With all the rain, hail and funnel clouds that have been spotted around Calgary this summer there have been very few days that Calgarians could hit up the usual outdoor summer activities. Because of that one could call this the summer of the movie theater. The Reflector takes a look at some of the good, the bad and the bloody of this summers films.

Eclipse

Edward and Bella discuss the possibility of marriage. Photo courtesy hollywoodnews.com

In the third instalment of the Twilight series we once again play witness to the bloody love story of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. Edward and Bella’s love is stronger than ever and Edward would like to seal the deal with a marriage. Bella would like to make a little deal of her own…in the bedroom. Directed this time around by David Slade there’s more action to Eclipse than the first two films, Twilight and New Moon. Jacob still elicits gasps from the female crowd as he parades around shirtless and Edward has upgraded to a Volvo SUV from the Volvo sedan, those Cullen’s change vehicles faster than us warm-bloods change underwear. While the cinematography is well done and there’s a darker more mature tone to the film, some of the screen play is too lame-o even for the hoardes of teeny boppers that watch the film. Example A:  Jacob telling Bella, “I know you love me, I can physically feel it”…right. Loads better than New Moon with more action than Twilight.

2.5 stars

Inception

When people leave the theatre after watching Inception you tend to hear a lot of how nice it is to see a movie that has a refreshing plot and not something that’s been hashed, rehashed and hashed again. There was a lot of mystery surrounding the release of the Christopher Nolan directed film and he certainly delivered. Let it be said that Leonardo DiCaprio is the actor of his generation. It seems he can take any role and bring such reality to it that you can’t help but fall into whatever journey he may be taking. Marion Cotillard is gorgeous and that, with the mix of her acting talent, and the ability to mesmerize moviegoers with nothing but the emotion of her eyes is lovely and sometimes even a bit disturbing in the film. Add a great supporting cast and tons of killer effects and you have the movie of the summer plus a major Oscar contender. Great cast, great plot, great effects.

5 stars

The Expendables

Even the fact Sylvester Stallone goes by the name “Barney” in this film isn’t enough to detract from how visually awesome it is. Sure one might think a bunch of muscle heads running around blowing shit up is just another cheap, mens movie, but when those muscle heads include the likes of Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke and Jet Li the tables are turned entirely. The Expendables may run a wee bit short on its script writing but it’s visually awesome. Sometimes with an ensemble film the actors look like they’re each vying for the most on-screen attention but with The Expendables it’s just a bunch of good ol’ boys from the best action films ever made doing what they do best on the big screen; kicking ass and taking names.

4 stars

The Kids Are All Right

Annette Bening and Julianne Moore in The Kids Are All Right. Credit: Focus Features, Photo by Suzanne Tenner

What family doesn’t have it’s dysfunctions? Honestly, dysfunction could be considered what makes the average family the average family. In The Kids Are All Right, two of Hollywood’s best leading ladies, Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play a lesbian couple who are raising two teenage children. The kids make the decision to hunt down their sperm donor dad and cue Mark Ruffalo.  Bening shows her real depth as the bread winner of the family while Julianne Moore shows a real comedic side ( though it should be noted, she still has her fair share of emotional punch as well.) Ruffalo plays the flawed donor immaculately and there’s definitely some Oscar worthy action in kids as well. Director Lisa Cholodenko gets the most out of her cast, taking a look at what makes relationships tick, what love is really about and the hurt of letting go. In the end, it’s all about family.

5 stars

Eat Pray Love

Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Eat Pray Love hit the bestseller lists like nobody’s business. It was only natural to follow up with a film adaptation. Julia Roberts, Hollywoods golden girl gone Mama Bear extraordinaire does the best she can with a script that seems a little lacklustre at times. Roberts has to cover a lot of emotional range but gets to do so  in New York, Italy, India and Bali. Aside from Roberts the real star of this film is the food, there is one scene in particular with a close up of a plate of spaghetti that is indeed drool-worthy, minus the carbs. The stunning vistas of the three countries visited by Roberts are also a highlight of the film but the camera work feels rushed at times and if you are prone to motion sickness makes you sway in your seat a little. Julia rocks it and so does the spaghetti but the age old adage of the book always being better than the movie wins this round. 3 stars

Some of Germany's fireworks from a previous Global Fest. Photo by Brad Allen, courtesy globalfest.ca

Wouldn’t it be nice, some might say, to have a bit more colour again – haven’t seen the blue sky or the warm yellow sun in days – what will we do to brighten our life?

Enter, Global Fest! Running Aug. 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 at Calgary’s Elliston Park, the eighth annual Global Fest features fireworks shows from the nations of Germany (who went Aug. 20), Italy, Portugal and Spain.

If you can only make one show (they’re $15 per show, $62.50 for a pass) the show to see might be Spain who was the “Best of 2009″.

Not only do you get to take in some kick-ass fireworks  there is also the Golder Associates Oneworld Festival, which, as touted by Calgary Culture, will feature ” Pavilions from over 60 of Calgary’s unique cultural communities [who] will be showcasing their heritage dress, performing ethno-cultural music and dance, and offering interactive activities. This year, there will be 23 cultural pavilions, 12 ethnic food kiosks, and 3 performance stages.”

Take your family, take your friends, take your lover, take a date, Global Fest is sure to refresh the senses that have been dulled by our smoky city.

The Uptown Theater

Thursday Aug.19

8 p.m.

RSVP

By Kelsey Hipkin

Back in the 1920s a young sailor by the name of Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins set up shop in Oahu, Hawaii and for 40 years tattooed his way into history.

 Sailor Jerry’s signature style with hints of Asian influence from his time with the Navy have come a long way since the pipe smoking, tattoo legend  started inking sailors that came to port. Today Sailor Jerry merchandise can be found all over North America and abroad.

 Calgarians can gain a little insight on the man who said, “Good work ain’t cheap. Cheap work ain’t good,” at a showing of the documentary Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry at the Uptown Theater Aug. 19.

 “We want to give people an opportunity to understand more about who Norman Collins was, and to some extent still is, in our minds,” said Iain Moodie, Sailor Jerry grand manager.

 “He (Collins) had such an enormous influence on pop culture as we have it today and with tattoo culture being more and more entwined and more and more the norm; but back in the day when Norman Collins was tattooing all these sailors across Hawaii, to have a tattoo was a big deal, it was a statement of intent for the rest of your life and meant that you were always going to be in the fringes of society so what we want to do is take it back and let people now know where it all came from and try and understand the tattoo culture that we all live in.”

The Sailor Jerry brand, Moodie explained, originally developed from a small group of people in Philidelphia who had the opportunity through the relationship they had with Collins’ estate to get artwork out to a large audience.

 They started with t-shirts.

 “We started with some very select pieces, not super expensive, not trying to put rhinestones on it and sell [them] in super high-end shops and charge people a hundred bucks a t-shirt,” Moodie said.

 “We really just wanted to get the artwork out there.”

 Being made in Philadelphia Sailor Jerry clothing is sweat shop free and with those first few t-shirts the brand took off and led to more products like hoodies and home-ware. And then with continued success Sailor Jerry turned to creating a spiced rum.

 “Everything that we do is about honouring the memory of Norman Collins and putting the spotlight on the talent and the very interesting life that he led, from there we started making the rum. We tried a few recipes…we landed on this one that we particularly like ourselves so tested [it] out on some friends and family they loved it,” Moodie said.

 Launched in the U.S, Moodie said that Sailor Jerry rum took off enough to launch it in the U.K then Canada and now they’re moving into Europe.

 Moodie explained that Sailor Jerry rum has been in Canada for a number of years and lately they’ve been trying to bring up distribution. After dealing with the “red tape” of various liquor boards Moodie said, “now that we’ve got out there we think it’s time to start talking to people.”

Enter Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry.  Directed by Erich Weiss, Hori Smoku takes a look at the history of tattooing in America.

 Calgary is the second stop for Hori Smoku in a cross-Canada tour that will see the documentary also hit up Vancouver on Aug. 21 then Halifax, Nova Scotia and Montreal later in the year.

The Calgary show after party features the band OFF with Keith Morris, Steven McDonald, Dimitri Coats and Mario Rubalcaba.

For more information click here.

Castle Mountain happy place.

I walk into my bedroom, see my snowboard and practically drool because I want to hit up some pow’, carve some lines and drink some cold beer on an even colder day.

I want to take snowy hikes with good friends and good cameras shooting the stark beauty that is a Canadian winter and follow it up with some hot chocolate and a poutine.

Now, before you summer fanatics get your knickers in a twist I am not dumping on your warm weather parade, as the winter traffic around my beloved Cowtown is horrendous. I do love summer, I even love the rain we’ve been having (although the humidity on the bald ass prairies these days is an adjustment.)

Finally, I want hockey.

My excitement for winter was amped up yesterday when I read that the Flames had signed veteran forward Craig Conroy to a one-year contract. Connie is an integral part of the team and while he doesn’t have the jump he may of once had, or the offensive output he once had for that matter, he is still a strong presence in the dressing room and as my friend Sandra put it, “he does so much for this city and organization.”

Does Craig Conroy being a good person win the Flames the cup next Spring? No…but if the interesting collection of players the Flames have signed (still in a bit of a fog over the whole Tanguay and Jokinen thing) can finally find that “identity” that has been touted season after season for the last however many seasons it’s going to be a great winter.

As a writer, Alan learned to loathe clichés.

I may have had something to do with that.

So maybe he wouldn’t appreciate my telling you that he epitomized the well-worn phrase “wearing his heart on his sleeve.” But Alan lived from the heart. He said what he felt; he did what his heart told him to do. To a great extent that led to his excelling at journalism. The bookshelf in his room held stacks of styleguides, books filled with newspaper design award winners, and magazines analyzing journalism and news. I couldn’t believe it, but he’d actually read most of them.

Even the styleguides.

Especially the styleguides.

Even so, I can’t say with certainty that writing was his greatest passion. As much as he loved to write, he loved learning, interviewing, debating, living life.

Al was one of the most vehement feminists I’ve ever met; but a transcendent supporter of brotherhood. I didn’t even know what that meant before I met him.

Somehow, Alan Mattson went from a name on a box of leftover business cards in a drawer of his former (now my former, too) desk in the Reflector office, to being at the centre of my life in just weeks. It was some gorgeous and previously unfathomable combination of his charm and kindness, intelligence, culinary inclinations, an endearingly dorky but self-assured sense of humour and an incredible ability to befriend anyone…especially if he could get a story idea out of it.

Even though we’d walked the same hallways for four years before having a conversation, Al told me that we’d met at the exact right time. I believed then and believe now he knew what he was talking about.

I love you, Al.

By Jeremy Nolais

The first day of August is one I will never forget.

It was the day our world lost a great friend, son, boyfriend, sibling, journalist, or you name it. Alan Mattson held many different roles during his 23 years, and he excelled at every one.

I first met Alan at Mount Royal when he was a first-year journalism student. He was confident no question, but he backed it up.

His natural ability to engage and befriend even complete strangers was something I always secretly marveled at.

Everyone he met loved and respected him. He had few enemies — something most people in his line of work cannot claim.

Yes, Alan was a talented writer, interviewer, debater and so many other things. He broke many huge stories during his time at The Reflector, often leaving the students’ association and university officials scrambling to provide rationales for finances that didn’t add up and decisions that didn’t make sense.

The Reflector Gang, 2008

He loved to ruffle feathers, and then sit back and watch the glory of his achievement.

No question, my respect for Alan was born in the newsroom but outside of work was where we became inseparable friends.

For the better part of five years, we rarely went a day without talking. He knew all of my secrets and I knew his. Sure, we had our disagreements — all good friends do — but we always rebounded, realizing we needed each other to help make sense of the everyday puzzles we face in life.

Even after I graduated from Mount Royal, Alan and I stayed together, both joining on as full-time staff at the Cochrane Eagle newspaper. He took me under his wing, teaching me the ins and outs of the town he had lived in his entire life.

Over the years, we spent many late nights discussing the finer points of journalism and life in general.

His pessimistic humour paired so well with mine. To outsiders, it looked like we were mortal enemies at times, but we were constantly determined to push each other. Two young, inexperienced kids with the world at our feet. We figured nothing could stop us.

Then, on Aug. 1, Alan went missing.

When I decided to go and find my friend, the world we had planned to make a mark on came crashing down.

Too young, too talented, too skilled, too important; this world took a serious hit the day Alan left it.

I last saw Alan the day before he passed away. Our last exchange held the same caring undertone as always. We rarely outright expressed our feelings towards one another.

Alan came into the office fighting a bad flu. He tried to work but was clearly struggling. I told him to go home, get some sleep and then finish his work.

The last thing he said to me was, “Don’t worry man, you can count on me.”

I always could.

If I had of known that was the last time we would speak, I would have said so much more.

I would have thanked him for always accepting me for who I was, thanked him for listening to me all those nights over a cold beer.

Alan never saw the bad in people; his circle of friends was always so varied.

He introduced me to so many things, including the woman I love and some of the best friends I have ever had.

It’s hard to imagine what my life would have been without him.

I wasn’t the only one Alan inspired over the years.

The horror of my discovery at Alan’s home quickly turned to a determined effort to contact those closest to him. I wanted them to hear it from me.

Needless to say, there were a lot of people.

That age-old worry that no one will show up to your funeral was never a concern when it came to Alan.

Although his parents have chosen a small, private ceremony, I am confident Alan would have filled the biggest church in Calgary four times over.

It pains me to think of the impact he would have had on countless more lives had he been given more time on this Earth.

But from the horror and tragedy of his passing, an undying sense of unity has emerged. People who have not spoken in years have come together to grieve and celebrate the life of a remarkable individual.

These past few days have been tough, no question, but together we will survive and we will be stronger for having known Alan. Of course, we are all going through waves of shock and sadness, but slowly our painful tears will be wiped away.

Alan would never have wanted us to suffer. He lived his life to the fullest and was always determined to have a good time no matter the challenge before him.

So, in honour of a great man, we will pick ourselves up and wipe away the tears.

I love you Al, and will remember you for the rest of my life.

By Kelsey Hipkin

I had heard of Calgary’s Legion No.1, friends had told me about various music shows they had been to there but I never saw it for myself, until the Sled Island Music Festival.

Walking through the Legion’s Sandstone doors and into the wood panelled lobby with its vintage puffy blue chairs, war scene murals and a portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth is like walking into another time. Entering the main hall to watch My Gold Mask and The Dudes during Sled, one soon realizes that this isn’t your average Legion.

I had been told about the volunteers at the Legion but when I finally went and saw for myself the seventy-something year olds clearing away bottles, chatting with concert-goers and even doing a little dancing themselves. I was blown away.

“I can’t believe how much patience they have with the young crowd,” said Dan Vacon, lead singer of Calgary band, The Dudes.

“The legion could be actually my favourite place in town to play.”

The Legion is “not just about old people, dart boards and draft beer,” said Manager Susan MacAulay.

She explained that the Legion has been showcased as a musical venue for about the last seven years. When asked why, MacAulay replied with one word, “finances.”

“It’s a big boost in revenue,” she explained about having shows at one or both (as in the case of Sled Island) of the two stages in the building.

While MacAulay says that membership with the Legion is “holding its own”, she added that the musical shows played there have young people joining up as members because they’ve been to shows there.

When I enter the building to take some photos I am greeted by sign saying “public welcome” and listing the days lunch specials including a steak sandwich and beer stein for $9.75.

When I inquire to find out a little more about the history of the No.1 and Legions in general I am directed to Wayne Morin who is tending bar.

Wayne Morin tends bar at the Number 1 Legion.

With white hair and a quick smile he calls the customers he serves by name. He says legions are necessary for the veterans and the veteran’s families, “they (the Legion) help out the veterans and the families a lot and also the communities.”

Community and a sense of “personal comradeship” is what the No.1 is all about says MacAuley. She recalls one member who had a stroke so she would take it upon herself to drive him in for his visits. When he hadn’t been heard from for a couple days and someone went to check on him, they discovered he had passed away. MacAulay posed the question how many other places would care enough to check on a regular that hadn’t showed up like the No.1 did.

Finishing my interview with Wayne I grab a beer and a seat with an old gentleman decked out in cowboy hat and bolo tie with his suit lapel covered in various legion and veteran pins.

Ron, 76, has been a member with the No.1 for ten years but was also in Legions in Saskatchewan and Manitoba where he grew up. He explains that he has volunteered at a couple of the music shows that have been held in the hall and that he understands the need for the kids to “howl”.

He talks about growing up in Manitoba, working up north in a camp kitchen and then tells me he’s been shot twice and stabbed five times (he still has the knife). He chuckles a bit when he says that cats have nine lives but he has eleven.

There are eight listed Legions in the city of Calgary. Anyone interested can join if they are a relative of a member or have a family member that served in the military. For more information go to www.legion.ca.

By Gabrielle Domanski

Upon entering The Republik on Thursday night, one couldn’t help but notice the surprisingly low turnout. It was soon brought to my attention however,  that you should never arrive precisely on time for a bar show. Nonetheless, it quickly became clear that the crowd was comprised of an older majority, which made it easy to wonder whether the audience had accumulated due to Juliette Lewis’ acting fame as opposed to her musical legacy.

In 1994 Lewis gained a massive cult following after her role in Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers and has since been involved with many critically acclaimed films. However, it wasn’t until 2004 that Lewis properly debuted her musical skill in the form of Juliette & The Licks. In 2009, the group disbanded and Lewis released a solo album, Terra Incognita.

Juliette Lewis feels the music. Photo by Laura Vocat

After a couple of hours of waiting around, observing the audience’s levels of intoxication slowly increasing, the opening band, Web of Spider, finally took the stage. Three middle-aged dudes, one donning a leather jacket, cross necklace and long metal-head hair, began their set. The club had filled up by this point but few audience members visibly got into the music at first. The band’s sound was pure rock ‘n’ roll but in all honesty they could have been mistaken for a bar’s house band. The band definitely had stage presence; actually it just seemed to be the bass player who was particularly lavishing in his rock “stardom”, sweeping his guitar over the audience with the occasional hair toss. It was almost as if stepping into a teenage boy’s bedroom as he practices what it’d be like to be a “rock star” when he grows up.

The crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves three songs in but it’s always more difficult to judge their sincerity when alcohol enters the equation. After corroborating my views with a patron sat next to me, it became conclusive that the band was entertaining but lacked originality. As if we’d heard their material before, in another ‘80s metal/sleazy rock ‘n’ roll incarnation.

The next band however, showed more potential. With a female member, boys in Beatles boots and a tambourine, Dearly Beloved became an instant hit with the audience. The improvement in energy was massive, and the shift in stage presence was obvious. Dearly Beloved provided witty banter in between their catchy dance-rock tracks. The shared vocal duties of these young hipsters were musically closer to Lewis’ style but  they maintained their own original sound.

By the time Lewis came on the air was thick with anticipation. Having previously graced the stage of the now defunct Warehouse, five long years had passed since Calgary was last in the presence of Lewis. Clad in skintight bell-bottoms, a feather shawl and blue hair, Lewis and the band opened with the high energy “You’re Speaking My Language”. The amount of energy and stage presence Lewis has is indescribable. The audience couldn’t help but be mesmerized by her ability to dominate the stage and her versatile voice. She performed mostly songs from her newest album, which included the bluesy “Hard Lovin’ Woman”, where she evoked the spirit of Janis Joplin, and the oh-so-sweet “Uh Huh”. Lewis got the crowd all fired up with her most danceable track “Got Love to Kill”, followed immediately after by “Hot Kiss”.

There are few crossover artists who can manage to hold their own in both of their preferred mediums but Lewis clearly excels in all she sets her mind to. Her music is energetic and diverse, showcasing her breadth as an individual and mimicking her versatility in the acting domain. But throughout all of the multi-faceted fame, everyone can agree that she remains genuine and down-to-earth. She even met fans at the merch table shortly after the show, to take pictures, give autographs, and actually have conversations.

Hopefully Calgary doesn’t have to wait another five years to welcome back the fierce rock stylings of Juliette Lewis.

Cancer.

It’s a word that is heard all too often by way too many people. It is very rare to find anyone who has not been touched in some way by cancer, myself included.

To raise the money to beat the monster that is cancer there are walks and runs of all shapes and sizes all over Canada and the world. I’ve donated to several of them in the hopes that one day a cure will be found, this past weekend July 24-25 I walked in my second Weekend to end Women’s Cancers.

The two-day event has participants walking throughout the city streets and park paths in the name of cancer research for women’s cancers. In Calgary alone this year 2.7 million dollars was raised for the Alberta Cancer Foundation, in the past money raised has gone to fund a mobile mammogram unit that can travel to rural places where mammograms weren’t offered in the before. Money raised this year goes towards to two new chairs for women’s cancers, one breast, one ovarian in Calgary and Edmonton.

So on July 24, my Simply Brawesome teammates, Lesley, Vicki and Des and 1110 other walkers set out.

People walk everyday, piece of cake you might say. Well, it is…for the first ten kilometres or so. Then your feet start to ache a bit, you might get a blister or two and your body starts to give you hell for walking with little rest. Not that rest isn’t offered of course, every two to four kilometres there would be rest stops with fresh water and Powerade, snacks and medical supplies.

I’m 27, in pretty good shape and try to workout every now and then, so whenever I felt like complaining or wanted to sit down and have a nap I just thought about the reasons I had for walking in the first place. I had personal reasons but it was also the women walking around me, some with cancer, some that had beaten cancer, some that were three or four times my age, some walking with canes… and it gave me the oomph to keep walking.

Having my teammates around helped as well, although on a walk like this, everyone is a teammate. It’s not just the nurses and EMT pedalling beside you that ask if you’re alright, it’s the women (and men) walking around you that are also checking on your well-being all along the way.

Finishing 32 kilometres on day one felt exhausting but the camp set up at the Currie Barracks provided a great dinner and some Wild Rose beer. A medical station was on hand to treat my lovely blisters and tents were set up by the fabulous volunteers.

When you wake up for day two, you wonder how it is even possible to walk another 28 kilometres when your muscles ache and your feet are crying for reprieve. It’s The Little Engine That Could frame of mind really, in your head you’re thinking, “I think I can, I think I can,” over and over.

The fabulous people along the way, both in the pit stops as well as homes that provide water, cool sponges, watermelon and freezies urging you on with cheers and sidewalk chalk messages also give you that boost.

And in the end, while you know cancer will still show it’s ugly face around the world, you’ve done something to eventually give that ugly face the boot.