Sam Raimi returned to the horror genre in 2009 with the film Drag Me to Hell, the next title in the section on witches in DK Canada’s highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies book. Alison Lohman portrays Christine Brown, a loan officer at a bank in California. She’s in competition for the Assistant Manager’s position,…
Tag: humour
Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon (1983) – L. Neil Smith
Lando Calrissian aboard the Millennium Falcon, with his pilot droid and friend Vuffi Raa at his side finds his way into more trouble this week in L. Neil Smith’s second book in his trio of Star Wars novels that follows the scoundrel and gambler. Lando just can’t seem to make a living as a freighter…
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) – Guillermo del Toro
del Toro and Ron Perlman have always seemed like the perfect match for the Mike Mignola created Hellboy. They balanced the sense of horror and humour in the first film, and then expanded on everything in the second, which is my next stop in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies. If the first film was…
Sourcery (1988) – Terry Pratchett
I head back to Terry Pratchett’s wonderful fantasy realm of Discworld for this week’s book. The fifth book in the series is as much a delight as the first, and gives us another day of the inept wizard, Rincewind. When the eighth son of an eighth son is born a sorcerer walks the lands for…
The Trouble With Harry (1955) – Alfred Hitchcock
Hitchcock brings me a little New England humour in today’s entry, The Trouble With Harry. Based on the novel by Jack Trevor Story, adapted for the screen by John Micheal Hayes, Hitchcock delivers a delightful film that virtually pops with colour and crackles with sharp dialogue. Using the back drop of the turning of the…
Jack Ryan: Season 2 – Blu-Ray Review
John Krasinski returns as the Tom Clancy created CIA analyst turned action hero, Jack Ryan in the second season of the addictive and smart series from Paramount Pictures. The blu-ray which arrives today is a two disc set that contains all eight episodes of the Amazon Prime aired show. Sleek, beautifully shot (stunning transferred to…
Rope (1948) – Alfred Hitchcock
I dig into another classic Hitchcock today, and despite the fact that James Stewart gets top billing, he is almost a supporting role, not really taking centre stage until the final act of the film that was adapted from a stage play by Patrick Hamilton, partially adapted by Hume Cronyn. Brandon (John Dall) and Phillip…
Shadow of a Doubt (1943) – Alfred Hitchock
It’s time for a little more Hitchcock as I dive into another old favourite, Shadow of a Doubt starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten. A coming-of-age tale with a twist of murder, this film remains completely captivating thanks to the direction, the leading and the wonderful supporting cast which are all recognisable to anyone who…
Saboteur (1942) – Alfred Hitchcock
Hitchcock delivers a fantastically paced thriller, that stirs in some patriotism and humour as every man Barry Kane (Robert Cummings) finds himself caught up in a conspiracy on the eve of war. Kane works in an airplane factory, and is doing his part for the blossoming war effort. But when he inadvertently helps a fellow…
Mort (1987) – Terry Pratchett
This week, I dug into another Discworld novel for the Book Shelf. And I’ve said it before, but I’m glad I waited until now to read them, I wouldn’t have appreciated them, and their wonderful humour when they were originally released. And now, I also don’t have to wait a year or two for the…
