Category Archives: Clips

Makoto Shinkai’s ‘Your Name’ Animated Film Review for Enthuse.ca

Your Name

Over on Enthuse.ca, I’ve got a review of Makoto Shinkai’s latest film, Your Name.

Your Name deserves the historic commercial success it’s enjoying — It takes the strongest points from director Makoto Shinkai’s earlier films and focuses them into a palatable, coherent experience that’s filled with human emotion.

High school students Taki (Ryunosuke Kamiki) and Mitsuha (Mone Kamishiraishi) mysteriously find themselves swapping bodies with each other, despite living in different parts of Japan and having never met. Read more

I’m having a lot of fun working with the Enthuse.ca team this week. You can anticipate a podcast talking more about the film, a series review of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, and a recap of four of the best anime to watch from winter 2017.

Needles Twirling: Edmonton Knitting Circle Feature for the Nook

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As part of the Nook, a startup Edmonton hobbyist website I helped run this semester, I wrote a deep dive on three Edmonton women and their knitting circle.

In through the front, and a wrap around the back. That’s the repetitious trajectory of it. The yarn ebbs and flows, weaving in and out of itself, guided by years of trial and error and two methodically twirling needles held by calm hands. And for some Edmonton hobbyists, it’s one of the best parts of their week.

Moving to a big city from a smaller community can be challenging in a number of ways. So to help curate their social life and fill their free time with fulfilling sense of productivity, three women that now call Edmonton home joined with their friends and formed a knitting circle.

Katherine McFatridge, Katia Reid, and Angela Johnston, come together every seven days to talk about their week and coach each other on their latest knitted creations. And They’ve been doing so for almost a decade. Read more

It was a joy hearing the three self-described introverts open up to me about how important knitting is in their lives. And more broadly speaking, making similar discoveries with the Nook over the last few months was a fun experience.

‘Skin Glowing in the Moonlight’ Art Exhibition Preview for Vue Weekly

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I got to reach outside my bubble and talk to two black artist, Danièle Dennis and Shantel Miller, for a preview of Skin Glowing in the Moonlight in Vue Weekly.

Skin Glowing in the Moonlight will feature the work of two Toronto-based black Canadian artists at Edmonton’s Latitude 53 gallery for 44 days, starting next week.

Danièle Dennis uses videography to challenge the status quo of black identity, while her friend and former art school junior, Shantel Miller, takes a similar approach by focussing on black men in oil paintings.

“We’re really, really excited to be featuring our work in Edmonton,” Dennis says. “We really look forward to people coming out to the show, talking to us, engaging with us, and asking questions.” Read more

For as far as we’ve come as a progressive society, speaking with these two women reminded me that we still have a long way to go. Skin Glowing in the Moonlight opens on April 13 and runs through May 27 at Latitude 53.

‘9 Parts of Desire’ Theatre Preview for Vue Weekly

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I wrote in Vue Weekly this week about The Maggie Tree theatre company’s production of 9 Parts of Desire.

The original one-woman play, 9 Parts of Desire, isn’t meant to explain things simply. Written and performed by award-winning Iraqi-American Heather Raffo, it’s that depth which caught the attention of Edmonton’s The Maggie Tree theatre company.

The Maggie Tree co-executive director and director for the production, Vanessa Sabourin, looks forward to bringing the project to the Varscona Theatre.

“Something that we have always enjoyed with Maggie Tree is getting people to gather, and also putting forward big questions,” Sabourin says. Read more

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to interact with The Maggie Tree, but talking to Sabourin about their brand of theatre got me excited all over again. At the Varscona Theatre, 9 Parts of Desire opens tonight and runs through April 15.

Laini Giles’ ‘The It Girl and Me’ Book Launch Preview for Vue Weekly

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I got the chance to chat with biographical fiction author Laini Giles about her latest novel, The It Girl and Me. Over on Vue Weekly, you can read my preview of her book launch event happening this weekend.

The It Girl and Me is the second novel in a series about starlets in the silent film era from Edmonton-based author Laini Giles.

It tells the story of Clara Bow through the eyes of her Hollywood secretary, Daisy DeVoe. Giles landed on Bow as a subject from the title of her previous work, The Forgotten Flapper.

“You say ‘flapper,’ people think about Clara Bow automatically,” Giles says. Read more

I haven’t had a chance to finish the book yet, which launched last Saturday, but the first few chapters definitely drew me into the story. Giles will be signing and reading from her book at Audrey’s Books this Sunday at 2pm.

‘Models of Diversity’ Western Canada Fashion Week preview for Vue Weekly

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Photo by JProcktor

I had the chance to dip my toe back into the fashion world with this week’s Vue Weekly cover story. Benveet Gill will join other models with disabilities and injuries on the Western Canada Fashion Week catwalk this season.

This spring’s Western Canada Fashion Week (WCFW) turns its focus towards a different kind of diversity than the one it has championed for 13 years.

WCFW Creative Director Sandra Sing Fernandes tried to orchestrate a fashion showcase for models with disabilities and injuries a year ago, and was disappointed when it ultimately fell through.

Then, two months ago, she received a serendipitous call from an old friend who previously worked as a WCFW makeup artist, Benveet “Bean” Gill. She had been struck by a virus-induced autoimmune disease in 2012, and the transverse myelitis in her spinal chord paralyzed her lower body.

“I’m in a wheelchair, but I’d love to model,” she told Fernandes over the phone. Read more

Gill and Fernandes reunited and materialized an important fashion showcase that challenges the stigma around people with disabilities. I’m glad I got the chance to tell a bit of their story.

Jude Griebel’s ‘Crafting Ruin’ Art Exhibition Preview for Vue Weekly

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Here’s my first big local break. I wrote the cover story for Vue Weekly this week about a sculpture exhibition by prairie-bred artist Jude Griebel.

After installing exhibitions around the world, Jude Griebel returns to Edmonton this week for his first solo exhibit at the dc3 Art Projects gallery.

With seven-foot resin figures and bone sculptures the size of a human head, the Alberta-bred artist’s 12-sculpture installation, Crafting Ruin, tackles modern environmental issues like consumption and wastefulness. Read more

His exhibition opens today at dc3 Art Projects, and it’s filled with provocative figures that make us think about our place in the environment. I had a lot of fun writing this preview, and I’m glad I could share some of Griebel’s perspective with a wider audience.

‘Soliciting Temptation’ Theatre Preview for Vue Weekly

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Here’s a preview I wrote for Vue Weekly about an exciting looking play called Soliciting Temptation opening at the Varscona Theatre tonight.

Soliciting Temptation tackles the social complexities of sex tourism from the inside of one nondescript hotel room set in an exotic country. And that hotel room shuttled from Calgary to Edmonton this week for a new crowd to see. Read more

The Jason Mehmel-directed play is coproduced by Calgary’s Sage Theatre and Edmonton’s Shadow Theatre, starring Patricia Cerra and Mattie Overall. The 90-minute, two-person performance opens at 7:30pm tonight and runs until Mar. 26.

‘Sister Sister’ Theatre Review For Vue Weekly in November

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This review is for one of my all-time favourite pieces of modern theatre. I critiqued Northern Light Theatre’s Sister Sister for Vue Weekly back in November.

When it comes to Northern Light Theatre’s mandate of dark and provocative productions that challenge audiences, Sister Sister delivers and satisfies.

Playwright Barbara Blumenthal-Ehrlich’s script about two sisters’ reconnection after 15 years sets a grim theme, as the women come together to celebrate their deranged mother’s death. Read more

The two-woman performance from Louise Claire Lambert and Arielle Rombough was intense, and I’m glad I got to share my opinion with the community.

Edmonton’s Struggle with its Secondary Sports Feature for The Griff in October

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Edmonton’s got a mixed record when it comes to attending its smaller professional sports teams. I broke down the complex issues back in October for The Griff magazine.

Kyle Brodziak of the Edmonton Road Runners had the greatest wrist shot of all-time — or so my 12-year-old self would tell you. Caught in the midst of the NHL lockout during the ’04-’05 season, I was exposed to great athletes in person for the first time in my life. My jaw dropped and I tugged at my friends’ Road Runner hoodies every time Raffi Torres laid a big hit. Those hoodies were $20. The tickets to Rexall Place were free via a promotion with my minor hockey team.

And the arena was only half-full. Read more

There are so many interesting things to do in our city, so while writing this feature I found it interesting to consider why Edmontonians don’t widely patronize the little guys in the sports world — whether they’re winning, or not.