Year End List

I thought I'd have to come up with a year end list, since I haven't posted in so long. This one is about the music that hit me hard in 007. For this I looked through my itunes to see what I downloaded and bought in the last Calendar year. Here they are in no particular order.

The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
The Good the Bad and The Queen - ST
Shearwater - Palo Santo
Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall (1971 concert, first time on CD)
Low - Drums and Guns
Feist - The Reminder
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
The Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation
St. Vincent - Marry Me
Wilco - Blue Sky Blue
Dean and Britta - Back Numbers
Caribou - Andorra
Iron and Wine - The Shepard's Dog
Beirut - The Flying Cup Club
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
Radiohead - In Rainbows
I'm Not There - Soundtrack

Best Discoveries of the year
New Marble Giants - Colossal Youth
the entire Feelies catalog

Some Favourite songs of the year-
Myriad Harbour - The New Pornographers
Wild Mountain Nation - Blitzen Trapper
All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem
Objects of My Affection - Peter, Bjorn and John

Not yet released but will most surely be on next years list

Vincat - Not Yet Titled
No Kids - Come into my House
Ten Kens - Not Yet Titled
Ladyhawk - Shots

Next post will be top films of the year. This will probably be amended beacause
PT Anderson's There Will Be Blood doesn't open until Jan 11th.

Let Me Be Fictional HD Trailer

The LET ME BE FICTIONAL trailer is now online in HD thanks to the people at Vimeo.

Check it here

The Edge of Heaven

Mona and I attended a sold out screening of this Turkish-German production the other night. Having seen Fatih Akin's last narrative feature, Head-on, we were very pleased to have acquired tickets for this new offering.

The film follows the lives of three parents and their complicated relationships with their children. All the characters manage to interact in some way or another. The interweaving of these three stories never feels forced or written.

Head-On was a hard act to follow but I believe Fatih has topped himself with this one. This movie has a lot of the elements I am drawn to. There is never any heavy handed exposition or characters directly addressing there problems to those around them. Most importantly this movie never telegraphs the plot or the ending, something Hollywood eschewed years ago. This is drama of the highest order and the world of international cinema has a new master to add to the likes of Lukas Moodysson, Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Michael Winterbottom.

Beyond Control at the film fest

So we've gone to see a couple of films so far at VIFF. They were both pretty average, not bad by any means just average.

The first was Control which I was really excited about seeing. It started off great and then petered out around the half-way mark. All parties involved were great except the director and screenwriter.
So what happened? After the band received some critical and financial success this is when Ian starts to get depressed, cheats on his wife, becomes epileptic and starts drinking more. Don't get me wrong I love depressing movies but this one wasn't one of those so-dreary-it-makes-me-happy ones.

At the start of the picture there is a lot of great humour and amazingly real moments...plus the music was fantastic (apparently the actors all sang and played their instruments). The live performance of Transmission really fucking hit me hard.

Writing a movie based on a memoir can't be easy and trying to explain why someone kills themselves is even harder. I don't think they truly cracked the problem and should have gone at it with more intensity. Until this writer-director team (if they ever work together again) figures out how to get past problems like this they will never be in the class of the great interior realists like Lars Von Trier and Bergman.

I just kept thinking about the movie C.R.A.Z.Y. and how similar it's opening was to Control's. The lead characters are lying on their beds smoking and lip syncing to a Bowie tune. In the later I just felt claustrophobic and lost watching Ian ape one of his heros but with the former I felt Zack (CRAZY's lead) had successfully transcended his dull life and landed firmly in the otherworldly reaches of glam rock. Nothing to do with the actors (who both did great jobs) but just different approaches in capturing the sequence to film. The transition to moving images is more difficult than you think Anton, Jean Marc Vallee for my money, beats you on this one.

My favourite character was the band manager. Funny how in most rock movies the manager is the one we remember most. There were two great ones in Almost Famous, played by Noah Taylor and Jimmy Fallon.

I can't talk about this movie without mentioning 24 hour party people which treads a lot of the same ground as this but does it with more diversity and lust for life than this study of angsty Mancunians. Factory Records head Tony Wilson was portrayed with equal skill by both actors and Sam Riley, doesn't play Ian Curtis but The Fall's Mark E Smith. 24HPP was shot with sickly looking minidv cams and Control was brought to the screen with magnificent B&W. It didn't matter much and the black and white kinda got on Mona and my nerves after a while. I think Ian's story just fit better in a movie about a "scene" rather than one just about him.

For someone who has shown us so much in a still image, you'd think Anton Corbin would have been able to pull off the shift in tone with ease. Unfortunately he probably needs another film or two get it right. So, if you're a huge fan of Joy Division go see it but if you are a cinephile wait for it on video.

VIFF is underway

The Vancouver Film Fest started on Thursday but today is the first day Mona and I are going to see films. Our first film is going to be Control, the Joy Division movie. I am really looking forward to this one. I haven't heard many bad things about it so I am sure it will impress.

Then tomorrow we are going to see three films. I'll post my thoughts afterwards.

There will be Blood

People are saying this is PT Andersons greatest film and possibly Daniel Day Lewis' greatest performance.

I am so there.

Trailer for About a Son

Check out the trailer for this amazing looking film.

We are done

Mona and I have just finished our first cut of Let Me be Fictional: A Documentary about the band Ladyhawk. There were a few stressful days but nothing compared to other projects I've worked on. We had a tougher time putting together the Wedding video last year. I think the reason is we love the footage so much and find these guys in Ladyhawk to be captivating and fascinating.

So, now it's on to a test screening with some people and then the sound mix. Our Dec 7th deadline for SXSW is totally doable.

I can't believe Mona and I have finished our first feature film. It feels amazing.

Staring at the Sun

Sunshine is the kind of science fiction movie we all want to like but a lot of us cannot. Every year we hope for that great movie that will take the place of Alien or 2001. With all the great cgi out there you would think we could do it.

The thing I like about this movie is it doesn't even try to compete with the other flashy visuals of late. The set design, acting, pacing and overall feel of this movie are first rate.

Why don't a lot of my friends embrace this movie? I think it's because they thought it was going to tell them different things about the darker side of humanity. The fact that it didn't tap into these recesses of our subconscious is not grounds for dismissal.

It was essentially a well put together thriller made by a group of people with higher than average IQs. In the end we are left with a positive if not metaphysical wrap up. Sure, there are some directorial choices I would have steered clear of but all in all I was thoroughly entertained.

All I can give you is my emotional response to the movie. I left that theatre satisfied and excited; I didn't feel cheap or in want of more. It gave me more than all the summer blockbusters I have seen in this season. Now let's just see if The Bourne Ultimatum fairs as well.

Friday Night Lights: The irresistible gravity of sun flares and pensive stares

Coach Taylor

Tami Taylor

Julie Taylor

Jason Street

Buddy Garrity

Lyla Garrity

Landry Clarke

Tim Riggins

Matt Saracen

Tyra Collette

Smash Williams

I love these characters and so will you after only a few episodes of this exemplary series.

I Hate Football (or at least I'm mildly disinterested in it)


It all stems from the time I spent in Lethbridge, Alberta. I was in Grade 8 and for whatever reason I decided to try out for the football team. I could have become a stoner like my friends but I thought that team sports was the high road.

I think it was the appeal of walking down the hall wearing a team jacket and having people like you, without ever knowing anything about you. Even though I didn’t feel much affinity for these small town types I still wanted them to like me. Fucked up but hey? The need to belong is strong no matter what bastard-child-of-a-subgroup you belong to.

At the time I was 13 yrs old, 6 feet tall and around 140 pounds. Not the best profile for such a rough sport. So, me and a couple of my other weakling friends tried out. They too, shared my survival strategy.

I made the final cuts, just barely. I was on the special team. I think I was a safety. I got all of 5 minutes playing time.

The only bright moment in this soul-crushing endeavor was when the coach looked back at our practice tape, showing me barely getting out of a dog pile with my life and said: “Leickner’s got a lotta jam.” This moment of victory was short lived as one particularly beefy redhead took it as his main goal to drive that jam out of me during each and every subsequent practice.

It should be mentioned that this redhead was fond of sadistic locker room games. One of his favorite tricks was to grab the punier kids by the neck and squeeze until they passed out. These kids figured it was some kind of initiation rite so they willingly allowed it to happen. This asphyxiation ritual was both bizarre and terribly frightening to my teen eyes but I managed to avoid it. I don’t know how.

Before I started football I wasn’t afraid of anyone but after one season I was afraid of everyone. I now knew what pain was; whereas before it was an abstract concept. If I stayed in Lethbridge (and not moved to Edmonton, where they didn’t have a junior high league) I might have gone on to play the next season and on through to high school. This would surely have turned me into a narrow-minded jock and most likely someone my current self would hate to be around. So what did I get out of that six months? Several welts on my forearms and a lot of self esteem issues.

And why am I addicted to the TV series, Friday Night Lights?

Every other sports drama perpetuates the notion that there are special people in the world that deserve public adoration and that people need to be inspired through exclusion.

But FNL is critical of those accepted views and questions things like: what’s important in life and what happens if you don’t fit into the world around you. No one is purely good or evil everyone has their moments when they feel the pull of the dark or light side. FNL is all about hard choices and no right answers. This is a smart-as-fuck show and it pushes the gray areas to the fore.

FNL is also filmed with the eye of an artist, which would totally be lost on a lesser sports series. All the camera is handheld, through long lenses and very immediate in it’s feel. The town’s folk that aren’t into this sport-as-religion get ample time to voice their opinions. This is a football film for people who hate the smell of pigskin or the feel of a jockstrap.

I also love the movie this drama series is based on but this series goes so much deeper into the sick psyche of middle America. It presents alternatives for people who are trapped in this suffocating world. After finishing the first season I can't wait for the next one to start up. I have grown very fond of the characters and want to know more about their lives. So many things have changed since the first episode that you want to see what more could possible change in the upcoming shows.

This show has received terrible ratings this last year but they are bringing it back for another year because the critics and the network know how important it is; sometimes there is justice in the world. The 13 year old in me that winces every time someone on the show is tackled is very grateful for this show that director Peter Berg has created.

Hou Hsiao-Hsien

I am so gonna see this at VIFF. You can't stop me. I know you'll try.

Gettting ready for VIFF

The 2007 edition of the Vancouver Film Festival is almost upon us. The movies I am excited about include the Latest from established Auteurs and the two Asian Countries (South Korea and Taiwan) I consistently go back to for celluloid pleasure.

Once again they overlooked a few of the big ones on my list: Hannah Takes the Stairs, Billy the Kid, Silver Jew...plus a few others that I can't remember right now.

More on this as it happens

Sigur Ros Doc

Paul Bae brought this to my attention.

http://emichrysalis.co.uk/sigurros/heima/film/heima_trailer.html

Love the visuals. This is going to be great

Songs to make you feel new again

Dean and Britta
Back Numbers

With the recent deaths of Antonioni and Lee Hazelwood there couldn’t be better timing for this collection of sweet tracks. This album stands as a great eulogy for that great lost era in the 60’s. Interior Realism and Nancy Sinatra are still the order of the day on this second CD of theirs but it actually improves on that disc and gives us Luna (their former band) fans something to live for.

The song "you turn my head around" has Britta belting out the gorgeous tones like never before. Of course on every track, Dean is (as always), the epitome of New York cool.


The New Pornographers
Challengers

Fitting, that the people who like the older New Pornographers albums really don’t like this one. The relentless power pop tempo and lack of breathing room of their earlier CDs just weren’t for me but the kids just ate that shit up. I like their change; it’s more what I’m into. They’ve found dynamics and introspection and if that’s not progress well then shoot me now.

Dan Bejar hath laid down three exemplary songs on this one, with my favorite being Myriad Harbour (which I’ve mentioned in an earlier post). The other songs are fantastic as well. Almost all of them have great vocal melodies and wonderful lyrics.

What do I find are the key differences that set this apart from their previous efforts? I will be listening to this album when I’m writing, reading, running and doing the dishes not just when I’ve had a few drinks at the bar. This is absolutely a great time for this CD to be released for as we mourn the final days of summer we have this album make the transition to fall a little more bearable.

Dylan Biopic

Saw the trailer for the new Bob Dylan Biopic on A.J. Schnack's blog. Here it is for you. I don't know about you but I am truly excited about Todd Haynes approach to the material.

Hannah takes the Stairs

It's coming to theatres, here is the official trailer...


This is great news, as I didn't get to go to SXSW this year. Hopefully with the Ladyhawk Doc, we'll be going next year.

Yeah, I'm on it

Now I am officially on Facebook. I've managed to re-connect with loads of my old friends from High School through this virtual community, so for that, I'm pretty pleased. All those folks with asymmetrical hair styles and unsavory fascinations with Frankie Goes to Hollywood have mellowed a little but I'm sure if you get a few drinks in em' their inner sixteen year old will become re-animated. Yes, it's addictive but as far as vices go it's pretty inert. I will have to reveal my real name if you want to poke me or be my friend.

Look up Rob Leickner and have yourself a good chuckle. I

will post some of the shorts Mona and I have done, in the near future.

Up to Our Hips

I just re-discovered this mid-career Charlatans album. Some Friendly is the album that most people gravitate towards but this one is still pretty great. It sounds live off the floor, stripped of the studio trickery that graced their first two albums... and dammit...it holds up quite well when compared to all the current Brit acts (read: not a trace of Joy Division or Talking Heads just lots of funky bass lines and sweet Rhodes piano). The whole album is a peppy affair that's informed by soul classics of the 60s and 70's. This was a point in their career when they were just coming out of the drug drenched Mad-chester ghetto. While the public was starting to lose interest in them, they came out with a timeless album rather than a footnote to a era that was dying.

Standout tracks are "Feel Flows", and instrumental that wouldn't be out of place on a Mogwai album (sans that funky Clav), "I never want an easy life" and "Can't get out of Bed". When I get around to writing my film based on my travels in Korea circa 94-95 a few of these tracks will grace the soundtrack.

back home

Spent the weekend in the Okanagan (Kelowna and Summerland) with the family. Ate, drank and trampolined too much. Had a great gourmet lunch at the Sumac Ridge winery. Next time we are going to go Oliver, which is the wine capital of Canada, it's home to more than a dozen vineyards.

Kelowna wasn't as hot as it usually is in August (only in the high 20s not high 30s) and at night the temperature dropped considerable so you could actually sleep.

It was great to see the parents, my sister and my niece and nephew. Mona and I showed them a taste of all the video projects we were working on. Now we just have to get back to the Ladyhawk doc and finish that f**ker.

We hope to get back there before next summer.

The Adventure ends: Michelangelo Antonioni, 1912 - 2007

It's a shitty week for lovers of art house films. The great Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni died today. He directed L'Avventura, which like it or not, changed the way people make films. He was 97 though so we knew it was coming soon.

Hopefully Woody Allen and Jean Luc Godard can make it to the end of the week.

Ingmar Bergman 1918-2007

I knew it was gonna happen soon but it still hits me pretty hard. This man is largly responsible for my post 2000 film making resurgence. His dramatic films are suffused with the stuff that all great directors strive for: internal realism. So many directors have tried to emulate his approach to moviemaking. The most successful is Woody Allen. Bergman's followers are legion but their names escape me at this time. Go out and watch Scenes from a Marriage, Wild Strawberries, Persona, Saraband...where to start. If you aren't familiar with him go out and do so.

More on Bergman at the face to face site.

Weekend update

Mona and I tried to go see Sunshine, the new Danny Boyle movie, today but didn't get around to it. We'll try to see it very soon. K.M. saw it and said it's a winner. What it's got going for it in my opinion is the cast (Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh and those other people who I've seen and loved but can't recall where) and the Cinematographer(Alwin Kulcher, responsible for lensing two of my recent favs: Morvern Callar and Code 46). With all this mindless action and sci-fi coming out who doesn't want a substantial, mind-fuck of a summer blockbuster?

We drove to Richmond's Yaohan Mall twice in the last 14 hours to acquire high end hair products at discount prices . Last night we got there at 8:30 only to discover it closed at 8. So off we went today for a repeat expedition. Mona dropped $124 but when you buy it by the gallon you know it's gonna last. The asian guy that sold it to her seemed to know his stuff, albiet spoke too fast for one with such limited English skills. He kept pushing the buy-more-you-get-discount mantra, which seemed to have some merit since I've seen what women pay for this stuff in salons and it's not mice nuts.

Off to Kelowna on Thursday for four days. Bask in heat, drink, hang out with family will be the program once we get to the Vineland.

Finally

This is an old post that got lost in the shuffle. So here it is. I think it's as relevant as it was when I wrote it...

Mona and I finally received the Four Eyed Monsters DVD in the mail yesterday.

It took over 2 months for us to get it but seeing how they are basically a two person operation, we let it slide. Up to this point I've been watching their podcasts and following the life of this film. Arin and Susan, who are the writers and directors of this film, have done an amazing job marketing and promoting this film. I was fearing it was gonna suck huge. With so much sub-standard crap being thrown at us these days it's impossible to wade through the hype.

We really wanted to like this film but expected it to be a piece of crap.

We put the disc in our DVD player and braced ourselves for a pretentious, stilted, overly earnest look at NYC scenester life. After the first ten minutes Mona and I looked at each other and said - so far it's pretty good. This feeling only intensified as the movie went on. When it finally ended we both agreed that this movie was FUCKING AMAZING.

It is a deft look at relationships. The main characters, who are just romanticized versions of Arin and Susan, don't want to slide into the same shitty behavioral patterns they have in the past. These two don't want to become the same old Four Eyed Monsters (couples) you see at cafes, movies and park benches. It is funny too. I wasn't expecting it to be as droll as it was, you don't really get that from the podcasts they made to accompany this film. There are some great pseudo-doc moments that are on par with Christopher Guest's best stuff.

The editing, visual aesthetic and pacing are all first rate without being too slick.

So, yes this is a great addition to an already strong American idie scene that's been building over the last few years. I don't quite think this counts as being Mumblecore but it's just as good as any of those filmmakers entries.

you can see the whole film on youtube until Aug 15th.

Colin: Tune-master extrordinaire

Had to post about Colin's latest audio projects. Nowadays, it seems my good friend is recording some of the best bands around, not just locally, but internationally, too. He's recently finished two albums I am particularly excited about.

I've been listening to the Cave Singers since it was completed a few months now. They hail from Seattle and are masters of channeling that great rootsy hillybilly sound that many artists have done over the last decade (Will Oldham is the first that comes to mind). This was recorded at the hive with little fanfare or prospects of being released. Then they got signed to Matador and you know the rest. This is hot indie-folk that will gain a audience. I am not sure how big but they will be devoted.

Hear a Cave Singers track from the matador website - Seed of Night

Then there are the Ten Kens. They are the best band I've ever heard to come out of Toronto. Yes, I am including Broken Social Scene, Triumph and Rush.

Colin is starting to become a very in-demand producer and over the last few years he has traveled to other studios to record bands. This is the case with the Ten Kens, in which he chose to go to Montreal and lay down tracks at Break Glass studios (Wolf Parade, Besnard Lakes, Sunset Rubdown). The result is an album soaked in natural reverb, the stuff us audio fanatics dream about. The main recording room at the studio is just amazing sounding. Colin has, in my opinion, recorded some of the best drum sounds of his career (or anyone's for that matter). These are un-mastered tracks I am listening to as well so that makes what he's done even more astonishing.

Not to overshadow the band themselves, who are very original and extremely listenable at the same time but Colin likens their sound to Nirvana though I don't really hear it as much. They do have that Canadian indie sound (Victoria-via-Montreal) that is winning over the world and thanks to them being on Fat Cat I'm sure that's just what they will do. David Lynch sountracks, Noir-Country, and Late-80's College rock: these are all conjured up when you listen to their tracks. You can go to their myspace page to hear their songs until their record comes out in a few months.

Bejar and the merchants of smut

" Bejar, Pressed and ready for action! "

Myriad Harbour is probably the best New Pornographers song to date. As we know, Dan Bejar is an active recording and touring member of said Vancouver supergroup. Every album, they allow him a couple of songs to fill out the track list. He's the darker edge that offsets the power pop sweetness that is key to huge success they have achieved.

In the past, I thought his additions to NP albums were too finely polished and quantized by the machine that A.C. Newman captains. This time around he's channeling the same ghosts of rock past that he does in his other group but when the background vocals kick in you know it's none other than the New Pornographers. Still, the ragged beauty of a Dan Bejar song reaches the listener unmolested.

I have noticed since their last album things have gotten a little more melancholic in NP land. It's a good move and Dan Bejar fits in perfectly with this new aesthetic.

Sure, there are better songs on Destroyer albums but this is going to be heard by a lot more people. That more people will finally hear less diluted Bejar is a long time coming. The mainstream is finally getting a taste of what great music lies just below the surface.

the angry streets of East Van

I've run 12 marathons, done the Grouse Grind several times (including the race), successfully navigated the Baden Powell trail and even completed the Diez Vista 50 Kilometer Trail run. I am not writing this to impress or blow sunshine up my own arse.

No, today I have a far more important goal.

First, I wanted to illustrate this point: I am able to run over uneven terrain for great distances with out upsetting my equilibrium.

I am fed up with the state of the sidewalks in East Van; the streets are hilly, undulating, peaceful tree-lined idyllic setting, perfect for running, right? Don't be lulled in by these serene setting, it's war out there. These trees have root structures that are perfect for forcing sidewalks into jagged foot hungry predators. In my life as a runner, which started in July of 1990, I have lost my footing only 2 or 3 times. In the last four months I have been tripped up 3 times by the mean streets of East Van, almost 4 but that time the edge of the sidewalk just ripped a hole in the side of my right shoe.


I don't expect the city to do anything about this. They have already tried to smooth out some of the nastier spots with asphalt. Right now, they are putting all their money into the Olympics, which is far more important for their public profile.

What I do suggest, though, is the citizens of the area not ride their bikes on the sidewalks. It's hard enough trying to watch your footing without some myopic septuagenarian coming at you with a rickety old 10 speed. Also, when riding your bike in a prohibited zone try not to carry two cardboard boxes, which further inhibits your less-than-ideal pedal pushing skills. I am glad that none of them wear helmets (even though it is the law, our Olympic -centric civil servants turn a blind eye) because it makes it easier for me to store your guilty faces in my lexicon of inconsiderate cluster-fucks. Your time will come.

Oh, the joys of staying fit

18 Scenes

M.M. and I just saw Paris Je T'aime and, in our estimation, it's one of the best collection of short subjects every put up on the screen. This shouldn't work in theory. Two producers come up with and idea to have 18 world renowned directors describe their favourite French city. Add some A-list actors, the best cinemtographers and mix vigorously. The result: comedy, drama and romance along the better streets and buildings of Paris. After having just seen the hit-or-miss collection Chacun Son Cinema we thought PJT would be more of the same. Not so, this is one hell of a consistent compendium.

Of course, some of them stood out but of the whole collection there were probably only three I didn't like: one involving mimes (you knew there was gonna be one of those) and a Vampire who's got the hots for everyone's favourite Hobbit were two of the lesser entries. Not that they were bad, just not my taste.

I feel truly inspired after seeing these films and am suffused with the power of Cinema's potential. PJT is the best of that art form. The assembled actors are the finest working today and include: Maggie Gyllenhal, Emily Mortimer, Natalie Portman, Sergio Castellito, Steve Buscemi, and Gena Rowlands. It amazes me now how much these directors packed into a short considering they've been working with long form pieces for the greater part of their careers.



The directors that surprised me the most were Wes Craven and Alexander Payne. The master of horror's entry, "Pere-Lachaise", is in full Woody Allen mode and man does he have a deft touch when he leaves his comfort zone. I would love to see more projects from him like this. Mr. Payne's entry "14th Arrondissement" shows his talent for blending humour and poignancy without the benifit of a feature length pallette. After writing him off because of my dislike of his last two films this is being very generous but deservedly so. This omnibus has really made me reassess cinema's bastard child, the short film.

Furthermore, I was very moved by the sum of all these films. When I forget to criticize what makes a film tick and am just swept away by the sounds and images this is a sign of great art. It shows that even though the whole endeavor may be contrived and packaged to entertain the masses the outcome can still be sublime.

Alternate Realities

Just finished ready Harkuki Murakami's Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and Kafka on the Shore, back-to-back. They totally straddle the line between what's real and imagined in a brilliant way. Murakami loves to put the everyman/woman in otherworldly situations and then take them (and you) to fantastically imagined planes of reality. I would recommend his books to anyone who loves detective stories that go deeper than the standard Raymond Chandler or James Elroy crime novels. What I'm trying to say is: his books are modern extensions of what noir masters have set forth. Not for everyone but for those who get Murakami he makes our lives feel a bit more substantial. He writes about Japanese people but from a western point of view. His Japan is informed by the west and isn't some exoticized Eastern netherworld. I need to read his new book After Dark and his biography to completely absorb the entire canon (aside from a few short stories).

Last night we showed our trailer 3 special guests whom gave us many helpful hints. They mostly liked it but they felt it needed some more key points of info. We're up to the task so it won't be a problem. When you seen the final film you won't be disappointed.

more from the mind of Lubener

Just spent 3 hours at mm's nephew's bday party. A half a dozen screaming kids but hey I came out unscathed and kinda enjoyed the experience.

We are about to show our new Ladyhawk trailer to two of Vancouver rock intelligentsia's most esteemed members. We hope it goes over well. We have wine here to wear down their defenses though. Here's hoping it works.

David Lynch's Inland Empire is making a second appearence hear in Vancouver. We are going to catch it on July 8th. K.T. has seen it three times and assures us our lives won't be complete until Lynch's glorious pixels wash over us.

Wilco is coming to town again and playing at none other than the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. It's on Aug 20th and M.M. and I will be there. It's an outdoor amphitheatre with a liquor licence so why wouldn't we go? We're pretty fond of their new album Sky Blue Sky so that doesn't hurt either. It's not as good as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot but what could surpass that career topping high.

I'm editing some stuff for a christmas music doc this monday. The section I'm working on features the infamous El Vez (the Mexican Elvis) if my dad is reading this he'll get a kick outta that.

I'm back in the blog-sphere bitches! get used to it.

When blogging was good

A lot has happened since my last post. First off Pandora is no longer available to people oustide of the US. Boo Hoo. There are many other things to be excited about though...

My good friend Terry is almost done with his new movie "When Life Was Good". Go to the website whenlifewasgood.com. This film of his is really great. I just love the direction he is going in. I have a small part in it but if you sneeze you'll miss it. That aside I would still love that movie. He is no longer just a friend who makes films but a filmmaker that happens to be my friend. WLWG is going to take him places. Hopefully he'll still hang out with Mona and I.

I might finally make the jump to Facebook. Only for film networking not social networking. You have to draw the line to what groups you are a slave to. Next year there will be something even better and we'll all leave facebook. That's my prediction anyway. Mona and I are finally going to put up some of our short films on that Facebook thingy.

I'm waiting to see some movies thanks to their glorious trailer...


Margot at the Wedding, the new Noah Baumbach, starring Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jack black.


There will be Blood, the much awaited P.T. Anderson. The only period piece I'm excited about.


Also I just got the new OZU boxset thanks the the wonderful Huguette at work. I will write a post about her very soon. She is an amazing woman that I work with at the Hotel. All of you need to know about her and her amazing presence on this earth.

Movies I've seen recently...


Red Road - A Scottish movie that is moody and thrilling. Not a thriller really because it doesn't really go down that tired genre's path. It also has some great acting, cinematography and very little exposition.



Chacun Son Cinenma - a collection of 33, 3 minute films that were commissioned by the Cannes Film Festival for their 60th anniversary. My friend K.T. had to order this DVD from France at great expense so props to him and his love of Cinema. K.T., Mona and I all sat down and watched it on the weekend. The goal was to make a film that captured the feeling of being in a theatre when the lights go down. About half of them were amazing. My favorites were Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Zhang Yimou, Tsai Ming Liang, Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Raymond Depardon. There were a few stinkers, unfortunately one of my favorite filmmakers was responsible for the worst pieces of crap on the disc. I won't mention it here because I have too much respect for the Director's body of work.

I'll try to be better about posting more often. I have to get more than one person looking at my blog per day.

Pandora the Genome Project

Once again I feel like the last person in the world to be hip to something great. If you don't know already (and you probably do, but I'll keep writing anyway) the Genome project is a team of musicians who listen to songs and break them down to their musical DNA. In their words - On January 6, 2000 a group of musicians and music-loving technologists came together with the idea of creating the most comprehensive analysis of music ever. They have apparently listened to over 10 000 artists.

Joined at the hip is pandora.com. On this site they have a streaming music player that you type a band or song into the search line and they decide what other bands and songs complement what you've selected. So, if you set up a station for the Beatles they will tell you what's distinctive about the voice, instrumentation and the way in which their music is played.

Here what I got when I punched in The Beatles...

we chose this track because it features a subtle use of vocal harmony, acoustic rhythm piano, major key tonality, a dynamic male vocalist and melodic song writing.

Funny thing is they played the Kinks and Todd Rungren before they played the Beatles because of some screwy licensing deal. I think that's fine though because if you like the Beatles it's pretty easy to download Beatles songs. The great thing is if you are sick to death of the Beatles but you want something that sounds like them, then you're all set.

You can get more advanced by adding more bands or songs to your radio station. For example I set up a station for Camera Obscura and then I added Cat Power, Neko Case and Belle and Sebastian. Unfortunately for that station those aforementioned bands are probably the best of that sound so every other song I heard was kind of a way to slick or sub-standard version of those bands but hey I'll give it time. Another great feature is that you can rate the songs with a thumbs up or thumbs down. Apparently, if you give the shitty songs a thumbs down you'll get better songs and essentially fine tune your station to where you want it.

The thing I like about this service the most is it frees me from Pitchforkmedia.com, which I usually go to to learn about new music. I like their site but I don't always agree with people-in-their-twenties-who-know-nothing-of-music-history making all my musical choices. Don't get me wrong, Pitchfork is great but it's a popularity contest. Pandora is far more democratic and based on merit not nepotism. Just because a band is unknown or not on a cool label doesn't mean they can't be amazing. So, thank you Pandora for this.

Sometimes it's OK to be last to discover something.

These are the stations I've set up...
The Jazz Butcher
The Minutemen (I just saw their great Doc "We Jam Econo" so I want to hear more stuff like them)
The Velvet Underground
Black Mountain
Ladyhawk
Camera Obscura
Boards of Canada
Yo La Tengo

work faster, work leaner; create a body of work!

I recently listened to Joe Swanberg's podcast at the workbookproject.com.

This is what it's all about.

He shoots his movies on video for nothing, has a crew of 2 and comes up with high quality stuff. Prolific is a word that comes to mind; inspiring is another. How has he managed to do all this?

He shares with us how he's finished three features and two seasons of a web TV show in the past two years (as well as another in the can but unedited). The key is his unique approach to the medium. First off --- He spends very little money on these films, he's the shooter, actor, producer and editor. He used to do the sound but now he has a sound guy. He very recenlty started working with a producer but really he's managed to cut out about 90% of the useless twits who manage to gum up the works (you know who you are; you can stop reading now). He doesn't write scripts but rather uses the actors own life experiences to form the story.

He said for his latest, Hannah takes the stairs, all he had was a pencil drawing to secure financing. He says a lot of indie filmmakers spend so much money on their first film that they are tied to those projects until they can recoup their initial investment. He uses the four-eyed-monsters kids as an example. They made their first film in 2005 (yes, it's called four-eyed-monster) at the same time Joe had just finished his first film --- Kissing on the Mouth. As I mentioned he has completed several projects since then but Arin and Susan (the directors of FEM) are 80 000 dollars in debt and can't move forward with any new projects.

So, yes I like what Joe Swanberg is doing. I think that Mona and I should just do our next fiction project by ourselves with non-actors that have great stories to tell and look great on screen. First we have to finish this doc.

Friend or Foe

Is this world set up for forward thinkers? Or is it destined to stunt the growth of those who challenge mediocrity?

I can't tell you how many times I've faced the challenge of fitting in with the straight world. At work I bite my tongue and am forced to justify my opinions on a daily basis: it's a tough grind. When you go against the norm it's not a fun existance. People at my work just want things to go smooth; they want to avoid situations that make them think. What the fuck is the matter with thinking or feeling or having emotions? I want to gain emotional maturity through my life experience.

Ever since I left the studio to work at the Running Room I've had problems fitting in with the masses. I've learned to like them, befriend them and even bedded a few but in the end i just want to go back to my own: the weirdos.

The edit begins

We've been back from Kelowna for a week now and we've started to edit the Ladyhawk doc. Yesterday, Mona and I made a 1 minute teaser for the doc. We got a hold of the final mixes for the album (unmastered, unfortunatly) and their Fight for Anarchy EP. The new album is a natural progression from the first release but the EP is a crazy side-step of lo-fi genius. Bob Pollard, Lou Barlow and David Berman insinuate their influence into the 6 song, mushroom inspired, recording. I don't have a comprehensive list of all the songs yet but I know that song six on the ep has been re-recorded for the full album, which I will refer to as "Whitehouse" for now, since that's where it was was recorded, and that's what Colin wrote on the CDR with a sharpie. They are very against the idea of calling it "the whitehouse night gallery sessions" though. The lead singer/songwriter, Duffy, abhors any album that has "the" or "sessions" in the title.

I have to say the guys in Ladyhawk are some fine lads. Allowing us to film them for two weeks was a bit more than they signed on for. Having two cameras in your face for 10 hours a day can be a bit trying and they didn't complain one bit. But we knew they were tired of us during the last couple of days. We're going to film their Tofino show (our last piece of the film) on April 14th and then we'll be out of their hair. After they see the finished Doc they'll know it was worth it.

self-analysis as an art form

Caveh Zahedi's I am a Sex Addict is another great American film that takes chances in a era that seems to have turned its back on this so-called poppy cock. Yes, this is another film shot on a shitty mini dv camera (I am seeing a lot of these lately) so you film purist can pass this one by.

Caveh is not new to the world of Cinema, I just haven't gotten around to seeing his work. I first heard of him when I saw Waking Life. He was the guy in the "Holy Moment" sequence. A high point in a movie with many peak moments. This new film of his is what you would call an autobiographical Docu-Drama. He re-enacts scenes from his life, mostly concerning his addiction to prostitutes.

Using old footage and new staged footage he has put together a wonderful and engaging look at himself; with all his flaws kept firmly intact. There is explicit sex but it is done in such a playful way that it doesn't detract from what is essential an updated version of Annie Hall. He really has cracked the Woody Allen code on this one.

His self-depreciating humour and observations really draw you to his character (which is essentially him). I found myself being truly moved during several sequences in the film. It's so great that a filmmaker can give so much of himself and not come off as self-indulgent.

The way he wraps up the picture is also a masterstroke. He alludes to Orpheus and the Sirens, with some wonderful animation, to give us a quick recap of what we just witnessed. With a lesser filmmaker this would have been a sucky pat ending but Caveh really hits all the right marks. I am so glad a film like this exists.

go to his website

http://www.cavehzahedi.com/index.html

Inland Empire

Can't wait to see the new David Lynch Movie. Here is a great review of Inland Empire. Hope this inspires you as much as it did me.

never speak it's name

There are things just don't say when we are in certain company. If you are with your parents you don't talk about your proclivity for wearing ladies undergarments and if I'm with one of my guy friends I never say "you know that part in The Devil Wears Prada". These are all minor foibles compared to what I am about to lay on you. If you are talking to people in the Broadcast Industry then you must steer clear of one particularly heinous acronym.

I regularly read several of the indie filmmaker websites to try to get the lowdown on what type of gear is availible in my price-range. Right now there is an inexpensive format called HDV - high definition video. This is a very efficient way to get a high definition image on a mini DV tape. Many argue it's not true HD but it looks a hell of a lot better than standard definition video.

These tapes can be purchased for $4-$10 a piece and they can record an hour of footage. the cameras are anywhere from 1500 to 12000 dollars. The one I am eying up is around the 5000 dollar range(the Canon XH A1). Everyone should be really excited, right?

Well they aren't.


Sure this technology has it's drawbacks but I've seen the images and they look great. If you see these images on a 42 inch HD plasma you will be too. For documentary it seems like a perfect fit.

But there is a problem.

Yes, in the broadcast industry you never admit you are filming your project on HDV. Why is HDV getting such a bad rap? There is Standard Definition (SD) and then there is High Definition (HD). In between these two formats HDV protrudes like a canker sore on your prom date. I wager that if you gave one of these industry types a project done on HDV they wouldn't be able to distinguish it from real HD.

Back in the 90's when I used to record bands, the recording industry hated these terms -- project studio, Home recording and four-track. If you were a proponent of those you weren't professional. Basically if you didn't spend a ton o' cash recording your album at a industry sanctioned recording facility they didn't want to have anything to do with you.

What the hell does professional mean anyway?

The thing is, in the audio and video world they have standards. Who sets up these standards? Accountants. These financial wizards are always finding creative ways to keep their bloated machine alive. The rental houses, the overpriced post production facilities...the old guard. As independent filmmakers we are in a powerful position. We can afford to shoot, edit and deliver high quality films. They don't like this because all they can control is the broadcast and distribution of your original work. These are things they should only be doing in the first place. So, when you say you are filming on a 5000 dollar camera and not a 100000 beast (that takes several people to run, rent and insure) they get scared. They feel they are being left out. Where's their peoples cut? They point out all of the drawbacks of your format and act as if theirs' is bulletproof. There is no perfect format or camera for that matter. All formats are temporary anyway, nowadays even more so.

I say employ the same technique the US Navy does: Don't ask, Don't tell. Just deliver the final cut to them in 1080i (the standard format for HDTV broadcast) so they can play it on their precious channel. Chances are they won't notice as long as it shows up on their monitors in 1080i everyone should be happy. Remember these are not technical people and most of them can't tell the difference.

Go out now and shoot your original idea (i can't stress that enough) with whatever you can get your hands on. Thankfully even the sub 5000 dollar cameras are way better than what was available for ten times that only 5 years ago.

I am a filmmaker not a film-developer or someone who lunches. I want to be actively making films not just writing proposals for overpriced TV shows that have a great chance of not getting made. That is what HDV allows me to do and what is so bad about that?

Mona and I are going to make our Rock Documentary on our puny HDV cameras...and guess what...it's gonna look great because it's who's doing it, not what you use. The thing is, the opportunity is here right now and waiting around for a better camera is a great way to avoid making a film.

For more info go to these sites

www.hdforindies.com

www.freshhdv.com

http://www.bluesky-web.com/prosumerhd.htm

What kind of Fuckery is this?

Even though the Cover Art is harshly inspired by Flashdance, the contents of this Amy Winehouse CD is pure 60's soul...and boy did they get the sound right. I like retro but when people try to rehash the classic sounds they usually get it wrong. Even my friends are guilty of such failures. In this case she's got the voice, the songwriting talent and the sound down pat. Not an easy task but she and her crew pulled it off. Jack White only wishes he could attain the heights this album has reached.

Is everyone hip to this in Canada already? Am I the last one to get into this? Well, it doesn't matter because I'm hooked for good. This is one of the few album I can say I could recommend to my parents. I could recommended it to my music snob friends as well without "Guilty Pleasure" prefacing that statement. I know Colin and Terry at the Hive will dig this, big time (if they aren't into it already). I can understand how some may hate this but I won't engage in any debates with those folks. She's done an amazing thing with this album in my opinion and that's all that matters.

Hope for Canadian Cinema?

The real coup here is that the Tracey Fragments is opening the Panorama section of the Berlin film festival. The Review of this New Bruce MacDonald movie is on Cinematical...and wait...it's sounds promising. Looks like if there is hope for Canadian Cinema, it will come from the East. Terrry M's UBC prof wrote the book it's based on, so there is a West Coast connection in this as well. The real success of the films seems to have been from the direction style not the original text. In the wrong hands it sounds like it could have been after school special material or worse: video poetry.

I really hope I like this movie cause Bruce stays at the Hotel all the time and he is an awesome guy (so down to earth and approachable). I will also point out that the review is from an American website so there is no nepotism going on.

here be the link

http://www.ciwww.cinematical.com/2007/02/08/berlinale-review-the-tracey-fragments/

The Long Blondes

I don't usually go in for this sorta thing but this takes me back to the nineties and I was really given' er in the nine o's; this was my decade. I'm reminded of bands like Elastica, Sleeper, Echobelly or even Late-Era Lush. Looming over all those band is the inescapable Pixies reference. The slightly surfie guitar riffs, the mobile bass licks and the wanna be wipe out drums are most likely to conjure up images of Black Francis' cash cow. This is not original but it's fun and it's creating some much needed light in my slate gray life (i'm just talking about the weather, it's February in Vancouver after all). Sure, I like the allusions to French 60's film starlets and Scott Walker but mostly I like the energy of this album. These songs are a great soundtrack for running through the streets of East Van. I may even go see them live it they come around these parts.

No, we don't rent rooms by the hour

I have officially reach a low point.

I am speaking of my job at the hotel. Thankfully I only work there 2 days a week. In the past 6 years I have been asked to do many things for the guests. It's my job, I'm a Bellman; the last line of defense in the war on customer service. I don't mind taking people's mail out, picking up a copy of the Globe and mail for them or even parking their cars in the underground lot. These are all not technically part of the service the Hotel provides but I do it for the guests anyway.

When I arrived at work Sunday the Bellman (I'll refer to him as X) who I was relieving says to me "Have fun with room 507". I asked him why and he said, "you'll find out." Just as he was leaving the switchboard rang...and what do you know, it was 507...

"Can you bring up some condoms?" A woman asked.
"sorry, we don't have any here, you'll have to go to the corner store".
There was a pause and then she hung up the phone. Right away the switchboard lights up again and it's 507.

"Can you go to the store to get those condoms? it's an emergency".
"I'm sorry I can't leave the building". I lied
"Wait someone wants to talk to you".
A man's voice now comes on the phone.
"There will be a huge tip in it for you if you go to the store".
"Er, ah I'll see if someone else can go for you." I look at X and the other two people who were working at the front desk. They all start laughing at me and then X leaves.

I'm holding the phone, not knowing what to say and from the back office the Mangager yells, while laughing at me, "just go do it, no else is gonna go for you."

"This place sucks" I yell and storm out to the corner store.

I buy the aforementioned unmentionables and take them up to 507. I knock on the door. The door opens, just a crack and she grabs them from me. "You're so sweet".

And she slams the door.



Story's over right?

Not a chance.

They phone the front desk again. This time they want BAND-AIDS!!!!???

I take up some and once again have to slip them through the crack. "Sorry, we're naked". and she slams the door.

Prepared for almost anything when the phone rings a third time she asks for 4 beers and adds "Make it fast, we're running out of time."

I take the beers up, this time they let me in. She's wearing a hand towel and a big beefy guy with a thorn tattoo on his upper arm is lying on the bed. Thankfully he has a sheet draped over his condom landing pad. As I survey the room I can only imagine the sexual-tsunami that caused this mess. I set down the beer on the 2cm's of clean space the room had to offer and I get the female of this dynamic duo to sign the bill. I leave and see they've left me a 15% tip. Not exactly the huge tip I'd expect (and was promised) for being their own personal condom valet.

The night goes by slowly. I talk with the regular guests (both in frequency and mental state) and go about my Bellmans' duties.

Of course, they call the front desk again. This time they want to know if any "High-End" restaurants deliver. I guess our restaurant isn't good enough for such royalty. I tell them I'll have to call them back. I do the bare minimum of research and then tell them NO. She says "It's OK, we're going to get dressed and go out."

They can do that? I wasn't aware they had such powers.

They go for dinner. When they come back, get undressed and just before they get down to their nasty business, they call down for another order of condoms (their first delivery included 6) and 4 more beers.

This time I pawn off the dirty task onto the Security guard who just got on shift.

He comes back just as I am taking the beers up so I throw the contraband on my tray and go up to their love-nest. When I get there she tells me they just got married. I a say "really"? cause I don't believe them. I think they were offended. Then she makes some comment about them being our most notorious guests. I couldn't argue so I said nothing and left. At this point I usually say to the guests "If you need anything just call the front desk." I conveniently became mute.

That was the last I heard of them. Later that night though I was told that the security guard found her running naked through the courtyard. He had to cover her with his jacket and take her back to her room.

A true low in my personal history at the Sylvia.

Cast of Rob on Bob clean up in Mexico

You might recognize these folks (Bob, Cathy, Marilyn and Barry) from a little film I did called Rob on Bob. No cliff diving or Bullfighting took place this time. Some livers may have been abused but that's about it. That 130 pounder was caught by none other than Bob.

Roc Doco Research

I just saw Gimmie Shelter as part of my research for the Ladyhawk Doc.

This is touted as not just another Rolling Stones concert film and boy did it deliver on that. Can't tell you enough how I enjoy the Maysles Brothers approach to documentary. They don't use narration and are very econmical when it comes to titles. What you get is a feeling of actually being there without any heavy handed manipulation.

One of my favourite parts was the scene where they are in muscle shoals studio mixing wild horses. It's just genius how Albert Maysles picked up on all the subtle things that where going on an commited them to film. Don't get me wrong this is a big doc culminating in the stabbing at Altamont but all along they managed to keep it at a very small human level.

The transfer thanks to Criterion, is stunning. The visuals are crisp and the new 5.1 surround mix is amazing. That subwoofer I got at christmas really made me feel like I was there during the live segments.

It's not all The Stones, there are a couple performances by The Flying Burrito Brothers and Ike and Tina Turner. The later was just breathtaking. All Mick has to say after seeing Tina Turner lay emotional waste to the audience is "it's nice to have a chick around once and a while." His way of dealing with being severly upstaged.

It's pretty sad that it took me this long to see Gimmie Shelter but hey I finally got around to it and am all the better for it.

The Good, The Bad and the Queen

i grew up on Blur. One of the first things i remember when I moved to Vancouver in the early 90's was walking into a club called Luv Affair. I heard this song There's no other way just wash over me.

It was a defining moment. I knew I wanted to find out who that band was and be a part of what that music represented. It must of had something to do with just moving from Edmonton, knowing I didn't want to be a part of what that city had to offer and looking for a place I could fit in.

I had wanted to break away from tradition and with a band like Blur I found they could open me up to another way of living. People would say if you like Blur, you'll like so and so. A few years later I quit my restaurant job of 4 years and started working at a record store. Modern Life is Rubbish came out and further solidified my love of these wacky Britons. I worked with a British guy who helped me understand all the UK-centric references on this album. He claimed it was album of the year and I couln't argue with him. It was a great antedote for the glut of grunge music that was surrounding us at the music store.

Later when I was in Thailand (around 1994) a British girl gave me the Parklife tape and that became the soundtrack for most of my trip. Cocky and cockney, this was not an album for North Americans who couldn't handle a little accent in their vocal delivery. This didn't stop Boys and Girls from being a huge international hit. Aside from that one track, though, the rest of the album was mostly ignored on this side of the pond. Once I got to Korea and started teaching English The Great Escape came out and I mostly kept that in my walkman and used it as a shield as I took the subway to my next teaching gig. This was the height of their slickness and they needed to change or they would become too mainstream for their own good. I guess they knew it, too, as seen from what they did on their next album when they went all lo-fi on our asses. When I started The Hive the S/T Blur album came out and we found ourselves disecting and trying to reverse engineer those sloppy sounds they were offering up.

Now comes The Good the Bad and the Queen. This album is the first thing I've liked from Mr. Albarn since that self titled Blur masterpiece. I've only had a few listens but this album has the makings of a Rube Lubener approved classic. A darker dubbier and more soulful version of Blur. With the help of Paul Simonon (the Clash), Simon Tong (The Verve) and Tony Allen (Africa 70 and Brian Eno's choice for one of the most important musicians of the last 50 years)they conjure up some of the bleakest pop you're likely to hear. I thought intially this effort would ram your head with noise but it's far more restrained and sparse (and all the better for it).

The confluence of ideas that brought about this album also gave us Children of Men. The world sucks and the future is not friendly. I think this as I write Dr. Tomorrow's treatment and think technology only allows us to spread our pain around in quicker and more mobile ways. There is no centre therefore we are clinging to the edges. There is no middle so we are slipping to left and right. A album like this helps me to focus on my creativity. I like to listen to it as I write and wash the dishes.

The sound of the album has touches of Air, The Clash and the British ska from the early eighties. There is still Damon's barhouse piano and Carnival keyboards but they are so depressingly drenched in post-apocolytic studio tweeking that it comes across as ancient and modern. It's very much a product of him being fed up with the perfection of modern music. The songs don't end as much as fade off into the abyss.

If you're looking for something to compliment your gorrilaz album, this aint it. I like my stuff depressingly anti-mass-consumerist; it makes me happy. Hopefully it will do the same for you.

Four Eyed Monsters

We should help out these young folks from NYC by requesting a screening of their film.

3XC and the New Realists

The other night was 3XC at the Sylvia Hotel. The tiny conference room was packed with about 30+ people. We showed my films as well as Terry's and Ken T's. There were a few technical glitches but mostly it went amazingly well. I will have to remember to not use a new DVD burining program without thorougly testing it first. There was really good audience response for my new cut of Rob on Bob (it's down from 22 to 15 mins) but I'm going to do more trimming and send it out to some film fests.

Also, I saw the film 'puffy chair' last night. A realistic comedic relationship road movie by the Duplass Brothers. I've been meaning to see this for over a year. Up in Canada this movie is almost impossible to find. Thanks to Ken T and the good people at Happy Bats Video I watched it last night.

To me, this is what low budget digital cinema can do at its best. Most of the time people try to use their handycams like the big film cameras (making a mockery of themselves and the medium they are trying to ape). In this film they knew the limitations of the camera and made the best movie possible. Most importantly the content was first class. The dialogue, the actors and the situations where so natual and compelling that no big budget could have made this film any better. Shot like a documentary with natural looking lighting I felt this showcased the DVX 100 (a sub-4000 dollar camcorder) a lot better than the over-hyped movie 'November' did. In that Courtney Cox vehicle they pushed the camera beyond its limits whereas the 'puffy chair' used it economically. It was the perfect match of form and function.

I can't begin to tell you how much I love this movie. No violence, no nudity, no crime capers gone awry. Just a movie about people in their twenties trying to figure things out. It's so original in it's approach. I feel like copying it but then I think: well, I should really make a movie that reflects my own style.

Let's take a look at this phenonmenon from a larger view. In the ninties we had indie rock which revitalized rock and rock and then mainstream rock and roll ruined it. The new american filmmakers are doing the music equivilant to what bands like sebadoh, superhunk and built to spill where doing in the nineties.

The Duplass brothers are one of many new filmmakers to come out of this movie-ment that include Joe Swanberg, Andrew Bujalski, Arin Crumley, and Susan Buice. These are movies about people their age told in a realistic way (realistica?). They aren't doing action movies or genre flicks; these are stories that spring from their own lives and the people around them.

The other thing that sets them apart is that they are very skilled at what they are doing. Using consumer brand equipment and small lighting setups (with the exception of Bujalski who used black and white film stock) they are all making high-quality and hugely original movies. Whit Stilman, Noah Buambach, Richard Linklater, Hal Hartley had some luck with their earlier films but until now nobody kept up with the tradition of documenting the lives of intelligent young people. There seemed to be this huge void around the millenium but now there appears to be a true independent movement south of the border.

This is a product of readily available technology that is fairly inexpensive. Arin and Susan AKA Four Eyed Monsters used the DVX 100 and a Mac to edit. Most of these movies are made for around US$20,000.

These films have an immediacy and importance to them that is sadly lacking in Canadian film. I want to be a part of this flow of creativity. I want Terry, Mona and Ken and I to be up there with these guys. I want to be free from the bureaucracy and mediocrity of Canadian film. I want to be as independant as the Hive is with Music.

I have made steps towards this...


I just got the go-ahead to do a documentary on one of my favourite bands: Ladyhawk. At the end of February they're going to a barn in rural BC to record a new album. I'll be there with Mona to catch the magic as it happens. I'll meet with them next week to discuss all the details. After that I plan on filming another short with the help of Ken Tsui.

Better get this out

Haven't posted much lately. Actually this is my first post of the new year. I've seen a few movies lately and worked a bit on the three docs. Mona and I are on our way to finishing our first wedding video (for a friend) and are seriously thinking about doing it for money. We think we can fill a much needed niche: hi/mid-price, high artistic quality. We'll shoot all of our stuff in HD and keep our crew small for now (just mona and I) and expand slowly. We still have to research the market more and then there's the matter of the name. We gotta come up with a good one.

Movies I've enjoyed -



Luna: Tell me do you miss me - A documentary about one of my favourite bands. Even though most of the film was shot through a dirty lens there were some great shots. We join up with them on their break-up tour through Japan, Europe and North America in 2005. This movie gave me a real sense of what they are like as people. I still think it's a crime that they didn't get bigger than they did. With me they are huge though. Their fans have a lot of insightful things to say about them. I thought Sean Eden (the guitarist) was kinda like the John C Reilly of the indie-pop world. This is the kind of film I would like to make.



When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in 4 parts.

I just have to start of with saying EVERYONE SHOULD SEE THIS. This movie by Spike Lee about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is an amazing oral history of one of the greatest injustices in American history. I don't really into political films. This is not a political film.



All you have to think is what if this happened to people in your town and your government took their sweet time to help you. To think a city so rich in culture, one of the few good American cities, was basically left to die by the American government is just unforgivable. For Christ sakes it took them 5 days to get them food and water. What kind country would do that to their own people?

This kind of country...



Jesus Camp

Another great doc that doesn't lean on narration to give you all the info. This is about the new Christian army that's rising in the mid-west. These f--er's are scary and don't resemble the Christians I grew up with. Yes there are funny moments especially when one of the characters, a ten year old girl, is seen dancing to Christan heavy metal telling us she is dancing for god and not for "the flesh". Good thing she told us cause I was getting worried. Let's pray these Bush loving home-schooler don't screw the world up even further.

which leads me to...



Children of Men -
An important movie that stands right up there beside Bergman's Shame, Time of the Wolf and Code 46. This bugger was bleak as all hell but so well done. There were so many striking images in this film it's just hard to pick one to write about. The colour palette was all those great gritty greens and blues that I love so. In the wrong hands it would have turned out like Minority Report or the Island. Like all good dystopian movies this one captured the chaos and the mutli-facted social clusterfuck we're headed to; not just the technology. This movie also had elements of film noir with the hard drinkin' dishevled Clive Owen. He's been one of my favorite actors of late and this role further proves he is one of the best. Is he the British Robert Mitchum?

People have talked about the long takes and how well choreographed the action scenes where. Truth is you don't notice this as you are swept away by the action. After a second viewing I may notice what was going on with all that agile handheld camera but on first viewing it was all about story for me. I won't give much away but I don't think this is really a crowd pleaser and this is mostly the reason I liked it. Sorry, but the future is not friendly.

Didn't like so much

Volver: Almodavar on Auto-pilot. After 'talk to her' he has gone progressively down hill. This is an art house movie for idiots. It looks and acts like it was filmed in 1985. He has brought back his campiness and low-brow humour for this one, that's for sure. Why aren't there any transvestites? Why no dreggs of society? We really ate up that stuff. Bad Education wasn't really that great either but at least it was more earnest than this one. And what about art-direction, has he fired that department altogether. If this is him trying to do something different then don't bother.
....

Making progress on two of the three of the docs I'm working on. I have a screening coming up on the 25th of my short films at the Sylvia Hotel. Terry Miles and Ken Tsui will also be showing their films. It should be fun, although the room only holds about 40 people.