Search Vancouver Listings Find concerts, movies, restaurants, arts, & events

Articles by Ken Eisner.

The Rocker

In Hollywood comedies, guys are lovable children who refuse to grow up. They also apply the wisdom of sages to compensate for otherwise destructive schoolyard sensibilities. To illustrate, please check IMDb for the résumés of Jerry Lewis, Bill Murray, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Will Ferrell, and any other SNL veteran we might be forgetting. Jack Black also deserves a place on this list, with his Rock School turn the most apt during any discussion of The Rocker, which brings TV veteran Rainn Wilson into the man-child fold.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Woody Allen’s latest comedy about two American girls who join a roguish painter for a weekend is his most thoughtful and satisfying film in many years. The characters may be childish, but the movie is definitely grown-up.

Bottle Shock

This overwrought crowd beater about California wine country is desperate to be a Sideways wtih Hallmark Card aspirations. The only glimmers of pleasure in the movie, however, come from Alan Rickman.

Tropic Thunder

This gore-filled and explosively-funny movie sets its sights on sending up Hollywood war movies, in particular Platoon, Apocalypse Now, and anything involving Sly Stallone.

Leipzig String Quartet offers no-frills excellence

The young German group offered an ideal interpretation of Beethoven's third “Razumovsky” quartet, which begins with celestial tuning, swims in pools of unearthly beauty, and ends with a near-dissonant cavalry charge.

Amal

Starring Rupinder Nagra and Roshan Seth. In English and in Hindi with English subtitles. Rated PG. Opens Friday, August 8, at the Ridge Theatre

Blissful harmony from Grupo de Canto Coral

Grupo de Canto Coral

Man on Wire

A documentary by James Marsh. Rated G. Opens Friday, August 8, at Fifth Avenue and Cinemark Tinseltown cinemas

American Teen

A documentary by Nanette Burstein. Rated G. Opens Friday, August 8, at the Cinemark Tinseltown

Baghead

Starring Ross Partridge and Greta Gerwig. Rated PG. Opens Friday, August 8, at the Cinemark Tinseltown

Swing Vote

What if your vote mattered—I mean, really mattered? That’s the premise of this goodhearted and surprisingly hardheaded comedy about a U.S. presidential election that comes down to a guy for whom politics, if anything, means being nice enough to the local bartender to keep his tab going.

Explosion Africaine blasts off with dance and drums

As someone who glides easily between classical, world-music, and jazz settings, Sal Ferreras knows plenty of African players on the Canadian scene. But he was particularly struck by recent encounters with Guinean-born dancer and choreographer N’Nato Camara.

Yamandú Costa’s eclectic past flavours his guitar work

Brazil has long been a cornucopia of great guitarists. But even in the context of bossa nova, choro, and Afro-samba greats, Yamandú Costa stands out. Familiar to Brazilian musicians as a brilliant technician and an innovative melder of styles on the seven-string classical instrument unique to his part of the world, the 28-year-old was virtually unknown elsewhere until a couple of years ago.

Movies Features

Swing Vote takes aim at apathy in the U.S.

When Joshua Michael Stern took his Swing Vote to Disney, he wondered if the famously conservative Mouse House was going to back a satire in which politics would be part of the mix.

The World According to Monsanto

A documentary by Marie-Monique Robin. In English and French with English subtitles. Unrated. Plays Friday to Monday, August 1 to 4, and Wednesday and Thursday, August 6 and 7, at the Vancity Theatre

Movies Features

How The Wackness wowed Ben Kingsley

SEATTLE—Jonathan Levine didn’t get much flak for the unusual title of his second feature, The Wackness. He did cringe, however, when it came to including it in the film itself, an irreverent comedy set in 1994 and starring Josh Peck and Olivia Thirlby as Manhattan teens caught up in drug culture and the usual growing-up stuff.

Step Brothers

Starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, this movie about dweeby siblings who refuse to grow up goes the extra mile to be ruthlessly funny, but in dirty spurts.

Brideshead Revisited

Starring Matthew Goode and Emma Thompson. Rated PG. Opens Friday, July 25, at Fifth Avenue

The Wackness

Starring Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley, and Olivia Thirlby. Rated 14A. Opens Friday, July 25, at the Cinemark Tinseltown

To the Limit

A documentary by Pepe Danquart. In English and German with subtitles. Unrated. Plays Friday to Wednesday, July 25 to 30, at the Vancity Theatre

Just Buried

Starring Jay Baruchel and Rose Byrne. Rated 14A.

Mr. Hulot Comes Back from His Holiday

Jacques Tati only made about nine movies in all, but the French writer-director’s crucial five features, collected in Playtime: The Films of Jacques Tati, are on display at the Pacific Cinémathèque until July 30, and from August 15 to 17.

Movies Features

Documentary showcases Hunter S. Thompson

Director Alex Gibney tackles the life and work of the original Gonzo journalist, showing how Thompson made a profound mark on America's moral landscape while "breaking all the rules" of traditional journalism.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

A documentary by Alex Gibney. Rated 14A. Opens Friday, July 18, at the Cinemark Tinseltown

Blindsight

A documentary by Lucy Walker. In English and Tibetan with English subtitles. Unrated. Plays Friday, July 18, Monday to Wednesday, July 21 to 23, and Friday to Wednesday, July 25 to 30, at the Vancity Theatre

The Unwinking Gaze: The Inside Story of the Dalai Lama’s Struggle for Tibet

A documentary by Joshua Dugdale. In English and Tibetan with English subtitles. Unrated. Plays Friday, July 18, Sunday and Monday, July 20 and 21, and Wednesday, July 23, at the Vancity Theatre

Movies Features

Before the Rains' Linus Roache has made many a passage to India

Although his name might be top billing for the steamy period movie, Linus Roache readily admits the main mover is Rahul Bose, the Indian-born actor who plays an educated villager caught between two worlds in the waning days of the British Empire in India.

Before the Rains

Starring Linus Roache and Rahul Bose. In English and Malayalam with English subtitles. Rated PG. Opens Friday, July 11, at the Fifth Avenue Cinemas

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Starring Brendan Fraser and Josh Hutcherson. Rated PG.

Love Songs

Starring Louis Garrel and Chiara Mastroianni. In French with English subtitles. Rated PG. Opens Friday, July 11, at the Park Theatre

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

Starring Abigail Breslin, Julia Ormond, and Chris O’Donnell. Rated G. Opens Friday, July 4, at the Cinemark Tinseltown

Brick Lane

Starring Tannishtha Chatterjee, Christopher Simpson, and Satish Kaushik. In English and Bengali with English subtitles. Rated PG. Opens Friday, July 4, at the Cinemark Tinseltown

The Promotion

Starring Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly. Rated 14A.

WALL-E

The combination of passion for its message, breathtaking animation, and love for its simple characters makes a healthy tonic in WALL-E, the best thing yet from the Disney-Pixar combo.

Wynton Marsalis still pushing the boundaries

From writing symphonies for the Boston Orchestra to playing duets with Willie Nelson, scoring soundtracks for documentaries on his beloved hometown, New Orleans or executive producing a movie, the famous trumpeter does it all.

Bass master Miroslav Vitous elevated his instrument

Few musicians can honestly say that they changed the way their instruments are heard. And that goes double for double bassists, who more often provide unobtrusive support than solo star turns. Yet Miroslav Vitous, who left his native Prague for New York in 1966 (in time to miss the Russian invasion), almost instantly raised the bar for improvising bass players.

Get Smart

Starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, and Alan Arkin. Rated PG.

Flight of the Red Balloon

Starring Juliette Binoche and Song Fang. In French with English subtitles. Unrated.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

A documentary by Nathan Frankowski. Rated PG. Opens Friday, June 27, at the Cinemark Tinseltown

5 comments · Read more

Charlie Haden still keeps it in the family

Although the veteran musician's latest project finds him working with his wife and kids, plus some high-profile friends, he is also kicking off another tour with his Quartet West at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

Pink Martini remains potent

Back in the 1990s, a casual observer might have expected Pink Martini to flatten out like a bad gin fizz. After all, the name wasn’t all that misleading, given the band’s mix of lounge, Latin jazz, chamber music, and cabaret sensibilities.

Melodrama seems to suit wide-ranging Ndidi Onukwulu

Ndidi Onukwulu is somewhere in eastern Ontario, talking on her Vancouver cellphone while driving to a gig in Montreal. She has a bubbly, open spirit, even while thinking about gravestones.

Movies Features

Mongol delivers an epic tale of young Genghis Khan

Like the conqueror of old, director Sergei Bodrov trekked across thousands of miles and spent four arduous years with a cast of thousands and a complicated cross-border budget in pursuit of his goal.

Mongol

Starring Tadanobu Asano and Khulan Chuluun. In Mongolian with English subtitles. Rated 14A. Opens Friday, June 20, at the Fifth Avenue Cinemas

Global Metal

A documentary by Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen. In English, Portuguese, Mandarin, and Japanese with English subtitles. Rated PG. Opens Friday, June 20, at the Cinemark Tinseltown

Quebec Effort tops Seattle fest

Films from Canada and Germany took top honours at the 34th edition of the Seattle International Film Festival, which wrapped June 15 with its usual awards brunch atop the landmark Space Needle.

k.d. lang asks listeners to lean in

With Watershed, k.d. lang delivers her first album of original material since 2000’s Invincible Summer. The former Vancouverite may have taken a long time between projects, but she hasn’t been loafing.

Spencer Maybee definite on dual careers

Appearances on various TV series and films have led to a starring role for Toronto-born Spencer Maybee in the upcoming film The X-Files: I Want to Believe. While he’s been working behind the scenes on shows like The Next Great Chef and directing his own shorts, his coworkers were mostly unaware of how well his acting career was going.

And When did you Last See Your Father?

Starring Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent. Rated PG. Opens Friday, June 13, at the Fifth Avenue Cinemas

Young People Fucking

Starring Callum Blue, Ennis Esmer, Carly Pope, and Sonja Bennett. Rated 18A. Opens Friday, June 13, at the Ridge Theatre

Most Popular Articles

Navigation