Beauty and the Beast returns to the big screen this weekend (with a 3-D retrofitting) just a shade over 20 years after its initial release and several years after an extended cut of the film made the rounds. The film – which was one of my fondest childhood movie going experiences – holds up nicely in a thematic sense, with as much love for cinematic craft as Hugo and The Artist, but while the 3-D does add to the film, the HD transfer makes a case that maybe not all hand drawn animated films should be toyed with.

The “tale as old as time, and song as old as rhyme” remains the same, as the heroine Belle (voiced by Paige O’ Hara) takes the place of her inventor father after he is captured by a fearsome and selfish beast (Robbie Benson), who just so happened to be a handsome prince cursed by an enchantress. Together in his enchanted castle full of singing and dancing bric-a-brac, Belle helps Beast learn the true nature of love and caring for someone more than he cares for himself.

Despite being the first ever animated film to be nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards, the story to Beauty and the Beast was always structurally unsound. Belle’s transformation from headstrong women, to withering captive, to somewhat sunny optimist still comes full circle, but the character transitions aren’t handled very well, with motivations tied more to plot conventions and storybook moralizing than logical behaviour. Then again, this is ostensibly a children’s film.

That’s all comparatively small potatoes when one approaches the film as more of a historical artifact. From the opening musical number where Belle speaks of her humdrum existence in a provincial French hamlet, Beauty and the Beast strikes a tone of pure joy for the written word. Belle’s bookish ways are looked down upon by a French upper class that thinks a woman couldn’t possibly learn anything from them. It’s a sequence equally literary and cinematic, and a subtle dig at French cinematic sensibilities towards film criticism with the classic line “How can you read this? There’s no pictures!”

Compare this feeling with The Artist, which for all its greatness is a simple story about one man and not saying so much about cinema other than displaying how the rises and falls of celebrity culture are entirely cyclical. Even moreso, compare Disney’s sense of spectacle to Scorsese’s raging polemic disguised as a family film. Disney’s writing staff lucked into a subtler and less headache inducing defence of the cinematic art form in a five minute musical number than Hugo could hammer into someone’s head in over two hours. Coming fresh off a year that many of my colleagues deemed as being too nostalgic for its own good with regards to past masterworks and auteurs, it feels wholly fitting that the best case is made by a 21 year old film.

But enough about subtext, back to the film itself and its new transfer. Reverting back to the original theatrical release and excising the deleted musical number that found its way into the extended cut from a few years back, the backgrounds of the film remain as gorgeous as ever and the sound mix is clear as day. The 3-D makes the combination of hand painted scenery come to life in new and exciting ways, and the HD makes the colours all the more vibrant, but those added dimensions also raise an interesting point.

In scenes where characters are shown in extreme close up, the modern technological advances act as a disservice to the film. With increased picture clarity, the imperfections of hand drawn animation are brought to the forefront. Every pencil stroke and jerky movement is literally in the viewers face and in HD. While I found an odd sense of comfort in being able to visually see the effort that went into making the film, I could also see how some people would say that it now looks cheap by comparison. It leads to a very interesting thing to think about.

While the film was made during the interim between hand drawn and computer animation (which are married seamlessly in the Busby Berkely styled “Be Our Guest” and the titular ballroom dance number), one has to wonder if audiences have not become spoiled by computer animation designed to delete any and all imperfections tied to the use of a decidedly less steady human hand. Does the computer give humanity to something that isn’t there or does the human holding the ink impart some of themselves onto what could be seen by modern audiences as an imperfect creation? Have we been spoiled by the proliferation of computer animation and in about 15 years will we be able to have the same appreciation for these films we once did?

Despite all of this thinking about how the film pertains to modern cinema, I was still taken back to the first day I saw it. The press screening of this version just so happened to be the 20th anniversary of my seeing it for the first time on a snow day from school at the movie theatre I remembered from my youth. It was quite possibly the first time that I looked at a film from a critical perspective. The issues I had with the plot at the age of eight are still roughly the same problems I have now, but as a work of pure cinematic spectacle it might be even more relevant to my tastes as an adult.

Side note: The film is preceded by a short sequel to the movie Tangled. It’s well worth showing up for and serves as proof that Disney has gotten its mojo back when it comes to making short films again.

The law of diminishing returns that often applies to film franchises seemingly doesn’t apply to the Mission: Impossible series. After an okay, but incomprehensible first film, a dreadful second film, and a fun, but needlessly convoluted third film, director Brad Bird (previously known for animated work on The Incredibles and The Iron Giant) comes to the now aging series of spy thrillers to deliver a no-nonsense action film that strays from the elaborate plotting of previous entries in favour of a more straightforward and delightfully boneheaded approach. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol quite possibly represents the kinds of movies this franchise should’ve been from the start.

Impossible Mission Force veteran Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) starts of this entry being broken out of a Russian gulag to help track down a terrorist, code named Cobalt (Michael Nyqvist, original star of the Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series), who is hell-bent on acquiring Russian nuclear missile codes. After an effort by Hunt and his team (Paula Patton, Simon Pegg) to stop him turns out to be a setup, the IMF are disavowed by their government and forced to work off the grid with the help of a pencil pushing analyst (Jeremy Renner).

Of course, not everything is what it seems, but this is truly the first Mission: Impossible plotline that can be distilled into a single paragraph. The streamlined storytelling on display here counts for quite a lot. While the previous films awkwardly tried to combine brains and spectacle, Ghost Protocol simply sets out a scenario, adds requisite spy thriller twists and character developments, and moves from point A to point B in a no bullshit manner. It’s not reinventing the wheel in any way, but it allows the audience to shut just enough of their brain off to have a good time watching the film instead of stressing them out over nitpicky details the other films would demand people remembered.

With the plot out of the way, Bird gets the chance to really shine as a first time live action feature director. The film is made with such a steady hand that one would be hard pressed to tell it was made by someone having their first go at an action film. The action tends to drag slightly in the expository scenes necessary to move the plot along, but once the film gets to the gloriously shot set pieces, Bird’s authorial voice and past successes are evident on screen.

The majority of the action sequences – shot in IMAX, which really is the only way to watch the film to truly get the full effect and scope of the production – are handily the best in the series. Shots looking down the side of the world’s tallest building in Dubai are intense and almost vertigo inducing. A fight sequence in an automated car park feels like a demented cousin to the climactic scene in Pixar’s Monsters Inc. where the heroes are constantly going in and out of doors in midair. It’s a simply stunning looking movie.

With all the flash and style the film has, there’s not a lot of room for the cast, but damned if they don’t perform their jobs effectively. Nyqvist is sufficiently slimy and creepy. Patton is tough, sexy, and not merely used as one-note eye candy. Pegg gets a beefed up role from the last film and puts his comedic zeal to great use. Renner, whom it’s rumoured will be taking over the series in the near future, gets to play the tightly wound tough guy with a secret. Even Cruise gets to give Hunt a different slant by matching the tone of the film around him by dialing back his natural charisma and portraying Ethan as a picture of lethal efficiency.

Is it anything special? For action film buffs it certainly is. Does it change the nature of action filmmaking? Hardly. Does it matter what “Ghost Protocol” even means? Not in the slightest. Is it fun? Loads. Is it the best of the franchise? Absolutely.

Location OCAD University Great Hall, 100 McCaul Street – Free event

The Toronto Independent Game Development Jam (TOJam) is a free, annual game-making event open to the public. For the last 5 years, they’ve gathered together the craziest game makers in the world for a 3-day, around-the-clock game making binge. TOJam attracts a mix of hobbyists, students, and professionals. For some, it’s an opportunity to try new ideas, for others it’s a chance to focus. TOJam #6 was held May 13 – 15, 2011.

TOJam Arcade will feature a curated exhibition of a minimum of 10 games from TOJam in a cool and entertainment focused space where people can easily flow from one screen to the next.

In addition to the Arcade, a launch event that features all TOJam #6 games will take place on October 28 in the OCAD University Great Hall.

Digifest showcases digital media creativity in Toronto, bringing together academic, industry and the public to experience the convergence of interactive & mobile media, gaming, art and design, architecture, simulation and more. Digifest will celebrate the latest achievements in visualization, simulation and interaction in many fields, inspiring and connecting all involved.

Digifest has been renewed and updated by the School of Design at George Brown College in partnership with the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, the Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFF), Applied Arts Inc., Meet The Media Guru (Italy), TOJam, Gamercamp, OCAD University, Ryerson University, Seneca College and various media and venue partners.

Innovation Days
(Wednesday October 26 – Thursday October 27, daytime)

This exciting portion of Digifest will showcase results of industry/school research partnerships to a crowd made up of industry members, academics and students. The content will be selected by Digifest and its academic partners. Each morning / afternoon will be devoted to one of the four Digifest streams: play, touch, build, watch.

Talks will be delivered by industry “thought leaders” followed by shorter presentations from various innovators in related fields.

Tiff Nexus Innovation Day
(Friday October 28)

TIFF.nexus is the connection of the existing and emerging media sectors of Film, Gaming and New Media, designed as a catalyst for collaboration between them. This innovation day will feature emerging technology talks and presentations as well as the results of the 2011 Gaming Peripherals Jam – putting game developers together with hardware hackers to innovate in areas of interface – which will be showcased in an evening reception at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. More info here.

Meet The Media Guru
(Wednesday October 26 – Friday October 28, evening)

Meet The Media Guru (MMG) is a Social Network and an Open Community of Digital Culture that organizes local Events in Italy to meet the world famous protagonists of Innovation. Digifest is bringing MMG events to Ontario by making them a key component of the DF schedule. These evening speaker events will bring innovators from across the globe for thought-provoking presentations that will inspire and challenge attendees.

Exhibits and Activities
(Saturday October 29 – Sunday October 30)

The Digifest weekend activities will feature an array of exhibits, interactive displays, presentations and more, with many free events open to the general public. Events include:

- TOJam Arcade: featuring a day of talks by local game makers and industry thinkers, exclusive in-progress demos, and an arcade installation of over 20 games from www.TOjam.ca.
- Art by Gamercamp exhibition, displaying digital art and design installations.
- Ziris™ wall: an on-going display of Digifest Ziris™ competition entries to be featured on the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts Ziris™ wall throughout the week and into the weekend.
- 1st Person: A game industry meet and greet trade show
- An epic Halloween party

Plus lots more exciting installations and interactive displays across the city! Stay tuned for more information.

More information here.
Facebook event page here.

This week’s instalment of Boardwalk Empire brought us a heaping portion of the old ultra-violence that we so cherish. It’s Veteran’s Day in Atlantic City, a city “built to help people forget” says Nucky in his speech to the throngs gathered to commemorate the occassion, “but today is for remembering.” Is it ever. Nothing in this episode seems to be forgotten or forgiven – every past slight is remembered and every debt paid for.

The ceremony itself goes off without a hitch, Nucky pays tribute to his nemesis, the Commodore, who is incapacitated by his stroke and unable to attend the festivities. Nucky then calls Jimmy to the podium, to Jimmy’s surprise. It’s a challenge, and one that Jimmy handles ably despite his shaky nerves. “You think I don’t know how to play this game?” Jimmy asks his ‘father’, “I don’t even think you know the rules.”

But Jimmy does know the rules, he downplays his own acts of heroism, captures the ghastliness of the war, and pays tribute to the reasons for the soldier’s sacrifice: mothers, son, wives and America.” It’s not the first time we’ve seen Jimmy demonstrate his political savvy (I’m thinking of his conversation with Rothstein a few weeks back), but it’s the first time Nucky has; as the look on his face, and his continued obsession with Jimmy in the country club dressing room reveals.

With the Commodore in a vegetative state, Jimmy has assumed control over the “political coup” against Nucky, but his financial backers, Eli and the Ward Bosses are skeptical about the young buck’s leadership. In a meeting with the old men, including the guy with the facial hair (who I only this episode realized is played by Dominic Chianese, famous for his portrayal of Uncle June in The Sopranos), they appear to be very worried about their investment. “You’re trying to diddle the wrong men,” they tell him when he won’t own up to the Commodore’s ailment.

Jackson Parkhurst is the financial backer who is the most hostile towards Jimmy. A veteran of the wars against the Sioux, he brags of his exploits to the group, who have clearly heard every word a million times. He also boasts of his war profiteering, something not likely to endear him to a veteran like Darmody.

When Jimmy grows tired of the threats and whining from the old men, he points out that they don’t scare him, quipping, “oh yeah, you’re going to throw me out of your yacht club?” Parkhurst responds by striking Jimmy across the face with his cane and admonishing his lack of “respect.” Jimmy withdraws with a panicked Eli, who Jimmy doesn’t even attempt to pacify. It seems as if the coup leaders are fragmenting in a hurry…

The icky relationship between Jimmy and his mother Gillian is re-visited again shortly thereafter. It’s been clear that the incestuous undertones of their relationship would be a major theme of the season since Gillian told Jimmy’s wife about how she used to kiss baby Jimmy’s “winky” while changing him (I’m still not over that quote). In this scene Gillian cleans her son’s injury, dotes on him, touches his face in a way that makes me squirm, and advises Jimmy that he’s not to be “disrespected” and he has to “make that clear.”

In effect, Gillian has indirectly ordered the murder of Jackson Parkhurst (a man she probably used to dance for, and perhaps service), and is now in effect the “real leader” of the coup. In contrast to Gillian and Jimmy’s all encompassing openness, in a scene later in the episode, Jimmy tells his wife that he hurt his head on a car door. She is, as she suspects, not the main woman in Jimmy’s life.

On Nucky’s return from golfing with the Attorney General, he is greeted by Margaret whose first line to her husband is, “where’s Owen?!” She is worried, of course, because Eli has come to visit and she knows what that could (and does) lead to, but it also provides some fuel for fire for those viewers who believe that Margaret has something of a crush on the sexually explosive Irishman.

Eli reveals that the Commodore is “out of the game”, and that he “knows who is going to testify” against his brother. None of this information is valuable to Nucky, who has “just played golf with the Attorney General of the United States,” but Eli nonetheless pleads for forgiveness. Instead, Nucky calls him a “scared child,” and requires his brother to “kiss my fucking shoes you piece of shit” which Eli can’t abide. A fist fight ensues and Eli probably would’ve murdered Nucky then and there had Margaret not come along with an unloaded rifle and broken up the fisticuffs.

Eli’s utility may be realized yet, as we see from Nucky’s conversation with the Attorney General later that evening that the AG can’t make any guarantees about their plan to have the charges against Nucky dropped. The Attorney General presents a prosecutor, a flamboyant fellow named Chip, and once the deal is done, they expect to be entertained. Nucky sends in his girls, but his face is resentful throughout, and one suspects that the role of “pimp” is not one Nucky particularly cherishes.

The action then cuts to brother Eli, who is proper wasted and fixing something or other with one of his many children. “Your pops can fix anything”, he assures the youngster, not quite believing his own words as he takes a massive glug from his flask. When he is visited by one of the Ward Bosses named George, he is agitated, cornered and drunk.

George suspects that something is afoot with the Commodore and demands to go see him. Eli tries to protect the status of the Commodore, but he’s drunk and not particularly savvy, and gives the game up. He then freaks out and hits George in the neck with a wrench, which, he clearly didn’t wholly intend to do. Once it’s apparent that George is going to die, however, Eli viciously (and graphically) beats in George’s face with the wrench. Great stuff.

Now let’s get to the major side plot of the episode – Richard Harrow’s walk in the woods. Harrow skips the Veteran’s Day parade, and our fist glimpse at him occurs while Jimmy is reading the names of the fallen veterans of Atlantic City. A few names continue to be read off while the visual transfers to Harrow, himself “among the fallen” despite the fact that he technically “lives on.”

Harrow leaves his flat and his collage book of idyllic domestic settings and goes out to the Jersey Bush about 30 miles outside of Atlantic City. He has his gun ostensibly to go hunting, but in reality, Harrow considers himself “dead inside,” and is looking to formally end it all.

Harrow finds a suitable log, removes his prosthetic face and begins a last meal of brie and apples. We’ve heard Jimmy tell Richard not to be embarrassed to eat in front of his family before, and seeing this “last meal” we finally know why. Merely taking a drink from a flask looks painful and laborious for Harrow.

Richard lies back, puts his rifle in his mouth and looks at the grey sky, he is about to end when a dog approaches, growls at him and steals his prosthetic. It is striking that Richard, who was considering ending it all then and there would be so upset about the loss of his fake half face, which, presumably he’d have little need for once he blew the rest of his face off. Instead, Richard chases after the dog (his deux ex machina object) while yelling: “I need that mask!”

Richard eventually comes upon the dog’s owners, a couple of bush-men named Glenmore and Pete who hunt “tree rat” (squirrel) and drink extremely strong homemade liquor, which, they share with Richard once he confirms he’s not a revenue agent. They talk about flying horses that they’ve seen in Atlantic city, and Glenmore admonishes Pete for going home to spend the night as opposed to roughing it, “you’re getting soft.”

Eventually the talk turns to the dog, who Glenmore refers to as “an old soldier, he just keeps on fighting,” This interests Harrow who asks Glenmore “what is he fighting for?” The response: “you’ll have to ask him.” Glenmore gives Richard a speech about “what these woods is for,” and apparently the woods are not for “foolishness” but instead “they’re for living,” and Richard, now saved, goes on his way to rendezvous with Jimmy.

Jimmy and Richard’s conversation is the proper end to Richard’s soul-searching subplot. “Where were you today?” Jimmy asks. “Went for a walk”, Harrow responds. “I should have gone with you” says Jimmy. At the end of the day, Jimmy’s affection for Harrow isn’t an act, it’s very real. In contrast to Jimmy’s regard for Eli, whom he wouldn’t so much as offer a word of reassurance to earlier in the episode, Jimmy brushes Richard’s face when Richard asks him, “Would you fight for me?” The answer: “Down to the last bullet.”

So they go to work, which, tonight at least involves scalping Mr. Parkhurst. When Parkhurst sees Richard he asks him, “who are you?” Harrows response: “a soldier.” And so his emotional arc is complete, Harrow has come to terms with who he is, he may never have the idyllic domestic life he craves, but he’s not wholly “dead inside”, rather, he’s “an old soldier who just keeps on fighting.” By the way, how hard was that scalping to watch? I’d venture so far as to say that it was a more brutal scalping than anything the Basterds got up to. When you beat Tarantino for gruesomeness, and you’re a cable series, you’re doing something right.

Parkhurst’s screams echo the maid, Katie’s screams. Except she isn’t getting scalped, she’s just getting freaky with Mr. Sleator in the maids quarters at Nucky’s place. They wake Margaret, who checks on the children before encountering her promiscuous, well endowed maid. She asks Katie if she heard anything, but Katie plays the innocent, though the look on Margaret’s face makes plain that she knows what’s up, and she is probably pretty jealous.

The episode closes with a wickedly stark shot of Eli burying George against the edge of a cornfield, illuminated by the lights of his car.

Want to take your trivia know-how into the year 3000?

“You Guessed It! You Can’t Unguess It!” Futurama Trivia is interesting if true! And it is true! 3 rounds of mathematically flawless, alien eye-popping trivia backed by the viewing of three different classic Futurama episodes – and you don’t even need a $300 Nixon tax rebate to participate because it’s free. Sound too good to be true, like two meals in one week? Prepare to be surprised!

WHERE: Melody Bar, The Gladstone Hotel – 1214 Queen Street West.

WHEN: 8:00pm, September 27, 2011

HOW IT WORKS: In classic pub trivia style, ‘You Guessed It! You Can’t Unguess It!’ is three rounds of challenging questions about Futurama Volumes 1-4. Form a team of up to 6 friends and write down your answers on provided sheets; at the end of each round, you swap your sheet with another team just like in grade 6, and mark ‘em. Then hand them in and enjoy an episode on the big screen! And did we mention prizes?

Special thanks to WOO-HOO!: Classic Simpsons Trivia for helping to organize this most natural progression. They are our big brother out of neither revenge, spite, malice nor boredom.

Invite your friends! It’s fun for the whole family! (except grandma & grandpa)

Futurama Trivia Facebook event page here.

Follow Futurama Trivia on Twitter @FuturamaTrivia

Gil Alkabetz Retrospective & Workshop (Click to enlarge)

An evening with the creator of many award-winning short animated films, presented by the Toronto Animated Image Society in partnership with Goethe Institut and the National Film Board of Canada.

Best known for his animation in the award-winning film, RUN LOLA RUN, Alkabetz joins us from Stuttgart, Germany, to present his retrospective and to discuss ideas of storytelling.

Films will be shown on its original format of 35mm.

Admission:
$10 TAIS & NFB Members
$15 General

Tickets can be purchased online at: www.tais.ca

Star Trek Day TO, a Nerd Mafia collaborative extravaganza that celebrates everything Star Trek, will be hosted at the Toronto Underground Cinema on October 02, 2011.

Why Star Trek? Star Trek represents a hopeful vision of the future — a future that promotes collaboration, inclusiveness and responsibility. Celebrating Star Trek not only honours the ground-breaking work the franchise has already done, it also shows our commitment to internalizing these values and making them reality.

This fun-filled event will cater both to the casual fan and the hardcore Trekker with trivia, a costume contest, musical performances, comedy, the screening of Star Trek feature films and a 19+ after party for mature Star Trek fans.

Tickets are available for pre-order on Brown Paper Tickets: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/185549.

Tickets are also available in person at the Silver Snail.

Daytime Programming:
* Star Trek 101 – an introduction to Star Trek, for those new to the franchise.
* Star Trek Geek Off – trivia contest
* Costume Contest (categories TBA)
* MOVIE: Wrath of Khan
* MOVIE: Star Trek (2009)

Evening Programming:
* Comedy by Nerdy Little Secret, featuring Gavin Stephens
* Music by Nerds with Guitars
* Burlesque by The Cinnamon Hearts and Nerd Girl Pinups
(Additional acts TBA)

Additional sponsors: Polaris, FutureCon

Official Star Trek Day TO website here.
Facebook Event Page here.

Proceeds from the Questy Awards go to support Epilepsy Toronto. Visit their website at www.epilepsytoronto.org

In addition to the awards, this years Questys will feature live performances by Toronto comedy bigwig Gavin Stephens, infamous nerd-folk minstrels Nerds With Guitars, geek chic comic Andrew Ivimey, nerd rock legend Kyle Stevens of Kirby Krackle, and last-minute addition comic artist Ethan Van Sciver will be playing a rare musical set to end the night!

Raffle and silent auction with fantastic comic goodies!

Tickets are $15.00 at the door, or $10.00 with a valid Fan Expo pass! Doors at 9:30, show starts at 10.

Facebook Event Page here

Thanks for your interest in Gamercamp Jr! Our goal is to help the next generation become more games literate and support any games-related ventures to express themselves whether it be as an enthusiastic player, a creative developers, or a thoughtful part of the media. In this email, we’ll update you on what’s been happening in 2011 for Gamercamp Jr and info on the meet-up!The three parts of Gamercamp Jr!

There are three parts to Gamercamp Jr: our game kits, the website, and the live meetups.

Game kits—We’re really excited for the game kits, which focus on critically thinking about why a game works or doesn’t work and then attempt to inspire remixing of the game to guide children in making their own games. For example, we took the beloved game Scrabble and created an entirely new game using the same board and pieces—this is one way to demonstrate to children that creating games isn’t bounded by programming experience or access to materials. We wanted to focus on kits that could be accessed from anywhere, so that children from across Canada can check us out!

There are three kits right now spanning digital, physical, and board games: each are free to download on our website and come in a handy PDF.

Website—The Gamercamp Jr website will be the hub for all activity. We’ll be working with more game makers to create new kits to add to our library and as we find more information on helping children learn about making games we will post them to the website. We’d love to do a video on how games are made and are currently looking into resources to help accomplish this. The website is also where information about the meet-ups will be posted and you can also learn other ways to get involved with Gamercamp Jr!
Live Meet-ups—We think building a community is pretty amazing stuff—so having children and parents come together to work on games and meet other interested children and parents seems like a no-brainer! We know parents love making games too and trying out cool activities so Gamercamp Jr meet-ups require both the child and parent/guardian to show up! The first one happens September 10, 2011 and is completely free! We’d be working through the activities in the kits and more. Sign-up through our website!
Do head over to gamercampjr.ca to check out the site, kits, and meetup details! If you know any children preferably ages 9 – 12 who are interested in attending the meetup, please let them know and pass the information along! Thank you so much for your support and until next time!

UysFaber is proud to present “Girls’ Day Out”, hosted by Paradise Comics.

This event is an opportunity for female comic fans to not only meet like-creators, but connect with each other. We invite you all to come out on Saturday August 20th, 2011 from 1pm to close, for an afternoon of fun and comics.

During the event, Paradise Comics will also have a section set up in the store for material highlighting the upcoming comic, geek, film, and fun events in Toronto over the next several months! If you don’t know yet, Toronto has a VERY active creative community and every weekend has a number of events for a range of tastes!

Paradise Comics will also have a display of Graphic Novels/TPBs that have been chosen by Andrew Uys, Lady J, & Merissa Aaron – and these staff/UysFaber picks will be 30% off US cover price for all event attendees! So drop by and join in!

The event kicks off with Jaclyn Armstrong hosting a signing for the launch of Totem Sacred #1. UysFaber’s Totem Sacred #1 arrived in stores on Wednesday August 17th!. This collection will feature Jaclyn’s comic Salt Road; as well as the first half of the short story Totem Test by Andrew Uys.

Jaclyn, a.k.a. Lady J, is a 17 year old Torontonian and a great example of never letting age deter you from pursuing a career in comics. She will be accompanied by UysFaber artists Rob Vellone and Matt Salonen. All money raised through sketches done by these artist is being donated to Andrew Uys’ favourite comic organization The Hero Initiative

At 3pm, we will be joined by even more female creators and special guests who are here to meet fans and share their experiences. These guests include:

Liana K. has been called “Canada’s Ultimate Fangirl” by the Edmonton Journal, is a prominent voice in the world of all things geeky. She has also written for the Accidental Comics series Ed and Red’s Comic Strip. Liana was the “Red” half of Ed & Red’s Night Party!, Canada’s longest running comedy series, she co-hosts a talk radio show on Toronto’s CFRB, and writes feature articles for www.gamingexcellence.com. She is also an avid cosplayer.

Katherine “Kat” Curtis is an anchor, segment producer, and writer with the internet news program Naked News.  She is the creator, writer and anchor for a new segment of the Naked News called The Naked Nerd. The segment focuses on areas of interest to geeks and nerds, such as comic books, computer games, science fiction, and role playing games. Curtis is also part of the g33kpron.com team, a Toronto- based nerd culture blog.

Adira Rotstein is the Toronto based author of Little Jane Silver, the first in series of two novels, (so far), featuring the granddaughter of Long John Silver from Treasure Island. She was also an intern at Platinum Studios, the company that owns the rights to many Image Comics and Top Cow properties. As part of her internship she edited original Platinum Studios comic book scripts and developed Image properties into film treatments. As a journalist, she has been a contributor to the online comic journal ComicAddiction.com. Currently, she has a feature length screenplay for children called Odd Star in development at Stephanie Epstein Productions.

Fiona Smyth is a Montreal native who has called Toronto home since 1978. Her first graphic novel, The Never Weres, was published this spring by Annick Press. Set “late in the next century”, the plot deals with the human race as it teeters on the edge of extinction. “A mysterious virus has resulted in no births in almost a generation. Despite the impending doom, three urban teenagers try to live their lives with hope.” A collection of her Exclaim comics Cheez 100 was published by Pedlar Press in 2001.

Alice Quinn creator of TdotComics is a nerd in the Toronto comic scene – covering events, reviewing books, and interviewing comic creators. Alice has annually attended Fan Expo, Anime North and TCAF for years and has started throwing her own events. Last May Alice was one of the organizers of Star Wars Day TO, and this month TdotComics is holding people choice Comic Shop Awards TdotComics’s The BEST online. Alice Quinn is a proud member of TO Nerd Mafia.

You are invited to hang out, meet the creators and talk comics, sci-fi and fantasy with fellow female comic fans. Lucky attendees will be entered for the chance to win passes to Futurecon- the 3-Day New Year’s Eve extravaganza. This upscale, non-profit event is in support of Epilepsy Toronto, and features some of the biggest TV personalities, authors, comic book artists, and comedians in Canada!  The Futurecon organisation also does year-round education and outreach, including participating in Purple Day – World Epilepsy Awareness Day, March 26^th. Liana K., the founder of Futurecon, is especially passionate about their fight against the stigma and isolation suffered by the 1 in 100 children and adults living with epilepsy, including her 8-year old nephew, Iain. For more information, please visit Futurecon.org.

Dads, significant others, sons, etc are all welcome to come out for “Girls’ Day Out” and see how women are making an impact in what is generally viewed as a male-dominated industry.

We hope to see you all at Paradise Comics on August 20th!

WWW.UYSFABER.COM

http://twitter.com/#!/uysfaber

PARADISECOMICS.COM

http://twitter.com/#!/ParadiseComics

Paradise Comics
3278 Yonge Street
Toronto
M4N 2L6
(4 ½ blocks north of Lawrence Ave.)
416-487-9807

Not far below the skin of every mature person is a raging, nonsensical beast of pure impulse. One which usually doesn’t show up until each thread of control is unraveled. Or after they’ve annihilated a row of drinks. Some people, however, are much more comfortable with their wild child, and in a new media savvy world they’re recorded, and later seen, these folks can be found at practically every turn. From Knoxville and his Jackass troupe to a kid secretly being recorded, shirtless and flipping out over a World of Warcraft suspension. But before there was a guarantee that every piece of footage would have an audience, Ralph Zavadil would probably still have subjected himself to documented, self-inflicted humiliation. In the St. Catherines area, he was known as local TV spirit Cap’n Video. If he saw a post, he’d climb it and then jump from it. See a wall? He’d run into it. If he saw a raw egg, he’d eat it through his nose. In Beauty Day, the audience gets a thorough profile of a semi-retired goof, long after his raid on the airwaves but still more than ready to slip back into the wacky-tight-pants.

There’s a misconception that his folly pool-sheet jump, which ended with his face meeting the pavement and a broken neck, ended his career. Not at all, it was simply his firmest hand shake with infamy (or at least Real TV.) Before then, Zavadil was a radioactive rubber ball, who filmed himself spontaneously jumping from high locations, subjecting his face to foods and oozes or zipping about on his homemade motorized skate deck. But no party lasts forever. While the attention of his ill-conceived dive ushered in opportunities, the steady build up of opponents and concern over his amplitude of miscalculated stunts and pot busts led the small town hero of television to eventually fizzle out, forcing him to face the only thing that really seems to make his stomach churn. Normalcy.

Film is no stranger to the non-conformist card, and between the tropes of anti-heroes and the high school outcasts who dream of replicating them, profiling someone who is “normaphobic” doesn’t sound like a fresh idea. But Beauty Day may be the first, if not strongest case, because it recognizes its effect on a real life person, not some dramatic excuse to cause trouble. Zavadil recalls a rather extreme falling out with a regular job and life, one which, believe it or not, left him in worse condition than a lifestyle of falling through shed roofs. Through this, you aren’t just seeing footage of a guy with a sadistic self-deprecating sense of humour on behalf of director Jay Cheel, you’re seeing a sudden epiphany of a born-to-be weirdo, and the nature of Ralph’s evolution isn’t necessarily limited to off-kilter antics.

What’s fascinating is how much Zavadil films himself in general. He introduces the viewer to his video tape storage room, lined wall to wall with cassettes. Throughout you see the rough cut VHS footage, not just from his TV face, but personal adventures as well, most notably a definitive road trip with a track-driving ex.

When the time comes for Zavadil to celebrate his alter-ego’s birthday, his snap-back into the old ways seems so natural. Even those close to him, his mother and best friend, previously responding to his lifestyle in humorously mixed ways, seem neither surprised or hesitant to support when he slides back on the goggles and spandex. Blooming again, Ralph Zavadil becomes Cap’N Video, spreading his wings and flying (literally) like the free bird he is. Often the Cap doesn’t do things the smartest or safest way, and at one moment my Dad, who I saw the film with, reeled in his chair and squealed, “Euugh, why didn’t he just use sugar glass?!” The difference between Cap’N Video and the Jackasses, Dudesons and YouTube phenoms we’ve all become familiar with is Video’s urgent sense to do something, fast, satisfyingly, regardless of impact. Perhaps the lack of punning or discursive set-ups to stunts, stood in by a gross, foreign, location-less accent rambling about the “beauty day” is just another display of how much of his prime he made up on the spot.

Never does Zavadil, Cheel or anyone caught on film bother defending, justifying or make pale reasoning out of Cap’N Video’s cult-pop nonsense. You simply have to personally know and feel the tug of insanity, and while that may not make you eat dog hair, you can probably understand the appeal of throwing a pillow at someone across the couch when there’s nothing better to say.