christmas postcard drawing - 5

body of lies - nanjing screening, rouven's dvd - 5

antichrist - watched with felix and jacob at 6am - 7

malena - nanjing screening, italian teacher's dvd - 5

trois coleurs: blue - in hotel room, early morning - 7

millenium mambo - in hotel room, late evening - 8

angel over berlin - nanjing screening - wp - 8

---

NOVEMBER 2010:

the expendables - with felix - 3

dogville - in hotel room, early morning - 7

trainspotting - nanjing screening - wp - 9

the life aquatic - with katie - wp - 8

spring, summer, fall, winter and spring - nanjing screening - wp - 9

the prestige - with felix - 8

la vite est bella life is beautiful - nanjing screening - 7

the reader - watched half with katie

boogie nights - nanjing screening - wp - 9

pulp fiction - nanjing screening - wp - 9

---

OCTOBER 2010:

made in the u.s.a - with camilla - 7

motorcycle diaries - nanjing screened - wp - 7

fallen angels - with katie - wp - 8

city of god - guys night with jacob, rouven, maxim and marcus - wp - 8

jules and jim - nanjing screened - wp = 9

under the hawthorn tree - at uncle's house - 5

in the mood for love - nanjing screened - wp - 7

chungking express - rewatching for screening, dvd stopped at 58th minute - wp

---

SEPTEMBER 2010:

story of qiu jiu - nanjing screened - wp - 7

Angel Over Berlin - at grandparents in hai-an - 8

The Damned United - at grandparents in hai-an - 5

Platform - half with san san

Volver - at grandparents in hai-an - 5

Drunken Angel - with nils

Elevator To The Gallows - with Aunt - 7

---

AUGUST 2010:

MicMacs - Plane

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Plane

Magnolia - with crew, seans's basement - wp

Inception - theaters - 7

Fargo - with crew, at home - wp

The Counterfeiters - at home, early morning

My Blueberry Nights - at home, early morning

Leon The Professional - at home, with sister on tv, dvd borrowed from nick

Where The Wild Things Are - at home, on bed laptop

Hudsucker Proxy - at home, late night on tvo - wp also on tvo

Restrepo - in theaters with alek

---

JULY 2010:

Shorts: The Water, Sweat, Kalu - at home internet

The Big Lebowski - at home, morning, during surgery healing - wp

A Scanner Darkly - at home, tv, evening, during surgery healing

8 1/2 - at home, at night during surgery healing

Annie Hall - at home, during surgery healing, dvd borrowed from jenn

Interstella 5555 - editing break, syncing of amazing album with form brought me to tears - wp

---

JUNE 2010:

Alphaville - at home, late at night

Blazing Saddles - with crew in jenn's basement

Snatch - with crew in sean's basement - wp

Happy Together - at night after filming at condo location

---

MAY 2010:

Toy Story 3 - in theaters

Electroma - with marsh at boss's pad

Chunking Express - with marshall & adam at boss's pad - wp

Fallen Angels - with marshall & sean at boss's pad

Punch Drunk Love - with the crew at boss's pad

---

May 1st 2010

Mind Game (2004) dir. Masaaki Yuasa

- another interesting production by Studio 4C - very experimental animation style - the love making scene was one of the best visual forms i've seen - 7/10

---

April 16th 2010

Date Night (2010) dir. Shawn Levy

- Watched in theaters, underwhelmed - some chuckling moments, however expected more laughs from the likes of steve carrell and tina fey - plot was largely flat and uninteresting - theme of couple trying to fight against settling was over emphasised and interrupted flow of the story - enjoyable cameo by mark wahlberg - 4/10

---

April 16th 2010

Kick-Ass (2010) dir. Matthew Vaughn

- Watched in theaters, better than expected - some cringingly conventional elements however held up by well produced action sequences - theme of children's play vs real violence and death wasnt balanced (felt both forced and under developed) - excelent shot of nicholas cage burning on the left, protagonist tied on the right and hit girl flanking in, quite impactful and gritty - 5/10

---

April 15th 2010

Battleship Potemkin (1925) dir. Sergei Eisenstein

- Attended film screening with live orchestral score at Registry Theater in Kitchener - Second viewing of Battleship Potemkin - live score was interesting, more jazzy than i expected even though they were improvising based on shostavich - 7/10

---

April 14th 2010

Rashomon (1950) dir. Akira Kurosawa

- Second viewing of film, streamed through site. Took minimal screen captures for Japanese Film assignment - 7/10

---

April 11th 2010

Grave of the Fireflies (1988) dir. Isao Takahata

- Second viewing for Japanese Film paper assignment. Captured screenshots, analyzed fairly indepth - symbology of the fireflies, colour tones and umbrella much more apparent in second viewing - 7/10

---

March 29th 2010

This Is England (2006) dir. Shane Meadows

- interesting juxtaposition of childish themes (the main character, playing games, innocence, having fun) with more serious themes of racism and brain washing - the first leader and his girlfriend were very likable and naturally acted - Combo was a very one dimensional character, the main pusher towards final conflict, thus the progress felt forced, acting was fine however - 5/10

---

March 23rd 2010

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring Again () dir. Kim Ki Duk

- 2nd viewing, more rewarding than the first - 9/10

---

March 22nd 2010

As Tears Go By (1988) dir. Wong Kar Wai

- unrefined, can tell that it was his first film - nice use of colours/lighting blue and red - 6/10

---

March 20th 2010

Elephant Man (1980) dir. David Lynch

- excellent acting by anthony hopkins - even to the very end, he was a spectacle, because he was different, depsite that, he had found fulfillment - 8/10

---

March 19th 2010

In Bruges (2008) dir. Martin McDonagh

- powerful ending held up weak beginning - great imagery and symbolicism through the paintings and masked 'carnival'/'purgatory' in the end - collin farrell's character grows on you - 7/10

---

March 15th 2010

Kaidan (1964) dir. Masaki Kobayashi

- screened only three out of four of the short stories - nice imagery and sets (though dated, still beautiful) - 7/10

---

March 8th 2010

Okuribito - Departures (2008) dir. Yôjirô Takita

- very conventional and hollywoodized version of a good book - the symbolism of the rock messages was nice and poignent - very one dimensional characters - 6/10

---

March 7th 2010

Suma Wozu - Summer Wars (2009) dir. Mamoru Hosoda

- 6/10

---

Mar 1st 2010

Ososhiki - The Funeral (1984) dir. Juzo Itami

---

Mar 1st 2010

Black Dynamite (2009)

- 6/10

---

Feb 22nd 2010

Burmese Harp (1956) dir. Kon Ichikawa

- 8/10

---

Feb 19th 2010

An Education (2009) dir. Lone Scherfig

- Well casted, good performance. Good beginning, excellent middle, rushed ending - Main actress was captivating throughout, great development of character - good last shot of proposal sequence, neon sign of the horse track looming over the couple and the car in the parking lot - last scene with the two friends was weak and formulaic, same with the study montage in the end - teacher character deserved to be more flushed out - 7/10

---

Feb 12th 2010

Avatar dir. James Cameron

- second viewing

---

Feb 8th 2010

Wandarufu raifu - Afterlife

-7/10

---

Boogie Nights (1997) dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

- 9/10

---

Feb 1st 2010

Mishima (1985) dir. Paul Schrader -7/10

---

Jan 26th 2010

Invictus (2009) dir. Clint Eastwood

- Terrible soundtrack - great acting by morgan freeman as nelson mandella, very convincing. Okay acting by Matt Damon. - Action shots of rugby were generic and unexciting. Recreated rugby & new zealand haka felt off. - sequence of mandella's prison cell was touching, ruined by cheesy fade ins. - the only things that kept me interested in this movie is the history of south africa, nelson mendella and rugby. - 6/10

---

Jan 25th 2010

Ikiru - To Live (1953) dir. Akira Kurasawa

-9/10

---

Jan 25th 2010

New York, I Love You (2009) dir. various directors

- Immemorable for the most part, style not outstanding, flowed with little substance. - stand out sequence: the nanny directed by natalie portman. All the love and sadness physically expressed through dance brought tears to my eyes. One who spends so much time with a child, raising him/her as if they were their own. innocent love from the child. this short on its own is on the top of my list. - other memorable, but weak in relation to the one above sequences: the looking at same wife with renewed eyes sequence/seducing a prostitute, the painter and asian muse, the detached master servant one in white tones, the sexually charged lovers. - 6/10

---

Jan 23rd 2010

Hurt Locker (2009) dir. Kathryn Bigelow

- Unpolished and amateurish. Felt very flat. - stand out scenes: guy who gets injured is sitting on bed with large explosives helmet on. main character in supermarket, standing and looking at isle upon isle of cereal. - 5/10

---

Jan 18th 2010

Batoru Rowaiaru - Battle Royale (2000) dir. Kinji Fukasaku

- Brings up uncomfortable themes of the nature and acceptability of killing - Gratuitous gore is contrasted by innocent school crushes - 6/10