Music

Reviews

Stardust

Stardust has a really good idea for a movie: the rise of an insecure musician who strives for fame but, at the same time, is scared of how his lack of identity will ruin him.  If the movie was about an ambiguous celebrity, director Gabriel Range (Death of a President) could’ve had a lot of room to explore the anxieties of fame.  Unfortunately, he’s desperate to crowbar these dilemmas into an unqualified and unauthorized biopic…

Reviews

The Accompanist

Director, writer, and star Frederick Keeve demonstrates a strong imagination but a weak sense of dramatic ability in his feature The Accompanist, a story about a gay piano accompanist who becomes infatuated with a male ballerina amidst a series of tragedies that befall both men.

Reviews

Melody Makers: Should’ve Been There

Sam Tweedle, a local theatre critic for KawarthaNow.com, is one of the most well-versed music wiz’s I know. We occasionally run into each other at local productions he’s writing about, but I’m almost more familiar with his online takes on his favourite musicians and underrated albums. During our run-ins, he picks my brain about movies. We agree on Kirk Cameron, we disagree on 1st Summoning, but I digress.

Reviews

Wild Rose

By: Jolie Featherstone “Three chords and the truth” – Harlan Howard’s oft-quoted definition of country music may well describe the soul of Wild Rose.  Directed by Tom Harper and written by Nicole Taylor, Wild Rose is a classic underdog tale with an endlessly watchable underdog in the form of the fiery Rose-Lynn Harlan.

Reviews

I’m Going to Break Your Heart

By: Trevor Chartrand I’m Going to Break Your Heart is an observational documentary that explores the relationship between Canadian indie-rock legend Raine Maida and his Juno-Award winning wife Chantal Kreviazuk as they collaborate on their first album together.  The couple struggles as all couples do, with the added challenges and frustrations of working together to create art as a team.

Reviews

Teen Spirit

Teen Spirit is an uplifting contemporary musical that will be a hit with its teenage crowd.  The swooning camera work, the boosted colour palette, and its covers of catchy electro-pop tunes are all advantageous qualities towards the film’s pep.

Reviews

Her Smell

Earlier this week, the ALMA Observatory photographed “the first direct image of a black hole”.  The picture glowingly pulsates if you stare at it for too long – it’s actually quite marvellous.  What the ALMA Observatory may not know is that I had seen a star collapse the night before – a walking black hole, if you will, portrayed by Elisabeth Moss (The One I Love, Us).