The Centre for Art Tapes is having its annual Media Art Scholarship Program Screening on Saturday February 25, 7pm at the Neptune Theatre (1593 Argyle Street). Check out the varied selection of work from CFAT scholars of different ages and backgrounds. Tickets are $8 ($10 at the door), available online by clicking here.
Film + TV
Posted inArts + Music
Gorgeous, sad drama Monsieur Lazhar
Quebec filmmaker Philippe Falardeau weaves a sad, gorgeous commentary on grief, immigrant struggle and educational bureaucracy in Monsieur Lazhar, an adaptation of a one-man stage play. Having escaped persecution in Algeria, the title character (Fellag) takes charge of a Montreal classroom where the previous teacher took her own life, a suicide that’s left the pre-teen […]
Posted inArts + Music
This Means War tepid and disappointing
The story of one woman, Lauren (Reese Witherspoon), dating two CIA agents (Tom Hardy and Chris Pine) could be forward-thinking, and yet director McG and a team of male screenwriters came up with something not only banal, but mildly insulting in its use of what-women-want stereotypes. (No, visiting your boyfriend’s extended family is not lady […]
Posted inArts + Music
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance marginally improves on original
Whereas the first Ghost Rider was a gloomy, inert slog weighed down by the demands of establishing the lead character’s backstory, the follow-up refuses to tether itself to any kind of narrative or logic. The story, such as it is, places Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) in Eastern Europe, where he and his flaming-skeleton alter ego […]
Posted inArts + Music
New movie reviews
Click on the titles for reviews of movies released February 17: Monsieur Lazhar This Means War Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance …and Coast picks from the past few weeks: Pina The Woman In Black
Posted inArts + Music
Music video-makers in Halifax
The dream for artists in any field is to get paid for following their passion. Some burgeoning Halifax filmmakers—combining their love of music with their love of film—are on the way to experiencing the sweet joys of getting a paycheque for something they’d do for the joy of it anyway. Filmmaker Gavin Maclean’s music videos […]
Posted inArts + Music
Ulimate Dog Tease on its way to the big screen
Haligonian Andrew Grantham, whose YouTube video Ultimate Dog Tease is more than a frikkin’ sensation, it’s a monster meme worldwide—94 million hits and the most viewed YouTube video in the United Kingdom last year—is making waves in Hollywood. Variety is reporting that Grantham’s video is at Paramount Studios, which is talking to Seinfeld writers Alec […]
Posted inArts + Music
London Boulevard
The British gangster movie is alive and well, thanks to the efforts of Guy Ritchie and Jonathan Glazer. If The Departed screenwriter doesn’t quite reach the quality of those filmmakers on his directorial debut, he gets an A for effort. The super-stylish tale of an ex-con (Colin Farrell) who tries and fails to live the […]
Posted inArts + Music
Dazzling Pina
“Words can only evoke things,” one dancer says to the camera early in Pina. “That’s where dance comes in.” This Oscar-nominated documentary puts that ethos to the test; presenting a breathtaking string of world-class dances in tribute to celebrated German choreographer Pina Bausch. Fellow German Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire) directs, presenting the film in […]
Posted inArts + Music
Safe House, cheap entertainment
Director Daniel Espinosa’s Safe House doesn’t tread into new territory, but uses tricks of the spy-movie trade, with claustrophobic chase scenes, shaky close-ups, and badass shoot-outs to boot. When the CIA safe house in Cape Town, South Africa, is breached, rookie Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is in charge of fugitive agent Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington), […]
Posted inArts + Music
Film moves beyond prejudice
Catherine Farquharson was excited to go to her senior prom. It was 2008, the first year that someone like Farquharson, who is white, would be able to attend the prom with her boyfriend, who is black. Charleston High School was about to hold its first integrated prom. “A few kids in our town are changing […]
Posted inArts + Music
The Vow leaves reviewer’s heart unmelted
Early on in this tepid romantic drama, Channing Tatum’s college-quarterback voice elucidates the theory that major moments in life can shape one’s identity. No shit. The Vow isn’t deep enough to drown an ant, but it aims to submerge audiences in their own tears with its story of an artist (Rachel McAdams) who can’t remember […]
