I’m a history buff and I’ll be the first to admit that if I could sit in on my grade 12 AP European History course again, every day of the week, I would. I’m also the grandchild and great grandchild of men who fought in the “war to end all wars” and the one that followed it. I lost family that I never came to know, on both sides of the fight, on the battlefields, in the air, and even in the blitz in London. November is always a time of reflection for me – about courage and struggles I probably will never be able to fathom.
As a first-generation Canadian, I also revere the people who helped shape our country. I feel pride when I hear their stories and read their words, which is why I’m really looking forward to seeing the film Passchendaele.
Passchedaele was a a series of messy, bloody, and heart-wrenching battles in WWI that saw over 500,000 casualties on either side. Canada entered WWI as a part of the British Empire, and from 1914-1918 we shipped off nearly 600,000 men and women even though at the time our entire country’s population was a budding 7 million. 241,000 Canadians were killed or wounded. [Canada in WWI]
With so many people still fighting all over the world, and also with so many Canadians losing sight of their nation’s history and dedication to the global cause, I think films like this are a ‘must-see’.
“[Writer-Director Paul Gross] examines the identity of Canada as a freshly independent nation struggling to shuck the shabby cloak of colonialism.” [Canoe]
It portrays one man’s a story – one sliver of time – and although I’ve simply based this on the trailer and other buzz, I’m hearing great things about it after it premiered at the TIFF.
I’m not a huge war movie person (John loves civil war epics) but this may be our next date movie (cause there also seems to be a lot of smooching). I’ll report back with a review here, whether it’s an epic war film or simply a tear-jerky mushy love story… or both.
November 28th has officially been declared, by Mayor Sam Sullivan, to be “AC/DC Day in Vancouver.”
They recorded their latest album Black Ice over at the Warehouse Studio (where I first tasted Keira’s chocolate ganache with raspberry coulis) and have a strong history of producing other parts of their discography in Vancouver such as The Razors Edge and Stiff Upper Lip.
AC/DC Day was one of several proclamations that the CFOX morning show has been trying to get Mayor Sullivan to endorse over the years. I find it a little amusing that an article in The Province states, “The only one discussed on air was the March 14 Steak and Beach Day suggestion, a Valentine’s Day-type celebration for guys that was met with a firm no. Sullivan says some of the other suggestions were worse.” The word “Beach” in this case should actually be “BJ” but sounded out like “beedje” (intended for a more mature audience).
The article makes up for it later however by offering up some cool history tidbits about the studios, “‘[Warehouse Studio] was an original location of city hall. “It was a property owned by Mr. Israel Powell, who Powell Street is named after, and was the city hall beginning in 1897 for a few years.'”
The legendary Aussie rockers will be playing for a sold-out GM Place on the evening of November 28th, after the proclamation is made at city hall earlier that day.
Here’s a question though (sans poll box)… If you could declare a “day†for any recording artist in Vancouver, who would you choose to honor?
On the fourth of July I usually write a post on my site paying tribute to our neighbours to the south, across the largest unguarded border in the world [2006] [2008]. However, my involvement with the country is rooted far deeper than notes I have jotted in cyber-space annually.
During some of the highest and lowest parts of my life, America was my home. It took me in, gave me a job, found me an adorable house in Cambridge, and fed me Dunkin Donuts coffee daily. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
As I’m heading out to the Canucks game and will not be following all the election night action on Twitter, here’s a super handy-dandy Google map to keep track of the results as they flow in from sea to sea.
I also published a slightly different version of this interview over on E!Online
This fall the Hanson Brothers will take to the ice in the 3rd movie in the Slap Shot series: Slap Shot 3: The Junior League. The film was shot around Metro Vancouver and features comedy and hockey legends along with a promising young cast.
Vancouver-area actor Hunter Elliott has been in the film and television industry since he was 11 years old, “this is my biggest release so far, and I’m pretty excited.”
Elliott stars in Slap Shot 3 along with Ryan McDonell who also started his career in Vancouver and has recent Battlestar Galactica credits. To go from floating in space to shooting at the rink in South Surrey was pretty surreal, albeit an “amazing experience”.
When Elliott got the call about being cast in the film, he was “through the roof with excitement,” noting that it was one of the best days of his life, knowing he’d be a part of this franchise. “I pretty much grew up on Slap Shot, my dad played hockey in high school and got a scholarship for Brock University for goal tending so I have a pretty intense hockey background.”
Elliott and McDonell were paired up with veterans such as Leslie Neilsen. “When he comes on screen he’s got such character to him and it’s really – he’s an hysterical man,” commented McDonell who also praised Lynda Boyd, who plays his mother in the film.
Slap Shot 3 also sees roles and cameos from hockey stars such as Doug Gilmour, who McDonell admits was one of his childhood icon, “sitting behind a bench and watching them do the scenes was pretty surreal.”
Both needed to touch up on their hockey skills for the part and as Elliott stated, “When you have such motivation you work so hard at it, it’s not just a movie for me – I learned so much aside from learning how to skate – about the emotion of hockey – it was incredible.”
When asked, they both agreed that Slap Shot is “the only true hockey movie,” and McDonell added, “It’s this version of 70s hockey where there was this whole element of the fighting and the grittiness of it.” However, as this latest version is a family movie, “hopefully we get some more kids signing up to play hockey in Canada out of it too.”
Slap Shot 3 will be available on DVD November 25th …and for the record, they are also both Vancouver Canucks fans.
I also published a slightly different version of this interview over on E!Online
Slap Shot 3 also sees roles and cameos from hockey stars such as Doug Gilmour, who McDonell admits was one of his childhood icon, “sitting behind a bench and watching them do the scenes was pretty surreal.”