TIFF 25: California Schemin’ dir. James McAvoy

I had never heard of Silibil ‘n’ Brains, but knowing this was James McAvoy’s directorial debut I had to check it out. It’s based on a true story, and it’s very entertaining. Gavin (Seamus McLean Ross) and Billy (Samuel Bottomley) are just a couple of blokes from Dundee, Scotland. They dream big, and those dreams…

Night Shift (1982) – Ron Howard

Ron Howard wanted to move away from acting and settle into directing, but because of his commitments to Happy Days production houses were reticent to let him take the center seat on for a big feature film despite his success directing and starring in Grand Theft Auto for Roger Corman. An agreement was reached if…

Final Destination (2000) – James Wong

Death doesn’t like to be cheated, especially by twenty-somethings playing teenagers as we see in the first installment in the multi-film series christened Final Destination. Written by X-files alumus James Wong and Glen Morgan alongside Jeffrey Reddick from a story developed by Reddick, the horror thriller is fairly basic, with a number of familiar faces….

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) – 4K Review

Sony Pictures’ release of their Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4 brings me another iconic film that was missing from my viewing history, the Robert Benton film, Kramer vs. Kramer. Based on the novel by Avery Corman the film stars Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep as the titular Kramers. Hoffman is Ted Kramer,…

The Final Girls (2015) – Todd Strauss-Schulson

The Final Girls is a delightfully meta-horror comedy with an emotional heart thanks to the performances of Taissa Farmiga and Malin Akerman. Farmiga is Max Cartwright, the daughter of Alexandra (Akerman) who has always wanted to be a movie star, but keeps getting recalled for her one big role, in an 80s cult classic slasher…

The Saturday Night Ghost Club (2018) – Craig Davidson

A too-short novel that handles the delicacy of memory, nostalgia, growing up in the 80s, and ghost stories. Craig Davidson’s poignant and engaging The Saturday Night Ghost Club is an emotional and compelling read. Jake, the story’s narrator relates to the reader a coming-of-age summer as he, his new best friend, the friend’s sister, and…

Tank (1984) – Marvin J. Chomsky

1984. A few short months before my family would be posted to a new home in the middle of the ocean, I was of an age that I was allowed to go see movies in the theatre with my friends (despite the fact that the theatres were in the city proper and not on the…

The X-Files (2000) – Invocation, and Redrum

David Amann pens Invocation, which first debuted on 3 December, 2000. Agents Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Doggett (Robert Patrick) are drawn to a case that sees that a young boy who was abducted seven years ago, has been returned. The same age he was when he was taken. Doggett isn’t too interested in the hows…

Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) – John Landis

Seven years after Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) went to Beverly Hills, he headed back one last time when his boss, Todd (Gilbert R. Hill) is killed, and the evidence leads to a theme park in California, WonderWorld. John Landis takes over directorial duties, having worked with Murphy before, and puts him up against Timothy Carhart,…

Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) Tony Scott

Eddie Murphy returned to the character of Axel Foley in 1987’s follow-up to his box office smash Beverly Hills Cop. This time around Tony Scott settled into the director’s chair to guide Foley on his next adventure, and while the film was fun, and recognisably Foley, it now had Scott’s signature visual style of saturated…