This is a rare moment of solitude for Halifax-based playwright and director Thom Fitzgerald. After spending the past weekend opening the Atlantic Fringe Festival—Fitzgerald was the festival’s recognized agent—he is at home doing some light cleaning. “I have some time to talk. I’m just doing some laundry,” he says. Fitzgerald’s work includes award-winning films like […]
Matthew Ritchie
Posted inArts + Music
Craig Jackson interview
Growing up skateboarding in Moncton, NB, Craig Jackson had never seen a longboard before. But when his high school friend Jaret Belliveau ventured out west after high school and returned to town with a new longboard, Jackson was hooked. Moving out to Halifax for school shortly afterwards—with Belliveau studying photography at NSCAD and Jackson studying […]
Posted inArts + Music
The Devil’s Double delivers
In The Devil’s Double, Dominic Cooper (Band of Brothers, An Education) stars as Latif Yahia, an Iraqi soldier chosen to become the body double for Saddam Hussein’s son, Uday Hussein, during the Gulf War. Cooper does a fantastic job portraying the life of Yahia as he is forced to become property of the Iraqi dictator, […]
Posted inArts + Music
Get behind the wheel and Drive
Fans of Ryan Gosling who grew up watching him in Breaker High and The Notebook, be warned. In the eight years since starring in the Nicholas Sparks blockbuster, he has become a man with increasing levels of badass-ness. This is evident in Drive, a hyper-violent and visually stunning picture that has Gosling playing the role […]
Posted inArts + Music
I Don’t Know How She Does It is dull and unfunny
Sarah Jessica Parker’s new movie, I Don’t Know How She Does It, is a comedy that fails to deliver any laughs. Parker plays Kate Reddy, a mother of two who works during the day as a financial analyst. As a project emerges involving the creation of a new retirement savings plan, Parker must decide between […]
Posted inArts + Music
Film Fest Reviews
FEATURE FILMS Higher Ground – Friday, September 16, Park Lane 7, 7:05pm Naturalism and a radiant intelligence have been the distinguishing features of Vera Farmiga’s acting performances, and it’s a quality she brings to her directorial debut. Farmiga takes command in front of and behind the camera, playing a religious convert whose creeping doubt in […]
Posted inArts + Music
Warrior cuts emotional chord, cheese
Warrior feels like a glorified commercial for Tapout. But like all good commercials, Warrior strikes an emotional chord, even if elements verge on a Bloodsport level of cheesiness. Two estranged brothers (Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy) are brought back into the world of mixed martial arts when a multi-million dollars championship (surprisingly, hosted by Tapout) is […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The Harry Potter movie drinking game
As a student you don’t really need an excuse to drink copiously. We’ve all played card games like Fuck the Dealer or Kings, but for those with low attention spans and desires to get shitfaced as quickly as possible, sometimes it’s easier to just throw on a movie and enjoy a mouthful anytime something symbolic […]
Posted inArts + Music
J Mascis
J Mascis, lead guitarist of Dinosaur Jr., sure knows how to shred a tasty solo. But even the most established guitar hero has a soft side. Sounding like the indie-rock version of Lenny Breau, Mascis trades in his Big Muff guitar pedals and Fender Jazzmaster for an acoustic axe on his new solo album. Lighter […]
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Not much bite to Shark Night 3D
Released at the tail end of the summer, Shark Night 3D tries to capture the popularity of last year’s aquatic-horror comedy Piranha 3D, but fails due to cheap special effects and a lack of humour. The plot is simple enough: A group of university students go to an island cottage on a Louisiana lake, but […]
Posted inArts + Music
Crafts for Kids shares the wealth
Raising money for charities through rock ‘n’ roll is as ingrained in rock history as Jimmy Page’s dragon pants. But when it came to Halifax, Lindsay Allain thought there was room for improvement. “The only fundraisers that I had been to that were really rock-oriented were like, ‘My cat needs surgery’ or something like that,” […]
Posted inArts + Music
Micro Organs’ lo-fi wonderland
When I first begin talking with Halifax two-piece Micro Organs, I’m alarmed to learn they have just come back from a weekend in Moncton. Could these experimental punks have been watching a U2 concert? “We got invited to play a house show by these French people from France and some people who live in Moncton,” […]
