The Birdcage (1996) – Mike Nichols

I remember seeing this in the theater when it first came out and having a great time with it in the company of my friends. I hadn’t seen it since until I decided to revisit it. And damn, if it not only still entertains, but that the politics are sadly still prevalent. Pairing Robin Williams…

Guns Akimbo (2019) – Jason Howden

Frenetic. Kinetic. and often hilarious, Guns Akimbo is an ultra-violent, gory action comedy starring Daniel Radcliffe and Samara Weaving. Radcliffe, trotting out an American accent for the role, plays Miles. He professionally baits online trolls but when he finds an online fight club that has thousands of viewers across the web, he may have stumbled…

Quiz Lady (2023) – Jessica Yu

Awkwafina and Sandra Oh play sisters in the very enjoyable, Quiz Lady, which I missed at TIFF but was delighted to check out when it hit streaming platforms. Anne (Awkwafina) is quiet, set in her routines, and has some mental health issues that keep her confined to her job, and her couch, where she and…

Family Ties (1984) – 4 Rms Ocn Vu, Best Man, and Lost Weekend

Alex (Micheal J. Fox) turns into a hotelier in 4 Rms Ocn Vu. Written by Marc Lawrence and Alan Uger this episode first aired on 8 November, 1984. Steven (Micheal Gross) and Elyse (Meredith Baxter) are away for the weekend, and Alex has a date with Monica so he banishes Mallory (Justine Bateman) and Jennifer…

TAD 2021: Super Z dir. Julien de Volte, and Arnaud Tabarly

Zombie features at Toronto After Dark are never your run of the mill selections. With so many entries in this horror sub-genre, and so many ways to adapt the subject matter to social commentary, it’s unusual to find a unique offering in the field. France’s Super Z is definitely unique. Having its World Premiere virtually…

The X-Files (1997) – Small Potatoes, and Zero Sum

Small Potatoes brings back fan favourite writer Darin Morgan, this time in an acting role, in a script penned for him by Vince Gilligan. First debuting on 20 April, 1997, Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) get to delve into a comic episode that sees them encountering Eddie Van Blundht (Morgan) after they investigate…

Equal Rites (1987) – Terry Pratchett

I head back to Discworld for this week’s Book Shelf, and delve into the third tale from the Terry Pratchett created universe. This story takes us in a different direction, leaving behind the characters introduced in the previous volumes, but gives us another hilariously magical tale. Young Eskarine is a girl, she is the eighth…

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) – Wes Anderson

The final title in The Directory, marking the end of my time with DK Canada’s exceptional The Movie Book is this fun, quirky film from writer/director Wes Anderson and starring Ralph Fiennes. Anderson packs the film with his favourite actors as he has done throughout his films. Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody,…