Welcome to JXM. A non-profit arts and culture magazine covering the best in books, comics, film, music, and any other artistic or cultural expression. Check out about us for more info.

The UK dishes out another heartfelt comedy starring little tykes, Bill Milner and Will Poulter. Kate checked out an early screening of Son of Rambow to dish on whether England lives up to its wicked comedy streak.

Female directors are few and far between as is, but with a recent influx of the female Canadian touch gracing our cinemas and crashing the Oscars a la Sarah Polley, Kari Skogland is a surefire force to be recokoned with. The Stone Angel based off the Canadian classic novel, is so gorgeously shot and beautifully told, that it turns the sentiment of Canadian cinema on its head. Jenny chatted up with Kari Skogland to talk about the film, female power and the mighty Maple Leaf.

After a short hiatus JXM returns with another installment of Just the Numbers. We took a look at the Magazine Rack and did a pysical count of diversity. We plucked the April '08 issue from popular women's, men's and current affairs titles to size up and scrutizine the images that pass by us daily.

The hottest thing to hit the turntables graced Toronto with a live performance recently, and Jesse popped into The Sound Emporium to check 'em out. Find out if the French speaking, scratching duo Justice impressed or should hide behind their fortress of amps.

The Canadian born NLX, or Natasha Alexandra, is slowly making waves opening for headliners like Stabilo and David Usher, with her soulful vocals, fierce piano skills, and lyrics with a bite. Liem caught up with the "Trent Reznor with tits" and you can read it all right here.

Boys Don't Cry director Kimberly Peirce takes on the underrated issue currently affecting thousands of US soldiers fighting in the Iraq war. Stop-Loss follows Ryan Phillipe as a decorated Sergeant who goes AWOL.

Money, luxury and deceit. The perfect formula for a movie. Or is it? Check out Kate's review on the film about five MIT students who find a way to scam Vegas for millions without doing anything illegal. With Brett Ratner and the ever unlikely intimidating Kevin Spacey behind the card counting 21, find out if it can take the house for millions.

In recent celebration of the University of BC's 100th birthday, alumni filmmaker Mina Shum recently held a conference for her hidden Canadian jewel Double Happiness starring fellow Canadian Sandra Oh. Jenny attended the conference for the decade old film that is is sure to remain a classic in Canadian film history.

Just when you think horror filmmakers couldn't come up with any new ways to scare us, Michael Haneke may have opened up a whole new definition for "disturbed." Serena checked out a screening of the US remake of the 1997 film Funny Games. Read her traumatized thoughts here!

Quirk, humour and off centre are all the rage these days and Jesse got the chance to snag the ever charming and endearing queen of dark humour, Sara St. Onge. The up and coming filmmaker made a splash at this year's Sundance Film Festival with The Funeral and from here on out she's bound to make waves.

It is always a treat to get the opportunity to pick the brain of an artist. Ask them their dreams, their inspirations, their desires. It is even more of a treat when that artist happens to be a Prince. Liem got that chance and spoke to the up and coming passionate Canadian rapper Shad.

In honour of the recently awarded Best Picture at the 2008 Academy Awards, Jenny gives you the rundown on what you've missed out on. Without futher ado: No Country For Old Men.

With the ever growing onslaught of bad horror flicks we face, Serena bravely dives into George A. Romero's latest of his infamous Dead series, Diary of the Dead. Check out if Diary's flesh is fresh!

The recently double Juno nominee Belly, has been breaking barriers since his career started and he sat down with us to talk about the controversy that seems to follow him everywhere. Read it all here as Belly opens up about what makes him Canada's Godfather of Hip Hop.

With the upcoming June 13 release of the new Hulk film, entitled The Incredible Hulk, starring Edward Norton, we thought it'd be best to go back to where it all began. We sat down again with the writer of Marvel Comics' Incredible Hulk, Greg Pak, on the latest in the series - and how the title has now been changed to Incredible Hercules??

Who says media can't cover media? JXM made the local paper, the Markham Economist & Sun, last week. Check out the article here.

The Savages captured quite the buzz during its festival rounds, and since its limited release in November. Jenny got a chance to check out a screening hot of the tails of the film's recent Oscar nods for Best Actress in Laura Linney and Best Original Screenplay in writer/director Tamara Jenkins.

With all the hype surrounding the ubiquitous viral marketing campaign behind producer J.J. Abrams' latest flick, Cloverfield, you know we had to check it out for ourselves. The film opened this weekend, banking in a big $41 million. Guess the hype worked. Liem checked out an advanced screening.

Jaded Publishing rings in 2008 with the launch of its official site! Serving as the new home of the groundbreaking relaunched Zombie Mosaic and the hit web comic Acid Keg, the site marks the formation of a new web comic artist collective and the start of an exciting year. So bookmark it and visit regularly - just like JXM!

Canada's own Jason Reitman (of Thank You for Smoking fame) sees his latest effort, Juno hit theatres everywhere this month just in time for the holidays. Shot in Vancouver, the film is already garnering tons of critical acclaim, Golden Globe nominations, and early Oscar buzz. Liem checked out the flick.

While the Writers Guild of America strike still goes through heated negotiations, TV and film fans will continue to experience a drought of original material all over media. So what is the hungry entertainment junkie to do? Why, check out some comics of course. Or how about a comic that serves as the perfect companion piece to an actual TV show. Liem checked out Heroes, Volume One.

With their audience growing after every new album, indie band Motion City Soundtrack recently released their latest, Even If It Kills Me. While vocalist Justin Pierre has openly stated his past struggles with drug addiction, the band will be the first to tell you they never fell into the sex, drugs, and Rock and Roll stereotype. Though the band has had its fair share of past tribulations, what's certain is they have a bright future ahead of them.

With the success of the BloodRayne property at the burgeoning comic book publisher Digital Webbing (of the famed artist community with the same name), the company continues to pump out its own original books. Its latest is Dark 48 by Steven O'Connell, Daniel Indro, and Joel Seguin. We chatted to Steven, the book's creator, about the release.

Again, right off the heels of our interview with Frank LaPerch about his new book Eve: Vampire Diva from Arcana Comics, Thomas checked out the first issue of the new release himself. Is checking out the second issue worth your money?

With all the fuss about DC Comics' sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, and all its lead-ups, spin-offs, or aftermaths, the average reader can hardly keep up. So the entire story was novelized by Greg Cox and published by Ace Books. Thomas checks it out.

And the winners of our "Dream in Green" Contest are...

Grand Prize: Janet Malowany - London, Ontario, Canada

Runners-up:

Chris Garwood - Ramsey, New Jersey, United States
Vivien Tam - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Greg Chang - Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Cyril Baynes - Newbury, Berkshire, England

With the upcoming release of the remake of Takashi Miike's "J-Horror" film, One Missed Call, in January 2008, Thomas revisits the original. Was the flick worthy of being done all over again? Well see, that really depends on the way you look at it...

We're all about taking chances at JXM, so we thought why not take a look at Celine Dion's Taking Chances. In her new release, that's exactly what she does, teaming up with the likes of Ne-yo, Ben Moody, and John Shanks. Liem gives the album a spin, which hits stores today!

Right off the heels of our recent Gear School interview with Adam Gallardo, Thomas checks out the book for himself to see if it really lives up to the expectations Adam gave us! Sit back 'cause it ain't pretty. We kid, of course.

So you thought the Asian horror craze was over? Looking at the remakes slated for 2008, it seems like the craze has just begun. Before the originals vanish from memory, Thomas thought he'd revisit them for our readers. He looks at A Tale of Two Sisters, just one of the horror remakes set for release. Or should we say "terror"?

Having recently played at this year's Toronto International Film Festival with some positive buzz, Kate managed to catch a screening of Weirdsville, starring Scott Speedman, Wes Bentley, and Taryn Manning, by critically acclaimed director, Allan Moyle. What did Kate think? Brace yo'self!

We talk a lot about books and movies - so why not more music? Iceland's indie darlings, Sigur Ros, returns today, with their new double CD compilation, Hvarf/Heim. Are the newest sounds of Sigur Ros as stunning as their home country? Liem spins the album to find out.

Vampire stories are as common in comics as bread in the grocery store. So do we really need another vampire book? Frank LaPerch says hell yes! His new book, Eve: Vampire Diva from Arcana Comics hits stands in December, so JXM chatted with the man himself to discuss what makes his story different from all the rest.

"An Ode to Winnipeg" continues with Bruce McDonald's follow-up to Hard Core Logo (and yes, it's been almost over a decade), which hits select theatres today. Very positive buzz has been surrounding the film, starring up and coming young Canadian actress, Ellen Page, but Jenny gives us her take of The Tracey Fragments.

With recent news that 100 Girls was picked up by Simon and Schuster, writer/creator Adam Gallardo is back this month with Dark Horse Comics' Gear School, where he finally returns to the publisher that ignited his career. We spoke with Adam to chat about the new release.

With all the hype surrounding this year's Toronto International Film Festival, we thought we'd make one of those other great Canadian cities the centerpiece for a change. Jenny writes her own personal love letter to Winnipeg with her three part film review series, "An Ode to Winnipeg". To get the ball rolling, she takes a look at The Stone Angel, starring Ellen Burstyn.

JXM officially introduces one of its firsts this month: book reviews. It's about time. We know. So why not kick it off with a classic. Kathy looks at Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle, the novel adapted into the critically acclaimed film with the same name by Hayao Miyazaki.

The Luna Brothers' latest series The Sword from Image Comics just hit stands this month. With their magic hands turning everything they touch to gold, JXM sat down with the brothers to find out if steel is the new gold.

Vancouver's own Brightlight Pictures is set to release their mystical horror flick, They Wait with Halloween quickly approaching and having screened at the recently wrapped 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. The film stars burgeoning Asian-Canadian star, Terry Chen and Jaime King of Sin City fame. But no, this isn't about Halloween, because in Terry's world, wearing masks is all part of the job.

The cult webseries phenom, We Need Girlfriends has been making waves all over... MySpace. Yes, MySpace. You know, that other still-popular social networking site? JXM sat down with the show's creator, Steven Tsapelas.

After a long, but probably mostly unnoticed absence (we kid... *ahem* maybe not...?), JXM has decided to bring back Just the Numbers. So do the movies really mirror real life? Well the numbers (or pictures) don't lie.

Recently having won the People's Choice Award at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises hits theatres everywhere today. Jenny checked in to see what all the hype's about.

With Dark Horse's recently released Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Brian checked out Volume 1, featuring a host of comics' superstars. So what's all the fuss about this Whedon cat?

In association with Campus X Magazine and JUX Clothing, JXM celebrates the DVD release of Everything's Gone Green and the pre-launch of JUX Clothing's 2009 Spring/Summer Collection with the "Dream in Green" Contest! Enter and win Everything's Gone Green DVD's, posters signed by Douglas Coupland and Steph Song, and limited edition "Dream Big" polo shirts from JUX Clothing. It's quick, easy, and free. Click the link or banner above for details. Contest closes October 14, 2007, so enter now!

Rock artist, Colin Munroe, isn't new to music even though his upcoming release, Don't Think Less of Me, is his first full-length album. He's been working in music for years. Hip hop music that is. Melanie spoke to Colin about the strange trajectory of his music career.

Melanie Chung and Jaded Pictures recently filmed and produced a music video for Matthew Good's "Born Losers", the new single off of his latest release, Hospital Music, which debuted in Canada at #1. As part of a competition to make Matt's official video, the piece was created using over 2,000 photographs. While Melanie didn't take the crown, she was mentioned at Matt's website as the number two notable entry, just missing the top spot. Congrats to Melanie on behalf of all of us at JXM! Check it out at the link above!

Although initially surrounded by controversy, CBC's dramatic miniseries, Dragon Boys, was overwhelmed with critical acclaim after it finally aired in January 2007. With the recent announcement of a string of Gemini Award nominations, including Best Writing, JXM sat down with the show's writer and creator himself, Ian Weir.

Andrew recently had a film, Doggone Ong, screened at the 30th Annual New York Asian American International Film Festival as part of the 72 Hour Film Shootout. He served as the screenwriter, editor, camera operator, and co-producer of the five minute short. We're proud to announce that Andrew was nominated for Best Editor and the film was awarded as one of the Top 10. But this is where you come in. The online component of the competition has just gone live and all Top 10 films are available for viewing at www.azntv.com/72hr.

JXM's two part feature on actress/broadcast journalist, Olivia Cheng, continues, where she discusses the Asian Canadian experience and what it means to be Asian in the North American media.

Rising Asian Canadian actress/broadcast journalist, Olivia Cheng made her North American debut in AMC's Broken Trail alongside Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church, and recently wrapped the docudrama about the incredible story of Iris Chang. Check out the first of this two parter, where we spoke with Olivia about her career and recent projects.

With the upcoming release of the collected first series of Arcana's Koni Waves and the Koni Waves/Demonslayer crossover on June 27, JXM checked in with the creator, Mark Poulton, about the book and the next volume, Koni Waves: Ghouls Gone Wild!

The Asian-American stereotype has been a mark that has plagued North Amercian media for decades. But as we finally approach the end of the first decade of the millenia, have things really changed much from the "Charlie Chans" of old? Guest writer, Liem Vu, gives us his take.

"Would you like a burger with that?" The Way of the Weirdness is back with our continuing series on good ol' Mickey D's. So what are we missing now? So far, we've had Grandpa Ronald and Baby Ronald. But what exactly do you feed Baby Ronald? The McNipple of course.

At JXM we bring some of the latest underground musical acts that the world has to offer. But this time around, if your from the Great White North, you've probably heard of the frontman of this month's feature. Canadian Idol winner and Low Level Flight frontman, Ryan Malcolm, gives it to us straight about his latest project.

The Way of the Weirdness Mickey D's ad bonanza continues! We started with the baby Ronald and we're moving our way up to Grandpa Ronald. Mr. McDonald himself in his first ever television commercial.

The Way of the Weirdness returns with a short special, where we'll be bringing you some of the oddest ads by bada da da da I'm lovin' it - McDonald's. The first of this wicked series is brought to you by ad agency Leo Burnett in New Delhi. All we have to say is... um... err...

This Friday marks the Toronto debut of our recent Feature of the Month, Everything's Gone Green. You can read more about it right here!

For the second half of April, JXM chatted with the director of the new Douglas Coupland comedy Everything's Gone Green, Paul Fox. Paul gave us the inside scoop behind the mind of a director, and the jaded side of life in your 20's.

This April we bring a double feature here at JXM! The first part introduces you to the English quartet Make Good Your Escape. They are fresh off their latest release Never Look Back Here Again, and with their newest single Real getting over 57,000 plays on myspace, we managed to snag drummer Steve Wattis away from his kit to talk with us about cheap cider and scaring old ladies.