Arts
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Kingsman: The Secret Service
In 2005, Casino Royale made the Bond franchise relevant again. After veering far off course with Die Another Day, the introduction of Daniel Craig took the series to darker and grittier territory more in line with 21st century tastes. Kingsman: The Secret Service is a throwback to perhaps the least 21st century era of Bond: the Roger Moore era. The Moore films of the ‘70s and ‘80s were campy and cartoonish, with a focus on silly supervillains and outlandish gadgets. Kingsman is an enjoyable love letter to Roger Moore camp, encompassing all the best (and worst) aspects of silly spy films.
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Fifty Shades of Grey
A lot of people have been talking about Fifty Shades of Grey these past few weeks. Specifically, they’re talking about the problematic sexual politics of the film (and the book series on which it’s based). I’m not interested in those issues. I’m only interested in discussing Fifty Shades in purely cinematic terms. Judged on a purely cinematic basis, Fifty Shades of Grey is a bad movie. A bad, bad, very bad, awful, inexcusably stupid movie.
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Art for all
On the first Friday of each month, the Exchange District comes alive in the evenings to showcase work from artists and introduce newcomers to the world of visual art.
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Rhymes with swag
Swag is a word many relate to an urban-machismo style synonymous with confidence, flair, and inarguably, hip-hop culture. However, the origins of this bravado-bravura attitude may not lie where you think.
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To Speak & Be Heard
Embarking on a career in the arts can be daunting. Scratch that.
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Anything But A Swan Song
Ask any dance fan about their most-loved part of Swan Lake and you will practically hear their heart melt in time with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s beautiful score.
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Significant cinema
It’s easy to take the right to an education for granted.
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Whose House? Shandi’s House.
Some people may consider themselves big fans of their favourite band, but Shandi Strong celebrates KISS like no other. Strong’s entire basement is an homage to KISS, from official merchandise to her own photographs of their live shows.
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Going it alone
Being in a band is hard. The work involved goes way beyond making music. Through the ubiquity of the Internet and home recording, it’s now easier than ever to form a band and harder than ever to get noticed. Winnipeg is a haven of interconnected music scenes where like-minded musicians and fans create communities of support and exposure for their respective genres of music.
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Meth Daddy and the Houston silverfish
Single Mothers guitarist Mike Peterson is quick to correct the notion that he plays in a hardcore band. He briefly considers punk as a description, before adding:
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From centre ice to centre stage
The odds were stacked against him, but that didn’t stop Theo Fleury from becoming a Stanley Cup champion. Now his story is being told on stage in the Prairie Theatre Exchange’s production of Playing With Fire: The Theo Fleury Story.
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Cyber-Seniors
To most twenty-somethings, watching a parent or grandparent trying, and failing, to use a computer is a familiar experience. This technological generation gap is often the butt of our jokes. So when two teenage sisters started the Cyber-Seniors program, an educational initiative through which high school students teach the elderly to use the Internet, it served a genuine cultural purpose. Much to my surprise, it also makes for pretty interesting cinema.
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Sagrada: The Mystery of Creation
When the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí was struck and killed by a tram car in 1926, he had already put over forty years of work into his magnum opus, the colossal Sagrada Família cathedral. Today the Barcelona church still remains unfinished, though a dedicated team of artists and craftspeople continue Gaudí’s work. Sagrada: The Mystery of Creation examines that work and the symbolic importance of the cathedral.
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Up All Night: The power of funk compels me
I escaped from the Kingdom of Coupledom.
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Satirical Racism and Dialogue
Alexa Potashnik, a 21-year-old, fourth-year human rights major at the University of Winnipeg, planned an event for Black History Month with the hopes of bringing thought and action to the debate on racism.
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One full day of building culture
Last May, the first ever Writing Trans Genres: Emergent Literatures and Criticism conference was held in Winnipeg. On Feb. 28, the organizers of the conference are continuing the work that started over that spring weekend with a one-day symposium.
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Whose House? The Mariachi Ghost’s House
If you’re looking for any of the members of the Mariachi Ghost on a Tuesday night, chances are you’ll find them jamming together in a basement.
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From Onanole, with love
Solo artists Carly Dow and Logan McKillop have a lot in common: familial roots in Onanole, MB, an appreciation for the captivating beauty of Riding Mountain National Park, a comfortable niche in the local singer-songwriter scene and an intimate show set for Feb. 17 at the Times Changed High and Lonesome Club.
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A personal Brood
Instead of focusing on historic battles, Elliott BROOD decided that its latest record, Work and Love, would be more about the band members’ actual lives.
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The Perfect Storm
The act of writing can be tackled in at least two ways. First, there’s the option of sitting and letting the mind spin tales of wonder and far-off lands, yet only venturing as far as the kitchen to make a new pot of coffee. Or the writer can hurl themselves into a story regardless of where in the world it may take them, or how little logic the plan contains.