Tom Wilson answers his phone while trudging through a bitterly cold Hamilton, Ont. morning on the way to see his grandson. I have to do a double-take. Grandson? Is it possible that Wilson, the hulking figurehead of Hamilton's rough-edged, blue-collar rock scene for the past 30 years, is now a doting granddad?
I then remind myself that there have been many misconceptions about Wilson since he rose to prominence in the 1990s fronting Junkhouse a band whose shadow has perpetually lengthened since their break-up in 1998. Back then, Wilson took the band around the globe like a motorcycle gang leader, stalking stages like a buffalo, and leaving crowds of flannel-clad indie kids cowering in their wake.
But the reality is that Tom Wilson is a consummate, sensitive artist. His paintings have adorned nearly every album he's put out since the end of Junkhouse, whether with Blackie & The Rodeo Kings — his highly successful...
I then remind myself that there have been many misconceptions about Wilson since he rose to prominence in the 1990s fronting Junkhouse a band whose shadow has perpetually lengthened since their break-up in 1998. Back then, Wilson took the band around the globe like a motorcycle gang leader, stalking stages like a buffalo, and leaving crowds of flannel-clad indie kids cowering in their wake.
But the reality is that Tom Wilson is a consummate, sensitive artist. His paintings have adorned nearly every album he's put out since the end of Junkhouse, whether with Blackie & The Rodeo Kings — his highly successful...
- 3/22/2013
- by Huffington Post Music Canada
- Huffington Post
How do we celebrate Valentines Day here at AfterElton.com? With roses, chocolates, and long, lingering kisses alongside rainswept sidewalk cafes in Paris.
Unfortunately, it’s the characters on TV and in movies we’re watching who get to enjoy these moments, not us.
No, we sit at our keyboards grinding out articles like this one, merely writing about some of the most romantic moments in the history of gay entertainment.
*Sigh*
Still, who knows? Maybe by the end of this article, my partner Michael (who is also the editor of this site) will come crashing through the door of my dreary downstairs office, pulling me away from computer like Richard Gere pulls Debra Winger away from that boring factory machine at the end of An Officer and a Gentlemen, kissing me passionately, then sweeping me up into his uniform-clad arms in order to carry me out into the bright...
Unfortunately, it’s the characters on TV and in movies we’re watching who get to enjoy these moments, not us.
No, we sit at our keyboards grinding out articles like this one, merely writing about some of the most romantic moments in the history of gay entertainment.
*Sigh*
Still, who knows? Maybe by the end of this article, my partner Michael (who is also the editor of this site) will come crashing through the door of my dreary downstairs office, pulling me away from computer like Richard Gere pulls Debra Winger away from that boring factory machine at the end of An Officer and a Gentlemen, kissing me passionately, then sweeping me up into his uniform-clad arms in order to carry me out into the bright...
- 2/14/2011
- by Brent Hartinger
- The Backlot
Road movies are a time-honored cinematic tradition, but the formula has become so familiar that filmmakers must resort to odder and odder protagonists and quirkier-than-ever scenarios to keep audiences interested.
Bob Gosse's debut feature tells the story of Seth (Henry Thomas) and Marcy (Robin Tunney), a young couple journeying to Toronto in search of an elusive black Barbie doll. He's emotionally withdrawn and repressed, while she, because of Tourette's syndrome, is overflowing with emotion. Not that the film is completely iconoclastic -- in the best Hollywood tradition, they meet cute while simultaneously shop-lifting.
The film, which won Tunney the best actress prize at the Venice International Film Festival, was showcased recently at the Miami Film Festival.
"Niagara Niagara", which tries with increasingly visible desperation to achieve cult status, contains the kind of episodic narrative in which everything and nothing happens. As the pair embark on their road trip, they have a series of confrontations that start out comically but end in tragedy.
The plot, such as it is, revolves not only around the couple's search for the Barbie but also on their attempts to procure drugs needed to correct Marcy's condition. When an argumentative encounter with a bizarre pharmacist (Stephen Lang) goes no-where, they return at night to rob the drugstore; the resulting fiasco forces the pair to go on the lam.
A car accident that badly in-jures Seth results in the pair winding up in the hands of Walter (Michael Parks), a tow-truck driver who offers them a place to hide out. Unfortunately, Marcy's condition results in violently ag-gressive impulses, and Walter gets violently assaulted for his trouble.
Although both leads deliver effective performances, their characters are not really interesting beyond their surface eccentricities, and whatever energy the film has is generated by Marcy's increasingly bizarre Tourette's freakouts. It's easy to see why Tunney impressed the judges at Venice; she delivers Marcy's tics, grimaces and vocal fluctuations with technical skill, and, more importantly, she makes us aware of the character's underlying vulnerability.
Director Gosse is fond of such visual flourishes as cutting away from a flushing toilet to the majesty of Niagara Falls, which serves much the same tired metaphoric function as another set of falls in Wong Kar-Wei's "Happy Together". It may be time for that particular visual symbol to be given a lengthy hiatus from the screen.
NIAGARA NIAGARA
The Shooting Gallery
Director: Bob Gosse
Screenplay: Matthew Weiss
Producer: David L. Bushell
Executive producer: Larry Meistrich
Cinematography: Michael Spiller
Editor: Rachel Warden
Music: Michael Timmins, Jeff Bird
Color/stereo
Cast:
Marcy: Robin Tunney
Seth: Henry Thomas
Walter: Michael Parks
Claude (Pharmacist): Stephen Lang
Seth's Father: John MacKay
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Bob Gosse's debut feature tells the story of Seth (Henry Thomas) and Marcy (Robin Tunney), a young couple journeying to Toronto in search of an elusive black Barbie doll. He's emotionally withdrawn and repressed, while she, because of Tourette's syndrome, is overflowing with emotion. Not that the film is completely iconoclastic -- in the best Hollywood tradition, they meet cute while simultaneously shop-lifting.
The film, which won Tunney the best actress prize at the Venice International Film Festival, was showcased recently at the Miami Film Festival.
"Niagara Niagara", which tries with increasingly visible desperation to achieve cult status, contains the kind of episodic narrative in which everything and nothing happens. As the pair embark on their road trip, they have a series of confrontations that start out comically but end in tragedy.
The plot, such as it is, revolves not only around the couple's search for the Barbie but also on their attempts to procure drugs needed to correct Marcy's condition. When an argumentative encounter with a bizarre pharmacist (Stephen Lang) goes no-where, they return at night to rob the drugstore; the resulting fiasco forces the pair to go on the lam.
A car accident that badly in-jures Seth results in the pair winding up in the hands of Walter (Michael Parks), a tow-truck driver who offers them a place to hide out. Unfortunately, Marcy's condition results in violently ag-gressive impulses, and Walter gets violently assaulted for his trouble.
Although both leads deliver effective performances, their characters are not really interesting beyond their surface eccentricities, and whatever energy the film has is generated by Marcy's increasingly bizarre Tourette's freakouts. It's easy to see why Tunney impressed the judges at Venice; she delivers Marcy's tics, grimaces and vocal fluctuations with technical skill, and, more importantly, she makes us aware of the character's underlying vulnerability.
Director Gosse is fond of such visual flourishes as cutting away from a flushing toilet to the majesty of Niagara Falls, which serves much the same tired metaphoric function as another set of falls in Wong Kar-Wei's "Happy Together". It may be time for that particular visual symbol to be given a lengthy hiatus from the screen.
NIAGARA NIAGARA
The Shooting Gallery
Director: Bob Gosse
Screenplay: Matthew Weiss
Producer: David L. Bushell
Executive producer: Larry Meistrich
Cinematography: Michael Spiller
Editor: Rachel Warden
Music: Michael Timmins, Jeff Bird
Color/stereo
Cast:
Marcy: Robin Tunney
Seth: Henry Thomas
Walter: Michael Parks
Claude (Pharmacist): Stephen Lang
Seth's Father: John MacKay
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 2/20/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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