SXSW — that corporate-funded music-film-tech mega-conference in Austin, Tex. — has been raging on since Friday, and who knows what to expect? Michael Cera’s band is playing. Conan’s film is premiering. Odd Future, my personal bet for the fest’s highlight, is playing at a drive-in. Shit, the only people we'd trust to throw a party — Andrew WK and Das Racist — are, um, throwing a party. And there’s industry-related seminars, hundreds of bands and films and Hollerado’s nacho house. I leave tomorrow, fully expecting to find my new favourite band of 2011. (Note: Follow the exploits in this blog or on Twitter, via @excitement)

Still, it’s hard to find an entry point. Thankfully, we have a few a honest-to-Betsy Albertans looking out for us in the form of the  … Read More

The Jalamari Helender-directed Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale confirms what we've always suspected: That Santa Claus is a cantakerous, vengeful Yuletide goon that's been buried for centuries in mountains of Finland. (Not to mention sweet relief for those who've worn out their copies of A Peanuts Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life) Check the quasi-depraved shorts that spawned it:

Head to the Plaza tonight for a one-off 11:30 p.m. screening of Rare Exports — it's also the Calgary Underground Film Festival's Christmas bash, too — but if you miss that, it opens proper on Wednesday, December 22. Expect a full review in the December 23 edition of Fast Forward, but for now, we'll let the trailer above do that talking.

Who are we kidding, though … Read More

When was the last time you saw images like this? :

The Uptown is screening the complete, restored, two-and-a-half hour cut of Metropolis on Thursday, which evidently contains scenes not seen since the original screenings in 1927. I admit, I haven't actually seen the film. And just watching this trailer makes me feel utterly ignorant.

This being a silent film, The Uptown has also secured live music accompaniment in the form of The Alloy Orchestra:

The Alloy Orchestra is a three man musical ensemble, writing and performing live accompaniment to classic, silent films. Working with an outrageous assemblage of both traditional instruments and peculiar objects, they thrash and grind soulful music from unlikely sources … Read More

Long time, no blog! Due to a move at the beginning of the month and a few SNAFU's, I've been left without the internet. So I'm taking one of the small handfuls of opportunities I have to let you all know about a few things.

"THE HORROR: A group show of miniature die-o-ramas" will be at Bird Dog Video this Thursday from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. I imagine if you have a taste for the macabre and refreshments, then you will enjoy this.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=162527043775081

If you haven't seen it yet, Catfish is still playing at Eau Claire Market. This movie took me completely by surprise and I don't think I've seen anything as well done as this in a while. I'm still doubting the validity of their claims that the documentary is real, but that didn't stop me … Read More

Just a quick note about some fairly awesome screenings coming up at the Plaza this month, all part of the theatre's 75th anniversary month. Check out http://theplaza.ca/ for more details, but a few details to get the saliva flowing:

• Free screenings of The Big Lebowski (tonight) and Fight Club (Friday)
• 35mm prints of Rashomon, Audition, Oldboy, Brazil, Memento, Being John Malkovitch, ET, Easy Rider and more
• Probably some other screenings TBA for later in the month
• OK, I likely shouldn't have made this a bulleted list, but it seemed like a good idea at the time

Given that Lebowski is the movie that gives this blog its name, albiet indirectly, you better believe I'll be there. And you should be, too.

The Calgary International Film Fest is only a week away and the pickins look good. However, there is not enough time in the week-and-a-half to see all 200 plus movies at the festival. Though I have a feeling almost all films screening would be worth watching, I've narrowed it down to five I am genuinely interested in and do not want to miss.

Fubar 2

Why? The original Fubar really resonated with me and every Albertan teen I knew. I thought it was funny because the characters reminded me of everyone I went to school with. The kids I went to school with thought it was funny because the characters reminded them of themselves.

Now the kids I went to school with work in the oil patch, some even went to Fort McMurray, the same city where Terry and … Read More

CIFF just released its full listings and schedule, but with over 200 films screening this year, it’s hard to figure out where to begin. But, as always, we’re here to help; here are a few to watch out for.

As was expected, there is plenty Canadian and plenty of awesome here. Fubar 2 — which will premiere in a week’s time at TIFF — has the hoser-iffic duo of Terry and Dean pushing their luck in Fort McMurray (and has Terry dating a prominent local: A stripper). Then, there’s BC native’s Mike Goldblach’s feature debut, Daydream Nation, that places a wry, displaced city teen in a sleepy, perpetually-stoned small town with a rampant serial killer. Elsewhere, I Heart Doomsday, recipient of the Royal Reel Award at the Canada Film Festival, is a sci-fi romance … Read More

Thought Canadian identity was built around beer, hockey and not being American? Think again. Basketball, poutine and Arctic sovereignty? Think harder.

If you’re confused, a good place to start might be The Canadian Diaries, a series of docs presented by the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers and the National Film Board. Starting today and running until Thursday, August 26, its playlist includes a selection of Canadian cinema direct, contemporary and experimental film aimed at defining — or capturing — the ever-elusive Canadian sense of self.

Its highlights include Colin Low’s 1967 Newfoundland doc The Children of Fogo Island, The Road Taken, a documentary detailing the struggle and successes of black sleeping-car … Read More

For 82 years, the Academy Awards have purported to choose the year’s best film. For the next year, with the help of the fine folks at Casablanca Video and the Calgary Public Library, I’ll be watching one best picture winner per week, starting 52 years ago and working up to tonight’s winner. Some of the films are rightly regarded as classics. Others, decidedly less so. But each of them must have had some quality that earned it the top spot, and I’ll be trying to suss out what that is, and why it holds up — or why it deserves to be forgotten.

In the Heat of the Night (Best Picture, and four others)

“You're gonna stay here if I have to go inside and call your chief of police and have him remind you of what he told you to do. But I don't think I have to do that, you see … Read More

For 82 years, the Academy Awards have purported to choose the year’s best film. For the next year, with the help of the fine folks at Casablanca Video and the Calgary Public Library, I’ll be watching one best picture winner per week, starting 52 years ago and working up to tonight’s winner. Some of the films are rightly regarded as classics. Others, decidedly less so. But each of them must have had some quality that earned it the top spot, and I’ll be trying to suss out what that is, and why it holds up — or why it deserves to be forgotten.

A Man For All Seasons (Best Picture, Best Director and four others)

“God damn it, man! It’s disproportionate” — Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk

At its core, A Man For All Seasons is about one prolonged disagreement. King … Read More