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Normally, by the final week of the Fantasia Film Festival, I am trying to catch up on everything that I have missed in a long marathon run of the festival. Sadly, with work and the real world being a demise to my film viewings, I only got around to seeing two viewings. These are probably the two biggest Hollywood fare films that the festival offered up this year.

Atomic Blonde

Let's cut to the chase, Atomic Blonde has to be one of my favourite action films in a while, with a stylishly cool soundtrack of European synthpop hits. This is no surprise, as the film comes from director David Leitch, who was part of the directing team behind John Whick. Right away, I am going to have the John Wick 2 and Baby Driver soundtrack fans coming after me. The film stars Charlize Theron as a spy agent sent to Berlin Germany, against the backdrop of the East and the West divide, in order to retrieve information that left an agent dead. Her only contact is portrayed by James McAvoy, part of the British spy team stationed in Berlin. I could not get enough on how this action film was sleek, stylish, and had great performances, all set to a killer soundtrack—I saw it twice in one week. 

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, from director Luc Besson, has to be the richest CGI visual film seen on the big screen in a while, truly ambitious as the world that Besson has been tasked to recreate. Based on the French bande dessinée of the same name, we follow Valerian (Dane DeHann) and his partner Laureline (Cara Delevigne) as they undertake missions in means to restore order to an ever-expanding universe. As with anything, expanding the universe could mean wiping out another one, henceforth the strong colonialism overtones as seen in other science fiction films like Avatar. The world that Besson has created is extraordinary rich with characters, and the colour palette that demands to be seen on the big screen. 

As for this year’s dive into the film festival, I wish that I could have seen more, especially with the Fantasia audience that cheers on these films. The big highlights for me this year were the great films to come out of the documentary section, which is where I spent most of my viewing time. Another big highlight for me was seeing Terminator 2: Judgement Day for the first time ever, alongside of the Fantasia audience members. There are going to be some small and big roll outs of the festival in the coming months hitting theatres, that I hope to catch up with. In closing, thank you to the CJLO 1690 AM team for sending me to the festival again this year, and to the great staff at the Fantasia Film Festival that recommended movies. 

Remi's Fantasia 2017 full selection list 

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Hosted by Patricia Petit Liang

Stories by Karl Knox and  Patricia Petit Liang

Produced by Patricia Petit Liang

Montreal’s own Lakes of Canada have been on a bit of a hiatus lately. After months on the road, Jake, Conor, Sarah and Caleb have been in the realm of the musician’s existence that privileges long days in the studio over long nights playing to noisy rooms. Luckily for us though, an offer to play a slot at the opening party of one of their favourite festivals coaxed them out of seclusion. 

Looking forward to the show, three of the band’s four members sat down on a sunny terrace in Mile-Ex to tell me a bit about what they’ve been working on, making ends meet as an artist, and climate change. We also talked about how to prepare artichokes, why women should rule the world, and even gave their bassist a new nickname. 

Jake, Caleb and I got things started with a round of cherry sours and an quick culinary lesson on the mysterious artichoke. Apparently a man of many talents, Jake explains that you simply steam them whole, dip the leaves individually in butter, and are rewarded by the succulent heart. Brilliant in its simplicity. Thank you, Jake. 

Shortly after, Conor arrived and then we got down to business. Right off the bat the guys were discussing a new (and for the time being, secret) deal with Netflix. It’s a project they got through a partnership with Third Side Music. The band has been supplementing their revenue through projects with the synchronization licensing & copyright administration company since last April, and it’s helped make music a viable full-time career. “The band has a lot more income than we’re used to,” Jake explains. “It’s the only way musicians are making money these days.” 

It’s a pretty straightforward process that provides musicians with projects, so they can benefit from royalty cheques and keep thing afloat financially. As Conor puts it, “As long as were forced to live under capitalist restraints, money is something I’d like to have.” 

Not to say they don’t work hard for this; all multi-instrumental musicians, these guys take what they do seriously and are always looking to push the boundaries of what they can accomplish as a group. When asked how he ended up playing lead guitar line and a drum beat at the same time, Conor responds that when Jake asked if he could do it in rehearsal, he said, “I don’t know, I’ll try.” Long story short, he can and he does.

Caleb, the newest member of the group, is also a multi-instrumental talent, with a “puppy-dog” quality and a penchant for gas prices; the new bassist’s boyish charm lends a degree of levity to the group. The youngest member, he has already had an entertaining rotation of nicknames. From “new buddy” to “full-man puppy,” his latest moniker, inspired by a road trip pastime and an attempt to assert dominance, will remain known only to myself and the band. 

Returning to business, I asked about whether they pursued providing the music for the hit series, The Handmaid’s Tale, a TV show based on the same Margaret Atwood novel from which their second album, Transgressions, draws inspiration. They explained that there were negotiations, but that ultimately the show’s creators wanted to go with all female musicians. It was a decision well respected by the band and that prompted Jake to go on a charming rant about how he can’t believe how women still don’t rule the world. 

He also said he loved the series, what he felt to be a solid adaptation of the book that had such a big impact on him. Speaking of how Atwood and other speculative-fiction writers are becoming increasingly relevant, Jake notes that “it’s crazy because we are closer to that reality than when I read it, let alone when she wrote it. It’s really terrifying.” Mentioning the #letsmargaretatwoodfictionagain hashtag, the guys all agreed that now is the time to take action. 

Which lead us to the topic of their new album: climate change. Although this album isn’t based on a specific work and draws its inspiration from a larger pool, Jake states that science and speculative fiction continues to inform his song writing. Noting Octavia E. Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin and others among his influences, the album is an attempt to confront the reality of our times and imagine an alternative future. 

Despite its looming inescapability, climate change is a notoriously tough topic to tackle creatively. It’s an ambitious task and the band has been working hard to bring their vision to life. Formally trained musicians with an appreciation for the narrative and storytelling capacity of songwriting and performance, this band clearly has lots to say and we can expect to continue seeing them come up with inventive ways to say it. Come hear what they’ve been working on this Thursday at Divan Orange, and get a taste of the dystopian instrumental panoply that only Lakes of Canada can create. 

01. Happy Hillside is a common greeting at the festival.

The thirty-fourth edition of Hillside Music Festival took place over the July 16th weekend. Taking place over three days in the scenic Guelph Island Lake, this edition of the festival holds up with the best acts and lives up to its history of over thirty years. The theme this year at Hillside was resistance.

It is through resistance that we can build stronger communities and stronger bonds. We must resist the lines of thinking that tell us to separate ourselves along gender or racial lines, or that tell us we’re too different to get along.

The artists leading the resistance charge were Leonard Sumner, prominent in the Idle No More movement, the long-time hero of the working man Billy Bragg, and closing the festival was the environmental warrior Xavier Rudd. Not to think that it was all politics: there were plenty of bands that got people up and dancing, like the Los Angeles band Les Cafeteras and bluegrass pickers Murder Murder. CJLO’s hometown of Montreal was represented by The Barr Brothers, The Franklin Electric, Lisa LeBlanc and Coeur de pirate.

02. Ron Hawkins of the Toronto band The Lowest of the Low belts out the tunes. Lawrence Nichols on harmonica.

03. Idle No More activist Leonard Sumner.

04. One crowded tent for the Hillside Bluegrass Jam featuring The Blurry Pickers and Murder Murder.

05. The Barr Brothers sharing at the microphone.

06. Jasmyn Burke of the Weaves.

07. A packed tent for Billy Bragg and friends during the “Stop, Hey, What’s That Sound” protest song workshop.

08. Members of Las Cafeterias putting on the moves during the Richie Valens classic blowout “La Bamba.”

09. John Matte of the Montreal band The Franklin Electric.

10. Halifax’s indie pop band Century Egg was one of the many pleasant surprises at the festival.

11. Francophone singer Klô Pelgag and her band.

12. Crowd surfing at a folk festival? Why not!

13. Billy Bragg and Joe Henry at the main stage.

14. One of many anonymous volunteers that make Hillside Festival possible.

15. Lisa LeBlanc having fun.

16. Murder Murder took no prisoners.

17. Returning to the festival, Canadian country singer Lindi Ortega.

18. Xavier Rudd closed out the festival with a stunning performance.

19. Coeur de pirate on the main stage Saturday night.

20. Closing blowout brought to you by Weaves.