Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) – Robert Stevenson

  The recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book continue following my screening of It’s a Wonderful Life. This time around it’s a Disney film I’ve only seen in bits and pieces and never seen as a whole. It’s World War II, and an apprentice witch, three children and a conman…

Mary Poppins (1964) – Robert Stevenson

poppin It’s time to dig into more family fare in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book as i delve into the recommendations for my screening of It’s a Wonderful Life. Disney based the film on P.L. Travers’ series of books, and created an icon. They added a bunch of classic songs, Julie…

Hot Docs 2016: Life, Animated – Roger Ross Williams

  If there is a more honest, emotional and human film at this year’s Hot Docs Film Festival, I can’t imagine what it could be. Owen Suskind, the young autistic man who is the focus of William’s objective eye, is a brilliant soul, and we learn through the film, his story, his life, and his…

Hot Docs 2016: The Slippers – Morgan White

  Movie history, Hollywood dreams, conspiracies, finger-pointing, millions of dollars, back-stabbing, and the most iconic items in cinema history, Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz are the topics up for perusal in White’s documentary, The Slippers. Having its Canadian Premiere this afternoon at the Lightbox at 3:15pm, the film delves into the world…

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) – Guillermo del Toro

  Not sure why this one ended up in the family genre section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, but I guess, it ties in with the Wizard of Oz in terms of a fantasy world, and a young girl. Doesn’t matter, because I love sitting down and watching this one!…

Supergirl (1984) – Jeannot Szwarc

  As my time with those denizens of the destroyed planet of Krypton continue with my exploration of the fantastic Sci-fi Chronicles book, I leave Kal-El for a film (apparently he’s travelling to a distant galaxy according to a radio announcer), and join his cousin, the lovely Kara (Helen Slater). Let’s be clear, the Salkinds screwed…

Smoke and Mirrors (1998) – Neil Gaiman

  This collection of short stories by Neil Gaiman was just what I needed. All the tales deal with magic or illusion, whether in the form of creatures, sex, drugs, or life, the power of each is examined under the eye of this brilliant author in this wonderful collection of stories, some of which I…

The Graveyard Book (2009) – Neil Gaiman

  I dug into yet another Gaiman novel, having enjoyed the brief excerpt in his short story collection M is for Magic, I jumped into this one. There is something about the way he writes, that just makes it feel like a Victorian fairy tale, it’s just the way they feel when I read his…

Wizards (1977) – Ralph Bakshi

  Sometimes you just want to watch something different… and Ralph Bakshi’s films have always been that, and this one is no exception. Set in a far distant future when humanity has blown itself from the face of the Earth, and any survivors have become radiated mutants, constantly devolving into new nightmares, the fairies and…