The answer is 4 months...

yep, looking back at my last post, seems like it took me over four months to come back and post something here, which is just not acceptable! I have been contemplating on putting a "closed until further notice" kind of sign on this blog, but I'm too attached to it to let go, not yet! At the same time, it is obvious with my heartbroken-ness issues at rest for now, and the PhD thesis in focus once more, the chances of me actually posting anything here is not getting any higher either... so I've decided to try and post about movies and TV again, and hopefully more regularly... we'll see if that keeps me (and you, dear reader) motivated. If not, I'll just call it quits and we'll be done!

So, during the past three weeks I have seen a bunch of movies in the VIFF, some of which I absolutely loved. Here they are:

1) Barney's version: AWESOME! I loved loved loved this movie. There is no way to describe the movie since the story sounds so simple: a politically incorrect man goes through a couple of decades of his life, dealing with his personal and social life issues, love, hate, marriage, friendship, and so on. It is based on a Canadian Novel by Mordecai Richler which apparently was loved by many Canadians over the years. I had absolutely no idea what the story was going to be about and was pleasantly surprised. The characters are easy to relate to, and it doesn't hurt either that the acting is absolutely amazing. There are crazy funny scenes and there are extremely emotional ones as well. And somehow it felt like it wasn't made for a certain type of audience, it wasn't too abstract, or too commercial, or too tragic... I think it was the sense of balance in the movie that made it so realistic and relatable. Anyway, see this movie when it comes out, you won't regret it.

2)Certified Copy: Kiarostami's latest movie definitely surpassed my expectations, mainly because I was getting ready to fall asleep midway through the film and I didn't... I can't say I followed exactly what was happening, but I definitely enjoyed it, and Juliette Binoche sure deserved the best actress prize in the Cannes film festival for her role. The movie basically spans over a few hours that a french art collector spends with an English author who has just written a book about the value of unoriginal art pieces (copies). I really enjoyed the dialogues, and also the film location which was somewhere around Tuscany, Italy. I recommend this movie if you can sit through two hours of dialogue (in 3 languages with English subtitles, of course) and not get bored.

3)Biutiful: This is Inarritu's latest movie and as much as I loved Javier Bardem in it, I can't say I was impressed. The film has a very dark mood to it, and tries to manipulate the viewer's emotions too much which sometimes doesn't work. The whole intertwined story lines is getting kind of repetitive in my opinion and this movie in particular was trying to cram too many stories in one package. Of course, you'll have to see this one just to see why Bardem got the best actor prize in the Cannes, but don't expect too much of it.

4) The illusionist: an animation from the director of "The Triplets of Belleville". It of course did not even come close to his previous film. I liked "the illusionist" mostly because it was happening in Edinburgh and the setting was beautiful and a little bit magical. The story however was slow and dragged on for a while longer than it should have. It felt more like a tribute to magicians, clowns, acrobats, and others from those lines of professions which are becoming obsolete. You probably want to rent it and watch it on a slow night.

5) Gold and Copper: a good Iranian movie by Homayoon Asadian, not excellent though, with some heart breaking moments. (no imdb link as far as I know)

6) One movie I don't recommend from the VIFF is: the neighbor, urghghgh, so unprofessional, and a lame story anyway. The only good thing it had going was the original score by Namjoo which I still have not found anywhere online.

I have also watched "the social network" and really really enjoyed it. The truthfulness of the story aside, everything else was perfect from acting to cinematography, editing, and the soundtrack. I couldn't help but admire the brilliance of the awkward hero. I think especially for people that have active facebook profiles (hmmmm, virtually everyone!) it is really interesting to see how it all started from a raw idea. Wait for the DVD but watch it for sure!