Reviews

An unfortunate movie for all concerned. Only the eye candy is good. The plot, ambience, etc. seem to be an 'hommage' to _Heathers_ in what must be the worst possible way. One must give kudos to Vickie Brinkford (Costume Designer) in this movie, as indeed, the wardrobe was the true star.

You must first understand that Cronenberg is increasingly fascinated with the interaction between man and his creations and the nature of what is real. Given that, this and Crash are very logical steps in that progression. You can love this movie for the twists and turns and the layers upon layers. Or you can love it for the sheer joy of the beautiful cinematography. What you should not do is dismiss the gore and discomfort as gratuitous, they are the means by which you are gently repelled at the idea of so close an association with technology. It's hard to grasp the totality of the vision Cronenberg presents, that gestalt is elusive. His only weakness is the fantastic nature of his brilliance.

Branagh is at the top of his game here, his performance easily nudges out Olivier's (1944 version). In taking one of Shakepeare's least interesting plays, mainly due to its over performance, and turning it and it's accompanying cliches, into something to marvel at, Branagh creates a masterpiece. The St. Crispin's Day speech alone is worth what ever the sticker says. Branagh's Henry is complex and passionate, the sets are wonderfully minimal, Brian Blessed's Exeter seems unfazingly authentic, and the soliloquies can make your hair stand on end, what more do you want?

This is my favourite movie. Period. I suppose its having _been_ there. The punk scene in Canada has been alive and well for many happy years. Canada has been at the forefront of my favourite punk genre as well: Cuddlecore. Hey, my favourite Cuddlecore band, cub, is even on the soundtrack. I'm not sure what Bruce McDonald was smoking to get inside my brain like that, but I heartily approve.

Its the in jokes too. Coping the band's nicknames from Canada's D.O.A., the fake Canadian bands segment (of which they are one, oooh the irony!), casting chatty Street Cents alumni Benita Ha as Pipefitter's quiet clingy girlfriend and MuchMusic's Terry David Mulligan as loutish promoter "Mulligan". Brilliant.

Hugh Dillon adds more than a note of indie street cred and both he and Callum Keith Rennie shine as the Logo's two foils. This is a brilliant movie on so many levels. Bruce McDonald crafted a masterpiece.

A friend of mine recommended this movie, citing my vocal and inflective similarities with Des Howl, the movie's main character. I guess to an extent I can see that and perhaps a bit more, I'm not very sure whether or not that's flattering portrayal.

This is a pretty unique work, the only movie to which this might have more than a glancing similarity would be True Romance, not for the content or the style of filming or for the pace of dialogue (Whale Music is just so much more, well, relaxed.) But instead that they both represent modern love stories.

In general I'm a big fan of Canadian movies about music and musicians (for example I highly recommend Hard Core Logo) and this film in particular. It has an innocent charm, Des is not always the most likeably guy, but there's something about him that draws a sterling sort of empathy.