Six Feet Under - HBO's First Family of Death

"Alan Ball's all-in-the-funeral-family drama expanded on the themes of his movie American Beauty: families keep secrets, people maintain facades, and while death may be final, life is messy." - TIME

Death is such the mystery. No one can really explain it, although there are countless theories as to where we go and what happens when we die. I recently started watching Six Feet Under, HBO’s critically acclaimed drama (and sometimes comedy) about a funeral home, and two seasons in I can honestly say I’m officially hooked. Why I suddenly developed an interest in this show now, over four years since it went off the air, I have no idea.

I have nothing really in common with a story like this on the surface. It’s like when I first got into Big Love, I was somehow so interested in the concept, although I couldn’t relate to polygamy at all. There’s a certain attraction to watching something original and out of the ordinary, something that pushes the envelope. And it's definitely an interesting and unexplored idea. How do funeral directors deal with such sadness around them on a daily basis? Do they become numb to it or does it affect the way they live their life and the choices they make.

Six Feet Under is dark and morbid, depressing to watch at times, but always compelling and incredibly well-acted, challenging us with each episode. It’s more than just about funerals, delving into spirituality, relationships, and how we react to losing people, not solely through death. And at the root of the show is the Fisher family, dysfunctional at best, but with all the elements of a traditional family structure. Except of course that the Fishers run a mortuary from their home, the father’s just died, the second son (Michael C. Hall of Dexter!) is a closet homosexual, and the mom is overbearing and uptight, yet surprisingly free-spirited at times. Visually, it plays out with flashbacks and daydream sequences that are very realistic to the way we exist, distracted by memories of people and events from our past.

I'm terrible since I need to know how it all ends before I get there but even though I already googled the series’ ending, I can’t wait to see how it all plays out. Now I know what all the fuss was about.


Frances Conroy is phenomenal in her role as the Fisher family Matriarch.

With Ryan Gosling, All Good Things (must come to an end?)

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What is it about Ryan Gosling that makes me swoon? He's made such a transformation since playing goofy troublemaker on the short-lived after-school show Breaker High. With success in various genres of film, from the epic and probably greatest romantic movie of my generation, The Notebook, to his critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated work in Half Nelson, and the hugely anticipated upcoming Blue Valentine, he's got quite a resume already and he's just getting started.

Despite the presence of Kirsten Dunst (who I seriously cannot stand - not even a little bit), I'm filing All Good Things under must-see. First of all, the film is unofficially based on Robert Durst, the wealthy son of New York City real estate mogul, who was suspected of killing his missing wife, but never went to court for it. With Ryan portraying what looks like a mysteriously dark and disturbed character, the movie screams suspense, right down to the background music. Plus, Ryan Gosling has proven to be extremely choosy with his movie roles, so I'm at least intrigued.


All Good Things Trailer
In theatres December 3rd, 2010

Finally! Blue Valentine Trailer - The sweetest thing.

We finally get to see the official trailer for the hugely anticipated new film starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams that played at TIFF. All we really know is that it's a love story that doesn't end well. And the trailer adds a bit of bitter-sweetness that I'm sure we'll see more of when it actually comes out. I'm not sure about the release date as yet.

Review: Buried alone with Ryan Reynolds? Only in a dream.

Intensely gripping, Ryan Reynold’s newest film, Buried, kept us on the edge of our seats from beginning to end. Each moment was unpredictable, and although I was skeptical at how Director Rodrigo Cortés would be able to keep a plot going while confined to a coffin, somehow he managed to do it marvelously. Apart from a quick 10 second shot of another face, Ryan’s is the only one we see onscreen for the entire 90+ minutes of the film (although why would anyone complain about that?!). Kudos to Ryan, though, who managed to convey the panic and terror of this kind of nightmarish situation very convincingly. Claustrophobics beware, it may be too intense for you!

Buried opens in theatres this Friday.

As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster - Goodfellas

How do you even begin to write about something, anything that you love? It’s almost impossible, with the fear that you won't be able to express your true appreciation for it. But since it’s been 20 years since Goodfellas was released, I feel I have to at least pay homage to my favourite movie of all time. Directed by the genius 'Marty' Scorsese, it's hands-down my favourite gangster film, changing the genre into what we know it as today.

To commemorate the anniversary, GQ put together a feature interviewing 60 of the film's castmembers. Michael Imperioli who played Christopher on The Sopranos, got his start in Goodfellas, as 'Spider' in the memorable scene where he gets shot in the foot by the lunatic Joe Pesci ("..It happens"). He said it perfectly, that there would have been no Sopranos (or Boardwalk Empire for that matter) if Goodfellas hadn't come first.

Goodfellas did an amazing job showing the gritty, brutality of the lives of wiseguys. Although extremely glorified at times, it wasn’t about the Godfather-like grandeur of being up at the top, but about the low-level guys working the streets just trying to make it. Showing the anti-hero that you identify with even though he’s a killer, Henry Hill made way for characters like Tony Soprano and of course Dexter. You somehow want the bad guy to end up scot-free in the end.

Without going on a 10-page rant that ends up making no sense, let me just highlight my favourite scene of the film. Henry takes Karen (lovely and talented Lorraine Bracco, aka Dr. Melfi) for a night out at the Copacabana. First of all, the way Scorsese plays this scene out is intoxicating, in a long, uncut shot following them into the Copa. Who cares that there’s a mile-long line up to get in, Henry takes her in the back door, through the busy kitchen, and a table is set up for them right up front. All because people want to show him respect. It’s a great scene that not only conveys the glamour and style of the early 60s, but the authority and power that even a mid-level gangster carried at that time. It also explains why women are always flocking to guys like Tony and Henry on-screen, who aren't that good-looking, but possess a certain smooth power that women are attracted to. Whether it’s out of fear, loyalty or because he’s got money, it’s all the same that he has the ability to make stuff happen.

Watch this scene

Boardwalk Empire: 1920's Never Looked So Good

I love a good period-piece, getting a glimpse into a time and life I never got a chance to live through. Add Martin Scorsese to the background, and Steve Buscemi (best known for playing Mr.Pink in Reservoir Dogs and Tony B. on The Sopranos), and HBO’s definitely got a hit on their hands.

Buscemi plays this larger than life, high-rolling gangster. He’s a Government man and seems to have the public convinced he’s one of the good guys, although he’s got his hands in just about everything illegal in Atlantic City, from prostitution to gambling and of course, bootlegging. He’s the perfect anti-hero, a crooked wiseguy with a soft heart. And we see that sensitivity when he has a woman’s abusive husband killed. He’s obviously got a thing for her, which I’m sure will come up later.

The setting is perfect: The roaring 20s with Prohibition, post-war damage to the returning soldiers, and Womens' rights just starting to develop.  At a time when it was illegal to sell and consume alcohol. Talk about the golden age for gangsters. If there’s a demand for something and there’s no supply (because it’s outlawed in some way), it’s the perfect opportunity for gangsters to come in and do their thing. After all, that's the American Dream.
  
And with Scorsese’s deliberately tight, 'in your face' camera shots and freeze frames, you feel like you’re right there with them, experiencing it all.

Review: I'm Still Here. Or am I? (TIFF 2010)

I just caught the advanced screening for I’m Still Here, the mockumentary about Joaquin Phoenix’s retirement from acting. For two years, Joaquin and Director, Casey Affleck, tried to convince us that this transformation of sorts was genuine, all to come out after TIFF and admit that it was in fact, a hoax. But – do we really care either way?

After seeing the film, I still don’t know the answer to that, but it doesn’t really matter. The performance of this so-called hoax is one for the ages. Joaquin was almost unrecognizable, sporting his Unibomber-Charles Manson beard and all-around ragged look reminiscent of 90s grunge gone wrong. And talk about method acting, to actually personify a rapper, produce songs (no matter how bad they were) and put yourself out there to be ridiculed the world over!

Despite the film's extremely awkward scenes (unnecessary nudity of the male persuasion and excessive drug use from a guy whose own brother died of a drug overdose), the film was intensely funny and entertaining. I must admit, though, the comedy of it all made it hard to keep a straight face during more serious scenes. Joaquin was so convincing in this performance that it will probably be weird to see him return to himself, whatever that self may be.

Watch Joaquin keep a straight face and stay 'in character' in the now infamous interview on David Letterman:

Review: Dhobi Ghat - Mumbai Diaries (TIFF 2010)

Completely different from what we’re used to from Bollywood, Dhobi Ghat was refreshingly unique.  We were taken into the lives of four very different individuals in the city of Mumbai, Arun (an artist), Yasmin (a young, married girl), Munna (a clothes-washer), and Shai (a very wealthy Indian from the US, on sabbatical) and the way their lives intertwine.

New actor Prateik Babbar, who played Arun (was painfully shy on stage, by the way), was surprisingly very good, completely nailing the role of a poor, naive boy, aware of his status in life yet unable to adhere to it, innocent in life and love. He was absolutely adorable in this role (and oh, the smile!), completely stealing the show from co-star Monica Dogra, on more than one occasion.

Elements of the film included the idea of unrequited love (always present in Bollywood, of course, although in Bollywood they usually end up happily ever after), a peak into the caste system in India, and a very real look at the everyday lives of people in Mumbai, not the fairytale version, but the lives that keeps going, happily or not, once the cameras stop rolling.

Will you be my Blue Valentine?

So, it looks like the clip below is all the preview we're going to get from Blue Valentine. Starring the amazing Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson, The Notebook) and Michelle Williams (Dawson's Creek- I had to mention Dawson's!), this movie already has a ton of buzz, all without even a trailer to whet our appetites. It premiered today at TIFF (although I missed it!), and I've already heard good things about this one. So here's the only legit clip I could find to keep you going till it officially opens. Be prepared, it's pretty steamy.

Review: Never Let Me Go (TIFF 2010)

I was unknowingly taken into a hauntingly-beautiful world, somewhere on the shores of England, between fantasy and reality. Essentially, this was a story about the relationship between three individuals, Cathy, Tommy, and Ruth, from childhood at a boarding school (or so we thought), to their short-lived adulthood. 

Throughout the entire film, I was left with a knot in my stomach and a lump in my throat, spending almost half the movie on the verge of tears. Let’s just say it was a depressing concept: love unspoken, without enough time to make up for it.

At the heart of it all was this love story, unconditional, unrelenting and sadly, unfinished. Casting for the film couldn’t have been better, with very moving performances all around.  Andrew Garfield, who played Tommy, really left a lasting impression on me (not just because he was adorable, both on-screen and on stage!), but he really embodied the character of a cowardly and weak boy, unable to act on his feelings. The true hero of the film, Cathy (Carey Mulligan, who I loved-loved-loved in An Education), innocently and subtly captivated us. With no way her life could end well, she lived through a ‘lifetime’ of loss, and somehow, managed to stay graceful and at peace, even when facing her ultimate fate.