arts

The Blind Side Directed by: John Lee Hancock Starring: Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron and Kathy Bates Released: Nov. 20, 2009 4/4 When naming the most under-appreciated female actresses is to date, any answer would have to include Sandra Bullock – especially after her latest role in The Blind Side. In one of her best performances…

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Invictus Directed by: Clint Eastwood Starring: Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon Released: Dec. 11, 2009 3/4 Another great offering from film-heavyweight Clint Eastwood, Invictus brings to light a remarkable story from 1994-95 post-apartheid South Africa that is seldom told. The film begins shortly after Nelson Mandella’s release from Robben Island prison, his triumph in bringing…

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The Princess and the Frog Directed by: Ron Clements, John Musker Starring: Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David Released: December 11, 2009 3.5/4 It’s been a while since Disney produced a decent animated movie, but with The Princess and the Frog, fans are finally given another classic to put on the shelf alongside the…

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Drinking, sex, bad decisions, friendship, an existential struggle for identity and meaning and puppets. It’s hard to envision a single show that could have better encapsulated the essence of being a university student than the boldly unique and consistently hilarious Avenue Q.  Last Tuesday’s performance of the off-Broadway production (which opened at Kitchener’s Centre in…

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For die-hard Matt Good fans, his odd behaviour should come as no surprise. Bitter, manic and strange, Good’s show on Monday night at Centre in the Square was an unforgettable experience. Telling an audience member to “get [his] fucking money back and shut the fuck up” after being heckled as a result of his long…

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Some music you can get away with listening to on crappy computer speakers. With dubstep, you’ll just feel ripped off. Dubstep (sometimes called “dark garage”) is a relatively new genre of electronic music that – although it has been around for over a decade in the U.K. – has recently gained popularity in Canada. Its…

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The celebratory book launch of a new novel – which explores the historical context of feminist literature – took place at Laurier on Thursday in the faculty of arts lounge. The book, Wider Boundaries of Daring: The Modernist Impulse in Canadian Women’s Poetry, is a demonstration of Canadian literary modernism through a collection of work…

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Canadian hip-hop artist Prevail of Swollen Members thought he wanted a question mark on his tombstone when he died, but after further reflection decided he’d prefer an exclamation point. If he were to die six months from now, he’d spend at least some of that time in Europe. “I think I’d try to BASE jump…

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For writer Russell Wangersky, writing his memoir Burning Down the House: Fighting Fires and Losing Myself was about more than just writing – it was a cathartic experience. Recently Wangersky won the 2009 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction for the book, a $10,000 annual award Laurier grants to acknowledge a Canadian writer whose work…

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Outrageous and pompous, Professor Kuling of BITE TV’s satirical show Recessionomics is far from the individual you’d want teaching a class of 200 students. But for the real Peter Kuling, Laurier professor of English, film studies and communications, that character could not be further from the truth. “The difference is that Professor Kuling on BITE…

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