MONDOmagazine

A very solid stare from Travolta.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Directed by Tony Scott
Columbia Pictures, 2009

By Brian Last

Hollywood is losing its creative juices — half of the films out there are either based on books or are remakes of older movies. The ones that are “original” are often recycled ideas repackaged a different way. But, in this remake of the 1974 film of the same name, director Tony Scott manages to put his original stamp on the material using his directorial staples: quick and often jarring editing, time lapses, and swift camera movements. The result is an action film of genuine quality amidst today’s crowd of recycled films. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jake Shenker

I generally like to review three or four new releases, but after listening to Rob Thomas’ new album, I had to destroy my stereo system.

Wilco — Wilco (The Album) (Nonesuch)
Really, is there such a thing as a bad Wilco album? Depending on your preference, sure there is, but I can’t imagine a music fan who won’t appreciate Wilco’s newest effort. Wilco (The Album) is a carefully crafted, painstakingly well-written record that shines within an already impressive body of work. These guys have always written great songs, but these eleven tunes are, without exaggeration, the best they’ve ever put forth. Add to that the impressive, glossy-yet-organic production (think In Rainbows) and the surprising (and welcome) addition of singer Feist on “You and I” and I wouldn’t hesitate to call Wilco (The Album) one of the best new records of the year. Seriously. Read the rest of this entry »

1958's Vertigo was never nominated for best picture.

By Shane McNeil

In a move that smacks of more desperation than the now classic “downloading a movie is stealing” campaign, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has announced that this year’s Oscars will double the number of best picture nominees from five to ten.

Before I launch into the ins and outs of this decision, I just have to admit that I didn’t think Christopher Nolan had this much clout. Read the rest of this entry »

Owen’s Book of the Month

Starman Omnibus: Volume 3
James Robinson (w), Tony Harris and others (p), Wade von Grawbadger and others (i), DC Comics

Every month that another volume comes out, it is pretty much a guarantee that it will be my best of that month. I suppose it’s possible that something better could come out. I suppose there are a few comics that could best it (Top 10: The Forty-Niners comes to mind, as does the last issue of Y: The Last Man), but odds are good that you’ll see another Starman omnibus on my list three more times after this. With good reason, too. To keep it brief, lest I become repetitive (too late), this comic is a masterwork of character building, lush visuals, and serialized storytelling. Read the rest of this entry »

Mud Flap Project: Herman Kruis's Truck - Highland Transport

By Carolyn Tripp

“A friend of mine and I were sitting on the sidewalk one day,” artist Steven Laurie explains, “and wondering out loud what it would take for people who didn’t typically talk about art to be compelled to come into a gallery or be interested in a contemporary art show.”

The possibilities often seem stunted by the fairly insular environments that many art communities tend to foster. This is equally perpetuated by design or lack of funds, and a conundrum that many artists choose, understandably, not to address when creating work, especially when it pertains to those exhibiting in galleries. Typically one would choose to have art appear in spaces that specifically appeal to those of the local “known” and “cultured” audience (who are assumed to want to attend a show), versus those who never typically show interest, but might if they felt compelled (those we assume may never attend). Read the rest of this entry »

By Caesar Martini, Leo K. Moncel, and Shane McNeil

But wait, there’s more! The other half of the MegaCalendar crew is here to set your monitor ablaze with our clever views! Joining us: Shane McNeil, freshly thawed from Iceland; I, Leo Moncel, live from the Good Korea; and Caesar Martini, recovering after a catastrophic PC meltdown. But let’s throw our own stories aside and look to tales of gangsters, magic, love and heartbreak, terminal illness and balls on Eminem’s face, with July’s exciting slate of blockbusters! Read the rest of this entry »

Astonishing X-Men #30
Warren Ellis (w), Simone Bianchi (p), various. Marvel Comics.

If a team takes two years to put out six issues (I’m counting the announcement at San Diego Comicon 2007 as when the creators started work) you’d at least hope they’d be good. Bianchi is perhaps one of the worst artists to attempt to make a coming in the medium’s history. It’s not that he can’t draw — his figures are fine, even if they are making strange and goofy poses in every panel — it’s that he can’t compose a page. He’s trying really hard with these complicated layouts that fall dead flat. Why? Because there’s no fucking purpose to them. He’s losing out on emotive details because he’s adding angles and semi-circle panels. Then there is Ellis’ mishandling of the characters. He gets the occasional moment right, but then so many so wrong, like Wolverine saying that he’s “Old enough to spank the front o’ your brain with one o’ my claws, Summers.” “‘o”? Since when is Wolverine a character from Treasure fucking Island? If you liked Whedon’s run on Astonishing X-Men, pretend they cancelled the title. — Miles Baker Read the rest of this entry »

In Good King Charles’s Golden Days
By George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Eda Holmes
Featuring Benedict Campbell, Graeme Somerville, Ric Reid, Laurie Paton, and others
At the Shaw Festival until October 9

By Matt McGeachy

In Good King Charles’s Golden Days is charmingly subtitled “a true story that never happened,” and to be blunt, we would all have been better off if this production had never happened at all.  It’s one of those rare moments in the theatre where even a young critic such as myself gets giddy with malicious glee, believing the production to be so horrible that it will finally, finally provide that Addison De Witt moment we all crave: the permission to tear a production to shreds with a cold glint in the eye and acid rolling off the tongue.  This feeling, close to sublime in the first fifteen minutes of the Shaw Festival’s dreadful production, quickly and disappointingly gives way to utter boredom, followed by resignation that one is losing three hours of one’s life with nothing to show for it. Read the rest of this entry »

Born Yesterday
By Garson Kanin
Directed by Gina Wilkinson
Featuring Deborah Hay, Thom Marriott, Gray Powell, and others
At the Shaw Festival until November 1

By Matt McGeachy

Oh, the days when a mere millionaire could buy his way through the U.S. Congress!  Today, a cool million is what it takes to get your foot in the door, and it certainly isn’t enough to buy the influence of a U.S. Senator, who, I understand, does not come cheap.  But these halcyon days are the subject of Garson Kanin’s comedic play Born Yesterday at the Shaw Festival. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jake Shenker

Some weeks it’s hard to find time to pore over new releases — I have a day job, you know.

Here’s what’s new this week:

The Leamonheads — Varshons (The End)
What, you don’t care about the Lemonheads? If nothing else, they get my accolades for their awesome 90s version of “Mrs. Robinson” (think Wayne’s World 2), but frontman Evan Dando is in fact a pretty excellent songwriter. Of course, his writing doesn’t shine on Varshons, an entire album of cover tunes. Dando and company continue the great work they did in the 90s with smart covers of some obscure, some well know, and some hilarious tunes. Among them: a driving folk rendition of Gram Parsons’ “I Just Can’t Take it Anymore,” a melancholy arrangement of Leonard Cohen’s “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye,” and a country-western version of Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.” Pretty hip stuff. Read the rest of this entry »

By Sean Kelly, Brian Last and Rachel West

The Summer Movie MegaCalendar rolls on with greater momentum than ever, smashing everything in its path to smithereens! Sean Kelly, Brian Last, and Rachel West hit you with this installment of predictions on July’s excitingly diverse releases: Public Enemies, Harry Potter, The Hurt Locker, The Ugly Truth, Funny People and more. Stick around after the credits to learn about a shocking upcoming documentary. Read the rest of this entry »

Sarah Wilson and Ari Cohen in Awake and Sing! Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.

Soulpepper presents
Awake and Sing!
By Clifford Odets
Featuring Derek Boyes, Ari Cohen, Oliver Dennis, Matthew Edison, Jonathan Gould, Michael Hanrahan, Nancy Palk, William Webster, and Sarah Wilson
Runs June 16 – June 31 @ the Young Centre for the Performing Arts

By Daina Valiulis

Clifford Odets’ American tale offers a revealing, raw look at a Jewish family in New York during the Depression. Written by Odets in 1931, Awake and Sing! was an outlet for his professional frustration and fierce resentment — tones that characterize the matriarch/centerpiece of the play, Bessie (Nancy Palk). Read the rest of this entry »