Movie, Movie, TV!

What is better than a movie with Colin Firth? Colin Firth singing in a movie?! It has Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan on top of it. I saw the musical Mamma Mia back in 2002, and it was highly enjoyable. This movie should be good too. That's one I'll be keeping my eye on.

We have a documentary festival in Toronto called Hot Docs. Anyway, this year, it has a very interesting documentary about Michael Moore and his ways of making movies. While I've enjoyed what Michael Moore was trying to do, let's say that I never thought what he did 1) were documentaries as much as commentaries and 2) I always suspected there was a bit more to it. Too bad it is sold out, but hopefully, it will released soon in theatres.

One last thing... I am happy to see they finally released Larry Sanders on DVD: Not Just The Best of the Larry Sanders Show. I think it aired on HBO in the US because I only was able to watch it in syndication on CTV very late at night in the late 90s. The article I linked makes me laugh a bit because they seem to say Garry Shandling appears currently very deflated and morose. Have they never seen Garry Shandling before? He was always like that as far as I am concerned! LOL Anyway, I hope I can rent that DVD set at the video store. I had encouraged the owner to buy Arrested Development once upon a time!

Manic Monday

Actually, these days the whole week is crazy. Although I was at a conference yesterday, as am I today and tomorrow. It's a nice change of pace. Things are winding down though overall, which is much appreciated. I've been going to bed early (well, my early which means like 10:30!) and catching up on sleep. My really demanding rotation of my internship is done, and I'm now moving to the therapy rotation, which is much less intensive and doesn't require extra work nights and weekends. That means more time to work on my dissertation, thank God, so I can try to make progress on that bad boy. I'm juggling a lot of balls in the air at the moment, but I feel good. I just feel a sense of self-efficacy, probably because in the last 2 weeks, I've succeded in writing and giving a one-hour seminar, write up and edit six reports, tutor more than my usual night of tutoring, prepare for a dissertation meeting with my supervisor, read up on my new rotation, and keep up with my usual load of patients (with all the prep, patient face time, and post work it requires). I'm pretty proud of myself. Anyway, you'll now get to hear me spout cognitive-behavioural therapy theory for the next six months. Hee.

Other good news, I got the results from my course evaluation from the class I taught last summer, and the students liked me a lot. That's always nice to hear!

Yesterday, I watched the documentary Wordplayall about crossword puzzles. It was quite enjoyable to watch, and now, all I want to do are crosswords! My mom and my grandma both love crosswords so I grew up in that environment. (In the French language, we even have a word for it. The word "cruciverbiste" describes people who like to do crossword puzzles.) I've always enjoyed word-based and reasoning-type of puzzles so crosswords are no exception. Now, I can even do crosswords in English, which is pretty sweet, although I can't do the really tough ones since I don't always have all the necessary cultural knowledge for it. Anyway, I need to find myself a book of crosswords or pick up the paper today or get crosswords somehow... LOL

My Top 10 Movies of 2005

I got the Entertainment Weekly Oscar issue, which got me all excited for the ceremony. I love movies and wish I could go spend a day on a set, to see how the crew makes the magic happen. Anyway, my love of movies is only rivaled by my love for listmaking. ;) Hence, a list of my top 10 movies of 2005. (Some I saw in January/February 2006 but they're still 2005 movies. LOL Some are 2004 movies I saw in 2005. It's my list so I'm fudging the rules a bit. LOL)

10. The Constant Gardener: I really enjoyed this movie. The plot is complex without being obtuse. You just need to pay attention. Besides, it's interesting to try to figure out where the story is going. It was shot for the most part in Africa, and the landscapes are beautiful. Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes are both very good.
9. Enron: The Smartest Guys in The Room: I love documentaries and this was a great one even if I came out of the theatre so infuriated. I wanted to run down to Texas and jail the idiots myself. I thought Enron was a scandalous affair before I saw that movie; I now know it is even worst than I imagined it. Enough said.
8. March of the Penguins: I was impressed by all the work that went into making this movie. It was so beautiful that I could have stared forever at the screen. I am not necessarily a big National Geographic person but this is just so grand. It just showed the unbelievable steps animals will take to reproduce. Wow.

7. In Good Company: I love the duo of Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace as the old guy with experience who loses his job, and now has to work for the know-nothing-but-workaholic young guy. I thought it was a great script that toed the line between drama and comedy throughout the whole film. It just spoke to me somehow.
6. The Squid and The Whale: A movie set in the 80s about self-involved parents who are smart but so self-involved it is not funny. Their kids just act out, and they don't even notice. Good acting, great script. Funny, smart & twisted is my kind of movie.
5b. Maurice Richard: Great movie about a Quebecois hockey player who became the icon of a nation. He is the symbol of the awakening of the national/patriotic conscience within the French-speaking Quebecers.

5a. C.R.A.Z.Y.: I'm cheating a bit but I had to include the 2 best Quebecois movies I saw this year. C.R.A.Z.Y. was just so so so good. The movie is about a lot of things but mostly, it is about a boy called Zack growing up in the 60s/70s who realizes he is gay and does not know how to deal with it. Society in Quebec at that time was fairly conservative and religious so he tries to navigate wanting to please his dad and wanting to be himself. It is also a movie about the relationships between the 5 very different brothers in this family. It was a huge success in Canada. Unfortunately it won't be distributed in the US because the music clearance would be too expensive. It has hands down one of the best soundtracks ever: "Crazy" (and many other songs) by Patsy Cline, "Space Oddity" by David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Stones, and a lot of French classics.
4. The 40-Year-Old Virgin: I love Steve Carell. I just do. I think he has a knack for finding the line between pathos and laughter. This was hands down my favourite comedy of the year. It was hilarious, funny, yet sweet. It was not a great movie but one of my favourite movies this years. I'm sure I'll rewatch for years to come, all the while still laughing.
3. Good Night and Good Luck: I love historical movies, and this one is really interesting. It recounts the showdown between Sen. Joseph McCarthy and Edward R. Murrow, which ultimately ruined McCarthy's credibility. Beautifully shot in black and white by the no-less-handsome George Clooney. The whole cast was great. I thought its message about our responsibility as citizens of a democracy to question our leaders and keep the governement accountable. My hat's off to you Mr. Clooney on a great directing, writing, and acting job.

2. In Her Shoes: I didn't have any expectation in regards to this movie. I figured it was going to be a light chick flick. Really not. It was sooooo good. The central focus of the movie is the relationship between 2 sisters and also with their grandmother. The sisters, played by Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette, go through a crisis, and both have to grow and develop independently of the other sister. I thought it was fabulous, and I was into it that it made me cry so much.
1. Brokeback Mountain: I am usually not a sucker for sad, tortured love stories but this one just got me. I empathized with the pain all these characters were experiencing (pretty much everyone in this movie is happy for fleeting moments and miserable for the bulk of the movie). The label of the "gay cowboy movie" just doesn't do this movie justice. That is so not the point. It is a love story between two guys but that is not even really the main point. A lot of the movie was dealing with the feeling of being an outsider in your own life. It was either feeling that you don't belong to society or that people you love and who should care about you don't. All the characters (the couples but also parents and children) love each other in a clumsy, and often, hurtful manner. This movie resonated with me so much that I saw it twice. Both times I left with my stomach tied in knots from the angsty finale. The acting was top-notch, and the cinematography was just gorgeous. Plus, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal aren't too hard on the eyes. ;)

I Was Stress-Free For a Full 48 Hours!

Incredible! Amazing! Out of this world! I had a pretty relaxing weekend. Watched a lot of TV, more than I wanted to but these things happen. I watched Live 8 yesterday, and then "Gone With The Wind" was on TV, and I had never seen it so I watched. It was a very good movie, and although it was long, I wouldn't have cut out much of it at all. Scarlett was annoying in her fickleness, and always longing for the things she couldn't have, but that was the point. The single most annoying character, however, was Prissy with her ridiculously high pitched voice, which would make Victoria Jackson (Alert: dated SNL reference!) sound like a bass. Oh, and Clark Gable was very charming as Rhett Butler.

Today, I rented "Shake Hands With The Devil", the documentary on Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian General who conducted the UN Mission in Rwanda in 1994. Such a tragic and disturbing story. Gave me shivers.

Well, we now come to the fact that I'm up at 3:30 am, all wired and stressed out. So what happened? Well, my roommate announced today she was moving out. This means I have the option of taking over the lease, which I think I will exercise because I am not moving for a third year in a row (!), but this means finding a new roommate. Thus, stress alert. Plus, it means reorganizing and readapting yet again to living with someone else. I mean, in some regards, I'm happy my roommate and I are parting ways but at the same time, it's such a pain in the butt. I thought I might have one year free from living-arrangement stress but clearly, it was not meant to be. I need to up use of relaxation techniques.