Twas a weekend of oddities. First, we celebrated the “Year of the Pig” with a full 12 course traditional meal on St. Paddy’s day, then we rented a tonne of movies to have a quiet afternoon/evening in. The dinner was good – the company was much better – and the movies could be judged only on a sliding scale.

So, what’d we watch?

1. Barnyard
2. Open Season
3. Borat
4. Snakes on a Plane
5. Bon Cop, Bad Cop

Barnyard was pretty bad (I stopped watching and read a book), Open Season was cute, but definitely pales in comparison to Happy Feet or Cars. Borat had some great site gags and “translation” items and was definitely my favourite movie of the weekend until we stuck Bon Cop, Bad Cop in the DVD player.

Here I should mention that I adore Canadian cinema. If Atom Egoyan, Denis Arcand and David Cronenberg had anything to do with it, then I’m more than willing to stand in line in the cold to see it. After watching Bon Cop, Bad Cop I need to add Eric Canuel, Leila Basen, Alex Epstein, Patrick Huard and Kevin Tierney to my must see list.

Bon Cop, Bad Cop, playing on Canada’s language issues and love of hockey is a predicable crime thriller with intelligent dialogue. Me, I found it laugh-out-loud funny. I also spent way too much time playing “pick out the real hockey figure” while watching than I should have. If nothing else, we’ve proven in my house who has more in-depth hockey knowledge (me) and who has quicker eyes for reading subtitles (the hubby). I’ll admit, the subtitles were a bit of a challenge for me since I speak both languages and sometimes what I heard didn’t exactly match what I was reading. Hubby, being an anglophone with limited knowledge of “toad code”, didn’t face the same challenges.

Patrick Huard and Colm Feore had amazing chemistry but it was the few scenes featuring Louis-Jose Houde that stole the show. Such a hilarious spin on the know it all Coroner. And now, for the newest game show sensation…

Memorable Quotes:

• David Bouchard (Patrick Huard): You have an accent in both languages. Who was your teacher? Jean Chretien?

• David Bouchard (Patrick Huard): [surprised] You speak French?
• Martin Ward (Colm Feore): No, not really. I had a small gadget installed in my brain and I see subtitles under people when they speak.

Technorati Tags: Bon Cop, Bad Cop, Colm Feore, Patrick Huard, Canadian, Cinema, Movies

This weekend is the time to do all the last minute rushing around before I head out next week. After a full day at work last night, we rushed to dinner with friends and then headed out to Karaoke. There’s nothing like singing Leaving on a jet plane a few days before you actually do toddle off into the great blue yonder.

For the first time in weeks the place seemed packed – ok, there were probably only another 4-5 couples at the bar – and there was an older gentleman singing a lot of Johnny Cash (amazingly well, if I might add) that really should come out more often.

After bribing my designated sober person to drive me home at 2:30 am we had to clean up the mess the puppies made. Apparently they didn’t like being left home alone for so long and proceeded to shred papers and dump garbage in the kitchen. *sigh*

This morning has been a blur of shopping and laundry as I try to cross things of my must have list.

1. Mosquito repellant
2. Anti-malarial prescription
3. Hand sanitizer
4. AA and AAA batteries
5. Voice recorder
6. Small bottle of shampoo
7. Q-tips
8. Band aids
9. Anti-bacterial foam wash and cremes for cuts
10. Antacid
11. Sweater bags (plastic clothes storage bags come in really handy when you’re packing)
12. Snacks for the plane (I love Sunray fruit snacks)
13. Tic Tacs
14. Anti-histamines
15. Tylenol

Now begins the mad dash to get everything into a single bag while staying in the 50 lbs limit. Ah, the joys of travel.

At least I can put this behind me for a few hours this evening and spend my time watching the Oiler’s game with some friends this evening. Good thing we checked our tickets this morning or we could have arrived at Rexall Place a few hours too early for the show. Oh, and tonight I shall bring my camera…

Technorati Tags: travel, india, packing, hockey, Oilers, karaoke

In our house there are two things we spend a lot of time doing; reading and watching movies. On the reading front, I read 5-7 books a week while the hubby reads 2-3. We also tend to watch 4-6 movies a week – mostly on weekends. Good movies are jello for the mind. They go down easy, taste good, and most can be quickly forgotten.

Ever since my dad rented a VCR and brought home The Neverending Story when I was a little sprout in the mid 80’s I’ve been in love with the stories and the escape. I never grew out of my love for movies. Occasionally I’ll be in the mood to watch the same movie over and over again. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen the original Star Wars trilogy (pre re-editing and enhancement). Then there was that phase in university where I watched Platoon at least once a day for months on end… I’m amazed my roomies didn’t throw my butt to the curb!

There are movies that you choose to watch because they’re important – but once watched, no matter how well acted and directed they were – you will never watch a second time. For me, Bastard out of Carolina is such a movie. It’s burned into my mind and I’ll never forget it.

Like comfort foods people eat when they’re upset, I have comfort movies. Depending on the mood I’m in – or want to be in – I’ll choose specific movies to watch from our collection.

When I want a good action movie, I’ll throw on Pitch Black or Chronicles of Riddick. Boondock Saints is our “shoot-em-up” of choice. When I want a good cry, I choose Leon. My classic movie fave is Breakfast at Tiffany’s and for Disney movies I’ve always had a soft spot for Old Yeller. I love Bollywood but it’s a Hindi drama, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, that makes the top of my list for best Indian productions. I could easily list a dozen more…

This past weekend I had a chance to watch Mrs. Henderson Presents once again. I suspect that this movie will be added to my favourites and spend a lot of time in my DVD player in the next few years. Dame Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins always light up the screen.

The first time I saw this movie was at my parents house shortly before my dad died. Mom and I spent an evening watching it after visiting dad. Because of this I didn’t expect to be able to watch it again this soon. I thought the memory of the situation associated with it would be too raw. Surprisingly I found watching it again soft and comforting. If you’ve got a few hours to burn, Mrs. Henderson Presents is well worth the cost of the rental.

Technorati Tags: movies, dvd