1 Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project nsrap.ca You could have a great time promoting social equality with this colourful organization. “NSRAP advocates for equity for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities,” says Kate Shewan, chair of the board of directors. She suggests students take advantage of the online application to join NSRAP. “When signing […]
Jade Nauss
Posted inNews + Opinion
State of the Unions
Dalhousie Student Union 6136 University Avenue, dsu.ca This past academic year was a hectic one for the Dalhousie Student Union. The DSU unanimously passed a motion calling for the board of governors to end investments in fossil fuels; it requested policy change so students can use a preferred name rather than a legal name on […]
Posted inArts + Music
Picture perfect
Meags Fitzgerald loves photobooths. In fact, she loves them so much she wrote and illustrated a 277-page graphic novel dedicated entirely to chemical photobooths. Photobooth: A Biography exposes the history and cultural significance of those unassuming huts that fade into the background of public places like shopping malls and bus stations. In the mid-20th century, […]
Posted inArts + Music
Meds alert
Charlottetown’s own The Meds bring their toe-tapping indie pop-rock to Halifax when they celebrate the release of their debut album South America. Lead vocalist Kyle Drake and backing vocalist Iain McCarvill dialogued over a bad cell phone connection at a roadside pit stop en route to a show in Waterloo. The band tours almost constantly, […]
Posted inArts + Music
Getting SappyForever
Meet the product of the little fundraiser that could—and did. SappyForever is a 252-page, full-colour retrospective bursting with content. This hardcover archive features photos, essays and memories from eight years of SappyFest, the annual independent music festival in Sackville, New Brunswick. The coffee table tome preserves a visual and textual history of a party that […]
Posted inArts + Music
The Selfish Giant
Morals are hard-won in this haunting coming-of-age story from director Clio Barnard. The Selfish Giant is inspired by an Oscar Wilde fairytale of the same name. But Wilde’s tale is a happy fable of friendship, whereas Barnard’s film is a grey example of social realism that pokes about in the dim corners where friendship sometimes […]
Posted inArts + Music
Escape from Tomorrow
Writer-director Randy Moore challenges convention in his feature film debut. Covertly filmed on hand-held cameras at Disney World and Disney Land, Escape From Tomorrow is an epic example of guerrilla film-making. Escape From Tomorrow begins as a dreamscape at the wonderful world of Disney and slips into a nightmarish romp through the uncanny and absurd. Jim White […]
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My Prairie Home
I first watched–experienced–My Prairie Home during a free screening hosted on the NFB’s website. A social network status update alerted me to the screening and although I was tired and the hour was late, I embarked on the documentary. I was not disappointed. The subject of the film is country-folk singer-songwriter Rae Spoon–a transgender person […]
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Amber Alert
Amber Alert is a found footage horror-thriller that actually does something different. In a genre that is almost exclusively populated by ghosts, witches, devils, zombies and other supernatural foes, this movie features a very real monster. Sam (Summer Bellessa) and Nat (Chris Hill) are making an audition tape for a popular reality television show. They’re driving […]
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Halifax’s art problem
“Now that the Khyber’s closed I don’t know where my next show will be. I had a show scheduled there but now I have to find another space. I’m having trouble with that,” said multimedia artist Jesse Mitchell. When The Coast interviewed Mitchell earlier this year, he was struggling after the sudden closure of what […]
Posted inArts + Music
Bad Milo!
Bad Milo! is a perfect example of the self-conscious comedy-horror genre—this hybrid puts comedy first and lets its camp flag fly. Hyper-stressed office worker Duncan (Ken Marino) gives sphincter-splitting man-birth to a fleshy manifestation of repressed anger. Milo is an big-eyed ass-baby with anger issues who acts on the homicidal tendencies Duncan suppresses. A consummate cast of character actors […]
Posted inArts + Music
Diana
When Diana premiered to a dismal response from critics and audiences alike, rogerebert.com contributor Ali Arikan admitted one saving grace, writing: “to her credit, Naomi Watts does a more-than-passable job of playing Diana.” I can’t say the same. Poorly cast and labouring with less-than-passable dialogue, there aren’t enough acting chops in the celebrity butcher shop for Watts to convincingly portray the legendary Spencer stunner. […]
