Dear Mr. Watterson (2013) – Joel Allen Schroeder

  Calvin & Hobbes. Just reading the name brings a smile to my face. I came to this strip a little late, right around 1990, when I came across Something Under The Bed Is Drooling. I was gob-smacked, I had never come across a comic strip like this, one that reflected my own childhood, and…

All Cheerleaders Die (2013) – Lucy McKee & Chris Silverston

  Hitting DVD and Blu-Ray today is this entertaining romp that is bound to become a cult classic, All Cheerleaders Die. The opening night feature for the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Midnight Madness, I was a little unsure about this one, but thought I’d give it a shot. I was happily surprised. What could…

Nashville (1975) – Robert Altman

  Altman films always seem to be an experience to get through, so I was curious how I would do when I sat down to view this one as a follow-up title to Rules of the Game, from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. Altman has a knack for overlapping dialogue, weaving…

Jamon, Jamon (1992) – Bigas Luna

  The recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of Women On the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown continue with this entertaining Spanish film featuring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Legs of ham, underwear models and naked bullfighting all play a part in this enjoyable and erotic film…

The Graduate (1967) – Mike Nichols

  Continuing with the recommendations from The Rules of The Game from The Great Movies -100 Years of Film book, I sat down to rewatch this classic film that sees Dustin Hoffman as a young man, Benjamin, unable to connect with the world around him – the expectations of his parents weigh him down, he…

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) – Luis Bunuel

  The next recommendation from Great Movies – 100 Years of Film for my screening of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, is this increasingly surreal French film. Three couples seem to have insurmountable problems in getting together for a dinner party. Amorous couple, the Senechals, Alice (Stephane Audran) and Henri (Jean-Pierre Cassel),…

La Dolce Vita (1960) – Federico Fellini

  The strong recommendations from my viewing of Rules of the Game for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book continue with this beautifully made film. Marcello (Marcello Mastroianni) is a journalist who runs all over Rome from evening to dawn collecting tabloid stories alongside his sometimes photographer Paparazzo (Walter Santesso). He’s a…

Deliver Us From Evil (2014) – Scott Derrickson

  It’s tough to find a good horror movie these days, one that gets under your skin and unnerves you, makes you anxious to look in dark corners, makes you wonder about that strange sound you don’t recognize in your home. And who doesn’t love a good story of the supernatural to share around that…

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) – Kenneth Branagh

  To round out the remake/reboots I’ve been watching this week I thought I’d take a look at the latest Jack Ryan film. Based on the characters (not any of the books) created by Tom Clancy, Chris Pine steps into the shoes previously filled by Ben Affleck, Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin. What starts out fairly decently,…

RoboCop (2014) – Jose Padiha

  The other remake I watched this week, after the Evil Dead debacle, was the new Robocop. Lacking the over-the-top violence and comic book nature, not to mention the skewering social commentary of the original, there’s not a lot to redeem this film. And I feel sorry for viewers who come to this one first…