Arts

Blue Valentine
Directed by Derek Cianfrance
Distributed by
The Weinstein Company

Blue Valentine charts the course of a deteriorating marriage that begins as a beautifully raw love story. Cindy (Michelle Williams) and Dean’s (Ryan Gosling) whirlwind romance at a young age leads to pregnancy and a quick wedding that was to be the mark of their belief in love.

Margaret Cho seemed fixated on her own ass, and her notes, as she performed her stand-up comedy Jan. 22.

The popular Korean-American comedian joked to the audience about her tour, smoking weed and the evacuation of her bowels.

Her Ottawa show was originally scheduled for the fall, but it conflicted with Cho’s appearance on Dancing With the Stars.

For a middle-aged Australian dad in a navy blue pinstripe suit, funny jokes were unexpected. But in his humorous yet determined attempt to cure the king’s stammer, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) stole the show.

After a visit from the king-to-be’s wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), Logue accepts Prince Albert “Bertie,” Duke of York and soon-to-be George VI (Colin Firth) as his new patient. Logue enforces strict rules upon his clients and refuses to let the duke smoke during his session.

The crowd surged towards the stage as the members of Braids rang out the first chords of “Glass Deers.”

Mavericks was filled with indie fans Jan. 21 looking for the chance to catch Braids for one of its first performances promoting their debut album Native Speaker.

Synth player and vocalist Katie Lee said the band got together four years ago and started to jam out some folk pop songs together, but had never created a collective sound until this album.

Carleton’s Sock ‘n’ Buskin Theatre Company will be presenting the One-Act Comedy Festival, a presentation of nine short plays that runs in early February.

“It’s a collection of weird skits that made us laugh,” explained Michelle Blanchard, the artistic director of the Sock 'n' Buskin Theatre Company. “Most of the plays are unknown, new stuff you haven’t seen before.”