I need a more clever title than "Movie Review" any suggestions?

Just got back from watching Munich, and I have to say, I was kind of worried because of the hype and the "oh you have to see it its so good" that I heard from people. Now I mean no offence to those people who told me so or will tell me again to see a movie, but there's nothing worse than seeing a movie that was reccomended by people you trust and then its not at all what you thought or hoped.

However, this is NOT the case. Munich was a very thought-provoking movie, much in the way that all truly great non-comedic movies are. In fact, you'll remember if you read my musings often enough, that I said the same thing about Syriana, which I propose would be a very powerful 1-2 punch to watch together as a commentary on the state of the world. I also think that might be emotionally and mentally overwhelming so I won't attempt it anytime soon.

I'm going to assume that most of you know what the movie is about, and if you don't, then go read a summary somewhere, like www.imdb.com or www.tribute.ca . (On a separate note, if you are a movie "fanatic" like myself, then you could spent literally days at a time on www.imdb.com - Internet Movie Database.) Fast forward, and here we go.

Eric Bana delivers the performance I've been waiting for since seeing his awesome potential first in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, and later in Troy, (although I thought his role was criminally cast aside so Brad Pitt could steal the glory and I'm not really a Pitt-hater). His ability to transform himself from a gung-ho ra-ra son of Israel into a paranoid (although is it really paranoia when its likely they ARE out to get you?) paranoid isn't the word...tormented THATS the word I'm looking for ;) So anyhow, hey conveys tormented anguish over his own actions so very well that you can almost feel the pain he feels. What is good though is that you know a great deal of his pain comes from the feeling of others' pain, from the athletes killed to those he himself kills to his family.

What this boils down to most of all for me watching him though, was how HUMAN he managed to make his character when in the midst of such inhumane atrocities. One particular scene of brutality is almost forgivable in the context of why it takes place. (see the movie and you will probably be able to guess a few like that but I mean particularly a scene on a houseboat in the Netherlands).
I could tell you with no word of a lie that Munich is worth seeing for Bana's performance alone, but what makes it even better is that he's not the only brilliant performance.
Geoffrey Rush, Ciaran Hinds, and Daniel Craig all make great appearances in the movie, bringing to it a greater depth of character and realness. This is a great cast ensembled, and in some ways an ensemble cast, but there is no doubt to the centrality of Bana's character.

Rush plays the Musshad (Israeli CIA more or less in a gross oversimplification) senior who oversees Bana's group, and does so very well. However, I was far more impressed with Hands (if you recognize him, then it would most likely be as the Russian president in the Ben Affleck installement of the Jack Ryan series The Sum of All Fears, with his performance being one of the better ones. He was also in Road to Perdition) who shines in the role of pseudo-mentor Carl to Bana's Avner. Carl is the older slightly more experienced agent who is assembled in the group of which Avner (Bana) is leader. Although he is just as lethal as the rest, it is his quiet restraint and dignity which brings some sanity to an insane existence, and it is his questioning of their mission which starts to get Avner to question things himself. I am quite excited to see him further in other projects.

This was also my first viewing experience for the new Mr. 007; Daniel Craig, the man slated as the next Bond. Not having seen much of him other than on tv reports, (I have yet to watch his Layer Cake but I hear its a decent flick, sort of a slower cousin to Lock Stock's clever kid) I wasn't sure how I felt about him. He did a very good job of convincing me I needn't worry too terribly much about Bond (but fear not I still HATE MGM/UA for firing Pierce Brosnan). Craig plays Steve, yet another member of Avner's group of 5, who at the beginning seems to be moulded around the Sean Bean character in Ronin, but luckily for us, is not nearly as easily dispatched. He is the more gung ho without being vulgar about it, and is also fiercely loyal to Avner even if he doesn't always agree. Good role for him, hopefully he can tweak that toughness with a bit of polish and make the transition to 007.

I'm feeling rambly now, so that seems to be a good place to leave it, with the parting comment that I fully agree with what I perceive to be SS's message here (Steven Spielsberg you idiots) that nothing like what happened in Munich and began will ever end in Peace...
It seems befitting this that we should end this entry with the words of a great man of peace who might have been misinterpreted by some of the characters in this movie when he said:

"Be the change that you want to see in the world"

Top 5 Records - with thanks to John Cusack

Since I promised a list of my top records etc. for the last year, well I suppose its about time to deliver it. I also figure its a nice distraction from all things political/election/crap. Kudos to Steve for being able to write intelligently about that topic without making it sound like he's on a soapbox, and actually SAYING something instead of just repeating what everyone else said.

So without any further delay, here are Gavin's TOP 5 RECORDS for the Year 2005
(I think one list of new records that came out in 2005, as well as the 5 records that meant the most in 2005, regardless of year)

NEW ALBUMS:

ok well turns out I haven't listened to most of the albums that came out last year, even if I have purchased some and they just so happen to be sitting on my "to absorb" shelf; along with books and magazines. But nonetheless, here are 3 "NEW" Albums that rocked my cashbah 'Back in '05'

1) KINGS OF LEON - Aha Shake Heartbreak

2) THE WHITE STRIPES - Get Behind Me Satan

3) DRIVE BY TRUCKERS - The Dirty South

Truth be told, technically The White Stripes was the only one that came out in 2005, but the other 2 are close enough.

Most of you will know of #2, and if you read this blog, then probably may recall #1, and note that I saw both the Kings and the Stripes this past year and loved them both. (and to me love means that i'll shell out cash again to see them play live next time around)
#3 might be an unfamiliar one to many of you, but I hold Steve to a higher standard and expect him to know the 'Truckers. But for those of you who don't, imagine If Bruce Springsteen had been from Alabama instead of Jersey and he had written songs for the offspring of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Band. That should be enough to either entice you or make you run screaming, but I beg of you to listen to this band, they are awesome.

NOT SO NEW ALBUMS THAT WERE A KEY PART OF 2005

1) Headstones - the greatest hits
This record will forever be linked with August 2005, most specifically to Bryan's bachelor party, the drive there and back, and the week leading up to his wedding, and thereafter. this cd was playing in my car nonstop from the day I bought it until pretty much the end of the month. I know Steve-o you don't really care for them, but for a Kingston boy, they've just got that something, and it brings back great memories and is now linked to even more. The run of songs from 3-9 is brilliant. But don't take my opinion for it, try it yourselves. Its also a good place for newbies to start. (yes greatest hits packages can be a pandora's box of evil and poor song selection but not in this case)

2) Johnny Cash - American IV The Man Comes Around
Yes this was the big album of mid 2003-2004, especially in the wake of Cash's death in Sept 2003 (a month of infamy for me), however I spent the first half of 2005 unable to listen to nearly anything else. Car, Stereo, at work if I could get it played sometimes, the man in black was the soundtrack for the first half of the year. Its funny how the brain works, but seeing as how Johnny Cash died 12 days before my dad, they are forever linked in my head. Aside from the everpresent and 'most brilliant cover version ever' of Hurt, there are a couple other great covers - namely: Personal Jesus & Desperado. But its the whole album that does it for me, beginning to end, so poigniant, you'd almost think he knew it would be his curtain call. Everything that can be said about it probably has, but I'll say it in my own way: this album probably did more to comfort me about the death of my father than almost anything else has, and yes that might be odd to some, but those who know me know that its most fitting. Johnny Cash is just the most HUMAN figure even when he was probably one of the most famous figures in music, and though I never knew him obviously, after listening to him, I feel like I did.

3) Johnny Cash - The Essential Johnny Cash
Yes, another Johnny Cash record, but 2005 really was my year of Cash. This Double Album Greatest hits package (yes greatest hits, but they seem to make for the best road trip music) was the soundtrack to trips to Wawa, Montreal, NY and many places in between. I needn't say more than that. If you're worried that he's "a depressing old man" then go with this to convince yourself otherwise. (Besides I happen to like the old man too) Don't worry, this is NOT Country music. Cash is far above that. Starting off at Sun Records with Sam Phillips, then its clearly not country, its more a sound all his own, equal bits country/rockabilly/folk/gospel/rock'n'roll. If you don't find yourself tapping your toe or nodding along, then you don't like music.

4) Kings of Leon - Youth & Young Manhood
I already wrote an entire blog entry about this album, so I won't rehash it. Just listen please. More "rock" music should sound like this, with actual soul and heart and sweat, not like the shite on the radio anymore.

So there you have it, do with it as you will. This year one of my resolutions (not that I make any BUT...) is to make sure to listen to all my albums and then only after that do I move onto new ones.

If you have any reccomendations to make, I'm all ears, and if you're also interested then I'm more than happy to make these albums available to you in whatever form I might.

Cheers.

Now off to enjoy the fact that its 10 degrees out in Canada in January....and SUNNY!

Better Late than Never...Adios to 2005

With apologies to J-Rod, Steve-o, and the other few who check in to read this, I begin my year in review, and I think that perhaps I'll just write one big long one instead of 3 smaller ones or so because then I know I'll actually finish them.
People like to talk about the things they did, the events they recall, the movies, music, tv etc they enjoyed in the past year, and I will too, but I'm going to start by writing about the general 'theme' of my year as a whole.

2005: Year of the Road Trip

In the year just past, I probably did more driving than I've ever done in my entire life, and I discovered a lot of things. First off, 90% of the time I love driving, the 10% I don't love is in the city or on the boring stretch of the 401 (ie most of it).
There were many little road trips but the first one I can recall would be in February, to Toronto and to visit Sage, one of my old university roommates. It just so happened to coincide with Super Bowl weekend, and it just so happened that both of us had the weekend off...sometimes things DO work out after all. Great time, saw some other folks there too, and the game wasn't half bad as well. But the little minute details aren't really that important.
Suffice it to say, driving by myself along the 401 in my car with the tunes cranked at fast speeds may be one of the most enjoyable pure experiences one can experience.
Now I don't mean pure as in the sense of clean, wholesome, Ivory Soap, I mean pure in more the Zen sense, just you and your goal, but you forget about your goal in the midst of the journey, and then you just enjoy the trip.

I came across a great quotation during my final summer spent Tripping in Algonquin Park, and though I forget who it was, it still holds a lot of power for me, and I think it becomes truer and truer for me in my own journey called life:

"There are no destinations, just journeys. Most of the interesting things happen along the way."

It really is so true, and I think the truth of it becomes even more concrete when I realise that I came across this quotation as I was living in the woods, existing as close to nature as I could; and yet, now a few years later, sitting in a car burning fossil fuels along paved ashphalt over top of nature, I find the same thing to be entirely correct. (and yes I realize it may be sacreligious for someone as "tree-huggerish" as myself to admit a love for road trips and driving, but it is true, and I do. I also use the excuse that there were no trips just for the sake of driving, each was for a more tangible reason.)

The next big road trip was the BIG one: Kingston to Wawa, Ontario - nearly 14 hrs of straight driving. And I made that trip there and back twice! The interesting part was that one trip was during the May 24 weekend, just before the opening of summer and cottage country and Ontario in general; the return trip wasn't until Labour Day weekend. I honestly found it almost unfathomable as to how different the exact same landscapes could be in just the span of over 3 months.

The purpose of these trips, as most of you who read this would know, was to drop my brother Al off at a Gold Mine where he was to do a summer position in the mine.

The scenery was fantastic, peaceful, and a nice way to see a chunk of the province I call home. I had seen most of it up to about Sudbury, and as far west as outside of Killarney, but the next section, including Sault Ste. Marie, Blind River (hometown to Angela and Neil Young's shoutout) and all places in between.

Granted that my mother was on the trip, but it was still enjoyable (yes that sounds bad but you know what I mean).

The destination was Wawa and the mine beyond, but the interesting things were: the bear grazing the highway outside Sudbury; wading into the waters of Lake Superior on a crystal clear sunny day in great sand dunes; my brother and I winning decent money in the 25cent slot machines at the Casino in the Soo, which provoked uncontrollable laughter and a lot of unappreciative stares from the northern losers who seemed pissed off that some southerners like us made a good payoff; Randomly stopping in Deep River and having lunch at the Laurentian Dairy with Jeremy Sage and his brother Graham, which actually ended up fortuitously that I got to see him as he left for 4 months to South Africa and beyond, not to see him again until ironically, he made a return road trip to Kingston with his other brothers; finding out just how far your car can go when the warning light for low fuel goes on (acutal distance, probably 15km or so, thank god for the Bates Motel clone on HWY 17).

Wawa itself was possibly the dullest place on the planet, as I remarked one night while there: now I know why everyone up north just drinks and fucks all the time, theres NOTHING else to do! Although the Columbia Restaurant in Wawa made the BEST pizza I have ever eaten in my life, so some good did come of it.

The next big road trip was right around my birthday, when Bryan and I went to the Adirondack mountains in New York for 3 days. That was a fun one too, and I discovered that McGriddle Cakes, while highly enjoyable, may probably have shortened my lifespan by a decade or so with the grease and other lovely additives. (But i'd so eat it again)

On that trip I also discovered that the human stomach can expand to nearly twice its size; all you need to do is realize that all your food won't fit in a bearproof cannister, and then have the ranger tell you there were bears all over the night before you got there, and well...between 2 guys you can eat a HELL of a lot of food to make sure the cannister can shut. :)

Another good trip, fun driving thru the backroads of ny state, except a little more worrisome when you dont' recognize the landmarks on your drive back...

The other fun: stopping at Grocery stores for specific requests for Funions from your girlfriend and not finding it til the last gas station you stop at, where it sits right next to the stack of Pabst Blue Ribbon...now tell me THAT doesn't encourage drinking and driving when you can buy beers at the gas station.

Next one counting down was another solo trip to TO to go to the Kings of Leon concert with Steve, who even mentioned it as the concert he most forgets he went to in 2005...thanks Steve, I love you too ;) That was the trip where I cranked their first album (the same one I raved about in an earlier entry) the entire drive with the windows down, and where it was so hot in Toronto, I actually thought I might die downtown. Not every day you feel overdressed in flipflops, board shorts and a tshirt.

At some point on that drive to Steve's house (which by the way, he gave the most straightforward set of directions anyone of my own generation has ever given me -kudos Mr. Johns), with the sun beating down, the wind whipping thru the hair, the volume cranked, me rocking out at 140km/hr, I felt completely satiated. It was a feeling I would relive a couple more times before the end of the year, also in the car, and the other times I can't tell you about it would be rude ;) (Jigga thats for you).

A week later, and the same drive to toronto, but this time with Bryan, to pick up our best bud Dawson and then turning around to drive BACK to north of Sterling for Bryan's Bachelor Party/Corn & Pig Roast...yes it was that Hicky, I swear. We even rolled an ATV.

That weekend we discovered that it really is disgusting when the wind created by the Subway going by seems like a cool fresh breeze...if that spells relief for you here's a hint: MOVE!

I also discovered that drinking without a shirt or any footwear on can be hazardous to your health, if not your entire body surface.

Also realised that Fireball Whiskey was invented by Satan, and his servant on Earth is none other than Dawson Bridger.

On top of that, you should NOT drink beer from a Keg, Homemade Wine, Champagne, corn on the cob, 3 racks of ribs and then smoke a joint.

But you can, and it won't kill you, only want to make u want to curl up into a ball and not move.

That was the worst return trip of the summer by far, neither Bryan or I was barely able to remain conscious, so Coca Cola fuelled us from Belleville home.

September would prove to be the last real road trip month of the year, with the aforementioned return trip to Wawa, 2 trips to montreal and one to Ottawa.

on a Friday in September, Steph and I joined, albeit breifly, Steve-o's travelling Pearl Jam circus in Ontario. I considered this a minor miracle that she agreed to go, and the bigger miracle was that we made it to the Corel Centre during some of the most torrential rains I've ever seen, and didn't die; nor did we miss more than a few songs of the opening set by Sleater-Kinney. To say nosebleed section would be misleading; we were so high up I thought we were in orbit. But I have to say Steve looks mighty funny waving from the floor like an idiot just so I could identify him whist we were yelling into the phones between music.

Steph also enjoyed the show which was a huge bonus, b/c I felt sorta like I was dragging her there, but she admittedly knew almost 1/2 the PJ we heard so that was great.

It was my fave PJ, but thats only cause I've only seen 2 shows...next time Steve, I promise I'll do back-to-back with you. Soo much rain that night.

The very next day, I was unable to secure a date for the White Stripes concert in Montreal, so rather than waste 2 perfectly good tickets, I drove myself the whole way and arrived there a good 3 hrs before the show, parked under the bell centre, and managed to get 20$ for a ticket I paid closer to 50$ for from a scalper, but it beat 0$ and 0 cents.

This was the first concert I had ever attended by myself, and although I was kinda dissapointed about it, after waiting for an hr in the rain in just a tshirt and jeans, I ended up in the very front row on the floor right up against the guard rail for the whole shebang.

The show rocked, and I dont' think I would have been THAT close if I'd found anyone else to go with me. I also managed to not get killed by Quebec drivers and made it home that night on a combo of Adrenaline, the 5 White Stripes albums, open windows and far too many redbulls to the point of hallucination just outside of Gananoque.

I reccomend everyone try that at least once in their lives. :)

The very next week I made a return visit to Montreal, this time to drop my mother at the airport for her trip to and cruise of Europe. As much as I love driving, I don't love being on the highway at 345am. However the sunrise nearly made up for it, as did the fact that I then enjoyed 2 weeks of the house to myself.

That drive back was nice as I ended up taking the 1000 Islands Parkway right alongside the St Lawrence River on a sunny warm fall day. (on a sidenote, that is what I was doing the morning before the "riot" on Aberdeen)

That brings to an end my summer of roadtrips, and my recollections thereof.

In summation, a few lessons I've learned and will pass on to you:

1 - Red Bull could probably be used to ressurect the recently dead

2 - Johnny Cash is without a doubt the best driving music for any road trip any where with anyone, under any circumstances, you just can't go wrong

3 - Turn all music up to 11

4 - There really aren't a lot of cops patrolling our country's highways

5 - gas is an expensive bitch

6 - The destination really don't matter, it is the getting there you'll remember

7 - I'm taking reservations for next summer's road trip season

Happy New year to everyone and enjoy whatever journey you're on.

PS. Yes I'll do a top 5 list of movies.music etc, but not now my fingers hurt.