I’ve attended a couple great shows at Just for Laughs in Toronto, featuring Lena Dunham and Miranda Sings. I’m a huge fan of Jenny Slate’s acting chops, so I was thrilled to see she was part of the lineup for this year’s festival.
Yesterday I went to see a conversation with Jenny Slate at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and it was amazing. I knew I was going to like the event as soon as she said, “film sets are a lot like camp.”
Between the popularity of Throwback Thursdays and the Timehop app, the appeal of nostalgia in the media is going strong. So when I found out Jenny Slate is starring in a new movie about a dysfunctional family set in 1995, I was sold. I loved watching her in Obvious Child and I was ready for more laughs from the Jewish comedian in Landline.
Personally, I find characters that work in advertising more likeable, but there’s no excuse for Ali (Abby Quin) and Dana’s (Jenny Slate) cheating dad (John Turturro). I don’t care if he’s a superstar at McCann Erickson. He’s a scumbag. Ali reveals his infidelity to Dana after finding her dad’s love letters to his mistress on a floppy disk labelled as Ali’s schoolwork. Their reactions then become the focal point of the movie.
The last time Coldplay came to Toronto, I said I felt like I was in paradise. I don’t want to exaggerate, but the band came close to recreating that experience this week at the Rogers Centre.
First of all, it really comes down to where you sit. The Rogers Centre is huge, so it’s worth the extra investment in really good seats. This time I sat in the 200 level on the side of the stage and it was great. If it’s a pop concert with lots of detailed set design and costumes, it would be even more important.
My first Coldplay concert was also special because I had never seen an artist use lit up wristbands to connect the audience. Their team deserves a lot of credit for pioneering this. This time, they took their lighting to the next level by syncing their show with the CN Tower’s lighting system! That was truly magical and unique.
Photo Source: @SousatzkaTO
Sousatzka captivates you as it takes you on an adventure from South Africa and Poland to England. It focuses on the story of a child protégé, Themba, and his piano teacher, Madame Sousatzka.
After his activist father gets arrested in South Africa, Themba and his mother escape and move to London. Once they are introduced to Madame Sousatzka, their families and friends meet, and they begin to exchange stories of struggle and survival.
