Cinematic mash-up brings fresh slice of real Klondike to fake Klondike

To have someone from the Yukon come all the way to Edmonton to present a “reconstituted” 1923 silent movie about the REAL Klondike is real treat for locals who are sick of the FAKE Klondike. On the recent moronic rebranding of our formerly bogus festival Klondike Days as K-Days, Whitehorse filmmaker and musician Daniel Janke […]

EDMONTON RADIO: Marriage on the air

EDMONTON RADIO: Marriage on the air

There is no longer any such thing as “too much information.” Just listen to the radio for proof. Most of the popular announcers are expected to share EVERY LITTLE DETAIL of their fabulous lives, because making human, personal connections is so important these days. For marketing. So in Edmonton, we learn about Terry Evans’ luxurious […]

Soul sisters, rock legends, Heart returns to Edmonton in March

Hot on the heels of the glorious “Rush” of Canadian nostalgia comes news of another legend of Rock ‘n’ Canadiana: Heart – whose unforgettable songs were the soundtrack to many a gladly wasted youth around these parts. The band plays Monday, March 11 at the Jubilee Auditorium. Tickets go on sale Oct. 12. The soul […]

EIFF REVIEW: Plimpton as Himself reveals genius beneath goofy facade

For those who know George Plimpton only as the plumy-voiced, New England accented socialite who appears in TV commercials, “Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself” will be a revelation. Screening at The Edmonton International Film Festival (EIFF) on Wednesday, Oct. 3, the film by writer/directors Tom Bean and Luke Poling takes a serious and in-depth […]

Diana Krall brings Glad Rag Doll to the Jube in February

Diana Krall, it has been imagined, is both the piano player and the sultry chanteuse who lies atop the piano while she sings. You don’t get a rare double threat like this every day. It’s only once in a while – in this case Tuesday, Feb. 12, when the star of Canadian jazz performs at […]

EIFF REVIEW: Darwin not the end of the Earth, but you can see it from there

At the end of a bleak road in Death Valley – itself one of the most inhospitable places on Earth – Monty Brannigan lives life as a gloriously unique individual. A Buddhist with a history of violence, an artistic savant who creates sculptures reminiscent of Henry Moore, a widower whose wife was shot in a […]

EIFF REVIEW: Unmade in China better than the film they ruined

“Unmade in China” is a brilliant documentary about how the Chinese government turned a decent film into a terrible film. It’s not new turf, but it’s rarely covered better than this often absurd examination of what happens when a mild mannered American director tries to make a movie in China. Both the film and the […]

EIFF REVIEW: Director’s cut shows good film despite toltalitarian meddling

Gil Kofman is some sort of genius. The director of The Memory Thief makes two appearances at the Edmonton International Film Festival (EIFF), first as the protagonist in a documentary about making a film in China (Unmade in China); the second, with a showing of his cut of that film, Case Sensitive. Without giving too […]

EIFF REVIEW: Montage makes all the difference in gringo-out-of-water films

What we have in “A Band of Rogues” and “Mariachi Gringo” may be a recurrent theme at the 2012 Edmonton International Film Festival (EIFF) – gringos messing around where they don’t belong. These two films are similar on the surface. A Band of Rogues deals with a young American musician with prescription drug issues, who […]

EIFF REVIEW: Happy Family shatters fourth wall in brilliant Italian comedy

Happy Family breaks the fourth wall constantly, with characters talking to the screen. It’s done in the same lighthearted vein as in the classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but is wonderfully off-the-wall and part of why this Italian film is so funny. Well, that and the writing, which is brilliant: touching, thoughtful, poignant, almost never […]

WEEKEND MUSIC PREVIEW: What a feeling, what a Rush

It’s hard to understand how Rush can hold such an important place in musical history – especially in Canadian musical history – and yet have as many haters as fans. Not unlike Nickelback. Why do Canadians love to hate some of our own bands? Is it just because they’re successful? Do we prefer the more […]

EIFF INTERVIEW: Trevor Anderson, the Filmmaker That Got Away

We have waited a long time – maybe too long – for the Edmonton premiere of The Man That Got Away, the latest film by Trevor Anderson. And now that it’s finally making its public debut at the Edmonton International Film Festival (EIFF) this weekend, the local filmmaker isn’t even going to be here. At […]