Wow. Writer/director Zach Cregger blew me away with this one, completely subverting my expectations while playing with the traditional horror rules in this fantastic thriller of a film. From his framing to camera movement to casting to the way he doles out the story, Cregger plays with an increasingly film-savvy and educated horror audience and…
Tag: camera
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)- Edgar Wright
Edgar Wright takes the iconic Canadian graphic novel adventure of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and adapts it brilliantly and energetically to the big screen, casting Michael Cera in the titular role as Scott. Using iconic Toronto locations as a backdrop the story follows Scott in his quest to win the heart of the beautiful…
TIFF ’22: The Fabelmans
I have been a Spielberg fan for as long as I can remember. The first film he saw was The Greatest Show On Earth, which affected him. Mine was Jaws, and I can say the same thing. Over the decades I have followed him on his storytelling journey, embracing each new film that came along,…
The Quick and The Dead (1995) – Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi brings his frenetic style of zooming cameras and powerful camera angles to the western genre with a tale of revenge riding across the plains into an unforgiving town. Sharon Stone who looks absolutely stunning in western getup stars as Ellen, a woman bent on vengeance. She rides into a frontier town to take…
The Gift (2000) – Sam Raimi
The Gift is definitely an underrated entry in Sam Raimi’s filmography. It lacks the frenetic energy in a number of his films but is completely engrossing in the way it unfolds. With a ceaselessly moving camera, Raimi tells a captivating ghost story that was written in part by Billy Bob Thornton, which was based in…
TIFF: Musicals! The Movies That Moved Us – Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
When the musical made the leap from stage to screen, it opened everything up, not just in terms of accessibility for the viewing audience, but the scope of the storytelling canvas – things were no longer confined to a stage, the settings, the choreography, the characters could live in a whole new way. Cameras could…
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) – Alfonso Cuaron
Despite the box office success of the previous two Harry Potter films, the franchise really comes into its own with a change of directors, the masteful Alfonso Cuaron settles into the chair taking over from Chris Columbus who moved into a producer’s role for this entry. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint return for…
The Bourne Identity (2002) – Doug Liman
Matt Damon takes on the role of Robert Ludlum’s most famous creation in the 2002 adaptation of his novel. While it could be argued that Paul Greengrass perfected the Bourne storytelling style with Supremacy and Ultimatum, Liman introduced all the visual language of that style in the first film. When compared to its sequels, even…
Strange Weather (2017) – Joe Hill
Joe Hill delivers another great read with this collection of four short novels, all of whom, in some form or another tie in with strange weather. Each of the stories are about one hundred pages each, and completely captivate with Hill’s addictive narratives, and engaging characters, details, and horrifying moments. Snapshot delves into a bit…
Moonlighting (1989) – Perfetc, and When Girls Collide
This week brings us the penultimate instalment of my Moonlighting exploration. It all wraps up, somehow, next week. But first let’s get through these two episodes. Up first is Perfetc. Written by James Kramer, Chris Ruppenthal and Jerry Stahl from a story by Jeff Reno and Ron Osborn it debuted on 9 April, 1989. David…
The Mind Reels 