My Wife Won the Pool
Published March 8, 2010 @ 09:32 in Movies

I ran a little Oscar pool. I actually opened it up to anyone, by tweeting the link, and 16 people played along.

I got 13, which wasn't too shabby. My wife, however, won the pool with 15. She was smart enough to go with The Hurt Locker for both best picture and best director.

Click to enlarge

Article Permalink    6 Comments

My 2010 Oscar Picks
Published March 7, 2010 @ 10:17 in Movies

Now that the deadline has passed for the little Oscar pool I run, I can safely unveil my predictions.

If you want to win your pool, don't copy me. Of the ten movies nominated for best picture, I only saw three of them.

Here's what I'm going with. I'll let you know if I won tomorrow.

Best Picture: Avatar
Best Director: James Cameron for Avatar
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Best Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker: Mark Boal
Best Adapted Screenplay: Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire: Geoffrey Fletcher
Cinematography: Avatar: Mauro Fiore
Editing: Avatar: Stephen E. Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
Art Direction: Avatar: Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair
Costume Design: Nine: Colleen Atwood
Original Score: Avatar: James Horner
Original Song: Crazy Heart: T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham("The Weary Kind")
Best Makeup: Star Trek: Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow
Best Sound Mixing: Avatar: Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson
Best Sound Editing: Avatar: Christopher Boyes, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
Best Visual Effects: Avatar: Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andy Jones
Best Animated Feature Film: Up: Pete Docter
Best Foreign Language Film: Un prophète (France)
Best Documentary Feature: The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers: Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith
Best Documentary Short: Music by Prudence (2010): Roger Ross Williams, Elinor Burkett
Best Live Action Short: Miracle Fish: Luke Doolan, Drew Bailey
Best Animated Short: French Roast: Fabrice Joubert

Article Permalink    3 Comments

Alfred Hitchcock's Cameo Appearances
Published February 4, 2010 @ 21:32 in Movies

Alfred Hitchcock made a cameo appearance in 39 of his 52 major films. Here are most of them.

[via @ebertchicago]

Article Permalink    1 Comments

Oscar Best Pictures Nominees
Published February 2, 2010 @ 08:50 in Movies

The 2010 Oscar nominations have been revealed. They are:

• Avatar
• The Blind Side
• District 9
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Precious
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up in the Air

Of the ten films up for the Academy Award, I've only seen Avatar, Up and Up in the Air. I'm very pleased to see Up nominated, it's absolutely worthy.

In my review of Up, I wrote "I smell a best picture nomination". Elvis asked me to clarify if I meant best animated feature or best movie overall. My reply on May 28?

Best Picture overall. You read it here first, folks... unless you read it somewhere else. I haven't read any Up reviews yet.

Article Permalink    9 Comments

Movies I Hated in 2009
Published January 11, 2010 @ 13:18 in Lists, Movies

On the weekend, I wrote about movies I loved in 2009. As promised, here are movies I gave 5 or less out of 10 a.k.a. movies I hated in 2009.

• The Astronaut Farmer
• Paul Blart: Mall Cop
• Passchendaele
• Smart People
• You Don't Mess with the Zohan
• Zack and Miri Make a Porno
• Role Models
• Twilight
• The Love Guru
• Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
• Be Kind Rewind
• Flightplan

Article Permalink    2 Comments

Movies I Liked in 2009
Published January 8, 2010 @ 19:03 in Movies

I review every movie I see, giving them a score out of ten. You can read every one of my reviews at http://www.torontomike.com/reviews/.

Here are movies I saw in 2009 that earned 8 out of 10 or greater.

• Star Trek
• Avatar
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• Anvil! The Story of Anvil
• Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father
• Gran Torino
• The Dark Knight
• Up
• Iron Man
• Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
• The Visitor
• Frost/Nixon
• The Reader
• Milk
• The Wrestler

Tomorrow I'll look at movies that earned less than 5.

Article Permalink    4 Comments

I Love Dirty Work and I Don't Care Who Knows It
Published January 7, 2010 @ 21:42 in Movies

You know that movie you really, really like that everybody else hates? We all have one. For me, that movie is Dirty Work.

I've always liked Norm MacDonald, so when I learnt Norm was filming a Bob Saget film right in my own backyard, I was pretty psyched. There are scenes filmed all over Toronto, from U of T to the office at Jane and Annette. There's also a fantastic Chris Farley cameo on Annette.

I'm thinking about the hilarious Dirty Work today because Artie Lange is in the hospital recovering from a suicide attempt. I first got to know Artie Lange from Dirty Work, but then got to truly appreciate his talent as co-host of The Howard Stern Show. Artie was always brutally honest about his demons, demons that would lead him to stab himself nine times this past week. According to this morning's Stern show, he's alive and physically out of danger now. Here's hoping he pulls through and find some good in life.

If you want to see Artie Lange and his buddy Norm MacDonald at the height of their powers, watch Dirty Work. I love it and I don't care who knows it.

I friggin' love that fish scene.

Article Permalink    6 Comments

Kids in the Hall's Death Comes to Town Trailer
Published December 7, 2009 @ 20:56 in Humour, Movies

A long time ago, I listed my ten favourite television shows of all-time. Number 8 was "Kids in the Hall", a show that was guaranteed to leave me in stitched when I watched it weekly on CBC from 1988 to 1994. I just found Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson to be hilarious.

Here's the trailer for the Kids in the Hall's new 8-part limited series that will air on CBC early next year. "When Death gets off the Greyhound bus in small town Shuckton, Ontario, everyone in town is implicated when one of its most distinguished citizens is found murdered".

Is it too early to set my PVR?

Article Permalink    10 Comments

The 10 Best Christmas Movies / Specials
Published December 6, 2009 @ 13:08 in Lists, Movies

Here are my ten favourite Christmas movies and specials. Feel free to add your favourites in the comments.

10. The Nightmare Before Christmas

9. It's A Wonderful Life

8. Love Actually

7. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer

6. A Charlie Brown Christmas

5. The Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire

4. Bad Santa

3. The Polar Express

2. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas

1. A Christmas Story

Article Permalink    18 Comments

Anticipating Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Published November 14, 2009 @ 14:55 in Movies

I love me a good documentary, and as a fan of music and Canadiana, I simply can't wait to see "Anvil! The Story of Anvil".

I watch the bulk of my movies on The Movie Network, and generally you wait almost a full year from the time a film hits theatres to the time it debuts on TMN. "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" debuted at the Sundance Film Festival back in January 2008 but hasn't yet aired on TMN.

When the hell is "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" debuting on TMN? I don't think I can wait much longer...

Article Permalink    4 Comments