While the word "nutcracker" might evoke some painful mental images in some, for many it's a familiar part of the holiday season. The original ballet was composed in Russia by one Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1892, and The National Ballet of Canada has been performing The Nutcracker since 1964. James Kudelka did a revamp of the choreography in 1995, and since then The National Ballet's Nutcracker has become what The Globe and Mail has......

Tut tut tut. We’re all very disappointed in you, John Krasinski, for your decision to star in License to Wed. Sure, you’ve been working so hard to build up your hipster cred—interviewing the Shins, playing on stage with Ben Gibbard, but I’m afraid we might have to revoke your hipster privileges. The Sun’s Kevin Williamson claims of the film, “you can at least approximate the experience of sitting through this alleged romantic comedy at home......

It was a whirlwind friendship that began in the summer of 2003 between two of Canada's more notable singers. Chantal Kreviazuk and Avril Lavigne had a lot in common from the start: they both left their hometowns to launch careers in Toronto; they each have a contract with Ford models; both are represented by the same management company; the women have appeared in minor film roles; and both are now married to Canadian rock......

The 17th Annual Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival had its official launch earlier this week at the Gladstone (following a recent fundraiser) where it announced its lineup to the public. The opening night gala will be the Canadian premiere of Duncan Roy's The Picture of Dorian Gray, a modern update of the classic Wilde novel starring teen dream David Gallagher as the amoral muse. Other gala screenings include 2005......

One of the greatest collaborations in Canadian musical history is coming to an end tomorrow night at Massey Hall. The Rheostatics are bidding farewell to bassist Tim Vesely, who is leaving the band to spend more time with his young family and dedicate more energy to his side project, The Violet Archers. The break-up is amicable. Well, as amicable as these things can be. Custody of the Tarleks has yet to be determined. Current......

This Is Not A Reading Series wraps up 2006 with its final two events of the year. With the temperature dropping every day and water soon turning into ice, what better topic than hockey? Tomorrow, join Rheostatic/author Dave Bidini (On a Cold Road; Tropic of Hockey; The Best Game You Can Name) as he launches his new book of hockey erotica (Indigo will need a new section) The Five Hole . Joining Dave to celebrate......

No room can fit John Darnielle's voice. When it's quiet, it can suck any space empty, turning a mid-sized venue like Lee's Palace into a bedroom, complete with the friend awkardly singing his heart out. When it's loud, it seems as if no stadium could possibly hold his warbling shout. When Darnielle wanted to at Tuesday night's concert, he silenced the room, save for the clanking of a few empties at the back. Whispers......

Competition was fiercer than the Daytime Emmys on Thursday at the 2nd Annual Doug Wright Awards for Canadian Cartooning, but Michel Rabagliati took the prize for Best Book with Paul Moves Out. Set in 1970's Montreal, the sequel to Paul Has a Summer Job documents Rabagliati's first days cohabitating with his future wife during art school. While this year's nominees like Scott Pilgrim Volume 2 and Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea were remarkably......

A couple of Sunday night events to kick-off or end your week, depending on how you see it. Gypsy Eyes, who is all over the place this week, hosts Last Call Poets at the Cadillac Lounge – 1296 Queen W. – tonight at 8pm. Admission is $7. Depending on how long Last Call Poets runs, you may be able to make it over to the Gladstone – 1214 Queen W. – for Haunted Fishtank poetry......

- In this case that unbroken thing is Bill Murray. Plop him in your movie, give him a track suit or two and let the camera hold on him for long spans of unspoken time. Cinematic gold. In Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers, Murray plays Don Johnston, a man who learns he may have a child, and begins a comic quest to track said child down. Bill Murray in a Taurus. What else do you need?......