How can I put this?

I really liked "Eastern Promises".....I think. After watching the film I felt it wasn't what I expected it to be. For those of you who have seen trailers and think they know what they are getting into are probably into a surprise. The ending was rather abrupt which made me wonder what was this film about.

But after the film I got to thinking more and more about it and the more I thought about it, the more I liked it, but just to be sure I want to see it for a second time.

The film is a masterful crime genre piece probably the most graphic yet entertaining crime film I've seen since "The Departed" last year. It would be a crime to give away the plot of this film but to give the bare essentials it involves a woman who dies giving birth, she is treated by a doctor (Played by Naomi Watts) who finds a diary the woman had.

The Russian mafia play an important part too when it turns out the diary contains contents involving some members.

The key character here is played by Viggo Mortensson who deserves an oscar nomination as an ice cold chauffeur for the mafia. Mortensson is able to find every shade of this character to make the audience wonder about who he is exactly and what side he's on.

There is an ambitious film in the background here where director David Cronenberg shows us the inner workings of the Russian mob ala "The Godfather", but he mostly stays on track to the core human element involving Watts, the baby, and the diary, the bigger story is only hinted at.

The violence is very graphic mostly involving a couple of cut throats and a killer knife fight in a bath house, what's interesting especially in a crime film such as this is I don't think I heard one gun shot fired.

The key to this movie is Mortensson, he makes the film intriguing to follow through. All I can say is don't come in expecting a regular mafia movie, there's something more than meets the eye but that's all I will say.

Edward Copeland on Film: The Ray Memorial 100

A new list to celebrate the top 100 foreign films ever made has been listed here.Edward Copeland on Film: The Ray Memorial 100. Read it discuss and debate but by all means watch them. My personal favorite "Tokyo Story" has been listed at number twelve. Kurasawa seems to be the director with the most films. This is a great intruction to those who have never seen a foreign film and don't know where to begin. It's also good for us film buffs who think they've seen everything.

How Sweet it is!!!

"Waitress" is the kind of movie where you know where it's headed and you kinda know the conclusion but it does it in such an enjoyable way you don't even care. I loved "Waitress", I saw flaws in it but it didn't seem to matter in the long run, the late director Adrienne Shelley has crafted a warm hearted comedy that is rarely made in today's world, there was something very comforting and almost old fashioned about it that's hard to resist.

Keri Russell stars in a career making performance as a hard luck waitress who is married to a no good insensitive brute but has a saving grace in creating very creative pie recipes. The pies kinda illustrate her feelings and sometimes current moods. The movie opens with Russell's character discovering she's pregnant, this happened one night when her husband got her drunk cause normally she detests sleeping with him. The fact that she's pregnant puts a damper on her plans, it's just another thing keeping her from leaving her husband and starting a new life.

Things begin to change for her when she meets the handsome new doctor in town (the underrated Nathan Fillion) who starts treating her nice. The two soon begin having an affair and for a moment it seems everything in her life is perfect, there is even a sequence where Russell is walking around with a bright happy smile on her face. But things start to fall apart when we are reminded that the handsome young doctor is married.

Adrienne Shelley has created one of those picture perfect worlds where people are all kind and understanding and no one (except maybe Russell's husband) is out to hurt anybody. Shelley herself and Cheryl Hines create great support has Russell's co-workers and best friends each of whom have their own subplot that are delightful. The scene stealer of the film is Any Griffith playing the cranky owner of the diner the girls work in but of course we learn isn't all that cranky after all.

This film is about finding happiness and a lot of the scenes I saw in it rang true. There is one scene where Russell asks someone if he is happy, and he honestly says back "happy enough". There is a lot of truth in the dialogue and a lot of warmth, this is a happy movie because it's about people trying to find happiness where ever it comes.

Sometimes it felt like these characters were too good to be true and the diner and Russell's pies weren't at all realistic. I could go on about how that bothered me but it didn't really, I love it when movies make up places that transport us and for a moment make us forget about our troubles and spend it with some really good decent people. Of course everyone knows the sadness about Shelley's death but we should be grateful that she was able to share this little piece of happiness with us, we should all be that lucky in our lives.

New to My Collection

I've had the opportunity this summer to add to my collection of films quite a bit. Some films I got were just classics that I could see countless times like Capra's classic dark comedy "Arsenic and Old Lace" or Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" or Truffaut's "Jules and Jim". Here are some new titles that I've watched for the first time and was for the most part pleased of my purchase.

1. Sansho The Balliff: I went into this film not knowing much about it, Jim Emmerson loves this movie and that was good enough for me. It is directed by Kenji Mizoguchi who is one of those filmmakers I have heard of but have never seen any of his work. It's one of those films you watch and afterwards you just have to say wow. It's one of those films I know I will revisit again and again and probably find something new every time I see it.

2. The Story of Floating Weeds/Floating Weeds: While we're on the subject of great japanese cinema why not talk about the master Yasujiro Ozu. I have made it known before that Ozu may very well be my favorite director of all time even though I've seen only 10 of his 50+ films. I couldn't be happier when I got this which are two Ozu films in one. The original is silent while the remake was made in beautiful color and I think it is one of the best color films I've seen. Even though both films tell the same story I found myself enjoying the remake better, it spends more time with the characters and is beautifully filmed. It's hard to express my feelings for Ozu and his films, just watch this film or "Tokyo Story", or "Late Spring" and begin the journey I started last year.

3. Ace in the Hole: This is Billy Wilder's film about a reporter who creates a media frenzy over a guy who's trapped in a cave struggling to live. Kirk Douglas is the only man alive who could've played this hard boiled reporter who seems to have no conscience. The film is a hard criticism of the media and is probably more timely today than when it was released. Wilder pulls no punches we need more guys like him making movies.

4. The Secret Life of Sherlock Holmes: Another Billy Wilder film I had not seen, this one deals with an untold story of Sherlock Holmes. I found it to be one of Wilder's most interesting films as he attempts to make the famous detective more human. The film is also outrageously funny at times with an ending you wouldn't expect.

5. High Plains Drifter: People really only thought of Clint Eastwood's gifts as a filmmaker after "Unforgiven" was released, but way back in the early 70s he made this western about a mysterious man out for revenge on a town that just stood by as their sheriff was whipped to death. It's dark and mysterious unlike any of the Oscar bait films Eastwood makes today.

6. The Burmese Harp: A very spiritual war movie about a japanese soldier who masqurades as a Buddhist Monk and decides to bury all the dead soldiers who are left on the ground. I've never seen a war movie quite like it, it's about redemption and spiritual awakening, it's quite moving.

7. All Quiet on the Western Front: This famous war movie which won the Oscar for Best Picture tells the story of young German boys who are so enthused about joining the army but become disillusioned with the horrors of war. This no doubt influenced modern war films like "Saving Private Ryan" or "Letters from Iwo Jima" in its depiction of young solidiers in combat.

8. Kiss of Death: Classic film noir about a criminal who becomes a mole for the police in order to protect his children. Richard Widmark plays one of the most memorable villains in history and Victor Mature has one of his best performances in the lead role.

That's all for now folks, any new titles you have in your collection you want to share that has enriched your movie collection?

And the Oscar should go to.

So I haven't seen all the movies premiering at the Toronto Film Festival that has all the oscar buzz surrounding them but after seeing Sarah Polly's poetic and lyrical "Away From Her" finally I just wanted to throw the hat in for Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsett for Best Actress and Actor nominations. If you haven't seen "Away From Her" yet, you should, one word would describe it and that is it's beautiful, just beautiful, and the two main actors help make it that.

Had I been young in the sixties I would probably be in love with Julie Christie, her face is the kind of face the camera makes love to and her performance as a woman suffering from Alzheimers is both tragic and touching. Gordon Pinsett is an old Canadian pro who gives a flawless performance but very subdued and quiet which I hope won't stop his chances of grabbing a nomination.

The relationship between Christie and Pinsett is the heart of this film, it's full of love but also disapointment and betrayal. The fact that these people survived over 40 years of marriage is the real testament to their love.

I may sound sappy when I describe this movie, but I wouldn't describe it as one, it's just beautiful that's all I can say, unlike many romance films, in this one you could really feel the love, the longing, and the loss. These are probably the two best performances I've seen all year by anyone and I hope they and this film are not lost in the fall shuffle of films.

I also saw "The Lookout" with Joseph-Gordon-Levitt which is a smart noirish type thriller which is worth seeing.

TIFF=Anticipation for those not there

Oh to be in Toronto right now. Some day I just really have to make a pilgrimage from my small humble Alberta home and see what all the fuss is about. For about 10 days in September Toronto Canada becomes the Northern Hollywood, where pretty much every single important movie of the oscar season is shown. I've been reading daily the reports of my favorite critic Roger Ebert, and my favorite retired critic turned blogger Jim Emerson as they both talk about the films they have seen. It's making my mouth water just talking about it. The moment I read Emerson's blog about The Coen Brothers' new film "No Country for Old Men" where he says "If you're not exhilerated by this piece of filmmaking, then I don't know what you could possibly like about movies." I don't remember the last time I heard anything like that when describing a recent movie.

It comes down to this: I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait. The great thing about reading these two guys is they not only see the movies everyone else sees, but also smaller films that peaks my interest. It's wonderful having these two men who I find differ very much on certain films but with a wonderful enthusiasm be my guides to what may be the most popular film festival on Earth. But anyway, here are some films I'm just dying to see

No Country for Old Men
Eastern Promises
Chop Shop
Into the Wild
Michael Clayton
Juno
Rendition
The Assassination of Jesse James...
Starting out Empty
Fugitive Pieces
I'm Not There

In the mean time I just have to catch up on films I haven't seen yet like "Waitress", "Once", and "Away from Her", but oh to be in Toronto.

Canadian New Wave?

How can a country that has perhaps the greatest and most popular film festival in the world (the the exception of say Cannes) not have a great film making reputation? Living in Canada myself I wish there were more significant films being made. I think the problem might be for a country capable of making such personal works of film art such as Atom Egoyan's "The Sweet Hereafter" or Deny Arcand's "The Barbarian Invasions", we choose more to celebrate mainstream Canadian movies like "Bon Cop, Bad Cop". For Americans who read this blog, "Bon Cop, Bad Cop" is a harmless action comedy where a french Canadian policemen from Montreal has to team up with an english speaking Canadian from Toronto to solve a case. The film plays like a Canuck's "Lethal Weapon". It might interest you American's to know that "Bon Cop, Bad Cop" has become the highest grossing Canadian film ever, before that I think it was "Porkys" (Yes "Porkys" is a Canadian film).

I'm frustrated with Canadian film because we have been able to produce some great talent with the likes of Atom Egoyan, Deny Arcands, David Cronenberg, Don McKeller, Sarah Polley, and that little indie film maker James Cameron. Thankfully most of these names still work in Canada and today are creating some great films, others like Cronenberg and Cameron have been beckoned to America perhaps never to return, but really who could blame them? Canada should be in the running for having the best produced film in the world, it has the potential of what Japanese cinema was in the fifties or France was in the sixties in my opinon, of course I'm a bit biased.

Here's hoping Canada will wake up to what the rest of the world already knows, we got some great film makers out there now lets take the next step.