Author: James McNally

Two DVDs This Weekend

We also watched two DVDs this weekend: Run Lola Run and The Perfect Storm. I would say that Run Lola Run was a very clever little puzzle, even though the characters weren’t very well developed. I liked the way the animation bit was integrated and also the opening title scene where the soccer ball is thrown up in the air. We’d both seen The Perfect Storm in the theatre when it came out, but it was good to see it with some of the documentaries and commentary. I read the book shortly after seeing the film and it’s definitely a better experience when you’ve got the background material. Mark Wahlberg is quickly becoming one of my favourite actors (never thought I’d be saying that, but hey, he’s good.)

Swan Lake

Brooke and I went to see the National Ballet of Canada perform Swan Lake this afternoon. This was probably the first piece of “classical” music I ever heard, and I remember thinking that I could make a really cool war movie around it. If I’d gone on to become a director, this is the sort of story they’d love. Alas, I did not become a renowned filmic auteur. The ballet was great, though. Brooke studied ballet for many years, and had lots of insight into the choreography. The scenes with the swans were the best, I thought. The sight of twenty graceful women dancing on stage is breathtaking, and the sound their feet made as they made their way offstage reminded me of wings beating.

P.S. I’m well aware that this doesn’t hold a candle to the cat circus.

I Emailed Spoon

I emailed Spoon to see when they were playing at SXSW and to tell them I’d been at their 1998 Toronto show. Here’s what I got back…

From: <detektor @somedomain.com>
To: <james @thisdomain.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 06, 2001 7:24 PM
Subject: SXSW

march 15 at the mercury

you must have been 1/3rd of the audience that night in toronto