Month: July 2014

A Look at Criterion’s A Hard Day’s Night

By James Shaw (The Wind Up Geek) and Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

AHardDaysNightJ: There is something to be said for smaller theatres who get deprived of big name films because distribution companies don’t take them seriously. For The Vic Theatre, it is just another day surviving in the jungle. In the jungle the mighty dollar wins and that is as it should be but should community theatres be left to nibble on corporate bread crumbs as a result. Even during this cold war of cinema distribution, these theatres can still provide their own unique entertainment.

July 4th was the 50th anniversary of the release of A Hard Day’s Night, the film that was to introduce the Beatles to the world. It is hard to believe that 50 years have passed. It is even harder to believe that turning my room into a shrine to the fab four while wearing Beatles boots seemed not that long ago in comparison.

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Get Your Farscape Fix with Guardians of the Galaxy!

By James Shaw (The Windup Geek) and Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-IMAX-3D-poster-1J: Ed and I were lucky enough to have a sneak peek into Marvel’s new mega picture Guardians of the Galaxy. With a couple of free tickets, by 7pm we were treated to roughly 17 minutes of what could potentially be another Marvel masterpiece.

And like any convention I’ve been to I was able to speak easily to others in attendance who like me held similar tastes. Between the sounds of Godzilla ringtones and talk of the newest animated Sailor Moon series, it was good to know that among the new people we met were old friends and acquaintances.

Fellow geeks and nerds we recognized were local celebrity cosplayer Dawn Richardson, artist and published author Astra Crompton, and professional photographer Qué Banh. Being in good company, one could not ask for better even if the movie preview were to turn sour.

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[Vancouver, BC] A Queen Fan’s Odyssey

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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I could have gone to see Queen with Paul Rodgers back in 2005/6, but I honestly did not like this pairing. If I did go, I would have been disappointed. My impression of the Youtube videos of this pairing were not positive, and the reviews I read supported my thoughts. To leave the island must mean I really must love the band to death in order to hear their music live and unfiltered. They had to represent my youth. Back then, there were only two bands I took an immediate liking to: Queen and KISS.

Ever since I heard about Adam Lambert taking on the mantle, I wondered: could he? I avoided watching American Idol but when I heard about Queen and KISS appearing, I could not resist. I saw that Lambert has the stage presence needed to pull off being there with the greats.

Flash forward to now, he’s come a long way to be there in a big venue concert. To see Brian May, Roger Taylor and their support crew of Rufus Tiger Taylor, Neil Fairclough and Spike Edney is finally a completion of a quest. To see them play with Lambert may well be like discovering a Holy Grail that can bridge generations together on stage. At this Vancouver, B.C., concert or anywhere else, travelling afar to experience this special kind of magic is well worth it.

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