A Christmas Zombie Horror Musical Comedy sounds like a definite win. I missed Anna and the Apocalypse when it played at Toronto After Dark a few years ago, and I was a little bummed about it. But now that the holidays have rolled around, I figured I could take a look at it and figure…
Tag: musical
West Side Story (2021) – Steven Spielberg
When I first heard that Spielberg was taking on the classic musical, West Side Story, previously immortalized on celluloid by iconic director Robert Wise, I was a little dubious. Not that I didn’t trust Spielberg. Even with some of his weaker films (BFG) he arguably does something unique and noteworthy, even if it just demonstrates…
Fringe (2010) – Brown Betty, and Northwest Passage
Peter (Joshua Jackson) is in the wind somewhere, and Walter (John Noble) is attempting to deal with things in his own way, he smokes up on some Brown Betty and gets insanely high. All of this wouldn’t be too bad if Olivia (Anna Torv) didn’t show up with her niece, Ella (Lily Pilblad) in the…
TIFF 2021: Dear Evan Hansen dir. Stephen Chbosky
Mental health. Suicide. Depression. Loss. Grief. Loneliness. These issues are usually trapped in the individual, and though a number of us share in these things, it’s never a shared experience. We are held in the prison of our issues, in a society where social media presentation, the illusion of life being better than it is…
In the Heights (2021) – 4K Review
Musicals, when done right, can be a powerful thing, and Warner Brothers 4K release of In the Heights isn’t just a musical done right, it is joy captured on film, and the images and sound practically pop off the screen in crystal clear celebration. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for this beautiful film,…
My Fair Lady (1964) – 4K Review
A high definition upgrade can be a revelation, and if the film is a classic, it can not only revitalize the film (not to mention save it from further degradation), it can make it look better than it ever has. That is the verdict on Paramount Picture’s release of the 1964 Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn…
Popeye (1980) – Blu-Ray Review
Coming home on blu-ray from Paramount Pictures for the first time is the Robin Williams film, Popeye. This one is a bit of an odd creature, it looks gorgeous, has a fantastic cast, beautifully crafted sets, but a few things that make you raise your eyebrows. For instance, something based on a comic book, and…
Little Shop of Horrors (1986) – Frank Oz
Howard Ashman and Alan Menken bring their bring science fiction b-movie musical to the big screen, ably directed by Frank Oz, in this 1986 adaptation that is the next stop in the Monstrous Aliens section of DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies. Rick Moranis plays Seymour, a bit of a schlub with an affectation for…
Queen Kong (1976) – Frank Agrama
This bizarre, musical number filled send up of the classic film King Kong is the next entry in the Monstrous Apes chapter of DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies. This British film is so incredibly bad that it does actually come around to good again. In fact it rides it like a merry-go-round racing around…
Blinded By The Light (2019) – Blu-Ray Review
It’s hard to tell which songs will speak to you, which ones will define your existence, which will resonate, and inspire you. That’s the basis of Warner Brothers new film Blinded by the Light which comes home on blu-ray and DVD today. This time, the music that touches a soul is that of Bruce Springsteen…
The Mind Reels 