So I figured I would take a look at another Lovecraft adaptation, and despite the title of the film, the story is more in line with The Shadow Over Innsmouth, with a slight lean towards Dagon. And while I appreciate what Gordon set out to do, he’s hampered by horrible lighting and photography, and terrible…
Tag: cgi
Mission to Mars (2000) – Brian De Palma
Director Brian De Palma delivers what feels like his spin on Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, unfortunately the shoddy and very obvious CGI in a number of the sequences of the film, and especially during the climax when a practical effects would have served better, and leant a stronger reality to the film, which needed…
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) – Rob Cohen
There is a fun, if not a good movie somewhere in this mess of a mummy film that is my next stop in the mummy chapter of DK Canada’s highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies book. Unfortunately there are a number of things holding it back, there are some casting changes that affect onscreen chemistry,…
Shazam! (2019) – Blu-Ray Review
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has been a little shaky since its launch, but with Wonder Woman, Warner Brothers and DC Comics proved they could do it right, and tell an empowering story. Then there was the fumble that was Justice League. Aquaman showed that they could do a big budget, CGI-filled action set piece…
War of the Worlds (1989) – The Raising of Lazarus, and The Angel of Death
This week we come to the conclusion of Season 1 of Paramount Pictures’ War of the Worlds television series, and by my count, I think the morthren are definitely winning. The Raising of Lazarus, the season’s penultimate episode was written by Durnford King, and aired on 8 May, 1989. Team Blackwood may have their hands…
Captain Marvel (2019) – Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
It took a decade, but this week Marvel brings us their first female led superhero film. Giving us a quick respite before diving into Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel brings us a unique Marvel movie, and not just because it has a female as the lead. Captain Marvel is irreverent, playful, and puts a new spin…
Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018) – Peyton Reed
Opening this Friday is the next instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man and The Wasp. While lacking the originality of the first film (and its desire to repeat the beats and moments that made the first one such a unique success), this one still succeeds and does so best when it focuses on the…
Alien: Covenant (2017) – Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott returns to the science fiction genre again and retreads things that have gone before in Alien: Covenant. The latest film in the seemingly indefatigable series connects the previous film, the divisive Prometheus with the first film in the series, 1979 Alien, both directed by Scott. And while I didn’t hate it, the film…
Tron: Legacy (2010) -Joseph Kosinski
Tron was a big part of my childhood. I remember seeing it in the theatre, and I remember my father falling asleep next to my sister while I was enraptured by the film. The use of computer technology, and the blossoming game world that seemed to fascinate every 80s kid was up there on the…
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) – Zack Snyder
The Hero’s Code. It apparently means nothing to Batman (Ben Affleck). It apparently means nothing to Superman (Henry Cavill). And that’s troubling, because as a child, they were two of the characters I grew up with that taught me what it was. But even worse, the creative forces behind the scenes of the latest…
JeruZalem (2015) – Doron and Yoav Paz
Opening today in Toronto at the Carlton Cinema, and also being released on VOD, is this could-have-been-great found footage (don’t we have enough of these yet?) from the Paz brothers. This time, the film’s camera is supposedly in the form of a pair of Smart Glasses. This ends up being a nice touch, because…
Niagara Integrated Film Festival 2015
Against the backdrop of wine country with the dull thrum of the falls imaginable at the farthest edge of earshot, members of the film and wine industry gather to make connections, share experiences and celebrate the finer things in life – film and a good vino. And I was fortunate enough to be invited…
