Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Source: Askmen.com

Joseph Gordon-Levitt was introduced to me via 'A River Runs Through It' (1992) a lovely movie directed by my all-time favourite actor Robert Redford. At the time, Joseph (Joe) was 11 years old and already had that certain gleam in his eyes and witty smile that indicated that he would have a bright future ahead.

His next major star-turn would be on the small screen in '3rd Rock from the Sun' (1996-2001) where he played an alien with John Lithgow playing his dad. Not too shabby.

The next time I would see him was in 1999s '10 Things I Hate About You', a witty and smart teen comedy based on Shakespeare's 'Taming of the Shrew'. The movie also starred Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles.

It was at this time in his career/life where Joseph decided to make only 'good movies' and subsequent movie role choices reflected this as he starred in several low-budget, critically well-received movies albeit not successful at the box office.

In 2009, '500 Days of Summer' was released. I saw it twice in the theatre and many more times on DVD. It is one of the most original films I have seen in a long time - it is a breath of fresh air. A romantic comedy told from the perspective of the guy - the dialogue and acting is superb. My friends and collegues ask me why I like it so much, for me it is a movie which is true to itself and the audience is able to recognize its honesty; as a viewer you are drawn in and never feel manipulated by the film maker and writers. If you have not yet seen it, please do so.

In 2010, Joseph hit the big time, really big, with 'Inception' another truly exceptional and original piece of film-making by Christopher Nolan (he of 'Memento', 'Batman Begins' and 'The Dark Knight'). I know that this movie will be discussed for many years and could be a course taught in film school or any school for that matter. Personally, the action sequence near the end of the movie with Joseph is one of the coolest I have seen in any movie.

It has not escaped me that seeing Joseph play these many, varied characters, at times his expression eerily resembles that of the late, great Heath Ledger. In some ways their careers have mirrored one another. Heath too, in the late 1990s after making '10 Things' decided not to get trapped in the teen comedy genre and followed up with 'The Patriot'. Their paths met on the set of '10 Things' and Joseph embarked on a career which would have seen both actors probably play opposite one another again if it had not been for Heath's untimely death in 2008.

The latest news is that Christopher Nolan is considering Joseph for the role of the Riddler in the latest installment of 'Batman' if that is indeed so, we the movie audience will be in for a terrific performance. It will be sadly ironic for me if Joseph does play the Riddler and can only imagine and dream what it would have been like to have Heath, as the Joker, and he appear together in a movie again.

To 3D or not to Three Dimensional

3D, three dimensional, films have been around since the 1950's and recently have experienced a resurgence in popularity mainly due to the critical and commercial success of James Cameron's Avatar. My first 3D motion picture was last summer's highly successful Disney-Pixar film Up which was utterly charming and went on to win the Best Animated Feature of 2009. This summer, I have seen two 3D features: Disney-Pixar's Toy Story 3 and Universal Studio's Despicable Me.

Some of the questions posed by some viewers and film critics is whether the resurgence of the 3D technology is a cash-grab by the studios, charging viewers $3 extra (in Canada) to see a movie which is also available in regular 2D format. Some say, if you do not want to pay the extra cash, go see it in regular format; the argument is whether studios are contemplating creating movies exclusively in 3D format so that the higher price can be charged. Additionally, would the movie being shown in 3D be just as good, or better, in 2D? I will only speak for Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me - the answer would be yes - these movies are just as good, or better, in 2D.

Roger Ebert has waded into this discussion with both feet and started a conversation about this subject in an article for Newsweek. Not mincing too many words, he even titled the article "Why I Hate 3D and You Should Too". I do not 'hate' 3D however I would hope that it would not be the new standard in movie making. I could not imagine "The Sound of Music" (my favourite movie) in 3D. 3D for 3D sake is a bad idea.

Summer 2010

The gravel road in front of parental home

It has been a while since my last post, one month to be exact. Time flies when you're having fun, as they say.

After a busy spring, June was anticipated to be a quiet month, however that was not the case. Thus I embarked on my vacation straight from the office and feeling a bit on edge pending certain family dynamics upon arrival. It turned out to be a nice week with my family - parents, siblings and their kids. My sister and 6 year old nephew came back with me to Vancouver and we had a lovely week together as I showed off this gorgeous city.

Stanley Park Train-Spirit Train (Summer 2010)

Vancouver and area have lots of great activities to offer visitors and literally we did not leave the Lower Mainland for the week and still did not see and do everything that is available. We are very fortunate to live here. Some of the higlights: trips to Stanley Park; a ride on the Stanley Park train; visit to the Aquarium and petting zoo; Buntzen Lake; White Pine Beach; Animal Grossology; and a Vancouver harbour tour.

My favourite place we visited is the Vancouver Aquarium. It is a very interesting place and I think my nephew would have moved in, if that was allowed. We spent nearly 5 hours there and it definitely was one of the highlights of the week.

Buntzen Lake, Belcarra Park