MONDOmagazine

By Caesar Martini, Sean Kelly and Leo K. Moncel

Woof! Woof! It’s Marmaduke season! Psych. We’re not even approaching that beast. Instead we’ve got the shakedown on The A Team, Grown Ups, Toy Story 3 and like, a dozen more. And, if you can believe me, we may even have a potential, that is, possible, now it’s too early to call it, but a disagreement over a Twilight film? Remember we write these separately and no one’s calling any names. But a fight to the death in the comments section is always a welcome option.

JUNE 4th
Get Him to The Greek

Caesar
Made by the same team who did Forgetting Sarah Marshall, one of that year’s best comedies, and starring the best character from that movie, British hedonist rocker Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), how could I not want to see this?
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Amazing Spider-Man #632
Zeb Wells (w), Chris Bachalo, Emma Rios (a), Townsend, Mendoza, Olazaba, Bachalo (i), Antonio Fabela (c). Marvel Comics.

A much stronger issue than last week — the weakness of the Lizard stories, generally, is that it gets retold over and over. Some of the pseudo science may change, the setting will shift from New York to Florida, but otherwise, it’s the same. I shouldn’t be surprised considering the recent track record for refreshing villains, but they’ve added a nice twist to the Lizard/Spider-Man dynamic. Instead of Spider-Man fighting to restore the Lizard’s human intelligence, the Lizard has stripped away the human intelligence of others around him, including Spider-Man. I’m looking forward to the next issues conclusion; I can tell there are more surprises in store. – Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 3 out of 5

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #37
Karl Kesel, Kurt Busiek (w), Paulo Siqueira, Pat Olliffe (a), Fabio D’Auria, Steve Buccellato (c). Marvel Comics.

Two “Untold Tales of Spider-Man” make up this year’s annual; however, as much as I enjoy the untold-type tales, the villains are always sub-par, good for a gag and not much else. Siqueira has a lot of fun playing with Captain America’s facial expressions in a JLI style which is a little disconcerting, but fun too. The second tale heavily features Stan Lee and the in universe Marvel comics studio, a setting that always gets on my bad side when it’s not done by the Fantastic Four. The letters page continues the narrative of an in universe Marvel studio with a fun pretend letter courtesy of “kurt busiek age 5”, which was far more charming than the letters page generally is around these parts. — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 3 out of 5 Read the rest of this entry »

Mamma’s Boy
Ghostlight Projects
Written by Randie Parliament
Featuring Sky Gilbert, Randie Parliament, Kris Skjellerup and Briana Templeton
Runs until June 12 @ Factory Theatre Studio

By Jeff Maus

Before the house went dark, the songs “To Know You is to Love You” and “You Belong to Me“ played to set the ambiance. They’re songs that sum up a lot of the parent-children dynamic in Mamma’s Boy. The play is full of beautiful details like that, and like a picture slowly developing, you don’t appreciate it all until it is finished. Read the rest of this entry »

Robin Hood
Directed by Ridley Scott
Universal Pictures, 2010

By Sean Kelly

If there is anything I can say about Ridley Scott’s take on the classic legend of Robin Hood is that it was very brave of Scott to throw away the familiar plot and create an all-new story. Scott’s reimagined epic encompasses the origins of Robin Hood in a true historical context.

The classic Robin Hood villains – the Sheriff of Nottingham (Matthew Macfadyen) and King John (Oscar Isaac) are given a backseat in this story. The Sheriff only appears in 3 or 4 scenes and John, the newly crowned king, is more akin to a spoiled brat than a true villain. Instead, the main villain of this story is John’s traitorous aid Godfrey (Mark Strong – who seems to have a lifetime membership to “Villains ‘R Us”). Godfrey has joined forces with the French to create civil unrest in England aiming to pave the way for a French invasion.

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Amazing Spider-Man Presents American Son #1
Brian Reed (w), Phillipe Briones (p), Jeromy Cox (c). Marvel Comics.

Oh, wow, way to bring back that really unpopular continuity, Brain Reed. I really respect that because I’m sure most fans wish that it had been retconned along with the marriage. But, here you are, waving it in front of this (probably small) audience and yelling, “Suck on this, readers.” That stuff, I really like but there is plenty I’m not happy about. The appearance of Spider-Man in this issue is a mistake. Harry Osborn hates Spider-Man, so Peter Parker showing up to have a heart-to-heart dressed as Spider-Man is a dick move. Also, I’m not huge on Briones’ art. It’s often very servicible and there are some great pages and panels, but he has an overly-lined style and has some funny-looking heads here and there. It’s not a deal breaker, though. — Miles Baker

Miles’ rating: 3 out of 5

American Vampire #3
Scott Snyder and Stephen King (w), Rafael Albuquerque (a), Dave McCaig (c). Vertigo.

I just wish this wasn’t about vampires. It’s in the title, I knew what I was signing up for, but I’m goddamn sick of vampires. I’m not even very excited for the return of True Blood because I’m sick of vampires being everywhere. I wish Snyder and King had come up with a new monster/creature for this series to be about but it’s too late for that. That said, you know, this is a pretty good comic. Albuquerque’s art is really good and the two-stories-in-one package makes for a satisfying read. So I find mysef honour-bound to give this a posititve number score. — Miles Baker

Miles’ rating: 4 out of 5

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Edge of Darkness
Directed by Martin Campbell
Warner Brothers, 2010

By Miles Baker

I wish that these actors, these characters and this creative team were in a different plot. This film works on many levels, and I want to give it a glowing review, but the plot and the themes it explores does not work with the main protagonist.

I’ll explain.

Long-time Boston homicide detective Thomas Craven’s (Mel Gibson) daughter is shot on his front porch. The reserved and emotionally distressed detective begins his own investigation into his daughter’s death and uncovers a national security conspiracy between big business and the highest levels of the American government. Soon words like “national security risk,” “nuclear armament,” “radiation sickness” and “terrorist” are being thrown around in my nice little crime story.

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Ruth Kaplan, Brazilian Pentecostal Church, Toronto, 2009

By Kerry Freek

Have you ever wondered what draws people to faith? As a teenager, I was once asked to attend a Pentecostal service with some friends from school. More out of curiosity than any kind of desire to “give my heart to Jesus,” I decided to go. What followed was exposure a different world Read the rest of this entry »

Adventure Comics #11
Sterling Gates, James Robinson (w), Travis Moore, Bernard Chang (p), Julio Ferreira, Bernard Chang (i), Pete Pantazis, Blond (c). DC Comics.

Adventure Comics this month only has two stories, so we’re headed in the right direction. I’m not crazy about the art in either story, but the second story could have been so much better with one easy change: circles under the eyes. See, the main character is supposed to be dying, but the first indication of that in the book is a panel of him looking all heroic, then a quick cough like he’s clearing his throat. Maybe they should have considered a lozenge before throwing him into the hellish Phantom Zone dimension. I’m just not sure they’ve considered all the options here. – Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 3 out of 5

The Amazing Spider-Man #631
Zeb Wells (w), Emma Rios, Chris Bachalo, Townsend, Mendoza (a), Antonio Fabela (c). Marvel Comics.

Emma Rios took care of the first eight pages of art duties, and it’s some pretty good stuff, throwing together an interesting action scene with some dramatic CSI drama. This is even while I’m upset at drawing Kaine unscarred and therefore not how he’s supposed to look. Bachalo’s art contribution is still gorgeous but harder to follow this time around. It probably has something to do with the dozens of regular lizards hanging out with THE Lizard. They kind of blend together. The story just kind of flies by, so I’m not really satisfied with that, but it’s mitigated by Web of Spider-Man this week. – Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 2.5 out of 5 Read the rest of this entry »

Austin Visschedyk, teenage paparazzo.

Teenage Paparazzo
Directed by Adrien Grenier
Co-presented with Hot Docs
Bloor Cinema (506 Bloor Street West)
May 8

By Kerry Freek

Forget Lady Gaga. Thirteen-year-old Austin Visschedyk is the fame monster. Not only is he a paparazzo-in-the-making, but the subject of Teenage Paparazzo comes threateningly close to becoming a celebrity himself, and almost certainly as a direct result of receiving this attention from director Adrien Grenier. Read the rest of this entry »

Brian, by Drasko Bogdanovic (via CONTACT).

Persuasion Of Men
Drasko Bogdanovic
GRASP Erotica Bar (543 Yonge St., Level 4)
Runs May 7–31

By Jessie Davis

In our culture where sex sells most everything and “sexy” is generally portrayed as a smooth, slim, attractive woman, the male body has often been disregarded and even censored. In fact, it is probably the last remaining taboo in mainstream film and television. Drasko Bogdanovic stares down this taboo with his camera lens, creating his series Persuasion of Men (see YouTube preview here, potentially NSFW) to encourage the audience’s curiosity about the male form, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

It’s difficult to move into this gender and preference-neutral territory, however, given that the show itself is housed in a re-purposed former bathhouse on the outskirts of Church and Wellesley Village, with gay porn being shown on the television behind the bar. Add to this the fact Read the rest of this entry »

An unintentional voyeur takes in Tanja Tiziana's Fancy Panties.

99 Cents
Show & Tell Gallery (1161 Dundas Street West)
Runs May 7-16

By Kerry Freek

It’s the battle of the blogs! Kidding (mostly). Back in March, blogTO announced a Sony-sponsored contest for aspiring photographers to take part in an official Scotiabank CONTACT photo exhibit. The theme was 99 Cents, that ubiquitous sale suffix. The call encouraged the exploration of the concept’s psychological influence. Cool, yes? Unfortunately, the exhibit’s description sounds better than it looks. The result of reader votes and culls from blogTO’s curatorial team is a rather meh collection of photos on display now at Show & Tell. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by Jackson Hinton.

Frankenstein
Production conceived by Jonathan Christenson and Bretta Gereke
Directed by Jonathan Christenson
Production design by Bretta Gereke
Featuring Nick Green, Andrew Kushnir, Tim Machin, Sarah Machin Gale, Nancy McAlear, Dov Mickelson, Tracy Penner, George Szilagyi
Runs until May 29th @ the Bluma Appel Theatre

By Daina Valiulis

“Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me; let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips!” – Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

Based very closely on the classic Shelley tale of isolation, woe and desperate longing for companionship and human connection, Catalyst Theatre’s Frankenstein alternates between achieving great success and falling into common traps of adaptations of literature — presenting some much exposition that the emotional undertones have no time to take root. Read the rest of this entry »