ARTS
A thousand or so words on Abbas Kiarostami
What is Kiarostami trying to tell me? That’s the question I keep asking myself as I’ve been introduced to his films over the past few weeks at his TIFF Retrospective. I’m told there’s a magic moment that comes to those going through Kiarostami’s work for the first time. For me, ...
A Dying Art Form: Does film have a future in Hollywood?
“On the surface, The Hateful Eight operates as a kind of homage to John Carpenter’s The Thing” was all the praise I needed to pre-purchase my ticket for Quentin Tarantino’s new movie. The fact that it was going to be shown in 70mm film, accompanied by an overture and intermission, ...
Misplaced Nostalgia: HBO’s Vinyl doesn’t manage to find its rhythm
Since Mad Men’s ending last year, I’ve been on the hunt for a new period piece to give my soul and procrastination time to. Vinyl, HBO’s new Martin Scorsese-Mick Jagger-Rich Cohen-Terrence Winter collaboration, seemed like a good candidate to fill said hole in my television-watching habits. However, the show falls ...
REVIEW: Son of Saul
Son of Saul, directed by László Nemes, tells a story of one man’s search for meaning in a world deprived of humanity. The film, set in the Auschwitz concentration camp, follows one prisoner’s quest for meaning after seeing the death of a boy he takes to be his long-lost son. ...
Missing Kanye: Nostalgia and The Life of Pablo
Artists in the 21st century are expected to create and produce successful work with little turnaround time. Once fame is achieved, there’s only so much time before you’re left behind for someone keener, bolder, and maybe even younger. Frank Ocean and Rihanna have been prey to online communities begging for ...
The 5 Crappiest Movies Filmed in Toronto
5. Short Circuit 2 Whereas the original 1986 Short Circuit—also filmed in Toronto—was surprisingly successful, and had a compelling plot in a U.S. military robot that gains intelligence and escapes after “short-circuiting”, Short Circuit 2 catches up with the same robot several years later. He is embroiled in a gangster ...
The Strand’s EAs go to WInterlcious!
Bannock Restaurant Review Alison Zhou We arrived to a full-but-not-crowded scene and were the last to leave, a few minutes after closing. It was Wednesday (Hump Day); one of my dates had just trudged through his midterm, the other in from Finch Station. Despite this and the dreary weather-my inspiration ...
Antique Fables Theatre Collective: A Diverse and Contemporary Look at Classic Texts
This past week, I met up with Liz Laywine—UofT theatre grad, co-founder of the Antique Fables Theatre Collective, and director and producer of the first show of their inaugural season, Medea. We discussed the process that she and her co-founder, Travis DeWolf, went through in forming the collective, as well ...
The Strand Reviews UofT Drama Fest, which Celebrates Student Theatre
Every year, the University of Toronto Drama Coalition hosts its annual Drama Festival. This is an entirely student-run event; each college from the St. George Campus and groups from the Mississauga and Scarborough campuses are eligible to submit a play written and performed by students. This year—marking the 80th ...
St. Mike’s Evita: An Odd Choice, but it Paid Off
St. Michael’s Troubadours performed Evita, a musical by Tim Rice (music) and Andrew Lloyd Weber (lyrics), at Hart House this past weekend, with director Jeffrey Kennes and producer David Carcasole. The musical focuses on the ascension of historical figure Eva Perón (Madeline Foley), the wife of the Argentinian President Juan ...