Arts

It may be a cliché, but sometimes there’s truth in those things: Victoria Film Festival (VFF) director Kathy Kay says to “expect the unexpected” from the 18th annual celebration of film, running February 3-12. “There’s a lot of variety,” she says, “from Swiss films, horror films, Sarah Polley’s latest film [Take This Waltz], there’s an […]

Pianist Matt Catingub has reason to be paying tribute to the Rat Pack – a gaggle of musicians that included Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, and others. Turns out there’s a closer connection than just enjoying the sounds of a time past. “My mother was a jazz musician who was signed on by […]

Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures (Island) 3.5/5 At 27, Amy Winehouse’s death was a tragic loss to the music industry. The British singer/songwriter was a self-abusive, dramatic mess whose stories flooded tabloids on a regular basis. But with the release of Lioness: Hidden Treasures, we’re reminded of the power of the voice behind the wreckage. […]

Carnage 4/5 One of the biggest challenges in adapting a play into a feature film is the setting. At a theatre production you expect either a single set, or possibly a few set changes. But when watching a film you expect more. So the challenge for Roman Polanski’s latest film, Carnage, is making a single […]

The Queer Film Classics books series features three new books written for a generation that grew up in a world where it’s becoming more accepted to be queer. The books, at under 200 pages each and published by Arsenal Pulp Press, are about three films that helped to move the world into a more tolerant […]

Glenn Wool experienced two life-changing events 15 years ago. He was involved in an automobile accident, and he won $10,000 on a scratch-and-win ticket. Instead of replacing his car and continuing to work as a fledgling Canadian road comic, he decided to move to England, and that made all the difference. At the time, most […]

Thursday, January 12 Sunday Buckets Bard and Banker, 9 pm Get yourself together! Shower, do some general personal hygiene, and then head down to the Bard & Banker for a meal with your friends. Sunday Buckets is playing, and they’ll be almost as groomed as you for this show. Thursday, January 12 Shane Philip, Tequila […]