Stripes (1981) – Ivan Reitman

Bill Murray is charming and goofy in Stripes, but as has been pointed out the film is just a little too long, or, the last half hour could have been something different. The first two thirds of the film are fun and solid, though some of it is a little dated, and some of it…

Twins (1988) – Ivan Reitman

Arnold Schwarzenegger in shorts and converse is laugh-worthy on its own. From that first reveal I was in for the ride, and while some of it isn’t so great, there’s a lot of heart and laughs to be mined from this classic 1988 comedy. Julius (Schwarzenegger) is a product of a genetic experiment, and has…

Kindergarten Cop (1990) – Ivan Reitman

“It’s not a tumour!” It’s a catchphrase that found its way into the pop culture and has resurfaced over and over. And I never saw it originally. I was never interested in watching Arnold Schwarzenegger be funny. It just didn’t sound like a good time to me. So now, some thirty-plus years on, I finally…

Meatballs (1979) – Ivan Reitman

With a script that involved Harold Ramis, a score by Elmer Bernstein, Ivan Reitman, his first major motion picture, directs Bill Murray in his first starring role in the Canadian-made summer classic, Meatballs. Does it all stand up? It really doesn’t. But is there a lot of fun to be had in the film, yeah…

Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983) – Lamont Johnson

Produced by Ivan Reitman, a score by Elmer Bernstein, a cast that includes Micheal Ironside, Ernie Hudson, Molly Ringwald, (an uncredited) Harold Ramis, and Deborah Pratt, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone is an odd little b-movie science fiction film that tried to cash in on the re-blossoming fascination with 3D back in the early…

Evolution (2001) – Ivan Reitman

The next title to be featured in the Dragons & Dinosaurs chapter of DK Canada’s immensely entertaining Monsters in the Movies is the science fiction comedy, Evolution. Starring David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, and Julianne Moore, Reitman’s underdog scientists not only have to take on the government in the form of Ted Levine’s General Woodman, but…

Ghostbusters II (1989) – Ivan Reitman

They’re back! Ghostbusters II from 1989, is the next ghost title in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book, and it has been a long time since I actually sat and watched this one. It’s undeniable that the first film is the better one, but there are some cool things at work in the follow-up…

Ghostbusters (1984) – Ivan Reitman

A chapter on ghosts in the cinema, as illustrated by DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies, would be remiss without covering the 80s comedy classic, Ghostbusters, starring Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Rick Moranis. I remember when I first heard about this movie, first heard the classic song, saw…

Rabid (1977) – David Cronenberg

The next film in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies section is a Cronenberg body horror film that doesn’t really fall into the zombie chapter that it has been put in. It could have worked (kind of) in the vampire section just as easily, but either way, there is a terrifying outbreak happening in Montreal,…

The Great Digital Film Festival 2016

  I love when this time of year rolls around, because every February, Cineplex puts on their Great Digital Film Festival which tends to showcase some wonderful films from my childhood projected on the big screen in wonderful digital clarity, often mixed with some newer popular titles. This year is no different, running from February…