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Film Reviews
IRON MAN
Submitted by Jen on Tue, 05/06/2008 - 13:37.
Director: Jon Favreau
Actors: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard
In a Nutshell: Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr, is a billionaire, genius and celebrity weapons maker. When not building bombs, Tony Stark shags hot women, shakes dice, drives fast cars and drinks scotch. On a trip to Afghanistan he is taken hostage, nearly dies, is saved by a battery operated heart – then creates a (excuse the laymen terms) supersonic heart out of scraps. Following this he builds himself a gigantic robot man and shoots down the bad guys, flies into the air – lands in the desert, gets rescued by helicopters and returns to California. After his near death experience, Tony changes his direction, reflects upon his purpose in life and dives into constructing THE IRON MAN.
Standard Operating Procedure
Submitted by Olga Barsky on Mon, 05/05/2008 - 08:02.
In Theatres Friday May 2nd
Director: Errol Morris
In a nutshell: Morris takes apart the Abu Grahib prisoner abuse scandal. Through his trained and objective camera, we see a clear picture of a mismanaged war.
Three words to describe: Disturbing, shameful, cover-up.
Reason I liked it: Errol Morris could be the best documentary filmmaker of our time. In a film that harks back to his THIN BLUE LINE, he again tries to pick up where justice has left off.
Annoying Qualities: The unfortunate picture he paints about the quality and general moral ambiguity of the American soldiers we’re supposed to sympathize with.
This film made me feel: Like writing a not-so-gracious tagline for American Foreign Policy…lets leave it at that.
You'll like this film if you liked: Michael Moore films (but are actually interested in seeing a real documentary).
Verdict: A great film with significant weight, STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE is very watchable, and doesn’t get bogged down with floating heads and dry narration.
Go see this film with: A fellow conspiracy theorist or any anti-war sympathizer.
Baby Mama
Submitted by Jen on Mon, 04/28/2008 - 16:15.
by Jen McNeely
In Theatres: Friday April 25th
Director: Michael McCullers
Actors: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sigourney Weaver, Greg Kinnear, Steve Martin
In A Nutshell: Sophisticated and smart Kate Holbrook, played by our beloved Tina Fey, has spent her thirties working up the corporate ladder, penetrating the boys club. Now desperate to have a baby she finds herself infertile. As a last resort, Kate goes through a surrogate mother company, and is hooked up with white trash, loud mouth Angie Ostrowiski played by Amy Poehler. Angie ends up moving in with Kate and spends her days defaming the apartment with farts and gum as Kate works towards launching a new organic food market and holding down the fort at work in the role of first ever female VP.
The Forgotten Woman
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 12:23.
In Theatres Friday April 25th
Director: Dilip Mehta (Screenwriter: Deepa Mehta)
In a nutshell: The Forgotten Woman is a documentary made by Deepa Mehta’s brother in response to her Oscar nominated film Water, about an eighty year old widow who’s shipped off to an ashram in the 1930’s.
Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay
Submitted by Olga Barsky on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 09:10.
by Olga Barsky
In Theatres Friday April 25th
Directors: Hayden Schlossberg and John Hurwitz.
Actors: John Cho, Kal Penn, Roger Bart, Rob Corddry, and Neil Patrick Harris (who shines brighter than Dog Star a.k.a. – Sirius brightest star in night sky).
In a nutshell: Harold is in love, and so the dynamic duo set out to Amsterdam in search of his lady friend and unrestricted pot. Unfortunately, Kumar decides to join the mile high club on the plane. His bong gets mistaken for a bomb, and the boys get shipped off to prison in Cuba. Uh-oh!
Three words to describe: Cock Meat Sandwich.
Indicative Quote: “Pussy, I’m ho-ome!” Kumar proclaims as he enters a pants-optional party. (This is the least offensive quotation I could come up with)
Reason I liked it: Cum shot during opening sequence…writing is so over the top that it makes stereotyping seem ridiculous...At the end of the day, it’s a very funny movie, and even though there are a couple duds along the way, it moves so fast that you wont even notice.
Guilty Pleasures Reviews
Degrassi: Another Brick in the Wall
Submitted by Lizzie McNeely on Fri, 05/09/2008 - 12:10.
by Lizzie
Well this episode may have successfully deterred a generation of males from ever becoming teachers. Snake is declared “officially not a pedophile” by the school board, but whispers of perv linger in the air when he returns. One thing leads to another and soon he’s sprawled on the couch, cocooned in a blanket, drinking scotch, covered in mustard and being licked by a dog. Meanwhile, Holly J exchanges tutoring help with Toby. He helps her in math, she helps him in Dance Dance Revolution. That’s actually a component of gym? What ever happened to units on dodge ball and the female condom (question, has anyone actually seen one of those outside of grade ten health?) ?
Degrassi: Talking In Your Sleep
Submitted by Lizzie McNeely on Thu, 05/01/2008 - 10:16.
by Lizzie
I’ve never considered myself a heinous bitch before, but I’m baffled that those sleighted / deceived / betrayed on Degrassi this week forgave those who fouled them. Ok, so Darcy forgiving Jane after she spills the beans about Peter having bad breath wasn’t that mind-blowing, but Griffin forgiving Paige after she implies that his HIV was caused by lifestyle choices when actually he was born with it was a little surprising. And I was positively floored that Paige forgave Griffin after he, oops, forgets to tell her that he’s HIV Positive before sleeping with her. I can hardly forgive a guy if he sneezes on me unexpectedly, let alone if he risks infecting me with a fatal virus. Should I respect Paige for turning the other cheek, or should that cheek have some sense slapped into it?
Book Reviews
C!RCA
Submitted by El Nino on Fri, 05/09/2008 - 12:18.
by El Nino
Where: Premiere Dance Theatre, Harbourfront till May 10th.
What's the deal? 'The Space Between' is an intensely physical acrobatic expression of intimacy, control and desire performed to the music of Jacques Brel, DJ Shadow, Neil Young and Boards of Canada (to name a few). Never has somersaulting contortionism on the floor and being propelled across the stage looked so effortlessly easy.
You'll like this performance if you like: Cirque de Soleil...? Cheerleading competitions?
Indicative quote: Ummm...there's not talking, but the 'Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps' routine where performer Chelsea McGuffin gets thrown around like a cheerleader on crack was outta sight!
Highlight: The love routine between three of the performers to the best love song in the world, 'Ne Me Quitte Pas.' This got a well-deserved standing ovation.
Lowlight: Some of the intended high-energy portions (as illustrated by the Aphex Twin-like, crazy drum and bass background) lacked explosion. Felt more like the hurry up and wait build up you have when watching floor gymnastic routines.
Mysteriously Yours... Mystery Dinner Theatre
Submitted by Olga Barsky on Thu, 04/24/2008 - 12:59.
How often does your evening include a killer three-course dinner, murder, and a chance to poke and prod the suspects until one cracks, falling to his/her knees in hysterics confessing the crime?
Last week, fellow SDTC writer Lizzie and I got the chance to play detectives at Dancing with the Stars Can be Murder, the newest show presented by Mysteriously Yours…Mystery Dinner Theatre.
Book Reviews
Shakespeare’s Wife
Submitted by Lizzie McNeely on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 14:46.
By Germaine Greer
Review by Lizzie
In a Nutshell: Poor Ann Hathaway (Shakespeare’s wife, not the star of The Devil Wears Prada). For ages, scholars have painted her as a conspiring cougar who trapped innocent head-in-the-clouds Will into a loveless marriage. To the rescue comes feminist icon (and former contestant on Celebrity Big Brother UK) Germaine Greer. Equipped with an abundance of archival research about trade, marriage, religion, politics, publishing, gender roles and class in the 16th and 17th century, Greer shows how unjustified the Ann-haters are.
Indicative Quote: “If Ann Shakespeare had both skill and business acumen, she could have become a wealthy woman in her own right. So far we don’t know that she did, but we don’t know that she didn’t either.”
Three Words to Describe it: Assumptions battling assumptions
The God of War by Marisa Silver
Submitted by Lizzie McNeely on Tue, 04/29/2008 - 08:12.
Review by Lizzie
In a nutshell: On the toxic shores of California’s Salton Sea, twelve-year-old Ares lives with his hippy mom Laurel and mentally disabled brother Malcolm. With Laurel in denial about Malcolm’s condition, Ares bears the burden of responsibility for the brother whom he dropped as a baby. Conflicted about growing up, Ares both yearns for the fierce independence of a neighbour’s foster child, and longs to retreat to the fantasy world he shares with Malcolm.
Three Words to Describe: Intimate, touching, tearjerker
Indicative quote: “Malcolm walked at a distance from us, charting his own path. That year he was six, exactly half my age. I was struck by the fact that this was the only time in our lives when we would meet in this mathematical symmetry – I his double in years. I knew there was something important and fragile about the singularity of this, that something would soon be lost.”
Cyber Stalker
World’s Smallest Horse – Thumbelina
Submitted by Rachel Miadovnik on Tue, 05/06/2008 - 14:01.
Why we like: The Roloff family started it all – the ‘midget craze’! Perhaps my terminology is politically incorrect, but whether you dub this portion of society ‘little people,’ ‘dwarves,’ ‘midgets’ or just straight up short – gone are the days of “singling out the small” as per freak shows of the past. Our culture idolizes these miniature icons. There’s Verne Troyer who starred as Mini Me in the Austin Power films, Jason Acuña aka. Wee Man both professional skateboarder and notorious Jackass celebrity and TLC’s Little People Big World (which is worth mentioning twice). Please note she does the city: it’s BIG to be small! Animal wise, the trend has increasingly pointed in this direction. Just when poodles weren’t small or yappy enough, we made them tea-cup sized. And now, we’ve bred miniature horses to spawn the latest genetic phenomenon - Thumbelina, the world’s smallest horse.
What you’ll find there: It almost seems cult-driven, but Thumbelina has a vast fan base that just won’t quit. Stream videos of her tv appearances, buy merchandise, read her bio and press releases or donate to Thumbelina’s Charitable Donation for kids. Not only is she completely adorable, but she’s worked through her disability to inspire others. Plus, she’s on tour in a suburban town near you.
Where in the world: Thumbelina was born on May 1st, 2001 on Goose Creek Farms in St. Louis, MO.
In a nutshell: Thumbelina may be abnormally small, but she’s got a heart of a champion!
http://www.worldssmallesthorse.com
Music Reviews
WAX TORONTO: ROTATE THIS MOVES INTO SONGBIRD
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 05/12/2008 - 11:10.
By Jen Houston
Rotate This has just announced that it will be moving from 620 Queen W down the street to 801 Queen W. 801 used to be occupied by instrument retailer Songbird, and considering the size, should mean a lot more selection of awesome vinyls. A lot of the generation who happily shelved (or pawned) their vinyl by 1989 just can’t understand why us 20-somethings would actually prefer those oversized, warp-able, scratch-able records to the comparatively durable, small, and convenient CDs or the ‘ultimate in portability’ MP3 player. Don’t get us wrong, most of us own at least one MP3 player, and adore it for when we’re out. But when we’re home, the lush sound has us reverting to the old standard.
“But I thought CDs were better quality,” is what I hear from a puzzled over-50 relative when I tell them about my love for vinyl. I sit and listen while my DJ cousin explains why wax technically sounds better: vinyl uses analog, which is an actual sound wave, while digital audio samples each wave at intervals, missing some frequencies. Listeners of analog can expect to hear more, but analog does have more surface noise, and loses quality as it’s reproduced. Digital can be copied and recopied without losing quality. But there is a certain authenticity to vinyl, the needle elegantly balanced, picking up every scratch and score. What you hear is not a recreation of sound… it’s an amplification of sound. While DJs kept turntables alive through the cassette and CD eras, there’s resurgence in mainstream popularity with a young culture that has embraced vinyl as cool.
Ten Kens Q&A
Submitted by Denise Dias on Fri, 05/09/2008 - 10:12.
by Denise Dias
I have to admit that the first time I heard the Ten Kens play live, I wasn’t expecting much. I went along to one of their very first shows in Toronto and remember being completely impressed with this handsome foursome who apparently had no prior stage experience. I’ve seen them perform several times since then, and the sweet melodic intensity of their sound still haunts me for days after each show.
Arts Trend Alert
City of Infinite Interpretations
Submitted by Lizzie McNeely on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 14:40.
Hogtown, Big Smoke, the 416 and, my personal fave, T-Dot-O-Dot (bless you Kardinal Offishal). We’ve always been a city of many nicknames and now we’re becoming the city of infinite interpretations. A petri dish of a metropolis drooled over by urban theorists. David MacFarlane’s essay compilation, Toronto: A City Becoming, features literati musing upon the city’s changes. Toronto Noir, an anthology of mystery stories, launches this week. Word is there’s even a website where girls talk about “doing” the city (ooh, naughty). Is it a healthy dose of civic pride, or does our pretentious self-obsession justify the T-Dot hater mobs?
Plan Your Week
Up the Yangtze
Submitted by Jimmy on Tue, 04/29/2008 - 09:08.
Fiery First Fiction
Submitted by Jimmy on Tue, 04/29/2008 - 09:07.
Toronto Star Photographers Workshop
Submitted by Jimmy on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 09:06.
Stories From Our Black Books
Submitted by Jimmy on Tue, 04/29/2008 - 09:10.
The Eco Show
Submitted by Jimmy on Tue, 04/29/2008 - 09:09.
The Party
Submitted by Jimmy on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 09:09.
American Teen Advanced Screening
Submitted by Jimmy on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 09:11.
The Truth About Canada
Submitted by Jimmy on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 09:13.
No Bikini and Like a Virgin
Submitted by Jimmy on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 09:15.
Love Songs
Submitted by Jimmy on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 09:20.
Fixing Failed States
Submitted by Jimmy on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 09:17.
Love and Marriage and New York City
Submitted by Jimmy on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 09:19.
Queen West Gallery Tours
Submitted by Jimmy on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 09:22.
Distillery Drummings
Submitted by Jimmy on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 09:29.
Film Reviews
DELIMITED FASHION at RYERSON U
Submitted by Olga Barsky on Tue, 04/22/2008 - 13:09.
by Olga Barsky
Photography by Nadia Tan
Come check out DELIMITED FASHION an exhibit of fourth year Ryerson Fashion Communications and Design students at the Elaine Fleck Gallery.
Put together by Katelyn Veldman, one of the featured artists in the group show, DELIMITED showcases a colourful palette of works from oil paintings to mixed media and photography.
To The ROM We Go!
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 04/22/2008 - 08:37.
The best part about The Royal Ontario Museum is you can have as much fun going with your boyfriend/mother/dog-walker as you did back in the day on school trips. Unlike many other attractions in the city, The ROM does not lose its ‘mystique’ once you’ve mastered tying your own laces.
The museum stands tall in its slick, renovated glory as it dominates the St George Bloorscape. How many times have I passed by in the last couple years, never quite managing to make the commitment? Too embarrassing to count. But I’m glad to tell you I’ve finally broken my ROM dry spell.
It was The Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles and Costume that brought me to The ROM, but it was the bat caves, Darwin, and dinosaurs that kept me there till closing, as I eagerly tried to soak up every last tidbit of dino trivia.
In Art Video
The Teenagers - Homecoming
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 05/02/2008 - 12:27.