Like a series of pre-Raphaelite paintings brought to life, director John Boorman infuses the screen with magic and beauty as he delves into the myth of King Arthur and delivers what would become the gold standard for cinematic interpretations of the English legend. Each frame is a work of art as the story follows the…
Tag: myth
The X-Files (1996) – Home, and Teliko
Some Andy Griffith jokes and a great Babe reference doesn’t quite keep the darkness in bay at what was and is considered the most controversial episode of The X-Files ever. Glen Morgan and James Wong delivered ‘Home’ to the viewing public on 11 October, 1996 and it disturbed a lot of viewers. Agents Mulder (David…
The Sword and The Sorcerer (1982) – Albert Pyun
Sometimes nostalgia should definitely be left in the past. The 1982 film, The Sword and The Sorcerer very much falls into that category. In the early 80s, thanks to the film, Conan the Barbarian, and the fantasy games and novels that were on the rise at the time, the sword and sorcery genre of films…
The X-Files (1994) – Shapes, and Darkness Falls
Agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) head to Montana to investigate a murder, which Mulder believes may tie in with older x-files he has regarding the Native American myth of the manitou. Written by Marilyn Osborn, Shapes first aired on 1 April, 1994. I’m not the biggest fan of this episode, because I…
The Chronicles of Prydain: The Book of Three (1964) – Lloyd Alexander
Using Welsh myth and legend as a basis, Lloyd Alexander wrote a series of novels under the umbrella heading, The Chronicles of Prydain. Aimed at younger readers, this was a collection of stories that were never really on my radar as a kid. By the point I was of an age to think about reading…
The Sword and The Dragon (1956) – Aleksandr Ptushko
The next title in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies, as I continue to delve into Dragons and Dinosaurs, takes me to Russia, where the legendary hero Ilja Moromez (Boris Andreyev) is brought to life in the first Russian film to be shot and shown in Cinemacope. It was released in ’56 in Russia, and…
Toronto After Dark 2019: 8 (2019) – Harold Holscher
Toronto After Dark brings us a tale out of South Africa tonight with 8. Marrying the feel of a haunted house tale with the legends and myths of the tribes of South Africa this film plays almost as a gentle tale, and while light on real scares, there are some character moments that resonate and…
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) – Rob Cohen
There is a fun, if not a good movie somewhere in this mess of a mummy film that is my next stop in the mummy chapter of DK Canada’s highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies book. Unfortunately there are a number of things holding it back, there are some casting changes that affect onscreen chemistry,…
The Curse of La Llorona (2019) – Blu-Ray Review
While Warner Brothers may have some issues with its DC Extended Universe, it’s horror films set in The Conjuring Universe continue to do their job, deliver some solid scares (and some mediocre ones) and usually attracts solid casts. The Curse of La Llorona is the sixth film in the shared universe, connected, in this case,…
Insomnia (1994) – Stephen King
Every time I had read the blurb, or cover jacket for King’s Insomnia there was nothing about it that really caught my interest, nothing leaped out at me, and I was afraid that perhaps this one wouldn’t be enjoyable to me at all when I finally dug into it. I was delighted to be wrong….
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark & More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1981 & 1984) – Alvin Schwartz
Scary stories are always a delight to take part in, wrapped oneself in darkness and trying to laugh the chill that the scares gives us, while enjoying the fright and perceived danger of it, like whistling past a graveyard, seems to be ingrained in our DNA. I never read these young adult collections when they…
Indiana Jones and the Philosopher’s Stone (1995) – Max McCoy
Nicholas Flamel. The Philosopher’s Stone…. No, I’m not re-reading the Harry Potter books, at least not yet, I’m digging into the next Indiana Jones adventure. Coming two years before the first Harry Potter novel, Max McCoy’s first stab at an Indiana Jones story melds the legendary tomb of Hermes, and the enduring myth of alchemy,…
