Very quickly The Equalizer has shown that its willing to go dark and gritty, and while there are some dark moments in The Defector, The Lock Box is even darker. The Defector was written by Heywood Gould and first debuted on 2 October, 1985. An old friend, and former agent of the USSR, Felix (Joe…
Tag: bullies
The Snoopy Collection – Blu-Ray Review
Snoopy and the entire Peanuts gang have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I can recall reading the paperback compilations of Charles M. Schulze classic strips. The Charlie Brown Christmas is one of the only holiday specials that I must watch every year. I imagined my childhood was…
Boy’s Life (1991) – Robert McCammon
I remember reading this book in paperback when it first came out. It was summer, and I was in Toronto working to save (a little) money for my post secondary education. I was delighted in the nostalgia in it, and recalled being moved by the tale within its pages. When I came across it in…
The Little Vampire (2000) – Uli Edel
Even family films get into the vampire act as I learn with the next stop in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies, the coffee table tome by legendary director John Landis. That film is The Little Vampire, based on the book by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg. Starring Jonathan Lipnicki, following his endearing turn in Jerry Maguire, the…
The NeverEnding Story (1984) – Wolfgang Petersen
The first recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Fellowship of the Ring is Wolfgang Petersen’s 1984 adaptation of only a small part of Micheal Ende’s fantasy novel, The NeverEnding Story. It has been more than thirty years since I watched this one, so I was…
It (2017) – Andy Muschietti
The crowd-pleasing big screen remake of Stephen King’s 1986 novel, It, brings the scares home today thanks to Warner Brothers. Debuting on blu-ray and DVD the entertaining, updated adaptation will make you float too as you visit the town of Derry, Maine. A town of secrets, and terrors in this wonderful coming of age tale….
A Monster Calls (2011) – Patrick Ness
It’s been a long time since a book has reduced me to tears, but Ness’ powerful, and beautiful young adult books, A Monster Calls has done just that. Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd who passed before she could tell it herself, the story is a singular experience that is heartbreaking in its truth…
Whistle Down the Wind (1961) – Bryan Forbes
As I return to the Family Genre in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, I come across a number of recommendations from a screening for E.T. which I’ve previously covered Whistle Down the Wind is a British film that focuses on a group of young children, including Charles (Alan Barnes), Nan (Diane…
The A-Team (1983) – The Beast From the Belly of a Boeing and A Nice Place to Visit
And just like that, we reach the end of season 1 with these two episodes. First up is The Beast From the Belly of a Boeing. This one was written by Patrick Hasburgh, and aired 3 May, 1983. A group of terrorists, led by Jackson (Andrew Robinson) and whose men include Xander Berkeley and…
Suburban Gothic (2014) – Richard Bates Jr.
Available now from Anchor Bay is this wonderfully quirky horror comedy. And let me emphasize the quirky, if you’re expecting a typical entry into this genre you are bound to be in for a bit of a shock. Happily, the film’s trailer sells its sense of humor really well. The film is also stocked…
The Mind Reels 