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11/14/14 NOW november 20-26 11:34 2014AM3

CONTENTS

ONLINE This week’s top five most-read posts on nowtoronto.com

E EXPERIMENTS!

D ONSTAG ALL-NEW MYTHS AN

SAT NOV 29 • 7:30PM sonycentre.ca

TIcKETS aL SO On SaLE OnSITE FROM 7:00 PM UnTIL SOLD OUT

1. Bigger than Ghomeshi The sexual abuse story involving the broadcaster reveals something much more troubling beyond the walls of the CBC. 2. Abuse absurdity Why didn’t one woman go to the police after being sexually assaulted for the second time? Because last time she was the one who got charged.

3. Harper’s war on women From honour killings to the long gun registry, the federal Conservatives are turning their backs on women in danger.

4. Tough truth Treatment of disturbing crimes against women this year means men are still valued more than women in our culture.

5. Trigger warning The Ghomeshi scandal resurrects some familiar bad memories about working in media in Toronto in the 70s and 80s.

THE WEEK IN TWEETS “#YouKnowHerName the accused suffered far fewer repercussions than the victim. #Disappointing.”

@INSPIREMELANIE on the publication

PRESENTED BY

ban on using the victim’s name in a high-profile Halifax child porn case

“Tonight I am but a frozen tumbleweed, blowing about Lakeshore Blvd West... #dlws” @BASIABULAT on this week’s wintry,

KEnnEDY cULT THE HOnEY RUnnERS MaZ DJs SEan caFF, D-SMOOTH JaSOn PaLMa

BUG aRT REaL BUG canDY – DO YOU DaRE? WHaT InUIT KnOW aBOUT POLaR BEaRS THE WILD SIDE OF RESEaRcH BIODIVERSITY TRIVIa

NOW ON THE MOVE

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NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

39 D NEE PAGE HING YOU PRONEED EVERYT U PARGTY YO y apps, TO BE As,HIN wallet-friendl

RYT punche EVE TY PRO tips, hot hooch Powerful , potluck PAR ly apps, DIY snacks BE A’ playlist and more!

TO , a smokines, wallet-friend recipes punch Powerful , potluck tips, hot hooch t and more!

DIY snacks smokin’ playlis recipes, a

43 Basketless gift baskets Because who wants a wicker basket?

44 Punch up Great punch recipes from inventive mixologists 46 Hot stuff Warm drinks – laced, of course 49 Upping the app Jazz up prepared foods with just three ingredients Playlist plus Best new tunes to get the party started

Photo by Michael Watier

10 NEWSFRONT 11 News briefs Child poverty on the rise; 19 Waiting game How tech is failing TTC hedge fund buys stake in T.O. garbage 20 Femme fatale How asses came to de12 NDP convention Horwath survives fine sexuality 14 Policy police NDP keeps a lid on testy Justice delayed Authorities waiting debates out wrongly convicted Romeo Phillion 16 Subpar subways Ours may not be

22 DAILY EVENTS 24 CLASS ACTION

Continuing education Four diverse professionals describe how continuing education courses took them to the next level

34 LIFE&STYLE

34 Haute topic Label clothes, not models Store of the week Future Is the Future D 36 Ecoholic Cracking the cracker code, U.S.-China climate pact and more 37 Astrology

Contact NOW

Y IDAY HOLIDA & HOL D& FOOD NK FOO DRINK L DRI CIAL SPE SPECIA

SUPPOrtinG SPOnSOrS

40 Frugal feast We challenge caterers to create tasty apps from cheap ingredients 42 The 10 commandments of potluck Abide by them and dinner will rock

189 Church Street, Toronto, ON M5B 1Y7, tel 416-364-1300.

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EE KFRFR THINTHINK EE

COMING UP NOV 28 cELESTIaL BLaST

GeT YOUr WILD ON!

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ed How AC LA uc C T S

Special FNL sneak peek: Exhibit launch of Wildlife Photographer of the Year

La co IO S How A ed ch an atCioT A N ch ucat ge a nIOSnt co Sinui an io co Nur ng ge n yontur se yo courinui lif ur se ng e • can lif e can •

NOV 21 GET WILD!

windy, frigid weather

39 HOLIDAY FOOD & DRINK SPECIAL

EDITOR/CEO

GENERAL MANAGER

Michael Hollett

Alice Klein

Pam Stephen

Editorial

Art

Marketing/Advertising Sales

Senior Entertainment Editor Susan G. Cole Senior News Editor Enzo DiMatteo Associate Entertainment Editor/Stage & Film Glenn Sumi Music Editor Julia LeConte Fashion and Design Writer Sabrina Maddeaux Senior Writers Jon Kaplan (Theatre), Norman Wilner (Film) On-line News Writer Ben Spurr Staff News Writer Jonathan Goldsbie Entertainment/Music Contributer Carla Gillis Contributors Elizabeth Bromstein, Andrew Dowler, David Jager, Ellie Kirzner, Sarah Parniak, Wayne Roberts, Adria Vasil Entertainment Administrator Desiree D’Lima Copy Editing/Proofreading Francie Wyland, Fran Schechter, Julia Hoecke, Katarina Ristic

VP, Creative Director Troy Beyer Art Director Stephen Chester Graphic/Web Designer Michelle Wong Photo Coordinator Jeanette Forsythe

Production Director Of Production/IT Greg Lockhart Production Supervisor Sharon Arnott Assistant Production Supervisor Jay Dart Designers Ted Smith, Donna Parrish (Editorial), Clayton Hanmer, Monica Miller Publishing Systems Manager Rudi Garcia Publishing Technology Jason Bartlett

nowtoronto.com Online and Social Media Manager Kate Robertson Interactive Producer Leah Herrera Web/Mobile Developer Adner Francisco

Phone 416-364-1300 X381 or email advertising@nowtoronto.com Director, Display Advertising Sales Gary Olesinski Research Analyst/Sales Operations Manager Rhonda Loubert Senior Marketing Executives Bill Malcolm, Janice Copeland, Barbara Hefler Marketing Representatives Laura LaBella, Bonte Minnema, Briony Douglas, Elspeth Staniland, Edite Martins Marketing Coordinators Joanne Begg, Stacy Reardon, Jane Stockwell

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RCM_NOW_3-5_4c_Nov20.qxp__V 2014-11-13 12:31 PM Page 1

NOVEMBER 20-26

KOERNER HALL IS:

“an outstanding, wonderful hall” JAZZ.FM 91

54 MUSIC

Jarvis Church & Ivana Santilli

54 The Scene alt-J, PartyNextDoor, Long Winter, Vag Halen 56 Club & concert listings 58 Interview Run the Jewels 61 T.O. Notes 62 Roundup Not Dead Yet festival 64 Interview Les Sins 67 Album reviews

SAT., NOV. 29, 2014 8PM KOERNER HALL Jarvis Church brings Philosopher Kings hits, his own originals, and soulful classics by Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, and more. R&B singer Ivana Santilli captivates with her distinctive vocals and electric piano jazz infused dance floor grooves.

Sultans and Divas

68 STAGE

THURS., DEC. 4, 2014 8PM KOERNER HALL This multi-artist concert features mezzo-soprano and CBC radio host Julie Nesrallah; soprano Miriam Khalil; master oud player Bassam Bishara; OktoEcho; Juno nominees and Canadian Folk Music Award winners, Sultans of String; and many more!

Presented in partnership with The Canadian Arab Institute.

68 Theatre reviews The Motherfucker With The Hat; D Talking Heads; Buyer & Cellar; Sextet; NSFW 70 Theatre listings 73 Comedy listings; Dance listings

74 BOOKS

75 ART

Review Us Conductors Readings

Review Suzy Lake Must-see galleries and museums

76 MOVIES

D 76 Actor/director interview The

Homesman’s Tommy Lee Jones 78 Reviews The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1; Lowdown; Point And Shoot; Hermitage Revealed 79 Also opening Penguins Of Madagascar; Horrible Bosses 2; Women Who Flirt 80 Playing this week 82 Film times 84 Festival reviews Regent Park Film Festival

Hot Sardines & the Barbra Lica Quintet

86 CLASSIFIED 86 Crossword 86 Employment 90 Rentals/real estate

FRI., DEC. 12, 2014 8PM KOERNER HALL Two great young jazz bands led by charismatic singers!

The Hot Sardines are “consistently electrifying live.” (Popmatters) Barbra Lica brings her infectious fun to Koerner Hall.

91 Adult classifieds 103 Savage Love

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More than 40 extraordinary classical, jazz, pop, family and world music concerts to choose from!

TICKETS START AT ONLY $25! 416.408.0208

www.performance.rcmusic.ca 273 BLOOR STREET WEST (BLOOR ST. & AVENUE RD.) TORONTO

Alice Klein Chair/CEO Michael Hollett President/COO David Logan Vice-President Lilein Schaeffer 1921–2010

Great Gift: Koerner Hall Concert Tickets and Gift Cards

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NOW NOVEMBER 20-26 2014

5

Spin

With winter almost here, you’ve probably put away that commuter bike. But you can still dream about two-wheel traffic with Spin, Evalyn Parry’s marvellous multimedia piece about women and cycling. It’s full of original songs (pick up the CD while you’re there) and fascinating stories – like the one about Annie Londonderry, the first woman to ride around the world. And since the show’s 2011 debut at Buddies, Parry has tweaked it – or rather re-greased its wheels. November 19 to 23 at Buddies in Bad Times. $20-$37. 416-975-8555.

This week November 20–26 Thursday 20 Nikki Payne One of Canada’s funniest stand-ups plays the first of three nights

at Yuk Yuk’s. Not to be missed. 8 pm (and some 10:30 pm). $13-$22. 416-9676425.

In-between Spaces The Laneway Project convenes a summit on laneway revitalization. 6 pm. $10. Great Hall. thelanewayproject. ca/events.

Friday 21

Deafheaven American black metallers drown Adelaide Hall in sound. With local shoegazers Programm. Doors 8 pm. RSVP dfhvn.tumblr.com/shows.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 Catch up on the latest adventures of Katniss, Peeta and Gale in the penultimate chapter in the film adaptations of Suzanne Collins’s dystopian epic. See story, page 78.

Saturday 22

Rae Spoon and Geoff Berner Canadian singer/songwriters play a double bill at the Gladstone. 7 pm. $15. gladstonehotel.com.

Nijinsky John Neumeier’s ballet about Russian dancer/choreographer Vaslav

Nijinsky returns after last year’s spectacular debut. 7:30 pm. Four Seasons Centre. To Nov 30. $26-$249. 416-345-9595.

Sunday 23

Suzy Lake See this brilliant, groundbreaking feminist artist’s retrospective at the Art Gallery of Ontario to March 22. $11-$19.50. 416-979-6648, ago.net. More info, page 75.

Eco Fair 2014 Exhibits, kids’ activities, electric car test drives and more at Artscape Wychwood Barns. Free. Noon-4 pm. ecofairtoronto.org.

Monday 24

Next week

November 27 – December 3 Kim’s Convenience

Ins Choi’s powerful look at a KoreanCanadian family returns to the Young Centre. $5$89. 416-8668666. November 27 to December 28

OCAD Book Arts Fair

Check out books by artists, printmakers, bookbinders and photographers at the Great Hall 10 am to 5 pm. bookartsfair@gmail.com.

November 29 AIDS Justice in Africa Screening of new film and panel discussion featuring Stephen Lewis and moderator Anna Maria Tremonti. 7 pm. $15. Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. November 27 Arkells Hamilton indie rockers play a triple-header at the Danforth Music Hall. Doors 7 pm, all ages. $23.50$39.50. rotate.com, soundscapes.com, ticketmaster.ca. November 27-29 Yusuf The British singer/songwriter formerly known as Cat Stevens plays Massey. 8 pm. $60-$250. ticketmaster. ca. December 1

Caribou Canadian-bred, London-based house music hero Dan Snaith plays Toronto for the first time in years. The Danforth Music Hall show’s been sold out for ages, but Snaith’s hinted at a return trip soon. Doors 7 pm. $20-$22.50. rotate.com, soundscapesmusic.com, ticketmaster.ca.

Tuesday 25

Stevie Wonder Signed, sealed, delivered, he’s yours. The Detroit legend plays

Put A Bow On It

the tunes from the crown jewel of his repertoire, Songs In The Key Of Life, at the ACC. 8 pm. $49.50-$149.50. ticketmaster.ca.

Comic Jam Bring your own pencils to the indie artists fair and make your own comics. 7:30 pm. Free. Cameron House. torcomjam.com.

The De Chardin Project Maev Beaty and Cyrus Lane star in Adam Seybold’s play about knowledge and truth. 7:30 pm. To Dec 14. Theatre Passe Muraille. Pwyc-$38. 416-504-7529.

Wednesday 26

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november 20-26 2014 NOW

Gordon Lightfoot Canadian songwriting legend plays the first of four nights at Massey Hall. 8 pm. $32.50-$99.50. roythomson.com.

Book now

These will sell out fast Venus In Fur Carly Street and Rick

Miller return in this sexy two-hander about a director and an actor/dominatrix. Canadian Stage is calling it the other Nutcracker. Ouch. Berkeley Street Theatre. $15-$59. 7 pm.

416-368-3110. December 18 to 28 Gang of Four Sure, there’s just one remaining original member. But seeing the revered English post-punks – who just announced a new album – in cozy Lee’s Palace is still pretty rad. Doors 8 pm. $30. ticketfly.com, rotate.com, soundscapes.com. March 9

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NOW november 20-26 2014

7

glamourizing image of a super-triggering character from A Clockwork Orange who plays out sadistic violence against women. Why not a different image at least?!

Kay Ecoj Toronto

email letters@nowtoronto.com The new wave of fems is here – watch out

Follow us on Instagram

@nowtoronto

Thank you for Susan G Cole’s It’s Way Bigger Than Ghomeshi (NOW, November 13-19). It’s the high heels, a kind of modern foot-binding. Young women suffer for the look, not understanding it sends a message of compliance.

It’s pole dancing. It’s glass ceilings.

It’s pink and blue. Yep. It’s toys: dolls or guns. It’s selfies. It’s endless magazines about attractiveness. It’s competition for boyfriends. It’s worry about no dates. It’s a wedding. It’s a wedding dress. All toward being an adored object.

No opinions required, requested, needed, thanks. Hide your power, if you have any.

FemBots.

The Fourth Wave of feminism is already here. Girls are funny, flat-shoed, fat, strong, smart, educated, ugly, opinionated, themselves. Watch out.

Barbara Klunder Toronto

Clockwork Orange ad in anti-violence issue?

A page before your special section to address the very serious issue of violence against women (NOW, November 13-19), you have an ad for the Kubrick exhibit at TIFF with an all-too

The Persistence of Jokes

I’m no Ghomeshi fanboy, but...

Here’s my question: why are Kevin Donovan and the Toronto Star so hellbent on burying Jian Ghomeshi (NOW, November 13-19)? He’s one of their own, after all, a poster boy for multiculturalism.

If you sort through the stories, you come up with a single formal charge of workplace harassment (the ass-grabbing, “hate-fuck” incident), and two charges of assault that occurred over a decade ago and were never reported to police (until recently). The balance of the nine women the Star says have a beef with Ghomeshi remain mute.

I’m no Ghomeshi fan-boy. And I subscribe to the Star, it being the closest thing we have to a progressive daily in this town. But in this case, it hasn’t struck me as being fair and balanced.

C. Robert Elgee Toronto

How a woman expects to be treated

CANADA’S ECONOMIC ACTION PLAN

HELPING FAMILIES PROSPER

Across Canada, families are working hard. That’s why Canada’s Economic Action Plan is proposing new measures to help make raising a family more affordable, such as: • Introducing the new Family Tax Cut • Enhancing the Universal Child Care Benefit

• Increasing the Child Care Expense Deduction • Doubling the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit

AD DE D! SE CO ND SH OW JU ST TI CK ET S ON SA LE NO W!

DECEMBER 6 - 7:30 & 10 PM Queen Elizabeth Theatre Ticketmaster 1-855-985-5000 www.ticketmaster.ca

To find out how your family can benefit, visit Actionplan.gc.ca or call 1 800 O-CANADA.

Measures subject to parliamentary approval.

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NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

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Government - Finance

2014-11-17 11:54 AM

340 King Street East, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5A 1K8 TEL : 416-260-7000 · FAX : 416-260-7100 ACCOUNT

Patrick Hodgson

DATE

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NOV 17, 2014 FD-3059

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Thank you for Jacob Scheier’s Manifesto For The Responsible Male (NOW, November 13-19). I actually have not been following the Ghomeshi story, but your manifesto summarizes well how a woman should expect to be treated by a respectable male.

I’m a 33-year-old professional female with experience in consulting engineering, which is a male-dominated profession.

After 10 years in a corporate environment, I’ve noticed how difficult it is for women to succeed. This is not the fault of men, but it is a fault that they lack awareness of and sensitivity to the needs and strengths of women. Hence, insensitive comments are made; success standards are based on typically male precedents.

It’s sad and true.

Agnes Smolarska Toronto

“I loathe being thought of as a victim.”

Thanks to Michael Hollett for sharing his story (NOW, November 13-19). I, too, grew up in a household where verbal and physical abuse were the norm.

I have been abused, but I really effing hate saying it. I loathe being thought of as a victim. But I guess technically I was.

I got out. Only a few years of it. Police. The whole nine. Finally said enough. I cried and felt ashamed that

I’d put my son through that even once.

I’m terrified it will affect him for life, change his opinion or his treatment of women. Scar him. I may just print your article and leave it out as an example for him on how not to be ashamed, how to overcome.

Name withheld by request Toronto

REINVENTING AN ICON THE NAD 3020

Idiot rules

This is a response to Sabrina Maddeaux’s Shame Game, relating to fashion shaming on Jimmy Kimmel’s Lie Witness News (NOW, November 13-19). I am in disbelief that Maddeaux could actually say the people in these videos are victims. Let’s take gender, race, sexual preference, etc out of it and look at it for what it is: pathetic people wanting to be noticed and garner their 15 seconds of fame. The trap is set, and idiots walk eagerly into it. As for your question, “If someone stuck a camera in my face, would I not attempt a good-natured stab to answer”? Yes, I would, but not lie through my teeth to be an attentionseeking moron. Stop protecting idiots like this.

David Patrick Toronto

Building a better Best of Toronto

NOW’s Best of Toronto issue (NOW, November 6-12) celebrates the best things in diverse categories. But there’s no category for best Toronto architect or architecture office.

No, wait, there it is, under Shopping: best design firm (architecture, interior or product). This makes no sense, considering that NOW regularly has feature articles on issues that affect our public space. It’s time for your publication to recognize the social and cultural contribution of architects in our city. Stop paying lip service to developers and suggesting that architecture’s sole worth is as a consumer good.

Chloe Town

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Singing Danforth Music Hall’s praises

I have Parkinson’s. Standing for a long period of time is not possible. So when I read that the November 11 Peter Hook & the Light show at the Music Hall was general admission, no seats on the floor, I contacted the venue. I received an email back within five minutes. “No problem,” it read. A chair would be set up for me near the stage, close to the action, as I wanted. The good folks at Danforth Music Hall should be recognized for this kind gesture.

Larry Brown Toronto NOW welcomes reader mail. Address letters to: NOW, Letters to the Editor, 189 Church, Toronto, ON M5B 1Y7. Send e-mail to letters@nowtoronto.com and faxes to 416-364-1166. All correspondence must include your name, address and daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length.

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newsfront

March of the penguins

NIC POULIOT

at the 110th annual Santa Claus Parade Sunday, November 16.

More cool photos at nowtoronto.com.

CITYSCAPE

ON THE STREET

A November 12 march by U of T students calling on the university to divest its holdings in the fossil fuel industry featured an odd chant. “What do we want? Divestment! When do we want it?

Gradually, over five years.” Asked why, organizers told NOW they want to appear reasonable in their demands. U of T administration has formed an ad-hoc committee to examine the matter.

SPOTTED

A plaque to honour Norman Bethune was placed outside his childhood home on Robert Street in Harbord Village last week. Grace Westcott, who chairs the Toronto Legacy Project, one of several groups involved in the commemoration, argues that Bethune is Canada’s most famous export. “Practically everyone in China knows and reveres his name,” says Westcott of the man best known for bringing modern medicine to rural China.

10

NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

ZACH RUITER

What Detail of Cinefoil bronze by Berlin-based artists Hadley+Maxwell.

Why The artists were selected this week by Waterfront Toronto to create the third and final public art installation along the Front Street promenade in the West Don Lands.

When Their proposal, Garden Of Future Follies, is scheduled to be completed after the Pan Am Games in 2016.

NEWS IN BRIEF “MASSIVE AND GROWING” INEQUALITY ON THE RISE

There are now 118,000 millionaires in Toronto, “almost one for every child who lives in poverty,” according to a report released Friday, November 14, by a coalition of groups including the Children’s Aid Society and Social Planning Toronto.

The report says nearly a third of children in Toronto are living in poverty, a “hidden epidemic” that will make it difficult for thousands of young people to grow up healthy, get an education or find meaningful employment. Fifteen Toronto neighbourhoods have child poverty rates above 40 per cent. In Regent Park, Moss Park, Thorncliffe Park and Oakridge, the rates are above 50 per cent.

POLICE SHUFFLE RACE CARD

Despite a revised carding policy designed to rein in police abuses, racially biased carding continues to be widespread, according to a firm hired by the Police Services Board to monitor new procedures in the Jane and Finch community. More than 65 per cent of 400 people surveyed felt there had been no valid reason for the cops to stop them. “Clearly, the intent of the policy has not been translated into practice,” says Sabrina Butterfly Gopaul of Jane Finch Action Against Poverty.

The revised policy states that police must have a valid public safety reason for stopping an individual.

CRUNCH TIME FOR KEYSTONE XL

“So many elected officials are under the dominion of corporate forces, that this dirty oil boondoggle will keep coming back like a zombie piggybacking on a vampire.” Allison Fisher of

Washington-based non-profit Public Citizen, reacts cautiously after the U.S. Senate rejects by one vote TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL pipeline on Tuesday, November 18. The project, aimed at carrying Alberta tar sands crude to refineries on the Gulf Coast, is expected to receive approval when a new Republican-dominated Senate is sworn in in January. According to Public Citizen, the Koch brothers, major proponents of the project and major stakeholders in the Alberta tar sands, spent more than $100 million backing pro-pipeline candidates in recent U.S. midterm elections.

IN MEMORIAM: LESLIE FEINBERG, 1949-2014

Groundbreaking transgender activist, thinker and writer Leslie Feinberg has died, leaving a chasm in the LGBTQ intellectual and activist community. Her 1993 Stone Butch Blues was the revelatory story of an achingly vulnerable dyke finding her identity. No one had ever seen anything like it. Read Susan G. Cole’s appreciation at nowtoronto.com.

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More big money moves for Green for Life Environmental, the outfit that surprised everyone by winning the contract for private garbage pickup west of Yonge to the Humber in 2011. On November 17 the company announced a “reorganization of its share capital,” a fancy way of saying it’s found new investors, specifically a hedge fund owned by JP Morgan, Highbridge Principal Strategies, to take up the financial slack left when original investors Roark Capital Group sold its entire stake in the company. GFL lost the contract to pick up garbage in Etobicoke after its safety rating was downgraded by the province earlier this year.

Compiled by NOW staff with files from Ben Spurr and Zach Ruiter.

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11

ONDP CONVENTION

Chris Young / Cp photo

HORWATH’S SECOND CHANCE

While things ended well for a chastened NDP leader this weekend, it’s hard to believe party strategists have really kissed her retail politics goodbye By ELLIE KIRZNER

It

was a very restless crowd of Ontario New Democrats at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Saturday, November 15, who handed Andrea Horwath four more years at the party’s helm.

At a convention that found myriad ways of expressing its disdain for the party’s deliberately non-aspirational election campaign, arguably one of the worst the ONDP’s ever run, the decision to give the leader 77 per cent approval was truly extraordinary – and charitable beyond reason.

NDPers are the most trusting and forgiving of people, it seems. Not many leaders get second chances of this magnitude.

After pumping tax phobia in a narrow-casted campaign devoid of appeals to the public good and stunningly focused on a minor hydro fix, Horwath gets a refreshed mandate.

How she engineered this transformation from taxpayer populist to chastened social democrat will no doubt serve as a model for other pols who stray too far from their base and then need an appropriate climbdown.

But the ONDP leader had some special things going for her: an incredibly well-oiled machine, a conver-

12

november 20-26 2014 NOW

sion narrative, her own general likeability – and the advantage of being a statistical rarity in her caucus. Of 21 members, only five others have had more than five years experience.

The law of politics dictates that when there’s a vacancy, someone will fill it, so who knows who might have stepped forward if NDPers had been up to some experimentation, which they weren’t. Perhaps they truly believe in fresh starts, or perhaps they’re demoralized.

Still, Horwath and her team have had to work for their redemption. They’ve spent several months attempting to get out in front of the recriminations, from the campaign’s minimalist pitch, to the ultimate loss of three precious Toronto seats and the balance of power at Queen’s Park.

Much fence-mending has occurred.

At provincial council in September, she recommitted to the “principles that are our hearts and souls.’’

And now she effortlessly slips into self-criticism, as she did this weekend, telling the press with her usual verbal economy that the party failed in June to “talk in the big-picture language.’’

But while things ended well for Horwath this weekend, it feels like it was by accident.

there was a background tape playing in my head, and it was snickering all the way through.

The convention was a sea of writhing anger and discontent, and volatile from the first moments. Soon after the call to order Friday afternoon, a motion from the floor demanded that the vote on Horwath’s leadership, which was to follow her 9:25 am address Saturday, be put off until 5:30 pm to provide time for reflection and avoid being stampeded.

The speech itself was no rhetorical feat, but it fortified her conversion project. Those assembled were present, she said, to “re-affirm a cause – the great project of social democracy…. We owe the generations to come a socially and economically much more equal society.”

In any other context, this would have been a rather typical NDP recitation of concerns. Her remarks touched on climate change, a living minimum wage, the creation of a value-added green economy, better childcare, violence against women, and the poor and excluded. The intention was obviously to signal that Horwath was done limiting campaign pitches to small out-of-context deliverables, and that she recognized this as a party of major principle.

She went on to promise “a careful, thoughtful, detailed, inclusive discussion in our party and among our members about our next election platform…. We need to make sure our members and supporters see their values in everything we do, in every thing we say, in every thing we promise.”

A very unusual pledge, actually, election strategy being typically the monopoly of the leader’s inner circle and subject to polling and other attempts to divine the source of new votes. Think of it as a marker of how far Horwath felt she had to go.

Still, the speech was unsettling in many ways. One had to appreciate the attempt at vision, but there was a background tape playing in my head, and it was snickering all the way through.

The leader’s interest in climate change only reminded me how non-existent the issue was in her election messaging just months ago. As it was, the convention featured an address by Kelsey Mech, national director of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, who threw out a challenge to the room: we need a substantive plan on targets, renewable energy projects and a no to pipelines, she said. “Are you that party?’’ That question is unfortunately not easily answered.

As to the part of Horwath’s speech trumpeting Thomas Mulcair’s new universal, low-cost daycare policy, well, I couldn’t suppress a “You’re kidding.”

ONDP electioneering made no call for a Quebecstyle solution, but argued instead for $100 million to restore childcare centres on the brink of closing – a drop in the bucket in a province where childcare for toddlers costs nearly $1,000 a month.

Come to think of it, there was no mention of pensions in her roll-out of everything she thought the party would appreciate hearing – or is that issue now permanently tainted by Kathleen Wynne’s plan and left to her devices?

Delegates chose to forgive, but many of them were far from forgetting.

This was surely the meaning of a resolution – originally signed by five riding associations, and heartily endorsed at the convention – calling on the party to refuse to “echo or fuel’’ the anti-tax or anti-spending messages of the right, and to “popularize a vision of a better world for all.”

As one delegate told the room: “When the Liberals were accused of overspending, we said we should spend less. If we are the real progressive party, we have to earn it. We have to tell people what we are for.”

Good advice, but some of the party’s media handlers didn’t seem to get it. I only learned the wording of the above resolution because I pulled a mild tantrum and one of the officials felt pressed to give it to me, warning me not to show anyone else in the press section. Party officials don’t allow reporters to have resolution books, and while a few motions were presented on video screens, most were not. (When a kind delegate offered me the book, I made the mistake of sticking it in a folder instead of burying it in my bag. Bad continued on page 14 œ

NOW november 20-26 2014

13

HORWATH’S SECOND CHANCE œcontinued from page 12

idea. One of the handlers spotted it and asked me to turn it over like it was contraband.)

Of course, I understand why Horwath’s team was hyper-alert; unease was seeping out everywhere. The provincial secretary’s report, usually a routine affair, provided an opportunity for delegates to complain about the handling of the election.

And the emotional tribute to fallen MPP Peter Kormos praising his militancy was the occasion for comparisons between gutless electioneering and commitment to principle.

There was also push-back on a resolution – one of a number turned back for vagueness – stating that social assistance recipients ought not to end up with less money after implementation of the Liberals’ Social Assistance Review. Barry Weisleder of the Socialist Caucus took party election strategists to task for failing to propose raising the meagre assistance rates, and offered an amendment to restore the rate structure as it was before the Mike Harris cuts.

While the Socialist Caucus is far from an influential force in the party, members saw things his way and backed his motion.

Meanwhile, a resolution for a “decent minimum wage” (unspecified) was cause for the airing of more bad

feelings about the party’s election platform choice of $12, a deliberate rejection of the $14 campaigned on by the labour movement.

Organizers obviously hoping to keep the temperature down slotted the address of fiery OFL president Sid Ryan for early Sunday morning. He skewered the party for its minuscule vision in the last election and reminded delegates that in the Bob Rae era, the ONDP put forward substantive issues like public auto insurance and rent control and still won a majority government. His “big ticket’’ items for the party in its current doldrums included pension reform, higher minimum wage and free university tuition. “Don’t be afraid of the voters,” he said.

In the end, it’s hard to believe that party strategists are really kissing Horwath’s retail politics goodbye; they just had so much hope for it.

But the leader newly re-mandated with conditions attached now has promises to keep. She breathlessly sketched out a trajectory for the next four years – until the taking of provincial power, that is: a return to building riding associations and relations with municipal leaders, community activists, equity-seeking groups and First Nations.

It’s a wonderful direction, though perhaps a tad late – let’s be frank. But given the current shape of things, what choice does the party have? At this moment, going left, it appears, is all that’s left.

3 Ellie Kirzner is a contributing editor at NOW Magazine.

ONDP CONVENTION

NDP’S VISION VORTEX Party brass did a remarkable job of making sure only the least contentious resolutions were debated at NDP convention By MATT MERNAGH

T

he Ontario NDP’s ruckus’n’ rancour-filled convention at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre reaffirmed Andrea Horwath as leader last weekend, scoring 77 per cent support.

But a disconnect between policy-makers and party ranks continues to brew. Is an inaccessible policy book at the heart of the ONDP’s problems?

After a weekend spent passing resolutions, many of them unani mously, there’s no way for members to read them. There are no links to follow on the party’s website. In fact, there are no policies on the ONDP website at all, which makes me wonder if delegates wasted their weekend on an exercise in hand-raising.

Members looking to get hold of the 100-plus-page book will have to email overworked staff and hope they put one in the mail.

“We need to be more connected to our stakeholders,” Horwath said in her keynote Saturday morning.

But the best means of doing that is

an accessible policy book – and for very important reasons.

When a platform did materialize during the last election, it left many members complaining that much of it seemed to have been imposed from on high rather than through member consultation and voting.

They were among those who wanted to replace Horwath on the weekend, but all they could muster was a vague resolution on election messaging. To wit, the NDP would campaign on “a vision of a better world for all and to constantly strive to form a government for the purpose of realizing that vision.”

That’s clearly open to a lot of interpretation.

Indeed, party brass did a remarkable job, via agenda-arranging, of ensuring that only the least contentious motions made it to the convention floor. The result was that a few bland resolutions were over whelmingly approved.

Affordable childcare, better benefits for first responders suffering from PTSD, electrification of the

Union Pearson Express and implementation of the Elliot Lake Inquiry recommendations were among the no-brainers.

Meanwhile, debate on more controversial motions, like the elimination of post-secondary tuition fees and reaffirming the rights of sex workers, was cut short.

But the most egregious example of agenda manipulation was the timing of the leadership review vote, which was to immediately follow Horwath’s speech. This made delegates wonder if they were supposed to vote on her oratorical or leadership skills. They succeeded in revising the agenda and held Saturday’s leadership vote long after Horwath had spoken – a rebuke by members who refused to rubber-stamp topdown policies.

Now at a crossroads, the ONDP ought to connect to its membership by charting a bold new future via a modern set of policies and core values – or at the very least a more accessible policy document.

3 news@nowtoronto.com | @nowtoronto

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SUBWAY BREAKDOWN

TAKEN FOR A RIDE? The TTC says its subway trains are on time 95 per cent of the time, but the commission’s reliability benchmark makes it tough to tell how we stack up against other transit systems By BEN SPURR

W

hen the subway system was hit by two major service disruptions in the span of one hour earlier this month, passengers were frustrated but hardly surprised.

The signal failure that shut down a portion of the Yonge-University-Spadina line during morning rush hour on November 5 is becoming the stuff of routine. The twist was that it coincided with a simultaneous but unrelated failure near Broadview on the Bloor-Danforth line, leading to a nightmarish commute for thousands on the country’s busiest transit system. Less than a week later 1,000 riders were stuck in a tunnel near Museum station for almost an hour as the TTC struggled to cope with an injury at track level.

With such delays seemingly striking on a regular basis, TTC riders could be forgiven for thinking our subway system is sub-par.

But how reliable is it compared to other cities’?

The short answer is that it’s almost impossible to tell, because transit agencies around the world use different methods to track performance. An industry association has performed comparisons, but TTC spokesperson Brad Ross says he can’t share the details because the reports are proprietary.

Ross will say that Toronto’s subways are “pretty punctual,” and judged by how much it costs to operate, the TTC is among the most efficient transportation networks in the world.

Absent any official comparison, NOW did our own analysis based on the performance benchmarks different transit agencies set for themselves. On that basis, the TTC’s subway, which carries 1.3 million people on an average weekday, performs about as well or slightly worse than Montreal’s Metro, which is a bit

16

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smaller than the Toronto system. Compared to larger networks, the TTC meets its reliability targets much more often than New York City’s subway but less often than the London Underground.

According to the TTC’s most recent monthly reports, Toronto’s subways were on time 95.1 per cent of the time (the combined average of the three lines, weighted by passenger volume). The TTC defines “on time” as being within three minutes of scheduled arrival.

There are significant differences in reliability, however, depending on the line.

Trains on Line 4 (Sheppard), the least travelled line, were punctual 99.2 per cent of the time; Line 2 (BloorDanforth) 96.5 per cent of trips; and Line 1 (Yonge-University-Spadina), the busiest, 93.9 per cent of the time.

The TTC also sets punctuality targets for each line, and over the last 12 months, Line 4 was the only one that consistently met its standard, owing mostly to its low ridership numbers, while on average both Line 1 and Line 2 failed to meet theirs. Twice over the 12-month period, punctuality on Line 1 dipped below 92 per cent.

On a typical weekday, 731,880 people use Line 1. That high volume contributes to delays in the form of increased security incidents and passenger alarms. A major source of problems is a signal system that dates back to 1954, the year the subway opened. The TTC is working to replace the signals by 2020, but in the meantime their aging, failing parts continue to cause delays.

While Toronto’s subway isn’t always on time, Murtaza Haider, a transportation expert at the Ted Rogers School of Management, says it’s still “extremely reliable” considering recent governments have been fixated on building new lines instead of maintaining current ones.

93.9%

Subways on the Yonge-University-Spadina line that arrive on time

96.5%

Subways on the Bloor-Danforth line that arrive on time

99.2% Subways on the Sheppard line that arrive on time

97.6%

Montreal Metro passengers who arrive on time

78.2%

New York subways that arrive on time

“The average delays are on the low end of the transit spectrum,” he says. But “because of the under-investment, we end up having problems.”

By its own benchmarks, Montreal’s Metro is a little more reliable than the TTC. According to the Société de transport de Montréal, it carries about 895,000 riders on an average weekday and delivers 97.6 per cent of them to their destination on time.

New York’s subway is more than four times busier than the TTC, carrying 5.4 million people on an average weekday, and according to its own measures it performs much worse than Toronto’s system. More than one in five Gotham commuters wait longer than they’re supposed to: system-wide weekday wait times meet the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s standard only 78.2 per cent of the time.

The London Underground carries 4.2 million riders on an average weekday, almost as much as the New York subway. Compared to North American systems, Transport for London uses much more complex performance indicators to track reliability, and by almost all of them the Tube does well.

Delays are down 54 per cent from 10 years ago, the result of a multi-billion-pound investment that began in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics, and TFL operates 98 per cent of its scheduled subway journeys.

The Tube also keeps track of “lost customer hours,” the cumulative amount of time that passengers are delayed. In a recent 28-day period, each rider lost an average of only about 52 seconds to major service disruptions.

Toronto transit blogger Steve Munro says the Tube’s performance measures are much more accurate than

continued on page 21 œ

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info. But those route identifying numbers are only on the 700 streetcar stops in the system. What about the 10,000 bus stops that connect the rest of the city?

I’ve been waiting for this service to expand – to go where no streetcar dares to go – out to all those distant bus stops in suburbia. So how annoying to discover that texting has been available for those bus stops all along.

Unfortunately news of the service with the appropriate text numbers has not been displayed on any of the stops. Who knew? And even if you do know, the only way to get the correct number for any given bus stop is to visit TTC.ca and go through a Byzantine amount of clicking to find the route information for your stop.

But what if you only have a land line at home?

You can actually call the TTC information line (416-393-4636) and ask for the latest real-time info on next arrival. This works much faster than I would have thought.

Other services are coming that might make fare increases easier to swallow. Next train arrival times are now displayed on subway platforms. In station mezzanines, new electronic boards show next bus arrival times. (It doesn’t say anywhere on these boards that these are GPS-informed, and the attendant at my subway stop knew nothing, but indeed they are – though the Donlands board suffered from the same detour glitches as my local stop and so was unreliable for two months.)

There is now WiFi capability at the Yonge and Bloor subway, and it will be expanding to all stops on the system. But that will take 10 years!

By setting better rider information priorities, the glitches and delays and misinformation may fall away. If that happens, the Better Way may continue to get better. Maybe one day it will actually be the best way. Wouldn’t that be nice?

In the meantime, it might be easier to just look at the current info system as happening in beta time.

3

"M AS TER FU

Waiting is the worst thing, especially when you don’t know if what you’re waiting for is really coming or not.

I’m not referring to the Rapture or peace on earth, but to the possible arrival of the next bus.

It’s the information age, and the TTC has had GPS on all its vehicles for three years now. So presumably, at least for those of us who are app-savvy and have the right technology, the waiting should be over. We should be able to ascertain exactly when our next vehicle is coming and plan our arrival at the stop fairly precisely, right?

Theoretically. Sometimes.

The TTC’s customer service charter identifies “specific time-based initiatives… over the next year to improve the transit experience for our customers.”

Under the section entitled “Our commitment,” the commission promises to provide streetcar, bus and subway service that will be “reliable and on time.”

But there’s precious little about what steps the TTC is taking to make that happen, outside of hiring 20 bus route supervisors by the third quarter of 2014 and installing 60 new digital information displays that may help you better plan your trip but won’t get you where you’re going any faster.

Technology was supposed to change that. There are now apps like RocketMan, NextBus and TTC mobile to give smartphone/computer users accurate real-time information. They make the Better Way way better – when they work. The reliability of these apps is crucial to public confidence and use of the system.

In my experience, however, any detours on the established routes and the apps get entirely befuddled and start making predictions wildly out of whack. Vehicle arrival times can go from 27 to two minutes, or vice versa, in the blink of an eye.

This, as Brad Ross, TTC executive director of corporate communications, explains to me, is a problem that’s being rectified. Plans to get upto-date route change information to the third-party designers who make the apps are imminent.

What of people without smartphones? If you have a home computer, mynextbus.com can give you the same arrival info for any stop you choose.

But what if you don’t have a smartphone and you’re on the road and can’t access a computer?

If you’re at a streetcar stop and have texting capability on your cellphone, you simply text the route identification number (shown on the bus stop or shelter) and in pours the

D"

The TTC has had GPS on its vehicles for years, but the waiting is far from over By ROBERT PRIEST

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19

CULTURE

JUSTICE DELAYED

listeners bitches. We certainly work a lot outside the home now, albeit for 26 cents less per dollar How did sexuality become the single most crucial way than men doing the same for women in pop culture to demonstrate their power? things. We definitely won the fight to be overtly

By KATE ROBERTSON sexual, yet women are This has indisputably been the year of the big, naked still accused of inviting sexual assault and harassment ass. despite innumerable campaigns to change that way of Kim Kardashian, curvaceous reality TV star and wife thinking. of Kanye West, upped the ante last week when she “broke We’re still not reporting sexual assault after it hapthe internet” by posing nude for Paper magazine. One pens, as the Jian Ghomeshi story and its aftermath have particularly meme-worthy image features the 34-year- reminded us. old’s bare, greased-up backside and tiny waist, contrasted Women might not be sure about what female sexualwith a prim, doe-eyed Kardashian vacantly gazing back ity really is yet, seeing as we seem mostly to be mimickat you, dear viewer, over a perfectly tanned shoulder. ing what we think men want. Nor are we properly equipAs eye-opening as the images are, (who knew such a ping kids with info about how to interpret the overt big arse could be so flawless?), Kardashian was just fol- sexual images found on any device that connects to the lowing a trend established by other bubble-butted pop internet. Okay, okay, so we’re working on it. stars. Nicki Minaj’s art for the single Anaconda had the I’m not eager to return to the days of slut-shaming. But rapper squatting in a pink thong, also staring back at the I do want to see diversity in the ways we highlight and camera over her shoulder. “I wanna see all the big fat-ass define female empowerment in pop culture. bitches in the motherfucking club. Fuck you if you skinCan we de-emphasize sex and underline the idiosynny bitches,” Minaj declares at the end of the song. cratic, complex characters of all women? Can we be indiJennifer Lopez, equally famous for her rump, invited viduals who happen to be attached to bodies? rapper Iggy Azalea to join her in some serious fleshy assCan we put female CEOs on the covers of magazines shaking in her video for Booty. even if they don’t look like J Crew models?

It’s hard to think of any woman-driven pop culture I’m not saying I need Ariana Grande to be uglier. But I gestures that don’t ooze sexuality these days, and em- do want women who rate as far down on the fuckability powerment through female sexuality is emphasized index as, say, Pitbull, to be famous, too. In fact, in order to everywhere. gain true equality, these female pop stars of the future Women are squatting all over Instagram, showing off need to be as shitty at music as Pitbull. their strip-club-worthy asses (previously considered a In her piece for Paper about Kardashian, Amanda Forliability requiring shrinkage in order to be considered tini writes, “We’re accustomed to our performers having hot) to the masses. We got your class politics, we got your onstage and backstage registers, but for [Kim Kardashian] body politics. Got it. there is no division between the two. This is, indeed, the But how did sexuality become the single most crucial definition of a reality star. She’s not performing – that is, way for women in pop culture to demonstrate their at least not visibly. She is being, and being is her act.” power? Since when was a woman’s fuckability so importThe reason this is not true is because it cannot be true. ant to her self-esteem? And is this helping us find an Unfortunately, there are no women who can just be. Not equal footing in the real world? only is Kardashian one of the most contrived personalSure, others before her paved the way, but Madonna ities out there, but all women are either conforming to was once controversial because she titillated audiences expectations or reacting against something. If they try to while also using symbolism in her work that rejected the just be, the world doesn’t let them and asks endless genreligious shaming of female sexuality. That was around dered questions about why they are the way they are. the time when feminists protested the use of words like “I’m sick of having to publicly explain my sexuality, “ho” and “bitch” in hip-hop, and the women’s power suit my confidence, my womanhood and my power,” Mish became so ubiquitous, even high school kids on 90210 Way, frontwoman of White Lung, recently wrote on had shoulder pads.

Pitchfork. “I am sick of being asked about it in every Women lost the fight against misogyny in hip-hop; interview, every piece of press, every review written Minaj herself is calling her about me and my band.”

Not until our culture celebrates many ways of being – in pop culture and beyond – and then adds more to that list so there are too many to count and ways of being are like complex puzzles impossible to figure out, can women one day just truly be.

And let’s continue celebrating all the world’s asses right into 2015, too. I can’t actually see mine from where I’m sitting – it’s physically impossible for me to actually meet the gaze of a man who admires its power. But I’m guessing that’s part of the allure.

3 kater@nowtoronto.com | @katernow

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november 20-26 2014 NOW

Sean KilpatricK/cp photo

BOOTY CALL-OUT

WAITING GAME Romeo Phillion remains stuck in legal limbo more than a decade after winning bail for a murder he didn’t commit By SIGCINO MOYO How much misery – and inspiration – can one room hold?

At last month’s first International Wrongful Conviction Day ceremonies held at the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Convocation Hall, you didn’t need to be a conspiracy theorist to catch the whiff of subterfuge in the machinations of the state.

The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC) – the group behind the new day (eight other countries participated) – has slogged more than two decades in the trenches to highlight the need to prevent and remedy wrongful convictions. AIDWYC’s work has helped free innocent individuals in some of Canada’s highest-profile cases, among them Guy Paul Morin, David Milgaard, Steven Truscott and Clayton Johnson.

More than a few of the exonerated were in attendance (those who couldn’t attend sent family members in their stead), milling about renewing acquaintances and every so often embracing so warmly that even observers could feel it.

There, noted defence attorney Julian Falconer spoke of the sense of “family on social justice causes.”

Mark Sandler of the Law Foundation of Ontario, which has funded

AIDWYC to the tune of more than $2.5 million over the years, looked forward to “when we don’t need a Wrongful Conviction Day.” Win Wahrer, AIDWYC co-founder and director of client services, got a raucous standing-o when she took the podium.

She said she’s still passionate about “the honour and joy” of serving the cause and drawing “inspiration” from the wrongly convicted, her “heroes.”

Someone who knows a thing or two about judicial mistakes was keynoter John Artis, wrongly convicted along with founding AIDWYC executive director, the late Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, for a triple murder. For all those in attendance, it was the latter’s absence that was the elephant in the room. Carter died after a struggle with cancer earlier this year. And his very public falling out with AIDWYC in 2005 left the organization without its biggest fundraiser and most famous advocate.

The jailing of innocent people is hard to process in general; even more so with the victims in the room – among them Romeo Phillion, who served 31 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.

He didn’t take the mic but was

T:5.833”

TAKEN FOR A RIDE? œcontinued from page 16

Romeo Phillion spent 31 years in prison.

nevertheless in everyone’s thoughts. He was the night’s special guest.

More than a decade after being released on bail (his conviction was finally withdrawn by the Crown in 2010) and filing a $14 million lawsuit against the province and two Ottawa police officers in 2012, he’s stuck in legal limbo.

If the juridical paper-shuffling that has characterized his case so far stays in play long enough, it will all just fade into nothingness.

Phillion was wrongly convicted (of the stabbing of an Ottawa firefighter in 1967) despite a police report on record corroborating that he was hundreds of kilometres away (in Trenton, Ontario) at the time. That info only made its way to Phillion by a fluke among documents released to him in 1998 during one of his numerous unsuccessful appeals.

Ultimately, that information won his release in 2003. The original conviction was jettisoned in 2009. In July 2014 the Ontario Court of Appeal decreed that Phillion’s compensatory claim could proceed.

But now that’s stymied by a Supreme Court of Canada appeal.

With Phillion entering his mid70s in poor health (and reportedly living below the poverty line), the unpleasant thought must be uttered: is the intent of the authorities to wait him out?

“I just wish they would compensate me for all those lost years so I can live my remaining years with some financial security,” he says.

At AIDWYC’s office, meanwhile, the boxes of cases to review keep rolling in. Wahrer says the organization is always looking for volunteers. aidwyc.org 3 news@nowtoronto.com | @nowtoronto

those used by the TTC, which relies mainly on punctuality. That doesn’t indicate how many passengers are actually affected by delays, or take into account the fact that disruptions of only one or two minutes can cause cascading problems during rush hour.

Munro would like the TTC to introduce measurements that give “a better sense of what the passengers actually see.”

TTC CEO Andy Byford, who worked as a general manager for the London Underground before coming to Toronto, has promised to introduce more sophisticated performance metrics, but Munro says they haven’t materialized.

“They keep talking about doing this, but they never show up.”

Just as different transit agencies have different methods of tracking performance, their response to service disruptions also vary.

The TTC has tried to help riders cope by improving its communications strategy; the agency launched a customer service Twitter account in 2012 and offers e-alerts that can be personalized to customers’ regular routes.

Transport for London goes a step further: passengers are eligible for a fare refund if they endure a service interruption that lasts 15 minutes or longer and is caused by something under the transit agency’s control.

Since 2010, New York’s MTA has offered an online verification service through which the agency will provide passengers with written confirmation that their trains weren’t on time. The transit system’s equivalent of a doctor’s note, the verifications allow riders to give employers or teachers an explanation for why they were late. Between June 2010 and October 2013, the MTA gave out 250,000 such notes, according to the New York Times.

Ross says that for the moment, the TTC has no plan to invest in similar programs here. “We would argue that it’s better use to take that money and reinvest it back into the system,” he says.

3

Don’t throw it all away. Please recycle.

Far too many condo and apartment residents toss recycling in the garbage. In fact, half the stuff they should recycle ends up in the landfill. That’s got to stop.

Or soon we’ll be tossing the environment down the chute.

Please get with the

program.

bens@nowtoronto.com | @BenSpurr

CANNISCRIBE MARIJUANA PRESCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE

Space provided through a partnership between industry and Ontario municipalities to support waste diversion programs.

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daily events meetings • benefits

festivals • expos • sports etc.

How to find a listing

A​screening​of​​ Silenced​kicks​off​ the​Reel​​Awareness​ Film​​Festival.​

Daily events appear by date, then alphabetically by the name of the event.

F = Festive/seasonal event r indicates kid-friendly events indicates queer-friendly events

5

How to place a listing

All listings are free. Send to: events@nowtoronto.com, fax to 416-​364-​1168 or mail to Daily​Events,​NOW​Magazine,​189​ Church,​Toronto​M5B​1Y7. Include a brief description of the event, date, time, price, venue name and address and a contact phone number, e-mail or website address for the event. Listings may be edited for length. Deadline is the Thursday before publication at 5 pm.

If your free listing requires a correction, send info to: fixevents@nowtoronto.com.

Thursday, November 20

Benefits

the ARt stARteR pARty An art battle, a silent

auction and more celebrates art in under-resourced neighbourhoods. 6:30-9:30 pm. $75 (Art Starts). The Uptown Loft, 2464 Yonge. eventbrite.ca/e/4476629720.

AsteR AwARds Margaret Atwood, Paul Hebert and a Rising Star nominee get awards for work that has inspired a connection with nature. 6:30-9 pm. $125 (TBG benefit). Preregister. Toronto Botanical Garden, 777 Lawrence E. torontobotanicalgarden.ca BetteR with Age: gAlA & silent AuCtion The North York Seniors Centre celebrates 40 years of helping seniors with dinner, music, games and more. 5:30 pm. $100 (proceeds to NYSC).

Grand Luxe, 3125 Bayview. 416-733-4111. eAt.ARt.love Cocktail party and art auction featuring live music. 7 pm. $80-$100 (proceeds to Leave Out Violence Ontario). The Extension Room, 30 Eastern. eatartlove.com. the FRoCktAil pARty Auction and dancing. 7 pm. $70 (Juvenile Diabetes Research benefit).

Arcadian Court, 401 Bay, 8th floor. thefrocktailparty.com. giRl Rising Screening of the documentary about the power of education to celebrate the International Day of the Girl. 7:30 pm.

Panel discussion, Q&A to follow screening. $25 (Care Canada project in Malawi). Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 506 Bloor W. care.ca. it’s AlwAys something Comedy and music benefit w/ Colin Mochrie, Fernando Varela, Steven Page, host Russell Peters and others.

7:30 pm. $50-$250 (Gilda’s Club Greater Toronto). Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front E. gildasclubtoronto.org.

JustiCe FoR ChildRen & youth BeneFit A silent auction, live music and more. 7:30 pm. $45 (JFCY Street Youth Legal Services program benefit). The Loft Raum, 66 Gerrard E. jfcy2014.wix.com/jfcybenefit. key ChAnge Music performance by the Hilario Duran Trio, silent auction, cocktails and more.

6:30 pm. $150 (Canadian Music Centre benefit). Canadian Music Centre, 20 St Joseph. 416961-6601 ext 201, rsvp@musiccentre.ca.

the muso pRoJeCt, plAitwRights, dJ Ry-Fi And F-BomB Live music show. Doors 8 pm.

(benefit for Kettlebells 4 Autism). Rivoli, 332 Queen W. facebook.com/themusoproject wARm the sole soCk dRive Donate a pair of unworn socks and get free museum admission on weekends and a token of appreciation on weekdays (benefits the Scott Mission). To Nov 30. Bata Shoe Museum, 327 Bloor W. batashoemuseum.ca

Events

19th CentuRy liteRAtuRe in ClAssiC Film: dAvid CoppeRField Screening of George

Cukor’s 1935 film. 6 pm. Pwyc. Bata Shoe Museum, 327 Bloor W. batashoemuseum.ca AnimAl Rights ACAdemy leCtuRe Liz Marshall talks about her film The Ghost In Our Machine and vegan consciousness. 7-9 pm. Free. OISE, 252 Bloor W. animalrightsacademy.org. engAging in-Between spACes The Laneway Project is hosting the city’s first “summit on laneways” to inspire new ideas for laneway revitalization. 6 pm. $10. The Great Hall, 1087 Queen W. thelanewayproject.ca/events.

5Fighting out Goju-Ryu based Qigong and

22

november 20-26 2014 NOW

Festivals this week Reel AwAReness Film FestivAl Amnesty

International’s festival of international documentaries on human rights. $10-$15.

See website for schedule. Carlton Cinema, 20 Carlton. aito.ca/reelawareness.

Nov 20 to 23 Frswedish ChRistmAs FestivAl A Lucia pageant, Swedish singing and folk dancing, children’s crafts workshops, crafts, baked goods and more. Sat 11 am-5 pm, Sun 11 am-4 pm. Free. Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W. 416-973-4000, harbourfrontcentre.com.

Nov 22 to 23

continuing the CAnAdiAn inteRnAtionAl television FestivAl A sneak peak at the new Corner

Gas movie, a panel and screening for CBC’s new mini-series The Book Of Negroes, vintage series screenings, celebrity appearances and more. All events free (RSVP to reserve tickets). See website for schedule.

TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King W. citf14.tv.

To Nov 23 self-defense classes for LGBTQ and allies.

6:30-8 pm. Pwyc. 7th floor Peace Lounge.

OISE, 252 Bloor W. cwse@utoronto.ca. gouRmet Food & wine expo Sample food, wines, beers and spirits from around the globe. Nov 20 to 23. Thu 6-10 pm (VIP), Fri 2-10 pm, Sat noon-10 pm, Sun noon-6 pm. $20-$45. Metro Convention Centre North Bldg, 255 Front W. foodandwineexpo.ca. heAR heRe liteRARy sAlon Readings by Barry Callaghan, George Elliott Clarke and others, music, art and more. 8 pm. $30. MetroCentreKing Tower, 225 King W. hear-here.org. mAsteR ClAss with peteR mettleR Mettler discusses the art of improvisation in documentary filmmaking. 8:30 pm. $75, stu $45.

Camera Bar, 1028 Queen W. docinstitute.com. oCAd u gRAd studies open house 5-9:30 pm. Free. OCAD U Graduate Gallery, 205 Richmond W. ocadu.ca/graduate-studies.

souRCes oF FinAnCing FoR smAll Business

Seminar. 6:30-8 pm. Free. Bloor/Gladstone Library, 1101 Bloor W. 416-393-7674. tAsting with AuthoR nAomi duguid Persian picnic cuisine. 6 pm. $40-$60. Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford. agakhanmuseum.org.

this ChAnges eveRything: CApitAlism vs the ClimAte Introductory discussion on some of the issues in Naomi Klein’s book. 6:45-8:45 pm. Free. Community Centre 55, 97 Main. info@eastendnotar.org.

5tRAns dAy oF RememBRAnCe Commemorate lost trans members of our communities.

Flag raising, 3 pm, at City Hall; gathering, 7 pm, at the 519 Church Centre. Free. City Hall, 100 Queen W. facebook.com/The519/events.

5tRAns dAy oF RememBRAnCe dinneR &

gAtheRing Join in remembering the lives lost

and celebrating resistance. 4-6 pm. Free.

Room 165B. George Brown College, 200 King E. facebook.com/events/1558622801020000.

undeRstAnding ingRedients in pRepACkAged Food Talk on how to shop as an informed consumer. 7-8:30 pm. Free. Big Carrot, 348 Danforth. thebigcarrot.ca.

euRopeAn union Film FestivAl Contem-

porary films from many countries reflecting the excellence, innovation and diversity of European cinema. Free ($10 to reserve in advance), opening night film and reception $25. Royal Cinema, 608 College. eutorontofilmfest.ca.

To Nov 30 Regent pARk Film FestivAl Screenings, panel discussions, workshops and talkbacks that reflect inner-city communities like the Regent Park Community. Free.

Daniels Spectrum, 585 Dundas E. 416-5997733, regentparkfilmfestival.com.

To Nov 22 veggieliCious Celebration of gourmet vegetarian cuisine with prix-fixe menus at restaurants and bakeries throughout the city. $15-$35. Various venues, see website for complete details. veggielicious.ca.

To Nov 30

weesAgeeChAk Begins to dAnCe FestivAl 27 Native Earth Performing Arts festival of

indigenous performing arts including theatre, dance, spoken word, media art and film. $10-$20, pass $50. Daniels Spectrum, 585 Dundas E. nativeearth.ca.

To Nov 22

Friday, November 21

Benefits

ARts & CRAFts FAiR 11 am-6 pm. Free (pro-

ceeds to the United Way). North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge. torontopubliclibrary.ca.

hAllBeRg-CAmpBell photo exhiBit FundRAiseR Preview and silent auction of the ex-

hibition by photographer Johan HallbergCampbell. 7-10 pm. $50 (Nzirambi Education Fund benefit). Contact Gallery, 80 Spadina, suite 205. guestlistapp.com/events/266466. moRe thAn honey Screening of the doc film and a panel discussion with apiarists about the global honeybee crisis 6-9 pm. $20 (benefits The Honeybee Project). MaRS Centre, 101 College. eventbrite.ca/e/13989347515.

Events

FChRistmAs FRenCh FAiR Items and gifts

made by local artisans. 10:30 am. Free. Alliance Française, 24 Spadina Rd. 416-922-2014.

FRidAy night live @ Rom Live music by MAZ, DJs, pop-up food, tours of the galleries and more with a Get Wild theme. 7-11 pm. $12, stu $10. Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park. rom.on.ca/fnl.

FRont line woRkeRs’ FoRum Public presentation for people who use drugs and those who provide services to them. 9:15 am-noon.

Free. Committee Room 1. City Hall, 100 Queen W. 416-433-0206. mAnhunt: u oF t st geoRge Games played in parks and streets. 9 pm. Free. Meet at the SE corner of Queen’s Park Circle and Charles. urbanigames.com. midnight mRkt Pop-up night of music, street-style food and retailers. 9 pm-1 am. $5.

2nd Floor Events, 461 King W. facebook.com/ events/727188334028564. nAtionAl housing dAy RAlly Tell the federal government that we want a national housing strategy and a stop to the cuts. Noon. Free.

Yonge-Dundas Square, Yonge and Dundas. righttohousing.wordpress.com.

listings index Live music Theatre Comedy

56 70 73

Dance Readings Art galleries

FseAsons ChRistmAs show Holiday decor, fashion, food and more. Nov 21, 10 am-8 pm; Nov 22, 10 am-6 pm; Nov 23, 10 am-5 pm. $15, stu/srs $12, kids free. International Centre, 6900 Airport Rd. seasonsshow.com.

FtoRonto ARt CRAwl ChRistmAs show & sAle Art show and sale with live painting

demos, food vendors, DJs, giveaways and more. To Nov 23. Fri 5-9 pm, Sat-Sun 11 am-7 pm. Free. Liberty Towers Presentation Centre, 80 Lynn Williams. torontoartcrawl.com. tRAkkeRs ski CluB open house Learn about the cross country ski club’s trips and lessons for all ages and levels. 7-9 pm. Free. Swansea Town Hall, 95 Lavinia. trakkers.ca. tRotsky sChool Socialist Action education for activists conference with talks by Barry Weisleder, Adam Shils and others. $5/session or pwyc; $10 for the weekend. Room 5-250.

OISE, 252 Bloor W. socialistaction.ca.

Saturday, November 22

Benefits

AAngen FAll Community dinneR & silent AuCtion Enjoy Indian food and chanting. 6:30

pm. $10-$20 (Aangen Send A Girl to School Program). Tao Sangha – Wa Da Ji Temple, 344 Bloor W, suite 607. aangen.com.

Antique AppRAisAls Three items max, $20/ item. Proceeds support the museum. 10 am-5 pm. Textile Museum of Canada, 55 Centre.

Pre-register nnekrassova@textilemuseum.ca. hiv AwAReness BRunCh Buffet brunch with speaker from People With AIDS Toronto, games, raffles and prizes. 11 am-1 pm. $15, child $5 (SAE Foundation). Metro Central YMCA, 20 Grosvenor. sae-foundation.org. house dRess Screening of new dance videos

by Keith Cole, Sue McCluskey, Jared Mitchell, George Rallis and RM Vaughan. 7 pm. $5 (proceeds to Videofag). Videofag, 187 Augusta. videofag.com. lAughstAChe The Rocket Scientists, Vest of Friends, Rulers of the Universe, Marty Topps and others perform a comedy benefit. 11 pm. $20 min (proceeds to the Movember Foundation). Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca. opened CAges: A wild CeleBRAtion Music, stories, a silent auction and vegan food at Zoocheck’s 30th anniversary party to support its wild animal protection campaigns. 7-10 pm. $50 (Zoocheck). PawsWay, 245 Queens Quay W. 416-285-1744, zoocheck.com.

FRonCey ChRistmAs ARts & CRAFts show

One-of-a-kind handmade gifts, live music and a café. 10 am-4 pm. $2, kids free (proceeds to EHP United Church). Emmanuel Howard Park United Church, 214 Wright. 416-536-1755.

show them we CARe wAlk FoR west AFRiCA

Join teachers in support of Ebola stricken West African countries. Walk concludes at Yonge-Dundas Square. 3-5 pm. Donations welcome. Elementary Teachers’ Federation Of Ontario, 136 Isabella. 416-962-3836.

toRonto FiReFighteR CAlendAR lAunCh pARty Meet the city’s hottest fire fighters at

this party. 8-10 pm. $25, includes calendar (benefits Fire Fighter Cancer Research Fund).

UNIUN, 473 Adelaide W. torontoffc.ca.

Events

FrChildRen’s spARkling woRkshops

Children create holiday ornaments. 10 amnoon. $20. Pre-register 905-752-0498 ext 3346. Yorkdale Shopping Centre, 3401 Dufferin. yorkdale.com.r FrChRistmAs At BlACk CReek Christmas tours, traditional treats, balldroom dancing and more. Nov 22 to Dec 23. Weekdays 9:30 am-4 pm, weekends 11 am-4:30 pm. Free w/ admission. Black Creek Pioneer Village, 1000 Murray Ross Pkwy. blackcreek.ca. rgepeto CRowdFunding pARty Learn about an app that lets kids make animated stories at this event featuring music, a LEGO table, crafts and more. 1:30-5:30 pm. Free. Rivoli, 332 Queen W. eventbrite.ca/e/14101204081. heAlth, Food, CReAtivity Workshops by healers and artists, art and craft sale and more. To Nov 23, 10 am-6 pm daily. free. Lucsculpture, 663 Greenwood. yurisvillage.com.

FholidAy ARts FestivAl Readings, music and visual art with Michael Bar, Pete Otis, Pat Little, Sheila Horne, Joanna Gale, Tom Taylor and others. 7 pm (doors 6 pm). $5. Black Swan, 154 Danforth. 416-469-0537.

73 74 75

Movie reviews Movie times

80 82

FholidAy dinneR CRuise Cruise the harbour and enjoy a buffet and DJ music. 6:30 pm. $87, srs $78, child $49. Queen’s Quay Terminal, 207 Queens Quay W. mariposacruises.com. huRon-sussex ARtisAns FAiR Jewellery, pottery, books, paintings by local artists. 10:30 am-3 pm. Free. St Thomas’s Anglican Church, 383 Huron. huronsussex.org. idFA woRld open ChAmpionships & pRo

univeRse Competition of amateur bodybuilders, fitness models and figure athletes. 6-10 pm. $56.50. Jane Mallett Theatre, 27 Front E. 416-366-7723, idfa.ca. kensington Festive Foodies Roots touR

Celebrate food, the holidays and immigrant diversity in this walking/tasting tour. 10 am-1 pm. $35-$50 (pre-register). Meet at 350 Spadina. 416-923-6813.

mAp FAmily sAtuRdAys: CAsA lomA At wyChwood BRAnCh This interactive display

of medieval weapons and armour is suitable for ages 8 and up. 10-11 am. Free. Wychwood Library, 1431 Bathurst. 416-393-7683. muRdeR At the Rom Scavenger hunt for adults. 1-3:30 pm. $35. Pre-register. Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park. 416-8526444, urbancapers.com. postuRAl Re-eduCAtion Introductory Mitzvah Technique workshop. 2-3 pm. Free. Near Ben Nobleman Park, 1075 Eglinton W. mitzvahtechnique.ca.

RepAiR CAFe Fixers repair your stuff including household appliances, computers, clothing, bikes and more. 10 am-2 pm. Free. Skills for Change, 791 St Clair W. repaircafetoronto.ca.

Rouge pARk wAlks Guided walks in the urban wilderness. See website for meeting points. Nov 22-23, 9:30 am, 12:30 & 2 pm.

Free. Rouge Park, Meadowvale and Old Finch. rougepark.com/hike. sAndA (suRviving): Film & disCussion Watch the doc about working life in South Korea, followed by discussion. 2-5 pm. Free. North York Civic Centre Council Chambers, 5100 Yonge. brownpapertickets.com/event/943341. swAnseA CRAFt sAle Sale of arts, crafts, toys, baked goods decorations and ornaments and more. 10 am-3 pm. $1-$5. Swansea Community Centre, 15 Waller. swanseacraftsale.com. they Choose you Art event/mixer for people to find adoptable rescued cats with volunteers from Toronto Cat Rescue. Nov 22-23, 10 am-5 pm. Free, $25 for craft workshop (Nov 23, 1-4 pm). Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw. facebook.com/theychooseyou. toRonto mini mAkeR FAiRe Hackers, crafters, workshops, demos, speakers and makers. Nov 22-23, 10 am-5 pm daily. Free. Reference Library, 789 Yonge. makerfairetoronto.com. toRonto sAlsA pRACtiCe No lesson, beginners to pros, no partner required. 3:30-8 pm. $5. Trinity St. Paul’s Church, 427 Bloor W. torontosalsapractice.com.

undeRstAnding youR CRedit RepoRt & CRedit sCoRe Information session. 2-4 pm.

Free. Pre-register. Lillian H Smith Library, 239 College. 416-393-7746.

FvoiCes oF wAles Welsh songs, stories, poems and snippets from plays are presented

by Gaynor Jones, David Lowe, Robert Missen, and Vivienne Muhling. $20. Welsh United Church, 33 Melrose Ave. info@dewisant.com. rweston villAge sAntA ClAus pARAde Hot chocolate, face-painting and more. Starts at Weston & Church, goes to Sidney Belsey Crescent. 2-3:30 pm. Free. Cruickshank Park, 2196 Weston. westonvillagebia.com.

Sunday, November 23

Benefits

CChR ARt AuCtion Works by Joyce Fournier,

Viktor Mitic and others for sale and live entertainment. Nov 23, 2-5 pm. Pwyc admission (benefit for Canadian for Children at Health Risk). Balmy Beach Club, 360 Lake Front. 416762-3541, childrenathealthrisk.com.

Events

A woRld oF CiRCus Live music, body painting, visual art and more. 5 pm. $10-$15. Revival, 783 College. eventbrite.ca/e/13936665943.

Bike-hoRse dRiveRs tRAil (1914) to “toRy glen” estAte, Reeve geoRge symes, mount dennis Urban Heritage bike trail walk. Meet at 2 pm. Free. Dundas W and Runnymede, Dundas W and Runnymede. 416-593-2656.

Cannabis Evolution and Your HEaltH Lec-

ture by Lesley Campbell. 2 pm. Free. Macleod Auditorium. Medical Sciences Bldg, 1 King’s College Circle. royalcanadianinstitute.org. rECo Fair 2014 Exhibits and eco-kids activities include a skate swap, eco-themed book swap, electric car test drives, food and more.

Noon-4 pm. Free. Artscape Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie. ecofairtoronto.org. rFamilY sundaYs Drop-in art projects for parents and kids. 2-4 pm. $5/$20 family. Art Works Art School, 238 Jane. 416-766-0662.

Good WitHout God Talk by Justin Trottier.

10:30 am. Don Heights Unitarian Congregation, 18 Wynford, suite 102. donheights.ca. tHE Grand illusion Screening of the 1937 film, in French with subtitles. 2-4 pm. Free.

Lambton House, 4066 Old Dundas. 416-2367427.

GrEEn EnErGY Bullfrog Power presentation on reducing your production of greenhouse gases and what it might cost. 12:45 pm. Free.

Friends House, 60 Lowther. tmm@web.net.

HiGH Park stEWards sEssion Help remove the highly invasive buckthorn shrub from the park. 10:30 am-12:30 pm. Free. Grenadier Cafe, 200 Parkside. highparknature.org. immErsEd Conference focused on immersive technologies. Nov 23-24. Exhibit hall free, conference $249. 99 Sudbury, Sudbury at Lisgar. getimmersed.com. tHE lEGaCY salon sEriEs: Garvia bailEY Lorraine Segato interviews Bailey about her career, culture and community issues. 3:30 pm (doors 3 pm). $15. Paintbox Bistro, 555 Dundas E. thelegacysalon.com. lEsliEvillE art GallErY CraWl Noon-6 pm, guided tour 3:30 pm. Atomic Toybot, 978 Queen E. projectgallerytoronto.com/news. toronto CollECtors sHoW Toy, doll, train, diecast and collectibles show. 10 am-4 pm. $12, srs $10, youth $4. International Centre, 6900 Airport Rd. antiquetoys.ca. unitEd aGainst raids & dEtEntions Rally in solidarity with migrant detainees. Meet at Christie Pits (750 Bloor W) for the bus to 385 Rexdale Blvd at 2:30 pm (rally at 3:30 pm).

Free. toronto.nooneisillegal.org/node/894.

Monday, November 24

Benefits

PurdY drinks Poetry, music and beer with Ian Kamau, George Bowering, David McFadden and Katherine Leyton. 7 pm. $10, stu $5 (Al Purdy A-Frame Association). Monarch Tavern, 12 Clinton. alpurdy.ca.

Events

audio For Film Workshop on the basics of

mixing for film in stereo with Innovator in Residence Robert DiVito. 6-8 pm. Free. Fort York Library, 190 Fort York Blvd. tpl.ca/iir. build Your JEWEllErY linE Seminar with Shay Lowe. 5:30 pm. $60. Toronto Fashion Incubator, 285 Manitoba. fashionincubator.com.

CHiEF kaHkEWaquonabY and His FriEnd EGErton rYErson Donald Smith gives a talk in this presentation on T.O. indigenous history.

2-3:30 pm. Free. Ryerson Heaslip House, 297 Victoria. facebook.com/FirstStoryToronto.

introduCtorY mEditation Learn three easy

techniques. 7 pm. Free. College/Shaw Library, 766 College. meditationtoronto.com. kaFFEEklatsCH #7: monEYtalks Financial advisor Amanda Mills talks money management for those in the publishing industry. 6:30-8 pm. $10. Coach House Books, 80 bpNichol Lane. eventbrite.ca/e/14075372819. kEvin CourriEr sPins tHE bEatlEs The Beatles: Fixing A Hole! The Seeds Of Break Up. Film clips and talk. 7-9 pm. $12, stu $6. Miles Nadal JCC, 750 Spadina. mnjcc.org.

livEablE CitiEs: nYC-toronto GroWinG GrEEn Lecture with Jeremy Barrick of the NYC Parks Department on initiatives to build a greener city. 4-5 pm. Free. University College, 15 King’s College Circle. yourleaf.org.

maximizE Your ConFidEnCE: intro to niCHirEn buddHism Seminar. 6:30 pm. Free. Lillian H Smith Library, 239 College. 416-654-3211.

mo mondaYs Motivational event that’s a

cross between open-mic comedy and TED talks. 5:30-10 pm. $20, adv $10. Hard Rock Cafe, 279 Yonge. momondays.com/toronto. ontario’s aGinG nukEs Angela Bischoff and Jack Gibbons talk about the costs of rebuilding aging reactors versus investing in alternatives. 7-9 pm. Free. Room 310. Metro Hall, 55 John. cleanairalliance.org.

sPECial EduCation in York CEntrE sCHools

Public school forum. 7-9:30 pm. Sheppard Public School, 1430 Sheppard W. RSVP to howard.kaplan@tsdb.on.ca. strEnGtH and sElF Weekly group focusing on support, wellness, mediation and chair yoga for women who have experienced abuse.

Mondays, 11 am. Free. Miles Nadal JCC, 750 Spadina. strengthandself@mnjcc.org. tai CHi Class Mon & Wed, 9-10 am. Free w/ membership ($6-$10/year). Cecil Community Centre, 58 Cecil. greeneconomics.net.

Tuesday, November 25

Benefits

kosHErliCious Join top kosher caterers, vintners and food purveyors for an evening of food, entertainment and prizes. 6 pm. $95 (MAZON Canada). Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe. mazoncanada.ca/kosherlicious.

FWnH CHristmas bazaar Handmade craft items and gift cards, a bake sale, music, dance and more. Nov 25-27, Tue 10 am-7:30 pm, Wed-Thu 10:30 am-4:30 pm. Free (sales benefit WNH Seniors Program). West Neighourhood House, 248 Ossington. 416-532-7586.

Events

CattlE in tHE CitY: a smEllY FiGHt Riverdale Historical Society presentation. 6 pm. $4. St Matthew’s Clubhouse, 540 Broadview. riverdalehistoricalsociety.com.

5tHE EmErGEnCE oF an lGbti Human riGHts norm: PErsPECtivEs and ProblEms Lecture

by Bronwyn Winter. 6:30-8:30 pm. Free. Room 2-295. OISE, 252 Bloor W. facebook.com/ events/1499465050331742.

EvEninG WitH mikE and FriEnds Celebrate Mike Schreiner’s fifth year as Green Party of Ontario leader. 7-10 pm. $45. Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen W. gpo.ca.

big 3 NOW editors pick a trio of this week’s can’t-miss events

1

TRANS REMEMBRANCE

A flag-raising at 3 pm Thursday (November 20) at Nathan Phillips Square commemorates the lives lost among members of the transgender community because of transphobia. That’s followed by a dinner at the 519 Church Community Centre, 6:30 pm, a 7:30 gather-

ing including performances and an 8:30 candlelit walk in Cawthra Park. facebook.com/The519/events

2

BRING BACK THE BEES

Our shrinking bee population represents one of the planet’s deepest crises. Help support the Honeybee Project by attending a screening of the documentary More Than Honey on Friday (November 21), 6-9 pm, at the MaRS Centre (101 College).

Hear from a panel of experts before the screening. $20. eventbrite.ca/e/13989347515

saFE sPaCE noW! sHEltEr and HousinG For all! Rally to demand 24-hour women and

$10-$12 or pwyc. OISE, 252 Bloor W. huicholestoronto.brownpapertickets.com.

sHarP CEntrE For dEsiGn 10tH annivErsarY

tor Chen Shen. 5 pm. Galbraith Building, U of T, 35 St George St. aiatoronto.ca. lEssons lEarnEd Forum For caregivers and family members of people with dementia.

6:30-8 pm. Free. Pre-register. Alzheimer Society, 20 Eglinton W, suite 1600. 416-640-6307. manaGinG CarEGivEr strEss Workshop for people taking care of an elderly relative or friend. 4-6 pm. Free/pwyc. Pre-register.

Family Service Toronto, 355 Church. 416-5959618, familyservicetoronto.org.

PubliC sPaCE invadErs Film niGHt A night showcasing short films about Toronto and urban issues. 6:30-9 pm. $10. Revue Cinema, 400 Roncesvalles. spaceinvaders@spacing.ca.

trans drop-in shelter spaces. Noon. Free.

George Hislop Park, 20 Isabella. 416-925-6939.

Lecture by the building creator, architect Will Alsop. 7-8:30 pm. Free. Pre-register. OCAD U, 100 McCaul. 416-977-6000 ext 4890. toronto ComiC Jam Get together with other indie artists and make comics. Bring your own pencils and pens. 7:30 pm. Free. Cameron House, 408 Queen W. torcomjam.com.

5trans/quEEr zinE makinG WorksHoP 2-4 pm. Free. Room 165B George Brown College SJC, 200 King E. facebook.com/ events/377195359110271/. tHE Walrus talks PHilantHroPY Talks by Deepa Mehta, Tom Jackson, Justin Poy and others. 7 pm. $25. Royal Conservatory of Music, 273 Bloor W. thewalrus.ca.

Wednesday, November 26

Benefits

aGEnCY Wars v Corporate amateur charity

boxing event. 6 pm. $85 (Ronald McDonald House/NABS). Arcadian Court, 401 Bay, 8th fl. tickets.linebypass.com/event/agencywarsv.

tHE CarnEGiE Hall sHoW: tHE movEmbEr Edition The National Theatre of the World

presents the improv variety show w/ Naomi Snieckus, Matt Baram, Chris Gibbs, guest Deb McGrath and others. 8 pm. $18-$20, stu $10 (Movember Canada). Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen W. movembercarnegiehallshow.bpt.me.

5Punk roCk binGo Bingo games, entertainment & a party with DJ Triple-X. 9 pm. Pwyc (benefits local charities). Beaver, 1192 Queen W. facebook.com/punkrockbingotoronto.

tHE lEGaCY oF PEkinG man: tHE storY oF Human Evolution in East asia Talk by doc-

rEvolution, War and tErrorism: EvidEnCE From tHE FamilY PHoto album Lecture by Jack Wayne. 4-6 pm. Free. University College, 15 King’s College Circle. scienceforpeace.ca.

upcoming Thursday, November 27

Benefits

aFriCan GrandmotHErs tribunal: sEEkinG JustiCE at tHE FrontlinEs oF tHE aids Crisis

Screening of a new film and panel discussion with Stephen Lewis, Joy Phumaphi, Justine Ojambo and moderator Anna Maria Tremonti.

7 pm. $15 (Stephen Lewis Foundation). Bloor

Hot Docs Cinema, 506 Bloor W. bit.ly/1sjsNzK. 5toronto bEnt bEautY suPrEmE Butches, bears and others work it on stage to show off their talent and style. 9-11 pm. $10 (Rainbow Railroad). Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen W. bentbeauty2014.eventbrite.ca.

Events

animal riGHts aCadEmY lECturE Paul Bali talks about the Fermi Paradox and protecting other life from human beings. 7-9 pm. Free.

OISE, 252 Bloor W. animalrightsacademy.org.

EndlEss War? tHE middlE East & Canada’s nEW militarism Discussion with Tyler Shipley, Judy Deutsch and Sardar Saadi. 7 pm. Free.

Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham. beitzatoun.org.

tHE GiFt oF musiC: storiEs oF musiC tHEraPY

Doc screening followed by discussion. $15-$20.

Wheelchair accessible. Palmerston Library, 560 Palmerston. musictherapytrust.ca.

FoCad book arts Fair Books and art. 10 am-5 pm. The Great Hall, 1087 Queen W. bookartsfair@gmail.com.

FonE oF a kind CHristmas sHoW & salE

Handmade gifts from more than 800 Canadian artisans. Nov 27 to Dec 7. Mon-Sat 10 am-9 pm, Sun 10 am-6 pm. $12-$14, stu/srs $7, kids free. Direct Energy Centre, 100 Princes Blvd, Exhibition Place. oneofakindshow.com.

WomEn makE mEdia art Deanna Bowen, merritt kopas, Cheryl L’Hirondelle and Catherine McKinnon share their visions for a media arts land scape that is more support ive of all genders. 7-9 pm. Free. YYZ, 401 Richmond W, #140. 416-516-1023, mano-ramo.ca.

3

Events

a CEnturY oF WarFarE Book launch for Sarah Hipworth (Let Them Stay: Iraq War Resisters In Canada) and Stephen Dale (Noble Illusions: Young Canada Goes To War) & guest speakers Frank Showler and Jo Vellacott. 7:30 pm. Free.

Friends House, 60 Lowther. tasc@web.net. aGrobiodivErsitY, Cultural divErsitY and Globalization Kate Kirby discusses a bio-

diversity hotspot in Central America. 4:10 pm.

Free. Room 149 (bsmnt). U of T Earth Sciences Bldg, 5 Bancroft. environment.utoronto.ca.

CHristoPH mEiEr Public lecture. 6:30-8 pm.

Free. Ryerson Architectural Science, 325 Church. arch.ryerson.ca.

do You knoW Your Fin? FinanCial in-

dEPEndEnCE numbEr Learn about the income you will have at retirement. 7:30 pm. Free.

Pre-register. Central Eglinton Community Centre, 160 Eglinton E. centraleglinton.com. tHE GardEn oF idEas Talk on contemporary art from Pakistan. 6:30-7:30 pm. $20, stu/srs $12. Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford. agakhanmuseum.org.

HoW to PrEvEnt and HandlE HEadaCHEs

Seminar. 6-7 pm. Free. Living City Health, 120 Eglinton E. livingcityhealth.com.

HuiCHolEs: tHE last PEYotE Guardians

Screening a doc about the Wixarita indigenous community’s battle against Canadian mining companies in Mexico. Q&A to follow. 6:30 pm.

The World is an Apple:

The Still Lifes of Paul Cézanne

Show your support for affordable housing at a rally on November 21.

3

HOUSING NOW RALLY

Housing is a human right. We know it. The federal government knows it. The United Nations says it’s so. So why are we still in the middle of an affordable housing crisis? The Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario joins the Right to Housing Coalition at YongeDundas Square at noon on Friday (November 21) for a National Housing Day Rally. A forum at Church of the Holy Trinity (behind the Eaton Centre) follows from 2 to 5 pm. Free. righttohousing.wordpress.com

See still life masterpieces by the radical French Impressionist. On view now at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

www.artgalleryofhamilton.com Overnight packages available at Sheraton Hamilton.

NOW november 20-26 2014

23

Need to upgrade, add an item to your resumé or completely change careers? Continuing education made a difference to these professionals.

Compiled by KEVIN RITCHIE

Rob Morrison

Project manager, New Empire Design/Build Contractors.

New Empire Design is a small general contracting company, so I bounce between a few different roles. At different times I’m doing estimating and customer service and dealing one-onone with purchasers, budgeting and cost control.

We do everything: industrial, commercial and residential. Primarily I’m focused on two residential projects: one in Kingston and one in Brantford.

Both are about 130 to 140 townhouse units and about 28 blocks.

I went to a private high school – Crestwood Preparatory College. Public schools have shop class and more hands-on classes. We had none of that.

The school pushed science, math, business, and I was always a hands-on, outdoor person. After high school I went to the University of Western Ontario and did a degree in finance and administration that leaned heavily toward accounting. That’s why I enrolled in a business program. I also knew business would be a good background to have.

After that I went to George Brown College and did two certificates: construction project management and construction estimating. I had to figure out where I wanted to begin my career, and I thought construction would be a good route, considering my hands-on nature. I didn’t want to be behind a desk. I learn best by doing.

For estimating, I’m still using the templates I used in school. The way we learned to do cost control is how I do it here. We’re a small company, so we don’t have to invest in big, expensive

24

NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

software for project management, budgeting, cost control and scheduling. A lot of the skills I learned carried over.

What the courses teach –quantity surveying, cost control – are the fundamentals, and the way they incorporate that into the class environment is through group work. That’s where you develop communication skills.

I had one teacher who put us in groups. We did not have the ability to pick our own group. If I could have, I would’ve put together a super-group of people I knew to ace this project, but you don’t get to pick who you work with in the real world. He put us in groups and said, “What are everybody’s strengths and weaknesses? Put those up front and figure out a way to improve on everybody’s weaknesses.”

At the end of the day, those were some of the most relevant experiences that helped me with what I do today.

The way I operate is different from how others do. My bosses like to do things verbally – they’re a bit more pen-and-paper and more old-school.

Some days at the office I’ll say to my boss, “It would be better to use a computer for this,” but then there are days when my computer crashes and that gets thrown back at me. So the strongest skills you have are your communication skills, being able to delegate and make sure things can get done without using your computer.

Construction is all about communicating, and the more efficiently you can communicate a message, the less you have to backtrack or redo.

The courses teach the fundamentals and incorporate them into the class environment through group work.

That’s where you develop communication skills.

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SCHOOL OF CONTINUING STUDIES

Learn more.

Sabrina Ramnanan Graduate, Creative Writing Certificate, whose first novel, Nothing Like Love, is being published

by Doubleday Canada. .

“ Participation in the Creative Writing program set me on the path to publication and realising a life-long dream.” .

We offer boundless opportunity to enhance your skills and enrich your life.

For easy registration or to order a free copy of our course catalogue, call 416.978.2400 or visit our website.

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25

class action/continuing education

Armando Rivero

Community outreach assistant, Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples, North York

R. JEANETTE MARTIN

The instructors understood my desire to relaunch my career in Canada. The Chang School creates a setting that’s close to the real workplace environment.

26

NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

I work as a community outreach assistant. We provide services for immigrants from Latin America. I’m in charge of internal and external communications and marketing.

I’m an immigrant from Mexico. I did a bachelor’s degree in marketing at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, so my education was marketing, but my background is in sales. In Mexico I worked for big companies like Maytag and Gillette doing business-to-business sales and a little marketing.

I came to Canada on a work permit, but it was for non-skilled jobs. In Alberta I worked at McDonald’s, and a year later moved to Toronto, where I did a lot of survival jobs, some of them good. I worked with a bat biologist chasing bats in Muskoka for three years. It was a great job, but not what I wanted.

Eventually I realized I had to go back to school to succeed in Canada. There are cultural differences between the way they do communications business in my country and in Canada, so I had to understand and apply that. I pursued project management at Ryerson University’s Chang School and then took the workplace communication in Canada program through continuing education.

The instructors really understood my desire to relaunch my career in Canada. The Chang School creates a setting that’s close to the real workplace environment. I did presentations in a professional way – I did all the research and then had to sell my ideas. We also studied conflict management. An actor would come in and create a real situation, and sometimes the right way to react wasn’t what I expected.

I was always worried about my accent. As I get older it’s more difficult to get rid of it. I always believed that was an issue, but it’s not a barrier in Canada – that’s what I learned. The program taught me the importance of learning how to speak proper English – employers expect you to be able to communicate your ideas and your feelings in a clear and proper way. Forget about the accent, because you have to live with it the rest of your life. Start thinking and speaking as Canadians do.

At the Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples, we have six programs: one for men, one for women, a legal clinic, HIV prevention, a youth program and a volunteer program. All these programs have activities and workshops. I am the liaison between the client and the centre.

I do all the posters and all the internet efforts, including Facebook. I promote the services. I see myself in the clients – they’re like me when I came here.

The worst experience as an immigrant is the survival jobs. It’s frustrating because you know your skills are higher. What I say to people is “Never give up.” It is difficult at first.

I took more time than other people, but I didn’t want to start learning something entirely new just to go into a trade with more jobs.

Go back to school. I was able to elevate my credentials, but that is not enough. The program taught me how to understand the things people are saying between the lines. In order to get the job you want here, you need to understand the Canadian context.

CONTINUE YOUR EDUCATION IN BUSINESS; EVENINGS, WEEKENDS, ON-CAMPUS,ONLINE, ON YOUR TIME.

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class action/continuing education

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Working as a writer is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me, because it was my dream. I was able to realize that dream after taking the creative writing course at the University of Toronto.

I always wanted to be a writer, but I had the idea you couldn’t pay a mortgage that way. I loved reading and history, so as an undergraduate I did a double major at U of T in English and history, with a minor in classical studies.

When I graduated, I didn’t have a plan, and it felt like my only options were law school or teacher’s college. I ended up in teacher’s college – everybody said that was the right thing to do because it was realistic.

A year into teaching, I still wasn’t happy, so I went back to U of T to do creative writing.

The program provided me with a community of writers to bounce ideas off of. I didn’t have any writer friends, so this was a safe place to share my work. The instructors were so encouraging. The first course I took, the instructor said, “You should enter a short story contest,” and I ended up being published in an anthology.

I got a lot of feedback, and it wasn’t always good. I had to learn to edit, something I didn’t know how to do. Now I think of writing in its elements: the structure, the dialogue, the arc and the more technical things that I didn’t think of before.

I was exceptionally fortunate. I got a deal for my book, Nothing Like Love, through school in a way. At the end of the program you meet with your instructor, the program head and someone from the industry who has read your work, and they give you feedback. My instructor, Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, believed in my manuscript and pushed to have the publishing director at Doubleday Canada on the panel.

I got wonderful feedback and brazenly asked, “Would you like to see the manuscript when I’m finished with it?” The director actually said yes and slid her business card across the table.

It didn’t hit me at the time, but when I left the boardroom Kuitenbrouwer said, “Do you realize you just had your manuscript solicited and that this does not happen very often?” It just sank in. Oh my god. Crap. I have to finish this novel. I wrote madly for the next four or five months and submitted it back to the publisher. Before I knew it, I had a deal. I owe the program and the instructors for opening doors for me.

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Canadore College is located in North Bay, Ontario.

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I wrote madly for the next four or five months and submitted it back to the publisher. Before I knew it, I had a deal. I owe the program and the instructors for opening doors for me.

28

NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

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class action/continuing education

Christina Byrnes Studio resource planner, Bond Brand Loyalty

The school strove to stay current in terms of applications. They had the most up-to-date Adobe software, which I needed to get my job.

As a studio resource planner, I facilitate the workflow from client projects to graphic artists, digital designers, art directors and writers.

When I was around eight years old, I knew that I was a producer. I had a girlfriend who owned a projector, and I said, “Really? We could get a space, charge a quarter and we’ll make money.” We probably made $10 and bought banana splits. I just knew producing was in my DNA. After high school, I went to Seneca College and took a certificate in television production. I worked as an agency producer for MacLaren McCann and J. Walter Thompson. While there, I went to U of T for a management certificate and then early in the millennium I went back to U of T for a certificate in leadership.

After working for 18 years at the Shopping Channel – which is a Rogers company – I was laid off as part of its restructuring plan to reduce staff. Walking to my car that day, I decided to complement my film production, television production and what little web experience I had. I knew I needed to go back to school to seal my knowledge of the web industry. I found the right courses in Humber College’s web design and production program.

In my current job, I hire the freelancers when projects are too much for the on-staff talent. I got a compliment the other day from a producer who said the freelancer I hired was a really solid choice. That gives me a great feeling. I was able to recognize the talent, place the talent and satisfy people with my selection.

I took the Humber program part-time so I could be free for job interviews during the day. You have three hours of class time and then 17 hours of independent study. It was isolating, but that was my choice. I have acquaintances who do web design for a living, so I had access to resources in between classes. But if you’re there Monday and you have a slew of questions that you can’t answer until next Monday, you’ll fall behind.

The program gives you a great overview.

If you’re not sure where in the web world you want to be, you get the full scope of the front end and the back end. After, you can specialize.

The school strove to stay current in terms of applications. They had the most up-to-date Adobe software so I was able to start on the most current Adobe package at the time, which I needed to get my job. A few classes were modified and changed in the year I took it.

Some people are afraid to go back to school because they’re worried about what people will think. That never crossed my mind. I’m not one to care too much about what people think when I feel strongly that I need to do something.

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NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

LEARNING THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE Meet Rob, Nadia, Candice, Coneli, Jewel and Claudia – just a few of the people who have achieved inspiring success with the help of our Continuing Education courses. The skills, connections and confidence they gained made it possible for them to achieve their goals. Read their stories on our website, and see the difference you can make in your own life with George Brown College.

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NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

Theodore C. Marceau [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAndrew_Carnegie%2C_three-quarter_length_portrait%2C_seated%2C_facing_slightly_left%2C_1913.jpg

“Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole, clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve!

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class action/continuing education

Where to study ALGONQUIN COLLEGE (Ottawa) More than 100 online programs in areas including digital analytics, autism and behavioural science, home inspection, labour relations, mobile marketing, police foundations, victimology and more. algonquincollege.com CAMBRIAN COLLEGE (Sudbury) More than 30 online and distance education courses in areas including adult education, diabetes field work, managerial accounting, trades communications, voice recognition software and more. cambriancollege.ca CENTENNIAL COLLEGE (Toronto/Pickering) More than 130 part-time certificates in areas including Java SE/EE programming, digital illustration, project management, auto mechanics, Oracle database associate, therapeutic recreation, fundraising, recording arts and more. centennialcollege.ca/parttime CONESTOGA COLLEGE (Kitchener/Waterloo) More than 200 online courses in areas including Canadian politics, cults & terrorism, downtown revitalization, Indesign CS5, Italian, renewable energy, psychology, technical mathematics and more. conestogac.on.ca CONFEDERATION COLLEGE (Thunder Bay) More than 200 courses in areas including Aboriginal Canadian relations, business mathematics, human sexuality, library technology, sausage making, persuasive writing, Spanish for travellers and more. confederationc.on.ca DURHAM COLLEGE (Oshawa) More than 55 distance education certificates and diplomas in areas including business operations, children’s mental health, gerontology, palliative care, records and information management, social services worker, website creation and more. durhamcollege.ca GEORGE BROWN COLLEGE (Toronto) More than 1650 courses and 179 certificates in social media marketing, digital analytics, interior decorating, writing, languages, web design and development, makeup, jewellery, fashion, film production, photography, health sciences, community services, construction and more. coned.georgebrown.ca GEORGIAN COLLEGE (Barrie/Orillia) More than 20 online courses and programs in areas such as cyberspace security, global e-commerce, media and society, project management, same-sex issues, volunteer management and more. georgianc.on.ca HARRIS INSTITUTE (Toronto) Weekend professional development courses in music publishing, artist management, music marketing and more. harrisinstitute.com HUMBER COLLEGE (Toronto) More than 400 courses in areas including 3D animation, basic human anatomy, driving instructor training, drone filmmaking and photography, labour economics, news and sports, typography, the history of money, youth jazz and more. humber.ca MCMASTER (Hamilton) More than 20 certificate programs in areas including web analytics, human resources management, web design, public relations, health information management, police studies, metallurgy and more. mcmaster.ca MOHAWK COLLEGE (Hamilton) More than 110 certificate courses in areas including consumer behaviour, paleontology, paragliding adventure, teaching the adult learner, vehicle maintenance, photo restoration, workplace leadership and more. mohawkcollege.ca OCAD UNIVERSITY (Toronto) Approximately 70 courses in areas including advanced web art and design, building mobile apps for iOS,

comics and graphic novels, fibre arts with natural dyes, gizmology, the history of written communication, landscape painting, sound design, wearable media and more. continuingstudies.ocad.ca QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY (Kingston) More than 55 online courses in areas including cell biology, the economics of health care, children’s literature, global indigenous histories, pharmacology, world religions, academic writing fundamentals and more. queensu.ca RYERSON UNIVERSITY (Toronto) More than 90 certificate programs and 1,500 courses and workshops in areas such as bioethics, caring clown, conflict resolution and team building, costume specialities, magazine and web publishing, retail management, survival in urban disasters and emergencies and more. ryerson.ca/continuing SENECA COLLEGE (Toronto) More than 30 online and correspondence programs in areas including business event planning, college English, early childhood education administration, internet writing and content development strategies, language interpreter training, sustainable local food, world civilizations, organic land care fundamentals and more. senecac.on.ca SHERIDAN COLLEGE (Mississauga/Oakville) More than 130 courses in areas including personal fitness trainer, fine arts, Italian, creative writing, community safety, criminal psychology and behaviour and more. sheridancollege.ca ST. LAWRENCE COLLEGE (Kingston) Online certificate and diploma programs in French, emergency nursing, early childhood education, police foundations, occupational health nursing, literary writing, website design, criminal psychology and behaviour and more. stlawrencecollege.ca UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH (Guelph) More than 90 online courses including arboriculture, commercial greenhouse crop production, pharmacology, DNA barcoding, landscape design, equine behaviour, plant identification, weed management and more. uoguelph.ca UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO (Toronto) More than 130 courses in areas including digital marketing management, drugs and the law, enterprise architecture, espionage and secret intelligence, lean six sigma, popular fiction, Russian, Toronto’s architecture, women in power and more. learn.utoronto.ca UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO (London) Online courses in 10 areas including human resources, grief and bereavement studies, business writing, business French, marketing and brand management and more. wcs.uwo.ca UNIVERSITY OF WINDSOR (Windsor) More than 35 online courses in areas including dramatic arts, social sciences, kindergarten, special education, music, geography, English as a second language and more. uwindsor.ca WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY (Waterloo) More than 70 online courses in areas including astronomy, business law, the Canadian north, children and music, diverse masculinities, financial accounting, macroeconomics, medical ethics, biopsychology and more. wlu.ca YORK UNIVERSITY (Toronto) More than 40 courses in areas including academic bridging, social sciences, event planning management for professionals, emergency and disaster management, harm reduction, oracle database and more. yorku.ca

NOW november 20-26 2014

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life&style

By SABRINA MADDEAUX

store of tHe week

Haute topic:

Clothing should have labels – models shouldn’t

Outrage erupted last week when Calvin Klein launched a campaign with size 10 model Myla Dalbesio, whom the public deemed not so plus-size.

The thing is, CK never said she was.

They simply put a not-stick-thin model in an ad as if it were a regular occurrence.

It was the public who felt the need to make grand proclamations about her size.

Calvin Klein did everything right.

They didn’t treat her like a marketing opportunity or a token “real woman.”

(What does that even mean? Are thin women not real?) Most brands feel the need to smugly pat themselves on the back and trumpet their so-called forward thinking to the world when they use a model over size 2.

Sure, Calvin Klein’s campaigns could use even more size diversity, but that’s a different issue. As Coco Rocha told the Huffington Post: “Petite, short, high fashion, runway – it should all just be one genre, it’s just a model.”

We need to resist the urge to categorize and label women and their bodies. It’s ironic, and harmful, that the sizing for plus-size models is just as stringent as it is for “regular” models. Let’s just let women be women and not define them by their shape or measurements.

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november 20-26 2014 NOW

Future Is the Future

futureisthefuture.com

Backpack by Christopher Lee Sauvé,

Myla Dalbesio for Calvin Klein

There’s no shortage of vintage clothing stores in Toronto, but new e-commerce site Future Is the Future offers up a pretty unique twist.

All the shop’s vintage and secondhand stock is unisex – styled and sold without any gender segregation.

Instead of typical “women’s” and “men’s” departments, Future Is the Future provides helpful descriptions, measurements and relative sizing.

Garments are photographed on both male and female models.

The concept is quite genius, really. How many times have you admired a shirt or a pair of shoes only to wish they were for women, or vice versa? Why let the side of the store an item is displayed on dictate your personal style?

Future Is the Future goes beyond gender with the goal of helping shoppers discover their more authentic selves. It seems Torontonians are hungry for the concept: the business

was made possible by a successful crowd-funding campaign.

Future Is the Future picks Discounted secondhand pieces from J. Crew, Madewell and Topman, including a J. Crew tuxedo jacket in great condition ($40). Also check out their vintage varsity team jackets and sweaters ($20-$35).

Look for Handmade accessories and jewellery from independent designers like local faves Just Sultan, Fitzy and Moonlight for Violet.

Check out Future Is the Future in person at the Fat Girl Food Squad and Killer Kurves plussize pop-up shop on Saturday (November 22), noon to 5 pm, at Propeller Coffee Co. (50 Wade, 416-479-3771).

3

we want

The coolest backpacks you’ve ever seen… for charity!

Eastpak Artist Studio teams up with some of the world’s most interesting designers and artists to customize special-edition backpacks. The really cool part? All proceeds benefit Designers Against AIDS. The timing couldn’t be better, since December 1 is World AIDS Day. Participating designers include Canada’s own (although now based in NYC) Christopher Lee Sauvé, as well as Manolo Blahnik, MSGM, Walter Van Beirendonck, Jean Paul Gaultier, Lala Berlin, Scooter LaForge and more. Maybe we’re biased in favour of the home team, but Sauvé’s punkmeets-pop-art creation rings in as our favourite.

The auction for these one-of-a-kind bags opens at noon on December 1 and closes at midnight, December 21, at artistsstudio.eastpak.com. These backpacks aren’t likely to go cheap, but, hey, – they’re for a good cause.

MADE WITH LOVE Custom designs. Ethically sourced. Made in Cabbagetown.

Fair Trade Jewellery Co. 523 Parliament St. Toronto 647.430.8741

#madewithlove @ftjco ftjco.com

NOW november 20-26 2014

35

ecoholic

When you’re addicted to the planet By ADRIA VASIL

GOING CRACKERS: The holiday party wafer guide IT’S NEARLY THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN WHEN YOU STAND AROUND AT PARTY AFTER PARTY EATING WAY TOO MUCH DIP AND CHEESE. IF YOU’RE ORGANIZING YOUR OWN SOIREE, MAKE SURE YOU’RE NOT SERVING UP A CRISPY CANAPE OF TROUBLE.

TE ST L

AB

PREMIUM/CARR/RITZ

GLUTINO

RICE THINS/ELCO RICE CRACKERS

MARY’S

EVELYN’S

Carr Table Water Crackers aren’t as processed as others but do bake up a mix of conventional wheat and highly controversial palm oil. Even the certified “sustainable” palm oil that these guys use has been linked to rainforest destruction. Nabisco Premium Saltine crackers use the same wheat with junky genetically modified soybean (heavy in neonicotinoid pesticides) and cottonseed oils. Ditto for Ritz, which also bakes in GMO-heavy high-fructose corn syrup and starch. Avoid biting into the whole mess by searching out organic saltines or water crackers at health stores.

SCORE: N

These made-in-Italy crackers look healthy, but they’re sort of the equivalent of trans-fat-free pizza. Just because it’s free of one thing (in this case gluten) doesn’t mean it’s not full of other undesirables. Yes, Glutino makes other products that are nonGMO Project Verified, but none of the company’s crackers qualify. Beyond that, there are conventional eggs in here (not good for your vegan guests) as well as palm oil. The whole-grain version just has some poppyseeds and buckwheat bran sprinkled in.

SCORE: NN

You’ll keep gluten-intolerant party guests and GMO-haters happy, since most rice crackers are generally free of both. The thing about rice is that 58 per cent of it fails to meet proposed EU arsenic standards for kids. Consumer Reports says rice crackers are safer than, say, rice cakes (or rice formula or pasta), but all rice products should be limited, especially for kids. (See consumerreports.org.) Adults can munch on these at a party with less worry.

Both brands are made in the U.S. (while Hot Kid and SuperSlim crisps are made in China).

Certified organic rice crackers are greener, but brown rice ones are higher in arsenic.

SCORE: NNN

The perfect party cracker to please most sensibilities: it’s 100 per cent certified organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan and Kosher, with no trans fats.

The only faction it won’t please? Locavores. (It’s from California.) The base is organic brown rice and quinoa, so, yes, you’re still going to get that trace arsenic naturally present in rice that I was talking about with rice thins. But it’s cut with low-arsenic quinoa. So if you don’t let the kids eat fistfuls a day, you’re likely all right. Pairs well with dips, less so with delicate cheeses. This one’s my pick of the week for large parties, since Costco carries giant boxes of ’em for a good price.

SCORE: NNNN

The local cracker queen! These tasty farmers’ market snacks (also available at health stores) are all made with certified organic heirloom Ontario-grown Red Fife wheat, spelt and rye as well as local raw honey, biodynamic olive oil and fair trade spices. You’ll want something else on hand for the glutenaverse, since Red Fife is naturally higher in gluten than conventional wheat.

These are pricier, so they may not be in your budget for big bashes. You’ll dig the creative flavours like Spicy Dal, Slightly Seedy and Cheddar Crispies. ecoholic SCORE: NNNNN pick

nature notes U.S.-CHINA CLIMATE PACT: WHAT’S FACT AND WHAT’S FICTION

The planet’s two biggest climate polluters signed a surprise deal last week vowing to slash greenhouse gases and boost renewables. The U.S.-China climate agreement has been called everything from a historic gamechanger to a status-quo-pushing smokescreen. We drill down for some perspective.

What’s the deal?

The good: the U.S. agreed to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2025 (that means doubling the pace of carbon reduction over previous targets).

China pledged to stop growing green-

green

DIRECTORY

house gas emissions and make sure that 20 per cent of its energy mix comes from zero-emission sources by 2030. That means it’s got to build 8,000 to 10,000 megawatts of zeroemissions energy – more than the energy produced by all its coal plants now, which is saying a lot.

The bad: the deal is non-binding. And that zero-emissions energy target for China includes nuclear.

What are environmentalists saying?

Most are praising the agreement but are clear that the pact should definitely be seen as a floor, not a ceiling. Friends

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november 20-26 2014 Now

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of the Earth International’s Dipti Bhatnagar praised China for taking climate change more seriously, but called the U.S. pledge a “drop in the ocean.”

Is China getting off easy?

Republicans south of the border have slammed the deal, saying it’ll hamstring the U.S. economy while allowing China’s to grow unfettered for another 15 years. But observers say some unprecedented cutting and shifting will have to be done pre-2030 for China to keep growing its developing economy and start reversing its GHG emissions.

Says World Resources Institute CEO Andrew Steer: “China’s pledge to increase non-fossil-fuel energy and to peak emissions around 2030 or as early as possible is a major development and reflects a shift in its position from just a few years ago.” But he emphasizes that China’s emissions really need to peak before 2030 to “limit the worst consequences of climate change.”

Can President Obama pull this off?

By not signing a formal treaty, Obama bypassed the need for approval from a now Republican-dominated Senate.

However, making the moves needed to follow through on his pledge will be a tall order, given Republicans’ vow to undermine and undo them. He’ll have to be creative if he wants climate action woven into his legacy.

Where the hell is Stephen Harper in all this?

Pressure is mounting inside and outside Canada for the PM to deliver greenhouse gas reduction targets for our unregulated oil and gas sector.

“

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

We are in a time when the new enslavement is through the seed and our food.

Vandana Shiva

”

Internationally renowned activist, scientist and eco-feminist Vandana Shiva speaking on GMOs and corporate-growthdriven food systems at last weekend’s Festival Of Dangerous Ideas.

Word is, Obama was leaning on all G20 leaders to address climate change at last week’s summit in Australia. Harper took to the mic to offer some vague PR, telling the press he’s happy to see China agree to tackle its emissions and that he’ll contribute an unspecified sum to the Green Climate Fund for developing countries. He said Canada “will be part of an international agreement of binding obligations by all emitters.”

Will Harper actually act?

Don’t hold your breath for his version of a “China surprise” – a promise to cap and reverse tar sands emissions. Still, enviros say Harper’s excuses for inaction are running out. “Canada has long justified its own failure to limit the growth of greenhouse gas emissions by pointing to the inaction of heavy emitters like the U.S. and China.” But

that excuse, says Pembina Institute’s Chris Severson-Baker, no longer holds.

What will the U.S.-China deal mean for next year’s global climate conference? “[It’s a] huge political shot in the arm,” says Greenpeace Canada’s Keith Stewart. All this high-profile climate talk from the U.S. and China is a major energizer for next year’s Paris negotiations on a post-2020 global climate deal, he says. Fingers crossed it inspires a binding deal. ecoholic@nowtoronto.com | @ecoholicnation

Get your copy of Adria Vasil’s latest book, Ecoholic Body: Your Ultimate Earth-Friendly Guide To Living Healthy And Looking Good

– in bookstores everywhere!

astrology freewill

11 | 20

2014

by Rob Brezsny

Aries Mar 21 | Apr 19 Someone on

Reddit.com posed the question, “What have you always been curious to try?” In reply, many people said they wanted to experiment with exotic varieties of sex and drugs they had never treated themselves to before. Other favourites: eating chocolate-covered bacon, piloting a plane, shoplifting, doing a stand-up comedy routine, hang-gliding and deepsea diving, exploring the Darknet and the Deep Web, spontaneously taking a trip to a foreign country, turning away from modern society and joining a Buddhist monastery. What would your answer be, Aries? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to explore what you have always been curious to try. The risks will be lower than usual, and the results more likely to be interesting.

TAurus Apr 20 | May 20 Contrary to

popular opinion, crime fiction author Arthur Conan Doyle never once had his character Sherlock Holmes utter the statement “Elementary, my dear Watson.” For that matter, Humphrey Bogart never actually said “Play it again, Sam” in the film Casablanca. Star Trek’s Captain Kirk never used the exact phrase “Beam me up, Scotty.” Furthermore I, Rob Brezsny, have never before issued the following prophecy: “Deep sexy darkness and deep sexy brilliance are conspiring to bring you Tauruses intriguing pleasures that will educate the naive part of your soul” – until now, that is. At this juncture in the evertwisting plot of your life story, I am most definitely saying just that.

GeMini May 21 | Jun 20 Here are some thoughts from Gemini author Fernando Pessoa: “The feelings that hurt most, the emotions that sting most, are those that are absurd – the longing for impos-

sible things, nostalgia for what never was, the desire for what could have been, regret over not being someone else.” Can you relate, Gemini? Have you felt those feelings? Here’s the good news: in the coming weeks, you will be more free of them than you have been in a long time. What will instead predominate for you are yearnings for very possible things and contentment with what’s actually available to you. (Pessoa’s words are from The Book Of Disquiet, translated by Alfred Mac Adam.)

CAnCer Jun 21 | Jul 22 The most important thing you can do in the coming weeks is learn how to take care of yourself better. What? You say you’re too busy for that? You have too many appointments and obligations? I disagree. In my astrological opinion, there’s one task that must trump all others, and that is get smarter about how you eat, sleep, exercise, relax, heal yourself and connect with people. I can assure you that there’s a lot you don’t know about what you really need and the best ways to get what you really need.

But you are ripe to become wiser in this subtle, demanding and glorious art.

Leo Jul 23 | Aug 22 Naturalist Greg

Munson says that many dragonflies are great acrobats. They are the Cirque du Soleil performers of the animal kingdom. Not only do they eat in midair, they also have sex. While flying, two dragonflies will hook up and bend into a roughly circular formation to accommodate the idiosyncrasies of their reproductive organs, thereby forming a “mating pinwheel.” I don’t expect you to achieve quite that level of virtuosity in your own amorous escapades, Leo. But if you’re adventurous, you could very well enjoy experiences that resemble having sex while flying.

VirGo Aug 23 | sep 22 Born under the

sign of Virgo, Yuriy Norshteyn is a Russian animator who has won numerous awards. His Tale Of Tales was once voted the greatest animated film of all time. But he hasn’t finished any new films for quite a while. In fact, he has been working on the same project since 1981, indulging his perfectionism to the max. In 33 years, he has only finished 25 minutes’ worth of The Overcoat, which is based on a story

by Nikolai Gogol. But I predict that he will complete this labour of love in the next eight months – just as many of you other Virgos will finally wrap up tasks you have been working on for a long time.

LibrA sep 23 | oct 22 “Every saint has a

bee in his halo,” said philosopher Elbert Hubbard. Similarly, some Libras have a passive-aggressive streak hidden beneath their harmony-seeking, peaceloving persona. Are you one of them? If so, I invite you to express your darker feelings more forthrightly. You don’t have to be mean and insensitive. In fact, it’s best if you use tact and diplomacy.

Just make sure you reveal the fact that there is indeed a bee in your halo. I bet you will ultimately be pleased with the consequences you stir up through your acts of courageous honesty.

sCorpio oct 23 | nov 21 Many people use the terms “cement” and “concrete” interchangeably, but they are not the same. Cement is powdery stuff that’s composed of limestone, gypsum, clay with alumino-silicate and other ingredients. It’s just one of the raw materials that is used to make concrete – usually no more than 15 per cent of the total mass. The rest consists of sand, crushed stone and water. Let’s regard this as a good metaphor for you to keep in mind, Scorpio. If you want to create a durable

wi $1 th O th FF is ad

thing that can last as long as concrete, make sure you don’t get overly preoccupied with the “cement” at the expense of the other 85 per cent of the stuff you will need.

sAGiTTArius nov 22 | Dec 21 “What-

ever returns from oblivion returns to find a voice,” writes Louise Glück in her poem The Wild Iris. I think that will be a key theme for you in the coming weeks.

There’s a part of you that is returning from oblivion – making its way home from the abyss – and it will be hungry to express itself when it arrives back here in your regularly scheduled life. This dazed part of you may not yet know what exactly it wants to say. But it is fertile with the unruly wisdom it has gathered while wandering. Sooner rather than later, it will discover a way to articulate its raw truths.

CApriCorn Dec 22 | Jan 19 “There is

no revenge so complete as forgiveness,” said American humorist Josh Billings. I propose that we make that your motto in the coming weeks. It’s an excellent time to liberate yourself from memories that still cause you pain, to garner major healing from past anguish and upheaval. And one of the best ways to do that will be to let go of as much blame and rage and hatred as you possibly can.

Forgiveness can be your magic spell.

AquArius Jan 20 | Feb 18 Denmark has been a pioneer in developing the

technology to supply its energy needs with wind power. By 2020, it expects to generate half of its electricity from wind turbines. Recently the Danish climate minister also announced his nation’s intention to phase out the use of coal as an energy source within 10 years. I would love to see you apply this kind of enlightened long-term thinking to your own personal destiny, Aquarius. Now would be an excellent time to brainstorm about the life you want to be living in 2020 and 2025. It’s also a perfect moment to outline a master plan for the next 10 years and commit to it.

pisCes Feb 19 | Mar 20 Piscean actor Sir Michael Caine has had an illustrious career. He has won two Oscars and been nominated for the award six times in five different decades. But for his appearance in Jaws: The Revenge, he was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for worst supporting actor. He confessed that his work in that film was not his best, and yet he was happy with how much money he made doing it. “I have never seen the film,” he said, “but by all accounts it was terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.” In accordance with the astrological omens, Pisces, you have permission to engage in a comparable tradeoff during the coming months.

Homework: Is there any place in your life where you think you’re doing your best but in fact you could do better? Testify at Freewillastrology.com.

LELO

POWER MEANS

PLEASURE

Welcome to Canada’s Largest Showcase of

NATURAL HEALTH & GREEN LIVING November 28 • 29 • 30

OVER 250 EXHIBITS + 88 LECTURES, DEMOS, AND PERFORMANCES

Three days of healthy food, fun, and new discoveries.

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493 QUEEN STREET WEST west of Spadina!

3-Day Lecture Pass $15 • 3-Day Exhibit Pass $10 • Visit: wholelifeexpo.ca

WWW.COME AS YOU ARE.COM/LELO NOW november 20-26 2014

37

BOOK YOUR HOLIDAY PARTY AND LET US TAKE CARE OF THE DETAILS! Thank you Toronto for voting us Best Wine Bar

WINE BAR

9 Church Street (N. of Esplanade) 416-504-9463 | 9church.com

APRILE BAMBINA CUCINA 1054½ Gerrard Street East 647-352-6969 | aprilebambina.com 38

november 20-26 2014 NOW

Thank you Toronto for voting us Best Pub

MCGUGAN’S FINE SCOTTISH PUB 1058 Gerrard St. East @ Jones 416-901-9859 | mcgugans.com

HANK’S

9 Church Street (north of Esplanade) 416-504-2657 | hanks9church.com

FOOD&DRINK FOOD HOLIDAY

SPECIAL

LET’S GET THIS

PA R T Y STARTED STARTED!

PROS’ PUNCH RECIPES

DAVID HAWE

PG 44

TIME TO STOCK THE BAR, cook up tasty snacks and make the playlist. Don’t want to break the bank? We’ve got potluck tips and apps chefs made from wallet-friendly ingredients.

PLUS, hot drinks to keep you warm, great punches from inventive mixologists and more.

By KARON LIU and SARAH PARNIAK NOW NOVEMBER 20-26 2014

39

HOLIDAY FOOD&DRINK SPECIAL THE GRUB CHEF’S CHALLENGE

A FRUGAL

FEAST

Chances are you’ll be blowing your budget on presents and booze, so we asked four caterers to use dirt-cheap ingredients to make delicious party treats that’ll inspire you to get creative in the kitchen this season.

No. 1 THE TEMPERED CHEF’S KRAFT DINNER PIE

Long before he opened his Parkdale patisserie, the Tempered Room, in September, chef Bertrand Alépée (aka the Tempered Chef) was best known as one of the city’s go-to caterers. He’s still cooking for parties, and for this challenge he added bacon, aged cheddar and Gruyère to the fluorescent-coloured mac-andcheese mixture (he also used the rendered bacon fat to make the pie crusts). He then topped off the pies with a royale, a mixture of cream, egg, milk, salt and nutmeg that’s commonly found in quiches.

The Tempered Room and the Tempered Chef, 1374 Queen West, 416732-9069, thetemperedchef.com, @TheTemperedChef

No. 2 THE FOOD DUDES’ RAMEN LATKES

When it comes to hors d’oeuvres, chef Dan Frenette has it down to a formula. “You get one bite and one shot,” he says. “Textures are huge, and everyone loves something that’s crispy. It’s also about a balance of flavours: a combination of sweet, salty and spicy always works well. Separately, the flavours may be too intense, but together they balance out.” He combined all those elements by starting with a crunchy base of instant noodles (Sapporo Ichiban chicken, FYI) flavoured with the included spice packet, lemon juice and zest, chili and chives. On top is a slice of medium-rare duck breast seasoned again with the ramen’s flavour packet and cucumbers marinated in a chili-rice vinegar mixture. The sweet component comes from a pineapple-coconut sauce on the bottom of the plate.

The Food Dudes, 24 Carlaw, 647-3403833, thefooddudes.com, @TheFoodDudesTO

No. 3 and 4 McEWAN’S SRI LANKAN-STYLE CHICKPEA CONES AND POPPERS

Chef Shen Ousmand spent nine years cooking his way up in the McEwan empire and is now in charge of catering as well as prepared foods at the McEwan food shop. Ousmand couldn’t decide on one chickpea snack, so he made two (hummus was forbidden since that’s too easy). The cones are a take on a popular street food he’d eat often while growing up in Sri Lanka: fried chickpeas and coconut flakes tossed in a spice mixture of ginger, cayenne, curry leaves, garlic, smoked paprika and cinnamon. “It’s something you’d eat with one hand and drink beer with the other,” he says. The poppers are crispyon-the-outside, creamy-on-the-inside chickpea, potato and spinach balls spiced with coriander, garlic, anise, cinnamon and cardamom, paired with a cool yogurt dip made with cucumber, lime juice and Sriracha.

McEwan, 38 Karl Fraser, 416-444-6262, mcewan.mcewangroup.ca, @McEwanFoods

The long-standing chicken wholesale shop in Kensington Market got an overhaul recently, hiring chef Bernadette Calpito to create a line of prepared foods, a takeout counter and a catering arm to keep up with the neighbourhood’s changing tastes. Having lived in Hawaii, Calpito jumped at the opportunity to cook with Spam. “I grew up with Spam,” she says. “Everything in Hawaii is imported, but Spam is really accessible and affordable. Canadians have bacon, Hawaiians have Spam.”

She created a platter of miniature Christmastime staples: mashed garlic potatoes with crispy Spam bits, buttermilk biscuits with Spam, a cream of mushroom and Spam soup in a bread bowl, and a roasted quail with a Sriracha-maple glaze and a stuffing made of the Spam biscuits. “I think I spent $9 on the whole thing.”

St. Andrew Poultry, 17 St. Andrew, 416596-7305, standrewpoultry.com, @StAndrewPoultry

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NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

MICHAEL WATIER

No. 5 ST. ANDREW POULTRY’S SPAM PLATTER

1

4

3

2

5

NOW november 20-26 2014

41

HOLIDAY FOOD&DRINK SPECIAL THE GRUB

THE 10

Commandments OF A SUCCESSFUL POTLUCK

No. 1 THOU SHALT KNOW WHO’S BRINGING WHAT The idea of a potluck is to have a variety of dishes. (You don’t want three people bringing the same things or it winds up being a contest about who did it best). Ask your guests what they’re cooking to ensure there’ll be appetizers, meats, vegetables, sides and sweets.

No. 2 THOU SHALT TAKE THE HOME ADVANTAGE

Hosting the potluck means you don’t have to worry whether your dish will survive a journey. Make something that others would have a hard time producing: crispy fried wings, an ice cream dessert, a big pot of soup, fondue pot – anything that would need a small miracle to survive the TTC.

No. 3 THOU SHALT ASK ABOUT ALLERGIES OR FOOD RESTRICTIONS

If one guest is a vegetarian or allergic to shellfish, not every dish has to fit the bill, but do ensure there’ll be at least two or three things they can fill up on so they don’t feel excluded.

This includes dessert: everyone needs dessert.

No. 4 THOU SHALT HAVE ENOUGH PLATES, GLASSES AND CUTLERY

illustration by clayton hanmer

Teacup saucers should not double as dinner plates, and you shouldn’t have one guest eating with a plastic fork while everyone else gets to use metal. Do a head count beforehand and lay in enough flatware and plates for all invitees (as well as serving ware for all dishes). Or make a trip to the store for disposable and biodegradable ones for everyone.

No. 5 THOU SHALT HAVE FRIDGE SPACE

Clear a shelf in case a dessert or salad needs to be chilled or someone brings a six- or 12-pack.

No. 6 THOU SHALT HAVE A CLEAN KITCHEN WORKSPACE

That casserole has to be reheated, the pasta needs to stay warm in the oven till the latecomers arrive, and the chocolate needs to be melted and drizzled on top of the dessert. There’s always someone who asks if they can duck into the kitchen to finish their dish.

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november 20-26 2014 NOW

No. 7 THOU SHALT KEEP THE SHOE PILE IN CHECK

Keep the pile of shoes in the foyer as tidy as possible, making sure they’re matched up and no one’s wet boots are lying on top of someone else’s suede pumps. We’ve all been that guest who spent an extra 10 minutes searching for the other shoe in the pile.

No. 8 THOU SHALT HAVE SPARE TTC TOKENS

Have a few spare tokens (or cab fare) on hand in case a boozed-up guest is leaving the car at your place for the night. Your friend can treat you to brunch the morning after.

No. 9 THOU SHALT LET YOUR GUESTS HELP WITH CLEANUP

Guests are always asking if they can help in any way, and there’s something about the kitchen that makes everyone at a party gravitate that way. So let them feel useful and give them dish duties – a host should be mingling, not cooped up in the kitchen. Also: they brought the casserole dish? They can wash it.

No. 10 THOU SHALT SEND A THANK-YOU NOTE THE NEXT DAY

The thank-you note is an old-timey but simple, thoughtful tradition. You don’t have to go to the extreme of mailing fancy notecards, but an email thanking everyone for their contribution is much appreciated. You can also take the opportunity to ask if anyone left their glove or serving dish at your place.

@gfwe

20th Anniver sa ry

BASKET CASES

Here’s what usually happens when someone gets a gift basket: initial excitement followed by mild disappointment; contents divided among friends; recipient keeps one or two things; wicker basket ends up in the trash along with 2 pounds of packing material. You don’t want that.

Here’s how to avoid that by assembling your own:

DIY GIFT IDEA

DAVID HAWE

20th Anniver sa ry

SCORE SOME POT

Wicker baskets are the go-to receptacle for the goodies, but they’re pretty useless after the fact. Opt for something practical like a soup pot, large mixing bowl or colander that can be used every day. And since no gift basket is complete without a giant bow, we tied ours using a sheet of organza from the dollar store.

H2K 12-quart stock pot, $30, Canadian Tire, various locations, Canadiantire.ca, @CanadianTire

PACK ’EM IN

You’ll need some packing material to pad out the basket and prop up the gifts. Microwave some popcorn and toss it with bold spices like cayenne or curry for a spicy kick, truffle salt for a classy upgrade or cinnamon sugar for a sweet and salty treat. The result is a popcorn tin and a gift basket: two gifts in one!

BOTTLE IT UP

This is a chance to buy something more frivolous than the recipient would buy regularly, like chili oil (amazing on top of leftover pizza) or a fancy mustard for leftover turkey sandwiches. Just be sure your giftee will actually use it, or that bottle of Himalayan sea buckthorn oil will just collect dust.

Chili oil, $7, Thomas Lavers Cannery & Deli, 193 Baldwin, 647-351-1959, @ThomasLaversCD Amazing Maple Mustard, $7, Kozlik’s, 93 Front East, 416-361-9788, mustardmaker.com, @Kozliks

20th Anniver sa ry

ADD SOME SPICE

Another affordable option is to fill up little Mason jars with spices – bonus points if you go all Martha Stewart and include handwritten recipe cards. Try House of Spice (190 Augusta, 416-593-9724, ehouseofspice.com )in Kensington Market or Trupti (2 Thorncliffe Park, unit 40, 416-421-0191, trupti. ca) in East York for premixed blends like steak spice and masala.

NOVEMBER 20-23, 2014 METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE, DOWNTOWN TORONTO THURS 6-10 • FRI 2-10 • SAT 12-10 • SUN 12-6

SUGARCOAT IT

It’s not the holidays without some saccharine nostalgia. You can take the higher-end route with chocolate bars from local makers like Chocosol, Soma, Stubbe and Nadège, or go lowbrow with the stuff from the dollar store candy aisle.

Assorted candies, $2 per bag, Dollarama, various locations, Dollarama.com

GET FRESH

Perfect for the home cook, fill a basket with bounty from the farmers’ market, where colourful heirloom carrots and cute baby parsnips are in season right now. These root vegetables don’t need to be refrigerated and can bump around in the basket without risk of bruising. Tie them in a bouquet and stick them in the basket for a burst of Mother Earthy goodness. We got these from the St. Lawrence Market’s bustling north market.

MASTER SOMMELIER

John Szabo

FOOD NETWORK CELEBRITY CHEF

CELEBRITY CHEF

Lynn Crawford

David Rocco

SAMPLE INTERNATIONAL WINES, BEERS, SPIRITS AND GOURMET CUISINE Tutored Tastings Wine Classes · VINES InterVin Pavilion NEW Sommelier Tasting Bar · Trend Central Tasting Stage All You Need is Cheese Stage · Food Network Stage · Spiritology Pavilion TAG Vodka Experience · Craft Beer Area · Live Entertainment Motts’ Clamato Best Caesar In Town National Final

USE PROMO CODE NOWMAG TO SAVE $5

FOODANDWINEEXPO.CA Must be 19+. No infants or children. Not valid with other offers. Please drink responsibly and arrange safe transportation. FOOD NETWORK is a trademark of Television Food Network G.P.; used with permission.

NOW NOVEMBER 20-26 2014

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HOLIDAY FOOD&DRINK SPECIAL THE BOOZE 1 . K N OCKO UT B R U N CH PU N CH Kris Bahamondes, bar manager at Soho House Toronto (192 Adelaide West, 416-599-7646, sohohousetoronto. com), keeps it simple with a clean and classic recipe he likes to call Knockout Brunch Punch. If there’s ever a time to take advantage of the napping opportunities the holidays provide, it’s postbrunch punch.

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Knockout Brunch Punch (serves 10 if you use a 750 ml bottle of booze) 2 parts spirit (Bahamondes generally uses Tito’s vodka, but this recipe is versatile) 1 part simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water) 1 part fresh lemon juice 1 part black tea, chilled Mix together in a punch bowl and let sit in the fridge for a few hours, allowing flavours to mingle. Ten minutes before serving, add ice cubes or one large piece of ice along with cucumber, lemon and orange wheels and a big bunch of mint.

1

2

DAVID HAWE

PAC K I N G A

Punchbowls: White - $110, Clear - $89, both available at BYOB (972 Queen West, 416-858-2932, byobto.com).

PUNCH

A punch bowl brings people together – it’s like a spiked version of the office water cooler, except much more fun and delicious. Over the brimming bowl, stories are shared, jokes cracked, songs belted, drinks sloshed, bonds formed and strengthened. The bonus: postprep, the host is hands-off. (It’s our duty to embrace lazy in any possible form over the holidays.) We’ve asked some of Toronto’s stellar bartenders to share their recipes for your good cheer.

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NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

2 . P U N CH CL AN D E STI N O “There’s something so wholesome and warming about the concept of punch. It’s such a perfect match for the holiday season, both in ethos and in practicality,” says Owen Walker, new bar manager at Bar Isabel (797 College, 416-531-2222, barisabel.com). He mixes amber rum, cognac and Pedro Ximénez sherry in this elegant communal bowl garnished with star anise and apple rings.

Punch Clandestino (serves 30-40) 750 ml El Dorado 12 years old rum 750 ml Remy Martin VSOP 750 ml apple cider 800 ml fresh lemon juice 250 ml Osborne Pedro Ximénez sherry 500 ml spiced fig syrup (see below) Sliced apples and star anise pods for garnish Top with soda to taste.

Spiced fig syrup: 250g chopped dried figs 3 cinnamon sticks 1 vanilla pod, split 1 star anise pod 750g refined sugar 700 ml water Combine ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain and cool.

3 . PAR I S I E N N E M I LK P U N CH The ever-classy Geraldine (1564 Queen West, 647-352-8815, geraldinetoronto.com) does a tableside tea service of bar manager Michael Mooney’s Parisienne Milk Punch ($45 for 4 people), his take on a classic Jerry Thomas recipe.

Though it’s involved, this delicious recipe is well worth tackling at home.

(Try it at Geraldine first and you’ll see.) Clarified milk doesn’t affect the flavour but enhances viscosity, contributing a remarkably silky mouth feel.

Parisienne Milk Punch (serves 2530) Juice of 6 lemons, zest of 4 (use a microplane) 1 lb caster sugar 1 pineapple (peeled, sliced, blitzed in blender) 6 cloves 30 coriander seeds 1 stick cinnamon 20 oz Calvados 10 oz Wray & Nephew overproof rum 5 oz Goslings dark rum 5 oz Havana 7 rum 5 oz Lucid Absinthe 350 ml strong rooibos and lavender tea (350 ml water, 3 rooibus tea bags, tablespoon dried lavender)

40 oz boiling water Grind the spices in a coffee grinder.

Add spices along with sugar and lemon zest to a large vessel. Add boiling water and stir to dissolve sugar. Add remaining ingredients. Let infuse for 24-48 hours before adding the juice of 2 more lemons and 40 oz of hot full-fat milk and stir (milk will curdle).

Strain through a coffee filter, chill and serve over ice (from a bowl or teapot).

NOW MAGAZINE IS LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS FOR OUR FALL/WINTER STREET TEAM!

4

Are you interested in helping promote Canada’s leading alternative news & entertainment weekly? Are you passionate about media, the arts, culture and all things Toronto? Are you over 19? Do you like free stuff (concert tickets, movie passes and much more)?

4 . A PR E S I D E NTIAL P U N CH Winter and whisky go hand in hand.

Dave Mitton, Canadian whisky ambassador for Corby/Pernod-Ricard, mixes up an easy-drinking rye-based punch seasoned with festive notes of apple, walnut and baking spices. It’s inspired by familiar holiday flavours.

A Presidential Punch (serves 12) 1½ bottle of 750 ml Lot No. 40 whisky 32 oz fresh-pressed apple cider 16 oz fresh lemon juice

½ cup cinnamon syrup (see below) 15 dashes of Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters 30 oz sparkling water Cinnamon syrup: 1½ litre water 1 litre raw sugar 5 cinnamon sticks (broken up) Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Continue simmering for 10 to 15 minutes, remove from

heat and let cool. Strain into a bottle and refrigerate for up to one month.

Combine the rye whisky, apple cider, lemon juice, cinnamon syrup and bitters in a bowl. Stir and refrigerate.

Add a big block of ice before serving.

Pour 2 oz over a large cube of ice in an Old Fashioned glass, add 2 oz sparkling water and garnish with an apple ring and lightly grated cinnamon.

We’re looking for educated and motivated street team members to help out with on-site promotion at a wide range of festivals & events throughout the city. Street Team members will also be representing NOW at tons of concerts, events, festivals and movie screenings all season long!

APPLY NOW by sending your resume to promotions@nowtoronto.com

NOW NOVEMBER 20-26 2014

45

HOLIDAY FOOD&DRINK SPECIAL THE BOOZE HOT TODDY

hot STUFF

You’ve shaken off the snow, kicked off your boots and stripped off the layers.

What you need now is a drink – a hot one. Warm up with these scrumptious warm beverages dreamed up by NOW drinks expert Sarah Parniak.

Chances are the ingredients for a toddy can be found in almost any household; it’s the simplest and perhaps the most satisfying of all cold-weather drinks. Essentially a hot punch with miraculous fluslaying abilities, the beauty of the toddy is that there’s no real wrong way. Though Highland Scotch whisky is a classic choice, various combos of spirit, sweetening agent and hot water all qualify.

1½ oz whisk(e)y, rum, brandy (dark, full-bodied spirits work best) 1 tsp (or more) honey 4 oz hot water Stir ingredients together in a (heatproof) glass. Additions like a thick zest of lemon, fresh ginger or chamomile tea are worth the extra effort.

IRISH COFFEE

This may surprise some, but true Irish coffee contains nary a drop of Bailey’s. It’s a simple formula – whiskey, coffee, sugar, cream – designed to warm cold bones with the fringe benefit of bushy-tailed alertness. According to drinks historian David Wondrich, this cup of comfort was born in the early 40s when noble Irish barman Joe Sheridan treated a ragged crew of travellers attempting to reach Canada. We’re not sure if they ever made it across the Atlantic or decided to sit at Sheridan’s bar drinking instead, but the formula lives on in a big way.

david hawe

2 oz Irish whiskey 5-6 oz hot coffee Sugar to taste (1-2 tsp should do the trick) Heavy cream (please don’t use aerosol sugar-in-a-can)

HOT BUTTERED RUM

Let’s be real: the holidays are just as much about indulgence as they are about good will and cheer. Shortbread for breakfast? Yep. Third helping of roast beast? Obviously. Warm rum gussied up with spiced butter? Bring it on.

Shut down diet anxiety by considering this the kissing cousin of trendy healthconscious butter coffee.

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november 20-26 2014 NOW

1½ oz (scratch that, make it 2 oz) bold rum like Mount Gay Black Barrel or Appleton V/X 2 tbsp batter (see below) 3-4 oz hot water Stir, serve with a cinnamon stick. Drink hot and quick after a walk in the snow, or possibly for breakfast.

For the batter: ¼ cup soft butter ¼ cup brown sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp grated nutmeg ¼ tsp ground cloves ¼ tsp ground allspice ¼ vanilla bean (scrapings only) Fold spices into butter until well integrated.

Mix whiskey, sugar and coffee together in a heated (preferably stemmed) mug. Whip cream with a whisk/frother/immersion blender and spoon on top. If you’re really incredulous about the missing Bailey’s, sneak some into the cream during the whipping process.

FALL DINING GUIDE MODERN DINER

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

120 DINER

120 Church Street (just south of Richmond), 416-792-7725 | 120diner.com 120 Diner chef Richard Henry excels at crafting exceptional comfort food. The portions are big and the kitchen takes pride in quality and freshness.

Located near St. Lawrence Market and the financial district, 120 Diner is ideal for a satisfying business dinner. In the evening, the stage comes alive with comedy, live music or karaoke. The popular Wednesday night “Latin Live” dazzles with live Latin

music, dancing and an authentic tapas menu.

The kitchen is open Fridays & Saturdays until 4 am, catering to post-pub and club crowds, (be sure to try out Henry’s decadent and unique Chicken Skins!). Also a great spot for corporate bookings & private events.

Favourites: Daily $10 food and pint pairings including Friday’s beer battered fish sandwich, Wednesday’s tacos and thursday’s sumptuous burger.

ETHIOPIAN CUISINE

LALIBELA 869 Bloor W 416-535-6615 & 1202 Danforth | 416-645-0486 This fabulous culinary experience awaits you! Make sure you visit Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant known for its exotic cuisine, unique taste and delightful traditional Ethiopian hospitality. Delicious meat and vegetable dishes include lamb, chicken, beef and a meat/veggie combo for the best of both worlds!

traditional style by roasting coffee beans on the spot creating a heavenly aroma that make your visit to Lalibela truly unforgettable!

Open 365 days a year.

10am - 2am.

Reserve online.

Relax afterwards with Ethiopian coffee served in MAINS: Meat & Veg Combo ‘Lalibela’ Platter, Vegetarian Platter (Hot or Mild), Titanic Lamb Tibs,

PIZZA BAR

lalibelaethiopianrestaurant.com Gluten Free, Authentic Ethiopian Coffee Mon-Thurs. 20% OFF with this ad!

G FOR GELATO & PIZZA BAR 75 Jarvis Street, 416-792-1761 | at the corner of Jarvis & Adelaide | gforgelato.com At G For Gelato, we strive to be your neighbourhood go to place. We cover everything from Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Dinner and Dessert. All of our food is made fresh in house, with products sourced locally.

Our gourmet thin crust pizza was voted 13th best pizza in Toronto by NOW Magazine. We feature daily $10 pizza specials to give everyone a chance to try

our gourmet pizza.

Our Breakfast and Brunch is the perfect solution for your mornings, with quick options like our express sandwich and our wrap ready in under 5 minutes.

We strive to offer better food, better coffee and better service, at better prices.

Open: Mon-Thur 8am - 9pm • Fri, Sat 8am - 10pm • Sun 9am - 9pm Open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

LOCAL CUISINE

HAWTHORNE FOOD & DRINK 60 Richmond Street East (just west of Church), 647-930-9517 | hawthorneto.ca Local. Seasonal. Sustainable. Our chefs put a spin on modern comfort food using fresh seasonal ingredients from Ontario’s agricultural bounty. Classic techniques are used to transform simple dishes into the extraordinary.

The menu changes frequently but the result is always the same — Delicious!

Hawthorne is the enterprise arm of the Hospitality Workers Training Centre.

When you eat at Hawthorne Food & Drink you’re participating in an age-old tradition that sees hospitality as a meaningful two-way relationship.

We provide a great food experience, you support training for good jobs in Toronto’s hospitality industry.

LunCH: 11am - 3pm M-F Dinner: 5pm - 10pm T-S

AUTUMN PRIX FIXE MENU: 2 course lunch $15, 3 course dinner $25, Daily Drink drink specials!

Advertise your restaurant in the next

now dining guide

Coming dec 11 in our new Year’s eve Planner To advertise call 416 364 1300 x 381 NOW november 20-26 2014

47

david hawe

Holiday fun at your local LCBO

HOLIDAY FOOD&DRINK SPECIAL

SPIKED CIDER

Available at friendly LCBO stores across Ontario Cheers! Claude and Nathan facebook.com/hopsandrobbers

@HopsAndRobbers

Unless you’re the kind of unfortunate being who considers boiling water a culinary feat, it’s hard to screw up spiced ’n’ spiked cider. Grab the biggest pot you have, fill it with apple cider, seasonal spices, apple and pear slices, dried fruit – whatever you want, really.

Simmer for the better part of an hour before switching to low heat. In close proximity to the stove (alert common sense), line up whatever you

have that’s dark and seasonal – Armagnac, amber rum, Canadian whisky, amaro, bourbon – and invite guests to choose their poison before topping it off with steaming cider. (This prevents booze burn-off.) Consider this a hospitable way to clear your liquor cabinet of seldom-used partial bottles.

3 L fresh-pressed cider 2 cinnamon sticks 5 cloves 5 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed

1 small finger ginger, coarsely chopped 1 pod star anise ½ tsp cayenne pepper (depending on spice tolerance) 1 apple, sliced 1 pear, sliced Simmer all ingredients for 45 minutes (give or take). Keep on very low heat with a ladle, cinnamon stir-sticks and Angostura bitters nearby for extremely low-maintenance service.

OUR WEATHER IS MAN MADE MULLED WINE

YOU ARE BEING SPRAYED WITH CHEMTRAILS

Spiced wine is Christmas – conifer needles, fruitcake, a crackling fire, crates of clementines, fresh baked goods and snow angels – all wrapped up in one warm, drinkable package.

Mulled wine has been a thing since the Greeks and Romans used it as a health tonic – and as a clever way to disguise the flavour of nasty wine. For centuries Scandinavians have been making glögg (pronounced “gloooogg”,) wine warmed with macerated spices, dried fruit and almonds and spiked with aquavit, vodka or brandy. The name is abbreviated old Swedish for “glowing-hot wine”; down a cup or two and you’ll get why.

1 bottle red wine (something robust of good value) 12 gratings of fresh nutmeg 5 cloves 5 pods green cardamom 1 cinnamon stick 1 vanilla pod, split and scraped (use beans and pod) 1 pod star anise 1 small finger of ginger, coarsely chopped ½ cup raisins ½ cup blanched almonds Peel of 1 large orange (use a veggie peeler to avoid the bitter white pith) Peel of ½ lemon

STOP GEOENGINEERING @ THE CHEMTRAIL GIRLS 48

november 20-26 2014 NOW

You’ll also need: ½ cup inexpensive brandy ½ cup inexpensive port ¼ to ½ cup simple syrup (1:1 raw cane sugar to water, slightly reduced)

Simmer everything on low for at least half an hour (but, as with a sauce or stock, the longer the better). Add brandy, port and simple syrup to taste. Simmer for another 20 minutes.

Remove from heat. Don’t be afraid to add more brandy if you think it needs it. Let cool, strain and serve or bottle to give or keep.

THERE’S AN

PARTY PLAYLIST

SO FRESH AND SO CLEAN

APP FOR T H AT

Why recycle last year’s playlist? Here are the best party-starting tunes to emerge from 2014 thus far.

Seasoned Dope, Skratch Bastid Only Toronto-via-Halifax remix master Paul Murphy (aka Skratch Bastid) would think to combine Future Islands’ heartbreaking earworm single Seasons with Pusha T’s drugslinging banger Move That Dope. Results are predictably genius.

Skratch Bastid plays Adelaide Hall Saturday (November 22).

Our Love, Caribou The title track from Canadian expat Dan Snaith’s latest album starts out chill and cool, but – like any good party should – gets wild and bassheavy about halfway through.

Caribou plays the Danforth Music Hall with Jessy Lanza Monday (November 24).

Kathy Lee, Jessy Lanza Technically, this finger-snapping electro R&B song came out on 2013’s Pull My Hair Back. But it certainly got more attention when its video was shortlisted for the Prism Prize, and the album was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. Both happened this year.

Jessy Lanza plays the Danforth Music Hall with Caribou on Monday (November 24).

Oh My Darling Don’t Cry, Run the Jewels The song with what might be the densest, most urgent production on an album full of dense, urgent production. The sonic equivalent of a blast of fresh air.

Run the Jewels play the Danforth Music Hall Wednesday (November 26).

DIY SNACK IDEAS

There’s no shame in serving ready-made foods, especially if it saves you time and headaches at the party. Jazz up prepared snacks and sauces with just three ingredients.

Systematic, Arkells It’s from High Noon, the album the Hamilton band released this year, but like much of the record, Systematic has a classic 80s pop feel.

Arkells play the Danforth Music Hall November 27-29.

+ President’s Choice sirloin meatballs

+ Kimchi

Mini ciabatta buns

Set Fire, Jazz Cartier Prove to your friends you know more Toronto rappers than just Drizzy. Save this hard-rapping, hard-clapping jam for the post-2 am hardcore guests.

Jazz Cartier plays the Garrison November 28.

LGBT, Lowell Queer power shout-along anthem. Definitely better than YMCA. Lowell plays the Garrison December 5.

2 On, Tinashe The hit that not only coined a new phrase for “turnt up” but also landed L.A. R&B singer Tinashe a spot at OVO Fest.

Tinashe plays Tattoo December 14.

INSTRUMENTS • ACCESSORIES • LESSONS Gift Certificates available

= MICHAEL WATIER

Los Awesome, Schoolboy Q Man Of The Year might have been the bigger hit from Q’s second fulllength, but this Pharrellproduced track is the danciest by far.

Schoolboy Q plays the Sound Academy Friday (November 21).

Mini kimchi meatball subs

TORONTO’S WEEKEND DESTINATION Thank you Toronto!

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HOLIDAY FOOD&DRINK SPECIAL THE GRUB

THERE’S AN

a p p f o r t h at

+

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Ontario pear and roasted garlic spread from Stasis Preserves

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+ Toasted white baguette

+ Goat cheese

Organic coconut bacon from This Is A Feast

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Goat cheese and pear crostini

ORDER ONLINE FOR EXCLUSIVE ONLINE ORDER SPECIALS!

OVER 90 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU! FIND A LOCATION NEAR YOU:

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Sweet and salty faux bacon popcorn

2 MEDIUM PIZZAS

with 3 Toppings on each

4 CANS OF POP (355ml) 2 FREE DIPPING SAUCE 1999 medium $ 2399 large

$

ORDER TODAY Items may not look as pictured. Not available with any other offer. For a limited time only.

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Roasted salted almonds

OR CALL 1-866-310-4466

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+ Buttery popcorn

Double-Stuffed Oreos

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+ Melted bittersweet chocolate

Sweetened coconut flakes

Snowy hockey pucks

NOW november 20-26 2014

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HOLIDAY FOOD&DRINK SPECIAL THE BOOZE

gift packs

T H AT D O N ’ T SUCK You never disappoint when you give the gift of booze. Cross these gift packs off your holiday shopping list and grab one for yourself as a reward for nailing festive efficiency.

2

1

3

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Impaired Driving Assault, Domestic Assault Drug Possession & Trafficking Bail Hearings & Appeals Sexual Offences Internet Crime

Call for a Free Consultation Criminal Defence Lawyer 416.459.3352 | macdonaldcriminaldefence.com 36 Lombard Street, Suite 100, Toronto 52

november 20-26 2014 NOW

4

Spirit of Giving

DIRECTORY

Nellie’s Shelter

david hawe

Give the gift of HOME to a homeless woman or child today Donate now at www.nellies.org or call 416-461-0769 Charitable Registration: 11930-2727-RR0001

Holiday meal and care just $3.11 Donate a pocketful of change to provide a child, family or senior with a hot meal and some Christmas joy.

GIVE NOW:

ysm.ca/Donate or 1-800-416-5111

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No. 1 INNIS & GUNN CONNOISSEUR’S OAK COLLECTION GIFT PACK

Including a toasted oak IPA, rum-finished red ale, bourbon stout and Innis & Gunn original, this limited-edition four-pack from Scotland’s Innis & Gunn looks pretty smooth wrapped up with a big red bow.

Price 4 x 330 ml/$14.95 Availability LCBO 385500

No. 2 ASSORTED BITTERS PACKS

The only good reason to get bitter over the holidays is cocktail hour. Bitters gift packs from Toronto’s Bar 40 (4/$69), Vancouver’s Bittered Sling (6/$44) and Scrappy’s (4/$26.95) make perfect (and practical, considering the gallons of cocktail

downed over the holidays) stocking stuffers.

Availability At BYOB (972 Queen West, 416-858-2932, byobto.com)

No. 3 YVON MAU BORDEAUX DISCOVERY CHEST

Nothing says “I love you” (“and expect you to share this gift with me”) like a wooden chest full of Bordeaux. These six bottles (both red and white) can be a sipping stash or a New Year’s Eve party in a box.

Price 6 x 750 ml/$129.95 Availability Vintages 908459

No. 4 DILLON’S GIFT PACKS

Get in the (local) spirit with these rad assortments from Dillon’s Small Batch Distillers.

Gift a fruity, floral trio (unfiltered 22, cherry and rose gin, $95) or a G&T kit (Dillon’s unfiltered 22, pear bitters and Jack’s tonique, plus jigger, $85) for the ginthusiast in your world.

Availability At the distillery (4833 Tufford, Beamsville) or order at 905-563-3030 or info@dillons.ca.

No. 5 LAURENTPERRIER CUVÉE ROSÉ BRUT CHAMPAGNE

Who wouldn’t be charmed by Laurent-Perrier’s pretty rosé in a shiny metal cage.

Price 750 ml/$99.95 Availability Vintages 158550

This year, join North York Women’s Shelter in providing hope for the thousands of women and children who are survivors of abuse and look to us for safety, support and hope.

provide HOPE give GENEROUSLY donate NOW nyws.ca NOW november 20-26 2014

53

music

more online

nowtoronto.com/music We’ve got an exclusive stream of Toronto experimental punks Cellphone’s new album + Searchable upcoming listings

roger cullman

KEITA JUMA with LEE PARADISE, BIZZARH, BASIA BULAT and many more as part of LONG WINTER at the Great Hall, Friday, November 14. ­Rating: NNN

The third year of Toronto’s monthly november-through-march concertcum-art-show, Long Winter, kicked off on all levels of the Great Hall. Subterranean talk show long night With Vish Khanna featured Trillium Book award-winning poet Souvankham Thammavongsa reading from her newest collection, light, and a stripped-back performance by Basia Bulat. and although surprise guests are the norm for long night, the audience was genuinely elated by the appearance of this year’s giller Prizer winner, Sean Michaels. upstairs in the steamy conversation room, mississauga-based rapper Keita Juma was tearing the place down and subsequently rebuilding it with his moody, futuristic beats. later, neo-soulquarians Bizzarh exhibited cool-girl finesse via Charli Champ’s intelligent rhymes and Dollar Paris’s ethereal backing vocals. only the venue’s main room was licensed, meaning there was a winding line to get into the only place where you could buy a beer and catch the headlining performances. But once they got in, Lee Paradise treated the crowd to a rowdy performance of his droning vocals over Halloween funhouse melodies.

Because of the great Hall’s strict parameters, small capacity and overzealous security guards, the night lacked fluidity and a carefree feel.

Here’s hoping long Winter can iron out those kinks in the coming season, because it’s destined to be a Toronto saMantHa Edwards institution.

the scene

Shows that rocked Toronto last week

ALT-J at the Kool Haus, Tuesday, November 11. ­Rating: NNN

Alt-J, the leeds-based, mercury Prize-winning indie rock band named after the keyboard shortcut for the Delta sign (∆), returned to Toronto Tuesday night to promote their two-month-old sophomore album, This Is all Yours. and while the set was heavy on the new stuff, the four-piece made sure to give the crowd what they wanted: the top-40 hits from their 2012 debut, an awesome Wave.

The Kool Haus was filled with a diverse mix of concertgoers – a prepubescent boy atop his father’s shoulders, stoners sneaking a puff, couples grinding, and spirited interpretive dancers – which speaks volumes about alt-J’s widespread accessibility. neat, considering the band’s music is stuffed with fast-talker singing, dark tribal rhythms, piercing synthesizers and choir-boy harmonies.

They admit to being more a studio band than a live act, but even so they lacked the energy you’d

54

november 20-26 2014 NOW

expect from a constantly touring group. Singles like Tessellate and matilda were musically sharp but felt flat and robotic. not that that bothered the crowd; they ate it all up. alt-J ended their encore with Breezeblocks, their biggest song to date. People sang along word for word, throwing up their arms in praise. sE

PARTYNEXTDOOR at the Mod Club, Wednesday, November 12. ­Rating: NNN

The hometown crowd gave PartyNextDoor an enthusiastic welcome when he appeared onstage at 10:30 pm, capping off his north american tour.

It was clear from all the lyrics being shouted line for line that PartynextDoor Two, the artist’s second effort, has served as the soundtrack for much of our summer as well as the fall.

Performing material from that release as well as his self-titled debut mixtape, the artist, whose real name is Jahron Anthony Brathwaite, wasted little time on small talk and pleasantries. Save for a too quick Persian rugs serenade – to a fan

pulled onstage from the audience – one track rolled straight into another.

The mississauga native said he wished he had more material to perform. His earnest promise to continue making quality music was endearing and helped make up for a shorter than expected set.

He brought out fellow canadian, rapper P. Reign, to perform realest In The city, and then, to close out the show, Drake joined his protege for their song recognize. It’s a credit to PartynextDoor’s growing stage presence that the guest appearance helped to complete the night rather than eclipsing all that came before it.

Holly MackEnziE

LEZ ZEPPELIN and VAG HALEN at the Phoenix, Friday, November 14. ­Rating: NNN

It’s a bit of a mind fuck to see talented women devoting their musical lives to playing songs written by already overglorified male “rock legends” who slightly switch places with each other in classic rock magazine annual top-100 lists.

ñ

Lez Zeppelin have put together a pro stage show: marshall stacks, flashy capes over sequined crop tops, note-perfect delivery, hip-thrusting moves that ape Plant and Page, and equally gratuitous guitar solos. The nYc tribute act keeps things fun but fruitless.

Vag Halen are angrier and more art-school.

They follow up Sabbath with Van Halen, guns n’ roses with nirvana in a set list that makes little sense historically or stylistically. undeniably choice tunes, though, that the large crowd ate up.

The needlessly large ensemble performs rather grimly but Vanessa Dunn’s low, sexy vocals, seethrough outfit and raunchy persona stole the spotlight. actually, guest performer Kitty Neptune stole the spotlight. Her no-holds-barred striptease with an audience volunteer during VH’s reliable cover of I Put a Spell on You gave the set a jolt of danger, subversiveness, shock and hilarity. That’s what Vag Halen do best: taking classic rock carla gillis hedonism and turning it on its head.

= Critics’ Pick nnnnn = Perfect nnnn = Great nnn = Good nn = Bad n = Horrible

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55

clubs&concerts hot tickets

NOT DEAD YET w/ Perfect Pussy, Forward, Burning Love, the Marked Men and others Various venues, Thursday to Sunday (November 20-23) See preview, page 62.

CHLOE CHARLES, KAE SUN Hugh’s Room (2261 Dundas West), Thursday (November 20) Double dose of local soul-pop.

BUCK 65, JON & ROY Danforth Music Hall (147 Danforth), Friday (November 21) Alt hip-hopper/CBC radio host.

JULIAN CASABLANCAS & THE VOIDZ, SHABAZZ PALACES, CEREBRAL BALLZY Kool Haus (132 Queens Quay East), Friday (November 21). Solo Stroke, experimental rap & more.

SCHOOLBOY Q, REDWAY Sound Academy (11 Polson), Friday (November 21) Aggro West Coast rap.

LES SINS, J PHLIP The Hoxton (69 Bathurst), Friday (November 21) See preview, page 64.

AMELIA CURRAN Harbourfront Centre Theatre (231 Queens Quay West), Saturday (November 22). Tender-hearted folk rock.

RAE SPOON, GEOFF BERNER Gladstone Ballroom (1214 Queen West), Sunday (November 23). Melodic, moving, danceable.

THEE OH SEES, JACK NAME Danforth Music Hall (147 Danforth), Sunday (November 23). High-spirited San Fran psych rock.

CARIBOU, JESSY LANZA Danforth Music Hall (147 Danforth), Monday (November 24). Amorphous, hooky electronic music.

STEVIE WONDER Air Canada Centre (40 Bay), Tuesday (November 25) Sweet-voiced soul-pop legend.

RUN THE JEWELS, RATKING, DESPOT Danforth Music Hall (147 Danforth), Wednesday (November 26). See preview, page 58.

GORDON LIGHTFOOT Massey Hall (178 Victoria), Wednesday to Saturday (November 26-29). First of four shows with the folk icon.

How to find a listing

Music listings appear by day, then by genre, then alphabetically by venue. Event names are in italics. See Venue Index, page 66, for venue address and phone number. = Critics’ pick (highly recommended) ñ 5= Queer night

F = Festive/seasonal event How to place a listing

All listings are free. Send to: events@nowtoronto.com, fax to 416-364-1168 or mail to Music, NOW Magazine, 189 Church, Toronto M5B 1Y7. Include artist(s)/band(s), genre of music, event name (if any), venue name and address, time, ticket price and contact phone number or website. Deadline is the Thursday before publication at 5 pm. Weekly events must confirm their listing once a month.

If your free listing requires a correction, send info to: fixevents@nowtoronto.com.

Lucinda WiLLiams

Give Lucinda Williams three years and she’ll pull together a double album. Twenty songs make up Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone, released on the last day of September on her Highway 20 record label. Final song Magnolia, by JJ Cale, is the sole cover, and opening song Compassion was built on words by Williams’s poet father, Miller Williams.

The rest is all Lucinda, as down-spirited and gritty-soulful and expressive as ever. Blues imbue her Americana tunes, she’s as convincingly tough as tender, and the songwriting – that songwriting! – seems to ooze out of her effortlessly. No wonder Time Magazine named her America’s best songwriter in 2002.

See for yourself when she graces the hallowed Massey Hall stage after what’s bound to be an equally impressive showcase of songcraft by nimble picker Doug Paisley.

Thursday (November 20) at Massey Hall (178 Victoria), 8 pm, all ages. $29.50-$69.50. masseyhall.com

just announced

By Divine Right, hotKiD, teRRoR LaKe, DiRty FRigs Swap, Don’t Shop Girls Rock Camp Toronto benefit The Garrison, 1 pm, all ages. $5-$8. girlsrocktoronto.org. November 30. aL tucK Hugh’s Room 8:30 pm. December 9. sam amiDon Drake Hotel doors 8:30 pm, $13.50. ticketfly. com, soundscapes.com, rotate.com. December 10. chRonoLogic new yeaR’s eve The Garrison (dance tracks from 1903 to 2014) doors 9:30 pm. goinsteady.ca. December 31. hoRsey cRaze, Do maKe say thinK, DaRLene shRugg Silver Dollar doors 9 pm. December 31. zoLa Jesus Drake Hotel doors 8 pm. January 22. machine heaD Phoenix Concert Theatre doors 8 pm. February 4. the new PoRnogRaPheRs, oPeRatoRs Danforth Music Hall doors 7 pm. February 5. waveLength music FestivaL Festival of indie music Various venues. wavelengthtoronto. com. February 13.

Let it Be: a ceLeBRation oF the music oF the BeatLes Sony Centre for the

Performing Arts Fri 8 pm, Sat 2 & 7:30 pm. February 13 and 14.

this week

twin shaDow Phoenix Concert Theatre $20. ticketfly.com, rotate.com. February 13.

BLacK veiL BRiDes, memPhis may FiRe Danforth Music Hall

doors 6 pm, all ages, $30-$45. February 15. swans Phoenix Concert Theatre doors 8 pm, $27. ticketfly. com, rotate.com, soundscapes.com. February 20. canniBaL coRPse, Behemoth, aeon, tRiBuLation Phoenix Concert Theatre doors 6 pm, all ages, $35. rotate.com, soundscapes.com, livenation.com. February 24. chRis BRown, tRey songz, tyga Between The Sheets Tour Air Canada Centre doors 6:30 pm, $49.75-$150.75. February 25. the Piano guys Sony Centre for the Performing Arts (classical renditions of modern pop hits) 8 pm. March 6. gang oF FouR Lee’s Palace doors 8 pm, $30. ticketfly.com, rotate.com, soundscapes.com. March 9.

KinDness Wrongbar doors 9 pm. March 13.

Thursday, November 20 PoP/Rock/HiP-HoP/Soul

3030 DunDas west Young Running. the cave Biters doors 8 pm. caveRn BaR Zack Power, Ruby Cikada, Little

Coyote CD release, doors 9 pm.

the DanFoRth music haLL Johnny Marr, Meredith Sheldon doors 7 pm. ñ the gaRRison Bear Empire, the Alpacas, the

Slow Night, Grey//Water (synth pop/psychedelic rock) 9 pm. haRBouRFRont centRe theatRe Jenn Grant (pop singer/songwriter) The Canadian Songbook 8 pm.

Joe mama’s Blackburn, Thomas Reynolds & Geoff Torrn.

Johnny JacKson Thirsty Thursdays (rock).

LuLa Lounge Los Otros (rock in Spanish).

10:15 pm. oRBit Room Druckfarben (prog rock).

PaRts & LaBouR Andrea, Tommy Jacob, Nightizm, Shabagond, The Theorist, Get Monet doors 10 pm.

PauPeR’s PuB Mike Barnes Jam, 10:30 pm. the Piston Black Lab, Divine Hammer 9 pm.

RivoLi The Muso Project, Plaitwrights, DJ Ry-Fi and F-Bomb, doors 8 pm. (charity show for Kettlebells 4 Autism). siLveR DoLLaR Hank & Cupcakes, Ginger Ale & the Monowhales, Kahuna doors 8 pm. sneaKy Dee’s Iron Lung, Anasazi, Glue, Column of Heaven, Animal Mother, Farang Not Dead Yet 2014, doors 8 pm. southsiDe Johnny’s Skip Tracer (rock/top 40), 9:30 pm.

ñ

ñ

taKing BacK sunDay, the menzingeRs, LetLive Danforth

Music Hall doors 6 pm, all ages. ticketfly.com, rotate.com, soundscapes.com. March 13.

BenJamin BooKeR Lee’s Palace doors 8 pm $20. ticketfly. com, rotate.com, soundscapes.com. March 31. at the gates, conveRge, vaLLenFyRe The Decibel Magazine Tour Phoenix Concert Theatre 7 pm. April 8.

JosÉ gonzÁLez, ÓLÖF aRnaLDs Phoenix Concert Theatre doors 8 pm. April 13. nightwish, DeLain Phoenix Concert Theatre 7:30 pm, all ages, ticketfly.com, rotate.com, soundscapes.com. April 14. ministRy Phoenix Concert Theatre 8 pm, $70. ticketfly.com, rotate. com, soundscapes. com. June 17.

ñ

Folk/BlueS/countRy/WoRld

aDeLaiDe haLL Kira Isabella, Autumn Hill doors 8 pm.

aLLeycatz Noah Zacharin Acoustic Jam. asPetta caFFe El Faron Open Mic, 8 pm, free. c’est what Alysha Brilla (soul/folk/world), 9 pm.

cameRon house Graham Nicholas 10 pm,

Corin Raymond 6 pm, [Backroom] Nat Edgar Band.

DRaKe hoteL Motel Raphael, Birds of Bellwoods doors 9 pm [Underground].

FRee times caFe Janice Lee, Nick Moore, Quiet In The Land (songwriters) 8:30 pm.

FuLL oF Beans coFFee Maia’s Uke Jam 5 to 8 pm.

hugh’s Room Chloe Charles & Kae Sun. ñ LocaL Angie Gunn (roots/honkytonk) 9 pm.

LocaL gest Open Mic With Porter 9 pm.

continued on page 58 œ

56

november 20-26 2014 NOW

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57

DanCE musiC/DJ/loungE

clubs&concerts œcontinued from page 56

bunda lounge Throwback Thursdays 10 pm. tHe cave Transmission DJ Shannon. tHe central Home Brew DJs Cole Burns,

9 pm.

Chunk, Andy Cue, Hey! DW. clinton’s Throwback Thursdays (90s hip-hop/ pop). club 120 DJ Todd Klinck T-Girl Party. coda DJs Adam K, Daniel Dubb, Nathan Barato, the Junkies. United – A John Mitchell Fundraiser, 9 pm. cube DJ Bamboozle, DJ Wikked 10 pm.

Handlebar Lazer Pop DJ EZ Listening (electro/cumbia/hip-hop/pop), 10 pm.

Holy oaK caFe Friendly Cassettes (DJ pop), 10 pm.

Joe MaMa’s DJ Carl Allen & Wade O’Brown. seven44 DJ Soundman Sanchez Disco Inferno.

Wayla bar Random Play DJ Dwayne Minard (disco/yacht). 10 pm.

Four seasons centre For tHe PerForMing arts Artists of the Glenn Gould School Cham-

Friday, November 21

Massey Hall Lucinda Williams, Doug Paisley 8 pm, all ages. ñ MonarcHs Pub The Gary Kendall Band (blues), Blues Thursdays.

MusideuM Matt Palonen, Sini Erme (folk/ Celtic) 8 pm.

sMall World Music centre Huun Huur Tu (Tuvan folk singing) 8 pm. ñtranzac Houndstooth Bluegrass Thursdays, 7:30 pm [Southern Cross]. Sarah ñ Greene, Sandra Taylor 10 pm [Southern Cross].

Jazz/ClassiCal/ExpErimEntal

eMMet ray bar Atomics, Baby Labour (jazz),

ber Connections, noon to 1 pm. gallery 345 Euphonia (orchestral ensemble), 7:30 pm. gate 403 Tiffany Hanus Jazz Band 9 pm, Ilios Steryannis Jazz Trio w/ Zen Zadravec 5 to 8 pm.

Jane Mallett tHeatre The Daedalus Quartet 8 pm.

Jazz bistro Melissa Stylianou (jazz), CD release, 9 pm.

KaMa William Carn w/ The Canadian Jazz Quartet (jazz trombone), Thursdays At Five, 5 to 8 pm. linsMore tavern Russ Maclem Jazz Jam 9 pm. lula lounge Ron Davis’s Symphronica: Glenn Gould Meets Lady Gaga (jazz/classical), 7:30 pm. old Mill inn Maureen Kennedy Trio 7:30 pm. tHe Passenger Jazz in the Junction The JTrain. 9:30 pm. tHe rex Al Henderson Quintet 9:45 pm, Kevin Quain 6:30 pm. roy tHoMson Hall Toronto Symphony Orchestra Beethoven & Nielsen, 8 pm. trinity st. Paul’s cHurcH Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Pavlo Beznosiuk Theatre Of Magic: Music Of The English Baroque, 8 pm.

pop/roCk/Hip-Hop/soul

3030 dundas West The Jammed, The Blanks (tribute to The Jam and CBGBs), 10 pm.

adelaide Hall Programm, Deafheaven. ñ alleycatz Lady Kane 9:30 pm.

casa Manila Nono Solarte (pop/folk). castro’s lounge The Untameable Ronnie

Hayward (rockabilly), 6 pm. cavern bar The Two Koreas, Several Futures, Not Of doors 8 pm. tHe central Sur Une Plage, Nordic Nomadic, Body Butter, Humane Mane 9 pm.

ñ

clave social Mike Boyd (rap). ñD-Sisive, tHe danFortH Music Hall Buck 65, Jon & Roy doors 7 pm. ñtHe garrison Perfect Pussy, Destruction Unit, Pleasure Leftists, Demonbrother, ñ Black Baron Not Dead Yet 2014, doors 8 pm.

See Not Dead Yet preview, page 62.

gladstone Hotel Rickaneers, The Grease-

balls, Chaos Monkeys, Big Name Actors Two Way Monologues/Indie Machine EP release, 9 pm [Ballroom]. continued on page 60 œ FOLLOW US: TWITTER.COM/EMBRACEPRESENTS LIKE US: FACEBOOK.COM/EMBRACEPRESENTS

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SEVNTH WONDER

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DEC 06

DANNY HOWARD

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GOAPELE

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DEC 11

NETSKY (LIVE!) w/ KOVE

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FAKE BLOOD & SINDEN

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ROUTE 94 & HOllOH

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BADBADNOTGOOD

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58

november 20-26 2014 NOW

Killer Mike and El-P are musical collaborators, best friends and, yes, maybe soulmates By VISH KHANNA run tHe JeWels with ratKing and desPot at the Danforth

NOV 21 :: THE DANFORTH MUSIC HALL

NOV 20 :: VIRGIN MOBILE MOD CLUB

run the jewels HIP-HOP

Since uniting as Run the Jewels for their self-titled 2013 debut, it’s been a lovefest for Atlanta emcee Killer Mike and New York producer/emcee El-P. Fans swoon over them, and their new album, RTJ2, is the most critically acclaimed hip-hop release of 2014. (It received a rare NNNNN from this magazine).

Though they come hard and angry on their records, Mike and El are easy to rally around because together they exude pure joy. Much has been made of their kinship; 20 years into their respective solo careers, nothing has been bigger for either of them than Run the Jewels. In the press, they praise each other like bros with a perfect bond.

“We argue all the goddamned time,” Killer Mike insists. “We argue about coffee or soda. We argue about bagels or biscuits. We’re essentially like 16-year-old boys. We will argue, the bus will stare at us, and if anybody else talks shit we’re fucking yelling at them. It’s like any friendship.”

There’s camaraderie, but then there’s the rare creative chemistry that fuels the critical comedic interplay that makes Run the Jewels such a potent force.

“My favourite part of our show is when I say, ‘Produ-

cer gave me a beat, said it’s the beat of the year / I said El-P didn’t do it,’ and the crowd says, ‘Get the fuck out of here,’” Mike says proudly. “To me, man, that’s what it’s all about. If I don’t big up my man, who happens to be one of the greatest producers on earth, I’d be sideline hating myself and that ain’t what I do.”

So is it that outlandish to suggest the two men are soulmates?

“My wife says we are,” Mike says, chuckling.

“We found family in our 30s,” El-P explains. “Neither Mike nor I had brothers; we both grew up with sisters. I think our friendship has grown beyond something casual and has become a real family.

“Certainly creatively, musically, we really do feel like soulmates; we bring out the best in each other,” he continues. “I’m proud of all the music we’ve done in the past, but I do recognize that there’s something very special – maybe even abnormally special – about what happens when we get into a room and make something that’s both of ours.”

It helps that, beyond bickering over drinks and food, tension within Run the Jewels is pretty minimal.

“A big philosophical divide might be, like, how much weed is Mike gonna smoke in the back lounge of the bus?” El-P says, cracking up Killer Mike. “Really important stuff.”

3

We’re like 16-yearold boys. We Will argue, the bus Will stare and if anybody else talks shit We’re fucking yelling at them

music@nowtoronto.com

NOW november 20-26 2014

59

clubs&concerts œcontinued from page 58

Grossman’s Beggar’s Banquet 10 pm.

Hard Luck Bar Warcry, Tercer Mundo,

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Blazing Eye, S.H.I.T., Wiccans, Permanent Ruin, Life Chain, Absolut Not Dead Yet 2014, doors 7 pm.

HarLem Madette (pop/soul), 7:30 pm.

Izakaya susHI House Holy Shit!, Toxic Deathula, Flesh Rag, Hangin’ Tuff 9:30 pm.

Joe mama’s The Grind. kooL Haus Julian Casablancas & the Voidz, Shabazz Palaces, Cerebral Ballzy doors 7 pm, all ages.

Lee’s PaLace SoHo Ghetto.

LInsmore Tavern Groove Stone (classic/contemporary rock), 9:30 pm.

LocaL The Tonkas (rock & roll) 9 pm. maGPIe TaProom Ajax, Ooze, the Brass, Moron, Born Wrong Not Dead Yet 2014: Between Band Magpie Killer Slam, doors 9 pm. maIson Antonio Piretti TOZ Just 4 Rocks video release, 7:30 to 8:30 pm. massey HaLL Classic Albums Live: The Who - Who’s Next 8 pm. monarcHs PuB The Ross Nielson Band Classic Rock Fridays. nocTurne Razorheads, the Sentenced, Life

ñ

ñ

Like, Born Wrong, Disgusti Not Dead Yet 2014: Wastoids Matinee, doors 2 pm, all ages. oLd nIck Stiletto Flats (rock), 9 pm. orBIT room Dave Murphy (R&B/pop/top 40).

PJ o’BrIen IrIsH PuB Urban Sky (top 40 covers from golden oldies to latest hits), 10 pm. revIvaL DJs Numeric, Dalia, Ted Dancin’ HipHop Karaoke, 10 pm. rIvoLI Andrew Milliard, Natural Animal Movember event, doors 10 pm. royaL onTarIo museum Adam Baldwin Band, the Honey Runners, MAZ, DJs Sean Caff & D-Smooth Friday Night Live: Get Wild!, 7 to 11 pm. seven44 The Dawgs (cover band), 20th Anniversary Show. sILver doLLar Elephant Stone, the Auras, B17, the Blind Shake.

THe sIsTer The Beudifulhors. sound academy Schoolboy Q, Redway 8 pm, all ages. souTHsIde JoHnny’s Bad To The Bone (classic rock) 10 pm. soyBomB Glue, Big Zit, White Wards, Depths of Reality, Burning Love Not Dead Yet 2014, doors at midnight, all ages. suPermarkeT Jaw Jam, Meesha, The Frandsicos, Jason Neyra Noise Freqs, 10 pm.

ñ ñ ñ

TaTToo Gazelle Twin, Doomsquad doors 9 pm. ñ Tranzac Ronley Teper’s Lipliners 10 pm [Southern Cross].

vIrGIn moBILe mod cLuB Bear’s Den doors 7 pm.

Folk/Blues/Country/World

aGa kHan museum Ali-Zadeh, Elnur Mikayi-

lev, Miralam Miralamov (mugham improvisatory style), The Oyan! Project. asPeTTa caffe El Faron Open Mic, 8 pm. cameron House Janitors, the Soul Strugglers, Christian Hansen, Aircraft [Backroom]. doors 9 pm, Freeman Dre, Patrick Brealey, David Celia 6 pm. dakoTa Tavern Big Tobacco & the Pickers (country), 10 pm. dora keoGH Root Magic (blues) 9 pm. free TImes cafe Xave Ruth (folk/songwriter) 8:30 pm.

GaTe 403 Fraser Melvin Blues Band 9 pm.

HuGH’s room Dave Gunning, Dan McKinnon, Ariel Rogers, Crabtree & Mills, Beth Rogers & others Stan Rogers Tribute, 8:30 pm. kensInGTon LodGe Kyp Harness (folk/ rock), 8 pm. koerner HaLL Idan Raichel & Vieux Farka Touré The Touré-Raichel Collective, 8 pm.

Lou dawG’s Paige Armstrong, Pat Wright (acoustic blues/funk/soul/jazz), 10 pm.

LuLa LounGe Cafe Cubano (salsa/timba), 10:30 pm.

Tranzac The Foolish Things 5 pm, pwyc [Southern Cross]. wHITe eLePHanT Conor Gains (blues), 7 to 10 pm.

ñ

Jazz/ClassiCal/experimental

array sPace The eVoid Collective Dance Barefoot, 7:30 pm.

edward JoHnson BuILdInG U of T Concert

Tranzac Dust: The Quietest Big Band In The

THe fLyInG Beaver PuBareT Christopher Saw-

ñ

Orchestra 7:30 pm.

chyn w/ Tom King 7 pm.

GaLLery 345 Reverb Brass (contemporary/ classical brass quintet) Passages 8 pm.

Known World 7:30 pm [Southern Cross].

TrInITy sT. PauL’s cHurcH Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Pavlo Beznosiuk Theatre Of Magic: Music Of The English Baroque, 8 pm.

GaTe 403 Sam Broverman Jazz Duo 5 to 8 pm.

HaBITs GasTroPuB Laura Fernandez (jazz), 9

danCe musiC/dJ/lounge

HarT House Fernanda Cunha, Reg Schwager

THe cave DJ Trevor (60s mod Brit pop) Bif

pm.

9 pm [Arbor Room].

HeLIconIan HaLL Janet Catherine Dea, Maria Soulis, Brahm Goldhamer, Julian Knight, Suzanne Yeo (classical/jazz), 7:30 pm.

Jazz BIsTro Melissa Stylianou (jazz), CD release, 9 pm.

Jazzsexy LounGe Don Thompson Trio JazzSexy XX, doors 9 pm.

LuLa LounGe Hilario Duran (jazz/world), 7:30 pm. musIdeum George Koller, Lara Solnicki Music Of Memory, 8 pm. oLd mILL Inn Ted’s Warren Commission 7:30 pm. rePosado The Reposadist Quartet (gypsy bop).

THe rex Al Henderson Quintet 9:45 pm, Chris Gale Four 6:30 pm, Hogtown Syncopators 4 pm. roy THomson HaLL Anne-Sophie Mutter & Mutter Virtuosi 8 pm. royaL conservaTory of musIc Fall Opera: Dominick Argento’s Postcard From Morocco, 7:30 pm.

casTro’s LounGe DJ I Hate You Rob (soul/ funk/R&B/punk rock/rockabilly) 10 pm.

Bang Pow. coda Nathan Barato (7-hour set), Residents Night, 10 pm. emmeT ray Bar DJ Cosmonauts: Exploration (hip-hop/electronic/indie/soul/reggae) 10 pm.

THe HoxTon Les Sins, J Phlip doors 10 pm. See preview, page 64.

Joe mama’s DJ Carl Allen & Wade O’Brown Luxy nIGHTcLuB Stone Love, Mighty Crown, Spex, Supa Loaded and others, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, doors 10 pm. mILk GLass co Jock Club Not Dead Yet 2014 Dance Party After Party, 1 am.

THe PIsTon Synthesexer (indie electronic dance party) 10 pm. rIvoLI DJ Stu (rock & roll).

THe sTeady cafe & Bar DJ EZ Listening (electro/cumbia/hip-hop/pop) Lazer Pop 10 pm. wronGBar K-Fresh, Dynamic, Scott Free, Rob Self, Geneva GM, Dan-e-o, Scram James & Sono, DJ Law (hip-hop) Big Ticket 10 pm.

ñ

ñ

Saturday, November 22 pop/roCk/Hip-Hop/soul

presents

3030 dundas wesT Gyles, Ramona Raven (R&B/funk) 10 pm.

aLLeycaTz Lady Kane 9:30 pm. cameron House Russell Leon Band, Spadina Station, Tayna Philipovitch [Backroom].

cHerry coLa’s rock ’n’ roLLa caBareT and LounGe Live How you Live, Blackdog Ball-

room, Suns of Stone doors 9 pm.

THe danforTH musIc HaLL Moist, Smashing Sattelites doors 7 pm. ñ drums n fLaTs The Garden 9 pm.

WIN

at nowtoronto.com/ contests

Saturday, November 29 Nathan Phillips Square - 7 pm

THe duke LIve.com Jessica Speziale, Andreas (pop/rock) CD release, doors 8 pm.

THe GarrIson Marked Men, Nude Beach, the Ukiah Drag, Earth Girls, Sam Coffey & the Iron Lungs, Marvelous Mark Not Dead Yet 2014, doors 8 pm, all ages.

Grossman’s Chloe Watkinson & Park Eddy 10 pm.

HamILTon PLace THeaTre Mother Mother, USS 8 pm, all ages.

Hard Luck Bar Forward, Hoax, Career Suicide, Die, Long Knife, Generacion Suicida, Constant Fear, Hassler Not Dead Yet 2014, doors 7 pm.

HarLem Kristin Fung (R&B/soul), 7:30 pm.

Jam facTory co L CON, Clarinet Panic Deluxx, Caylie Staples doors 8 pm.

Joe mama’s Shugga.

Lee’s PaLace Forgotten Rebels doors 9 pm.

LInsmore Tavern Crush (tribute to Bon Jovi), 9:30 pm. maGPIe TaProom Blazing Eye, Big Zit, No Time, Concrete, Hired Goons Not Dead Yet 2014, doors 9 pm. mILk GLass co Puce Mary, Marshstepper Not Dead Yet, doors 10 pm. musIc GaLLery Still Boys, Zoo Owl, Bataille Solaire 8 pm. orBIT room LMT Connection (funk).

PaInTBox BIsTro Denis Schingh (solo piano prog rock) 8 pm.

PJ o’BrIen IrIsH PuB Urban Sky (top 40 covers from golden oldies to latest hits), 10 pm.

Press cLuB Winnie Brave, Maccie Paquette, Splice’t (indie rock/pop), doors 9:30 pm.

THe rex Danny Marks (pop) noon. rIvoLI Waterbodies, Sex Tape, Yes We Mystic, Straight to Business doors 9 pm. seven44 The Dawgs (cover band), 20th Anniversary Show. sILver doLLar Weird Womb, Pet Suns, King Creep, Bille Dre & The Poor Boys, Sunshine & The Blue Moon doors 9 pm.

THe sIsTer Vondonnerschlepson, Al Pigguns & the Beardskinner, Bum Hip. souTHsIde JoHnny’s Mena Hardy (Southern rock/rockabilly) 10 pm, The Bear Band (rock/blues) 4 to 8 pm.

ñ ñ ñ ñ

Shad

Kardinal Offishall

Kellylee Evans

Maestro Fresh Wes

Enjoy a free concert, the first lighting of Toronto’s official Christmas tree, stunning fireworks and an open-air skating party! toronto.ca/cavalcade

continued on page 64 œ

60

november 20-26 2014 NOW

T.O. music nOTes A BETTER MAN

Toronto singer/songwriter Leslie Feist has gotten behind the antiviolence-against-women documentary A Better Man. A survivor of intimate partner violence, Attiya Khan got the idea for the film after running into her abuser on the street 20 years after their relationship ended. She asked if he’d share his reflections and justifications about that time – on film. He agreed. (The trailer is riveting.)

Feist donated $10,000 toward Khan’s $75,000 goal on IndieGogo, saying she believes Khan’s courage and willingness to hear another version of the abuse she experienced will make for “an important documentary and spark a conversation we will all benefit from.” Perks for donating include a Justin Rutledge livingroom concert and dinner with executive producer Sarah Polley.

And Choir! Choir! Choir! have filmed their cover of Pearl Jam’s Better Man to raise awareness about the film and campaign.

Find out more at indiegogo.com/ projects/a-better-man.

ALVVAYS CLIMB HIGH It took Alvvays a loooong while to finally release their debut album, but clearly they were using that time to get their ducks in a row. The Toronto-based dream pop band led by Molly Rankin is amassing acclaim and just snagged a coveted opening slot on the Decemberists’ North American tour, kicking off in Minneapolis in March. The justannounced Toronto date is at Massey Hall on March 30. How many bands get to Massey that fast?!

NOW november 20-26 2014

61

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 18 DANFORTH M.H. $19.50-$22.50 ADV

THU NOV 20

DANFORTH M.H. $ 22.50 -$27.50 ADV

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28 • SOUND ACADEMY • $43.50 ADV FRIDAY FEBRUARY 20

Forward

PHOENIX • $25.50 ADV

Benedetto believes so strongly in this Tokyo band – featuring members of Japan hardcore legends Death Side and Insane Youth – that he moved the dates of the festival to accommodate their touring schedule. Fierce, minimalist and not afraid of guitar solos. Also on the bill: Massachusetts dark-punk act Hoax, whose danger-courting shows don’t just require earplugs but also kneepads and teeth guards.

Hard Luck Bar, Saturday (November 22), doors 7 pm. $25.

Fest reflects a vibrant scene that’s getting shit done By CARLA GILLIS

FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY | HAUJOBB | YOUTH CODE

XYLOUIRS WHITE

THU FEB 5 • DANFORTH M.H. • $24.50-34.50 ADV TUESDAY MARCH 3

NEW PORNOGRAPHERS OPERATORS

DANFORTH M.H. • $35.00 ADV

WITH

ST. VINCENT

MONDAY MARCH 30

MASSEY HALL • $39.50-$59.50 ADV ON

SALE FRIDAY

WEDNESDAY MARCH 18 PHOENIX • $22.00 ADV

GREET

THE DECEMBERISTS

AILABLE

WITH

ROW

NOT DEAD YET SWANS PUNK

ALVVAYS

COLD WAR

KIDS

WIN TICKETS! Collective Concerts presents

ALLAH-LAS

w/Tashaki Miyaki, Invasions Thursday, November 27 Doors: 8:30 pm The Horseshoe Tavern 19+ HS/RT/SS $12.50

O n s ale n o w. C h e c k o u t c o l l e c t i ve c o n c e r t s .c o m f o r m o r e inf o.

STRAND OF OAKS w/Torres Monday, December 1 Doors: 8:30 pm The Horseshoe Tavern 19+ HS/RT/SS $12.50

Visit nowtoronto.com/contests to enter!

One entry per household.

62

NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

NOT DEAD YET at various venues, from Thursday to Sunday (November 20-23), various times (see website). $5-$25. notdeadyet.bigcartel.com

Hardcore punk is physical music.

Despite its often anti-social leanings, it’s meant to be experienced communally, and most scenes keep community-building front and centre.

Much of the enjoyment of it comes from moshing, shouting along and outright engaging with the musicians playing it.

No surprise, then, that at a time when it isn’t easy to get bodies out to see live music, hardcore punk fest Not Dead Yet, helmed by Greg Benedetto of Toronto blog Stuck in the City, is thriving, reflecting a scene that’s vibrant, diverse and getting shit done.

In the past, most of the fest’s shows have been over capacity, and this year, its fourth, won’t be any different. The programming has expanded to include close to 90 of the genre’s best bands from all over. There are several all-ages options. At least one Toronto act appears on every bill. After-parties at the city’s longest-running DIY venue, Soybomb (156 Bathurst), will be rip-roaring. A partnership with vegan resto Hot Beans (160 Baldwin) gives you a 30 per cent discount if you mention the fest when you order.

Add in supersweet gig posters by local artists and, well, this fest is golden.

We’ve narrowed down the must-sees.

The Marked Men

Perfect Pussy

We’re so enamoured of Meredith Graves’s hyperactive motormouth style, painfully confessional lyrics and intense, gymnastic stage presence that we can forgive her for burying her shredded vocals on record. The Syracuse band’s latest, Say Yes To Love, is a speedy stunner. Their sets are even speedier (and noisy with tsunamis of feedback). Blink and you’ll miss ’em.

The Garrison (1197 Dundas West), Friday (November 21), doors 8 pm. $18.

Hooked on melody? You’ve got two chances to see Denton, Texas’s the Marked Men, who add a friendly dose of pop-punk to the proceedings. And if you have to choose between them, go for Sunday’s stacked all-ages bill also featuring melodic, lo-fi Wisconsin three-piece Tenement and spirited locals Teenanger.

The Garrison, Saturday (November 22), doors 8 pm. $20; and Sneaky Dee’s (431 College), Sunday (November 23), doors 8 pm. $20.

S.H.I.T.

A riveting in-your-face performance style and ominous sonic undercurrent make this band, which Benedetto plays in and whose members are behind DIY venue S.H.I.B.G.B.s, one of Toronto’s most exciting. To coincide with their two NDY shows (one of which was a pre-fest celebration on November 19), they’ve just released a 7-inch single on Static Shock Records.

Hard Luck Bar (772a Dundas West), Friday (November 21), doors 7 pm. $22.

MON DEC 1 • $12.50 Adv

STRAND OF OAKS WITH

TORRES

WED DEC 3 • $10.00 @ Door

THU NOV 20 • $6.00 @Door

THU NOV 20 • $8.50 Adv @CAVE TUE NOV 25 • SOLD OUT! THU DEC 4 • $9.00 Adv @CAVE

AMANDA PAUL CARGENELLO BITERS THE SOCIALS NASTIES | CYCLOPS 766 WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY NOV 19 & 20 • $20.00 Adv

GOVFEST BATTLE OF THE BANDS

PALMER THE ART OF ASKING

FRI NOV 21 • $18.00 @Door NOV 28 & 29 • $20.00 Adv

SOHO GHETTO

FEDORA UPSIDE DOWN

REUNION WEEKEND

COSTUME PARTY LEMON

BUCKET

JESSE BROWN AND THE BLACK DIVINE ORKESTRA SATURDAY NOVEMBER 22 • $16.50 ADV

HAMILTON ‘77 PUNK ROCK

FORGOTTEN REBELS

CALIFORNIA DEATH RAYS & DIRTY JEANS

TEXAS KING

No Cover THE BACKWATER

SODA PONY

FRI NOV 21 • $8.00 @Door WED NOV 26 • $13.50 ADV

THU DEC 4 • $20.00 @Door

SOUTH OF BLOOR BESNARD

AL LUKAS BAND IN:

SPECKS

SAT

NOV 22 $12.50 Adv

AroarA

O-TOWN MON DEC 8 • $26.50 Adv

FUNK THE HONEYRUNNERS AFTER CHARTREUSE THEATRE CRISP

DEC 4

BOORDEEN RM & HONEST HEART COLLECTIVE

WITH SUN K & ANDREW AUSTIN

$10.00 Adv

WITH

TUE NOV 25 • NO COVER THU NOV 27 • $12.50 Adv SUN

ALLAHL AS ROSE BOOKIE’S NEW MUSIC NIGHT

DOORS @ 7:30

CAROLINE SHOW STARTS AT 8PM

INVASIONS

ELEPHANT

NOV 30 SKELETONS $8.00 @Door

ULTRA MAGNUS

SAT

TAKASHI MIYAKI DEC 6

TODD CAREY

WED

MUSHY CALLAHAN

RLMDL THE EFFENS SNOQUALMINE

SAT NOV 29 • SOLD OUT!

THE LIFTS ELI & THE STRAWMAN

COLD

MAIN SQUEEZE

FRI NOV 28 • $8.00 @Door

LAKES CTZNSHP BLONDE NQ ARBUCKLE REDHEAD VBA

SONS OF REVELRY

THU NOV 27 • $6.00 @Door FRI DEC 5 • $15.00 Adv

OF WOLVES ROUND A & B MOUNTAIN ALEX MASON

MON

THE MALADIES OF ADAM STOKES NOV 17 WINNIE BRAVE OXFORD BLUE

SOMEWHERE MAN LIVE! BOOK TOUR MATT ZADDY DENT

SHOELESS MONDAYS

DAYLIGHT FOR DEAD EYES

$10.00 Adv

THE HORSESHOE TAVERN’S 67TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

DECEMBER 10-13 • $25.50 ADV

THE WALKERVILLES

ADAM BALDWIN | THE MICKEYS | BAMBOO

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28 • OPERA HOUSE • $ 26.00 ADV FRI NOV 21 • MOD CLUB • $17.50 ADV SUN NOV 23 • HARD LUCK • $20.50 ADV WED NOV 26 • GARRISON • $12.00 ADV FRI NOV 28 • DRAKE HOTEL • $10.50 ADV

DEN NEGATIVE APPROACH WET

BEAR’S SICK OF IT ALL LAGWAGON SWINGIN’ UTTERS & THIS LEGEND FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28 • PHOENIX • $17.50 ADV

STRUMBELLAS SAM CASH & THE ROMANTIC DOGS

THU DEC 11 - SAT DEC 13 • LEE’S PALACE • $20.00 ADV

CHRISTOF DEAD TIRED | JEALOUS GODS FRI

DEC 12

OPERA HOUSE

MIREL WAGNER VALERY GORE

MON DEC 15 • HORSESHOE • $20.50 ADV FRI DEC 19 • LEE’S PALACE • $15.50 ADV

CHUCK WHITE COWBELL FLATLINERS RAGAN OKLAHOMA PUP | SUCH GOLD | THE DIRTY NIL ADAM FAUCETT PACESHIFTERS

ALVVAYS FOUR YEAR STRONG RICH TIMBER TIMBRE N THE SADI E S ELLIOTT SKYDIGGERSPEPPER BROOD FRI DEC 19 & SAT DEC 20 • HORSESHOE • $28.50 ADV W/ HARLAN

$19.00 ADV

SAT DEC 20 • OPERA HOUSE • $15.00 ADV

THU JAN 8 • OPERA HOUSE • $20.50-$65.00 ADV

MOON KING | ELSA

COMEBACK KID

EAMON MCGRATH MOUNTAINDUST

WED DEC 31 • LEE’S PALACE • $17.50 ADV WED DEC 31 • HORSESHOE • $25.50 ADV

SAT JAN 24 • PHOENIX • $23.00-$73.00 ADV FRI JAN 30 • PHOENIX • $30.00 ADV

AUCOIN

BURNS RED

• THE GARRISON •

AUGUST

DECEMBER 5 • $ 12.50 adv

• THE DRAKE HOTEL • DECEMBER 5 • $ 12.50 adv

MISS MAY I GENERATIONALS LYDIA AINSWORTH NORTHLANE | ERRA DECEMBER 6 • $ 10.00 adv

• LEE’S PALACE •

DECEMBER 31 • $ 13.50 adv

JANUARY 31 • $ 15.00 adv 2 SHOWS • AFT: AA DRY • EVE 19+

GREYS/ODONIS ODONIS ARIEL JESSE MARCHANT THU FEB 19 • PHOENIX • $20.00 ADV

OWEN PALLETT DANCE CAVE NYE LIL’ DEBBIE PINK JACK NAME HUNDRED WATERS CRACKER & DECEMBER 10 • $ 17.00 adv @CAVE

JANUARY 15 • $ 26.50 adv

FEBRUARY 26 • $ 15.00 adv

DECEMBER 12 • $ 8.50 adv @CAVE

DECEMBER 9 •

$ 10.00

adv

• HORSESHOE TAVERN •

DECEMBER 10 • $ 13.50 adv

SAM AMIDON HAMILTON LEITHAUSER ZOLA JESUS JANUARY 20 • $ 16.50 adv

JANUARY 22 • $ 16.50 adv

FEBRUARY 18 • $ 12.00 adv

THE DISTRICTS

THE HORSESHOE WILL BE CLOSED MAR 7 • ELVIS DEPRESSEDLY CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN LONE BELLOW JUKEBOX JANUARY 4 - 15 FOR RENOVATIONS THE DODOS THE GHOST GLORIOUS SONS THE VASELINES BENJAMIN BOOKER SECRET SOMEONES WILD CHILD MILO GREENE FEBRUARY 27 • $ 18.50 adv

DECEMBER 18 • $ 15.00 adv

JANUARY 19 • $ 23.50 adv

MARCH 31 • $ 20.00 adv

SAT

MARCH 3 • $ 17.50 adv

MOD CLUB • $15.50 ADV

JANUARY 28 • $ 13.50 adv

MARCH 8 • $ 13.50 adv

NOW november 20-26 2014

63

clubs&concerts œcontinued from page 60

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20 PRESENTED BY EMBRACE

LEWIS WATSON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21 PRESENTED BY COLLECTIVE CONCERTS

BEAR’S DEN SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22

BOMBAY NIGHTS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23

AFTERDARK WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26 PRESENTED BY UNION EVENTS

REAL FRIENDS w/ special guests

(Neck Deep, Cruel Hand, Have Mercy)

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28

THE LIZARDS

722 COLLEGE STREET

themodclub.com

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 20 • 9PM

BEAR EMPIRE THE ALPACAS | SLOW NIGHT | GREY/WATER

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 21 • 8PM

PERFECT PUSSY DESTRUCTION UNIT | PLEASURE LEFTISTS

INSTITUTE | DEMONBROTHER | BLACK BARON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 22 • 8PM

MARKED MEN NUDE BEACH | THE UKIAH DRAG | EARTH GIRLS SAM COFFEY & THE IRON LUNGS | MARVELOUS MASK MONDAY NOVEMBER 24 • 7:30PM

GROWNUPS READ THINGS

THEY WROTE AS KIDS TUESDAY NOVEMBER 25 • 7PM

TRUE STORIES TOLD LIVE WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 26 • 8PM

WET + ALLIE SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29

SOUL CLAP & DANCE OFF! DJ JONATHAN TOUBIN 64

november 20-26 2014 NOW

Soybomb Muerte, La Misma, Proxy, VCR Not

Dead Yet 2014, doors at midnight, all ages.

SteelworkerS Hall Coke Bust, Vacant State, Praise, Not Afraid, Ancient Heads, Wargames, Hard Stripes, Busted Outlook, Fury, Straight Truth Not Dead Yet 2014: Epic Insane HC Matinee, doors 1 pm, all ages. tranzac Sandro Perri 10 pm [Southern Cross]. weStmount army & navy club Pepper Shakers (roots rock and roll), 8:30 pm. wrongbar Cold World, Turnstile, Mindset, Freedom, Intent, Forced Order, Wild Side Not Dead Yet 2014, doors 5 pm, all ages.

ñ ñ

Folk/Blues/Country/World

aga kHan muSeum Ali-Zadeh, Elnur Mikayilev, Miralam Miralamov (mugham improvisatory style), The Oyan! Project.

Fblack Swan Holiday Arts Festival Words, music and visual art with music by Michael Bar, Pete Otis, Pat Little and others, doors 6 pm, show 7 pm. cameron HouSe David Baxter, Whitney Rose 8 pm, Sue & Dwight (folk) 3:30 to 5:30 pm. caStro’S lounge Big Rude Jake 4:30 pm.

Free timeS caFe Dr B’s Acoustic Medicine Show 2 pm. gate 403 Bill Heffernan (folk/country/blues) 5 to 8 pm. gerrard art Space Shawna Caspi, Sarah Beatty CD release, (singer/songwriter), doors 7 pm. gladStone Hotel Kristin Lindell 9 pm [Melody Bar].

HarbourFront centre tHeatre Amelia Curran The Canadian Songbook, 8 pm.

Holy oak caFe Zak Miller (folk) 10 pm.

ñ HorSeSHoe NQ Arbuckle doors 9 pm. ñ HugH’S room Dave Gunning, Dan McKinnon, Ariel Rogers, Crabtree & Mills, Beth Rogers & others Stan Rogers Tribute, 8:30 pm. local Swamperella (swamp pop) 9 pm. lula lounge Orquesta Fantasia (salsa/merengue/cumbia) 10:30 pm. mackenzie’S annex Michael Menegon Rebas Open Mic, 2 to 6 pm. maSSey Hall Divine Brown, Diana Braithwaite, Andria Simone, Shakura S’Aida, Rebecca Hennessy, Brandi Disterheft, Morgan Doctor, Suzie Vinnick, Colleen Allen, Carrie Chesnutt, Lily Sazz Women’s Blues Revue, 8 pm. tranzac Scott B Sympathy 6:30 pm [Southern Cross]. Jamzac 3 pm [Southern Cross].

ñ

Jazz/ClassiCal/experimental

80 gladStone Jeff LaRochelle & Origins Ensemble Jazz SeriesCD release, 8 pm. alliance FrançaiSe Trifolia (music mix inspired by sculptor Camille Claudel), 8 pm. blakbird Michael Arthurs Quartet Coltrane Tribute. cHalkerS pub The Lorne Lofskly Trio (jazz), 6-9 pm. coSburn united cHurcH Music Toronto The Schoolyard: Shoestring Opera family concert, 2 pm. tHe Flying beaver pubaret Bill Merryweather (cabaret), 7 and 9 pm. gallery 345 Jazques Israelievitch, Valentina Sadovski (piano), 8 pm. gate 403 Jazz Forge 9 pm. grace cHurcH on-tHe-Hill Oriana Women’s Choir (choral hymns), Voices Raised In Praise, 8 pm.

Jazz biStro Melissa Stylianou (jazz), CD release 9 pm. koerner Hall The Count Basie Orchestra A Salute To The Big Bands, 8 pm. montgomery’S inn The Neapolitan Connection, Angela Park Musical Matinee: The Schumann League, 2 pm tour, 3 pm concert. old mill inn Michael Dunston Trio 7:30 pm. tHe rex Ropss Wooldridge Sextet 9:45 pm, Bacchus Collective 7:30 pm, Laura Hubert Band 3:30 pm. roy tHomSon Hall Toronto Symphony Orchestra Beethoven & Nielsen, 8 pm. royal conServatory oF muSic Fall Opera: Dominick Argento’s Postcard From Morocco, 7:30 pm. trinity St. paul’S cHurcH Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Pavlo Beznosiuk Theatre Of Magic: Music Of The English Baroque, 8 pm.

FwelSH united cHurcH Voices Of Wales

ñ

Welsh songs, stories, poems and more by Gaynor Jones, David Lowe, Robert Missen, and Vivienne Muhling.

danCe musiC/dJ/lounge

adelaide Hall Skratch Bastid doors 10 pm. ñ tHe cave DJ Pat Full On Alternative.

clinton’S Bangs & Blush (60s soul/rock & roll) Shake, Rattle & Roll, 10 pm. coda Joy Orbison, Ben UFO, Kevin McPhee, Gera. emmet ray bar DJ Serious (hip-hop/soul), 10 pm. guvernment Mighty Crown, King Turbo, LP International, Rebel Tone Dubs Haffi Nice III Dubplate & Live Artist Showcase. Tritonal, Manzone & Strong Spin Saturdays, 10 pm, [Chroma].

Joe mama’S DJ Carl Allen & Wade O’Brown. li’ly reSto & lounge Eliazar, Sam Klass, Marty McFly, Amanda Raygun (ghetto funk/drum n’bass/glitch hop/breaks/electro swing/deep dark tribal bass) The Good Ol Daze, 10 pm. lou dawg’S DJ Kenny Bounce (funk/soul/ blues/hip-hop). tHe piSton Beam Me Up (disco dance party) 10 pm. tHe red ligHt DJs Serious, Numeric (hip-hop/ R&B), Strictly Business: Out Of Business, 10 pm. wrongbar DJs Vikter Duplaix, Starting From Scratch, Tyrone Solomon, Nick Holder Sweet Tears Scorpio Jam.

ñ

ñ

Sunday, November 23 pop/roCk/Hip-Hop/soul

cameron HouSe The Double Cuts, Conor Gains Band 7 pm.

gladStone Hotel Rae Spoon, Geoff Berner [Ballroom] The Crush Project 7-11 ñ pm.

Hard luck bar Sick of it All, Negative Approach doors 7:30 pm. ñ Hard rock caFe Blurred Vision CD release,

doors 6 pm.

tHe Hoxton Thee Oh Sees, Jack Name. ñ local Living Daylights Stringband (oldtime) 5

pm.

opera HouSe New Politics, Bad Suns, Stereokid door 6:30 pm, all ages.

opticianado Nichol Robertson 1 to 4 pm. orbit room Horshack (classic rock & roll). partS & labour Power Trip, Soul

Search, Angel Du$t, Soul Search, Demoñ lition, Caught In A Crowd, Withdrawl Not

Dead Yet: THEE All Ages Hardcore Matinee, doors 2 pm. tHe piSton Ronley Teper’s Lipliners Two Nights Of Live Recordings, 8 & 10 pm. tHe rex Bugaloo Squad (music from The Big Lebowski) 7 pm. rivoli Incriminating Screw, Mr Kaytor, Aitch, Man Simply Is Indie Night, doors 8 pm.

Seven44 Vincent Wolfe & VeganNorth Orchestra (pop/rock/Latin/jazz), 5:30 to 9 pm. tHe SiSter Shak Shak 5 to 7 pm.

Sneaky dee’S Marked Men, Tenement, Teenanger, Sheer Mag, Smart Boys Not Dead Yet 2014, doors 8 pm. See festival preview, page 62.

SoutHSide JoHnny’S Rebecca Matiesen & Phoenix (pop/rock), Open Jam, 10 pm.

ñ

Folk/Blues/Country/World

aga kHan muSeum Ali-Zadeh, Elnur Mikayilev, Miralam Miralamov (mugham improvisatory style), The Oyan! Project. bampot HouSe oF tea & board gameS

Open Mic 7:30 pm. black bear pub SNAFU Jam, 4 to 8 pm. tHe cage 292 Phill Hood Jam, 10 pm. dakota tavern Bluegrass Brunch, 10 am to 2 pm.

Free timeS caFe Gordon’s Acoustic Living Room (folk/songwriter) 8 pm, Gloria Valentine & Nina Shapilsky (folk/klezmer) 11 am & 1:15 pm. groSSman’S Brian Cober (double slide guitar) Open Blues Jam 10 pm.

Harlem Word Sound Power Open Stage, 7 to 11 pm.

Hirut Fine etHiopian cuiSine Nicola Vaughan Jam, 3 to 6:30 pm. local Los Caballeros del Son (Cuban son) 9 pm. lula lounge Baque de Bamba, Lenis Rino, Os Tropies (Afro-Brazilian percussion), Baque de Bamba 5-Year-Anniversary, 8 pm. Jorge Maza Sunday Salsa Brunch, 11 am. mcgradieS tap and grill Dan Walek Open Jam, 6 to 10 pm.

ñ

les sins DANCE

Chaz Bundick embarks on his first tour as a dance-floor DJ By BENJAMIN BOLES leS SinS with J pHlip at the Hoxton (69 Bathurst), Friday (November 21), 10 pm. $15. ticketweb.ca, soundscapesmusic.com, rotate.com.

While he’s still best known for his work as Toro y Moi, Chaz Bundick’s new dance music side project, Les Sins, has been enjoying plenty of praise for recently released debut LP Michael, out on his own label, Company.

The eclectic album confidently balances cutting-edge contemporary sounds with classic underground references, making it all the more surprising to find out that Bundick has very little experience DJing in front of paying audiences.

“This tour is my first time,” Bundick admits from his South Carolina home.

“I just figured out how to use CDJs this year.”

Even as a listener and fan of electronic music, his exposure wasn’t grounded in the club and warehouse party scenes that inspired most artists in his genre.

“South Carolina does not have much of a dance scene. We would have dance parties at college, with about 20 kids in a house, but that’s about it. I guess I’ve been listening to electronic music since about freshman year of college, because that was the first time I had access to all the internet I could handle.”

That distance from the scene helps explain how freely he explores various tangents on Michael, moving from soulful Chicago house vibes to moody instrumental hip-hop to menacing drum ’n’ bass-influenced tracks. The freewheeling attitude makes sense: his current influences are mostly his similarly eclectic peers and friends.

“I don’t really know that many DJs, or even know of many DJs, so I guess my main influences are people like Dan Snaith [Caribou, Daphni], Kieran from Four Tet, and Flying Lotus.”

Bundick has also had his hands full lately starting up Company, which operates as a subsidiary of Carpark. So far it’s only been a vehicle for his own music, but this winter he’ll be releasing singer/songwriter Keith Mead’s debut album, Sunday Dinner, which Bundick also produced.

As much fun as he’s been having with his label and in the DJ booth, Bundick is still trying to figure out what he can get away with on the dance floor.

“Should I play some Drake?” he asks, rhetorically. “I don’t know if it would be cheesy or not.”

3 benjaminb@ nowtoronto.com @benjaminboles

Relish BaR & GRill Paul Brennan & David MacMichael Stir It Up Sundays Open Mic, 9 pm.

The Rex Dr Nick & the Rollercoasters (blues) 3:30 pm.

TRanzac The Brian Pickell Band 7:30 pm [Main Hall], Gathering Sparks (Eve Goldberg, Jane Lewis & Sam Turton) Singalong Soiree, 7:30 to 9:30 pm [Southern Cross], Steve Paul Simms, John Jackson 3 pm [Southern Cross].

Jazz/ClassiCal/ExpErimEntal

emmeT Ray BaR Derek Gray Live & Interactive (jazz), 9 pm.

GalleRy 345 Bob Stevenson Bob@60, 3 pm.

Euphonia (orchestral ensemble), 2 pm.

GaTe 403 Colette Savard Jazz Duo 9 pm. Jeff

Taylor & the SLT 5 to 8 pm. handleBaR Snaggle (jazz fusion) 8 pm.

Jazz BisTRo Judith Lander & Bruce Harvey Jazz Cellar Cabaret, 8 pm. Peter Campbell CD release (jazz) 7 pm. Ghislain Aucoin, Charlie Davidson, Alex Samaras (jazz), noon.

Joe mama’s Organic (jazz) 6:30 to 10 pm.

KoeRneR hall Esprit Orchestra Revealed Time 8 pm. local GesT Whitney Ross-Barris, Nathan Hiltz Sunday Jazz 4:30 pm. moRGans on The danfoRTh Thyron Lee Whyte, David Restivo & Robert Whyte Jazzy Sunday, 2 to 5 pm. musideum Dan Naduriak & Jambanda (jazz) 3 pm.

PauPeR’s PuB Alexis Baro Quintet 3 pm.

The Rex Excelsior Dixieland Jazz noon. Jacob’s Cattle (roots/Americana) 9:30 pm.

TRanzac Jacob Damelin Trio 10 pm [Southern Cross].

TRiniTy sT. Paul’s chuRch Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Pavlo Beznosiuk Theatre Of Magic: Music Of The English Baroque, 8 pm.

ñ

DanCE musiC/DJ/loungE

casTRo’s lounGe Watch This Sound (rare/ vintage ska/reggae/dub vinyl) 9 pm.

PaRlouR Sunday Night Tales.

Monday, November 24 pop/roCk/Hip-Hop/soul

The caGe 292 Outline in Color (rock). cameRon house The Bad Apples, Graydon

James & the Young Novelists, Joy Phillips & The Rude Gentlemen 6 pm. Gunner & Smith, Twin Voices, Katelyn Molgard [Backroom]. casTRo’s lounGe The Cosmotones (old school rockabilly) 6 pm.

The danfoRTh music hall Caribou, Jessy Lanza doors 7 pm.

GaTe 403 Cheryl White Rhythm & Blues Band 7 to 11 pm.

GladsTone hoTel Amai Kuda and Y Josephine, Chellz Gemmaria, Victoria Mata, Komi Olaf (soul/jazz/Afro-Latin), Album launch, doors 7 pm.

GRossman’s No Band Required 10 pm. oRBiT Room Jordan John (blues/R&B/funk).

The PisTon Ronley Teper’s Lipliners Two Nights Of Live Recordings, 8 & 10 pm.

Tuesday, November 25 aiR canada cenTRe Stevie Wonder

ñ

Jazz/ClassiCal/ExpErimEntal

alliance fRançaise Gerineldo (Judeo-Spanish music/Sephardic ballads) 8 pm. aRRay sPace Les Fontaines, Carlo Conda Ambient Ping, 8:30 pm. casa loma Toronto Concert Orchestra Fall Symphony Series, 7 pm.

fouR seasons cenTRe foR The PeRfoRminG aRTs Centre Stage: Ensemble Studio Competi-

ñCulture Club.

cameRon house The Young Novelists (folk

alleycaTz DJ Frank Bischun Bachata Night,

ñ

sony cenTRe foR The PeRfoRminG aRTs

Folk/BluEs/Country/WorlD rock) 8 pm.

casTRo’s lounGe BlueVenus (singer/songwriter) 9 pm.

doRa KeoGh Julian Taylor, Dora’s Explorers

(roots/pop) Open Stage 8 pm. fRee Times cafe Open Stage Mondays (folk/ songwriters) 7:30 pm. local Hamstrung String Band 9 pm. old nicK Katey Morley, Fox Trail (singer/songwriter), M-Factor Mondays, 7:30 pm.

TRanzac Open Mic Mondays 10 pm [Southern Cross].

Jazz/ClassiCal/ExpErimEntal

edwaRd Johnson BuildinG Shauna Rolston

(cello), Monday Evening Concert, 7 pm. emmeT Ray BaR Chelsea & the Cityscape (jazz) 9 pm, Zebrina (Jazz/klezmer/gypsy) 7 pm. musideum A (De) Construction Quartet 8 pm. old mill inn PJ Perry & the JAZZ.FM91 Youth Big Band Jazz.FM91 Sound Of Jazz, 8 pm.

The Rex John MacLeod’s Rex Hotel Orchestra 8:30 pm. U of T Student Jazz Ensembles 6:30 pm.

DanCE musiC/DJ/loungE

alleycaTz DJ Frank Bischun Salsa Night. 8 pm.

The cave DJ Shannon Manic Mondays.

RePosado DJ Ellis Dean Mezcal Mondays.

HOME OF THE BLUES SINCE 1943 THURSDAY NOVEMBER 20

U OF T SKULE BAND 10pm-2am FRIDAY NOVEMBER 21

BEGGAR’S BANQUET 10pm-2am SATURDAY NOVEMBER 22

THE HAPPY PALS 4:30pm-8pm CHOLE WATKINSON & PARK EDDY 10pm-2am

Folk/BluEs/Country/WorlD

cameRon house Sinners Choir 10 pm. The Slocan Ramblers (bluegrass/old time), 6 to 8 pm.

The duKe live.com Frank Wilks Open Jam 8:30 pm. fRee Times cafe SAC Toronto Regional Songwriters Group & Open Mic (folk/songwriters) 7:30 pm.

GaTe 403 Danny Marks & Alec Fraser Duo 9 pm. holy oaK cafe Ozere (chamber folk) 9 pm. izaKaya sushi house Drum & Dance Tuesdays, 8:30 pm to midnight. local Jon & the Baptists (country) 9 pm. lou dawG’s Chris Caddell, Cassius Pereira, Kenny Neal Jr Tangled Up In The Blues 8 pm.

TRanzac Toronto Folk Singers Club. 8 pm [Tiki Room].

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 23

NEW ORLEANS CONNECTION ALL STAR JAZZ BAND 4:30-9pm

THE NATIONAL, BLUES JAM w/BRIAN COBER 10pm-2am

pop/roCk/Hip-Hop/soul

BeaveR Hervana, DJ Triple-X (all-female

ñNirvana tribute band), Punk Rock Bingo, 9 pm. cadillac lounGe Joel Battle 9 pm.

The danfoRTh music hall Run the

Jewels, Ratking, Despot. See preview, ñ page 58.

The GaRRison Wet doors 8 pm. hoRseshoe The Besnard Lakes doors

8:30 pm. ñ musideum Bill Wood & The Woodies (roots) 8 pm.

oRBiT Room LMT Connection (funk).

The PisTon Kevin Hearn CD release, 9 pm.

Rivoli Kevin Fox, Anna Atkinson doors 8 pm.

Rose TheaTRe Natalie MacMaster, Don-

ñnell Leahy Celtic Family Christmas, 8 pm.

Folk/BluEs/Country/WorlD

cameRon house Jay Aymar, Jay Pollock 8 pm.

Jen Lane & John Antoniuk 6 to 8 pm. Dom De

continued on page 66 œ

PM

PM

PM

THE ROYAL CROWNS Sun Nov 23 10-2 BLUEGRASS BRUNCH 9 THE MERCENARIES Tue Nov 25 9PM ZEPPELINESQUE Wed Nov 26 9PM THE RIVER & THE ROAD w/THE TREASURES 9PM

PM

PM

249 OSSINGTON AVE (just north of Dundas) 416-850-4579 · thedakotatavern.com

MONDAY NOVEMBER 24

THE OSSINGTON THU 20 FAT LACES w/ DJ Big Jimmy Mills... Old school hip hop, soul, dancehall and slow jams...

FRI 21 FEEL SO GOOD w/ DJ Benny Ben ...All vinyl spinnings from jiggy to crunk...

SAT 22 NINO BROWN PRESENTS w/ DJ Nino Brown... Hip hop, RnB, dancehall, soca, reggae, soul and deep grooves...

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 25

NICOLA VAUGHAN 9:30pm-1:30am WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 26

BRUCE DOMONEY 9:30pm-2am NEVER A COVER, LIVE MUSIC

416-977-7000 GROSSMANSTAVERN.COM

379 SPADINA AVE (JUST S. OF COLLEGE) PARKING AVAILABLE

Thur Nov 20

REBEL HOP

Fri DJs GRAMERA & LINX Nov 21 Soul•Ska•Motown•Rockers •STAX

BeaM ME uP

Sat DISCO REDux • DJs A DIGITAL NEEDLE Nov 22 & CYCLIST DISCO DANCE PARTY

RONLEY TEPER’S Sun Nov 23 LIPLINERS Mon TWO DAYS OF LIVE RECORDING Nov 24 EVENT SPECTACULAR

TWO FOUR TUESDAYS

Tues Nov 25 MERCY FLIGHT + GUESTS

kEVIN HEARN

Wed Nov 26 CD RELEASE

22ND SATURDAY NOVEMBER

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TUE 25 SMART FLIX Young Urbanist League film screenings...

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GAZELLE TWIN

POETRY S

MON 24 COMEDY AT OSS Open mic night... Sign up - knock ‘em dead...

WED 26 DUMB FRIENDS Romy and Michelle get dumber... plus popcorn...

ST FRIDAY NOVEMBER 21

TORONLTAO M

SUN 23 BRASS FACTS TRIVIA w/Famous Kirk Hero... pals, prizes, knowledge...

8:30 pm.

Wednesday, November 26

PM

9PM

NO BAND REQUIRED 10pm-2am

DanCE musiC/DJ/loungE

cluB 120 DJ Todd Klinck T-Girl Party.

RePosado DJ Gord C Alien Radio.

7 LIZZY HOYT THE SINNERS CHOIR Fri Nov 21 7 BIG TOBACCO AND THE PICKERS Sat Nov 22 10-2 BLUEGRASS BRUNCH 7 C&C SURF FACTORY w/RONLEY TEPER’S LIPLINERS

Thu Nov 20

Songs In The Key Of Life Performance 8 pm. come and GeT iT ResTauRanT Undrcovr.

The danfoRTh music hall Theory of a Deadman, Head of the Herd doors 7 pm.

GRossman’s Nicola Vaughan (pop rock) 9:30 pm.

Joe mama’s Jeff Eager. lee’s Palace Amanda Palmer The Art Of Asking Book Tour, doors 8 pm. musideum Mike Evin (pop/songwriter) 8 pm. oRBiT Room Satallites (reggae).

The PainTed lady Stacey Dowswell, Sunday Wylde, Ginger Grey (indie rock/pop), doors 8:45 pm.

The PisTon Mercy Flight, DJ Brank Oh Indie Night 9 pm.

Rivoli Dick Rodan, The Thinly Veiled Double Entendres, Monique Angele Indie Night, doors 8 pm.

tion Gala doors 5:30 pm.

GaTe 403 Harry Vetro Jazz Quartet 5 to 8 pm.

Jane malleTT TheaTRe Simon Trpceski (piano) 8 pm.

Jazz BisTRo Rebecca Everett, Chris Bezant, Steve Frise, Dan Mock, Chris Kettlewell I Spy Jazz Jam, 8 pm.

The Rex Chris Gale Rex Jazz Jam, 9:30 pm. Joanna Reynolds & Rob Thaller Trio 6:30 pm.

Roy Thomson hall Toronto Symphony Orchestra Stravinsky Petrouchka 8 pm.

TRanzac Mike DeiCont (jazz) 7:30 pm [Southern Cross].

TRiniTy sT. Paul’s chuRch Shannon Mercer, Choir 21 and orchestra Soundstreams: Vespers, 8 pm.

ñ

THE DAKOTA TAVERN

pop/roCk/Hip-Hop/soul

LAST PLANET X INNER CITY DANCE PRESENT:

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SATURDAY NOVEMBER 22 • 6PM

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416.532.3989 • 937 Bloor Street West www.ThePiston.ca NOW november 20-26 2014

65

CONTESTS

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THIS WEEK

MOVIES

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Win a pair of tickets to see Getting to the Nutcracker on November 28th at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema!

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Win a pair of tickets to see A Christmas Carol on November 27th at Young Centre for the Performing MUSIC

THEE OH SEES

Win a pair of tickets to Thee Oh Sees on November 23rd at The Danforth Music Hall!

venue index 3030 DunDas w 3030 Dundas W. 80 GLaDstone 80 Gladstone. aDeLaiDe haLL 250 Adelaide W. aGa khan museum 77 Wynford. air canaDa centre 40 Bay. aLLeycatz 2409 Yonge. aLLiance Française 24 Spadina Rd. array sPace 155 Walnut. asPetta caFFe 207 Augusta. bamPot house oF tea & boarD Games 201 Harbord. beaver 1192 Queen W. bLack bear Pub 1125 O’Connor. bLack swan 154 Danforth. bLakbirD 812b Bloor W. bunDa LounGe 1108 Dundas W. c’est what 67 Front E. caDiLLac LounGe 1296 Queen W. the caGe 292 292 College. cameron house 408 Queen W. casa Loma 1 Austin Terrace. casa maniLa 879 York Mills. castro’s LounGe 2116 Queen E. the cave 529 Bloor W, 2nd floor. cavern bar 76 Church. the centraL 603 Markham. chaLkers Pub 247 Marlee. cherry coLa’s rock ’n’ roLLa cabaret anD LounGe 200 Bathurst. cLave sociaL 1345 St Clair W. cLinton’s 693 Bloor W. cLub 120 120 Church. coDa 794 Bathurst. come anD Get it restaurant 676 Queen W.

cosburn uniteD church 1108

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Greenwood. cube 314 Queen W. Dakota tavern 249 Ossington. the DanForth music haLL 147 Danforth.

Dora keoGh 141 Danforth.

Drake hoteL 1150 Queen W.

Drums n FLats 1980 Avenue Rd. the Duke Live.com 1225 Queen E. eDwarD Johnson buiLDinG 80 Queen’s Park.

emmet ray bar 924 College. the FLyinG beaver Pubaret 488 Parliament.

Four seasons centre For the PerForminG arts 145 Queen W. Free times caFe 320 College.

FuLL oF beans coFFee 1348 Dundas W.

Joe mama’s 317 King W. Johnny Jackson 587 College. kama 214 King W. kensinGton LoDGe 21 Kensington. koerner haLL 273 Bloor W. kooL haus 132 Queens Quay E. Lee’s PaLace 529 Bloor W. Li’Ly resto & LounGe 656 College.

Linsmore tavern 1298 Danforth.

LocaL 396 Roncesvalles.

LocaL Gest 424 Parliament.

Lou DawG’s 589 King W. LuLa LounGe 1585 Dundas W. Luxy niGhtcLub 60 Interchange

GaLLery 345 345 Sorauren. the Garrison 1197 Dundas W. Gate 403 403 Roncesvalles.

GerrarD art sPace 1475 Gerrard E. Way. GLaDstone hoteL 1214 Queen W. mackenzie’s annex 469 Bloor W. maGPie taProom 831 Dundas W. Grace church on-the-hiLL 300 maison 15 Mercer.

Lonsdale. massey haLL 178 Victoria.

Grossman’s 379 Spadina.

Guvernment 132 Queens Quay E. mcGraDies taP anD GriLL 2167 Victoria Park. habits GastroPub 928 College. hamiLton PLace theatre 10 Mac- miLk GLass co 1247 Dundas W. monarchs Pub 33 Gerrard W. Nab S. montGomery’s inn 4709 Dundas hanDLebar 159 Augusta. harbourFront centre theatre W. morGans on the DanForth 1282 231 Queens Quay W. Danforth. harD Luck bar 772a Dundas W. music GaLLery 197 John. harD rock caFe 279 Yonge. musiDeum 401 Richmond W. harLem 67 Richmond E. hart house 7 Hart House Circle. nawLins Jazz bar 299 King W. nocturne 550 Queen W. heLiconian haLL 35 Hazelton. oLD miLL inn 21 Old Mill Rd. hirut Fine ethioPian cuisine oLD nick 123 Danforth.

2050 Danforth. oPera house 735 Queen E. hoLy oak caFe 1241 Bloor W. oPticianaDo 2919 Dundas W. horseshoe 370 Queen W. orbit room 580A College. the hoxton 69 Bathurst.

Paintbox bistro 555 Dundas E. huGh’s room 2261 Dundas W. izakaya sushi house 294 College. the PainteD LaDy 218 Ossington.

ParLour 270 Adelaide W. Jam Factory co 2 Matilda.

Jane maLLett theatre 27 Front E. Parts & Labour 1566 Queen W. the PassenGer 2968 Dundas W. Jazz bistro 251 Victoria.

PauPer’s Pub 539 Bloor W. Jazzsexy LounGe 91 Niagara.

the Piston 937 Bloor W. PJ o’brien irish Pub 39 Colborne.

Press cLub 850 Dundas W. the reD LiGht 1185 Dundas W. reLish bar & GriLL 2152 Danforth. rePosaDo 136 Ossington. revivaL 783 College. the rex 194 Queen W. rivoLi 332 Queen W. rose theatre 1 Theatre Lane. roy thomson haLL 60 Simcoe. royaL conservatory oF music 273 Bloor W.

royaL ontario museum 100

Queen’s Park. seven44 744 Mt Pleasant. siLver DoLLar 486 Spadina. the sister 1554 Queen W.

smaLL worLD music centre 180 Shaw.

sneaky Dee’s 431 College. sony centre For the PerForminG arts 1 Front E. southsiDe Johnny’s 3653 Lake Shore W.

soybomb 156 Bathurst. the steaDy caFe & bar 1051 Bloor W.

steeLworkers haLL 25 Cecil. suPermarket 268 Augusta. tattoo 567 Queen W. thorouGhbreD FooD & Drink

304 Richmond W. tranzac 292 Brunswick.

trinity st. PauL’s church 427

Bloor W.

virGin mobiLe moD cLub 722 Col-

lege.

wayLa bar 996 Queen E. westmount army & navy cLub

41 Kingdom.

white eLePhant 366 Queen E. wronGbar 1279 Queen W.

clubs&concerts œcontinued from page 65

Luca [Backroom].

Gate 403 Julian Fauth Blues Night 9 pm, Michelle Rumball 5 to 8 pm.

Grossman’s Bruce Domoney 9:30 pm.

Johnny Jackson Jam Matt Cooke (folk/pop).

9 pm.

LocaL Young Running (indie folk) 9 pm.

Lou DawG’s Live Acoustic Blues. massey haLL Gordon Lightfoot The Canadian Songbook, 8 pm. tranzac Comhaltas Irish Slow Session 7:30 pm [Tiki Room].

ñ

Jazz/ClassiCal/ExpErimEntal

aLLeycatz Carlo Berardinucci Band (swing/ jazz) 8:30 pm. Free. castro’s LounGe The Mediterranean Stars (jazz). 6 pm. chaLkers Pub Lisa Particelli Girl’s Night Out Jazz Jam, 8 pm to midnight.

Four seasons centre For the PerForminG arts Jean-Sélim Abdemoula (piano), Mists, noon to 1 pm.

huGh’s room Lorna and Anna Blenner-

hassett, Alexander Katz, Rita di Ghent, Ori Dagan, Marcus Walker & Lydia Persaud Celebrating Sunnuz In Memory of Sunnuz Sarah Taheri, 8 pm. monarchs Pub The Michael Dankert Quartet Jazz Wednesdays. nawLins Jazz bar Jim Heineman Trio (jazz). 7 to 11 pm. the rex Pat LaBarbera, Derek Gray Humber Fundraiser: Suyun Kim Memorial, 9:30 pm, Harley Card Trio 6:30 pm.

Fst aiDan’s anGLican church Liona Boyd (classical guitar), A Winter Fantasy holiday concert, 7:30 pm. tranzac Trevor Giancola (jazz) 7:30 pm [Southern Cross].

ñ

DanCE musiC/DJ/loungE

thorouGhbreD FooD & Drink DJ Caff (R&B/ new jack swing) Groove Thing Wednesdays.

3 66

november 20-26 2014 NOW

album reviews album of the week

BANKS ñAZEALIA

Broke With Expensive Taste (Universal) Rating: NNNN Three years into our wait for Azealia Banks’s fulllength debut, we were wondering if it would ever come out. Broke With Expensive Taste, however, is fully realized, bold and assured.

As it turns out, her debut smash single, 212 – now three (!) years old – was a pretty good harbinger. Airtight, no-holds-barred rhymes like “Now she wanna lick my plum in the evenin’ / And fit that tongue tongue ddeep in / I guess that cunt gettin’ eatin’” were no fluke. Neither was the dance floor gold: BWET is as much a dance record as a hip-hop one. JFK and Chasing Time owe much to 90s dance, and Ice Princess trades a Dr. Dre-like beat on the verses for a Kylie Minogue-esque chorus.

Thanks to its diversity, the 16-song record (some previously released) never feels bloated: the tracks could be love letters by the Harlem native to all the cultures jamming in the Big Apple.

Opener Idle Delilah has a distinctly Caribbean groove; Gimme A Chance shines with brassy merengue (and sees Banks deftly switching to Spanish); and Desperado throws some jazz-fuelled New York City boom bap in the mix. She even channels Grease and the Beach Boys on the clever Nude Beach A-Go-Go (produced by Ariel Pink, natch).

Bonus: Banks’s oftemployed singing voice is as versatile and strong as her rapping one.

Top track: Gimme A Chance JULIA LECONTE

Electronic

JON HOPKINS Asleep Versions

ñ

(Domino) Rating: NNNN Both dance music and indie rock critics showered praise on UK electronic musician Jon Hopkins’s 2013 solo album, Immunity, and that led to performances on big festival stages around the world. But while his classical-influenced take on techno worked surprisingly well alongside populist EDM superstars, Hopkins’s approach is closer to Brian Eno’s than Skrillex’s, which explains this EP of experi-

Ñ

tour and free downloads. Vapor City Archives brings the series to a close, and despite the impression the title gives, this is a proper album – not a collection of Bsides and outtakes. Building on the connections between slow hip-hop rhythms and double-time footwork beats, Archives is a further exploration of some of its predecessor’s roughly sketched-out ideas.

The drum ’n’ bass influence is more explicit on much of this newer material, even when the busy rolling snares are switched for the frenetic bass drums of footwork breaks. At the same time, the synth-pad washes, acoustic pianos and guitars and vocal snippets are more upfront, putting more emphasis on the melodic elements. These are all relatively subtle shifts, but anyone who was excited by the previous instalments should appreciate this just as much.

Top track: Hard 2 Be BB

R&B

MARY J. BLIGE The London Sessions (Capitol/Universal) Rating: NNN Soulful house has experienced a pop renaissance recently thanks in part to British duo Disclosure, whose sound is indebted to R&B-influenced UK garage and 2-step.

So when Mary J. Blige, the queen of R&B ad libs, jumped on their single F For You, it was a re-energizing moment for the singer.

Disclosure and a coterie of collaborators – including singer/songwriter Sam Smith and 2-step innovator MJ Cole – apply that elegance to The London Sessions, using a tidy less-is-more approach to its mix of house bangers and ballads to showcase the vulnerability in Blige’s voice (although the producers assert themselves in obsequious, self-serving audio clips).

The record is full of fun, neatly placed touches (like the clarinets on Pick Me Up), and Blige’s voice is so perfect on dance tracks like My Loving that it’s shocking she hasn’t done more of them. Only the ballads falter, relying on soppy lyrics and simplistic rhyme schemes that ultimately under-serve a singer who can handle more depth and turmoil.

Top track: Whole Damn Year KEVIN RITCHIE mental ambient reworkings of Immunity material.

The four songs feel like one long piece, but that’s not a complaint. As in the originals, digital processing and tweaking often take a back seat to artfully arranged minimalist piano and field recordings, only this time it’s all about the atmosphere, with no beats to be heard. Braids/ Blue Hawaii vocalist Raphaelle StandellPreston makes a guest appearance on Form By Firelight, but her voice is used more for texture than as the focus. Unlike most “remix” albums, this one actually brings something new to the originals and works as more than just a companion piece.

Top track: Open Eye Signal (Asleep Version) BENJAMIN BOLES

ñMACHINEDRUM NNNN

Vapor City Archives (Ninja Tune) Rating: Last year’s Vapor City LP kicked off a year of Machinedrum projects centred around similar musical and conceptual themes, including EPs, an interactive website, a

Late Victorian Holocaust (one of two Cave contributions) is a folkloric junkie lament that casts her intensely focused vocals as the foreboding spectre of death. Even the title track’s cheeriness is undercut by winking cynicism in light of her tempestuous history with that city.

The deeply personal and overtly political are indivisible on Give My Love To London, an album that is harrowing in its bluntness and beautiful in its subtleties.

Top track: Late Victorian Holocaust KR BRYAN FERRY Avonmore (BMG/ Sony) Rating: NNN After a diversion into the 20s on 2012’s The Jazz Age and The Great Gatsby soundtrack, British crooner Bryan Ferry returns to the highly polished and multi-layered sound that became his signature with Roxy Music in the 70s and 80s.

Avonmore features a typically starstudded cast of players – Johnny Marr, MARIANNE FAITHFULL Nile Rodgers, Ronnie Spector, Mark KnopGive My Love To London (Easy fler among them – who meld seamlessly Sound) Rating: NNNN into his world of anguished glamour and When Marianne Faithfull sings, it feels as romance. With each record, Ferry’s voice though her voice is clutching your throat. has become more relaxed and grizzled, Her 20th studio album in five decades feaand on the psyched-out funk of One Night tures a laudable list of songwriters – inStand, his thin vocals pass through the cluding Steve Earle, Roger Waters, Nick pulsating bass and rollicking background Cave and Anna Calvi – and yet her caustic singers like a cold wind. delivery is the main attraction, as always.

The quieter moments that give his On Sparrows Will Sing, penned by Watvoice less to compete with are more interers, Faithfull imagines future generations esting. Soldier Of Fortune, co-penned by of children inheriting a broken world. Over Marr, has bluesy riffs straight from 90s FM a droning guitar riff, she spits the line radio, but the fragility in Ferry’s voice “They cannot be seduced by this candy makes it work. Meanwhile, his minimalist floss techno-hell” as if overcome with take on Robert Palmer’s Johnny And Mary apocalyptic disgust.

– which debuted on Todd Terje’s album Mother Wolf is essentially four minutes earlier this year – is still one of the year’s RCM_NOW_contests_1-5bw_Nov20_Sultans.qxp__V 2014-11-08 1:11 PM Page 1 of Faithfull berating listeners about the most beautiful and affecting songs. state of the world, while the sorrowful Top track: Johnny And Mary KR

of thing is only good in small doses, but Excellent Condition would actually benefit from a few extra songs to help it break the half-hour mark.

Top track: Human Rights Cellphone play Double Double Land November 27.

BB

Pop/Rock

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CONTESTS

Punk

CELLPHONE Excellent Condition

(Telephone Explosion) Rating: NNN Googling “cellphone” and “excellent condition” mostly brings up sketchy Craigslist ads for likely-stolen phones rather than info on Toronto weirdo punk band Cellphone. That’s probably a deliberately mischievous move on the band’s part, a quality that’s also evident in their sound. They mix hardcore punk with new wave synths and hair metal shredding. On paper it sounds like a joke, but the results are surprisingly accessible.

The clash of influences almost seems calculated to force listeners to come up with awful new genre names: laser thrash, psychedelic hardcore, lo-fi sci-fi, or maybe metal wave. Producer Don Pyle deserves some credit for making the jarring juxtapositions sound natural, and the tension makes the album work well. On Human Rights, they sound like the Dead Kennedys jamming with the Smiths, while other moments suggest Slayer hanging out with Gary Numan. Normally, this kind

= Critics’ Pick NNNNN = Perfect NNNN = Great NNN = Good NN = Bad N = Horrible

Sultans and Divas Thursday, December 4, 2014 8pm Koerner Hall

This multi-artist concert features mezzo-soprano Julie Nesrallah, soprano Miriam Khalil, oud player Bassam Bishara, OktoEcho, Sultans of String, dancer Roula Said, and more!

Presented in partnership with The Canadian Arab Institute.

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO THIS CONCERT AT:

nowtoronto.com

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! 416.408.0208 www.performance.rcmusic.ca 273 BLOOR STREET WEST (BLOOR & AVENUE RD.) TORONTO

NOW NOVEMBER 20-26 2014

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stage

more online nowtoronto.com/stage Interview with PAULO AND DAPHNE’S ADRIAN PROSZOWSKI • Review of CIRCLE JERK • Scenes on JORDAN TANNAHILL, FRINGE LOTTERY, RALPH + LINA, FABRIK • and more Fully searchable listings with venue maps nowtoronto.com/listings

THEATRE REVIEWS

Sergio Di Zio and Melissa D’Agostino are motherfuckin’ awesome.

Power plays It’s cold outside, but these white-hot shows will warm you up

Hat trick THE MOTHERFUCKER WITH THE HAT

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Alex Dallas is letter perfect in Talking Heads.

Smart Talk TALKING HEADS by Alan Bennett (Precisely Peter Productions). At Campbell House Museum (160 Queen West). Runs to November 23. $25. 416597-0227, brownpapertickets.com. See Continuing, page 72. Rating: NNNN

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Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads began life as monologues written for BBCTV in the 1980s and 90s. Fine, carefully detailed character sketches, they easily make the move to live theatre.

Director John Shooter’s chosen three of the dozen scenes and gives them a sharp production at Campbell House Museum.

In The Outside Dog, neatness freak Marjory (Naomi Wright) copes with her husband’s messy, ever-barking dog and a serial killer who’s haunting the neighbourhood. Playing Sandwiches focuses on Wilfred (Jason Gray), a park groundskeeper who can’t shake his upsetting past.

The funniest of the three, A

Lady Of Letters, follows the epistolary career of Irene (Alex Dallas), who seems unable to stop herself from using the post to interfere with the lives of others.

Bennett’s wry wit and caustic comments, combined with what his characters notice and describe in the world, tell the audience who they are. They fill their soliloquies with truths they themselves don’t always recognize.

What’s special is that he never judges these people.

In control at the start, Wright con-

vinces us that Marjory wants a tidy life as well as a tidy house; the tiny observations she makes are mostly comic. As she starts to have doubts about her world, we see cracks in her surface and a nervousness that increases the ostracism she feels from those around her. The scene is a rich emotional journey.

Dallas puts her always fine comic timing to good use in A Lady Of Letters, but she also catches Irene’s loneliness and desperation. Irene makes use of her window on the neighbourhood to spy and form judgments, not all of them reliable, and then fire off annoying missives to everyone from the town council to the Queen.

There’s also good writing in the middle monologue, but Gray, who has some fine moments, doesn’t go deeply enough into Wilfred, whose positive intentions blend strangely with his personal desires, to no good end.

Gray finally captures Wilfred’s chilling quality, but some of the early moments could be more JON KAPLAN gripping.

by Stephen Adly Guirgis (Bob Kills Theatre). At the Coal Mine Theatre (798 Danforth). Runs to November 30. brownpaper tickets.com. See Continuing, page 72. Rating: NNNN

The language is coarse and the emotions large in The Motherfucker With The Hat, Bob Kills Theatre’s first-class production of Stephen Adly Guirgis’s play about a couple whose passion and desire first bring them together and then blow them apart.

Jackie (Sergio Di Zio) is recently out of jail and trying to stay away from drugs and booze; Veronica (Melissa D’Agostino) loves her vodka and coke.

All’s great at the start: Jackie’s just landed a job and wants to celebrate, but then he discovers a man’s hat in his living room. He goes ballistic, especially when Veronica won’t say outright that he’s wrong.

Jackie turns to others to help him with his anguish. His AA sponsor, Ralph (Ted Dykstra), tries to get him to drop Veronica, given her nagging and addictions. Meanwhile, Ralph isn’t having a smooth time with his own wife, Victoria (Nicole Stamp). Jackie’s cousin Julio (Juan Chioran) offers another sort of sober advice.

Guirgis has an amazing way with

language, capturing street talk with a rawness and immediacy that turn it into scabrous poetry, hysterically funny one minute and soul-scorching the next.

Director Layne Coleman’s exciting production, staged in the intimacy of the Coal Mine, has the play’s language and emotions ricocheting off the walls almost immediately. You can’t help but be drawn into the characters’ passion and pain.

That’s the thing about all these people: there’s an inescapable tenderness beneath the raunchiness of their words.

The cast vibrates with energy, from the powerful connection between Di Zio and D’Agostino to the cold, barely concealed tension between Stamp and Dykstra. Lust is a pervasive perfume in this play, and it intoxicates the characters, who couple in different, shifting ways.

Chioran’s Julio, the most sensible and self-aware of the five, is a delight, whether discussing hair care and waxing with Ralph or setting Jackie straight on why Julio takes care of him. And speaking of straight, Chioran gives a delicate swish to Julio without making him a gay stereotype. In a production filled with fine performances, his is arguably the most precisely drawn.

JON KAPLAN reviews continue on page 70 œ

Rick Miller and Carly Street Photo by David Hou

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theatre reviews Super Cellar BUYER & CELLAR by Jonathan Tolins

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(Mirvish). At the Panasonic Theatre (651 Yonge). Runs to November 30. $25$79. 416-872-1212, mirvish.com. See Continuing, page 71. Rating: NNNN

You don’t have to be a massive Barbra Streisand fan to enjoy Buyer & Cellar.

But a bit of knowledge helps.

Jonathan Tolins’s clever solo show has an amusing premise inspired by My Passion For Design, a coffee table book written and featuring photos by Babs to show off her impeccable taste. One item mentions a mall in the basement on her Malibu estate. Yes, a mall.

Where she keeps many of her purchases and mementos.

What, imagines Tolins, if someone worked at that underground mall?

Enter Alex More (Christopher J. Hanke), an underemployed L.A. actor who takes the gig without knowing who he’s working for or what it entails.

When he finds out the who, he’s thrilled. When he finds out what he’ll be doing – dusting the goods, donning a shopkeeper’s uniform and showing off the merch to a sole customer – he’s less excited.

But it’s a job, it’s La Streisand (even though he signs a de rigueur confidentiality agreement), and he can exercise his improv skills by coming up with stories about the stuff in the mall. Plus, his boyfriend, Barry (Jewish, struggling screenwriter), is a huge Streisand fan.

Much of the first half is filled with brilliant set pieces, like an extended struggle with Babs over the price of a doll. Although they eventually bond over preparations for a possible production of

œcontinued from page 68

Gypsy, and Alex seems to see the lonely woman behind the legend, there’s still an enormous power imbalance.

Directed by Stephen Brackett, the funny sequences and the more poignant ones come across beautifully, the lighting design (by Eric Southern) subtly suggesting shifts in time and place on Andrew Boyce’s elegant white-onwhite set.

Above all, it’s a bravura showcase for an actor, and although the play’s original star, Michael Urie, exuded more mischievous glee, Hanke makes a likeable and highly entertaining guide through this surreal world of privilege, opportunity and human connection.

GLENN SUMI

Christopher J. Hanke is mad about Babs in Buyer & Cellar.

Well strung SEXTET by Morris Panych (Tarragon, 30 Bridgman). Runs to December 14. $23-$55, some $15 rush. 416-531-1827, tarragontheatre.com. See Continuing, page 72. Rating: NNNN

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If you think chamber musicians are all sexless and cerebral, Morris Panych’s Sextet should set you straight. Well, not quite straight, but you know what I mean.

The members of a string sextet are trapped in a Canadian motel while a winter storm builds outside. Inside, things are getting steamy, what with the closeted Harry (Damien Atkins) shacked up with his crush, the straight Dirk (Matthew Edison), who’s lusting after Sylvia (Laura Condlln), who happens to be Harry’s best friend.

The troupe’s one official couple, Gerard (Bruce Dow) and Mavis (Reb-

ecca Northan) aren’t exactly monogamous. He’s got a roving hand and an androgynous wardrobe, while she’s performed a duet with the group’s sixth member, Otto (Jordan Pettle).

theatre listings How to find a listing

HeretoforeProductions.

Theatre listings are comprehensive and appear alphabetically by title. New this week shows open or preview this week; Continuing shows have already opened. Reviews are by Glenn Sumi (GS) and Jon Kaplan (JK).

The rating system is as follows: NNNNN Standing ovation NNNN Sustained applause NNN Recommended, memorable scenes NN Seriously flawed N Get out the hook F= Festive/seasonal event

ñ= Critics’ pick (highly recommended) How to place a listing

Special Opening Night Event TONIGHT! THURS NOV 20, 7pm $50 (limited tickets available at the door.)

All listings are free. Send to: events@nowtoronto.com, fax to 416-364-1168 or mail to Theatre, NOW Magazine, 189 Church, Toronto M5B 1Y7. Include title, author, producer/ company, brief synopsis, times, range of ticket prices, venue name and address, and box office/ info phone number or website. Listings may be edited for space. Deadline is the Thursday before publication at 5 pm.

If your free listing requires a correction, send info to: fixevents@nowtoronto.com.

New this week 84, ChARING CRoSS RoAd adapted by James Roose-Evans (Stage Centre Productions). This play is based on 20 years of correspondence between an American writer and a U.K. bookseller. Opens Nov 20 and runs to Nov 29, WedSat 8 pm, mat Nov 23 and 29 at 2 pm. $27.50, stu/srs $22. Fairview Library Theatre, 35 Fairview Mall. stagecentreproductions.com.

CENTRE STAGE: ENSEMBLE STUdIo CoMpETITIoN GALA (Canadian Opera ñ Company). The COC’s fundraising gala fea-

tures a showcase of emerging vocal talent, reception and dinner. Nov 25 at 5:30 pm. $100.

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen W. coccentrestage.ca.

CINdERELLA: ThE GAGS To RIChES FAMILY MUSICAL by Reid Janisse (Ross Petty Proñ ductions). The he classic tale is adapted into a

wacky holiday pantomime musical. Previews Nov 21-26. Opens Nov 27 and runs to Jan 4, 2015, see website for schedule. $27-$85. Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge. rosspetty.com.

CoNSpIRACY by Loring Mandel (Heretofore Productions). This staged reading dramatizes the events of the 1942 Wannsee Conference.

Nov 20-21 at 7 pm. Free. Grace Church on-theHill, 300 Lonsdale. facebook.com/

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november 20-26 2014 NOW

As the moon peeks through their room’s windows, they turn into libidinous leches when they really should be rehearsing Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night.

Ñ

= Critics’ Pick

NNNNN = Standing ovation

NNNN = Sustained applause

NNN = Recommended, memorable scenes

ThE dE ChARdIN pRojECT by Adam Seybold (Theatre Passe Muraille). An exiled Jesuit priest crosses continents in search of knowledge and truth. Previews Nov 20-23. Opens Nov 25 and runs to Dec 14, Wed-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $17-$38, mat pwyc. 16 Ryerson. 416-504-7529, passemuraille.on.ca.

FAMoUS pEopLE pLAYERS (FPP). The blacklight theatre company performs an all-ages show.

Nov 21 at 8 pm. $25-$49. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Lane (Brampton). rosetheatre.ca.

FIShSkIN TRoUSERS by Elizabeth Kuti (Cart/ Horse Theatre). Three tales from three eras in the fishing village of Orford in Suffolk are woven together in this storytelling play.

Opens Nov 20 and runs to Dec 7, Wed-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 2 pm. $20, Sun pwyc. Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson. carthorsetheatre.com. hoLd MoMMY’S CIGARETTE (Shelley Marshall). Marshall performs her hit solo dark comedy about life, mental illness and survival. Opens Nov 20 and runs to Nov 29, Thu-Sat 8 pm. $20. The Full Bawdy Loft, 290 Carlaw, #202. 416-821-1754, holdmommyscigarette.com.

I LoST IT IN kIEv by Deb Filler (Filler Up Inc). Filler performs a solo show about her travels through the world’s backstreets. Opens Nov 25 and runs to Nov 30, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm, Sun 3 pm. $21.50-$36.50. Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst. 416-504-9971, fillerup.ca. jAMES ANd ThE GIANT pEACh by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Timothy Allen McDonald (Young People’s Theatre). An orphan finds adventures in a magical fruit in this musical based on the Roald Dahl book. Previews Nov 24-26. Opens Nov 27 and runs to Dec 28, see website for schedule. $25-$45. 165 Front E. 416-862-2222, youngpeoplestheatre.ca.

LE ChANT dE GEoRGES BoIvIN by Martin Bellemare (Théâtre français de Toronto). An elderly widower decides to retrace the steps of his first love, who he hasn’t seen for 50 years.

Opens Nov 26 and runs to Nov 30, Wed-Fri 8 pm, Sat 3:30 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $30-$48, Wed pwyc, Sat rush $20. Berkeley Street Theatre 26 Berkeley. 416-534-6604, theatrefrancais.com.

LUNACY CABARET: 100Th Show (Zero Gravity Circus). This vaudeville-style cabaret features clown, circus, comedy, music and more. Nov 22 at 9 pm. $20-$25. The Circus Academy East, 1300 Gerrard E. lunacycabaret.com. oLd MAN ANd ThE RIvER by Lynda Hill and Thomas Morgan Jones (Theatre Direct). A solitary, grumpy old man finds a friend in this puppetry show for ages 3 to 6. Nov 22-Dec 6: Nov 22 at 11 am & 2 pm, Nov 29 and Dec 6 at 2 & 4 pm. $14 (Nov 29 show $25). Wychwood Theatre, 76 Wychwood. theatredirect.ca. oUTSIdE by Paul Dunn (Roseneath Theatre).

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NN = Seriously flawed N = Get out the hook

Bruce Dow and Rebecca Northan display a lot of pluck.

Panych’s script (he also directs) is witty and full of suggestive language: “wrist vibrato” sounds so much more elegant than masturbation, doesn’t it? And while it takes a while to figure Fundraising reading for production of a play about a teen who overcomes homophobic bullying. Nov 26 at 7 pm. $20 (under age 25 free). Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander. roseneath.ca/outside-special-event.

Paulo and daPhne by Ned Dickens (Theatreworks Productions). This contemporary take on Ovid’s story of Apollo and Daphne is about breaking the ties that bind, atonement and transformation (see story online at nowtoronto.com/stage) Opens Nov 20 and runs to Dec 7, Tue-Sun 8 pm. $20-$25, stu $13, Tue pwyc. Pia Bouman School for Ballet, 6 Noble. 416-645-9090, theatreworksproductions.com.

RoPe by Patrick Hamilton (Bygone Theatre/ City of Toronto). Two young men murder a classmate just for the thrill in this 1929 play based on true events. Opens Nov 21 and runs to Nov 29, Fri-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat (and Nov 28) at 2 pm. $20. Gibson House, 5172 Yonge. bygonetheatre.com.

ToussainT: TRadiTions of The daRk MonThs (Danceweavers). Storytelling and music from the Celtic tradition of Breton folklore. Nov 21 at 7:30 pm. $20, stu/srs $15. Montgomery’s Inn, 4709 Dundas W. danceweavers.ca.

Wingfield unbound by Dan Needles (Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts). A stock broker-turned-farmer promotes a crumbling old mill as a museum site in this solo show. Nov 25 at 8 pm. $40-$45. 10268 Yonge. rhcentre.ca.

Continuing aRcadia by Tom Stoppard (Mirvish/ Shaw Festival). Stoppard’s intellectually ñ and emotionally gripping play, set in an Eng-

lish country house in the early 1800s and the late 1990s, is full of wit, wisdom and entertainment. This revival of the 2013 Shaw fest production is finely acted by an ensemble cast under Eda Holmes’s razor-sharp direction. To Dec 14, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm, mats Sat-Sun and Wed 1:30 pm. $25-$99. Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King W. 416-872-1212. nnnn (JK) avenue Q by Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx and Jeff Whitty (Lower Ossington Theatre). A college grad moves to NYC and copes with grown-up problems in this adult musical puppet play. To Dec 14, Thu-Sat 8 pm, Sun 4 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $50-$60. Lower Ossington Theatre, 100A Ossington. lowerossingtontheatre.com.

The bakeliTe MasTeRPiece by Kate Cayley (Tarragon Theatre). A forger in postwar Amsterdam who sold a Vermeer to the Nazis faces a death sentence unless he can prove he painted the work himself. When his judge, an art historian, becomes the subject of his next picture, they both must deal with issues of guilt, mercy and forgiveness in this subtle, finely acted drama. To Nov 30, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sat-Sun 2:30 pm. $21-$53, rush $15. Tarragon Theatre 30 Bridgman. 416-531-1827, tarragontheatre.com. nnnn (JK) The book of MoRMon by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone (Mirvish).

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out who these narcissistic, solipsistic characters are and what (not just who) they want, their needs soon become clear.

So does Panych’s philosophy of discord and harmony in the universe.

It’s hard to imagine a better production. Ken MacDonald’s set of six identical beds and doors – with an adjoining hallway behind them – is simply stunning, and Kimberly Purtell’s lighting helps suggest other rooms and areas, including a motel pool (nice echo effect in this scene from Thomas Ryder Payne’s sound design).

And the actors understand the heightened, farcical style, especially Atkins (whose harried cellist is like a tightly wound string), Edison (who expertly channels his inner dim bro) and Dow and Northan, who bring lots of pluck to their pronouncements and wily machinations.

In the end, Sextet produces some beautiful harmonies and richly huglenn suMi mane observations.

Two naive missionaries go to a volatile region in Uganda in this religious satire musical. Previews Sep 16. To Nov 30, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 7:30 pm, mat Sat 2 pm, Sun 1:30 pm. $49$130. Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King W. 416-872-1212, mirvish.com. buRying Toni by Catherine Frid (Alumnae Theatre Fireworks Festival). Emma Jung grapples with her history, real and imagined, after 50 years of marriage to psychoanalyst Carl Jung. To Nov 29, runs in rep w/ You Have To Earn It; see website for schedule. $15, Sun mat pwyc, festival pass $25. Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley. 416-364-4170, alumnaetheatre.com. buyeR & cellaR by Jonathan Tolins (Mirvish). An underemployed Los Angeles actor goes to work in Barbra Streisand’s basement in this solo comedy (see review, page 70). To Nov 30, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat SatSun 2 pm. $25-$79. Panasonic Theatre, 651 Yonge. mirvish.com. nnnn (GS) ciRcle JeRk by Justin Haigh, Scott Dermody, Brandon Crone and Wesley J Colford (Soup Can Theatre/safeword/Aim for the Tangent Theatre). Four playwrights present new works in which bits of dialogue submitted by the public were used as the opening and closing lines of their new creations. (See review at nowtoronto.com/stage.) To Nov 23, Fri-Sun 8 pm. $15-$24. lemonTree Studio, 196 Spadina (lower unit). soupcantheatre.com. nnn (JK) cyRano de beRgeRac by Edmond Rostand (Amicus Productions). An eloquent but largenosed man tells his handsome friend what to say to woo a young woman. To Nov 22, ThuSat 8 pm, mat Nov 22 at 2 pm. $22, stu/srs $20. Papermill Theatre 67 Pottery. 416-8606176, amicusproductions.ca. eviTa by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber (Lower Ossington Theatre). Eva Duarte rises from poverty to become the Argentine president’s wife in this musical. To Nov 23, Thu-Sat 8 pm, Sun 4 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $50-$60. Lower Ossington Theatre, 100A Ossington. 416-9156747, lowerossingtontheatre.com.

The fouR hoRseMen PRoJecT by Kate Alton and Ross Manson (Volcano Theatre/Crooked Figure Dances/Global Mechanic).

The poetry of bpNichol, Rafael Barreto-Rivera, Paul Dutton and Steve McCaffery is adapted into a dance-theatre show. To Nov 22, MonSat 8 pm. $25-$49. Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House. soulpepper.ca. huMan fuRniTuRe by Claire Burns (Red One Theatre Collective/Triangle Pi Productions). A kinky tryst is threatened by an unexpected guest and a nosy neighbour. To Nov 29, TueSat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $25. The Storefront Theatre, 955 Bloor W. secureaseat.com.

JaMes alan’s Magic TonighT James Alan hosts a weekly live magic show with guests.

Sundays 7 pm. $20-$25. Izakaya Sushi House, 294 College. abracadabaret.com.

Jillian Jiggs! adapted by Derek Genova (Solar Stage Children’s Theatre). Family show based

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Volunteer Opportunities of the Week • The Heart And Stroke Foundation • Dramaway • Music in the Barns • Ronald McDonald See this week’s Classified section for more info or visit volunteertoronto.ca Everything Toronto. 416 364 3444 • nowtoronto.com/classifieds

Classifieds NOW november 20-26 2014

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theatre listings œcontinued from page 71

on the books by Phoebe Gilman. To Nov 29, Sat-Sun 11 am & 2 pm. $16. Solar Stage Children’s Theatre, 4950 Yonge. 416-368-8031.

MacBeTh by William Shakespeare (Shakespeare BASH’d). The company presents its text-based, bare-bones approach to the Bard’s classic tragedy. To Nov 23, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $17. Monarch Tavern, 12 Clinton. shakespearebashd.com.

The MaSSey MurDer by Charlotte Gray (Theatre Erindale). A maid kills her wealthy boss in this historical play. To Nov 23, Thu 7:30 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm (and Nov 23). $18, stu/srs $12. Erindale Studio Theatre, 3359 Mississauga Rd N. 905-569-4369.

MeTroPoliTaN oPeraS by Joe Pintauro (Witchboy Theatre). Short plays featuring prostitutes and priests, chauffeurs and film stars, set in the gritty 80s of New York City. To Nov 29, Tue-Sat 8 pm. $20. The Theatre Machine, 376 Dufferin. witchboytheatre.com.

MoMeNT by Deirdre Kinahan (ARC).

Kinahan’s tense drama about a Dublin family digging up buried secrets during an impromptu reunion gets a superb site-specific production. The intimacy of the venue and the naturalistic performances make you feel like you’re eavesdropping on actual conversations, while director Christopher Stanton heightens certain moments with eerie effectiveness. To Nov 22, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Thu & Sun 2 pm.

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$20. Sidemart Theatrical Grocery, 1362 Queen E. brownpapertickets.com/event/899552.

NNNN (GS) The MoTherfucker WiTh The haT by Stephen Adly Guirgis (Bob Kills Theatre).

A stranger’s hat threatens a long-time romance in this play with themes of love and addiction (see review, page 68). To Nov 30, Tue-Sun 7:30 pm. $25-$30. The Coal Mine Theatre, 798 Danforth. brownpapertickets.com/ event/859215. NNNN (JK) NSfW by Luck Kirkwood (Studio 180). This satire looks at power games and privacy in the cut-throat modern media workplace (see review, this page). To Nov 30, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun and Wed 2 pm. $15-$39. Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen W. 416-907-0468, studio180theatre.com. NNN (JK) or raTher, her DaughTer by Richard Waugh (Outlook Theatre). Reading of Waugh’s modern adaptation of Shaw’s Mrs Warren’s Profession. Nov 25-26 at 8 pm. Pwyc. Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane. facebook.com/outlooktheatre.

Play reaDiNg Week (Tarragon Theatre).

Plays in development by Fabrizio Filippo, Anna Chatterton, Marie-Beath Badian, Rachel Blair, Evan Webber, Kat Sandler and others get staged readings. To Nov 29, Wed-Sat 8 pm.

Free. 30 Bridgman. tarragontheatre.com.

SexTeT by Morris Panych (Tarragon Theatre). Stranded in a motel by weather, six musicians struggle to come to terms with their failing careers, failing marriages and unfulfilled desires (see review, page 70). To Dec

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#DeChardinProject

14, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2:30 pm. $23$55, rush $15. 30 Bridgman. 416-531-1827, tarragontheatre.com. NNNN (JK) SPiN by Evalyn Parry (Buddies in Bad Times/OutSpoke Productions). Music, narration and projections are used to portray the bicycle as an instrument of social change.

To Nov 23, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $20$37, Sun pwyc at the door. Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander. 416-975-8555, buddiesinbadtimes.com Take Me Back To JefferSoN by Michele Smith and Dean Gilmour (Factory Theatre/Theatre Smith-Gilmour). The Bundren family reveals their foibles and follies in this darkly comic adaptation of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. To Nov 23, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $35-$45. 125 Bathurst. 416-504-9971, factorytheatre.ca TalkiNg heaDS by Alan Bennett (Precisely Peter Productions). The Outside Dog, Playing Sandwiches and A Lady Of Letters are performed from Bennett’s collection of BBC monologues (see review, page 68). To Nov 23, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 4 pm. $25. Campbell House Museum, 160 Queen W. 416-5970227, brownpapertickets.com/event/885024.

NNNN (JK) The TeMPeST by William Shakespeare (Hart House Theatre). Love and revenge collide on a magical island in this classic play. To Nov 22, Wed-Sat 8 pm, mat Nov 22 at 2 pm. $28, srs $17, stu $10-$15. Hart House Theatre, 7 Hart House Circle. 416-978-8849, harthousetheatre.ca.

The ThirD STory by Charles Busch (Trinity College Dramatic Society). A faded screenwriter in the 1940s woos her ex-writer son into collaborating on a screenplay. To Nov 22, Thu-Sat 8 pm. $15, stu/srs $10. George Ignatieff Theatre, 15 Devonshire Place. uofttix.ca.

ñ ñ ñ

WeeSageechak BegiNS To DaNce feSTival – 27 (Native Earth Performing Arts). New

Photo of Cyrus Lane and Maev Beaty by Michael Cooper | design by BFdesign

works by indigenous artists include plays by Lilia Leon, Jani Lauzon, Daniel David Moses, dance by Santee Smith and more. To Nov 22, see website. $10-$20, pass $50. Daniels Spectrum, 585 Dundas E. nativeearth.ca.

WhaT i learNeD froM a DecaDe of fear by Beatriz Pizano, Lyon Smith and Trevor Schwellnus (Aluna Theatre). A performance piece about the war on terror is framed as an interrogation in which seemingly innocuous questions are turned into attacks that challenge the morals we hold and the judgments we make. Beatriz Pizano and Lyon Smith are perfectly matched, and director Schwellnus’s videography brings another chilling element to the show. To Nov 30, Thu-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $12-$20. Aluna Theatre, 1 Wiltshire, studio 128. alunatheatre.ca. NNN (JK) you have To earN iT by Ramona Baillie and Maria Popoff (Alumnae Theatre Fireworks Festival). A philandering boss, a scheming new employee and a wacky mail room clerk are part of this homage to screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s. To Nov 29, runs in rep w/ Burying Toni; see website for schedule. $15, Sun mat pwyc, festival pass $25. Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley. 416-364-4170, alumnaetheatre.com.

3

Aaron Stern (left) and Patrick Galligan battle it out in NSFW.

theatre review

Body issues NSfW by Lucy Kirkwood (Studio 180). At the Theatre Centre (1115 Queen West).

Runs to November 30. $15-$39. 416-9070468. See Continuing, this page.

Rating: NNN

Body image, flirtatious bosses, skin mags, manipulative business executives – Lucy Kirkwood takes a satiric swipe at all that in NSFW (Not Safe For Work).

The settings are the inner workings of two magazines that feed consumers’ desires: Doghouse, which focuses on women’s cleavage, and Electra, which promotes the perfect female body for women readers. In both worlds, those in power, older than those around them, prey sexually on the office youngsters. (Can we escape the shadow of Jian Ghomeshi? Not these days.)

Aidan (Patrick Galligan) runs Doghouse with a brisk, friendly manner as long as he gets what he wants, both from his male assistants, selfimpressed Rupert (James Graham) and shy Sam (Aaron Stern), and his female aide, Charlotte (Jessica Greenberg).

Things get tense when they realize that their latest pin-up, Local Lovely 2014, isn’t quite who she was represented as being; Bradshaw (Ian D. Clark), the woman’s father, wants satisfaction for the error.

Over at Electra, the intriguing, stylish, cryptic Miranda (Susan Coyne) deals with her employees differently but looks for the same personal and publication profits as Aidan.

Kirkwood’s script makes good points but has some weaknesses, too. The first scene’s set-up is unnecessarily long, and Sam’s innocence and whininess are overdone.

Despite those problems, director Joel Greenberg’s cast offers some fine work. Graham’s shift from privileged, petulant pain in the ass to a more accommodating figure is scary, while Stern manages to make us feel sorry for Sam. Greenberg’s Charlotte is intentionally silent, in sphinx-like meditation, for much of her time onstage, but she has the right caustic touch when she joins in.

Coyne feasts on Miranda, the seemingly open but totally controlling head of Electra, who presents herself as a feminist who challenges patriarchal injustices but is herself as devious as Aidan. Just as importantly, she reveals the vulnerability of an aging woman in a market where youth is all-important.

The show’s best scene is the confrontation between Aidan and Bradshaw, the power shifting back and forth between them as they negotiate and bluff, peek out from behind the masks they each wear and slowly reveal the cards they hold close to their JoN kaPlaN chests.

Theatre Columbus presents

“The universe as we know it is a joint product of the observer and the observed.”

– Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

ews on3 i v e r p PWYC c 11, 12 &W1orks De green Brick

NOVEMBER 20 » DECEMBER 14, 2014 A THEATRE PASSE MURAILLE PRODUCTION

at Ever

By Adam Seybold | Directed by Alan Dilworth Starring Maev Beaty & Cyrus Lane Media Sponsors

Production Sponsor

O

Jeff and Rita Rayman

416.504.7529 | PASSEMURAILLE.CA | 16 RYERSON AVE. TORONTO

72

november 20-26 2014 NOW

Ñ

= Critics’ Pick

Style Partners

www.theatrecolumbus.ca

NNNNN = Standing ovation

NNNN = Sustained applause

$12 tickets for Youth (under 25) Early bird 25% off groups of four or more (book by Dec 15)

NNN = Recommended, memorable scenes

NN = Seriously flawed

N = Get out the hook

iMprov gaMe sHow Weekly Whose Line-in-

comedy listings How to find a listing

Comedy listings appear chronologically, and alphabetically by title or venue.

F = Festive/seasonal event

ñ

= Critics’ pick (highly recommended)

How to place a listing

All listings are free. Send to: events@nowtoronto.com, fax 416-​364-​1168 or mail to Comedy,​NOW​Magazine,​189​Church,​ Toronto​M5B​1Y7. Include title, producer, comics, brief synopsis, days and times, prices, venue name and address and info phone number/ website. Listings may be edited for space. Deadline is the Thursday before publication at 5 pm.

If your free listing requires a correction, send info to: fixevents@nowtoronto.com.

Thursday, November 20 CraCk Me Up CoMedy Headliner Sandra Battaglini. 8 pm. $15-$20. Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Lane (Brampton). rosetheatre.ca Honest anxiety Improv by Steve Baerwald and others with proceeds going to Children’s Mental Health Ontario. 8:30 pm. Pwyc. 3rd floor. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. 416-903-5388, blackswancomedy.com. it’s aLways soMetHing Comedy and music w/ Colin Mochrie, Gregg Rogell, Steven Page, Fernando Varela host Russell Peters and others. 7:30 pm. $50-$250 (benefits Gilda’s Club Greater Toronto). Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front E. 7-8557669, gildasclubtoronto.org.

LaUgH sabbatH Marty Topps, Aaron Eves, James Hartnett, Kathleen Phillips, Greg Cochrane, host Tom Henry and others.

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9:30 pm. $5. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. laughsabbath.com. nikki payne Stand-up show. To Nov 22, Thu-Sat 8 pm, plus Fri-Sat 10:30 pm. $13-$22. Yuk Yuk’s, 224 Richmond W. 416967-6425, yukyuks.com. no QUaLifier #2 Variety show with sketch by Kiss the Dog, stand-up by Daniel Priest plus musical guests. 8 pm. $5. Bad Dog Comedy Theatre, 875 Bloor W. baddogtheatre.com.

QUeer CoMedy nigHt LGBTQ comedians and hosts Catherine McCormick and Danz Altvater. 9 pm. Pwyc. The Steady Cafe & Bar, 1051 Bloor W. thesteadycafe.com. rebeL witHoUt a CosMos This isn’t as solid as Second City’s last two revues, but there’s still lots to enjoy, particularly from veteran ensemble members Connor Thompson and Ashley Botting. Thompson scores big laughs as an Owen Sound layabout who has a gift for giving directions, as well as a children’s performer accidentally hired to sing at a Remembrance Day ceremony. Botting gets two big solos that showcase her sassy range. But under director Reid Janisse, many of the sketches need polish, presenting jokey types rather than people. Indefinite run, Tue-Thu 8 pm, Fri-Sat 7:30 & 10 pm, Sun 7:30 pm. $25$29, stu $16-$18. Second City, 51 Mercer. 416343-0011, secondcity.com. nnn (Glenn Sumi)

ñ

sHakespearean styLed iMprov one-year anniversary We Happy Few celebrate a year

of improvised shows, w/ guest Carmine Lucarelli. 8 pm. $7. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca. siMon rakoff Headliner Rakoff w/ Nick Burden and host Alastair McAlastair. To Nov 23, Thu 8:30 pm, Fri 9 pm, Sat 8 & 10:45 pm, Sun 8 pm. $10-$15. Absolute Comedy, 2335 Yonge. absolutecomedy.ca. sketCH CoM-aggedon Troupes compete over 5 nights for a spot in the 2015 Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. To Nov 22, Tue-Fri 8 & 9:30 pm, Sat 8 pm. $10-$15. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. torontosketchfest.com. stoned Up CoMedy Amanda Day presents a weekly stand-up show. 7 pm. $5. Hot Box Puff Lounge, 204 Augusta. 416-203-6990.

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Friday, November 21 CaLvinbaLL CoMedy Improv w/ El Fantoma, Fake Cops, Calvinball. Audience jam w/ Steve Hobbs, Ted Hallett & Wayne Molinski. 10 pm. $5. 2nd fl. The Social Capital, 154 Danforth. facebook.com/events/352231191618458. tHe CUrator Improvisers create a one-act comedy based on art chosen by that week’s curator. 9:30 pm. $12, stu $10. Bad Dog Comedy Theatre, 875 Bloor W. 416-491-3115.

Russell​Peters​​ hosts​It’s​Always​ Something​​ November​20.

spired competition. 8 pm. $5. 2nd floor. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. 416903-5388, blackswancomedy.com. tHe Mary-janes of CoMedy All female stand-up show w/ Rachelle Elie, Shirley Whalen, Ashley Moffat, Keesha Brownie, Caitlin Langelier, headliner Christina Walkinshaw & host Lianne Mauladin. 10 pm. $10. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. maryjanesofcomedy.com.

Matt rUbeL: serioUs bUsiness Rubel hosts stand-up, sketch, clown & more w/ Colin Leggett, Amy Lester and Annie Sass. 9 pm. $10$15. The Flying Beaver Pubaret, 488 Parliament. brownpapertickets.com/event/933138. rebeL witHoUt a CosMos See Thu 20. siMon rakoff See Thu 20. sketCH CoM-aggedon Troupes compete over 5 nights for a spot in the 2015 Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. To Nov 22, Tue-Fri 8 and 9:30 pm, Sat final 8 pm. $10-$15. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. torontosketchfest.com.

ñ

tHe soaps – tHe Live iMprovised soap opera Improvisers create a new episode

ñ each week of an ongoing story of drama, ro-

mance, intrigue and betrayal in an 80s Texas town. Fri 8 pm. $12, stu $10. Bad Dog Comedy Theatre, 875 Bloor W. baddogtheatre.com. stripprov Kliffer Entertainment presents a burlesque improv competition of the sexes.

11 pm. $12. Bad Dog Comedy Theatre, 875 Bloor W. klifferentertainment.com. texas CoMedy MassaCre 2 Killer stand-up w/ Gavin Stephens, Chris Locke, Ted Morris, Nick Flanagan, host Xerxes Cortez and others. 8:30 pm. Pwyc. Fox & Fiddle Wellesley, 27 Wellesley E. texascomedymassacre2.com. tHe UneMpLoyabLes Jamie O’Connor presents stand-up w/ guest comedians. 10 pm. $5. 3rd floor. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. blackswancomedy.com.

Saturday, November 22 CoMedy at tHe red roCket Joel West hosts a weekly show w/ guest comics. 8 pm. Free. Red Rocket Coffee, 1364 Danforth. 416-406-0880.

HeLder brUM and friends Pat Thornton, Sara Hennessey, Chris Locke, Ladystache, Clay Helder, Don Galea and host Brum. 8 pm. $10. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca. iMprov LeagUe Four troupes go head-tohead in a shortform improv competition. 8 pm. $5. 3rd floor. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. blackswancomedy.com. infaUxMation Brent Gill’s podcast recording show. 9 pm. $20. Underground Cafe, 670 Queen E. puffmama.ca/comedy.

LaUgHstaCHe The Rocket Scientists, Vest of Friends, Rulers of the Universe, Ladystache, Fratwurst, Marty Topps & others perform a comedy benefit. 11 pm. $20 min donation (Movember Foundation). Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca.

MiCetro Improvisers work together to score points per scene in the hopes of being the last player standing in this Survivorstyle show. Sat 7 pm, Wed 8 pm. $5. Bad Dog Comedy Theatre, 875 Bloor W. baddogtheatre.com.

ñ

notorioUs The Alberta troupe performs its fusion of freestyle rap and improv comedy, plus openers Today’s Youth. 8 pm. $10. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. notimprov.com. rebeL witHoUt a CosMos See Thu 20. siMon rakoff See Thu 20. sketCH CoM-aggedon Troupes compete over 5 nights for a spot in the 2015 Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. Final, 8 pm. $10-$15. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. torontosketchfest.com. tHeatresports Weekly team improv competition. 8 pm. $12, stu $10. Bad Dog Comedy Theatre, 875 Bloor W. baddogtheatre.com.

Sunday, November 23 CoMedy @ tHe weLL Weekly show w/ hosts Dred Lee & Jag Ghankas and others. 8:30 pm.

Free. 121 Ossington. thewellbarcafe.ca.

CriMson wave CoMedy Jess Beaulieu and Natalie Norman co-host a feminist-friendly, LGBTQ-positive stand-up night. 9 pm. $5.

Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca. danksgiving dinner sHow Stand-up w/ Brent Gill and Rubi Nicholas. 9 pm. $20-$40.

Underground Cafe, 670 Queen E. 416-4509125, puffmama.ca/comedy.

Happy HoUr CoMedy: give Me My spot

Round 8 w/ Dave Code, Jerome Lall, Max Ross, Amish Patel, Peter Aterman, host Caitlin Langelier and others. 8 pm. Free. Ein-Stein, 229 College. ein-stein.ca. tHe pLaygroUnd Stand-up & open mic w/ hosts Melissa Story and Kris Siddiqi.

8:30 pm. Pwyc. 3rd fl. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. blackswancomedy.com. rebeL witHoUt a CosMos See Thu 20. siMon rakoff See Thu 20. tHe stand-Up 101 grad sHow Absolute Comedy & Second City present fresh comics w/ host Joel Buxton. 3:30 pm. $5. Absolute Comedy, 2335 Yonge. absolutecomedy.ca. sUnday nigHt Live The Sketchersons’ weekly sketch and live music show. 9 pm. $10. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca.

ñ

Monday, November 24 aLtdot CoMedy LoUnge DJ Demers, Winston Spear, Steve Patrick Adams, Kyle ñ Hickey, Pat Burtscher, Monty Scott, Al Val, Sam Farid and others. 9 pm. $5. Rivoli, 332 Queen W. altdotcomedylounge.com.

continued on page 74 œ

dance listings Opening boMbing instead of negotiating (The Lubberland National Dance Co/Bread and Puppet). This dance/theatre performance is a protest against the use of drones. Nov 23 at 3 pm. $10 suggested donation. Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham. 647-726-9500, beitzatoun.org.

CoexisdanCe series #67 Dance improvisers perform with AIM Toronto musicians. Nov 22 at 8 pm. $10. Array Space, 155 Walnut. coexisdance.wordpress.com. nijinsky (The National Ballet of Canada).

Choreography by John Neumeier exploring the life and work of Russian dancer/choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky. Opens Nov 22 and runs to Nov 30, Wed-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sun 2 pm (and Nov 27 and 29). $26-$249. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145

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Queen W. 416-345-9595, national.ballet.ca. voLver a fLaMentango Compañia Maria Serrano presents a new flamenco and tango show. Nov 21 at 8 pm. $49.50-$79.50. John Bassett Theatre, 255 Front W. 1-855-9855000, mariaserrano.com. wind down danCe ^3 Kaeja d’Dance presents new works on the go and old works taking new risks in a casual studio setting.

Nov 21 from 4 to 6 pm. $10. Dovercourt House, 805 Dovercourt. kaeja.org/creations/ wind-down-dance-3. wireLess ConneCtion (Point of View Dance Project). Contemporary fusion dance explores our obsession with technology and the decay and rediscovery of real human connection. Nov 21-23, Fri-Sun 8 pm. $25.

Dancemakers Centre for Creation, 9 Trinity. povdanceproject.com.

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goLden age tv: giLLigan’s isLand Live! ñ Improv adventure based on the TV series ñ w/ Tom MacKay, Lisa Merchant, Kevin Matviw, Ken Hall, Liz Johnston & Jan Caruana. 8 pm. $12. 2nd floor. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. blackswancomedy.com.

The Bakelite Masterpiece

by Kate Cayley directed by Richard Rose Oct 21–Nov 30, 2014 · Extraspace TORONTO STAR

‘Beautifully performed’, ‘good & thoughtful writing’, ‘a superb performance.’

30 Bridgman Ave · 416.531.1827 · tarragontheatre.com generously supported by

Irene Poole; photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

Ñ

= Critics’ Pick

nnnnn = You’ll pee your pants

season sponsor

media sponsor

KRISTINE & IVOR THOMPSON

nnnn = Major snortage

nnn = Coupla guffaws

nn = More tequila, please

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NOW november 20-26 2014

73

comedy listings

œcontinued from page 73

THE COMEDY CABARET Pro/Am comedy show w/ headliner Jeff Leeson, host Dave Code and others. 8 pm. Pwyc. Charlotte Room, 19 Charlotte. thecomedycabaret.com.

THE FATE OF THE PIRATE TWINS Elephant Empire’s new comedy show w/ Matt Lemche, Peter Stevens, Andrew Gardner and Mark Little. 9:30 pm. $5. Bad Dog Comedy Theatre, 875 Bloor W. baddogtheatre.com.

HARD DAY COMEDY Weekly show w/ hosts Cassandra Sansosti & Eesha Brown. 8:30 pm.

Free. Office Pub, 117 John. 416-977-1900.

FHOLIDAZED & CONFUSED The Second City presents sketches, songs and improvisations to celebrate and satirize the holiday season.

Runs to Jan 1, 2015, see website for schedule. $22. Second City, 51 Mercer. secondcity.com.

THE JOKEBOX Impulsive Entertainment presents Massimo, Plum Thunder, Allana Reoch, Tony Ho, host Deanna Palazzo and others. 8 pm. $10. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. facebook.com/TheJokeboxComedyLounge.

MIXED COMPANY Kliffer Entertainment presents 8 professional actors and 8 professional improvisers. 8 pm. $12. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. klifferentertainment.com.

PANCAKE MONDAYS Comedy and pancakes.

7:30 pm. $5. Smiling Buddha, 961 College. facebook.com/groups/PancakeMondays.

PERFECT MATCH IMPROV COMEDY Maddox

ñ

Campbell presents comedians doing character monologues and improv in duos w/ Cassie Moes, Jeff Clark and others. 8 pm. $5. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth, 2nd floor. facebook.com/events/1518538428403507.

200% VODKA Longform improv with the Social Capital Rep Company and guest hosts. 8 pm. Pwyc. 3rd floor. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. blackswancomedy.com.

Tuesday, November 25

HISTORICAL FICTION

FLAT TIRE COMEDY Weekly stand-up w/ host

Chrissie Cunningham & others. 9:30 pm. Free.

Amsterdam Bicycle Club, 54 the Esplanade. facebook.com/FlatTireComedy.

OPEN MIC TUESDAY Show for up and coming local talent. 8:30 pm. $5. Absolute Comedy, 2335 Yonge. absolutecomedy.ca.

REBEL WITHOUT A COSMOS See Thu 20.

THE SKIN OF MY NUTS Weekly open mic w/ Vandad Kardar. 7:30 pm. Free. Sonic Espresso Bar, 60 Cecil. facebook.com/skinofmynuts.

STUDENT BODIES Longform improv w/ players of the Social Capital Repertory Program. 8 pm.

Free. 3rd floor. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. blackswancomedy.com.

YUK YUKS OPEN MIC The Humber School of Comedy at 7:30 pm, Launching Pad for new stand-ups at 9:30 pm, every Tue. $4/show.

Yuk Yuk’s, 224 Richmond W. yukyuks.com.

Wednesday, November 26 THE CARNEGIE HALL SHOW: THE MOVEMBER EDITION The National Theatre of the

ñ World presents the improv variety show w/

Matt Baram, Naomi Snieckus, Chris Gibbs, guests Deb McGrath, Mark Little and others. 8 pm. $18-$20, stu $10 (all proceeds to Movember Canada). Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen W. movembercarnegiehallshow.bpt.me.

MONEY CAN'T BUY HAPPINESS, BUT IT CAN BUY BOOKS... ñ WHICH IS PRETTY CLOSE.

EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR & FRIENDS: NOVEMBER EDITION Improv duo Exit

hosts a show w/ Allana Reoch, James Kersley, Pursued by a Bear, Ladystache, Fratwurst and others. 8 pm. $5. 2nd fl. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. blackswancomedy.com.

THE HIVE Weekly improv w/ rotating teams. 8 pm. Pwyc. 3rd floor. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. blackswancomedy.com.

HYPNOTIXXX: A SLIGHTLY NAUGHTY COMEDY HYPNOSIS SHOW Interactive comedy hypnosis

show. 7:30 pm. $15-$20. The Flying Beaver Pubaret, 488 Parliament. pubaret.com.

I WAS THERE Sketch revue by Dominant Wolf (Amanda McQueen, Cassie Moes, Madryn McCabe). 8 pm. $5. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca.

MAGIC OVEN COMEDY Weekly stand-up show.

8 pm. Free. Magic Oven Keele, 347 Keele. facebook.com/MagicOvenKeele.

ONE NIGHT STAND & BEST OF THE SECOND BEST! Runners-up from NOW Magazine’s ñ Readers’ Poll perform, including One Night Stand, Rulers of the Universe, Ashley Comeau and others. 9:30 pm. Pwyc. 2nd floor The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. blackswancomedy.com.

OUTRAGEOUS! WITH ROBERT KELLER: THE GUEST HOST EDITION Queer-friendly

ñ stand-up w/ Richard Ryder, Dawn Whitwell,

SERENITY: LEAVES ON THE WIND

Stephen Sharpe & host Ted Morris. 8 pm. $15.

Yuk Yuk’s, 224 Richmond W. 416-967-6425, yukyuks.com.

PRO/AM NIGHT Headliner TRIXX, Matt Gass, Jackie Nicholson, Marc Anthony Sinagoga, Sebastian Fazio, Steve Patrick Adams, Sam Farid and host Barry Taylor. 8:30 pm. $10. Absolute Comedy, 2335 Yonge. 416-486-7700, absolutecomedy.ca.

REBEL WITHOUT A COSMOS See Thu 20.

SHAUN MAJUMDER The actor/comic performs a live stand-up show. 8 pm. $59$64. Flato Markham Theatre, 171 Town Centre Blvd. 905-305-7469.

SIREN’S COMEDY Open-mic stand-up w/ host Asaf Gerchak and headliner Ryan Dillon. 8:30 pm. Free. Celt’s Pub, 2872 Dundas W. 416767-3339.

3

ñ

84 Harbord St • 416-963-9993

bakkaphoenixbooks.com

74

NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

books

Ñ

Giller gold

US CONDUCTORS by Sean Michaels (Random House), 347 pages, $24.95 paper. Rating: NNNNN

ñ

The Giller jury got it right this time.

Seans Michaels’s Us Conductors, winner of this year’s award, is gobsmackingly good. Based on the life of Soviet scientist Lev (Léon in America) Theremin, the novel is technically innovative and impossible to put down.

Theremin invented the early electronic instrument that’s played without physical contact, with just a wave of the hands (that’s it in the Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations), as well as other devices, many of them used for spying purposes.

In Us Conductors, he writes his story in a letter to Clara, the love of his life, from – well, we’re not sure. A star in the Soviet Union, he was sent to America not knowing his mission was to exploit his rising fame in order to infiltrate large corporations.

He’s at the mercy of mysterious, menacing forces, a reluctant agent who simply wants to ply his trade.

But if he was a star in the USSR,

he’s a supernova in the U.S. – in huge demand, playing concerts, hanging out with the most influential artists and thinkers (Einstein, Gershwin, Tommy Dorsey) in Manhattan until he’s forced to return to the Soviet Union, where he’s brought low.

Michaels is an ingenious storyteller, cleverly dividing the narrative in two, one-half all pleasure in the U.S., the other painful terror in Stalin’s state. He knows how to describe complex scientific ideas in plain language, can make you hear the wail of the theremin and smell the shit in the gulag.

Us Conductors is a meditation on

Thursday, November 20 AN EVENING OF POETRY & PROSE Launch for Jane Eaton Hamilton’s Love Will Burst Into A Thousand Shapes, plus readings by Nancy Jo Cullen, Maureen Hynes, Elizabeth Ruth and Tanis MacDonald. 8 pm. Free. Glad Day Bookshop, 598 Yonge. caitlin-press.com/events.

GOODBYE FRYING PAN, HELLO FIRE Launch for the book by Jennylynd James. 6-8 pm. Free.

Ben McNally Books, 366 Bay. facebook.com/ goodbyefryingpanhellofire.

HEAR HERE LITERARY SALON Readings by Barry Callaghan, George Elliott Clarke and others, musical performances, food, book sale, visual arts and more. 8 pm. $30. MetroCentre – King Tower, 225 King W. hear-here.org.

PREFIX PHOTO ISSUE 30 Release party for 30th issue. 7 pm. Free. Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art, 401 Richmond W #124. prefix.ca.

SISTERS IN CRIME Monthly meeting and launch for anthology The Whole She-Bang 2. 7 pm. $5. Northern District Library, 40 Orchard View. torontosistersincrime.ca.

Saturday, November 22 FHOLIDAY ARTS FESTIVAL Readings by Sheila Horne, Joanna Gale, Tom Taylor and others, plus art. Doors 6 pm, show 7 pm. $5. Black Swan, 154 Danforth. 416-469-0537.

SUSAN G. COLE susanc@nowtoronto.com | @susangcole

IN PERSON Alison Pick’s exceptional novel Far To Go – long-listed for the Booker Prize – tells a powerful story about a family first ignoring the rise of anti-Semitism, then trying to escape the Nazis. Her follow-up, Between Gods ($29.95, Doubleday), is just as moving, a memoir recounting her personal journey back to her Jewish roots.

Pick reads from and discusses her new book at the North York Central Library on Wednesday (November SGC 26). See Readings, this page.

READINGS THIS WEEK F = Festive event

invisible manipulation by both musicians and the totalitarian state. It’s also a mystery (what’s Theremin’s real attitude to the Soviet project?), a political thriller and a love story with a strong emotional charge.

It ends in the mid-50s, but in a postscript Michaels relates the rest of his hero’s astonishing life in point form. Note to the author: you could have kept writing another 400 pages to the end of Theremin’s days and I would have eaten up every word.

MEET THE PRESSES Indie literary market and

bpNichol Chapbook Award announcement.

11:30 am-5 pm. Free. Tranzac, 292 Brunswick. meetthepresses.wordpress.com.

VERA TARMAN Launching Food Junkies: The Truth About Food Addiction. 2-4 pm. Free.

Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton. dundurn.com.

Sunday, November 23 BRUCE MCDOUGALL Signing copies of The Last Hockey Game. 1 pm. Free. Chapters Queensway, 1950 the Queensway. gooselane.com.

F-YOU PROJECT: GRIEF LOSS AND ACCEPTANCE

Launch for young authors’ stories of divorce, betrayal, death. 3 pm. Free. YWCA Elm Centre, 87 Elm. facebook.com/ProjectFWord.

HIJ HOUSE READINGS Jennifer LoveGrove and Adam Dickinson read and talk with Jay MillAr. 2-5 pm. Free-pwyc. BookThug HQ, 260 Ryding. facebook.com/events/417764588372345.

JONATHAN GOLDSTEIN Conversation with the author and the AGO’s Georgiana Uhlyarik. 2 pm. Pwyc. Koffler Gallery, Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw. kofflerarts.org ALISA SEVIGNY Launching her debut novel, Kissing Frongs. 7-9 pm. College Street Bar, 574 College. fierceinkpress.com.

Monday, November 24 THE BEST CANADIAN POETRY IN ENGLISH 2014

Readings by poets from the anthology. 7 pm.

Joy Bistro, 884 Queen E. tightropebooks.com.

JOHN G GEIGER Reading and discussion with the author of Frozen In Time: The Fate Of The Franklin Expedition. 7 pm. $20. Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, 106 Trinity. 416-865-1833.

Tuesday, November 25 ART BAR POETRY Open mic & readings. 8 pm.

Free. Black Swan, 154 Danforth. artbar.org.

ELSE POULSEN Reading from Bärle’s Story: One

Polar Bear’s Amazing Recovery From Life As A Circus Act. 7 pm. Free. Northern District Library, 40 Orchard View. 416-393-7610.

SHAB-E-SHE’R POETRY: SECOND ANNIVERSARY

Open stage for poetry and music with Shaista Latif, Antonio D’Alfonso, host Bänoo Zan and others. 7 pm. $5. Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham. beitzatoun.org.

Wednesday, November 26 A CENTURY OF WARFARE Book launch for Sarah Hipworth’s Let Them Stay: Iraq War Resisters In Canada and Stephen Dale’s Noble Illusions: Young Canada Goes To War, with guests Frank Showler and Jo Vellacott. 7:30 pm. Free.

Friends House, 60 Lowther. tasc@web.net.

ALISON PICK 7 pm. Free. Pre-register.

North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge.

416-395-5639.

FRANCO BERARDI: THE RETREAT Talk by the media theorist/activist to launch PUBLIC’s 50th issue. 7-8:30 pm. $15, stu $10. Pre-register. Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas W. 416-979-6648, ago.net/bifo.

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= Critics’ Pick NNNNN = Can’t live without it NNNN = Riveting NNN = Worthy NN = Remainder bin here we come

N = Doorstop material

art

MUST-SEE SHOWS A SPACE Jamelie Hassan and Ron Benner, to Dec 13. 401 Richmond W. 416-979-9633.

BIRCH CONTEMPORARY Richard Storms , to Nov 22. 129 Tecumseth. 416-365-3003.

RETROSPECTIVE

CANADIAN LESBIAN AND GAY ARCHIVES

Lake’s deep ideas

Butch: Not Like The Other Girls (photos), to Jan 23. Tue-Thu 7:30-10 pm, Fri 11 am-2 pm or by appt. 34 Isabella. 416-777-2755.

CLINT ROENISCH Harold Klunder (painting), to Dec 6. 190 St Helens. 416-516-8593.

CONTACT GALLERY Johan Hallberg-Campbell (photos), Nov 22-Dec 20. 80 Spadina.

416-539-9595.

COOPER COLE GALLERY Ryan Foerster, Lukas Geronimas, Jesse Harris, Shawn Kuruneru, Nov 21-Dec 31, reception 6-9 pm Nov 21. 1161 Dundas W. 647-3473316.

CORKIN GALLERY Williamson Chong; On Architecture And Structure group show, Nov 20-Dec 31, reception 5-8 pm Nov 20.

7 Tank House. 416-979-1980.

DANIEL FARIA GALLERY Kristine Moran (painting), to Jan 10. Wayne Ngan (ceramics), to Dec 6. 188 St Helens. 416-538-1880.

DIAZ CONTEMPORARY Joseph Tisiga, to Nov 22. 100 Niagara. 416-361-2972.

GLADSTONE HOTEL Glam & Fab Pop-Up Shop , 11 am-5 pm Nov 23. Hard Twist 9 – Fibre Optics group show, to Dec 28. The

AGO samples brilliant feminist groundbreaker

By DAVID JAGER

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SUZY LAKE at the Art Gallery of On-

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Three light box vitrines open the current Suzy Lake retrospective at the AGO. Called Beauty At A Proper Distance, the installation features extreme close-up photos of her glossy mouth forming a saucy “O.” It also features moustache and nostril hairs, along with straggly wisps of beard.

It’s classic Lake: using the seductive visual vocabulary of advertising to show us what womanhood – without the depilating creams, waxes and Photoshopping –actually looks like.

It’s a feminist bait-and-switch that goes to the heart of her work. For the last 50 years, Lake has been playing provocatively with the cultural tropes and expectations surrounding femininity.

Born in Detroit in 1947 and raised to be “a dutiful wife,” she opted for art instead, following her painter husband to Montreal in the wake of

SUZY LAKE

tario (317 Dundas West) to March 22. $11-$19.50, free Wednesday 6-8:30 pm, special exhibits excluded. 416-9796648. Rating: NNNN

Suzy Lake’s photo grid Imitation Of Myself considers female identity as performance.

the Detroit race riots and the Vietnam War. There, she apprenticed with Guido Molinari, honing her own brand of iconic, process-oriented art practice at Concordia. Using her own face and

body as reference points, she’s continued to explore nuances of gender, aging and the politics of the body.

This retrospective starts with her early photography work. Grids of selfportraits show her eerily trans-

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MORE ONLINE

Complete art listings at nowtoronto.com/listings

Ñ

sneer and schizoid slouch, she generates unease in every shot. Bickle represents the alienated creep lurking at the heart of Everyman, and in impersonating him, she performs a cinematic exorcism.

This show is a generous but incomplete sampling of an intriguing and provocative body of work that anticipated the work of successive generations – Cindy Sherman anyone? – by decades.

3 art@nowtoronto.com

Written by Henrik Ibsen Adapted by Florian Borchmeyer Originally adapted for the Schaubühne (Berlin) English translation by Maria Milisavljevic Toronto staging by Richard Rose

THIS WEEK IN THE MUSEUMS AGO Alex Colville ($25, srs $21.50, stu $16.50); Aimia Photography Prize, to Jan 4. Anishinaabe Artists to Nov 25. Michelangelo, to Jan 11 ($25, srs $21.50, stu $16.50).

Mohamed Bourouissa, to Feb 8. Suzy Lake, to Mar 22. $11-$19.50, free Wed 6-8:30 pm (special exhibits excluded). 317 Dundas W. 416979-6648.

DESIGN EXCHANGE Politics Of Fashion/Fashion Of Politics, to Jan 25 ($14-$18.50). 234 Bay. 416-363-6121.

GARDINER MUSEUM Claire Twomey, to Jan 4. $8-$12; Fri 4-9 pm half-price, 30 and under free. 111 Queen’s Park. 416-586-8080.

JUSTINA M. BARNICKE This Area Is Under Surveillance, to Jun 30. Wendy Coburn, to Dec 19.

7 Hart House. 416-978-8398.

POWER PLANT Julia Dault, Pedro Cabrita Reis and Shelagh Keeley, to Jan 4, 2015. 231 Queens Quay W. 416-973-4949.

ROM Bernice Eisenstein, to Feb 8. Designs For Sitting; Early Islamic Textiles, to Jan 25. Paul Kane, to Jan 24. Wildlife Photographer Of The Year, to Mar 23. $14.50-$16; Fri 4:30-8:30 discounts. 100 Queen’s Park.

416-586-8000.

forming into other men and women or sitting at a table applying whiteface, on which she occasionally attempts to draw. She seems to be asking to what extent feminine identity is a performance, one that starts at the makeup table each morning.

She also revels in her masculine personas. Are You Talking To me? is a room containing 90 photographs of Lake enacting that classic phrase of Robert De Niro’s anti-hero in Taxi Driver, Travis Bickle. Emulating his sour

Wild Wild Wes group show, to Nov 23.

1214 Queen W. 416-531-4635.

HASHTAG GALLERY Yared Nigussu (painting), to Dec 7. 801 Dundas W. 416-8611866.

KOFFLER GALLERY Pardes group show, to Nov 30. Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw.

647-925-0643.

LOOP GALLERY Elizabeth D’Agostino and Richard Sewell, to Nov 30. 1273 Dundas W. 416-516-2581.

NO FOUNDATION Claire Scherzinger and Sarah Sands Phillips (painting/drawing), to Nov 21. Sarah Burwash, to Nov 30. 1082 Queen W. 416-993-6510.

ROBERT KANANAJ GALLERY Torsten Richter (drawing), Nov 20-Dec 31, reception 4-7 pm Nov 20. 172 St Helens. 416-289-8855.

VERSO GALLERY Michael Bowness (sculpture). Nov 20-Dec 7, reception 6-8 pm Nov 20. 1160 Queen W. 416-533-6362.

WORKMAN ARTS POP-UP GALLERY Snoozeland (installation, Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival), to Nov 30. 1001 Queen W. XPACE The Artists In Her Studio (After Jane Eyre); Ought group show, Nov 21-Dec 13; Carolyn Code, Nov 21-Dec 19; receptions 7-11 pm Nov 21. 303 Lansdowne. 416-8492864.

Sept 16–Oct 26 in the Mainspace

Jordan Pettle, Matthew Edison, Damien Atkins, Laura Condlln, Rebecca Northan, Bruce Dow; photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

Sextet

TORONTO STAR

a world premiere

written & directed by Morris Panych

‘one of the very best productions of the year’, ‘wonderfully entertaining’

starring Damien Atkins, Laura Condlln, Bruce Dow, Matthew Edison, Rebecca Northan, Jordan Pettle

Nov 5–Dec 14, 2014

generously supported by

LAURA DINNER & RICHARD ROONEY

season sponsor

Mainspace

media sponsor

30 Bridgman Ave · 416.531.1827 · tarragontheatre.com

= Critics’ Pick NNNNN = This could change your life NNNN = Brain candy NNN = Solid, sometimes inspirational NN = Not quite there N = Are we at the mall?

NOW NOVEMBER 20-26 2014

75

movies more online nowtoronto.com/movies

Audio clips from interview with THE HOMESMAN’S TOMMY LEE JONES • Expanded TOP 5 HORRIBLE BOSSES IN MOVIES • and more Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank survive the harsh American frontier in The Homesman.

actor/ director interview

Tommy Lee Jones

A MAN OF FEW WORDS The archetypal strong and silent type discusses (sort of) his sophomore directing effort By NORMAN WILNER THE HOMESMAN directed by Tommy Lee Jones, written by Jones, Kieran Fitzgerald and Wesley A. Oliver from the novel by Glendon Swarthout, with Jones, Hilary Swank, Miranda Otto and Grace Gummer. A Mongrel Media release. 122 minutes. Opens Friday (November 21). For venues and times, see Movies, page 80.

Tommy Lee Jones has built a reputation as a difficult interview over the years, but if you ask him a question, he will answer it – even if the answer is just “Yeah” or “No,” or “I don’t have any recollection of thinking in such terms.” Eventually he starts following one short, declarative sentence with another and another, and you get a proper answer.

This makes a telephone interview especially tricky since it’s not always clear whether he’s finished a response or just pausing to formulate the rest of his thought. In the course of our 15-minute conversation, he utters fewer than 600 words; the average count for an interview of this length is somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3,000.

Jones is doing this round of press in support of The Homesman, a drama set in the American West in the years before the Civil War. In addition to directing and co-writing the script, he plays George Briggs, a Nebraska claim jumper enlisted by settler Mary Bee Cuddy (Hilary Swank) to help her deliver three unhinged women (Miranda Otto, Grace Gummer and Sonja Richter) to sanctuary on the other side of the Missouri River.

A particularly striking element of The Homesman is its bleak landscape, which makes the Amer-

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NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

ican frontier feel hostile and alien, suggesting the land itself has driven Mary Bee’s charges insane. I ask whether that was a conscious decision on Jones’s part.

“Oh, I think it’s probably you reading it into the cinematography,” he says.

“I think the earth is quite beautiful. The film suggests there might be something inherent in the social organization of these people that drives them crazy.

“I don’t think that country’s bleak, I think it’s very beautiful,” he says. “And I’m also pretty well convinced that society was not structured in such a way to survive happily there without destroying that country.”

There’s barely any structure to the frontier society of The Homesman, just despair at the characters’ isolation. The three women are locked into their own private miseries, and Briggs and Mary Bee respect each other without really connecting.

“Well, yeah,” Jones says. “At first, it does seem more despairing....” He does not follow up on the “at first” part.

Jones is similarly reluctant to discuss his own performance as Briggs – a complex,

Ñ

contradictory character who’s shown to be both comically unethical and deeply principled, sometimes both at once.

“The ups and downs and inconsistencies of the character that you’re talking about make the character look like a human being,” he says.

Sure, I say, but we aren’t allowed to fully understand that character’s choices – which is what makes him so interesting.

“Yeah,” Jones says agreeably. “Well, even today, many people don’t know the full story [about anyone else]. I think you would look a long time before you found someone who knew the full story.”

The Homesman is his second feature as a director, after 2005’s terrific The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada. I ask Jones if he’s planning to get back behind the camera again.

“There are three or four scripts on my desk that I’d really like to direct,” he says, “but it’d be unfair to talk about them specifically.”

See? Asked and answered. 3

REVIEW THE HOMESMAN (Tommy Lee Jones) Rating: NNN Tommy Lee Jones’s long-awaited directorial follow-up to The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada, The Homesman is a flawed but fascinating study of despair on the American frontier.

A Nebraska settler (Hilary Swank) enlists a claim jumper (Jones, who also co-wrote the screenplay) to take three women (Miranda Otto, Grace Gummer, Sonja Richter) who’ve suffered mental breakdowns back to civilization on the other side of the Missouri River. The journey is not an easy one.

Jones depicts mid-19th century America as harsh and hostile, an alien terrain working to undermine any attempts to tame it.

His film feels just as unruly and tonally uncontrolled, shifting from sombre drama to broad comedy and back again.

And he’s assembled an amazing supporting cast, including John Lithgow, Barry Corbin, James Spader, William Fichtner, Tim Blake Nelson, Hailee Steinfeld and Meryl Streep – though each of those actors only appears for a few NW minutes.

normw@nowtoronto.com @normwilner

more online

Interview clips at nowtoronto.com

= Critic’s Pick NNNNN = Top ten of the year NNNN = Honourable mention NNN = Entertaining NN = Mediocre N = Bomb

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THE HOMESMAN IS THE KIND THEY DON’T MAKE MUCH ANYMORE.

HILARY SWANK’S BEST ROLE SINCE MILLION DOLLAR BABY.” Rex Reed

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77

DOCUMENTARY

Jennifer Lawrence is right on target in Mockingjay – Part 1.

Get to the art HERMITAGE REVEALED (Margy Kinmonth).

82 minutes. Some subtitles. Opens Friday (November 21). For venues and times, see Movies, page 80. Rating: NN Hermitage Revealed proves that the best way to experience a magnificent museum is to visit it in person. At least then you can tune out the yakking and bliss out in front of that Leonardo or Rembrandt by yourself.

There’s no such escape in this dull doc, which dutifully and unimaginatively recounts the history of the Russian institution, from its founding by Catherine the Great in 1764 to the present day, when contemporary art shares space with Old Masters and priceless antiquities.

The story of the Hermitage, housed in the Winter Palace, is anything but

Hunger pains

boring. It was almost burned down during the fire of 1837, was stormed during the October Revolution and survived several wars. Under Stalin, dozens of curators were sent to gulags. As one talking head rightly points out, the Hermitage is part of the country’s soul.

But all of this could be found in a Wiki entry. When someone discusses Titian’s Flight Into Egypt or Leonardo’s Madonna Litta, you’ll want to hit the mute button and get a close-up.

Writer/director Margy Kinmonth uses some banal time-lapse photography to show the thousands of people going into the building. Following a young boy frolicking up and down its halls is an even worse decision. He’s meant to represent the Hermitage’s current director, Mikhail Piotrovsky, who grew up there since his father Boris ran it for three decades.

Rather than eye candy, these sequences only provoke eye-rolling.

GLENN SUMI

If you get the chance, visit the Hermitage, not this film about it.

DYSTOPIA

The penultimate chapter of Suzanne Collins’s epic isn’t the best... but it sets things up for the finale

DRAMA

Really Low

By SUSAN G. COLE

LOW DOWN (Jeff Preiss). 114 minutes.

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 directed by Francis Lawrence, written by Peter Craig and Danny Strong from the book by Suzanne Collins, with Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth. 123 minutes. An eOne release. Opens Friday (November 21). For venues and times, see Movies, page 80. Rating: NNN

It’s tempting to give two ratings for the third instalment of the Hunger Games, one for people who’ve seen the previous two, another for those who want to see Mockingjay but haven’t read the books and missed the pics. I advise the maybe 20 people who fall into the latter category that Mockingjay – Part 1 does not stand alone.

Even fans who know everything about Katniss Everdeen’s story will find this edition thin on energy and action.

It begins with Hunger Games winner and now budding rebel Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) holed up in District 13, ground zero for the military arm of the revolution against the Capitol and evil President Snow (the gloriously slimy Donald Sutherland).

District 13 leaders want to make Katniss the Mockingjay, the public face of the rebellion. She won’t agree unless they rescue her (maybe) main squeeze Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) from the clutches of the Capitol.

TOP 5 HORRIBLE BOSSES 78

Except for this rescue operation and the Capitol’s all-out air assault on District 13, Mockingjay doesn’t have a lot of tension. Weird how it’s absorbing nevertheless.

Several elements make it so. A sequence in which the communications team develops propaganda ads featuring Katniss is a fascinating meditation on ad industry tactics. There’s also increasing sexual tension between Katniss and homeboy Gale (Liam Hemsworth).

And it’s startling to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman – to whom the movie is dedicated – in action, even if he appears to be sleepwalking through the performance. Julianne Moore, too, is strangely flat as District 13’s president, lacking charisma in a way that, given her chops, has to be intentional, though I can’t imagine what the intent might be.

But it’s Lawrence who drives this thing, and she’s riveting. She’s the one who carries the pic’s emotional weight, expertly conveying Katniss’s maturity and growing resolve.

Otherwise Mockingjay, well made though it is, definitely keeps the franchise in a holding pattern.

That’ll make anticipation for the finale all the more breathless.

3

NN The problem with making a movie about a junkie is that junkies don’t really do very much. They scrounge, they score, they nod off and eventually they wake up and do it all over again.

Drugstore Cowboy and Naked Lunch found things for their junkie heroes to do. Low Down does not.

It’s based on a true story, and is in fact co-written by the woman who lived that story, Amy-Jo Albany. Her father, Joe, was a jazz pianist and a fairly heavy heroin addict. The movie Jason Sudeikis (left), Charlie Day and Jason Bateman learn how to work it in Horrible Bosses 2.

Elle Fanning’s junkie scrounges, scores, nods off and wakes up. Yawn.

susanc@nowtoronto.com | @susangcole

With Horrible Bosses 2 opening Wednesday (November 26), it seemed like the perfect time to cast our minds back on some particularly toxic cinematic employers. Don’t worry, they’re all fictional; they can’t hurt you.

See expanded article at nowtoronto.com/movies.

NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

Opens Friday (November 21). For venues and times, see Movies, page 80. Rating:

opens in 1974, when Joe and Amy-Jo were living in a fleabag hotel in downtown L.A. It wasn’t fun.

Joe is played by John Hawkes, and Amy-Jo by Elle Fanning. Both are magnetic, fascinating performers, and they can hold the screen when nothing at all is happening. The problem is that for much of Low Down, nothing does.

Joe hangs with his friends, Amy-Jo pushes back against her father’s unreliability, and that’s pretty much it.

Director Jeff Preiss has spent decades working as a documentary cinematographer – he shot the gorgeous Chet Baker documentary Let’s Get Lost – and he ensures Low Down has a perfect period look. I just wish I cared about what was happening in the NORMAN WILNER frame.

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2

3

(Kevin Spacey), Swimming With Sharks (1994)

(Meryl Streep), The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

(Sigourney Weaver), Working Girl (1988)

Buddy Ackerman Miranda Priestly Katharine Parker

= Critic’s Pick NNNNN = Top ten of the year NNNN = Honourable mention NNN = Entertaining NN = Mediocre N = Bomb

Matthew VanDyke’s selfglorifying footage becomes a house of mirrors.

also opening

Penguins Of Madagascar

(D: Eric Darnell, Simon J. Smith, 92 min) The second sequel in the Madagascar franchise finds a group of penguins forming a super-spy team. Voice actors include Tom McGrath, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Jeong and (!) Werner Herzog.

Horrible Bosses 2 (D: Sean Anders, 108 min) This sequel to 2011’s breakout comedy brings back friends (Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis) dealing with another set of really bad employers (including Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine).

Women Who Flirt (D: Pang Ho Cheung, 96 min) A woman flirts to win back the love of her life in this Chinese romantic comedy.

All three open Wednesday (November 26). Screened after press time – see reviews in next week’s issue.

Yeah, Penguins Of Madagascar looks cheesy. But fun.

DOCUMENTARY

Valid Point POINT AND SHOOT (Marshall Curry).

ñ

83 minutes. Some subtitles. Opens Friday (November 21). For venues and times, see Movies, page 80. Rating: NNNN

In the late 2000s, a sheltered Baltimore man named Matthew VanDyke decided he was going to give himself a “crash course in manhood” by motorbiking across Africa in search of adventure.

He didn’t find much, apart from crashing his bike a couple of times, but he did make a few friends. One of them was from Libya, and when that country exploded in civil war in 2011, VanDyke smuggled himself and his camera in to embed himself with the rebel forces out to depose Muammar Gaddafi.

Point And Shoot is not directed by VanDyke, but by Marshall Curry (Street Fight, Racing Dreams), who’s distilled hundreds of hours of VanDyke’s selfglorifying footage into a fascinating narrative. He also forces his subject to confront that narrative in a post-facto interview that becomes the spine of the documentary.

Curry’s editorial approach lets us see that VanDyke is perhaps not the most emotionally mature individual, which tempers the impulse to write him off as another adrenaline junkie out to make a name for himself in the stupidest way possible. And it turns a narcissist’s homemade adventure videos into a fascinating hall of mirrors.

NORMAN WILNER

4

5

Jeff D. Sheldrake Gordon Gekko (Fred MacMurray), (Michael Douglas), The Apartment Wall Street (1987) (1960)

“A JAW-DROPPING EXPERIENCE.”

“RIVETING… SUSPENSEFUL.”

HERMITAGE REVEALED

POINT AND SHOOT

Directed by Margy Kinmonth

Directed by Marshall Curry

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Nia Jervier (left), Teyonah Parris and Brandon P. Bell get top marks in Dear White People.

Playing this week How to find a listing

Movie listings are comprehensive and organized alphabetically. Listings include name of film, director’s name in brackets, a review, running time and a rating.

Reviews are by Norman Wilner (NW), Susan G. Cole (SGC), Glenn Sumi (GS), and Radheyan Simonpillai (RS) unless otherwise specified.

The rating system is as follows: NNNNN Top 10 of the year NNNN Honourable mention NNN Entertaining NN Mediocre N Bomb

Ñ= Critics’ pick (highly recommended)

Movie theatres are listed at the end and can be cross-referenced to our film times on page 83.

ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY (Miguel

Arteta) sticks to the spirit of Judith Viorst’s picture book while adding its own ingratiating material. After a disastrous day, Alexander wishes for his family to share his misfortune. They face disasters at work, the junior prom, driving tests and the school play, each more manic and derivative than the last as the plot chugs along. 81 min. NN (RS) 401 & Morningside, Canada Square, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Rainbow Promenade, SilverCity Yonge

ANNABELLE (John R. Leonetti) is a thin

prequel to The Conjuring that fills in the backstory of the eponymous demonic doll from the first film. In early 70s California, a young couple (Annabelle Wallis and Ward Horton) with a new baby experience some paranormal activity. Director Leonetti generates some suspense and unease, and the film looks good. But the acting is as plastic as the doll, and some plot contrivances will make even the most ac-

cepting genre fans roll their eyes. 99 min.

NN (GS)

Scotiabank Theatre

ñART AND CRAFT

(Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman) tracks two obsessive men: a delicate Southern soul who makes near-perfect copies of European paintings and donates them to museums, and the Cincinnati art authority who’s tried to expose his deceptions to no avail.

The filmmaker can’t decide which one is the hero, and you may find your sympathies similarly split. 89 min. NNNN (NW) Revue

BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP (Rowan Joffe) stars a quivering Nicole Kidman as an amnesiac who wakes up every morning next to a husband (Colin Firth) she can’t remember because of an accident (or attempted murrrderrr?). Director Joffe keeps things effectively tense and confusing, but with every reveal and explanation the film becomes more hammy and ridiculous. 92 min. NN (RS) Yonge & Dundas 24 THE BEST OF ME (Michael Hoffman) is the

latest clichéd movie of a novel by peddler of moss-covered romance Nicholas Sparks, and it hews close to The Notebook. Once again, an older couple trip down memory lane to rekindle the passion of their youth. A chiselled, slightly grey James Marsden and Luke Bracey as his younger self both take their shirts off.

117 min. NN (RS) 401 & Morningside, Colossus, Yonge & Dundas 24

THE BETTER ANGELS (A.J. Edwards) is what

we get when someone tries to make a Terrence Malick movie about the young Abraham Lincoln; the impressionistic sweep is there, but not the grace. Though Edwards deploys Malick’s signature moves – swelling score, sun-dappled camerawork, hesitant voice-over narration – without Malick’s sense of pacing and escalation, individual scenes hang limply when they should build toward an ecstatic, revelatory climax. 94 min. NN (NW) Carlton Cinema

BEYOND THE LIGHTS (Gina Prince-Bythewood) is a love story about an English hiphop singer who falls for the Los Angeles cop who stops her going over a balcony.

They’re three-dimensional characters with compatible personalities, but the film

Flick Finder

NOW picks your kind of movie FAMILY

BIG HERO 6

A 14-year-old robotics genius (voiced by Ryan Potter) upgrades himself, a handful of college-aged scientists and a marshmallowy droid to battle a dangerous supervillain.

80

DOC

CITIZENFOUR

This must-see doc looks at how Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the U.S. National Security Agency’s secret data collection programs and the complicity of foreign governments.

NOVEMBER 20-26 2014 NOW

FOREIGN

FORCE MAJEURE

A picture-perfect Swedish family’s skiing vacay in the French Alps goes awry when the upright father panics in a moment of crisis. A wickedly funny dissection of bourgeois happiness.

puts increasingly silly obstacles in the way of their happiness. When they click, though, it still feels pretty damn good.

116 min. NNN (NW) Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, SilverCity Yorkdale, Yonge & Dundas 24

Me’s Minions (they mumble and build stuff). They’re adorable, while the humans bent on exterminating them are ghastly. A hilarious visual treat from the Laika studio (Coraline, ParaNorman). 96 min. NNNN (RS) Revue

ñBIG HERO 6

ñBOYHOOD

(Don Hall, Chris Williams) centres on 14-year-old robotics genius Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan Potter), who “upgrades” himself and four college-aged scientists to battle an emerging super-villain. Directors Hall and Williams find new angles on the required action beats, but their real focus is on Hiro’s bond with his initial subject, a marshmallowy medical droid called Baymax (30 Rock’s Scott Adsit). The world in which it all takes place is a production designer’s dream. 108 min. NNNN (NW) 401 & Morningside, Beach Cinemas, Carlton Cinema, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Humber Cinemas, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Rainbow Promenade, Rainbow Woodbine, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Yonge & Dundas 24

BIRDMAN: OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (Alejandro González

SCI-FI

INTERSTELLAR

The plot of this sci-fi actioner may be dopey – an astronaut pilots a mission into a wormhole to find a new home for humans – but the visuals are stunning (see it in IMAX) and the actors committed.

Iñárritu) is a near-total fiasco from a filmmaker bent on impressing the world with his prodigious talent, a show-offy drama about a former superhero actor (Michael Keaton) making his Broadway debut by writing, directing and starring in a drama based on the stories of Raymond Carver.

It’s a godawful mess. 119 min. NN (NW) Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills, Eglinton Town Centre, Queensway, Varsity, Yonge & Dundas 24

THE BOOK OF LIFE 3D (Jorge R. Gutierrez)

is a phantasmagoric animated folktale centring on a love triangle between best friends who become gambling fodder for after-life gatekeepers. It’s an overpopulated, magnificent mess, where every intricate frame is nuanced and dazzling. 95 min. NNN (RS) Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Queensway, Rainbow Woodbine, SilverCity Fairview, Yonge & Dundas 24

ñTHE BOXTROLLS

(Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable) are ghoulish-looking, sewer-dwelling creatures whose behaviour mimics that of raccoons (they rummage through trash) and Despicable

(Richard Linklater) is the best American movie I’ve seen in years – and one of the very best movies about America ever made, capturing the maturation of Texas kid Mason (Ellar Coltrane) from first grade through leaving for college. If I see another movie more ambitious, more honest or more illuminating this year, I’ll be stunned. 164 min. NNNNN (NW) Carlton Cinema, Kingsway Theatre, Regent Theatre

ñCITIZENFOUR

(Laura Poitras) chronicles the eight days Edward Snowden spent in a Hong Kong hotel room with filmmaker Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald, where he blew the whistle on America’s secret data-collection programs and the complicity of foreign governments in those efforts. It’s as unnerving as any espionage thriller. Some subtitles. 114 min. NNNN (NW) TIFF Bell Lightbox

ñTHE DARK KNIGHT

(Christopher Nolan) is darker and crueller than Batman Begins, with strong performances

by Heath Ledger as a demented Joker and Christian Bale as a tormented Bruce Wayne. The action sequences and script are tight. It’s long and exhausting, but not really cuttable. 152 min. NNNN (NW) Yonge & Dundas 24

ñDEAR WHITE PEOPLE

(Justin Simien) is a vital, immediate comedy about contemporary attitudes toward race, gender and sexuality, set at a fictional Ivy League school where racial tensions are creeping toward a flashpoint. Social awareness can be fun! 108 min. NNNN (NW) Coliseum Scarborough, Yonge & Dundas 24

DON’T GET KILLED IN ALASKA (Bill Taylor) stars Tommie-Amber Pirie as a directionless 20-something who hits up her dysfunctional family for cash. Some plot elements and dialogue in this micro-budget drama feel contrived, but each of the characters has an honest core that Taylor builds on to reach a touching and satisfying conclusion. 96 min. NNN (RS) Carlton Cinema

DRACULA UNTOLD (Gary Shore) is an

origin story for Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans). It’s dull, grey and rather pointless, the prologue to a modern Dracula movie stretched out to feature length. Some subtitles. 92 min. NN (NW) Colossus, Scotiabank Theatre

DUMB AND DUMBER TO (Peter Farrelly,

Bobby Farrelly) settles for revisiting the inane toilet humour of the 1994 original.

The Farrellys don’t seem to realize that shit goes stale, too. Once again Harry (Jeff Daniels) and Lloyd (Jim Carrey) go on a road trip while living up to the adjectives in the title in a movie that does the same.

109 min. N (RS) 401 & Morningside, Beach Cinemas, Carlton Cinema, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Humber Cinemas, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Rainbow Promenade, Rainbow Woodbine, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Yonge & Dundas 24

THE EQUALIZER (Antoine Fuqua) reunites

the ever-formidable Denzel Washington with Training Day director Fuqua for a pulpy, sadistic big-screen update of a barely remembered 80s TV series. Up until the overheated climax, it’s even reasonably entertaining. 131 min. NNN (NW) 401 & Morningside, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Scotiabank Theatre

ñFORCE MAJEURE

(Ruben Östlund) follows a picture-perfect Swedish family’s skiing vacation in the French Alps, where the father (Johannes Kuhnke) panics in a moment of potential crisis, destroying his standing as benevolent patriarch and sending him into a spiral of self-justification. The deeper he digs, the funnier Force Majeure gets and the more perceptive and uncomfortable it becomes.

Some subtitles. 118 min. NNNN (NW) Carlton Cinema, Kingsway Theatre, Regent Theatre, TIFF Bell Lightbox

FURY (David Ayer) follows the crew of an American tank – among them Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf and Logan Lerman – making its way into Germany in April 1945. Director Ayer actively tries to top the brutality and gore of Saving Private Ryan, making it feel like a swaggering corrective to the old-fashioned pleasures of George Cloocontinued on page 82 œ

Take your seats Sit back and enjoy the latest design trends with programming from DW and discover what’s defining modern European culture and style today.

T CONTAC

3566 514 844 canada .de/tvwww.dw

www.dw.de

NOW november 20-26 2014

81

Dumb And Dumber To, starring Jim Carrey, is getting crappy reviews, but people are flocking to see it.

œcontinued from page 80

ney’s recent The Monuments Men. Some subtitles. 134 min. NNN (NW) Canada Square, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande Steeles, Queensway, SilverCity Yonge, Yonge & Dundas 24

ñGoNe Girl

(David Fincher) is a little cold, but that’s why Fincher (Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network) is the perfect director for it, clinically dissecting what happens to a small-town bar owner (Ben Affleck) when his wife (Rosamund Pike) goes missing on the morning of their fifth anniversary. Gone Girl feels machine-tooled in the best possible way, spotless and chilly and perfect. It’s exactly what this story and these characters require. 149 min. NNNN (NW) 401 & Morningside, Beach Cinemas, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande Steeles, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Scotiabank Theatre, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Varsity, Yonge & Dundas 24

The Good lie (Philippe Falardeau) is

ñ

being sold as a feel-good picture (about three Sudanese war survivors airlifted to Kansas City in 2001) along the lines of The Blind Side, but director Falardeau is far more interested in earning our empathy – and our tears – than in pandering to an American audience. Good for him. Some subtitles. 110 min. NNNN (NW) Canada Square

ñGoodbye To laNGuaGe 3d

(JeanLuc Godard) is not a masterpiece (in truth, it’s pretty much a mess), but it’s the work of a master who’s willing to reinvent the way we perceive narrative. Godard being Godard, he does this mostly in the service of banal conversations in which lovers in various states of undress yammer about philosophy and cultural theory in that uniquely French mode of intellectual exhaustion. Subtitled. 70 min. NNNN (NW) TIFF Bell Lightbox

ñGuardiaNs of The Galaxy

(James Gunn) is a blockbuster space adventure about misfit heroes trying to save the universe from a maniac (Lee Pace) bent on wiping out everything and everybody who isn’t him. In the hands of director/co-writer Gunn, it is easily the weirdest, loosest thing to come out of Marvel Studios to date. 122 min. NNNN (NW) Colossus, Fox, Yonge & Dundas 24

hermiTaGe revealed (Margy Kinmonth)

82 min. See review, page 79. NN (GS) Opens Nov 21 at Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

The homesmaN (Tommy Lee Jones) 122 min. See interview and review, page 76.

NNN (NW)

Opens Nov 21 at Canada Square, Yonge & Dundas 24

horNs (Alexandre Aja) stars Daniel Radcliffe as a small-town murder suspect who wakes up one morning with horns sprouting from his head and the ability to make people reveal their most awful secrets. Aja clearly loves the grungy, magic-realist heart of Joe Hill’s novel, but the pacing’s lumpy and the tone doesn’t quite hold.

When it works, it works really well, but after a while Horns just wears you down.

120 min. NNN (NW) Carlton Cinema horrible bosses 2 (Sean Anders) 108 min. See Also Opening, page 79.

Opens Nov 26 at 401 & Morningside, Beach Cinemas, Carlton Cinema, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Humber Cinemas, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Rainbow Promenade, Rainbow Woodbine, Scotiabank Theatre, Silver82

november 20-26 2014 NOW

City Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Yonge & Dundas 24

The huNdred-fooT JourNey (Lasse Hall-

ström) gives big fun to foodies. When family patriarch Om Puri opens a Bollywood-style eatery in a Gallic town across from the Michelin-approved resto owned

by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), intense competition ensues. There are no surprises but lots of pleasures: Puri and Mirren are obviously having a gas, and it’s literally a feast for the eyes. Prepare to want to eat afterwards. 115 min. NNN (SGC) Kingsway Theatre, Revue

ñThe huNGer Games: CaTChiNG fire

(Francis Lawrence) again features a knockout Jennifer Lawrence, this time having to go back into the arena for another Hunger Games because her last victory has stirred revolution in the downtrodden districts. Highly entertaining. 145 min. NNNN (SGC) Rainbow Market Square

The huNGer Games: moCkiNGJay – ParT 1 (Francis Lawrence) 123 min. See

review, page 78. NNN (SGC) Opens Nov 21 at 401 & Morningside, Beach Cinemas, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Humber Cinemas, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Rainbow Promenade, Rainbow Woodbine, Scotiabank Theatre, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Varsity, Yonge & Dundas 24

The huNGer Games (Gary Ross) adapts Suzanne Collins’s futuristic novel about a young girl – an excellent Jennifer Lawrence – who must participate in a televised fight-to-the-death spectacle. The cast is great and the film looks terrific, but it sanitizes the material in what could have been a devastatingly dystopic film event. A missed opportunity. 142 min.

NNN (SGC) Rainbow Market Square iNTersTellar (Christopher Nolan) is a stunning visual accomplishment in service of a story that’s pretty dopey if you think about it for even a microsecond. Matthew McConaughey plays an astronaut-turnedcorn-farmer who pilots a mission into a wormhole in hopes of finding a new home for the human race, but director/co-writer Nolan undercuts the hard-SF premise with a weirdly goopy reliance on primal concepts like destiny and the power of love.

169 min. NNN (NW) 401 & Morningside, Beach Cinemas, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande Steeles, Humber Cinemas, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Rainbow Promenade, Rainbow Woodbine, Scotiabank Theatre, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Varsity, Yonge & Dundas 24 JohN WiCk (Chad Stahelski) stars

ñ

Keanu Reeves as the eponymous anti-hero, a retired assassin and recent widower who goes after the thugs who stole his car and killed the puppy his wife left him. First-time director Stahelski deftly shifts the tone from serious-minded character piece to full-on comic book excess. Some subtitles. 101 min. NNNN (NW) 401 & Morningside, Canada Square, Carlton Cinema, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Rainbow Woodbine, Scotiabank Theatre, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yorkdale, Yonge & Dundas 24

The JudGe (David Dobkin) is a slick, commercial package – but what’s inside is

pretty solid, letting Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall go head to head in a fatherson drama wrapped up inside a contrived legal thriller about a hotshot lawyer defending his father from a murder charge.

Both actors are great, and Dobkin (who also co-wrote the story) foregrounds relationships over legalese at every turn. 143 min. NNN (NW) 401 & Morningside, Canada Square, Carlton Cinema, Fox, Queensway, Scotiabank Theatre

keeP oN keePiN’ oN (Alan Hicks) is a pedestrian but likeable portrait of legendary jazz trumpeter and educator Clark Terry.

Tributes from the likes of Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones address the development of an individual voice in jazz. Terry’s contribution to this discussion is his emphasis on self-knowledge: that individual voice isn’t something you put on, but rather, through reflection and discipline, draw from deep within yourself. 86 min. NNN (NW) Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, Carlton Cinema

ñlove is sTraNGe

(Ira Sachs) tracks lovers George and Ben, superbly played by Alfred Molina and John Lithgow, who are forced to live separately when they can no longer afford their Manhattan apartment. Sachs lets small gestures evoke the intimacy the two men miss so desperately. You won’t be on the edge of your seat, but you will get drawn in by the characters and their dilemmas. 94 min.

NNNN (SGC) Fox

loW doWN (Jeff Preiss) See review, page 78. 114 min. NN (NW) Opens Nov 21 at Carlton Cinema madaGasCar 3: euroPe’s mosT WaNTed (Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath,

Conrad Vernon) is zippy, silly and antic fun with Alex the lion and his team of continent-hopping friends. Making a break for New York City by trekking across Europe, the gang joins a travelling circus that includes a sneering Siberian tiger and a sleek jaguar (Jessica Chastain, oozing sex appeal even as a cartoon animal). On their tails is a villainous animal control chief voiced by the magnificent Frances McDormand with malevolent glee. 85 min. NNN (RS) 401 & Morningside, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Queensway, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yorkdale

maGiC iN The mooNliGhT (Woody Allen)

Ñ

is lazy. Allen’s 1920s-set story about magician Stanley (Colin Firth), who revels in debunking spiritualists, isn’t funny or full of ideas. Normally I’d grumble about a storyline that forces me to root for the mid-50s Firth to get it on with the 20-something Emma Stone’s spiritualist, but I was too bored to care. 98 min. NN (SGC) Mt Pleasant

maPs To The sTars (David Cronenberg)

takes Bruce Wagner’s satirical Hollywood novel and turns it into a flat, psychologically trite tale of absent parents and ruined children. There are some interesting ideas knocking around, but the script simply wanders back and forth between the characters with no real point or logic. 112 min. NN (NW) Canada Square, Carlton Cinema, TIFF Bell Lightbox

The maze ruNNer (Wes Ball) adapts a YA

dystopia series about boys trapped in a mysterious area surrounded by a maze.

It’s monotonous, nonsensical, virtually humourless and oppressively grey. It only exists to set up the next one. 113 min. N (NW) Coliseum Scarborough, Yonge & Dundas 24

The meTroPoliTaN oPera: il barbiere di siviGlia is a high-def broadcast from

the Met of Rossini’s comic opera, starring Isabel Leonard, Lawrence Brownlee and Christopher Maltman. 205 min.

Nov 22, 12:55 pm, at Beach Cinemas, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Queensway, Scotiabank Theatre, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge

ñmommy

(Xavier Dolan) is the Cannes prize winner and Canada’s foreign-language Oscar entry from precocious auteur Dolan, about a single parent (Anne Dorval) coping, barely, with the troubled, often violent son (Antoine Olivier Pilon) she loves. Operatic, beautiful and explosive, Mommy is wholly unpredictable. Dolan has turned into one of Canada’s best filmmakers. Subtitled. 139 min. NNNN (SGC) Canada Square, Fox, Revue

my old lady (Israel Horovitz) stars Kevin Kline as a penniless, middle-aged loser who travels to Paris to claim a sprawling apartment in the Marais bequeathed him by his dad. But under the viager system, the previous owner (Maggie Smith) and

her daughter (Kristin Scott Thomas) can still live there. The plot’s telegraphed in the first 10 minutes, but the stars are watchable. 107 min. NN (GS) Canada Square, Kingsway Theatre

NaTioNal TheaTer live: of miCe aNd meN – eNCore is a high-def broadcast of

the Broadway revival of Steinbeck’s classic drama, starring James Franco and Chris O’Dowd. 150 min.

Nov 23, 12:55 pm, at Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills, SilverCity Yonge; Nov 23, 12:55 pm, and Nov 24, 7 pm, at Coliseum Scarborough and Queensway; from Nov 22 at Yonge & Dundas 24

ñNiGhTCraWler

(Dan Gilroy) is a twitchy Los Angeles thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a creepy loner who worms his way into a career as a freelance videographer. His performance keeps you watching even as writer-director Gilroy’s slippery character study backs itself into a narrative corner. 117 min. NNNN (NW) 401 & Morningside, Canada Square, Carlton Cinema, Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Queensway, Rainbow Woodbine, Scotiabank Theatre, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale

oNe ChaNCe (David Frankel) is a cheesy

but entertaining biopic about operatic tenor Paul Potts (James Corden), who achieved overnight success on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent. The underdog story is anything but subtle, but Corden infuses his role with heart and pathos, and he and the bright-eyed Alexandra Roach (as his love interest) share a sweet, jokey, believable chemistry. 103 min. NNN (GS) Carlton Cinema

The 100-year-old maN Who Climbed ouT The WiNdoW aNd disaPPeared

(Felix Herngren) stars Robert Gustafsson as the titular hero, a former explosives expert who escapes from a seniors facility and finds a suitcase full of money belonging to drug dealers. The Forrest Gumpian conceit feels very old, and the scattershot attacks on historical figures make no distinctions between good and bad guys.

Worse, the pic’s not funny. Subtitled. 114 min. NN (SGC) Kingsway Theatre

ouiJa (Stiles White) is as flat as the titular

= Critics’ Pick nnnnn = Top ten of the year nnnn = Honourable mention nnn = Entertaining nn = Mediocre n = Bomb

board, from the stereotypical jump scares right down to the paper-thin premise, namely that five teens trying to contact a dead friend unleash a murderous spirit.

The spook isn’t that scary, doesn’t get much screen time and doesn’t resonate in any way with the thoroughly characterfree kids. 90 min. N (Andrew Dowler) 401 & Morningside, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Grande - Steeles, Queensway, Rainbow Woodbine, Scotiabank Theatre, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yorkdale

ñTHE OVERNIGHTERS

(Jesse Moss) is an incredibly sympathetic portrait of Jay Reinke, a Lutheran pastor in North Dakota trying to shelter people drawn there by the promise of jobs in the fracking industry. Documentarian Moss structures it as a portrait of both an individual and a community, allowing everyone a point of view even when that point of view seems reactionary and ill-informed. 100 min.

NNNN (NW) Kingsway Theatre

PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR (Eric Darnell, Simon J. Smith) 92 min. See Also Opening, page 79.

Opens Nov 26 at 401 & Morningside, Beach Cinemas, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Humber Cinemas, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Rainbow Promenade, Rainbow Woodbine, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Yonge & Dundas 24 THE PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER – BOLSHOI BALLET ENCORE is a broadcast of a live performance from the Bolshoi of the Egyptian-themed ballet. 175 min.

Nov 20, 7 pm, at Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Queensway, SilverCity Yonge, Yonge & Dundas 24

POINT AND SHOOT (Marshall Curry)

ñ

See review, page 78. 83 min. NNNN (NW) Opens Nov 21 at Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

PRIDE (Matthew Warchus) is an ex-

ñ

cellently played crowd-pleaser based on the true story of a London gay and lesbian grassroots organization that offers to support striking mineworkers against Margaret Thatcher’s vicious regime. It gets a bit too warm and fuzzy – bordering on manipulative – at the end, but this is an important story proving that activists with ingenuity can build improbable political coalitions. 119 min. NNNN (SGC) Canada Square, Kingsway Theatre, Revue, Yonge & Dundas 24

ñROSEWATER

(Jon Stewart) finds first-time filmmaker Stewart tackling the story of Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari, whose appearance in a Daily Show segment about the 2009 Iranian election was a factor in his subsequent arrest, detention and torture by the Ahmadinejad government. It’s an assured, thoughtful and very moving debut, with fine performances by Gael García Bernal as Bahari and Danish actor Kim Bodnia (Pusher) as his interrogator. 103 min. NNNN (NW) Canada Square, Eglinton Town Centre, Kingsway Theatre, Queensway, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Varsity

ST. VINCENT (Theodore Melfi) seems de-

signed explicitly to win Bill Murray an Oscar, casting the beloved star as a cranky alcoholic whose hostile exterior masks deep sorrow and a heart of gold. But even as writer/director Melfi piles on the complications and contrivances, Murray refuses to condescend to them. 103 min.

NNN (NW) Beach Cinemas, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Rainbow Promenade, SilverCity Yonge, Varsity, Yonge & Dundas 24

shootings on Parliament Hill, the dreaded security certificates are making a comeback, so the doc’s more timely than ever.

84 min. NNNN (SGC) Kingsway Theatre

THE SKELETON TWINS (Craig Johnson) is a modest indie dramedy starring Saturday Night Live veterans Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader as siblings helping each other through a rough patch. It’s fine, and the actors contribute moments when it’s considerably more than fine, but it’s totally by the numbers. 93 min. NNN (NW) Fox THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (James

Marsh) takes the remarkable, complex story of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and imprisons it in the inspirational treacle of a disease-of-the-week movie about a young couple struggling with life-altering illness. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones make it worth watching, but Anthony McCarten’s script sees them only as noble sufferers waiting for the next challenge. 123 min. NNN (NW) Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Queensway, Varsity

UNDER THE SEA (Howard Hall) is a daz-

zling travelogue airily narrated by Jim Carrey, an alternative for those of us who can’t afford to go scuba diving off southern Australia. The mere 40-minute run time might make it a waste for those who have to travel just as long to see it. 40 min.

NNN (RS) Ontario Science Centre OMNIMAX

WALKING THE CAMINO: SIX WAYS TO SANTIAGO (Lydia Smith) is a spectacular

movie times complete first-run, independent, repertory and festivals Online expanded Film Times

Aurora Cinemas • Cine Starz • Coliseum Mississagua • Courtney Park 16 • Elgin Mills 10 • Empire Studio 10 • First Markham Place • 5 DriveIn Oakville • SilverCity Newmarket • SilverCity Richmond Hill • SilverCity Oakville • Winston Churchill 24 nowtoronto.com/movies

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Downtown

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ROYAL (I)

WHIPLASH (Damien Chazelle) is a battle of wills between a drummer (Miles Teller) who challenges a monstrous conductor (J.K. Simmons) for a potentially lifechanging spot in his school’s jazz orchestra. Teller and Simmons commit completely, but Chazelle’s plot twists grow increasingly ridiculous – to the point where the final act has the feel of a fever dream. I just couldn’t go with it. 106 min.

NN (NW) Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Kingsway Theatre, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Varsity, Yonge & Dundas 24

1028 QUEEN ST W, 416-530-0011

WOMEN WHO FLIRT (Pang Ho Cheung) 96 min. See Also Opening, page 79.

Opens Nov 26 at Coliseum Scarborough, Yonge & Dundas 24 WWE SURVIVOR SERIES – 2014 is a live

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Nov 23, 8 pm, at Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Queensway, Yonge & Dundas 24 3

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GIRL RISING (G) Thu 7:30 HERMITAGE REVEALED Fri 3:30, 6:30 Sat 1:00, 6:45 Sun 4:00 Mon 1:00, 6:30 Wed 6:30 KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON (PG) Thu 3:30 Sat, Tue-Wed 4:00 Sun 6:30 POINT AND SHOOT (PG) Fri-Sat, Mon, Wed 8:45 Sun 1:30, 8:45 Tue 9:30 VLADIMIR HOROWITZ: THE LAST ROMANTIC Tue 6:30

directorial debut for superhero screenwriter Hayter (X-Men, Watchmen). The slapdash nature of the production suggests this doesn’t reflect his original vision, but it doesn’t seem like this werewolf-centric Twilight knockoff would ever have amounted to much. 91 min. N (NW) Carlton Cinema

REG HARTT CINEFORUM (I) ALICE IN WONDERLAND Sun 5:00 THE BIRTH OF A NATION Tue 7:00 CHARLIE CHAPLIN YEAR ONE Thu 9:00 DRAGONFLY SQUADRON 3D Mon 7:00 A GIRL IN EVERY PORT Thu 7:00 HISTORY OF ANIMATION FROM EMIL COHL TO NOW Sun 2:00 INFERNO 3D (PG) Mon 9:00 KID DRACULA Sun 9:00 MOCKERY Thu 9:30 THE PERILS OF PAULINE Thu 6:00 PHLEGM: THE CINEMATIC WORKS OF JASON HAMMOND Sat 7:00 TOTAL ECLIPSE Wed 7:00 WHAT I EXPERIENCED WITH LSD Sat 11:55

BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA (I)

snore, tracking a dozen pilgrims making their way along Spain’s historic trail to Santiago de Campostela, delivering more bromides than a 19th-century apothecary.

It is good to look at, but go watch a travelogue if that’s what you’re after. Some subtitles. 84 min. NN (SGC) Kingsway Theatre

WOLVES (David Hayter) is an inauspicious

DUMB AND DUMBER TO (PG) Thu 12:35 3:35 6:55 9:30 Fri-Wed 12:35, 3:35, 6:55, 9:15 GONE GIRL (14A) Fri-Tue 12:25, 6:40 HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 (18A) Wed 12:25, 3:25, 6:40, 9:35 THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE (PG) Thu 6:45 THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 (PG) Thu 9:30 Fri, Sun-Mon, Wed 12:40, 3:40, 6:45, 9:20 Sat, Tue 12:40, 3:40, 6:45, 9:20, 11:25 THE HUNGER GAMES (14A) Thu 4:00 INTERSTELLAR (PG) Thu 12:30, 4:00, 5:00, 7:30, 8:30 Fri, Sun-Mon 12:30, 4:00, 7:30, 9:00 Sat, Tue 12:30, 4:00, 7:30, 9:00, 10:45 Wed 12:30, 4:00, 7:30 JOHN WICK (14A) 12:45, 3:45, 6:50 Sat, Tue 11:40 late PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR (G) Wed 12:45, 2:45, 4:45, 6:50, 8:55 ST. VINCENT (14A) Thu 12:40 WHIPLASH (14A) Thu 12:25, 2:35, 4:50, 7:05, 9:20 Fri-Tue 3:25, 9:35

CARLTON CINEMA (I)

608 COLLEGE ST, 416-466-4400

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REEL AWARENESS HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL Thu-Fri 7:30 Sat-Sun 1:30, 3:30, 6:00, 8:00 THE BETTER ANGELS (PG) Thu 1:50, 4:05, 6:50, 9:05 BIG HERO 6 (PG) Wed 1:50, 4:10, 6:50, 9:15 BOYHOOD (14A) Thu, Mon 1:05 Fri-Sun, Tue 1:05, 4:30, 8:00 DON’T GET KILLED IN ALASKA Thu 1:25, 7:00 DUMB AND DUMBER TO (PG) Thu 1:35 4:00 6:55 9:15 Fri-Wed 1:35, 4:00, 6:55, 9:20 FORCE MAJEURE (14A) Thu 4:15, 9:45 Fri-Tue 1:30, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15 Wed 1:30 HERITAGE MINUTES Mon 7:00 HORNS (14A) Thu 3:55, 9:10 HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 (18A) Wed 1:30, 1:55, 4:00, 4:30, 6:45, 7:00, 9:05, 9:30 JOHN WICK (14A) 1:40, 4:20, 7:05, 9:20 Wed no 1:40, 7:05 THE JUDGE (14A) Thu 1:20 Fri, Wed 1:15 Mon-Tue 1:15, 6:35 KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON (PG) 1:45, 4:10, 7:10, 9:10 Wed no 4:10, 9:10 LITTLE TERRORS HORROR SHORTS Wed 9:00 LOW DOWN Fri-Wed 1:25, 4:05, 7:00, 9:30 MAPS TO THE STARS (18A) Thu 4:10 METALHEAD (14A) Fri-Wed 3:35, 9:00 NIGHTCRAWLER (14A) Thu 1:15, 3:45, 6:45, 9:20 Fri-Tue 1:15, 3:45, 6:50, 9:25 Wed 3:45, 9:25 ONE CHANCE (PG) Thu 1:30, 3:50, 7:10, 9:30 Fri-Wed 1:20, 6:40 WOLVES (14A) Thu 1:55, 4:10, 7:15, 9:35 Fri, Mon-Tue 4:15, 9:30 Wed 4:15

SCOTIABANK THEATRE (CE)

20 CARLTON, 416-494-9371

RAINBOW MARKET SQUARE (I) MARKET SQUARE, 80 FRONT ST E, 416-494-9371

BIG HERO 6 (PG) 12:20, 2:40, 4:55, 7:10, 9:25 Sat, Tue 11:30 late

EUROPEAN UNION FILM FESTIVAL Thu 7:00 Fri-Wed 6:00, 8:30

259 RICHMOND ST W, 416-368-5600

ANNABELLE (14A) Thu 4:20, 7:20, 9:50 DRACULA UNTOLD (14A) Thu 1:20, 4:00, 8:35, 10:50 THE EQUALIZER (18A) Thu 12:20, 3:20, 6:35, 9:30 GONE GIRL (14A) Thu 12:30, 3:50, 7:10, 10:30 Fri, Sun 12:55, 4:10, 7:30, 10:50 Sat 12:45, 4:10, 7:30, 10:50 MonTue 12:50, 4:00, 7:15, 10:30 Wed 12:50, 4:00, 10:30 HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 (18A) Wed 12:35, 2:25, 5:00, 7:45, 10:40 THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 (PG) Thu 8:00, 10:50 Fri 11:40, 12:10, 12:35, 1:00, 1:25, 1:50, 2:15, 2:40, 3:10, 3:30, 4:00, 4:25, 4:50, 5:15, 5:40, 6:05, 6:30, 7:00, 7:25, 7:50, 8:15, 8:45, 9:10, 9:35, 10:00, 10:25, 10:50 Sat-Sun 11:00, 11:40, 12:10, 12:35, 1:00, 1:25, 1:55, 2:15, 2:40, 3:10, 3:30, 4:00, 4:25, 4:50, 5:15, 5:40, 6:05, 6:30, 7:00, 7:25, 7:50, 8:15, 8:45, 9:10, 9:35, 10:00, 10:25, 10:50 Mon-Wed 12:30, 1:00, 1:25, 1:50, 2:15, 2:40, 3:05, 3:30, 3:55, 4:30, 4:50, 5:15, 5:40, 6:05, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 7:55, 8:20, 8:45, 9:10, 9:35, 10:00, 10:30 INTERSTELLAR (PG) Thu 12:40, 1:10, 1:40, 2:00, 4:10, 4:40, 5:10, 5:40, 6:20, 8:10, 9:20, 10:00 Fri-Sun 11:30, 2:05, 2:55, 5:50, 6:40, 9:25, 10:10 Mon-Wed 1:40, 2:30, 5:25, 6:15, 9:00, 9:50 INTERSTELLAR: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE (PG) Thu 12:00, 3:30, 7:10, 10:40 Fri-Sun 12:00, 3:40, 7:10, 10:40 Mon-Tue 12:20, 3:40, 7:10, 10:35 Wed 12:20, 3:40, 7:10, 10:40 JOHN WICK (14A) Thu 1:30, 4:00, 9:40 Fri, Sun 12:25, 3:00, 5:30, 8:05, 10:40 Sat 5:30, 8:05, 10:40 Mon-Tue 2:00, 4:40, 8:00, 10:20 Wed 4:30, 8:00, 10:20 THE JUDGE (14A) Thu 12:30, 3:40, 6:45, 9:50 Fri, Sun 12:45, 3:50, 6:50, 9:50 Sat 11:10, 5:05, 8:30 Mon 12:20, 3:20, 10:10 Tue 12:40, 3:45, 6:50, 10:10

THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA Sat 12:55 NIGHTCRAWLER (14A) Thu 1:00, 1:50, 3:40, 4:30, 7:40, 10:20 Fri-Sun 11:50, 2:25, 5:00, 7:40, 10:30 Mon-Wed 2:10, 4:50, 7:40, 10:20 OUIJA (14A) Thu 12:50, 3:10, 5:30, 7:50, 10:10

TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX (I) 350 KING ST W, 416-599-8433

ADIEU AU LANGAGE (18A) Fri 5:30 Sat 12:00, 5:30 SunMon 6:45 Tue-Wed 12:20, 2:15, 5:30 ADIEU AU LANGAGE 3D (18A) Thu 12:30, 5:10, 7:50 CITIZENFOUR (PG) Thu 12:10, 2:45, 5:20, 9:45 Fri 12:00, 2:30, 7:15, 9:45 Sat 12:15, 2:45, 7:15, 9:45 Sun 2:30, 5:00, 7:30, 10:00 Mon 7:15, 9:45 Tue-Wed 12:00, 2:30, 4:00, 7:15, 9:45 DUEL IN THE SUN (PG) Sat 1:00 FORCE MAJEURE (14A) Thu 3:00, 7:50, 10:30 Fri 12:10, 6:45 Sat 3:30, 6:30 Sun 12:30, 3:10, 6:30, 9:25 Mon 6:30 Tue 1:00, 3:40, 6:30 Wed 1:00, 3:45, 6:30, 9:05 GODARD SHORTS PROGRAM 1 (14A) Sun 4:00 HÉLAS POUR MOI (14A) Thu 6:30 HIGH ANXIETY (PG) Sat 10:00 HISTOIRE(S) DU CINEMA (18A) Sat 4:00 LOLITA (14A) Sun 6:30 THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (PG) Sun 1:00 MAPS TO THE STARS (18A) Thu 5:25, 10:25 Fri, Mon 9:30 Sat 1:00, 9:15 Sun 8:30, 9:10 Tue 3:30, 9:20 Wed 12:45, 3:15, 8:30 NUMERO DEUX (R) Fri 6:30 REALITY BITES (PG) Fri 9:15 ROOM 237 (14A) Tue 6:30 ROSEWATER (14A) Thu 12:00, 2:30, 7:10, 9:35 Fri 2:45, 7:00, 9:20 Sat 12:15, 3:50, 6:45, 9:35 Sun 12:00, 3:00, 7:10, 9:35 Mon 8:30 Tue 12:30, 2:45, 7:00, 9:30 Wed 12:30, 2:45, 5:45, 7:00, 9:15 THE SHINING (14A) Tue 9:00 SILENT MOVIE (PG) Thu 8:45

VARSITY (CE)

55 BLOOR ST W, 416-961-6304 BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (14A) Thu, Mon-Wed 2:00, 4:45, 7:30, 10:15 Fri-Sun 1:10, 4:15, 7:05, 9:50 GONE GIRL (14A) Thu 3:30, 6:50, 10:15 Fri-Sun 12:00, 3:15, 6:25, 9:40 Mon-Wed 2:50, 6:00, 9:15 THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 (PG) Thu 8:00, 10:45 Fri-Sun 1:40, 4:40, 7:40, 10:40 Mon-Wed 1:20, 4:20, 7:20, 10:20 INTERSTELLAR (PG) Thu 2:50 Fri-Sun 11:50, 3:30, 7:10, 10:50 Mon-Wed 2:45, 6:25, 10:00 ROSEWATER (14A) Thu 1:50, 4:35, 7:20, 10:00 Fri 8:00, 10:30 Sat-Sun 12:30, 3:00, 5:30, 8:00, 10:30 ST. VINCENT (14A) Thu 2:10, 4:40, 7:10, 9:40 Fri-Sun 12:15, 2:45, 5:20, 7:50, 10:20 Mon-Wed 1:45, 4:15, 6:45, 9:20 THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (PG) Thu, Mon-Wed 1:10, 4:05, 7:00, 9:55 Fri-Sun 1:20, 4:20, 7:10, 10:10 WHIPLASH (14A) Thu 1:45, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15 Fri-Sun, TueWed 1:30, 4:05, 6:50, 9:20 Mon 12:50, 3:20, 10:20

VIP SCREENINGS

BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (14A) Thu 1:35, 4:20, 7:05, 9:50 Fri-Sun 12:40, 3:35, 6:20, 9:05 Mon-Tue 1:50, 4:25, 7:10, 10:05 Wed 1:10, 10:05 THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 (PG) Fri-Sun 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00 Mon-Tue 12:50, 3:50, 6:50, 9:50 Wed 12:50, 3:50, 6:50 INTERSTELLAR (PG) Thu, Mon-Wed 2:20, 6:00, 9:35 FriSun 2:50, 6:30, 10:15 ST. VINCENT (14A) Thu 1:20, 3:55, 6:20, 9:00 THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (PG) Thu 1:00, 3:45, 6:35, 9:25 Fri-Sun 12:50, 3:50, 6:45, 9:30 Mon-Wed 1:00, 3:40, 6:30, 9:15

YONGE & DUNDAS 24 (CE) 10 DUNDAS ST E, 416-977-9262

BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP (14A) Thu 8:20, 10:45 Fri 4:05, 6:20, 8:40, 11:05 Sat-Sun 1:35, 4:05, 6:20, 8:40, 11:05 Mon-Wed 8:40, 11:05 THE BEST OF ME (PG) Thu-Tue 10:40 BEYOND THE LIGHTS (14A) Thu 1:50, 4:40, 8:10, 10:55 Fri 2:40, 5:25, 8:10, 10:55 Sat-Sun 12:00, 2:40, 5:25, 8:10, 10:55 Mon-Wed 8:10, 10:55 BIG HERO 6 (PG) Thu 7:00, 9:45 Fri, Mon-Tue 2:15, 4:15, continued on page 84 œ

ñTHE SECRET TRIAL 5

(Amar Wala) tracks the experience of five immigrants to Canada who were labelled terrorists and detained without charges, let alone a trial, via the rarely used security certificate. They were never allowed to see the evidence against them. After the NOW NOVEMBER 20-26 2014

83

movie times œcontinued from page 83

5:00, 7:00, 9:45 Sat-Sun 1:25, 2:15, 4:15, 5:00, 7:00, 9:45 Wed 1:50, 4:30, 7:15, 10:00 Big Hero 6 3D (PG) Thu 2:50, 4:00, 5:35, 7:00, 7:45, 8:20, 10:00, 11:00 Fri, Mon-Tue 3:00, 5:45, 7:45, 8:30, 11:15 SatSun 12:10, 3:00, 5:45, 7:45, 8:30, 11:15 Wed 2:50, 5:30, 8:15, 11:00 BirDman or (THe UnexpecTeD VirTUe of ignorance) (14A) Thu 5:20, 8:05, 10:50 Fri, Mon-Wed 2:35, 5:20, 8:20, 11:10 Sat-Sun 2:30, 5:20, 8:20, 11:10 THe Book of Life 3D (G) Thu 8:15 Fri, Mon-Tue 2:20, 8:05 Sat-Sun 12:05, 8:05 THe BoUrne iDenTiTy (14A) Thu 10:15 THe Dark knigHT (14A) Fri 2:00, 7:30 Sat 9:00 Mon 10:15 Tue 10:30 Wed 7:45 Dear WHiTe peopLe (14A) Thu 2:00, 4:55, 7:35, 10:30 Fri 3:15, 6:10, 8:45, 11:25 Sat 12:35, 3:15, 6:10, 8:45, 11:30 Sun 12:10, 2:45, 5:20, 8:00, 10:30 Mon-Tue 1:50, 4:25, 7:20, 10:35 Wed 1:50, 4:25, 8:20, 10:55 Don’T go Breaking my HearT 2 (PG) Thu 3:05, 5:45, 8:25, 11:00 Fri 3:05, 5:50, 8:25, 11:20 Sat 12:25, 3:05, 5:45, 8:25, 11:20 Sun 12:25, 3:05, 5:45, 8:25, 11:00 Mon-Wed 8:25, 11:00 DUmB anD DUmBer To (PG) Thu 1:45, 3:15, 4:15, 4:45, 6:30, 7:30, 9:30, 10:30, 11:00 Fri 1:30, 2:55, 3:00, 4:00, 6:00, 6:30, 7:05, 9:15, 9:45, 10:15 Sat-Sun 12:05, 12:15, 1:00, 2:55, 3:00, 4:00, 6:00, 6:30, 7:05, 9:15, 9:45, 10:15 Mon-Tue 1:30, 2:55, 3:30, 4:00, 6:30, 7:00, 7:05, 9:15, 10:15 Wed 1:30, 2:55, 3:30, 4:00, 5:30, 7:00, 7:05, 9:15, 10:15 fUry: THe imax experience (14A) Thu 1:45, 4:50, 7:50, 11:00 Fri, Mon-Wed 1:45, 4:45, 7:50, 11:00 Sat-Sun 1:30, 4:30, 7:50, 11:00 gone girL (14A) Thu 2:50, 6:00, 9:40 gone WiTH THe WinD Thu 2:00 gUarDians of THe gaLaxy (PG) 5:15, 10:25 Sat-Sun 2:25 mat Happy enDing Fri 1:50, 4:50, 7:50, 10:50 Sat-Sun 1:45, 4:50, 7:50, 10:50 Mon-Wed 1:45, 4:45, 7:50, 10:50 THe Homesman Fri-Wed 2:05, 5:05, 8:00, 10:45 HorriBLe Bosses 2 (18A) Wed 5:00, 8:00, 11:15 THe HUnger games: mockingjay – parT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00, 11:15 Fri 2:30, 4:15, 4:45, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:15, 10:15, 11:15 Sat 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 4:15, 4:45, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:15, 10:15, 11:15 Sun 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 4:15, 4:45, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:15, 10:15, 11:00 Mon-Tue 3:00, 4:15, 5:00, 6:30, 7:30, 8:00, 9:30, 10:45, 11:15 Wed 3:00, 6:30, 7:30, 9:30, 10:45 inTersTeLLar (PG) Thu 2:30, 6:30, 10:40 Fri 3:45, 7:30, 11:30 Sat 12:00, 3:45, 7:30, 11:30 Sun 12:00, 3:45, 7:30, 11:15 Mon-Wed 2:30, 6:00, 9:50 joHn Wick (14A) Thu 3:30 kiLL DiL (PG) Thu-Fri 3:30, 6:45, 10:00 Sat-Sun 12:15, 3:30, 6:45, 10:00 Mon-Wed 7:00, 10:10 THe maze rUnner (PG) 7:40, 10:25 Fri 2:25 mat, 5:00 Sat-Sun 11:55, 2:25 mat, 5:00 naTionaL THeaTer LiVe: of mice anD men - encore Sat 12:45 Sun 12:55 Mon 1:30, 7:00 Tue 4:30 Wed 2:00 pengUins of maDagascar (G) Wed 1:35 pengUins of maDagascar 3D (G) Wed 3:50, 6:05, 8:20, 10:35 THe pHaraoH’s DaUgHTer – BoLsHoi BaLLeT encore Thu 7:00 priDe (14A) Thu 10:30 r.e.m. By mTV Fri, Wed 5:15, 10:45 Sat 4:00, 6:30 Sun 4:15 Mon 4:40 Tue 2:00, 8:00 sT. VincenT (14A) Thu 7:30, 10:10 Fri 3:35, 6:05, 9:05 SatSun 11:55, 3:35, 6:05, 9:05 Mon-Tue 6:05, 9:05 Wed 7:00, 9:40 WHipLasH (14A) Thu 2:05, 4:40, 8:15, 10:45 Women WHo fLirT (PG) Wed 1:40, 4:05, 6:25, 8:45, 11:05 WWe sUrViVor series – 2014 Sun 8:00

Midtown Canada Square (Ce) 2200 Yonge ST, 416-646-0444

aLexanDer anD THe TerriBLe, HorriBLe, no gooD, Very BaD Day (PG) Fri 5:00, 7:00, 9:10 Sat-Sun 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, 9:10 Mon-Wed 5:30, 7:30 eDsa WooLWorTH (PG) Thu 6:00, 8:30 fUry (14A) Fri 3:40, 6:40, 9:40 Sat-Sun 12:40, 3:40, 6:40, 9:40 Mon-Wed 5:00, 8:00 THe gooD Lie (14A) Thu, Mon-Wed 5:50, 8:20 Fri 4:10, 6:45, 9:20 Sat-Sun 1:20, 4:10, 6:45, 9:20 THe Homesman Fri 4:20, 7:10, 10:00 Sat-Sun 1:40, 4:20, 7:10, 10:00 Mon-Wed 5:10, 8:10 joHn Wick (14A) Thu 6:10, 8:30 THe jUDge (14A) Thu, Mon-Wed 5:00, 8:00 Fri 3:50, 6:50, 9:50 Sat-Sun 12:50, 3:50, 6:50, 9:50 maps To THe sTars (18A) Thu 8:10 mommy (14A) Thu 5:10 my oLD LaDy (PG) Thu, Mon-Wed 5:20, 7:40 Fri 4:00, 6:30, 9:00 Sat-Sun 1:30, 4:00, 6:30, 9:00 nigHTcraWLer (14A) Fri 4:30, 7:20, 10:00 Sat-Sun 1:50, 4:30, 7:20, 10:00 Mon-Wed 5:40, 8:30 priDe (14A) Thu 5:40, 8:20 roseWaTer (14A) Thu 5:30, 7:50 Fri 4:40, 7:00, 9:30 SatSun 2:00, 4:40, 7:00, 9:30 Mon-Wed 5:20, 7:50

MT PleaSanT (I)

675 MT PleaSanT rd, 416-489-8484 magic in THe moonLigHT (PG) Thu, Wed 7:00 Fri-Sat 7:00, 9:00 Sun 4:30, 7:00

regenT TheaTre (I) 551 MT PleaSanT rd, 416-480-9884

BoyHooD (14A) Thu 7:00 Fri-Sat 6:30 Sun 3:45

84

november 20-26 2014 NOW

force majeUre (14A) Fri 9:30 Sat 4:00, 9:30 Sun, Tue 7:00

SIlverCITY Yonge (Ce) 2300 Yonge ST, 416-544-1236

aLexanDer anD THe TerriBLe, HorriBLe, no gooD, Very BaD Day (PG) Thu 1:05 Big Hero 6 (PG) Thu 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45 Fri-Tue 1:30, 4:10, 7:00, 9:45 Wed 4:10, 7:00, 9:45 Big Hero 6 3D (PG) Thu 2:00, 5:00, 7:50, 10:25 Fri-Wed 12:00, 2:40, 5:20, 8:00, 10:40 DUmB anD DUmBer To (PG) Thu 1:40, 4:30, 7:25, 10:15 Fri 1:40, 4:40, 7:30, 10:30 Sat 12:10, 5:00, 7:40, 10:30 Sun 11:10, 1:40, 4:40, 7:30, 10:30 Mon-Tue 1:40, 4:40, 7:40, 10:30 Wed 4:40, 7:40, 10:30 fUry (14A) Thu 12:50, 3:50, 7:20, 10:30 gone girL (14A) Thu 12:45, 4:00, 7:10, 10:25 Fri, Sun-Tue 6:40, 10:10 Sat 7:10, 10:30 HorriBLe Bosses 2 (18A) Wed 1:10, 4:20, 7:20, 10:15 THe HUnger games: mockingjay – parT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00, 10:50 Fri 12:20, 12:50, 1:20, 1:50, 3:20, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 6:20, 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 9:20, 9:50, 10:20, 10:50 Sat 11:00, 12:20, 12:50, 1:20, 1:55, 3:20, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 6:20, 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 9:20, 9:50, 10:20, 10:50 Sun 11:00, 12:20, 12:50, 1:10, 1:55, 3:20, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 6:20, 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 9:20, 9:50, 10:20, 10:50 Mon-Tue 12:20, 12:50, 1:20, 1:30, 3:20, 3:50, 4:20, 4:30, 6:20, 6:50, 7:15, 7:30, 9:20, 9:50, 10:15, 10:30 Wed 12:20, 12:50, 1:30, 3:20, 3:50, 4:30, 6:20, 6:50, 7:30, 9:20, 9:50, 10:30 inTersTeLLar (PG) Thu 1:00, 2:50, 4:45, 6:30, 8:30, 10:00 Fri 12:00, 3:30, 7:10, 10:50 Sat 3:00, 7:10, 10:50 Sun 11:50, 3:30, 7:10, 10:50 Mon-Wed 12:00, 3:30, 7:10, 10:45 THe meTropoLiTan opera: iL BarBiere Di siVigLia Sat 12:55 naTionaL THeaTer LiVe: of mice anD men - encore Sun 12:55 nigHTcraWLer (14A) Thu 3:15 pengUins of maDagascar (G) Wed 12:30 pengUins of maDagascar 3D (G) Wed 3:10, 6:30, 9:00 THe pHaraoH’s DaUgHTer – BoLsHoi BaLLeT encore Thu 7:00 sT. VincenT (14A) Thu 1:15, 4:00, 10:25 Fri, Mon-Tue 1:00, 4:00 Sat 4:50 Sun 4:00

Metro

3:35, 6:00, 7:00, 9:50, 10:35 Sat 2:30, 3:30, 6:00, 7:00, 9:50, 10:35 Sun 12:00, 2:30, 3:30, 6:00, 7:00, 9:50, 10:35 Mon 1:20, 2:30, 5:00, 6:00, 9:30, 9:50 Tue 1:20, 2:30, 5:00, 6:00, 8:30, 9:50 Wed 3:35, 6:40, 9:45 HorriBLe Bosses 2 (18A) Wed 12:50, 2:50, 3:55, 6:00, 6:50, 9:00, 9:50 THe HUnger games: mockingjay – parT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00, 10:00, 11:00 Fri 12:20, 12:50, 1:20, 1:50, 3:20, 3:40, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 6:20, 6:50, 7:00, 7:20, 7:40, 7:50, 9:20, 9:50, 10:20, 10:50, 11:00 Sat 11:00, 12:25, 12:30, 12:55, 1:00, 1:30, 1:55, 3:20, 3:40, 3:50, 4:20, 4:25, 4:55, 6:20, 6:50, 7:00, 7:25, 7:40, 7:50, 9:20, 9:50, 10:20, 10:25, 10:50, 11:00 Sun 12:20, 12:30, 12:50, 1:00, 1:20, 1:55, 3:20, 3:40, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 6:20, 6:50, 7:00, 7:20, 7:40, 7:50, 9:20, 9:50, 10:20, 10:50, 11:00 Mon-Tue 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, 3:00, 3:30, 3:40, 4:00, 4:20, 4:30, 6:00, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 7:40, 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:20, 10:30, 11:00 Wed 12:00, 12:30, 1:05, 1:30, 3:00, 3:30, 3:40, 4:00, 4:20, 4:30, 6:00, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 7:40, 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:20, 10:30, 10:50 inTersTeLLar (PG) Thu 1:25, 2:00, 3:00, 5:00, 6:00, 6:50, 8:50, 9:30, 10:40 Fri 1:00, 2:00, 5:00, 6:00, 6:30, 9:00, 9:50, 10:30 Sat 11:15, 1:00, 2:00, 3:10, 5:00, 6:00, 7:10, 9:00, 9:50, 11:05 Sun 12:40, 2:00, 4:30, 5:55, 6:00, 8:25, 9:50, 9:55 Mon-Wed 1:45, 2:00, 2:35, 5:30, 6:00, 6:20, 9:20, 9:50, 10:15 joHn Wick (14A) Thu 5:20, 7:50, 10:20 Fri-Wed 10:10 THe jUDge (14A) Thu 2:15 maDagascar 3: eUrope’s mosT WanTeD (G) Sat 11:00 THe meTropoLiTan opera: iL BarBiere Di siVigLia Sat 12:55 naTionaL THeaTer LiVe: of mice anD men - encore Sun 12:55 Mon 7:00 nigHTcraWLer (14A) Thu 1:15, 3:40, 6:30, 9:20 Fri 2:05, 4:55, 8:00, 10:55 Sat 4:55, 8:00, 10:55 Sun 2:55, 9:40 MonTue 1:25, 4:20, 7:20, 10:05 oUija (14A) Thu 4:15 pengUins of maDagascar 3D (G) Wed 12:20, 2:50, 5:20, 8:00, 10:30 THe pHaraoH’s DaUgHTer – BoLsHoi BaLLeT encore Thu 7:00 roseWaTer (14A) Thu 1:10, 4:40, 7:30, 10:00 sT. VincenT (14A) Thu 1:30, 3:30, 4:05, 7:10, 9:45 Fri, Sun 2:15, 4:45, 7:30 Sat 4:45, 7:30 Mon-Wed 2:15, 4:45, 7:25 THe THeory of eVeryTHing (PG) Fri-Sat 1:40, 4:40, 7:40, 10:40 Sun 1:40, 4:40, 7:40 Mon-Tue 1:40, 4:40, 7:40, 10:30 Wed 4:20, 7:20, 10:05 WHipLasH (14A) Thu 1:40, 5:30, 8:05, 10:45 WWe sUrViVor series – 2014 Sun 8:00

raInboW WoodbIne (I)

WoodbIne CenTre, 500 rexdale blvd, 416-213-1998 Big Hero 6 (PG) 1:05, 4:05, 7:00, 9:30 THe Book of Life 3D (G) Thu 12:50 3:50 Fri-Wed 1:10, 3:50 DUmB anD DUmBer To (PG) Thu 1:00 3:45 6:45 9:25 Fri-Wed 12:50, 3:45, 6:45, 9:25 HorriBLe Bosses 2 (18A) Wed 1:10, 3:50, 6:50, 9:40 THe HUnger games: mockingjay – parT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00 Fri-Tue 12:45, 1:00, 3:40, 3:55, 6:40, 6:55, 9:35, 9:45 Wed 12:45, 3:40, 3:55, 6:40, 6:55, 9:35, 9:45 inTersTeLLar (PG) Thu 12:30, 12:45, 4:00, 4:15, 7:30, 7:45 Fri-Wed 12:55, 4:30, 8:00 joHn Wick (14A) 6:50 Thu 12:55, 3:55 mat, 9:35 nigHTcraWLer (14A) 9:20 Thu 6:40 oUija (14A) Thu 1:10, 4:10 Fri-Tue 1:15, 4:10, 7:05, 9:40 pengUins of maDagascar (G) Wed 1:15, 4:15, 7:05, 9:20

400 ronCeSvalleS ave, 416-531-9959 arT anD crafT (PG) Thu 9:30 THe BoxTroLLs (G) Sat 1:30 Sun 1:30, 4:00 ernesT eT céLesTine (PG) Sat 4:00 THe HUnDreD-fooT joUrney (PG) Thu 6:30 Fri-Sat, Tue 7:00 Mon 9:30 mommy (14A) Sun 9:30 Mon 7:00 priDe (14A) Fri-Sat, Tue-Wed 9:30 Sun 7:00

East End beaCh CIneMaS (aa) 1651 queen ST e, 416-699-1327

Big Hero 6 (PG) Sat-Sun 12:00 Big Hero 6 3D (PG) Thu 4:45, 7:40, 10:15 Fri 4:15, 7:50, 10:20 Sat-Sun 2:40, 5:15, 7:50, 10:20 Mon-Wed 7:50, 10:20 DUmB anD DUmBer To (PG) Thu 3:45, 7:00, 9:40 Fri 3:45, 7:15, 9:50 Sat-Sun 12:45, 3:45, 7:15, 9:50 Mon-Tue 7:15, 9:50 Wed 7:10, 9:50 gone girL (14A) Thu 3:30, 6:45, 10:00 Fri-Tue 6:45, 10:30 HorriBLe Bosses 2 (18A) Wed 6:50, 9:30 THe HUnger games maraTHon Thu 2:30

Film Festivals Wadjda, starring the terrific Waad Mohammed, screens at RPFF.

2442 bloor ST. WeST, 416-769-2442

Big Hero 6 (PG) 3:50, 6:40, 9:50 Sat-Mon 1:15 mat DUmB anD DUmBer To (PG) Thu 4:15 7:00 9:25 Fri-Wed 4:15, 6:50, 9:25 Sat-Mon 1:45 mat HorriBLe Bosses 2 (18A) Wed 4:00, 7:30, 9:55 THe HUnger games: mockingjay – parT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00 Fri, Mon-Wed 3:40, 7:00, 9:40 Sat-Sun 1:00, 3:40, 7:00, 9:40 inTersTeLLar (PG) 6:30, 9:00 Sat-Mon 1:30 mat pengUins of maDagascar (G) Wed 3:10, 5:20, 6:40, 9:00

KIngSWaY TheaTre (I)

queenSWaY (Ce)

1025 The queenSWaY, qeW & ISlIngTon, 416-503-0424 Big Hero 6 (PG) Thu 2:40, 3:30, 6:20, 6:30, 9:05, 9:30 Fri, Sun-Wed 12:10, 3:10, 6:10, 9:05 Sat 11:05, 1:45, 4:35, 7:15, 10:00 Big Hero 6 3D (PG) Thu 1:50, 4:30, 7:20, 10:05 Fri, Sun 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 10:00 Sat 12:05, 2:45, 5:25, 8:05, 10:45 Mon-Wed 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 9:55 BirDman or (THe UnexpecTeD VirTUe of ignorance) (14A) Thu 1:35, 4:20, 7:45, 10:30 Fri-Sun 12:30 Mon-Tue 12:20 THe Book of Life 3D (G) Thu 1:00 DUmB anD DUmBer To (PG) Thu 1:05, 2:05, 3:50, 4:30, 4:50, 6:30, 6:40, 7:40, 9:30, 10:25, 11:15 Fri 12:00, 2:30, 3:00, 5:20, 6:00, 6:30, 8:10, 8:50, 9:20, 11:00 Sat 12:00, 1:55, 2:30, 3:00, 5:20, 6:00, 6:30, 8:10, 8:50, 9:20, 11:00 Sun 12:00, 12:05, 1:00, 3:00, 3:55, 5:20, 6:30, 6:40, 8:10, 9:20, 9:30, 11:00 Mon 12:25, 12:55, 3:00, 3:40, 3:50, 6:30, 6:35, 6:40, 9:15, 9:20, 10:20 Tue 12:45, 12:55, 3:00, 3:40, 3:50, 6:30, 6:35, 7:00, 9:15, 9:20, 10:20 Wed 12:45, 3:00, 3:40, 3:50, 6:30, 6:35, 7:15, 9:15, 9:20, 10:20 fUry (14A) Thu 2:50, 6:10, 9:15 Fri-Sat 3:25, 6:40, 10:05 Sun 3:25, 6:35 Mon 3:25, 9:40 Tue 3:25, 6:40, 9:45 gone girL (14A) Thu 3:00, 3:15, 7:00, 9:50, 10:40 Fri 2:30,

1035 gerrard ST e, 416-466-3636

propaganDa Thu-Sat, Mon-Wed 7:00 Sun 6:30

Fox (I)

gUarDians of THe gaLaxy 3D (PG) Sat-Sun 1:30 THe jUDge (14A) Fri, Mon 6:45 Sat 4:00, 9:30 Sun 4:00, 6:45 Tue-Wed 9:30 LoVe is sTrange (14A) Thu 9:15 Fri 9:30 mommy (14A) Sun-Mon 9:30 Tue 6:45 THe skeLeTon TWins (14A) Thu 7:00

North York CInePlex CIneMaS eMPreSS WalK (Ce) 5095 Yonge ST., 416-847-0087

Big Hero 6 (PG) Thu 4:15, 7:00, 7:55, 9:45, 10:35 Fri 3:40, 6:30, 9:10 Sat-Sun 1:00, 3:40, 6:30, 9:10 Mon-Tue 3:40, 6:35, 9:10 Wed 4:30 Big Hero 6 3D (PG) Thu 5:15 Fri, Sun 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 10:00 Sat 11:10, 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 10:00 Mon-Tue 4:30, 7:15, 10:00 Wed 7:15, 10:00 BirDman or (THe UnexpecTeD VirTUe of ignorance) (14A) Thu 4:15, 7:15, 10:00 DUmB anD DUmBer To (PG) Thu 5:05, 7:45, 10:30 Fri, Sun 2:40, 5:20, 8:00, 10:35 Sat 12:00, 2:40, 5:20, 8:00, 10:35 Mon-Wed 4:15, 7:10, 9:50

This week THe canaDian inTernaTionaL TeLeVision fesTiVaL A sneak peak at the

new Corner Gas movie, a panel and screening for CBC’s new mini-series The Book Of Negroes, vintage series screenings, celebrity appearances and more. All events free (RSVP to reserve tickets). See website for schedule. TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King W. citf14.tv.

To Nov 23 eUropean Union fiLm fesTiVaL Contemporary films from many countries reflecting the excellence, innovation and diversity of European cinema. Free ($10 adv), opening night film & reception $25. Royal Cinema, 608 College. eutorontofilmfest.ca.

To Nov 30

reeL aWareness fiLm fesTiVaL

3030 bloor ST W, 416-232-1939

BoyHooD (14A) 9:05 force majeUre (14A) Thu 7:00 9:05 Fri-Wed 5:00, 9:05 THe HUnDreD-fooT joUrney (PG) 11:15 my oLD LaDy (PG) Thu 1:20 7:15 Fri-Wed 3:15, 7:15 THe 100-year-oLD man WHo cLimBeD oUT THe WinDoW anD DisappeareD (14A) Thu 3:00 Fri-Wed 3:30 THe oVernigHTers (PG) Thu 4:00 Fri, Sun, Tue 1:45 peT semaTary Fri-Sat 11:00 priDe (14A) Thu 5:00 Fri-Wed 1:25 roseWaTer (14A) Fri-Wed 5:30 THe secreT TriaL 5 (PG) Thu 5:45 Sat, Mon, Wed 1:45 THe TWo faces of janUary (PG) Thu 12:45 Fri-Wed 12:00 WaLking THe camino: six Ways To sanTiago (G) Thu 11:15 WHipLasH (14A) Fri-Wed 7:15

bIg PICTure CIneMa gerrard (I)

2236 queen ST e, 416-691-7330

revue (I)

West End huMber CIneMaS (I)

THe HUnger games: mockingjay – parT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00 Fri 4:00, 4:30, 7:00, 7:30, 10:00, 10:40 Sat-Sun 1:00, 1:30, 4:00, 4:30, 7:00, 7:30, 10:00, 10:40 Mon-Tue 7:00, 7:30, 10:00, 10:40 Wed 7:00, 7:30, 10:00, 10:30 inTersTeLLar (PG) Thu 4:15, 8:15 Fri, Mon-Tue 6:30, 10:10 Sat-Sun 2:50, 6:30, 10:10 THe meTropoLiTan opera: iL BarBiere Di siVigLia Sat 12:55 pengUins of maDagascar 3D (G) Wed 6:40, 9:00 sT. VincenT (14A) Thu 4:00 Fri 3:30 Sun 12:30, 3:30

regent park film fest reviews

Community acts regenT park fiLm fesTiVaL

ñ

through Saturday (November 22). At Daniels Spectrum (585 Dundas East). Free. regentparkfilmfestival. com/festival. Rating: nnnn

The Regent Park Film Festival aims to bring the movies into the underserved Toronto neighbourhood, hosting a program of recent docs, shorts and features. All screenings are free, and seats can be reserved ahead of time on the festival’s website.

Programming in this 12th edition includes Mi’kmaq filmmaker Jeff Barnaby’s feature debut (and 2013 Canada’s Top Ten honoree) Rhymes For Young Ghouls (Friday, November 21), a

magic-realist character study of a teenage girl (Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs) growing up on a Quebec reservation in the late 70s.

For families, there’s a Saturday morning screening – complete with breakfast – of Haifaa Al Mansour’s acclaimed Wadjda (Saturday, November 22). The first Saudi Arabian feature directed by a woman, it follows a 10-year-old girl (Waad Mohammed) who enters a Koran recitation contest to win enough money for a bicycle. It’s a charmer.

A program of local documentaries (Saturday) centres on Hope Heights, Marc Magnusson’s portrait of the Lawrence Heights community as it actually exists rather than the battle zone we see in breathless news

Amnesty International’s festival of international documentaries on human rights. See website for schedule. Carlton Cinema, 20 Carlton. aito.ca/reelawareness.

Nov 20 to 23 regenT park fiLm fesTiVaL Screenings, panel discussions, workshops and talkbacks that reflect inner-city communities like the Regent Park Community. Free. Daniels Spectrum, 585 Dundas E. 416-599-7733, regentparkfilmfestival.com.

To Nov 22

reports. It’s a little longer than it needs to be, but I can’t blame Magnusson for wanting to be sure we take his point.

There’s no such optimism in Eugene Jarecki’s shattering documentary The House I Live In (Saturday), about the victims of America’s war on drugs who are locked in overcrowded prisons due to mandatory minimum sentences.

It’s a despairing look at the cynicism and contempt that drives U.S. drug policy – and if you think it isn’t happening here, you haven’t been paying attention. norman WiLner

Gone Girl (14A) Thu 3:30, 10:10 Fri 4:20, 10:15 Sat 10:15 Sun 4:00, 9:55 Mon-Wed 3:50, 9:35 Horrible bosses 2 (18A) Wed 3:30, 7:30, 10:15 THe HunGer Games: mockinGjay – ParT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00, 10:50 Fri 1:40, 3:20, 4:05, 4:40, 6:20, 7:05, 7:40, 9:20, 10:05, 10:40 Sat 11:00, 12:20, 1:05, 1:40, 3:20, 4:05, 4:40, 6:20, 7:05, 7:40, 9:20, 10:05, 10:40 Sun 12:30, 1:05, 1:40, 3:20, 4:05, 4:40, 6:20, 7:05, 7:40, 9:20, 10:05, 10:40 Mon-Tue 3:20, 4:20, 5:00, 6:20, 7:20, 8:00, 9:20, 10:20 Wed 4:20, 5:00, 7:20, 8:00, 10:20 inTersTellar (PG) Thu 5:10, 8:45 Fri 2:30, 6:10, 9:45 Sat 6:05, 9:40 Sun 12:25, 4:15, 7:55 Mon-Wed 4:00, 7:45 inTersTellar: THe imaX eXPerience (PG) Thu 3:00, 6:40, 10:25 Fri 3:30, 7:10, 10:45 Sat 11:50, 3:30, 7:10, 10:45 Sun 12:00, 3:30, 7:10, 10:45 Mon-Wed 3:00, 6:30, 10:10 joHn Wick (14A) Thu 5:30 THe meTroPoliTan oPera: il barbiere di siviGlia Sat 12:55 naTional THeaTer live: of mice and men - encore Sun 12:55 PenGuins of madaGascar 3d (G) Wed 4:10, 6:40, 9:00 THe PHaraoH’s dauGHTer – bolsHoi balleT encore Thu 7:00 sT. vincenT (14A) Thu 4:40, 7:25, 10:15 Fri 1:55, 7:30 SatSun 7:25 Mon-Wed 7:05 THe THeory of everyTHinG (PG) 4:50, 7:35, 10:30 Fri, Sun 2:05 mat Sat 11:20, 2:05 mat WHiPlasH (14A) Thu 4:55, 7:30, 10:05

8:30, 10:00, 11:20 Wed 1:20, 4:10, 7:10, 9:50 Gone Girl (14A) Thu 1:00, 4:00, 6:45, 9:45 Horrible bosses 2 (18A) Wed 2:10, 4:50, 7:40, 10:20 THe HunGer Games: mockinGjay – ParT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00, 11:00 Fri 12:15, 12:45, 1:10, 1:50, 3:10, 3:45, 4:20, 4:50, 6:20, 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 9:20, 9:50, 10:20, 10:50 SatSun 11:00, 12:15, 12:45, 1:10, 1:55, 3:10, 3:45, 4:20, 4:50, 6:20, 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 9:20, 9:50, 10:20, 10:50 Mon 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 3:30, 4:00, 4:30, 5:00, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 Tue 1:05, 1:30, 1:35, 2:00, 4:00, 4:30, 4:35, 5:10, 7:10, 7:30, 7:40, 8:10, 10:10, 10:30, 10:40, 11:10 Wed 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 4:00, 4:30, 5:00, 7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 10:00, 10:30 inTersTellar (PG) Thu 2:30, 3:30, 6:15, 7:50, 10:00 FriSun 11:45, 2:00, 3:20, 7:00, 10:45 Mon, Wed 1:40, 3:00, 5:15, 9:00 Tue 12:35, 2:50, 4:10, 7:50, 11:35 joHn Wick (14A) Thu 1:20 madaGascar 3: euroPe’s mosT WanTed (G) Sat 11:00 niGHTcraWler (14A) Thu 3:40 ouija (14A) Thu 1:40, 4:20, 7:30, 10:05 PenGuins of madaGascar (G) Wed 1:40 PenGuins of madaGascar 3d (G) Wed 4:20, 6:50, 9:20

Cineplex Vip CineMaS Don MillS (Ce)

aleXander and THe Terrible, Horrible, no Good, very bad day (PG) Thu, Mon, Wed 5:15 Fri, Tue 5:05, 7:10 Sat-Sun 12:50, 3:00, 5:05, 7:10 THe besT of me (PG) Thu 7:40 biG Hero 6 (PG) Thu 4:55, 7:25 Fri, Tue 4:00, 7:00, 9:40 Sat 11:10, 1:05, 4:00, 7:00, 9:40 Sun 1:05, 4:00, 7:00, 9:35 Mon, Wed 5:05, 7:40 biG Hero 6 3d (PG) Thu 5:40, 8:15 Fri, Tue 5:00, 7:45, 10:15 Sat 11:40, 2:20, 5:00, 7:45, 10:15 Sun 2:20, 4:55, 7:25, 10:00 Mon, Wed 5:35, 8:10 dumb and dumber To (PG) Thu 5:30, 8:10 Fri, Tue 4:50, 7:35, 10:20 Sat 11:30, 2:10, 4:50, 7:35, 10:20 Sun 2:10, 4:50, 7:30, 10:05 Mon, Wed 5:25, 8:15 THe equalizer (18A) Thu 8:25 Gone Girl (14A) Thu, Mon, Wed 5:10, 8:20 Fri, Tue 3:45, 6:50, 10:00 Sat 12:00, 3:15, 6:50, 10:00 Sun 12:15, 3:20, 6:50, 9:55 Horrible bosses 2 (18A) Wed 5:30, 8:05 THe HunGer Games: mockinGjay – ParT 1 (PG) Fri, Tue 3:50, 4:20, 5:30, 6:40, 7:20, 8:30, 9:30, 10:15 Sat 11:20, 12:30, 1:20, 2:30, 3:30, 4:20, 5:30, 6:40, 7:20, 8:30, 9:30, 10:15 Sun 12:30, 1:20, 2:30, 3:30, 4:20, 5:30, 6:20, 7:10, 8:15, 9:10, 10:00 Mon 5:00, 5:45, 7:15, 7:50, 8:25 Wed 5:00, 5:45, 7:50, 8:25 inTersTellar (PG) Thu 5:00, 7:10, 8:00 Fri, Tue 5:45, 9:20 Sat-Sun 2:00, 5:45, 9:20 Mon, Wed 4:55, 8:00 joHn Wick (14A) Thu 5:20, 7:50 Fri, Tue 5:15, 8:00, 10:25 Sat 2:45, 5:15, 8:00, 10:25 Sun 2:45, 5:15, 7:45, 10:05 Mon, Wed 6:00, 8:30 THe judGe (14A) Thu, Mon 4:55 Fri, Tue 4:10 Sat-Sun 12:40, 3:45 madaGascar 3: euroPe’s mosT WanTed (G) Sat 11:00 niGHTcraWler (14A) Thu 5:45, 8:25 Fri-Sat, Tue 9:50 Sun 9:15 Mon 7:30 Wed 8:30 ouija (14A) Thu 5:55, 8:15 Fri-Sat, Tue 8:10, 10:25 Sun 7:40, 9:50 Mon 8:30 PenGuins of madaGascar 3d (G) Wed 5:20, 7:55

12 Marie labaTTe roaD, 416-644-0660

birdman or (THe uneXPecTed virTue of iGnorance) (14A) Thu 4:30, 7:30 dumb and dumber To (PG) Thu 3:30, 7:00, 9:45 Fri 3:30, 6:50, 10:30 Sat 2:00, 6:50, 10:30 Sun 2:00, 6:50, 10:15 Mon-Tue 3:30, 6:30, 10:00 Wed 3:30, 6:30, 9:15 Gone Girl (14A) Thu 2:00, 6:00, 9:15 Fri 1:30, 5:00, 8:40 Sat-Sun 5:00, 8:40 Mon-Tue 1:00, 5:00, 8:30 Horrible bosses 2 (18A) Wed 3:00, 7:30, 10:45 THe HunGer Games: mockinGjay – ParT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00, 11:00 Fri 3:00, 4:00, 6:10, 7:30, 9:50, 11:00 Sat 12:00, 12:30, 3:00, 4:00, 6:10, 7:30, 9:50, 11:00 Sun 12:00, 12:30, 3:00, 4:00, 6:10, 7:30, 9:45, 10:45 Mon 2:20, 4:00, 6:00, 7:00, 9:00, 10:30 Tue 2:30, 4:00, 6:00, 7:00, 9:00, 10:30 Wed 2:30, 4:00, 5:30, 7:00, 8:45, 10:15 inTersTellar (PG) Thu 2:30, 4:00, 6:30, 10:15 Fri 1:50, 5:30, 9:20 Sat 1:30, 5:30, 9:20 Sun 1:30, 5:30, 9:15 MonTue 1:50, 5:30, 9:30 Wed 2:00, 6:00, 9:45 THe meTroPoliTan oPera: il barbiere di siviGlia Sat 12:55 naTional THeaTer live: of mice and men - encore Sun 12:55 niGHTcraWler (14A) Thu 10:40

onTario SCienCe CenTre oMniMax (i) 770 Don MillS rD., 416-429-4100

GreaT WHiTe sHark Sat-Sun 12:00 Hubble Thu-Fri, Mon-Wed 1:00 Sat-Sun 3:00 THe Human body Thu-Fri, Mon-Wed 12:00 island of lemurs: madaGascar (G) 11:00, 2:00 under THe sea Sat-Sun 1:00, 4:00

SilVerCiTy FairVieW (Ce)

FairVieW Mall, 1800 ShepparD aVe e, 416-644-7746 biG Hero 6 (PG) Thu 1:30, 4:10, 6:50, 9:30 Fri, Sun-Wed 1:50, 4:40, 7:30, 10:10 Sat 11:20, 1:50, 4:40, 7:30, 10:10 biG Hero 6 3d (PG) Thu 2:10, 4:50, 7:30, 10:10 Fri, SunTue 1:10, 4:10, 7:00, 9:40 Sat 1:20, 4:10, 7:00, 9:40 Wed 4:10, 7:00, 9:40 THe book of life 3d (G) Thu 1:50, 4:30, 6:40 dumb and dumber To (PG) Thu 2:20 5:00 7:20 10:05 Fri-Wed 1:40, 4:30, 7:20, 9:50 Sat 11:10 mat Gone Girl (14A) 10:20 Thu 1:00, 4:00 mat, 7:10 Horrible bosses 2 (18A) Wed 2:20, 5:10, 7:50, 10:20 THe HunGer Games: mockinGjay – ParT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00, 10:00 Fri, Sun-Tue 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 3:20, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 6:10, 6:40, 7:10, 7:40, 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 Sat 11:05, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 3:20, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 6:10, 6:40, 7:10, 7:40, 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 Wed 1:30, 2:00, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 6:40, 7:10, 7:40, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 inTersTellar (PG) Thu 1:20, 2:40, 5:10, 6:20, 9:00, 9:55 Fri, Sun-Tue 1:20, 3:10, 5:00, 6:50, 9:10 Sat 11:30, 2:50, 6:20, 6:50, 9:55 Wed 1:20, 5:00, 9:10 joHn Wick (14A) Thu 2:30, 5:05, 7:40, 10:30 madaGascar 3: euroPe’s mosT WanTed (G) Sat 11:00 THe meTroPoliTan oPera: il barbiere di siviGlia Sat 12:55 niGHTcraWler (14A) Thu 1:40 ouija (14A) Thu 4:20, 9:20 PenGuins of madaGascar (G) Wed 2:10 PenGuins of madaGascar 3d (G) Wed 4:25, 6:50, 9:20

SilVerCiTy yorkDale (Ce) 3401 DuFFerin ST, 416-787-2052

beyond THe liGHTs (14A) Thu 1:30, 4:40, 7:20, 10:10 Fri-Sun 7:10, 10:00 Mon 7:10, 9:50 Tue 8:00, 10:50 Wed 6:40, 9:30 biG Hero 6 (PG) Thu 1:50, 4:30, 7:10, 9:50 Fri 1:00, 4:00, 6:40, 9:30 Sat-Sun 11:15, 1:00, 4:00, 6:40, 9:30 Mon 1:10, 3:50, 6:40, 9:20 Tue 12:05, 1:50, 4:50, 7:30, 10:20 Wed 1:10, 3:50, 6:30, 9:10 biG Hero 6 3d (PG) Thu 1:10, 3:50, 6:30, 9:15 Fri-Sun 12:00, 2:40, 5:20, 8:00, 10:40 Mon, Wed 1:50, 4:40, 7:20, 10:10 Tue 12:50, 3:30, 6:10, 8:50, 11:30 dumb and dumber To (PG) Thu 1:20, 2:00, 4:10, 4:50, 7:00, 7:40, 9:40, 10:15 Fri 12:30, 2:15, 3:30, 5:00, 6:30, 7:40, 9:10, 10:30 Sat-Sun 11:30, 12:30, 2:15, 3:30, 5:00, 6:30, 7:40, 9:10, 10:30 Mon 1:20, 2:10, 4:10, 4:50, 6:50, 7:40, 9:40, 10:20 Tue 12:20, 1:20, 3:05, 4:20, 5:50, 7:20,

Scarborough 401 & MorningSiDe (Ce) 785 Milner aVe, SCarborough, 416-281-2226

ColiSeuM SCarborough (Ce) SCarborough ToWn CenTre, 416-290-5217

biG Hero 6 (PG) Thu 1:00, 3:40, 6:35, 9:20 Fri 12:45, 3:40, 6:30, 9:15 Sat 11:20, 1:15, 5:00, 7:45, 10:35 Sun 11:10, 12:45, 3:40, 6:30, 9:15 Mon-Wed 12:50, 3:40, 6:20, 9:15 biG Hero 6 3d (PG) Thu 1:30, 4:20, 7:05, 10:00 Fri-Sat 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45 Sun 11:45, 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45 MonWed 1:35, 4:25, 7:10, 10:05 THe book of life 3d (G) Thu 2:15 dear WHiTe PeoPle (14A) Thu 1:40, 4:35, 7:15, 9:55 FriSat, Mon-Tue 4:10, 10:15 Sun 4:10 dumb and dumber To (PG) Thu 2:10 5:00 7:45 10:30 Fri-Wed 2:10, 4:55, 7:40, 10:25 Sat-Sun 11:25 mat edsa WoolWorTH (PG) Thu 1:45, 4:30, 7:20, 10:20 fury (14A) Thu 3:45, 10:05 Fri, Sun, Tue 12:55, 7:05 Sat 7:05 Mon 12:55 Gone Girl (14A) Thu 2:55, 6:20, 9:45 Fri-Sat, Mon-Tue 2:45, 6:10, 9:35 Sun 4:05, 10:15 Horrible bosses 2 (18A) Wed 1:25, 4:10, 7:20, 10:15 THe HunGer Games: mockinGjay – ParT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00, 11:00 Fri 12:20, 12:50, 1:20, 1:50, 3:20, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 6:20, 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 9:20, 9:50, 10:20, 10:50 SatSun 11:00, 11:40, 12:20, 12:50, 1:20, 1:55, 3:20, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 6:20, 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 9:20, 9:50, 10:20, 10:50 Mon 12:30, 12:40, 1:00, 1:30, 3:30, 3:45, 4:00, 4:30, 6:30, 6:45, 7:00, 7:30, 9:30, 10:00, 10:20, 10:30 Tue 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, 2:40, 3:30, 4:00, 4:30, 5:45, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 8:45, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 Wed 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, 3:30, 4:00, 4:30, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 inTersTellar (PG) Thu 2:00, 2:50, 6:00, 8:30, 9:40 Fri, Sun 2:00, 2:30, 6:00, 6:25, 9:40, 10:10 Sat 11:05, 2:00, 2:45, 6:00, 6:25, 9:40, 10:10 Mon-Wed 2:30, 4:05, 6:25, 8:00, 10:10 joHn Wick (14A) Thu 1:50, 4:25, 6:55, 9:50 madaGascar 3: euroPe’s mosT WanTed (G) Sat 11:00 THe maze runner (PG) Thu 1:00 THe meTroPoliTan oPera: il barbiere di siviGlia Sat 12:55 naTional THeaTer live: of mice and men - encore Sun 12:55 Mon 7:00 niGHTcraWler (14A) Thu 4:45 ouija (14A) Thu 2:45, 5:15, 7:55, 10:15 Fri-Wed 3:00, 5:30, 8:05, 10:30 PenGuins of madaGascar (G) Wed 2:15 PenGuins of madaGascar 3d (G) Wed 4:40, 7:05, 9:35 THe PHaraoH’s dauGHTer – bolsHoi balleT encore Thu 7:00 Women WHo flirT (PG) Wed 2:35, 5:10, 7:45, 10:20 WWe survivor series – 2014 Sun 8:00

eglinTon ToWn CenTre (Ce) 1901 eglinTon aVe e, 416-752-4494

aleXander and THe Terrible, Horrible, no Good, very bad day (PG) Thu 2:20 beyond THe liGHTs (14A) Thu 4:35, 7:25, 10:20 Fri 2:05, 4:55, 7:45, 10:35 Sat-Sun 11:20, 2:05, 4:55, 7:45, 10:35 Mon-Wed 5:00, 7:45, 10:30 biG Hero 6 (PG) Thu 4:00, 6:50, 9:30 Fri 12:15, 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 9:55 Sat 11:10, 1:50, 4:35, 7:15, 9:55 Sun 11:10, 1:50, 4:35, 7:05, 9:45 Mon-Wed 4:05, 6:50, 9:35 biG Hero 6 3d (PG) Thu 2:05, 4:45, 7:25, 10:10 Fri 2:20, 5:05, 7:45, 10:25 Sat-Sun 11:40, 2:20, 5:05, 7:45, 10:25 Mon-Wed 4:40, 7:25, 10:10 birdman or (THe uneXPecTed virTue of iGnorance) (14A) Thu 4:40, 7:30, 10:25 Fri-Sun 1:20, 4:10, 7:00 Mon, Wed 4:20, 7:20 Tue 4:15, 7:05, 9:55 dumb and dumber To (PG) Thu 2:25, 4:25, 5:05, 7:10, 7:45, 9:50, 10:30 Fri 2:05, 2:45, 4:45, 5:20, 7:30, 8:00, 10:10, 10:45 Sat-Sun 11:25, 2:05, 2:45, 4:45, 5:20, 7:30, 8:00, 10:10, 10:45 Mon-Wed 3:55, 4:45, 6:55, 7:30, 9:40, 10:15 THe equalizer (18A) Thu 10:10 fury (14A) Thu 4:30, 7:40, 10:45 Fri 12:30, 3:40 Sun 12:35, 3:55 Mon-Tue 3:35 Gone Girl (14A) Thu 3:20, 6:55, 10:15 Fri 12:25, 3:45, 7:10, 10:30 Sat-Sun 11:55, 3:15, 6:40, 10:00 Mon-Tue 3:30, 6:45, 10:05 HaPPy endinG Fri-Sun 1:15, 4:25, 7:35, 10:40 Mon-Wed 3:40, 6:45, 9:50 HaPPy neW year (PG) Thu 3:25, 7:00, 10:30 Fri 6:45, 10:20 Sat 6:55, 10:30 Sun 9:55 Mon-Tue 6:40, 10:20 Horrible bosses 2 (18A) Wed 4:55, 7:35, 10:20 THe HunGer Games: mockinGjay – ParT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00, 10:45 Fri 12:20, 12:50, 1:20, 1:50, 3:20, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 6:20, 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 9:20, 9:50, 10:20, 10:50 SatSun 11:00, 12:25, 12:55, 1:25, 1:55, 3:20, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 6:20, 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 9:20, 9:50, 10:20, 10:50 Mon-Wed 3:30, 4:00, 4:30, 5:30, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 inTersTellar (PG) Thu 3:40, 6:00, 9:45, 10:40 Fri 3:00, 6:40, 10:25 Sat 11:05, 2:00, 6:30, 10:15 Sun 2:00, 6:30, 10:15 Mon, Wed 4:30, 8:20 Tue 4:20, 8:20 joHn Wick (14A) Thu 3:00, 5:35, 8:05, 10:35 Fri-Sat 9:55 Mon, Wed 10:15 kill dil (PG) Thu 3:30, 6:45, 10:05 Fri-Sun 1:30, 4:35, 7:25, 10:15 Mon-Wed 4:15, 7:10, 10:00 madaGascar 3: euroPe’s mosT WanTed (G) Sat 11:00 THe meTroPoliTan oPera: il barbiere di siviGlia Sat 12:55 niGHTcraWler (14A) Thu 2:10, 4:55, 7:50 PenGuins of madaGascar 3d (G) Wed 5:15, 7:40, 10:00 roseWaTer (14A) Thu 2:35, 5:10, 7:45, 10:25 sT. vincenT (14A) Thu 2:30, 5:00, 7:35 Fri 12:25, 3:00, 5:30, 8:05, 10:35 Sat 12:30, 3:00, 6:50, 9:30 Sun 12:30, 3:00, 5:30, 8:05, 10:35 Mon-Wed 5:20, 7:50, 10:25 WWe survivor series – 2014 Sun 8:00

9:50, 10:20, 10:50 Sat-Sun 11:00, 11:50, 12:20, 12:50, 1:20, 1:55, 2:50, 3:20, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 5:50, 6:20, 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 8:50, 9:20, 9:50, 10:20, 10:50 Mon-Tue 3:00, 3:30, 4:00, 4:30, 5:15, 6:00, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 8:20, 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 Wed 3:00, 3:30, 4:00, 4:30, 6:00, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 inTersTellar (PG) Thu 3:35, 5:30, 7:10, 9:10, 10:45 FriSun 11:40, 3:10, 6:40, 10:15 Mon-Wed 3:10, 6:40, 10:10 inTersTellar: THe imaX eXPerience (PG) Thu 3:00, 6:30, 10:00 Fri-Sun 12:10, 3:40, 7:10, 10:45 Mon-Wed 3:40, 7:10, 10:45 joHn Wick (14A) Thu 3:05, 5:25, 7:55, 10:25 Fri-Sun 12:35, 3:05, 5:30, 8:10, 10:40 Mon-Wed 3:05, 5:30, 8:10, 10:40 madaGascar 3: euroPe’s mosT WanTed (G) Sat 11:00 THe meTroPoliTan oPera: il barbiere di siviGlia Sat 12:55 niGHTcraWler (14A) Thu 4:10, 6:55, 9:45 Fri-Sat 11:00 Sun 10:05 Mon-Wed 10:20 ouija (14A) Thu 3:10, 5:35, 8:10, 10:35 Fri 1:40, 3:55, 6:15, 8:30 Sat 5:40, 8:30 Sun 11:25, 2:00, 5:45 Mon-Wed 3:20, 5:40, 8:00 PenGuins of madaGascar 3d (G) Wed 3:55, 7:25, 10:25 THe PHaraoH’s dauGHTer – bolsHoi balleT encore Thu 7:00 sT. vincenT (14A) Thu 4:40, 6:50, 10:00 Fri-Sun 12:30 WWe survivor series – 2014 Sun 8:00

rainboW proMenaDe (i)

proMenaDe Mall, hWy 7 & baThurST, 416-494-9371 aleXander and THe Terrible, Horrible, no Good, very bad day (PG) Thu 1:15, 4:10 Fri-Tue 1:15, 4:10, 7:05 biG Hero 6 (PG) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 9:30 dumb and dumber To (PG) 12:55, 3:50, 6:55, 9:35 Horrible bosses 2 (18A) Wed 1:05, 4:05, 7:05, 9:45 THe HunGer Games: mockinGjay – ParT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00 Fri-Sun, Tue-Wed 12:50, 3:45, 6:50, 9:40 Mon 3:45, 6:50, 9:40

inTersTellar (PG) Thu 12:30, 1:05, 4:05, 4:35, 7:35, 9:00 Fri-Tue 12:30, 4:05, 7:35, 9:00 Wed 12:30, 4:05, 7:35 PenGuins of madaGascar (G) Wed 1:05, 3:55, 7:00, 9:20 sT. vincenT (14A) Thu 1:15, 3:55, 6:45, 9:20 Fri 1:15, 3:55, 9:20 Sat-Tue 1:15, 3:55, 7:00, 9:20

West granDe - STeeleS (Ce) hWy 410 & STeeleS, 905-455-1590

biG Hero 6 (PG) Thu 5:00, 7:35 Fri 3:40, 7:00, 9:40 SatSun 12:45, 3:40, 7:00, 9:40 Mon-Wed 5:30, 8:05 biG Hero 6 3d (PG) Thu 5:30, 8:05 Fri 5:10, 7:50, 10:30 Sat-Sun 11:50, 2:30, 5:10, 7:50, 10:30 Mon-Wed 4:55, 7:35 dumb and dumber To (PG) Thu, Wed 5:10, 8:30 Fri 5:20, 8:00, 10:45 Sat-Sun 12:00, 2:40, 5:20, 8:00, 10:45 Mon-Tue 5:10, 8:00 fury (14A) Thu 5:05, 8:20 Fri-Sun 10:10 Mon-Wed 7:50 Gone Girl (14A) Thu 5:15, 8:25 Fri 3:00, 6:45, 10:20 SatSun 11:55, 3:20, 6:45, 10:20 Mon-Wed 4:50, 8:20 Horrible bosses 2 (18A) Wed 5:35, 8:25 THe HunGer Games: mockinGjay – ParT 1 (PG) Fri 3:10, 3:55, 4:40, 6:10, 6:55, 7:40, 9:10, 9:55, 10:40 Sat-Sun 12:10, 12:55, 1:40, 3:10, 3:55, 4:40, 6:10, 6:55, 7:40, 9:10, 9:55, 10:40 Mon-Tue 4:45, 5:15, 7:00, 7:45, 8:15 Wed 4:45, 5:15, 7:45, 8:15 inTersTellar (PG) Thu 5:00, 7:00, 8:00 Fri 3:25, 6:20, 7:05, 10:00 Sat-Sun 11:45, 1:20, 3:25, 6:20, 7:05, 10:00 Mon-Tue 5:00, 7:30 Wed 5:00, 8:00 joHn Wick (14A) Thu 5:35, 8:10 Fri 4:00, 7:20 Sat-Sun 12:30, 4:00, 7:20 Mon-Wed 5:25 niGHTcraWler (14A) Thu 5:25, 8:15 Fri-Sun 10:45 MonTue 8:30 ouija (14A) Thu 5:20, 7:40 PenGuins of madaGascar 3d (G) Wed 5:05, 7:25 3

CONTEST PICK OF THE WEEK

WooDSiDe CineMaS (i) 1571 SanDhurST CirCle, 416-299-3456

HaPPy endinG Fri 3:45, 9:30 Sat-Sun 1:00, 6:30, 9:30 Mon-Wed 3:45, 6:45, 9:30 HaPPy neW year (PG) Thu 3:30 jai Ho (14A) Thu 10:30 kaTHTHi (PG) Thu 3:30 7:00 9:30 Fri-Wed 3:30, 7:00, 10:30 Sat-Sun 1:00 mat kill dil (PG) Thu 7:00, 9:30 Fri 4:00, 7:00 Sat-Sun 1:00, 3:45 Mon-Wed 4:30 oru oorla rendu raja (PG) Thu 7:15 Poojai (14A) Fri-Sun 7:15 vanmam Fri 10:30 Sat-Sun 4:00, 10:30 Mon-Wed 7:15, 10:30

GTA Regions North ColoSSuS (Ce) hWy 400 & 7, 905-851-1001

aleXander and THe Terrible, Horrible, no Good, very bad day (PG) Thu 4:35 Fri-Sun 1:10, 3:15, 5:25, 7:40 Mon-Tue 3:15, 5:25, 7:40 Wed 3:15, 8:20 THe besT of me (PG) Thu 3:45, 10:30 Fri-Tue 9:45 Wed 10:20 beyond THe liGHTs (14A) Thu 3:55, 7:00, 10:05 Fri-Sun 12:25, 3:35, 6:45, 9:55 Mon-Tue 3:35, 6:45, 9:55 Wed 5:10, 7:15, 9:55 biG Hero 6 (PG) Thu 3:00, 4:00, 7:00, 9:40 Fri-Sun 11:30, 2:10, 4:45, 7:30, 10:10 Mon-Wed 3:45, 6:25, 9:10 biG Hero 6 3d (PG) Thu 5:15, 7:50, 10:30 Fri 12:00, 2:40, 5:20, 8:00, 10:35 Sat-Sun 12:00, 2:50, 5:20, 8:00, 10:35 Mon-Wed 4:25, 7:05, 9:50 THe book of life 3d (G) Thu 3:20 Fri 1:30 Sat-Sun 11:15, 1:30 dracula unTold (14A) Thu 4:25, 6:45, 9:15 dumb and dumber To (PG) Thu 4:30, 5:20, 7:15, 8:00, 9:50, 10:40 Fri-Sun 11:45, 12:15, 2:30, 3:00, 5:00, 5:35, 7:45, 8:20, 10:30, 11:00 Mon-Wed 3:00, 5:00, 5:35, 7:45, 8:15, 10:15, 10:45 THe equalizer (18A) Thu 4:45, 7:40, 10:45 Fri-Sat 3:30, 6:55, 10:05 Sun 3:30, 6:55 Mon-Tue 3:25, 6:55, 10:05 fury (14A) Thu 4:15, 7:20, 10:15 Fri-Tue 3:50, 7:15, 10:25 Wed 3:50, 10:25 Gone Girl (14A) Thu 3:50, 7:05, 10:10 Fri-Sun 12:40, 4:10, 7:35, 10:55 Mon-Wed 4:10, 7:20, 10:35 Guardians of THe GalaXy (PG) Thu 9:20 HaPPy endinG 4:00, 7:00, 10:00 Fri-Sun 1:00 mat Horrible bosses 2 (18A) Wed 3:05, 5:40, 8:05, 10:40 THe HunGer Games: mockinGjay – ParT 1 (PG) Thu 8:00, 11:00 Fri 11:50, 12:20, 12:50, 1:20, 1:50, 2:50, 3:20, 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 5:50, 6:20, 6:50, 7:20, 7:50, 8:50, 9:20,

ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS

REITMAN SQUARE, 350 KING ST REET WEST

Brooks burlesques the Bandit of Sherwood Forest in this swipe at the hosiery-heavy epics of Hollywood past.

350 KING STREET W 416-599-8433

DEC 13, 10PM AT TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX FOR FULL FILM LISTINGS, VISIT TIFF.NET

WIN TICKETS AT NOWTORONTO.COM/CONTESTS NOW november 20-26 2014

85

Classifieds 416 364 3444 {

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Stop Eating in the Past — DINE FOR TODAY!

By Matt Jones ©2014 Jonesin’ Crosswords editor@jonesincrosswords.com

30 31 32 33 37 38 39 40 45 46 47 48 50 54 55

Like sashimi Cardinal point?

Michael of “SNL” Bird that can’t play with his friends for a week?

Musk of Tesla Motors Perfume label word “___, poor Yorick!”

Spice that’s been messed with?

Boat with two goats “Ratatouille” chef Hawaiian vacation souvenir “Good heavens!”

Denounce 1970 hit by The Kinks Forest fluid

6 Fictional lawyer Perry 7 ___ vera 8 Early bandmate of John, Paul, and George 9 Last part of a paint job 10 “Deck the Halls” is one 11 Having some trouble 12 Boom sticks 13 “Affirmative” 18 Go down at sea 23 Device for streaming Netflix 25 “Down in ___!”

26 T, to Socrates 27 At the end of your rope 28 Gather wool 29 Attention-getting shouts 31 Like snake eyes 33 Magnificence 34 Climbing danger 35 Considers (to be) 36 Speedy 37 Dutch town known for its cheese 56 2016 Olympics host 41 Exam without paper 57 “But ___, there’s more!” 42 Piled up the leaves again 59 Seafood that got after the wind got them promoted in checkers?

43 Get hitched on the fly 63 Alan of “The Blacklist” 44 Ballpoint, for example 64 Falco of “Nurse Jackie” 49 Cereal in a blue box 65 Rainforest or tundra 50 Hamster homes 66 Projectionist’s spool 51 “File not found,” e.g.

67 They get connected 52 It’s known for its Heat 68 “Sk8er Boi” singer Lavigne 53 Dynamite inventor Alfred DOWN 55 Fit of temper 1 Shoot for the moon 2 “___ what you’re saying” 57 Classic U2 album 3 Appliance manufacturer 58 Draft served near darts 60 Bride’s words 4 “The Da Vinci Code” 61 Letters before a company author Brown name 5 Ending after hex, pent or oct 62 LII x II solution in next week’s classifieds

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ACROSS 1 Food Network celeb ___ de Laurentiis 6 Crow’s nest site 10 Newport or Salem 14 “Jeez!”

15 Choir voice 16 “Interview with the Vampire” author Rice 17 Can that landed on your head before serving?

19 Hamelin invaders 20 Curtis of Joy Division 21 Underwater eggs 22 FarmVille choice 24 Sue of many alphabet mysteries 27 Unwise

}

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Previous experience in organizing social & recreation activities, strong interpersonal & communication skills, able to work independently, enthusiastic, flexible, & to take initiative. Secondary school education with minimum one year experience in community based programs in a non-profit setting.

Please send resume & cover letter to The Hiring Committee, Cecil Community Centre, 58 Cecil St., Toronto, Ont., M5T 1N6; Email: jobs@cecilcommunitycentre.ca.

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Looking for a skills upgrade or second career that you can take pride in? Toronto Image Works offers full-time diploma programs in Digital Publishing and Web. » Instructor led » Small classes, hands on » Real world environment

DIGITAL DESIGN AND MULTIMEDIA WEB PROGRAMS START JANUARY 5, 2015 REGISTER TODAY! Contact Jeannie Baxter at 416-703-1999 ext 271 jbaxter@torontoimageworks.com TORONTO IMAGE WORKS www.torontoimageworks.com 80 Spadina Avenue, Suite 207 416-703-1999

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416-364-3444 DO YOU EXPERIENCE ANXIETY?

Do you want to quit using MARIJUANA? We are looking for participants for a RESEARCH STUDY ON TREATMENT FOR MARIJUANA DEPENDENCE! In this study, we aim to determine whether a medication containing similar ingredients as cannabis, in addition to weekly therapy sessions with a psychologist, are effective for treating marijuana. Compensation for time and travel are provided if you participate in this study.

To participate or learn more,

please call 416-535-8501 x 36012

It may be time to consider your options.

Research subjects needed.

The START Clinic is currently enrolling adult volunteers in a research study examining generalized anxiety and treatment options.

Eligible participants must be: • Experiencing worry and anxiety • At least 18 years of age

Are you a regular smoker?

• Do you want to quit smoking? Are you 19-65 years old?

CAMH is conducting a study on the effects of a medication on smoking cessation You will be required to take this medication and attend CAMH to complete questionnaires and tests.

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Volunteer Opportunities of the Week Are you a people person? The Heart and Stroke Foundation is looking for organized and friendly Heart Month Captains to manage a team of canvassers from now until March. Tasks include attending events, conducting check-ins, and supporting your team members. Min 8-10 hours per month.

Contact Lena: lciccotelli@hsf.on.ca.

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Help make a difference in the lives of artists! Dramaway is seeking a Creative Arts Assistant for their ExpressionWorks program. Help participants practice their social and communication skills and exercises through music and movement, as well as through a variety of performance styles. Min 2 hrs per week. Commitment through June 2015. Contact Danielle:dramawayoffice@gmail.com.

Music in the Barns needs ushers, setup/ breakdown staff & stage hands for their upcoming event! Get a drink ticket and enjoy the concert for free by ushering or helping with set-up and break down. Artscape Wychwood Barns. Sat Nov 29. Set up: 3-5 PM; Ushering/Stage Hands: 6:30-10 PM; Break down: 11-12 PM. Contact Carol: musicinthebarns@gmail.com.

Volunteer Toronto connects people to thousands of volunteer opportunities and provides support to Toronto’s non-profit organizations. Find these and other opportunities at volunteertoronto.ca

Ronald McDonald house seeks reliable and responsible Front Desk Volunteers.

Volunteers will provide customer service to families, staff, guests, visitors and fellow volunteers. Other duties include assisting our Family Service Team with House Tours and room checks. McCaul & College.

Min 3 hours per week. Contact Denise: dsmith@rmhtoronto.org.

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www.animalalliance.ca Committed to the protection of all animals.

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www.veg.ca

Toronto Vegetarian Assoc. All the info you need to go vegetarian!

SPYTECH

2005 Yonge St. 416-482-8588 spytech.com

Curtain Call Players is holding auditions for their spring production of WEST SIDE STORY. Strong singers/dancers required.

MANDATORY DANCE CALL: SUNDAY NOVEMBER 23 VOCAL AUDITIONS: NOVEMBER 24 – 26 Visit www.curtaincallplayers.com for audition info or contact 416-500-8488. Non-equity.

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for rent - general Bach - $1,000 1 Bdrm - $1,100 No pets. Avail. Dec. 1. 416-533-3981

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ne

T

Savage Love

By Dan Savage

I have a needle fetish I am a 30-year-old trans guy, on t since college, happy and comfortable with my sexuality. However, I can’t find any helpful health info on a fetish I’ve developed: I insert needles directly into my clit, maybe an inch and a half in. I’m not talking through it, like a piercing, but into it, going in at the head and moving down into the shaft. There are lots of porn/BDSM sites that discuss piercing all sorts of “female” anatomy, and many that cover the excitement of needles inserted into the glans of the penis, but few go into details about putting needles directly into the clit itself – and none that I’ve found cover safety. As a trans man, this is a particularly tempting practice because, well, my clit is huge and I have a constant legal supply of safe, sterile needles. Still, I want to know if I am potentially causing permanent nerve damage. I’d like to keep my clit healthy and happy for future use! If one of your connections in the medical world has a sense of this, I’d love to know.

Sticking Things In Clit Knowledgeably P.S. Your advice is a great and positive force in my life. Thank you.

Yours is the kind of letter that gets me in trouble, STICK. Clit-having readers and clit-loving readers will be doubling over on the subway, in office cubicles, in the bathrooms aboard Air Force One – wherever my column is read, people will be doubling over. And I will spend the next week wading through furious emails from angry/ clueless readers convinced that your letter’s appearance in my column will lead to a worldwide clit-sticking boom.

Allow me to address their concerns first: That’s not the way this works, that’s not the way any of this works. People don’t adopt sex practices or kinks after hearing about them. If that were the way it worked – if hearing about a crazy kink inspired otherwise vanilla types to run out and try it – we would all be shoving gerbils in our asses. (We’ve all heard of gerbiling. No one has ever done it. Case closed.)

Okay, STICK, I worked my medical-world connections and found someone who wasn’t just qualified to answer your question, but also willing to do it on the record.

“Piercing and needling, if practiced in a safe and sterile manner, can be stimulating,” said Dr. Brian Fitzsimmons, a gynecologist in Vancouver, BC, (obgynvancouver.ca) and a clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia. “But permanent damage with needling can occur to the sensory receptors that allow us to experience pleasure and stimulation.”

So the short answer to your question, STICK, is this: Yes, you are risking permanent damage.

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“There may be immediate risks with needling, such as bleeding and infection, in addition to long-term side effects,” said Dr. Fitzsimmons.

“And potential long-term side effects are especially concerning in regards to very sensitive areas such as the glans of the penis or the clitoris. Short-term stimulation and excitement with needling has the potential to cause permanent damage, chronic discomfort and numbing of these areas. Permanent scarring and deformation can also occur. This is something that may not be correctable – even with surgery.”

Some adult pleasures come with built-in risks – skydiving, snowboarding, clit-needling – and an adult does a quick risk-reward analysis before deciding if the potential reward (thrills, powder, orgasms) is worth the risk (faulty parachutes, ski resort food, permanent damage). It’s your clit, STICK, and you’ll have to weigh the risks and rewards for yourself. But you won’t find me sticking needles in my clit.

“If orgasm is mediated by the clitoris or the glans of the penis in the individual,” said Dr. Fitzsimmons, “this practice can cause loss of the ability to achieve orgasm.”

In other words: Anyone who requires clit/dickhead stimulation in order to get off – and that’s pretty much everyone with a clit and/or dick head – shouldn’t be sticking needles into their clit/dick head.

A final thought from Dr. Fitzsimmons: “If you’re engaging in this type of practice, it’s important not to share needles, just like with any other sex toy. The risks of transmitting infections such as HIV, hepatitis, syphilis and other STIs need to be considered. Anyone having more questions on this or experiencing complications or problems should contact their local clinic or health-care provider.”

Knife play is unusual durIng the JodI arIas trIal, It was suggested that Arias made up the story about her and Travis Alexander practising bondage so there was an excuse for why a knife would be nearby. I was wondering: How common is it for knives to be used or included in bondage scenarios?

Don’t Understand Bondage I thought the Jodi Arias trial was long over – Nancy Grace and her wake of viewers were picking over fresh carrion the last time I caught her show – but nope: Arias is in the middle of a sentencing retrial. She’s the fucking Kim Kardashian of cold-blooded murderesses.

Knife play is a kink unto itself – it mostly involves drawing a sharp blade across someone’s flesh without actually cutting or drawing blood – and while most knife-play scenes include bondage (helplessness heightening the eroticized threat), only a tiny percentage of bondage scenes include knives. People into rope bondage typically keep a sturdy pair of blunt-edged scissors in their playrooms or gear bags. The scissors are for emergencies, not for play – the last thing a panicking bondage bottom who needs to be untied now wants to see coming at them is a knife.

Take his kid to a sitter I’m datIng the man of my dreams. the only sticking point: He has a 5-year-old daughter from a previous relationship who lives with him full-time (The mom is out of the picture.)

The kid is sweet, and the three of us get along great as a “family.” I’ve introduced my boyfriend to my kinks, which include tying him up.

He’s been open and enthusiastic, and has discovered a love of being submissive. But he

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won’t be tied up when his daughter is in the apartment. There’s a lock on his bedroom door, but he says it’s got more to do with the psychology of the situation. The idea of bondage under the same roof as his child bothers him, I guess, or the idea that she could need his help with something and he could be in a situation where I might have to untie him first. This isn’t a big deal now because we don’t live together. (He gets a babysitter and comes over to my place.)

But he’s asked me to move in. I want to, but I’m worried about frustration or resentment down the road if this part of our sex life becomes seriously limited.

Can’t Let Innocent Child Know The fact that your boyfriend gets a babysitter and comes over to your place is a good sign, CLICK. It means his daughter wasn’t so traumatized by the loss/disappearance of her mother that she can’t bear to be separated from her father for an evening. But living with a small child – a small child who doesn’t take a locked door for an answer (and most don’t) – will impact your sex life. But instead of thinking of her presence as a limitation, CLICK, think of it as a challenge. And this one seems like an easily solvable challenge: Right now when you want to tie him up, he gets a sitter and comes over to your place. In the future, once you’ve moved in together, you can drop the kid off at the sitter’s house and head home for a risk-of-kid-pounding-on-the-bedroom-door-free bondage scene.

The limitations on your bondage sessions will be no greater once you’re living together.

And invest in some blunt-edged scissors.

On the Lovecast, Dan joins forces with the brothers McElroy from My Brother, My Brother And Me. Swoon! Listen at savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter

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