At the End of the Reel

Ok so Dancer in the dark…I think I stumbled across this one on some websites list of best musicals. And of course I love a good musical so I went and watched it….oh dear 

 
 

wow its hard to find a decent trailer for this movie

( Dancer in the Dark )

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with Up in the Air. In some respects I got everything I expected and at the same time it was nothing like I anticipated. Although I will say two things here and now
1. it’s a great movie
2. It's got one of the saddest endings i have seen in some time

 

 

( Up in the Air )

IFRS are new accounting standards that will replace the old ones for all public financial statements. What I do not understand is with 'IFRS for Small and Medium Sized Businesses' available since the summer, Canada is staying with Private Enterprise GAAP?

I downloaded a copy of the IFRS document in the summer and think it is fantastic to have all companies transition over.

Private companies who decide to go public one day will have to transfer to IFRS. If they had used Private Enterprise GAAP, Ontario regulators require prior year financial statement submissions to be restated in IFRS, not private enterprise GAAP. Imagine the headaches. Imagine the heartbreak. Imagine what accountant would want such a job and go back to historical records to figure out the adjustments as well as obtain an audited IFRS financial opinion over their historical statements to go public. Meanwhile, every other provincial regulator, for now, will accept Private Enterprise GAAP Statements before going public. Ontario is an exception.

There is an expectation that in 5 years and after a few more countries adopt IFRS for Small and Medium Sized Businesses (two countries have adopted it already), Canada will transition. For now, Canada is taking a wait and see approach and perhaps I'm being a bit to harsh to think a full IFRS transition as a great idea.

Can't blame people though. Few people like change and for an accountant working in a private company, they do not necessarily have the resources to tackle IFRS because it would be a very onerous and expensive project. What you knew when you received your licence is obsolete in a few years...and to stay on top of all the changes aren't easy.

an odd topic for me but never fear! this does basically relate to movies.
i read an article the other day going on about how the movie Avatar was yet another example of the white ethnocentric film. the whites oppress the 'Natives' and then a white guy helps save the Natives. like in Dances with Wolves which apparently falls into this category as well.
i was kind of shocked when i read about this. (there are others that fall into this but i dont remember titles right now...would Glory fall into that category as well? i mean it is based on a true stor and all)
I guess if you looked at it that way Avatar could be viewed as some sort of movie based in white people's guilt. you know the movie goes "Oh the evil white guys" but then so we dont feel too guilty a white guy will come in and save the day
It's all plausible reall...it just never occured to me to think of those movies like that. 
I think most people aside from critics dont....may its more subconcious for most people.
Frankly i just think i might not get this white people guilt because on the one hand I'm too young to have grown up in the time that would foster such guilt(the fifties up until the late eighties i believe). and on the other hand...I'm Jewish for goodness sakes. by definition i am already quote unquote 'oppressed' (I'm not really, but i am discussing stereotypes here. I've only experienced bigotry about being Jewish with one guy all through Middle School....but it was just the one guy so as i said..not really oppressed...you get the point 
But part of me is wondering if thier is any credibility in these white people are so guilty and make movies to ease thier conscious rants and so on.
i dont know
what do you think?

although on a side not if that is the case then...George Lucas must feel so not guilty it's ridiculous....get it? get it? because Darth Vadar is played by a Black guy? ah hah....yes i know i am so witty....*sigh*...i will stop now

Watched:   Californication (TV)

Steven Soderbergh seems to have taken a leaf out of the Coens’ book of comedies, and made an “idiot” film. The “idiot” film is that genre that revolves around the actions of someone who doesn’t really have a clue, and yet we still strangely feel supportive of the character (whilst laughing our heads off at the same time). The aforementioned Coens have used it in classic like Burn After Reading, Fargo, The Big Lebowski and Intolerable Cruelty. Soderbergh had one or two characters in Out Of Sight that would fit the mould, but the movie didn’t revolve around them.   In this one, Matt Damon (MATT DAMON!) plays the title role, an everyday guy with delusions of grandeur and pieces of random trivia, both of which we are exposed to through his voiceover, as we watch his efforts to “help” the FBI bring down the company he’s employed at for price-fixing.   Soderbergh finds the perfect pitch for this film throughout. Anytime I thought I might start to grow weary of the track he took, he changed tack and kept me interested. And towards the end, when the actions of everyone start to unravel and expose themselves, there is a scene where we both watch Damon and listen to his thoughts, and this for me was the crowning scene of everything that had gone before.   It’s a small film compared to projects like Traffic, Erin Brockovich and the Ocean’s films, but I think this may well be my favourite Soderbergh film to date. 4.5 stars.   Oscar Watch:   The Informant! is an outside chance of getting in the Best Picture list (I don’t think it’ll make it, but who knows what will happen now we have ten nominees). However, as I see it, Matt Damon is sitting just outside the five Best Actor nominees I have predicted so far (Bridges, Clooney, Firth, Freeman, Renner), waiting for any one of them to fall back in votes so he can jump in their place.

Watched:  

The Office (recorded off TV) 

Elders with Andrew Denton, Make ‘Em Laugh: The Funny Business Of America (TV)

so i have seen alot of....interesting trailers....and now i am going to talk about them...and i am just posting the links because otherwise this entry would get quite big

Robin Hood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFW6Z4lkaGA
looks fairly epic. considering my experience with Robin hood included a cartoon Fox, Kevin Costner with a crap british accent, and Cary Elwes being cheeky this should be interesting. i hope his accent is better than Costner's. Really it looks a bit over the top and tells you nothing about the movie itself except that it has cool action sequences and such. i withhold early judgments until i see a proper trailer. Although aparently Cate Blanchett is in this, presumably as Maid Marion and that should be interesting.

Alice in Wonderland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nAJluhnCGQ
I find it curious that both recent takes on Alice in Wonderland go with th Return to Wonderland approach. looks pretty badass and interesting. but as with most Burton films it will either kickass or be too wierd. i think it is wise to take the approach where you add more story to balance the bizarre cracky nature of the original. and johnny Depp looks amusingly psychotic as the Mad Hatter. i will probably end up going to the theatre for this one

The Bounty Hunter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui-rEsZbhEI
this is where i start getting concerned. Gerard Butler is always amusing and i have no dislike for Jennifer Aniston...but somehow i just cant see this working as a movie. might be mildly amusing and i am a sucker for chick flicks so one never knows...but i am a little concerned

The Hot Tub Time Machine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8El63Dbz6yY
this is where concern turns to horror...although while hunting for this trailer i found a shorter one where the kid with glasses mentions Stargate...which does amuse the nerd in me...but when a movie is referencing another movie like Wild Hogs it just doesnt bode well. i will admit the Michael Jackson line was mildly amusing but this movie has disaster written all over it. and it is a shame because i like  John Cusack and i have enjoyed many of his films...which makes watching this trailer slightly upsetting

overall the outlook for next years movies barring Iron Man 2, Toy Story 3, and How to Train Your Dragon....well...2 out of 3 of those are sequals and well...next year looks pretty bleak in terms of film  

Well, I rewatched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was almost more frustrating to watch this time around due to the fact that some parts were extremely entertaining while others made me want to hunt down George Lucas and try to knock some sense into him. But more on that in a bit.                   

( Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull )

Sunday
- Work: I woke up super early and got there at around 945, which wasn't so bad but still, waking up so early on a weekend seriously throws me off, I'm just glad that I close Saturday and Sunday I have a day off. :)

Honestly that's all I really did on Sunday, besides purchasing (I like saying that word...) some gifts for Christmas/birthdays this upcoming week. Oh wait, I also drew this little card for Simon which honestly could be a lot better, but I'm far too crunched for time to bother to have made it better. I should be studying.

Monday
- Work: I woke up even earlier than Sunday and got my ass to work at 830, but ended up waiting about an hour for Jess to come. I sometimes feel like I should just be a keyholder... but I also don't because I do not want the responsibility of having to make sure I'm at the store on time and also super later at night. Ehh.

I was scheduled for 9-2PM which I didn't even realize... but then again I don't think I got the schedule. Haha. :) So I stayed until 230 and bussed my way home. It was really decent weather out for a December day.... When I got home I passed out and was woken up by mom screaming for me which scared the shit out of me / put me in a slightly bad mood. I checked my phone and had received 3 missed calls and 10 texts... how is that possible?! I then realized I should be studying for my exam tomorrow..

This is all over the place. I'm going to go study now. :(

Watched:

The Wall (Die Mauer) (Arc cinema): East German observational (i.e. no narration) documentary from 1990 charting the events and reactions of the fall of the wall. I like these docos where you just sit back and watch, but unfortunately this one was just a little too long. 3.5 stars.

Return To Oz (Arc cinema): 1985 follow-up to The Wizard of Oz, based on Frank Baum’s original Oz book sequels. Not bad, but it felt more like a cash-in on the popular kid’s fantasies of the day like The Neverending Story and Clash Of The Titans than a worthy successor to the classic 1939 film. Still, there were plenty of good bits (like the room of severed heads). 3.5 stars.

Glee, John Adams (TV): Sorry, John Adams but, even though you are showing some interesting stuff like the formation of the Declaration of Independence, you feel more like a history lesson than an interesting Sunday night drama, so I’m not going to stick at it.

RocKwiz, Accidentally On Purpose (recorded off TV): Sorry, Jenna Elfman, but your new sitcom isn’t really anything new, and sometimes just plain stupid. I sat through all four televised episodes so far, but that’s it I’m afraid.

Listening to: Second Class Citizen (Area 7)

like Primeval for instance. and by the way. to any close friends who read this. you should dread 2011 because thats when season 4 comes out and...well i am nearly done with season 3 so this may at least go dormant for a bit for now...i must spaz so as i mentioned previously Primeval is this british Scifi tv show basic premise is these time/space holes or 'Anomalies' pop up alot and various beasties and such come through that need to be dealt with and the public doesnt know somehow...although it looks like they may finally deal with that a bit soon. but i digress so main characters
Nick Cutter- thought his wife was dead and now she's not. tends to angst and be generaly heroic with the sexiest scottish accent and very nice eyes which are shown to great effect since every time he gets in trouble with some monster(which is almost every week) he gets very wide eyed and it is quite appreciated. plus he can be funny sometimes. Also at the end of season 2 i really really really wanted to give him a hug(i will go into detail in a bit)
Stephen Hart- Cutter's best buddy at the start of the show although things get rocky later due to some um...naughtiness he did back in the day with Cutter's wife(her names Helen by the way). I really liked him too. he was conflicted alot but he was a good friend to the end...literally
Conner Temple- And this is where i devolve into a fangirl and fall on the floor giggling like a crazy person. I ADORE Connor. he is also played by a Mr. Andrew Lee Potts and he is the reason i started watching this show because as i hve mentioned previously. he was on Alice. and he was awesome. And he is here too. but here is a cute nerdy sort of guy who provides most of the comedic relief(and be warned, his hair is horrific in season 1 but they fix it later). and he currently has ongoing lovey drama with:
Abby Maitland- cute and sort of punky. loves animals...particularly reptiles. kind of the heart of the team and come season 2 her and Connor finally start to acknowledge the fact that they want to rip each others clothes off and go at it(but that hasnt happened yet)
and right now there are more characters being brought in that i have not been fully acquainted with yet so i cant talk about them. although i have seen one episode with Danny Quinn and i am just going to take a shot in the dark and say that by the next episode i will probably adore him (EDIT: having now seen more episodes with him, yes i do adore him) other characters of note:
Helen Cutter: Formerly Nick's wife. scheming conniving and generally an all around bitch who always has her own agenda and is perfectly alright with using anybody and everybody to get what she wants
Lester: i dont know his last same but apparently he is a 'sir' Lester something or another. in charge of all the basic operation at ARC. I actually like him. humor is so dry and he eventually gets some very cool moments. I kind of adore him he way Potter fans adore Snape...but i never hated him and i did have a strong dislike of Snape for years. beyond that oh lets see....well
[SPOILER ALERTS WILL FOLLOW FROM HERE ON] i would go into the whole Claudia/Jenny thing but frankly it is confusing but know that both have a thing for Nick then there's Stephen....OH MY GOD WHY???? it was so sad how he died shutting himself in a room full of hungry dinasours so he could save Nick (and you know the rest of England...possibly Humanity and all that) the door could only be shut from the inside and Nick was about to go do it when Stephen punches him in the face and shuts himself in before Nick can stop him. so Nick has to watch his best friend die! so tragic! i wanted to cry but i kind of knew this was going to happen...because i read it on wikipedia....back when i was debating whether to watch the show i read extensive summaries on wikipedia....but that doesnt really do the show justice in terms of it's best points. in my eyes the creepy crawlies are just the vehicle for all the fun characters i like to watch then there's Nick( I am actually watching the episode where he dies now....GAH!!!!!) And then there's Connor in all his nerdy adorable wonder. I just adore him. and then there's him AND Abby which i adore even more. and it just makes my day to know that the two of them are engaged in real life! So basically this is me during any episode
SHOW: Monster comes and people run screaming
ME: *sigh...
SHOW: oh look here's a nerdy boy
ME: CONNOR!!!
SHOW: *Connor blinks*
ME: oh my goodness look at him blinking!
SHOW: and now watch Abby and Connor do the dance of Unresolved Sexual Tension
ME: Aw look at them...
SHOW: and now the monster will chase somebody and stand behind them spookily
ME: WHY DONT PEOPLE EVER LOOK BEHIND THEM!!! RUN AWAY!!!
SHOW: and we endanger this character...it's usually Connor or Abby
ME: GAH!!!
SHOW: now it's time for somebody to be a badass and take care of the monster
ME: hurray they live to blink another day!
SHOW: and now it wraps up
ME: Aw Lester your so funny...oh and Connor your still cute and kind of scared...oh my goodness you blink cuter than anybody since....alot of other people i like... and so on. with an occasionaly appearance from Helen which is getting larger reactions everytime. at this point i basically want to yell die bitch everytime i see them. and very soon i will probably be making a video for Primeval once i find the right song and such but for now here is a bit of some bonus Video Blogs that Connor does...or something enjoy his hilarity

and by the way on a more downer note just finished that episode of Primeval where Cutter dies. and i am sort of in tears now...would have been perfect except at points the music just went way to big...but still....why? seriously why??? ah the frustrations that come with loveable characters .....RIP Nick and Stephen really hope Danny Quin ends up being awesome...and if they kill Connor i will be furious

Director Sam Mendes has some sort of hold over me, cinematically speaking. He’s made five feature length films, and I’ve loved four of them! (The fifth, Jarhead is good as well).

I wasn’t totally sure going into this one, as it had had lukewarm reviews, but I should have learnt from my experience with Revolutionary Road last year, which had similar reviews, but I totally understood what he was doing and loved the film. As I did with this one.

The central couple, played by John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, are pitch-perfect in their performances (Rudolph in particular is fantastic). The supporting characters in the first two-thirds of the film are fully realized in their pretentiousness, selfishness and outright wankery by actors like Catherine O’Hara, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Allison Janney, and the last third introduces a dose of dramatic reality through the characters and performances of Chris Messina, Melanie Lynskey and Paul Schneider (all three of these actors brought a level of devastation to their characters’ predicaments).

Mendes guides the movie along its clever screenplay (co-written by one of the writers of Where the Wild Things Are, and it shows), exploring the themes and issues of finding your place in the world, the responsibility of becoming parents (or the devastation of not being able to), the beauty of finding your soul-mate, and many others.

Mendes has shown that he can do his relationship dramas as comedic indie as well. This is one of those films that can touch your soul despite (or maybe because of) its simplicity. (Unless you think breast-feeding other people’s babies is OK, however, because you are the pretentious, selfish wankers that are mocked!) 4.5 stars.

Also Watched:

Kingdom (TV): Sorry, Stephen Fry, but your new series is shite, and so I won’t be watching any more.

Accidentally On Purpose Episode 3 (recorded off TV)

AFI Awards (TV): Yay for Frances O’Connor and East West 101.

Oscar Watch:

I so want Maya Rudolph to get a Best Actress nomination for this Away We Go. Unfortunately, she is no more than a rank outsider, but I will be looking for any excuse to put her in my predictions (if she gets a Golden Globe nom this week, watch out!)

Listening to: The Bad Touch (Bloodhound Gang). “And we can do it doggie-style, so we can both watch X-Files” Never loses its funniness, this song.

Watched:

Factotum (DVD): Movie revolving around Hank Ciinaski (alter ego of author Charles Bukowski) as he stumbles his way through life, jobs and women in a drunken, lazy and violent stupor, all in the name of writing. Bukowski fans are going to be the ones who ge the most out of this one (there are a lot of good quotes), but the rest of us can be engaged mainly through another solid performance from Matt Dillon (especially his scenes with Marisa Tomei). 3.5 stars.

John Safran: The Lost Pilot (TV): Now THIS is a good reminder of how cutting edge Safran used to be. More of it please, mate.

my goodness winter break might be two of the loveliest words ever put together since summer break...and well.. pumpkin pie...but whatever
so my life rihgt now. well i saw he Princess and the Frig today(see the entry below) and uh....
oh yes I saw this musical called Dancer in the Dark.
i dont know if i will do a full review but to quote myself and some other people
i had to watch shcindler's list after this movie to cheer myselfup.(joking and that's what somebody else said)
as for me i would summarize this movie as very traumatic and essentially this film will slowly rip your heart and out and stomp on it.
It was well done, well acted, danced and sung(especially acted. if yo havent seen this movie already the last ten minutes are probaly some of the most well acted and painful moments ever capturd on film)
but yeah unless you are in the mood to feel suicidal you may want t avoid this movie. or at least be aware of what you are geting into. i only knew it was a musical.
SO yead. very good movie...Very depressing.
um other bits of my life....well still obsessing over Alice and the guy who plays Hatter(Andrew Lee Potts). SO much so(and because i have alot of time on my hands for the next month) i actually started watching this british scifi show he was in called Primeval. and of course i just watched te first 2 episode because i was bored but of course i ended up hooked anyway. The plot is a bit silly but the characters are fun enough that i am willing to forgive that. Although i am starting to wonder if it's meant to be a joke that half the time some random person gets killed they use that same scream sound effect. this particular sound effect has also been in Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars which makes it even more distracting.
I mainly watch for Andrew Lee Potts' character Connor. He is an adorable nerd who will pop up with lines like
"If I die you can keep my autographed copy of empire strikes back...on second thought i might want to be buried with it"
or in a scene with the girl that he likes She i trying to teach him how to talk to girls and it goes something like this
Abby:Ok try complimenting me
Connor:You look nice
Abby: make it more personal
Connor: I personally think you look nice
After some corrections it goes smoothly for a bit until he ruins it when he asks her who she think would win in a fight. batman or wolverine(It would be Wolverine...hands down...I am speaking from the movies not the comic books...i wa sput off by the yellow spandex but that aside...)
But all of this got me going on about being nerdy
as fun as it is...it is very time consuming. which is a shame really.
lets see other things in my life right now....working on another short film...and i am very excited for my friends Christmas *ahem* holiday party tomorrow. we call it a holiday party because of the one year my dad drove me and we were terrified to tell him i was going to a Christmas Party

So I just went to see Princess and the Frog. And so now I am reviewing it here

( The Princess and the Frog )

So its probably time to find a place to call home and stop renting this apartment because you can. Move on out to a more permanent space. I'm hesitating for various reasons. Now is not the right time and when ready, I'll make the move. Mortgage rates are set to go higher in 2010, 40,000 condo units are slated to complete in Toronto in 2010-2011 and the Bank of Canada plus numerous economists have quantified today's housing market in 1989 terms. I'll figure things out when the time arrives and right now, things are too good at on this side to really want to move. Trusting my instincts and will sit on the sidelines for another two years. Not in a particular rush when everyone else is doing it.

At lunch, someone was right when they said that the years get better and better. Could not agree more.

The holidays are busy with various family and friends having house gatherings over the next few weeks. It is one thing to eat out at restaurants, but when everyone comes together to cook, potluck or make brunch etc...can't beat home. An intangible and unquantifiable thing happens that cannot be explained.

Looking forward to getting out at 3pm every single day for the rest of December before holidays hit. 2009 has been a good year.

Watched:

The French Kissers (Les Beaux Gosses) (cinema): French go at the awkward-teen-trying-to-get-laid genre (French Pie, perhaps?). It works well, and apart from the fact that it shows some things non-European audiences may not take as well (the simultaneous masturbation of the two male bets friends, for example), it would probably be good for Western fans of this genre. A few scenes got some of the biggest belly laughs of the year from me. 4 stars.

Boston Legal Season 2 Episode 17 (DVD)

Accidentally On Purpose (recorded off TV)

Current cinema:

Worth seeing: Amreeka, A Christmas Carol 3D, Paranormal Activity, A Serious Man, Where the Wild Things Are

Avoid: The Time Traveller’s Wife

Watched:

John Safran’s Race Relations (last week’s episode on abc.net.au/iview, this week’s on TV): There were many parts I found funny (the Christian spanking group was hilarious), other parts were the excruciating “I can’t watch but I must” type which I do respect and appreciate (like the pashing of the ex-girlfriend’s mothers episode) and, as a fellow single male approaching a certain age, and despite all efforts (including giving internet dating a go this year) is totally unaware of the reasons why he just can’t get intimate/married/laid/whatever with a woman (that is at least half way towards being a decent human being), I can sympathise with his quest. But, overall, unlike Music Jamboree and vs. God, I won’t be purchasing this one – it just wasn’t anywhere near as good, unfortunately.

Accidentally On Purpose Episode 1, The Office (recorded off TV)

Californication (TV)

About 2 weeks ago, our washing machine died. I've been waiting for this to happen. Things were never quite the same with it since the bathroom renovations. I suspect that the washing drum shifted slightly but we waited it out. That thing was old anyway, the bf'd inherited it from his sister.

So we trawled the WWW for reviews and good deals, came up with a few choices and hit the stores to compare prices. Of course, because everyone else knows better, we were told that our shortlisted choice wasn't a good one. We ordered it anyway because we're just insufferable fools like that.

A week or so later, the washer came. In Israel, things work a little differently. The sales office you buy your appliance from only delivers the product. You have to pay for delivery and some more to have your old washer taken out. Then you call the manufacturer's office to have them send a professional technician to install the product. So for a day and a half, we had a new piece of furniture sitting in the dining area - our machine in its box. It was good while it lasted cos we had an extra table.

The professionals came today, and decided that after setting up the washer in its place and checking that everything was working fine, they should try and sell me a wheelie rack for the machine. So that I could put it on top of it and wheel it in and out for the ease of washing floors. And because I thought it was such a great idea that I should buy the rack and attempt placing the machine on top of it all by my own, I didn't get it.

I turned down their offers for a 208nis (76sgd) anti-spike plug and a 216nis (79sgd) anti-calcium unit. I'm sure the LG and us will do fine without those.