Apostle (2018) – Gareth Evans

There’s a lot to unpack in Gareth Evans’ film, Apostle, there are concepts of religious tenets, blood, sacrifice, family, worship, deification, and faith, all of it wrapped up in a character driven tale starring Dan Stevens and Michael Sheen. If you try to take it as the straightforward tale that the film’s plotline offers, you’re…

A Wizard of Earthsea (1968) – Ursula K. Le Guin

I had never read the Earthsea books as a youth. I think as previously mentioned, the only fantasy book I read when I was younger was The Lord of the Rings, and I never tackled anything after that, because how do you top that? I’ve found over the past few years, however, that I’ve been…

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins (2021) – 4K Review

Paramount Pictures releases the latest film in the G.I. Joe series that reveals that franchise, three films in, is still trying to find its footing, and is already engaging in a soft reboot. This time out, we get a reimagining of the origin of two of the toys/comic book/cartoon/movies favorite characters, Snake Eyes and Storm…

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) – Mike Newell

The fourth entry in the Harry Potter franchise is the first to get itself a PG-13 rating, reflecting the fact tht the stories themselves are getting darker, and dealing with heavier subjects. It also sees a new director behind the camera, Mike Newell, who continues the world-building of the series, embracing the visual aesthetic that…

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)…

Broken Homes (2013) – Ben Aaronovitch

The fourth book in Ben Aaronovitch’s River of London series opens up the world again, even further than the previous novel, as we join Peter Grant, Lesley, Nightingale as they continue their hunt for the Faceless Man, dealing with the Gods and Godesses of the rivers, and the mysteries that begin to spring up with…

The Greatest Show On Earth (1952) – Blu-Ray Review

Cecil D.DeMille knew how to make an epic, and both versions of his Ten Commandments prove that point, but I was always more intrigued by what I had heard about his circus picture, The Greatest Show On Earth, mainly because it was the film that really ignited Steven Spielberg’s love of moviemaking. I had never…

Shadow and Bone (2012) – Leigh Bardugo

My second foray into the Grishaverse was the first one written, Shadow and Bone. And much like Six of Crows, I got swept up pretty damned quick in the story and the characters, and can’t wait to continue to explore the rest of the realm that Bardugo created. In this novel, we are introduced to…

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) – 4K Review

The infamous Snyder Cut comes to physical media this week from Warner Brothers and it is an event. After the disastrous theatrical release that saw the film taken over by Joss Whedon when director Zack Snyder had to step away for personal reasons, fans around the world lobbied Warner to release Snyder’s version of the…

TIFF 2021: Dune dir. Denis Villeneuve

Magnificent. Triumphant. THIS is the movie I saw in my mind’s eye when I first read Dune in 1984 when I was anticipating the Lynch film (which I love for its own reasons). The visual aesthetic, the sound and production design, the score (I swear Hans Zimmer isn’t the only one throwing a few nods…