This Week in Toronto (July 3-9)

Hey Y'all. Hope you had a happy Canada day! And a fantastic Pride Weekend! This week looks like a good week for movie viewin'. The Bloor Cinema has a great lineup pretty much all week. What else? Laura barrett, Crystal Castles, Ladytron and Me!! Good week all around! Exclamation marks!!! Wanna hear some music or learn more about the event? Click on the links. Did I miss something? Did I do well this week? comment in the Comments section at the bottom of the post!
P.S. Last night I saw TV on the Radio and man, what a good show, any one else there? Their new songs are fantastic, can't wait for the album!

THUR JULY 3

Laura Barrett at Rancho Relaxo (300 College St. W) 9pm $5
I can't say enough about Laura. You HAVE to see her live, at least once. She's talented, quirky and cute... three things I love. You've probably never seen anyone play thumb piano, and if you have, probably not like this. And she's playing at a small venue for only $5! I was gonna practice for my show this Sunday, but now I guess I'll be doing this....

Johnny Winters at the Pheonix $34.50
Johnny Winters is getting old. But I got a chance to see him maybe 6 years ago, and he was fantastic. When I saw him, he literally had to be helped up onto the stage, and someone put the guitar in his hands, but when he started playing, it was like he was still in his 20's. Hopefully he hasn't deteriorated much since... but he didn't look healthy so see him while you can!

Monty Python's Life of Brian/ Monty Python and the Holy Grail playing at Bloor Cinema (506 Bloor St. W) 4:30, 7pm, Holy grail at 9pm
Life of Brian and Holy Grail are comedy classics. If you haven't seen them, you had better. It's for your own good.

FRI JULY 4

Ladytron at Harbourfront center 11pm Free!!
A free Ladytron concert is A-ok in my books. This Electro act from liverpool is part of Harbourfront's breaks and beats festival. Bring your dancing shows.

Rashomon playing at Cinemateque Ontario 7pm
Some consider this to be Kurosawa's finest film. I prefer Seven Samurai or Throne of Blood, but this is in the top 5 (Kurosawa's worst films are better than most peoples best anyways), I imagine the print will be glorious.

Brazil playing at Bloor Cinema 7pm
Former python animator (and sometimes actor... he's usually the ugly one) Terry Gilliam's best film, and one of my top 100 of the last 25 years. It's a surreal look at a dystopian society not unlike the one in 1984. Robert DeNiro is in it!

SAT JULY 5

Crystal Castles at Harbourfront Center 9:30 Free!
Crystal Castles are a Toronto band with a LOT of indie cred. They blew up in a big way, fast. So I imagine a free show will pack the place, get there early.

Iron Giant and The Last Emperor playing at Revue Cinema (400 Roncesvalles Ave) 1 and 2:50 pm
Well this is a weird double feature! To early screenings of brilliant films. The Iron Giant is a touching animated film by Brad Bird (the Incredibles), about a boy and his giant robot friend. Bird brings a sentimental touch (and I mean that in a good way) to the themes. The Last Emperor is unseen by me. It's by Bernardo Bertolucci (The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris), so I expect only good things. Both films are playing at the same times on Sunday.


SUN JULY 6

Kaya Fraser and Shawn Clarke at Smiling Buddha Bar 8pm
One of the many good things about having a blog, is that I can promote my own shows!! I have one this Sunday, opening for Kaya Fraser. Kaya is great. I've had the opportunity to play with her on a few occasions, and she a very gifted songwriter. Her style has always reminded me of the great female songwriters of the 70's like Carly Simon. She's also opened for Ron Sexsmith, so see her before she blows up... I mean in a good way.

Gold Finger Playing at Bloor Cinema 4:30
Considered by most to be the best James Bond movie. It's great, but I wouldn't say it's my favourite.... maybe top 5. This one is a classic though, so if you haven't seen it, now is your chance.... and Tuesday at 7.

MON JULY 7

Dr No and On Her Majesty's Secret Service playing at Bloor Cinema 7 and 9:15pm
This is what I'm talking about!! Dr. No is fantastic, and Sean Connery has never looked sexier. But the real Gem is OHMSS. My absolute favorite Bond movie! It's the one you can't find on DVD (except in the box set) cause no one likes George Lazenby. Well I do. And someone should release this as a single DVD!! But this is so cool. If you see one movie this week, make it OHMSS!

TUES JULY 8

The Spy Who Loved Me playing at Bloor cinema 9:15pm
Roger Moore is my least favorite Bond. His movies were a little too slapstick for me. Joe Don Baker's Felix was a little to american hillbilly for me. But, for a Roger Moore bond, this one is probably the best.


Stray Dogs playing at Cinemateque Ontario 7pm
Stray Dogs!? Soooo cool. Earlier in the list I said that Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood and Rashomon were in my top 5 Kurosawa films. Well, this would be there too. A change of pace for Kurosawa, as this is a modern (for the times) drama, not a samurai period piece. Toshiro Mifune is a cop who's had his gun stolen, the film follows him as he tries to retrieve it. What a great film to see on the big screen!!


WED JULY 9

Dr. Strangelove, Barton Fink, and 12 Monkeys Playing at Bloor Cinema 4:30, 7 and 9:20
Cool! 3 great movies in one day!! Dr. Strangelove is one of my favorite movies of all time! Stanley Kubrick's brilliant cold war satire is hilarious. Barton Fink is one of the Coen brother's most sureal films (also part of my top 100). And cap it off with Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys. This is the movie where people started to look at Brad Pitt in a whole new way.  

So there you have it!  See you soon with (hopefully) a new interview, and what-have-you.