Everything Everywhere All At Once
If you haven’t seen this film, don’t wait because it’s one of the best of 2022. Into the multiverse we go, full of hot dog fingers, googly eyes, and bagels! Don’t worry if you have no idea what I am talking about, you will once you see the movie.
Evelyn Wang (played by the phenomenal Michelle Yeoh) is a struggling laundromat owner who zigzags through life in a blur and is holding onto her family by a thread. When an interdimensional rupture unravels reality, Evelyn is launched into universes where she gets to explore other life paths never taken and channels a surprisingly fierce set of superpowers to save the world.
It’s truly bizarre in the most beautiful and creative way, and that is thanks to film-makers, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. Kudos to them for casting Ke Huy Quan, the beloved character "Short Round" in Indiana Jones, who is refreshingly brilliant in his role as Waymond, Evelyn’s husband.
There’s tons of martial arts action, wacky comedy, squirmy moments of grotesque proportions and gut-wrenching emotions. Every little nuance of life that we may not acknowledge has a place here, it’s twisted and if you’ve had any type of existential crisis, empathy weaves in and out at the most unexpected times.
So many messages to take away, so much laundry to probably put away and lives to reconnect with, as there is truly an unlikely hero in all of us.
Aaron Poole is the heart of the movie, playing Leo, the acting teacher who wants to get the creative juices flowing again (and as we see, maybe get him out of his eternal funk) from his students by embarking on a zany experimental exercise entitled The Animal Project, where they would go about a day in their lives with a chosen animal costume and see how they interact with others and the reactions back.
Egos are going to fly and you’re bound to get to know everyone’s deepest wounds and what makes them tick fairly quickly, some in a very aggressive way, others, rather subtly. We also see Leo’s vulnerabilities come through slowly and then we begin to explore the other performers in the group and their stories. It hits different levels of chaos, some that people can thrive in, and others that people drown in. Every character feels like it needs to be wrapped up in a warm hug and that is translated so well on-screen.
This film has an indie-vibe of coolness and plenty of raw emotional scenes. The characters are endearing and as you get more invested into the stories, you are rooting for them every step of the way.
All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records
Do you remember the first record you bought? There is something surreal about picking up an artsy record sleeve from your favourite artist that will never replace just clicking the download button on Itunes. Sometimes it is about the simple things that bring us the most pleasure.
Directed by Colin Hanks, this documentary on Tower Records was fascinating! It had a really in-depth look into the history of Tower Records, where founder Russ Solomon spent many days and nights building quite the empire. A wee on the eccentric side, but what a creative soul with such a genuine heart. There are some pretty choked up moments throughout as staff reminisce about their crazy years working at Tower Records.
Like many things in life, nothing lasts forever, but if you’re wanting to be taken on a nostalgic ride from the 1960’s all the way to 2006’s, check out this film and then get head to your local record shop!
💜Highly recommend stopping by to see the funky vintage wizard himself, Scott Woodall from Vintage & Vinyl, located in Lasalle and Amherstburg! Check out their Facebook pages below.
