Let’s get something straight: I don’t love Barenaked Ladies but this is an album I fully support. In that context, I present to you the following.

Barenaked Ladies got a lot of press over the past year and a bit, and most of it was not positive. Long seen as a pretty wholesome and friendly band—much like that goofy uncle of yours—Barenaked Ladies were dealt a nearly crippling blow when their co-frontman Steven Page was busted for drug possession, and hard drugs at that. It was a bombshell that sent the band into a complete tailspin. Pun intended, because shortly after the drug bust, it was the other frontman, Ed Robertson, who was making headlines. This time it was after he survived crashing his plane in Northern Ontario.

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Someone I was talking to last week predicted that LOST would end with a twist. The twist would be that there was going to be another season. How I wish that were true! With only two episodes remaining before the 2-hour 2.5-hour season finale, I feel like we’re wringing our hands in desperation, wondering what to do next, once our beloved television program ends. I think maybe we’ll join a cult.

But in all seriousness, LOST has become more than a mere television show for those who have remained faithful through all six seasons. It’s become this wild journey, this all-consuming mystery—it’s taken on a life of its own. I remember sitting on the bed with Maria, my wife (then girlfriend), in her dank basement apartment—student housing!—in Waterloo going through the first season of LOST on DVD. She was sick that weekend and we had nothing to do so we watched LOST, which we heard from friends was good. The apartment was later gutted after being plagued by plumbing and mold problems and I did develop a significant mold allergy later that year but was it worth it? I’ll leave that to you to decide.

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I really didn’t expect a lot from Bobby. After all, it was written and directed by Emilio Estevez. Yes, that Emilio Estevez—the guy who played Coach Gordon in the highly-acclaimed Mighty Ducks series (tongue firmly planted in cheek). Really. So you can see why I didn’t go into this film expecting a whole lot, but Maria assured me that it was good and, as it turns out like in most all things, she was right.

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Over the weekend I had a man date with my friend Jason. Like all manly men do when they get together, we decided to watch a scary movie. We picked Paranormal Activity a movie we both wanted to see but hadn’t got around to yet because, in both our cases, we didn’t have anyone to watch it with—and this isn’t the kind of movie you want to watch alone!

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Alright, so for the sake of full disclosure Wes Anderson is probably my favourite writer/director working in Hollywood today. The others, because I know you were wondering, are M. Night Shyamalan and the Coen Brothers. That said, I’m reviewing The Fantastic Mr. Fox from a particular perspective, whether that’s a good or bad thing from Mr. Anderson in the end, you’ll have to read and find out.

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LOST has always been about balance. Whether it’s a balance between good and evil, a balance between two leaders—John Locke and Jack—or a balance between the Survivors and the Others, it’s always been about balance. This week’s “Everybody Loves Hugo” seems to be striking a balance in a new way.

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The Stoning of Soraya M. is a movie akin to The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson’s 2004 magnum opus in more than one way. Like The Passion of the Christ, we know from the start that our main character, Soraya M., is going to be killed. We’re told this from the very start. Like The Passion, this movie is also unflinchingly graphic in its portrayal of the violence demonstrated against its main character. And like The Passion of the Christ, The Stoning of Soraya M. too gives us a heroic, messiah-like character who dies a seemingly unjust death at the hands of the law. The result, too, is not unlike Gibson’s film. The Stoning of Soraya M. will leave you breathless, in tears, and quite possibly traumatized for days.

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