This was the second ever performance of Rufus Wainwright’s second opera, Hadrian, which tells the story of Emperor Hadrian’s final day of his life, as he mourns his dead male lover. I should say at the outset that this is only the third 21st century opera I’ve ever seen, most of the operas I know …
Category: 2018
TIFF 2018
I saw only five movies at the Toronto International Film Festival this year because of some unforeseen medical bills. (Not me! This is Canada, after all.) I did not see any masterpieces this year, or near-masterpieces, but I saw some good films and some films that inspired me with hope for future good films.
The Standoff at Sparrow Creek (2018, Henry Dunham)
This is a very stagey film – so stagey you’d think it was a play – that overcomes that limitation by being expertly made, even though it is Dunham’s first time directing a feature. (It’s a miraculous debut, in terms of Dunham’s ability to film and edit – I would sworn this was not a …
Ontario and the Notwithstanding Clause
There are many things to like about Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a more inclusive bill of rights than, say, the American one. But there’s always been a crucial flaw, the “Notwithstanding Clause.” This clause grants any provincial government the right to override the Charter in a specific instance for a specific period of …
Museo (2018, Alonso Ruizpalacios)
This is a super hyper stylized, completely fantastical depiction of what is apparently the most notorious “art” heist in Mexican history. The movie makes no bones about how inaccurate it is – stating multiple times that it is not the true story – so do not go into this movie expecting a docudrama.
Hold the Dark (2018, Jeremy Saulnier)
Expectations are an awful thing. I have seen and enjoyed every previous feature film Jeremy Saulnier has made. At some point I was going to see one I didn’t like. I’m not saying I didn’t like this, exactly, but I’m definitely struggling with it in ways I didn’t struggle with his previous two movies, and …
The Realm aka El reino (2018, Rodrigo Sorogoyen)
This is a deeply flawed but otherwise pretty incredible thriller about white collar political corruption in Spain. The good aspects of it are so good that I really want to overlook the massive problems – such as the run-time – but I don’t think I can. Let’s put it this way: for 2/3rds of this …
Winchester (2018, Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig)
This movie exists because somebody found out about the Winchester Mystery House and decided that a movie should be made about it, and then they wrote a script to try to explain why this house is creepy. If you haven’t been to the house, or you didn’t find it creepy, I suspect this movie does …
Screwball (2018, Billy Corben)
If I could describe this documentary about Biogenesis and Alex Rodriguez in one word, it would be “glib.” This is one of the glibbest documentaries I’ve ever seen. On the one hand, that makes for a pretty funny movie. On the other hand, the style is very over the top and the filmmakers appear to …
Bad Blood (2018) by John Carreyou
This is a real page turner about how a startup deceived and defrauded investors, conned business partners and the public, and hounded former employees into not discussing the company’s problems. For someone like me, who pays little attention to Silicon Valley, it was an eye-opening read, as well as being impossible to put down. Carreyou …
Wild Wild Country (2018)
This is a crazy story about a cult, but not necessarily the kind of cult you might expect (i.e. not a death cult). Perhaps the most remarkable thing about it is how much film there is of the cult. But the film is problematic; to paraphrase one critic, it’s incredible that at over six hours …
Evil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist (2018, Barbara Schroeder)
This is a documentary miniseries about an absolutely bonkers crime, which shouldn’t be called America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist, but rather American’s Craziest Bank Heist, or America’s Worst Bank Heist. If you are interested in true crime, I would strongly recommend watching this, both for how it tells the story and how this particularly story – …
Extinction (2018, Ben Young)
This is a pretty high concept science fiction film with a tiny budget that looks rather shitty and has a few really odd decisions that likely only happened because of the budget. SPOILERS
Wolfe Island Music Festival 2018
This was the 20th year of WIMF – we have to say “20th year” because it didn’t happen in 2016 – but I must say that there perhaps a little less anticipation this year, because a lack of a headliner as prominent as previous years, and some concerns about the lineup. But I honestly enjoyed …
McQueen (2018, Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui)
This is a pretty conventional chronology + historical footage + talking heads style documentary about someone who may have been, in my ignorant opinion, one of the most interesting fashion designers in history. I know nothing about fashion, and I really don’t care about it. It was only in adulthood that I discovered that there …
The Day My Leafs Fandom Died
As you know, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed John Tavares and have the strongest group of young forwards they’ve had in a very long time. If you put aside age, it’s probably safe to say it’s been 25 years or so since the last time the Leafs had this much talent in their Top …
What if One of Your Core Beliefs is Based Upon a Lie?
Like any self-reflective adult, I like to believe that the beliefs I hold are based upon facts, not other beliefs. I spent a long time between the ages of 18 and 25 working to come to what I thought were defensible beliefs, beliefs based upon objective reality (as much as possible), rather than what I …
Riley Goes to Memphis, Tennessee May 31 – June 3, 2018
So I went to Memphis over the weekend. We chose Memphis for an odd reason: it was our fallback after we decided we didn’t want to go to Nashville, as flights to Nashville for this particular weekend were too expensive, and we both read an article that soured us on that city. So we looked …
The Nihilist Hockey League
I have been a fan of the hockey comedian/commentator Down Goes Brown for some time. I don’t remember when I became aware of him, but it was before he started writing for Grantland. I have appreciated both his comedic takes on what is a very silly league and also his perspective, which often seems to …
RIP Philip Roth
When any famous author whom I’ve read dies, I always struggle with what to write. I have a lot to say about musicians and sometimes I have a lot to say about filmmakers, but with authors I feel like whatever I write will be inadequate. When someone as prolific and respected as Philip Roth dies, …
War on Peace (2018) by Ronan Farrow
This is a deeply flawed but fascinating book about the decline of the US foreign service and US diplomacy and general, the the ebbing of US influence as the American Empire slowly ends.
The Nightingale and Other Short Fables live at the Four Seasons Centre, May 13, 2018
Back in 2008 or 2009 or so, the Canadian Opera Company put on a radically different performance of Igor Stravinsky’s “3 act” opera The Nightingale, buttressed by additional pieces in order to actually make the runtime somewhat comparable to a normal opera. (The Nightingale runs less than an hour.) I don’t know who initially curated the selections …
Your 2017-2018 Toronto Raptors: Blow it all up?
Every year at this time of year I usually write a recap of the Raptors season. (Before I switched allegiances, it was a Leafs’ recap.) I’m sorry to say I don’t really do this for other people. I know there are actual basketball writers in the world who have actual things to say about Toronto …
A More Beautiful Question (2014) by Warren Berger
This is an interesting and inspiring book that is also flawed in such a way that I wonder how much of it is actually valuable. So that’s a problem.
Infinity Mirrors by Yayoi Kusama
I do not normally write about art. I go to art exhibits at least a few times a year (more when I travel) but I never write about them. One reason is that I have long felt I do not have the education to find the language to discuss paintings or art installations, at least …
Slow Burn (2017
It took me a long time to get around to listening to the entirety of this podcast about Watergate. I am pretty familiar with the story, as I’ve seen All the President’s Men multiple times, watched a Frontline documentary about it multiple times. So I guess I felt like I would be rehashing the story again. …
Blockers (2018, Kay Cannon)
This combination of a female American Pie and female Superbad, with an entirely different, “adults being stupid” film, is pretty funny but has some moments where the Liberal Hollywood propaganda about diversity and female equality are put centre stage, instead.
All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of the Wire
Note: This is an oral history of how The Wire got made. You should only read this if you have seen The Wire in its entirety. The spoilers in this review concern the show, not the book.
Riley Goes to Panorama Mountain Resort, February 3-February 9, 2018
For the past week, I was in the Kootenays, skiing at Panorama Mountain Resort, a place I have wanted to ski at for a very, very long time. (That is true of many ski resorts in North America, however.) I cannot say enough positive things about the resort and I would strongly encourage you to …
Black Inscription (2018) by Rabbit Rabbit
One of the things I love about this band is that I never know what their next record is going to sound like. They normally release one track a month but I always wait until the full album comes out, making the whole thing more of a surprise.