The Unknown Studio

A year ago, Adam and I gave a thoughtful look at some of the classic Christmas movies that make the very cockles  of our hearts glow with warmth. We shared our memories of the wonderful, quirky and funny films that fill our holiday season with joy and laughter.

And you bastards complained and complained about all the movies we didn’t put on the list.

So in the spirit of – not the season – but of you being totally unpleasable, we return to our semi-regular Watch This feature with more of the holiday movies Adam and I both love.

And, hopefully, your cold, black hearts will be sated with our choices this year. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 22% [?]

Fill your cart without emptying your wallet!

‘Tis the season for long lines, no parking spots, that Paul McCartney song playing in every single store you go to, and endless frustrations around every corner. Another added concern and issue that pops up during the holiday time is money stress. Arguments over money and spending causes strife between couples and no one wants to go into debt for the sake of giving the ultimate gift. How do you cross everything off of your list and survive until January? Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 15% [?]

In another life, I was the Arts editor at a small newspaper. There, the seedling that was my love for music blossomed. I tried out new genres, venturing beyond my old standby (skate punk) and really embracing rock, folk, hip hop, electronica, and even some country music — though I should note at this point that the only country I listen to is sung by a former punk musician by the name of Corb Lund.

Yes, in spite of my admittedly diverse taste in music, there’s one band I can’t seem to get behind. It’s not that I hate their music, it’s just that when I hear it on the radio, I’d just assume change the channel. And I can’t really explain why. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 14% [?]

I read an interesting tidbit in the Hollywood Reporter that said: “[...] [C]ould zombies be making a run — or, perhaps, a very slow, clumsy walk — at the pop culture crown?”

As a huge fan of the zombie genre, I would like to believe this to be true, but I’m not going to just accept the premise at face value. The article argues that zombies will supplant vampires as the horror genre of choice among the masses. You’ll recall a long while back, it was slasher films.

But the Twilight series, TV shows like True Blood, and films like Daybreakers have kept the spotlight on vampires for a good long while. And though the occasional zombie gems shows up on the big screen — think Zombieland with Jesse Eisenberg — most of the zombie movies released (often in the name of George Romero) are far less impactful as far as the genre goes. Read the rest of this entry »

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There’s a lot of cool and sexy things happening in Edmonton*. Most of those cool and sexy things were highlighted by the very cool and very sexy Brenda Kerber in her new column over at Vue Weekly.

Brenda Kerber, as many of our listeners will know, owns the Travel Tickle Trunk, a sex-positive adult boutique on Whyte Avenue. She’s been a sponsor of the Unknown Studio since the beginning of the summer (and if you listen to our latest episode, you’ll hear Brenda giving out a very special and very exclusive offer to our listeners), and she gets what a strong community of forward-thinking people Edmonton has – particularly in terms of sexuality. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 15% [?]

Anyone who knows me, will know that I’m a huge fan of the survival horror genre. From sci-fi-style movies like Alien to videogames like Resident Evil (the original), Silent Hill and Dead Space, I find the blighted future/run-for-your-fuckin’-lives style of entertainment deeply fascinating.

I didn’t know about the comic book series The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore until this summer, when Rachel bought me the first volume in the series of comics. I was immediately enamoured.

The series looks at what a post-apocalyptic Earth would look like, if the apocalypse had something to do with a virus (or something) that makes the dead rise again. It’s less focused on zombies, and more interested in examining what that new reality does to the living left to carve out a niche without having their faces eaten.

When I found out AMC was creating an original series based on The Walking Dead, I thought I was going to explode with zombie-joy. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 11% [?]