Month: July 2016
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Neon Demon
Nicolas Winding Refn returns with Neon Demon. Does the film work or does Refn’s belief in creative narcissism threaten to take over and ruin things? I have been a fan of Nicolas Winding Refn for a few years now, after stellar showings like Bronson and Valhalla Rising, but mostly after Drive, the film where all…
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Jaws: Blockbusters and Bad Sequels
Jaws was one of the first templates for the international summer movie, but how much did the increasingly insipid sequel cash ins inspire today’s blockbusters? The world of popular cinema is stuffed with sequels and remakes, reboots, rehashes, and retreads. Nowhere is this more true than in the summer time when the studios will resurrect…
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Five Classic Science Fiction Novels
We dig into some of the best-loved science fiction novels of all time to give you recommendations and see if their classic status is warranted. There was a time in University and beyond when I went out of my way to read as many of the classic, ‘important’ pieces of literature that I could. At…
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Netflix and Resurrection
Netflix is resurrecting television shows from cancellation hell, sometimes to mixed results. Either way, they have driven a trend with networks bringing back nostalgia programming. Netflix is known for resurrecting television shows from cancellation hell. One of my favourite shows of all time was Futurama, the tale of a bunch of loveable dummies working at…
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Tickled
The new documentary Tickled, about adult tickling competitions of all things, may seem like an innocuous idea, until some more sinister underbellies are entertainingly revealed. It’s impossible to talk about the new documentary Tickled, playing in many cities across the country as of this Friday, without mentioning the odd, strange case of the phenomenon of…
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I Saw the Light
I Saw the Light is another amazing performance from Tom Hiddleston, but it serves as a warning that we need to reform the biopic genre. It feels like Tom Hiddleston is all that I see on my TV anymore, having just watched The Night Manager, High-Rise, and now I Saw the Light. And perhaps I…
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Jazzfest: City and Colour
City and Colour close out the Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival this year. Crowds pack in for a great show as a storm looms in the background. This year’s SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival closed out its lineup at the Delta Bessborough Gardens with an extraordinary show by City and Colour. A severe thunderstorm warning had been…