The final recommendation following Manhattan in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book is the Academy Award winning Annie Hall. And while even now, I don’t understand how this film beat out Star Wars for best picture, I can admit it was pretty good. Except for the fact that I don’t think Woody…
Trailer Tracks: The Beastmaster (1982) – Don Coscarelli
I remember seeing this when First Choice, or Super Channel, can’t remember which, had a free weekend on. I loved the fact that this guy could communicate with animals in a much cooler way then Doctor Dolittle, and he had a sword! Come on!!! Don Cosarelli would become a favorite director (I still geek out…
Tales of the Gold Monkey (1983) – A Distant Shout of Thunder & Mourning Becomes Matuka
And just like that, we’ve come to the end of the run for Jake Cutter (Stephen Collins), Jack, Corky (Jeff MacKay), Sarah (Caitlin O’Heaney), Gushie (Les Jankey), Reverned Tenboom (John Calvin), Princess Koji (Marta DuBois) and Louie (Roddy McDowall). The series too-short run aired its penultimate episode on 8 April, 1983, with an adventure written…
ICFF – Italian Contemporary Film Festival 2014
Toronto is a truly fortunate when it comes to the film industry. There are times when it seems you can’t turn around in this city without striding onto a film location, or finding out there is a film festival of some for or another being held. I LOVE IT! Starting today and running through to…
Trailer Tracks: Labyrinth (1986) – Jim Henson
Jim Henson, working with producer George Lucas, created a beautiful fantasy world filled with amazing characters both live action (David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly (I developed such a crush on her) and puppet, great music (David Bowie and Trevor Jones) that opened my eyes, in much the way Muppets, The Dark Crystal did, and that Farscape would…
Divergent (2014) – Neil Burger
Sometimes my disappointment should be something I can throw at the screen. Not that you shouldn’t always worry about book adaptations, because invariably, the books are almost always better. But by the time we got halfway through screening this film, I wondered whether anyone in the production of this film had read the first book,…
Trailer Tracks: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – Steven Spielberg
One of the biggest influences on my childhood, if not my entire life, alongside Star Wars, is this homage to the adventures of yesteryear, Raiders of the Lost Ark… that music (John Williams), that cast (Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies), those stunts (Vic Armstrong)!!! Often imitated, and sequel-ized, but never matched…
True Detective – Season 1
Released today on Blu-Ray and DVD from HBO is the first season of the stellar police thriller, True Detective. Created and completely written by Nic Pizzolatto and starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey with the entire 8 episode series directed by Cary Fukunaga this show is intelligent, dark, captivating and gritty. Set in Louisiana, the series…
Alan Partridge (2013) – Declan Lowney
Hitting DVD, Blu-ray and VOD today is this British import starring Steve Coogan,. He brings his Alan Partridge character in a hostage story that has some great dialogue wrapped up in a paint-by-numbers story. Reprising his television character, Coogan stars as Alan Partridge, radio DJ and deluded by his perception of his own fame, including driving around in a…
The Rockford Files (1976) – The No-Cut Contract & A Portrait of Elizabeth
This week private investigator Jim Rockford (James Garner) is in trouble again. The first episode, written by Cannell, himself is a lot of fun. It originally aired 16 January, 1976, and features Wayne Tippit, back as Agent Shore, Becker (Joe Santos), Angel (Stuart Margolin) and Beth (Gretchen Corbett). The phone gag is all in Spanish,…
