A spooky house, strange wait staff, secrets, monsters, aliens… Ghost Light is a lot of fun, and the Doctor (McCoy) and Ace (Sophie Aldred) have a heck of a time, as the Companion confronts a bit of her past. Written by Marc Platt, and encapsulated in a tightly paced and enjoyable three parts, Ghost Light…
Tag: character
The Searchers (1956) – John Ford
John Ford and John Wayne. When it comes to westerns there are few names better, and they are my next stop in the Action section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. Confederate soldier, Ethan (Wayne) returns to his family’s homestead in Texas after the end of the Civil War, where he…
The Couturier of Milan (2017) – Ian Hamilton
Next Monday, the adventures of Ava Lee continue in Ian Hamilton’s latest instalment in the addictive, page-turning series that began with The Water Rat of Wanchai and continues now with book nine(!) and one novella – The Couturier of Milan. Over the course of these books, I have grown to consider Ava Lee a friend,…
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…
The DC Comics Encyclopedia (2016) – Alan Cowsill, Alex Irvine, Steve Korte, Matt Manning, Stephen Wiacek and Sven Wilson
When I was a kid, growing up on various military bases around the globe, I didn’t know a lot about superheroes, or comic books. My knowledge was constrained to Star Wars (and the occasional, troubled Star Trek title), Superman and Batman. My knowledge of the DC Comic Universe wasn’t much greater. I knew about Supes,…
Toronto After Dark 2016: Antibirth – Danny Perez
I was a little underwhelmed with Toronto After Dark’s screening of Afterbirth this evening at Scotiabank Theatre. I always try and find something I enjoy about all the films that screen there, and this time it was the people involved in the making of the film, both in front of and behind the camera. I…
Toronto After Dark 2016: Blood Father -Jean-Francois Richet
Action night concluded Sunday night for the Toronto After Dark film festival as Mel Gibson, previous person non grata in Hollywood, returns to form in this pulse-pounding thriller. This is not the place for me to ruminate on Mel Gibson’s career or his personal life and substance abuse, instead I want to talk about the…
Vertigo (1958) – Alfred Hitchcock
Perhaps one of Hitchcock’s best films, Vertigo, is next on the list of recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. With the combined star power of James Stewart and Kim Novak, this romantic thriller defines obsession as well as fear. Stewart is John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson a San Francisco police detective on…
Captain America: Civil War (2016) – Anthony & Jo Russo
Marvel does what DC tried and failed to do just a month ago. Building on the universe they’ve already established, lending the stakes a heavier weight, the film brings a number of threads from the previous films, and tying it all together. In fact, they are dealing with the fallout from their actions in…
True Detective: Season 2
Releasing from HBO today on both Blu-Ray and DVD is the sophomore season of the intense Nic Pizzolatto written and created police drama. The critics and viewers were divided on this one, you either loved it or hated it, but I think that was partly because everyone thought they would be getting more of…
The Mind Reels 