So, this afternoon I learned about a film, Lost and Delirious, and, fortunately, my DVD place had a copy. It's a Canadian film about three teenage girls in a boarding school, two of whom are in a relationship that ends because one of the girls can't bring herself to come out. It stars Piper Perabo as the broken-hearted Paulie, and it has a few common Canadian actors, including Graham Greene and Jackie Burroughs.

I'm not sure what I think of this movie. On the one hand, it's one of these movies that ends in death, 'cause queerfolk can't have happy endings. On the other hand, it has Ani Difranco in the soundtrack, in a really moving sequence. I'm not sure if it comes off seeming like a caution about The Threat Of Lesbianism, or what.

So I went to rent a DVD from my DVD place: a British show called State of Play. Except, instead, they gave me a film called The State Within, another British show about political intrigue between a British Ambassador to the US and the US Secretary of Defense.

So I watched it. And I kept thinking: this is filmed in Toronto. Not all of it, sure, but there was something about the city that kept making me think of Toronto. So I started hyperactively looking for clues: in one scene there was a TTC-style bus shelter with an ad for ZipCars. Another scene looked like it might have been filmed in the main lobby of the Royal York (I haven't been there in years, but the Royal York has a distinctive ceiling that I'm pretty sure I recognized). Also, Canadian actor Nigel Bennett played a key role.

I scanned the credits looking for indications of filming locations; they mentioned Canadian casting, but nothing about locations that I could see. Finally, I checked IMDb: sure enough, filmed in Toronto, Hamilton, Washington DC, Tampa, Oshawa and London, England. I don't know what it was that led me to recognized Toronto, but my instinct was spot-on.

( Talking about BSG Season 3 DVDs and Media Analysis, spoilers if you haven't seen Season 3 )

Yet one more way I know I'm not part of the main movie-going population: I just watched a DVD called Shattered, a thriller with Maria Bello, Pierce Brosnan and Gerard Butler. It's a joint UK/Canada film. And apparently, in the UK (and, I presume, Canada also), it's known as Butterfly on a Wheel (except that the version I got at the DVD place is clearly titled Shattered). To me, Butterfly on a Wheel is an infinitely better title, and I can't, for the life of me, imagine why anyone would give it a bland name like Shattered.

Last Tuesday, Sans Soleil, one of my three favourite movies of all time, was finally released on Region 1 DVD. Sans Soleil isn't for everyone (if you want plot, this isn't the movie for you), but I love love love it.

It's paired with La Jetée, the film which inspired Twelve Monkeys.

See Snowcake. Good film.

Edit: the primary criticism on Rotten Tomatoes appears to be that it has the pacing of a Canadian film. So. Take that into consideration.

I watched Ghost Rider, and my lactose intolerance has been seriously aggravated by all the cheese.

Catch and Release: 1 star. Boooooring.

Breaking and Entering: 3 stars. I really enjoy its script. The dialog between Jude Law and Robin Wright Penn is amazing stuff. I suspect that the film won't work for a lot of people, but I so enjoyed seeing a very different kind of relationship breakdown than is usually trotted out in this kind of film.

A Crude Awakening: 2 stars. The category of "Peak Oil" documentary needs to get out of 101 territory.

Land of the Blind: 2.5 stars. I enjoyed this film, while being well-aware of its flaws. It's cartoonish and over-the-top, but I enjoyed its literate script. I'm a bit suspicious of films that seem to say, as this one does, that it doesn't matter what you do to try to change the system -- every replacement system is just going to be as bad.

I watched Little Children tonight. I knew nothing about the film, and the description on the box made it sound like I'd hate it. But I watch so many DVDs, I often rent films that I question whether or not I'll enjoy.

I liked it. There were lots of little elements of the story I liked. Kate Winslet uses the 'f' word (feminist) in an approving manner (with no time given to anti-straw-feminist positions). The weird and conflicting set of emotions that we end up feeling over the character with the unhealthy interest in children. The whole sequence where the reading group discusses Madame Bovary, and the way it's interweaved with scenes of an affair between two characters.

Lots of excellent moments. I had just mentioned to the_siobhan (when she was over Wednesday night) that I expected to hate it, and although I can't say that I loved it, I'm glad to have seen it.

I think I've realized that I'm most pleasantly surprised by films I know nothing about. Some of the films that just blew me away, I knew almost nothing about before seeing: Solaris, The Hours, and Crash are ones that stand out to me. So, perhaps I just shouldn't watch any ads for any movies, ever.

I saw The Caine Mutiny last night. One of the few Bogarts that I haven't seen before.