Barenaked Ladies (without Steven Page)

Barenaked Ladies performed at Massey Hall

Friday November 26, 2010

So this was one of those concerst I was worried about seeing. This would be the first time we saw BNL without Steven Page and I thought they may suck. I was so wrong we both loved them, in fact I think Liz liked them better then me. They are fun band and seem to really have a good time. Seeing them at Massey Hall is great becuase it is a smaller venue and the sound was great. They did miss Steven a bit on voacls but they where still very good

We will go see them again - I would think they are Liz's favorite Canadian band.

4 out out 5

SET LIST

Who Needs Sleep

The Old Apartment

Falling for the First Time

Rap

Every Subway Car

Easy

Another Heartbreak

Lovers in a Dangerous Time

Ordinary

The Sound of Your Voice

It's All Been Done

Too Little Too Late

Brian Wilson

On The Lookout

You Run Away

Four Seconds

Big Bang Theory Theme

One Week

Pinch Me

If I Had $1,000,000

Magic/Empire State Of Mind/I've Got a Feeling/Baby/California Gurls

ENCORE:

Alcohol/Feliz Navidad

Blame It On Me

Tonight is the Night I Fell Asleep at the Wheel

Stargate Universe Live

Stargate Universe Live
Friday, November 12 2010

Liz and I like the the stargate show SGU well actually Liz likes it more then me but I kinda like it. Not enough space battles for me but I still enjoy the show. The Space Channel here in Toronto did a live show with the full cast of SGU and they showed an espoiside. The tickets were free so that was nice and we went down to watch the show. It was alot of fun and both Robert Carlyle and Louis Ferreira came on first and both talked openly about the show. The rest of the cast soon followed and it was great to see them all LIVE. I love seeing how they film this stuff and all the the behind the scenes stuff but I have to tell you parts were kinda boring and later when we watched it on TV we both said it was just as cool watching it on TV as it was being there. That being said I am glad we did and it was FREE.

If you're not a fan of SGU I say give it a shot as it's a good show.

garry

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Sometime in November--Princess of Wales Theatre

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

First thing first - very gay play. Not that it was not fun but super gay. We bought cheap seats again and then moved to better ones which was easy to do as there where lots of seats around. This play is amazing visually, simple and beautiful. The colours are breath-taking (hey, now I sound gay). The play is so much fun and there are lots of songs we all know and sang along to. If you can see this play, go. It's alot of fun.
4 out 5

garry

Jason Bonham at the Sony Centre

Jason Bonham Experience at Sony Center October 29 2010.

I was on the fence about seeing this show. Liz and I have seen bands do Queen, Kiss, and the Beatles and we liked them all. But this had the a guy in the band who was the son of the original band Jason Bonham son of Johmn Henry Bonham of Led Zeppelin fame. So I went. And I'm really glad I did, the show was great. The singer didn't look a thing like Robert Plant but he sounded great. A fun show and I would go back to see them anytime.

3.5 of 5

garry

Set List:
Rock And Roll
Celabration Day
Black Dog
Your Time Is Gonna Come
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Dazed And Confused
What Is And What Should Never Be
The Lemon Song
Thank You
Moby Dick
Break
Good Times, Bad Times
I'm Gonna Crawl
Since I've Been Lovin' You
When The Levee Breaks
The Ocean
Over The Hills And Far Away
How Many More Times
Stairway To Heaven
Kashmir
Encore
Whole Lotta Love

KISS Cups (pre-Dragon Con)

So I just wanted to mention undertaking that was the Kiss Cups on promotion at 7-11 stores in the US. Buy any pop and get it a FREE KISS CUP!

Firstly, with less than 24 hours until our 6A.M. flight departure time, I had to work out where the stores were located on or near our route to Buffalo airport. I also needed to phone each of these stores and ensure they had the much coveted items. I was insanely busy at work but "luckily" my other half knew I'd keep my priorities in order and get the important stuff done.

As it turns out there were only two likely stores, one on the route and near the airport, the other out of our way by 30 minutes or so but also near the airport. (I'd like to remind you that our flight was at 6am and we live approx 3 hours from Buffalo airport.)

So we pull up to the first store at some ungodly hour. Needless to say, I'm totally breathless with anticipation so you can imagine the crushing agony when we couldn't find the cups. I was desperately hoping that the cups were behind the counter. Or maybe in the safe with all the money and other super-important stuff that you don't stolen. So best thing to do is ask the guy who works there. Said guy was clearly not employed for his customer service skills as he ignored us and the other customer waiting at the cash register in favour of emptying the garbage out front. This chore was performed with the reverance and slow pace that I would associate with the coronation of a Queen of England. But then I'm not an employee of 7-11 so I have no idea how the employee hand-book requires these things to be handled. Eventually I ran out of patience and went out and asked him as politely as my "you'd better be the one willing to get in the car with my pissy spouse if you answer incorrectly" attitude would allow about the damn cups. Unfortunately the response was not what I'd hoped and caused much anguish. Garry even suggested that I should have called the stores more recently than 13 hours ago at hours and in fact that maybe I should've done it at midnight when I gotten up for this clearly godforsaken trip! You can imagine how much I loved him at that exact moment.

So with muttered recrimations and the air awash with tension we headed on to the second store. It seemed like we drove for eternity. I started to wonder if Buffalo had inbred red-necks, the movie ones who would rape me (not so good) and murder Garry (not such a bad option right now) as I was sure we'd never make it to the airport. Finally we got to the 7-11 and guess what! They had the sacred cups!! Right there, beside the soda fountain for the whole world to come and look at and for the blessed few to actually buy!! YES!

Finally we can start the vacation part of this escapade!

L

This was the first day and already Liz was wondering what kind of a fool is she involved with..lol
Off we go to Dragon Con
garry

Dragon Con 2010

Dragon Con 2010

Liz and I love this con. It's in Atlanta and it's HUGE.This is one Con that we plan to go to every year. It's always on the long weekend so we take an extra day off and fly from Buffalo on the Friday. The flight from Buffalo is always early so we leave the house at like 2am and the flight is 6am. Leaving this early is easy for me but a bit early for Liz. Getting to airport and boarder was really easy and the flight was fast. Off the plane and we went to the hotel which was great because they let us check-in to our room early. Then off to get our pass which was the only shit part of the con....it took 2.5 hours to get my pass and that was the only problem with this con. I hear they're going to change things up next year which I really hope they do.

A big part of the weekend was just walking around and sitting in on different panels. And the best part is all the people dressed up and just watching what's going on. The other great thing this year was Liz paced herself had a mid-afternoon nap which helped us stay out later which was different from last year and I really enjoyed it.

some highlights from the con are:

Stan Lee's talk

All The Star Gate Panels

Crux Shadow (one song I saw)

Star Trek The Next Generation panel with all the stars

True Blood Panel (Lafayette was so quiet and Sam was great)

The Klingon panel with them dressed in full make up - should have done a picture with them

Liz buying Star Wars stuff (hey I thought was my thing)

Chick-fil-A the best chicken sandwich on the FUCKING planet

watching Claudia Christian walk out of the Babylon 5 panel - very weird

Larry Hagman was there and looked okay for an old guy

10 minute walk through art show- thats all I need

walking a bit around downtown Atlanta

Steam Punk Party

thats all I can think of...but I know I am missing lots as it was just so busy.

The flight home was easy and I got to have Chick-fil-A again - yummy. I was worried about crossing the boarder, that it would take forever on the Monday evening of a long weekend.But what we did was drive over to the Peace Bridge and crossed over there which was a breeze. I think we were at the boarder for about 10 minutes it was fucking great - that is the way we'll always come home. I think we got home by 9pm which was amazing.

Well we bought our tickets for next year's con and I can't wait. I plan to be there every year that I can and I think I can drag Liz with me.

garry

It was loads of fun and the entertaiment never stopped. Next year we're thinking of going a day early so that we don't have to miss stuff on Friday. We were so excited to get there that spending 3 hours in line (some of it in separate lines as we eventually line up based on our last names) really took the wind out of our sails. And also for next year: remember that we need our ID to get our passes. I knew that but STILL left Garry's wallet in the hotel and had to run back for it. It's waaaay too hot to be running anywhere in Atlanta but at least the crazy line-up meant I didn't have to kill myself lol. After going for our first Chick-Filet, Garry got to see lots of panels while I saw a few, checked out the art show and napped so that we could go out late every night (from 9/10pm til 2am) watching all the night life. I ate a lot of junk but also had the odd salad and drank a lot of water so I managed to keep going. I also got in line for things so that we could get better seats which worked out nicely - we never sit near the front but we like aisle seats with lots of leg room so it's handy not to be too late lining up. Although not a big deal if we're late either. The lining up was also good as it meant I chatted to lots of people which was fun. I love the bumper stuff that the Con puts on the screens before panels, some of it is hysterical and you tell they've put a lot of work into them. Must point out that very large police officer in front of me at Starbucks who ordered a rasperberry mocha is NOT the reason that I feel safe in downtown Atlanta lol. And Stan Lee rocks! Looking forward to next year already!

L

Notes for next year:

book flight for Thursday

leave at 1:30am if you have a 6am flight - this year we got to the airport at 3:50am which was shortly before the check-in counter even opened.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Ottawa

Wednesday September 22, 2010

Leafs vs Ottawa

I got some free tickets to the second Leaf pre-season game of the year. Pre-season game kinda suck as most of the good players sit out from both teams so you end up seeing alot of guys that won't even be playing for the team this year. But at least I got to go to the ACC and see my team. The game to be honest was a bit boring and my team seemed a bit slow. But Liz and I had fun and my team won so that's cool.

Leafs beat Senators 4-1 in pre-season play..is this OUR cup year? (PLEASE GOD)

I hope I get too see another game this year.

garry

Toby Keith @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

Thrusday September 23 2010
Toby Keith Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

I've always liked Toby but sometimes when I listen to him I feel my IQ drop. Still, I like his basic, fun country tunes. There were alot of people at the show and some of them wore cowboy hats which I have to say really made me laugh. I was a bit pissed that I didn't wear my cowboy boots as I really miss wearing them but Liz won't let me. I get a feeling that the boots are going to make a come back though and I'll be ready when it happens. The show had alot of smoke and fire and was very entertaining. Opening the show was Trace Atkins who I really only know from the apprentice. He was okay but I really didn't know any of his songs.
It was a good night and worth it. I don't think I'll see either of them live again but I'll watch the videos and buy the cd's.

Toby was 3 out 5
garry

SET LIST:
Bullets In The Gun
American Ride
I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight
Whiskey Girl
I Wanna Talk About Me
God Love Her
Get Drunk and Be Somebody
Trailerhood
You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This
Who's Your Daddy?
As Good as I Once Was
I Love This Bar
Should've Been a Cowboy
Weed With Willie
Beer for My Horses
How Do You Like Me Now?!
ENCORE:
A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action

Our Town

Liz and I decided to do something different so we went to the movies. I know, so rare for us. There was no Superhero or sci-fi movie so we went to see a real adult movie THE TOWN. It was a story about Irish guys in Boston who happen to make a living robbing banks. The movie stared Ben Affleck who I really like and he also directed the movie. It was really good and the story was great. I usually don't really like these kinda movies as they are too real life for me but this movie was great.

The basic story is: "as Ben plans his next job, a longtime thief tries to balance his feelings for a bank manager connected to one of his earlier heists, as well as the FBI agent looking to bring him and his crew down". That's it in a nut shell. I love the scene at the baseball stadium and after seeing this movie I think I would like to go to Boston

Anyway....go see this movie

4 out 5

garry

I liked this one. Not too slow or too silly but nicely done and well worth seeing. And Ben is very easy on the eye - never hurts.

4/5

L

Roger Waters The Wall Live

ROGER WATERS--THE WALL LIVE

Wednesday September 15 and Thursday September 16 2010

The Wall is my favorite Pink Floyd album and could be my favorite album of all time so I was very excited to see it played live on stage. I decided to go see see 2 out of 3 Toronto shows. The first night I was on the floor and the seats where kinda far back but we could see everything and the show was okay. The second night I was up higher and I could see the full stage and it was fucking great. The wall was an amazing thing. At the start of the show the band play and then they start to build the wall so by the end of the first part of the concert the wall is all you see on the stage. It is huge. As the wall goes up the visuals on it are just breath-taking. There was a bit of a political messenge about ending all wars and I mostly just don't pay attention to that shit but this message I get behind 100% - wow look at me, all serious lol.

But the show was fucking great and my only regret was not seeing it on the 3rd night but something tells me he will bring it back through Toronto before this tour ends - I hope so. I was just a little surprised there was no other Pink Floyd songs in the encore but after the second night I understand why.

Wednesday night--3.5 out 5

Thursday night -- 5 out 5

set list
In The Flesh?
The Thin Ice
Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1
The Happiest Days of Our Lives
Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2

Goodbye Blue Sky
Empty Spaces
Young Lust
One Of My Turns
Don't Leave Me Now
Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3
Goodbye Cruel World
Hey You
Is There Anybody Out There?
Nobody Home
Vera
Bring the Boys Back Home
Comfortably Numb
The Show Must Go On
In The Flesh
Run Like Hell
Waiting For The Worms
Stop
The Trial
Outside the Wall

garry

KISS @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

KISS Friday September 10, 2010

So the 33rd time I've seen Kiss and you know what.....it was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. The band was having a great time and really seemed into it. The venue was packed and I had great seats, 14 rows from the front and dead centre, pretty close to the best seats I've ever had to see the worlds greatest rock band. Gene was great with the blood and fire and the sound was just amazing. I was really thinking before the concert began that maybe I had seen them too many time but this was the best concert I have seen. If they were to come back next week I would go again. Actually no matter what I will be going back every time they play Toronto or anywhere near here.

Kiss fucking ROCKS..

SET LIST

Modern Day Delilah

Cold Gin
Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll
Firehouse
Say Yeah
Deuce
Crazy Crazy Nights
Calling Dr. Love
Shock Me
I'm An Animal

100,000 Years
I Love It Loud

Love Gun
Whole Lotta Lovesnippet (Led Zeppelin cover)
Black Diamond
Detroit Rock City

Encore:
Beth
Lick It UpWith "Won't Get Fooled Again" snippet by The Who

Shout It Out Loud
I Was Made For Lovin' You
God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You II (Argent cover)

Rock And Roll All Nite

So Kiss 5 out 5

33 down and before I die I want to hit 50 = 17 to go

garry

Resident Evil: Afterlife

Resident Evil: Afterlife--IN 3D

Now the dates are getting mixed up so I'm just going to post things as I remember them. It was a Saturday and Liz was going to see some TIFF movie about something serious (ie boring) subject so I thought, let's go see a Saturday afternoon popcorn movie like...Resident Evil: Afterlife in 3D. I've seen all the other Resident Evil movies and I enjoyed them all and this one was just as fun.The 3D was not great and kinda funny, in fact all the 3D effects were done in slow motion and I am still not sure why. But the movie itself was fun and I really liked it. I love Milla Jovovich in these movies and she really kicks ass and she seems toenjoy herself.

I'm sure my movie was better then the artsy movie Liz saw.

Resident Evil: Afterlife - in 3D go see it if you want a fun time at the movies.

4 out 5

garry

Fan Expo 2010

Friday August 27 to Sunday August 29 2010

FAN EXPO

So Liz and I went to Fan Expo again this year. As I've done for the last 10 years. This year it was back in the small part/north building of the convention centre. That was a huge mistake. I'm not sure why they put it in the samller building as last year the larger south building has issues coping with the crowds, needless to say this move proved to be a disaster. The initial line up to get in was annoying but it was not that bad for us really. Saturday was the worst day for crowds. At one point Liz went out to grab lunch and almost couldn't get back in, she begged, the gods smiled on her and got back in but reading on-line lots of people went out (to get food mainly as there was really notthing in the expo) and they ended up getting stuck outside for 3-4 hours. The shit part was I heard people who bought tickets on the day of the event jsut walked right in - now that sucks. They say next year they're going to fix this problem - I say let's wait and see. But they have to do something as there are TONS of pissed off people on-line.

Now on to the con.

Friday, Liz and I just walked the floor and saw what was happening and what I might want to buy. The funny thing is that every convetion I go to, I save lots of cash to buy lots of stuff but you know what, I hardly buy a thing. This year I bought some cheap dvd's and thats about it. I can't rememeber but I don't think Liz bought a thing.

A few notable things we saw at the con were:

Summer Glau - nice girl but a terribly boring interview

William Shatner - blow hard but I do like to listen to him talk

Seeing Greg Lamersons film - Slime City Massacre and talk with Greg

Lance Hendiksen - great Q and A

The Wild Hunt - movie, seeing it finally

Tron Preview in 3d and their booth on the floor

Aliens seeing a preview of the Blue Ray

That's all I can think of for now. The con was okay, just too busy. Saying that I know I will be back next year and if I am going you know I'll dragging Liz with me.

garry

Blue Rodeo Part 2

Blue Rodeo Molson Amp August 26-2010

Dave Stock and myself

In March I took Liz to see Blue Rodeo in Oshawa and I had a problem with the lady behind me talking non-stop. Well I think I may owe her an apology. Last night the first 7 songs all I could hear was people talking and then I realized why - all they played were new songs, one old song that people knew, that was it. People weren't paying attention and just talking to each other. So Oshawa housewife - SORRY.

The second part was way better and therefore the crowd was way better. I liked the second half but to be honest I was getting kinda sleepy and didn't really get into it. They played some songs I love and that was cool but the damage was done. Then when the encore came they sang an old hit and then a new song....as soon as the new song started we left....a new fucking song most people don't know in the encore - bullshit.

So Blue Rodeo are on the list. The list is bands I will proably never see again. I would go see them again if they play hits only.

I would say 2.5 out of 5. I should have arrived 30 minutes late and left 15 minutes early. Too bad.
garry

How Now Mrs. Brown Cow !

August 21 2010

How Now Mrs. Brown Cow

We thought we'd go see this play as it's a huge hit in Dublin, Ireland. It looked like fun and the seats were going for cheap.

One great part was we bought $25 seats and since we are sneaky and saw open seats we moved down to the $88 seats which was great. The seats were great and the play was fun. It was weird as the best part of the play was when someone made a mistake or if they couldn't stop laughing and the other actors just keep on going. When I first heard about this play I thought really a guy dressed up as an old lady, how funny can that be....well it was really silly and very funny and I know we'd go see it again if they came back for another run with a different play.

Good fun and lots of laughs.

4 out 5

garry

This was totally silly and lots of fun, mainly thanks to the main actor and script writer. He never let an obvious gag go unsaid but was plently clever enough to say the ones we didn't see too. He's not shy about swearing constantly either. And watching the other actors try to keep it together while they recited their ridiculous lines was worth the $25 all by itself.

4/5

L

Piranha 3D

August 22 2010

Piranha 3D

Well it's not worth the extra money for 3D. In fact I'm not sure it's even worth seeing at the regular prices. I mean it wasn't horrible it was just not that good. I did have a few laughs. There was also alot of tits in this movie and that was the first time I saw them (loads and loads of them) on the screen in 3D so I guess that was kinda cool. But it would have been even better if I was 14.

A few cool kill scenes but really no need to see this movie. 2.5 out 5

garry

Silly but entertaining popcorn movie. If you know any 13/14 year old boys buy them the DVD for Christmas.

3/5

L

The Expendables

The Expendables

August 20 2010

I had Friday off from work so I wanted to see the movie The Expendables. It was great. Tons of action and fights. I loved it. (Liz sat this one out and it was probably not for her.) The core of the film revolves around Stallone and his core team - Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Terry Crews. I mean for a guy like me who loves the '80's does it get any better?? Dolph Lundgren was great and I think this movie will help him get future work. I can't wait till part 2 and I know there will be one.

GREAT MOVIE 5 OUT 5

garry

Toronto After Dark 2010

We are going to do a short run down on all the movies we saw:

Doghouse

A bunch of English guys go to a small British town that is over-run with females that have turned into Zombies.I would say this was a go0d movie not great.At times it was a bit slow and the story seem to drag,but the crowd was fun and it was ok--2.5 out 5 G

Was super excited for this one but I didn't actually love it as much as I'd hoped. 2.5/5 L

Evil in The Time of Heroes

This was not for me this movie--in fact I fell asleep and then Liz and I left early,so I really can't rate this movie but what i saw it sucked.

Agree with Garry - sucked.

Cargo
Is a sci-fi thriller from Switzerland. It's set in the 23rd century and the Earth is uninhabitable. Humans crowd onto space stations and try to scrape together enough money to travel to a new planet. It was made on a small budget but it didn't show. The movie was good, a bit slow but still ok. The only real sci-fi movie at the festival so with that in mind--i liked it. 3 out 5 G

I really enjoyed this one. It's a "there's someone else trapped in here and they're killing us" movie set in space. Great acting and miracles done on a budget. 4/5 L

RoboGeisha

“Violent, unrepentantly silly….loaded with wildly over the top set pieces… an explosion of cult excess…truly remarkable” - Twitch Film. So as you can see from this quote this movie is just pure silly. This ridiculous, over the top B-flick has so many WTF moments you’ll lose count, along with the number of weapons that fly out of the girls rear ends! Pure fun and rip roaring good time.Crowd was so into it. I loved it. Lots of Fun 3.5 out 5 G

You gotta watch it with a crowd to get anything out of it. So long as you follow that instruction 3.5/5 L

The Last Exorcism

Best movie I saw so far at the festival. Scary without really showing that much. At one part I actually got chills and there was nothing but what I thought may happen....great scene. The excellent director, Eli Roth although he's the producer of this movie. He's great talking, kinda like Kevin Smith, so that really added to the whole experience. I really liked the movie and so far I would say this will be a successful movie to the general public. 4 out 5 G

Disturbing movie and super creepy. There was always hints as to what was going to happen but I had no idea how it would come together. Really enjoyed it. 4/5 L

Aliens vs Ninjas

I really wanted to see this movie but I just could not stay awake. It did look like fun but it wasn't really grabbing me. On another night I may have loved this movie but this time...just didn't work. I cannot rate this movie as I did not watch it till the end and Liz and I just left early.

Clearly the universe took pity on me and made the usually inexhaustible Garry sleepy! So I got to go home rather than sit through this nonsense. Based on the 10 minutes I saw before falling asleep in my seat 0/5 L

Phobia 2

Five scary tales from Thailand, from the same talented team behind Phobia 1. I thought this may suck and I was kinda right. I would say 2 of the tales were good but at least 1 was terrible. I'm not sure Asian horror movies are for me, they all seem the same and often involve a scary half dead lady. But the last tale was fun and really made the movie fun and well worth seeing. The buzz around the cinema after was that most people loved this movie so I am thinking maybe I am just not into these movies. 2.5 out 5 G

Well Garry was insisting this would be good so he never let on to me that he was expecting anything other than great entertainment! It turns out that he was half right. The first half was dire but it got much better as it went along and the last tale was really well done. 2.5/5 L

Centurion

Romans battle Celtic forces in this brutal new action film a great movie. I was expecting this to suck but it was pretty good. Lots of good kills and the blood was kinda fake looking but still very fun and lots of cheers and yells from the packed crowd. I would see this again on dvd. 4 out 5

Didn't love this one as much. 3/5 L

Heartless

A disfigured young man is haunted by demons on the streets of London in this acclaimed new horror thriller. It was a SLOW movie and I was at work since 6am so there was no chance I was going to make it. What I did see looked kinda weird and artsy so really not for me. N/A

This was slow and strange and it could have gone either way but I liked it. 3/5 L

Black Death

An investigation of witchcraft is at the centre of this medieval horror tale starring Sean Bean (LORD OF THE RINGS). This was a great movie. Way better then I thought it would be. It was very epic. That's what I love about this festival is movies I would probably never see. If it ever comes near you go see it. 4 out 5

Sean Bean - 'nuff said. Although he's not at his hottest in this movie (it is about the plague after all) but he made me want to see it. Glad I did. 4/5 L

I Spit on Your Grave

Very gruesome remake of the controversial rape-revenge horror film of the same name. This was one fucked up movie and I loved it. This was the best movie of After Dark for me. Very violent and way over the top. It was gross in parts and hide your eyes in spots and if violent acts bother you stay away. I think Liz even hid her eyes in parts. After the movie I was on "the twitter" and wrote that I loved the movie and I won a cast autographed poster so that was great. Loved the movie 5 out 5 G

Definitely not for the faint of heart as this movie was brutal. I felt ill during rape scene so I looked away for a lot of it. And her revenge scenes were just too icky for me, especially the eye-balls one. But it was very well made and the acting was great. 4/5 L

Rubber

A story about Robert, a killer tire with feelings! I was thinking this would be the HIT of the festival and I was looking forward to seeing it. So as we sat in our favorite seats - right side, 6 rows from the front I was pumped. But just as fast I was realizing that this movie sucks. It was horrible. Usually weird is great but in the case it sucked. A shit movie. When it was over all most everyone in line agreed it was terrible which is rare. 0 out 5 G

Absolutely dire 0/5 L

The Human Centipede - Closing Gala Film

Last film for this year. Liz was excited about this one. It was about a madder-than-mad doctor sews 2 girls, and a Japanese tourist, together – butt-to-mouth! And marchs them around the house - very fuckin weird. I was on the fence about this movie and after watching I think I was right. It was ok but after you saw them all together it's kinda over. The crowd seemed to love it but it just didn't work on me. Different but not great 2.5 out 5 G

Have to agree with Garry again. I was hyped for this movie but it was just nuts. 1.5/5 L

Well that's it for this year. I had a great time at the After Dark this year we meet a few people and talked to many and it made a real difference to the experience. Next year I'm going to take the week off and that way I can enjoy the movies more and I want to hit the bar after the movies and talk to more people and just enjoy the festival more.

Garry

Losers @ TORONTO AFTER DARK--2010

YouTube video -- Toronto After Dark Day 1 http://youtu.be/Nj4JklR3TA8?a


For anyone who doesn't already know we are geeky losers and here is the proof.
Yep, that's us, masks and all at TORONTO AFTER DARK. We would be so fucked if we'd hadn't found each other.

garry

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Saturday August 14,2010

So we had a late start to the After Dark so we thought what should we do....I know lets go see a movie, we wanted to see Scott Pilgrim vs The World. This movie is based on the graphic novel although I haven't read them (I'm more into the superhero graphic novels). This move has been all over the net and to be honest it seemed liked there were so many preview showings that just about everyone that wanted to has seen this movie.

I liked the movie. Was it perfect? No. But it was fun and I loved that it was filmed here in Toronto and it showed Toronto in a great light. The synopsis of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boys has to defeat evil exes to be with girl. That's it in a nut shell. It was visually excellent and lots of fun. On the down side it was a bit long and some of the effects were not needed (and I saw that without reading the books) but I did like the movie.

I have read on-line that the movie is not doing great and that is too bad as I think it deserves a good boxoffice.

3 out of 5 for the movie 5 out 5 for fun

garry

I have to agree with Garry's rating of 3/5 for the movie and 5/5 for the fun. This movie has a great comic book/gaming feel to it (although I say that without having read the original graphic novel format) and was loads of fun. I think that 7 evil exes made the movie a little too long - 4 or 5 would have been fine. But all the scenes of Casa Loma and Insomnia on Bloor Street were great. And the fight scenes taken from all the classic fight games were just perfect. I think anyone would enjoy this movie even if they do find their attention wandering a little before the end.

L

The Last Lovecraft

Friday August 13,2010

The Last Lovecraft

The picture is of Liz dressed as the sea monster from the movie - cute eh? ( so proud of her lol)

Our first night at the Toronto After Dark Festival - we love going to this and seeing some different films. Today we saw a movie about a bunch of geeks that band together to save the earth from an invasion of deadly sea monsters. Yeah sounds great right (well maybe not to most reading this but to us it does) but it was kinda shit. I didn't understand the whole Lovecraft thing which Liz has explained to me but I just don't understand or more likely I just don't want to understand. The movie's main parts were done in animation which I found pulled me out of the show. The other big problem was it was way to long.

Not a great start movie wise but sometimes the best part of this festival is the crowd and the crowd was into this movie.

I have talked to people in line and they all seem to like this movie , I guess it was just not my cup of tea. Oh well 7 more days and 13 more films

2 out of 5

garry

I liked this way more than Garry did. It was fun and silly and I thought the monster and the other effects were great given that this was made on a budget. The film makers were there and said that they found the budget constraining in terms of what they'd have liked to do versus what they could afford to do. (Given we live in my in-laws basement I have a full appreciation of the compromises required when you live on a budget.) And in truth I didn't feel like the movie suffered due to the budget issues - I thought that the movie's sense of humour and the geeky nature of the characters really lent itself to using animation for some of the scenes and actually worked for the movie. Garry doesn't like any movie animation (but then he doesn't like cheese but loves pizza so don't look for any logic in this guy). So even if you don't know anything about HP Lovecraft, best known for his horror stories considered the successor of Edgar Allan Poe, this is still a fun, geeky movie.

3.5/5

L

Paul McCartney Monday 9th August,2010, ACC

Paul McCartney
Monday 9th August 2010, ACC with Dave and Kevin

Paul McCartney is 68 years old and he put on one of the best 3 hour rock shows I have ever seen! Was it worth the $250.00 to watch him - FUCKING RIGHT it was. He was just amazing, I think at the end of night I was more tried then he was. The man played 36 songs and I think the main reason he stopped playing was that it was 11:30 pm. He didn't even take an intermission, just kept on playing the hits - AMAZING!

Beatles, Wings, Jimi Hendrix guitar solo, solo stuff, he played alot. High light songs for me: Live And Let Die, Band On The Run, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End but honestly he played lots that I loved. Great show.

Bad part of the concert was some chick spilling her drink all over my back and the same row of chicks screaming "we love you Paul" and "You are so sexy". I mean do they really think he can hear them? Once, twice, maybe three times but during "Yesterday".....just complete assholes and why someone would pay $250.00 to get drunk at a Paul McCartney concert is beyond me....what a waste of space. But the bitch did not affect how good the show was. I'm sure she's back in Oshawa by now or maybe Ottawa (same thing really). Fuck Her !

All in all, and in case you can't tell, an EXCELLENT show and yes I would pay $250.00 to see him again ANY DAY

5 out of 5

garry

Set List
Monday 9th August, Air Canada Centre, Toronto
1. Venus and Mars / Rockshow
2. Jet
3. All My Loving
4. Letting Go
5. Got To Get You Into My Life
6. Highway
7. Let Me Roll It
8. The Long And Winding Road
9. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
10. Let ‘Em In
11. My Love
12. I’m Looking Through You
13. Two Of Us
14. Blackbird
15. Here Today
16. Dance Tonight
17. Mrs Vandebilt
18. Eleanor Rigby
19. Something
20. Sing The Changes
21. Band On The Run
22. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
23. Back In The USSR
24. I’ve Got A Feeling
25. Paperback Writer
26. A Day In The Life / Give Peace A Chance
27. Let It Be
28. Live And Let Die
29. Hey Jude

Encore
30. Day Tripper
31. Lady Madonna
32. Get Back

Second Encore
33. Yesterday
34. Mull Of Kintyre
35. Helter Skelter
36. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End

The Good, the Bad, the Weird

Saturday August 7 2010

The Good, the Bad, the Weird

This is a Korean movie about three outlaws in 1940s and their rivalry to get a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits. Sounds simple eh, lol. It was playing at the Bloor which is a great place to see this kind of a movie and the crowds there are fun. I was ready to do alot of reading of English subtitles but there was more action than talking in this movie anyway.

It was kinda like the original Clint Eastwood movie but this one had way more action and it was way more fun.

I thought it was nice to be at the Bloor watching a fun action movie on Saturday night.

Fun Movie but I don't think anyone reading this will ever see it but you should look for it

4 out 5

garry

Next weekend we start our annual movie festival After Dark so we will at the Bloor alot ..can't wait.

This may have been a good movie but it started at 9:10pm and it wasn't really my thing so I fell asleep for a bit in the middle. Though what I saw of it was really fun and and I think it was my loss that I missed what I did. Must try and not sleep through good movies.

3.5/5 - I think

L

The Other Guys

Saturday August 8 2010

The Other Guys

I am not sure if anyone reading this knows but in Toronto the AMC chain of movies show all movies for $6.00 before noon. I love this as most days I'm up pretty early. So this Saturday we thought we'd go see The Other Guys. And it was ALOT of fun and a great movie. Will Ferrel was really good and reminded me why I like him. Mark Wahlberg was also fun and it was great that they both planned these kind of off the wall guys and neither was the "straight guy". I laughed alot and I'm pretty sure Liz had a few chuckles but I'm not sure she will admit it. Samuel L. Jackson and Rock have small but excellent parts in the movie - both very very good.

Very funny movie and I would tell anyone who doesn't take life too seriously to go see this movie it was great fun.

4.5 out 5

garry

I went to see this movie only because the reviews had been good. With Will Ferrell you never know if you're going to be forced to watch another Land of the Lost. Luckily I really enjoyed this movie. It was fun and silly and totally ridiculous but not so much that I couldn't laugh with it. A little long but it held together just enough and I'm glad the good reviews convinced me to go.

3/5

L

The Disappearance of Alice Creed

Thrusday August 5 2010

The Disappearance of Alice Creed

So Liz likes to make fun of me about using 'the twitter" but it paid off again. I won us some tickets to see this movie. It was a good little movie but not great. I should have liked it more as I love everything for free. The movie only has 3 people in the entire movie which was very interesting. The basic story is about 2 guys that kidnap a girl and how things work out. There are a few twists but nothing great. It moves slow but is kinda fun.

I don't think may people will see this movie but if you get a chance to rent it I would say it's worth it but skip it at the movies

It was sweet winning tickets--love "the twitter"

2.5 out of 5

garry

As an indie movie this was quite good but there were a few flaws. Namely I felt it lacked some believability. Not sure if that was due to the acting or the plot twists that weren't very surprising but certainly something wasn't right. It was still a worthwhile couple of hours so I'd recommend it.

3/5

Rain the Beatles Tribute

Rain The Beatles Tribute

August 1 2010

This would be Liz's first time seeing Rain but my 3rd or 4th, I can't remember exactly, but they do a great Beatles tribute and I thought she would like it. We really decided to go as there were seats for $25.00 - you can't really go wrong. We jumped on the TTC and headed downtown.

When we get to the Canon Theatre the usher tells us our tickets will not scan and we have to go the booking office. I bought these tickets on-line, right from the theatre so I wasn't worried. I remember they where like 5 rows from the top but still the best "cheap" seats in the house. I had warned Liz that we would be high up but that it would still be good, we'd still see and hear everything and and not have to pay the $100.00 for better seats. Actually I was just reassuring myself as she couldn't care less and in fact she usually gets the cheap seats, I'm the one that tends to be picky about good seats. Any ways back to the usher she walks us to the box office making us feel like we're back in school going to the Principal's office. When we get there the guy tells us that they have up-graded our seats and now we have second row! Can you believe it! From almost the last the row to the second.....wow what a score. $25.00 for second row, aisle seats and I'm sure some people around us had paid like $100.00 bucks. I had to really work to NOT ask anyone near us what they'd paid for their seats, I really wanted to know.

Once the show started it was great. There was great tempo from beginning to end and lots of clothing changes. Liz and I were total idiots singing and clapping along. Great show!

It was alot of fun and the change of seats was a real bonus.

4 out 5

garry

Next week I am going to Paul McCartney in concert and those seats are $275.00 each I wonder if he will be worth it.....

I was sure Garry had bought some dodgy tickets but he kept insisting he hadn't. Not sure how we wound up with such excellent seats but we really enjoyed the up-grade. Also not sure I'd need to go as many times as Garry has but that once, it was a great afternoon of singing and dancing in front of your chair. When he was buying the Paul McCartney ticket he asked if I wanted to go......I say no. $25 at Rain is plenty good enough for me.

4/5

L

Fuck "INCEPTION" the movies sucks (even worst the second time)

Saturday July 31 -2010

Inception Part 2 (the re-watch)

Liz and myself thought we should go see Inception again. I was wondering what I'd missed and why everyone was talking so much about this movie that I thought sucked. So we went to see it again.

Before we went I was on-line reading everything and seeing if it would help me enjoy the story more. I talked to everyone I know who saw it and got their thoughts. I was sooo ready to see it again and to like it more this time.

Nope still sucked ass, in fact it was worse this time. I didn'tt like it the first or second time. Yes, I understand it now and yes, it looks great but it was boring both times.

I say Fuck Inception. Waste of time and money.

garry

second viwing I would say 1 out of 5 again for the effects.

Agreed. Less interesting the second time. I didn't do the research that Garry did after the first viewing so maybe that would have helped. In any case I don't think it's worth rating a second time.

L

Birdemic: Shock and Terror

Friday July 30 2010

Birdemic: Shock and Terror @ The Bloor

So popular opinion has it that this is the worst movie ever made and Liz and I saw it tonight at the Bloor. We went into this movie knowing it was going to be bad and it was, very bad. The funny part is it was so bad it was great fun. The dialog in the movie was terrible and in parts you couldn't even hear what the actors where saying and the director didn't even seem to care. The best part of this movie was the effects..omg they SUCKED and were hysterical.

You are probably wondering why we even went to this movie, it was because it was great fun and worth ever cent. The best part is the director was making this as a serious movie and thought he had made a masterpiece. Turns out it was a masterpiece but not in the way he wanted it. It was terrible.

I would say 3 out of 5 but for fun and laugh 5 out of 5.

It was also great to be back at the Bloor (our favorite retro cinema).

garry

I wasn't expecting this to be worth the time but it turned out to be super entertaining and totally worth every minute. It certainly is amongst the worst movies ever made. It was hysterical. As for the theme: people polluting the planet has caused hawks to start attacking people. Bwa-ha-ha-ha! It was brilliant! And the effects of the hawks, omg, dreadful! Of course it helped that the audience was hooting and hollering at everything that happened on the screen. All in all it added up to a really entertaining night.

5/5

L

Salt

July 25 2010

SALT with Angelina Jolie

After we saw Inception Liz and I snuck in to to see Salt. This was a good movie and I liked it waaay more then Inception. It was a fun, action packed movie. Angelina Jolie, I love her in action movies when she really looks as though she gets into the role. And of course, she's always super sexy.

Good fun action film with a few twists that I didn't see coming.

4 out of 5

garry

This was an enjoyable popcorn movie. If you're looking for something fun this is it. As for what happened in it - well it's so ridiculous that there's no point writing about it but it works on the screen and that's all that matters. I'm suprised that I didn't like the Angelina Jolie character more, I'm not sure why that was the case but it didn't stop me from enjoying the movie!

3.5/5

L

Inception

July 25 2009

Inception

Okay, lots of buzz about this movie but it's very confusing and I was kinda lost for much of it. It was done well but even so there were some great effects I didn't like. I can't even tell you the details of what the story was about - that's how confused I was! And if I tell you anything else it would just spoil it.

I will say skip this movie but to be honest I seem to be one of the only people on line that feels that way.

1.5 out of 5

garry

Well I didn't dislike it as much as Garry but I will say that it went from being too slow to having too much going on resulting in the confusion that Garry mentioned. Maybe I'm not clever enough to get this movie but I was certainly glad when it was finally over. It's a pity coz I think I might have liked some of the movie if I hadn't been so busy trying to work out what the hell was going on all the time.

2/5
L

Star Wars In Concert July 24 2010

Saturday July 24 2010

Star Wars In Concert At Copps Coliseum

Last year Liz and I went to see Star Wars in concert and I LOVED IT !!
So when they announced that they're going to return to the area I thought I would go again. Liz deceided to skip this one but she did come with me for the drive to Hamilton.

The show was great but the real problem was the crowd was very small, I mean really small and they really were not into it. Not like when I saw it in Toronto, people were so excited.

I still thought it was fun and I really liked it but not as good as Toronto.

3.5 out of 5

I did buy some great Star Wars "swag" and it was still worth the drive to Hamilton.

garry

Well I hung out in Jackson Square in Hamilton which has a lovley farmers market, a very dinky but totally adorable (from the outside) movie theatre and not much else. It's a huge mall with hardly anything in it! But it's attached to a library so I had no trouble killing a few hours. (Do the library staff know what's in the graphic novel "The Boys" because I can't believe that I found the "Herogasm" edition in the teens section of the library!) On the way back to the car it absolutely poured with rain, bucketed down. We had an umbrella to share but we were both soaking when we got to the car. Luckily I was only wearing flip flops and Garry's new Star wars tshirt was dry from the plastic bag so I changed into that. Garry was wet too but seemed less concerned about it than me (that's a first!). Then I called Cindy and bailed on the hen party that I supposed to go to. Note to self: you'll NEVER have ANY friends if you don't go out with them once in a while! Instead I sat at home and ate naan bread - yummy!

Sting -- July 23 2010

Sting at Molson Amphitheatre

July 23 2010

So I found some cheap seats for Sting and I knew Liz wanted to go so I picked them up. We also picked up seats for Cindy and her husband Ray. I saw Sting last year (I think it was last year) when he came through town with the Police and I really liked it. BUTthis concert with Sting and England’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was in my opinion very boring. He sang about 4 songs that were up tempo but the rest were dull and boring.
I'm not sure this show was for me but Liz thought it was okay and after talking with Cindy I think she liked it but yeah it was just not my bag...

I think I will only see Sting if he ever plays with the Police but solo Sting I think I will pass..

1 out 5

garry

I enjoyed this. There were quite a few songs that I didn't know which surprised me but I really enjoyed the ones I did know and I've never seen him live so I was still excited. That said, both Cindy and Garry both said he's much better, more lively with the Police. But as I'll never pay $200 to see anyone in concert I'll guess I'll never find out - oh well!
2.5/5
L

Polaris 24 July 16-18 2010

Polaris 24 July 16-18 2010

This is usually our first convention of the summer. Liz and me liked to call this the Margaret Smith convention as the main we reason we go to this one and stay there (even though it's only 20 mins from home) is my mom LOVES this convention. I think we would still go but we may not stay the night if left to our own devices.I have to say that I didn't really like the guests this year. The guests were:

Mark Sheppard--Battle Star and Supernatural
Kai Owen--Torchwood
Lindsay Wagner--Bionic Woman
Ethan Phillips--Star Trek: Voyager
and a few others I don't really know

So most of the guest were not the best.

Liz and I saw Lindsay Wagner on stage she did a bit of a talk but we left as she was BORRRING. I honestly could not believe it. The Bionic Women was never my favorite show but it was not boring.

Kai Owen was a great guest. Lots of fun and he really got into the event. He was singing at the Klingon Karaoke (yes same as last year) and his talks on stage where lots of fun. My mom who works photo's was telling me he was lots of fun with everyone getting their picture with him. It's nice when a guy you really don't know turns out to be such a fun guest.

Liz spends all her time going to panels on things like True Blood, Movies in Review, Dr Who, Robert J Sawyer talking Flashforward and whatever else she went to without me.

Truth be told Saturday night I left the convention to go see Rush.

I guess this is a fun convention but I really think it could use something new, I'm not sure what but it just seems to be missing something. We had a good time and we'll be there next year at Margaret's convention

garry

This was better than I remember it being last year. I go to a lot of panels on various topics and I found that there were lots of good discussions which I think were really lacking last year. So that made it worth while for me this year. Also I took an hour when I didn't have anything on and got myself a pedicure in the very busy little nail place in the little mall underneath the hotel. I was lucky they managed to squeeze me in and they did a great job. It was nice to have a quiet hour. With Garry being gone for hours to go see Rush, Margaret and I were left to our own devices. We did pretty well but I couldn't convince her to hang out in the bar with me lol. It was better than I'd anticpated and hopefully that'll continue next year!
L

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

July 20 2010

It was cheapy Tuesday so Liz and I thought we go see The Sorcerer's Apprentice. I really wanted to see it and Liz was on the fence but decided she was in.

I liked the movie, in fact I REALLY liked the movie.I thought the special effects were great and I really liked Nic Cage, thought he was great. Now this is a family film and you should keep this in mind. It's loosely based on the Mickey Mouse The Sorcerer's Apprentice and there is a mop/broom scene that I loved.

I would say go see this movie but I think if Liz ever post's she will tell you different, but I really liked it and let's be honest thats all that really matters.

3 out 5

garry

It's a kids movie, a good kids movie but I can't recommend it to any adults. I'm assuming Nic Cage plays it for the kids as he's very hammy. And the whole thing is predictable. Garry on the other hand was thoroughly entertained - 'nuff said!
1/5
L

Predators

Not sure when we saw it...

Late post

The ball and chain and I went to see Predators a while ago and I wanted to try and see it again but I don't think that's going to happen so I thought I would do a post.

Predators was a good film. I really like the original film but this one was fun and alot of action. I wasn't as blown away as people I read and listen to on their podcasts were hence why I wanted to see it again.

That being said the movie starts fast and just kinda keeps building. I do think Laurence Fishburne was wasted in this movie but Adrien Brody was good and he really must have worked out or something, he was in great shape.

If you like action films go see this movie and I'm going to try and see it again but if not I may buy the blue ray or dvd

3.7 out of 5 ( nearly 4--lol)

garry

This kind of movie isn't for everyone but I really enjoyed it. A good tale with interesting characters and lots of action and tension. It didn't hurt that Adrian Brody so easy on the eye - not something I thought I'd ever say but there it is!
4/5
L

Rush at the ACC Saturday, July 17, 2010 Part 2

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Rush Part 2

This was the second time I saw Rush this week and they where just as good as they were last Tuesday. It was pretty much the same show as Tuesday and just as great. It may be hard to believe but it's true. They where so good I would see them again ANYTIME. During a couple of songs the guitar had some issues but Alex got it together and the rest of the show was great.

I think Rush is my second favorite band and my favorite Canadian band.

Geddy Alex and Niel are great - LOVE RUSH!

Cannot wait till they come around again, it won't be soon enough for me.

4.5 out of 5 I did like the Tuesday show a bit better.

garry

Rush Molson Amp, July 13, 2010

Tuesday July 13 2010

Rush last night was the best (non-Kiss) concert I have seen this year. I had such a great time. The band was amazing, the song choices were great and the seat was......okay. The only reason the seats sucked was because they were right in front of corporate seats and the people in the seats have no idea who Rush are. They spent more time taking pictures of them themselves then watching Canada's best band play! At one point I thought Dave was going to lose it lol.

I did have another problem. The girl sitting beside me was HUGE. Now I know I am no skinny mini but she had 100 lbs on me. The worst part was her fat was on my seat! I did feel bad for her so as soon as I could I was up out of seat and playing air guitar. It wasn't that bad but it was weird.

Rush looked like they where having a great time and they play the full Moving Pictures album which was great to hear.

I loved the show

5 out of 5

I liked it so much I am seeing them again Saturday at the ACC and I can't wait!
Best show of the summer, maybe the year.

garry

Despicable Me

July 10 2010

Despicable Me

After getting a call from Liz asking me if I was ever coming home from work,I left work and then decided to take her to see Despicable Me.Now I hate cartoon animated movies I mean I did not even go see Toy Story.But for whatever reason I thought I may like this one...WRONG.I hate all animated movies,hate is a strong word but I can't remember a animated movie I really like.I love Flintstones cartoons but I have not watched them since grade school but I remember loving them.Not sure why I don't like these movie I just don't.

If you ask me 1 out of 5

but don't trust me on this one ask Liz..

garry