Wes Anderson's Spiderman Reboot

Posted by Kyle Francis in Francisism

Before Mark Webb (500 Days of Summer. Ugh.) signed on to direct Sony's reboot of the Spiderman franchise, Wes Anderson's name was briefly bandied about as a potential director. Though either selection seems to me like a cynical attempt to cash in on the popularity of faux-indie deadpan twee, at least Anderson's the genuine article when it comes to faux-indie deadpan twee, and not, well, a hackish Anderson impersonator.

So, yeah, not really looking forward to the reboot. 

Still, this "What If?" scenario concocted by a group of Spiderman/Wes Anderson fans made me grin. They make all the jokes you'd expect them to, but damn if they aren't well-executed. 

(via Comics Alliance)

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Add comment      more in Film Features     |     posted Feb 7th, 2010 at 1:31pm

Anders blames board "malcontents" for crackdown

Posted by Trevor Scott Howell in The Howler

 … Read More

Comments (4)      more in News     |     posted Feb 6th, 2010 at 2:01pm

The Myth of Meritocracy in Online Games

Posted by Kyle Francis in Francisism

Interesting, short, well-observed article on the myth of meritocracy on Left Mouse Button. Be sure to berate her in the comments, though. We can't have doubletalk like this gaining traction. Next they'll be wanting equal wages.

Here's the quote that hooked me, from a seventeen year old guild leader on World of Warcraft:

“Girls just aren’t on the same level. Sometimes they’re okay as healers or whatever, and I’d rather have a girl than an empty raid slot, but they lack that primal aggression that a man needs. They don’t need the kill as bad."

It's telling, I think, that all I could think of while reading that was how badly my girlfriend kicks my ass at Puzzle Fighter whenever we play it. Or how bad Natalie, of the review crew, used to when we ran in the same … Read More

Add comment      more in Gaming     |     posted Feb 5th, 2010 at 9:38am

Conservative Party's national council steps in to save democracy... no wait, just MP Rob Anders

Posted by Trevor Scott Howell in The Howler

 

It seems the Conservative Party of Canada is stepping in once again to save the skin of  Calgary West MP Rob Anders one of its most trusted foot soldiers.

In a letter addressed to the riding's constituency association, John Walsh, the party's national council president, writes it has "voted unanimously to exercise its authority"  and will assume control over the Calgary West riding's upcoming AGM.  

Walsh says the board has "not respected or reflected the opinions and rights of the members" and appears to accuse the board of not ensuring the "organizational and financial support for our candidate, Mr. Rob Anders."

Less than two weeks ago, the riding's board floated the idea of asking its members if they'd like to hold an open nomination
 … Read More
Comments (1)      more in News     |     posted Feb 4th, 2010 at 5:51pm

Scary but true: I really liked Edge of Darkness

Posted by Peter Hemminger in Stranger in the Alps

 

If I were feeling particularly honest, I’d have to confess that I didn’t think Edge of Darkness would be any good. Director Martin Campbell did direct two of the best Bond movies in recent memory (and maybe the best one ever with Casino Royale), but the presence of Mel Gibson was a major turn-off — not because of his film presence, which I actually enjoy, but more because the assorted scandals of the last few years soured me on him. That one South Park episode didn’t help my biases, either.
The movie’s opening didn’t help much, with Gibson’s Boston accent and his powerful fatherly love providing ample targets for cynicism. But then it got me. The story started unfolding, the tone got increasingly grim, and I found myself wondering why I was … Read More

Add comment      more in Film Reviews     |     posted Jan 29th, 2010 at 9:55am

What to do with community television

Posted by Peter Hemminger in Stranger in the Alps

Public TV scrap-heap

It's been a year and a half since Fast Forward ran a cover story on the death of community television. That article mostly focussed on the local side of things, but since then, the situation has only gotten more extreme.

Now, for the first time in eight years, the CRTC is doing a review of its public television policy, and they're taking input from the public at large. The forum has been open since last October, and they'll be accepting opinions until Feb 1 — that's six more days. The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) has more information on its website, as well as a sample letter that you can send in.

I know public television conjurs images of low-budget sets and awkward hosts that lend themselves to … Read More

Comments (1)      more in Television     |     posted Jan 28th, 2010 at 3:37pm

Warehouse and Underground closed for good

Posted by Peter Hemminger in Stranger in the Alps

Turns out the end of Sundae Sound isn't the only hit the local music scene is taking this month. After 26 years, the Warehouse is closing its doors. I've copied the full statement from the venue's Facebook page below, but the short of it seems to be a perfect storm of liquor license, zoning and building issues, which have been in the works since the crackdown on the Warehouse's "private club" status.

It's pretty much impossible to pin a single sound or clientelle on the Warehouse and Underground, but the two venues have served as a hub for any number of scenes around the city, from metal to goth and industrial to dance and punk. They were always adventurous with their programming (highlights from the last couple years have included … Read More

Comments (7)      more in Music Features     |     posted Jan 28th, 2010 at 10:57am

Mass Effect 2: Pretty Frickin' Sweet

Posted by Patrick Boyle in Srsly, You Guys

ME2
I just linked the logo from Google Image Search. Is that cool?

I'm not going to go into too much detail here, but yeah... this game is rad. I picked up my pre-order copy last night and plugged in around 10 PM. It took me about an hour to unlock the galaxy map then I just stumbled around until 1 AM, avoiding story-ish missions and getting a feel for changes to the overall game mechanics.

Like I said, I can't allow myself to write too much or I'll get nothing else done today, so here are a few things that are new and awesome followed by a few minor gripes, all in LIST FORM. First, the awesome:

  • The way you navigate the world at the system/cluster level now is way cooler. Previously it was just a "drag your cursor and pick where you want to go" type thing. Now, there's
 … Read More
Comments (1)      more in Video Game Reviews     |     posted Jan 27th, 2010 at 10:35am

CJSW party

Posted by Drew Anderson in Drew's Views

Dear CJSW,

Please turn 25 every year from now on and throw a big music party.

Love,

Drew

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Comments (5)      more in Music Features     |     posted Jan 24th, 2010 at 12:31pm

Attack in Black & Julie Doiron, Jan. 22 at Broken City

Posted by Patrick Boyle in Srsly, You Guys

Attack In BlackPhotos by Charles Gunn

Last night, I had the chance to have a quick chat with the guys from Attack in Black before they took to the stage at Broken City, warming up the crowd for Julie Doiron and Fred Squire a guy who looked sort of like Fred Squire (more on this later). This band has always struck me as one with tons of potential but not a lot to show for it. Sure, I can listen to their shows and make it through their records, but it always seemed like too much of a mixed bag of middle-of-the-road folk and rock for me to get into.

Then again, the continue to crop up on my radar and every time I feel like I must be missing something. Most recently, this came in the form of the Daniel, Fred, & Julie record, featuring Attack in Black front-man Dan Romano … Read More

Add comment      more in Music Features     |     posted Jan 22nd, 2010 at 7:35pm

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