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Showing posts from October, 2010

Dealer's Choice at Bedlam Theatre

(originally published in The Student)      Two waiters and a cook are drinking their boss' stolen wine in the kitchen of a London restaurant and swapping poker tips and stories. One, Mugsy, leaps onto a chair to recount the heart-wrending tale of when he last lost a game. The other waiter sniffs and says simply-“Play the man, not the cards.”      These words resound throughout Patrick Marber's blisteringly funny play about a simple night of cards after work. A standing tradition for the owner and his staff, the night turns sour when debts are called in and we're asked if money and mates can mix.      One half of us sits behind Sweeney's kitchen counters while the other watches from the front face of the restaurant, meaning we can see Dealers Choiuce from every angle. Come the second half, we encircle the poker table along with the boys from the restaurant. We laugh along with them, and watch for a tell in the poker face opposite us.      This second half was the best

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

     When thrown head-first into the comic-book world of Bryan O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim, it's natural to feel a little apprehensive. Are those graphics going to come up for every sound effect? Is Pilgrim (Michael Cera) ever going to grown a backbone ? But then a certain charm kicks in, whether it's through Pilgrim's horribly funny one-liners, the dialogue between his bandmates, or a particular brand of magic realism which allows the first of seven evil exes to propose a duel to the death via email.      What ensues is a simple story of boy-meets-girl, boy makes a fool of himself but still convinces girl to come see his awful band play, and subsequently has to defeat her seven evil exes in Arcade fight scenes that would put the makers of Pokemon to shame.      It's rare to find an indie film with such great special effects, let alone one which speaks in precisely the same language as its target audience. By the time we're done watching Pilgrim and Ramona Flow