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,…
Tag: behavior
A House with Good Bones (2023) – T. Kingfisher
T. Kingfisher aka Ursula Vernon has entertained and creeped me out with each of the books I’ve read by her; three to date, with A House with Good Bones being the latest. Once again she introduces us to a relatable character, in this case entomologist Samantha who, when her summer dig is cancelled, decides to…
Wild and Crazy Guys (2019) – Nick de Semlyen
I loved Nick de Semlyen’s The Last Action Heroes which took readers behind the scenes of the big 80s action heroes, their successes and blunders. When I heard he’s also written one about the big comedy stars of the 80s I sought out a copy of Wild and Crazy Guys immediately. The focus of this…
Star Trek: Enterprise (2002) – Singularity, and Vanishing Point
Captain’s log: 14 August, 2152 Singularity was written by Chris Black, and first debuted on 20 November, 2002. As the Enterprise approaches a black hole, the crew appears to descend into a form of madness as each of them becomes obsessed with seemingly trivial matters. T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) who remains largely unaffected, must find a…
Toronto After Dark 2019: Homewrecker (2019) – Zach Gayne
Toronto After Dark brings another Canadian film into their Film Festival with Zach Gayne’s Homewrecker, starring Precious Chong and Alex Essoe, and pairing these two actors on screen brings this somewhat familiar premise to an electric conclusion. Essoe is Michelle, a young millenial in a marriage she’s unsure of with the hopes of building a…
Red Sorghum (1988) -Yimou Zhang
The What Else to Watch list from DK Canada’s The Movie Book following my screening of Raise the Red Lantern allows me to dive a little deeper into classic Chinese cinema by introducing me to Red Sorghum, another Li Gong film that is a very entertaining watch. While the story synopsis makes it sound epic,…
Raise the Red Lantern (1991) – Yimou Zhang
The next film in DK Canada’s informative and entertaining The Movie Book is this beautifully shot Chinese film starring Li Gong. Set in the 1920s, Songlian (Li) elects to become the fourth mistress of a wealthy lord, Chen Zuoqian (Jingwu Ma). She soon finds herself enmeshed in the rules of the household, and the scheming…
NOS4A2 (2013) – Joe Hill
So I wanted something spooky and creepy, but needed a quick respite from revisting King’s work. I kept it in the family and dug into his son’s novel, NOS4A2. This one feels almost epic in size as we follow the horrors committed by Charlie Talent Manx and the life of a woman, Victoria McQueen who…
The Devil’s Advocate (1997) – Taylor Hackford
The final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of La Belle et La Bete is this 1997 legal thriller with supernatural overtones that lets Keanu Reeves take on a scene-chewing Al Pacino. Charlize Theron co-stars as Reeves’ wife Mary Ann, while Keanu plays Kevin Lomax, a not…
Hot Docs 2016: Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World – Werner Herzog
My Hot Docs got under way this afternoon at about 1pm as I settled in for my first screening at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, director Werner Herzog’s latest film, Lo and Behold. I was first struck, as I always am, by the amazing turnout this festival has. It should be no wonder of…
The Mind Reels 