When I heard that Edgar Wright was directing a film based on the Scott Pilgrim series of graphic novels, I was stoked. I wouldn’t let the cynicism of a certain Pilgrim fan-girl bring me down, and I’d hope for the best.

I was wrong. I was completely and totally wrong. I expected this film to be amazing, and it went well above and beyond any expectations I had.

The Story

A young man named Scott Pilgrim meets a foreign girl named Ramona Flowers who recently moved to his city, he falls for her, but to win her, he must defeat her seven evil-exes.

That’s pretty much the story in a few seconds. It’s not that complicated, but what is important is who these characters are. There’s Scott Pilgrim, a man who’s lived in Toronto his whole life¹. He’s a slacker, who’s between jobs, his ex-girlfriend, Envy Adams, is now a Lady Gagaesque superstar who broke his heart. He’s recently rebounded, after 400 days, with a high school girl named Knives Chau, but shortly thereafter falls for the new girl, Ramona.

Knives is in many ways perfect for Scott, if he were actually a good person, but instead he’s much too horrible for her.

Scott’s in a band called Sex Bob-omb with Stephen Stills², and his ex-girlfriend Kim Pine. They have a fan… one fan. His name is Young Neil.

Then there’s Ramona. She moved from the United States to Canada, to get away from the life she was living. Unfortunately that life and her evil-exes followed her to Toronto.

Gideon wants Ramona for himself, and with the help of the six other evil-exes, he’ll do anything to have his trophy woman.

The Cast

Many people balked at Michael Cera’s casting this film. I cannot say I’m a fan. I don’t like Arrested Development, and pretty consistently he plays the exact same character. Youth In Revolt, was a film that he showed he was more than just the sad hipster loser (with a hot girl on his arm). Cera played an asshole in Youth In Revolt, and while the film wasn’t great (see my review), Cera proved himself as worth as playing Pilgrim. Obviously Edgar Wright agreed, and Pilgrim was perfectly cast.

Seeing Kieran Culkin’s small bits in the trailer as Wallace, Scott’s gay roommate, had me worried, I wasn’t thrilled with what I saw, but once I had the full context of the film, I think he might have stolen the movie. Wallace was everything Scott needs, whether it be a kick in the balls or the mothering of this slacker do-nothing. Wallace was hilarious and much I believe is Culkin.

Ellen Wong was Knives Chau. They couldn’t have picked a better actress to take that role, and she embodied the character so well.

I had no idea who Aubrey Plaza was, but I know she looked so familiar. She was hilarious, in her cold-asshole manner. She’s the perfect woman to put Pilgrim in his place.

That leaves us with Mary Elizabeth Winstead who played Ramona Flowers. She might as well have stepped out of the comic book.

Scott’s An Asshole, But So Is Ramona

Scott breaks hearts, and so does Ramona. They don’t see the effect they have on the others around them, and live in their own tiny bubble. Scott doesn’t only hurt those he once dated, but even his best friend Wallace. Wallace spends the entire film wanting to kick Scott out of their one-room apartment, but loves the man too much to actually go through with it.

The Style

The Scott Pilgrim series of graphic novels are obviously graphic novels. The books are themed like video games, and the film follows this. It steals many elements from comics and video games, and adapts them for the medium. Wright does an excellent job at immersing the viewer into this world of comics and games. Even if you’re not much of a comic lover or game lover, like myself, it creates a great quirky little world.

Toronto

There aren’t many films where the audience erupts in cheers, hoots, and hollers a few seconds into the beginning of the film. It did with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. When the narrator said, “in Toronto, Canada,” the audience erupted. Now, I’m not sure if that has been happening in other cities in Canada, or even other cities elsewhere in the world, but I assume it has been, because Toronto is amazing.

Torontonians are used to seeing our city on the big screen³. It’s the default stand-in for generic American cities. Though it might be able to be disguised as a generic city, it certainly is not. Toronto has a unique identity and most Torontonians are proud of the city they live in. One of Ramona’s evil-exes is Lucas Lee, an American actor who’s in Toronto filming a generic action film. While they’re shooting outside the beautiful Casa Loma, they’re filming in front of a matte painting of a generic American city. Lee pushes Pilgrim through the painting  to reveal the CN Tower.

In Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Toronto gets to be itself for a change, and it’s proud of who it is. Whether it be the hideous orange and white decor that is Pizza Pizza, the gaudy lights of Honest Ed’s, the beauty of the Wychwood library, or the iconic Lee’s Palace, Toronto is shown for what it is, and more importantly, it’s the Toronto that is mine. I used to live a few doors down from the Wychwood library, and the Annex is a neighbourhood I find myself in so often, I wonder why I don’t live there… other than the cost. This leads me into the next section…

Me

This film seems to be a film made specifically for me. A 20-something music nerd who has a warm place in his heart for classic video games, Toronto, and hot chicks. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World brings all these three things together, along with a lot of awesome music, including Halifax heroes Plumtree, who’s song “Scott Pilgrim” gave the character his name. It really feels as if the film was made for me specifically.

The Music

When I heard the soundtrack was going to include Beck as Sex Bob-omb and Broken Social Scene as Crash & The Gang, I was slightly disappointed. I’m not a fan of either. I never liked Broken Social Scene, and I don’t think Beck’s released an album worthy of himself since his okay record Midnight Vultures. Beck’s songs reminded me of his early Mellow Gold days, but with a lot more of his folk that made Mutations brilliant. I was surprised at how good Beck was as Sex Bob-omb.

Broken Social Scene’s songs as Crash & The Gang were also great. The soundtrack was perfect.

The Medium is the Message

Obviously a comic is not a film, and can never be. While Wright tried to stay true to the spirit of the comic, it had to be changed, in many ways. He did an excellent job of compressing a story which spanned six books into a single film, and ended the film in a damn good manner, which addressed the important factors that the novels ending addressed⁴.

In Conclusion…

There is absolutely nothing I would change about this film. Edgar Wright did an incredible job. Best director oscar?

1. Yes I know it’s not true to the comic, but it’s minor, shut up. [↩]
2. Not that Stephen Stills. [↩]
3. My favourite being Short Circuit 2. Since when do they swear in American immigrants in Nathan Phillips Square? [↩]
4. Scott being an asshole. [↩]

This past Tuesday, the world lost an incredible actor, Maury Chaykin. The actor has appeared in so many films, to list his credits would be useless. If you’ve seen Atom Egoyan or Don McKellar films, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Chaykin’s work. If you’re a fan of Canadian cinema in general, you’ll have seen Chaykin. The man’s been described best as a character actor, always playing different roles without a single role defining who he is.

It’s perhaps his unique look, the rotund man who could either look sinister or jolly at the flip of a switch. He’s so very identifiable, and without the rugged good looks of a leading man, and so, the actor can move in from role to role.

If I look at his acting credits on IMBD, I can only say I’ve seen 15 out of the 150+ roles he has played in his long career.

His role as the title character in the short run A&E series Nero Wolfe was what I always knew him best in. He captured that role perfectly, taking what Rex Stout had put in novel and portrayed it with such perfection that no one could ever portray that character in the future as anything but a poor mimicry.

When the news of his death passed through the Twitter-sphere, I assumed it to be another case like the rumours which floated about Gordon Lightfoot. I saw that the day was his birthday, and so someone must have been mistaken. Sadly, I was wrong. The actor passed away at 61.

I’m going to take the opportunity to tell a bit of a story. First some background. I loved Nero Wolfe, as did my then-girlfriend. One year a couple friends of ours made a CD with songs for each of us in a group of friends. The one for my then-girlfriend was called “Nero Wolfe.”¹

When I was working at a shit hole of a computer store, which we’ll call Boron Computing, I was behind the counter, restocking the shelves. In walks Mr. Chaykin, looking like a homeless man, his hair in every direction and attired like a bum. My then-coworker started helping him out. This coworker is also half of the duo who wrote and recorded “Nero Wolfe.” Mr. Chaykin was a tad irate, as something hadn’t gone right with the service of his computer. I can’t quite remember the details, or I wasn’t paying much attention. He wasn’t in a pleasant mood². Maury just wants something taken care of, and he’s faced with two guys, one who’s stocking shelves, the other who’s supposedly helping him. The one who’s supposed to be helping him takes the paperwork, and starts looking data up in the computer, as he’s doing this, he starts humming a theme song, it’s the theme song to Nero Wolfe.

I gave my coworker an evil glare, thinking “dude, don’t be singing the theme song, that’s not cool!” Then I remembered that Nero Wolfe didn’t have a theme song and the title music would change with the story. I then realized that Vince was humming the song he wrote called “Nero Wolfe.” There I was standing behind him, a meter or two away from Chaykin, laughing my ass off, while trying to hold it in for fear of looking like a complete moron, and in turn looking like a bigger idiot than I feared.

That’s my Maury Chaykin story. He’ll be missed.

1. The one for me was called “Dirty Hippy.” [↩]
2. Hell, I never was in that building. [↩]

Bruce McDonald reinvented the concert film. Instead of shooting performers on a stage, McDonald attempted to tell a story in the context of a concert. This Movie Is Broken follows a young Toronto man and the love of his life, who’s recently returned to Ontario. Their paths lead them to Harbourfront Centre where Broken Social Scene are playing a free show.

Let’s start off with the obvious (if you know me), I don’t like Broken Social Scene. I don’t hate Broken Social Scene, but I’ve never liked Broken Social Scene. The only member of the band I have any fondness for is Amy Millan, but I don’t like Stars, I just like her first solo record¹. I don’t even think Feist is hot, I think she’s funny looking. So why did I go see a Broken Social Scene concert film? It’s directed by Bruce McDonald and written by Don McKellar… duh.

The concert played a bigger role in the film than I had hoped for, but I can’t hold that against it, as it is a BSS concert film. I was very surprised when the first song started and I knew it (mildly), however the rest of the songs were as foreign to me as Graham Nash’s output from the 1980s.

McDonald did an excellent job in capturing the visuals, the film looks good, even though he’s showing Toronto as dingy and dirty. To clarify, the film was shot and takes place on July 11, 2009 when Toronto’s city workers were on strike, and hence garbage was piling up, and city parks became temporary garbage dumps.   

The strike played a major role in the circumstances surrounding the show. Broken Social Scene were scheduled to play their annual concert on the Island, but with municipal workers striking, there was no ferry service. They had to cancel the show, and thus throw a free concert at Harbourfront Centre.

So, I’m not begrudging the film the music, and I like the visuals, what don’t I like? Sorry Don, but it’s gotta be the writing. The story is boring, and underdeveloped, it’s adolescent and to top it all off, the acting is brutal.

If you’re a fan of BSS, see this film in a heartbeat. If you’re a fan of McDonald’s and McKellar’s, ignore it, and wait for Hard Core Logo 2.

1. I should check out her follow up, one day. [↩]

On the plane ride home from Vancouver, I decided to have a go at their in-seat entertainment system. I found in there a film called Nowhere Boy. It’s apparently a prequel to Backbeat, which is about the friendship of a young musician named John Lennon and a painter named Stuart Sutcliffe. Who would’ve thought that mostly unnoticed film would need a prequel was a bit nuts, but it was surprisingly good.

Nowhere Boy instead focuses on Lennon and his broken home. Raised by his Uncle George and Aunt Mimi. Mimi is strict, while George is fun loving. George dies an untimely death, and this affects Lennon and puts him into the rage we see later in Backbeat. Lennon also reconnects with his mother Julia and learns more about the disappearance of his father Alf¹. Lennon is enamoured with his mother, and the image of Elvis Presley, who together inspire him to become a rock and roller.

Lennon starts The Quarrymen, an skiffle group, with his friends from school. Eventually he meets a younger boy named Paul McCartney, who impresses him with his performance of “20 Flight Rock,” and eventually in a brief scene we see George Harrison join the band. Thus most of the cast of Backbeat is together by the end of the film.

One of my favourite points in the film is an interchange between Paul, John, and Julia after they find out McCartney’s mother died.

Julia to Paul: So awful, your mother being taken away from you.
John: She had cancer, what’s your excuse?

The film overall is really about Lennon’s unhealthy relationship with his mother. The two are more like friends at best and lovers at worst than a mother-son relationship.

Overall it’s not a bad film, and adds some damn good backstory for Backbeat, and might even be better than Backbeat itself. Now it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Backbeat, but if I recall, the band went on to be rather big, maybe it’s time for a sequel studying that part of their career.

1. Who names a character after an alien-muppet from an ’80s sitcom? [↩]

Well, that was weird. Alice In Wonderland felt more like a Disney film than it did a Tim Burton film. It wasn’t terrible, but kind of boring and adolescent. I expected a much darker film based on Burton’s history.

One of the more disappointing aspects is the digital animation. The characters aren’t nearly the level of quality you’d expect, it looks like it was made in the late nineties.

Youth In Revolt is a sub-par Rushmore.

In 1995 Pixar released one of the most important films of the past few decades, Toy Story. This film was historical if only because it was the first feature film completely computer generated. That alone is enough to put this film in high regard, but it’s not enough for me. What made Toy Story so good in my mind was the quality of the storytelling.

Toy Story was about two toys, Woody, a cowboy sheriff, and Buzz Lightyear, an intergalactic superhero. Woody, as the leader of the group of toys sees his comfy life as the favourite toy challenged when Buzz Lightyear shows up at Christmas. After much adventure, they become the best of friends.

Toy Story 3, begins with a recollection of the life they once had, the fun adventures of a toy who’s played with, but then flashes ahead to present day when Andy’s grown up. Andy’s about to head to University, as his mother asks him what he’s doing with his old toys.

Much like the other two Toy Story films, the movie revolves around a simple, but effective concept, get back to Andy. While this concept is extremely simple, the three films are so unique to one another, and so well constructed, that it barely matters. The audience is in for a great adventure, because the characters are so good. Woody and Buzz are such very strong leads that there are so many possible stories for these two characters.

The film is supported by the best of the characters from previous Toy Story films, Hamm, Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head, Slink, the Pizza Planet Aliens, T-Rex, and unfortunately Jessie and Bullseye.

The film is great. It’s fun, hilarious, heartwarming, sad, and many other emotions. The film puts a great highlight on how great Pixar films are and always have been. I don’t want to give much away, but like most recently Pixar films, there’s moments of tears, and moments of pure glee. They’ve become quite adept at luring the audience in to love their characters.

Amongst the discussion from the night was listing Pixar films from worst to best, here’s my go:

10) Cars
9) A Bug’s Life
8) Ratatouille
7) Toy Story 2
6) Finding Nemo
5) Monsters, Inc.
4) Toy Story
3) The Incredibles
2) Wall-e
1) Up

I think I would put Toy Story 3 between Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo.

Some of the best pillow talk I’ve seen in a film came in Bunny & The Bull. The title of this blog post, being the best example. It also helps me realize a new theory on film. If you see a penis, it’s a comedy; if you see a vagina, it’s a drama. It explains why women laugh when I remove my pants.

I was inspired to watch this based on Julian Barratt’s scene which has made it, rightfully so, onto the Youtube. It’s quite a funny movie, but also, it’s exceptionally sweet. The heartbroken Stephen is convinced to pick up and leave England with his friend Bunny. The two go on a crazy European road trip.

The style of the film reflects a direct influence of Terry Gilliam. It’s mixture of stop motion and live action is interesting. It creates a visual effect for the film which vastly enhances the narrative. It creates a backdrop to the story which shows the insanity of the storyteller (Stephen).

As a fan of Canadian cinema, I’m by default a fan of Don McKellar’s work. Aren’t we all, after all? McKellar wrote Blindness, a film which I really knew nothing about it before I watched it, other than the author’s previous work. In the film, a Japanese man (Yûsuke Iseya) living in an unknown city finds himself in suddenly blind while sitting in traffic. A man (McKellar) offers to drive him home, after getting him to his destination, he steals the car.

Blindness, while usually described as darkness is instead described as brightness. It slowly spreads from Iseya’s character to the Doctor to McKellar’s character to a prostitute who was in the clinic, etc. etc.

Eventually these characters end up in a prison setting as the Ministry of Health¹ decides to quarantine the sick. The film turns into a Lord of the Flies situation as one ward tries to wield power over the others, and control the supply of food.

The story’s a bit cliché, but the cast, and acting, is phenomenal. The cinematography however did win me over. Dark, bleak, desperate; bright, shiny, blinding.

1. The minister is played by Sandra Oh. [↩]

Robert Altman’s film Streamers is one of the least Robert Altmanesque Robert Altman films I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of Robert Altman films. Streamers is set in the barracks of a handful of Airborne Army officers waiting until they (like the rest of their mates) are sent off to Vietnam.

What makes this film so unlike most of Altman’s features is that it’s cast can be counted on one hand, and the film never leaves their barracks. To put it simply, this film is based on a play, and it’s damn obvious. Altman shot this like a play, and as such it’s missing much of his trademark style. It’s not a bad film, it’s actually quite good. David Alan Grier is surprisingly damn good in his acting debut.

The film touches on numerous issues from Vietnam to homosexuality to the place of Blacks in a White world.

One suggestion I might make to others, is that you don’t watch it on a sunny Sunday morning.