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Films, 2006

Okay, this post is mostly for my own reference, just so I can remember what films I saw in a given year and recommend things to friends or to rewatch.

My favourite film this year was Caché – interesting both stylistically and politically. The other highlights were Grizzly Man, C.R.A.Z.Y., Thumbsucker and Hard Eight.

  • casino royale. uk, 2006.
  • blood simple. usa, 1983.
  • tenacious d and the pick of destiny. usa, 2006.
  • a history of violence. usa, 2005.
  • borat: cultural learnings of america for make benefit glorious nation of kazakhstan. uk/usa, 2006.
  • manufactured landscapes. canada, 2006.
  • boogie nights. usa, 1997.
  • zoolander. usa, 2001.
  • shaun of the dead. uk, 2004.
  • miami vice. usa, 2006.
  • the iron giant. usa, 1999.
  • x-men 3. usa, 2006.
  • cars. usa, 2006.
  • the proposition. australia, 2005.
  • thumbsucker. usa, 2005.
  • sabah. canada, 2005.
  • dancer in the dark. denmark, 2000.
  • mission impossible iii. usa, 2006.
  • the big sleep. usa, 1946.
  • beowulf and grendel. canada / iceland, 2005.
  • the inside man. usa, 2006.
  • walk the line. usa, 2005.
  • c.r.a.z.y. canada, 2005.
  • oldboy. korea, 2005.
  • kaze no tani no naushika (nausicaä of the valley of the winds). japan, 1984.
  • hard eight / sydney. usa, 1996.
  • scarface. usa, 1983.
  • the three burials of melquiades estrada. usa, 2005.
  • waco: the rules of engagement. usa, 1997.
  • grizzly man. usa, 2005.
  • munich. usa, 2005.
  • capote. usa, 2005.
  • water. canada / india, 2005.
  • the new world. usa, 2005.
  • caché (hidden). france / austria, 2005.
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Flotsam & jetsam from the web

I’m finally relaxing again, and that includes catching up on the backlog of blog reading. (I could coin a new term “backblog”, but 188,000 google hits beat me to it.)

  • Torontoist had a hilarious picture of a mounted police officer collecting parking tickets, courtesy of torontogal on flickr.
  • Spacing Wire had a post on a video projection by Xavier de Richemont at Nathan Phillips Square. It sounds like a well-executed, simple piece of public art: project onto the facade of an interesting building (Old City Hall), and turn the building into a cartoon version of itself – like colourizing an old movie. It’s got the hallmarks of good public art: dramatic, clever, simple, and easily understood.
  • Both of these blogs referenced Santarchy, who I saw milling around outside the Gypsy Co-op (sorry, “Gypsy and the Hooch”).

  • Former city councillor Gordon Price wrote about a Katrina moment in Vancouver following the recent windstorm, and the CBC also had a story on the impacts to Stanley Park.
  • Gordon Price also posted a funny video showing what happens when traffic calming fights back…
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The unexamined life is not worth living

I’m not sure that I agree with that antique greek’s quote; I could live quite well without next week’s exams.

Things are under control, but it is amounting to a lot of work, and relatively little activities other than sitting in my office, eating at home and having a few drinks with friends.

The only real news is that today I broke out my winter bike in honour of the start of the snowy season and the vicious road salt that accompanies that season. Oh, and I’m dipping my toe in the online dating world, but that’s not a story for this forum.

Eventually, I’ll have a story for you about the Spadina streetcar. Meanwhile, I’ve posted two pictures from the archives on Flickr.