Dunkirk is one of the most original history films in mainstream cinema. Unlike most traditional war films the focus is not on the action of the war, or the ideology of the battle, but the reality of its consequences. It shows us the momentary stress of being on the battlefield, and brings us face-to-face with the […]
Episode three for a new season is a tough nut to crack. In season six of Game of Thrones, I told you that the third episode is where most TV shows hit a slump, a downturn in the action to focus on suspense-building and drama. But with hindsight, I can say that it only seems […]
Soulpepper, a company of Toronto-based Canadian theatre artists, is doing a residency at the Signature Theatre complex for the month of July. If the concert they served up in honor of Canada Day (July 1st and 2nd) is any indication, New York City is having a wonderful month. From the opening speech by Artistic Director […]
Flooded is set on a boat, but not just any boat. One warm and sunny (thank god) Toronto July evening I found myself on The Pirate Life Boat sailing around the Toronto Islands, witnessing a beautiful, funny, and intense spectacle. Directed by Ara Glenn-Johanson, the production consists of four performers (Hayden Finkelshtain, Melanie Leon, Duncan […]
Produced and presented by Libby Brodie Productions, Permanence is an hour long emotional tornado. And I mean that in a good way. Written by Cyd Casados, the play depicts the relationship of Steve (Ludovic Hughes) and Rebecca (Samantha Michelle) – an English painter and an American doctor, respectively. Their affair starts of heatedly in Steve’s […]
When it comes to second episodes of a new season of Game of Thrones, you don’t expect them to be over an hour in length. Of course, it needs to be close to an hour to accommodate the wealth of characters, the vistas, the exposition, but putting it over an hour is like dangling a […]
Eric Peterson is back once again performing Billy Bishop – a Canadian war hero from the First World War. Forty years since its creation, this production celebrates not just Peterson and Maclachlan Gray’s creation, but brings Soulpepper through Canada’s own 150th birthday. The set stands out immediately as interesting and effective: around the stage set […]
We’re just past the halfway point of the year, and I wanted to share which releases I feel are frontrunners for my year end list. As well, this way people can be be enjoying some things throughout the year, rather than spending December/January trying to catch up on everything they’ve missed. 10. Animal Collective – […]