I had never heard of Silibil ‘n’ Brains, but knowing this was James McAvoy’s directorial debut I had to check it out. It’s based on a true story, and it’s very entertaining. Gavin (Seamus McLean Ross) and Billy (Samuel Bottomley) are just a couple of blokes from Dundee, Scotland. They dream big, and those dreams…
Tag: humour
Huxley (2025) – Ben Mauro
I was very fortunate to chat with Ben Mauro when he appeared at Toronto’s Fan Expo. And I have just finished the first installment in his Huxley saga. Filled with world-building and fantastic art, Mauro takes some familiar science fiction tropes, and incorporates them in a new way. The trade paperback is composed of the…
TIFF 25: Whistle dir. Christopher Nelius
Whistle is a light-hearted documentary from Christopher Nelius filled with delightfully eccentric characters. It takes behind the scenes of the Masters of Musical Whistling competition. An event that draws people from around the globe to a three day showdown of talent. Each day has a different category, Classical, With the Band and Self Accompaniment, and…
The Hobby: Tales from the Tabletop (2024) – Simon Ennis
The Hobby rolls a D20 for charm! Filmmaker Simon Ennis shows us the connections, the obsessions, and the passions that have sprung up around modern board games, and the people who play them. Traveling across Canada and the United States The Hobby introduces a cross-section of society and the way they can be their best…
Thunderbolts* (2025) – Jake Schreier
Thunderbolts*, as a film, is a bold choice for Marvel. It’s also smaller and more… intimate doesn’t feel like the right word, for a Marvel film. That being said, it’s a big action movie for anyone else. With Jake Schreier helming this outing, and a script by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo, we catch up…
Lake Michigan Monster (2018) – Ryland Brickson Cole Tews
I loved Hundreds of Beavers so I was eager to check out an earlier film from the creative duo behind it, Lake Michigan Monster. Sharing some of the film’s creative styles, it’s shot in black and white, made to look like a throwback to yesteryear, and has a goofy sense of humor that slides from…
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1981) – Episodes 1, 2, and 3
I feel that most of North America was introduced to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy when this version of the novel, adapted from the BBC radio broadcast, jumped the pond. I remember 1980, at Christmas the novel was under the Christmas Tree for me. I may have been a little young for it at…
TIFF24: I, the Executioner dir. Ryoo Seung-wan
I, the Executioner is the follow-up to Seung-wan’s Veteran. I hadn’t seen it, and I loved this one. So don’t let that hold you back from checking this one out. South Korean action films and police thrillers are always engaging, and they aren’t afraid to get dark. Veteran cop, Do-cheol (Hwang Jung-min) works in the…
Throw Momma from the Train (1987) – Danny DeVito
Danny DeVito seems to have a very dark, and very enjoyable sense of humour. He pairs up with Billy Crystal and Anne Ramsey, along with Star Trek’s Kate Mulgrew, Rob Reiner Branford Marsalis, Kim Greist, and Olivia Brown to deliver a fantastically dark comedy that seems to deliver a nice nod to Hitchcock and also…
Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) – Burt Kennedy
James Garner is at his charming best in Support Your Local Sheriff! Jason (Garner) rides into a small gold rush town, which we see spring up through the opening credits after Prudy (Joan Hackett) and her father, Olly Perkins (Harry Morgan) discover gold partway through a funeral – and that should tell you all you…
The Mind Reels 