Despicable Me was touted as Universal’s answer to Pixar’s steady stream of successful, adorable, and quirky animated films including Up, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles. While the style of Despicable Me may resemble that of Pixar, and the characters are of the same eccentric variety, Despicable Me offers a new and interesting story for children and adults with a villain whose sole desire in life is to make others as miserable as he is.
Arts & Entertainment
Keep up to date on local art, new albums, and everything entertainment-related.
Summer Entertainment Report Cards: Movies – Shrek Forever After
Reclining in my IMAX chair and slipping on my 3-D glasses, I was totally prepared for Shrek 4 to suck. Instead, I partook a fun, genuine, and hilarious ride through the fairy tale world in absolutely gorgeous IMAX 3-D. The movie gets off to a bit of a slow start, with Shrek trapped in a “Groundhog-Day-esque” scene of mundane family life.
Summer Entertainment Report Cards: Movies – Toy Story 3
Just when you thought that Pixar couldn’t perfect another timeless movie, they’ve done it again. Although I’ve always been pretty skeptical about sequels within the animated genre-need I mention Little Mermaid 2, Lion King 1.5- this third instalment of Toy Story has truly proven that sequels can rank up to par with their original.
Summer Entertainment Report Cards: TV Shows – True Blood
Picking up immediately from the intriguing cliff-hanger of season two, season three begins with Sookie Stackhouse enlisting the help of the (very sexy) vampire Eric in order to look for Bill, who has just been abducted by a mysterious source. As the season unfolds, it turns out that it is Russell Edgington-the vampire king of Mississippi- who, along with a brigade of werewolves, has taken Bill as a prisoner.
CD REVIEWS: Cancer Bats: Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones
I’ve had a soft spot for Cancer Bats since high school, watching them open many Alexisonfire shows in Toronto. I’ve endured the dirty looks received for wearing a shirt with “cancer” written on it, and for many other people their first two albums are too much to handle.
Dissecting art
Nicholas Ruddock’s debut novel, The Parabolist, is told through interlacing narratives that pivot around a group of University of Toronto medical students in 1975, taught by Roberto Moreno. Moreno is a recently immigrated Mexican poet and member of the (fictional) parabolist movement, a group which “arranges words and ideas in such a way that the energy input burns.
Nancy Drew’s newest competition
When Alan Bradley set out to write his first detective novel he had no idea it would lead to the character of Flavia de Luce, or to a series about the young sleuth, in which The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag is the second novel. “I was writing another detective novel that I thought I had plotted very carefully for story and characters, then Flavia just materialized in it,” Bradley says.
CD REVIEWS: Hunter Valentine: Lessons From The Late Night
Hunter Valentine are a three-piece all-girl rock band from Toronto who will release their second full-length album, Lessons From The Late Night, on April 17. With seven songs totalling 22 minutes, it’s a slight step above an EP, though you probably won’t be disappointed that there isn’t more.
POP RHETORIC: Material Girl Gaga
When Lady Gaga first entered the pop music scene back in 2008, I forced myself to take a second look. Her lyrics were symbolic of both the feminine mystique and female empowerment, she wore avant-garde and provocative clothing (or a lack thereof), and she had the strong ability to capture the attention of millions by dominating the music charts for weeks on end.
CD REVIEWS: Barenaked Ladies: All in Good Time
For a Canadian alternative rock band, the Barenaked Ladies have had their share of success from the shoebox of life. I was both intrigued and astonished to see them release a new album, All in Good Time, after some recent ups and downs with the band’s front-man, Steven Page, splitting from the group in 2009.