TAD 2023: UFO Sweden dir. Victor Danell

Do you want to believe? Young Denise (Inez Darl Torhaug) does. She remembers the night her father disappeared chasing down UFOs, and it’s been an obsession ever since. She’s grown to be a young woman, tech savvy in the mid-90s and is determined to find the truth of what happened. As she begins to cross…

TIFF ’23: Sleep

Midnight Madness at TIFF is always a lot of fun, and some great genre films get scheduled that are designed to deliver to the late-night audience. Sleep hopes to do that this week. A Korean entry to the film festival from writer/director Jason Yu. It’s his first feature film, and Yu creates a tense, moody…

A House with Good Bones (2023) – T. Kingfisher

T. Kingfisher aka Ursula Vernon has entertained and creeped me out with each of the books I’ve read by her; three to date, with A House with Good Bones being the latest. Once again she introduces us to a relatable character, in this case entomologist Samantha who, when her summer dig is cancelled, decides to…

Star Trek: Picard – Season 3 Blu-Ray

What could arguably be the best season of Star Trek featuring The Next Generation crew, comes to physical media today from Paramount Canada; Star Trek: Picard – Season 3 hits Blu-ray and DVD, and the ten-episode series is a perfect bow not only on the past seasons of Picard, but of the entire Next Generation…

Muppets From Space (1999) – Tim Hill

I’m not going to lie, I was pleasantly surprised by Muppets From Space. I remember seeing some of the trailers when it was first coming out, and to me it looked like a big silly misstep. The muppets had really figured something out by interpreting literary classics with a Henson twist, but this seemed like…

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) – Jon Watts

Tom Holland’s appearance as Spider-Man in the MCU entry Captain America: Civil War introduced the new webhead to millions of immediate fans. Combining a youthful exuberance, and actual nerd cred, Holland’s Peter Parker rings true to the comics, even as this incarnation introduces unique spins on familiar characters like Aunt May played this time around…

Batman (1966) – Hi Diddle Riddle, and Smack in the Middle

I have never seen the original Batman television series. I did see the movie that was released between seasons at a Saturday matinee when I was a kid and it inspired hours of play, but I’d never dug into the 120 episodes that comprised the series. I’m determined to fix that, so here we go…

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…

The Night Travelers (2023) – Armando Lucas Correa

Simon & Schuster Canada was kind enough to send me a copy of Armando Lucas Correa’s latest, The Night Travelers, and I was delighted to find myself completely swept up in the narrative he created, weaving historical fact into a multi-generational tale of mothers and daughters. Through the eyes of Ally, Lilith, Nadine and Luna…