movies
The Social Network, and most other films, don't pass the Bechdel Test
This falls into the “this is a good thing to know,” as opposed to the “this is definitely good news (!),” category. The Bechdel Test is a quick and dirty way to gauge the sexism of a movie, invented 25 years ago by Alison Bechdel, the cartoonist and writer of Dykes to Watch Out For. A… More »
Friday FTW: Protesting the G8 with paintbrushes and teddy bear catapults
With all this hand-wringing over firebombs and security perimeters, perhaps it’s time to put our hands to better use. I’m talking, of course, about getting creative when the G8/G20 rolls into the province next month. John Greyson, filmmaker and York University professor, posted this short film on his Vimeo site a few days ago. Greyson’s… More »
Coming up in the May-June 2010 issue of This Magazine
The May-June 2010 issue of This Magazine has been on newsstands for a while already, so I apologize that I’m a little late to the party blogging about what you can read in this issue. You can find This in quality bookstores coast to coast, or get every issue without making a special trip by… More »
Friday FTW: CanCon Commie Comedy!
Once upon a time, saying a film looked “Canadian” meant that it looked “low budget.” Gone are those days. Take for example, The Trotsky, one of the latest Canadian films to fall into the national and international spotlight after doing the rounds at various film festivals. Starring Canadian Jay Baruchel as Leon Bronstein, a 17-year-old… More »
Toronto: Tell us your favourite Joy Division song to win tickets to Friday's documentary screening!
Our friends at Images Festival have very nicely given us two passes to the screening of Grant Gee’s documentary Joy Division, screening this Friday, February 5, 2010 in Toronto. So, in order to make sure the swag goes to a true JD fan, we’re asking you to leave a comment below naming your favourite Joy… More »
Toronto Palestine Film Festival aims to look beyond the headlines
While most Torontonians know about TIFF—the hugely publicized Toronto International Film Festival—very few have heard about TPFF, the Toronto Palestine Film Festival. Unlike TIFF, the TPFF isn’t attended by Hollywood stars, doesn’t receive much mainstream media coverage and has no paid staff. Despite these challenges, TPFF is an ambitious film fest that features over 40… More »
Sure, the Toronto International Film Festival is elitist—and we love it anyway
[Editor's note: This Magazine columns editor Eva Salinas will be reviewing films and rounding up news about the Toronto International Film Festival over the next week. Visit us online next week for more of her dispatches.] And so it begins. This year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival kicked-off last night, a little later… More »
Science fiction and the strange racial dynamics of District 9
When I first saw the original two-minute teaser trailer, above, for District 9, the new science-fiction movie coming out in August, it was a few months ago and the huge, out-of-control advertising campaign promoting it hadn’t yet blanketed every bus-stop and billboard in the country. Though the subsequent advertising has dulled my interest a bit,… More »
Queerly Canadian #12: Coming out. And out. And out.
Coming out is a near-universal queer experience. The coming-out story recurs again and again in queer cinema: it’s our version of the coming-of-age tale. But where the traditional narrative and reality diverge is at the assumption that coming out is something that only happens once in a lifetime. In the movies, the quiet boy starts… More »
