Until she suffered her first career loss in mid-November, Rowdy Ronda Rousey was considered invincible, at least to herself. The female side of pro UFC fighting was built on Rousey, an Olympic medallist in judo, and fighting machine. I can’t relate to her mindset or her ambitions but her autobiography, Rousey, is as compelling as any I’ve ever read. …
Derek got me the entire WKRP in Cincinnati DVD collection for my birthday and we’ve been watching a couple of episodes at a time, when we can. …
During my recent downtime, I watched a bunch of documentaries. They covered a wide range of subjects, from the important role casting directors play in movies (unless you believe director Taylor Hackford, who thinks they’re overrated) to several about the histories of legendary rock bands. Â …
We’re a fortunate bunch, we TV viewers of today. We don’t have to suffer through endless summer reruns anymore. We can actually discover excellent new series and enjoy them when it rains or it’s too cool or buggy to be outside. …
I’m not a big concert-goer anymore. But when Def Leppard announced a Canadian tour, well, it was high time I saw them perform live. …
A few weeks before Hillary Clinton officially declared her intention to run for US President, I picked up her 2003 memoir, Living History, in a used book store. It takes us through her life until she was elected Senator for New York. …
Let’s fix this once and for all: it’s pronounced te-KAY not te-KIE. Thank you. …
Celebrities are just people who got good at what they do and became known for it. Or they’re Kardashians. But social media has given us a chance to connect with them and them with us. Â …
Hollywood as a whole expected Jennifer Aniston to get an Academy Award nomination for her starring role in the movie Cake. Unfortunately, she was passed over. Her character, Claire, is suffering from chronic pain and in a support group where she’s the only one who’s not all sunshine and sweetness. She hurts and she’s wearing her anger about it on the outside. …
I don’t know what I expected. American Sniper is the true story of Chris Kyle, the US Navy Seal credited as the most lethal sniper in American military history. It stars Bradley Cooper and it’s the first film made by his own production company, directed by Clint Eastwood. Despite the title and my familiarity with the real-life story, I don’t think I was prepared for so much… snipering. I agree, this admission is a little like coming out of 101 Dalmations and complaining that the movie had too many dogs. …
The only disappointing thing about this behind-the-scenes memoir about the making of The Princess Bride is that I’ve finished reading it. …
Yesterday I told you what I went through to watch The Interview, which, by the way, came to almost 30 Canadian theatres last weekend. But London isn’t one of the cities where it’s showing. Theatre owners here said to Sony, hey, when you pulled the movie out of theatres a couple of weeks ago we had to replace it with something. So we’re busy – go away! …
Amy Poehler is a funny woman. She was a delight on Saturday Night Live, delicious as host of the Golden Globes and enjoyable on Parks and Recreation, a show I never got into in a big way. …
Like millions of other Canadian kids, I grew up thinking Heart was a Canadian band, fronted by two wildly talented Canadian sisters. Â …
There are two ways to watch a spot of entertainment. You can fold your arms and sit back with expectations that may or may not be met, or you can go along for the ride and see what it brings you. …
The plotlines and details from the debut novel by screenwriter Terry Hayes are going to stay with me for the rest of my life. And I hope it’s the start of a series featuring Pilgrim, the codename for a man who doesn’t exist, a reluctant but brilliant secret agent who is sent out to save the world. …
Every year, The Grand Theatre in London devotes its stage to a production put on by the best the city’s high schools have to offer. The result is as professional, and as well-attended, as any of the other shows at The Grand. It’s been a launching pad for many professional careers because these kids, who audition and rehearse just like any other performers, are the cream of the crop from local performing arts courses. …
I hadn’t planned to read Robyn Doolittle’s book about the Mayor of Toronto unless I borrowed it or got it for free. However, I encountered an unread hardcover at a garage sale a couple of weeks ago and figured .50 wasn’t too far off the mark. …