AltWeeklies Wire
'The Happening' is NOT Happeningnew
M. Night Shyamalan's latest fails to revive his flagging career.
Montreal Mirror |
Mark Slutsky |
06-13-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: M. Night Shyamalan, The Happening
Thai Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul on Film and Censorshipnew
Thailand's board of censors demanded that four scenes -- which apparently portrayed doctors and monks in a disrespectful light -- be cut from Syndromes and a Century, and Weerasethakul refused, which meant that the film could not legally be shown.
Montreal Mirror |
Mark Slutsky |
06-13-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Argentina's 'XXY' is Surprising and Originalnew
Argentinean director Lucia Puenzo makes her feature debut with a thoughtful yet startling film that's part family drama, part coming-of-age tale, and wholly original.
Montreal Mirror |
Malcolm Fraser |
05-30-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Lucia Puenzo, XXY
British Scholar Peter Hallward Examines Foreign Meddling in Haitinew
Damming the Flood is a formidably researched account of the 2004 coup that is critical of foreign intervention in Haiti.
Montreal Mirror |
Samer Elatrash |
05-30-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
'The Strangers' is Not Scary Enoughnew
While you can't fault Bryan Bertino for erring on the subtle side in a genre that lately is all about splashy, silly excess, The Strangers just needs a little more oomph to be truly scary.
Montreal Mirror |
Mark Slutsky |
05-30-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: The Strangers, Bryan Bertino
Hated Director Uwe Boll Takes on His Criticsnew
Speaking to the Mirror from Vancouver, he delivered an uninterrupted five-minute monologue touching on why nobody in Chicago wanted to interview him and he had to fly home after the screening, neo-Nazis, why Alone in the Dark was just as good as Elektra, why Paul Haggis' Crash is "pathetic," and how Postal is an incisive indictment of America.
Montreal Mirror |
Mark Slutsky |
05-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Steven Kurutz Goes Behind the Scenes with Tribute Bandsnew
Like a Rolling Stone concerns itself largely with Kurutz's experience touring with two Stones tribute bands, Sticky Fingers and Canada's own Blushing Brides. The dramatic core of the book is the bitter and bizarre rivalry between two aging Mick-divas, Fingers' frontman Glen Carroll (pictured on the cover of the book) and Montreal-born Maurice Raymond.
Montreal Mirror |
Juliet Waters |
05-23-2008 |
Nonfiction
Islands Sail into 'Arm's Way'new
Islands have transformed from Nick Thorburn and a revolving door of guest stars into a cohesive group with a stable future.
Montreal Mirror |
Erik Leijon |
05-23-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
'The World According to Monsanto' Investigates the Agricultural Giantnew
The extent of the Monsanto corporation's evildoing, and how they've been able to get away with it for so long, is the subject of the scrupulous, thorough and damning new film from French director Marie-Monique Robin, who's published a companion book of the same title.
Montreal Mirror |
Malcolm Fraser |
05-23-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Solitary Musicial Genius Dosh is a One-Man Band No Morenew
Anticon recording artist Martin Dosh is used to sitting on a swivel stool flanked with drums, a Fender Rhodes keyboard, a few pots and pans and an array of looping pedals. This leading name in one-man-bands is a tour de force alone, but now tours with partner Mike Lewis to explore the wider musical world found on Dosh's latest, Wolves and Wishes.
Montreal Mirror |
Scott C. |
05-16-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Dosh, Wolves and Wishes
Go Back to Narnia with 'Prince Caspian'new
It's a little long, a little boring, but not entirely without visual inventiveness. Your mileage may vary depending on whether you're squiring tykes (sure, why not) or going by yourself as a grown-ass man or woman (don't bother).
Montreal Mirror |
Mark Slutsky |
05-16-2008 |
Reviews
Lynda Barry Gives Us a Lesson on Writing in 'What It Is'new
What It Is is beautiful. If you've ever seen the illustrated version of William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience, you'll recognize the color scheme. Still, on my first reading of the somewhat murky, meandering opening section, I felt a vague unease.
Montreal Mirror |
Juliet Waters |
05-16-2008 |
Nonfiction
The Death Set Lives It Upnew
A Death Set gig is in the same full-contact, play-in-the-crowd style as Dan Deacon and Girl Talk, which requires an absence of personal-space inhibitions on Johnny Sierra's part, but how close is too close? "I don't know," he chuckles. "I haven't had to say that yet. The closer and more spazzy it gets, the more fun it is."
Montreal Mirror |
Rupert Bottenberg |
05-16-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Worldwide, The Death Set
Garth Jennings & Nick Goldsmith on Their Affectionate Tribute to '80s Action Moviesnew
Much like Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind, Son of Rambow is the story of a group of inspired amateurs competing with Hollywood on a shoestring. It's a sweet and frequently hilarious film that overflows with the spirit of childhood derring-do.
Montreal Mirror |
Mark Slutsky |
05-09-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Garth Jennings, Son of Rambow
Finding an Affordable Crystal Dildonew
"I only found a couple sites that seemed to carry such a thing and they were in the rather prohibitive range of $600-$1,700. I don't want glass, pretty as those can be; ideally, I'd like one in rose quartz, to maximize the loving vibrations. Maybe there's a Stevie Nicks-endorsed line out there I missed?"
Montreal Mirror |
Sasha |
05-09-2008 |
Advice
Tags: advice columns
