The kind of advertising I’d like to see at the movies

It’s not the random array of products being pushed that bugs me; it’s that these companies are trying to push them on me like I’m watching TV. But I’m not watching TV; I’m at the movies. Continue reading »

A flock of Eberties, part 3: Jewison Superstar

During my last year of university, I wrote an essay on the visual theme of chess in Jesus Christ Superstar. Think I’m stretching it? Then let me direct your attention to Exhibit A: Hats. This is the first clue that got me looking for other chess…stuff. It almost seemed like a perfect set-up: Caiaphas and … Continue reading »

A flock of Eberties, Part 2: Negative space

“A line does not occupy space; it defines it.” In the advertising world, there’s something the scares the crap out of clients: blank space. “Can we put something in the top half? It looks a little empty,” they might say. “Shouldn’t we make the discount burst a little bigger?” Or even, “It’s great, but I … Continue reading »

A flock of Eberties, Part 1: Screening calls

A lot of it has to do with the Virginia Theater, where we were fortunate enough to watch all Ebertfest movie selections. Having been restored to its original 1920s resplendence, the Virginia Theater lends itself seamlessly to a silent movie viewing. Continue reading »

They like their brains with more brains

Not that I’ve ever gone to any trouble to deny it, but I can’t, for the life of me, sit through even 5 minutes of a zombie movie. Hell: I even put off watching Zombieland, a comedy. It’s never the zombie film itself that scares me. It’s more about what happens after. Each time I … Continue reading »

Strange Movie Conventions: The Pre-Battle Horseback Pep Talk

So, you’re sending your army to fight for something they might not completely understand, and many of them will meet certain death in the process? They’re going to need a little pick-me-up, a reason for doing it. Add a touch of glory to the message: it’ll be the caffeine boost of the initial attack. Try … Continue reading »

The most weird-ass music videos of the ‘80s

When I was a kid, I was luckier than I imagined. For one, I lived in Germany’s mystical Black Forest. For most of the 10 years that we spent there, my mother worked at CFN-RFC, the TV and radio network for Canadian Forces families stationed in Lahr. Each day after school, I would take the … Continue reading »

Each morning only happens once

There’s no way to dress it up: I didn’t meet my father until I was 16 years old. Circumstances, more than anything else, had a hand in it. For most of my short life at that time, my father lived on Canada’s west coast while I lived in Germany. When I returned to Canada – … Continue reading »