Results tagged “thestory”

Out of respect for the funeral of Richard Bradshaw, the Toronto International Film Festival Group chose not to hold their traditional big final press conference in Nathan Phillips Square yesterday, and so with slightly less fanfare than usual we received a massive lump of press releases from the Festival announcing that they’ve announced absolutely everything about the festival there is to announce, pretty much.

At the end of the second verse of one of Bright Eyes' new songs, "Reinvent The Wheel"—a eulogy for a dead musical idol, possibly Elliott Smith—lead singer Conor Oberst laments to his fallen hero that "you never understood what we loved you for." Coming as the line does in the song, with guitar chords and drums emphatically struck together to highlight Oberst's voice and the backing vocals, the moment is both uplifting and tragic, a beautiful example of the ambivalence and catharsis that runs through much of Bright Eyes' work. But standing in the Opera House at the band's concert last night, surrounded by an ocean of half-drunk couples with side-bangs awkwardly making out, half-pretty under-aged girls wondering when the slow sad songs were going to start, and most of the rest of us just wondering when it was going to get good, it was hard not to feel that Oberst's lyrics lamenting the misunderstanding of a crowd's love might very well apply to him.

In the post-Christmas period, there aren’t usually a lot of films released, and this year it's no different; really we’re all just twiddling our thumbs waiting for the new Cinematheque season, right?

Canstage opened its new season at the Bluma Appel with a much-ballyhooed production of Of Mice and Men (scooping Stratford's 2007 season), which resulted in Torontoist's inbox becoming full of e-mails requesting that we audition our dogs for the show (we declined). Things recommenced rather more innocuously at the Berkeley Street Theatre with the world premiere of The Story of My Life, a self-labelled "small musical." The two-hander is all about friendship and death. Or something.

So, for cinema goers who aren’t moved by the idea of Sprockets as described below (perhaps you don’t have children, perhaps you hate children, perhaps you hate children when they’re in cinemas, which Torontoist can understand), what is on offer for you loves?

It's a certifiable truth that the West has far greater wealth and resources than we can ever hope to, but the realization hit home when we saw that the Gladstone Hotel was hosting a $500 per head event this weekend. The West truly has gone discreetly, charmingly, bourgeoisie on us. Well, perhaps not charmingly. But the Gladstone has slipped itself out of awkward dilapitude and fairly priced housing, and into boho grandeur, and fairly priced housing. This Saturday brings to its doors The Story, a benefit for the fiftieth anniversary of World Literacy, featuring a dinner in honour of the publication of the book, which is a very limited edition beauty. Words by Michael Ondaatje, and prints by David Bolduc. Of course, it's really not as rags to riches as it looks. Though the Gladstone is going Giller glam for a night, the next aft it features 'Hot fo Gandhi,' for the low, low price of five dollars. Perhaps those Gladstoners will be able to perfect the scruff to swank ratio. Something for everyone, to be sure.