The Aeronauts (2019)

For a movie that is largely about two people taking a balloon ride, there is a surprising amount of energy, suspense and spectacle, some of which, some may find a bit too silly.  The movie has also generated a fair bit of debate over its liberal fictionalization.  But if one can look past all of that, there is a lot to enjoy.  The movie looks gorgeous, and the chemistry between Felicity Jones’ daredevil balloonist and Eddie Redmayne’s stubborn meteorologist is terrific.

Here is a link to the trailer.

Adopt A Highway (2019)

This movie is written and  directed by Logan Marshall-Green, making his debut behind the camera.  There isn’t much of a story: we get to follow an ex-convict (superbly played by Ethan Hawke), as he adjusts to life outside prison, having spent over twenty years inside.  The changes that he faces, notably related to technology, are significant.  Added to that, his social skills have been impaired: he has become institutionalized.  The movie gets us to see him go through a few different challenges and experiences.

Make of that, what you will, this movie is anything but downbeat.  In fact, the central theme is one of second chances, of optimism, and of having faith.  And through what may be appear to be a meandering narrative, the movie encourages viewers to have faith that it will all lead somewhere: someplace good.  Along the way, there is Hawke’s mesmerizing performance to savour.

I would recommend watching this movie without knowing anything other than what I have mentioned above, not even the IMDb description. 

Brittany Runs A Marathon (2019)

As the title suggests, this is a movie about a character named Brittany who decides to run a marathon.  But this is hardly a movie about running.  This is a comedy of manners centred on a slacker, trying to get her life in order.  It’s a well-crafted, feel-good movie that mixes wit and humour with a fair bit of emotional depth.  Jillian Bell gives a captivating performance in the lead role.

Here’s a link to the trailer.

Burger King- Secret

Burger King UK topped off a great year with this audacious revelation.

A Very English Scandal

This 2018 mini-series dramatizes the real-life story of British politician, Jeremy Thorpe, who in 1979, was charged with hiring a hitman to kill his ex-lover.  The story itself is bizarre, incredible and fascinating.  The mini-series, directed by Stephen Frears, is elevated by a sharp script, and superb performances by Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw.

Here’s a link to a trailer.

Trump Out-of-Office Email Generator

It’s being pitched as an out-of-office email generator that “helps get Trump out of office”.  More accurately, while it tells people that you’re out of office, it also tells them that Donald Trump deserves to be ‘out of office’ as well.  Here are a couple of samples that I generated:

I’m out of office, but Trump should be too.

The Senate won’t do it. And since none of us can pay for Russian hacking talent, let’s do this the legal way: with our votes in 2020.

Register to vote and get your own Get Him OOO reply here: https://www.gethimoutofofficereplies.com/
  
I will be back in office Jan 2.

I may be out of office. But a certain someone isn’t.

The impeachment was fun. But in November 2020, we can finally get rid of this “very, very smart guy” who “everybody loves” who has “done more than perhaps any president” for good. Our loss!

Register to vote and get your own Get Him OOO reply here: https://www.gethimoutofofficereplies.com/
  
I will be back in office Jan 2.

LOTR Casting Call

Casting agents for the upcoming Lord of the Rings TV show are in desperate need of extras to play orcs and want toothless, heavily-wrinkled and hairy people to apply.

Link to full report.

Taking The Floor

This is an 8 minute short film that was first screened in the 2017 film festival in Tampere, Finland.  It is an edited version of an actual Tampere city council meeting where a proposal to construct a tramway was discussed.  It recently resurfaced on social media after Sanna Marin’s appointment as Finnish PM.  She was the chairperson of Tampere city council at the time of that meeting, and features prominently in the film.  In some quarters, the film was cited as an example of her management capabilities.  However, what particularly stood out for me (as well as the makers of the film, I guess) are the comments of councillors who opposed the construction of the tramway.  Here’s a selection:

Injuries caused by bus wheels are always less severe than those caused by tram wheels.

The tram cannot dodge a suddenly appearing pedestrian, child, cyclist or a car.

The whole main street will be turned into a never-ending tram.

When the tracks wear out they need to be maintained.  This will release heavy metals.

Trams are undetectable because of their coloring.

There are also some general, but equally priceless comments.

I have already made up my mind.  Don’t confuse me with facts or reason.

I have personally visited Wall Street and they have a big bull with huge testicles that you should grab for wealth.

Too Old To Die Young

This may sound clichéd, but this arthouse crime drama is  probably unlike anything available on any streaming service.  Personally, I was mesmerized.  But this is definitely not for most viewers.  In fact, one reviewer suggested that for anyone who’s never had a taste for director Nicolas Winding Refn’s previous work, watching it “would basically be self-inflicted torture”.

This is a 13 hour long, glacially paced, stylistic extravagance with a plot that could have easily been condensed into a couple of hours of screen time, maybe less.  Instead, it is stretched across long takes and tracking shots intending to show you every little detail that can be shown, with characters taking forever to say what they want to say.  To add to that, there are a plethora of sub-plots leading nowhere.  What’s more, the main narrative abruptly ends around the 10 hour mark or so and then shifts into something altogether surreal.

This is how one reviewer described it:

…the story begins near the middle and never actually resolves itself, and things we stew on for hours at a time ultimately don’t matter. The plot is one of revenge but the narrative is more concerned with proselytizing about where society is headed, or something. Refn is much more interested in color, texture, noise, and silence than in words or motivations or reasoning. Any meaning you take from Too Old is probably subtext, and probably not all that meaningful. But man is it fun to look at.

And lest I forget, it is also very violent.  In the words of another reviewer:

Most of these characters are killers or leaders of killers. Most of these killers kill other killers. Most of those killed killers are men. Most of those killed killer men are men who deserve to be killed. Most men, in the end, are killed. (There’s a lot of killing.)

At its most coherent, the series might be deconstructed as a kind of cathartic #MeToo revenge thriller where rapists, perverts, Nazis, and certain political leader stand-ins, are mercilessly knifed, choked, and shot in the penises. And at its least coherent it’s … well, it’s basically the same thing: rapists, nazis, knives, guns, penises, etc. There’s also a lot of talk about a coming apocalypse. And scenes involving whips — in all their uses.

The reviewer goes on to say:

Yet, for the extraordinary amount of violence, we never get to see the apocalypse, and most of the series stands still and silent. We wait.

It’s all fantastically boring and boldly fascinating in equal measure.

Here’s a link to the trailer.

Furious Fur: Wild Savings Event

For a promotion on the heels of Black Friday, these posters at Toronto-based faux fur company, Furious Fur, may seem like it’s just another sale… until you look closer.

The Report (2019)

The title of this movie refers to the report compiled by the US Senate Intelligence Committee on the use of torture (“enhanced interrogation techniques”) on detainees in CIA custody as part of the “War on Terror”.  The movie tells the astonishing story of how this incredible and disturbing report came about, and how it almost never saw the light of day.

While the key aspects of the so-called “torture program” are widely known, there is a lot of stuff that is a lot less known.  The movie does a splendid job of shining light on some of these aspects.  For instance, the shockingly flimsy “research” that led to the use of techniques such as waterboarding.  The movie also presents in some detail, the scary way in which some in the CIA tried to discredit the lead investigator behind the report.  Along the way, it gives you other facts to think about.  Consider this: in preparing the report, the investigative team reviewed more than 6 million pages of documents, emails, and cables.

But this isn’t just an important movie: it is powerful, gripping and thrilling.  That is all the more remarkable given that the material is inherently uncinematic.  In large part, credit is due to the manner in which the narrative is presented as well as the solid performances from the star-studded cast, especially Adam Driver, who gives a powerhouse turn as the lead investigator.

Here’s a link to a trailer.

Here’s a link to a companion video that highlights some statistics related to the report.

Here’s a link to a well-researched piece that examines the factual accuracy of the movie.

Man Paid Millions for Farts that Kill Mosquitoes

From a news report from Nigeria:

Joe Rwamirama from Kampala, Uganda is cashing in on his unique and deadly farts that kill mosquitoes instantly.

Two big mosquito repellent companies are paying Joe millions to study his farts so they can convert them into a mosquito repellent product. Joe’s good fart can drop all flying insects not bigger than mosquitoes dead within a 6-meter radius.

Even as a small child growing up in a village in Uganda Joe’s farts were known and appreciated to a point where the local chief always took in young Joe and live with him during malaria seasons. No one near Joe had ever caught Malaria, Joe himself had no idea how a mosquito bite feels like.

Skywatch

This is a great looking, 10 minute short film, a proof of concept for a feature-length sci-fi thriller. 

From writer/ director Colin Levy’s website:

When two outcast teens hack into a ubiquitous drone delivery system to pull a prank on their neighbor, they accidentally crash-land a dangerous prototype – and find themselves entangled in a life-and-death conspiracy.

The short has been six years in the making, funded via Kickstarter, and crafted by volunteering artists with Hollywood standards.

While we hope the short stands alone as a fun and gripping piece of entertainment, this project is intended as a proof of concept for a mid-budget live-action feature. Our goal is to build a world, set a tone, and introduce characters that could form the foundation of a compelling feature film.

Alternative link

SmartWax for Clean Oceans

SmartWax is an open-source surf wax formula developed by Clean Ocean Foundation Australia that claims to reverse the damage carbon emissions have caused to our oceans.  In their words:

The innovative formula contains a natural substance capable of neutralising the harmful acids found in the ocean. Studies have shown, the key to making a noticeable change is to micro dose the ocean gradually over time to avoid throwing off its natural balance. This makes surfers the perfect group to administer the solution. With over 35 million active surfers worldwide, the effectiveness of these micro doses increases significantly, we could potentially convert 112 million litres of acidic sea water per day.

But here’s something interesting.  A set of surf wax with SmartWax formula were formed into the faces of leaders who deny climate change - such as Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro. They were sent to key wax producers to encourage them to apply the formula. The message: to not be like the biggest climate change deniers who refuse to act.

Here’s a link to the promotional video.

Trump’s Toilet Claims and More

While the media has been highlighting selected excerpts of what President Trump said, to fully appreciate how bizarre his rambling was, I suggest checking out the complete video of him talking. 

For those who’d like some context and commentary, here’s a link to Anderson Cooper’s take.

Slogans for Change

To coincide with the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid, a local creative agency, Marzo, released this video with an inspired message compiled entirely from advertising slogans.

Burger King- Political Whopper

For those who don’t follow British politics, this brilliantly conceived ad takes a dig at a Brexit referendum ‘whopper’: bus posters by the Boris Johnson-backed ‘Leave’ camp that falsely claimed that leaving the EU would save £350m a week which could be spent on the NHS. 

A Burger King spokesman was quoted as saying:

As the Home of the Whopper, we felt that if anyone has the right to stick whoppers on the side of a bus, it’s us.

Habito- Mortgage Kama Sutra

A one-of-a-kind print campaign from UK mortgage broker, Habito.  It is a play on words and illustrations to create “a light-hearted and adult-only take on the financial terms that often cause anxiety during the mortgage application process.”  As the company explained it:

…our research found that people’s sex lives can suffer when they face mortgage application anxiety. One in ten couples surveyed, equating to nearly half a million Britons, admitted that getting a new mortgage stressed them out so much that they weren’t intimate with their partner during the entire process, while one in 20 confessed it caused them to sleep in separate rooms. We’re here to make mortgages easier — so people can get on with the fun stuff.

Telenet- .comdom app

As explained by a reviewer, this app “provides extra protection if you are in the habit of texting saucy photos of yourself to contacts.” 

Here’s a link to the promotional video that tries to make its point a bit less directly.

Notably, the above reviewer also mentions this:

The app is available via www.comdom.be and the Apple Store, not via Google Play, because the company doesn’t want to encourage sexting.

Top Boy (Seasons 1-3)

It’s arguably the most important British crime drama of the decade. It’s not just important, though, it’s deep and rich and full of life – good and bad – and a searing indictment of modern Britain.

The Killing Times

Top Boy started off as a 4 hour series in 2011 that on one hand, was about power plays by small time, but ambitious, drug dealers, while on the other, was about ordinary people, whose lives are impacted by the drugs trade.  It mixed stark realism and social commentary, and presented characters that were believable, and had real depth.  The response was good enough for the show to be renewed in 2013, to further the story of the original characters, over another 4 hours.  But though that was equally well made, and left the possibility for more to follow, there was no further renewal.  That seemed to be the end of things.  Until Netflix picked it up.

It caught the attention of Canadian rapper Drake who convinced Netflix to get the original creative team on board and revive the series. The result:  this year, a 10 hour third season, that takes the story of the two main characters forward, was released.  It is one of the best crime dramas that I have seen this year (if not the best).  Like the first two seasons, it is gritty, more brutal, and, despite its longer running time, it is relentlessly gripping. 

A note of caution: the listing of the series on Netflix is pretty confusing.  For reasons best known to them, Netflix has rebranded the first two seasons as Top Boy: Summerhouse, Seasons 1 & 2.  The third season is branded as a Netflix original and is listed as Top Boy, Season 1.

Here’s a link to the trailer of the third season.