the arts
Thursday, 03 November 2011 10:00
Metaphors in mechanics
Three years ago, independent software developer Jonathan Blow released Braid, a game which at the time was something of a champion for the artistic merits of video game design. Lauded for its striking artistic direction, inventive time manipulation mechanics, and poignant narrative, few games before or since have been met with as much adulation.
Thursday, 03 November 2011 10:00
Why Not? read it
The title of Why Not? Fifteen Reasons to Live, explains Ray Robertson’s collection of personal essays, as well as the reason to read it. Why not take the time to tackle a tough question: Why live?
Thursday, 03 November 2011 10:00
Who killed David Lynch?
David Lynch is the man without qualities – almost. Yes, his movies and other works are distinctive, but imagine trying to explain one of them without introducing –like some asshole film student – stacks of hackneyed academic notions like Freudianism or liminal desire. It's impossible; these cliche ideas are essential to explaining Lynch's work. And…
Thursday, 27 October 2011 10:00
Mackenzie King sees dead people
In recent years, Mackenzie King’s interest in spiritualism has become somewhat notorious. Theatre group Video Cabaret’s show, The Life and Times of Mackenzie King follows events in Canadian history between the First and Second World Wars, and creates what participating actor Richard Alan Campbell calls an “irreverent black comedy version of Canadian history” with “characters…
Thursday, 27 October 2011 10:00
The scariest game you've never played
Survival horror games have undergone a curious metamorphosis over the years. Most notably, they're now forgoing frugal design principals enhancing atmosphere in favour of bloody gore fests highlighting action. And while technology and gameplay certainly improve over time, cultivating scenarios of dread and terror have fallen out of fashion as fluid high resolution dismemberment began…
Thursday, 27 October 2011 10:00
Ama-zine!
Arriving at the Canzine Festival on Sunday, the sheer quantity of self-published material was immediately overwhelming. Part crafts fair, part farmer’s market, and part art extravaganza, 918 Bathurst Street had been transformed into a playground for the zine-o-phile.
Thursday, 27 October 2011 10:00
Paranormal Activity, so bad it's scary
Often, movie trilogies are designed to be (and expected to be) formulaic. However, to call Paranormal Activity 3 formulaic is an insult to formula. Likewise, it just seems ridiculous to call the Paranormal Activity films a trilogy. On television, shows like House and Law and Order have used widely varying characters and scenarios to spin…
Thursday, 20 October 2011 10:00
Lost in the basement with The Binding of Isaac
Isaac had no idea that Abraham intended him as a sacrifice to God when he was following his father up the mountain. In fact Isaac had no power in that entire incident. Either God was testing Abraham's faith, or Abraham was testing God's benevolence. Issac was just the object of a dare.
Thursday, 20 October 2011 10:00
From Russia With Love
“All around is sky and blue town,” the folk duo the Weepies croon in their song honouring the work of visual artist Marc Chagall. The new AGO exhibit, Chagall and the Russian Avant-Garde: Masterpieces from the Collection of the Centre Pompidou also celebrates the Russian painter, who at once defied and welcomed the types of…
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