Jordan Peele who delivered the incredible Get Out, followed it up with Us, another highly enjoyable horror film layered with scares and social commentary. While there may be some flaws in the film it doesn’t change the fact that it’s hugely enjoyable, filled with fascinating twists and turns, and a fantastic performance by the always…
Tag: genre
Quantum Leap: Prelude (1994) – Ashley McConnell
Ashley McConnell’s fourth Quantum Leap novel, Prelude, reworks some of the events seen at the beginning of the pilot, ties directly in with her second novel, Too Close For Comfort, and takes us back to when Doctor Sam Beckett and a newly retired Admiral Al Calavicci reconnected following the shutdown of Project Starbright to focus…
Red Lights (2012) – Rodrigo Cortes
Red Lights is a bit of a mess, there are some solid ideas to it, but it doesn’t come off as well as it could have. It does feature a solid cast including Robert De Niro, Sigourney Weaver, Cillian Murphy, Elizabeth Olsen, Joely Richardson, and Toby Jones. Dr. Margaret Matheson (Weaver) is a skeptic who…
Nightmare Alley (1946) – William Lindsay Gresham
Before I see del Toro’s new film, which is an adaptation of this novel, I wanted to visit the source material, because I do love me a good noir story, and this one is a classic. And perhaps because the beats and the tropes of the noir genre are so familiar it’s easy to suss…
Malignant (2021) – Blu-Ray Review
Warner Brothers sent me a copy of James Wan’s new film to take a look at. I’ll be honest, I like Wan’s work. I like that he takes chances with his craft, while also paying homage, and nodding to the influences that helped shape him. In his new feature, Malignant, which is now available on…
The Dead Don’t Die (2019) – Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch writes and directs this zombie film that is more in line with the Romero created monster than the running creatures that have been made so popular of late. In fact, the entire film plays out at an enjoyably relaxing pace, letting the story brew, the characters breathe, and the oddities, eccentricities, and the…
The House of the Devil (2009) – Ti West
Ti West films can be very divisive, you either love them or hate them, and I have to be honest, I fall firmly into the like them category. Having said that, the first time I sat through The House of the Devil, I was a little disappointed by it, people are right when they say…
TIFF 2021: Dear Evan Hansen dir. Stephen Chbosky
Mental health. Suicide. Depression. Loss. Grief. Loneliness. These issues are usually trapped in the individual, and though a number of us share in these things, it’s never a shared experience. We are held in the prison of our issues, in a society where social media presentation, the illusion of life being better than it is…
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…
The Keep (1983) – Michael Mann
(Re) Watching Michael Mann’s disjointed supernatural film, The Keep I realised I wanted one thing from it – Mann’s original cut. Apparently clocking in at 3 1/2 hours it was trimmed down to 2 by Paramount Pictures, who then cut another half hour out of it after some rough previews. It’s not like now. If…
The Mind Reels 