The show kicked off with a set from Calgary’s dubstep masters Piranha Piranha, who played through a catalog of tunes from the halftime, wobbly sounds of 2005 all the way to the heavier, more intricate sounds of 2011– all dubstep, of course. The mixing was technically near-perfect and the overlapping ambient soundscapes of underground dubstep… Continue reading Concert review: Skream and Benga
Results for "Ben Rowe"
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Bentley’s afro magic
Joe Bentley was the enemy.His curly (bleached?) afro was evil, and his wrestling prowess was reviled. He was wrestling my best friend, Kristian Leach, in a high school city final. Kristian was in grade 12, Bentley was a grade 11 punk. Kristian had “Leach 3:16” signs in the crowd, Bentley’s fans wore fake afros. We… Continue reading Bentley’s afro magic
Film Review: Skyfall
By Ben Rowe
We have been watching James Bond on the big screen for 50 years. Bond’s adventures began in print, authored by Ian Fleming, nine years earlier. Rooted in the Cold War and modernist ideals of the ’50s and ’60s, the Bond films defined the culture of those decades but have unfortunately struggled with relevancy for years.… Continue reading Film Review: Skyfall
Film review: Dredd 3D
By Ben Rowe
The year is 2099. America is an irradiated wasteland. The East Coast is united in one sprawling urban metropolis, Mega-City One. The population lives under the rule of a totalitarian police state, controlled by the fascist Judges. Armoured, faceless and heavily armed, the Judges are the police, judge, jury and executioner all in one, dispensing… Continue reading Film review: Dredd 3D
The failures of The New 52
By Ben Rowe
Last September, DC Comics launched ‘The New 52,’ the largest single publishing initiative in the legendary comic book company’s history. Every series published by the company was relaunched and rebooted, resulting in 52 new #1 issues. Along with instituting same day digital copies for all issues, the idea was to attract new readership to the… Continue reading The failures of The New 52
Film review: Antiviral
By Ben Rowe
Antiviral is the feature film debut of Brandon Cronenberg, son of famed Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg. Set in the near-future, this parable about celebrity worship depicts a society willing to pay to be injected with celebrities’ diseases just to feel closer to them. Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones) works for the Lucas Clinic, which buys… Continue reading Film review: Antiviral
Rand preferred coffee, not tea
By Ben Rowe
“Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.” Those are the words of Ayn Rand, the controversial novelist-philosopher whose work Atlas Shrugged has been adopted by the burgeoning Tea Party movement as a kind of libertarian-capitalist bible. But the… Continue reading Rand preferred coffee, not tea
Ten years, many mistakes
By Ben Rowe
Ten years is a long time. Ten years ago there was no Netflix, no Facebook, no YouTube and no iPods. What there were, however, were two more buildings in the New York City skyline. Ten years ago on September 11 the United States of America came under attack when the Sunni terrorist group al-Qaeda hijacked… Continue reading Ten years, many mistakes
The upcoming Hollywood dreck
By Ben Rowe
In the next 12 months, 114 films are scheduled for wide release. Of those, 69 will be remakes, reboots, re-imaginings, sequels, prequels and adaptations of all variety of source material. In other words, wholly unoriginal cinematic re-hashes, asking you for a good 20 bucks to watch a story you already know. Most of them, thanks… Continue reading The upcoming Hollywood dreck
Local filmmakers get their shot at $100 Film Festival
By Ben Rowe
Since 1992, the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers has hosted the $100 Film Festival, an opportunity and contest for low-budget films and the artists behind them to receive community recognition and support. Held every March at the Plaza Theatre, the $100 Film Festival was originally a challenge to create short films for $100 or less.… Continue reading Local filmmakers get their shot at $100 Film Festival