Category Archives: Cinema, video & DVDs

Goon

Posted on July 8, 2012 by barczablog

If you were to ask a Canadian to name the best hockey film, they’d have a fairly short list to work with.  Where baseball has generated a fairly long list of films, some sentimental, some colourful, portraying various aspects of … Continue reading →

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Melancholia

Posted on March 20, 2012 by barczablog

I am watching Melancholia for the second time.  Had I been able to get tickets when it came to the Toronto International Film Festival I would have seen it on a big screen.  Even on a small screen it’s quite … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Psychology and perception, Reviews | 1 Comment

Mirror images

Posted on March 5, 2012 by barczablog

I couldn’t help noticing an odd symmetry at the Academy Awards in February 2012. Two films won equal numbers of awards (Hugo won five, as did The Artist) Both films concern the early decades of cinema One film is set … Continue reading →

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Topic of cancer

Posted on February 20, 2012 by barczablog

Spoiler alert: unavoidably I have to talk about the way some films end because that’s central to this discussion.  If you don’t want me to reveal how 50/50 ends please stop reading…Anyone still there? Having seen Dani Girl, a provocative … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Descent of Psycho

Posted on January 11, 2012 by barczablog

I don’t know very much about Charles Darwin, but have always been fascinated by the profound reverberations set off in my head by the title The Descent of Man.  I am not a naturalist.  I understood that Darwin meant “descent” … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Essays, Opera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

L’Amour de loin DVD

Posted on January 4, 2012 by barczablog

As the Canada Opera Company’s February production of Kaija Saariaho’s Love From Afar gets closer my curiosity grows.  I’ve seen several new operas in my time, both the ones that vanished, and the ones that have stayed in the repertoire. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Super 8

Posted on December 23, 2011 by barczablog

I just saw Super 8, a film with Steven Spielberg’s name on it as producer, written and directed by JJ Abrams.  While Abrams has amassed an impressive resume (as a writer, producer, director or combination thereof for Armageddon, Regarding Henry, … Continue reading →

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John & Michael: Together Again

Posted on November 23, 2011 by barczablog

[Sentimentality advisory] One of my favourite movies is the 1988 Terry Gilliam film The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (or ABM for short).  It features wonderful work from Eric Idle, an uncredited appearance by Robin Williams (“Ray de Tutto” which makes … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Tree of Life

Posted on October 19, 2011 by barczablog

At one point during class this week,we started to discuss The Tree of Life.  I asked if anyone else had seen it.  Yes, one person said, and they were not impressed. I recall last week reading a comment online from … Continue reading →

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Inside Job

Posted on October 11, 2011 by barczablog

I may sound a bit like Noam Chomsky with this one. Here it is in the simplest terms from Democrat Alan Grayson. WHY is this not being reported in the media?  i suppose the same reasons Grayson speaks of, such … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Essays | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment