I forgot how much I loved this film. This was one of my go-tos in the mid-90s. It was a film I recommended constantly, one I played in the store, and loved Richard Dreyfuss’ performance as the titular Mr. Holland. An ode to teachers, the film follows Mr, Holland, as he takes a teaching position…
Tag: Jaws
Jaws 50th Anniversary
What a great way to begin and end my TIFF experience this year. Even as TIFF celebrates its 50th year, so does my favourite movie of all time, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. I’ve told the story countless times of how it was my first ever film experience. I’ve seen this movie more times than any others…
Toronto Fan Expo 2025 – Day 1
It’s that time of year, when things start to get very busy very quickly. In a couple of weeks, it will be time for time, a few weeks after that, vacation, but this weekend… This weekend it’s time to get my geek on and celebrate all the fandoms as Toronto’s Fan Expo gets underway. I…
Fan Expo 2024 Day 2
Friday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre was laid out before the exploring geek as an adventure of discovery and treasure-hunting. And it also served as a bracer for what was to come on Saturday, large crowds weaving along the pathways between booths, and the walkways that connected the North and South Building. I work…
Under Paris (2024) – Xavier Gens
Under Paris delivers my second favourite shark movie of all time. The first is Jaws, of course. That whole slew of Sharknado films couldn’t do a damned thing for me. They are so far beyond cheesy that they become an embarrassment. You have to be able to walk a line with shark movies, to balance…
Deep Blue Sea (1999) – Renny Harlin
This one is for my friend Lindsay, who insists this is a better shark movie than Jaws, and yet it can’t help but make a number of references to it, not the least of which is a familiar-looking licence plate. Director Renny Harlin does, for the most part, deliver a fairly solid thriller though even…
Sharksploitation (2023) – Stephen Scarlata
Sharks. Since Peter Benchley’s iconic 1974 novel, Jaws, they have been a ready-to-use monster for Hollywood moviemakers. With Steven Spielberg’s big-screen adaptation of the novel, sharks became the ‘it thing’ for films. However, they were arguably already on their way to being cast as the baddie thanks to some casting in the 60s Bond films….
TIFF ’22: The Fabelmans
I have been a Spielberg fan for as long as I can remember. The first film he saw was The Greatest Show On Earth, which affected him. Mine was Jaws, and I can say the same thing. Over the decades I have followed him on his storytelling journey, embracing each new film that came along,…
1941 (1979) – Steven Spielberg
It has been a long time since I last watched Spielberg’s 1941, but as I’m revisiting his films and exploring the ones I haven’t written about before, it seemed like a perfect time to look at this one again. The film did not do well upon release, in fact, watching it now, it still feels…
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – 4K Steelbook
In 1981 the man who created Star Wars, George Lucas, paired with the director of Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg, brought us an update of the action serials of the 1930s, a return of the grand adventure. Featuring the star of Star Wars, Harrison Ford, in the lead as globetrotting…
The Mind Reels 