Tonight’s entry in the Toronto After Dark film festival is the one film in this year’s lineup that I find a little dubious. I love that the festival embraces genre films from all over the world, and that they showcase some fantastic films, but Contracts seems like a bit of misstep. In a post-John Wick…
Month: October 2019
The Conversation (1974) – Francis Ford Coppola
Gene Hackman stars in one of the What Else to Watch list following my screening of The Lives of Others as I work my way through DK Canada’s exceptional The Movie Book. Written and directed by Coppola, the film features some very recognizable names including Harrison Ford (playing the closest he’s ever been to a…
Toronto After Dark 2019: Making Monsters (2019) – Justin Harding & Rob Brunner
Having its Canadian premiere at the Scotiabank theater, the Toronto After Dark film festival unveils Making Monsters which proves itself to be a fun and occasionally creepy spin on familiar horror motifs, both classic and modern. There are nods to the tropes of Final Girl, Torture Porn, and the horrors of the modern world, all…
Toronto After Dark 2019: The Furies (2019) – Tony D’Aquino
Australia brings their horror game to the Toronto After Dark film festival tonight with their bloody and violent The Furies. A riff on the Final Girl trope as well as a mash-up of Battle Royale and Halloween the film is deliciously gory and excitingly paced. When Kayla (Airlie Dodds) is abducted and wakes up in…
Clash of the Titans (2010) – Louis Leterrier
The next title that I dove into for the Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales chapter of DK Canada’s highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies book was doomed for me from the moment of it’s inception. The remake of 1981’s Harryhausen effects driven classic was never going to wow me. Why? Gone are the practical effects…
Toronto After Dark 2019: Mutant Blast (2018) – Fernando Alle
The second feature of Zombie Night for the Toronto After Dark film festival is this entry from Portugal, which, when coupled with iconic cult production company Troma feels like a VHS throwback to science fiction horror that is so bad that it comes around to good, and is threatening to go bad again. Filled with…
Toronto After Dark 2019: The Odd Family – Zombie On Sale (2019) – Lee Min-jae
After the brilliant Train to Busan, how can Toronto After Dark possibly follow up? With another South Korean zombie film, which kicks off Zombie Night tonight at the Scotibank Theater, but this time infuse the blood, the undead, and the gore with a lot of humor in The Odd Family: Zombie On Sale. Wonderfully goofy,…
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2009) – Holocron Heist, Cargo of Doom, Children of the Force
“A lesson learned is a lesson earned.” Season two of The Clone Wars got underway with this episode on 2 October, 2009. It was written by Paul Dini, and overseen by series writer, Henry Gilory, and supervising writer, Scott Murphy. We are introduced to a new bounty hunter, Cad Bane (Corey Burton) who has been…
Toronto After Dark 2019: James vs. His Future Self (2019) – Jeremy LaLonde
Friend of the blog, Jeremy LaLonde brings his first genre film entry to the Toronto After Dark film festival tonight with his latest film, James vs. His Future Self. Filled with great actors the film plays with time travel as a way to show us to take the time we need to be in the…
Toronto After Dark 2019: Blood Machines (2019) – Raphael Hernandez & Savitri Joly-Gonfard
With a Carpenter-esque score by Carpenter Brut no less, and a heavy influence of the classic Heavy Metal magazine, the English language French entry into the Toronto After Dark film festival has one real flaw. It’s too short. We are introduced into a very-lived in world, with a fantastic seamless blend of practical and computer…
The Mind Reels 