OcToBER 25, 2005

Andy Bulman

Contributor

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Hawksley Workman Plays Music That’s Not Too Bad

Hawkley an artist.

Workman’s “Brace m use ie Cockburn is provides the one of my chillout biggest benefits of influences,” heroin S7 a <6 without any Workman. “I of the stigma played with or long him once ata lasting Photos-MJ Doucette small dingy addiction. club and he

His first Island gig last Thursday started out well. While Workman plays the drums, piano, guitar and vocals, his greatest strength is clearly his voice. His style grabs you, his low warbling voice moaning like Jeff Buckley, his high notes reminiscent of Robert Plant. To say nothing of his catchy lyrics “Don’t be a stranger to the danger that is kissing you. Your beauty must be rubbing off.” The sexual nature in his songs got the crowd swaying as he howled Striptease, “Only thing that . can quench my thirst, I want you first, I want you first.”

When asked about his

was really surprised that I knew all the chords, all the words. He didn’t think that a young pop artist would know anything about him. Leonard Cohen too, his words are just poetry to me.” After Striptease the crowd at the Wave seemed to stop finding Workman’s words poetic as some drifted off, preferring drinking to listening. His amusing between song banter raised eyebrows, and _ the crowd, unsure wether to laugh with him or at him, chose to ignore him and buy more beer. Workman, a published poet, finds inspiration from other Canadian

influences, Workman said Canadian _ poets.

artists had a huge impact on his style as

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THE CADRE ¢ 10

The Bottom Line

Morgan Hughes-Davies Contributor

Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Directed by Nick Park

Starring Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham-Carter

2005 has been a good year for clay animation, with Tim Burton’s worthy _ satire “Corpse Bride,” and now “The Curse of the Were- Rabbit” making the rounds in the cinemas of Earth. The latter film is the second big screen creation of British animator Nick Park, having enjoyed _ brief success with his first outing, “Chicken Run.” “Curse of the Were-Rabbit” marks a return to the director’s roots, with the return of his flagship creations Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) and Gromit (played by himself), a man and dog team who run a humane pest control service called “‘Anti-Pesto.”

As the movie begins, their business is flourishing of late, with the local giant vegetable competition just days away and their neighbours dependant upon their services to subdue the prolific rabbit population and thus safeguard the competitors. Fortune then smiles upon the pair once again, when Lady Tottington (Helena Bonham-Carter), who hosts the competition, contacts “Anti-Pesto” about a rabbit infestation, to the chagrin of her suitor, Victor Quartermaine

(Ralph Fiennes), who, being an avid huntsman, prefers to deal with the long-eared multitudes in a less than humane fashion.

Wallace and Gromit succeed in containing the hares, and Wallace attempts to reform the rabbits using an invention that removes their desire to gorge on vegetables. The attempt fails however, but nevertheless everything seems to be set for the competiton to take place, with the rabbits safely under lock andkey. But — soon crops are being devoured again, by a large and mysterious creature that appears only during the full moon, and is capable of breaking through the “Anti-Pesto” security measures with ease. The town is in an uproar, and, complicating matters further, Quartermaine seizes the opportunity to embark on the hunting expedition of his dreams, pitting him in a race with Anti- Pesto to find the beast. The film does recognize that there are larger issues, such as animal welfare, that it could address. However, rather than making an in depth dissection of the themes it touches upon, it prefers to poke fun at them using slapstick comedy. It might

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