Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) – John McPhail

A Christmas Zombie Horror Musical Comedy sounds like a definite win. I missed Anna and the Apocalypse when it played at Toronto After Dark a few years ago, and I was a little bummed about it. But now that the holidays have rolled around, I figured I could take a look at it and figure…

Run Lola Run (1998) – Tom Tykwer

Tom Tykwer’s stunning and entertaining thriller Run Lola Run still holds up, and damn if it isn’t a fun watch. The film brought international attention not only to Tykwer but the film’s star, Franke Potente, who, four years later, would appear in the franchise opener, The Bourne Identity alongside Matt Damon. Run Lola Run plays…

Tiff ’22: The Banshees of Inisherin

A canticle of attrition laced with verses of humour and pathos, The Banshees of Inisherin from writer-director Martin McDonagh is a perfect composition. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as Padraic and Colm. They’ve been drinking mates for years until in April of 1923, Colm decides he doesn’t want to be friends with Padraic anymore….

TIFF ’22: Weird – The Al Yankovic Story

Daniel Radcliffe dons loud aloha shirts, straps on an accordion, and brings parody artist Weird Al Yankovic to uproarious life in Weird – The Al Yankovic Story. Directed by Eric Appel, who co-wrote the film with Yankovic, the film is laugh-out-loud funny as it tells a twisted, dare to be stupid version of Yankovic’s life…

Get Out (2017) – Jordan Peele

With his directorial debut, Jordan Peele became a horror writer/director to watch, and cemented me as a fan. Crafting an unnerving and terrifying story layered in social commentary, Peele used the genre to deliver a powerful story about race, one that is executed with precision and perfection. Balancing mystery, truly horrific moments, and a sense…

Mortal Kombat (2021) – 4K Review

Warner Brothers attempts a flawless victory with its 4K release of 2021’s Mortal Kombat, an updated take on the iconic, long-running video game series. While no one company has yet been able to crack a truly successful, and all-appealing game adaptation, everyone keeps trying, and Warner’s latest effort is solid, surprisingly entertaining, but lacking a…

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) – David Leitch

It’s incredibly wild to me that a movie that played like the Point Break version of illegal street car racing spawned a successful, and highly entertaining film franchise. And on top of that, it delivered its first spinoff film in 2019 that launched some of the characters into full blown comic book mode. Fan favourites…

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) – Agatha Christie

This week’s Agatha Christie isn’t quite the romp of the previous entry, but like all her tales, is wonderfully engaging and entertaining as she weaves a tale of murder, secret marriages, servants, doctors, drugs, wayward sons, and hidden secrets and truths. And in the middle of it all, Hercule Poirot. This one is a bit…

Toronto After Dark 2019: The Furies (2019) – Tony D’Aquino

Australia brings their horror game to the Toronto After Dark film festival tonight with their bloody and violent The Furies. A riff on the Final Girl trope as well as a mash-up of Battle Royale and Halloween the film is deliciously gory and excitingly paced. When Kayla (Airlie Dodds) is abducted and wakes up in…