TIFf ’22: Patrick and the Whale

I have been enchanted by cetaceans from the first time I heard whale song in my early teens. They fascinate me. And while our history with our fellow mammals is violent and bloody at best, we’ve slowly begun to put that behind us as we work to learn more about these amazing beings we share…

The Sittaford Mystery (1931) – Agatha Christie

The next mystery novel, The Sittaford Mystery aka Murder at Hazelmoor, from Agatha Christie didn’t feature any of her familiar characters, in fact it introduces us to a firebrand of a young woman named Emily, though she doesn’t enter the tale until a quarter way through. This time around, murder most foul strikes near Dartmoor,…

Excalibur (1981) – John Boorman

Like a series of pre-Raphaelite paintings brought to life, director John Boorman infuses the screen with magic and beauty as he delves into the myth of King Arthur and delivers what would become the gold standard for cinematic interpretations of the English legend. Each frame is a work of art as the story follows the…

Shogun (1980) – Disc 2

The epic mini-series adaptation of James Clavell’s novel (he also served as one of the show’s producers), Shogun continues this week, as I dive into disc two, which includes episode two and parts of episode three which originally aired on the 16th and 17th September, 1980, following the airing of the three hour premiere on…

Death Becomes Her (1992) – Robert Zemeckis

The next ‘zombie’ title to be featured in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies is the Robert Zemeckis big budget effects spectacular, so amazing in fact that the scored the film an Academy Award. Starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis and Isabella Rossellini, the film is a dark comedy that deals with age, beauty,…

Disney’s Cinderella: The Signature Collection

Walt Disney’s 1950’s animated classic (can you believe this film is seventy years old?) Cinderella is joining the Signature Collection with this edition of the film. The enduring tale makes a dazzling digital jump to blu-ray, and looks simply stunning. I’ve never seen the animation look so sharp, and crisp, the colors practically pop off…

The Color of Pomegranates (1969) – Sergei Parajanov

The former Soviet Union brings me the next title to watch from DK Canada’s The Movie Book. It recommended the brilliant science fiction film Stalker, and then suggest this one in the What Else to Watch list. The film is a super-stylized retelling of the life of the Armenian poet, Sayat Nova, using lines from…

The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2007) – Stephen King

Stephen King’s fantastic opus comes to its pic conclusion this week in the most epic way possible, and it’s a stunning read. Picking up where the previous installment left off, the ride doesn’t let up until the very last page as Roland Deschain and his ka-tet are reunited across worlds. We join up again with…