TIFF24: The Life of Chuck dir. Mike Flanagan

Tears. Happy tears. When things just feel right, when something is translated so well from page to screen that it looks the way it did in your mind’s eye. The Life of Chuck moved me to happy tears. Mike Flanagan is at the top of his game. He has proven that he excels at adapting…

Footloose (1984) – 4k

There is no way this film is forty years old. I remember very well the summer of ’84, and the first time that I saw Footloose. I was completely swept up in the music, I just recently discovered pop music, having grown up in a predominantly country household, and the rhythms and beats really spoke…

TIFF ’23: Lee

Before this morning, I had a broad, very generalized knowledge of who Lee Miller was. Now, thanks to this fantastic biopic directed by Ellen Kuras, based on The Lives of Lee Miller by Anthony Penrose and a powerhouse performance (would we expect anything less?) from Kate Winslet as Lee I find my imagination fired, and…

1923 – Season 1 Blu-Ray Review

Taylor Sheridan has built a bit of an entertainment juggernaut with his Yellowstone series. It already had one limited series spinoff with 1883, and now Paramount Canada delivers the second one, 1923, on physical media, making it available on both DVD and Blu-Ray. 1923 continues exploring the story of the Dutton family as they run…

Star Trek: The Next Generation 4K Movie Collection

Space, the final frontier… I can remember each and every time I saw a Star Trek movie in the theatre, and much like the 4K release of the Trek films featuring the cast of The Original Series, Paramount Picture’s release of the four films featuring The Next Generation cast in 4K has let me see…

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) – Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson transposes his quirky family dramas and characters, and that wonderful eye for details into an undersea adventure that pays homage to, and pokes fun at, the ocean adventure films that rose to popularity with the works of Jacques Cousteau. Bill Murray stars as the titular Steve Zissou, a Cousteau wannabe who, aboard his…

Isle of Dogs (2018) – Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson delivers another highly-enjoyable stop-motion animated feature with Isle of Dogs. He penned the script from a story he developed with Jason Schwartzman, Kunichi Nomura, and Roman Coppola. Set in a not-so-distant future in Japan, the story follows young Atari (Koyu Rankin) who travels to an island to seek out his missing canine, Spots…

The Apollo Murders (2021) – Chris Hadfield

Retired astronaut and national treasure Chris Hadfield delivers a fast-paced thriller with The Apollo Murders. It’s a look at an all too believable reality as the story follows the training, launch, and mission of Apollo 18. It’s made all the more believable because Hadfield not only knows his subject matter, emotionally and technically, using an…

The French Dispatch (2021) – Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson brings his quirky style to journalism with The French Dispatch, an anthology of stories that let him show off his cast, his style, his attention to wonderful details, and that sense of humor that permeates his work. Bill Murray plays the editor of The French Dispatch, Arthur Howitzer, Jr., and this will be…

Crimson Peak (2015) – Guillermo del Toro

The first time I watched del Toro’s gothic tale I didn’t pay attention as much as I should and consequently, I grew bored with it. The advertising had made it look more akin to a horror film which is what I thought I wanted. I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of lurid colors, and what…