This review obviously contains spoilers.
The Bad Plus Live at the Wintergarden Theatre, December 12, 2013
I only knew the Bad Plus from their excellent jazz covers of rock songs and I actually was completely unaware that they were doing their own material for some time.
The Kids in the Hall Live at Isabel Bader Theatre, Toronto, December 6, 2013
I approached last night with a mixture of over-excitement and trepidation. The Kids in the Hall was the first thing I ever saw that said to me “it’s okay to be weird, in fact you can wear that as a badge.” I was a little young when I first caught glimpses of the show on …
Ontario’s Beer Stores Now Even Worse
If you’re not from Ontario, you may be surprised to learn that The Beer Store, the Ontario chain licensed to sell beer, is not actually a good place to go for beer. Rather, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario is. That may seem a little weird, but it’s true. If you are from here, and …
Gravity (2013, Alfonso Cuaron)
Every so often, a film comes along that redefines what is possible in cinema.
Scratch My Back (2010) by Peter Gabriel
When I was young, I had a problem with interpretive music; for my idealistic self it suggested a lack of creativity, a lack of artistic will, or something like that. (I definitely had a bit of an obsession with the idea of The Artist as a True Individual or some shit.) Over the years my …
Alex Steen’s Hot Start to the 2013-14 NHL Season
I know Steen’s hot start this year is unsustainable and likely going to end very soon – his GPG is currently .93 on the season! But I can’t help regretting that the Leafs let him go and, moreover, that I supported the move at the time.
30 Rock (2006)
When Seinfeld ended, I was done with the sit-com. I honestly didn’t see what it could possibly offer me any more. Television was getting smarter – and would get significantly smarter over the next decade – and I just couldn’t handle being told when to laugh or having to suspend my disbelief to laugh at …
The Greatest Horror Movies of All Time…that I’ve seen (as of 2013)
In honour of Halloween, but really inspired by a Facebook discussion earlier today, I figured I would write a brief little list of the greatest horror films ever made. (With the obvious qualifier that, while I have seen a lot of movies – 3,500 is probably a conservative estimate – I have by no means …
On Artistic Greatness
Greatness means many different things to many different people and certainly conceptions of greatness vary from field to field. Most of our associations with greatness are no doubt based upon feelings rather than rational reflection. If we don’t have a mutually acceptable concept of greatness, then you can hardly agree or disagree with me about …
RIP Lou Reed
Lou Reed died today. I am at a bit of a loss for words, simply because, as with the death of any songwriter who has an impact on my life, I always just assume he would be around forever, which is a ridiculous thing. He was only 71, but not that long ago, 71 was …
The Faming Lips and Heady Fwends (2012)
I want to make some kind of Supernatural joke but I can’t come up with one because I don’t watch the show.
Elgar – Violin Concerto; Vaughan Williams – The Lark Ascending (1997) by Nigel Kennedy et al.
This is the kind of selection that feels tailor made for someone like Kennedy. Lots of pyrotechnics. And he shows off. And that’s great. But I feel much the way about this set that I feel about so much of Elgar and Vaughan Williams; I just feel like there is better contemporary music from the …
The Beatles Are the Greatest Rock Band of All Time and I Can Prove
I used to take the greatness of the Beatles for granted. Though I would often drunkenly argue in their favour, I assumed my interlocutors were merely arguing with me because they were drunk, and not because they really, truly believed any band could be more significant to the history of “rock” music than the Beatles. …
The Divinity of Doubt (2011) by Vincent Bugliosi
It’s hard to know what to say about this book: I agree – most of the time – with Bugliosi’s position on this subject. But, as with his Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, this comes off as an unorganized rant that is made all the worse because he constantly claims other people – …
Rashomon (1950, Akira Kurosawa)
It took me a really long time to see what is probably the most famous – or most important – Japanese film ever made. And unfortunately, I had pretty high expectations, which at first were hard for the film to match.
Melancholia (2011, Lars Von Trier)
Mental illness is very difficult to portray on screen, but when it’s done well – in this film or Take Shelter, a very similar film in many ways, or Rachel Getting Married – it can be quite affecting. However, Von Trier seems to be suggesting that mental illness gives us some kind of superior insight …
The Campaign to Fire Dave Nonis: 2013-14 Maple Leafs Season Preview
I feel somewhat embarrassed to say that I completely missed the Franson extension that I had been hammering my drum about. All I can say is that it’s been busy at work lately, and I have had less energy to read NHL transaction logs at night. As previously, I am relying on Capgeek’s depth chart …
Freelancers (2012, Jessy Terreo)
This may be the worst cop movie ever made.
The Campaign to Fire Dave Nonis: Franson and Kessel Extensions
I have been a little busy lately and for that I apologize. The primary reason for the business – as pertains to this blog – will be revealed shortly. (Ooh, the mystery!) And I regret to say that my 2013-14 Leafs Preview will be late this year. I haven’t had the time but hopefully it …
Piano Concertos; Elegy for Anne Frank (2001) by Lukas Foss et al.
This is an odd compilation in that it combines performances of Foss’ work by others with two by himself. I don’t really know why they aren’t all by himself, but whatever. I was unfamiliar with Foss and I must say his music is interesting, if far less radical than the 20th century music I normally …
The Campaign to Fire Dave Nonis: Cody Franson
On July 3, 2011 Brian Burke made one of the best trades of his tenure. He traded away the following players to the Predators: Brett Lebda, who had managed 540 minutes of playing time the previous season, where he was the 8th D and managed a -14; Robert Slaney, a career minor leaguer who at …
TIFF 2013 Wrap Up
This year I managed to see only 10 films. I say ‘only’ because usually I see at least 12 and because next year I would like to say more. Alas. What follows are the ten movies I have seen this year, ranked by how good I thought they were.
The Police Officer’s Wife (2013, Philip Gronning)
There are perhaps few movies I have seen more in need of a little common-sense editing than this film. The filmmakers made a bizarre choice which may have made some kind of artistic sense in post-production but which pretty much punishes the audience for watching this film in reality.
12 Years a Slave (2013, Steve McQueen)
This may seem a weird thing to say but I think this is McQueen’s least difficult material to date. Obviously, slavery is a difficult subject – this is not an easy film to watch – but it is not morally difficult subject, at least for most of us. Hunger may not have been morally difficult …
A Field in England (2013, Ben Wheatley)
I don’t really know where to begin with this film. Experimental or avant garde cinema – whether that cinema forsakes narrative or not – rarely has a sense of humour.
Almost Human (2013, Joe Begos)
So Jen, I’m trying to decide if this was the worst movie I have ever seen at TIFF. Really, Seth? That seem’s a little harsh. But Jen, the opening 5-10 minutes of it were painful. Seth, you’re right, that was bad. As was that scene in the diner, Seth. Jen, it was like we were …
El Alcalde [The Mayor] (2012, Emiliano Altuna, Diego Enrique Osorno, Carlos Rossini)
This a challenging but confused film that begs the question, ‘what is more important to you, peace and security or freedom, transparency and accountability?’ This is an especially poignant question in Mexico, which experiences its share of violence.
Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus (2013, Madeleine Sackler)
This is an important and emotionally compelling film about theatre under repressive regimes.
The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder (2008) by Vincent Bugliosi
I have “read” one book by Vincent Bugliosi before. (I say “read” because it was an audio book.) And in that book Bugliosi impressed me with his rather ruthless rigor of thought about an issue that was clouded by too many books and opinions.