There are few things as boring as being bored. Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said life is a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves, but sometimes it happens.
When the shroud of boredom descends, you develop the attention span of a gnat, time moves backwards and it feels like your natural curiosity packed up and moved to a different town.
Being bored is the opposite of fun, so I made a list of supercharged movies to help you fire up the neurons, tweak the imagination and drop kick boredom into the next century.
1. "Run Lola Run" sees small-time Berlin criminal Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) and his girlfriend Lola (Franka Potente) race against the clock, and time itself, to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks they owe to a crime boss. Part love story, part crime drama and part avant-garde exploration of shifting time frames, it's a movie that engages the senses on all levels. It's 81 minutes of pure adrenalin, a mix of high concept and breakneck action, that defies the viewer to avert their eyes from the screen.
2. "It Follows" is a hybrid of genres. It's a scary film through and through, but it's the dual horror of teenage boredom and ennui coupled with a strange and terrifying supernatural virus that is transmitted sexually. Coming of age and body/mind horror steeped together in an unholy mix and it is an effective brew. An anxiety inducing synthesizer score adds to the atmosphere of unease, making this one of the most unsettling and original horror movies of recent years.
3. Years before he picked up an Oscar for his work in "The Whale," Brendan Fraser played a scientist on a quest to find out what happened to his missing brother. With his nephew and their mountain guide, he discovers a dangerous lost world in the centre of the Earth. "Journey to the Center of the Earth" is a throwback to the action-adventure movies that used to run on "The Wonderful World of Disney" every Sunday night in the '60s and '70s. Jammed with corny jokes — "Haven't you ever seen a dinosaur before?" asks nephew Sean as a T. Rex chases them. "Not with skin on it!" says Fraser's character Trevor — and cool phosphorescent birds, vicious man-eating plants and treacherous sea creatures, the approximate thrill level is akin to a boredom-busting amusement park ride.
4. Based on the French graphic novel "Le Transperceneige," "Snowpiercer" is a nervy actioner in a field crowded with movies that go crash, boom, bang. It's an unapologetically weird environmental thriller set in a world where all life has been killed off, except for survivors who boarded a globe traversing train called the Snowpiercer. As a new class system emerges, the story keeps the audience off balance for the entirety of its two-hour running time. In the world director Bong Joon-ho creates, surprises are around every corner, characters come and go, but it never feels odd for odd's sake. The story rips along like a rocket (or thousand car train, if you like), sometimes in several directions at once, but Bong controls the chaos, keeping the story plausible (OK, plausible-ish) and above all, entertaining.
5. Almost any Jason Statham movie. His movies are predictable as heck. "You gotta be kidding me!" you'll be tempted to say at some of the plot twists, if only the movie's characters didn't beat you to it. They are cliché-a-thons, but because Statham understands his audience and persona, his films are dumb good fun. His über-macho presence is more important than the script. As long as he is in motion, running and leaping, kicking and punching, and giving voice to action movie platitudes in his distinctive English rasp, his pictures work and you'll never be bored.
6. Lastly, "Coffee and Cigarettes" is one movie for those who, for whatever reason, enjoy being bored. It's not dull by any means, but it is a great hangout film, a movie made up of a series of vignettes where people like RZA, Iggy Pop, Bill Murray and Cate Blanchett drink coffee, smoke cigarettes and converse. It's funny, engaging and is the perfect companion when you just want some company but are too bored and unmotivated to see real people.
Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Mexico's coast near the resort of Tulum as a Category 2 storm early Friday, whipping trees and knocking out power as it came ashore after leaving a trail of destruction across the eastern Caribbean.
Former foreign affairs minister Marc Garneau says Canada has lost its standing in the world under the tenure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he criticizes as an ill-prepared leader who prioritizes politics and makes big pronouncements without any follow-through.
Greg Fertuck will spend life behind bars with no chance of parole until he is 90 years old, a judge ruled on Thursday at Saskatoon's Court of King's Bench.
All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
The Canadian economy lost 1,400 jobs in June as the unemployment rate climbed to its highest level in more than two years, Statistics Canada said Friday.
Hourly minimum wages increased in several Canadian provinces this spring with more on the horizon, which economists say will likely impact workers and businesses differently.
A suspected shark sighting caused a popular Nova Scotia beach to close temporarily Thursday.
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Ontario Provincial Police are investigating after a pile of dead lobster was found on the shoulder of Highway 17 this week in northern Ontario.
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would lead a "government of service" on a mission of national renewal in his first official remarks Friday after his Labour Party swept to power in a landslide victory after more than a decade in opposition.
Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Mexico's coast near the resort of Tulum as a Category 2 storm early Friday, whipping trees and knocking out power as it came ashore after leaving a trail of destruction across the eastern Caribbean.
President Joe Biden’s team is telegraphing a strategy to put the president forth for more casual, unscripted events and an accelerated public schedule as he seeks to shift the narrative away from his poor debate performance.
U.S. President Joe Biden told Democratic governors during a meeting at the White House on Wednesday that part of his plan going forward is to stop scheduling events after 8 p.m. so that he can get more sleep, according to three sources briefed on his comments.
A roadside bomb planted on a bridge struck a rickshaw in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least three people and wounding seven others, officials said.
NATO leaders plan to pledge next week to keep pouring arms and ammunition into Ukraine at current levels for at least another year, hoping to reassure the war-ravaged country of their ongoing support and show Russian President Vladimir Putin that they will not walk away.
Former foreign affairs minister Marc Garneau says Canada has lost its standing in the world under the tenure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he criticizes as an ill-prepared leader who prioritizes politics and makes big pronouncements without any follow-through.
David Vigneault says he is stepping down from his job at the head of Canada’s spy agency. The director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, who spent seven years at the helm, is leaving the public service altogether.
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A brand of instant noodles sold in B.C., Alberta and Ontario has been recalled due to undeclared peanut in the ingredients – posing a potential allergy risk to consumers.
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All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
All LCBO stores across the province are closed for two weeks starting Friday as workers go on strike for the first time after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
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All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
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Former foreign affairs minister Marc Garneau says Canada has lost its standing in the world under the tenure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he criticizes as an ill-prepared leader who prioritizes politics and makes big pronouncements without any follow-through.
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All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
A wrestling fan from Guelph, Ont. thought he was down for the count after winning tickets to a “once-in-a-lifetime” WWE event in Toronto.
Greg Fertuck will spend life behind bars with no chance of parole until he is 90 years old, a judge ruled on Thursday at Saskatoon's Court of King's Bench.
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Ontario Provincial Police are investigating after a pile of dead lobster was found on the shoulder of Highway 17 this week in northern Ontario.
All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
The driver of a commercial motor vehicle has been charged after police noticed something dangling underneath the vehicle.
One person has died and another is injured after police in Woodstock, Ont. responded to multiple calls of "gunshots in the area." Around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, police responded to Champlain Avenue between Athlone Avenue and Frontenac Crescent.
All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
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All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
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A swath of B.C.’s southern Interior is being told to brace for potential severe thunderstorms Tuesday.
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One of two men accused of conspiring to kill Mounties at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., characterized the protest as a last stand and told his mother there “will be a war” if police moved in.
With the recent moisture and cooler temperatures, fire bans and restrictions in the Lethbridge area are no longer in effect.
The Garden River First Nation council will provide a minimum payout of $110,000 per registered citizen from the Robinson Huron Treaty settlement funds.
A federal appeals hearing ended Thursday involving three homeowners from Elliot Lake, Ont., seeking to have radioactive rock removed from their homes.
The Sault Ste. Marie Police Service recently welcomed three new constables to its “police family.”
Newfoundland and Labrador's Liberal premier is once again opposing a decision made by the federal Liberals — this time about the reopening of the province's commercial northern cod fishery.
There was relief in central Labrador Wednesday night as officials lifted a wildfire evacuation order, allowing people to return to their homes in Churchill Falls two weeks after they were asked to flee.
The union representing inshore fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador is calling on the federal government to reverse its recent decision to reopen the commercial Northern cod fishery.
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