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Hey Man, Nice Shot – 2012 Edition
Sometimes, I think much of what a film wants to say can be embodied in a single image. Other times, I think random individual shots stick in our brain for reasons all our own. Both of these ideas got...
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Say Good Night and Go: Ryan’s Top Five of 2012
“…I think I see a lot of lawbreakers here tonight.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want 2012 to end. It was a year where I got to spend a lot of time with moviegoing friends that I only...
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I Might (My Birthday Tradition)
It’s my birthday again. If ever there’s a day where it’s permissible to have cake for breakfast, it has to be today, right? If you’ve been around this site for a little while, you may or may not...
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Disturbia: My Fourth Annual Fall Freak-Out
This is dedicated to those of you who love scary movies: Y’all are becoming a bad influence on me. For three years running now, I’ve put out the call for horror film suggestions in an effort to grow a...
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Hey Man, Nice Shot – 2013 Edition
Today, we begin wrapping up 2013 by returning to an annual tradition here at The Matinee. It occurred to me some time ago that when you think back on a film, sometimes you think about one solitary...
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Goodbye Lovers and Friends: Ryan’s Top Five of 2013
A wise man can learn more from his enemies than a fool from his friends. Good Morning, and welcome to 2014. If you’re like me, you can’t wait for this year to get started. I don’t write that in a...
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Oh So Many Years (My Birthday Tradition)
If there’s a fresh cake in the fridge, it must be my birthday. That means it’s time for an annual birthday tradition. Someone I know once suggested that I make a list of things I want to do before my...
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At The Hundredth Meridian: Great Modern Canadian Films in Honour of Canada Day
It’s a holiday up here in The Great White North – Canada Day, where we celebrate the forming of our great country in 1867. If you’ve been around this site for more than five minutes, you’ll know full...
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All Good Things Come to an End (Reflections on TIFF 2014)
21 Thoughts on TIFF 2014 24 screenings, and I had company for 22 of them…that’s a great week of being social! I don’t think I need to set foot in another Starbucks until at least January. Never let...
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A Sky Full of Stars: Ryan’s Top Five of 2014
There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity Let’s just not turn the calendar over, okay? Let’s remain in 2014 for a great while...
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Five Years: Ten Films for The Decade at The Half
As we approach this weekend’s Oscar ceremony, we draw ever-closer to finally closing the book on 2014 at the movies. As we do that, we will likewise close the book on an entire half-decade. I know,...
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What Have You Done? (My Birthday Tradition)
All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go… It’s been a wonderful weekend in San Francisco, as I’m sure you’ve seen if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, but it’s time to end the birthday...
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Beauty Behind the Madness (Reflections on TIFF 2015)
As I ease myself back into real life allow me one last look back on my favorite eleven days of the year… 21 Thoughts on TIFF 2015 Favorites of the week; SICARIO, ANOMALISA, GIRLS LOST No bad movies...
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Hey Man, Nice Shot – 2015 Edition
Film can do so much with one incredible scene, and often just as much with one amazing line. For my money though, film is often at its most powerful when it unleashes everything into one great shot....
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Over and Done With: Ryan’s Top Five of 2015
Was it just me, or did the last twelve months feel incredibly strange at the multiplex? Studios seemed to abandon the audience for weeks at a time during certain stretches, the early part of the...
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Tracks of My Years (My Birthday Tradition)
On this day, ninety years ago, Norma Jean Mortenson was born. Fifty-two years later, well after she changed her name to Marilyn Monroe and left us mere mortals behind, I was born on the same day of...
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Unforgettable: Ryan’s Top Five of 2016
That’s about right isn’t it? Twelve months that none of us will forget about anytime soon? It’s OK, you don’t have to answer that…I’ve seen the meme being tweeted the last few weeks. All I know is...
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Walk it Back : Ryan’s Top Five of 2017
The temptation is to say that it was a terrible year. Whether it’s clinging to what didn’t go your way, or being beaten down by the bad things in the world at-large, it’s fashionable to say that 2017...
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A Seat at The Table: Ryan’s Top Five of 2018
2018 will likely go down in my memory as a year where I left a lot on the table. For all sorts of reasons, my filmgoing slowed a step. “Why” doesn’t matter, nor do any tangents about those still...
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Small Worlds: Ryan’s Top Five of 2020
Visit any art gallery in the world, and odds are good two types of pieces will be waiting for you; large format and small. The large-format are the pieces and installations that most readily wow you....
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