Stargate: Atlantis (2005) – Instinct, and Conversion

Instinct, written by Treena Hancock and Melissa R. Byer, opens with a bit of a nod to An American Werewolf in London. McKay (David Hewlett), Ronon (Jason Momoa), Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) and Teyla (Rachel Luttrell) enter a pub house on a distant world. They are unwelcome and urged to leave, but one of them warns…

Magnetosphere (2024) – Nicola Rose

Magnetosphere is a delightfully charming family-friendly feature that celebrates the pangs of first loves, the acceptance of one’s self, and living with a beautiful, but sometimes troubling condition, synesthesia, which causes her to see sounds, hear colours, and more. Maggie (Shayelin Martin) is thirteen, and she and her family are settling into Sault Ste. Marie….

Northern Exposure (1994) – Mr. Sandman, and Mite Makes Right

Everyone is having very strange dreams in Cicely. Or at least strange to them. As it seems that everyone is having dreams that belong to everyone else. Written by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider from a story they developed with David Chase, Mr. Sandman was first broadcast on 10 January, 1994. Chris (John Corbett) is…

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (2014) – Becky Chambers

When I get into a book that I’m really enjoying reading it gets to the point that I see it all in my mind’s eye. Some books not only get the theater of the mind rolling, but make me feel at home and comfortable with the characters and the environment within pages of starting and…

I Saw the TV Glow (2024) – Jane Schoebrun

I Saw the TV Glow is a a fantastic tale of how we relate to pop culture, as well as how we as individuals identify, and the restrictions put upon us by our environment who won’t let us become who we are. While not for everyone, I found this film thought-provoking, wonderfully crafted and an…

Northern Exposure (1991) – Animals R Us, and Jules et Joel

Ed (Darren E. Burrows) struggles with his cinematic dreams, questioning whether he can actually make a film or not in Animals R Us. Written by Robin Green this episode first debuted on 14 October, 1991. There are a couple of narrative threads woven into this story, but the main one centers on Maggie (Janine Turner)…

TIFF24: Flow dir. Gints Zilbalodis

Animated films have taken us to a variety of places and let us encounter all manner of characters, and they make us feel, which says something incredible about the fact that they started out as sketches or lines of code in a computer. Flow does something we don’t often see in animated films, its characters,…

TAD 2023: International Shorts After Dark

It’s the final day of the festival and Toronto After Dark always takes this opportunity to showcase some of the amazing genre shorts that have been submitted to them from all over the world. This year, there are ten shorts to dive into, something that is sure to tickle your fancy is to be found…

TIFF ’23: Summer Qamp

My first documentary of this year’s TIFF was the joyous celebration that is Summer Qamp. The film crew led by director Jennifer Markowitz heads to Camp fYrefly located in, of all places, Alberta. A week-long summer camp for queer, non-binary and trans teens, fYrefly is a safe space for everyone who goes there and allows…