TAD 2023: Daniel’s Gotta Die dir. Jeremy LaLonde

I’ve been a fan of Jeremy LaLonde for some time now, and have enjoyed all of his films. He assembles great casts and tends to have very sharp scripts, his latest, Daniel’s Gotta Die, screening tonight at Toronto After Dark is no exception to that. Shot in the Caribbean during lockdown, LaLonde delivers a fun…

Confess, Fletch (1976)- Gregory McDonald

The second Fletch book (written, not chonronlogically within its universe) sees the former investigative reporter flying into Boston from Italy. He’s there to track fown some stolen paintings for the De Grassi family, whose daughter he claims to be engaged to. He’s also planning on working on a book about a famed American artist. On…

It (1927) – Clarence G. Badger, and Josef von Sternberg

Philip Kemp’s Movies book brings me another classic from the silent film era, and while it’s a romantic comedy, some of the subject matter doesn’t quite stand up to the test of time. You’ll see what I mean as I get into the narrative below. Having said that, it was a delightful little film, and…

The Hunger (2018) – Alma Katsu

There is a sense of dread and menace that seems to ooze off the pages of Alma Katsu’s retelling of the haunting, and infamous Donner Party expedition. Everyone knows, or thinks they know the story, and Katsu uses that troubling knowledge and lets it hang over every page – you know each of the characters…

Doctor Who (Matt Smith) – Flesh and Stone, and The Vampires of Venice

The Doctor (Smith) and Amy (Karen Gillan) find themselves surrounded by Weeping Angels as the second part of last week’s story continues with Flesh and Stone. Written by Steven Moffat this story first aired on 1 May, 2010. As the Time Lord, his Companion, River Song (Alex Kingston) and Octavian (Iain Glen) alongside the surviving…

The Twilight Zone (1963) – Jess-Belle, and Miniature

There’s the road sign up ahead, it’s time to take a weekly turn into The Twilight Zone, as I delve deeper into Season 4 of The Complete Series on blu-ray, now available from Paramount Pictures. First up is a tale of love, jealousy and witchcraft with Jess-Belle. Written by Earl Hamner Jr. this spooky little…