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Saving Mr. Banks

"Being John Malkovich" (Spike Jonze) - I still can't believe Lotte was played by Cameron Diaz. Without a doubt, this is my favorite role of hers.

"Mysterious Skin" (Gregg Araki) - I will never comfortably look at Joseph Gordon Levitt the same way again. This film is definitely not for the faint of heart.

"Kill Your Darlings" (John Krokidas) - It was interesting seeing Harry Potter in a unhealthy relationship with the new film Harry Osborn. For a set time period piece using contemporary pop music, I liked it better than Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby.

The Grand Budapest Hotel-a great comedy, with a bit of old-fashioned whimsy on top.

Man of Steel-I caught most of this on HBO and it was the second time I saw the movie. There was so much action, that my first impression didn't change. I actually spent much of the movie wondering what it would be like if all this still happened when he was a teenager(like the flashbacks).

Noah.

Quite a bore

On Saturday night I went to a charity movie marathon to help send kids to camp with pledges. It started at midnight and ended at 10:30ish on Sunday morning. They played Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, then American Hustle, then Homefront, then That Awkward Moment and then there was a vote for the fifth film of any of the currently playing films they had, the winner was Edge of Tomorrow, which was awesome. I enjoyed most of the movies quite a lot (Homefront wasn't for me but 4/5 is not bad), I got some prizes and was glad to help out the cause. Great night, although I did have to sleep through most of Sunday.

-Skyler

In just over a the last week I've seen quite an interesting bunch.

Star Wars: Rebels: Spark of Rebellion at the Canadian Premiere screening at FanExpo Canada. This is going to be a really fun show. Ezra is very much like a more selfish Aladdin at the start of the opening movie but of course warms as he goes on. It feels fresh and new but also nostalgic.

The North American Premiere Screening of Pride at TIFF with a Q&A by the cast, crew and some of the subjects the film is based on. This wonderful comedy is based in 1984 London where a group of gays and a lesbian form LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners) during the year long miners strike, where Thatcher was trying to starve the miners to work. It's hilarious and touching and features wonderful performances by a cast of the UK's best talent old and new... including Bill Nighy who I took a selfie with.

The Premiere Screening of Men, Women & Children at TIFF with a Q&A. This one while featuring some great performances is hard to really categorize. It's a film about the relationships of characters and how the internet has messed them and us up in one way or another. It's very interesting and nice to see more than one take on things. Not everyone in the film has a horrible thing happen BECAUSE of the internet, texting, twitter, tumblr, MMO RPGs, Facebook etc. but it is used as a tool for everyone involved to show a mirror at ourselves. Things that may have happened in the 1990's anyway are helped along very swiftly with the tech of today and Men, Women & Children tries to make us see it's ok for kids to be online sometimes and not be overbearing but that it's also ok to unplug once in a while. We may be better for it.... Also Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot is referenced and if we really matter and why things matter to us via Ansel Elgort's character and Emma Thompson's narration. This will be a very interesting film to see how it plays with normal movie goers and critics coming up. It's a good film but really needs to sit with you for a while... Perhaps I may even need to see it again to better form an opinion on it.

The Premiere Screening of Tusk at TIFF with a Q&A. Michael Parks tries to sow Justin Long up in a walrus costume... Also 2/3 in Johnny Depp enters the picture to play what may be described as a mix between Inspector Jacques Clouseau, and Lt. Columbo with a hint of Cap. Jack Sparrow. This picture is so strange, so funny, and so creepy. I do not want to spoil anything but go out and see what must be seen to be believed. The film also gets extra points of fun and funny for guys like me who have spent 8 years listening to SModco podcasts on the SModcast Podcast Network as many things are referenced or quoted from years past. They gave us walrus masks to put together in line (some pre-made ones were offered later) and after the film posters were given out too. I got mine signed by Kev and Haley Joel Osment.

-Skyler

As a family we watched two great films last night.

First it was the hilarious comedy Mom's Night Out with Sean Astin and Patricia Heaton. This is probably the funniest movie of the year, and was a very entertaining film for the whole family.

Then we watched God Isn't Dead starring Kevin Sorbo and Dean Cain. With a great supporting cast it is about a college professor who teaches a philosophy class, and demands that each and every student print three words on a sheet of paper and sign it before they can stay in the class. Those three words "God Is Dead", and there is one student who says that he can't do this because of his Christian beliefs. The movie follows five different people from different walks of life and makes its points with the less than two hour length of the film. "GOD ISN'T DEAD" should be required viewing of every one, believers or not!!