Random Places

First Impression: Well this is going to be long. You may want to skip right to the Afterthoughts for the review.

I read about this movie in The Province one day, but didn’t really notice what it’s about. Abha then emailed me about the screening at Granville, which is the very latest 10pm screening of the entire VIFF 08. My parents were fairly worried about me riding the skytrain after midnight, but I assured them it would be fine.
Before the movie, we went for dinner at Milestones, which was OK considering the price. We got to the theatre around 8-ish to ask the staff what time people usually line up for rush tickets (as oppose to advanced tickets bought before) and was told at 9pm. The staff then mentioned the movie would start late because the previous screening was late. Well that’s great, 1hr30min of lineup, awesome. We walked back to the theatre at 9 and noticed people already lining up. There were 2 lines, one for advanced ticket and then other for rush; there were approx. 10 ppl in front of us in the rush line. With increasing boredom, watching people’s cars get towed away became mildly amusing.
As time went on, more people came, and when they heard about the late start, some decided to hawk their tickets to the rush line. At first, we didn’t pay attention because the price was $6 above the ticket price, but after awhile Abha and I started doubting ourselves, especially when some people peddled AT the ticket price. We learned that the advanced line up has gone around the block, and the rush line up had slowly dwindled to about 5 people, with us behind two. Everybody who bought the hawker tickets had to go to the other huge line up. Would we have to go to the other lineup too after buying off the counter? At that point I thought “There’s no point in buying hawk tickets then since we wouldn’t get a good spot anyway.”
At 22:20 or so, an Asian girl came up to us and ask to see if we wanted her 2 tickets. I was about to refuse, but she kept shoving them into my hand. Then I noticed the word “Complimentary”. “Free?” I asked the girl, and she confirmed. The staff also confirmed the tickets were usable for this movie. Well crappy seats or not, at least the movie would be free. Finally, it was time to head in. We handed the complimentary tickets to the counter and was ushered into the theatre immediately. I was SO glad we didn’t buy tickets off other people. When we both came back from the bathroom, the advanced ticket holders still haven’t finish filing in. We couldn’t believe our luck, free movie AND great seats.

Afterthoughts: I had no expectation whatsoever, and I also vowed to never watch more than 2 VIFF movies each year what with the long lineups, but this movie made me question my resolve. It was chaotic, fast, and felt completely real. The movie is about a high school class in France with students of diversed ethnic background. I’ve read that France is one of the most xenophobic countries out of Europe, so I was immediately attracted to the premise. Throughout the film, we follow the struggle of one particular French teacher and how he makes enemy and friends of students in this class. I really loved the “behind-the-scene” look at the teacher’s lounge and their meetings. The students dialogue were exceptionally well written as well. The students were smart-ass but not to the point of annoyance (the teacher would disagree on this). I think I would have had lots of fun in high school if everyone argued this much. The way they dealt with the trouble-causing teen made me think back to my own middle school class. I remember this kid got expelled because he was hitting other students and swore at/flipped off the teacher. Did he deserve another chance? I don’t really know. The movie is highly recommended.

On a side note, my mom kept calling me when the movie was around 2/3 in. I of course had the phone on silent, but I didn’t want to turn it off because I knew she would have assumed the worst otherwise. All in all, I had like 10 missed calls until the end of the movie. Suffice to say, my mom was pissed I didn’t call at 12, which is when I originally thought the movie would’ve ended. When we went onto the skytrain station at Granville, there were these Skytrain police cleaning up this red blood like stain on the ground, but the skytrain itself was fucking packed so the ride to Lougheed was pretty safe. That was my first time being on the very last skytrain of the day.

Please note that when I say ALL James Bond movies…I only mean the ones I’ve watched, which usually features Brosnan.

First Impression: I’ve always hated the James Bond series. Every movies were carbon copy of the previous one and Pierce Brosnan just didn’t do it for me (I did watch 007 before him but I don’t remember much). Brosnan’s arrogant and smug Bond was unbearable. When it was announced that Daniel Craig would be the new Bond however, I thought he looked nothing like James Bond and seriously doubted this movie would be any different than the other ones.

Afterthoughts: Oh my. Talk about older hot guys (Jessie and Richard Gere), I will watch every 007 movies from now on if Daniel Craig is going to be in it. Not only is he smoking hot, he played the cold hearted yet vulnerable killer very well. This movie was the first 007 plot that actually made sense most of the time and not just endless sex and action scenes. With most of the story revolving around a poker game it sure kept me at the edge of my seat. Eva Green is also the first Bond girl that could actually act. I was truly surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie. If you didn’t watch 007 before, now is the time to start.

First Impression: Random aisle pick.

Afterthoughts: I didn’t have much expectation for this film, but it turned out to be quite good. This movie is in French, if I remember correctly, and one of the actors is the famous Jean Reno (from The Professional). The movie is about a murder investigation at a private school. I don’t remember much from the plot, but I was quite impressed by the directing style of Mathieu Kassovitz (Amelie, Munich). I think that in itself should warrant this movie a look.

First Impression: This looked so stupid I don’t even know why it’s made.

Afterthoughts: So a woman was kidnapped and was placed in an empty room with a smashed up phone. She somehow managed to connect some wires together and got the phone working to dial some random number. This is your cue to suspend your disbelief and start enjoying the movie. The person on the receiving end, after being pegged as useless by his girlfriend, tried to rescue this lady, and that’s the premise of this story. The movie is better watched when you just finished something really mind consuming…like after exams, tests, or an intense video gaming session like the one I just had (god, my head still hurts).

First Impression: My brother saw it in the theatre and said it’s good.

Afterthoughts: It’s rare to see Tom Cruise as a bad guy; well to be honest, it’s rare to see him acting this good. Along with Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, this movie is well-acted, well-told, and well-directed, but for some reason, it also didn’t registered on many people’s radar. Foxx plays a cabbie that was paid, unknowingly at first, to drive a hitman, Cruise, around town as he goes around killing people. Very worth seeing, I guarantee it.