If you're seeking the weather, the news or a pic of what your buddy had for lunch, there are apps for that. What about an original, Hollywood-calibre ghost story from a producer of The Ring and Mulholland Drive? Now, there's an app for that, too. Haunting Melissa ventures into the burgeoning realm of digital storytelling as a traditional ghost story with a modern twist -- namely a tale that unfolds through an iOS app.
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FILM REVIEW: Star Trek Into Darkness
Categories: Movies
Future Star Wars director J.J. Abrams beams back into the world of Star Trek with the sequel Into Darkness. The new journey offers a mix of the fun and the familiar, anchored by the warm relationships of the classic characters.
Ricky Gervais brings back David Brent, Arnold Schwarzenegger is pumped and Sarah Silverman says 'This better be funny' as comedians line up to take part in YouTube Comedy Week. The online event, running May 19-25, features both stars and emerging talent and is just the start of YouTube's plan to grab eyeballs.
FILM REVIEW: Blackbird
Categories: Movies
Tags: Alexia Fast, Blackbird, bullying, Connor Jessup, Jason Buxton
The bullying drama Blackbird made waves upon its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. Exploring bullies, teen killers and a young man caught in a cycle of fear and isolation, Jason Buxton has made a powerful, surprising film, says Eli Glasner.
Yo dawg! Original Idol judge Randy jumps ship
Categories: Music, Television
Amid American Idol's plummeting ratings and rumours of a massive revamp for the one-time TV ratings giant, O.G. judge Randy Jackson has announced he's taking his leave from the televised singing contest.
Lip-sync battle: Fallon vs. Krasinski
Categories: Television
Jimmy Fallon channels Melissa Manchester, while John Krasinski covers Katy Perry as the two funny men turn lip-syncing into a piece of hilarity.
Julie Payette on Hollywood's space stories
Categories: Movies
Tags: Apollo 13, astronaut, Julie Payette, space movies, TIFF Lightbox
When Hollywood sends gritty miners to alien planets or blue collar oil-rig workers into space, it doesn't bother Julie Payette. "It's when the laws of physics are completely broken... then I'm a bit of a critic," laughed the Canadian astronaut, who is in Toronto to watch and discuss the film Apollo 13 at TIFF Lightbox.
From a clean-cut Superman to a dark and brooding Batman, it seems that each generation gets a cinematic superhero reflecting the era. Now that a pompous billionaire playboy-turned-saviour is busting box office records in Iron Man 3, Eli Glasner ponders what this says about us today.
A new generation of Russian filmmakers turned up at Toronto's Hot Docs festival this year. They grew up in the years of the collapse of the Soviet Union, and they focus on the personal stories of a society in flux -- from the protestors on the streets of Moscow to the down and not-quite-outs of Kiev.
FILM REVIEW: Iron Man 3
Categories: Movies
What do you do after saving the world? That's the question posed in Iron Man 3, the newest superhero instalment following the blockbuster crossover The Avengers. Eli Glasner takes a look at the new film and the power boost it gets from a caustic new director.
The return of Harmony Korine
Categories: Movies
Tags: Harmony Korine, pop culture, Spring Breakers, Twitter
After two decades of provocative, edgy creations that left him on mainstream culture's sidelines, filmmaker Harmony Korine's distinctive language -- short bursts of imagery, fragmented narrative and repetition, as seen in his latest film Spring Breakers -- seems to be resonating with the Twitter generation.
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CBC's arts and entertainment reporters give you an insiders' view of arts and popular culture in "The Buzz". We connect readers to the hottest viral videos, music, people and trends.
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Archives »
- 2013 (68)
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May (10)
- Horror tale Haunting Melissa targets app audiences
- FILM REVIEW: Star Trek Into Darkness
- Ricky Gervais resurrects David Brent for YouTube Comedy Week
- FILM REVIEW: Blackbird
- Yo dawg! Original Idol judge Randy jumps ship
- Lip-sync battle: Fallon vs. Krasinski
- Julie Payette on Hollywood's space stories
- Iron Man: a hero for our times?
- Hot Docs explores New Wave in Russian documentary
- FILM REVIEW: Iron Man 3
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April (17)
- The return of Harmony Korine
- Michael Bublé gives surprise gig in NY subway
- Hot Docs: Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, High Five: An Adoption Saga
- Snoop Lion's Reincarnated wins over a skeptic
- At Coachella with Divine Fits' Dan Boeckner
- Can hip hop be a sustainable career for Canadian rappers?
- FILM REVIEW: Oblivion
- FILM REVIEW: My Awkward Sexual Adventure
- Buzz-worthy trailer for Man of Steel
- Hunger Games fans get a taste of Catching Fire
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March (16)
- FILM REVIEW: Emperor
- FILM REVIEW: G.I. Joe: Retaliation
- Canadian bands provide the warmth as CMW ends
- Jim Carrey skewers gun lobby with Cold Dead Hand
- Canadian Music Week: The unpretentious, the unenchanting and the unforgettable
- FILM REVIEW: The Croods
- Jay Leno's job on the line as late night TV wars resume
- Sam Roberts, Sarah Slean in NY Sandy fundraiser
- Justin Timberlake returns too late, the thrill is gone
- Selena Gomez's misstep on the Bieber file
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February (9)
- Canada's Stella Sisters sing a birthday tribute to the Man in Black
- Oscar swag the ultimate consolation prize
- Oscar predictions: the shoo-ins and the should-have-beens
- Authors bare all for PEN Canada
- Anoushka Shankar and the One Billion Rising campaign
- Beyoncé's Life Is But a Dream a curated peek behind the curtain
- Drake gets wild in the street over Grammy win
- 25 billion songs downloaded on iTunes, and counting
- CBC Music's Searchlight seeks best new artist
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January (16)
- 6 bone-crushing football films
- FILM REVIEW: Warm Bodies
- Justin Timberlake's musical comeback
- Argo moves to the fore in Oscar best picture race
- FILM REVIEW: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
- FILM REVIEW: Knife Fight
- FILM REVIEW: Parker
- Kroll Show parodies Degrassi with "Wheels, Ontario"
- FILM REVIEW: The Last Stand
- FILM REVIEW: Gangster Squad
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