Weary of her stop-gap cubicle job, Amy Adams’ Julie Powell embarks on a year-long quest to cook her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking (and blog her progress). Newlywed in Paris and recently sprung from American government service, Meryl Streep’s Julia Child takes cooking classes at Le Cordon Bleu and begins a cookbook […]
review
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GI Joe battles disposability
“There’s no distinction anymore,” I answered when asked if G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is for kids or nostalgic adults. The latest in toy-line cinema delivers the usual ADD blockbuster formula: Two lines of exposition, followed by three shots of vehicles moving around. Stephen Sommers’ brand of effects chaos is lighter on its feet […]
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Opera Excerpts a crowd pleaser
If you’re not sure that opera’s really your thing, I can’t think of a better way to whet your appetite than Halifax Summer Opera Workshop’s Opera Excerpts. The program, which takes pieces from different types of opera from baroque to modern, has something to please almost everyone. Some things, such as the Green-Acres-esque marital misunderstanding […]
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Stop Kiss goes slow
While the process of falling in love is infinitely exciting and engrossing to the people involved, the Open Concept production of Stop Kiss proves that is much less so to outside observers. The play is actually two intercut storylines: one about a pair of seemingly straight women, Callie (Annie Valentina) and Sara (Kristin Langille), and […]
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Great Thing echoed in the Fall
In Some Great Thing (2003) and now Fall, Colin McAdam investigates a disappearance. True, in each book, someone actually disappears, but late in the novels’ progress. The more important disappearance for McAdam is how some people conceal themselves from others, receding from the world, despite remaining physically in it. Of course, this behaviour has consequences. […]
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Tongan Death Grip
Local favourites Tongan Death Grip stuck around the Halifax punk scene for scarcely a year before losing a member to Montreal. Fans have to sate themselves with rare appearances now, but fortunately there’s this four-song EP that captures the energy and pop-punk fervour of live shows. “Murder at Pop Tate’s” is as fast and addictive […]
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Gossip
Gossip face potential backlash for their major label shift—a far cry from an Arkansas punk-rock blues band originally on Kill Rock Stars. But Music for Men is an homage to homos. The title track and “Men In Love” nod to the lack of queer-minded music. Political dance anthems “Pop Goes the World,” “Heavy Cross” and […]
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The problem with time travel
The success or failure of a paranormal-tinged drama lies in how seamlessly the supernatural elements can cradle the melodrama. In 1991, Truly, Madly, Deeply’s ghost story was able to do this, and, from the sublime to the ridiculous, 2006’s The Lake House was able to compliment its love story with the inherent suspense in dual […]
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Share
Although this is Share’s third album, in some ways it’s the first as a band. Originally intended as a musical and experimental outlet for guitarist/vocalist Andrew Sisk, Share has settled nicely into its place as a roots pop band with a cohesive mature sound. Produced by Dan Ledwell in a PEI cabin, the fresh air […]
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Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
Bigger than Jesus and The Beatles: so were the hopes for 1960s crooner Scott Walker. The American-born enigmatic singer won over the Brit-pop scene with his boy band The Walkers and their big hit, a cover of “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore).” Walker left the band to pursue his own bizarre, experimental brand of […]
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(500) Days of Summer falls, hard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Tom falls hard for Zooey Deschanel’s Summer, who does not return the sentiment, so naturally, the relationship doesn’t work out. (500) Days, though it has its moments of genuine insight, is more a story of heartbreak for heartbreak’s sake and not a deep emotional journey. The supporting cast all speak the same commiserative […]
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Apatow’s Funny People can’t see straight
In Funny People, Judd Apatow inserts real documentary footage of his daughter singing “Memory” in her school performance of Cats, and makes it a story point. That says everything about Funny People‘s inflated sense of importance. Apatow hasn’t a touch for big-screen comedy (not in pacing, composition, nor attitude). He prioritizes mass acceptance too highly […]
