Patrick Swayze plays Dalton, a lethal but zen bouncer in the cult-favorite, Road House, which also features the famed blind Canadian guitarist Jeff Healey as the bar band of the Double Deuce. Dalton is hired by Tilghman (Kevin Tighe) to help change his bar, the Double Deuce, into something a little more profitable. It has…
Tag: Canadian
Pontypool (2008) – Bruce McDonald
Bruce McDonald directs this unique take on the zombie film which was written by Tony Burgess, which he adapted from his own novel. The film is set predominantly in one location, the sound booth of a radio station, and features strong performances from Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, and Georgina Reilly. McHattie, who is always a…
TIFF ‘ 23: Mr. Dressup – The Magic of Make-Believe
I’m not crying. You’re crying! Is there anything more Canadian to children who grew up in the 70s/80s/and early90s than Mr. Dressup? I can’t remember a time in my own life when I didn’t know about him, Casey, Finnegan and the Tickle Trunk. In fact I’m sure that at some point I had a stuffed…
Wonderfalls (2004) – Wax Lion, and Pink Flamingos
This week, I’m diving into the classic Bryan Fuller series, Wonderfalls. The show definitely did not get the love it deserved at the time, mainly because Fox, in their usual way of screwing over genre shows, aired them out of order. In fact, they only aired four episodes, leaving nine unaired, but the series found…
The Equalizer (1988) – Something Green, and The Mystery of Manon: Part 1
A very young Macaulay Culkin guest stars in Something Green. Written by Kevin Droney the episode debuted on 10 February, 1988. When Mrs. Gephart’s (Lisa Eichorn) son, Paul (Cuklin) is kidnapped from her house in broad daylight, she suspects her ex-husband, Raymond (Jon DeVries), a Swiss diplomat. She turns to Robert McCall (Edward Woodward) for…
M*A*S*H (1981) – Tell It to the Marines, Taking the Fifth, and Operation Friendship
Harry Morgan directs Tell It to the Marines, which first aired on 12 January, 1981, and was written by Hank Bradford. Charles (David Ogden Stiers) takes over as CO while Potter (Morgan) is away, and turns Klinger (Jamie Farr) into his personal attaché, and seems intent on living in a means he’s more accustomed to….
Beneath Her Skin (2021) – C.S. Porter
Nimbus Publishing, under its Vagrant Press, brings a new voice, C.S. Porter to the mystery genre, with their first novel, Beneath Her Skin, a lean, brisk, thriller. With the sub-title A Kes Morris File, one can assume that this will be Porter’s first foray into a series around their creation of Kes Morris, a female…
Meatballs (1979) – Ivan Reitman
With a script that involved Harold Ramis, a score by Elmer Bernstein, Ivan Reitman, his first major motion picture, directs Bill Murray in his first starring role in the Canadian-made summer classic, Meatballs. Does it all stand up? It really doesn’t. But is there a lot of fun to be had in the film, yeah…
Stakeout (1987) – John Badham
Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez star in this buddy cop action comedy, that sees the mustachioed pair drawing a stakeout assignment, which is going to get a lot more personal than one of them had planned. Slightly goofy, but with a sense of fun, Stakeout directed by John Badham sees Chris (Dreyfuss) and Bill (Estevez)…
Jason X (2001) – James Isaac
While writers attempted to crack the Freddy vs.Jason showdown, New Line Cinema was intent on keeping the Friday the 13th i.p. alive and also wanted to do something different. Jason X is definitely that. And unquestionably the worst entry in the entire series, despite boasting a cameo by David Cronenberg, a fun starring turn by…
The Mind Reels 