10 Movies to See Before You Die

I had the most wonderful experience on Saturday night. My husband and I went to see Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz together in a double bill at The Bloor with one Mr. Edgar Wright in attendance to introduce the movies and do a Q&A. It goes without saying that it was fantastic. Not only is Mr. Wright one of the most engaging (and hilarious) speakers, but he genuinely cares about the people who came out to see him and his movies. Oh my various Gods is that refreshing.

Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are two of my favorite movies, hands down. We saw Shaun of the Dead in 2004 when a friend handed us passes and said, “This looks funny.” On the ticket it said ‘A Romantic Comedy with Zombies’. That was enough for us. We were pretty poor at the time (having only just got married) and so we were really happy just to be seeing a free movie.

We show up and just beside where we want to sit there are these seats that say ‘reserved’. A PR lady comes over and checks that we’re not sitting in the reserved seats explaining that, “These are saved for Mr. Romero.” That was when we started to realize that we might not be at your average screening. After the show up comes three people to the front, only two of which we recognized as Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and, then, only because we’d just seen the movie. The third was, of course, director Edgar Wright. What followed was one of the better Q&As I’ve ever been to (yes, ever) and we began to get a picture that these weren’t your average filmmakers. Not only do they create work that’s brilliant to watch, they have fun doing it and they really care if you like it. We were remarkably refreshed. (And then they all stayed and signed stuff after the screening – I have a ticket stub signed by all three… It’s one of my favorite things.) Oh yeah. “Mr. Romero’s” flight was delayed and he didn’t make it, but Simon and Edgar did a cameo as zombies in Land of the Dead.

It’s nice to see that little has changed. Mr. Wright came out on Saturday night to warmly and graciously greet the people of Toronto (and further, I’m sure) who came out and stood in the bitter, bitter cold to watch his movies with him. He answered all questions at the Q&A – even after the staff at The Bloor told him only two more – and, basically, wanted to make sure everyone had a good time. Introducing the both movies with the hilariously out of context keywords from imdb, I think it’s safe to say that everyone had a brilliant, not just good, time.

If you’ve read this blog even a little you know that my husband and I take something, generally made from scratch feverishly in the days before, to almost every screening we go to where there’s someone we enjoy and respect. This time was no different. Attached are pics of the cricket bat Mr. Trista made up and had signed by the gentleman himself. The only downside of the night was by our own creation: we forgot our damn camera so we have no pics or video of that evening. I do have the pic that Mr. Wright himself took of the crowd as an angry mob. We’re in the top left hand corner, just at the beginning of the blur. Spot the cricket bat.

There is, however, a silver lining: Mr. Wright is curating a series of movies every Sunday from now until the middle of April, including a Spaced marathon. Check out The Bloor’s website for it and come on out. Coverage of last night’s first set of movies Shaolin Soccer and Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky to follow shortly. Check back soon for ongoing overage of this fantastic event, but better yet, get yourself to the damn theatre!

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