Battle of the Year, Canadian Edition + Off Centre News

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

EDIT: Oops, forgot to post the Off Centre news...

Just a head's up for all you breakdance fans, the Canadian Finals for the Battle of the Year will be happening this Saturday, August 23rd, in Toronto.

Battle of the Year (http://www.battleoftheyear.de/) is the big breakdance competition featured in Planet BBoy and this is the first time in recent history that Canada has sent it's own crew to represent the nation in the breakdancing world.

Unfortunately, I can't make it 'cuz I'm going to be away this weekend, but hopefully you can, and should! It promises to be an exciting night.

Elsewhere, friend (and sensei) Erik Laar was interviewed by USG Magazine, talking about the Off Centre DJ School and waxing poetic about the art of djing and the philosophy behind the school.

Incidentally, the schedule for dj lessons this fall is posted on the site, www.offcentredj.com. If you ever fancied yourself learning how to work the wheels of steel, be sure to give us a call. :)

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1 Black Mana, Tap: Become re-addicted to Magic

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

Yup, it shames me to say that I've somehow managed to fall headlong back into the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering.

This is still a relatively recent change - I'm only 4 days into my slide - so there is no telling how long it will last. Indeed, there are signs - weak and ineffectual signs, but signs none the less - that I'm already starting to wrest control of the reigns and exert some kind of restraint on myself. However, my goal of buying a single pre-constructed deck and tweaking it a bit ended up turning into 2 pre-con decks and a booster pack. And I bought another booster pack today at lunch. :( This does not bode well.

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Film Fest 2007, Part 4

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

Awesome, two train rides home in a few weeks and I was able to finish off my reviews!

On deck, we have French cyberpunk noir martial arts action, a cute British film from the makers of Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Chrysalis
North American Premiere
3.5 out of 5

This visually sharp, cyber punk-ish cop movie strives for much and mostly achieves it, thanks to an interesting story, good looking cast and some tight fight choreography. I did say "mostly" though.

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Film Fest 2007, Part 3

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

I think next year I'm going to write my reviews of my Film Fest flicks *immediately* after seeing them and I'm going to make them shorter. I'm finding that I'm going on a little too long in my writing for these reviews, because I'm trying to either remember the details or cover up the fact that I don't remember by writing with really verbose language. :P

Anyways, another trio of reviews, starting with an indie, first time Canadian director tackling fate and chance in India, the Film Fest's sole Kung Fu flick and a very cool docu-fiction about termites...

Amal
World Premiere
4.5 out of 5

A first time director, first time screen writer, first time producers, first time almost everything. Filming in another country far from "home" (though arguably the definition of home is a shifting and flexible animal). Plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong, and in many cases I found out later, they did. But through fate, the grace of God or sheer willpower, this beautiful little Canadian film, set in India, managed to get succeed, and gloriously so.

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Film Fest 2007, Part 2

Posted By: Shagz
Date:

So much for staying on top of my film fest reviews this year. :P Actually, I'm not ever sure why I even do these, I don't even know if anybody reads 'em. But I suppose I do them for the films themselves, and for the film festival. I enjoying going each year and seeing some amazing, challenging stuff and I want to make sure everybody hears about it.

So here's part 2, whether you care or not: an animated kids flick from Spain, a kick ass cg japanime, a stupid ghost thriller, and a heart warming look into the Philippians past.

Nocturna
North American Premiere
3.5 out of 5

So much of what we see these days in terms of animation comes from North America and Japan, so it's always a treat to see something from another country. Earlier in the film fest it was Persepolis from Iran via France, with a decidedly adult subject matter. Nocturna, from Spain, is much more kid friendly.

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