Though stuffed into only 150 pages, Julian Barnes’ new novel, The Sense of an Ending, is a very big book. This thin volume trades in themes one might only expect to find in a real doorstopper of a book, a fat Bildungsroman, a sweeping history of a life. Barnes’ book[Read More…]
Arts & Entertainment
Keep up to date on local art, new albums, and everything entertainment-related.
Pop Montreal preview
Symposium All the Mistakes You Can Make and How (Not) to Make Them Friday, Sept. 23 14:30-16:00 Location: L’ancienne École des beaux-arts de Montréal Even the indie music industry is still an industry requiring business sense and navigation. Those aspiring to be the next Arcade Fire can soak in the[Read More…]
Conference explores English-language arts in Quebec
cbsnews.com After the anglophone arts scene in Montreal fell apart in the turbulent political clime of the ‘60s and ‘70s, and after flights of anglo exodus before both the 1980 and 1995 referendum, English-language arts have enjoyed a resurgence here over the past decade. Both to celebrate this success, and[Read More…]
Drive: In every sense of the word
pixwallpaper.com Drive is not an action movie. It’s not a superhero flick. It’s not grindhouse, gangster, or romance. Drive is all of these things, and it works. Set in some of the seedier parts of Los Angeles, Drive is pulled from the pages of James Salis’ 2005 novel of the[Read More…]
Fire on the court, not just in the arcade
popmontreal.com There’s never any shortage of interesting and unique things to do and see at POP Montreal, but there’s been nothing quite like this in the festival’s 10-year history. This year, the festival hosts the first annual Pop vs. Jock Charity Basketball Match, an event organized by Arcade Fire’s Win[Read More…]
Beauty parlour in the south sets stage for drama
It’s strange to consider the human condition as revealed in a beauty parlour. Steel Magnolias, however, accomplishes exactly that. Upon the death of his sister, playwright Robert Harling interwove reflections on religion, tragedy, and the myriad complexities of human relationships in a script that is nothing short of a linguistic[Read More…]
Red Hot Chili Peppers: I’m With You
I’m With You, the tenth record from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the first after a five-year hiatus, takes the signature Pepper funk sound in a different direction. The new route is undoubtedly due to the departure of long time guitarist John Frusciante, the band’s musical compass, and his[Read More…]
Don’t put this conscious comic in a corner
sophiek.com If comedians were meals, Hari Kondabolu would be the delicious, home-cooked variety. Other stand-up comics are frequently almost equally tasty, but often, I find myself enjoying a routine only to feel nauseous looking back at what I’ve tacitly endorsed with my laughter—exactly how I feel after eating McDonald’s. Following[Read More…]
Kung fu film an action-packed epic
mymovies.ge It’s 690 B.C. in ancient China, on the eve of a coronation that will vest a woman with the power of emperor for the first time in China’s history. Looming in the background is a titanic Buddha, under construction as a tribute to the empress’ power and the witness[Read More…]
2011 Polaris Music Prize Preview
The Polaris Music Prize is awarded annually to the best full-length Canadian album released that year, independent of genre or commercial success. Loosely based on the UK’s Mercury Prize, the judges evaluate each year’s nominees based on their creativity, diversity, and artistic integrity. Past winners include Caribou, Fucked Up, and[Read More…]