Hell High

Came across the rare slasher flick 'Hell High' (1989) in a bargain bin and had to pick it up.
It actually is not as cheesy or poorly made as I expected. It is kind of like a watered down, 'I Spit On Your Grave' for the teenage market- but with a sense of humor. Worth seeing for some suspense, good, cheap sounding 80s music and a few interesting deaths. One death involves a No.2 pencil to the head, shot in a 'Requiem For a Dream,' camera rig strapped to the actor way and another one involves a rock to the face that reminded me of the fire extinguisher to the face scene in 'Irreversible.'
Random (tragic) note- one of the lead actors who shows some promise in 'Hell High,' Christopher Stryker (sounds like a gay porn name), died of AIDS and never made another film.



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A tourist in my own city

I've been playing tourist in my own city for the past 2 days, wandering around alone.

Yesterday I was unfortunate enough to walk into an impromptu protest in support of the Tamil Tigers. They appeared to hijack 2 lanes of Yonge street, blocking traffic at the busy intersection across from Dundas square (outside an H&M, ha). I am all for people utilizing their right to free speech, but impeding the functions of a major city and putting people at risk is crossing a line. Enough already! The cops need to stand up and take some action. I wish I had some tear gas to spray into the crowd. The majority of protesters also seemed to be teenagers and I don't agree with kids jumping on the political protest bandwagon because it seems cool or because they might get on TV.

Here are some pics I took:

Today I finally ventured into the new Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and checked out the 'Surreal Things' exhibit. Overall, I was underwhelmed but there are a few nice pieces like:

- Meret Oppenheim's 'Table with Bird's Feet,' 1939

- Salvador Dali's 'Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach,' 1938

- and most impressive to me, a small collection of beautiful jewelery by Dali including this (who knew Dali was also a jeweler?):

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Gommora

Though hesitant due to the 'Martin Scorsese Presents' stamp, I just got back from seeing the Cannes award winner 'Gommora.'

It is an unflinching, documentary style glimpse into the lives of Italians tainted by organized crime. Unfortunately, while weaving 5 story lines, the film never scrapes beneath the surface of the characters' lives, therefore never allowing the audience to emotionally engage with anyone. Instead, the film works like a portrait of a corrupt system built on and perpetuated by violence and greed. The performances are good and there are some stand out moments (the very last scene and a scene where a character finally takes a stand against the system), but at times I found my mind wandering. The violence in the film is very effective as it is played coldly and flatly, not theatrical or grandiose, and always catches you off guard, occurring at the most unexpected moments.

Random note- it is funny to hear 90s Enigma playing in a sleazy strip club.

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Tattoo

I got a tattoo:



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M83 - "we own the sky"

Check out my entry for the M83 music video competition for their track "We own the sky":



Unfortunately I didn't win. But I was a runner up.

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Autograph

Watching some TMZ got me thinking about the cult of celebrity and how we all fall into its trap, despite our best attempts at maintaining pride and dignity.
Though not an autograph hound, I have a few.
Here are some.

- Gaspar Noe, filmmaker

- Daniel Allex Cox, Writer

- David Cronenberg, filmmaker

- Bret Easton Ellis, writer

- Jared Leto, Actor/wannabe musician (apparently signs his name like Prince, just a symbol)

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How about we start again

This is me.
I'm starting over on here.

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