The Quick and The Dead (1995) – Sam Raimi

Sam Raimi brings his frenetic style of zooming cameras and powerful camera angles to the western genre with a tale of revenge riding across the plains into an unforgiving town. Sharon Stone who looks absolutely stunning in western getup stars as Ellen, a woman bent on vengeance. She rides into a frontier town to take…

The Last Action Hero (1993) – John McTiernan

When it was first released The Last Action Hero, which saw Arnold Schwarzenegger reteamed with Predator director John McTiernan, and featuring a script that Shane Black was involved in, the film flopped, failed to find an audience, and marked Arnold’s first failure at the box office. Time has been kind to the film, and rewatching…

The Grudge (2004) – Takashi Shimizu

Takashi Shimizu who wrote and directed the original J-horror version of The Grudge, Ju-On, delivers the North American adaptation that isn’t quite as creepy and unnerving as the source material, as it tries to find a blending of Western and Eastern film styles that doesn’t always work. I remember Ju-On freaked me out the first…

Gorgo (1961) – Eugene Lourie

What would happen if England got in on the Godzilla craze? Well, I found out as I explored DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book and came across Gorgo as I continue to explore the chapters on dragons and dinosaurs. When a group of sailors capture a strange beast off the coast of Ireland and…

Le Notti Del Terrore (1981) – Andrea Bianchi

Somehow, we’re still in the so bad, we’re not quite sure they’ve come around to good again section of the zombie oeuvre in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies. I’m definitely getting a fresh perspective on this sub-genre as it seems I’ve been very fortunate in my selection of zombie movies up to this time….

Proxima Command – An Evening’s Sci-Fi Adventure

Ever since I was a kid and first discovered Star Wars, Star Trek, and science fiction in general, I had dreams of stepping onto the bridge of a starship, or spaceship, and exploring, seeking out new life forms, engaging in intergalactic battles, or watching the stunning starscape slip past my windows. I remember sitting at…

Fan Expo 2018: An Exploration of Fandom, Age,and Being a Geek

There are few things that portend the end of summer for me more than Toronto’s Fan Expo, falling around the Labor Day Weekend it is one last big sendup and celebration of countless fandoms. And this year Expo made sure to pull out all the stops, there were celebrities and panels, parties and purchases that…

Jerry Lewis: 10 Films Collection

No matter one’s opinion of Jerry Lewis, you can’t deny he had an effect on slapstick, and comedy during the 50s and 60s. Paramount Pictures now releases a ten movie collection spanning that era that showcases Lewis’ talent both in front of and behind the camera in a set that shares some of his classic…

City of God (2002) – Fernando Meirelles & Katia Lund

City of God, based on a true story is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Taxi Driver. Brutally violent, jarring in its depictions, and beautifully made the film is a one of a kind experience that takes us into the slums just outside of…