Film | by Shane “I Like To Prowl The Aisles” Hnetka
Another Super Bowl has come and gone but you can still watch the most important part of the event — the movie commercials — online. The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 preview was pretty enjoyable, as were the spots for A Cure For Wellness, Logan and Life. Heck, even Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales looks kind of interesting. But what’s with all the Johnny Cash songs in movie trailers right now?
Bond Songs
I love James Bond. I’ve read all the books and watched and re-watched all the movies. They’re awesome. When Bond first made it to the big screen more than 50 years ago, he changed spy movies forever, adding action, humour and opulence to the mix and inspiring countless knock-offs and homages.
One of the series’ signatures is of course the Bond song. On top of the iconic orchestral soundtrack, each of 24 films plays a song over the opening credits.
Now, the Regina Symphony Orchestra is going to perform some of that music as part of the Shumiatcher Pops Concert Series.
Wheee!
Fifty Years of Bond… James Bond goes Saturday, Feb. 18 at 8:00 PM at the Conexus Arts Centre with Gordon Gerrard conducting and Broadway singer Paul Nolan providing the vocals along with Kristen Peace. There are a lot of songs they can choose from: “Diamonds Are Forever”, “Skyfall” and “Nobody Does It Better” are three of the best. Like a lot of people, I saw Paul McCartney perform “Live and Let Die” in 2013, so that’s hard to top. It will still be amazing to see the rest performed live, with a full orchestra.
No More HMV
The stupid world has moved beyond the need for physical copies of music and movies but there are still some of us who prefer owning them. I like the idea of my personal movie library that includes stuff I can’t easily find on streaming or downloading services. I’ve tried to buy locally and avoided shopping online, but now that’s become even harder. One of the last places in Regina that carried stuff like the Criterion Collection, Shout Factory and Arrow Films is closing their doors as of April 30.
HMV has been struggling for a while so this isn’t a surprise but it still sucks to lose the chain. Fans of music who collect vinyl or CDs in Regina still have few choices like Vintage Vinyl, X-Ray Records and Bach and Beyond, but for movies, well, I guess I’m going to have to become an online order guy. My days of just walking into a store and randomly picking up a cool-looking foreign film that I haven’t heard of are over.
I’ll miss them.
Shane Hnetka is a made-in-Saskatchewan film and comic book nerd.
