Category Archives: Reviews

Read along as we seek out the best of what the British Columbia coast (and beyond) has to offer.

09.05.14
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The Five Must See Movies of September 5 – 11, 2014

TMNTBayFor the month of September, Cinecenta has a treat for film lovers of both old and new. Movies such as Ghostbusters, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Obvious Child, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Taking My Parents To Burning Man, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show will delight all at the little theatre located on the University of Victoria campus.

Cinecenta will also be celebrating their 5th Latin America and Spanish film week Sept 16th to the 21st. Such films as 7 Boxes, The Amazing Catfish, The Delay, and A Gun in Each Hand are in this year’s line-up.

In Cinecenta’s Matinee for Kids, Earth To Echo will feature Saturday Sept 27th and Sunday 28th at 1pm. All seats are $4.75 each.

Coming soon to The Fritz will be Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight, Lucy, Boyhood and the National Theatre’s production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Sidney’s Star Cinema has tickets on sale for the 2014-15 season of The Metropolitan Opera. Tickets are $24 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $185 for a series pass.

You can also visit Star Cinema’s website for information on how to vote for a film you want to see.

Please check media for local showtimes, ratings and admission rates.

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08.29.14
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The Five Must See Movies of Aug 29 – Sept 4, 2014

AMostWantedManFor the month of September, Cinecenta has a treat for film lovers of both old and new. Movies such as Ghostbusters, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Obvious Child, Neighbors, Edge of Tomorrow, Earth to Echo, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show will delight all at the little theatre located on the University of Victoria campus.

Cinecenta will also be celebrating their 5th Latin America and Spanish film week with such films as 7 Boxes, The Amazing Catfish, The Delay, and A Gun in Each Hand.

Coming soon to The Fritz will be Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight, Lucy, and the National Theatre’s production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

September 3rd will be a matinée of The Peace Makers, a film created by Words of Peace Global. Admission will be by donation.

The Vic Theatre will be showing films for five dollars between August 30th and September 1st; Godzilla, Neighbors, and A Million Ways to Die in the West. All five dollar films start at 7pm.

Sidney’s Star Cinema has tickets on sale for the 2014-15 season of The Metropolitan Opera. Tickets are $24 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $185 for a series pass.

Please check media for local showtimes, ratings and admission rates.

Continue reading →

08.29.14
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[Victoria Fringe Festival ’14] Young Frankenstein the Musical, A Review

YoungFrankensteinDirected by Cam Culham
Music Direction by Donna Williams

Continues playing at Copeland Theatre
at St. Michaels University School
3400 Richmond Rd

Fri, Aug 29 • 7:00pm
Sat, Aug 30 • 2:00pm
Sat, Aug 30 • 7:00pm

J: Oh what a difference a year makes when it comes to a production performed by the students of St. Michael’s Musical Theatre Intensive Program as part of the Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival. Compared to the clean version of Avenue Q from last year, the shackles were broken with Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein. All the sexual innuendo was left in, just the way fans of Mel Brooks like it.

E: And one particular number got shuffled out of the narrative to become a finale for the night. I would’ve liked to see Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Jasper Johnston) and the Monster (Ethan Ko) put on the Ritz and I fully understand to produce that number requires the students to either learn how to tap dance in a short amount of time or already have that skill. But in a seasonal program that is open to anyone that doesn’t ask for pre-requisite skills, that’s not possible.

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08.27.14
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[Victoria, BC] T’was A Special Day for Chinatown’s Freemasons Society

ChinatownParade2The Victoria chapter of the Chinese Freemasons celebrated their anniversary on August 17th and I was there to witness it for the first-time. They were established in 1876 and are considered to be one of the oldest Chinese Freemasons in Canada. To have such distinction is reason enough to celebrate on a grand scale. People who attended the celebration under the gaze of the Gate of Harmonious Interest were not only treated to a Fo Shan lion dance but also martial art demonstrations by students of the Wong Sheung Hung Fut Kung Fu Club.

And for the curious tourist, there were two tours offered to take them into a glimpse of one of Canada’s oldest Chinatown. Lucky visitors were able to receive rare glimpses into buildings that are not normally accessible to many people throughout the year.

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08.25.14
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[Victoria Fringe Festival ’14] The Rise of Basement Boy as a Hero? A Review

img_0068-1Presented by ShaneBob Productions
Directed by Shane Campbell and Markus Spodzieja

In homage to many a geek or nerd who can relate, a free slice of a cheese pizza is going to be offered at every performance of The Rise of Basement Boy. When two buddies are seen playing Dungeons and Dragons, a fantasy role-playing game, before even the show starts, some people may well wonder what will transpire in this comedy musical? If they read the synopsis, Archibald Clarkson (Markus Spodzieja) has to brave leaving the basement in order to be with his first true love or face losing her forever. When he spends most of his time sheltered away from reality along with Clarence, his Grandpa, (Francis Melling), who also struggles with his own demons, the only person they share a camaraderie with is with Bart (Jenson Kerr), a buddy who comes over to play with them.

But when Archie answers the door in order to receive their daily influx of pizza that’ll make the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hungry, just who he meets is not their regular delivery person. Instead of the guy who has been ripping them off for years, he meets Candy (Hayley McCurdy), who happens to be the girl of his dreams. To see Clarkson flabbergasted is not without some chuckles and to witness Bart act jealous gets the plot in motion.

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08.25.14
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[Victoria Fringe Festival ’14] Finding Mask Over Matter, A Review

Presented by Lightning Theatre

Mask over Matter is one of those plays with a name that conjures forth visages of wonderment and intrigue. Instead, the show offers a mix of pantomime and improv where the performers are wearing a mask in order to play archetypical characters from many a narrative. In what they represent are not necessarily that of comedy and tragedy that Greek theatre made famous. The style hails from Italy where it’s more commonly known as Commedia dell’arte. Deception is used to create its humour, and it’s a different type of improv that many may not be familiar with, much less get.

At least for this young comedy group, they are certainly learning the ropes fast. With a few members of the cast schooled by the Dave Morris’ Improv Class, at least they are being trained by the best. Andrew Brimmell and Shahin Mohamadi are two such individuals. Together, with Daniel Belkin, Robin Valerie and Kevin Koch, they play a diverse cast of characters from various social standings. They are caricatures of various occupations and a night’s show can be a discourse in social studies. As with many a performance, Brighella (Shahin Mohamadi) Arlecchino (Kevin Koch) and Columbina (Robin Valerie) introduce what this type of comedy is about and audiences are essentially being taken for a ride of slapstick after a few audience members provide a few ideas and direction to help move the night’s performance along.

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