Paul Thomas Andersen is one of a handful of studio darlings whose films win big at both the box office and the awards circuit. Assuming dual roles of writer and director, Andersen is among an even smaller group that can weave a seductive story with absolute, creative precision. This control,[Read More…]
Arts & Entertainment
Keep up to date on local art, new albums, and everything entertainment-related.
A literary classic in a modern light
A fusion of new and old takes the stage this week with Metachroma Theatre’s inaugural production, Richard III, brought alive through a contemporary spin on a Shakespearean classic. As Montreal’s newest theatre company, Metachroma aims not only to pay homage to he Bard, but also to make a cultural statement[Read More…]
Christopher Hitchens’ last words
When Christopher Hitchens learned that he was the subject of a prematurely written obituary at the outset of 2007, he decided to set down an autobiography before the corrected proof came in. The book came fast on the heels of his bestselling anti-theist tirade, God Is Not Great: How Religion[Read More…]
La Rentrée: sex, identity, and nothingness
Painting, sketchwork, photography, and performance art are on display at La Rentrée, highlighting pieces by Eliza Griffiths, Pierre Dalpé, and Mariane Bourcheix-Laporte that explore themes present in contemporary art. Love, Alienation, and Free Association Eliza Griffith’s suite of paintings and drawings explores issues of need, estrangement, intimacy, gender identity, and[Read More…]
Giving voice to the ghosts of our past
Kevin Loring’s Where the Blood Mixes, winner of the 2009 Governor General’s Literary Award, has an intriguing simplicity in its outlook. Although the Teesri Duniya Theatre production foregrounds a realism with its sharp humour, Lib Spry’s direction helps the performance segue into the poetic. The sombre play about the haunting[Read More…]
‘Popular trilogy’ concludes with La Traviata
This past Saturday, Opéra de Montréal opened its 2012-2013 season with Verdi’s La Traviata. The opera tells the story of two lovers, Violetta and Alfredo, whose public love affair brings great shame to Alfredo’s family. After an unexpected visit from Alfredo’s father, Violetta realizes the detrimental consequences of her love[Read More…]
Stories worth showing
World Press Photo, journalism’s most prestigious annual photography contest, is currently exhibiting 161 award-winning photos in nine categories at Marché Bonsecours in Old Montreal. The show is part of a travelling exhibition set to tour 100 cities around the globe, and can be visited in Montreal until Sept. 30. “We[Read More…]
Beast of burden
If a script can be personified, Bullhead needs but one word: cruel. Not because it mistreats its audience—on the contrary, the film is as beautiful as it is miserable; dazzling as it is horrific. The sheer amount of sadness that writer-director Michael R. Roskam packs into two hours is so[Read More…]
Topanga, meet world
A little under two years ago, four childhood friends started making music in a Toronto basement. They dubbed themselves ‘Topanga’ either after the character on the popular television show Boy Meets World, or a canyon in California—take your pick. They had few expectations and no goals in mind—just a shared[Read More…]
Patrick Wolf – Sundark and Riverlight
Although just 29 years old—by many standards a “young” artist—Patrick Wolf’s repertoire speaks beyond his age. After 10 years and five studio albums later–including the much acclaimed Wind in the Wires and the recent 2011 release Lupercalia–the English singer-songwriter has become synonymous with melodic, haunting lyrics, and musical progressions on[Read More…]
