2009 Gitton Père & Fils Chantalouettes Pouilly-Fumé

Celebrating my successful completion of the WSET Level 2 Intermediate Certificate in Wines and Spirits, which I took in the fall from Lynn Coulthard of Fine Vintage Limited.

Clear, pale lemon-gold appearance. Medium intensity citrus-floral nose. Dry, high acidity, medium body; mineral, lemon, and woody qualities in the mouth. Intense, austere, definitely enjoyable. Good length. 12% alcohol. $40 at Liberty Wine Merchants. See Gitton Père & Fils.

Movies 2010

Here’s a list of the movies I saw this year, categorized by rating. It was a pretty good year; I plan to keep this up and do a post at the end of 2011 as I find it easy to forget the films I’ve seen.

★★★★ – Best movies I saw this year

  • I Am Love (Luca Guadagnino, director): Sublime. I often pair this with The Secret In Their Eyes from last year as movies I strongly recommend. Great acting, great story, humanity. Just see it.
  • Incendies (Denis Villeneuve, director) – The best Canadian film I can remember seeing in ages. (VIFF)
  • Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950): Saw this in the theatre for the first time this year. One of the greats.
  • The Social Network (David Fincher, director) – A rare movie with smart dialog that moves at a clip that doesn’t pander to an (imagined) lowest common denominator. Oddly inspiring.

★★★½ – Definitely worth seeing

  • Aftershock – Surprisingly affecting movie based around the Tangshan earthquake of 1976. (VIFF)
  • Cannot Live Without You – Happened upon this Taiwanese film when looking for something to see one night. Probably hard to find, but worthwhile searching out.
  • The Duel – This was almost a four-star movie for me. Very well done. Read the Chekhov short story first. (VIFF)
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Lots of fun. Some of it disturbing.
  • The Hurt Locker – Not as brilliant as some would have you believe. The bravado of the ending really rubbed me the wrong way (perhaps it was the music).
  • Jack Goes Boating – Philip Seymour Hoffman stars and, for the first time, directs. Very human movie with a great ensemble.
  • The Kids Are All Right – If you can avoid debating the politics and how realistic it really is, and just enjoy it, it’s great.
  • Mother – Emotionally harrowing South Korean film.
  • Please Give – Rare to see such a simple, human movie. Great performances, and good to see women as the main characters.
  • Rabbit Hole – Generally underrated, it seems. Insight into loss and recovery.
  • Restrepo – More than anything else, as if we needed more convincing, a reminder of the futility of the Afghanistan campaign.
  • A Solitary Man – Seemingly underrated; I didn’t hear a lot about this film. Good work from Michael Douglas.
  • True Grit – Can’t go wrong with the Coen Brothers. Good Western romp.
  • Un Prophète – Harrowing and very well done.
  • Winter’s Bone – Close to four stars; the main character is brilliantly played but it’s debatable how realistic her character is.

★★★ – If you’re bored and you’ve seen the above, rent these

  • Date Night – Funny enough but ultimately pretty lightweight.
  • Exit Through the Gift Shop – Mostly diverting. Docked half a star for trying too hard to be hip.
  • Get Low – Fell surprisingly flat to me.
  • Ghost Writer – Not bad, but didn’t stay with me.
  • The Girl Who Played With Fire – Just not as compelling as the original. I didn’t bother to see the third instalment.
  • Green Zone – Superseded by Restrepo, perhaps, but not as bad as some made it out to be.
  • Greenberg – Lightweight fun.
  • Inception – Everyone says I should see this again. Until I do, it lingers as a letdown. Not nearly as convoluted as advertised (or as Nolan’s Memento). I suspect people who feel the same way I do about this movie would enjoy Primer; perhaps the press that Inception got will help Shane Carruth fund A Topiary.
  • Never Let Me Go – Not as bad as some reviews would have it, but oddly not as affecting as it could have been, or very nearly was.

★★ – Please promise me you won’t see these even if you’re curious

  • Splice – What on earth went wrong here? I still haven’t quite decided, but the whole thing wasn’t just silly in the end, it was oddly stiff.
  • Tron: Legacy – Boring, with cringe-inducing dialog. I didn’t even notice the 3D, given the rest. Easily the worst film I saw all year. Luckily Jeff Bridges got to redeem himself the next week in True Grit (see above).