Written by Kyle Slagley
FEENY! HEY, FEENY!
If you don’t know which ‘90s TV series I’m referencing, then
you missed out on one of that decade’s best shows – hands down. For children of
the ‘90s, Boy
Meets World was one of those shows that profoundly impacted the way you
looked at life.
Corey Matthews ( Ben
Savage) and Topanga Lawrence ( Danielle
Fishel) provided real-time guidance on issues like school, dating, jobs,
and even death; and as the characters grew up, so did their audience. Beginning
in 8 th grade, the show follows the two kids and their friends
through seven seasons of high school, the transition to college, and finally
into marriage.
We haven’t heard much from Corey and Topanga since they
signed off in 2000, but it seems only fitting that the children of the children
of the ‘90s may have their own chance to grow up with Clan Matthews. After
weeks of teasers about the new spinoff series Girl Meets World, it has finally been announced that Rowan
Blanchard ( Spy Kids 4 – All The Time In The World, The Back-Up
Plan) will play Riley Matthews, the 13-year-old daughter of Corey and
Topanga.
The pilot episode will likely begin production in February,
and speculations are that it will easily be green-lighted to series on the
Disney Channel. Don’t rush for your DVR just yet, though; the series wouldn’t
make it to TV screens until the 2013-2014 season.
Now for the question I know you’re asking yourself: Will we
get to see Mr. Feeny? The short answer: don’t count on it. William
Daniels, who played the history-teacher-slash-life-coach to both Corey and
his brother Eric, has yet to comment on the new spinoff despite requests from
the media, leading speculators to believe he has declined any offer to
participate. Rider
Strong, who played Shawn Hunter, has stated that he also has no official
participation.
While you may pass the time hoping for guest spots from the
likes of Feeny, Shawn, Angela, and Jack, I will be wondering what Riley’s
personality is going to be like. With the dual influences of Corey’s geek and
Topanga’s hippie-chic, it should be interesting, to say the least.
Written by Kyle Slagley
If you were a girl between the ages of 11 and 20 anytime
between 1988 and 2002, there’s about a 67.3% chance you proudly displayed
posters, cassettes, CDs, t-shirts, or other assorted swag that sported the
faces of Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, or Shawn Stockman. Guys who had
highlighted or frosted hair anytime before 2005 should bow down and thank Lance
Bass for making it “cool.”
The ‘90s were, by and large, the decade of the Boy Bands; together
they formed an unofficial cartel that ruled the Billboard charts and teen
girls’ hearts. Of course, this was back in the days when MTV actually played
music videos still, so I’m sure that had something to do with it.
Much to the chagrin of teenage garage bands everywhere,
earlier this week New Kids on the Block (aka NKOTB), Boys II Men, and 98
Degrees announced their “Package Tour” that will begin in Uncasville, CT, on
May 31 and conclude in Minneapolis on July 13. It’s a heck of a lot harder to
get a girl’s attention when you’re competing against the likes of Nick Lachey
and Donnie Wahlberg, not that I’m bitter or anything.
In honour of this summer’s Grand Boy Band Comeback (Attempt),
let’s take a look at the biggest groups of the movement. You’ll want to make
sure your collections are complete before the tour triggers the inevitable
stampede of fangirls.
The
Beatles – Those of you thinking, “Wait a minute!” can rest easy. I am fully
aware that the Beatles were truly the fathers of the boy band – as well as a
slew of other pop music trends. Combine fashionable clothes, youthful faces, a
lot of actual musical talent, and the sheer magnitude of their fan base and you
have the formula that is still the industry standard. Much more could be said,
but we all know how influential the group has been.
New
Kids on the Block – Widely considered the first group in the “modern” boy
band age, these five guys epitomized the ‘80s. Heavy synthesizer beats, break-dancing,
ripped jeans, and pompadours can all be found in their family album. Their
first big hit, “Hangin’ Tough,” put them on the map in 1988 and they would
eventually break up in 1994. They reunited in 2008 and have been working ever
since; meanwhile, there are those among us who can still sing you the chorus to
“You Got It (The Right Stuff).”
Backstreet
Boys (aka BSB)– Kevin is the quiet one, Nick is the heartthrob, Brian is
the boy-next-door, AJ is the bad boy, and Howie is the fun-loving jokester. BSB
quite literally became the definition of “boy band” in the late ‘90s. They hit
it big with “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)” in 1997 and have been working
together in some form ever since. Their spiked hair, meticulously groomed
goatees, and pensive looks into the distance would be emulated in millions of
school pictures for years.
‘N
Sync – The second quintet to appear in the ‘90s, the group was formed after
band member Chris Kirkpatrick auditioned for the Backstreet Boys and failed to
make the cut. The group blew up overnight after the Disney Channel aired a
concert special in July of 1998 – a concert originally offered to BSB. ‘N
Sync’s single “Tearin’ Up My Heart” became one of the biggest songs of the
decade and by the time they released “Bye Bye Bye” they were fully out of the
shadow of BSB. The group lasted a handful of years before breaking up in 2002
after member Justin
Timberlake decided to go solo.
98
Degrees – Rounding out the boy band trio of the late ‘90s, 98 Degrees broke
the five-man rule and comprised four guys from Ohio. The group’s story is
similar to that of ‘N Sync in that they made it big in 1998. It’s interesting
though that unlike BSB or ‘N Sync, 98 Degrees had some help in their early
days. In 1997, they collaborated with label-mate Stevie Wonder to record “True
to Your Heart,” the theme song to the animated Disney movie Mulan.
They stayed together until 2002, and following Nick Lachey’s brief solo career
and marriage to Jessica
Simpson, reunited in 2008.
Boyz
II Men – I hesitated to include Boyz II Men in this column, because I don’t
consider them a typical boy band. After hours of contemplation, I (obviously)
decided to include them because they are what a boy band should be: light on glitz and kitsch, heavy on quality and talent. They
easily have the most staying power of any other modern boy band, and their tight
harmonies are the envy of a capella groups worldwide. Having sold over 60
million copies of their 11 albums over more than 25 years, they are the
standard for vocal R&B everywhere. Quite simply, these guys deserve every
bit of praise they get because their ability speaks for itself.
Written by Jon Williams
Super Bowl XLVII takes place on Sunday, February 3, and the matchup has been set. This
past Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Atlanta Falcons to earn the
NFC berth to the game, while the Baltimore Ravens took out the New England
Patriots on the AFC side.
If you pay
any attention to sports (or even if you don’t, most likely), you’re going to
hear a lot about this game in the coming week and a half. The NFL championship
game is always a huge media event, usually turning out to be the most-watched
television event of the year in the United States (hence all those amusing
commercials that people who don’t even care about football will watch to see).
I won’t
bother mentioning the “interesting” storylines you’ll be hearing about ad
nauseam leading into the game. I will, however, list a few titles that will
help your football-crazy patrons get through the coming football-free weekend,
as well as whet their appetites for the big game the following Sunday.
Written by Jon Williams
On Sunday night, as the show was winning a couple of Golden
Globes on ABC, the hit show Girls
returned to HBO with its Season 2 premiere. The show centers on
twenty-something Hannah Horvath and three friends as they feel their way
through their extended college-to-real-life transitions in Brooklyn. Hannah is
played by the series’ head writer, Lena Dunham, who based many of the show’s
situations on her own real-life experiences after graduating from Ohio’s
Oberlin College in 2008.
Dunham’s first break came when her film Tiny
Furniture premiered at the 2010 South by Southwest Festival, where it
won Best Narrative Feature. She parlayed this exposure into an opportunity to
collaborate with Judd Apatow on the Girls
pilot (Apatow is the show’s executive producer). It premiered on HBO on April
15, 2012, and immediately took off, sending Dunham’s star into the
stratosphere. In October she signed a deal with Random House to publish her
first book; in December she was named Time
Magazine’s Coolest Person of the Year. The two Golden Globes she won for
the show on Sunday were icing on the cake.
Now Girls is back
as a staple of HBO’s formidable Sunday night lineup. Premiering along with it
was the second season of Enlightened,
a series starring Laura Dern as an executive go-getter determined to bring
tranquility to her life after a breakdown. Like Girls, Enlightened was
nominated for two Golden Globes in its first season, winning Best Comedy
Actress for Dern. That was at the 2012 Golden Globes, however; the show was on
break for over a year before returning this past weekend.
The next series with a firm premiere date for HBO is Game of Thrones, with the third season
beginning on March 31. Based on George R.R. Martin’s A
Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the show follows various
members and associates of the powerful Baratheon, Lannister, Stark, and
Targaryen families as they vie for control of the Seven Kingdoms while facing a
nebulous but growing threat from the untamed North. As an avid fan, I can
attest that this meager description doesn’t begin to do the show justice; it’s
worth watching for its action and intrigue, as well as its well-written
characters. Peter Dinklage won an Emmy for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister in
the show’s first
season, and was nominated again for the
second.
In April, Veep’s second season will premiere, once
again starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the U.S. Vice President Selina Meyer, who
heads up a dysfunctional staff that helps her navigate her way through any
number of political pitfalls. Dreyfus won an Emmy for the role in the first
season, and the series was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series. Then, June
sees the return of The Newsroom, the
Aaron Sorkin-created series that stars Jeff Daniels as Will McAvoy, host of a
national news show committed to serious journalism in an industry increasingly
concerned with money and ratings. Although it didn’t win any awards on Sunday,
it was nominated for the Best Drama Series Golden Globe, and Daniels was
nominated for Best Drama Actor.
Finally, at some point this summer, hit series True
Blood will return for its sixth season. Beginning in 2008, the series
has capitalized on the vampire craze that followed the Twilight phenomenon, dealing with vampires and a number of other
supernatural creatures as they attempt to live side-by-side with humans in the
small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. It’s based on Charlaine Harris’s Southern
Vampires novel series, the last volume of which will be published in May.
Although it has only a handful of wins, the series has been nominated for a
slew of Emmys and Golden Globes (as well as many other awards) throughout its
long run.
Make sure you have previous seasons of these shows on your
shelves for patrons who want to catch up for these series’ premieres, as well
as for patrons who don’t have HBO and want to experience these shows for the
first time.
Canadian box office revenues were up nine percent in 2012 over 2011, bringing in close to $1.1 billion across the country. To no one's surprise, The Avengers led the way with $58.4 million. It was followed by The Dark Knight Rises ($46.2m), Skyfall ($42.6m), The Hunger Games ($40.2m), and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ($32.2m).
Canadian films specifically, on the other hand, saw a drop in their 2012 fortunes. They made a total of $25.06 million, or around 2.5 percent of the total Canadian box. That's down nearly 12 percent from 2011. Resident Evil: Retribution, the latest installment in the horror franchise, topped the list, bringing in $5.2 million. Goon, a hockey comedy, came in second with $4.15 million.
Quebec-made films generally rule the box office among domestic films, but that was not the case in 2012. The top Quebec film was Omerta: The Movie with $2.74 million. Another, Monsieur Lazhar, brought in $2.12 million in 2012 despite being released in October of 2011.
Written by Kirk Baird
The distinct elements to the Master of Suspense’s filmmaking
career were always there, but our first full exposure to his genius in bloom is
with 1934’s The Man Who Knew Too Much,
just released on Blu-ray through Criterion Collection. The story of rather
ordinary people who find themselves in a rather extraordinary situation, The Man Who Knew Too Much is the
blueprint to many of the Alfred Hitchcock films to follow, including Rear Window, North by Northwest, and Vertigo.
Leslie Banks and Edna Best star as Bob and Jill Lawrence, a
British couple on holiday in Switzerland with their teenage daughter Betty
(Nova Pilbeam). Their vacation takes a macabre twist with the murder of a
family friend who happens to be a British agent, who left an important note –
and thus a clue to those responsible for his death – hidden in his hotel room.
Bob recovers the note and thus becomes the titular namesake who must deal with
a nefarious gang of spies who want the information. The story wraps around the
assassination plot of an important foreign dignitary, though we know little
else; Hitchcock’s films are often cloaked in mystery when it comes to the
incidentals. The group kidnaps Betty to force Bob to give them the note, but he
and Jill do not prove so easily pushed around, and Bob and family friend Clive
(Hugh Wakefield) go undercover to learn more about the gang and to rescue his
daughter.
The Man Who Knew Too
Much is primitive by today’s slick standards of Hollywood moviemaking –
perhaps even on the level of a well-produced student film. But the execution of
this suspenseful thriller is more fully realized and gutsier than almost any
movies opening in theatres today. Peter Lorre as the chief spy and criminal
mastermind dramatically undersells his performance – an acting feat from which many
actors-as-villains could learn – and is all the more effective because of it.
There’s a substantially more menacing air to someone not unhinged but with his
wits about him, and in complete control of himself and everyone – and nearly
everything – around him. Lorre is chilling in his matter-of-fact and almost
likable delivery and all the more memorable.
Banks and Best make for a believable couple who show amazing
resolve when pushed. Yes, there’s the occasional histrionics, but this was the acting
style of the time. And Hitchcock loved melodrama. Also note the restrained emotions Bob and Jill
display when they learn Betty has been kidnapped. It’s British “keep a stiff
upper lip” stoicism at its finest.
While much of the drama unfolds in the plot twists and
dialogue, The Man Who Knew Too Much
has its share of gripping action. The violent shootout in a London street
between London police and the spies who are holding up in an apartment building
was undeniably edgy for its time, yet the bloodless carnage still resonates as
rather shocking given the amount of deaths, especially to innocent men of law
and order.
Criterion Collection, as it always does, went to great lengths
to clean up The Man Who Knew Too Much’s
video and audio presentation; it’s doubtful the 75-minute film has ever looked as
good as it does in this Blu-ray version. And as a precursor to the greatness to
come from Hitchcock, The Man Who Knew Too
Much is an important film that any of the filmmaker’s fans should
experience…or experience again.
The single Blu-ray also features new audio commentary from
film historian Philip Kemp and a new interview with filmmaker Guillermo del
Toro, as well as a 1972 interview with Hitchcock conducted by journalist Pia
Lindstrom and film historian William Everson.
Written by Kyle Slagley
The publishing industry was given a huge boost yesterday
when it was announced that Dan
Brown’s sixth novel, Inferno, would hit shelves May 14.
The novel features Harvard professor Robert
Langdon, and involves a harrowing story revolving around Dante’s Inferno.
Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine.
Brown has had his critics over the years, but his fans are
fiercely loyal. Now that Inferno has
been announced, those fans are going to be anxiously awaiting that Tuesday
release.
Inferno hits
shelves on the same date as The King’s Deception – the new Cotton
Malone thriller by author Steve
Berry, one of my very favourite authors – so historical conspiracy/thriller
fans will get a twofer that day. The problem is that May 14 is four months away.
What in the world will we do for four months?! Don’t worry; I’ve got a few
suggestions to help you pass the time.
The Amber Room by Steve Berry – Berry’s
debut novel deals with one of the most tragic losses to the art world during
World War II. The Amber Room was stolen by the Nazis on October 14, 1941, from
Saint Petersburg and moved to Königsberg in East Prussia. Amid the chaos at the
end of the war, it disappeared and has never been seen again. Berry’s novel
follows Paul and Rachel Cutler as they follow the dying clues of Rachel’s
father. It’s got art, conspiracy, murder, and mystery. Berry’s novels only get
better from here.
Raising Atlantis
by Thomas
Greanias – Another debut thriller, this one follows Dr. Conrad Yeats, a
rogue TV personality with a knack for getting in trouble, and Serena Serghetti,
a nun entrusted by the Pope with a terrifying secret. Although not what I
expected, this is still a highly entertaining read for fans of the Atlantis
legend. Greanias also has two more novels in this series: The Atlantis Prophecy and The
Atlantis Revelation.
The Last Templar by Raymond
Khoury – This thriller should be at the top of the reading list for anyone
who even remotely enjoyed any of Brown’s past three novels. The novel begins
with a team of men dressed as Templar Knights riding their horses into the Metropolitan Museum during a gala with
all Manhattan’s high society in attendance. They ride their horses through the museum, stealing a very valuable
relic on display from the Vatican. Did I mention these “Templar knights” were riding horses in the museum? Not as fast
as a car, but horses certainly have more of an impact. It’s a fantastic book,
and there are two more books to follow this one.
The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry – Did
I mention I’m a Steve Berry fan? Berry’s fourth novel kicks off his Cotton
Malone series and was really the one that got me hooked. Cotton Malone is a
former agent of the Magellan Billet, a secret agency within the United States
Justice Department. Despite being retired from the Magellan Billet, Cotton
seems to find himself alongside his former boss, Stephanie Nelle, fighting a
fight that scholars have been battling for centuries. Cotton is strong,
intelligent, and just broken enough to make the character real.
The Last Dickens by Matthew
Pearl – It’s 1870, and Charles Dickens has just died, leaving behind his
unfinished novel. His publisher, James Osgood, along with Rebecca Sand, must dive
into the depths of Boston’s opium cartels, thugs-for-hire, and publishing gangs
to find the ending to the now famously unfinished Mystery of Edwin Drood. Although
this novel is far from perfect, Dickens and Victorian era fans will enjoy it,
and how cool would it be if there really were a Victorian Book Mafia?
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