Prepping for the Oscars

With a week and change to go between now and the Oscars, I'm in pretty good shape for this year - I've seen eight out of the nine nominees for Best Picture, and my last one, Nebraska will be available on Video on Demand next week.

In this last week and change I've still got a few movies to go, but what I'm really excited about is the fact that here in Edmonton you can catch most of the Oscar Shorts this year while also supporting the Edmonton International Film Festival.  I was able to take advantage of the offer two years ago and absolutely loved the event as it let me see a number of films I would never have had the chance to check out before.

Although genre films don't tend to make much of an appearance in the big categories at the Oscars, this year there are actually two Science Fiction films, Gravity and Her, that are both well worth the watch and will both end up in my home video collection (although I have to say I'm nervous about how the visual grandeur of Gravity will translate from the big screen to my television).

The Walking Dead is Back!

Although I've spent a lot of my last month working my way through various films nominated for the Best Picture Oscars (8 down, 1 to go - I'm looking at you Nebraska) today marks the return of one of my current favourite television shows currently on the air.

The Walking Dead is back!

Tonight's episode had me pretty excited as it's quite (sorry, mild spoiler here) Carl-focused, which is really nice, because the story of this kid growing up in a world overrun by zombies is one of the more intriguing ones to me.

Anyway, although I'm enjoying the various Oscar-nominated films a lot (haven't found one I regret yet - also go see Gravity in theatres if it is at all possible for you to do), there is something really great about being able to look forward to some great quality television.

Genre Character of the Week: Doctor Ryan Stone

For our anniversary last month, my wife and I spent the day running various errands and then got to take in a matinee of the film Gravity.

For those unfamiliar with the premise, the story follows Dr. Ryan Stone (played amazingly by Sandra Bullock), on her first mission in space, when a freak occurrence leaves the doctor and another crew member stranded in Earth's orbit, with no obvious way home.

Although the film has some of the most amazing effects I've ever seen, and the story kept us on the edge of our seats the whole way through (my wife described the film as delivering a terrifying mix of claustrophobia and agoraphobia at the same time), what really held the whole film together was the lead character, and our genre character of the week, Doctor Ryan Stone.

Although the film is set in space, in many ways it is a pure survival story, like 127 Hours or Castaway, and as with both of those films, the power of the film definitely comes from the way the story connects you to the character.

Although I'm very sure this film is going to be added to my home collection, I can't stress enough that this movie deserves to be seen in theatres, the movie works best as an immersive experience, and although I'm not generally a fan of 3D, it was pretty darn amazing.