The Deer Hunter (1978) – Micheal Cimino

Micheal Cimino’s examination of the effects of war, framed around the Vietnam conflict and a small industrial town in Pennsylvania is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Apocalypse Now. Laying out the scars, physical, mental and unseen that affected those who fought in it,…

Wonder Woman (2017) – Patty Jenkins

Hitting blu-ray and video today from Warner Brothers is the box office sensation Wonder Woman, the long overdue arrival of Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) to the big screen. Wowing in the theatre, the Amazon comes home with a gorgeous blu-ray that looks and sounds fantastic and puts your home theatre through its paces. Loved by…

Star Trek: Dreadnought! (1986) – Diane Carey

When I was younger, living in Bermuda, back in 1986, I would hit the rather meagre offerings in the book racks of the American Exchange store which served Canadian, British and American forces as our mult-need department store. I would grab each Trek book I came across, and would tear through them, devouring the adventures…

Doctor Who (David Tennant) – The Poisoned Sky, and The Doctor’s Daughter

The Poison Sky is the conclusion to last week’s cliffhanger. Written by Helen Raynor this episode first aired on 3 May, 2008. The Doctor (Tennant) and Donna (Catherine Tate) save Wilf (Bernard Cribbins) from hit ATMOS car, and our heroes plunge into a full-on confrontation with the Sontarans and their errand boy, Luke (Ryan Sampson)….

Broken Blossoms (1919) – D.W. Griffith

I continue to explore some of the key works of D.W. Griffith with DK Book’s The Movie Book, and this time I dive into a fascinating tale that is perhaps best told through the silent format that marked Griffith’s time. Be warned there is a lot of racism in this film. It’s in the title….

Back to the Future: Part III (1990) – Robert Zemeckis

My last stop in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book is the final trip with Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) in Back to the Future: Part III. From the film’s opening credits you know this will be a different adventure, the triumphant theme by Alan Silvestri gives way to a stirring romantic…

Liv Stein

Combining near cinematic imagery that verges on the iconic and powerhouse performances from its actors, Liv Stein, presented by Canadian Stage at the Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto is sure to wow and elicit discussion. Director Matthew Jocelyn’s sure hand brings Nino Haratischwili’s original German play to the Canadian stage via a translation by Birgit…