And the hottest Premiere ticket this year is . . .

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

Sorry, Autumn, I only have the one (we didn't get them at work but they came from my friend at Global). I tried to convince Gina that she didn't really want to see it but she wouldn't fall for it.

Still Life with Razor to premiere at Calgary International Film Festival

Still Life With Razor, starring Anita Miotti and Peter Strand Rumpel, was shot in the summer of 2000 but only recently completed post-production. The 15 minute short, written by Dave Reynolds and co-directed by Dave and Ken Cameron, will be a part of the CIFF's The Late Shows series, screening at the Globe Theatre midnight (11:59 PM) on Saturday, September 24, 2005.

For more details about the screening, visit the Midnight Shorts #1 page at the CIFF website, www.calgaryfilm.com.

For more details about the film, visit the projects page at thinsoapy.com

Dogville

I love Lars Von Trier movies. Dancer in the Dark was as devastating as it was brilliant. Dogville, the first of a trilogy (P2, Manderlay was at the Toronto Film Fest this week), is very impressive - both from a technical standpoint and as a scathing look at America (not just humanity, as many American reviewers see it). As in the Simpsons, the mob rules. People alone are basically good - it's when they get together when everything goes horribly wrong.

There are many reasons to dislike this movie: the minimalist theatre-like sets, the 3-hour run time and for some, Nicole Kidman (just to name three). Many think the set is very distracting and that Von Trier is being arty for the sake of it. Not at all - everything is there (or not there) with much purpose. The 177 minutes went by quickly. Nicole Kidman was excellent. The rest of the cast was great, too - Paul Bettany, Patricia Clarkson, Chloe Sevigny, Lauren Bacall, etc. etc..

I don't want to go into details about the plot and so forth but I will say that Dogville is one of those films that continues to play out in your head long after the movie is over. I can't believe it took me so long to finally view it and I eagerly await Manderlay, with Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village) in the role of Grace, and then much later, Washington - purportedly with both Kidman and Howard playing the role.

A romantic fire and . . . whoops!

Hung out at a friend's garage sale today. Cold and wet but there is a heartwarming story that may come out of it...

Young couple enters garage. He spots four E-Z-start fire logs and gathers them up like he was picking the real thing in the forest. Now one-handed, he searches his pockets all around his pants for a few dollars with which to pay. She, while looking at other stuff, notices his dilemma and sets down her purse by the $7 rice cooker. Great day for a fire, she says, as she removes small piles from the purse and sets them all around the table. He stares blankly at the rain pouring over the edges of the eavestrough. Aha! She finds a twonie and passes it to my friend. The deal is sealed, they can go home and cuddle up by the fire without messing about with kindling and paper. She returns the piles to the purse and they scurry to the car, driving off. Another friend, also hanging about, notices one small pile left behind. Among the detritus, this month's birth control packet - yesterday's dose missing but today's still intact.

Further Adventures of BikeClub

Here are a few pics from the ride out to Turner Valley. It was easier than I imagined but I think that had a lot to do with the lack of wind for the majority of the ride.

It was a perfect day for it! For more pictures and commentary, visit BikeClub and roadwarrior.

I'm ready for my close up

excellent movie, btw

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