ST. JOHN’S (CUP) — “If I am from this province, it does not make any sense if I am taking first-year English and I am paying $255 for the course and then somebody sitting along side of me, but [who] happens to be from Zimbabwe, is paying $800 for the same course,” said Daniel Smith.
While many artists shy away from works tackling First Nations subject matter for fear of controversy or inaccessibility, Terrance Houle’s new exhibition “GIVN’R” features a body of work that earnestly explores Aboriginal culture and is still able to poke some fun at itself.
You’ve been hearing it for weeks: it’s TIFF time in Toronto, and that means glitz, glamour and whatever other buzzword bullshit will get stargazers flocking to the ticket booths.
TIFF’s primary nod to Canadiana this year was its opening night presentation of Michael McGowan’s Score: A Hockey Musical (the title is self-explanatory), whose red carpet guests included Walter Gretzky, Ron MacLean and George Stroumboulopoulos. However, the festival also showcased multiple Canadian short films, as well as some Canadianfeatures.
After attending the world premiere of Mitch Glazer’s directorial debut, the romance-fantasy-gangster flick Passion Play, I can’t help but feel that TIFF Director and CEO Piers Handling gave the most impressive performance of the evening. In the presence of the film’s director and principal cast, Handling introduced the film with such enthusiasm and conviction in its tribute to love and fantasy that I actually began to think we might be in for an unexpected treat.
While it could have been an uneventful and boring one-man show, director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) easily makes 127 Hours into an inspiring story about determination and the quality of life.
Excalibur delivers some one-line movie reviews of the films at TIFF 2010.
What are you willing to sacrifice in the name of freedom? Rachid Bouchareb’s intense historical drama Outside the Law, which premiered to some controversy at Cannes earlier this year, poses this very question, and wraps it in the context of Algeria’s struggle for independence from France.
Facebook, Twitter, cell phones and various other forms of modern social networking devices represent the unprecedented pinnacle of superficial communication technology, promoting the ludicrous idea that people need to be in contact with each other at all times.
