I have loved Star Trek: The Motion Picture since the first time I saw it in 1979. I remember the theatre I was in, I remember being swept up by the music and imagery, it blew my young little mind, and just made me love the characters, especially the Enterprise all the more. My fascination…
Tag: music
Halloween II (1981) – Rick Rosenthal
And this is where the problems with the Halloween sequels start. Is it canon? Is it not? How do you define canon? John Carpenter got himself a producer’s credit for this film, as well as having a hand in editing and the music for the film, but the biggest indicator, no matter what he thought…
Atomic Blonde (2017) – David Leitch
Charlize Theron is here to kick ass in Atomic Blonde and she does, and does it well. Based on the graphic novel The Coldest City, Atomic Blonde is a spy-thriller that features some solid stunt and fight work, the majority of which Theron, much like Keanu Reeves for John Wick did as much of as…
TIFF ’23: Chuck Chuck Baby
Chuck Chuck Bay is an ebullient experience. A delightful film about love, life, loss and music which brushes against deeper and heavier themes of community, hurt and acceptance but never loses track of the joy of falling in love and how every song seems to be about you. While not quite a jukebox musical, the…
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) – Jason Reitman
Ignoring the 2016 film, Ghostbusters: Afterlife leans into its nostalgia, ties itself firmly directly to the 1984 original and while it can be seen as a little oversentimental in its final act, it checked all the boxes I needed for a Ghostbusters legacy sequel. Callie (Carrie Coon) is a single mother whose absent father died…
The Full Monty (1997) – Peter Cattaneo
I remember the first time I saw The Full Monty and how much I laughed and got emotionally involved with the film. I haven’t watched it in the better part of two decades so I was quite happy to sit down and watch it again. Robert Carlyle stars alongside Mark Addy, Tom Wilkinson, Steve Huison,…
The Equalizer (1986) – Breakpoint, and No Conscience
McCall (Edward Woodward) was looking forward to an enjoyable evening at a wedding reception, but things go badly when the entire party is taken hostage by terrorists who were in the building for an assassination. Breakpoint was written by Scott Shepherd and Don Carlos Dunaway from a story by Shepherd. It first went out over…
Empire Records (1995) – Allan Moyle
Empire Records was one of those films that gained cult status in the video store I worked in when the film was released to, yup, VHS. My staff loved it, and it would go into high rotation as something played in the store. Set in a music store, the film is set over the course…
The Equalizer (1985) – Pilot, and China Rain
I don’t know what the first episode of The Equalizer was that I saw, but I remember where I was, and I knew I found the concept and execution interesting, even at 14. It was grittier than a lot of the episodic television that was being broadcast at the time, a little darker, and had…
TIFF ’22: Moonage Daydream
Moonage Daydream, a film by Brett Morgen, is a frenetic, fever dream glimpse into the life, music, and art of David Bowie. Clocking in at just over two hours, the archival collage of performances and interviews combine in a colourful, kaleidoscopic form that becomes an experiential event. Morgen takes the viewer on a trippy exploration…
The Mind Reels 