Movie Review: Rogue One A Star Wars Story

It is never easy satisfying the fan base of Star Wars while expanding the fan base.

Warning: Anything beyond could warrant spoilers.

Last year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a very good movie introducing new characters and re-visiting old ones. The quibbles from a few fans was that it was a re-hash of the original movie which it so was. Most people didn't care as it was a great romp with an old friend. Still, the hope was the new tales might be told from a different perspective of a much loved as well derided space opera.

Rogue One was to a be movie that was a one-off story that fit the pieces and director Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) was to ensure it was a more adult story. While some humour was incorporated there was no attempt to embed marketable cute characters into the storyline that appealed to children. The list of writers associated with the story is an indication of struggle.

The visual effects producer for the prequel Star Wars John Knoll series pitched a story more than a decade ago that aimed to tell the story just prior to Episode IV.  By 2014, it was announced that Gary Whitta (Book of Eli) was writing a script. He parted ways after first draft it although he and Knoll share a story credit. Taking over was Chris Weitz, a screenwriter who wrote the Golden Compass and the Twilight series. This became the shooting script and once the movie was made Disney called in Tony Gilroy (Bourne) to help with re-writes and edits.

Sadly, re-writes, over budget and re-shoots are in keeping with Star Wars movies. This is all well and good if it serves the movie but often too many cooks spoil the broth. In this case, the movie is highly entertaining but flawed in ways obvious and in other ways not. The Disney purchase of George Lucas's Star Wars franchise ensured more stories in that universe and different visions of how to tell tell those stories. However, the balancing act often means doubt. Hence, the re-shoots.

In terms of the Star Wars saga, Rogue One takes place literally five minutes before the original movie of 1977. The opening crawl of Episode IV A New Hope is the real spoiler as it states that the rebel ships have scored a victory in an attack on the Empire. In the battle rebel spies stole the plans for the Death Star which was described as capable of destroying a planet. In a nutshell, the story of this new movie is about the spies and the battle that delivered the plans to Princess Leia aboard her ship on the run from Darth Vader.

Rogue One follows a similar path of Force Awakens with female leader a but its heroine in a bit older, jaded and sadder. She doesn't count the days she has been separated from loved ones. In fact, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) finds it better to think that her father is dead. She already knows that stormtroopers killed her mother as she was eyewitness to it before fleeing and hiding at her father's behest.

Little does Jyn know that her farther Galen Erso (Madds Mikkelsen) has been taken by the empire and forced to produce the Deathstar against his will. Her own life has been marked by a decidedly different turn as she is raised till her teenage years by Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), one of the most violent resistance fighters in the galaxy. Eventually, even he abandoned her for her safety but by then she was was too used to living on the fringes and our introduction to her in the story is as a prisoner of the empire. She is no rebel but a mere criminal.

Our first encounter with Jyn is inside an empire prison cell. She is freed from captivity by the rebels intent on using her to locate her father. Her rescuers are rebel spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and droid K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk). They take her back to the hidden base made famous in the original movie and leader Mon Mothma (reprised by Genevieve O'Reilly) appeals to her help find and extract her father who apparently lives and who is at work with the empire.

A new villain named Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) from the empire's weapon division is the man who killed Jyn's mother and took her father. While Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin play roles in Rogue One, it is Krennic who is the primary baddie. More on the other two villains in a bit.

Cassian takes Jyn to the planet Jedha to seek out her former protector Saw Gerrera. It is there that Imperial defector Rook Bodhi, a pilot, is being held after delivering information to extremist rebel. Along the way Jyn and her companions pick up a number of people to help them accomplish their mission. Those allies include a blind warrior Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen) and his mercenary friend Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen).

If this sounds all a bit confusing, it is. The story jumps to several planets and follows numerous characters both old and new with breakneck action interspersed throughout the film. Contrast with Force Awakens where a good portion of the story takes place on Jakku. The abundance of planets is excessive and for no reason. Much the same can be said about the characters. The screen time for Vader and Tarkin takes away from Krennic who looks weak in comparison. Moreover, Peter Cushing who played Tarkin has long since passed away. He has been brought back to life using a stand-in actor and animated with CGI.

The CGI is very good but extended shots with it focusing on Tarkin feel a bit creepy and unnatural. Just because they could do it doesn't mean they should have. A few other human characters are animated as well but none so noticeable as Tarkin.

The special effects, costuming, make-up, editing, cinematography, sets and score are all not notch. Michael Giacchino's music is excellent and a real credit to John Williams who created as much of the emotional heft in the previous movies as the storyline and acting did. In Rogue One, we have so much action that we don't have nearly enough time to get to know Jyn, Cassian or anyone. Most of the grim story is devoid of any levity at all save the droid K-2SO.

This is a war movie and since the story is Star Wars that is okay. However, war movies with real emotion such as the Dirty Dozen, Saving Private Ryan and Apocalypse Now had characters we came to know and follow. Rogue One is an entertaining movie for adults in the Stars Wars universe. However, the talented cast might have been better served with a tighter focus on a smaller group in a bigger war.

Jolliibee's Opens Today in Winnipeg

At 7 AM on December 15, Jollibee's will officially open in Winnipeg. This will be the first location for the Philippines-based franchise that rivals McDonald's in popularity in the Pacific. As the representatives of Access Winnipeg, myself and photographer Matraisa Klippenstein joined a very large gathering to see what the new entry to Winnipeg was all about.

The media was invited to preview the Polo Park location on Ellice on Wednesday. Senior executives from Jollibee's were present to oversee the preview and to highlight other cities where the restaurants will expand to. Those cities are Edmonton, Mississauga and Scarborough.

Maribeth dela Cruz, vice-president of Jollibee Foods Corp. North America, told the assembled guests that any question of why they came to Winnipeg was addressed by seeing Filipinos at every turn when she came to the city.

Maribeth dela Cruz

The Winnipeg store at 1406 Ellice will be the first for Canada and 35th for the restaurant company in North America according to Jose Minana, Jollibee Foods Corporation Group President for North America in from California with the opening team. Another Jollibee's at Northgate Plaza at McPhillips will be Canada's second and opens in spring of 2017.

Jose Minana, second from  left about to toss coins and candy with guests

In keeping with a faithful country of origin, a blessing by a priest was read and the Jose Minana, execs and honoured guests threw chocolate and and coins in the crowd.

The Philippines Honorary Counsel Ronaldo Opina and St. Norbert MLA Jon Reyes were among guests which included builders, supplier and media.

Philippines Honorary Counsel Ronaldo Opina

Full staff were in attendance including some managers who are now residents in Winnipeg but worked for a total of nearly a 100 years of experience between them at Jollibee's in the Philippines before emigrating to Canada.

Very experienced managers at Jolibee's Ellice

The one location at Jolllibee's hired 100 staff members for what they believe will be a very busy restaurant for the company.

The Jollibee mascot showed up at the end and a massive bucket of chicken was distributed to guests who exited into a cold afternoon with their Jolly Crispy Chicken.
 

The De-Malling of the Northgate Mall Winnipeg

The Northgate Shipping Centre on McPhillips owned by a family outside of Manitoba seemed to be content for many years to slowly decline. The closure of the Zellers years earlier left a 120,000 square foot hole. Target snubbed it as a location and there it stood a testimony that the mall had seen better days.

It is difficult to say whether the take-over of the Zellers by Save-On-Foods was the impetus for rehabilitating the mall or whether the owners decided to make a change. Whatever the reason, $20 million has been allocated to de-mall Northgate Mall.

The first step was to find a replacement for the Zellers and that came in the form of the largest Save-On-Foods in Winnipeg. At 65,000 square feet and the added title of International to its names, it carries more products that any of the other stores of that company built thus far.

But that wasn't all.

The next step was to get tenants already on the mall to buy in to the full upgrade and attract new original stores. One of the notable add on will be Jollibee's, a Philippines-based fast food franchise that opens next week in two locations including Northgate. They will be Canada's first.

A new Tim Horton's will also be up to accommodate the coffee lovers of the area.

The enclosed part of the the L-shaped mall comes to an end. In its place will be the first location of Fit 4 Less by Goodlife, the discount arm of Goodlife Fitness. At first it was thought that Winnipeg first location for this division would be the Grant Park Mall but plans have since changed. Grant Park will get a large Goodlife Fitness and the Fit 4 less will occupy 25,000 square feet of Northgate Mall.

The city's only discount theatre Cinema City will continue to be an anchor in the mall and several longtime loyal tenants will get upgrades. Royal Bank, Reider Insurance and Medicine Shoppe pharmacy all factor into the re-furbished mall.

The northeast quadrant of the city has many people living it, lots of traffic down McPhillips but largely absent landlords in the last numbers years. Not a lot of love in terms of investing in the property in compared to Grant Park Mall, Charleswood Mall and along Pembina Highway.

It would seen that Northgate's investment has spurred Garden City Mall to action after years of neglect. Still, it would take quite a bit to beat the millions being spent at Northgate.

It is true that commuters will travel some distance to places like Polo Park but the need of good local grocers, pharmacists and coffee shops is always there. The danger for Northgate was that if they didn't invest, more and more stores and services would have left. Now, they might have the right mix and the un-mall style to rejuvenate retailing in the region. In fact, they have stores now that people will make a special trip for.

Long and McQuade Pembina Highway Opens

This past week saw Long and McQuade make the massive move from their location at 851 Stafford to 1854 Pembina Highway. The massive new store near the University of Manitoba will be an improvement over their rabbit warren old location that was just north of the Pembina underpass.

Long and McQuade started in Toronto in 1956 but one of their first moves of Ontario was to Winnipeg in 1971 when they bought Winnipeg Piano on Osborne Street. It was the third store for the entire company at the time. By 1975, they have moved to Corydon and it was there for many, many years that they supplied and taught so many artists in the province. By 1997, they were bursting at the seams and moved to 651 Stafford until this past week.

The musical instruments and lessons store also has a second location on Wall Street from the time they took over Gorden Price/Mother's Music in 2011. Long and McQuade did a complete reno on that shop in 2014. Mother's will long be remembered for their location on Portage Avenue near the University of Winnipeg before they moved to Wall Street in 1993.

The location at Stafford served the store well but the building was soon bursting again with rentals, repairs and sales work. It was obvious a building that was tailor made was in order.

This week near the University of Manitoba, Long and McQuade has opened their new store and by the looks of it, is a beauty. Anyone driving down Portage Avenue can't miss the pass with huge sign up.

Long and McQuade is all across Canada but this store for Winnipeg has to be the most prominent address they've ever taken up. One can imagine a whole generation of artists will pass through their doors.

American Apparel Closing in Osborne Village

The American Apparel company went bankrupt earlier this month in North America and various companies are bidding on the carcass but no one wants the stores.

The racy and controversial store has had a home in Osborne Village for years but the closing out signs are in the windows now and the store has a short time to liquidate stock and close its doors forever.

This has created some alarm in Osborne as there are a few empty storefronts already and American Apparel occupies a fairly large space. The vacancy rate is a reflection of high rent on the swishy street. Too few owners of the land, too little give on rent and many larger spaces are now uneconomical. The solution could lay in sub-dividing the space and then a new vitality might emerge.

Osborne Village has succeeded because it a dense area with a main street running through it. This contributes to a diversity in retail and restaurants. Today, competition on Corydon and Sherbrook is something landlords will have to be mindful of.

Osborne Village is experiencing growth in a way not seen in decades. The demise of American Apparel should and could open up opportunities for the street in the days ahead.

Underdogs Kitchen and Bar Coming to St. James

Until recently it was the St. James Tap and Grill and before that for many years it was Dylan O'Connors. The location has always leaned towards neighbourhood bar and tried to appeal to the sports crowd. Standing at the corner of 2609 Portage Avenue at the side street of Thompson, the signage is up for a new restaurant/bar on the cusp of opening. The name of the place will be Underdogs.

Sports bars and grills are all the rage in Winnipeg as casual dining has taken a hit. Flat screen TVs with hi def have taken over almost every bar and Underdogs will have 48 of them for the sports mad crowd. However, the 7,500 square foot club will also have a gaming section for more active living guests. One side of the restaurant will feature zippo, ping pong and basketball.

The restaurant business can be very fickle. The tastes of the area can change, the location falls on hard times and places close sometimes as fast as they open. Underdogs has a proven location but the taste for dark and expansive bars has give way to brighter and more active places.

Look to see Underdogs open in the next days after a major refurbishment.

Cineplex Rec Room Coming to Winnipeg?

There have been rumours that Cineplex has been looking at bringing its Rec Room concept to Winnipeg across from Scotiabank Theatre Polo Park. This fall the first rec Room opened up in Edmonton with promises from the the company to establish more of them across Canada in 2017.

So what is the Rec Room? Is a state of the art playground with games and entertainment. They have bowling, ping pong, carnival games, simulators, pool, axe throwing and video games.

There also seems to be a performance area for dance, comedy and musical acts. Lots of big screens everywhere make the entertainment and restaurant area a ready made sports bar.

The area on Maroons Road beside Scotiabank Theatre in the empty parking lot of Polo Park Target seems to be where the focus is on now by the company. The feeling is that Cineplex would love to have the theatres and their game area combined together by a mere street crossing.

Each Rec Room costs millions to build and it is likely there is still some refining to be done on the Edmonton concept but Cineplex has successfully created value in the movie industry with bars, restaurants and games and appears poised to spread the concept to an adjacent property.

No announcement has been made on the now Polo Park owned land where Target stands but it would seem that nothing is happening too soon. A Rec Room might be the trigger for some further development.

Save on Foods Open Saturday November 19

The Vancouver-based grocer announced three locations on McPhllips, St. James and Bridgwater Forest.  Along the way, the old Zellers at McPhllips was re-purposed and the old Future Shop was done over. Bridgwater Forest was a new building. Around 1000 people have been hired from the nearly 15,000 who applied.

The popular grocer from the west is likely to trigger a price war in Winnipeg when they open. The biggest target will be Sobey's/Safeway who have struggled since Sobey's purchased the company. Sobey's would probably like to close a few more stores close to each other but they risk Co-Op or Save On Foods just grabbing the space up.

The McPhillips location of Save on Food is adding the work International after its name. It will be the largest location and carry the greatest diversity of products including many ethnic brands. There will also be many local brands at all three stores.

There has probably never been a more competitive time in Manitoba for large grocers going toe to toe than there is now.

Save on Foods also appears ready to announce as many as two downtown stores to capture the increasing population there. If I was to hazard a guess, I would say it the Skycity tower where one store will go.

It is possible the St. James store may sneak open on Friday.

All in all it is terrific news for Winnipeg and another great choice which should help keep prices very competitive.

Snap Fitness to Open largest Location in Winnipeg

Dayton Building with new condos behind. Picture: Skyscrapers.com

323 Portage Avenue has seen a lot of nightclubs since the 1980s. The building built in 1955 and known as the Dayton building was originally a store and restaurant that lasted till 1983.

The decline on Portage Avenue reached a critical point for retailers on the north side in 1979. This was year that Winnipeg Square and Eaton Place (now Cityplace) opened. It was also the year St. Vital Shopping Centre and a year later Kildonan Place opened.

Portage Avenue became a street where the south side still was successful for retailers whereas the northside was marked by video arcades, an adult theatre and aging hotels.

Still, many people still came downtown for nightlife including movies, live theatre and retailing on the so investors turned the old Dayton's department store into Dayton's nightclub in 1984. Substantial renovations were made to the building to accommodate the specifications of the club including moving the entrance to the side street.

The bar proved a bit posh for Winnipeg and lasted two years during a recession before closing and re-opening as Times Nite Club. That club format lasted quite some time and was less formal. Winnipeg was going through a tough period of decline, however. There is a gap in my knowledge about how long the bar was there. It seems to me that there was another club in that location around 1991-1994 called Richard's American Bar before there was a return to the old name. Any help remember that era would be welcome.

A murder outside Times Nite Club in 1999 kind of affirmed that the area was getting dangerous. Coming in the same year as Eaton's closure, it marked a low point for downtown Winnipeg.

The arrival of the MTS Centre in 2004 assisted in stabilizing some of the restaurants in the area and breathed some life in what had been an angst filled time. The empty Eaton's building was subject to huge debate and ultimately was demolished in 2003 to make way for the new arena. Around 2007, Times Nite Club was renovated for $2 million and became Blush Ultraclub. It attracted a good crowd most weekends but by 2009 was really open weekends. In 2010 it closed.

The Winnipeg Jets arrived in 2011 and the crowds on game nights doubled in size. The Manitoba Moose attracted families whereas the Jets brought an older crowd willing  to spend money before and after games. It seemed a no brainer that a sports bar nearby would work. In 2011 the 4Play sports bar opened in the former Ultraclub space.

The concept lasted till 2012. Why did it fail? The problem was days when hardly anyone came in. And those early Jets days were a learning experience for people on finding before and after places to eat and drink for Jets games. 4Play Sports just wasn't able to get enough traffic throughout the week. The Palomino Club looked at relocating to the old 4Play location in 2015 but ultimately decided they'd better off on Main Street in the old Whisky Dix spot.

For a very long time 323 Portage Avenue's storefront sat empty opposite one of the busiest arenas in North America.

The wait to see what goes into 323 Portage Avenue is over. It has been announced that Snap Fitness is going to occupy just under 12,000 square feet of the front space facing out to MTS Centre. The back area remains unoccupied for the moment but 5,700 square feet awaits a new restaurant or club. Around $1 million in renovations is being done to accommodate the gym. It will include group exercise classes in Zumba and yoga. Weightlifting and boxing instruction will be available as well. And steam showers will be a popular amenity.

The new Snap Fitness will be North America's largest location for the franchise. It will be open 24 hours which is a first for downtown. Goodlife Fitness is already in a office tower at Portage and Main and the YMCA is west on Portage but both have more limited hours. The new Snap will be operated by an owner with three locations in the province already.
Restaurant and bars are a tough business at the best of times and a lot of hope was laid at the MTS Centre (2004) and Manitoba Hydro Place (2009) to generate traffic. They did. However, a true entertainment district was slow in coming. In 2010, the MTS Exhibition Center in the old Portage Village Inn/A&B Sound Building showed that people would go in great numbers to the area with the right attraction such as Bodies and Titanic. The success led to the construction of Centrepoint which will add the last component on their storefront when Brown's Socialhouse opens in 2017.

Downtown Winnipeg is enormous in size relative to the other cities. It is marked by areas of vitality and then along certain streets it is long stretches of surface parking and nothing else. There are more people living downtown in the Avenue building, the student residences at the University of Winnipeg, Red River College and Waterfront Drive. Still, it is hard to get the connectivity that was once Portage Avenue all the way from Portage and Main to the University of Winnipeg.

Snap Fitness fills a niche that makes the city operate beyond regular hours. People feel safer when there are more people in the surrounding area. Empty storefronts are like missing teeth in a smile. The addition of a gym across from the MTS Centre is a good sign that a neighbourhood is forming.

Movie Review: Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange originated as a Marvel Comic character in 1963 and was a favourite of the college crowd early on because the character was super as a result of magic and mysticism rather than mutated genes or from another planet. My first exposure to Doctor Strange was in comics around 1971 and beyond, especially partnered with others in The Defenders such as The Incredible Hulk.

Superheros were all the rage in the 1970s in various media. Marvel and DC Comics had TV versions of their biggest properties. The Amazing Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk and Wonder Woman all ran on television as early as 1974 and beyond. Indeed CBS commissioned a version of Doctor Strange that aired as a two hour TV movie in 1978.

Alas, unlike its counterparts, Doctor Strange didn't get picked up as a series by CBS but every decade after was picked up again by new Marvel talent for storylines  in the comics. The idea for a movie bubbled up for many years but not till Marvel Entertainment under Disney's umbrella come up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in 2008 where movie after movie would be linked starting first with Iron Man.

Scott Derickson (The day the Earth Stood Still) was chosen in 2004 based on his ability to write and direct and a script was hammered out with Jon Spaihts (Prometheus) coming in as co-writer.  The shooting schedule was adjusted to accommodate Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) who emerged as the top candidate to play Strange.

The origin of Doctor Strange is what is journey was from being a hot-shot neurosurgeon desperately seeking treatment for his badly injured hands hurt to a sorcerer who has to look beyond his own selfish needs to protect the world. During his search he comes upon a man Jonathan Pangborm (Benjamin Bratt) who appears full recovered from injuries far worse than his own. Cryptically, Pangborn sends Strange to seek out the the Kamar-Taj in Kathmandu where he encounters Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who leads him to the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton).

Strange is dismissive of the mysticism until the Ancient One shows him that a whole new world on multi-dimensions exists that is reachable with incantations and sorcery. After being temporarily cast out, he embarks as a student of the mystical ways where he learns that a former pupil Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) threatens the world with the dark arts learned from stolen pages of a spellbook.

If the story sounds super complicated, it is made less so by the humourous interaction of Strange and Wong (Benedict Wong) who plays the librarian in the story. The only character who feels wasted is Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer, a colleague and former lover.

The special effects and 3D are some of the best in the Marvel world and the action scenes some of the most intriguing. The Inception-like folding of the city of New York is jaw dropping. Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One is an excellent character although the re-imaging of her being of a Celtic background has been declared a "whitewash" by some critics who note the comic version was Asian.

The story doesn't break new ground for superhero film but it is a strong outing in escapist fun covering a sub-genre of the Marvel universe. Cumberbatch is engaging and watchable throughout and the action and special effects are impressive. A best support Oscar should go to Doctor Strange's very clever Cloak of Levitation.

As with all Marvel properties, there are mid and end credit scenes hinting at further adventures for Doctor Strange. Plus a final credit hinting at future enemies and their motivations. Don't leave your seat till it is all over! Of particular note is a magical self-filling beer mug that will make you laugh.

C4 Central Canada Comic Con Aftermath

Another C4 Central Canada Comic Con has come and gone on Halloween weekend and when the numbers are finally counted in full, it is likely to be the best attended one in Winnipeg history. The newly expanded RBC Winnipeg Convention Centre was put to full use for the first time for C4. The weather cooperated and despite both Blue Bomber and Jets game occurring Saturday and Sunday, attendance did not seem to wain in the least.

William Shatner led a Friday panel on 50 years of Star Trek. The Pan Am room on the second floor hosted several other panels over the three days and the Theatre room hosted celebrity Question and Answer time.

So what was the best and worst of the this year's outing?

People: The people are what make C4 amazing. Lots of innovative costumes from men, women and children. It is truly a great family day.  Lots of people watching and just enjoying the day. The weather cooperated which only encouraged more and more people to go.

Volunteers: There are an abundance of volunteers who directed people around and were both inside and outside the building. It is a strength of C4 that they have this many people to help.

Costumes:  More and more people are wearing costumes and that makes for a great convention.

Arena: The open space of the Arena this year was a great size for displaying light sabre battles and the like. There should be even more use of this area next year.

Signage: The overhead signs were a good way to navigate. Sadly, I didn't get a map till mid-way through. It also included a schedule of events. I didn't see too many of those around!

Alleys: There was a Cosplay Alley and an Artist Alley, etc. A very good idea and more organized this year than ever before. Would love to see more to help with navigation.

Food Area: This has been a sticking point for years but this year the second floor had an area to sit and to order food. A huge improvement. At many tables, it just look like families were using the time to rest a bit before resuming their fun. A little lunch, a little rest and back up to the third floor convention.

Cosplayers: This year the Cosplay Alley featured in the main space and very popular selection of artists. This was a great idea and a good use of the expanded space. My only observation was that it may have even been better if the Costume Alliance and some related groups were all in that area. What star power then!

There were some huge improvements to this year's C4 so there is a learning curve as to how best utilize the space in the expanded RBC Winnipeg Convention Centre.

Website: It is not too bad and has good information on guests and events. I can't speak for phone apps but is a good start to any C4 adventure. It would good to see even more updates on on all social media.

So those were some of the best, what are some of the worst?

Line-ups: Simply getting into the convention can be a chore, Haven't got a ticket...must stand in line, arrived at noon, stand in line, want an autograph...stand in line. Now, success can do that and even San Diego's Comic Con suffers from this complaint. Fortunately weather cooperated but it could easily have been snow or rain and families standing outside probably would not wait too long before abandoning the day. No easy solutions here but it is something to think about for future tickets sales and event planning. Thankfully, lots of volunteers out helping people.

LAN Party: The large area network gaming area is not really part of Comic Con. I don't care for it on the third floor convention site. It is a separate thing with it own admission, takes up a lot of space and is not visually appealing. My opinion is that it should be moved to the first floor.

Genre Cars: I like them but the best place and most vehicles we ever saw was when they were in the loading dock area. This time wrestling was there. Would prefer cars there and wrestling where the LAN party is.

Celebrities: There were a few, most notably William Shatner, but it was a little lighter compared to a few years ago. Granted, they have more Cosplay people but TV and film stars still are an attractive feature. This year, like many years, saw last minute cancellations but it is good when the numbers of people are varied and deep.

Lay Out: Despite improvements on lay-out this years including a proper dining area on the second floor, the floor lay-out on the third floor could be better. Pipe and draping and skirting around the tables makes it easier for vendors and for convention goers it is more visually appealing and provides clear line for traffic.

Program and Map: I got a map but not when I got my wristband. It had a schedule on it. The map was extremely tiny in terms of printing. Calgary and Toronto Comic Cons both have program books. Would love to see in Winnipeg.

Don't want to be too critical of such a great event that attracts tens of thousands of people. The newly expanded convention centre opens up so many exciting possibilities. New sponsors and the like could also enhance the weekend event to include aspects not conceived of yet for the genre crowd.

It is had not to see a stronger movie studio presence in coming years with previews of movie trailers, visits by movie directors and writers and ever more stars.

The new construction of a hotel and public square between the MTS Centre and the RBC Winnipeg Convention Centre could play a role for incoming guests and break-out sessions and after parties. The timing of Halloween around C4 is an advantage,

Here's to many more years of the Central Canada Comic Con!

Pictures from Winnipeg's Central Canada Comic Con