The Gunman is a lot like the horrible mustache Sean Penn wears for the first 20 minutes of the movie: thin, wispy and unsuited to his face. If the Michael Bay-type, war horn sounds in the trailer weren’t enough warning of the tackiness of Pierre Morel’s latest feature, here’s my extended cautionary notice.

Penn plays John Terrier, a former U.S. marine who abandons his girlfriend Annie – Jasmine Trinca – and falls off the grid after his commander, Felix – Javier Bardem – designates him to perform the assassination of Congo’s minister of mines, as part of a company’s scheme to get mining contracts in the country. When he returns eight years later, he becomes the target of a hit squad. He must find out which of his former superiors wants him dead and why. Continue reading →

I still remember the first time I met Brooke Walsh. He was looking over the crowd on the dance floor of the Belmont. The place was packed, and there he was, a bearded redheaded man standing 6’7” tall, wearing his iconic cap and square glasses. He didn’t look like a bouncer, but you instinctively knew you didn’t want to mess with him. He simply had one of those auras that command respect. Our only interaction that night, and for a while after, was when he politely but firmly excused himself, as he shuffled past me through a mass of people. He looked busy.

Three years later, I know the Belmont’s manager is always busy. As he says, “When you rest, you rust.” Although if you put a drink in his hand, and get him to sit down with you in the club’s basement, he loves to tell his crazy stories. “You keep me going and I won’t shut up,” he jokes. So I asked him to tell me how he ended up where he is. Continue reading →

Marc-Andre Bizier, 58 y/o, telecommunication towers building supervisor: F – female / E – elaborate / M – mind / I – intelligence / N – needs / I – investigation / S – social / M – mastery.

Karim Bellal, 28 y/o, assistant manager at Mochico: I think feminists want to be treated equally to men, so maybe they strive to assume a manlier identity, because they think if their attitude is the same, they will be treated as men.

Veronique Renaud, 42 y/o, web strategist: Feminists want to assume their female qualities and be free to be themselves. They have a responsibility to denounce gender inequality whenever they meet it. I don’t think a feminist would ever look the other way if they witnessed injustice; the only way for them to trigger change is to take a stand and protest. Continue reading →

You might know Russell Brand as a standup comedian, an actor or Katy Perry’s ex-husband. You might know him by his eccentric haircut, his effervescent and loquacious demeanor, or even as that guy who looks like Jesus — I think he does it on purpose. There are a million reasons why the man is famous and most of them are controversial. Most recently, his series of YouTube videos The Trews, in which he denounces the agenda of multi-national corporations and news organizations, brought him renewed attention from the media. Notably, this started a feud between Brand and some prominent news outlets such as the Daily Mail and Fox News.

The infamous misbehaviour of Brand’s past are used at every turn to undermine his credibility as an activist. Perhaps his new book Revolution was just the right way to let the public see his side of the story. If you’ve read his previous work, My Booky Wook and My Booky Wook 2, you may already understand the endearing characteristic to Brand’s point of view. You are also probably wondering how on earth he’d be qualified to organize a revolution. Well, he isn’t. What he has is a talent for change. As he says, “Whilst it’s clear that on an individual, communal, and global level that radical change is necessary, I feel a powerful, transcendent optimism. I know change is possible, I know there is an alternative, because I live a completely different life from the one I was born with.” Continue reading →