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Movies & TV

Girls On Film

Below are a few of my favourite picks screened at the TIFF Bell Lightbox tonight for the Packaged Goods series, where aspiring filmmakers, tastemakers and moviegoers celebrated women’s talent in film.

HTC “One, Freefall”

Director: Sara Dunlop

Take your phone, get outdoors and go on an adventure. Bottom line: have fun.

Dove “Growing Up”

Director: Kathi Prosser

As a loyal advocate for Dove’s Self Esteem Fund, it’s great to see a female director furthering the brand’s vision to help girls with body image and bring an important issue to light. Girls are indeed “growing up” in a turbulent time with too much pressure on appearances and this spot thankfully continues the conversation.

“Skyscrapers” – OK Go

Director: Trish Sie

This music video could easily double as an ad for Joe Fresh or Benjamin Moore. Great colours. Great music. Great choreography.

June 13, 2012 by

Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Opens Up Shop Again

Just caught up on Mad Men‘s season five premiere and I’m excited to see what creator Matt Weiner and team have in store for fans in the next few months. Joan needs to return to the office HQ for longer than a social visit and Megan should find a job better suited for her than climbing the career ladder behind Peggy.

As insulting as it is to women, Lane Pryce’s line about the incompetency of the agency’s newest secretaries was funny: “The two of them together couldn’t operate a parking meter,” he said.

 

March 26, 2012 by

Less Than Impressed: Award Shows

Sometime after the People’s Choice broadcast and my simultaneous live tweeting session ended, I realized watching the awards show was a waste of time. I hadn’t voted in any of the categories this year. In fact, I waited until the day of to even look at the nominees list. All I knew was that this was going to be a buzz worthy televised event, so I had better watch to stay in the know.

After the credits rolled, however, my response could be summarized as indifference.

There’s usually one winner at each award show, typically a young Hollywood star, who mentions how they’d watched the show growing up and could then only dream about attending, let alone winning and now voila, here they are; it’s so incredible, they boast. I’ve let my dreams of becoming famous on the silver screen subside, with little to no expectations of ever performing or working in a role constituting its own category amongst the likes of Best Performing Actress. Entertainment PR professionals are recognized at less glamorous events, with ironically less publicity.

If it weren’t for the social component of watching the Golden Globes with a group of film-obsessed writers and fans, I wouldn’t have been much more entertained than I was the Wednesday night prior.

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January 30, 2012 by

Happy Birthday, Betty!

 

“To be able to spend a lifetime in the business you love with the people you love…it’s just marvelous.”

 

– Betty White

January 16, 2012 by

Are You There, Chelsea? I’m Not Laughing Yet.

Since the People’s Choice Awards and One Tree Hill aired back to back on Wednesday, both of which I insisted on watching live, I didn’t get a chance to watch NBC’s new sitcom Are You There, Chelsea? until today. Given that the first two of the aforementioned shows were less than satisfactory to say the least, I wondered if I’d made the right decision; maybe the sitcom would’ve brought more cheer to my otherwise lacklustre evening. However, after watching the sitcom, I can’t help but feel cynical because I didn’t even laugh once.

Whenever I occasionally watch reruns of That 70s Show, I always identify with the redhead, Laura Prepon’s character Donna, the most. I don’t remember why anymore, as I prefer watching Two and a Half Men and Seinfeld in syndication now, so I haven’t seen the retro-based comedy in a few years, but that much I know. As such, I was pleased to learn that Laura Prepon would be starring in NBC’s new mid-season show.

In September 2010 I watched Chelsea Handler’s stand up routine at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas confident that she’d make me laugh on my birthday, given her reputation as a comedian and author. Now that some of those same stories she jokingly shared over a year ago now serve as material for the NBC sitcom she produces and has a recurring role in as the protagonist’s catholic sister, I hope the show will exceed expectations, just as Chelsea did when I saw her live.

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January 14, 2012 by