Glowing

“Inspiration aside, some of the performances were actually good.
Like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this guy is performing this in the front room of a frat house’ good.”
—Kelli Korducki, Candles are for Burning’s Sam Shepard Trio, June 8

“This is the Coens’ funniest movie to date (yes, even funnier than Lebowski), so rich and subtle in its observational humour and background gags that it recalls Jacques Tati.”
—Will Sloan, A Serious Man, September 21

“This dialogue-driven short is brilliant in both concept and execution.”
—Jessica Lee, David Eng’s The Audience at the Hart House Film Board’s Student Film Screening,
November 16

“[M]y biggest regret regarding The Bob is that by the time you
read this review, the show will have already closed.”

—Andrew Rusk, Victoria College’s The Bob, November 23

“The voice of Amanda Indovina as the young Maria was often overpowered in Act I, but a simple microphone adjustment during intermission allowed for her to steal the show in Act II; her incredible vocal range and multi-dimensional personality was impossible to miss.”
—Jessica Tomlinson, SMC’s West Side Story, November 30

“If there is one movie you watch this holiday season, let it be Avatar. And please: if you can, go see it in IMAX. I can’t think of a better way to spend $17.50.”
—Tom Cardoso, Avatar,

December 18

“Some people write memoirs. Junusz Dukszta commissions portraits. Call me crazy, but I think his method results in a more compelling narrative.”

—Leonicka Valcius, UTAC’s Portrait of a Patron, January 25

“The cast performed terrifically and could easily be watched over and over again—despite being students, they’re true professionals, and all likely to succeed
as dramatic artists.”—Christine Jeyarajah, UCDP’s Body and Soul, January 28

“Although it took them a few minutes to hit their stride, this choir really showcased what a cappella music is all about, from beautiful harmonies to remarkable timing and a pitch-perfect conductor.”

—Riley Watson, Onoscatopoeia at Acappellooza, February 4

“Despite not having as large a budget as many of Toronto’s operatic productions, Candide’s atmosphere and palpable energy at the MacMillan Theatre was extremely satisfying.”
—Elias Cristante, Faculty of Music’s Candide, February 10

“At the conclusion of the third hour of The Laramie Project, your heart is breaking, you’re trying to hide your tears from your seatmates as the light comes on, and the chorus of voices and tragedy continues to haunt you as you exit the theater.”
—Emily Kellogg, VCDS’s The Laramie Project, February 12

“Music this smart has never sounded so sexy.”—Nick Mckinlay, Four Tet’s There Is Love In You, February 11

“The most talented guitarist I’ve seen live in a long time, Saulnier rounded out the night by busting a series of wicked solos that would have done any guitar god proud, be it Doug Martsch or Slash.”—Wyndham Bettencourt-McCarthy, PS I Love You at
Canadian Music Week, March 15

Scathing

“The more you like Simply Saucer’s records, the more prudent it is to cherish the hard copy and never, ever see the band perform live.”
—Alex Molotkow, Simply Saucer at NXNE, July 6

“With dialogue, acting, and even zombie carnage lame across the board, somebody needs to finally shoot this franchise in the head.”
—Will Sloan, George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead, September 21

“Monuments + Bits suffers from problems symptomatic of what makes the exhibit so unique; since it is the work of three different architects, each with their own discourse, it lacks a coherent message.”—Becky McCleery, Khoury Levit Fong at the Arthur Gallery, October 22

“The most embarrassing moment, however, had to be FW veteran Pat Mcdonagh’s gimicky cake-hats and her inconspicuous inspiration from Baskin-Robbins ice cream. Fashion is an artistic sell-out by nature, but this brought it to a new low.”

—Cailin Smart, LG Fashion Week, October 26

“The play lacked strong directorial vision—the pacing was awkward, the acting uneven and the three-hours in the theatre felt more like three days.”—Joan Wamiti, VCDS’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, November 2

“The Ireland backdrop does provide a nice change of scenery and some surprisingly stunning shots of the countryside. However, the horribly foreseeable story and questionable dialogue leave much to be desired.”—Josh Staav, Leap Year, January 10

“Akin to Marlon Brando’s Stanley, Cusack so embodied Rob Gordon he is inextricable from the character. For any actor, playing him would have been a challenge. David Light, though, is way off the mark.”—Elizabeth Kagedan, Hart House Theatre’s High Fidelity, January 25

“Though I was often on the edge of my seat, and at some points jumping right out of it, the plot slowly became repetitive and ultimately predictable. The only unforeseen scenes were the ones that lead to confusion on my part, often due to poor delivery from the actors.”
—Jessica Tomlinson, The Edge of Reason, February 1

“After this high, an all-time low: Give Us The Daggers was just awful. At this point in the evening, they must have assumed that everyone was too drunk or tired to care, because they mostly sleep-walked through their performance.”—Alex Ross, Give Us The Daggers at the Silver Dollar Room, February 25

“I struggled for something entertaining to look at and ended up settling on the disturbingly shiny bald head of a fellow audience member, whose intermittent seat-shifting forced the reflection of the light to shift from time to time.”—Elizabeth Haq, Hart House Theatre’s Robertson Davies: The Peeled I, March 8

“The six minutes of Sandwiches and Salad on a Sunday Afternoon (Sean Grounds), in which a dude devours a gratuitously gory sandwich, would be enjoyable if you were stoned while watching it. Grounds’ other film, the nine-minute Gotta Poo would only be watchable while stoned and drunk….”—Moe Abbas, U of T Film Fest, March 18

“Plastic Beach seems to offer what the title implies: transparent garbage.”—Ariel Lewis, Freshly Pressed, Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach, March 22