ARTS

Animesque: Nature versus nurture

In Princess Mononoke, an outcast prince afflicted with a deadly demonic disease falls in love with a forest-dwelling woman who was raised by wolves, after watching her suck the poison out of her adoptive mother’s gunshot wound. I’ll grant young Ashitaka’s attracted to a very peculiar type of woman, but if that doesn’t spell romance, what does?

ARTS

Chairman of the Board: Is it a duck?

It was only a matter of time before I reviewed a game that required drawing. Telestrations is a party game for four to eight players published by USAopoly in 2009. Each player is assigned a word, which they write on a white board. The board is then passed to the player beside them, who interprets that word in a drawing. Play continues until the boards reach their original players and they see what kind of monstrosity has been created.

ARTS

Chikara: Pro Wrestling meets Power Rangers

It’s the main event, and the crowd is almost silent in anticipation. At ringside, staff members finish putting together the steel cage, a stage that has only been used once before in Chikara’s history. This is the battle of the ages, a deciding bout in a war that has claimed many of their favourites. Dark, thunderous music hits, and a chorus of boos and angry yells echo through the hall.

ARTS

Ghosts of Oscars past

As the 87th Academy Awards draw near, there will be plenty of speculation on which film will win the coveted title of Best Picture. However, since the awards (and Neil Patrick Harris) won’t air until February 22, it allows for plenty of time to revisit some of the great films that have won the title at Oscars past.

ARTS

Comic Corner: Two is better than one!

Narrative-wise, Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon is a revelation. This book is funny, compelling, and thoroughly engaging. I loved the characters and the entire mood of the graphic novel, which is somewhere between dark comedy and unexpected drama. The only thing that threw me off was the art style, which I think is too simplistic for the complexity of the plot.