Do They All Die?: “Bon Cop Bad Cop”
July 27, 2007
Salut de Québec!
This writer is presently on a five-week program attempting to learn French in La Belle Province. Part of this program is the cultural experience, which for me amounts to the consumption of poutine - french fries with cheese curds and gravy - and Unibroue and Boréale beer. (How jealous are you, TC? Editor’s Note: Very jealous, Andy. Do you know how much Unibroue costs down here?) However, the animateurs - those in charge of giving us things to do and making sure we speak only French - program Québecois films for our viewing pleasure and cultural benefit. Last night, they screened us a brilliant Canadian picture called Bon Cop Bad Cop. I pray the reader will forgive any factual inaccuracies as a result of my inability to understand all of the film, being that it was screened in French with French subtitles. The film is generically predictable: an action comedy cop-buddy movie in the Lethal Weapon/Beverly Hills Cop vein. As a result, the film is a fun ride with plenty of action and great dialogue and a pretty sweet sex scene.
But beyond that, this film is about the fragile Canadian identity and the tension between French and English Canada. It begins with a killing and a body found perched on a sign. The sign reads “Welcome to Ontario” on the east side and “Bienvenue au Québec” on the side facing west. Instead of calling in the federal police, two provincial cops, one from Toronto and the other from Montréal, partner up to solve the case. What follows is a commentary on creeping Americanization, hockey, and what it means to be Canadian.
Do They All Die?: “The Elephant Man”
June 15, 2007
TC is cracking the whip now that he’s decided to blog again. This is all well and good except back at the ranch, my mother is also cracking the whip. From when my eyes open at 8:00 AM, there are a thousand things to do and none of them feature me at a computer writing about a movie (it goes without saying that none of these thousand things are me sitting at a television watching said movie). So I’ve been conforming to my mother’s demands all day and now I yield to TC’s. I was born free and am everywhere in chains. [Edit. Note: For all his whining, young Master Andrew has, in fact, skipped the last three of his "weekly" columns with barely a peep from me.]
As is so often the case, Rousseau has provided us with a handy transition to this week’s film: David Lynch’s The Elephant Man (1980). After the break, we’ll talk about David Lynch and the Industrial Revolution.
Mina Shum’s Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity (2002) may have been the film that got Sandra Oh cast in Sideways which may have been the role that got her cast on Grey’s Anatomy which may very well be the reason that her face is plastered on the Earth. I was reading one of these many articles on Oh that mentioned a DVD I was given ages ago but never got around to watching, Shum’s film. So I decided to check it out and see what this film was all about, besides Sandra Oh. Turns out it’s a modern day fairy tale that is really interesting and well worth serious consideration.
Dito Montiel’s A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006) is serious stuff. I watched it last Wednesday to write this piece and it’s been turning around in my brain ever since. It’s now Friday morning and my piece should be up by now. So I’m just going to share some thoughts. It will be none too structured and I ask your forgiveness in advance. After you click, we’ll discuss the plot, the editing, and then we’ll take on the title.
Do They All Die?: “Death of a President”
May 4, 2007
Gabriel Range’s “Death of a President” premiered amidst heavy controversy at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2006. When you consider the plot, it’s pretty easy to see why. The film is astoundingly multi-leveled and multi-modal: a fictional narrative about the events following the assassination of President George W. Bush in October 2007 done as a documentary a year after it “happened,” all within the overarching framework of a mockumentary/shockumentary, since October 2007 has not happened and George Bush has not been assassinated nor will he be, insh’allah, as they say [insh'allah is Arabic for "God willing"]. Politicians across the American political spectrum roundly condemned the film, though it is unclear if they ever saw the film, when one considers that their comments were irrelevant and that the film couldn’t get distributed in any mainstream theatre.
The film’s modal confusion leaves us with the answer to our question (President George W. Bush dies) but little else. The film refuses to make truth claims and questions our capacity to know any kind of absolute truth in the American political climate minutely covered by 24-hour network news. More on this ambitious picture after you click.
Do They All Die?: “Philadelphia”
April 27, 2007
[Editor's Note: We've just added "Do They All Die?" to the sidebar so, please, check out all our past columns in the series. We can't believe we haven't done this already.]
Here at Mr. Thursday, we really love Philadelphia and are proud to come from this great city. It’s the cradle of American liberalism, the birthplace of America (for better or for worse), the city of brotherly love, and the home of Rocky Balboa and the mighty Phightin’ Phillies. What’s not to love, right? We at Mr. Thursday are less sure, however, about Jonathan Demme’s 1993 film of the same name, the follow-up to Silence of the Lambs. Don’t get us wrong, we think it’s well acted and arresting. We also think it’s beautifully shot and a visual tribute to the great city it’s set in. But there are some ideological contradictions that we’re not sure what to make of. What follows is a cursory survey of some of the conflicting messages in the film, condensed from a paper I wrote, the last non-exam I’ll ever write in my undergraduate degree.
This Week in Football: Watford Are Down
April 23, 2007
Robbie Keane celebrates a goal in the Spurs 2-2 tie with Arsenal. (Image)
It was a weekend of highs and lows over there in Great Britain. Lots at the top, lots at the bottom, and, oh yeah, Celtic are Scottish Premier League champs. Didn’t see that coming. We at Mr. Thursday extend our congratulations to the Ol’ Bhoys.
Firstly, Watford’s draw with Manchester City saw them officially relegated to the Championship after only one year in the top flight. Aidy Boothroyd’s battling Hornets can be very proud of their season that saw a lot of bum luck. A lot of games should’ve been won, only for their opponent to score a late equalizer and force them to do with a draw. We at Mr. Thursday offer our commiserations and eagerly await the arrival of the Yellow Army back in the big time, hopefully sooner rather than later. Family friendly team with a great bunch of supporters, a great manager, and players who really care.
Do They All Die?: “The Strawberry Statement”
April 20, 2007
It seems that the 1960s was a contentious decade, then and now. You’ve got hippie types who long for it and you’ve got uber-conservative types who think that it was the beginning of the downfall of America. But there’s this movement now that kind of brings together the revolutionary and establishment factions of the 60s: The Bobo. Bobo is short for Bourgeois Bohemian, a new type of yuppie, first coined in David Brooks’ 2000 book, Bobos in Paradise. These yuppies represent the intersection of 1960s idealism and Reaganite self-interest. Brooks thinks that Bobos are a new phenomenon as of the 90s, but there seems to be a precedent for them in the “youthpix” or youth rebellion movies of the late 1960s. These films, produced by the capitalist establishment, attempted to show youth rebellion but many say they also undermined it. Consider The Strawberry Statement (1970).
