The air is warm and smells rich and spicy in Cafe Istanbul, and the small restaurant is cozy and comfortable. There is an instrumental version of Lionel Ritchie’s “Hello” playing. Pan flute, I think. Not exactly what I expect at a Turkish restaurant, but in a way it sets the pace—I’m not going to get […]
review
Posted inArts + Music
Track & Trace, Zachariah Wells (Biblioasis)
Zachariah Wells (reading this Thursday with Wayne Clifford and Amy Jones, 6pm at The Company House) frequently tunes to the world in winter, searching out its subtleties with heightened sense, a pursuit implied by title, design and illustrations by Seth. The PEI native’s rural settings are recognizably Maritime, and the power of the landscape to […]
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Slayer
ZOMG NEW SLAYER. Listening to this and I am back in junior high wearing all black and pretending I am better than everyone, when in reality I am totally jealous of my friend’s Amiga and will punish his level 26 mage with my sadistically nerdy dungeon-mastering ways. (Magic missile this, you better-computer-having jerk.) Twenty-six years […]
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Three Sheet
A spirited, thoughtful MC, Expedyte’s verses can get wordy at times. Occasionally he sounds hurried, behind the beat. But he nails it on, for example, “Norm Now.” Vanessa Furlong delivers throughout the album, particularly “Blood Whale” and “How it Goes.” Halifax’s Three Sheet has got something. They’ve got a human beatbox, EMC, but no kit—that […]
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Monsters of Folk
The hilariously named Monsters of Folk consists of indie-rock superstars M. Ward, Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis (both from Bright Eyes). Many have already compared MoF to the Traveling Wilburys, and it’s appropriate since both bands are folk-rock supergroups, but a more notable point is that the Monsters, like the […]
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No Great Mischief has legs
If you’re lucky enough to possess an imagination, David S. Young’s stage adaptation of Alistair MacLeod’s beloved No Great Mischief will take you on trip from the Highlands of Scotland to the depths of Kirkland Lake. For the price of a theatre ticket and in only two hours, you’ll visit the storm-swept Canso Causeway, the […]
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Amelia a one-note wonder
A quick perusal of the Wikipedia page for Amelia Earhart indicates a complex character best suited for the close analysis of a 400-page book, not a two-hour movie that will certainly include Earhart’s (played here by Hilary Swank) “greatest hits,” like her solo flying accomplishments and the attendant fame and fortune, her lovers—husband George Puttnam […]
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Paranormal Activity gets the blood pumping
Remember that fantastic Eddie Murphy bit from Delirious where Murphy demonstrates what any black person (but, really, any sensible person) would do when faced with the demons of The Amityville Horror: “Too bad we can’t stay, baby!” Murphy’s routine rang a bell during Paranormal Activity, because for characters Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat (the actors […]
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Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man mundane
The common Coen brothers scenario of good peoples’ lives ruined by bad choices is flipped in A Serious Man. Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is a good person whose trauma is that he makes no new choices. The metaphor is made plain: As a math professor, Larry insists that equations must provide certainty. A Simple Man […]
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Astro Boy remake charming and thoughtful
Based on a vintage Japanese cartoon and manga series, Astro Boy arrives with more charm and care than one would expect for yet another pop-culture regurgitation. The plot is typical human vs. machine stuff, or, specifically, boy robot vs. fucking huge, power-mad despot robot, but it doesn’t pander, bore or bullshit. There are no hollow […]
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MacIvor’s Confession an absolute must-go
It’s something of a Daniel MacIvor bonanza in Halifax this week, with both A Beautiful View and Confession (albeit for one night only) playing. How interesting it is to see the two plays back to back, and to pick out themes—truth, death, chairs (okay, that’s not a theme)—shared by both. Confession is the story of […]
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Pissed Jeans
I know I should’ve reviewed this when it first came out, but I needed time to let my gushing fanboy-ness settle a bit. Like, could there be a more personally relatable album released this year? Apathy, listlessness, workplace drudgery, male pattern baldness, the uneasy acceptance of adulthood, the need for a good massage—real talk, yo. […]