Empire Records (1995) – Allan Moyle

Empire Records was one of those films that gained cult status in the video store I worked in when the film was released to, yup, VHS. My staff loved it, and it would go into high rotation as something played in the store. Set in a music store, the film is set over the course…

TIFF ’22: Moonage Daydream

Moonage Daydream, a film by Brett Morgen, is a frenetic, fever dream glimpse into the life, music, and art of David Bowie. Clocking in at just over two hours, the archival collage of performances and interviews combine in a colourful, kaleidoscopic form that becomes an experiential event. Morgen takes the viewer on a trippy exploration…

The X-Files (2016) – Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster, and Home Again

Fan favorite writer Darin Morgan returns to The X-Files with Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster. First airing on 1 February, 2016, While Mulder (David Duchovny) questions whether or not he’s wasted his life chasing UFOs, aliens, and monsters, Scully (Gillian Anderson) arrives in the office with another case… a monster. But, of course, with…

Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) – Howard Deutch

While arguably a riff on his own Pretty In Pink, John Hughes delivers another fantastic teen dramedy, overseen by director Howard Deutch that plays role reversal with its Molly Ringwald alter-ego film. This time the main character is Keith Nelson (Eric Stoltz), a high schooler who wants to be an artist, but his family’s blue…

The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) – Agatha Christie

It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to check in on the writings of Agatha Christie, so I settled in to play a bit of the armchair (or lawnchair) detective as I enjoyed the first novel to introduce the other famous detective Christie was responsible for introducing to the world, Ms. Jane Marple,…

Flashdance (1983) – Adrian Lyne

Flashdance is an odd duck. When it first came out it was seen as this big thing, it influenced fashion, and launched the producing careers of Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer who went on to produce some of the biggest hits of the 80s and 90s. Watching it now, it entertains, but it’s blatantly obvious…

The X-Files (1996) – Grotesque, and Piper Maru

Howard Gordon delivers a script for Grotesque, a monster of the week episode, that won the series an Emmy for cinematography, and gives us a moody piece that first aired on 2 February, 1996. Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) are requested by Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) to help the head of the Behavioural Unit,…

Toronto After Dark 2019: The Assent (2019) – Pearry Teo

There’s a Barker/Lovecraftian feel to the gritty dirtiness of this entry in the Toronto After Dark film festival. Couched in a house covered in unnerving art, and filled with troubling apparitions and visions there is an aggressive edge to The Assent in the way it is shot, and the way the story unfolds. Mostly. Halfway…

Moonlighting (1985) – Portrait of Maddie, and Altas Belched

It’s a different kind of case for Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) and David (Bruce Willis) this week as Kerry Ehrin and Ali Marie Matheson pen this episode that aired on 26 November, 1985. For the first time ever, the Blue Moon Detective Agency is in the black, but the funds are soon gone when Maddie buys…