When I walked out of the movie theatre after seeing The Dark Knight Rises, I was conflicted. Certainly, I didn’t hate it. It does all the things a good summer superhero movie should do. It made me want to eat popcorn and fight crime. It’s got great action sequences, punchy dialogue, a sense of the […]
This is a very weird year in Stratford because most of the really good productions are musicals. North America’s most prominent Shakespeare company usually does fine musicals and great Shakespeare, but Pirates of Penzance and Wanderlust are two of the only highlights of this season (Charlie Brown is good, but not a standout). I was […]
Looper, the newest sci-fi thriller from wunderkind director Rian Johnson, is a rare thing: it’s a perfect movie. By that I don’t mean it’s the world’s best movie, or even the year’s best. What I mean is that Johnson and his crew created a movie that manages to perfectly embody its own story and […]
First a story: My dad doesn’t like Charlie Brown; he finds him depressing, and this is an argument we have every December when it’s time to pull out the old tape of Christmas specials. I love Charlie Brown and the whole Peanuts world (especially Lucy!). If I had to pick a Christmas special to call […]
This week I went out to Glasslands to catch The Ice Choir and Craft Spells. The show was put together by PopGun, a Brooklyn based booking agency. The bill worked well with two different era kind of bands. There was a third band that opened called Ski Lodge, but I didn’t arrive in time. I […]
Death of a Salesman is exactly the sort of piece that Soulpepper does brilliantly- intimate, personal, actor-driven, and a modern classic. The tight-knit company always fares well with family stories and any time you can cast the first couple of Soulpepper- Joseph Ziegler and Nancy Palk- as the parents at the centre of things, it’s […]
Okay, right off the bat, let’s get this clear – this isn’t Kanye West’s new album. Compilation album that he’s the Exec. Producer on for the G.O.O.D label- that’s what this is. Whew, thank you & spread that knowledge please. Now, throughout the summer, Yeezy and his crew have been releasing some solid music. Between […]
Equal parts tragedy and comedy with a tinge of history, Alumnae Theatre’s season opener is a real visual treat. Audience members are aptly greeted by a tall pyramid structure positioned centre stage which I – for better or worse – immediately deemed the “tower of Babylon.” Contained within are many of the props which actors […]