Music Clip of the Month/ 03-12

Mars & Venus' "Shades of White" (2011)

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

You can also check out Mars & Venus' "Connor" video here.

THREE months after five friends formed Mars & Venus in sexy Edmonton, Alberta, the "band who could never do it the easy way" ventured down south, playing probably mostly holes in the wall in the States and even Mexico. This five-week stretch took them to places they'd never been to before, headlining shows in joints as foreign as 3,000km! That takes balls, blaring their eclectic rock vocal graffiti for Tijuanans just days after launching their premiere EP, Stray Bullets Make Brave Hearts. That was 2009.

Carlos "Los Pipes" Calleja (vocals), Nathan "the Drama" Lafrance (guitar), Matthew "Whitey Furious" Brougeault (bass), Jordan "Twreck" Tworek (drums), and newbie Craig "the Craig" Sartor (guitar) are "ready to take on the world" now, easily and rapidly establishing a respectable local fanbase in their hometown, and by February 2011 Mars & Venus had introduced Faded Maps and Winding Ways, their full length debut.

The launch party was almost exactly one year ago today, at the Starlite Room, where the band broke Dead Jesus' attendance record that night. They've since spoiled fans across Canada, the U.S., and an adoring Mexico. Now, they're up for a pair of 2012 Edmonton Music Awards, in Group of the Year and Video of the Year for "Shades of White," directed by Holden Daniels. Check it out below.

Mars & Venus' next Edmonton gig will be March 31st (that's a Saturday!) at the Pawn Shop (10551-82 Ave./ 780-432-5058). Go see 'em. You can also follow the band on Facebook or MySpace.

Below of the official video for Mars & Venus' "Shades of White."

Global Visions Film Fest, 2012

The 30th annual GVFF will screen some of the year's most socially relevant documentaries from around the world, over four days

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

The 30th annual GVFF is March 1-4.

CANADA'S longest-running documentary film festival, Global Visions, is celebrating its 30th year! Not too shabby for a small-time event that started up 29 years ago at the Edmonton Learners Centre, as the Third World Film Festival, "dedicated to presenting socially relevant films from around the world exploring issues of social, economic, and environmental development.

"Our mandate is to promote film and video as catalysts for reflection, discussion, and responsible action," claims the GVFF, which runs this year from March 1-4 at various venues throughout the city. "We operate from the understanding that the world is getting smaller, and that all people are diverse, interconnected, interdependent citizens of the global village."

The 4-day event will showcase feature and short documentaries from across Canada and around the globe, as well as our own backyard, in addition to public workshops, and panel discussions with filmmakers and community groups.

The 2012 Opening Night Gala will take place on Thursday, March 1 at 7:30PM (doors @ 7), and will present Charles Wilkinson's award-winning Peace Out (see below) at Metro Cinema. Breakfast Television's Bridget Ryan will also host a Q&A after the screening with director Wilkinson. Tickets are $18.

The 2012 Global Visions Film Festival will present screenings this year at Metro (8712-109 St.), Crowne Plaza (10111 Bellamy Hill), Sutton Place Hotel (10235-101 St.), Empire Theatre (10200-102 Ave.), and the Art Gallery of Alberta (2 Sir Winston Churchill Square). Tickets and packages range from $10-$75, and are available at Metro, both Remedy Cafe locations, and Earth's General Store.

For the complete schedule of films for the 2012 GVFF click here.

Below is a look at Charles Wilkinson's 'Peace Out' film, which will screen at this year's GVFF Opening Night Gala, on March 1.

@themovies/ 'Safe House'

Hollywood finds a (used) vehicle for Washington and Reynolds, but nobody said it was going to be any good

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

The nearly 2-hour 'Safe House' was penned
by David Guggenheim, who's only other
credit was a 2011 TV movie called
'Exit Strategy,' starring Washinton's
'Training Day' co-star Ethan Hawke.

GUN shots, government conspiracies, corporate betrayal, car chases. Repeat. If you've seen one, you've seen 'em all-type shit here. The only difference here is it's now fresh-faced Ryan Reynolds who at one point actually mutters the words, "Who do you work for?" at the guy he's pinned to the ground at gunpoint, right after I said in my head, "please don't don't tell me he's going to say, 'Who do you work for'." Come on!

Safe House was the first American venture for Swedish filmmaker Daniel Espinosa (Easy Money), who probably grew up glued to the TV set watching movies that starred Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, or even Steven Seagal. But '80s Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Steven Seagal. That would explain a lot.

Of course, Tobin Frost (better-than-this Denzel Washington) is a former CIA agent who's gone rogue, criss-crossing the globe, stockpiling notable enemies along the way. By the sake of...who cares, really?!...he semi-self-servingly ends up in a safe house in Cape Town, South Africa, in which Reynolds is holed up as its "housekeeper," bouncing rubber balls off the wall to show just how bored he is. I wished I had my own bouncy ball at the theatre that night. Just sayin.'

Reynolds is Matt Weston, itching to prove himself as someone more capable than spending months on end tending to an empty suite, begging for residency. Needless to say, he gets what he wished for...and then some. Weston finds himself catapulted into a world he can't grasp just yet, full of those aforementioned gun shots, government conspiracies, corporate betrayal, and car chases. Cookie cutter action move shit, just slicker and with a disgustingly bigger budget ($85 million!) than those '80s trend-setters.

There's really nothing here we haven't seen many, many times prior, or anything we really couldn't piece together via the trailer. But, if you want a night out where you don't have to bug your brain too much, then maybe the Safe House is where you need to be. Just don't say I didn't warn you.

2 outta 5 stars

For local showtimes of Safe House click here.

Below is the official trailer for Daniel Espinosa's 'Safe House.'

Local Film Wins Big Overseas

At it again, Edmonton's Trevor Anderson is basking in the glory of winning an international honour for his short film

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

LAST weekend a local filmmaker took home the coveted DAAD Short Film Prize at The Berlinale 2012, in Berlin. Fresh off the success of his 2010 short The High Level Bridge (see below), Edmonton's own Trevor Anderson was in prime company at the 11-day, 62nd annual Berlinale--also known as the Berlin International Film Festival--where his 25-minute musical documentary, The Man That Got Away, received rave reviews.

Edmonton filmmaker Trevor Anderson at the 2012 Berlin International Film
Festival. Photo taken by Fish Griwkowsky, who also worked on the film, 'The Man
That Got Away,' which won the DAAD Short Film Prize there.

"A musical. A life. My family almost forgot to tell me about my great-uncle Jimmy," Anderson describes his eccentric film. "True story, or so I'm told. Jimmy grew up on a farm, on the Canadian prairies, in the Rosebud Valley, during the Great Depression. His older brothers were teenage mechanics, or outfielders on the local baseball team. But not Jimmy. At ten years old, Jimmy was Georgie Kempt's star pupil in tap dance and acrobatics."

The Man That Got Away, which stars Aryn McConnell, Bryce Kulak, Noam Gagnon, and Connie Champagne, features original music by Edmonton's Kulak, who now resides in Toronto. By pre-ordering the 6-song CD soundtrack you're allowing the producers to manufacture and release the set, which was recorded at Edmontone Studio last year.

By winning Berlinale's DAAD Prize, Anderson will receive a three-month residency in Berlin, Germany, as part of the DAAD Artists-In-Berlin Program for international artists from all countries, and of all ages. It was founded in 1963. Click here to view the official trailer for Anderson's The Man That Got Away.

Below is Trevor Anderson's 'The High Level Bridge,' which was screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Edmonton Film Prize, 2012

The Edmonton Arts Council has just announced an inaugural cash prize for an eligible local filmmaker, worth $10,000!

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

The Edmonton Arts Council, in
partnership with the Edmonton Film
Commission, is awarding $10,000 to a
local filmmaker this fall!

ARE you from Edmonton? Do you like to make movies? (Not those kinds of movies, you perv!). Could you use $10,000? If you answered "hell yeah" to all three of those questions, then listen up, because the EAC (Edmonton Arts Council) is looking to acknowledge a local filmmaker in the form of the inaugural Edmonton Film Prize, and will be accepting submissions until Friday, March 30.

"Awards for excellence are an important part of investment in arts and artists," said John Mahon, the EAC's Executive Director. "'The Art of Living,' Edmonton's 10-year cultural plan for the City, identifies civic awards in the arts as a strategic move." Mahon says that there will be an independent jury of film peers who will sort through the submissions to determine a winner, which will be announced sometime in the fall.

"This is a city that embraces creative industries and appreciates what they contribute to our economy and quality of life," stated Brad Stromberg, Edmonton Film Commissioner. "Edmonton has many outstanding filmmakers. This prize reinforces that recognition and appreciation."

This will be an annual prize and will be eligible for any local narrative, documentary, or experimental film, including one-offs, series, mini-series, features or shorts, and of any length. Of course, music videos, commercials, PSAs, and corporate/ industrial videos are exempt from submission. For an entry form and complete guide to eligibility click here.

The Edmonton Film Prize is sponsored and administered jointly by the Edmonton Film Commission and the Edmonton Arts Council. Good luck, local filmmakers.

Burgerthon, Episode 3/ The Rink

The ultimate hungry man's burger looks like something out've a meat lover's fairytale, but does 'The Goon' actually stack up?

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

In 2009 Randy Ferbey, an Edmonton-born
world renowned curling champion, opened the
doors to his own sports bar in St. Albert,
featuring pool, free wi-fi, and screens!

MY brother and I finished a full game of pool before he had to walk into the kitchen to fetch our waitress, or anybody for that matter. We were the only ones in Randy Ferbey's The Rink Sports Bar & Grill (367 St. Albert Trail. 780-569-5050), in nearby St. Albert, other than the elusive waitress--who happened to be washing dishes in the back--and some guy sitting at a desk in the far back room, behind the bar. The cook, maybe?

She barely apologized and then finally took our orders, which allowed me to tend to kicking my brother's ass at another game on their one pool table. She let us play for a flat fee ($5), as oppose to the hourly rate ($10), which I assume was her way of making up for the so-far sub-standard service. It got much better from there, however.

Originally I took the safe route, asking for their mainstream Prairie Burger, with cheese, mayo, bacon, and bourbon BBQ sauce. But, as our waitress forwarded my stale order to the cook, I looked over the menu again. At the bottom of its "Burgers" selection was something called "The Goon," a goliath merger of meats, cheese, and veggies, towering above the why-even-bother stack of fries that served more as a garnish than anything. It was essentially a lunch, a small breakfast, and a snack all in one, all at once. I changed my order.

Good thing I came hungry!

Two giant, cheddar cheese-canvassed beef patties were crowned with double bacon, double ham, lettuce, tomato, onion, and even a fried, peppered egg, all nestled between two grilled cheese sandwiches, and topped off with a juicy dill pickle! Hold the 'shrooms. "We have a wheelchair in the back in case you need help getting to your car," it read below that novel of ingredients.

I disregarded the medical warnings, deciphering exactly how I would conquer my Everest, because it was literally impossible to extend my jaws anywhere near the necessary elevation of this meal fit for a family. Even Jenna Jameson would declare defeat.

'The Goon' is: 2 patties, double cheese, double bacon, double ham, double mushrooms,
lettuce, tomato, & a fried egg, in between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches. I know, right?!

So I did what I had to do. I removed the thin wooden stick that held the mammoth cheeseburger together, and then extracted the tomato, the lettuce, and even the homely ham, so as to have at least a fighting chance. I placed the pickle aside for now, too. Then I replaced the top grilled cheese sandwich and went to town.

The patties were prime, no doubt, but they just didn't mesh right with the "buns," and I probably couldn't even stomach The Goon had I left on the pale-looking ham and those mushrooms I passed on. Half of the egg slipped out by the time I devoured the essence of the $19 Goon, and the fries remained virtually unscathed, had it not been for my brother.

Far be it from me to leave so much evidence on my plate when it comes to cheeseburgers, but I'm only human afterall. And The Goon is certainly not from this world, not meant for co-existance. Before you tackle this mountainous heart attack waiting to happen, it looks ridiculously appetizing, yes. But, looks can be deceiving. The strange food fusions were somewhat unsettling, though I'm sure damn good on their own. I guess it doesn't always pay to be an adventurous eater. Oh well, the search for the perfect burger continues!

The Goon Burger/ 2.5 outta 5

Shit Edmontonians Say

You might be an Edmontonian if...

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

IT was only weeks ago that my buddy Adam posted a YouTube video on my Facebook feed, called "Shit Nobody Says." It's been viewed something like 7 million times in the last month, which doesn't come as a surprise if you've seen it. And that's why there's about 83 trillion copycat clips that have popped up since it went viral, although itself was inspired by the even more popular "Shit Girls Say."

Dozens of niche videos have clogged up YouTube since, including shit "Asian Girls Say," "Gay Guys Say," "People Say on Facebook," or Gay Asian Girls Say on Facebook." Okay, so I made up that last one. And now, there's "Shit Edmontonians Say," a soon-to-be-on-your-Facebook-feed mockathon penned by Colin Priestner, and featuring special appearances by Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Gene Principe, Dan Tencer, and other locals.

Colin Priestner's "Shit Edmontontians Say."