TIFF 25: Bad Apples dir. Jonatan Etzler

Saoirse Ronan shines as Maria, an elementary school teacher pushed too far in Jonatan Etzler’s darkly funny thriller, Bad Apples. If you’ve read the tagline for the film, do yourself a favour and don’t read anything else about it. Go in with the knowledge that Maria is working to keep her class engaged. She has…

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) – Matthew Vaughn

I greatly enjoyed the Kingsman when I first saw it. It was this perfect blend of Bond films with comic book level violence and lots of swearing. It wasn’t afraid to have fun with its concept, and remind the world that these style of movies are just supposed to be fun. The sequel, Kingsman: The…

F9: The Fast Saga (2021) – Justin Lin

As previously mentioned The Fast and The Furious franchise passed fast and accelerated to ludicrous a while ago. Fast 9 doubles down on that outrageous aspect and with a ninth film we finally learn that Dom (Vin Diesel) Mia (Jordana Brewster) have a brother, Jacob (John Cena). It seems Jacob is just as good a…

Better Off Dead (1985) – Savage Steve Holland

John Cusack and Savage Steve Holland did two movies together, Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer, and both of them came along at just the right point in my life, I was a teenager at the time, and could totally relate to all things Cusack’s characters were going through. In Better Off Dead Cusack…

Moonraker (1979) – Lewis Gilbert

Oh Moonraker. Sigh. When I was first getting into Bond films, at the age of twelve, I thought Moonraker was great – I didn’t see it during its original release in ’79, but I remember seeing images, and some of the toys and cards – because space, and lasers, gadgets and James Bond! Coming to…

Galaxy Quest (1999) – 20th Anniversary Blu-Ray

Somehow, the now iconic science fiction comedy Galaxy Quest is turning twenty this year. That doesn’t seem possible. It’s as if someone enhanced the Omega 13 and shot us forward in time rather than in reverse. You see, I remember seeing it in the theater, laughing aloud at the realization that these filmmakers, these actors,…

Toronto After Dark 2016

It’s that time of year again, when horror, sci-fi, action, cult, and just the bizarre movies come to roost and entertain here in Toronto, with the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. 9 nights of movies that, as long as you have the right audience with you, can’t help but entertain. This year seems to be…