Play It Again, Sam (1972) – Herbert Ross

I’ve never been a fan of Woody Allen, so I was reticent to settle in to watch Herbert Ross’ adaptation of Allen’s own play, which he also penned the screenplay for, and stars in. Still, it is the next title on the What Else to Watch list in DK Canada’s The Movie Book following its…

Roman Holiday (1953) – William Wyler

Following my screening of His Girl Friday for the DK Books fantastic, The Movie Book. I have moved on to the What Else to Watch section of the title, and dove into the one film amongst it that I had not yet covered, Roman Holiday. Starring Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck and Eddie Albert, let me…

The Deer Hunter (1978) – Micheal Cimino

Micheal Cimino’s examination of the effects of war, framed around the Vietnam conflict and a small industrial town in Pennsylvania is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Apocalypse Now. Laying out the scars, physical, mental and unseen that affected those who fought in it,…

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990) – Remember Me, and Legacy

Captain’s log: stardate 44161.2 Gates McFadden gets a long overdue Crusher-centric episode that was written by Lee Sheldon. This episode first aired on 22 October, 1990. The Enterprise arrives at Starbase 133, where Dr. Crusher meets up with an old friend, who is catching a ride home with them. Unfortunately, he disappears, and seemingly has…

Return to Oz (1985) – Walter Murch

It’s time to go back to Oz, with Disney’s 1985 film Return to Oz, which serves to combine two of the original Frank L. Baum novels, The Marvellous Land of Oz, and of Ozma of Oz. And that magical land is the next stop in the DK Canada’s tome, The Movie Book. They recommend the…

Toronto After Dark 2017: Tragedy Girls – Tyler MacIntyre

BFFs, LOLs, LIKES, RETWEETs and MURDER. The Toronto After Dark film festival comes to a close this evening at Scotibank Theatre with the Toronto premiere of the exceptional dark comedy, Tragedy Girls. A Heathers for the cyber age, the film follows two students and best friends, Sadie (Brianna Hildebrand) and McKayla (Alexandra Shipp) who are…

Fan Expo 2017

Dichotomy. Juxtaposition. Privilege. Hope. One wouldn’t necessarily associate all of these words with a gathering of groups of people who are coming together to celebrate their fandoms. But as Toronto’s Fan Expo 2017 came to its conclusion, these are the words that leapt to mind unbidden. Privilege springs to mind, because my co-host and I…

Jailhouse Rock (1957) – Richard Thorpe

The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book brings me back around the Musical genre, and this time around it features Elvis Presley himself. The story, such as it is, follows Vince Everett (Presley) who is serving one year (!) for manslaughter. While in the joint he meets a former country singer, Hunk Houghton…

The Mind Reels Visits the CBC

Last week, Sue Maynard and I were invited to attend the CBC 2017 – 2018 Season Preview. We knew it would be a chance to catch up with some good friends, and perhaps make some new ones. Arriving at 250 Front St West here in Toronto, we checked in and immediately were able to catch…