The surprise return of Geoff, and Jesus pictures

• Geoff surprised everyone on the "Moving Images" team by returning a week earlier. This artist is just that good. "Mike-man," a new nickname for Geoff, was created to comment on both his Michaelangelo-like painting vituoso and his fond-uhm-"affections" for microphones. But enough about Geoff. The team concentrated on the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," by analysing other films which have courted similar controversy. We are referring to: Norman Jewison's Jesus Christ Superstar, Martin Scorseses' The Last Temptation of Christ, Monty Python's The Life of Brian, Kevin Smith's Dogma and Lee Gordon Demarbre's Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter. The bottom line is this folks: while there is no room in this world for blasphemy, these are just movies. Individually, these films are just one artist's interpretation of events surrounding Christ's life. Nothing more.

Science Fiction goes Independent, another J. Ro. comparative analysis, and Chris on copyrights

• Talk about an action-packed episode! Even in Geoff's absence, the particular show could have gone on for hours. Peter kicked things off with an interview with Michel Massicotte, a local filmmaker who trying to tackle the (expensive) world of science fiction. How did he do it? With determination, digital video and a lot of great American software. Massicotte's four year labour of love, "Mind Joust" is the enjoyable result. Look for it at local film festivals! J. Ross (J.Ro) Annett. is quickly becoming a Moving Images regular, making his second straight appearance on the program to do a comparative analysis of "Kids" and "Thirteen." Both films, it seems, are disturbing commentaries on what it's like to be a young teenager in contemporary society. Chris finished everything off with a brief discussion about copyright (and everything that's right and wrong with it...). Grilling Peter and J. Ro. with rhetorical questions, Chris left listeners with a lot to think about when it comes to this contentious issue.

A New 'New Wave' filmmaker and the Great Penn

• New Wave filmmakers from the 60s have made their indelible marks on international cinema. Bradon Cannon, a Ottawa-based IFCO affiliated filmmaker, takes his style after one of the New Wave greats, Jean-Luc Goddard. Bradon dropped by the studio to talk about his work, his new film collective, and his strong dislike for commercial cinema. It made for a fascinating interview. Geoff then introduced a new segment called "Tech File." The team then addressed the outstanding career of Sean Penn: his foibles and considerable contributions to the world of cinema.

Introducing Ross Annett and Actors who change themselves physically

• J. Ross Annett (or J. Ro) joined the Moving Images group of correspondents with a fantastic debut review/interpretation of "Cabin Fever." He evaluated the demerits (there aren't many merits) of this film in relation to Sam Raimi's classic, cult horror film "Evil Dead." Peter concurred that "Cabin Fever" is a colossal waste of film -- one of the worst horrors that he has seen in a long time. Ross was a little bit lighter in his trashing of the film, but did admit that in no way did it measure up to the "Evil Dead."
  
  
• The discussion then moved on to actors who change themselves physically. Most actors do this for recognition: point finale. Take Charlize Theron, for instance, who gained 20 pounds to play Aileen Wuernos (America's first female serial killer) in "Monster." But who could forget the master of metamorphosis: Robert De Niro. This is a man who has played a young Vito Corleone (in "Godfather, Part II"), Jake La Motta the boxer (in "Raging Bull") and Al Capone (in "The Untouchables"). Lest we forget Renée Zelwegger, who put on weight and changed her Texan accent, to play a Londoner in "Bridget Jones' Diary." Or Al Pacino who has played a gangster (in "Dick Tracy"), a blind man (in "Scent of a Woman") and various incarnations of Michael Corleone (in "Godfather, Parts I, II and III"). Overall, Chris, Peter and Geoff are thoroughly impressed with these actors, for they make an overwhelming effort to become the people they are playing. The effect tends to be astounding -- and entirely believable.

Taking to Task: Unforgiven versus the Good, the Bad and the Ugly -- which is the better film?, plus a discussion of Oscar nom shutouts and surprises

• Chris was home ill this week. Nonetheless, the Moving Images team introduced a new segment to the show called 'taking to task' -- where the show members freely debate over any given subject. Peter took Geoff to task on something rather pressing to both of them: Which is the better film -- the "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" or "Unforgiven?" In the realm of Westerns, it just doesn't get much better than the "Good, Bad…" The gritty nature of Clint Eastwood as the heroic "Man with No Name" helped to create the Western mythos we have all come to love. The plot is anchored by marvelous supporting performances by Eli Wallach and Lee Van Clief. But what about "Unforgiven?" Geoff despised the casting (Gene Hackman in a Western?). However, Peter defended "Unforgiven" as a masterful, dark meditation on the Western genre as a whole. This is how life in the Old West could have been. The Good weren't necessarily good, as we discover in Eastwood's dark anti-hero William Munny. In the end, it all boiled down to an opinion. If you would like to see a great, gritty, traditional Western, then "The Good, the Bad…" is your cup of tea. If you would like to see a marvelous interpretation of the Western with strong dramatic roots, you should choose "Unforgiven."
  
  
• The Oscars surprised just about everybody with their nominations. With all of the critical praise and box office glory for "Pirates of Carribean: the Curse of the Black Pearl," it was really refreshing to see Johnny Depp earn an Oscar nomination for his brilliant performance as Captain Jack Sparrow in that film. Equally fantastic were the nominations awarded to Charlize Theron for "Monster," Bill Murray for "Lost in Translation" and Ben Kingsley for "The House of Sand and Fog." There were some shutouts though. Peter was surprised that Scarlett Johansson didn't receive a nomination for either of her performances in "Lost in Translation" or "The Girl with the Pearl Earring." Christina Ricci also deserved a nomination for her role in "Monster." Geoffrey Rush was wonderfully menacing in "Pirates of the Carribean…,," but that didn't earn him any Oscar recognition. Phillip Seymoure Hoffman was shut out for his achingly real performance in "Owning Mahowney." On the impossible wishlist of nominees, was Robert Downey Jr. for "The Singing Detective" and Fred Willard for "A Mighty Wind" (at least they get recognition from us!).

Mann of the Hour and Sounding out Soundtracks

• Peter Mann, from the Independent Filmmakers' Cooperative of Ottawa (IFCO), dropped by the studio to talk about his involvement and experiences with the film cooperative. As a suggestion, Geoff thought it might be interesting to talk about films with distinctive soundtracks (which either add to or take away from motion pictures). Geoff, Peter and Chris all sounded off suggestions, which included everything from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (great) to "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (putrid).

Last Updated January 12th, 2004

Check it out!

Looking for a film that's worth seeing? Here are our picks as the best of 2003.

Peter's picks:

• Owning Mahoney
  
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
  
• Lost in Translation
  
• X2: X-Men United
  
• Old School
  
• A Mighty Wind
  
• Kill Bill: Volume 1
  
• Mystic River
  
• The Singing Detective
  
  

Geoff's Picks:

• A Mighty Wind
  
• The Station Agent
  
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
  
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
  
• Step into Liquid
  
• The Triplets Of Belleville
• Kill Bill: Volume 1
  
• The Singing Detective
  
• The Lord Of The Rings: Return of The King
  

Chris's picks:

• The Triplets Of Belleville
• The Lord Of The Rings: Return of The King
  
• Dreamcatcher
  
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
  
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
  
• Kill Bill: Volume 1
  
• The Singing Detective
  
• The Station Agent
  
• Step into Liquid
  
• Lost In Translation
  
  -Anime* credited as a 2003 releases:
  
• Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001)* <- Fantastic, and the soundtrack is excellent