The magic of Harry Potter continues in Warner Brothers’ second instalment of what would go on to be an insanely profitable franchise. Director Chris Columbus returned for a second outing, with this adaption of the second book in the series (which was still being written at the time – can you remember the time when…
Tag: narrative
TIFF 2021: The Devil’s Drivers dir. Mohammed Abugeth and Daniel Carsenty
Shot over the course of eight years, The Devil’s Drivers is a fascinating documentary that ends up feeling incomplete. Revving and running between the borders of Palestine and Israel, the film feels constrained by its 90 minute time. Brushing gently against the political and religious situations that permeate the area, the narrative elects to follow…
TIFF 2021: Encounter dir. Michael Pearce
From the beginning of the film, thanks to the way the film is told, and the willing suspension of disbelief that is inherent with cinema, we believe Malik (Riz Ahmed) and his conviction that a microscopic parasitic alien organism has come to the planet and is slowly taking over, manipulating people to their own end….
TIFF 2021: Attica dir. Stanley Nelson
Taking a look at the five day rebellion, and hostage taking in September of 1971 at Attica prison, Nelson’s documentary is a stark, unflinching look at the prison system, the industry of it, the culture and race clash that is inherent in it, and the larger world as a whole. Filled with interviews from those…
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…
Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020) Season One – Blu-Ray Review
I was nervous when I first heard the announcement that Paramount Pictures would be taking the Star Trek franchise back into an animated format (despite the acclaim the original Animated Series garnered there is a lot of discussion over how much of it is to be considered canon by ‘true fans’).Then, throw in the fact…
Moon Over Soho (2011) – Ben Aaronovitch
Constable Peter Grant returns to investigate the supernatural in the second novel in the Rivers of London series written by Ben Aaronovitch. Picking up about six months after the first book, the novel sees Grant still dealing with the fallout from the events of the first novel, particularly the attack that left his friend, and…
Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 – Blu-Ray Review
Micheal Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the rest of the U.S.S. Discovery are back, boldly going, with season three hitting blu-ray and DVD today. And with the third season, the series may truly have found their groove, no longer stuck in future history, mired in established continuity, the series leaps centuries into the future, following the…
Project: Hail Mary (2021) – Andy Weir
I loved Andy Weir’s The Martian, and happily dug into Project: Hail Mary (I still need to read Artemis), and was completely wowed by it. I haven’t had this sense of wonder and sense of discovery and exploration since I read Clarke’s Odyssey and Rama series. Ryland Grace, former biologist turned teacher wakes up and…
Fast & Furious (2009) – Justin Lin
The fourth film in The Fast and The Furious franchise brings back members of the core cast of the original film, tying it in with the larger world introduced in the third film (which happens some time after this) and puts Justin Lin in the driver’s seat again. His sense of energy and enthusiasm worked…
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) – Agatha Christie
This week’s Agatha Christie isn’t quite the romp of the previous entry, but like all her tales, is wonderfully engaging and entertaining as she weaves a tale of murder, secret marriages, servants, doctors, drugs, wayward sons, and hidden secrets and truths. And in the middle of it all, Hercule Poirot. This one is a bit…
Star Trek: Picard (2020) – Blu-Ray Review
The latest iteration of the long enduring Star Trek franchise, Picard, comes to blu-ray this week from Paramount Canada, and it’s gorgeous. While the series could be construed as a sequel to Star Trek: The Next Generation and the The Next Generation films as it focuses on the show’s lead character, Jean-Luc Picard played by…
