NOW_2015-01-22

NEWS

JOHN TORY’S FIRST BUDGET IS FULL OF HOLES

p. 10

KEEP INDIANS OFF OUR JURIES? p. 12 ROM’S PASSENGER PIGEON RESURRECTION p. 12 MUSIC

NEW HIP HOP AND R&B ARTISTS ON THE RADAR

Skilled trades on trend P. 18

p. 40

LIFE&STYLE

p. 16

MUSIC

JULIANNE MOORE ON HER PREP FOR OSCAR-BAIT ROLE p. 49

Santouka’s Kara miso ramen

10 OF THE CITY’S MOST BEAUTIFUL BOWLS

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JANUARY 22–28 2015 • ISSUE 1721 VOL. 34 NO.20 MORE ONLINE @ nowtoronto.com 33 INDEPENDENT YEARS

TRANS EMPLOYEE SUES SAKS

THINKFREE

CLASS ACTION

JANUARY 22–28

CONTENTS

ONLINE

Photo: Michael Watier

Hair and makeup by Taylor Savage for TRESemmé Hair Care and MAC Cosmetics/judyinc.com

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

32 MUSIC

D

32 The Scene A$AP Ferg/YG, Loving In The Name Of, Pharmakon, Weyes Blood 34 Club & concert listings 36 Interview Slim Twig 38 Interview Jeff Mills; T.O. Notes 40 Ones to Watch Beats & Rhymes 42 Album reviews

43 STAGE

43 Theatre reviews The Seagull; Her2; Waiting Room 44 Theatre listings 46 Comedy listings 47 Comedy Q&A Allana Reoch of Panacea! and Sunday Night Live Dance listings

26 BEST SOUP IN TOWN 26 Soup’s on NOW names T.O.’s most beautiful bowls

47 BOOKS

Review First Year Healthy Readings

NEWSFRONT

6 Heritage hit Stollerys bites the dust 12 Indian content Do we need 9 News briefs Amanda Lang’s Barrick love; more on juries? gentrification loses its meaning De-extinction ROM’s pigeon 10 Tory’s budget Devil’s in the details resurrection project 11 Election rewind Revisiting race

13 DAILY EVENTS 15 LIFE&STYLE

15 Take 5 Winter running gear 16 Haute topic Trans ex-employee sues Saks Astrology 17 Ecoholic Protein powder truths; are Ontario Grits serious about a carbon tax?

48 ART

Review Art Spiegelman Must-see galleries and museums

1. CBC’s continued conflicts Before recent allegations that CBC broadcaster Amanda Lang tried to kill a story about RBC, she went to bat for Barrick Gold – where her ex-husband works.

2. War brewing The Beer Store’s PR blitz saying it will open up ownership to small brewers and increase their access to its shelves isn’t resonating with beer makers or drinkers.

3. Gentrifiers redefined The community being established in Davenport by young people looks a lot like the one built by new Canadians before them.

4. Shake your balm-balm Which so-called natural chapstick will best soothe your dry lips 5. DJ Frodo comin’ at ya Lord Of The Rings actor Elijah Wood joins friend Zach Cowie to spin records as Wooden Wisdom at Dundas West’s Studio Bar.

THE WEEK IN TWEETS

49 MOVIES

“REPORTER: Mr. President, what’s your favourite Wu Tang album?

OBAMA: What kind of question is – [Biden grabs podium] BIDEN: LIQUID SWORDS.”

49 Actor interview Still Alice’s Julianne Moore; Reviews A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night; Leviathan; The 50-Year Argument; Cake; Tru Love; The Humbling; Why Don’t You Play In Hell?

52 Also opening Mortdecai; Strange Magic; The Boy Next Door 53 Playing this week 55 Indie film spotlight Song One at the Kingsway 56 Film times

@BLIPPOBLAPPO on Joe Biden’s

excellent wingman skills during the State of the Union address.

“Opening a strip club called the Friend Zone.” @IAMENIDCOLESLAW

FOLLOW NOW ON TWITTER @NOWTORONTO

18 CLASS ACTION

18 Training in trades Three women working in diverse professions talk about their studies and experiences in male-dominated careers

25 FOOD & DRINK

25 Drink up! Sip some Scotch to honour Robbie Burns Day

58 CLASSIFIED 58 58 59

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

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NEWS

HOLES FULL OFRRECTION GET IS N RESU ST BUD NGER PIGEO Y’S FIR ROM’S PASSE HOP S? JOHN TOR NEW HIP RNB OUR JURIE

KEEP INDIA

NS OFF

Skilled on trend

NOW is available free of charge in the city of Toronto and selected locations throughout the GTA, limited to one copy per reader. NOW may be distributed only by NOW Communications’ authorized distributors or news agents.

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NOW ON THE MOVE

T BEAUTI CITY’S MOS

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P. 26

TRIM SIZE: 9.833"W x 11.25" H, RHP, pg 3

S SHOE AS W A S LO

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(AN D YO U HATE CO M P LI M E NT S)

FI NAL MAR KD OWN S! UP T

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NOW january 22-28 2015 3

EXTRA SHOW ADDED FOR VALENTINE’S DAY “Refreshingly ludicrous!”

The New York Times

Deadmau5

This week

January 29–February 4

Thursday 22

choreographer Vincent Mantsoe brings his solo double bill to Harbourfront Centre Theatre.

8 pm. $19-$37. 416-973-4000. To January 31.

Owen Pallett All-ages afternoon and 19+ shows by the baroque pop genius.

Lee’s Palace. 2 and 9 pm. $15. rotate. com. January 31.

Stanzie Tooth The painter’s alt-landscapes hang at General Hardware Contemporary to February 7. 416-821-3060.

Miriam Toews Author discusses Writers’ Trust fiction award winner All My Puny Sorrows alongside debut novelist Alix Hawley at the Reference Library, part of the Eh Series. 416-3955577. 7 pm. Free (reserve). February 2.

Marilyn Manson Industrial rocker brings his new album, The Pale Emperor, to the Sound Academy. 7 pm, all ages. $59.50-$75. livenation.com.

February 2.

a redhead, donating sperm to a lesbian couple and more. 8 pm. To January 24 at Buddies in Bad Times. $20. 416-975-8555.

Peter Carey The Aussie author talks about his new book, Amnesia, at the Reference Library. 7 pm. Free. More info, page 47. ­eventbrite.ca/e/14586329103.

Friday 23

Art Department, My Favorite Robot CODA celebrates its first year post-

Annex Wreckroom name change, with ace DJs blasting through its ace P.A. 10 pm. $30. codatoronto.com.

The Boy Next Door J.Lo and Ryan Guzman star in this erotic thriller about a teacher whose affair with a neighbouring kid blows up. Opening day.

Saturday 24

Jeff Mills Detroit techno pioneer and subject of Man From Tomorrow takes

over the decks at 99 Sudbury. 10 pm. $39.50. ticketfly.com. See preview, page 38.

Don Giovanni Dmitri Tcherniakov’s novel new production of the Mozart opera for the Canadian Opera Company opens at the Four Seasons Centre. 4:30 pm. $22-$424. To February 21. 416-363-8231.

Sunday 25

Palestinian-Syrian refugee fundraiser To help Bathurst United sponsor a refugee living in Lebanon. 7 pm. Pwyc. Beit Zatoun. beitzatoun.org.

Monday 26 nowtoronto.com/stage/cannibal/

STARTS FEB 10 at the Panasonic Theatre

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CannibalOnStage.com 4 january 22-28 2015 NOW

Next week

January 22–28

Ginger Nation Shawn Hitchins presents his acclaimed solo show about being

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zach­slootsky

The Guvernment’s final closing parties have gone on and on, but the Deadmau5 blowout Sunday (January 25) really does seem like the end. Tickets for the Toronto house music superstar’s (one of Bonnaroo’s justannounced headliners) show sold out almost instantly, and it’s going to be special. For one, during the set, long-time Guvernment DJ/ rave promoter Mark Oliver will get a special thank-you gift that came together through an Indiegogo campaign to which Deadmau5 contributed $3,000. Gotta love a musician who gives back. 10 pm. theguvernment.com.

Art Spiegelman The iconic graphic novelist tracks the evolution of cartooning – now more timely than ever – at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. 7 pm. $29-$39. bloorcinema.com, kofflerarts.org. Review of his AGO show, page 48 .

Tuesday 27

Comic Jam Bring your pencils and pens to collaborate with indie artists. 7:30 pm. Free. Back room at the Cameron. meetup.com/TorontoComic-Jam.

Wednesday 28

Michael DeForge Gifted graphic novelist

launches First Year Healthy at Type’s Queen West outlet. 7 pm. Free. typebooks. ca/posts/87. See review, page 47.

NTU/Skwatta South African dancer/

Book now

These will sell out fast Animal Collective DJ set The members of the popular Baltimore experimental band give fans a DJ set at the intimate Drake Underground. 10 pm. $20. ticketweb.ca. February 26.

Matt & Kim Indie dance duo’s super-fun performances will bring the all-ages masses to the Danforth Music Hall. 7 pm. $23.50. ticketmaster.ca. May 18.

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

Strange thing about NOW’s Body Issue

I was thrilled to see your Body Issue (NOW, January 8-14). Body acceptance needs to be discussed widely and action taken with regard to placing bodies from all over the spectrum in print and advertising. The photos and writing were great!

But that made me all the more disappointed to see your ad for Slimband on page 18. I can’t help but find something strange about having an article about loving your body a few pages after an ad telling you that you need to lose a few to be happy.

Celia Green Toronto

Body acceptance = higher health costs?

I have never felt compelled to write

Charlie double standards

Looking through Charlie Hebdo cartoons, I found one that shows Jesus Christ fornicating and another of a pig-nosed baby Jesus emerging from a spread-legged Mary. I wonder how many “courageous” newspapers here would print those. Pointless, you say?

In bad taste? Offensive to Christians?

Correct. So why apply a double standard to Muslims?

John Kneeland Hamilton

TTC freeze-out

So the TTC’s streetcars have caught a cold (NOW, January 15-21). I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Canada is the second coldest country in the world.

Having to take streetcars out of service because they can’t hack cold weather is a disgrace. Maybe it’s time the province took the TTC over.

Andrew van Velzen Toronto

Beemer boy needs to get a life

Why would NOW even publish James Chow’s offensive letter (Kid, Get Your

continued on page 6 œ

FINAL WEEKEND! GET YOUR TICKETS TIFF.NET/KUBRICK 416 599 TIFF #KUBRICK TIFF prefers Visa.

UPCOMING SCREENINGS: SPARTACUS (70MM)

DR. STRANGELOVE

JAN 24 1PM

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Reitman Square, 350 King Street West This exhibition is organized by the Deutsches Filmmuseum, Frankfurt am Main, Christiane Kubrick, Jan Harlan and the Stanley Kubrick Archive at the University of the Arts London, with the support of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Sony-Columbia Pictures Industries Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Universal Studios Inc., and SK Film Archives LLC.

Keir Dullea in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (USA/UK 1968) © Warner Bros.

We need a consumer revolution in Ontario to take control of where and how we buy beer and wine.

If the CEOs of our major supermarkets had any guts, they would bypass the government and purchase directly from the manufacturers and distributors.

This would open up a competitive market and deliver pricing and product choices to Ontario customers with little or no government interference or meddling.

Let the supermarkets and their customers force the issue. I predict that customer support would be overwhelmingly positive.

Howard Camber Toronto

I was disgusted to read the mainstream media say that the Western world’s love of free speech and expression was attacked in the Paris shootings (NOW, January 9).

Westerners have been given the green light to hate Islam, as Germans were given permission to hate Jews.

Governments tell us who to love and who to hate. People don’t really believe in equality before the law. They just say they believe in it. I support the free speech that I hate.

That is the litmus test to claim that you believe in freedom. Shame on a left-winger like Susan G. Cole for enthusiastically opposing free speech. My neighbour was confused by that. I am not.

Gary Schipper Toronto

®Toronto International Film Festival Inc.

If supermarket CEOs had any guts!

Governments tell us who to hate

DECO CATHEDRAL RING WITH IDEAL SQUARE ONTARIO DIAMOND IN FTJCO BLUSH ROSE GOLD

RO NS NTO T STA O DA R TE,

Re the Beer Store monopoly on the sale of beer (NOW, January 15-21). In Quebec the dépanneurs hold a monopoly, along with the supermarchés.

The Tops Friendly Market in Niagara Falls, New York, has a wider selection of imported beer than the LCBO, right next to the cheese.

And the 7-Eleven in Michigan might have six-packs of Heineken on sale for $3.69 plus deposit. Residents don’t have to travel a mile or five to get there. The Ontario government mandated the Brewer’s Retail monopoly; it can un-mandate it.

Casey Irwin Toronto

you for any reason until I saw your Body Issue cover. These people may accept themselves this way. However, do they realize they are in the front of the line for diabetes, early arthritis and heart problems?

Should taxpayers accept this like these folks accept their bodies?

Andrea Horning Toronto

#madewithlove @ftjco ftjco.com

HE B IT’ IGGE S A ST LSO OF TH TIFF E B ’S EST EXH ” — IBI TO TIO

Beer monopoly homebrewed

Fair Trade Jewellery Co. 523 Parliament St. Toronto 647.430.8741

“T

email letters@now toronto.com

NOW JANUARY 22-28 2015

5

œcontinued from page 5

Effing Squeegee Off My BMW, NOW, January 15-21)? The letter was in response to a heartfelt article by a man whose son was killed by a driver, and yet Chow says the man’s son “got what he deserved.” Has he seen the video that shows how Darcy Allan Sheppard was repeatedly struck by Michael Bryant’s car before he was dragged and killed? Great, Chow has a nice fucking car and basically thinks that touching it should be punishable by physical violence and/or “well-deserved” death. Get a life.

K. Deverell Toronto

Squeegee justice

Martial arts teach that once a battle becomes physical, it has already been lost. Could it be that the squeegee kid letter-writer James Chow encountered had more of a problem with Chow’s

HERITAGE WATCH

Don’t get Fresh

I just read your article on Fresh restaurants (NOW, January 8-14). It seems you featured them because it’s the season for resolutions and their food is “healthy.” But not sure they were the best choice, since they don’t even serve organic food. I don’t see the point of spending $10 on a juice made out of conventional produce. Just sayin.’

Britta Gardiner 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.

“AN ACT OF BUTCHERY”

RichaRd LongLey

Letters

arrogant attitude than with his lack of generosity? Darcy Allan Sheppard did not deserve to die, and unless Chow has had access to the police files in the case, he has no facts on which to base his opinions. His sensei should be ashamed of him.

Sonia Serba Toronto

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“One of today’s most important film artists.”

—Phillip Lopate, The New York Times

An Evening With

DAVID SEDARIS

“... arguably the greatest narrative filmmaker of the past several decades.”

—J. Hoberman, The Village Voice

CELEBRATING THE PAPERBACK RELEASE OF

Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls

WHAT That’s how Architectural Conservancy of Ontario president Richard Longley described the dismantling of the 1901 Stollerys Building on the southwest corner of Yonge and Bloor.

WHEN Work crews were dispatched by the owner last weekend (without the necessary permits to block the sidewalks with heavy equipment, it turns out) shortly after the city issued permission for the demolition on January 16. Only three days earlier, local councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam put forward a motion at Toronto and East York community council to “evaluate” the building for heritage designation.

To add insult to injury: the site was also part of the Historic Yonge Street Heritage Conservation District Study, the first phase of which is nearing completion.

WHY Was it consensual? Was it an extreme case of demolition by neglect?

Could it have been prevented? These are all questions Longley put to the city. No answers yet. Unfortunately, it’s all perfectly legal. The Ontario Building Code permits demolition of commercial properties without giving notice to the public or local councillor.

Notice is a requirement for residential properties.

A fine way, says Longley, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Ontario Heritage Act. news@nowtoronto.com | @nowtoronto

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UPCOMING SCREENINGS: RICHARD SUCHENSKI ON FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI January 29 6:30pm

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1-855-872-SONY (7669) sonycentre.ca DavidSedarisOnTour.com 6 january 22-28 2015 NOW

This internationally touring retrospective is organized by Richard I. Suchenski (Director, Center for Moving Image Arts at Bard College) in collaboration with Amber Wu (Taipei Cultural Center, NY), Teresa Huang (Taiwan Film Institute), and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of China (Taiwan). TM Toronto International Film Festival Inc.

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NOW january 22-28 2015

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CHEOL JOON BAEK

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Come Up To My Room 2015

Riyad Bacchus in front of his work COMMON THREAD at the Gladstone Hotel on Friday, January 16.

Photo gallery at nowtoronto.com.

BERNARD WEIL/GETSTOCK

FALLING LEAFS

Maybe it’s climate change but the Leafs are falling earlier this year. Usually Toronto’s beautiful losers collapse when spring arrives, but the Buds are already deep into an epic swoon. And as frustrated fans lose their shirts, literally – three sweater-slingers flung their Leafs jerseys onto the ice during Monday’s 4-1 loss to lowly Carolina – the team’s corporate tough guys at MLSE are turning on the perceived turncoats, calling the cops and banning the Maple malcontents from all MLSE venues for a year.

While tossing anything onto the ice during play is idiotic, team execs should worry more about the crappy team they grossly overcharge us to see and not attack the most patient fan base on the planet. Losers in the executive offices as well as on the ice.

8 JANUARY 22-28 2015 NOW

PORT AUTHORITY REBRANDS Old

New

The Toronto Port Authority announced this week that it’s calling itself PortsToronto effective immediately. The new name and branding “is intended to better communicate what PortsToronto is and does,” the TPA said in a press release. Apparently, there’s been some confusion about what the Authority does besides pumping the private interests of Porter Airlines and its plan to fly jets out of the Island airport. “Marketing tricks,” says NoJetsTO chair Norman Di Pasquale, whose group is spearheading opposition to the jets proposal. If the TPA really wanted to work with the community, Di Pasquale says it would pay for independent experts to study Porter’s scheme. Over to you, TPA.

SAM J. QueeN

HOW DAVENPORT IS REDEFINING GENTRIFICATION It’s hard to say any more, beyond neighbourhoods like Parkdale where companies like Akelius are using rent increases to force tenants out, what gentrification looks like. The use of the g­word has expanded to include everything from the repurposing of abandoned factories in Liberty Village to the total redevelopment of neigh­ bourhoods, as in Regent Park. In Davenport, the kind of culture young renters are establishing looks remark­ ably like the lifestyles forged by Ital­ ian and Portuguese populations be­ fore them. Story and pictures at nowtoronto.com.

NEWS IN BRIEF ALL THAT DOESN’T GLITTER FOR AMANDA LANG

TORY’S BROKEN FARE PROMISE, BUT KIDS RIDE FOR FREE! “To put it bluntly, we have starved our transit system to the breaking point and we need to take action.” Mayor John Tory explains why he broke a campaign promise to freeze transit fares, which will increase by 10¢ effec­ tive March 1. He explained his change of heart Monday, January 19, by saying it wasn’t until after he won the fall vote and was briefed by city staff that he fully understood “the scope and the extent of the transit cutbacks imposed by the previous administration.” Tory is also proposing to boost the city’s an­ nual subsidy to the TTC by $38 million and allow children under 12 to ride for free; kids two to 12 currently pay 75¢.

Kara Santokie, director of the Toronto Women’s City Alliance, argues that a fare hike will disproportionately hurt poorer riders and undermine Tory’s lar­ ger stated goal of tackling poverty.

“We can’t have a poverty strategy on the one hand and increase TTC fares on the other hand,” she says.

FREEDOM FROM BIAS NEW “CORE VALUE” FOR POLICE As part of a continuing effort to mend fences with the city’s minority commu­ nities before he leaves office, Chief Bill Blair is recommending the force incor­ porate “freedom from bias” in its statement of core values. “We respect and uphold the rights and freedoms of all individuals and ensure, in all of our interactions and in the exercise of our discretion, we are not influenced by any prejudice or stereotype”: this is the proposed wording the Police Services Board is scheduled to consider at its meeting this week. The force’s existing core values include honesty, integrity, fairness and respect, not all of which have been consistently on display during Blair’s 10­year tenure.

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CBC’s senior business correspondent Amanda Lang has been under fire lately for alleged con­ flicts of interest. Among the allegations, that she aggressively lobbied to bury a story by CBC colleague Kathy Tomlinson on the Royal Bank of Canada. Lang was at the time, and still is, in a relationship with RBC board member W. Geoffrey Beattie.

But that wasn’t the first time she went to bat for the corporate employer of a romantic partner. In a 2011 interview, Lang came to the defence of Barrick Gold after her guest, Jon Allan of Oc­ cupy Canada, criticized the company for its alleged complicity in the deaths of 19 villagers at Barrick’s North Mara mine in Tanzania. Lang’s husband at the time, Vince Borg, was Barrick’s executive VP of corporate communications. “Now you’re getting into a company that I know pretty well,” Lang stated on air. “My hus­ band worked for Barrick Gold for years, so I don’t want to talk about that. Although there are those who would say that Peter Munk has done amazing things for Tanza­ nians, among others, creating great wealth where there was none.”

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10 Locations in Ontario - Head Office 1280 Finch Ave West, Suite 714, Toronto NOW january 22-28 2015

9

REALITY CHECK

JOHN TORY’S INDEX

Mayor John Tory unveiled his first budget on Tuesday, January 20, claiming his financial prescription represents “the largest investment in service improvements in recent history.” But while his decision to invest in public transit and shelter space is refreshing after four years of cutbacks under Rob Ford, Tory is making some risky big-buck assumptions to balance the books. The lowdown in 10 numbers. By BEN SPURR

$11.5 billion

$425 million

Total size of the city’s operating budget, which will include $75 million in new investments, more than half of which, some $41 million, is for transit. TTC improvements will be accompanied by a 10¢ fare increase – “outrageous,” according to TTCriders’ Jessica Bell, who argues that Toronto passengers already pay more of the agency’s costs than users of any other major North American transit system.

Revenue the city is counting on from the land transfer tax, the same amount it generated last year. In the past, city staff have been very conservative about estimating revenue from the tax. (In 2014 they lowballed it by $75 million.) They’re being less cautious this time, which could leave the city short if the housing market cools.

$2.6 billion

Repair backlog in Toronto Community Housing over the next 10 years. While the city previously committed to contributing $864 million, it is still hoping to secure the remaining two-thirds of the total cost from the provincial and federal governments. This budget has no new money from either.

“Housing is still not funded the way it should be,” admits city manager Joe Pennachetti.

2.25 per cent

Proposed property tax increase. Including the .5 per cent Scarborough subway levy, that’s 2.75 per cent, slightly higher than the rate-of-inflation increase Tory promised during the election. Increases that merely keep up with inflation don’t actually allow for more spending in real dollars, however. “The quality of services in Toronto is deteriorating,” says Councillor Gord Perks.

7.25 per cent

Amount indoor ice permit fees are being raised.

While Tory has hung his political reputation on a promise not to raise taxes, fees for some city services will go up by many times the rate of inflation. Permits for special events and the city’s better sports fields will go up by as much as 12.25 per cent. Water rates are also being increased by 8 per cent.

$970 million

The proposed budget for repairing the Gardiner Expressway, an increase of $443.2 million so that work can be completed in 12 years instead of 20. That’s a lot of cash to blow on the highway, which only last year city staff said should probably be torn down. That $443.2 million could pay for two-thirds of the East Bayfront LRT, for example, or put a serious dent in the Toronto Community Housing repair backlog

$960 million

Net police budget, a zero per cent increase from last year. But that’s not including the millions that will likely be tacked on once current contract talks with police are done. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, budget chair Gary Crawford said money has been set aside for the increase, but he could not say how much.

10 january 22-28 2015 NOW

$86 million

Amount the city assumes it will receive from the province to partially reverse a $150 million cut in housing grants made by Queen’s Park in 2013. City staff made the bailout sound like a done deal, but Finance Minister Charles Sousa issued a statement saying the province has no intention of reversing the 2013 cut and has instead offered Toronto a $200 million “line of credit.” Meaning Tory’s budget isn’t as balanced as it looks.

$21 million

New funding for anti-poverty initiatives, including $7.9 million for shelter services, which will pay for 181 additional shelter beds, including 54 spots in a new facility for LGBTQ youth. Councillor Pam McConnell, whom Tory has tapped to develop a poverty reduction strategy, says the new cash is a “first step towards addressing the causes of poverty” and “the base from which we will grow year after year.”

$3,248

Average property tax paid in Toronto last year, which is still about $1,000 lower than the $4,242 average paid across the GTHA and Ottawa.

bens@nowtoronto.com | @BenSpurr

ELECTION REWIND

RACE RECKONING Candidates who bore the brunt of attacks during the municipal election echo the theme of abandonment By JONATHAN GOLDSBIE

jonathan goldsbie

“I received a new death threat,” Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam tells the crowd with the calm weariness of one who receives many death threats.

It happened when one of her canvassers was knocking on doors in a “very prominent neighbourhood” she represents.

According to her campaign volunteer, not only did the constituent say that Wong-Tam “should go back to her own country” but that “if I had a gun I’d put a bullet through her head.”

That was the kind of municipal election it was.

At U of T’s Koffler House on Monday night, January 19, Wong-Tam, former mayoral candidate Olivia Chow and former council candidate Munira Abukar reflected on their recent encounters with bigotry and on what Torontonians might do to better counter such hate in the future.

Hosted by the university’s Centre for Community Partnerships and moderated by the Maytree Foundation’s Alejandra Bravo (herself a former candidate), the event’s title assertively reframed the issue: We Belong! Equity, Diversity And Inclusion In Toronto’s Municipal Election.

Though at least some of the 200-strong crowd may have been there for the “FREE FOOD!” advertised on the poster, the event felt like the latest stage in a gradual civic reckoning.

The Rob Ford years were traumatic in more ways than we’ve yet understood. They were exhausting, embarrassing, wacky and filled with terrible policy, but they also exposed our social fabric as alarmingly tenuous.

“I have often seen Toronto as a progressive place, and it certainly did startle me to see how quickly the civility and the politeness of our Canadian society, of our Toronto heritage, unravelled because of one person who opened the doors of hatred and bigotry for everybody else to step through,” Wong-Tam says to the room. “And I don’t feel that we had a proper response in 2014.”

For most of his term as mayor, the mainstream media and much of the public tended to dismiss Ford’s racism, homophobia and misogyny (and that of some of his supporters) – or at least were reluctant to call it what it was. The social systems that were supposed to identify and confront hatred were too timid or polite to do so.

“We become complacent from time to time,” explains Chow, “and sometimes we think these racist statements or homophobic statements... ‘Eh, you know, they’re

small, little things and they’re just a small minority, a small group.’ But when it comes from people that have the power, then it gives other people the licence to hate.”

The day before the election, the Sun published a racist caricature of a dwarfish, slanty-eyed Chow wearing a Mao suit, literally riding the coattails of her late husband, NDP leader Jack Layton. Later in the week, the paper defended cartoonist Andy Donato’s drawing as being not racist at all, and issued a textbook non-apology to Chow and “anyone else offended” by their own interpretation.

“I didn’t feel that there was a big community response,” Chow laments, seemingly hurt by the limited reaction.

“The civility of our Toronto heritage unravelled because of one person who opened the doors of hatred and bigotry for everybody else to step through.”

Wong-Tam echoes the theme of abandonment. She says she regularly receives hateful messages, but even after she went public about an especially vicious anti-gay letter in September, the response from the expected quarters was muted.

“I don’t believe that our community, in this case the LGBT community, rallied around the issues of homophobia the way we should have and could have, which to me is disappointing,” says the councillor for Ward 27 (Toronto Centre-Rosedale).

She reasons that parts of the community had relegated their rights struggles to the past and were caught off guard by Ford, failing to grasp the extent to which his attitudes would reverberate through the larger population.

“It seemed that it was just one person, so we just let him go. He’s the clown in the room. But that one person did a lot of damage to our community.” In the 2010 election, WongTam’s sexual identity was not a factor; four years later, it was.

Abukar, who ran against Ford for councillor in Ward 2 (Etobicoke North) and whose volunteers were berated as “terrorists” by a passing truck driver, is similarly critical of that type of privileged complacency but had fewer illusions going into the campaign.

“A lot of people want to say, ‘Well, this isn’t my Toronto. This doesn’t happen downtown. Starbucks is right around the corner, and I see my one black friend every day,’” she jokes.

Kristyn Wong-Tam (second from left), Munira Abukar and Olivia Chow at We Belong! panel discussion with event organizer Rebecca Wolfe January 19.

“You need to unpack this and have a genuine conversation about it.”

Chow and Wong-Tam hold up the Ausma Malik situation as a model for community response. Malik, the newly elected Toronto District School Board trustee for TrinitySpadina, was subjected to escalating racist and Islamophobic attacks through the final weeks of the campaign.

Malik couldn’t participate in the panel, having been called to an emergency TDSB meeting, but sent a statement about the “coordinated, well-funded barrage of hate, lies and innuendo” she faced.

She overcame it, she wrote, “with the tremendous support of my community of Trinity-Spadina: from residents associations, parents, teachers and activists who took to the neighbourhoods and spoke out, who came and canvassed with me, who donated.”

Chow, who used to represent the area as its councillor and then MP, credits the social infrastructure in place there.

“There’s already institutions and structures where the kids went to school together, where they understood what racism or hate or Islamophobia, all of that was. And they knew that they had to come out and be very clear, and not just to speak about it but also act.”

On the afternoon of election day, October 27, a pair of men took up posts at the northwest corner of Bloor and Palmerston. One of them hoisted a trio of signs.

“Olivia Chow: in bed with creeping jihad,” read one. “A Chow vote is vote [sic] for creeping jihad,” read another.

“Anyone but Chow & Malik” read the third.

A video shot by the other protester and posted to LiveLeak shows seven minutes of his arguing with passersby who took issue with the nature of the demonstration.

“Leave our community! You’re not wanted,” demanded a cyclist who stopped.

“No, no, you like it, you like it. You should join us,” replied the videographer.

“It’s not wanted,” said the cyclist.

“There’s nothing to join here except hate.”

Wong-Tam wishes the sort of support received by Malik had been reflected in her corner of the city, also seen as a “bastion of downtown pinko elitism.”

“We’re okay, right?” she asks, sending up the area’s self-image.

“And yet we were not okay. We were very far from being okay.” 3 jonathang@nowtoronto.com | @goldsbie

NOW january 22-28 2015

11

The makeup of Canadian juries is not much different than it was in the 50s, save for the odd minority.

JUSTICE SYSTEM

INDIAN CONTENT RULES

Having more aboriginal people on juries seems like a good idea, but I’d rather have more white people carrying a certain amount of social guilt By DREW HAYDEN TAYLOR Once again, an august row of educated, privileged white men and women are going to sit in judgment on Canada’s indigenous people. I’m talking about the Supreme Court of this country.

Recently, the conviction of an aboriginal man for manslaughter was tossed out of court after the man’s lawyer successfully argued that the jury that convicted him was not of his peers, i.e., no on-reserve indigenous people. This violated Clifford Kokopenace’s right to a fair trial. Now it’s up to the chief justice (note the irony of that title and this issue) and her black robes to decide if the provinces, Ontario in this case, should be forced to use “reasonable efforts” to ensure that its jury rolls are proportionate to the ethnicity of the population. Good luck.

Yes, I am aware that a jury representing a proper demographic of this country would more than likely contain the odd Asian or African-Canadian face, but it seems that after all these years it’s still the people of pallor, the colour-challenged, shall we say, who decide the vast majority of these important issues. And as we all know, First Nations people have not done so well under their wise and benevolent rule.

On the face of it, the concept of more aboriginal people on juries seems like a good idea. It’s no secret that something is amiss when it comes to native people and their treatment by the justice system.

First Nations make up 4 per cent of the overall population but an astounding 23 per cent of the federal prison population. And this

12 january 22-28 2015 NOW

says nothing of the many more serving in provincial jails. Too frequently, the long arm of the law is seen putting a chokehold on the throats of this country’s original inhabitants.

Entire libraries have been written on why we are overrepresented in the prison system. Most agree it’s partly the result of PCSD (postcontact stress disorder), a syndrome peculiar to native people.

When you’ve lived through 500 years of colonization, including the 60s Scoop (the removal of large numbers of children from their families), residential schools, the oppression of the Indian Act and other assorted tragedies, there’s bound to be some social rebellion and acting out. When you feel you’ve been abused by society, you tend to want to abuse society right back.

Not that we natives should be condoning any illegal or unlawful acts. The majority of us want good government and law and order. It’s just that so frequently we get so little of it.

Witness those missing or murdered aboriginal women that Prime Minister Harper classifies as simply a crime, not a social illness.

But back to the point about jury content. Here are some statistics to decode. According to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, there are approximately 700,000 status/registered native people in Canada. Just over 45 per cent of them live on reserves. That leaves around 300,000 who don’t. About 50 per cent of that population is under 25.

And taking into account those making up the prison population at any given time seriously shrinks the pool to choose juries from.

Addin those who live on isolated reserves and we’re left with 17 people, give or take. Jury duty could conceivably turn into a fulltime job.

Personally, I think this could be one of those sneaky make-work projects to combat rampant on-reserve unemployment, except the honoraria paid for jury duty add up to next to nothing. And usually you have to pay your own transportation and parking.

Another problem in trying to add more aboriginal people to the jury pool is that, like most Canadians, sitting on a jury isn’t exactly high on our list of things to do.

It’s right down there with going on one of those long starlit winter walks popular in Saskatoon when police drive aboriginal men out to the middle of nowhere and abandon them in the freezing cold to find their way back home.

Truthfully, if I were a defendant looking across a courtroom at 12 people ready to pass judgment on me, I’m not sure I’d feel all that comfortable with a jury of my cultural and ethnological peers, because native people, I think I can safely say, dislike and find excessive fault with murderers, rapists and thieves as much as any other people in Canada.

I would probably feel more at ease if my jury consisted of 12 leftleaning, socially conscious white people carrying a certain amount of collective guilt.

3 news@nowtoronto.com | @nowtoronto

ECOLOGY

ROM’s PASSENGER PIGEON RESURRECTION

More than 100 years after the birds’ extinction, an attempt is under way to restore the species using DNA from specimens on display at the Royal Ontario Museum.

What Passenger pigeon, or wild pigeon, aka Ectopistes migratorius.

Not to be confused with the rock dove (the birds known to urban dwellers as flying rats).

Last known survivor Martha, who died in captivity in 1914 at the Cincinnati Zoo. The revival project The most extensive collection of passenger pigeon remains in the world are at the ROM. These artifacts hold the key to reviving this once abundant bird, according to Ben Novak, the biologist behind the Great Passenger Pigeon Comeback. Novak is leading researcher at Revive & Restore, a project of the San Francisco-based Long Now Foundation (co-founded by Stewart Brand) to bring back endangered and extinct species. The organization also aims to resurrect the woolly mammoth to help increase the carbon-fixing capacity of degraded Arctic tundra.

Not just skin and feathers Over the last two years, Novak has scrutinized the quality of 77 of the ROM’s specimens and says the birds “are a repository of the minute Darwinian variations of evolution that allowed this bird to adapt to the changing forests of America for hundreds of thousands of years.” Novaks says it will take more than a million DNA fragments for his proposal to splice DNA into the genome of the bandtailed pigeon, the passenger’s closest living relation, separated from their common ancestor 22 million years ago.

The passenger pigeon’s place in local lore The Mimico Creek watershed takes its name from the native “Omimeca,” which, roughly translated, means “resting place of the wild pigeons.”

Legend has it that their nests were so plentiful that their weight broke branches, which helps explain why pigeons were a common sight for sale in Toronto farmers’ markets at the turn of the last century. A diorama on view at the ROM from 1935 to 1980 showed a giant flock of pigeons at the Forks of the Credit in 1860 that was reliably

estimated to have exceeded 1 billion birds.

Says Novak: “Ontario is one of the few places in the world where the passenger pigeon’s presence is so intimately recorded that one could visit the location of hundreds of historic passenger pigeon nesting sites and discover the longdead remains of the commercial harvest. There isn’t a square inch of southern Ontario that was not touched by the passenger pigeons.”

The greatest mass bird extinction in history right here Margaret Mitchell’s The Passenger Pigeon In Ontario describes how farmers used torches to blind and confuse the birds, which were trapped and netted “for the American market by the thousands.”

A stretch of land between St. James Cemetery and Bloor Street was a slaughter place known as “the Pigeon Green.”

Unlike in the United States, no organized conservation efforts in Ontario were uncovered in Mitchell’s research. One poignant episode she records was the unsuccessful chase in 1891 in what is now Philosopher’s Walk by a Mr. Atkinson to capture a passenger pigeon for a captive breeding program.

Where is that vanished bird? Paul Hahn, the man responsible for the ROM’s remarkable collection, first learned of the bird in 1892 as a young boy living in Wittenberg, Germany. When the family moved to Ontario, he saw his first mounted bird in an exhibit when it was on the brink of extinction. From 1918 to 1960 Hahn acquired 70 specimens, aided in his efforts by pioneering Canadian environmentalist James Henry Fleming.

The collection eventually turned over to the ROM included 152 birds and 10 egg sets.

Says ROM ornithology technician Mark Peck: “This is one of those examples of scientific serendipity... [where] treasuring the past provides unthought-of value in the JOHN BACHER future.” news@nowtoronto.com | @nowtoronto

daily events meetings • benefits

festivals • expos • sports etc.

How to find a listing

listings index Live music Theatre Comedy

34 44 46

Dance Readings Art galleries

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.

this week

continuing

censuReD in canaDa filM festival

festival of the BoDy Panel discussions, video

Underground films dedicated to works that do not conform to aesthetic or social norms. Noon-6 pm. Daily pass $10. CineCycle, 129 Spadina. censured.info.

Jan 24 to 25

the gReat canaDian giRlesQue expo

Great Canadian Burlesque presents performances by local and visiting artists including Esther de Ville, Midnite Martini, Angie Potani and others. Jan 23-25, Friday at Cherry Cola’s (200 Bathurst), Sat-Sun at Mod Club (722 College). $25-$70. eventbrite.ca/e/14427323513.

Jan 23 to 25

Thursday, January 22

Benefits

screenings and exhibitions on the body in art and science, with a focus on the PanAm/ ParaPan Am Games. See website for schedule. Free. OCAD U, 100 McCaul. 416-977-6000 ext 330, ocadu.ca.

To Feb 5

rMosaic stoRytelling festival Storytell-

ing every other Sunday till Mar 15. 3 pm.

Pwyc. St David’s Anglican Church, 49 Donlands. 416-466-3142. mosaicstorytelling.ca.

To Mar 15 toRonto Design offsite festival Talks, exhibits, window installation Jan 1925. Various venues, see website for more details and location info. todesignoffsite.com.

To Jan 25

Becky RoBinson caBaRet Becky Robinson,

Events

chaga – the king of MeDicinal MushRooMs Seminar on the antioxidant, adaptogen and anti-stress nerve tonic. 7 pm. Free. Big Carrot, 348 Danforth. 416-466-2129.

citizenship eDucation MentoRing ciRcle

Weekly meeting for newcomers to study, practice English and interact. 6-8:30 pm. Free.

Burrows Hall Library, 1081 Progress. 416-5886288 ext 231, culturelink.ca/citizenship. coMMunity Quilt gRoup Learning and sharing get-together. 6-8 pm. All welcome. Free.

Gibson House, 5172 Yonge. 416-395-7432.

enviRonMent anD health in the 2013/14 annual RepoRt Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Gord Miller talks about the report and managing new challenges. 4:10 pm. Free.

Room 179. University College, 15 King’s College Circle. environment.utoronto.ca. gen-la kelsang Dekyong Public talk on the nature and power of the mind by the modern Buddhist nun. 7:30-9 pm. $12. Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles W. kadampa.ca.

gloBal pacification systeM: isRael anD canaDa Discussion with Jeff Halper, Greg

Albo and Robert Latham. 7 pm. $10/pwyc.

Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham. beitzatoun.org. i heaRt aRt Painting/speed dating event.

7:30-10 pm. $20. Paintlounge West, 784 College. paintlounge.ca.

Mohsen naMjoo in conveRsation An even-

53 56

rMeet the austins: a toRonto faMily Between the waRs Themed tour on the Austin

family and their home. 12:15, 1, 1:45, 3:15 & 4 pm. $8, srs/youth $5.75, child $5. Spadina Museum, 285 Spadina Rd. 416-392-6910.

Money, tax anD poveRty Discussion with author Anthony Crawford, lawyers Al Rosen and Rocco Galati and others. Noon-5 pm.

Free. City Hall, 100 Queen W. 416-654-3499, comer.org.

Motown paRty on ice DJs Steve Rock, Misty Rock N’ Roll, Sean Caff. 8 to 11 pm. Free.

Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W. 416-973-4000.

MuRDeR at the RoM Scavenger hunt for adults. 1-3:30 pm. $35. Pre-register. Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park. 416-8952378, urbancapers.com.

RoBBie BuRns suppeR Steak pie, neeps & tatties, haggis, DJ music and more. Doors 6 pm. $25. Royal Canadian Legion Todmorden Branch 10, 1083 Pape. 416-425-3070. toRonto poetRy slaM Spoken word competition with guest poet Johnny Macrae from Vancouver. 8 pm. $5. Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen W. 416-312-3865, torontopoetryslam.com.

toRonto salsa pRactice: 14th anniveRsaRy

Celebrate the program’s anniversary. Beginners to pros, no partner required, everyone welcome. 3:30-5:30 or 5:30-8 pm. $5. Trinity St. Paul’s Church, 427 Bloor W. torontosalsapractice.com.

Midnite​Martini​performs​at​the​​ Great​Canadian​Girlesque​Expo.

toRonto taBla enseMBle centRe foR inDian aRts opening Inauguration ceremony

TANJA-TIZIANA

Alexandra Statham, Emily Bridle, Kylah Eide and others perform. 7:30 pm. $10-$15 (proceeds to Sketch.ca). The Flying Beaver Pubaret, 488 Parliament. pubaret.com. yonge stReet Mission clothing DRive Gently used clothing drive at 18 locations throughout the PATH (downtown office towers) to support Double Take, which provides quality clothing to people who live in poverty. To Jan 23. 7:30 am-2:30 pm. Exchange Tower, 130 King W (call/see website for more locations).

416-929-9614, ysm.ca.

Movie reviews Movie times

2-4 pm. Free. Glenview Presbyterian Church, 1 Glenview. glenviewchurch.ca. intRoDuctoRy MeDitation Class, 2:30 pm.

Free. Eastminster United Church, 310 Danforth. 416-539-0234, meditationtoronto.com.

Festivals

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

B = Black History Month event r indicates kid-friendly events indicates queer-friendly events

47 47 48

ing of stories, musings, dialogue and music with the Iranian musician. 8 pm. $20-$30.

Small World Music Centre, 180 Shaw, studio 101. smallworldmusic.com.

5ouR gaMes on native lanD: inDigenous

coMMunities anD Multi-spoRt gaMes Public discussion with Olympian Waneek HornMiller, EJ Kwandibens and others. 6-8 pm.

Free. 519 Church Street Community Centre, 519 Church. pridehouseto.ca.

5outwRites Writing group to support and promote writers from the LGBTQ community and their allies. Bring copies of your work for critique. 8 pm. Free. 519 Church Street Community Centre. outwrites.wordpress.com.

5QueeR swing Dance class Beginner dropin swing dance class. No partner or dance experience necessary. 6:45 pm. $6. 519 Church Street Community Centre. swinginout.ca. sales skills foR entRepReneuRs Workshop on successful techniques. 6:30-8 pm. Free.

Agincourt Library, 155 Bonis. 416-396-8943. tRevoR paglen The artist/writer talks about his work, which combines art and cultural productions with geography. 7:30 pm. $12.

Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art, 401

Richmond W #124. prefix.ca.

walk foR health & well-Being Meet at the

library with good shoes and a bottle of water for a 60 min outdoors walk. 1:30 pm. Free.

Deer Park Library, 40 St Clair E. stevensjason0926@yahoo.com. winteR faRMeRs MaRket Local cheese, eggs, baked goods and more at this indoor market.

3-6:30 pm. Artisans At Work, 2071 Danforth. artisans-at-work.com.

Friday, January 23 gReek elections Documentary screening of

Greece On The Brink and discussion to follow.

7 pm. Pwyc. Room 5150. OISE, 252 Bloor W. 416-461-0304, marxist.ca. rsupeR fun Day caMp Professional activity day camp for 5 to 12 year olds with games, crafts, baking and more. Lunch included. 9 am-4 pm. $33. Reserve. Scarborough Museum, 1007 Brimley. toronto.ca/torontofun.

Saturday, January 24

Benefits

Beats & Balance Fitness classes followed by

a party with DJ, food and drinks to benefit the Remix Project. Classes at 11 am, 1, 3 and 5 pm. $10/class, $5 entry to marketplace.

Arcadian Court, 401 Bay, 8th floor. 647-7251644, beatsandbalance.eventbrite.com. yogathon 24 hours of yoga, one-hour classes every 2 hours benefit Casey House. Candlelight yoga class, restorative Yin Yoga, prizes, contests, giveaways and more. 8 am. Admission by donation. Bikram Yoga Yonge, 661 Yonge. bikramyogayonge.com.

Events

a choRal intensive Weekend of workshops with That Choir including Just Intonation In A Cappella Choirs, Bodyworks for Singers and more. See website for details. $10/session, $15/day, $30 for the weekend (pre-register info@thatchoir.com). Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen E. thatchoir.com.

BlooD sucking Beasties in a changing cliMate Illustrated lecture. 1:15 pm. Free.

Northrop Frye Hall, 73 Queen’s Park. ontarioinsects.org. glenview open house The community is invited to view the new accessibility features including an elevator and wheelchair ramps.

at 3 pm, followed by performances by the Toronto Tabla Ensemble and other local artists at 6 pm. Free (RSVP). 1386 Gerrard E. torontotabla.com. yoga foR Men Intro workshop of key postures and movements. 3-4 pm. $19. Studio Blue, 1457 Dundas W. studioblue.co.

Sunday, January 25

Benefits

BBlack histoRy Month kick-off BRunch

Afternoon of music, history, culture and recognition of achievements of Black Canadians in the arts, community services and more.

Business attire dress. Noon. $100, stu $75.

Metro Toronto Convention Centre North Bldg, 255 Front W. blackhistorysociety.ca.

funDRaising evening foR palestiniansyRian Refugee Help Bathurst United Church

and Anglican United Refugee sponsor a refugee now living in Lebanon. Event details tba.

7-9 pm. Pwyc donation. Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham. beitzatoun.org.

RichaRD valDez The tenor performs Broadway classics and popular songs. 2 pm. Pwyc donation for War Amps Child Amputees program. Auditorium. North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge. 416-395-5535. continued on page 14 œ

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13

events œcontinued from page 13

Events

an enChanted eVening Group meditation,

live music and a vegetarian meal. 6-8 pm.

Free, pwyc donation for meal. Trinity St. Paul’s Church, 427 Bloor W. 416-539-0234, meditationtoronto.com.

Behind the maSk: the georgian maSquerade Illustrated lecture on the 18th-century

masquerade followed by letter-writing with a quill pen and sealing wax and fireside tea. 1-4 pm. $25, stu/srs $18. Toronto’s First Post Office, 260 Adelaide E. janeaustendancing.ca.

the CalCulating Brain: deVelopment, enCulturation and indiVidual diFFerenCeS

Lecture by Daniel Ansari. 2-3:30 pm. Free.

Macleod Auditorium. Medical Sciences Bldg, 1 King’s College Circle. 416-977-2983, royalcanadianinstitute.org.

From daWSon Creek to top oF the heap

Opera singer Ben Heppner talks about his career. 10:10 am. Free. St Clement’s Church, 70 St Clement’s. 416-483-6664. the impaCtS oF Climate Change Talk by Dewan Afzal. 10:30 am. Pwyc, $2-$5 suggested.

Unitarian Fellowship of Northwest Toronto, 55 St Phillips. ufnwt.com.

5lgBt danCe ClaSSeS Queer and trans salsa classes. To Mar 29, Sun 3-5 pm-. $15 drop-in, course $45-$90 (pre-register). Multifaith Centre, 569 Spadina. lgbtdance.com.

literary traVel group’S neW year mingle Group discussion of all things literary travel.

3-5 pm. Free. Victory Café, 581 Markham. meetup.com/Literary-Travel-Group.

rmeet the auStinS: a toronto Family BetWeen the WarS Themed tour on the Austin

family and their home. 12:15, 1, 1:45, 3:15 & 4 pm. $8, srs/youth $5.75, child $5. Spadina Museum, 285 Spadina Rd. 416-392-6910. murder at the rom Adult scavenger hunt.

1-3:30 pm. $35. Pre-register. Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park. urbancapers.com. rroBBie BurnS’ day CeleBration Celebration of the Scottish poet with live music, shortbread, taste of haggis and comical stories. Noon-4 pm. $7.08, srs/youth/child $4.42.

Mackenzie House, 82 Bond. 416-392-6915. toronto Jazz SoCiety Monthly meeting.

2:30-6 pm. Pauper’s Pub, 539 Bloor W. torontojazzsociety.ca. the toronto muSiC moment, 2015 Wavelength Music Festival Talk Series panel discussion on how the City Of TO and It’s new Music Office can better serve the independent music community and vice versa. 3 pm. Free.

HuntClub Studios, 709 College St. wavelengthtoronto.com. rWinter in the Valley Outdoor guided walk to learn how birds, animals and plants adapt to and survive harsh winter conditions.

1:30-3:30 pm. $5.50, srs/youth$3, child $2.

Todmorden Mills, 67 Pottery. 416-396-2819.

Monday, January 26 art Spiegelman: What the %&@*! happened to ComiCS Spiegelman presents a

chronological tour of the evolution of comics.

7 pm. $39, stu $29. Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 506 Bloor W. kofflerarts.org.

FFWd adVertiSing & marketing Week 2015

Conference for those who work or want to work in the communications industry. Includes speakers, workshops, parties and more.

To Jan 30, see website for schedule. Various prices. TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King W, and other venues. advertisingweek.ca. introduCtory meditation Learn three easy techniques. 7 pm. Free. College/Shaw Library, 766 College. meditationtoronto.com. momondayS Motivational event that’s a cross between open-mic comedy and TED talks. 5:30-10 pm. $15-$20. Hard Rock Cafe, 279 Yonge. momondays.com/toronto. pal-SaC Letter writing night. Pwyc stamps and stationery. All welcome. 7-10 pm. Wise Bar, 1007 Bloor W. pal-sac.com.

proteCting yourSelF againSt knoCk-oFFS

Info on protecting your designs against copycat and brand infringements. 6 pm. $60. Reserve. Toronto Fashion Incubator, 285 Manitoba. 416-971-7117, fashionincubator.com. tWin peakS triVia Four people per team.

First prize is cherry pie. 7-11 pm. $3. Beaver, 1192 Queen W. facebook.com/ events/1395476917419920. ukulele For rookieS Get School’d Series for beginners. Learn about tuning, basic chords, strumming patterns and arrangement. 7:309 pm. $25 with own uke, $65 includes a new uke to use and keep. Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen W. ukuleleforrookies2.eventbrite.ca.

Tuesday, January 27 art CreateS Change: dylan miner Miner talks about his artistic practice, which explores issues of migration, mobility, economics and identity. 7 pm. Free. Auditorium (room 190). OCAD U, 100 McCaul. ocadu.ca.

CoC talk: die Walkure Talk on the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Wagner’s opera. 7-8 pm. Free. Pre-register. North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge. 416-395-5639. doCumentary media mFa Learn more about the Masters of Fine Arts in Documentary Media at Ryerson University. 6:30-8:30 pm.

Free. Ryerson School of Image Arts, 122 Bond.

big 3 1

PARTY FOR REMIX

You can’t achieve success in the entertainment business on talent alone. You need access to technology, connections and mentors’ help, too. The Remix Project supports marginalized young people who want to work in creative industries. Proceeds from an all-day event of fitness classes with music ($10 each) and a free party and marketplace for local artisans (though fundraisers will hit you up) at Arcadian Court, 401 Bay, 8th floor, on Saturday (January 24) go to Remix. Find out more at beatsandbalance.eventbrite.com.

2

HATE AND POLICE VIOLENCE

Documentary filmmaker Amar Wala, director of The Secret Trial 5, discusses hate and police violence as part of Hacking The Culture: A Speaker’s Series on Media Activryerson.ca/graduate/documentarymedia.

the matador Ballroom Community meeting Area residents are invited to preview the

new space and meet owner Paul McCaughey and Councillor Ana Bailão. 6:30 pm. Free. The Matador Ballroom, 466 Dovercourt. 416-3927012, anabailao.com/calendar. putting a priCe on CarBon Cap and Trade vs Carbon Tax forum with moderator Stephen Lewis, panelists Nicholas Rivers, Katie Sullivan and others. 7:30 pm. $20. Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles W. eventbrite.ca/e/14780973289. tai Chi For BeginnerS Class every Tue in Jan. 6:30-8 pm. Free. 3rd floor Room B. Barbara Frum Library, 20 Covington. 416-395-5440. toronto ComiC Jam Get together with other

RYER S ON I M AGE C ENTRE

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

ism and Social Justice at the Ryerson School of Image Arts, 122 Bond, on Thursday (January 29) at 7 pm. Also on the bill is artist Cheryl L’Hirondelle. The series is presented by Ryerson’s Studio for Media Activism & Critical Thought. Free.

647-241-1224.

3

MATADOR’S FUTURE

The Matador, the Dovercourt haunt made famous in Leonard Cohen’s Closing Time, has undergone renovations. And new owner Paul McCaughey wants to show off what he’s done with the space at a community preview on Tuesday (January indie artists and collaborate on making comics. Bring your own pencils and pens. 7:30 pm.

Free. Back Room. Cameron House, 408 Queen W. meetup.com/Toronto-Comic-Jam. What i learned With lSd Spoken word by Reg Hartt. 7 pm. Cineforum, 463 Bathurst.

416-603-6643. yoga BaSiCS WorkShop Workshop. 5:30-7 pm. $30. Living City Health, 120 Eglinton E. livingcityhealth.com

Wednesday, January 28 Create in t.o. Meet-up of technology design-

ers. 7-10 pm. Free. Handlebar, 159 Augusta. thehandlebar.ca inSuranCe: a ConSumer’S guide Talk on how to evaluate different kinds of insurance, how to shop around and how to handle claims.

6:30-8 pm. Free. Don Mills Library, 888 Lawrence E. 416-395-5710.

JANUARY 21 – APRIL 5, 2015 FREE ADMISSION Free Exhibition Tours Daily at 2:30pm

33 Gould Street, Toronto www.ryerson.ca/ric Gene Daniels, Untitled [Marilyn Monroe at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony], March 1962. The Black Star Collection, Ryerson Image Centre.

ConneCt With your true SelF: an introduCtion to meditation Discussion on the

value of meditation in everyday life and instruction for developing a home practice. 7-8 pm. Free. Register. North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge. 416-395-5660.

CumulatiVe riSk aSSeSSment For health impaCtS oF air pollution in toronto Talk

by Toronto Public Health researcher Stephanie Gower. 4:10 pm. Free. Room 179. University College, 15 King’s College Circle. environment.utoronto.ca.

handS on: artiStS/aCtiViStS diSCuSS State and poliCe ViolenCe Forum as part of Hack-

Streetartoronto (Start) program inFormation SeSSion Information session and

international Criminal laW at the CroSSroadS Conversation with James Stewart,

entist Paul Helm. 4:10 pm. Free. Room 149 (basement). U of T Earth Sciences Bldg, 5 Bancroft. environment.utoronto.ca.

Single, Separated & diVorCed dadS Q&A and support group weekly meeting. Women welcome. 7-9 pm. Free. Room A5. Eastminster United Church, 310 Danforth. 416-861-0626, father.org.

nuclear age with Marcus Grinius. 4-6 pm.

Free. Room 179. University College, 15 King’s College Circle. scienceforpeace.ca.

Winter FarmerS market Indoor market with local farmers and food artisans. 2-6 pm. Free.

Montgomery’s Inn Farmers’ Market, 4709 Dundas W. 416-394-8113.

upcoming

Thursday, January 29 1976, the moVeS Public dance class with Dana

Michel. Non-dancers welcome. Noon-2 pm. $12. Dancemakers Centre for Creation, 9 Trinity. Pre-register eventbrite.ca/e/14511884437.

Better and Stronger: 9 StepS to BeComing your oWn health Champion Seminar on a 9-step approach. 7 pm. Free. Big Carrot, 348 Danforth. 416-466-2129.

CitizenShip eduCation mentoring CirCle

Weekly meeting for newcomers to study for

14 january 22-28 2015 NOW

the test, practice English and chat. 6-8:30 pm.

Free. Burrows Hall Library, 1081 Progress. 416588-6288 ext 231, culturelink.ca/citizenship.

Community quilt group Learning and sharing get-together. 6-8 pm. All welcome. Free.

Gibson House, 5172 Yonge. 416-395-7432.

ing The Culture: A Speakers’ Series on Media Activism and Social Justice with doc filmmaker Amar Wala, artist Cheryl L’Hirondelle, and others. 7-8:30 pm. Free. Ryerson School Of Image Arts, 122 Bond. 647-241-1224. in SearCh oF the SteadFaSt oliVe Report back from peace activist Bob Holmes and others who visited the occupied Palestinian territories last November. 7-9:30 pm. $5. Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham. beitzatoun.org.

thiS nuClear age: the Cold War & nuClear StrategieS Lecture about public health in the

Photography and Glamour

Filmmaker Amar Wala talks about media activism January 29.

miCroplaStiCS: they’re in a WaterWay near you Lecture by professor/research sci-

Q&A. 4-6 pm. Free. Cedarbrae Public Library, 545 Markham. toronto.ca/streetart.

SWanSea hortiCultural SoCiety Meeting.

7:30 pm. Swansea Town Hall, 95 Lavinia. 416769-8487.

Media Sponsors

27) at 6:30 pm. Local councillor Ana Bailão will also be on hand to answer questions. Free.

466 Dovercourt.

416-392-7012.

deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and Richard Dicker, director of international program, Human Rights Watch.

6-8 pm. $10, free for U of T students. Reserve.

Munk School of Global Affairs, 1 Devonshire Place. munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/16985. nanne de ru Ryerson Dept of Architecture public lecture. 6:30-8 pm. Free. Ryerson Architectural Science, 325 Church. arch.ryerson.ca. reinVenting the Wheel Panel discussion between a choreographer, a visual arts curator and municipal planner on the merits of artistic methods of appropriation. 7 pm. Free.

Dancemakers Centre for Creation, 9 Trinity. dancemakers.org.

SoCial inFluenCer nation – meet n’ greet

Networking event for agencies and marketers to connect and talk about viral marketing and social media. 6:30-9 pm. $35-$40. Parlour, 270 Adelaide W. socialinfluencernation.com.

Walk For health & Well-Being Meet at the library with good shoes and a bottle of water for a 60 min outdoors walk. 1:30 pm. Free.

Deer Park Library, 40 St Clair E. stevensjason0926@yahoo.com.

Winter FarmerS market Local cheese, eggs, baked goods and more at this indoor market.

3-6:30 pm. Artisans At Work, 2071 Danforth. artisans-at-work.com.

3

life&style

5

By SABRINA MADDEAUX

take

3

1

4

This is no time to hibernate Turn off Netflix, peel

yourself off the couch and brave subzero temperatures with these winter running gear picks that keep you safe and warm.

2

style notes

The week’s news, views and sales

5

Last chance Don’t miss the Royal Ontario Museum’s (100 Queen’s Park, 416-8568000, rom.on.ca) compelling Fashion Follows Form: Designs For Sitting exhibit, which showcases local designer Izzy Camilleri’s IZ Adaptive collection of fashionable and functional garments for those who use wheel-

chairs, alongside 18th and 19th century styles also crafted for seated bodies. The exhibit closes January 25.

And the CAFA goes to…

The Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (cafawards.ca) are back with a glitzy ceremony, a raging after-party and, most importantly, a

chance to show support for Canada’s most talented designers. The CAFAs take place on January 31 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel (100 Front West). Gala tickets (doors 6 pm) go for $500 a pop, while after-party entry (10 pm) costs $100.

Some of our favourite nominees include Greta Constantine in the

1 Halti Tornado jacket ($285, MEC, 400 King West, 416-340-2667, mec.ca) 2 Nike Air Zoom Structure 18 ($129, 220 Yonge, 416-591-0325, store.nike.com) 3 Bench Wight knit ($139.99, 220 Yonge, 416-5488656, and others, bench.ca) 4 Lululemon Fluffed Up vest ($138, 342 Queen West, 416-703-1399, and others, lululemon.com) 5 Titika Active Couture Bridge leggings ($88, 357 Queen West, 416-977-6686, titika.ca)

womenswear category, Sid Neigum and Beaufille for emerging talent, and Jenny Bird for accessory designer of the year. Don’t know these names? Google them ASAP and shop local.

Sniff test Aromatherapy is back in a big way, and homegrown company Saje

Natural Wellness has a shiny new store to take advantage of the trend (399 Queen West, 416340-7494, saje.ca). All Saje products contain 100 per cent natural ingredients and use real essential oils, so don’t be afraid to give them a try to kick start everything from your libido to your metabolism.

3

NOW JANUARY 22-28 2015

15

astrology freewill

01 | 22

2014

by Rob Brezsny

Aries Mar 21 | Apr 19 Is there a

patron saint of advertising or a goddess of marketing or a power animal that rules publicity and promotion? If so, I’m going to find out, then pray to them on your behalf. It’s high time for your underappreciated talents and unsung accomplishments to receive more attention. And I am convinced that the astrological moment is ripe for just such a development. Help me out here, Aries. What can you do to get your message out better? What tricks do you have for attracting the interest of those who don’t know yet about your wonders?

Polish up your self-presentation, please.

Haute Topic

Shame on Saks

Things are getting ugly for Saks Fifth Avenue after the company argued, in response to a discrimination suit from a former trans employee, that transgender Americans aren’t protected under the U.S. Civil Rights Act. Leyth O. Jamal, a transgender woman, worked at a the store in Texas until 2012. She claims she experienced harassment and bullying and was eventually fired for expressing her gender identity in the workplace.

Gerald L. Storch, the CEO of Saks’ parent company, Hudson’s Bay, told the New York Times that Jamal is not protected under the law because “transsexuals are not a protected class.”

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization, released a statement questioning Saks’ commitment to LGBTQ equality in the workplace and suspended the company’s Corporate Equality Index score.

“Mr. Storch’s abhorrent decision not to renounce that position is not only morally wrong, but wrong on the law,” says Sarah Warbelow, HRC legal director, in a press release. “For more than two years, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has considered discrimination based on gender identity actionable.”

While a company certainly has the right to defend itself in court, Saks’ and Hudson’s Bay’s stance that it’s okay to discriminate against trans individuals crosses the line. Until the company has a change of heart, we’d like to point out that there are other department stores (Canadian-owned Holt Renfrew and Harry Rosen, to name a couple) where you can shop.

wewant…

To unfuck our winter boots Nothing ruins a good outfit like soiled, salt-crusted boots– and it certainly doesn’t help that Toronto has a nasty habit of over-salting the streets.

When a moist cloth won’t cut it, turn to Canadian brand BootRescue’s cleaning wipes. These all-natural miracle workers remove dirt and stains from leather and suede while protecting from permanent damage.

We speak from experience: they’ve brought some of our finest footwear back from the brink of ugly winterrelated death ($6.99, bootrescue.ca).

16 january 22-28 2015 NOW

TAurus Apr 20 | May 20 During his 67 years of life, Taurus-born Leonardo da Vinci achieved excellence in 12 different fields, from painting to engineering to anatomy. Today he is regarded as among the most brilliant humans who ever lived. “His genius was so rare and universal that it can be said that nature worked a miracle on his behalf,” said one observer. “He towered above all other artists through the strength and the nobility of his talents,” said another. Yet on his death bed, Leonardo confessed, “I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.”

Typical for a Taurus, he underestimated himself! It’s very important that you not do the same, especially in the coming weeks. The time has come for you to give yourself more of the credit and respect you deserve.

GeMini May 21 | Jun 20 Where

you have been and what you have done will be of little importance in the coming weeks.

Both your mistakes and your triumphs will be irrelevant. In my estimation, you have a sacred duty to spy on the future and reconnoiter the pleasures and challenges that lie ahead. So I suggest you head off toward the frontier with an innocent gleam in your eye and a cheerful hunger for interesting surprises.

How’s your Wildness Quotient?

If it’s in a slump, pump it up.

CAnCer Jun 21 | Jul 22 Will you ever find that treasured memento you misplaced? Is there any chance of reviving a dream you abandoned? You are in a phase when these events are more likely than usual to happen. The same is true of an opportunity that you frittered away or a missing link that you almost tracked down but ultimately failed to secure. If you will ever have any hope of getting another shot at those lost joys, it would be in the coming weeks.

For best results, purge the regret and remorse you still feel about the mistakes you think you made once upon a time.

Leo Jul 23 | Aug 22 In the early

1300s, the people of the Mexica

tribe had no homeland. They had wandered for centuries through the northern parts of what we now call Mesoamerica.

According to legend, that changed in 1323, when their priests received a vision of an eagle eating a snake while perched at the top of a prickly pear cactus. They declared that this was the location of the tribe’s future power spot. Two years later, the prophecy was fulfilled. On an island in the middle of a lake, scouts spied the eagle, snake and cactus. And that was where the tribe built the town of Tenochtitlan, which ultimately became the centre of an empire. Today that place is called Mexico City. Have you had an equivalent vision, Leo? If you haven’t yet, I bet you will soon.

Go in search of it. Be alert.

VirGo Aug 23 | sep 22 By the

end of the 16th century, nutmeg was in high demand throughout Europe. It was valued as a spice, medicine and preservative.

There was only one place in the world where it grew: on the Indonesian island of Run. The proto-capitalists of the Dutch East India Company gained dominion over Run and enslaved the local population to work on plantations. They fully controlled the global sale of nutmeg, which allowed them to charge exorbitant prices. But ultimately their monopoly collapsed. Here’s one reason why: Pigeons ate nutmeg seeds on Run, then flew to other islands and pooped them out, enabling plants to grow outside of Dutch jurisdiction. I see this story as an apt metaphor for you in the coming months, Virgo.

What’s your equivalent of the pigeons? Can you find unlikely allies to help you evade the controlling force that’s limiting your options?

LibrA sep 23 | oct 22 Have you triggered any brilliant breakthroughs lately? Have you made any cathartic departures from the way things have always been done? Have you thought so far outside the box that you can’t even see the box any more?

Probably not. The last few weeks have been a time of retrenchment and stabilization for you.

But I bet you will start going creatively crazy very soon – and I mean that in the best sense. To ensure maximum health and well-being, you simply must authorize your imagination to leap and whirl and dazzle. sCorpio oct 23 | nov 21 The

cassava plant produces a starchy root that’s used as food by half a billion people all over the planet.

No one can simply cook it up and eat it, though. In its raw state, it contains the poisonous chemical cyanide, which must be removed by careful preparation.

An essential first step is to soak it in water for at least 18 hours. I see this process as a metaphor for the work you have ahead of you, Scorpio. A new source of psychological and spiritual sus-

tenance will soon be available, but you will have to purge its toxins before you can use and enjoy it.

sAGiTTArius nov 22 | Dec 21

Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) didn’t like to work hard, and yet he was also prolific. In fact, his desire to avoid strenuous exertion was an important factor in his abundant output. He got things done fast.

His most famous opera, The Barber Of Seville, took him just 13 days to finish. Another trick he relied on to reduce his workload was plagiarizing himself. He sometimes recycled passages from his earlier works for use in new compositions. Feeling good was another key element in his approach to discipline. Given a choice, he would tap into his creative energy while lounging in bed or hanging out with his buddies. In the coming weeks, Sagittarius, I recommend you consider strategies like his.

CApriCorn Dec 22 | Jan 19 Each hour of every day the sun offers us more energy than oil, gas and coal can provide in an entire year. Sadly, much of our star’s generous gift goes to waste. Our civilization isn’t set up to take advantage of the bounty. Is there a comparable dynamic in your personal life, Capricorn? Are you missing out on a flow of raw power and blessings simply because you are ignorant of it or haven’t made the necessary arrangements to gather it? If so, now would be an excellent time to change your ways.

AquArius Jan 20 | Feb 18 Ac-

cording to my analysis of the long-term astrological omens, 2015 is the year you can get totally serious about doing what you were born to do. You will be given the chance to slough off all that’s fake and irrelevant and delusory. You will be invited to fully embrace the central purpose of your destiny. If you’re interested in taking up that challenge, I suggest you adopt Oscar Wilde’s motto: “Nothing is serious except passion.” Your primary duty is to associate primarily with people and places and situations that feed your deepest longings.

pisCes Feb 19 | Mar 20 “Give up

all hope for a better past,” writes Emily Fragos in her poem Art Brut. That’s generally sound advice. But I think you may be able to find an exception to its truth in the coming weeks. As you work to forgive those who have trespassed against you, and as you revise your interpretations of bygone events, and as you untie knots that have weighed you down and slowed you up for a long time, you just may be able to create a better past. Dare to believe that you can transform the shape and feel of your memories.

Homework: Name something you feel like begging for. Then visualize in great detail that this something is already yours. Report results to FreeWillAstrology.com.

ecoholic

When you’re addicted to the planet By ADRIA VASIL

TE ST L

AB

SHAKE IT UP: THE PROTEIN POWDER GUIDE

SALES OF PROTEIN POWDERS ARE LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS IN A SINGLE BOUND – SMOOTHIE LOVERS EVERYWHERE ARE LOADING UP. JUST MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE SWALLOWING BEFORE YOU START UP THAT BLENDER. MUSCLE MILK & OTHER WHEY PROTEIN Most protein powders get their oomph from whey left over from the cheese and milk biz, but how clean and green was the dairy itself? The Women’s Healthy Environments Network warns there’s a good chance North American whey products are contaminated with bovine growth hormones outlawed on Canadian farms but cleared for import in dehydrated goods like whey powder. Though antibiotic residues may not turn up in finished dairy products, their use on conventional farms is definitely linked to antibiotic resistance and waterway pollution. Heavy metal contamination is also an issue. Back in 2010, Consumer Reports slammed Muscle Milk and others for high levels of lead. The Consumer Wellness Center found Muscle Milk’s levels have improved since. Be leery of artificial sweeteners and GMO-heavy soy, corn and canola fillers.

SCORE: N

NEW ZEALAND WHEY

VEGA/GENUINE HEALTH VEGAN

A lot of protein powders advertise that their whey is special because it comes from New Zealand. And they’re right. The country’s livestock is almost exclusively free-range, grass-fed and free of the bovine growth hormones that plague American dairy products (and can be imported into Canada). Ergogenics brand says its whey is also antibiotic-free, but don’t assume all New Zealand whey is. The NZ dairy industry is “a significant consumer of antibiotics,” according to regulators there. Either way, do you really need a regular protein source imported from 15,000 km away?

SCORE: NN

Plant-based brands using peas and rice get a lot of buzz for containing as much protein as many whey powders. The problem is ricebased proteins can test higher for heavy metals (like Garden of life did; it’s now reformulating). Unlike the U.S., Canada has standards for this in place, and both of these BC-made brands are tops for purity. Vega’s chocolate formulas are definitely the tastiest plantbased protein powder I’ve tried: the Sport version has 25 grams of protein but no organic content, and the brown rice is from China.

However, 75 per cent of the Vega One version is North American-sourced, it has a half-dozen organic ingredients and 20 grams of protein. Too bad the cocoa isn’t fair trade, but the bottle is 100 per cent post-consumer recycled. Genuine Health’s new digestion-friendly Fermented Vegan Proteins+ ferments its Canadian peas and Asian rice protein and incorporates some Canadian organic fermented hemp for a total of 20 grams of protein.

SCORE: NNN

nature notes ECO FACEOFF: CARBON TAX VERSUS CAP AND TRADE It’s official (sort of). Premier Kathleen Wynne has cracked opened the door to a BC-style carbon tax, or at least she didn’t shoot down the idea when pressed on it last week as she has in the past. Word is the province is coming out with a climate plan of action this spring, and the two main choices on the table are cap and trade or a carbon tax. What’s the better pick, planetarily speaking? NOW asked the experts to weigh in.

The basics cap and Trade: Under this system companies buy and trade pollution permits that are capped by government every year so the ceiling on greenhouse gases allowed is lowered annually.

Quebec and California are the first jurisdictions in North America to bring in a mandatory cap and trade system as part of the Western Climate Initiative. Ontario signed up to join back in 2008 but, like a bunch of other states and provinces, never followed through.

UN climate scientists have slammed EU’s cap and trade scheme as ineffective, but WCI’s leaders say they’ve learned from the EU’s mistakes. carbon Tax: This one’s simply a pollution tax on fossil fuel use and emissions, often starting low, then gradually rising. In BC, which implemented a carbon tax in 2008, that amounts to about 7 cents per litre of gas and $30 per tonne of carbon dioxide. BC’s is revenue neutral, so the government’s mandated to cut an equal amount from income and other taxes to what it raises from the carbon tax.

While BC has seen a 16 per cent drop in emissions (while the rest of Canada’s rose), a carbon tax doesn’t inherently cap greenhouse gases.

WhaT’s beTTer for The planeT? • Jeff rubin, economist, former CIBC head and author of The End Of Growth, says that while cap and trade systems are “workable” in capturing large-scale

emissions from power plants, Ontario has already closed its coal-fired generating stations, a main source of greenhouse gas emissions. He argues Ontario would be better off with a BC-style carbon tax that must be applied to all carbon emissions in the economy, including tailpipe emissions from the province’s more than 8 million licensed drivers. Just last year the IMF, he notes, recommended that fuel taxes be increased by as much as 50 per cent in Canada.

“With oil and hence pump prices plunging now, it’s an ideal time to make this move,” says Rubin. “If Ontario, and indeed the rest of the world, is going to be successful in controlling future emission growth, we need to shift the tax base from income to carbon.”

• Keith brooks, Environmental Defense’s clean economy program director, is careful to note both systems can in theory reduce pollution, but says we’ve yet to see cap and trade work well, citing implementation problems in the EU. “But we have seen from BC a carbon tax that works very well,” he says. “It cuts emissions in a way that doesn’t

MANITOBA HEMP/PRAIRIE NATURALS HEMP

PROGRESSIVE ORGANIC WHEY

From the clever Canadian hemp company that also makes Hemp Hearts (another nice source of protein that’s great on cereal and salads) comes a Canadian-grown protein powder. The plain HempPro70 offers a good 20 grams of protein per serving, but this one isn’t organic. The fields may be sprayed with pesticides before seeding. I prefer their regular organic hemp protein made with fair trade cocoa and coconut sugar, but a serving only gives you 8 grams of protein – nowhere near as much as others – so I’ve got to dock a point on performance. At least Prairie Naturals organic hemp with organic cocoa gives you 13 grams.

SCORE: NNNN

This one is technically your greenest high-protein pick, since it’s made with a waste product of artisanal North American cheese makers using certified organic grass-fed, pasture-raised dairy. like Tera’s Organic Whey, the whey comes from Wisconsin, making it the closest protein powder source to Toronto (1,000 km vs up to 4,000 km for hemp products). Bottled in Toronto, it gives you 24 grams of protein per serving.

Progressive even uses fair trade, organic cocoa. Unfortunately for me, this whey is not lactose-free.

SCORE: NNNNN

hurt the economy.”

Unlike Rubin, Brooks doesn’t think it should be revenue neutral considering that the province is running a $10 billion deficit and could use the new revenue for green projects.

“It would make more sense to take money from a climate tax and invest it in climate-friendly initiatives like public transit,” he says.

• Keith stewart, Greenpeace’s climate campaigner, argues that both can be effective at reducing greenhouse gases. But if we go with a cap and trade system, all the permits to pollute should be auctioned (so none given away to industry for free), and companies shouldn’t be allowed to buy carbon offsets (i.e., tree planting credits in developing countries), since this creates too many loopholes.

Whichever carbon pricing scheme the province chooses, Stewart says the

green

DIRECTORY

most important thing is that it covers a high percentage of emissions (BC’s tax covers all fossil fuel burning in the province, Alberta’s carbon price only covers a tiny fraction) and that the price per tonne is high enough to encourage reductions in pollution.

Plus, he adds, any revenues raised should be invested in green infrastructure and assisting low-income consumers deal with the higher energy prices.

On the revenue neutral thing, he’s half way between Brooks and Rubin – cut some other taxes to compensate for a new carbon tax, but not by the whole value of that carbon tax.

“Carbon taxes are more popular when governments say they’ll spend the money on green energy and transit.” Moves, he adds, that “provide services today while avoiding massive climate disruption tomorrow.” ecoholic@nowtoronto.com | @ecoholicnation

Call 416.364.3444 ext. 381 to book your ad today!

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1556 Queen St. W., West Parkdale, Toronto Open 10am to 10pm daily

Toronto’s Organically Grown Store.

Come see what’s new!

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www.goodcatch.ca NOW january 22-28 2015

17

class action jennifer carroll Arborist, Kelly’s Tree Care

So you want to... find a trade

r jeanette martin

Three women describe how they picked up the tools of the trade within an ever-changing economy that consistently demands these skills Compiled by KEVIN RITCHIE

18 january 22-28 2015 NOW

i am a full-time arborist and have been with Kelly’s tree Care for just over four years. i’m working up to becoming a foreman. i also like to encourage other female arborists through competition at the Ontario tree Climbing Championship.

I took environmental studies and ecosystem management for three years at Fleming College. That got me working with various conservation authorities, wetlands and wildlife. I was offered a job doing tree care, which branched off from what I learned in school. Not long after I started, it was suggested that I try climbing, and I was thrown into a climbing competition. I surprised even myself with my success, so I went back to school and took the urban arboriculture program at Humber College.

At Kelly’s, we work all across Scarborough and as far west as Bathurst Street in Toronto. We do a lot of climbing; we don’t have bucket trucks. Every once in a while we get a crane for a huge removal, but I focus mostly on climbing, pruning and other removals. I also do tree planting, stump grinding and fertilizing. Others do arbor support.

The program gave me a perspective on where I can go in this job; you can climb without ruining your body for only so many years. It covered other aspects of tree care: working with soils, plant health care, insect control and so on. I’ve taken a keen interest in the safety aspect of the job. I’m the health and safety representative, so I handle a lot of those policies with my boss.

The arboriculture program is short, so you go to school for three months and work the rest of the year. The school definitely encourages safety, and they’re pretty on top of making sure you don’t pick up bad habits.

At Humber, the program doesn’t exactly have a place in the school itself, so you’re all over the place. Most of the time you’re outdoors climbing trees or working in the field. For class work, Humber doesn’t have a designated place for this important program, and that’s unfortunate.

A lot of people don’t take safety seriously enough. It’s something I personally like to encourage because I know people who’ve been seriously injured on the job. It’s a growing trade with a lot of things to learn, and you have to be on the ball. In general, Canada is behind Europe, where there are more devices for climbing. We had an employee from England come in, and the amount of knowledge and gear he brought was mind-boggling.

On the job, you’re testing your limits way up in a tree, far out on a limb. As long as you understand the trees, how they work, and understand your gear, it can be fun going way up.

You see gorgeous views of the city, and it gives you a different perspective.

Women find it a lot harder to move up if they get into the wrong company. It’s a very male-dominated profession. You have to work hard, and it’s a laborious job. A lot of women are intimidated, but it’s definitely something women can do if they have the drive.

The industry itself is almost family-like. There are people out there who are absolutely 100 per cent willing to teach and encourage others to learn about our industry. What got me in was climbing competitions. I was top female in the Ontario event in 2012, and then I competed in the international tree climbing competition the next year on the Toronto Islands.

You learn and watch from all these experienced people, and it’s an extremely fun community to be involved with.

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NOW january 22-28 2015 19

class action kelsey lang

Tool and die maker, Massiv Die-Form

School was a stepping stone to the shop floor, a good way to introduce myself to how to work in this new environment

Massiv is a new-build shop, so I’m building dies for all the major OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] – all the big car companies – and sending them off to their production facilities.

After high school, I went to George Brown for pastry arts and worked in a bakery for a couple of years until I decided I wanted a new career. I discovered a school online called the Centre for Skills Development and Training and did a small pre-apprenticeship there. It was a six-month, introductory, get-you-a-job course. That’s how I found out about tool and die making. I did three years of schooling with my apprenticeship through Sheridan College.

My high school offered a machining course, and I’ve always been interested in trades, but as a female the option was never really presented to me until I decided to go into a second career.

My father is in the trades and knew I had the skills, and my parents asked, “Why don’t you look into it?”

Having someone say you can become a tool and die maker made me wake up and realize it was something I could pursue.

Sheridan offered a great opportunity to meet 20 other people in the same field. You see a lot of different perspectives because everyone is working for different companies. In the classroom, people might bring up an issue at work, and five other people would have the same issue with different ways of solving it.

I was grateful that I worked for a company that cares about training its employees. Certain people at my school would be interested in

finding a different place to work, and Mike Reid [a technologist at Sheridan’s Skills Training Centre] always had plenty of contacts and would offer that such-and-such company is hiring.

There are definitely a lot of job opportunities out there. Business seems to be booming.

I came from a bakery where everyone I worked with was female, so tool and die, with an all-male workforce, was definitely a new experience. School was a stepping stone to the shop floor, a good way to introduce myself to how to work in this new environment. Everyone was really friendly. As long as you are a hard worker, ask intelligent questions and are smart about what you want to do, people will work with you.

I’ve had a lot of amazing opportunities with this career. Last year I took part in the Ontario Skilled Trades Competition in Waterloo. My company sent two of us to compete in a machinist competition against 10 other people, and I placed fourth, which was really exciting for me. I was proud of being able to do that as the only female in the competition. And I was the first woman from my company to actually become certified to write and pass the Red Seal exam (which allows qualified tradespeople to work anywhere in Canada without having to write further examinations).

We have a new female apprentice at my work, and I’m happy to have her. I want to be a leader to her and guide her and make sure if she has any struggles I can help her through them, because I’d love to see more women in the field.

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class action Johanna GrönberG

Project coordinator, Equinox Development Equinox is a high-end renovations company in the residential and commercial worlds. I work with the senior project manager and the senior construction manager during design and construction.

We do a tendering process that involves talking to a lot of subcontractors, getting quotes and sending out contracts. Prior to Equinox, I was working on the job site for about a year and a half – I managed two large renovations myself. So I had hands-on experience, which was amazing. Now I’m broadening my horizons, doing more on the back end of renovations, which is a very different experience.

I went to the University of Toronto for five years and did a double major in political science and equity studies. I always wanted to change the world and go into international development.

Then, throughout university, I realized that wasn’t the path for me. I had a burning desire to learn about renovations and do them. I ended up at George Brown, where I enrolled in their two-year building renovation technician program.

I wouldn’t be where I am today without that program. Any education in the construction world is good, because it’s an industry begging to be more professionalized, and one really good way of doing that is to develop more people with a solid education.

Traditionally in the renovation world, people learn on the job or they grow up with it. That’s great, but I think there is value in education. To get into this industry by trying to get somebody to take me on as a labourer – that would not have been the right path for me. For women especially (I hate to play the gender card), going to school gives you a safe space in an area you probably have had very little exposure to. It’s a place to grow your confidence and your vocabulary and learn from really great people who take you under their wing.

Half of the home renovations program is taught in the shop, so you’re building lots of things. It made me comfortable with an array of hand tools and power tools. We also learned a lot of carpentry theory. Having the right vocabulary makes all the difference. We took courses in how to read con-

I wouldn’t be where I am today without that program.

Construction Engineering Technician

Construction Renovation

Techniques / Technician

We put you to work. loyalistcollege.com 22 january 22-28 2015 NOW

struction drawings. I wish I’d paid more attention in that class, because that’s important for me now.

We took classes in estimating, in business management and marketing. The woman who taught us was a seasoned renovator and successful entrepreneur, and she’s now my mentor. That class inspired a lot of people to become entrepreneurs.

During my time at George Brown, I started to experience what it was like to be in a male-dominated industry. I have an equity studies background, and for the first time I felt there was an opportunity to make a difference for women. It was an amazing mix of two things I really care about: gender equity and construction. That inspired me to want to build a sense of community

among women in construction in Toronto. We started a group at George Brown, and it’s really grown. Now we have a community of about 100 women. We call ourselves the Steel-Toed Dames and Dykes.

It would be so great to get more women in the industry. There were only five other women in my year, two in the year after me and one in the year after that. In programs like plumbing, there are sometimes no women. I would love for things to shift.

Construction is one of the final frontiers when it comes to gender equality. If women weren’t socialized not to think of construction as an option, maybe there would be more women out there.

Schooling is the best way to get them in.

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Sheridan offers just that – you’ll learn the skills Ontario industry needs and a credential employers respect.

Our programs include: Electrical Techniques Mechanical Technician – Tool Making Mechanical Techniques – Tool and Die Maker Mechanical Techniques – Plumbing Welding Techniques

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NOW january 22-28 2015

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class action

Where to study WHERE TO STUDY ABORICULTURE Durham College (Whitby) Horticulture technician: $2,687/year. durhamcollege.ca Fanshawe College (London) Horticulture technician: $2,546.38/term. fanshawec.ca Fleming College (Lindsay) Arboriculture co-op: $2,050.40/semester. flemingcollege.ca Humber College (Toronto) Urban arboriculture: $3,694.56/year. humber.ca

Our career-focused programs incorporate hands-on, practical experience both in and out of the classroom. Develop and hone your skills or take the next step in you career. The path is yours to choose. humber.ca

24 january 22-28 2015 NOW

WHERE TO STUDY CONSTRUCTION Algonquin College (Perth) Building construction technician: $1,791.85/term (plus fees); construction engineering technician: $1,343.89/term (plus fees); bachelor of building science: $3,270.25/term (plus fees). algonquincollege.com Cambrian College (Sudbury) Carpentry renovation techniques: $4,524.25/year. cambriancollege.ca Centennial College (Toronto) Construction management: $3,636.50/year. centennialcollege.ca Conestoga College (Waterloo) Construction technician – carpentry: $3,513.72/year; renovation technician: $3,513.72/year. conestogac.on.ca Durham College (Oshawa) Construction carpentry – sustainable; construction and hoisting techniques: $2,687/year. durhamcollege.ca Fanshawe College (London) Construction carpentry techniques: $1,935.09/term; construction engineering technology: $2,081.38/term; construction project management: $3,032.21/term. fanshawec.ca Fleming College (Peterborough) Carpentry technician: contact school for tuition; carpentry techniques: $1,961.07/semester; sustainable building design and construction: $4,266.87/semester. flemingcollege.ca George Brown College (Toronto) Bachelor of technology – construction management: $8,851/

year; building renovation technician: $3,908/ year; construction engineering technician: $3,714/year; construction trades techniques: $5,317/three semesters; residential construction management: $1,877/year. georgebrown.ca Humber College (Toronto) Home renovation technician: $7,401/three semesters; sustainable energy and building technology: $3,794.56/year. humber.ca Loyalist College (Belleville) Aboriginal construction renovation: free; construction renovation techniques; construction renovation technician; construction engineering technician; college technology and trade preparation: $3,741/year (plus fees). loyalistcollege.com Mohawk College (Hamilton) Construction engineering technician diploma; construction engineering technician – building renovation: $2,700/ year (plus fees). mohawkcollege.ca Sault College (Sault Ste. Marie) Construction carpentry techniques: $1,985.50/semester (plus fees). saultcollege.ca Sheridan College (Toronto) Technology fundamentals: $3,852.20/year. sheridancollege.ca WHERE TO STUDY TOOL AND DIE MAKING Contestoga College (Kitchener) Mechanical technician – tool and die/tool maker: $2,241.44/semester. conestogac.on.ca George Brown College (Toronto) Mechanical technician – tool and die: $3,645/year. georgebrown.ca Seneca College (Toronto) Mechanical techniques – tool and die/mould making: $3,249/year. senecacollege.ca Sheridan College (Oakville) Mechanical techniques – tool and die maker: $4,545.50/year. sheridancollege.ca

drinkup

By SARAH PARNIAK

WHERE TO DRINK RIGHT NOW!

Rusty Nail

So basic, so old-school, so delicious, the Rusty Nail is one of those drinks that almost anyone can enjoy on a frosty eve, especially when you hit the not-too-sweet spot between Scotch and honeyed Scotch. It might not be named for Bobby Burns, but considering the heavy slug of his homeland’s treasure in the mix, I figure it’s poetically approved.

Head to the Emmet Ray, which stocks a whack of single malt Scotches.

DAVID LAURENCE

WHAT WE’RE DRINKING TONIGHT

drinks@nowtoronto.com | @s_parns

1½-2 oz

blended Scotch with some smoke (try Black Grouse)

½ oz

Drambuie

Since it’s similar in structure to the old-fashioned (though sans bitters), I think it’s passable to mix a Rusty Nail in the glass you plan on drinking it from. Give it a good stir and finish with a thick lemon twist.

Scotch Scotch snobs losing influence sans sticker shock Pouring a wee dram has gone way beyond the privileged few Sure, a dram and a cigar in a room that smells of rich mahogany is pleasant, but Scotch is so much more than an old boy’s drink.

According to Marijke McLean, brown spirits manager at the LCBO, the single-malt category is growing by 7.8 per cent annually in Ontario, a stat that may not seem impressive until you look at the figures – Speyside and Highland single malt sales grew $1 million last year, with peaty Islay whiskies trailing close behind at just under $1 million.

The numbers spell it out pretty clearly – more drinkers, from women in their early 20s to middle-aged men – are thirsty for Scotland’s pride.

Blended and Speyside Scotches are still dominant categories, but consumers are developing a taste for the more esoteric flavours of Highland and Islay (categories that grew by 17 and 16 per cent respectively in the past year).

McLean attributes this spike not only to the overarching popularity of whisk(e)y, but to the accessibility of information (all hail the interweb) and the affordable luxury phenomenon. Contemporary consumers can easily research a good Scotch online and are more than willing to invest in quality over quantity.

Whatever rallies people to drink great whisky is a beautiful thing. The more you try, the more you trust your own palate, respecting personal likes and aversions instead of having others dictate good or bad.

There really is a Scotch for everyone, and the golden

rule for drinking it has nothing to do with a smoking jacket.

“Number one, don’t be intimidated,” McLean says. “If you want to try your Scotch with water or ice or even juice, I don’t care. What matters is that you enjoy it, because it’s meant to be enjoyed.”

I’ve broached the M-word (shhh, it’s mix) with every master distiller I’ve come across, and guess what? They don’t give a care in the world what you do with their whisky as long as you like it. Only the whisky snobs do– and they don’t make very fun drinking buddies anyways.

Scotch and snobbery needn’t mix. The best spots in town to sip single malt are warm and utterly laid-back.

To honour Robbie Burns Day Sunday (January 26), or any day of the year, hit the Emmet Ray (924 College, 416792-4497, theemmetray.com), where owner Andrew Kaiser stocks a whole world of whisk(e)y including an awesome selection of single-malt Scotch.

Walk a block to another favourite whisky haunt, the Caledonian (856 College, 647-547-9827, thecaledonian.ca), where owner Donna Wolff stocks over 200 Scotch whiskies and knows her way around each and every one of them. Describe what you like and leave it in the Caledonian’s capable hands to recommend the perfect dram. (PS, there’s haggis and it’s really good).

Lace up your boots and trip it out to the Feathers (962 Kingston Road, 416-694-0443, thefeatherspub.ca), where you can sip your way through a library of single malts, including rare and distillers’ bottlings and cask strength editions.

Good Scotch doesn’t have to hurtle you into the red. Consider adding three affordable (and very tasty) bottles to your collection.

VIRGIN OAK ñDEANSTON

Rating: NNNN Why Young but polished, this bright and balanced whisky is finished briefly and gracefully in first-fill American oak. Tickles your tongue with lemon zest, honey, heather blossoms and spiced fruit.

Price 750 ml/$45.50 (until the end of the month) Availability LCBO 375568

ABERLOUR 12 Rating: NNN Why I’m a bit of a sucker for sherried Scotches (or sherry in any form, for that matter).

Aberlour’s smooth, peppered fruit makes it a dandy winter whisky.

Price 750 ml/$59.95 Availability LCBO 352104

ñBOWMORE 12

Rating: NNNN Why One of the most balanced and approachable Islay whiskies, Bowmore can be drunk neat, with water, on the rocks or in cocktails. It just might be your gateway to Peatsville.

Price 750 ml/$59.85 Availability LCBO 330803

TASTING NOTES Get into the Spirit

Save the date: May 2 marks the 11th annual Spirit Of Toronto, and it’s not as far off as you think. T.O.’s massive celebration of whisk(e)y always sells out, so head to spiritoftoronto.ca to sign up for updates so you can scoop your tickets as soon as they go on sale.

Action at Sugar Beach.

While you’re at it, reserve June 19 to 21 for the Redpath Waterfront Festival. There’s dancing, parading, eating and drinking (naturally) along the pretty new waterfront. Dog shows are fun and all, but we’re most excited about the Wine And Spirits Festival at Sugar Beach ($30, advance $21.50). Hit towaterfrontfest.com for details.

NOW JANUARY 22-28 2015

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Soup’ Photo: MICHAEL WATIER // Hair and makeup by Taylor Savage for TRESemmé Hair Care and MAC Cosmetics/judyinc.com

TORONTO’S 10 BEST BOWLS

26 JANUARY 22-28 2015 NOW

Santouka’s Kara miso ramen The Hokkaido-based ramen chain is always packed with students, tired mall shoppers and hurried businesspeople slurping their noodles while fixated on their phones.

Though there’s usually a lineup at this 36-seat location, the food comes fast and the turnaround is quick. On a blustery day, opt for fiery red kara miso ramen topped with wood ear mushrooms, bamboo shoots and fatty pork. It won’t set your mouth on fire, but the creamy pork broth has just enough spice to get your brow sweaty. $11.45, 91 Dundas East, 647-748-1717, santouka.co.jp/en

’s on!

0 Yes, soup for you! In these freezing conditions, who doesn’t want a bellyful of warm, comforting soup? Snuggle up with this list of the city’s best bowls. They suit any craving, whether it’s for creamy seafood chowder in a bread bowl or old-fashioned chicken matzoh ball soup or more adventurous options like bloody noodle soup or a West African-style chicken-peanut concoction. By KARON LIU WINTER FOOD SPECIAL

Caplansky’s matzoh ball soup This one’s just a simple homemade chicken broth with little beads of fat floating on top, diced celery and carrots, two fist-sized fluffy matzoh balls and a whisper of dill on top.

Still, there’s something about a chicken soup that works wonders on a cold winter day.

“Matzoh ball soup is Jewish penicillin,” says owner Zane Caplansky. “Whether you have a broken arm or a broken heart, that soup will make you feel better.”

For him, the key to good matzoh balls is to keep them simple: matzoh meal, schmaltz, eggs, salt and pepper.

They should be the right size so two fit in a bowl, and they shouldn’t fall apart.

“Don’t mess with a good thing.” $6/bowl, $4.50/cup, 356 College, 416-500-3852, caplanskys.com, @caplansky

Ravisoups’ curried apricot and red lentil soup A best soup list would not be complete without an entry from this mecca started by the late, great Ravi Kanagarajah, who elevated the traditional side dish into a main course.

Some are addicted to the porcini mushroom bisque, others won’t order anything but the corn chowder, but we dig this creative fusion of lentils, apricots and curry – a sweet, savoury, slightly spicy, ultra-velvety soup served in the trademark square bowl on top of a circular wooden tray. Its golden amber colour brightens up any dreary winter day. $8.99, 322 Adelaide West, 647-435-8365; 1128 Queen West, 416-538-7284; 2535 Dundas West, 416-769-7284; 9 Charles West, 416-515-7284; ravisoup.com

R

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Soup’s on! T.O.’s 10 best bowls Rock Lobster Food Co.’s seafood chowder Served piping hot in a giant sourdough bread bowl, this seafood chowder loaded with haddock, clams, Nova Scotia lobster and smoked bacon easily warms you up for the night. Creamy without being heavy and spiced with just a bit of Old Bay seasoning, smoked paprika and mustard seeds, the chowder highlights the seafood’s sweet flavours. Too cold to venture out to any of Rock Lobster’s three locations? Stock up on jars of the stuff ($8.99/750 ml) at any Sobey’s or Foodland market and heat it up at home. $13, 110 Ossington, 416-533-1800; 538 Queen West, 416-203-6623; 1192 Queen East, 416-850-3650, @rocklobsterfood

Nana’s boat noodle soup This new offshoot of the Khao San Road team focuses on Thailand’s street foods, or rather river food in the case of boat noodle soup.

“In Thailand you used to get these noodles from boats,” says owner Monte Wan. “They’d be served in small bowls, and you’d need to order four or five of them.”

The supersized version here has rice noodles swirling in a sweet and sour beef broth simmered with cinnamon and star anise and thickened with cow’s blood for a slight tang. It’s finished with braised beef shank, thinly sliced beef and beef balls with sprigs of fragrant herbs. Try this if you’re looking for a new take on pho. $15, 785 Queen West, 647-352-5773, khaosanroad.ca

Galleria Supermarket’s pork bone soup The food court at this suburban Korean megasupermarket is its own destination, with a bakery, tofu and fish-cake-making stations and a giant open kitchen where big boiling bowls of pork bone soup are dished out to hun-

28 january 22-28 2015 NOW

Cheesewerk’s roasted tomato cream soup

Pai’s tom yum nam sai kung mor fai

Nothing goes better with a grilled cheese sandwich than a bowl of creamy tomato soup, which is why big cheese Kevin Durkee turned to his mom’s tried-and-true recipe for this quintessential side.

“You can probably thank Kraft and Campbell for coming up with this pairing in the 50s and 60s,” says Durkee. “Still, there’s something about the tomato’s acidity that works well to cut through the creaminess of the cheese.”

Roma tomatoes are roasted with garlic until they’re caramelized, and then they’re blitzed with a house-made vegetable stock, 10 per cent cream and a bit of oregano. Best sandwich pairing from the menu? Keep it simple with the original aged and double-smoked cheddar. $3-$5, 56 Bathurst, 416-243-3327, cheesewerks.com, @Cheesewerks

Chef Nuit Regular doesn’t hold back with her tom yum. You can get it at a spice level she calls “Thai spicy,” a tongue-sizzling, please-pass-the-beer kind of spicy (though customers can ask for reduced heat based on levels posted at the end of the menu). Still, with its ultra fragrant broth simmered with fresh galangal, kaffir lime, lemon grass, chili paste, whole button mushrooms, tomatoes, shrimp and a bit of evaporated milk, it’s so good that it’s hard to stop eating even if you’re dripping in sweat. The soup comes with rice, but Regular prefers pairing it with noodles. The substitution isn’t on the menu, but ask nicely and they’ll do it. $15, $13 for takeout, 18 Duncan, 416-901-4724, paitoronto.com, @PaiToronto

OKAY, SO WHERE DO THE CHEFS GO? Zane Capansky, Caplansky’s Delicatessen

gry shoppers. For just $7 you get massive pieces of bone with silky hunks of meat you can easily pick off with chopsticks, a side of purple rice and a little dish of spicy pickled daikon to help temper the slow burn on your tongue as you sip the bright red broth. $6.99, 865 York Mills, 647-352-5004; 7040 Yonge (Thornhill), 905-8820040; galleriasm.com, @galleriasm

R

“Best won ton soup in the city ($3.75$10.35). Their small size is like an extra-large anywhere else, and if I’m getting late-night eats cuz I’m hungover on a Sunday night, this is what I love to order. The won ton are pork dumplings with a bit of leek and spring onions.

I’ve been going there a long time, so there’s also a bit of nostalgia to it.”

ROL SAN 323 Spadina, 416-977-1128

Kevin Durkee, Cheesewerks

“One of my favourite soups in the city is the chicken soup with liver dumplings ($4.95-$6.95) at Country Style in the Annex. It’s just a simple chicken broth like the kind you’d find in a matzoh ball soup, and the dumplings are more like little liver meatballs with a consistency similar to gnocchi: soft, with a nice chew, and surprisingly light considering they’re basically puréed liver.”

COUNTRY STYLE HUNGARIAN RESTAURANT 450 Bloor West, 416-536-5966

R. JEANETTE MARTIN

“Lee Garden is my happy place. Its hot and sour soup ($9.50-$19) is the gold standard by which all other hot and sour soups should be measured. The combination of pork, shrimp, tofu and pickled cabbage – it really is sour and has the right consistency. It’s also the place I used to go with my grandparents, a seminal Jewish experience growing up.”

LEE GARDEN 331 Spadina, 416-593-9524, leegardenspadina.ca

Matt Dean Pettit, Rock Lobster

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Soup’s on! T.O.’s 10 best bowls

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Approved by the original Soup Nazi from Seinfeld (there’s an autographed photo of the actor who played him hanging on the wall), this PATH spot always has more than a dozen varieties simmering away in big pots lined up along the counter.

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Roncesvalles Village, and one of nowtoronto.com/food her biggest goals is keeping the so, dium level down in her soups.

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CLOSING

Hudson Kitchen (800 Dundas West, at Palmerston), the corner restaurant serving chef Robbie Hojilla’s blend of contemporary American and Filipino cuisine, closed last week. The spot took over what was once the Palmerston Café and Jamie Kennedy’s Provenance Regional Cuisine food shop and quietly opened in the midst of TIFF 2013 to feed its famous folk.

Up in midtown, Vita Sociale (2472 Yonge, at Eglinton), the Italian restaurant that was rebranded from fine-dining institution Centro, has closed. No word yet on whether Armando Mano plans to turn the space into something else, but it’s a sad end at a location where, in its Centro heyday, top chefs like David Lee, Jay Carter, Marc Thuet, Bruce Woods, Michael Bonacini and, yes, Hudson Kitchen’s Hojilla once cooked.

A notice of distress has (once again) been

placed on the door of Parkdale Ethiopian restaurant Addis Ababa (1184 Queen West, at Northcote). A similar notice was put there a year ago due to cash flow issues (the owners were having trouble collecting incoming rent from their other properties in the area), but it reopened soon after, so maybe this is a temporary closure.

1648 Queen St W (East of Roncesvalles) Open 6 days a week (Closed on Tuesdays)

THE ALL-NEW nowtoronto.com IS HERE.

CHANGES

The on-again, off again relationship between chef J.P. Challet and Yorkville’s Windsor Arms Hotel (18 Saint Thomas, at Bloor West) is back in off-again status. The chef has parted ways with the hotel less than a year after he returned there to open Ici, a larger, fancier version of the restaurant that Challet previously operated in Harbord Village.

Eat and feel good at A Midwinter’s Night Feast, the Chefs For Change dinners that benefit Community Food Centres Canada, an organization that promotes food education, community gardens and kitchens, and affordable farmers’ markets in neighbourhoods across the country.

At Propeller Coffee Roastery (50 Wade, at Lansdowne) on January 23 and 30 and February 20 and 27, top chefs from across the country cook up multi-course dinners.

Tickets are $75 each from chefsforchange.ca.

Know of any openings, closings or which Winterlicious restaurant is already booked up? Email food@nowtoronto.com.

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31

music

more online

nowtoronto.com/music Audio clips from interviews with Jeff Mills and Slim Twig + Hamilton Leithauser concert review + Caribou’s Longest Mixtape + Searchable upcoming listings

PHARMAKON at

R. JEANETTE MARTIN

S.H.I.B.G.B’s, Saturday, ñ January 17.

Rating: NNNN Before her set started, New York City industrial noise musician Margaret Chardiet, who goes by Pharmakon, had trouble getting her table of pedals and noise machines working. She reacted by chucking cables and smaller pieces of equipment over the heads of the waiting crowd and into the farthest corners of basement DIY venue S.H.I.B.G.B’s.

The aggression continued once the power kicked in. Deep, sinister industrial sound waves droned from beginning to end of Chardiet’s short set, accentuated by piercing blasts of feedback, thunderous crunch and what sounded like a fleet of planes dive-bombing. Her vocals were thick with distortion, echo and other evil-enhancing effects.

Holding a mic while twisting dials, she increased the set’s intensity through her physicality: marching through the audience that surrounded her; heaving herself toward us while holding a machine against her chest; pushing backwards against strangers while screaming out her soul.

With no clear beat to move to, it took some time for the crowd to let go. But as she gave more and more of herself, some semblance of body-slamming began, and Chardiet was on her back on the floor, writhing and wailing, by the end. Tortured.

Cathartic. Yet precisely controlled. Powerful stuff. CARLA GILLIS

the scene Shows that rocked Toronto last week

A$AP FERG with YG at Sound Academy, Wednesday, January 14. Rating: NN

A$AP Ferg and YG’s tour was billed as a rare East Coast-meets-West Coast team-up, but any regional differences between the rising rappers’ styles and sounds were mostly obliterated by their shared love of pulverizing, sexually charged performance.

YG has parlayed the g-funk gangsta rap sound of the 90s into modern club anthems. He arrived to chants from a restless, sloshed-looking audience, and the room lit up as he launched into BPT. His gruff delivery made him sound older than his 24 years, and added gravitas to his more introspective cuts.

Lest anyone was worried things would get too heavy, he soon shifted to cranking out club jams and encour-

32 JANUARY 22-28 2015 NOW

aging women to bid adieu to their undergarments.

A$AP Ferg continued in the oversexed vein, but backed by huge, trappy EDM beats and ravey lights. He started out songs with call-and-response lines that segued into singsongy a cappella verses that built anticipation for massive beat drops.

But he struggled to stay in control, and sapped the momentum of the already late-to-start show by doing too many rehearsed bits – like a failed attempt to part the audience to create a runway – with or without the cooperation of the crowd.

People bolted for the exits when the last song finished at 1 am, leaving him to sheepishly return to encore with new song Nia Long. The booming production not only masked the nuance in

his rhymes and flows, but also the KEVIN RITCHIE room’s waning energy.

LOVING IN THE NAME

ñOF at the Mod Club, Friday, January 16.

Rating: NNNN The simple concept behind Loving In the Name Of doesn’t give you a full picture of just how fun the night is.

Getting a cover band to play wellknown songs doesn’t sound like anything special, but in this case it’s an all-star group of local indie rock luminaries fronted by a rotating cast of powerhouse vocalists performing their favourite hits, and it’s become a very popular Toronto institution in the past few years.

For this edition, singers included Andre Ethier, Tanika Charles, Daniel Woodhead and many others, performing songs by Tom Petty, House of

Pain, Robyn, Phil Collins, Janis Joplin and the Rolling Stones. Alongside a live set by the house band The Best, DJ Scott Cudmore played tunes before and after, sticking to the kinds of mainstream pop hits that make you feel guilty for knowing all the words to them.

It’s almost tongue-in-cheek, but everyone enjoys themselves so much that it doesn’t seem important to determine how much irony is involved.

BENAJMIN BOLES

WEYES BLOOD at Smiling Buddha, Monday, January 19.

Rating: NNN Natalie Mering has a charmingly officious presence onstage. Standing behind a keyboard and in a front of a screen displaying undulating amorphous pixels, the singer, who performs under the Southern Gothic moniker

Ñ

Weyes Blood, kept her banter cordial but to the point. “I would introduce my band,” she said, “but they wish to remain anonymous.”

It was just as well. The three members anchored her dramatic, psychleaning ballads in the realm of 60s folk-rock, playing up the more traditional elements of the noise-influenced songs off The Innocents, her second album.

It was only when the bassist, drummer and guitarist left the stage that Mering really unleashed her swirling vibrato on two songs, including a cover of Fred Neil’s classic Everybody’s Talkin’. Suddenly, her brand of New Agey Americana stopped sounding (to quote one of her song titles) bound to earth and took off into a more interKR esting dimension.

= Critics’ Pick NNNNN = Perfect NNNN = Great NNN = Good NN = Bad N = Horrible

JAY LENO THURS APR 30 8 PM ◆

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH

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NOW january 22-28 2015 33

clubs&concerts hot

FABOLOUS, DEJ LOAF Kool Haus (132 Queens Quay East), Thursday (January 22) Final hip-hop gig at Kool Haus, for real.

WAVELENGTH MUSIC FESTIVAL POP-UP GALLERY w/ Petra Glynt, Zoo Owl, James Irwin, L Con, Jason Sharp, Lina Allemano and others HuntClub Studios (709 College), Thursday to Sunday (January 22-25).

Indie art and music hub opens.

SLIM TWIG, MICHAEL RAULT, TASSEOMANCY Silver Dollar (486 Spadina), Friday (January 23) See preview, page 36.

ART DEPARTMENT, MY FAVORITE ROBOT, JONATHAN LEE, NIGHT VISION Coda (794 Bathurst), Friday (January 23) Get turnt at Coda’s one-year party.

ELLIOTT BROOD, THE WILDERNESS OF MANITOBA Phoenix Concert Theatre (410 Sherbourne), Saturday (January 24) Rose & Sons-catered concert.

DIRTY FRIGS, CREEP HIGHWAY, HUREN, ROTZIG Junction City Music Hall (2907 Dundas West), Saturday (January 24) Swamp Thingesque rock ’n’ roll.

NEW FRIES, NANCY PANTS, BB GUNS, BILE SISTER Silver Dollar (486 Spadina), Saturday (January 24) Class of 2015 honour roll still rollin’.

JEFF MILLS, GINGY, BOX OF KITTENS, MEMBERSONLY, COLIN BERGH AND OTHERS 99 Sudbury (99 Sudbury), Saturday (January 24) See preview, page 38.

LOCO DICE, ROBERT DIETZ, JONATHAN ROSA Coda (794 Bathurst), Saturday (January 24) Ibiza-appropriate house and techno.

DEADMAU5 Guvernment (132 Queens Quay East), Sunday (January 25) Say buh-bye to the Guvernment.

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GIRAFFAGE w/ POMO & TEEN DAZE

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34 January 22-28 2015 NOW

Zola Jesus

Zola Jesus added some major pop dimension to her songwriting on last year’s brightly anthemic Taiga album, prompting critics to brand it her most accessible release to date. Naturally, the gothy Wisconsin-raised singer/songwriter (aka Nika Roza Danilova) upped her pop star game further by releasing a fragrance and incense inspired by the record, whose title means “boreal forest” in Russian.

Accordingly, the coniferous confection smells like firewood, ash, dry moss and minerals and would likely find itself at home in your celebrity scent cabinet somewhere between Sigur Rós’s driftwood-campfire-evoking scented candle and Nicki Minaj’s passionate-loveaffair-scented perfume Minajesty.

The scent is available at Zola Jesus merch tables everywhere – e.g., at the Horseshoe on Thursday.

Thursday (January 22) at the Horseshoe (370 Queen West), 8 pm. $16.50. rotate. com, soundscapesmusic.com, ticketfly.com.

just announced DILLY DALLY, BRANNIGANS LAW, GRAND ANALOG The Garrison doors 9 pm.

venues winterfolk.com. February 13-15.

UKAE, RIVAL BOYS, CAROLINA HUM

11:30 pm. February 15.

CATZ N’ DOGZ, JAMIE KIDD, JEFF BUTTON, TALAL & ZOI Coda doors 10 pm.

The Tiny Record Shop In-store performance. 3 pm. February 21.

$7. January 30.

JOJOFLORES, DAVE CAMPBELL, YOGI Tattoo doors 10 pm. $15 adv/before

pm, all ages. $23.50 adv. ticketmaster.ca.

May 18.

JOEL PLASKETT EMERGENCY

Lee’s Palace 9 pm. $10. January 30.

THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE

Danforth Music Hall 8 pm. $22.50. rotate. com, soundscapesmusic.com, ticketmaster. ca. May 22.

$20-$25. January 30.

RIFF RAFF Danforth Music Hall doors 7 pm, all ages. $33.25. ticketmaster.ca. January 31.

CADENCE & NEWCHOIR St Michael’s College School Centre for the Arts Unplugged a cappella, 8 pm. $40. January 31.

THE LUKE AUSTIN BAND, THE RETRIEVERS, BROTHERS OF NORTH, JOE RONCETTI & SUNDAY TOWN

IE ALLEN, DJ DRAMA Molson Amphitheatre Boyz Of Zummer Tour, doors 6 pm, all ages. $25.75-$79.50. ticketmaster.ca. June 17.

JUNIA-T, SET, MORAKOZA, JOHNNY ACTIVE Rivoli doors 9 pm. $10-$12. ticketfly.

com. January 31.

PUBLIC ANIMAL WITH CROSS DOG, HALF MEASURES, WRONG HOLE AND OTHERS Dakota Tavern Sunday residency,

10 pm. $10. February 1, 8, 15, 22.

RON HAWKINS & THE DO GOOD ASSASSINS, BOBBY WISEMAN Drake

Hotel album and documentary release, doors 7 pm. $20. February 5.

MIRACLE FORTRESS, KEN PARK Mercer Union doors 8 pm. $10. soundscapesmusic.com. February 5.

MC FUBB, NOYZ, THE RESPONSABLES, DJ XPLISIT Studio Bar EP release, doors 8 pm. $10, adv $5. February 5.

HOLLOWPHONIC, [MP.G], THE DISRAELIS, IDA DIANA The Garrison

Horseshoe 9 pm. $8. February 21.

MIMICO, KEN PARK, ZONES, BODIES THAT MATTER Smiling Buddha 8 pm.

February 26.

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE (DJ SET), FAMOUS PLAYERS Drake Hotel 10 pm.

$20. February 26.

MOON DUO Silver Dollar 9 pm, $12.50. rotate.com, soundscapesmusic.com, ticketfly. com. March 5.

WACKEN METAL BATTLE w/ Hallows Die, Answer With Metal, Adrian Pain & The Dead Sexy, Dispersia, Ammo, Phantom and more.

Various venues. metalbattle.ca. March 6, 13, 20, 27, April 3, 18, 25 and June 6.

FLIGHT FACILITIES Danforth Music Hall doors 7 pm. $30-$35.25. ticketmaster.ca.

March 7.

MAGIC MAN, PANAMA WEDDING, PRIDES The Garrison doors 9 pm. $17.75.

ticketweb.com. March 7.

DIAMOND RUGS, NEW MADRID

emy 10 pm. playderecord.com. February 7.

Horseshoe doors 8:30 pm. $17.50. rotate. com, soundscapesmusic.com, ticketfly.com.

March 31.

THE SOFT MOON Drake Hotel doors 8 pm. $15. rotate.com, soundscapesmusic.com, ticketfly.com. April 13.

DANKO JONES Danforth Music Hall doors 8 pm. $20. rotate.com, soundscapesmusic. com, ticketmaster.ca. April 24.

Keyzer, David Essig, Gary Kendall, Polka Dogs, Julian Taylor, Jory Nash & others. Various

The Garrison 8 pm. $tba. May 10.

MATT & KIM Danforth Music Hall doors 7

doors 9 pm. $6. February 6.

MONOMYTH, CHASTITY, PUBE FLORAL Silver Dollar doors 9 pm. $8. rotate.

com, northerntickets.com, soundscapesmusic. com. February 6.

DING DONG, APLUS, STREET TEAM, INFAMOUS, SOCA SWEETNESS, ALEXX FRASS, DJ TYRONE Sound Acad-

WINTERFOLK XII w/ Danny Marks, Jack De

WAXAHATCHEE, GIRLPOOL

FALL OUT BOY, WIZ KHALIFA, HOOD-

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND Molson Amphitheatre doors 8 pm. $tba. July 21.

PETER FRAMPTON, CHEAP TRICK Molson

Amphitheatre 6 pm. $29.50-$79.50, ticketmaster.ca.

August 5.

this week 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, online at nowtoronto.com, for venue addresses and phone numbers. = Critics’ pick (highly recommended) ñ 5= Queer night

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.

Thursday, January 22

Phoenix ConCerT TheaTre Shooter Jennings, Waymore’s Outlaws, Blackie ñ Jackett Jr doors 7 pm.

The PisTon Chess Club, Knamelis, ev ree wuhn Album release party. 9 pm.

PoeTry Jazz Cafe The Shafton Thomas Group

(heavy metal jazz), 9 pm. rivoli Frontier Ruckus, The Modern Hearts, Howie Sutherland, Whale Eye 9 pm. souThside Johnny’s Skip Tracer (rock/top 40), 9:30 pm.

TranzaC Danny Simmons 10 pm [Southern Cross].

Folk/BlueS/countRy/WoRld

asPeTTa Caffe Open Mic 8 pm.

C’esT WhaT Oliver Piggot (soul/blues/Americana/rock), 9 pm.

CasTro’s lounge Jerry Leger & the Situ-

ation (folk/rock/country), 8 pm. ñ free Times Cafe Claire Morrison, Rayannah

(singers/songwriters), 9 pm. grossman’s The Happy Pals 4:30 to 8 pm. haBiTs gasTroPuB WonderFest Poetry Series & Open Mic.

T H E

harT house TheaTre The Goatbox Rebel, DB

Buxton, Dorval (blues), 8 pm [Arbor Room]. holy oak Cafe Sing Leaf (experimental folkpop), 10 pm. loCal Mr Rick & The Biscuits, Burke Carroll, Rob Clarke 9:30 pm. loCal gesT Open Mic With Porter 9 pm. naTive Canadian CenTre Big Drum Social 6:30 pm.

TranzaC Houndstooth Bluegrass Thursdays, 7:30 pm [Southern Cross].

Jazz/claSSical/exPeRimental

emmeT ray Bar Boss Tres (jazz/Latin/gypsy/ swing), 9:30 pm.

The flying Beaver PuBareT Becky Robinson

Cabaret Becky Robinson, Alexandra Statham, Emily Bridle, Kylah Eide and others perform to benefit Sketch.ca. 7:30 pm.

four seasons CenTre for The Performing arTs COC Ensemble Studio Artists Songs Of

Love And War, noon to 1 pm [Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre]. hugh’s room Albert Schultz, Jay Douglas, Tommy Ambrose, Steve Hunter Quartet The

L I V I N G

A R T S

C E N T R E

Cavern Bar Cal Goodbomb, David Gluck 9 pm.

The CenTral Franz Nicolay, Chuck Coles, Ben Crosby, Revisionist, Missy Bauman doors 8:30 pm.

ClinTon’s Throwback Thursdays (90s hip-

hop/pop).

CraWford DJ Downunda. handleBar Soul Bros Consciousness Explor-

ñ

PoP/Rock/HiP-HoP/Soul

rifying

‘Elect

Cherry Cola’s roCk ’n’ rolla CaBareT and lounge Innocent Guns, The Anti-Queens, Ro-

dance muSic/dJ/lounge

Jazz Side Of Frank Sinatra. 8 pm.

Jazz BisTro Eric St-Laurent Trio 9 pm. Sean Harkness & Mark Herriott 8 pm. kama Alastair Kay & John Sherwood Thursdays At Five, 5 to 8 pm. koerner hall Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Chamber Choir, Nathalie Paulin, Laura Pudwell, Lawrence Wiliford, Sumner Thompson Beethoven Program, 8 pm. linsmore Tavern Russ Macklem Jazz Jam. 8 pm. lula lounge Ron Davis & Kevin Laliberté Symphronica: Art Of The Guitar (jazz/classical), 7:30 pm. musideum Michael Finlay (classical piano), 8 pm. old mill inn The Heillig Manouevre (jazz) 7:30 pm [Home Smith Bar].

The Passenger The J-Train Jazz In The Junction, 9:30 pm.

The rex Kevin Quain (vocals/solo piano) 6:30 pm. Mike Murley Septet 9:30 pm. roy Thomson hall Toronto Symphony Orchestra Mozart Mass in C minor, 8 pm.

g’

tunnin and S

ers Dance Party 10 pm. harT house DJ Jason Palma Winter Blast Outdoor Party, 8:30 pm [Quad].

The hoxTon Alvin Risk, Kodak To Graph doors 9 pm.

ToTa lounge DJ Junior Black Thursdays ’N’ Friends: A Hip-Hop Throwback Party, 10 pm.

WesT Bar DJ Dennis Rojas (80s/90s/R&B/hiphop/house), 10 pm.

Friday, January 23 PoP/Rock/HiP-HoP/Soul

751 Bar Alcohol Fueled, Dirty Work, Celebral Scrub, Filthy Slate, Wildcard (punk), doors 10 pm. alleyCaTz Lady Kane.

CasTro’s lounge The Straight Eights (50s style rockabilly), 6 pm.

continued on page 36 œ

p r e s e n t s S ES DALLA EATRE JON

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n anic a e, Volc ‘Fierc AZINE

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tary Dial Album Launch Party, doors 9:30 pm.

The garrison Good Enough Live Karaoke (karaoke w/ a live band), doors 9 pm. gladsTone hoTel Matrox, Castle If, Wolfcow, DJ Garbage Body Come Up To My Room music show. 9 pm [Ballroom]. horseshoe Zola Jesus, Deradoorian 8 pm. hunTCluB sTudios Petra Glynt, Zoo Owl Wavelength Pop-Up Gallery opening party. 8 pm.

Johnny JaCkson Deliluh, The Leslie Spits, Body Butter, White Spaces 9 pm. karla’s roadhouse Tommy Rocker (classic rock), 9:30 pm. kensingTon lodge Derek Mok 7 pm. kool haus Fabolous, DeJ Loaf (hip-hop), doors 8 pm. lee’s PalaCe Desperate Executives, Craig James Lauer, Long Road Act. lula lounge Yasgurs Farm (soul/jazz/rock), 9:30 pm.

PauPer’s PuB Mike Barnes Jam, 10:30 pm.

g!’

erizin

‘Mesm

ñ ñ ñ ñ

ñ

STARRING

EMMYTM NOMINATED CHOREOGRAPHERS

STANDING IN THE DARK

30TH ANNI VERSARY TOUR

TRAVIS WALL NICK LAZZARINI TEDDY FORANCE KYLE ROBINSON from So You Think You Can Dance and All The Right Movers WWW.SHAPINGSOUNDSCO.COM

February 6 2015 8 PM Hammerson Hall Tickets: $35 – $50

February 7 2015 3 & 8 PM Hammerson Hall Tickets: $50 – $70

Moon Duo Silver Dollar, March 5

NOW_16_01_2015.indd 1

12/17/142015 4:35 PM NOW January 22-28 35

clubs&concerts œcontinued from page 35

CHERRY COLA’S ROCK ’N’ ROLLA CABARET AND

LOUNGE Doghouse Rose Great Canadian Girlesque Expo opening night party, 10 pm.

FLATO MARKHAM THEATRE Daryl Stuermer (rock/jazz guitar), 8 pm.

THE GARRISON Souljazz Orchestra, DJ John Kong doors 10 pm.

HOLY OAK CAFE Mike Tobin (pop), 10 pm.

HORSESHOE Tupper Ware Remix Party, Scientists of Sound, Most Non Heinous (Daft Punk inspired party), doors 9 pm.

HUGH’S ROOM Danny Marks, Tony “Wild T” Springer, Dylan Wickens, Pat Rush, Mike McKenna Masters Of The Telecaster, 8:30 pm.

INVICTUS Nikki Vernon-Johnson, Aleicia, Jeta May, DJ Ron Jon and others, Soul Flow Friday, 11 pm.

LEE’S PALACE The Control Room, Brooklyn Doran, Aviation CD release.

LINSMORE TAVERN Stiletto Flats 9 pm.

MOLSON AMPHITHEATRE Train, The Fray, Matt Nathanson.

PHOENIX CONCERT THEATRE Breached, Blind Race, Lost Cause, The Bleeding Lights doors 7:30 pm.

ñ ñ

SLIM TWIG ART ROCK

RICHMOND HILL CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Mohsen Namjoo (Persian classical poet-

When one door closes, another one opens – sometimes to America By CARLA GILLIS

SLIM TWIG with MICHAEL RAULT and TASSEOMANCY at the Silver Dollar (486 Spadina), Friday (January 23), 9 pm. $9. rotate.com, soundscapesmusic.com, ticketfly.com.

Canada’s loss is often America’s gain. Take Slim Twig, for example.

In 2010, the Toronto art rocker made the challenging narrative-and-orchestral album A Hound At The Hem that his then label, Paper Bag, decided not to release. He followed it up with 2012’s relatively more conventional Sof’ Sike, which they did.

Fast-forward two years, when Jonathan Galkin of New York City-based DFA Records, co-founded

by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, stumbled across Hound through an internet coincidence, liked what he heard and released it this past October.

“At the time [Paper Bag took a pass] it seemed

like a devastating insult to me,” says the Toronto musician, born Max Turnbull, over the telephone.

“But it ended up being a great thing. I got double the material, and so many different opportunities came about from having to go through that.”

Partly inspired by Nabokov’s Lolita, Hound’s suite of interrelated songs fuses orchestration, rock textures and idiosyncratic sound ideas. The making of it was such a personal artistic challenge that Turnbull considers it a huge turning point for him in the areas of producing, arranging, songwriting and mixing – all of which he did largely by himself, with aid from a few collaborators and string arrangements by Owen Pallett, on the Toronto Islands.

“The experience was my equivalent of going to university. It was like my thesis project. It was a way for me to expand what I thought I was capable of and try ideas I wasn’t entirely comfortable with. I think of that time, I’m not sure if I’d

say ‘fondly,’ because it was really dramatic. And the process of bringing it to a larger release has been a struggle. But it’s all been really beneficial.”

Did having it find a second life on a prestigious American indie label, which will also release a new Slim Twig full-length later this year, feel like sweet payback?

“It’s made me think a lot about what it means to be validated by American ears,” says the thoughtful Turnbull, expressing gratitude for the boost Paper Bag gave his early career. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good or important or dooropening for me. It’s like being drafted into the NBA. A way out of Canada. And that’s a sobering thought for a person who loves to live in Toronto and considers himself a Canadian musician.

“But having gone through the whole record label system in Canada and seeing how it wasn’t designed for an artist like me, and then working with DFA, it’s been a study in contrasts.”

3 carlag@nowtoronto.com | @carlagillis

A NIGHT WITH

RON HAWKINS AND THE DO GOOD ASSASSINS

ñ ñ

FOLK/BLUES/COUNTRY/WORLD

ASPETTA CAFFE Open MIc 8 pm.

AXIS GALLERY & GRILL Voodoo Walters & The

Rhythm Method CD release, (blues). 9:30 pm.

DAKOTA TAVERN Tim Bradford (roots/ country), album release, doors 6:30 pm.

DORA KEOGH Root Magic (blues), 9 pm.

GROSSMAN’S Chloe Watkinson, Tall Grass Gospel Revival 10 pm.

HUNTCLUB STUDIOS James Irwin, L Con Wavelength Music Festival. 8 pm.

LULA LOUNGE El Quinto 10:30 pm.

SNEAKY DEE’S Birds Of Bellwoods, Reenie, Mellowkotzen (folk quartet), doors 9 pm.

TRANZAC David Woodhead’s Confabulation 7:30 pm, The Foolish Things (folk), 5 pm [Southern Cross].

WHITE ELEPHANT Conor Gains 7 pm.

ñ ñ

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/EXPERIMENTAL

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE Karine Boucher, Jean-

NOW MAGAZINE IS LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS FOR OUR STREET TEAM!

PLUS

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)?

FEBRUARY 5, 6, 7

We’re looking for 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!

INTRODUCING

GARDEN SONGS AND THE DGA DOCUMENTARY LUCK’S HARD THE BEST OF RON’S SOLO WORK AND LOWEST OF THE LOW CLASSICS

THE DRAKE HOTEL 7PM DOOR // 8PM SHOW TICKETS AVAILABLE AT

VICTIMLESSCAPITALISM.COM/GETTICKETS

36 JANUARY 22-28 2015 NOW

ry with rock/blues/jazz). 8 pm.

RIVOLI Danielle Knoll, Rory Taillon, For Esme, Amberwood, Pyramid Theorem Coalition Music Artist Showcase.

ROCKPILE Cormega, THC, Kush McCloud, LG, Dre Barrs doors 8 pm.

SEVEN44 Darkest Side Of The Moon (Pink Floyd tribute), 9:30 pm.

SILVER DOLLAR Slim Twig, Michael Rault, Tasseomancy 9 pm. See preview, page 36.

SMILING BUDDHA Lido Pimienta, Ken Park, Carl Didur doors 9 pm.

SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY’S Taxi (rock/funk), 10 pm.

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

RCM_NOW_1-4_4c_Jan22+29.qxp__V 2015-01-19 1:25 PM Page 1

Philippe Fortier-Lazure, Clarence Frazer (extracts from operas), Europe And Opera, 8 pm. desotos Anthony Abbatangeli Jazz Jam, 8 pm. tHe flyinG beaver Pubaret Heather Bambrick, Julie Michels, Diane Leah Broadsway, 7 pm.

Habits GastroPub Laura Fernandez Jazz Trio 9 pm.

Harlem David Hutchinson Jazz & Blues Band 7:30 pm.

Hirut fine etHioPian cuisine Arlene Paculan & Wonder Women doors 7 pm.

Jazz bistro Eric St-Laurent Trio 9 pm. koerner Hall Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Chamber Choir, Nathalie Paulin, Laura Pudwell, Lawrence Wiliford, Sumner Thompson Beethoven Program, 8 pm. lula lounGe Jay Danley Ethiojazz Project 7:30 pm. musideum Mike Gennaro, Christine Duncan & The Element Choir (avant/improvised), 8 pm. old mill inn Micah Barnes Trio (jazz) 7:30 pm [Home Smith Bar].

Poetry Jazz cafe The Patrick Hewan Trio Icon, 9:30 pm. rePosado The Reposadist Quartet 9 pm tHe rex The Vipers 9:45 pm. Artie Roth Quartet 6:30 pm. Hogtown Syncopators 4 pm.

ñ

DanCE musiC/DJ/loungE

3030 dundas West DJ Zane (R&B/hip-hop/ house) 10 pm.

tHe caGe 292 DJ Osaze 10 pm. castro’s lounGe DJ I Hate You Rob (soul/

funk/R&B/punk rock/pop/rockabilly) 10 pm. coda Art Department, My Favorite Robot, Jonathan Lee, Night Vision Coda 1-Year Anniversary, doors 10 pm. drake Hotel DJ Your Boy Brian 10 pm. emmet ray bar DJ Funky Flavours 10 pm.

Guvernment Armin Van Buuren doors 10 pm.

Handlebar Butt Munch 10 pm.

Harlem underGround DJ Hitmon, Glitch (hip-hop/reggae/waybacks/trap), Foreplay Fridays, 11 pm. kool Haus Whitebwoy, Steenie, Infamous, Firesquad, Renegade Squad, Datta Bass, Soca Sweetness, Black Reaction, Supa Loaded Winter Wonderland final party. marquis of Granby 5DJ Producer Barry Harris 10:30 pm. tHe Piston Remembering Miss Blue (Natasha Armstrong) (60s dance party), 10 pm. tHe steady cafe & bar DJ Geoffroi, Leroy, DJ Discrete Metaphysical, 10 pm.

West bar DJ Nine (current/classic hits from the 90s to today), 10 pm.

ñ ñ

Who Play The Piano, 8 pm. Dr B’s Acoustic Medicine Show Open mic/acoustic jam, 2 pm.

Grossman’s The Happy Pals 4:30 pm. Free.

Hole in tHe Wall Mr Rick, Rob Clarke Cafe American, 10 pm.

HuGH’s room Gregg Lawless 8:30 pm.

Humble beGinninGs Nicole Songbird Coward 12:30 to 2:30 pm. local David Meenan Irish session, 5 pm.

Whiskey Epiphany (folk/roots), 9 pm. lula lounGe Changui Havana (salsa/cumbia/ bachata/merengue/cumbia) 10:30 pm. tHe rex Hotfoot Orchestra (10-pc world music ensemble), 9:45 pm. royal conservatory of music Bluebird North 8 pm [Conservatory Theatre]. tranzac soutHern cross Scott B Sympathy 6:30 pm, Jamzac 3 pm

Jazz/ClassiCal/ExpErimEntal

c’est WHat The Hot Five Jazzmakers 3 to 6 pm. cHalkers Pub Mark Eisenman Trio 6-9 pm. tHe flyinG beaver Pubaret Heather Bambrick, Julie Michels, Diane Leah Broadsway, 7 pm.

Grossman’s Paul Wiggin’s Quartet 10 pm.

Harlem Sean Stanley & Sokhna-Dior (jazz

standards/blues classics/fusion), 7:30 pm.

Heliconian Hall The Toy Piano Composers, CellPhone Grit. 8 pm.

Jazz bistro Eric St-Laurent Trio 9 pm. koerner Hall Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Chamber Choir, Nathalie Paulin, Laura Pudwell, Lawrence Wiliford, Sumner Thompson Beethoven Program, 8 pm. old mill inn Pat LaBarbera Trio (jazz) 7:30 pm [Home Smith Bar].

Placebo sPace Sonuskapos (big band) 8:30 pm.

Poetry Jazz cafe Patrick Hewan & Ori Dagan. tHe rex Laura Hubert Band 3:30 pm. roy tHomson Hall Toronto Symphony Orchestra Mozart Mass in C minor, 7:30 pm. toni bulloni’s Errol Fisher (jazz) 9 pm.

KOERNER HALL IS:

“As Good as it Gets!”

TORONTO STAR

Pavlo

FRI., FEB. 6, 8PM KOERNER HALL Pavlo brings his Mediterranean guitar music to Toronto one night only for this very special concert with his band, guest musicians, and dancers!

Zap Mama and Antibalas SAT., FEB. 7, 8PM KOERNER HALL Brooklyn-based Afrobeat band Antibalas with Zap Mama’s polyphony, Afro-pop, and hip hop beats.

ñ

DanCE musiC/DJ/loungE

99 sudbury Jeff Mills, Gingy, Box of Kittens, Membersonly, Colin Bergh and ñ others (electronic music), Off Foundry, 10 pm.

See preview, page 38. tHe cave DJ Pat Full On Alternative, 9 pm.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! www.performance.rcmusic.ca 416.408.0208 273 BLOOR STREET WEST (BLOOR ST. & AVENUE RD.) TORONTO

Follow us on Twitter NOW

@nowtoronto

continued on page 40 œ

Saturday, January 24 pop/roCk/Hip-Hop/soul

air canada centre Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, The J Geils Band 8 pm. ñ alleycatz Lady Kane.

bovine sex club Hounds, Lice, Severe 9 pm. castro’s lounGe The Cosmotones 6 pm. tHe Garrison Run With The Kittens, Spookey Ruben, Communism doors 9 pm.

Handlebar Connoisseurs of Porn, Handsome

Band, Retired 10 pm.

Holy oak cafe Mas Aya (acoustic punk trance), 10 pm.

HorsesHoe Wax Atlantic, Bart, Fort York, The Order of Good Cheer 9:30 pm.

Junction city music Hall Dirty Frigs, Creep Highway, Huren, Rotzig Wavelength, doors 9 pm. lee’s Palace Gold Complex, The Flow, The Kount. linsmore tavern Practically Petty (Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks tribute), 9:30 pm. massey Hall Nikki Yanofsky doors 7 pm . tHe Paddock Winnie Brave, Alyson McNamara 9:30 pm.

Pearl lounGe Prime Time Band 9 pm.

PHoenix concert tHeatre Elliott Brood, the Wilderness of Manitoba doors 8 pm, Eat & Greet Dinner at 6 pm. tHe rex Bacchus Collective (funk/soul/R&B) 7:30 pm. Danny Marks noon. silver dollar New Fries, Nancy Pants, BB Guns, Bile Sister The Class Of 2015 #6, doors 9 pm. soutHside JoHnny’s Bone-Yard (classic rock), 10 pm, The Bear Band (rock/blues), 4 to 8 pm. tranzac Daniel Simmons Glitch soundtrack release party, doors 7 pm.

ñ ñ

ñ ñ ñ

Folk/BluEs/Country/WorlD

black sWan Brian Gladstone & Tony Quarrington Amazing Flying Fingers show, 9 pm. eton House BACA (acoustic trio), 9 pm. free times cafe Laura Fernandez, Meredith Moon, Kat Goldman, Glen Hornblast (folk singers/songwriters), Nashville Bound: Women NOW January 22-28 2015 37

CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK; 7.4444 in; 538014; 2cols

JEFF MILLS TECHNO

Escapism through electronic music and sci-fi

By BENJAMIN BOLES

JEFF MILLS with GINGY, MEMBERS ONLY, BOX OF KITTENS and others, at 99 Sudbury, Saturday (January 24), 10 pm. $39.50. ticketfly.com.

Saturday’s rare Toronto appearance by Detroit techno pioneer Jeff Mills isn’t in support of a recent DJ mix or artist album. Instead, his newest venture, Man From Tomorrow, is an abstract sci-fi-themed art film made in collaboration with French filmmaker Jacqueline Caux. While that might seem like an abrupt shift for a DJ/producer, it actually fits into a career trajectory that’s seen Mills collaborate with choreographers, classical orchestras, contemporary artists and even Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri.

“I’ve always been interested in

MAY 3

SONY CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

ON SALE JANUARY 23 AT 10AM

TICKETS ALSO AVAILABLE AT THE SONY CENTRE BOX OFFICE ALL DATES, ACTS AND TICKET PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. TICKET PRICES SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE FEES.

DIY TO THE RESCUE

Soybomb, the DIY venue and skater hangout located above Cyclemotive on Queen West, got stuck with two months’ back rent after some roommates apparently bailed on short notice. (It’s also home to several people and pets.) Facing financial hardship, the proprietors issued a plea to the punk scene, and five bands have come to the rescue. S.H.I.T., Foxmoulder, HX KY, Jack Moves and Brandon Quigley’s Inconsistent Choir play a fundraiser in the 156 Bathurst space on January 31. Doors are 8 pm and entry is $5-$10.

Queen West restaurant/drinking hole/live music venue the Sister has been sold, and the new owners are going back to its former name. No, not Mitzi’s Sister, but old-school the

@nowtoronto 38 JANUARY 22-28 2015 NOW

parallels between it and the imaginary futurism of electronic music culture.

“This is a way of escaping to another place and time, of being transported to somewhere else. If you go to a party, the setting is designed to not be like your apartment; it’s otherworldly. We use all these lights and a huge sound system, and we put everyone in the dark in a big room. We’re trying to create all these things that will make the senses recognize something unusual, something abnormal.

“Looking at that every weekend for the past 30 years, you realize there are things we could do other than during the party hours in the middle of the night to cultivate this kind of escapism.

Science fiction is one. Cinema and art are others.”

3 benjaminb@nowtoronto.com | @benjaminboles

T.O. MUSIC NOTES

THE SISTER SOLD

Follow us on Instagram

doing other things,” Mills explains.

“I’ve been working toward progressing that for the last decade or so, in between parties. I have a vision that if we can stretch electronic art and music to the point where it comfortably encompasses every type of creative act, then we have the chance to create something that never existed before. This is what I dream about.”

It’s no surprise that Man From Tomorrow features a soundtrack by Mills.

And large sections of the film have no dialogue, the only words coming from edited recordings of conversations between Mills and Caux loosely framed around his ideas about music and the future. That science fiction undercurrent is found in much of Mills’s work, an obsession he says many Detroit techno producers share, and he sees

Tennessee, immortalized in Lara MacMillan’s song Goodbye Tennessee. The new owners also plan to up the live music quotient. A call for bands went out on Facebook on Monday, January 19, and, no surprise, there’s a lotta interest.

PAPA DON’T PREACH

The intensely mustachioed father of Toronto rapper Drake is prepping a new single and needs a collaborator.

Memphis-based drummer Dennis Graham posted on Instagram last Friday, January 16, that he’s looking for “a classy female rapper” to collaborate with. “Not looking for ghetto style rapper,” he clarified. If you meet that description, send him a DM.

COVER ME, GIBBARD

Death Cab for Cutie singer Ben Gibbard covered Toronto dream-pop band Alvvays’s song Archie, Marry

Me in Seattle last fall. Now clips of that performance, which was part of an arts community fundraiser, are making the rounds on social media after Seattle radio station KEXP recently posted the entire set online.

Enjoy Gibbard’s crystal-clear enunciation in its full glory.

REMIX DEADMAU5

Local EDM overlord Deadmau5 is all over the news this week with his headlining slot at Bonnaroo and at the Guvernment’s final party on Sunday (January 25). He’s also giving producers a shot at Insta-fame with a remix contest around the Dillon Francis reworking of Some Chords.

The winner will get his or her work highlighted in a mau5trap mix available via Beatport, plus a modular synth and software. btprt.dj/1yAXimj

TUPPERWARE HORSESHOE FRIDAY JAN 23 REMIX PARTY TAVERN $12.50 Adv SCIENTISTS OF SOUND • MOST NON HEINOUS • REPARTEE SINCE 1947

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THE LIFERS GOOD CHEER THE AUTUMN PORTRAIT JANES PARTY THU JAN 29 • $12.00 @Door FRI JAN 30 • $10.00 @Door SAT JAN 31 • $10.00 @Door MON FEB 2 • No Cover

OWEN FEB 6 BEAMS THE COMMONERS TRUTH PANEL ON THE PALLETT CATL ODD ONES CONCERT

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$

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NOW january 22-28 2015 39

clubs&concerts œcontinued from page 37

Clinton’s Bangs & Blush (60s soul/rock &

roll), Shake, Rattle & Roll, 10 pm.

CoDA Loco Dice, Robert Dietz, Jonathan Rosa, Chris Larsen The CODA 1-Year Anniversary Weekend, doors 10 pm.

DrAke Hotel DJ Dougie Boom 10 pm.

Guvernment Knife Party, Mark Oliver, Manzone & Strong (dubstep/electro house/trap/ glitch electro), GuvFinale, doors 10 pm.

HArbourfront Centre DJs Steve Rock, Misty Rock N’ Roll, Sean Caff Motown Party On Ice, 8 to 11 pm. tHe Hoxton Mr. Belt & Wezol doors 10 pm. tHe Piston Beam Me Up (disco), 10 pm. revivAl DJ Numeric, Ted Dancin’ Hiphop Karaoke, doors 10 pm. rivoli DJs Jason Palma & General Eclectic Footprints, 10 pm. tHeAtre Centre Andrea & Byron 1 Year Anniversary Dance Jam. 10 am to noon.

West bAr DJ Dave Campbell, Kazen Media (R&B/hip-hop/house/top 40), 10 pm.

ñ

Ones tO watch:

Beats&Rhymes Third edition of our new local music series turns up daydreamy R&B, melancholy soul and grimy hip-hop discoveries By KEVIN RITCHIE

ñ

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Sunday, January 25 PoP/Rock/HiP-HoP/Soul

Jazz/claSSical/exPeRimental

CAstro’s lounGe Jay Snider Band 4 pm.

HAnDlebAr Crosswires, Dutch, Giant Triangle,

The Jim Storie Juniors doors 8 pm. linsmore tAvern Pat Perez & John Dickie Band (R&B/funk/blues), 5 to 9 pm. tHe Piston Andrew Dillion, Blocka, Austin Roberts (pop/rock), 9 pm. tHe sCArborouGH JunCtion Tommy Rocker (classic rock) 8 pm. sCruffy murPHy’s Groovestone, Dale Harrison 10 pm. tHe sister Shak Shak 5-7 pm. soutHsiDe JoHnny’s Rebecca Matiesen & Phoenix (pop/rock), Open Jam, 9:30 pm.

Folk/BlueS/countRy/WoRld

blACk beAr Pub SNAFU Jam, 4 to 8 pm.

C’est WHAt Karyn Ellis, Richard Garvey 7 pm. tHe CAGe 292 Phill Hood Jam, 10 pm.

SATURDAY JANUARY 24 & SUNDAY JANUARY 25

ArrAy sPACe Toronto Improvisors Orchestra 2 pm.

GrossmAn’s New Orleans Connection (all-

DANIEL CAESAR

allie

PROGRESS

Given the attention Daniel Caesar received south of the border when his Praise Break EP came out last fall, it seems logical that the 19-year-old Oshawa-raised soul singer will drop some sort of follow-up in 2015. However, the most we could get out of Caesar’s rep is “exciting stuff coming soon.” The beautifully understated EP – mostly produced with Jordan Evans and Matthew Burnett (Drake’s Pound Cake) – is full of sad, drifting piano chords and fleeting harmonies that tune the ear to the precise quality of each lovelorn turn of phrase.

The Toronto singer/songwriter introduced her blend of daydreamy R&B and liquid funk on her 2013 EP, Strange Creature. The momentum continued last year with summer-ready single Private Island, a collab with go-to musical partner 2nd Son, and gigs at NXNE. Up next is the single All For You, taken from 2nd Son’s debut EP (out February 9). Allie’s second EP follows in late spring and will feature production by psyched-out beatmaker Elaquent, among others.

One of the most exciting local rap releases of last year was Progress’s Night.Rhetoric EP, six tracks of buzzing distortion, wobbly beats and dense, confrontational rhymes that were quick to dispense with bullshit. A conscious heart beats under the Freedom Writers member’s grimy sound, which feels like an electronic update of 90s New York hip-hop. Progress will release his debut album in spring/summer, as well as two singles/music videos.

CAstro’s lounGe Watch This Sound (rare,

vintage ska/reggae/dub on vinyl), 9 pm.

Guvernment Deadmau5 GuvFinale, doors 10 pm.

HArlem DJ Black Lotus Word•Sound•Power, 7 pm.

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Monday, January 26

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28

PoP/Rock/HiP-HoP/Soul

PIXEL DREAMS

GrossmAn’s No Band Required 10 pm.

Folk/BlueS/countRy/WoRld

tHe CAGe 292 Open Mic 10 pm.

CAmeron House Kristine Schmitt & The

LAUNCH PARTY

Lonesome Ace Stringband (country) 6 to 8 pm.

CAstro’s lounGe BlueVenus (singer/song-

FRIDAY, JANUARY 30

writer), 9 pm.

UTOPIA MUSIC FEST

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3 PRESENTED BY INERTIA ENTERTAINMENT

ULI JOHN ROTH, GARY MOORE, BLACK NIGHTS RISING & OLD JAMES 722 COLLEGE STREET

themodclub.com 40 January 22-28 2015 NOW

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dance muSic/dJ/lounge

10 ANNUAL

BOMBAY NIGHTS

star jazz band) 4:30-9 pm.

HuntClub stuDios Jason Sharp, Lina Allemano Wavelength Music Festival.

8 pm.

JAzz bistro Brad Cormier 7 pm. Trevor Peverley Duo (jazz) noon. koerner HAll Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Chamber Choir, Nathalie Paulin, Laura Pudwell, Lawrence Wiliford, Sumner Thompson Beethoven Program, 3:30 pm. loCAl Gest Zim Zum (jazz), 4:30 to 7:30 pm. morGAns on tHe DAnfortH Lisa Particelli’s “Girls Night Out” Jazz Jam (jazz) 2 to 5 pm. nortH york CentrAl librAry Richard Valdez (tenor), War Amps Child Amputees Benefit Concert, 2 pm.

PAuPer’s Pub Toronto Jazz Society Monthly meeting. 2:30-6 pm. tHe rex Three Blind Mice 9:30 pm. Allison Au Quartet 7 pm. Freeway Dixieland 3:30 pm.

Excelsior Dixieland Jazz noon. sCArborouGH CiviC Centre Kim & Co Sunday Concert Series, 2 to 4 pm. seven44 Frank & Dean Rat Pack Show. toronto Centre for tHe Arts Toronto Symphony Orchestra Mozart Mass in C minor, 3 pm [George Weston Recital Hall].

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GIRLESQUE EXPO 2015 TH

SATURDAY, JANUARY 31

free times CAfe Deborah Staiman Bella Did You Eat Sunday brunch (Jewish/Yiddish), 11 am & 1:15 pm. Robbie Burns Nite Pipers, haggis, fiddlers (folk/songwriters), 8:30 pm.

GrossmAn’s Brian Cober (double slide guitar), Open Blues Jam, 10 pm.

Hirut fine etHioPiAn Cuisine Nicola Vaughan Jam, 3 to 6:30 pm.

Holy oAk CAfe Honky Tonk Hootenany Open Mic (country), 9 pm.

HuGH’s room Maria Doyle Kennedy 8:30 pm. loCAl Chris Coole (oldtime/country) 5 pm. Los Caballeros del Son (Cuban) 9 pm. mCGrADies tAP AnD Grill Dan Walek Open Jam, 6 to 10 pm. musiDeum Iveno Simonetti & Darren Austin Hall Transcend (spiritual), 8 pm. relisH bAr & Grill David MacMichael & Paul Brennan Stir It Up Sundays Open Mic, 9 pm. rivoli Michael Jerome Brown (blues/ roots), CD release, 8 pm. See album review, page 42. trAnzAC Winter Feast & Australia Day Party Vegan dinner and music by Rebecca Hennessy, Julia Hambleton, Avant Blues Express, Arnd Jurgensen, Collette Savard, Hugh Oliver and others. 6 pm ($25, RSVP) [Main Hall]. Gathering Sparks Singalong Soiree Eve Goldberg, Sam Turton, Jane Lewis (folk), 7 pm [Southern Cross]. Steve Paul Simms 5 pm. Fraser & Girard (folk), 3 pm [Southern Cross].

DorA keoGH Dora’s Explorers Open Stage, 8 pm.

HorsesHoe The Dustbowl Revival, The

DEVONTÉE

JAHKOY

bizZarh

Nocturnal vibes abound on Devontée’s self-titled EP. Released last summer, its five tracks have the feel of a late-night confessional and chronicle the producer/rapper’s determination to succeed on his own terms. His rhymes nicely blend emotion, melodies and punchlines, and though he’s still under the radar, his production credits include P Reign and NBA player Kevin Durant (!).

Devontée kicked off the year with a video for 01/05, which he’ll follow up with a new song in February and his next project in the summer.

On the bouncier end of the R&B spectrum is triple threat Jahkoy, a singer, rapper and producer whose flirtatious electro grooves and finger-snapping jams sound designed to get ladies on the dance floor – or the floor, period.

Last year, he gave us the Dying To Live Forever mixtape (originally as Raheem) and the musically promiscuous compilation Forward Thinking, featuring production work by Kaytranada, Matthew Burnett and Jordan Evans. A debut LP, Nothing Else Matters, and CMW shows are on deck for 2015.

Singer Dollar Paris and rapper Charli Champ started the year with a new song called Almanac produced by Toronto saxophonist-to-the-stars Joseph Shabason and described as “an interlude to help you anticipate Dragon.” The otherworldly R&B duo’s Dragon single, produced by Bad Actors labelmate KIN, will be out later this month. bizZarh also perform at Guelph’s Hillside Inside festival on February 6 as special guests of BADBADNOTGOOD and Kid Koala. 3 kevinr@nowtoronto.com | @KevinRitchie

Lifers (folk/roots/oldtime jazz), doors 8 pm. ñ loCAl Hamstrung String Band (bluegrass/

traditional country) 9 pm.

mCGrADies tAP AnD Grill Dan Walek Acoustic Jam, 8 to 11 pm. olD niCk Jessica Ireland, Kori Kameda, Elana Harte, Lucio Agostini (singer/songwriters), M-Factor Mondays, 7:30 pm. trAnzAC Open Stage hosted by Sarah Greene, 10 pm [Southern Cross].

Jazz/claSSical/exPeRimental

emmet rAy bAr Matt Newton Group, Ethan Ardelli (jazz), 9 pm. Scott Kemp Trio 7 pm.

tHe rex John McLeod’s Rex Hotel Orchestra

8:30 pm. University Of Toronto Student Jazz Ensembles 6:30 pm. seven44 Vincent Wolfe & the Vegas North Orchestra 7:30 pm.

dance muSic/dJ/lounge

HAnDlebAr Tom Avis Rotation, 10 pm.

Reposado DJ Ellis Dean Mezcal Monday, 9 pm.

Tuesday, January 27 PoP/Rock/HiP-HoP/Soul

HoRsesHoe Jaunt, Johnson Crook, Basements,

The Autumn Portrait 9 pm.

THe pisTon Mercy Flight Indie night, 9 pm.

Rivoli The Naked Wild, Terre Noir, Empires New Clothes, Treble Attack doors 8:30 pm.

Folk/BlueS/countRy/WoRld

CasTRo’s lounge Big Rude Jake 8 pm.

THe duke live.Com Frank Wilks Jam, 8:30 pm.

FRee Times CaFe SAC Toronto Regional Song-

writers Group & Open Mic, 7:30 pm. gRossman’s Django Gypsy Jam 8 pm.

Holy oak CaFe Sean Donald (folk), 9 pm.

HugH’s Room Maneli Jamal, Brian Gore, Diego Figueiredo, Andrew York International Guitar Night, 8:30 pm. loCal Mike Tod (Americana), 9 pm.

Remix lounge Drum & Dance Tuesdays 7:3011 pm.

TRanzaC Music Minus 1, Victor Bateman, Peter Lutek 7:30 pm [Southern Cross]. Toronto Folk Singers Club 8 pm [Tiki Room].

Jazz/claSSical/exPeRimental

FouR seasons CenTRe FoR THe peRFoRming

aRTs Allyson McHardy & Adam Sherkin, Joni Henson, Nathalie Paulin, Robert Kortgaard A Celebration Of Canadian Art Song, noon to 1 pm [Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre].

Jazz BisTRo Payadora Tango Ensemble 8 pm.

THe Rex Chris Gale (sax), Classic Rex Jazz Jam, 9:30 pm, Griffith/Hiltz Trio 6:30 pm.

Royal ConseRvaToRy oF musiC Glenn Gould School Chamber Ensemble, Benjamin Smith (piano) 7:30 pm. salTy dog Jazz Tuesdays 7 pm.

& inspirational music) 7:30 pm.

HugH’s Room Sophia Perlman, Alana Bridgewater, Dave Wall The Jewish Experience On Broadway, 8 pm.

Jazz BisTRo Elizabeth Shepherd & Kevin Breit 8 pm. only CaFé Lazersuzan (groove-based space jazz), 8 to 10 pm.

THe Rex Andrew Boniwell 9:30 pm. Melissa Lauren 6:30 pm.

TRanzaC Trevor Giancola (jazz), 7:30 pm.

ñ

CRaWFoRd Connected Reggae Party 9 pm.

HandleBaR Greasy Listening (vinyl spun by

3

Sonic Boom staff), 9 pm.

THU 22 FAT LACES w/ DJ Big Jimmy Mills... Old school hip hop, dancehall, slowjams from the scratch monster...

FRI 23 GET BUCK w/DJ Nino Brown... Hip hop, soca, dancehall, RnB, deep grooves all night...

SAT 24 SWEAT PANTS w/DJ Coolin... The return... Hip hop, soul, reggae, party jams, dancehall and beyond...

SUN 25 BRASS FACTS TRIVIA The best quiz night in the city...

Wednesday, January 28

TUE 27 LIKE A VILLAIN Smooth tunes, delicious cocktails...

C’esT WHaT David MacMichael, TC Folkpunk 9 pm.

HoRsesHoe Wild Child, Andrew Austin, Janes

Party (indie pop) doors 8:30 pm. melange Van Leer Open stage, 6-11 pm. uniCoRn puB The B-Sides 9:30 pm.

WED 28 HI, LONESOME Spinning 50 years of hits and heartbreakers...

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gRossman’s Bruce Domoney 10 pm.

Holy oak CaFe Howl Canyon (experimental

folk), 10 pm. loCal Joey Wright (alt/country roots), 9 pm.

Jazz/claSSical/exPeRimental

CasTRo’s lounge The Mediterranean Stars

(jazz), 9 pm.

CHalkeRs puB Lisa Particelli Girl’s Night Out

Jazz Jam, 8 pm.

esTonian House Drum Corps Alumni Toronto Chorus (a cappella Broadway, pop, traditional

PM

Sat Jan 24 10-2PM BLUEGRASS BRUNCH 9PM

LUCAS STAGG

FRIDAY JANUARY 23

Mon Jan 26

SANDIE MARIE UNDER THE BUS 9:30pm-2am

THE HAPPY PALS 4:30pm-8pm PAUL WIGGIN’S QUARTET 10pm-2am SUNDAY JANUARY 25

NEW ORLEANS CONNECTION

DANNY MICHEL & BAND

7PM

SCHOOL NIGHT MONDAYS

Tue Jan 27 9PM ZEPPELINESQUE Wed Jan 28 6PM NEW COUNTRY REHAB 9PM

KELLY McMICHAEL & THE GLOSS w/ TERRA LIGHTFOOT AND TBA

Thur Jan 29 9PM GREG COCKERILL

ALL STAR JAZZ BAND 4:30-9pm

THE NATIONAL, BLUES JAM

249 OSSINGTON AVE (just north of Dundas) 416-850-4579 · thedakotatavern.com

w/BRIAN COBER 10pm-2am MONDAY JANUARY 26

NO BAND REQUIRED 10pm-2am TUESDAY JANUARY 27

DJANGO GYPSY JAM 8pm-1am WEDNESDAY JANUARY 28

BRUCE DOMONEY 10pm-2am FAMOUS BURGERS & WINGS

NEVER A COVER LIVE MUSIC

416-977-7000 379 SPADINA AVE (JUST S. OF COLLEGE)

GROSSMANSTAVERN.COM PARKING AVAILABLE

Folk/BlueS/countRy/WoRld

dakoTa TaveRn New Country Rehab, Old Man Luedecke Old Man Luedecke ñ sings Loudon Wainwright III, 6-9 pm.

PM

Sun Jan 25 10-2PM BLUEGRASS BRUNCH

SATURDAY JANUARY 24

THE OSSINGTON

7-9 TIM BRADFORD ALBUM RELEASE 9 HOT WAX MELTDOWN

Fri Jan 23

THURSDAY JANUARY 22

CHLOE WATKINSON & PARK EDDY 10pm-2am

dance muSic/dJ/lounge

PoP/Rock/HiP-HoP/Soul

LEGENDARY HOME OF THE BLUES SINCE 1943

dance muSic/dJ/lounge

MON 26 COMEDY OPEN MIC Sign up and knock ‘em dead...

Reposado DJ Gord C Alien Radio.

THE DAKOTA TAVERN

FRIDAY JANUARY 23RD

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DOORS @ 8PM_$15 TH SATURDAY JANUARY 24

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REMEMBERING MISS BLUE

DJS PURRPELLE – FUNKTIONAL Fri Jan 23 SPLATTERMONKEY & GRINGO

BEAM ME UP BONUS

DJS A DIGITAL NEEDLE & CYCLIST DJ BRUCE & STEVEN ZIKA (NYC) Sat Jan 24 DISCO DANCE PARTY

TH MONDAY JANUARY 26

FRIDAY JANUARY 23

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NOW January 22-28 2015 41

album reviews

James Brown’s heir apparent on the raunchy Feel Right.

Top track: Feel Right KEVIN RITCHIE

Hip-hop

album of the week

ñSISKIYOUNNNN

and starry sky.

Nervous (ConstellaFans of Arcade Fire orch-rock ambition, tion) Rating: Lambchop slowness and Destroyer vocal The new Siskiyou album is thing of quiet idiosyncrasy will find much beauty. The Vancouver proto love here, though the ject by former Great Lake band, which also includes Swimmers members Colin drummer Shaunn Watt and Huebert and Erik Arnesen bassist/keyboardist Peter has become much more fully Carruthers, is subtler, softer realized since 2011 second and more intricate than all of album Keep Away The Dead. the above. Colin Stetson and Just the right amount of Owen Pallett contribute to pressure is applied throughthe textural complexity. Oval out: Huebert’s vocals are Window’s vocals get a little hushed yet beat with intentoo Dan Bejaresque, but then sity; the acoustic and the baroque stunner Babylonian Proclivities electronic coexist easily; arrangements glides in and erases all comparisons. balance spacious simplicity with whorls of What’s on the surface is arresting, but sonic miscellanea that pull it open and upthere’s far more to discover deep inside. ward. It’s the perfect soundtrack to that RCM_NOW_contests_1-5bw_Pavlo.qxp__V 2015-01-20 11:06Pictures AM Page 1 Top track: Violent Motion sad, disoriented feeling that comes from CARLA GILLIS looking too long into a profoundly black

CONTESTS

BADA$$ ñJOEY NNNN

B4.DA.$$ (Cinematic Music Group/Pro Era) Rating: God damn, there’s so much thought and attention to detail on this long-awaited, proper album by Joey Bada$$, it’s hard to believe he’s only just turned 20. After hot mixtapes made him a teenage legend over the last three years, this kid (born Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott in Brooklyn, which he reps hard) has far surpassed expectations with this masterful statement tracing his life and struggles.

A child of East Coast hip-hop, Bada$$ celebrates NYC on Paper Trail$, borrowing the hook from Wu-Tang’s C.R.E.A.M. to drive home raps about transcending poverty. His hungry, desperate flow recalls the complexity of Yasiin Bey, and he spits fire like Nas or Biggie on the vividly autobiographical Piece Of Mind.

Though Dilla and DJ Premier produce only a single beat each, their fingerprints are all over the album. In an age when young rappers embrace musical abstraction like they’re sprinting away from any semblance of “old-school,” Bada$$ hits a sweet spot. His production choices (and those of Statik Selektah, Kirk Knight and Freddie Joachim) are innovative and timeless.

Top track: Like Me VISH KHANNA

Pavlo

FRI., FEB. 6, 2015 8PM KOERNER HALL Pavlo brings his Mediterranean guitar music to Toronto one night only for this very special concert with his band, special guest musicians, and dancers!

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

42 JANUARY 22-28 2015 NOW

THE DODOS Individ (Dine Alone) Rating: NNN After the Dodos wrapped up their fifth album in 2013 (which was inspired by the death of former bandmate Calgary guitarist Chris Reimer of Women), the San Francisco duo stayed holed up in the studio and immediately began writing a followup. The songs came quickly and steadily, and the resulting Individ is the best the band has sounded in years.

Guitarist/vocalist Meric Long continues to move away from acoustic guitar, breaking it out only when it’s shunted between layers of amped-up strumming. Meanwhile, drummer Logan Kroeber keeps up his role as the hardy percussive backbone, the support that allows Long to experiment with off-kilter melodies and dissonant fuzz.

Although the album’s frenetic energy doesn’t quite match that of their breakthrough (whether they like it or not, 2008’s Visiter will always be their benchmark), it’s a solid new direction.

Top track: Bubble The Dodos play the Horseshoe March 3.

SAMANTHA EDWARDS MENACE BEACH Ratworld (Memphis Industries) Rating: NNN As if to beat their critics to the punch on the 90s revivalist complaints, Leeds fuzz pop band Menace Beach took their name from an old Nintendo skateboarding video game, which also neatly sums up their bratty approach to bubblegum grunge.

Throwback factor aside, there is a lot of shameless fun on offer, though little imagination. But what they lack in originality they make up for in hooks and enthusiasm.

References to the blown-out dissonance and feedback of the Jesus and Mary Chain and plenty of those warbly My Bloody Valentine bent chords abound, but the overall mood is closer to the bouncy Britpop of Supergrass or Elastica. There are also nods to the Breeders and Eric’s Trip’s lo-fi grunge pop. It’s as if Menace Beach took a cross-section of early 90s altrock radio and swirled it together, ending up with something best described as an extroverted shoegazer band.

Top track: Ratworld BENJAMIN BOLES

ciation for the songs shining through on the two banjo tunes (Memphis Minnie’s Frisco Town and Henry Thomas’s Bull Doze Blues) and the frenetic Motherless Chile Blues (Barbecue Bob). He reaches beyond the blues on penultimate My Road Is Rough And Rocky (from the older “songster” tradition) and the closing spiritual Choose Your Seat And Sit Down.

Top track: Frisco Town Michael Jerome Browne plays the Rivoli as part of the Blues Summit on Sunday (January 25).

SARAH GREENE

XERXES FUSSELL ñJAKE NNNN

(Paradise of Bachelors) Rating: North Carolina-based, Georgia-raised blues folksinger/guitarist Jake Xerxes Fussell got an early immersion in historical Americana thanks to his folklorist father, Fred Fussell, who travelled the rural South documenting and recording backwoods blues musicians. That respect for tradition is evident in the obscure early blues songs he’s reinterpreted on his gorgeously understated self-titled debut, whose arrangements he updates with subtle sonic details that shift the work beyond historical re-enactment territory.

His soulful, gravelly vocals and guitar work, often mixed to sound like he’s standing 2 feet away from you, firmly centre the work. In the background, pedal steel and B3 organ shift in and out of focus, drenched in cosmic reverb, and occasionally a laid-back rhythm section thickens things up. All of the more modern accents are refreshingly unobtrusive. The minimalist arrangements give each instrument room to breath so the richness of the tones and the relaxed confidence of the playing stand out in sharp relief.

Top track: Star Girl BB

Singer/songwriter SAMANTHA SAVAGE SMITH ñ� NNNN

Pop/Rock

ñMARK RONSON

Uptown Special (RCA/Sony) Rating: NNNN Gloriously coiffed mega-producer Mark Ronson’s spotty solo career has yielded the throwback classic Valerie, hip-hop party starter Ooh Wee and cult gay anthem Somebody To Love Me. At last, with latest single Uptown Funk, he has a number-one hit in North America.

The horn-y ode to early 80s Minneapolis funk is the perfect vehicle for twinkletoed pop star Bruno Mars, and the album surrounding it is Ronson’s most cohesive.

Like Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, Uptown Special mostly fetishes the SoCal sounds of the late 70s/early 80s – specifically beach-funk and R&B – with help from an expertly curated guest list that includes Stevie Wonder, rapper Mystikal, Kanye West’s producer Jeff Bhasker, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and author Michael Chabon, who penned most of the lyrics.

In particular, Parker’s boyish falsetto fits nicely into Ronson’s dreamy funk and drug-addled narratives. Despite the production and star power, no one element outstrips the others, except perhaps for Mystikal, who continues his reinvention as

Blues/Folk JEROME BROWNE ñMICHAEL NNNN

Sliding Delta (Borealis) Rating: Veteran slide guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Michael Jerome Browne returns to his roots on Sliding Delta, performing solo covers of some of the Southern rural blues songs from the 20s and 30s – by Mississippi John Hurt, Fred McDowell, Charley Patton, Skip James and others – that inspired him to become a musician.

Browne is a fine musician, and technique plays an important role here.

(There’s even a “guitar nerd’s corner” page in the album art detailing models and tunings.) But thankfully, Sliding Delta doesn’t come across as overly academic.

In fact, Browne gets more relaxed and loose as the album progresses, his appre-

Ñ

Fine Lines (Pipe & Hat) Rating: It’s been a while since Samantha Savage Smith dropped her promising debut in 2011, but it’s not like the Calgary singer/ songwriter hasn’t kept busy, lending her airy voice and solid guitar chops to side projects like Calgary’s Lab Coast and new Icelandic-Canadian collaboration Embassy Lights. Her sophomore release certainly feels like more of a full-band effort, with contributions from members of Lab Coast, Viet Cong and Chad VanGaalen’s band.

Putting the chiming guitars front and centre serves Smith’s buoyant melodies well, as on lead track It’s A Burn, which charms with its playful, shifting time signatures. If there’s a tune that best encapsulates Smith’s dreamy retro-filter approach, it’s the hummable title track; just try getting that catchy chorus and handclap percussion out of your head after even one listen.

Smith’s unique vocals (which call to mind a cross between the bluesy tone of Imaginary Cities’ Marti Sarbit and the wistful sweetness of Jenn Grant) and knack for juxtaposing a knowing lyric with a deceptively poppy melody make Fine Lines more than just another formulaic solo songwriter record.

Top track: Fine Lines TABASSUM SIDDIQUI

= Critics’ Pick NNNNN = Perfect NNNN = Great NNN = Good NN = Bad N = Horrible

stage

more online nowtoronto.com/stage Interview with THE OTHER PLACE’S TAMSIN KELSEY • Review of BOOM • Scenes on NEXT STAGE’S NUMBERS, PLAYWRIGHT PROJECT CALL, TAPA’S NEW SITE, WORLD STAGE PARTY • and more Fully searchable listings with venue maps nowtoronto.com/listings

THEATRE REVIEWS

Tom Rooney and Yanna McIntosh take flight in Chekhov’s The Seagull.

Red hot shows

Nancy Palk (left), Monica Dottor and Bahareh Yaraghi help shed light on complex issues.

Count on these recently opened plays to heat you up this winter

Humane Her2 HER2 by Maja Ardal (Nightwood

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Theatre). At Buddies in Bad Times (12 Alexander). Runs to February 1. $39-$45.

416-975-8555, nightwoodtheatre.net. See Continuing page 45. Rating: NNNN

Seagull soars THE SEAGULL by Anton Chekhov

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(Crow’s Theatre/Canadian Stage/ Company Theatre). At Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley). Runs to February 8. $22-$49. 416-368-3110. See Continuing, page 46. Rating: NNNN

In the hands of director Chris Abraham and his excellent cast, The Seagull glows with rich humanity.

Chekhov’s classic play follows the unhappy fortunes of characters who have fallen in love with the wrong people and pay no attention to those who in turn love them. Konstantin (Philip Riccio), a young would-be playwright and the son of celebrated performer Arkadina (Yanna McIntosh), loves his neighbour Nina (Christine Horne), but she worships the writer Trigorin (Tom Rooney), Arkadina’s lover. Arguably, though, Arkadina is most enamoured of herself.

Meanwhile, Masha (Bahia Watson), daughter of estate manager

Shamrayev (Tony Nappo) and Polina (Tara Nicodemo), pines for Konstantin, while she herself is the object of the poor teacher Medvedenko’s (Gregory Prest) yearning. Polina’s emotional and sexual focus is Dorn (Tom McCamus), the local doctor.

The only person not sighing for another is Arkadina’s brother, Sorin (Eric Peterson), who understands the others’ broken hearts but is caught up in his own unfulfilled desires.

Abraham weaves these tales together superbly, playing with silences as well as Chekhov’s words to reveal the inextricably linked comedy and pathos in the characters’ lives.

There are many tiny instances that beautifully convey the complexity of this world: the tap of a cane on a shoe expresses enormous sympathy; the tearing apart of a small bouquet is at once passionate, horrific and comic.

The staging literally brings the audience into the world of the play. With the help of set/costume designer Julie Fox, lighting designer Kimberly Purtell and sound de-

signer Thomas Ryder Payne, the production breaks the fourth wall.

Characters enter and exit through the audience, some viewers sit on what is usually the stage, we get a sense of the vistas beyond the house and yard where the action takes place, and a towering tree is stuck smack in the middle of the audience.

The result? We don’t so much observe this world as become part of it, far beyond simply understanding what the characters feel. Even though the tension sometimes slackens in the final scene, the strong cast allows us to feel the truth of lives that can never know satisfaction.

JON KAPLAN

Tamsin Kelsey, photo: David Hou

the other place

Nightwood Theatre, celebrating 35 years this year, has adopted the motto “theatre for everyone, made by women.” Her2, the company’s latest production, is theatre for everyone written by a cancer survivor.

Ambitious researcher Danielle Pearce (Nancy Palk) has recruited seven women carrying the very aggressive cancer gene Her2 to test a new chemotherapy treatment. As the women are routinely pumped with the poison, their personalities and situations emerge and they bond in ways that lead Pearce’s enthusiastic researcher Kate (Bahareh Yaraghi) to believe that community connection may have its own healing powers.

Sounds earnest, but playwright Maja Ardal finds exactly the right tone.

Her script is laced with droll humour and so much emotional intelligence that you connect deeply to the characters and Ardal’s pointed critique of the ways medical treatments use and abuse patients. And the tension is sometimes unbearable, as Pearce deploys her power to “discontinue” trial participants if she’s dissatisfied with the results.

The outstanding ensemble, under

the direction of Kim Blackwell, makes the most of each very well-drawn character. Monica Dottor expertly conveys a young mother’s attempt to balance her essential sunniness with her medical woes. Brenda Kamino maintains a quiet dignity as a believer in her own naturopathic treatments, and Diane D’Aquila is heartbreaking as a woman whose husband is not quite loving enough.

Just when things get too intense, the play kicks into comic mode. As a snobby, high-strung prof who continues to smoke and drink, Chick Reid is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. Maria Vacratsis is deliciously warm and fuzzy as a patient who emerges as the team leader. And as the youngest recruit, furiously terrified that she has no future, Olunike Adeliyi is riveting. She’s an emerging star.

Kyra Harper is also excellent as someone who’s suffered a life tragedy that makes her doubt whether she wants to live.

Yaraghi has great energy as the research assistant initially gobsmacked by her boss, a personal hero. And as the apparently heartless doctor, Palk does what she can with a sketchily drawn character. I wish Ardal had rounded out the role out with more information about her motivation to become a doctor and to choose cancer as her specialty.

That’s a small complaint about an evening of powerful theatre.

SUSAN G. COLE reviews continue on page 44 œ

on until Feb 8 BLUMA APPEL PPEL THEATRE DIRECTED BY

Daniel Brooks

Starring TAMSIN KELSEY JIM MEZON HALEY MCGEE JOE COBDEN

BY

Sharr White

Ñ

= Critics’ Pick

NNNNN = Standing ovation

NNNN = Sustained applause

NNN = Recommended, memorable scenes

tickets 416.368.3110 NN = Seriously flawed

N = Get out the hook

.com

NOW JANUARY 22-28 2015

43

theatre review

Fine Flacks WAITING ROOM by Diane Flacks (Tarragon, 30 Bridgman). Runs to February 15. $29-$55, some $15 rush. 416-531-1827, tarragontheatre.com. See Continuing, page 46. Rating: NNN

Ethical and emotional concerns both hold sway in Waiting Room, Diane Flacks’s often powerful hospital tale.

The first of the two related stories involves Chrissie (Michelle Monteith) and Jeremy (Jordan Pettle), a young couple whose infant daughter has a brain tumour. The second concerns their doctor, Andre (Ari Cohen), and his assistant, Melissa (Jenny Young), who conduct some unorthodox experiJane Spidell and Ari Cohen unpack big themes in Waiting Room.

ments on early-onset Alzheimer’s patients.

Flacks and director Richard Greenblatt weave the tales together skilfully, with the cold Andre, a hotshot physician with no bedside manner, insisting on aggressive therapy for the infant after the tumour’s removal. Importantly, the play relies on moments of dark humour to alleviate the intensity of Jeremy and Chrissie’s situation.

Much of that caustic wit comes from the mouthy, uncensored, big-hearted Brenda (Jane Spidell), an older woman who has gone through much of what the couple now face.

Though there are some strong moments in the world of Andre and Melissa – including his going head-to-head with the sympathetic department head (Warona Setshwaelo) – theirs is the dramatically weaker narrative.

The more memorable Chrissie/Jeremy plot, which

follows the arc of their relationship, how they fight and comfort each other while facing their daughter’s illness, is vividly played by the actors.

Monteith, as always, is totally honest and touching as the concerned mother whose anger, fear and sadness are palpable. Chrissie needs someone to share the horror she’s going through, and since Pettle’s gotta-keepbusy husband can’t do that for her, she turns to Brenda. But we come to realize that even this match isn’t a perfect one.

Cohen’s Andre becomes more sympathetic to the audience over the course of the show, though the character is the hardest to care about.

Dubbed “Doctor 45 Seconds” for the amount of time he spends with distraught families, Andre quotes Kafka to reassure them that things are okay.

As the researcher who wants more in her work life than test tubes, Young portrays a character whose heart and professional instincts are at odds with each other.

The questions that Flacks raises, about the doctor/patient relationship, the physician as a godlike figure and the decision to experiment for the good of science rather than that of the patient, are carefully posed and left for us to ponder.

JON KAPLAN

theatre listings How to find a listing

Theatre listings are comprehensive and appear alphabetically by title. New this week lists shows that 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

ñ= Critics’ pick (highly recommended) How to place a listing

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, dates and 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

The AbANdONed CITy (Victoria College Drama Society/Broadleaf Theatre). This original piece of devised theatre uses music, movement, puppetry and more to explore three distinct worlds. Jan 22-24 at 8 pm. $7, stu $5. Goldring Student Centre, 150 Charles W, Cat’s Eye Theatre. 416-978-8849, uofttix.ca.

ALuNA CAbAReT ~ A CeLebRATION Of LORCA

(Aluna Theatre). A night celebrating the great Federico García Lorca with more than 20 artists presenting theatre, dance, music and poetry. Jan 24 at 7:30 pm. $10-$14. 1 Wiltshire, studio 128. alunacabaret.bpt.me.

Waiting Room a world premiere

by Diane Flacks directed by Richard Gleenblatt Jan 6–Feb 15, 2015 in the Mainspace

“Beautifully acted” (Toronto Star) “I was entirely absorbed; I cannot imagine that anyone would be unmoved.”

(Mooney on Theatre)

30 Bridgman Ave · 416.531.1827 · tarragontheatre.com season sponsor

media sponsor

Michelle Monteith, Jordan Pettle; photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

44 january 22-28 2015 NOW

Ñ

= Critics’ Pick

NNNNN = Standing ovation

NNNN = Sustained applause

NNN = Recommended, memorable scenes

The #ARTLIve bALL (Harbourfront Centre).

This launch party for World Stage 2015 features vogue performers from House of Nuance and the House of Monroe. Jan 24 at 8 pm. $10. Harbourfront Centre Theatre, 231 Queens Quay W. harbourfrontcentre.com. bLOOd ReLATIONs by Sharon Pollock (Alumnae Theatre). This psychological journey looks at the real-life case of suspected axe murderer Lizzie Borden. Opens Jan 23 and runs to Feb 7, Wed-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $20, Wed $10, Sun pwyc. Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley. 416364-4170, alumnaetheatre.com. dON GIOvANNI by WA Mozart (Canadian Opera Company). A womanizing nobleman meets his match in this opera sung in Italian with English subtitles. Opens Jan 24 and runs to Feb 21, see website for schedule. $22-$424.

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen W. 416-363-8231, coc.ca.

GeTTING hITChed! AN eNGAGeMeNT PARTy dIReCTed by ALfRed hITChMOCK by Birgitte

Solem and Brian Caws (MYDT). Dinner theatre comedy whodunit set in a world where the Bates Motel meets Mad Men. Previews to Jan 24, opens Jan 30 and runs to Mar 28, FriSat dinner from 6:30 pm, show 8 pm. $45$87. See website for other times/prices. Mysteriously Yours Dinner Theatre, 2026 Yonge.

416-486-7469, mysteriouslyyours.com.

GINGeR NATION (Shawn Hitchins). Hitchins performs his solo show about being a sperm donor to a lesbian couple. Jan 22-24, Thu-Fri 8 pm, Sat 5 and 8 pm. $20. In the Cabaret. Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander. 416-975-8555, jointhegingernation.com.

The GReAT CANAdIAN GIRLesque exPO Great Canadian Burlesque presents performances by local and visiting artists including Esther de Ville, Midnite Martini, Mysterion, Angie Potani and many others. Jan 23-25, Friday at Cherry Cola’s (200 Bathurst); Saturday and Sunday at Mod Club (722 College). $25-$70. eventbrite.ca/e/14427323513. hAMLeT by William Shakespeare (Unit 102 Actors Company/the Fresh Mint Project). The classic tragedy is presented in film noir style with suits, bourbon and fedoras. Previews Jan 22, opens Jan 23 and runs to Feb 7, TueSat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $20-$25, pwyc Jan 27 & Feb 3. The Theatre Machine, 376 Dufferin. unit102theatrecompany.com, unit102tix@ gmail.com.

The JAMes PLAys by Rona Munro (The Howland Company). Cold reading of the play about three generations of Stewart kings who ruled Scotland in the 15th century. Jan 25 at 7 pm. Free. Fraser Studios, 76 Stafford. howlandcompanytheatre.com.

ñ

LATe NITe CATeChIsM 2: sIsTeR sTRIKes AGAIN!

by Maripat Donovan (Entertainment Events).

A nun conducts her class on Heaven and Hell in this solo comedy. Jan 22 at 8 pm. $47-$57.

Rose Theatre, 1 Theatre Lane (Brampton). rosetheatre.ca.

The MIseR by Molière (WolfPAC). A greedy man’s children rebel against his wishes and seek instead to be with the ones they love.

Jan 22-24 at 8 pm. $20, stu/srs $12. Luella Massey Studio Theatre, 4 Glen Morris. 416978-8849, uofttix.ca.

MOdeRN (fAMILy) OPeRA (Opera 5). Two operas on family themes: Darren Russo’s Storybook and Wolf-Ferrari’s Il Segreto Di Susanna.

Jan 23-25 at 7:30 pm. $25-$35. Arts & Letters Club, 14 Elm. eventbrite.ca/e/14462956091.

The OTheR PLACe by Sharr White (Canadian Stage). A successful woman’s life seems to be falling apart, but things are not as they seem.

(See story at nowtoronto.com/stage.) Opens Jan 22 and runs to Feb 7, Tue-Thu and Sat 8 pm, Fri 7pm, mat Sat-Sun 1 pm. $30-$99.

Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front E. 416-3683110, canadianstage.com.

PICNIC by William Inge (Theatre Erindale). A drifter unsettles a 1950s American small town preparing for a Labour Day picnic.

Opens Jan 22 and runs to Feb 1, Thu 7:30 pm, Fri-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $12-$18.

Erindale Studio Theatre, 3359 Mississauga Rd N. 905-569-4369, theatreerindale.com.

PsyChO b*TCh fROM heLL (Marcy Rogers).

Rogers performs her latest solo show. Jan 23 at 9 pm. $10-$15. The Flying Beaver Pubaret, 488 Parliament. pubaret.com.

PuPPeT ALLsORTs seAsON LAuNCh (Toronto Puppetry Collective). The collective presents performances, puppet workshops and more at this all-ages event. Jan 25 from 2 to 5 pm. $15. Casa Da Madeira, 1621 Dupont. puppetallsorts.com.

NN = Seriously flawed

N = Get out the hook

See review of The Heart Of Robin Hood, starring Gabriel Ebert and Izzie Steele (front), at nowtoronto.com.

her2 by Maja Ardal (Nightwood Theatre). Seven women with breast cancer ñ undergo a clinical trial and express their

hopes and fears (see review, page 43). To Feb 1, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $39-$45.

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander.

416-975-8555, nightwoodtheatre.net. nnnn (Susan G Cole) holD mommy’S CIgareTTe (Shelley Marshall). Marshall performs her solo dark comedy about life, mental illness and survival. To Jan 31, Fri-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $25. The Full Bawdy Loft, 290 Carlaw, #202.

416-821-1754, holdmommyscigarette.com.

ñ

The InCreDIble murDer oF CarDInal ToSCa

The Spoke: WhaT The CaT DraggeD In, anD oTher anImal TaleS (Outside the March The-

atre Company). The company’s monthly storytelling event features Sarah English, Alan Dilworth and others. 8 pm. Pwyc (proceeds to Just Paws Animal Rescue). Videofag, 187 Augusta. outsidethemarch.ca. a STeaDy raIn by Keith Huff (Paper Moon Productions). Two Chicago police officers find their lifelong friendship tested by a domestic disturbance call. Jan 22-25, Thu-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $20-$21.50. The Grocery, 1362 Queen E. papermoon.tixato.com/buy.

TapeSTry: Songbook V (Tapestry New Opera).

Concert and score launch party for Tapestry’s collection of works developed over the years featuring baritone Peter McGillivray and pianist Steven Philcox. Jan 24 at 8 pm. $25. Ernest Balmer Studio, 9 Trinity, suite 316. tapestryopera.com.

The TIeS ThaT bInD by James Ince (Our Souls).

Ince performs his semi-autobiographical solo show about the facts and fictions society tells itself regarding mental illness. Previews Jan 27, opens Jan 28 and runs to Jan 31, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $20-$30, mat pwyc at the door. Backspace. Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson. 416-504-7529, artsboxoffice.ca.

True STorIeS TolD lIVe Storytelling show with Lesley Wood, Nadine Prada, Keira Loukes, Jessica Mahler and Rebecca Young.

Jan 27 at 6:30 pm. Free. The Garrison, 1197 Dundas W. truestoriestoronto.com.

W. ShakepSeare’S “The JeDI DoTh reTurn”

(Redheaded Coffeshop Girl/Red One Theatre Collective). Staged reading of the Star Wars classic reimagined by the Bard. Jan 26 at 8 pm. $15-$17. The Storefront Theatre, 955 Bloor W. eventbrite.ca/e/15305695748.

Continuing alex In WonDerlanD (Solar Stage Children’s

Theatre). A boy follows a White Rabbit into a crazy world in this play for ages 3-10. To Feb 1, Sat-Sun 11 am & 2 pm. $16. 4950 Yonge.

416-368-8031, solarstage.on.ca. aVenue Q by Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx and Jeff Whitty (Lower Ossington Theatre). A college grad moves to New York City and copes with grown-up problems in this adult musical puppet play. To Feb 1, Thu-Sat 8 pm, Sun 4 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $50-$60. Lower Ossington Theatre, 100A Ossington. 416-915-6747, lowerossingtontheatre.com. boom by Rick Miller (Kdoons/Wyrd Productions). Miller journeys through 25 years of turbulent history and portrays the world’s most influential politicians, activists and musicians. To Feb 1, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $25-$79. Panasonic Theatre, 651 Yonge. mirvish.com.

ñ

FleSh anD oTher FragmenTS oF loVe (une VIe pour Deux) by Evelyne de la Chenelière

(ESPACE GO/Théâtre français de Toronto).

The discovery of a drowned body off the Irish coast leads a vacationing couple to examine their marriage. To Jan 25, Thu-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 3:30 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $30-$48, Sat rush $20. Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley. 416-534-6604, theatrefrancais. com.

The hearT oF robIn hooD by David Farr (Mirvish). Robin and his crew steal from the rich and keep it until Marion steps up for the poor (see review at nowtoronto.com/stage). To Mar 29, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun and Wed 1:30 pm. $35-$130. Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King W. mirvish.com. nnn (GS)

On Stage Until

February 1

by Alden Nowlan and Walter Learning (Scarborough Players). Sherlock Holmes faces his arch rival, Dr James Moriarty, in this murder mystery. To Jan 24, Thu-Sat 8 pm. Scarborough Village Theatre, 3600 Kingston Rd. 416267-9292, theatrescarborough.com.

JeSuS ChrIST SuperSTar by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber (Lower Ossington Theatre). Judas chooses between Jesus and the Roman rulers in this musical. To Jan 25, ThuSat 8 pm, mat Sun 4 pm, Sat 2 pm. $50-$60.

100A Ossington. superstarmusical.ca.

JeSuS ChrIST SuperSTar by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber (Hart House Theatre). Judas makes a choice between Jesus and the Roman rulers in this musical. To Jan 31, WedSat 8 pm, mat Jan 31 at 2 pm. $28, srs $17, stu $10-$15. Hart House Theatre, 7 Hart House Circle. 416-978-8849, uofttix.ca. lungS by Duncan Macmillan (Tarragon Theatre). A young couple discuss the idea of having a child, setting off a series of explosions in their relationship. Macmillan’s script sometimes recycles the same ideas, but his vernacular writing is sharp, as are the performances of Brendan Gall and Lesley Faulkner under Weyni Mengesha’s direction. (Review from March 2014.) To Jan 25, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2:30 pm. $37-$52, rush $15. 30 Bridgman. tarragontheatre.com. nnnn (JK) magIC TonIghT James Alan hosts a weekly live magic show with guests. Sundays 7 pm. $20-$25. Izakaya Sushi House, 294 College. abracadabaret.com. oh WhaT a loVely War by Joan Littlewood, Theatre Workshop and Charles Chilton (Theatre @ York). Inspired by her own family, directing student Autumn Smith places the WWI-themed play in a factory setting. To Jan 24, Thu-Fri 7:30 pm, mat Fri 1 pm, Sat 2 pm. $7-$17. Joseph G Green Studio Theatre. York University, 4700 Keele. 416-736-5888, theatre.finearts.yorku.ca. oklahoma! by Rodgers & Hammerstein (First Act Productions). High-spirited rivalry between local farmers and cowboys provide the background for a love story. To Jan 24, Thu-Sat 8 pm. $25. Papermill Theatre, 67 Pottery. firstactproductions.ca. panaCea! by Gillian Bartolucci, Marshall Lorenzo, Nicky Nasrallah and Allana Reoch (Haggard B Productions). This sketch comedy show looks at the dark side of humanity and the mundanities of our everyday existence (see Q&A, page 47). To Jan 24, Thu-Sat 8 pm.

ñ

continued on page 46 œ

e Toronto Premier

TICKETS NOW

“A wise, funny and thoughtful piece about a difficult subject”

“an evening of powerful theatre”

GLOBE AND MAIL

NOW MAGAZINE

NOW Mag

«««ar« Toronto St

son MacDonald

by Florence Gib ass G directed by Ken

“Pomegranates.

That’s what we need.“

nightwoodtheatre.net or 416.975.8555

Jan 31 – Feb 22

artsVest Toronto is run by Business for the Arts with the support of the Toronto Arts Council and Canadian Heritage

N N N azNine

NNNN

TICKETS:

an Ontario government agency un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario

ON SALE!

By Maja Ardal

Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs Tickets online: www.canadianrep.ca Phone: 416.368.3110

featuring Matthew Edison, Nora McLellan, Irene Poole and David Schurmann

Brenda Kamino, Chick Reid, Monica Dottor, Maria Vacratsis, Diane D’Aquila, Kyra Harper. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

NOW january 22-28 2015

45

theatre listings œcontinued from page 45

$10. Fraser Studios, 76 Stafford. brownpapertickets.com/event/1143406.

PErFECt WEdding by Robin Hawdon (Stage Centre Productions). A man awakens on his wedding day with a strange girl in his bed and his bride-to-be on the doorstep. To Jan 24, Thu-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $27.50, stu/ srs $22. Fairview Library, 35 Fairview Mall.

416-299-5557, stagecentreproductions.com. thE sEAgull by Anton Chekhov (Crows Theatre/Canadian Stage). Unrequited love, dreams, family feuds and art are part of this drama set in 1890s Russia (see review, page 43). To Feb 8, Tue-Thu and Sat 8 pm, Fri 7 pm, mat Wed and Sat-Sun 1 pm. $22-$49.

Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley. 416368-3110, canadianstage.com. nnnn (JK) sEussiCAl thE musiCAl by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Lower Ossington Theatre).

This all-ages musical is based on the classic books of Dr. Seuss. To Jan 25, Sat-Sun 11 am and Sun 1 pm (also continuing from Feb 14Mar 1). $30-$50. Lower Ossington Theatre, 100A Ossington. 416-915-6747, lowerossingtontheatre.com.

A sidE oF drEAms by Jani Lauzon (Paper Canoe Projects). A single mother discovers the spirit of the Dreamcatcher while searching for a cultural identity. To Feb 1, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $10-$25. Aki Studio Theatre. Daniels Spectrum, 585 Dundas E. 416-531-1402, papercanoeprojects.com. smAll AxE by Andrew Kushnir (Project: Humanity/Theatre Centre). A queer white documentary theatre-maker learns a lot about himself while investigating homophobia in Jamaica. To Feb 1. $25, stu/srs $22. 1115 Queen W. 416-538-0988, theatrecentre.org. sonnEts For An old CEntury by José Rivera (Column 13 Actors Company). In a waiting room for the afterlife, souls have one chance to concisely relate the story of their lives. To Jan 24, Thu-Sat 7:30 pm. $20, stu/srs $17.

Backspace. Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson. 416-504-7529, artsboxoffice.ca. tWElvE Angry Jurors by Reginald Rose (Trinity College Dramatic Society). Jurors argue over the case of a young man accused of killing his father in a capital case. To Jan 24, Thu-Sat 8 pm. $15, stu/srs $10. George Ignatieff Theatre, 15 Devonshire Place.

416-978-8849, uofttix.ca.

WAiting room by Diane Flacks (Tarragon Theatre). A doctor tries a medical experiment despite objections from his colleagues (see review, page 44). To Feb 15, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $29-$55. 30 Bridgman. 416-5311827, tarragontheatre.com. nnn (JK) 3

ñ

comedy listings How to find a listing

Comedy listings appear chronologically, and alphabetically by title or venue.

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, range of ticket prices, venue name and address and box office/ 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, January 22 An EvEning nAmEd “PAul” Theatrical sketch w/ Marty Topps, Brendan Hobin, Mark Little, Steph Tolev and Taylor Davis. 9:30 pm. $5. Bad Dog Comedy Theatre, 875 Bloor W. facebook.com/events/634322656696782.

ComEdy ACEs Stand up w/ Glen Foster, Simon Rakoff, Simon Cotter, David Merry and Evan Carter. 8 pm. $25. Pilot Tavern, 22 Cumberland. comedyaces.com.

ñ

Exit, PursuEd by A bEAr & FriEnds’ JAnuAry JAmborEE Comedy variety show w/ Nacho Libras, Joel Buxton, Vest of Friends & others. 8 pm. $5. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. facebook.com/ events/846752225387365. mAtt dAvis Headlining with Mike Beatty and host Jenn Hayward. To Jan 25, Thu 8:30 pm, Fri 9 pm, Sat 8 & 10:45 pm, Sun 8 pm. $10-$15. Absolute Comedy, 2335 Yonge. absolutecomedy.ca.

PAnACEA! Haggard B Productions presents a sketch show by Gillian Bartolucci, Marshall Lorenzo, Nicky Nas-

rallah and Allana Reoch (see Q&A, page 47). To Jan 24, Thu-Sat 8 pm. $10. Fraser Studios, 76 Stafford. brownpapertickets.com/ event/1143406. 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 with 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. To Jan 31, Tue-Thu 8 pm, Fri-Sat 7:30 & 10 pm, Sun 7:30 pm. $16-$29. Second City, 51 Mercer. secondcity.com. nnn (Glenn Sumi) sAFFron & gold ComEdy Weekly show w/ host Elaine Gold and guest comics. 8:30 pm.

Pwyc. Christie Pits Pub, 814 Bloor W. facebook.com/saffrongoldcomedy. sEAn EmEny Stand-up. To Jan 24, Thu-Sat 8 pm, late show Fri-Sat 10:30 pm. $13-$22. Yuk Yuk’s, 224 Richmond W. yukyuks.com. stonEd uP ComEdy Amanda Day presents a weekly stand-up show. 7 pm. $5. Hot Box Puff Lounge, 204 Augusta. 416-203-6990. toronto, i lovE you BDT presents an unscripted, unconventional love letter to the city. To Jan 31, Wed-Sat 8 pm. $12, stu $10. Bad Dog Comedy Theatre, 875 Bloor W. baddogtheatre.com.

ñ

WEAthEr PErmitting ComEdy tour

Stand-up w/ Michelle Christine, Andrew Barr and Michael Flamank. 8 pm. $10-$12. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca.

Friday, January 23

Saturday, January 24 thE ACtion moviE imProv doublE hEAdEr

The Coincidence Men and the Beasts w/ guest Mark Little. 8 pm. $10. 2nd fl. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. socap.ca.

APArnA nAnChErlA Empire Comedy Live presents the comic w/ Laura DiLabio & host Luke Gordon Field (9 pm); and w/ the Sufferettes, Lauren Mitchell & host Mark Little (11 pm). $20/show. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. empirecomedylive.com. hEldEr brum & FriEnds Stand-up w/ Sarah Hillier & Paloma Nunez, Phil Luzi, Dawn Whitwell, DJ Demers, Steve Boleantu, Clay Helder & host Brum. 8 pm. $10. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca. mAtt dAvis See Thu 22.

PAnACEA! See Thu 22. rEbEl Without A Cosmos See Thu 22. sEAn EmEny See Thu 22. toronto, i lovE you See Thu 22.

ñ ñ

your hood’s A JokE: montrEAl vs hAliFAx

APArnA nAnChErlA

ñ

Empire Comedy Live presents the comic in a live show. w/ Catch 23 Improv (8 pm, $10) and in the Cabaret Space (11 pm, $20).

Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. empirecomedylive. com.

imProv gAmE shoW

Rising​star​Aparna​ Nancherla​hits​​ the​Comedy​Bar,​ January​23​to​25.

atre, 154 Danforth. 416-903-5388, socap.ca.

JunCtion ComEdy FridAys Headliner Ali Hassan and host Billy Wiegand. 8 pm. Pwyc.

Magic Oven Keele, 347 Keele. facebook.com/ JunctionComedyFridays. mAtt dAvis See Thu 22. thE mystEry soCiEty Improvised mystery show by Stephanie Malek and Nate Callens. 8 pm. $10. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca. notorious Freestyle rap meets improv comedy. 10 pm. $10. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. notimprov.com.

PAndorA’s box An improvised show combining myth, mirth and mischief, inspired by the legend of Pandora’s Box. To Jan 30, Fridays 9:30 pm. $12, stu $10. Bad Dog Comedy Theatre, 875 Bloor W. baddogtheatre.com.

PAnACEA! See Thu 22. rEbEl Without A Cosmos See Thu 22. sEAn EmEny See Thu 22. toronto, i lovE you See Thu 22.

Weekly Whose Lineinspired competition.

8 pm. $5. 3rd fl. The Social Capital The-

Toronto Comedy All-Stars presents a comedy turf war hosted by Danish Anwar w/ Faisal Butt, Jon Malanos and Ali Hassan vs Merv Hartlen, Dave Burke and Kyle Hickey. 10 pm. $10. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca.

Sunday, January 25 All blACk ComEdy shoW The Nubian Dis-

ciples’ monthly show w/ Jag Ghankas, Daniel Woodrow, Kerby Darius, Brian Francis, Chris Robinson, Luis J Gomez, host Kenny Robinson and others. 8:30 pm. $20. Yuk Yuk’s, 224 Richmond W. yukyuks.com.

APArnA nAnChErlA Empire Comedy Live presents the comic in a live show w/ Jess Beaulieu and host Tim Gilbert. 7 pm. $20. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. empirecomedylive.com.

Crimson WAvE ComEdy Jess Beaulieu and Natalie Norman co-host a feminist-friendly, LGBTQ-positive stand-up night. 9:30 pm. $5.

Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca. droP & givE mE 20! Marito Lopez, Darryl Orr, Amanda Brooke Perrin & host Marc Hallworth doing their best 20 minutes. 8 pm. Pwyc. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca. gossiP gAls Stand-up w/ Zabrina Chevannes, Camille Côté, Adrienne Fish, Dena Jackson, Jackie Pirico, headliner Sandra Battaglini and host Aisha Brown. 7 pm. $10-$15. The Flying Beaver Pubaret, 488 Parliament. pubaret.com. hAPPy hour ComEdy Justin Laite, Johannes Schroeder, Chad Gibson, Danny Chan, David

ñ

“a distinct choreographic voice” — Time Out New York

Melancholy Play IN TOUCH – 1976 & RECENT FUTURE

1976, HAVE SEVERAL

Dana Michel (Montreal), Zoja Smutny (Toronto).

Dana Michel (Montreal).

1976 Toronto premiere. Recent Future World premiere.

World premiere.

JANUARY 22-24 8PM, $20/$25

JANUARY 28-31 8PM, $20/$25

For further season programming info visit

9 Trinity Street Studio 313 | 416-367-1800 x200 Tickets: dancemakers.org/tickets

an Ontario government agency un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario

46 january 22-28 2015 NOW

dancemakers.org Dancemakers continues to participate in Artsvest a program funded through

SEASON SPONSOR

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= Critics’ Pick

nnnnn = You’ll pee your pants

Left photo: Zoja Smutny, by Mallory Wilkinson Right photo: 1976, Dana Michel, by Wolfgang Lienbacher | Design: lightupthesky.ca

A Farce by Sarah Ruhl

nnnn = Major snortage

Jan 29-Feb 1 & Feb 5-8 Collective Space 221 Sterling Ave Director: Jeffrey Pufahl Designers: Karyn McCallum Mikael Kangas Composer: Michael Roth Featuring: Eva Barrie, Cory Latkovich, Patric Masurkevitch, Rose Napoli, Suzanne Roberts Smith, Courtenay Stevens

empty-room.com nnn = Coupla guffaws

Sokolowski, David Poon, host Sarah Ashby and more. 8 pm. Free. Ein-Stein, 229 College. ein-stein.ca. mAtt dAvis See Thu 22. thE PlAyground Stand-up comics followed by an open mic w/ hosts Melissa Story and Kris Siddiqi. 8:30 pm. Pwyc. 3rd fl. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. 416-903-5388. rEAl JokEs Weekly comedy w/ hosts Dion Arnold and Scott Belford. 8 pm. Free. Placebo Space, 2877 Lake Shore W. facebook.com/ events/1490828984532340. rEbEl Without A Cosmos See Thu 22. sundAy night livE The Sketchersons’ weekly sketch and live music show (see Q&A, page 47). 9 pm. $10. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca.

Monday, January 26 Altdot ComEdy loungE Fraser Young, Danny Polishchuk, Juliana Rodrigues, Rob ñ Mailloux, Tim Golden, Matt Wright, Mark Little, MC Arthur Simeon & others. 9 pm. $5. Rivoli, 332 Queen W. altdotcomedylounge.com. thE bEst oF thE sECond City Classic and original sketch and improvisation. 8 pm. $14.

Second City, 51 Mercer. secondcity.com.

CAmEron housE ComEdy: i survivEd my FAmily ovEr thE holidAys! Weekly themed

pro/am comedy show w/ Dena Jackson and Jen Sakato. 8-10 pm. Pwyc. Cameron House, 408 Queen W. thecameron.com.

ChEAP lAughs Weekly open mic w/ Russell Roy and guests. 9:30 pm. Free. PJ O’Briens Irish Pub, 39 Colborne. 416-815-7562. thE ComEdy CAbArEt Monthly pro/am show w/ host Dave Code and headliner Dom Pare. 8 pm. Pwyc. Charlotte Room, 19 Charlotte. thecomedycabaret.com.

PAnCAkE mondAys Weekly comedy. 7:30 pm. $5. Smiling Buddha, 961 College. facebook. com/groups/PancakeMondays. tough lovE imProv The Dandies present a show that puts performers through their paces to shake of rust and break bad habits. 8 pm. $2/pwyc. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. improvdandies.wordpress.com.

200% vodkA Weekly improv hosted by Matt McCready. 8 pm. Pwyc. 2nd floor. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. socap.ca.

Tuesday, January 27 rEbEl Without A Cosmos See Thu 22. thE skin oF my nuts Open mic w/ host

Vandad Kardar & others. 7:30 pm. Free. Sonic Cafe, 60 Cecil. facebook.com/skinofmynuts. studEnt bodiEs Weekly improv showcase. 8 pm. Pwyc. 2nd floor. The Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth. 416-903-5388, socap.ca.

Wednesday, January 28 AC Pro-Am night Sean McKiernan, Nader Mansour, Rino Palumbo, Marc Hallworth, Tyler Forbes, Blair Streeter, headliner Ryan Dennee and host Denis Grignon. 8:30 pm. $6.

Absolute Comedy, 2335 Yonge. 416-4867700, absolutecomedy.ca. thE CArnEgiE hAll shoW The National Theatre of the World presents the improv variety show w/ Jessica Holmes, Christy Bruce, Rob Baker, James Gangl and others. 8 pm. $20, stu $10. Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen W. thecarnegiehallshowjan.bpt.me. dAd JokEs: thE rEbirth! Sandra Battaglini w/ Mark James Heath, Amanda Brooke Perrin, Ben Beauchemin, Kathleen Phillips and hosts Adam Jackson & Jordan Sowunmi. 8 pm. $8$10. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca. mEsmErizEd Interactive comedy hypnosis show. 7:30 pm. $15-$20. The Flying Beaver Pubaret, 488 Parliament. pubaret.com.

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outrAgEous! With robErt kEllEr – thE iCE QuEEns Edition Queer stand-up w/ ñ Andrew Johnston, Aisha Alfa, Patrick Cadegan

and host Keller. 8 pm. $15. Yuk Yuk’s, 224 Richmond W. 416-967-6425, yukyuks.com. rEbEl Without A Cosmos See Thu 22. riot! Ryerson’s official sketch comedy troupe, RiOT!, perform. 9:30 pm. $5-$7. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca. sirEn’s ComEdy Open-mic stand-up w/ host Justin Laite & headliner Dave Code. 8:30 pm.

Free. Celt’s Pub, 2872 Dundas W. 416-767-3339. sPirits ComEdy night Weekly open mic night. 9 pm. Free. Spirits Bar & Grill, 642 Church. spiritsbarandgrill.com. sunEE dhAliWAl Stand-up show. To Feb 1, Wed-Sun 8 pm (plus Fri-Sat 10:30 pm). $13$22. Yuk Yuk’s, 224 Richmond W. 416-9676425, yukyuks.com. toronto, i lovE you See Thu 22. troubAdour Competitive musical improv every Wed in Jan. 8 pm. $10, stu $5. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor W. comedybar.ca.

3

nn = More tequila, please

n = Was that a pin dropping?

books

COMEDY Q&A

ALLANA REOCH

GRAPHIC NOVEL

Dark DeForge

Performer, Panacea! and Sunday Night Live

Since the temporary split of terrific sketch duo British Teeth, remaining local member Allana Reoch has been busy. The wildly inventive comic stars in this week’s sketch show Panacea!, created and performed by some of the same folks behind the Fringe hit Everything Is Fine, and she’s just joined the new cast of Sunday Night Live. She’ll also go solo at TO SketchFest.

Talk about breakthrough. See Comedy listings, page 46.

What New Year’s resolutions have you kept?

I promised myself I would make it a point to relax more. Some would describe me as high-strung. It seems counterintuitive to set aside time to do nothing, but self-care is an underrated and valuable thing. ... and abandoned?

I’m not going to worry about my body any more. I thought I’d join a gym or start using the stairs in my building instead of the elevator, but, really, these 15 (maybe 25... *shifty eyes*) extra pounds are here to stay and play.

Early Oscar predictions?

At the last minute they’re going to realize they misplaced the envelope containing Jennifer Aniston’s Oscar nomi-

FIRST YEAR HEALTHY by Michael

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DeForge (Drawn and Quarterly), 48 pages, $14.95 hardcover. Rating: NNNN

nation, and win, for Cake, and the whole Oscar audience will be in an uproar. Marion Cotillard and Jack Nicholson will pick ol’ Jen up on their shoulders and carry her to the stage with triumphant splendour, and we’ll all cut our hair into “the Rachel” again in late 2015.

Besides seeing your comedy, what do you recommend to cure the winter blues?

Without feeling obliged to give any kind of excuse, bail on all plans that involve leaving the house when the weather is cold. Curl up with a book in front of a table of scented candles. Eat whatever you want without feeling guilty.

Next hipster trend?

Carrying around a plate of crepes as an accessory.

You just joined the cast of Sunday Night Live. Favourite experience so far?

I’m always blown away when any group of people are able to work together with such commitment to a common goal. There is something fantastic about just wanting everyone’s material to be as funny as it can be, without inserting your ego into the mix.

If you were a microbrewery beer, what would you be called, how would you taste and who’d be your demographic?

My demographic would be hearty, truck-driving women. I’d be called A Mother’s Intuition and taste like beets.

GLENN SUMI

dance listings New this week

1976, HAVE SEVERAL Dancemakers presents

investigations and permutations of Dana Michel’s original dance work. Opens Jan 28 and runs to Jan 31, Wed-Sat 8 pm. $20-$25.

Dancemakers Centre for Creation, 9 Trinity.

416-367-1800, dancemakers.org.

BALLET 360: AN EVENING OF CONTEMPORARY

DANCE Ballet Jörgen presents a showcase of contemporary choreographers. Jan 23-24 at 8 pm. $33-$80. Betty Oliphant Theatre, 404 Jarvis. 416-964-5148, balletjorgen.ca.

HIP, HIP, HOORAY! CABARET Belly dance and world fusion party featuring professional dancers, followed by an open dance floor. Jan

Ñ

24 at 7:30 pm. $10. Round Venue, 152A Augusta. facebook.com/HipHipHoorayCabaret.

IN TOUCH – 1976 & RECENT FUTURE Dancemakers presents the debut of a performance series by Dana Michel and Zoja Smutny. Jan 2224, Thu-Sat 8 pm. $20-$25. Dancemakers Centre for Creation, 9 Trinity. 416-367-1800, dancemakers.org.

Continuing SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS Classical Chinese theatrical dance and music inspired by myths and legends. To Jan 25, Thu-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $60-$200. Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front E. sonycentre.ca. 3

In a comic arts scene growing more crowded by the minute, Toronto’s Michael DeForge continues to stand out and stand alone.

The 27-year-old, whose Ant Colony earned a spot on the New York Times graphic bestseller list last year, has a singular drawing style. He mixes body horror (see his Lose series and 2013’s Very Casual) and wild experimentalism (skewed perspectives, dense/sparse page variety) with the

kind of innocence usually found in kids’ books (cute characters with babyish features, a friendly colour palette). His writing grounds his flights of fancy, with down-to-earth prose communicated by vulnerable characters having a hard time in life.

All of this is true of new graphic novel First Year Healthy, about a young woman’s first year post-stay in a mental hospital. The premise is clear from page one, but not the reason for her “outburst.” Throughout the short work, DeForge milks that tension to create a sense of foreboding that vibrates through each page.

Centred around the nameless narrator’s relationship with a Turkish co-

READINGS THIS WEEK Thursday, January 22

Monday, January 26

PETER CAREY Talking about his novel Amnesia

ART SPIEGELMAN: WHAT THE %&@*!

HAPPENED TO COMICS Spiegelman preñ sents a chronological tour of the evolution of

with the Globe and Mail’s Jared Bland. 7 pm.

Free (ticket required). Reference Library, 789 Yonge. eventbrite.ca.

WONDERFEST POETRY SERIES & OPEN MIC Lizzie Violet, Bender, Valentino Assenza, Alexandra Innes. 9 pm. Pwyc. Habits Gastropub, 928 College. habitsgastropub.com.

comics. 7 pm. $39, stu $29. Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 506 Bloor W. kofflerarts.org.

Tuesday, January 27 THE ART BAR POETRY SERIES Georgia Wilder, Jane Munro and Kath Jonathan. 8 pm. Free.

Black Swan, 154 Danforth. artbar.org.

Sunday, January 25

worker possibly mired in criminal activity, the plot is fast and exciting. A strange, beautiful poeticism comes through via a magical cat that is seen on the pages more than talked about. (DeForge embraces the genre’s parallel-world possibilities.)

And the innocent/seedy blend leads to some terrific shocks – a gaspworthy plot twist, a TMI relationship detail – that make First Year Healthy stick in your brain like an unsettling dream. It’s dark and lonely. It’s ambiguous and comforting. Not for the CARLA GILLIS kiddies.

Michael DeForge launches First Year Healthy at Type Books’ Queen West location on Wednesday (January 28). See Readings, this page. carlag@nowtoronto.com | @carlagillis

SHAB-E SHE’R (POETRY NIGHT) XXV Open stage with Dionne aka The Bird Of Paradise and Pierre L’Abbé & host Bãnoo Zan. 7 pm (sign-up 6:15 pm). $5. Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham. facebook.com/ events/1529384130657826.

Wednesday, January 28 MICHAEL DEFORGE Book launch for the graphic novel First Year Healthy (see review, this page). 7-9 pm. Free. Type Books, 883 Queen W. typebooks.ca/posts/87.

SUSAN ABULHAWA Reading and discussion on the novel Mornings In Jenin. 6:30 pm. Free.

Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham. beitzatoun.org. 3

ñ

AUTHORS’ BRUNCH With Stephen Marche,

Alan Bradley, Elena Gorokhova and Jay Ingram. 10 am. $50. Pre-register. King Edward Hotel, 37 King E. 416-361-0032.

BURNS NIGHT Celebrate Scottish poet Robert Burns with Catherine Graham,George Elliott Clarke, Ayesha Chatterjee and others. 6:30 pm. Free. Windup Bird Café, 382 College. windupbird.ca.

DRAFT READING SERIES 10.3 New works by Leesa Deane, Cherie Dimaline, Nora Gold and Irene Marques. 2:30 pm. Free. Paintbox Bistro, 555 Dundas E. draftreadings.wordpress.com.

MERLE AMODEO Launching her book of poetry, After Love. 1 pm. Free. Black Swan, 154 Danforth. merleamodeo.com.

UNSYMPATHETIC POETRY WORKSHOP 2-5 pm. $60 (pre-register). Tequila Bookworm, 512 Queen W. knifehypnosis@gmail.com.

IN PERSON Two-time Booker Prize winner (and that’s a phrase that applies to only three writers) Peter Carey found a timely topic for his new book, Amnesia ($29.95, Random House): cybercrime. A possibly politically motivated hacker unleashes a virus that opens American prisons, releasing thousands of convicts. Through the eyes of Felix, a journalist on the brink of professional oblivion, Carey explores the hacker’s attempts to escape conviction, the vulnerability of the internet and what it takes for a journo to reinvigorate his career. Carey talks about the novel on Thursday (January 22) at the Reference Library. See Readings, this page. SGC

= Critics’ Pick NNNNN = Can’t live without it NNNN = Riveting NNN = Worthy NN = Remainder bin here we come

N = Doorstop material

NOW JANUARY 22-28 2015

47

art COMICS

Maus that roars

AGO gives Art Spiegelman his due By FRAN SCHECHTER ART SPIEGELMAN at the Art Gallery

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of Ontario (317 Dundas West), to March 14. $19.50, srs $16, stu $11, free Wednesdays 6-8:30 pm. 416-979-6648.

Rating: NNNN

If any cartoonist deserves a museum retrospective, it’s Art Spiegelman. Beginning his comics career as a teenager, he single-handedly transformed the medium into a format for serious material with Maus.

His brilliant two-volume retelling of his father’s Holocaust story with

Jews as mice and Germans as cats, subtly filtered through his own experience as a child of survivors, is naturally the centre of Co-Mix. (The show title, a play on the spelling used by 60s underground comix, also signals Spiegelman’s skill at combining words and images, high and low culture, autobiography and politics.)

As a fan of the books, I was thrilled to see preparatory sketches and original art displayed with page proofs.

Vitrines contain family documents, among them the photos that are

sparingly yet harrowingly deployed in Maus.

Work produced during the 13 years he laboured on his magnum opus ranges from Topps Gum’s Garbage Pail Kids trading cards to Raw magazine, which he put out with wife Françoise Mouly to promote the comix sensibility, and covers for avant-garde novels

by Boris Vian.

Projects since include illustrations for jazz-era poem The Wild Party; strips and covers for the New Yorker (Mouly became its art editor); books for children; In The Shadow Of No Towers, a series about 9/11 and the war in Iraq; plus collaborations with Philip Glass and Pilobolus dance company represented on video.

Comics are meant to be enjoyed on the page rather than mounted on walls, and the show presents them mostly in original size, eschewing curatorial bells and whistles. It’s not easy to read all the text in three large rooms of strips, but a few books are available to peruse while seated.

Spiegelman draws on his encyclopedic knowledge of the medium in a talk called What The %&@*! Happened To Comics at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema on Monday (January 26) – and will probably also weigh in on Charlie Hebdo, for whose work he is a strong advocate. His father’s not the only one who bleeds history.

3 art@nowtoronto.com

MUST-SEE SHOWS ARTSCAPE YOUNGPLACE Crip Interiors

group show, 7-9 pm Jan 29-30. 180 Shaw. 416-530-2787.

BULTHAUP Richard Johnson (photos), to Apr 18, artist talk 11 am-1 pm Jan 25.

280 King E. 416-361-9005.

CLINT ROENISCH Niall McClelland (painting/prints/video), Jan 22-Feb 28, reception 6 pm Jan 22. 190 St Helens.

416-516-8593.

COOPER COLE GALLERY Anders Oinonen and Jennie Jieun Lee, Jan 22-Feb 14, reception 6-9 pm Jan 29. 1161 Dundas W. 647-347-3316.

ñGENERAL HARDWARE CONTEM-

PORARY Stanzie Tooth (painting), to Feb 7. 1520 Queen W. 416-821-3060.

GLADSTONE HOTEL Come Up To My Room, to Jan 25 ($10), Love Design Party 10 pm Jan 24, closing party 7 pm Jan 25. 1214 Queen W. 416-531-4635.

GOETHE-INSTITUT Sheraz Khan, to Feb 27. 100 University. 416-593-5257.

INTERACCESS Connor Olthuis (installation), to Jan 24. 9 Ossington. 416-5320597.

KOFFLER GALLERY Kristiina Lahde, Jan 22-Mar 29, reception 6-9 pm Jan 22.

180 Shaw. 647-925-0643.

NICHOLAS METIVIER Gordon Parks (photos), to Jan 31. 451 King W. 416205-9000.

P|M GALLERY Otino Corsano, Jan 28-Feb 28. 1518 Dundas W. 416-937-3862.

TORONTO DESIGN OFFSITE FESTIVAL

Talks, exhibits, window installation, various venues, to Jan 25. todesignoffsite.com.

VILLA TORONTO Contemporary art event, to Jan 23. Union Station, 65 Front W, and other venues. villaraster.com/ toronto.

WHIPPERSNAPPER GALLERY sidewalkscreening.MOV group show (video), to Feb 4. 594 Dundas W.

THIS WEEK IN THE MUSEUMS AGA KHAN MUSEUM The Lost Dhow, to 26. 77 Wynford. 416-646-4677. $15ñApr AGO Art Spiegelman, to Mar 14. Suzy Lake, to Mar 22. Mohamed Bourouissa, ñ to Feb 8. 317 Dundas W. 416-979-6648. $11-

$20.

$19.50, free Wed 6-8:30 pm.

ART GALLERY OF YORK U Biding Time: The Col-

an Ontario government agency un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario

An agency of the Government of Ontario.

Relève du gouvernement de l’Ontario.

lection Strikes Back, to Mar 15. 4700 Keele, Accolade E bldg. 416-736-5169.

DESIGN EXCHANGE Monogram Dinner By Design, Jan 22-25, $5 sugg. Politics Of Fashion/ Fashion Of Politics, to Jan 25 ($14-$18.50). 234 Bay. 416-363-6121.

HARBOURFRONT CENTRE Darren Rigo (photos); Deep Woods; Stopping By Woods; Lasting Effect; Every So Often; REWILD, Jan 24-Jun 14, reception 6-10 pm Jan 23, round table 1-4 pm Jan 24. 235 Queens Quay W. 416-973-4000.

JUSTINA M. BARNICKE Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign, to Mar 7. 7 Hart House. 416-978-8398.

POWER PLANT The Unfinished Conversation: Encoding/Decoding, Jan 24-May 18, reception 8-11 pm Jan 23. 231 Queens Quay W. 416973-4949.

ROM Bernice Eisenstein, to Feb 8. Designs For Sitting; Cairo Under Wraps, to Jan 25. Wildlife Photographer Of The Year, to Mar 23. 100 Queen’s Park. 416-586-8000. $14.50-$16; Fri discounts after 4:30 pm.

RYERSON IMAGE CENTRE Burn With Desire; Anti-Glamour: Portraits Of Women, to Apr 5.

Zinnia Naqvi, to Feb 22. 33 Gould. 416-9795164.

TEXTILE MUSEUM Oriental Rugs, to Apr 15.

Urban Fabric, to Jan 25. 55 Centre. 416-5995321. $6-$15; pwyc Wed 5-8 pm.

U OF T ART CENTRE The Story Of Canadian Art: As Told By Hart House Collection; Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign, to Mar 7. 15 King’s College Circle. 416-978-1838.

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MORE ONLINE

Complete art listings at nowtoronto.com/listings

48 JANUARY 22-28 2015 NOW

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= 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?

movies more online nowtoronto.com/movies

Audio clips from JULIANNE MOORE INTERVIEW • Q&A with DIRECTOR ANA LILY AMIRPOUR • Review of MORTDECAI • and more ARTY HORROR

Julianne Moore gives a completely authentic performance as a woman with early-onset Alzheimer’s.

Sharp teeth A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT

ñNIGHT

(Ana Lily Amirpour). 99 minutes. Subtitled. Opens Friday (January 23).

For venues and times, see Movies, page 53. Rating: NNNNN

MOORE, PLEASE

actor interview

Julianne Moore

Actor discusses finding the right scripts, doing research and the life lessons of Still Alice, which should finally win her an Oscar

By SUSAN G. COLE STILL ALICE written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, from the novel by Lisa Genova, with Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart. 99 minutes. A Mongrel Media release. Opens Friday (January 23). For venues and times, see Movies, page 53.

Almost every actor’s resumé is studded with duds, but Julianne Moore’s is remarkably consistent, packed with great movies like Boogie Nights, Far From Heaven and The Hours, to name a few.

That’s because she can sniff out a bad situation pretty early on in the negotiation process.

“Usually I know right away,” she says at a TIFF 2014 roundtable for Still Alice. “When I waffle and have a whole discussion and then say, ‘Let’s have another meeting,’ then I’m in trouble.

And I’ve made mistakes that way. I’d get on the set and look back, realizing that I’d had to have five conversations, and I say to myself, ‘Uh-oh.’

“With Still Alice, I knew right away.

There was no question that I’d make it.”

Good call.

TOP 5

JULIANNE MOORE PERFORMANCES Moore’s good every time she shows up on screen, but we think these are the five best performances she’s given.

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REVIEW

Moore copped her fifth Oscar nomination for her role as a woman with early Alzheimer’s disease. The actor, who’s small in stature but talks in large paragraphs, is disturbingly effective as Alice, a linguistics professor painfully aware that she’s losing her faculties. In what is a completely authentic performance, Moore conveys the growing emptiness inside the head of the once hyper-articulate woman.

She couldn’t have done it without some deep research.

“I knew I couldn’t do the movie without knowing about the disease,” she says. “I started with the head of the Alzheimer Association, who set me up with people across the country with early Alzheimer’s – I’m still in touch with one of them. And I looked at documentaries and did a lot of reading. Everything you see happening to Alice physically is real.

The way she keeps pressing her hands together? That’s real.”

There’s nothing shocking about Moore giving a great performance.

The surprising thing about Still Alice is how moving Alec Baldwin is as Alice’s husband. There’s no evidence

1

SAFE (1995)

STILL ALICE (Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland) Rating: NNN A woman slowly loses her mind to Alzheimer’s. It’s not easy to give that premise much texture, but Still Alice succeeds because the script focuses less on Alice’s (Julianne Moore) relationships with family, including her husband (Alec Baldwin), and more on the ingenious strategies she uses to keep the ravages of her disease at bay.

It also offers a powerful performance from Moore – no surprise there – a sensitive turn from Baldwin that goes against type and evidence that Kristen Stewart, as one of Alice’s kids, can show a pulse if she’s given the chance.

It does have a predictable trajectory – how could it not?

– but it’s certainly not movie-of-the-week fare. SGC

2

VANYA ON 42ND STREET (1994)

of Baldwin’s snark factor, not a smirk in sight.

“He’s my guy and I love him,” Moore says, her eyes lighting up.

She’d wanted to work with him for a long time, but he kept refusing all the scripts and finally asked if she had a drama for him. She thought he’d turn down this one because the part was too small, but he accepted.

“Alec has a lot of soul, a lot of vitality, a lot of masculinity. You see how intimate that relationship is and how much he loves her, but he has trouble being with her in the end.”

She’s philosophical about Alice’s predicament, suggesting that, disease or no disease, Alice’s experience mirrors that of every human being, “Somebody said about life that the only thing we have to do is die. It’s the only requirement. The rest we’ve made up: language, literature, work – it’s all a construct, and we do it because it delights us and we’ve found an economic system within, but at the end of the day....”

3 susanc@nowtoronto.com | @susangcole

NORMAN WILNER See Q&A with writer/director Amirpour at nowtoronto.com/movies

more online

Interview clips at nowtoronto.com

3

4

FAR FROM HEAVEN (2002)

SHORT CUTS (1993)

5

THE END OF THE AFFAIR (1999) See expanded article at nowtoronto.com/movies

= Critic’s Pick NNNNN = Top ten of the year NNNN = Honourable mention NNN = Entertaining NN = Mediocre N = Bomb

The vampire, both in literature and cinema, is a wonderful metaphor. It can be whatever the writer wants it to be: ravenous id, moral arbiter, sexual, predator – anything. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night’s Ana Lily Amirpour knows this, and inserts its blood-drinking immortal into the very intriguing context of present-day Iran.

Sheila Vand is the Girl, watchful, nameless. She cruises the streets of the fictional Bad City on a skateboard, just putting herself out there – inviting men to chat her up, make a move, bring her home. They do what they do; she does what she does.

But eventually she meets a guy (Arash Marandi) who doesn’t follow the pattern; he isn’t hostile or domineering, doesn’t fall for her quiet, submissive front. And that’s when things get interesting, as writer/director Amirpour lets the characters simply spend time together and watches what happens.

The film is less concerned with its plot than with creating a world and a mood into which the audience can sink. And Amirpour – shooting in blackand-white widescreen in southern California, for a little extra unreality – has built a marvellous world that offers room to wonder about the characters and their lives.

In little touches of style and design – an old Madonna poster on the Girl’s wall, a fashion sense influenced by Jean Seberg in Breathless – we get a sense of how old the Girl might be, or at least what she likes.

Amirpour reveals her own influences in the same way, hinting at Godard, Jarmusch, Lynch and Tarantino. And Kathryn Bigelow, too; I bet they’d get along like a house on fire.

Sheila Vand is bloody good.

NOW JANUARY 22-28 2015

49

documentary

Big issues ThE 50-YEAR ARGUmENT (Martin Scorsese, David Tedeschi). 118 minutes. Opens Friday (January 23). For venues and times, see Movies, page 53.

Rating: NNNN

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Martin Scorsese can make all the Leonardo DiCaprio movies he wants if it gives him the juice to make documentaries for HBO in his spare time. His latest, co-directed with his long-time doc editor David Tedeschi, recounts the history of the New York Review of

Alexey Serebryakov plays a hot-headed family man in harrowing Leviathan.

drama

Bleak house LEViAThAN (Andrey Zvyagintsev).

141 minutes. Subtitled. Opens Friday (January 23). For venues and times, see Movies, page 53. Rating: NNNNN

ñ

Andrey Zvyagintsev’s epic drama Leviathan – which won the Golden Globe for best foreign-language feature and is up for an Oscar in the same category – plays equally well as slow-motion domestic tragedy and a study of the internalized corruption of post-Soviet Russia.

It’s set in a small town where a property dispute between a hotheaded family man (Alexey Serebryakov) and the venal local mayor (Roman Madyanov) leads to a series of escalating confrontations.

Framed as a kitchen-sink drama that grows darker and darker as the

story unfolds, Leviathan’s misery advances inexorably. Even in happier moments, it’s always there, looming like the jagged mountain range beyond the characters’ village.

Toronto audiences might find some uncomfortable parallels in Madyanov’s character, Mayor Mer, a drunken, grasping boor whose single-minded selfishness destroys the lives of everyone unfortunate enough to get in his way.

But the more we see of him, the more textured he becomes, and the more loathsome. He’s not tragic in the slightest, but the ultimate embodiment of the ruthless cunning required to hold power in modern Russia.

Zvyagintsev’s characters occasionally walk past the beached skeletons of giant sea creatures. Madyanov’s performance suggests Mer is merely just the latest monster to plague this region. He’s a little less conspicuous, maybe, but just as destructive.

NORmAN WiLNER

Shauna MacDonald (left) and Kate Trotter experience Tru Love.

“MANKIND’S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT” — FILM.COM “A BLOOD-SOAKED GANG SAGA THAT BUILDS TO A MADCAP BATTLE ROYALE” — WALL STREET JOURNAL

WHY DON’T YOU

PLAY IN

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Books, which celebrated a half-century in 2013.

Launched by Robert Silvers and his late partner, Barbara Epstein, as a sort of counter-narrative to American news magazines, the NYRB gave writers the space to really consider the literary world, which naturally led to considerations of geopolitics and social issues and the general reshaping of intellectual discourse.

Scorsese and Tedeschi interview such illustrious contributors as Joan Didion and Michael Chabon, but the real pleasure of their documentary is in archival footage of people like Susan Sontag, Norman Mailer and Gore

Vidal defending their pieces – or arguing about them with each other – on talk shows and news programs.

It’s a bracing film about the value of radical ideas and the importance of being courageous enough to consider them. And in all fairness, if you’re not interested in those things, or the personalities involved, you may find this kind of a grind – as well as almost suffocatingly Upper East Sidey.

But the value of the NYRB as a cultural and literary institution is undeniable, and that’s what Scorsese and Tedeschi are celebrating here. It’s hard to argue against the sentiment.

NORmAN WiLNER

NYRB co-founder Robert Silvers carries on The 50-Year Argument.

dyke romance

drama

TRU LOVE (Kate Johnston, Shauna

CAkE (Daniel Barnz). 102 minutes. Opens Friday (January 23). For venues and times, see Movies, page 53. Rating: NNN

Tru grit

MacDonald). 87 minutes. Opens Friday (January 23) at the Carlton. See Times, page 53. Rating: NNN

When commitment-phobe Tru (co-director/co-writer Shauna MacDonald) meets Alice (Kate Trotter) – the mom of Suzanne (Christine Horne), one of her onenight stands – she’s shocked to discover herself falling for the older woman.

Tru Love has a seriously soapy quality – many doors get slammed. And note to screenwriters: resist the urge to create scenes where major characters have extended conversations with their dead spouses. Such sequences made a mess of biopic The Iron Lady, and here the scenes between Alice and the ghost of her husband definitely get in the way.

More problematic is the premise. Why would Suzanne, who is so upset with Tru, arrange to have her meet her mother in the first place?

But the performances are exceptional. Horne is all twitchy intensity, and Trotter, with that great voice of hers, is delightful as the woman discovering new possibilities. You can see what’s turning Tru on.

But it’s MacDonald, winning as the title character, who makes you care about what happens. She’s infinitely watchable.

SUSAN G. COLE

Ñ

Uneven Cake All you really need to know about Cake is that it’s the movie Jennifer Aniston thought would get her an Oscar nomination. The thing is, Daniel Barnz’s suburban-malaise drama is a problematic delivery system for an awardsworthy performance: its star may be giving her all, but the project isn’t really deserving of her efforts.

Aniston plays Claire Bennett, a deeply damaged woman who becomes fixated on understanding the suicide of a member of her chronicpain group (Anna Kendrick), leading her to befriend the dead woman’s husband (Sam Worthington).

Barnz’s latest nearly-there project after the confused Beastly and the undercooked Won’t Back Down awkwardly straddles the line between dark comedy and miserablist drama. It lands in the mushy middle, surrounding Aniston’s admittedly terrific performance with stereotypical characters, cheap psychological gimmickry and at least two plot lines from 2010’s far more successful Rabbit Hole.

And Aniston isn’t the only one doing good work. Kendrick is wasted as a particularly chipper hallucination, while Adriana Barraza puts more thought into the role of Claire’s housekeeper-cum-assistant than screenwriter Patrick Tobin did, and Worthington gives his shattered widower a bruised dignity and sardonic wit.

It’s a shame the script lets them down in the end, too. NORmAN WiLNER

Jennifer Aniston, with Chris Messina, rises to the occasion.

= Critic’s Pick NNNNN = Top ten of the year NNNN = Honourable mention NNN = Entertaining NN = Mediocre N = Bomb

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HHHHH

“A career-high performance from Oscar®-winner Marion Cotillard.”

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“JULIANNE MOORE GIVES A MAGNIFICENT PERFORMANCE.”

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“A REMARKABLE FEAT OF ACTING.” -A.O. SCOTT, THE NEW YORK TIMES

JULIANNE MOORE

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also opening

Mortdecai

(D: David Koepp, 107 min) An A-list cast that includes Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor and Olivia Munn stars in this action comedy about a suave art dealer and rogue who tries to recover a stolen painting.

affair with a younger man (Ryan Guzman) has dangerous implications.

Drama

Age and rage the humBlInG (Barry Levinson). 106 minutes. Opens Friday (January 23). For venues and times, see Movies, page 53.

Rating: nn

All three open Friday (January 23).

Screened after press time – see reviews January 23 at nowtoronto. com/movies.

Strange Magic (D: Gary Rydstrom, 99 min) This animated fairy tale musical inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream concerns a group of forest goblins, elves, fairies and imps who battle over a secret potion.

The Boy Next Door (D: Rob Cohen, 90 min) In this erotic thriller, Jennifer Lopez plays a divorcée and teacher whose

Feeling like the scenery needs protection every time Al Pacino hits a movie set? Think he’s trying too hard in his old age? The Humbling may change your mind. He’s perfect as a panicking aging actor – the character is as the actor does.

But the film just can’t shake its creepy premise.

Famed thespian Simon, fearing that he’s dogged by dementia, hurls himself off the stage during a performance and heads for a month to a mental facility. When he returns to his Connecticut mansion, he has an affair with the lesbian Pegeen (Greta Gerwig), much to the distress of her exes Johnny Depp hams it up in Mortdecai.

Al Pacino and Greta Gerwig are fine in boneheaded The Humbling.

and, of course, her parents.

There’s no reason for Pegeen to be a dyke except to build on the fantasies of the aging Philip Roth, who was well into his 70s when he wrote the original novella. Screenwriter Buck Henry tries to minimize the damage – Pegeen seduces Simon rather being conquered by him and is half his age rather than one-quarter as in Roth’s book. But it’s to no avail, and regardless, the relationship goes off the rails in nonsensical ways.

Director Barry Levinson does good

work with his actors – Gerwig, as always, is great, sustaining an edgy energy – but this is really two stories: one about an old guy trying to prove he’s still got it sexually speaking, and the other about an artist losing a grip on his craft.

The latter plot point is decent. The SuSan G.Cole former? Yuck.

DIRECTED BY

MARTIN

SCORSESE Fumi Nikaidô adds a bit of fun to this uneven pic.

genre mash-up

End game Why Don’t you Play In hell? (Sion Sono). 129 minutes. Subtitled. Opens Friday (January 23). For venues and times, see Movies, page 53. Rating: nnn

“GRIPPING!”

“SMART...CELEBRATORY.”

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– The New York Times

LAST DAYS IN VIETNAM

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Directed by Rory Kennedy

Directed by Martin Scorsese

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It might be best to approach Why Don’t You Play In Hell? as the world’s highest roller coaster. If you have the stamina to get to the fun part, it’s totally worth it.

In Sion Sono’s 2013 feature – which won the Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award at TIFF that year – a yakuza revenge thriller plays out against a rambunctious tale of young rebel filmmakers determined to create a guerrilla action masterpiece. Both stories pay off in a climactic sword battle between rival gangsters, choreographed with massive helpings of gore, twisted humour and meta-narrative.

That sequence is a spectacular set piece, both conceptually and strategically, and watching it is like snorting cocaine through a Twizzler off a Bluray of Kill Bill Vol. 1.

But in order to get there, Sion slogs through 100 minutes of meandering character stuff that places his various film lovers, gangsters, warriors and bystanders where they need to be for the finale. And beyond a plot line featuring Fumi Nikaidô as a crime boss’s daughter bent on avenging her mother’s imprisonment, almost none of it is fun or engaging.

If you can make it till the end, there’s norman WIlner one helluva payoff.

= Critic’s Pick nnnnn = Top ten of the year nnnn = Honourable mention nnn = Entertaining nn = Mediocre n = Bomb

Varsity, Yonge & Dundas 24

BLACKHAT (Michael Mann) is a typically

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 56.

AMERICAN SNIPER (Clint Eastwood) turns

the alpha-male autobiography of Navy SEAL turned Iraq War sniper turned rightwing poster boy Chris Kyle into a dull, bythe-numbers war drama. A bulked-up, bearded Bradley Cooper does a fine job of showing us how deeply uncomfortable Kyle is stateside, but Eastwood’s disconnected direction means we spend the entire movie with a man in stasis. At 84, he’s earned the right to coast – but we don’t have to pretend he’s still making good movies. 132 min. NN (NW) 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, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Yonge & Dundas 24

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) Colossus, Fox, Grande - Steeles, Kingsway Theatre, Yonge & Dundas 24

BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (Alejandro González

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 VIP Cinemas Don Mills, Colossus, Fox, Kingsway Theatre, Regent Theatre,

brooding and self-serious Mann thriller in which Chris Hemsworth plays a computer whiz sprung from maximum-security prison to find the mysterious cyberfiend behind attacks on Wall Street and a Chinese nuclear plant. But it isn’t until the home stretch, when Mann strips away all the cyber-nonsense and narrows his focus down to his trademark conflict between evenly matched professionals, that Blackhat finally feels like a movie. Some subtitles. 127 min. NN (NW) 401 & Morningside, Canada Square, Carlton Cinema, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Queensway, Rainbow Woodbine, Scotiabank Theatre, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale

THE BOY NEXT DOOR (Rob Cohen) 90 min.

See Also Opening, page 52.

Opens Jan 23 at 401 & Morningside, Beach Cinemas, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Rainbow Promenade, Rainbow Woodbine, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Yonge & Dundas 24

Flick Finder

NOW picks your kind of movie FAMILY

DOC

FOREIGN

HISTORICAL

PADDINGTON

LAST DAYS IN VIETNAM

TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT

SELMA

The best-reviewed film of 2015 is Paul King’s delightful adaptation of the children’s books. A lost bear (voiced

by Ben Whishaw) from Darkest Peru finds a new family in London and a place to belong. A perfect film.

The Oscarnominated film looks at the final weeks of America’s presence in Vietnam. Archival footage and modern interviews combine to make a near-definitive narrative.

Marion Cotillard got a deserved best-actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of an emotionally distressed factory worker who – over one weekend – fights for her job and self-respect.

This powerful look at key moments in the movement for black voting rights in 60s America is more timely than ever. It’s anchored

by David Oyelowo’s superb performance as Martin Luther King Jr.

continued on page 54 œ

“DON’T MISS SONG ONE.

A romantic drama with a soundtrack that will melt your heart.”

-Heather Duval, FanSpread.com

“A NEW VAMPIRE CLASSIC, ONE TO TREASURE ENDLESSLY.” � THE PLAYLIST

A FILM BY ANA LILY AMIRPOUR

ANNIE (Will Gluck) is a hip-hop and R&B

influenced adaptation of the Broadway musical about an orphan searching for her parents and being taken in by a wealthy tycoon. The writing and direction are execrable. This is a cynical, heartless ode to greed. 119 min. N (GS) Canada Square, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Queensway, SilverCity Yorkdale

APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR (Desiree Akhavan) stars writer/director Akhavan as Shirin, who in the opening scene is breaking up with her girlfriend (Rebecca Henderson), and spends the rest of the pic trying to recover. Though it’s hard to stay interested in the narcissistic and snide Shirin, the whole thing is pretty entertaining. Akhavan’s one to watch. Some subtitles. 87 min. NNN (SGC) Carlton Cinema BIG EYES (Tim Burton) reunites the director with Ed Wood screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski for the story of Margaret Keane (Amy Adams), who obsessively painted sad-eyed children, and her husband (Christoph Waltz), who became a minor celebrity by selling her art as his own. It’s stronger and more interesting than Alice In Wonderland or Dark Shadows, but Burton can’t or won’t engage honestly with the tale’s darker turns. 106 min. NNN (NW) Canada Square, Rainbow Market Square BIG HERO 6 (Don Hall, Chris Wil-

ñ

liams) centres on 14-year-old robotics genius Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan

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dale, Varsity, Yonge & Dundas 24

ñiNhereNt viCe

œcontinued from page 53

ñBoyhood

(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, Mt Pleasant, Yonge & Dundas 24 SHAUNA MACDONALD KATE TROTTER CHRISTINE HORNE and PETER MACNEILL

TRU LOVE WHEN LOVE FINDS YOU, RULES AND ROLES DON’T APPLY.

Q&A‘s with

Filmmakers & Cast Fri, Sat & Sun 2 pm & 7 pm shows.

INDIECAN ENTERTAINMENT in association with TOMGIRL FILMS presents “TRU LOVE” SHAUNA MACDONALD KATE TROTTER CHRISTINE HORNE and PETER MACNEILL COSTUME DESIGNER GINGER MARTINI PRODUCTION DESIGNERS OLGA BARSKY & SONIA HONG MUSIC BY PATRIC CAIRD EDITOR TIFFANY BEAUDIN DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY MAYA BANKOVIC CO-PRODUCERS JESSICA ADAMS & VANESSA CHIARA EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ALLEN ORMEROD, PINO HALILI, KATE JOHNSTON, JANE JOHNSTON, CHRIS CORDELL, SHAUNA MACDONALD, CHRIS AGOSTON, JAMIE STAGNITTA & JUSTIN YOUNG

PRODUCERS SHAUNA MACDONALD, KATE JOHNSTON, CHRIS LUCKHARDT & MATTHEW GORMAN WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY KATE JOHNSTON & SHAUNA MACDONALD www.trulovethefilm.com find us on

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“Martin Scorsese celebrates 50 years of The New York Review of Books in this incisive portrait of a vanguard cultural institution.”

VARIETY

Cake (Daniel Barnz) 102 min. See review,

page 50. NNN (NW) Opens Jan 23 at Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Queensway, Varsity, Yonge & Dundas 24

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) Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, TIFF Bell Lightbox

esCoBar: Paradise Lost (Andrea Di Stefano) doesn’t have enough Benicio Del Toro. He commands the screen as Pablo Escobar with mythical aplomb. However, the focus here is Josh Hutcherson’s bland Canadian surfer boy Nick, who hooks up with the drug lord’s niece and becomes an unwitting pawn in a generic gangland thriller. Filtering Escobar through Nick’s perspective is like brewing dark roast Colombian coffee at Tim Hortons. 120 min.

NN (RS) Carlton Cinema

ñthe 50 year argumeNt NNNN

(Martin Scorsese, David Tedeschi) 118 min.

See review, page 50.

(NW) Opens Jan 23 at Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

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, Mt Pleasant

foxCatCher (Bennett Miller) finds direc-

tor Miller returning to the chilly tone of his debut feature Capote for another real-life tale of interpersonal tensions and murder.

All three leads wear distracting prosthetics, which work against Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo’s naturalistic performances and make Steve Carell’s precise, creepy turn as the self-absorbed, deluded John du Pont seem far too obviously unhinged. 134 min. NNN (NW) Canada Square, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Eglinton Town Centre, Fox, Kingsway Theatre, Revue, Varsity, Yonge & Dundas 24

the gamBLer (Rupert Wyatt) is a decent

reworking of Karel Reisz’s 1974 thriller about a literature professor whose gambling addiction threatens to consume his life, assuming you can buy Mark Wahlberg instead of James Caan in the lead. 112 min. NNN (NW) 401 & Morningside, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Queensway, Scotiabank Theatre

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54 january 22-28 2015 NOW

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girL WaLks home aLoNe at ñaNight NNNNN

(Ana Lily Amirpour) 99 min.

See review, page 49.

(NW) Opens Jan 23 at TIFF Bell Lightbox

goNe girL (David Fincher) is a little

ñ

cold, but that’s why Fincher (Seven,

Ñ

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) Yonge & Dundas 24

ñthe graNd BudaPest hoteL

(Wes Anderson) finds director/co-writer Anderson building a magnificent playhouse, populating it with actors he knows and trusts – among them Ralph Fiennes, Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Jeff Goldblum and Edward Norton – and running riot. And when moments of genuine emotion pierce that perfectly constructed artifice, they hit as powerfully as ever. 100 min. NNNN (NW) Mt Pleasant, Yonge & Dundas 24

the hoBBit: the BattLe of the five armies (Peter Jackson) is the climax of

the director’s gargantuan adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s slender prequel to The Lord Of The Rings, and most viewers will be struggling with Middle-earth fatigue. At two hours and 24 minutes it’s the shortest of the trilogy, but it still feels longer than it needs to be, especially since the Smaugrelated cliffhanger is resolved 15 minutes in. Some subtitles. 144 min. NN (NW) 401 & Morningside, Beach Cinemas, Canada Square, Carlton Cinema, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Queensway, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Yonge & Dundas 24

houseBouNd (Gerard Johnstone) is a highly eccentric horror comedy about an angry young woman (Morgana O’Reilly) under house arrest in her (haunted) family home. The mixture of slapstick and splatter recalls the earlier, funny films of New Zealand writer-director Johnstone’s countryman Peter Jackson, though Johnstone doesn’t quite have the demented conviction that powered Jackson’s Bad Taste and Braindead to their delirious payoffs. 107 min. NNN (NW) Carlton Cinema the humBLiNg (Barry Levinson) 106 min.

See review, page 52. NN (SGC) Opens Jan 23 at Carlton Cinema

the huNger games: moCkiNgjay – Part 1 (Francis Lawrence) keeps the fran-

chise in a holding pattern, focusing on Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) while she wrestles with whether she wants to be the Mockingjay, the public face of the rebellion against the Capitol and evil President Snow (Donald Sutherland). It’s very well made and Lawrence is riveting, as usual, but it’s all just set-up for the grand finale. 123 min. NNN (SGC) Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande Steeles, Queensway, Scotiabank Theatre

ñthe imitatioN game

(Morten Tyldum) stars Benedict Cumberbatch as mathematician and cryptanalyst Alan Turing, who’s hired by the British government to crack the Germans’ Enigma code during the Second World War. He must collaborate with a team of misfit geniuses and keep their work a secret.

Also secret is his homosexuality. The film explores fascinating moral issues, and Cumberbatch is revelatory as Turing. 114 min. NNNN (GS) 401 & Morningside, Beach Cinemas, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Humber Cinemas, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Rainbow Promenade, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity York-

(Paul Thomas Anderson) is a giddy adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s detective novel about a sometime detective (Joaquin Phoenix) fumbling further and further into an elaborate (and frankly insane) conspiracy in 1970 L.A. Phoenix makes an excellent tour guide to the Pynchon/Anderson funhouse, and the director’s casual mastery of image and sound is here to be admired, as always. It’s a fantastically dense movie worthy of repeat viewings. 149 min. NNNN (NW) Canada Square, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Scotiabank Theatre, Varsity

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) Grande - Steeles, Kingsway Theatre, Scotiabank Theatre the iNtervieW (Seth Rogen, Evan Gold-

berg) is a very silly espionage picture in which a dim-bulb TV journalist (James Franco) and his more serious-minded producer (Rogen) land a sit-down with Kim Jong-un (Randall Park) and are immediately tasked by the CIA to assassinate the North Korean dictator on the down-low.

Rogen and Goldberg aren’t out to deliver any kind of major moral statement or provoke any insular dictatorships. Instead, they’ve crafted a subversive character comedy that forgoes big punchlines for sharp little moments, using its master plot as a commentary on the relationship between celebrity interviewers and their subjects. Some subtitles. 111 min. NNN (NW) Carlton Cinema, Kingsway Theatre

iNto the Woods (Rob Marshall) is an awkward adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s witty and profound musical mashup of fairy tales. Sondheim’s musicals are constructed for the theatre. His clever wordplay, complex rhythms and harmonies, the way his stories intersect and unfold – none of these things translates easily to film. There’s poignant material here about parents and children, loss, commitment and forgiveness, but in Marshall’s film, the plot seems convoluted and the language laboured. The less time spent in these woods the better. 125 min.

NN (GS) 401 & Morningside, Beach Cinemas, Carlton Cinema, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Queensway, Rainbow Promenade, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Yonge & Dundas 24

ñLast days iN vietNam

(Rory Kennedy) looks at the absolute chaos of the final weeks of America’s presence in the convulsing nation. Documentarian Kennedy and her crew collect stories from Americans and Vietnamese who were there and match them to archival footage to construct a narrative that’s as close to definitive as possible. It’s a fascinating story of institutional denial and personal commitment. 98 min. NNNN (NW) Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

LeviathaN ñ NNNNN

(Andrey Zvyagintsev) 141 min. See review, page 50.

(NW) Opens Jan 23 at TIFF Bell Lightbox

mortdeCai (David Koepp) 107 min. See Also Opening, page 52.

Opens Jan 23 at 401 & Morningside, Beach Cinemas, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Scotiabank Theatre, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale

ñmr. turNer

(Mike Leigh) stars Cannes best actor winner Timothy Spall as painter J.M.W. Turner at the peak

= Critics’ Pick nnnnn = Top ten of the year nnnn = Honourable mention nnn = Entertaining nn = Mediocre n = Bomb

indie film spotlight Anne Hathaway is fine, but Song One is no Once.

involving a brave, talented young monk (voiced by Evan McGuire), a fairy (Christen Mooney) and an imminent Viking raid.

The movie takes its cue from the book and medieval art in general for its lavish and detailed play with colour and texture, perspective and proportion, using medieval conventions like borders and triptychs in techniques ranging from ink, watercolour, chalk and pencil to Flash animation. Every frame is beautiful. 78 min. NNNN (AD) TIFF Bell Lightbox

ñselMa

Off-key Song SONG ONE (Kate Barker-Froyland) Rating: NN Anne Hathaway doesn’t play regular people that often, so when she does it’s worth taking note. Franny, her character in Kate Barker-Froyland’s Song One, may not be entirely ordinary – she’s a grad student studying nomadic cultures in Morocco – but she’s an actual person, not a noble sufferer or an astronaut.

Called home to New York when her brother Henry (Ben Rosenfield) is hit by a cab and knocked into a coma, Franny busies herself with finding out what Henry was up to before his accident, and winds up meeting her brother’s idol, British singer/songwriter James Forester (Johnny Flynn).

As Franny and James wind up

seeing more and more of each other, Barker-Froyland tries to shift Song One from a clenched family drama to a looser love story, but it doesn’t really work. Though Hathaway plays both modes just fine, Flynn isn’t a strong enough actor to play against her, or even to suggest his character’s charisma. He’s got chops as a musician, though, and it certainly helps that he’s performing songs written expressly for the film by Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice.

If you’re a Hathaway fan, this will be worth your time; she’s in every scene, and builds a convincingly tense relationship with screen mom Mary Steenburgen. But if you’re looking for the next Once, well, this isn’t it.

Opens at the Kingsway Theatre NorMaN wilNer Friday (January 23).

of his fame. Dick Pope shoots the landscapes that inspired the paintings spectacularly, but writer/director Leigh also conveys the impact of reality – slave ships, the rise of the steam engine – on the artist’s otherworldly masterpieces. An art film in every sense of the word. 150 min.

NNNNN (SGC) TIFF Bell Lightbox, Varsity

watching even as writer-director Gilroy’s slippery character study backs itself into a narrative corner. 117 min. NNNN (NW) Scotiabank Theatre

NatioNal Gallery (Frederick Wiseman)

puts the noted doc director’s fly-on-the wall camera inside London’s National Gallery. For the most part, very knowledgeable docents guide gallery-goers through the venerable institution’s impressive collection of Old Masters, shedding light on the storytelling powers of painting. Too bad Wiseman he wasn’t shooting during a particularly interesting period. 180 min. NNN (SGC) Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

NiGht at the MuseuM: secret of the toMb (Shawn Levy) occasionally amuses

thanks Ben Stiller and his cohorts, who manage to be funny despite the lazy screenplay. In the franchise finale, Stiller’s night watchman and his crew head to the UK to battle more reanimated relics. For all the CGI whizz-bang and encyclopedia of historical figures, director Levy still hasn’t figured out how to make the proceedings exciting. 98 min. NN (RS) 401 & Morningside, Canada Square, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Queensway, Rainbow Woodbine, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yorkdale, 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

ñPaddiNGtoN

(Paul King) is perfect.

Writer/director King’s remarkable adaptation of Michael Bond’s beloved children’s books spins the story of the lost little bear from Darkest Peru into a thoughtful and genuinely moving metaphor for the immigrant experience. It’s cartoonish in precisely the right way, situating its talking, marmalade-loving, tragically accident-prone protagonist (voiced

by Ben Whishaw) in a lush, just slightly exaggerated universe of delightful British actors. I’d have loved this when I was a kid.

Hell, I love it now. 95 min. NNNNN (NW) 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

PeNGuiNs of MadaGascar (Eric Darnell, Simon J. Smith) is a deflated return to the franchise’s blah beginnings, where the antic humour and infectious Red Bull energy of Europe’s Most Wanted make only brief cameos. This Madagascar spinoff focuses on those super-smart and selfserving penguins, who must step up from scene-stealers to characters with an arc, becoming derivative in the process. 92 min. NN (RS) 401 & Morningside, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Queensway, Yonge & Dundas 24 the secret of Kells (Tomm Moore,

ñ

Nora Twomey) is a kid-friendly animated fantasy on the book’s creation

(Ava DuVernay) traces key moments in the movement for black voting rights in 60s America and comes at a time when racist killings have galvanized activism all over the U.S. David Oyelowo’s superb performance as King and DuVernay’s skill directing both the massive set pieces and intimate details would make this a powerful film even without its current political resonance. 128 min. NNNN (SGC) 401 & Morningside, Canada Square, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Queensway, Rainbow Woodbine, SilverCity Yorkdale, Varsity, Yonge & Dundas 24

soNG of the sea (Tomm Moore) draws

from Gaelic folklore to tell the story of young children discovering magic and peril. The animation is imaginative and rich, but the sluggish plot and characters left me wanting a bit more Pixar-brand pizzazz. Though the adventure drags along, it features some of the most artistic designs outside of Studio Ghibli. 93 min.

NNN (RS) TIFF Bell Lightbox

soNG oNe (Kate Barker-Froyland) 88 min.

See review, page 55. NN (NW) Opens Jan 23 at Kingsway Theatre

still alice (Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland) 99 min. See interview and review, page 49. NNN (SGC) Opens Jan 23 at Queensway, Varsity straNGe MaGic (Gary Rydstrom) 99 min.

See Also Opening, page 52.

Opens Jan 23 at 401 & Morningside, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Humber Cinemas, Queensway, Rainbow Promenade, Rainbow Woodbine, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Yonge & Dundas 24 taKeN 3 (Olivier Megaton) forces Liam Neeson’s glowering security expert Bryan Mills into a clumsy reworking of The Fugitive. Director Megaton can’t cut an action scene coherently, screenwriters Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen seem to have assembled this script by cutting and pasting from the previous ones, and Dougray Scott is so embarrassingly miscast that he might as well have been digitally superimposed from old Mission: Impossible II footage. Some subtitles. 109 min. N (NW) 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, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Yonge & Dundas 24

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) Fox, Queensway, Rainbow Market Square, Revue, SilverCity Yonge, Varsity, Yonge & Dundas 24

ñtoP five

(Chris Rock) is a showbiz satire starring director Rock as a comic-turned-movie-star who’s had a string of flops since going sober and trying to become a serious actor. He uses his familiarity with the industry to goofy and hilarious ends, but surprises us with an overwhelming sense of vulnerability and pain – a human side to celebrity that is often overlooked. 102 min. NNNN (RS) Scotiabank Theatre

tru love (Kate Johnston, Shauna MacDonald) 87 min. See review, page 50. NNN (SGC) Opens Jan 23 at Carlton Cinema two days, oNe NiGht (Jean-Pierre

ñ

Dardenne, Luc Dardenne) is another excellent working-class drama from the Dardenne brothers, starring the magnificent Marion Cotillard as a depressed woman whose co-workers voted to eliminate her factory job to save their bonus.

Cotillard’s quivering face and resigned posture beautifully convey her fight against mental illness and to keep her job.

It’s a powerful, minimalist film about rallying self-worth in a dehumanizing economy. Subtitled. 92 min. NNNNN (RS) TIFF Bell Lightbox

uNbroKeN (Angelina Jolie) tells the story of how Louis Zamperini (Jack O’Connell) survived a Japanese prison camp during World War II, where he was unremittingly brutalized by the camp commander (Takamasa Ishihara, who’s excellent). But there’s no point here, beyond measuring Zamperini’s endurance. Strictly for sadists.

137 min. NN (SGC) 401 & Morningside, Canada Square, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Queensway, Scotiabank Theatre the weddiNG riNGer (Jeremy Garelick)

gives Kevin Hart material to work with, unlike those movies that simply drop him in a scene, pull the string on his back and let him loose. Jimmy, who pinch hits as a best man for friendless grooms, is an emotive character with some decent punchlines instead of the usual hot air of Hart’s act. As the groom who hires his services, Josh Gad also clicks as Hart’s straight man, making it

easy to overlook how lazy, predictable and mildly offensive The Wedding Ringer often is. 101 min. NN (RS) 401 & Morningside, Carlton Cinema, Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Eglinton Town Centre, Grande - Steeles, Queensway, Rainbow Woodbine, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yonge, SilverCity Yorkdale, Yonge & Dundas 24

whiPlash (Damien Chazelle) is a battle of wills between a drummer (Miles Teller) who challenges a monstrous conductor (J.K. Simmons) for a potentially life-changing 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) Canada Square, Carlton Cinema, Colossus, Fox, Kingsway Theatre why doN’t you Play iN hell? (Sion

Sono) 129 min. See review, page 52. NNN (NW) Opens Jan 23 at Royal

ñwild

(Jean-Marc Vallée) stars Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed, who walked 1,100 miles solo along the Pacific Crest Trail in 1995. What could have been a mawkish and sentimental true-life story plays as intelligent drama thanks to the sure hand of director Vallée, and Witherspoon is entirely credible as the worndown Strayed. 115 min. NNNN (NW) Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, Queensway, Rainbow Promenade, Varsity, Yonge & Dundas 24

ñwiNter sleeP

(Nuri Bilge Ceylan) is set at an exclusive Turkish hotel owned by retired actor Aydin (Haluk Bilginer), who chats with his guests and maintains some neighbouring properties.

A charged confrontation with a tenant in one of those properties forces Aydin to reflect on his life. Not much happens, but Ceylan understands the power of setting and the subtle shifts that happen when complex people bump up against each other. Subtitled. 196 min. NNNNN (GS) TIFF Bell Lightbox

the woMaN iN blacK 2: aNGel of death (Tom Harper) is a so-so spook show

that packs none of the original’s scariness and emotional punch, offering instead a predictable story, drab visuals and heavily underscored jump scares. Forty years after the events of the first film, a psychologically damaged teacher and her little band of moppets are evacuated from the London Blitz to the remote ruin where the titular ghost plies her murderous trade. 98 min. NN (Andrew Dowler) Coliseum Scarborough, Colossus, Queensway, Scotiabank Theatre, SilverCity Fairview, SilverCity Yorkdale 3

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

Sienna Miller and Bradley Cooper, sans robot baby, connect in American Sniper.

NOW january 22-28 2015 55

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

(CE)..............Cineplex Entertainment (ET).......................Empire Theatres (AA)......................Alliance Atlantis (AMC)..................... AMC Theatres (I)..............................Independent

TAKEN 3 (14A) Thu 12:35, 3:35, 7:05, 9:25 THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (PG) 12:30, 6:55

lndividual theatres may change showtimes after NOW’s press time. For updates, go online at www.nowtoronto.com or phone theatres.

608 COLLEGE ST, 416-466-4400

Available for selected films: RWC (Rear Window Captioning) and DVS (Descriptive Video Service)

Downtown BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA (I) 506 BLOOR ST. W., 416-637-3123

ADVANCED STYLE (PG) Fri 1:00 ART SPIEGELMAN: WHAT THE !?!? HAPPENED TO COMICS Mon 7:00 AWAKE: THE LIFE OF YOGANANDA (G) Sun 3:30 CITIZENFOUR (PG) Thu 9:00 THE 50 YEAR ARGUMENT Fri 3:00, 9:30 Sat 3:45, 6:00 Sun 1:00, 6:00 Mon 3:30 Tue 9:30 Wed 4:00, 6:30 LAST DAYS IN VIETNAM Thu 4:00, 6:30 Sun 8:30 Wed 8:45 LET’S GET LOST Tue 6:30 NATIONAL GALLERY (G) Tue 2:30 REVENGE OF THE MEKONS Sat 9:30 SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE ON SCREEN: THE TAMING OF THE SHREW Sat 12:00

CARLTON CINEMA (I) 20 CARLTON, 416-494-9371

AMERICAN SNIPER (14A) 1:15, 4:00, 6:45, 9:30 APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR 9:20 BLACKHAT (14A) 1:20, 4:05, 6:55, 9:35 BOYHOOD (14A) 1:50 ESCOBAR: PARADISE LOST (14A) 1:15, 3:50, 6:35, 9:10 FORCE MAJEURE (14A) 1:30 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (PG) ThuSun, Tue-Wed 4:00, 8:00 Mon 4:00 HOUSEBOUND (14A) 9:20 THE HUMBLING (14A) Fri-Wed 1:30, 4:20, 7:05, 9:25 THE INTERVIEW (14A) 1:25, 3:55, 6:45 INTO THE WOODS (PG) 1:35, 4:10, 6:50, 9:25 STAR OF MIDNIGHT Mon 7:00 TAKEN 3 (14A) 1:45, 4:15, 6:50, 9:15 THERE’S ALWAYS A WOMAN Mon 9:00 TRU LOVE Fri-Wed 2:00, 7:00 THE WEDDING RINGER (14A) 1:40, 4:15, 6:40, 9:05 WHIPLASH (14A) 7:00

REG HARTT CINEFORUM (I) 463 BATHURST ST., 416-603-6643 METROPOLIS Thu 7:00

ROYAL (I)

BUGSY MALONE Sat 2:00 FANTASTIC MR. FOX (PG) Sun 2:00 HAPHEAD Thu 7:00 RUE MORGUE Thu 9:30 TAXI DRIVER Fri-Sat, Mon 7:00 Sun 4:00, 7:00 Tue 9:30 WHY DON’T YOU PLAY IN HELL? Fri, Sun-Mon 9:20 Sat 4:00, 9:20 Tue-Wed 7:00

SCOTIABANK THEATRE (CE) 259 RICHMOND ST W, 416-368-5600

AMERICAN SNIPER (14A) Thu 1:05, 2:30, 4:00, 5:30, 7:00, 8:30, 10:05 Fri-Sat 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, 6:15, 7:40, 9:20, 10:40 Sun, Tue 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, 6:15, 7:40, 9:20, 10:30 Mon 1:30, 3:15, 6:15, 9:20, 10:30 Wed 1:30, 3:15, 4:30, 6:15, 7:40, 9:20, 10:30 AMERICAN SNIPER: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE (14A) Thu 1:25, 4:30, 7:30, 10:30 Fri-Sun, Tue 12:40, 3:45, 7:00, 10:00 Mon, Wed 12:45, 3:55, 7:00, 10:00 BLACKHAT (14A) Thu 1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 10:15 Fri-Sat 1:00, 4:00, 7:20, 10:20 Sun, Tue 1:00, 4:00, 7:15, 10:10 Mon, Wed 1:10, 4:05, 7:15, 10:10 EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS (PG) Thu 12:45, 3:55 Fri-Sat 12:50, 4:00 Sun-Wed 12:55, 4:00 EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS 3D (PG) Thu 7:05, 10:20 FriWed 7:10, 10:30 THE GAMBLER (14A) Thu 2:00, 4:30, 7:10, 9:45 Fri-Wed 1:50, 4:40 HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 (18A) Thu 1:25 THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 (PG) Thu 1:30, 4:30, 7:20, 10:15 Fri-Sat 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45 SunWed 1:40, 4:20, 7:00, 9:40 INHERENT VICE (14A) Thu 12:55, 4:05, 7:20, 10:30 Fri-Sat 12:35, 3:55, 7:20, 10:40 Sun, Tue 12:35, 3:55, 7:05, 10:15 Mon, Wed 12:50, 3:55, 7:05, 10:15 INTERSTELLAR (PG) Thu 2:45, 6:20, 9:55 Fri-Wed 2:50, 6:30, 10:10 MORTDECAI (14A) Thu 7:00, 10:00 Fri-Sat 12:35, 1:20, 2:20, 4:00, 5:00, 6:50, 7:50, 9:20, 10:20 Sun, Tue 12:35, 1:20, 2:20, 4:10, 5:00, 6:50, 7:50, 9:40, 10:20 Mon, Wed 12:45, 1:20, 2:20, 4:10, 5:00, 6:50, 7:50, 9:40, 10:20 NIGHTCRAWLER (14A) Thu 3:50 Fri-Sat 7:30 Sun-Wed 7:20 TAKEN 3 (14A) Thu 1:35, 2:10, 4:05, 4:45, 6:40, 7:40, 9:25, 10:15 Fri-Sat 2:00, 4:50, 7:50, 10:30 Sun-Wed 2:00, 4:50, 7:50, 10:20 TOP FIVE (18A) Fri-Sat 10:10 Sun-Wed 10:00 UNBROKEN (14A) Thu 12:55, 3:55, 7:00, 10:05 Fri-Sat 12:45, 3:45, 6:45, 9:45 Sun, Tue 12:45, 3:45, 6:55, 9:55 Mon, Wed 1:00, 3:55, 6:55, 9:55 THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2: ANGEL OF DEATH (14A) Thu 1:15, 3:40, 6:40, 9:15 Fri-Sat 2:35, 5:10, 7:30, 10:00 SunWed 2:35, 5:10, 7:30, 9:50

RAINBOW MARKET SQUARE (I) TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX (I) MARKET SQUARE, 80 FRONT ST E, 416-494-9371 350 KING ST W, 416-599-8433

AMERICAN SNIPER (14A) 12:45, 3:45, 6:45, 9:25 Sat, Tue 11:00 late BIG EYES (PG) Thu 3:30, 9:35 THE BOY NEXT DOOR (14A) 12:35, 2:35, 4:35, 7:10, 9:20 Sat, Tue 11:45 late THE IMITATION GAME (PG) Thu 3:40, 6:50, 9:30 Fri, SunMon, Wed 12:40, 3:40, 6:50, 9:35 Sat, Tue 12:40, 3:40, 6:50, 9:35, 11:10 INHERENT VICE (14A) Thu 1:00, 4:30, 7:30 Fri-Wed 3:15, 9:30 MORTDECAI (14A) Fri-Wed 12:50, 3:50, 7:05, 9:40 PADDINGTON (G) Thu 12:25 2:30 4:45 7:00 9:15 Fri-Wed 12:25, 2:30, 4:45, 7:00, 9:05

56 JANUARY 22-28 2015 NOW

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (PG) Fri 1:30 Sun 5:00 CITIZENFOUR (PG) Thu 12:10, 4:45, 8:45 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (18A) Sat 6:00 Sun 8:00 DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (PG) Fri 6:30 Sun 1:00 FULL METAL JACKET (14A) Thu 9:15 A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT (14A) 4:30, 8:45 Mon only 6:30 8:45 Tue only 3:45 8:45 LEVIATHAN (14A) Fri-Sun, Tue-Wed 12:15, 3:15, 6:20, 9:20 Mon 6:20, 9:20 MR. TURNER (14A) Thu 12:00, 3:20, 6:40, 9:45 Fri, Sun 12:30, 6:00 Sat 12:30, 5:50 Mon 6:00, 10:00 Tue 12:30,

6:05 Wed 6:45, 9:50 PATHS OF GLORY (PG) Thu 6:30 THE SECRET OF KELLS (G) Fri 1:00 THE SHINING (R) Fri 9:00 SONG OF THE SEA (PG) Thu 4:00, 6:15 Fri 3:00 Sat-Sun 3:45 SPARTACUS (14A) Sat 1:00 TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (PG) Thu 12:15, 2:35, 7:15, 9:30 Fri 12:00, 2:15, 3:45, 7:15, 9:30 Sat 12:00, 2:15, 7:15, 9:30 Sun 12:00, 2:15, 8:10, 10:20 Mon 7:30, 9:45 Tue 12:00, 7:30, 9:45 Wed 12:45, 3:15, 5:25, 7:35, 9:45 WINTER SLEEP (14A) Thu 12:30, 2:40, 4:30, 8:30 Fri 5:00, 9:10 Sat 12:45, 4:50, 9:10 Sun 12:45, 4:50, 9:05 Mon 6:10, 9:05 Tue 4:50, 9:10 Wed 4:50, 8:30

VARSITY (CE)

55 BLOOR ST W, 416-961-6304 BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (14A) Thu 1:30, 4:25, 7:15, 10:00 Fri-Sun 1:00, 3:45, 6:40, 9:35 Mon-Wed 1:05, 4:30, 7:25, 10:15 CAKE (14A) Fri-Sun 12:00, 2:30, 5:05, 7:45, 10:30 MonWed 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45 FOXCATCHER (14A) Thu 12:25, 3:20, 7:25, 10:00 THE IMITATION GAME (PG) Thu 1:05, 1:50, 4:00, 4:40, 6:50, 7:30, 9:45, 10:20 Fri-Sun 12:30, 3:30, 6:50, 9:50 Mon-Wed 1:40, 4:25, 7:15, 10:05 INHERENT VICE (14A) Thu 12:20, 3:35, 6:55, 10:15 MR. TURNER (14A) Thu 12:20, 3:45, 10:25 Fri 12:10, 3:25, 6:50, 10:05 Sat-Sun 12:10, 3:25, 6:45, 10:05 Mon-Wed 3:00, 6:25, 9:50 SELMA (PG) Thu 1:10, 4:15, 7:20, 10:25 Fri-Sat 1:10, 4:10, 7:20, 10:25 Sun 1:10, 4:10, 7:20, 10:15 Mon-Wed 12:40, 3:40, 6:40, 9:35 STILL ALICE (PG) Fri-Sun 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 9:55 Mon-Wed 1:15, 4:00, 6:45, 9:25 THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (PG) Fri-Sun 12:40, 3:35, 6:35, 9:40 Mon-Wed 12:30, 3:15, 6:20, 9:15 WILD (18A) Thu 1:10, 3:50, 6:35, 9:15 Fri-Sat 1:35, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45 Sun 12:50, 3:30, 6:10, 8:50 Mon-Wed 12:45, 3:25, 6:15, 9:00

VIP SCREENINGS

BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (14A) Thu 3:40, 9:30 Fri-Sun 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00 MonWed 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 10:00 FOXCATCHER (14A) Fri-Sun 12:15, 3:30, 6:30, 9:30 MonWed 12:30, 3:30, 6:50, 10:15 THE IMITATION GAME (PG) Thu 12:20, 3:20, 6:10, 9:00 FriSun 1:00, 4:20, 7:30, 10:10 Mon-Wed 12:50, 3:45, 6:30, 9:20 INHERENT VICE (14A) Fri-Sat 12:30, 3:45, 7:00, 10:30 Sun 12:30, 3:45, 7:00, 10:15 Mon-Wed 2:30, 6:00, 9:40 MR. TURNER (14A) Thu 3:05, 6:30, 9:50 THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (PG) Thu 1:00, 4:10, 7:10, 10:10 WILD (18A) Thu 12:40, 6:50

YONGE & DUNDAS 24 (CE) 10 DUNDAS ST E, 416-977-9262

20 ONCE AGAIN Thu 3:55, 7:15, 10:05 Fri, Mon-Wed 3:40, 6:40, 9:45 Sat-Sun 12:40, 3:40, 6:40, 9:45 AMERICAN SNIPER (14A) Thu 3:30, 7:10, 10:25 Fri 3:45, 7:00, 10:15 Sat 12:30, 3:45, 7:00, 10:15 Sun 12:30, 3:45, 7:00, 10:30 Mon-Wed 3:30, 6:45, 10:00 BIG HERO 6 3D (PG) Thu 7:30 BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (14A) Thu 4:10, 7:25, 10:15 Fri-Sat 2:30, 5:15, 8:00, 10:50 Sun 1:50, 4:45, 7:35, 10:20 Mon-Wed 7:35, 10:30 BOLSHOI BALLET: SWAN LAKE Sun 12:55 THE BOY NEXT DOOR (14A) Thu 9:30 Fri 2:30, 3:30, 5:00, 6:00, 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, 10:00, 11:00 Sat 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 2:30, 3:30, 5:00, 6:00, 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, 10:00, 11:00 Sun 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 2:30, 3:30, 5:00, 6:00, 7:30, 7:50, 8:30, 10:00, 10:50 Mon 2:30, 3:30, 5:00, 6:00, 6:30, 7:45, 8:30, 10:00, 10:45 Tue 2:30, 3:30, 5:00, 6:00, 7:30, 7:45, 8:30, 10:00, 10:45 Wed 2:30, 3:30, 5:00, 6:00, 6:30, 7:30, 7:45, 8:30, 10:00, 10:45 BOYHOOD (14A) Fri 4:20, 10:40 Sat 12:30, 6:40 Sun 4:10 Mon 6:50 Tue 4:25, 10:25 Wed 9:35 CAKE (14A) Fri 2:40, 5:10, 7:45, 10:30 Sat-Sun 12:15, 2:40, 5:10, 7:45, 10:30 Mon-Wed 2:40, 5:10, 7:50, 10:30 THE CON ARTISTS (PG) Fri-Wed 1:55, 4:40, 7:25, 10:10 DOLLY KI DOLI Fri, Mon-Wed 1:50, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15 Sat-Sun 1:20, 3:55, 6:30, 9:15 FOXCATCHER (14A) Thu 10:25 GONE GIRL (14A) Thu 3:55 THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (14A) Fri 1:55, 7:55 Sat 4:15, 10:20 Mon 4:30, 10:20 Tue 1:50, 8:00 Wed 2:00, 4:45 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES – AN IMAX

3D EXPERIENCE (PG) Thu 3:25, 6:55, 10:20 Fri 3:30, 6:55, 10:20 Sat 12:10, 3:30, 6:55, 10:20 Sun 12:10, 3:30, 6:55, 10:05 Mon-Wed 3:25, 6:55, 10:15 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 3D (PG) Thu 2:30, 5:40, 9:00, 9:20 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (PG) Thu 6:10 THE IMITATION GAME (PG) Thu 1:40, 3:00, 4:25, 6:10, 7:25, 9:20, 10:10 Fri 2:50, 3:00, 5:30, 6:00, 8:10, 9:00, 10:55 Sat 12:00, 2:50, 3:00, 5:30, 6:00, 8:10, 9:00, 10:55 Sun 12:00, 2:20, 3:00, 5:05, 6:00, 7:45, 9:00, 10:25 MonWed 2:20, 2:45, 5:05, 5:45, 7:45, 8:45, 10:25 IN THE GALLERY – GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING AND OTHER TREASURES FROM THE MAURITSHUIS MUSEUM Thu 1:45 Mon 2:15 Wed 7:30 INTO THE WOODS (PG) Thu 1:45, 4:35, 7:35, 10:30 Fri 1:40, 4:35, 7:35, 10:35 Sat-Sun 12:50, 4:00, 7:15, 10:15 Mon-Tue 7:15, 10:15 Wed 10:15 NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: TREASURE ISLAND Thu 7:00 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB (PG) Thu 7:35, 10:20 Fri 2:15 Sat-Sun 11:55 ODE TO MY FATHER Thu 6:25, 9:45 PADDINGTON (G) Thu 1:55, 4:20, 6:50, 10:10 Fri-Tue 1:40, 4:10, 6:50, 9:30 Wed 1:40, 4:10, 6:50, 9:45 PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR (G) Thu 1:50 SELMA (PG) Thu 1:50, 4:40, 7:30, 10:25 Fri 1:40, 4:45, 7:50, 10:55 Sat-Sun 1:05, 4:00, 7:00, 9:55 Mon-Wed 7:00, 9:55 STRANGE MAGIC Fri, Mon-Wed 1:45, 4:05, 6:25, 8:45 SatSun 1:25, 3:45, 6:15, 8:45 TAKEN 3 (14A) Thu 4:00, 6:40, 9:40 Fri 3:20, 6:30, 9:30 Sat-Sun 12:15, 3:20, 6:30, 9:30 Mon-Wed 3:00, 6:15, 9:15 THE TAKING OF TIGER MOUNTAIN (14A) Thu 3:15, 6:20, 9:35 THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (PG) Thu 7:30, 10:25 Fri 3:10, 6:05, 9:05 Sat-Sun 11:55, 3:10, 6:05, 9:05 Mon, Wed 9:05 Tue 6:30, 9:15 THE WEDDING RINGER (14A) Thu 4:30, 4:45, 7:40, 7:45, 10:30, 10:45 Fri 3:20, 4:30, 5:55, 7:30, 8:20, 10:40, 10:45 Sat 12:30, 1:30, 3:20, 4:30, 5:55, 7:30, 8:20, 10:40, 10:45 Sun 12:05, 1:30, 2:35, 4:30, 5:15, 7:30, 8:00, 10:10, 10:25 Mon-Wed 2:35, 4:30, 5:15, 7:15, 8:00, 10:20, 10:25 WILD (18A) Thu 7:10, 10:00 Fri 4:55, 7:40, 10:40 Sat 2:15, 4:55, 7:40, 10:40 Sun 2:15, 4:55, 7:40, 10:20 Mon-Tue 7:40, 10:20 WWE ROYAL RUMBLE - 2015 Sun 8:00

Midtown CANADA SQUARE (CE) 2200 YONGE ST, 416-646-0444

ANNIE (PG) Thu 8:20 Fri 4:10, 7:10 Sat-Sun 1:25, 4:10, 7:10 Mon-Wed 5:35 BIG EYES (PG) Thu 5:45, 8:15 Fri 4:30, 7:15, 9:50 Sat-Sun 1:50, 4:30, 7:15, 9:50 Mon-Wed 5:15, 8:00 BLACKHAT (14A) Fri 3:45, 6:45, 9:45 Sat-Sun 12:45, 3:45, 6:45, 9:45 Mon-Wed 5:15, 8:15 FENG SHUI 2 (PG) Thu 5:20, 8:30 Fri 4:20, 7:00, 9:40 SatSun 1:40, 4:20, 7:00, 9:40 Mon-Wed 5:20, 8:05 FOXCATCHER (14A) Thu 5:10 Fri-Sun 10:00 Mon-Wed 8:20 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 3D (PG) Fri-Sun 3:30, 9:55 Mon-Wed 8:10 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (PG) Fri 6:40 Sat-Sun 12:20, 6:40 Mon-Wed 5:00 INHERENT VICE (14A) Thu 5:00, 8:00 Fri 6:30, 9:50 SatSun 3:15, 6:30, 9:50 Mon-Wed 7:50 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB (PG) Thu 5:30, 8:10 Fri 4:00 Sat-Sun 12:30 Mon-Wed 5:30 SELMA (PG) Thu 5:20, 8:20 Fri 3:50, 6:55, 9:55 Sat-Sun 1:00, 3:50, 6:55, 9:55 Mon-Wed 5:30, 8:25 UNBROKEN (14A) Thu 5:15, 8:15 WHIPLASH (14A) Thu 5:30, 8:00 Fri 4:50, 7:30, 10:05 SatSun 2:10, 4:50, 7:30, 10:05 Mon-Wed 5:40, 8:30

MT PLEASANT (I)

675 MT PLEASANT RD, 416-489-8484 BOYHOOD (14A) Fri-Sat 6:15 Sun 4:00 Tue 6:45 FORCE MAJEURE (14A) Thu 7:00 Sat 3:40 Sun 1:30 Wed 6:40 THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (14A) Fri-Sat 9:35 Sun 7:15 Wed 9:05

REGENT THEATRE (I) 551 MT PLEASANT RD, 416-480-9884

BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (14A) Thu, Tue 7:00 Fri 6:30, 9:00 Sat 4:00, 6:30, 9:00 Sun 2:00, 4:30, 7:00

SILVERCITY YONGE (CE) 2300 YONGE ST, 416-544-1236

AMERICAN SNIPER (14A) Thu 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 10:15 Fri-Sat 1:20, 4:20, 7:25, 10:30 Sun 1:00, 4:00, 7:10, 10:15 Mon-Tue 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00 Wed 12:50, 3:50, 6:50, 9:50 BLACKHAT (14A) Thu 12:30, 3:30, 6:40, 9:55 BOLSHOI BALLET: SWAN LAKE Sun 12:55 THE BOY NEXT DOOR (14A) Fri-Sat 1:00, 3:20, 5:40, 8:05, 10:30 Sun 12:30, 2:45, 5:00, 7:30, 9:55 Mon-Tue 12:30, 2:45, 5:00, 7:35, 9:50 Wed 12:30, 2:45, 5:00, 7:40, 9:55 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 3D (PG) Thu 7:00, 10:15

THE IMITATION GAME (PG) Thu 1:00, 3:55, 6:50, 9:50 FriSat 1:10, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00 Sun 12:45, 3:45, 6:40, 9:40 MonTue 12:50, 3:40, 6:50, 9:45 Wed 1:10, 4:00, 6:45, 9:45 IN THE GALLERY – GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING AND OTHER TREASURES FROM THE MAURITSHUIS MUSEUM Wed 7:30 INTO THE WOODS (PG) Thu 12:40, 3:30, 6:30, 10:25 FriSat 12:50, 3:45, 6:45 Sun 3:40, 6:30 Mon-Tue 12:30, 3:20, 6:30 Wed 12:30, 3:20 MORTDECAI (14A) Fri-Sat 2:15, 4:55, 7:35, 10:15 Sun 1:25, 4:35, 7:20, 10:00 Mon-Wed 1:30, 4:30, 7:20, 10:00 NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: TREASURE ISLAND Thu 7:00 PADDINGTON (G) Thu 1:25, 4:50, 7:40, 10:05 Fri-Sun 12:30, 2:55, 5:20, 7:45, 10:10 Mon-Tue 1:10, 3:50, 6:30, 9:10 Wed 3:40, 6:20, 9:35 STRANGE MAGIC Fri-Sat 12:30, 3:05, 5:30, 7:55, 10:25 Sun 1:10, 4:25, 7:00, 9:30 Mon-Tue 1:20, 4:10, 7:25, 9:55 Wed 3:30, 6:30, 9:30 TAKEN 3 (14A) Thu 1:40, 4:40, 7:30, 10:10 Fri-Sat 9:45 SunTue 9:25 Wed 9:20 THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (PG) Thu 12:50, 3:45, 9:20 Fri-Sat 12:40, 3:35, 6:35, 9:35 Sun 12:40, 3:30, 6:20, 9:15 Mon-Tue 12:40, 3:30, 6:40, 9:30 Wed 12:40, 3:30, 9:10 THE WEDDING RINGER (14A) Thu 1:50, 4:30, 7:20, 10:00 Fri-Sat 2:00, 4:35, 7:10, 9:50 Sun 1:35, 4:10, 6:50, 9:50 Mon-Wed 1:40, 4:20, 7:10, 9:40

Metro West End HUMBER CINEMAS (I) 2442 BLOOR ST. WEST, 416-769-2442

AMERICAN SNIPER (14A) Thu, Tue-Wed 3:30, 6:40, 9:30 Fri-Sun 12:45, 3:30, 6:40, 9:30 Mon 1:00, 3:30, 6:40, 9:30 THE IMITATION GAME (PG) Thu, Tue-Wed 3:40, 6:50, 9:20 Fri-Mon 1:00, 3:40, 6:50, 9:20 PADDINGTON (G) Thu, Tue-Wed 3:50, 6:30, 8:45 Fri-Mon 1:15, 3:50, 6:30, 8:45 STRANGE MAGIC Fri-Mon 1:30, 4:00, 7:00, 9:00 Tue-Wed 4:00, 7:00, 9:00 TAKEN 3 (14A) Thu 4:20, 7:00, 9:40

KINGSWAY THEATRE (I) 3030 BLOOR ST W, 416-232-1939

AWAKE: THE LIFE OF YOGANANDA (G) Sat, Mon, Wed 11:00 BIG HERO 6 (PG) Sat-Sun 10:45 BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (14A) Thu 7:20 Fri-Wed 3:10, 7:15 BOYHOOD (14A) Thu 12:55, 8:55 Fri, Mon-Wed 12:25, 9:15 Sat-Sun 9:15 COPENHAGEN (14A) Sat, Mon, Wed 12:55 ELSA & FRED (PG) Thu 2:30 Fri, Sun, Tue 12:55 FITZWILLY Thu-Fri, Mon-Wed 10:45 FORCE MAJEURE (14A) Sat, Mon, Wed 5:45 FOXCATCHER (14A) Thu 5:00 Fri, Sun, Tue 5:05 INTERSTELLAR (PG) 9:15 Sat-Sun 12:25 mat THE INTERVIEW (14A) Thu 7:05 MY OLD LADY (PG) Thu 11:00, 3:15 Fri-Wed 4:00 THE 100-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED (14A) Thu 12:45 Fri, Sun, Tue 11:00 PRIDE (14A) Thu 5:00 Fri, Sun, Tue 5:45 SONG ONE (14A) Fri-Wed 2:30, 7:45 WHIPLASH (14A) Thu 3:15 Sat, Mon, Wed 5:05

QUEENSWAY (CE)

1025 THE QUEENSWAY, QEW & ISLINGTON, 416-503-0424 AMERICAN SNIPER (14A) Thu 1:00, 3:45, 4:00, 7:00, 7:20, 10:15, 10:25 Fri 1:10, 4:15, 4:20, 7:30, 10:40, 10:45 Sat 11:40, 1:00, 1:10, 4:15, 7:30, 10:40, 10:45 Sun 12:50, 1:00, 4:00, 4:15, 7:10, 7:30, 10:20, 10:45 Mon-Tue 12:55, 4:00, 4:15, 7:10, 7:30, 10:20, 10:45 Wed 12:50, 4:00, 4:15, 7:10, 7:30, 10:20, 10:45 ANNIE (PG) Thu 1:50 Fri 12:25 Sat-Sun 12:15 Mon-Tue 12:30 Wed 12:40 BLACKHAT (14A) Thu 12:35, 3:30, 7:00, 10:05 Fri 12:00, 3:00, 6:10, 9:15 Sat 12:00, 3:05, 6:10, 9:15 Sun-Wed 12:35, 3:40, 6:55, 10:00 BOLSHOI BALLET: SWAN LAKE Sun 12:55 THE BOY NEXT DOOR (14A) Fri 12:45, 3:10, 5:40, 8:10, 10:30 Sat 12:45, 3:10, 5:40, 8:10, 10:35 Sun 12:20, 2:50, 5:20, 7:50, 10:10 Mon-Tue 2:50, 5:20, 7:50, 10:10 Wed 5:20, 7:50, 10:10 CAKE (14A) Fri 12:05, 2:45, 5:30, 8:20, 10:55 Sat 11:05, 2:45, 5:30, 8:20, 10:55 Sun 12:30, 3:00, 5:30, 8:00, 10:30 Mon-Wed 2:40, 5:30, 8:00, 10:30 THE GAMBLER (14A) Thu 4:40, 10:20 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 3D (PG) Thu 5:30, 8:50 Fri-Sat 2:55, 6:30 Sun 2:55, 6:10 Mon-Wed 6:00 THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (PG) Thu 2:00 Fri 12:15 Sat 11:35 Sun 12:05 Mon-Wed 2:20 THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 (PG) Thu 1:30, 4:30, 7:40, 10:30 THE IMITATION GAME (PG) Thu 12:55, 3:00, 3:40, 6:00, 6:50, 9:00, 9:40 Fri 1:20, 3:30, 4:10, 6:30, 7:00, 9:30, 9:50 Sat 12:20, 1:20, 3:30, 4:10, 6:30, 7:00, 9:30, 9:50 Sun 12:20, 1:00, 3:30, 3:50, 6:30, 6:40, 9:30, 9:35 Mon-Tue 1:00, 3:30, 3:50, 6:30, 6:40, 9:30, 9:35 Wed 1:10, 3:30, 3:50, 6:30, 6:40, 9:30, 9:35 IN THE GALLERY – GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING AND OTHER TREASURES FROM THE MAURITSHUIS MUSEUM Wed 7:30 INHERENT VICE (14A) Thu 1:35, 4:15, 5:10, 8:00, 8:35 FriSat 9:55 Sun-Wed 9:30 INTO THE WOODS (PG) Thu 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 10:10 Fri-Sat 3:20, 6:20, 9:20 Sun 3:10, 9:50 Mon-Tue 3:10, 6:10, 9:10 Wed 3:10, 8:45 MORTDECAI (14A) Fri 2:15, 5:05, 7:50, 10:45 Sat 11:30, 2:15, 5:05, 7:50, 10:45 Sun-Tue 1:40, 4:30, 7:30, 10:15 Wed 4:30, 7:30, 10:15 NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: TREASURE ISLAND Thu 7:00 NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB (PG) Thu 1:40, 4:20, 6:40 Fri-Sat 1:30 Sun 12:40 Mon-Wed 12:45 PADDINGTON (G) Thu 2:20, 4:50, 7:30, 9:55 Fri 1:45, 4:30, 7:10, 9:40 Sat 11:10, 1:45, 4:25, 7:10, 9:40 Sun 12:00, 1:30, 4:10, 6:50, 9:20 Mon-Wed 1:30, 4:10, 6:50, 9:20

Special Screenings Friday, January 23

House, 7 Hart House Circle. harthouse.ca.

greek elections Documentary screening of

Tuesday, January 27

Saturday, January 24

documentary by Jeffrey x Bonna as part of Holocaust Remembrance Day. 6:30-9 pm.

Free (RSVP). Alliance Française, 24 Spadina Rd. iictoronto.esteri.it.

Greece On The Brink and discussion to follow. 7 pm. Pwyc. OISE, 252 Bloor W, rm 5150.

416-461-0304, marxist.ca.

bugsy Malone Kid Power! film screening of

the offbeat slapstick gangster musical. 2 pm. Royal Cinema, 608 College. theroyal.to. the last Pogo juMPs again Screening of the 2013 film by Colin Brunton and Kire Paputts. Sat-Mon 7 pm. Cineforum, 463 Bathurst. cineforum.ca.

Sunday, January 25 silent coMedy revue Short films that pay

tribute to the leading ladies of slapstick, with live piano accompaniment. 4:15 pm. $13, stu/srs $10. Revue Cinema, 400 Roncesvalles. 416-531-9959, revuecinema.ca.

Monday, January 26 conscious activisM docuMentary series:

trick or treaty? Screening of the 2014 film

by Alanis Obomsawin. 6-9 pm. Free. Hart Penguins of Madagascar (G) Thu 1:20 selMa (PG) Thu 12:35, 3:25, 6:20, 9:30 Fri-Sat 12:35, 3:35, 6:40, 9:45 Sun 3:20, 6:20, 9:25 Mon-Wed 12:30, 3:20, 6:20, 9:25 still alice (PG) Fri 2:00, 4:45, 7:20, 10:00 Sat 11:25, 2:00, 4:45, 7:20, 10:00 Sun-Wed 1:20, 4:20, 7:00, 9:40 strange Magic Fri 2:05, 4:55, 7:40, 10:15 Sat 11:20, 2:05, 4:55, 7:40, 10:15 Sun 12:10, 4:40, 7:20, 9:15 Mon-Wed 2:00, 4:40, 7:20, 9:55 taken 3 (14A) Thu 2:10, 3:30, 5:00, 6:30, 7:50, 9:30, 10:35 Fri 2:25, 3:00, 5:15, 6:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:50 Sat 11:45, 12:00, 2:25, 3:00, 5:15, 6:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:50 Sun 12:00, 1:50, 3:00, 4:50, 6:00, 7:40, 9:00, 10:25 Mon 2:10, 3:00, 4:50, 7:40, 9:00, 10:25 Tue-Wed 2:10, 3:00, 4:50, 6:00, 7:40, 9:00, 10:25 the theory of everything (PG) 3:50, 7:00, 10:15 SatSun 12:40 mat unbroken (14A) Thu 12:45, 3:45, 7:15, 10:30 the Wedding ringer (14A) Thu 2:40, 4:45, 5:20, 7:30, 8:00, 10:30, 10:35 Fri 3:00, 3:25, 5:55, 6:00, 8:30, 9:00, 11:00 Sat 12:00, 12:55, 3:00, 3:25, 5:55, 6:00, 8:30, 9:00, 11:00 Sun 12:00, 2:40, 3:00, 5:10, 6:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:30 Mon 2:30, 3:00, 5:10, 6:00, 8:00, 10:15, 10:30 Tue-Wed 2:30, 3:00, 5:10, 6:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:30 Wild (18A) Thu 3:50, 6:30, 9:20 Fri-Sat 4:00, 6:50, 9:35 Sun 3:30, 6:30 Mon-Wed 3:30, 6:30, 9:15 the WoMan in black 2: angel of death (14A) Thu 9:10 WWe royal ruMble - 2015 Sun 8:00

RainboW Woodbine (i)

Woodbine CenTRe, 500 Rexdale blvd, 416-213-1998 aMerican sniPer (14A) Thu 12:45 3:40 6:35 9:40 FriWed 12:45, 3:40, 6:35, 9:30 blackhat (14A) Thu 12:55, 3:45, 6:40, 9:45 Fri-Wed 3:45, 9:25 the boy next door (14A) Fri-Wed 1:10, 4:10, 7:05, 9:45 night at the MuseuM: secret of the toMb (PG) Thu 1:10, 4:05, 6:50, 9:15 Fri-Wed 12:50, 6:50 Paddington (G) Thu 1:15 3:55 6:55 9:20 Fri-Wed 1:15, 4:00, 6:55, 9:20 selMa (PG) Thu 12:50, 3:35, 6:30, 9:25 strange Magic Fri-Wed 1:00, 4:05, 6:45, 9:15 taken 3 (14A) Thu 1:05, 3:50, 6:45, 9:35 Fri-Wed 12:55, 3:55, 6:40, 9:40 the Wedding ringer (14A) Thu 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:30 Fri-Wed 1:05, 3:50, 7:00, 9:35

Revue (i)

400 RonCeSvalleS ave, 416-531-9959 aWake: the life of yogananda (G) Thu 9:30 beyond the lights (14A) Mon 6:30 Tue 9:00 foxcatcher (14A) Fri 9:00 Sat 7:00 giMMe shelter (PG) Sun 7:00 the god of raMen Thu 6:30 the kingdoM of dreaMs and Madness (G) Wed 7:00 leading ladies of slaPstick Sun 4:00 My neighbor totoro (G) Sat 2:00 sPirited aWay (PG) Sun 1:00 the tale of the Princess kaguya (PG) Sat 4:00 the theory of everything (PG) Fri, Tue 6:30 Sat-Sun 9:45 Mon 9:00 Wed 2:00, 9:30

East End beaCh CineMaS (aa) 1651 Queen ST e, 416-699-1327

aMerican sniPer (14A) Thu 7:10, 10:00 Fri-Sun 12:40, 3:50, 7:00, 10:00 Mon-Wed 7:00, 10:00 the boy next door (14A) 7:30, 9:45 Fri-Sun 1:30, 4:00 mat the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies (PG) Thu 7:00, 10:10 the iMitation gaMe (PG) Thu 6:50, 9:30 Fri-Sun 1:00, 3:40, 6:40, 9:20 Mon-Wed 6:40, 9:20 into the Woods (PG) Thu 7:20, 10:15 Fri-Sun 1:20, 4:20, 7:20, 10:10 Mon-Wed 7:20, 10:10 Mortdecai (14A) 6:50, 9:30 Fri-Sun 1:10, 4:10 mat Paddington (G) Thu 7:30, 9:50 Fri-Sun 12:30, 2:50, 5:10, 6:30, 9:00 Mon-Wed 6:30, 9:00 taken 3 (14A) Thu 6:40, 9:15

gold Will set you free Screening of the

Wednesday, January 28 cineMatic discoveries along the silk road and the sPice route Film series. 7 & 9 pm. $15, srs/stu $12. Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford. agakhanmuseum.org.

Film festivals this week censured in canada filM festival Festi-

val of underground films dedicated to giving Canadian-based films and filmmakers marginalized by existing Canadian festivals a voice. Noon-6 pm. Daily pass $10.

CineCycle, 129 Spadina. censured.info.

Jan 24 to 25

Fox (i)

2236 Queen ST e, 416-691-7330 big hero 6 3d (PG) Sat-Sun 2:00 birdMan or (the unexPected virtue of ignorance) (14A) Thu 7:00 foxcatcher (14A) Fri, Tue 9:15 Sat 4:00 Sun 4:00, 9:15 Mon, Wed 6:45 the theory of everything (PG) Fri, Sun, Tue 6:45 Mon, Wed 9:15 WhiPlash (14A) Thu 9:20

North York Cineplex CineMaS eMpReSS Walk (Ce) 5095 Yonge ST., 416-847-0087

aMerican sniPer (14A) Thu 4:10, 7:15, 10:15 aMerican sniPer: the iMax exPerience (14A) Fri-Sat 1:00, 4:10, 7:20, 10:25 Sun 12:35, 3:35, 6:30, 9:45 MonWed 3:55, 7:00, 10:05 bolshoi ballet: sWan lake Sun 12:55 the boy next door (14A) Fri 12:55, 3:20, 5:40, 8:00, 10:20 Sat 12:45, 3:20, 5:40, 8:00, 10:20 Sun 1:00, 3:10, 6:20, 9:30 Mon-Wed 4:10, 7:20, 9:55 cake (14A) 4:20, 7:30, 10:10 Fri-Sun 1:30 mat foxcatcher (14A) Thu 3:45, 9:50 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies 3d (PG) Thu 6:50, 10:05 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies (PG) Thu 3:40 the iMitation gaMe (PG) Thu 4:00, 7:00, 10:00 Fri 3:50, 7:00, 9:50 Sat 12:55, 3:50, 7:00, 9:50 Sun 3:55, 7:00, 9:50 Mon-Wed 3:50, 6:55, 9:50 in the gallery – girl With a Pearl earring and other treasures froM the Mauritshuis MuseuM Wed 7:30 into the Woods (PG) Thu 3:30 national theatre live: treasure island Thu 7:00 ode to My father Thu 3:55, 6:55, 9:40 Fri-Sat 12:30, 3:40, 6:50, 10:00 Sun 12:30, 3:45, 6:50, 10:00 Mon-Wed 3:40, 6:50, 10:00 Paddington (G) Thu 4:30, 7:45, 10:10 Fri 12:30, 1:20, 3:30, 6:40, 9:40 Sat 12:55, 3:30, 6:40, 9:40 Sun 12:45, 3:25, 6:40, 9:40 Mon-Wed 3:30, 6:40, 9:40 strange Magic Fri-Sat 12:35, 3:00, 6:30, 9:30 Sun 12:50, 4:40, 7:15, 9:55 Mon-Wed 3:35, 6:30, 9:30 taken 3 (14A) Thu 5:00, 7:10, 9:45 Fri-Sat 4:30, 7:50, 10:30 Sun 4:30, 7:25, 10:05 Mon-Tue 4:30, 7:35, 10:10 Wed 4:30, 10:10 unbroken (14A) Thu 6:40 the Wedding ringer (14A) Thu 3:35, 7:25, 10:15 Fri-Sat 1:50, 4:50, 7:40, 10:15 Sun 1:50, 4:50, 7:45, 10:15 Mon-Wed 4:50, 7:45, 10:15 Wild (18A) Thu 3:30, 7:30, 10:10 Fri-Sun 1:10

Cineplex vip CineMaS don MillS (Ce) 12 MaRie labaTTe Road, 416-644-0660

aMerican sniPer (14A) Thu 2:30, 5:30, 8:30 Fri 4:00, 5:50, 7:10, 9:10, 10:30 Sat 1:00, 4:00, 5:50, 7:10, 9:10, 10:30 Sun 1:00, 4:00, 5:50, 7:10, 9:10, 10:20 Mon-Tue 4:00, 4:40, 7:00, 8:00, 10:15 Wed 3:30, 4:40, 6:30, 8:00, 9:40 birdMan or (the unexPected virtue of ignorance) (14A) Fri-Mon 2:20, 5:20, 8:30 Tue-Wed 2:30, 5:20, 8:30 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies 3d (PG) Thu 3:00, 6:30 the iMitation gaMe (PG) Thu 1:30, 4:30, 7:30 Fri 2:50, 3:20, 6:30, 9:50 Sat 12:00, 12:30, 2:50, 3:20, 6:30, 9:50 Sun 12:00, 12:30, 2:50, 3:20, 6:30, 9:40 Mon-Wed 2:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:10 in the gallery – girl With a Pearl earring and other treasures froM the Mauritshuis MuseuM Wed 7:30 national theatre live: treasure island Thu 7:00 taken 3 (14A) Thu 2:00, 5:00, 8:00 Fri 4:40, 7:50, 11:00 Sat 1:30, 4:40, 7:50, 11:00 Sun 1:30, 4:40, 7:50 Mon-Tue 3:30, 6:30, 9:40 Wed 4:00, 10:10 unbroken (14A) Thu 3:30

onTaRio SCienCe CenTRe oMniMax (i) 770 don MillS Rd., 416-429-4100

great White shark Sat-Sun 12:00 hubble Fri, Mon, Wed 1:00 Sat-Sun 2:00 the huMan body 12:00 Thu, Tue 1:00 mat island of leMurs: Madagascar (G) Thu-Fri, MonWed 11:00, 2:00 Sat-Sun 11:00, 4:00 rocky Mountain exPress Sat 3:00 under the sea Sat-Sun 1:00

SilveRCiTY FaiRvieW (Ce)

FaiRvieW Mall, 1800 SheppaRd ave e, 416-644-7746 aMerican sniPer (14A) Thu 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 10:15 Fri-Sat 1:30, 4:15, 7:15, 10:15 Sun-Wed 1:00, 3:45, 6:50, 9:50 blackhat (14A) Thu 1:20, 4:15, 7:15, 10:20 Fri-Sat 4:20, 7:20, 10:20 Sun-Wed 3:50, 6:55, 9:55 the boy next door (14A) Fri 1:35, 4:45, 7:40, 10:00 Sat 11:25, 1:35, 4:45, 7:40, 10:00 Sun-Tue 1:05, 4:45, 7:15, 9:35 Wed 4:45, 7:15, 9:35 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies 3d (PG) Thu 4:00, 7:05, 10:10 Fri-Sat 3:55, 10:05 Sun-Wed 3:25, 9:40 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies (PG) Thu 1:00 Fri-Sat 1:45, 7:00 Sun-Tue 1:15, 6:35 Wed 1:15 the iMitation gaMe (PG) Thu 1:55, 4:40, 7:20, 10:00 Fri 2:00, 4:50, 7:30, 10:10 Sat 11:20, 2:00, 4:50, 7:30, 10:10 Sun-Wed 1:30, 4:20, 7:05, 9:45 in the gallery – girl With a Pearl earring and other treasures froM the Mauritshuis MuseuM Wed 7:30 into the Woods (PG) Thu 1:35, 4:30, 7:25, 10:20 night at the MuseuM: secret of the toMb (PG) Thu 2:00, 7:00 Fri 1:55 Sat 11:30, 1:55 Sun-Tue 1:25 Paddington (G) Thu 1:50, 4:25, 6:50, 9:30 Fri 1:40, 4:25, 6:55, 9:30 Sat 11:15, 1:40, 4:25, 6:55, 9:30 Sun-Wed 1:10, 3:55, 6:30, 9:00 strange Magic Fri 2:10, 4:40, 7:10, 9:40 Sat 11:40, 2:10, 4:40, 7:10, 9:40 Sun-Wed 1:40, 4:10, 6:45, 9:10 taken 3 (14A) Thu 2:10, 4:50, 7:30, 10:05 Fri 1:50, 4:30, 7:05, 9:50 Sat 11:10, 1:50, 4:30, 7:05, 9:50 Sun-Wed 1:20, 4:00, 6:40, 9:20 the Wedding ringer (14A) Thu 1:30, 4:20, 6:55, 9:50 Fri 2:20, 4:55, 7:25, 9:55 Sat 11:50, 2:20, 4:55, 7:25, 9:55 SunWed 1:50, 4:25, 7:00, 9:30 the WoMan in black 2: angel of death (14A) Thu 4:35, 9:40

SilveRCiTY YoRkdale (Ce) 3401 duFFeRin ST, 416-787-2052

aMerican sniPer (14A) Thu 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:05 Fri 1:20, 4:20, 7:20, 10:40 Sat 1:10, 4:10, 7:20, 10:40 Sun-Wed 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00 annie (PG) Thu 1:20 blackhat (14A) Thu 12:50, 3:50, 7:15, 10:15 Fri 4:00, 10:00 Sat 3:40, 9:50 Sun-Wed 3:30, 9:40 the boy next door (14A) Fri-Sat 1:00, 3:20, 5:40, 8:00, 10:20 Sun 12:40, 3:00, 5:20, 7:50, 10:15 Mon-Wed 2:20, 5:15, 7:50, 10:15 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies 3d (PG) Thu 6:30, 9:45 Fri-Wed 9:30 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies (PG) Thu 3:00 the iMitation gaMe (PG) Thu 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 10:00 Fri 1:40, 4:10, 7:10, 9:50 Sat 1:20, 4:00, 7:10, 10:00 Sun-Wed 1:20, 4:20, 7:10, 9:50 into the Woods (PG) Thu 12:30, 3:30, 6:40, 9:30 Fri 1:00, 3:50, 6:40 Sat 12:30, 3:30, 6:30 Sun 12:50, 3:40, 6:30 Mon-Wed 1:00, 3:50, 6:45 Mortdecai (14A) Fri 2:00, 5:10, 7:50, 10:35 Sat 11:20, 2:10, 4:50, 7:50, 10:35 Sun 2:10, 5:00, 7:40, 10:20 MonWed 2:10, 5:00, 7:40, 10:15 night at the MuseuM: secret of the toMb (PG) Thu 12:30 Paddington (G) Thu 1:40, 4:20, 6:45, 9:10 Fri, Sun 1:50, 4:30, 6:50, 9:20 Sat 11:10, 1:40, 4:20, 6:50, 9:20 Mon-Wed 1:10, 4:00, 6:30, 9:00 selMa (PG) Thu 12:40, 3:40, 6:50, 9:40 Fri 1:10, 6:55 Sat 12:15, 6:40 Sun 12:30, 6:40 Mon-Wed 1:10, 6:40 strange Magic Fri 1:30, 4:00, 7:00, 9:40 Sat 11:30, 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:40 Sun 1:30, 4:10, 6:45, 9:20 Mon-Wed 1:30, 4:10, 6:50, 9:20 taken 3 (14A) Thu 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, 10:15 Fri 2:10, 5:00, 7:40, 10:30 Sat 11:45, 2:20, 5:00, 7:40, 10:30 Sun 2:00, 4:50, 7:30, 10:10 Mon-Wed 1:50, 4:40, 7:30, 10:10 the Wedding ringer (14A) Thu 1:50, 4:50, 7:40, 10:10 Fri 2:20, 4:50, 7:30, 10:10 Sat 12:00, 2:30, 5:10, 7:30, 10:10 Sun 1:40, 4:40, 7:20, 10:05 Mon-Wed 1:40, 4:30, 7:20, 10:05 the WoMan in black 2: angel of death (14A) Thu 4:40, 7:20, 9:50

Scarborough 401 & MoRningSide (Ce) 785 MilneR ave, SCaRboRough, 416-281-2226

aMerican sniPer (14A) Thu, Mon, Wed 5:00, 7:55 Fri 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 10:10 Sat 11:30, 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 10:10 Sun 1:10, 4:10, 7:05, 9:55 Tue 4:10, 7:10, 10:10 blackhat (14A) Thu, Mon, Wed 5:10, 8:05 Fri 1:20, 4:20, 7:25, 10:20 Sat 1:30, 4:20, 7:25, 10:20 Sun 1:20, 4:15, 7:10, 10:00 Tue 4:20, 7:25, 10:20 the boy next door (14A) Fri 12:45, 3:00, 5:20, 7:40, 10:00 Sat 11:10, 12:40, 3:00, 5:20, 7:40, 10:00 Sun 12:45, 3:00, 5:20, 7:35, 9:55 Mon, Wed 5:50, 8:10 Tue 5:20, 7:40, 10:00 the gaMbler (14A) Thu 8:20 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies 3d (PG) Thu 8:10 Fri-Sun, Tue 6:40, 9:50 Mon, Wed 8:05 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies (PG) Thu, Mon, Wed 5:00 Fri, Tue 3:40 Sat-Sun 3:30 the iMitation gaMe (PG) Thu, Mon, Wed 5:20, 7:50 Fri-Sun 1:20, 4:00, 6:50, 9:35 Tue 4:00, 6:50, 9:35 into the Woods (PG) Thu 5:30, 8:15 Mortdecai (14A) Fri 2:10, 4:45, 7:20, 9:55 Sat 11:40, 2:10, 4:45, 7:20, 9:55 Sun 2:10, 4:45, 7:20, 9:50 Mon, Wed 5:30, 8:20 Tue 4:45, 7:20, 9:55 night at the MuseuM: secret of the toMb (PG) Thu 6:00 Fri-Sun 1:00 Paddington (G) Thu 5:05, 7:40 Fri 12:40, 2:20, 5:00, 7:30, 9:55 Sat 11:50, 2:20, 5:00, 7:30, 9:55 Sun 12:40, 2:20,

5:00, 7:25, 9:40 Mon, Wed 5:05, 7:30 Tue 5:00, 7:30, 9:55 Penguins of Madagascar (G) Thu 5:40 selMa (PG) Thu, Mon, Wed 5:15, 8:00 Fri-Sun 12:50, 3:45, 6:55, 9:45 Tue 3:45, 6:55, 9:45 strange Magic Fri 12:30, 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:25 Sat 11:20, 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:25 Sun 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:25 Mon, Wed 5:20, 7:40 Tue 4:30, 7:00, 9:25 taken 3 (14A) Thu 5:45, 8:20 Fri 2:45, 5:15, 7:50, 10:25 Sat 2:30, 5:15, 7:50, 10:25 Sun 2:25, 4:55, 7:30, 10:05 Mon, Wed 5:40, 8:15 Tue 5:15, 7:50, 10:25 unbroken (14A) Thu 8:00 the Wedding ringer (14A) Thu 5:50, 8:15 Fri 2:45, 5:10, 8:00, 10:25 Sat 12:20, 2:45, 5:10, 8:00, 10:25 Sun 2:45, 5:10, 7:40, 10:05 Mon, Wed 6:00, 8:20 Tue 5:10, 8:00, 10:25

ColiSeuM SCaRboRough (Ce) SCaRboRough ToWn CenTRe, 416-290-5217

aMerican sniPer (14A) Thu 1:10, 4:15, 7:25, 10:35 Fri-Sun 1:00, 4:10, 7:20, 10:35 Mon-Wed 12:55, 3:55, 7:05, 10:15 blackhat (14A) Thu 1:00, 4:05, 7:15, 10:25 Fri-Sun, Wed 12:40, 3:50, 7:05, 10:15 Mon-Tue 1:05, 4:10, 7:15, 10:25 bolshoi ballet: sWan lake Sun 12:55 the boy next door (14A) Fri-Sun 12:50, 3:25, 5:50, 8:15, 10:40 Mon-Wed 1:00, 3:15, 5:40, 8:10, 10:35 feng shui 2 (PG) Thu 1:40, 4:20, 7:20, 10:35 Fri-Sat, MonTue 2:20, 5:00, 7:40 Sun 5:00, 7:40 Wed 1:05, 3:50 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies 3d (PG) Thu 6:30 10:00 Fri-Wed 6:40, 10:00 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies (PG) Thu 3:10 Fri-Sat 12:05, 3:20 Sun-Wed 3:20 the iMitation gaMe (PG) Thu 1:20, 4:15, 7:05, 10:20 Fri-Sat 1:25, 4:20, 7:15, 10:10 Sun 1:25, 4:20, 10:05 MonTue 1:15, 4:05, 7:00, 9:55 Wed 1:15, 4:05, 9:55 in the gallery – girl With a Pearl earring and other treasures froM the Mauritshuis MuseuM Wed 7:30 into the Woods (PG) Thu 1:05, 4:05, 7:10, 10:05 Fri-Sun 12:55, 3:55, 6:55, 9:55 Mon-Wed 1:10, 4:00, 6:55, 9:50 national theatre live: treasure island Thu 7:00 night at the MuseuM: secret of the toMb (PG) Thu 1:15 Paddington (G) Thu 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30 Fri 12:20, 2:50, 5:20, 7:50, 10:30 Sat 11:30, 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30 Sun 2:30, 5:20, 7:15, 10:25 Mon-Wed 1:40, 4:15, 6:50, 9:20 Pk (PG) Thu 3:50, 9:55 strange Magic Fri-Sat 12:00, 2:35, 5:10, 7:45, 10:20 Sun 2:35, 5:10, 7:45, 10:20 Mon-Wed 2:00, 4:35, 7:10, 9:40 taken 3 (14A) Thu 1:55, 4:50, 7:30, 10:15 Fri-Sun 1:55, 4:40, 7:25, 10:10 Mon-Wed 2:05, 4:50, 7:35, 10:20 the Wedding ringer (14A) Thu 2:40, 5:15, 7:55, 10:30 FriSat 12:25, 3:00, 5:35, 8:10, 10:45 Sun 3:00, 5:35, 8:10, 10:45 Mon 2:50, 5:20, 7:55, 10:30 Tue-Wed 2:45, 5:20, 7:55, 10:30 the WoMan in black 2: angel of death (14A) Thu 2:25, 5:05, 7:35, 10:10 Fri-Sat 10:25 Mon-Wed 10:10 WWe royal ruMble - 2015 Sun 8:00

eglinTon ToWn CenTRe (Ce) 1901 eglinTon ave e, 416-752-4494

aMerican sniPer (14A) Thu, Mon-Wed 4:00, 7:10, 10:20 Fri-Sat 1:10, 4:20, 7:30, 10:40 Sun 12:50, 4:00, 7:10, 10:20 annie (PG) Fri 11:45 Sat 11:35 Sun 12:10 blackhat (14A) 4:05, 7:15, 10:25 Fri-Sat 1:00 mat Sun 12:55 mat the boy next door (14A) Thu 9:50 Fri-Sat 12:10, 2:35, 5:05, 7:55, 10:20 Sun 12:05, 2:25, 4:50, 7:55, 10:20 MonWed 5:15, 7:40, 10:05 foxcatcher (14A) Thu 3:45, 6:55, 10:05 Fri-Sat 12:50, 3:55, 7:00, 10:10 Sun 12:45, 3:55, 7:00, 10:05 Mon-Wed 3:55, 7:00, 10:10 the gaMbler (14A) Thu 3:50 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies 3d (PG) Thu 3:40, 7:00, 10:15 Fri-Sun 3:40, 6:55, 10:15 Mon-Wed 3:35, 6:55, 10:15 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies (PG) FriSun 12:25 the hunger gaMes: Mockingjay – Part 1 (PG) Thu 9:55 the iMitation gaMe (PG) Thu 4:20, 7:10, 10:00 Fri-Sat 1:40, 4:25, 7:10, 9:55 Sun 1:30, 4:20, 7:05, 9:55 Mon-Wed 4:20, 7:05, 9:55 in the gallery – girl With a Pearl earring and other treasures froM the Mauritshuis MuseuM Wed 7:30 inherent vice (14A) Thu 3:30, 6:50, 10:15 into the Woods (PG) Thu 4:30, 6:45, 9:45 Fri-Sat, MonWed 3:50, 6:50, 9:45 Sun 4:45, 6:50 Mortdecai (14A) Thu 7:25, 10:10 Fri 11:40, 2:20, 5:00, 7:45, 10:30 Sat-Sun 2:20, 5:00, 7:45, 10:30 Mon-Wed 5:00, 7:45, 10:30 night at the MuseuM: secret of the toMb (PG) Thu 4:50, 7:20 Fri-Sat 12:20, 2:55, 5:25, 8:00 Sun 1:45, 4:15 Mon-Tue 4:15, 6:45 Wed 4:15 Paddington (G) Thu 2:25, 4:35, 7:05, 9:55 Fri 12:15, 2:45, 5:15, 7:25, 9:50 Sat 11:30, 12:15, 2:45, 5:15, 7:25, 9:50 Sun 12:15, 2:45, 5:15, 7:10, 9:35 Mon-Wed 4:35, 7:05, 9:30 Penguins of Madagascar (G) Thu 4:25 Fri 11:50, 1:25 Sat 11:10, 1:30 Sun 12:00, 2:20 Pk (PG) Thu 3:00, 6:30, 10:05 Fri 2:40, 6:10, 9:40 Sat 2:25, 6:10, 9:40 Sun 3:00, 6:30, 10:00 Mon-Wed 3:25, 6:50, 10:15 selMa (PG) Thu 3:35, 6:40, 9:40 Fri-Sat 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:05 Sun 12:25, 3:35, 6:40, 9:40 Mon-Tue 3:30, 6:40, 9:40 Wed 3:30, 6:45, 9:35 strange Magic Fri-Sat 12:00, 2:30, 5:05, 7:40, 10:15 Sun 12:05, 2:35, 5:10, 7:40, 10:15 Mon-Wed 4:50, 7:25, 10:00 taken 3 (14A) Thu 2:20, 5:05, 7:45, 10:30 Fri 11:45, 2:25, 5:10, 8:00, 10:45 Sat 11:45, 2:30, 5:10, 8:00, 10:45 Sun 11:55, 2:30, 5:10, 7:50, 10:30 Mon-Wed 5:10, 7:50, 10:30 unbroken (14A) Thu 6:45 Fri-Sat 10:35 Sun 9:45 MonTue 9:35 Wed 9:50 the Wedding ringer (14A) Thu 2:30, 5:20, 7:50, 10:25 Fri-Sat 12:30, 3:00, 5:30, 8:05, 10:40 Sun 12:00, 2:30, 5:00, 7:35, 10:10 Mon-Wed 5:05, 7:35, 10:10 WWe royal ruMble - 2015 Sun 8:00

WoodSide CineMaS (i) 1571 SandhuRST CiRCle, 416-299-3456

aaMbala 4:00, 7:15, 10:30 Sat-Sun 1:00 mat baby 3:30, 6:30, 9:30 Sat-Sun 12:30 mat darling 10:15 Thu 4:00 mat, 7:00 late Sat-Sun 7:00 late dolly ki doli Fri, Mon-Wed 4:00, 7:00 Sat-Sun 1:00, 4:00 tevar (PG) Thu 4:00, 7:00

GTA Regions North ColoSSuS (Ce) hWY 400 & 7, 905-851-1001

aMerican sniPer (14A) Thu, Mon-Wed 3:55, 6:45, 9:35 Fri-Sun 12:30, 3:40, 6:50, 10:00 aMerican sniPer: the iMax exPerience (14A) Thu, Mon-Wed 4:35, 7:25, 10:15 Fri-Sat 1:10, 4:20, 7:30, 10:40 Sun 1:10, 4:20, 7:30, 10:30 annie (PG) Thu 3:40 Fri 2:00, 4:45 Sat 11:05, 2:00, 4:45 Sun 12:45, 3:30 Mon-Wed 3:35 big hero 6 (PG) Fri-Sun 12:40 birdMan or (the unexPected virtue of ignorance) (14A) Fri-Sun 1:15, 4:10, 7:00, 9:50 Mon-Wed 4:30, 7:20, 10:00 blackhat (14A) Thu 4:00, 7:00, 9:25 Fri-Sun 12:50, 4:00, 7:10, 10:15 Mon-Wed 3:50, 6:50, 9:45 bolshoi ballet: sWan lake Sun 12:55 the boy next door (14A) Thu 9:40 Fri-Sun 1:00, 3:20, 5:40, 8:00, 10:20 Mon-Wed 3:40, 5:50, 8:00, 10:15 exodus: gods and kings (PG) Fri-Sun 3:15 Mon-Wed 3:45 exodus: gods and kings 3d (PG) Thu 6:30, 9:45 Fri-Sat 6:45, 10:00 Sun 10:00 Mon-Wed 6:55, 10:05 the gaMbler (14A) Thu 3:30, 6:20, 9:10 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies 3d (PG) Thu 3:30, 6:40, 10:00 Fri-Sun 3:45, 6:55, 10:05 Mon-Wed 3:30, 6:40, 9:50 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies (PG) FriSun 12:35 horrible bosses 2 (18A) Thu 3:40, 6:25, 9:00 the hunger gaMes: Mockingjay – Part 1 (PG) Thu 3:50, 6:50, 9:35 Fri-Sat 7:35, 10:45 Sun 6:35 Mon-Wed 6:15, 9:00 the iMitation gaMe (PG) Thu 4:25, 7:10, 9:45 Fri-Sun 1:30, 4:25, 7:25, 10:10 Mon-Wed 4:10, 6:50, 9:40 inherent vice (14A) Thu 3:45 into the Woods (PG) Thu 3:50, 6:35, 10:30 Fri-Sat 1:05, 4:05, 7:05, 9:55 Sun 4:05, 7:05, 9:55 Mon-Wed 3:50, 6:35, 9:20 Mortdecai (14A) Thu 7:00, 10:05 Fri 2:15, 5:10, 7:55, 10:35 Sat 11:40, 2:15, 5:10, 7:55, 10:35 Sun 2:00, 4:35, 7:10, 9:45 Mon-Wed 4:15, 7:00, 9:50 night at the MuseuM: secret of the toMb (PG) Thu 4:40, 7:15, 9:50 Fri 1:35, 3:55, 6:40, 9:20 Sat 11:15, 1:35, 3:55, 6:40, 9:20 Sun 1:20, 4:40, 6:40, 9:30 Mon-Wed 4:05, 6:30, 9:10 Paddington (G) Thu 4:30, 6:55, 9:20 Fri 2:25, 4:50, 7:20, 9:40 Sat 12:00, 2:25, 4:50, 7:20, 9:40 Sun 12:30, 2:25, 4:50, 7:20, 9:40 Mon-Wed 4:45, 7:10, 9:25 selMa (PG) Thu 4:10, 7:05, 9:55 Fri-Sat 1:20, 4:15, 7:15, 10:10 Sun 12:55, 3:50, 6:45, 9:35 Mon-Wed 4:00, 7:00, 9:55 strange Magic Fri, Sun 2:30, 5:00, 7:45, 10:30 Sat 11:55, 2:30, 5:00, 7:45, 10:30 Mon-Wed 4:40, 7:05, 9:30 taken 3 (14A) Thu 5:00, 7:35, 10:10 Fri 2:40, 5:20, 8:10, 10:55 Sat 11:50, 2:40, 5:20, 8:10, 10:55 Sun 2:20, 5:05, 7:40, 10:20 Mon-Wed 5:10, 7:40, 10:10 unbroken (14A) Thu 3:35 the Wedding ringer (14A) Thu 5:05, 7:30, 10:20 Fri, Sun 2:45, 5:15, 7:50, 10:25 Sat 12:10, 2:45, 5:15, 7:50, 10:25 Mon-Wed 5:00, 7:30, 10:00 WhiPlash (14A) Fri-Sat 12:55, 3:30, 6:05, 8:35, 11:00 Sun 2:10, 4:45, 7:35, 10:00 Mon-Wed 4:50, 7:15, 9:40 the WoMan in black 2: angel of death (14A) Thu 5:25, 7:50, 10:25 WWe royal ruMble - 2015 Sun 8:00

RainboW pRoMenade (i)

pRoMenade Mall, hWY 7 & baThuRST, 416-494-9371 aMerican sniPer (14A) 12:50, 3:45, 6:40, 9:30 the boy next door (14A) Fri-Sun, Tue-Wed 1:15, 4:00, 7:10, 9:35 Mon 4:00, 7:10, 9:35 the iMitation gaMe (PG) 12:55, 3:55, 6:55, 9:25 into the Woods (PG) Thu 1:00, 4:00, 6:50, 9:30 Paddington (G) 1:10, 4:05, 7:05, 9:15 strange Magic Fri-Wed 1:00, 3:55, 6:50, 9:20 taken 3 (14A) 4:10, 9:45 Thu 1:15 mat, 7:10 late Wild (18A) 1:05, 7:00 Thu 3:50 mat, 9:35 late

West gRande - STeeleS (Ce) hWY 410 & STeeleS, 905-455-1590

aMerican sniPer (14A) Thu 5:15, 8:30 Fri 4:00, 7:05, 10:05 Sat-Sun 12:45, 3:55, 7:05, 10:05 Mon-Wed 5:10, 8:05 big hero 6 (PG) Thu 5:20 blackhat (14A) Thu 5:20, 8:25 Fri 4:00, 6:50, 9:50 Sat 12:40, 3:50, 6:50, 9:50 Sun 12:40, 3:50, 6:50, 9:55 MonWed 5:25, 8:25 the boy next door (14A) Fri 4:15, 7:50, 10:25 Sat 12:35, 3:00, 5:25, 7:50, 10:25 Sun 12:35, 3:00, 5:25, 7:50, 10:10 Mon-Wed 5:20, 7:45 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies 3d (PG) Thu, Mon-Wed 8:20 Fri 6:45, 9:55 Sat 6:30, 9:55 Sun 6:30, 9:50 the hobbit: the battle of the five arMies (PG) Thu 5:15 Fri 4:05 Sat-Sun 2:55 Mon-Wed 5:00 horrible bosses 2 (18A) Thu 8:05 the hunger gaMes: Mockingjay – Part 1 (PG) Thu 5:30, 8:25 Fri-Sun 7:20, 10:10 Mon-Wed 5:05, 8:00 interstellar (PG) Thu 7:55 Mortdecai (14A) Fri 4:30, 7:15, 10:15 Sat-Sun 1:50, 4:30, 7:15, 10:15 Mon-Wed 5:45, 8:30 night at the MuseuM: secret of the toMb (PG) Thu 5:25 Sat-Sun 12:15 Paddington (G) Thu 5:35, 8:00 Fri 5:10, 7:40, 10:05 SatSun 12:10, 2:40, 5:10, 7:40, 10:05 Mon-Wed 5:15, 7:50 Penguins of Madagascar (G) Thu 5:40 Fri 4:45 SatSun 12:20, 2:50, 5:05 strange Magic Fri 5:00, 7:30, 10:00 Sat-Sun 12:00, 2:30, 5:00, 7:30, 10:00 Mon-Wed 5:30, 7:55 taken 3 (14A) Thu, Mon-Wed 5:35, 8:15 Fri 4:20, 6:55, 9:40 Sat-Sun 1:00, 4:00, 6:55, 9:40 unbroken (14A) Thu 7:50 the Wedding ringer (14A) Thu 5:25, 7:45 Fri 4:55, 7:35, 10:20 Sat 12:05, 2:35, 4:55, 7:35, 10:20 Sun 12:05, 2:35, 4:55, 7:35, 10:00 Mon-Wed 5:40, 8:10 3

NOW january 22-28 2015 57

Classifieds 416 364 3444 CONTACTS > classifieds@nowtoronto.com 416 364 3444 fax 416 364 1433 189 Church, Toronto, ON M5B 1Y7 DEADLINES > Tuesday at 6pm Adult Classifieds ~ Monday at 6pm

{

nowtoronto.com/classifieds

Crossword Puzzle

Employment

Freestylin’ — NO THEME, BUT BIG WORDS EVERYWHERE

salon/spa Male waxing service

By Matt Jones ©2015 Jonesin’ Crosswords editor@jonesincrosswords.com

2 Key lime, e.g.

3 Org. that’s hosted Errol Flynn, Wayne Newton and Stephen Colbert 4 ___ salts 5 Follow up on ___ 6 Image created before drinking?

7 Got the carpet all gross 8 Potatoes named for their state 9 Must-have 10 “Oh!” in Osnabruck 11 Tiny red salad item 12 How you feel after a much-needed rest 13 Quality of some body tissues 15 Like some GPAs 21 He’s often seen up late 22 In an ambiguous way 23 Light and dark ice cream flavor 25 Star of “Gimme a Break!” something in the kitchen) 43 Simple pretzel shapes ACROSS 27 All together, musically 1 Cartoon father of 26 “Uncle!”

44 It folds in a chair 29 Religious circles? octuplets 28 Art lovers 45 Place for December 31 Rare blood type 4 Ironic nickname for a 30 Shield behind a wheel purchases 34 Carla’s surname on hairy guy 32 1994 hit off Live’s album 47 Some small businesses, “Cheers” 10 Taj Mahal’s setting “Throwing Copper” for short 36 Total assortment?

14 Slides, handouts, etc. for a 33 Is uncertain to, in a fancy 49 “Let me at ‘em!”

38 “Is this ___?” speaker’s audience tone 53 Big earthenware jar 42 French lane 16 Street ___ (rep) 34 With “The,” 2012 Jessica 54 1988 Bruce Hornsby hit, 46 Lord ___ Baratheon 17 Aquarium fish Biel thriller with “The” (“Game of Thrones” 18 Mecca trekker 35 “Community” actress ___ 55 “No can do, Dostoyevsky” character) (anagram of 19 “Huuuuuuuh?!”

Nicole Brown 56 “The Two ___” (Martha ROSY) 20 Little toy, for instance?

36 Share a facility Finley children’s book) 48 Posed for pics 21 Head honcho 37 “Cold as Ice” and “Hot 57 Weightlifter’s abbr.

50 Company that merged 24 Baseball and football star Blooded” group DOWN with Time-Warner 1 Mag that covers blue Sanders 39 Appeases, as hunger 51 Dollop material (hidden in 25 London music producer 40 Having a pH below 7 KAVNER) Yoad ___ (reverses to 41 Heart link 52 NFL gains solution in next week’s classifieds

Classified

+

www.TorontoJobs.ca

=

POSITION FILLED.

ATTENTION RECRUITERS! Buy a recruitment ad in NOW Classifieds and receive a Contact your NOW Classified Sales Rep @ 416.364.3444 nowtoronto.com/classifieds FREE posting on TorontoJobs.ca – The Greater Toronto Area’s leading recruitment source.

58 JANUARY 22-28 2015 NOW

}

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from exp cert Wax Tech, in pristine home clinic. www.maircare.ca

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Research Studies Do you want to quit using MARIJUANA? We are looking for participants for a RESEARCH STUDY ON TREATMENT FOR MARIJUANA DEPENDENCE!

386,000 Print Readers Weekly.

Source: PMB Fall 2013, National 18+

Research Studies DO YOU EXPERIENCE ANXIETY? It may be time to consider your options.

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Research subjects needed.

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Puzzle appears weekly on first Classified page.

˘

Opioid Drug Users

Healthy men and women ages 18 to 55, who use opioids such as morphine, oxycodone, heroin or codeine for non-medicinal purposes are needed for a clinical research study.

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NOW JANUARY 22-28 2015 59

Health + General + Music auditions

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✤ Featured Volunteer This month’s featured volunteer

NORMA TRIVINO BROUGHT TO YOU BY

60 JANUARY 22-28 2015 NOW

For the past 22 years Norma has served as a dedicated volunteer at work, in her community and with her church.

At work, she has volunteered for over 14 years on the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign where she wore diverse hats, including Chair, CoChair, Committee Member, Special Events Coordinator and Ambassador Coordinator.

In her community, Norma facilitated a selfesteem workshop to disadvantaged Latina girls ages 13-21 at a day camp run by

MUJER. Also, from 2013-2014 she mentored Miss Canada Charity Jeneene Guerrero helping her to develop her charitable work plus providing both professional and personal support.

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inspired by their message he sought help, got a job, an apartment and began to take part in society again.

For all her volunteer work, Norma received an Outstanding Volunteer Achievement Certificate from The Honourable Costas Menegakis, Member of Parliament.

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Classifieds • 416 364 3444 • nowtoronto.com/classifieds

Savage Love

By Dan Savage

I can’t satisfy my kink I’m a straIght 18-year-old gIrl In my first sexual relationship. Things are a little awkward, and I could chalk it up to inexperience, but here’s what I feel conflicted about: I have a vore fetish. It was a fascination for me as a young child and became a sexual thing around the time I hit puberty. I’m wondering now whether this is something I need to get off. It works well when I’m on my own, but I always thought “regular stuff” would work, too, once I was actually getting some. I’ve told my boyfriend about it, and he’s more than willing to role-play with me. But these fantasies are in-my-head-only, as they rarely feature human beings (think anthropomorphic monsters and dragons, strange as this may seem), so I don’t know if I could actually do this. Maybe we just need to hold out a little until we know what we’re doing and regular stuff will cut it after all? I have a mounting suspicion that it won’t, and I’m having trouble coming to terms with what seems to be a really warped, messed-up fetish. What if this is the only thing I can get off to? Am I doomed to solo sex forever?

Vore Only Really Excites A quick dip into Wikipedia for readers who aren’t familiar with the term “vore”: “Vorarephilia (often shortened to vore) is a paraphilia wherein an indi­ vidual’s sexual arousal occurs in re­ sponse to a fantasy of themselves, an­ other person, or an object eating or being eaten…. The fantasy sometimes involves the victim being swallowed whole, though on some occasions the victims are chewed up, and may or may not include digestion.”

Makes you wonder how many of the people who were furious with the Dis­ covery Channel after that guy wasn’t “eaten alive” by a snake were secretly vore fetishists.

Anyway, VORE, you’re not the only per­ son on earth whose sexual fantasies re­ volve around or are completely domin­ ated by something impossible or unrealizable. The lady centaur fetishist is not and never will be a lady centaur, the guy into giant women has not met and will not ever meet a 50­foot­tall woman on the subway, you are not and never will be a monster capable of swal­ lowing another monster whole.

While most people with unrealizable fetishes or fantasies enjoy “regular stuff” all by itself, a great many do not.

The latter type – kinksters who can’t get off to regular stuff – allow their impos­ sible/unrealizable fantasies to play out

in their heads while they enjoy the in­ timacy and physical sensations of non­ vore/centaur/ giantess stuff. Most aren’t “checked out” during sex: they’re enjoying regu­ lar stuff and irregular stuff simultan­ eously – they’re fully present, getting into and getting off on their partners, all while their impossible/unrealizable fantasies play on a loop in their heads, sometimes in the background, sometimes in the foreground.

So while you may be “doomed” to go through life with this fetish, VORE, you are not doomed to solo sex. You can have your fantasies and partnered sex, too.

But I don’t think you’ve been at this sex stuff long enough to conclude that you’re incapable of enjoying regular stuff on its own. Everyone has their go­ to fantasies, and years of solo mastur­ bation can carve a deep groove in a per­ son’s erotic imagination. Since vore was where you always went when you were aroused prior to your boyfriend coming along, your brain may have automatic­ ally gone there when you got aroused with your boyfriend. Don’t mistake what may have been force of habit for complete dependence, or what you seem to fear most – complete depend­ ence on your vore fantasies – could be­ come a self­fulfilling prophecy.

As for your shame about your kink (“a really warped, messed­up fetish”), you gotta shake that shit off. Take it from Tynan Fox, a kinkster and public speak­ er: “We don’t choose our kinks – our kinks choose us.” You didn’t choose your kink, VORE, your kink chose you. So give yourself a break, okay? Stick with sex­ and kink­positive partners (like your cur­ rent boyfriend), incorporate your kinks carefully and consensually, and don’t neglect your partner’s interests and possible kinks. You also might want to explore the furry/scalie community, a space where you can be (or meet) the anthropomorphic monster and/or drag­ on of your dreams.

It’s okay – if you’re kind you saId you can’t respond to questions that are too long, so I’m going to keep it short: I’m a 44-year-old divorced woman. An 18-year-old man who seemed attractive and confident approached me online, and I was intrigued.

We hooked up for a one-night stand. We have now been together three times, and we’re talking and texting about doing it again. The sex is amazing, the best I have ever had, and he says the same (I know – he’s only 18). Is this bad? Am I bad? Should I stop seeing him?

Acting Young Again My answer in brief: If he’s actually 18 (did you card him?), if you’re honouring the campsite rule (you will leave him in bet­ ter shape than you found him), if he in­ tends to honour the Tea And Sympathy rule after it’s over (when he speaks of this in the future, and he will, he will be kind), then it’s not bad, you’re not bad and you don’t have to stop fucking him.

I’m a semi-rural swinger I lIve In a small cIty In a semI-rural area. I’m a single woman and am attracted to the idea of an underground swinger scene, or something similar, as a way to get some attachment-free action. But everyone around here knows each other or knows of each other, and something like this would be buried way underground. I’m convinced a swinging scene exists here, but I have no idea how to find it. Those who strike me as the people who’d know are people I wouldn’t want to ask. So aside from Craigslist, which I do not trust, how does one go about finding the swinging scene in a small town?

Small-Town Girl “It’s a shame none of the ‘swinger identi­ fiers’ that have been proposed – like white rocks in the front yard or a black ring worn on the right hand – panned out, because they would make finding swing­ ers easier,” said Cooper S. Beckett, author

yourblahs blahs into TurnTurn your intoahhhhhs! ahhhhhs!

of My Life On The Swingset: Adventures In Swinging & Polyamory and host of the Life On The Swingset podcast (lifeonthe­ swingset.com). “But the swinger scene isn’t as underground as it seems, so she shouldn’t have to dig too deep to find it – even in her small town.”

Beckett recommends – and I hope you’re sitting down for this – going online, STG, where you have options other than Craig­ slist. “The wonders of the internet make this far easier than it used to be,” said Beckett. “She should sign up for one of the many swinger dating websites, like Kasidie or Lifestyle Lounge or Swing Life Style – but NOT Adult Friend Finder, which is full of fakes and cheaters (and they nick­ el­and­dime you for everything). She can get a free trial and search for swingers in her area. If there aren’t many people, try the closest bigger city. Whichever site has the most locals, buy a month and go to town. Another great alternative is Meetup.com, which has been a real boon for kinky people – and it’s free! She can sign up under a pseudonym if it helps.

Then search for non­monogamy or swing­ ing meet­ups in her town or the nearest big city.” Follow Beckett on Twitter @ swingsetlife. n the Lovecast: What’s in there? The sciO ence of female ejaculation. Listen at savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter

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Volunteer Opportunities of the Week Purveyors of Pleasure since 1997 175 Harbord Street (416) 588-0900 • Feral Cat Feeders - Annex Cat Rescue • Conversation Partner - Aphasia Institute • Musician - Ina Grafton Gage Home • Numeracy Tutor - Alexandra Park Neighbourhood Learning Centre See this week’s Classified section for more info or visit volunteertoronto.ca Everything Toronto. 416 364 3444 • nowtoronto.com/classifieds

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