Film guide

Beginners, 3 1/2 stars — (R, language, some sexual content) Mike Mills based his film, about a man whose father announces late in life that he is gay, on his own experience. But his direction is so creative, and the performances by Ewan McGregor, Melanie Laurent and Christopher Plummer so good, that's it's more effective than a straightforward telling could ever be. Focus Features. 105 minutes. Playing at Upstate Films Tinker Street Cinema, Woodstock. Cars 2, 2 stars — (G) The rare Pixar film that doesn't move the audience, this sequel puts Larry the Cable Guy's Mater front and center, as he travels with best pal Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) for a series of races and becomes involved in international espionage. Funny, but nothing more. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 116 minutes. Playing at Destinta 12 New Windsor; Regal Cinemas Galleria 16, Poughkeepsie; Regal Cinemas Fishkill 10; Regal Cinemas Hudson Valley Mall, Kingston; Lyceum Six, Red Hook; Roosevelt Cinemas, Hyde Park; New Paltz Cinemas; Moviehouse, Millerton; Showtime Cinemas, Newburgh; Hyde Park Drive-In. Transformers: Dark of the Moon — (PG-13, intense prolonged sequences of sci-fi action violence, mayhem and destruction, language , some sexuality and innuendo) The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets. Starring Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Tyrese Gibson. Directed by Michael Bay. Paramount Pictures. Starts Tuesday at midnight at Destinta 12 New Windsor; Regal Cinemas Galleria 16, Poughkeepsie; Regal Cinemas Fishkill 10; Regal Cinemas Hudson Valley Mall, Kingston; Lyceum Six, Red Hook; Roosevelt Cinemas, Hyde Park; New Paltz Cinemas; Showtime Cinemas, Newburgh. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, 2 stars — (PG, some mild rude humor, mischief) This film takes our intrepid wimpy hero through seventh grade — more struggles to be "popular," more efforts to make his unaffected, unpretentious and childish pal Rowley less of an embarrassment. As kids' entertainment, "Rodrick Rules" is harmless enough. But it's less broad than the first film and less funny. Starring Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, Robert Capron, Rachel Harris and Steve Zahn. Directed by David Bowers. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. 98 minutes. Playing at Silver Cinemas, South Hills Mall, Poughkeepsie. Kung Fu Panda 2, 3 stars — (PG, sequences of martial-arts action, mild violence) The roly-poly Dragon Warrior, fantastically voiced by Jack Black, is back to save China — and kung fu itself — from a nefarious peacock played by Gary Oldman. DreamWorks' computer-animated martial-arts spectacular packs plenty of punch. DreamWorks Animation. 90 minutes. Playing at Destinta 12 New Windsor; Regal Cinemas Galleria 16, Poughkeepsie; Regal Cinemas Hudson Valley Mall, Kingston; Showtime Cinemas, Newburgh. Mr. Popper's Penguins, 2 stars — (PG, mild rude humor and some language) Jim Carrey stars as the title character, a cold businessman who inherits penguins and begins to warm up to life. Director Mark Waters manages to wring some charm out of the film, and out of Carrey. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. 95 minutes. Playing at Destinta 12 New Windsor; Regal Cinemas Galleria 16, Poughkeepsie; Regal Cinemas Fishkill 10; Regal Cinemas Hudson Valley Mall, Kingston; Lyceum Six, Red Hook; Roosevelt Cinemas, Hyde Park; Showtime Cinemas, Newburgh. Rio, 3 stars — (G) This 3-D animated adventure from director Carlos Saldanha, who devised this story as a love letter to his Brazilian hometown, is strikingly gorgeous. Blu, a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, meets the fiercely independent Jewel and takes off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro with this bird of his dreams. Featuring the voices of Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Jamie Foxx, will.i.am and Tracy Morgan. 20th Century Fox. 96 minutes. Playing at Silver Cinemas, South Hills Mall, Poughkeepsie. Soul Surfer, 3 1/2 stars — (PG, an intense accident sequence, some thematic material) "Soul Surfer" is the best faith-based film ever made, an uplifting, entertaining and wonderfully acted account of surfer Bethany Hamilton's life before and after a shark bit her arm off in the waters off her favorite Hawaiian beach. Starring AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid and Carrie Underwood. Directed by Sean McNamara. TriStar Pictures. 104 minutes. Playing at Silver Cinemas, South Hills Mall, Poughkeepsie.

Graffiti in Toronto: A Jane's Walk - Gary Roberts

Jane’s Walk celebrates the ideas and legacy of urbanist Jane Jacobs by getting people out exploring their neighbourhoods and meeting their neighbours. Free walking tours held on the first weekend of May each year are led by locals who want to create a space for residents to talk about what matters to them in the places they live and work. Since its inception in Toronto in 2007, Jane’s Walk has expanded rapidly. In May of 2010, 424 walks were held in 68 cities in nine countries. ( www.janeswalk.net )

The walk we had chosen was named “Graffiti in Toronto”, guided by Jason Kucherawy of Toronto Urban Adventures and which took us on a tour of the grungy yet artistic underbelly of the city. The walk traversed a section of Queen Street West known as Graffiti Alley; a series of back street lane ways filled with garages, garbage bins, the back ends of stores, hidden doorways and litter-strewn parking spaces.

These alleyways are just one block south of a very busy and thriving Queen Street West and would surely go unnoticed if you didn’t know what to look for. If it weren’t for the graffiti, there’d really be no reason for anyone to venture down here. It’s an unpleasant and unsavory-looking stretch, and you don’t see the graffiti very much at all from such an oblique angle when looking down the length of the alleys.

It’s only by walking along this length that you get to see the amazing pieces of artwork sprayed on almost any available surface; from garage doors, cinder block walls, the back doors of stores, to the seedy exits (or maybe entrances!) of bars.

As we sauntered down the lane ways, we even came across a couple of graffiti artists in the middle of a piece-in-progress. It was certainly an eye-opening experience and, given the 100+ crowd of people following the tour guide, it felt like a very safe one, i.e. not something I’d like to do at night!

Here are some photos I took of some of the pieces we came across.

Hi Katie,

Jason here from Toronto Urban Adventures, the guy who led the tour. We are offering a tour like this (but even more in-depth) through Tour Guys, which is the company that runs Toronto Urban Adventures. Tour Guys is like the store and UA is our featured product.

Here is a link to the tour:

http://www.tourguys.ca/toronto-tours/graffiti-in-toronto-tour/

It’s not yet something we offer on a regular basis, but on demand. If you have a few people that want to do it, the cost is reasonable. It’s pricey for just one person to do it on their own though.

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