Have an idea for a story? Let us know!

Contact: Cheryl Minns, Art Editor
™ arts@theotherpress.ca

(YW Link takes on style in his new multiplayer game
(¥ Comic Corner: A ground-breaking story of growing up

This issue:

 

The one that got away

» ‘Almost, Maine’ play

  

Adam Tatelman
a Statt Writer

OOOO

ouglas College’s latest play,

Almost, Maine, is about
romance and is comedic, but it’s
a little outside the box compared
to your average romantic comedy.
All of the “almost” moments of
love are in the script: proposals,
exes clearing the air, friends
becoming lovers, saying goodbye
to lost loves, reclaiming your
stuff during a breakup. Yet in
this play, people’s hearts turn
to stone and break, they give
and receive love in big red Santa
bags, and they literally can’t
stand up after falling in love.

There isn’t a story in the
traditional sense of beginning,
middle, end. There is a through-
line that marks the places where
those things might be, but
mostly the play comes off like an
anthology piece. The characters
all know one another—Almost
isa small place, after all—but
their scenes are separate stories
that contribute to the overall
philosophical statement while

review

: building the small-town-up-
: north identity of the play.

That identity is well

: conveyed by the set design.

: Consisting of a raised porch-like

: area and some snowy stumps, it’s
: fairly spartan. That porch serves

: as both the inside and outside of
: quaint little country houses and

: local bars; it’s a testament to the

: applicability of the design when

: itcan be so many different things
: in so many scenes. There is a fun

: snow effect near the end of the

: play, and the projector lighting

: makes some very authentic stars

: and northern lights. Design-

: wise, everything’s there for a

: reason, So it all fits well. I could

: have done without the guitar

: sting after every scene, though.

Each actor gets a chance

: to show their range by playing

: multiple characters, often polar
: opposites: Logan Tower and

: Rachel Fournier open and close
: the play as Pete and Ginette,

: whose awkwardness drives

: them closer and further apart

: at the same time. Then Tower

: turns around to play a man’s

: man lumberjack with Sean

: Brown as Chad and Randy,

: while Fournier goes through a

: stressful breakup as Gayle. Jaimee :

(Y Behind ‘Bard of the Bronx’

And more!

 

: Armstrong’s characters are quite
: earthy, and she makes one of

: the fastest costume changes I’ve
: yet witnessed in theatre. Jace

: Byers gives a comedic turn as

: milquetoast artist Dave, trying

: to woo the somewhat masculine
: and entirely clueless Rhonda

: played by Nina Dosdall.

: This may just be my jaded

: self, but I think the reason

: for injecting these clownish

: comedic devices into otherwise

: melodramatic scenes is to make
: a point not about love but about
: how we deal with losing it.

 

by Jolin Carian

Image via www.northwestarkansas.org

: Rejection, confusion, breakups—
: in the end, these things are not so
: awful. People make a fuss about
: them in the moment, but often
: look back at them fondly. They’re
: just another track on the album,
: so we might as well learn to laugh
: before the disc runs out of music.

 

New Bond movie is nothing new

» ‘Spectre’ movie review

Lauren Paulsen
Senior Columnist

: plot and has all of the elements
: that a Bond movie tends to have.

: There’s the perfect spy who

OOO08

> somehow overcomes all odds
: and always manages to seduce

: the women, the epic car chase

[I= Fleming’s James Bond is
probably the best known spy
character of all time, and many
movies have been adapted from
his stories. Bond’s new movie
Spectre isn’t actually based
on any of Fleming’s original
stories this time around, but it’s
still the typical Bond movie.

Spectre picks up after
Skyfall. After getting a cryptic
message, Bond takes off on a
rogue mission that leads him
into the belly of probably the
worst organization that he’s come :
across. Meanwhile, someone is
trying to get the oo program shut
down because it is “outdated”
(isn’t this a little familiar?) and
he wants to set up a network
that has all of the world’s
intelligence agencies connected
(how can that go wrong?).

The plot is a typical Bond

: with really expensive cars that

: inevitably get wrecked (my dad
: always laments over this), the

: dark shadows from Bond’s past,
: the explosions and fights and

: witty banter, all things that we

: are familiar with. But you go into
: the movie knowing what you’re
: going to get, and generally it is

: fun. For some reason, I found

: this instalment lacking, though.

Maybe it was because I

: found the plot to be really

: predictable. There was a lot of

: foreshadowing, and it really took
: away any mystery the movie

: could have had. Another thing

: that bugged me was that there

: were some really unrealistic

: things happening in the movie.

: For example, near the beginning
: of the movie, Bond gets in a

: fight in a helicopter and this

: helicopter manages to do loop-

de-loops. I’m pretty sure that
: typical helicopters cannot still
: fly while upside-down. There

: plot devices, though I won't go
: into detail because I don’t want
: to ruin the story for anyone.

I admit there were some

good points to the movie. I
: loved the set up for The Day of

 

: the Dead at the beginning. The
: cars used in the car chase were
: beautiful, so even I, with my

: were also some really convenient : little knowledge of cars, could

: appreciate them. The special

: effects were nicely done and

: obviously cost a lot. Overall,

: I'd have to say that its selling

: points were the visual aspects.
I don't want to discourage

Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc

: anyone from seeing the movie.

: Die-hard Bond fans will love it,

: as will those who love action.

: My father and brother certainly

: enjoyed it. I, unfortunately,

: found it more mediocre and less
: compelling than the other Bond

: movies that I have seen. For me,

: Spectre didn't live up to the hype.