You don’t have to look hard to see Mike Spurr’s obsession. The police sergeant stands on his Waverley porch wearing a Yellow Submarine t-shirt. Three Beatles-related prints line a wall in his family’s living room, including a limited-edition photo by Astrid Kirchherr of a young John Lennon, George Harrison and early member Stu Sutcliffe, sporting […]
Video
Posted inArts + Music
Band-made celluloid: rock film clips
In amongst his 244 soundtrack appearances, Paul McCartney has 23 official credits as an actor, mostly voiceovers and Wings DVD compilations. Of course, he did appear as himself in the Beatles movies of the ’60s, including A Hard Day’s Night, Help and Magical Mystery Tour. And in 1978, McCartney appeared in an uncredited cameo in […]
Posted inArts + Music
Moon rivets
Great sci-fi rivets those who aren’t inclined to watch it; in fact, great films invade and conquer audiences from anywhere. So yes, Duncan Jones’ Moon-set mystery-of-existence does rely on the silly sci-fi assumption that zero gravity is no matter in the indeterminate future, but Jones seeks to tell a claustrophobic and paranoid tale of a […]
Posted inArts + Music
Public Enemies sometimes dangerous
Having a positive view of Michael Mann’s previous films, I’m tempted not to dwell on what stuck in my craw about Public Enemies. The film intermittently reaches dizzying heights of tone, tension, performance and presentation, but not often enough and never all at the same time. Great sequences like John Dillinger’s escape from an Indiana […]
Posted inArts + Music
Oliver Jones Jazz Festival show sold out
Atlantic Jazz Fest organizers have announced that Montreal-based award-winning pianist Oliver Jones solo concert on July 15 in the Delta Hotel is sold out. Those lucky enough to get tickets will be treated to “his acrobatic piano stunts and unmistakable finesse, his lightning-fast technique, solid articulation, powerful lyricism and rollicking rhythms.” Another fine argument for […]
Posted inArts + Music
Virgin Fest video & photos
In case you missed Saturday’s free Virgin Fest show, or if you need to explain to mom why you tracked dirt through the kitchen—here’s some live photo and video proof of the show. Photos: Ashley LeBlanc What were your highlights? J Mascis’ hair? Handsome Furs’ high kicks? Seeing Dog Day on a stadium stage? Let […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotia needs a new deal
Kyle Shaw: Not long after the global financial meltdown started last September, Nova Scotia’s then-premier Rodney MacDonald announced that he had formed an Economic Advisory Panel to help steer the province through these troubled times. The names on his list were the usual suspects of Nova Scotia business, representing the major companies literally doing business […]
Posted inArts + Music
Seven magnificent faces of Johnny Depp
Johnny be weird but misunderstood In 1993’s Benny & Joon, Depp plays an eccentric young man who falls in love with a mentally ill woman (Mary Stuart Masterson). Not to be confused with What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, which also came out in ’93, where he plays a confused young man who takes care of his […]
Posted inArts + Music
Depp impact
Johnny Depp is easily the silver-screen idol for women (and men) young and old. His on-screen personae and leading-man charisma are remarkable for their lack of definition and comfort—from making you cringe as the syphilis-afflicted Earl of Rochester in The Libertine, to making knees weak in the romantic drama Chocolat. His work from the last […]
Posted inArts + Music
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
There’s a small detail in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen that cuts to the heart of Michael Bay’s tact. Teen hero Sam (Shia LaBeouf) sits in his university astronomy class, where somehow every enrolled female student looks like a Maxim model. To appreciate some of Bay’s movies, one must learn to accept that his interests […]
Posted inArts + Music
Amelia trailer flies high
The trailer for Amelia, Mira Nair’s Amelia Earhart biopic, starring Hilary Swank, Ewan McGregor and Richard Gere, is now online. Set for release this October, scenes from the film were shot right here, but sadly without McGregor.
Posted inFood + Drink
Tears for beers as the Midtown’s end nears
[Editor’s note: This story is one of a package of three of Andy Murdoch’s articles selected for Honourable Mention in the Food Writing category of the Association of Alternative Newsweekies’ 2010 awards. See all three here.] The original Midtown tavern is another icon of an important period in our drinking history that is about to […]
