Like a lot of people my age grew up in the 70s tuning into The Undersea World of Jacques Costeau, in our house, it would be paired Sunday evenings with The Wonderful World of Disney. I had one of his books as a child, and would pore over the pictures and text for hours, losing…
Tag: passion
The Red Shoes (1948) – Micheal Powell and Emeric Pressburger
The Directory in DK Canada’s The Movie Book continues to introduce me to classic films I haven’t seen, and today they introduced me to the Oscar winning film, The Red Shoes. Taking home awards from the Academy for Art & Set Direction as well as Best Music, the story follows the life and career of…
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2009) – Senate Spy, Landing at Point Rain, and Weapons Factory
“A true heart should never be doubted.” Senate Spy was written by Melinda Hsu and supervising writer Drew Z. Greenberg. It first aired on 17 October, 2009. Senator Padme Amidala (Catherine Taber) is recruited by the Jedi council to investigate a possible Separatist spy, Clovis (Robin Atkin Downes) and conspiracy within the Senate. This disrupts…
The Lives of Others (2006) – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Sometimes I take forever to see a film. The next big title recommendation in DK Canada’s The Movie Book is the German film, The Lives of Others. I remember when this one first came out on DVD, and a few people i worked with raved about it, but I could never bring myself to take…
Toronto Comic Con 2019
There’s always that moment when I find the soul of a specific convention, we look into one another’s eyes, recognize one another, and embrace. This year, it was slipping into the comfortable shoes of beloved fandoms, and seeing shared passions bringing people together. Set against the backdrop of the Metro Toronto Convention Center’s South Building,…
The Birch Wood (1970) – Andrzej Wajda
As I return to DK Canada’s The Movie Book, I dive into the What Else to Watch list following my screening of Ashes and Diamonds. Directed by the same film maker, Andrzej Wajda, The Birch Wood is a gentle character piece set in prewar Poland. The story follows Stanislaw (Olgierd Lukaszewicz), a young man suffering…
Life of the Party (2018) – Blu-Ray Review
With a recycled plot that is straight out of an 80s film, the Melissa McCarthy vehicle, Life of the Party hits blu-ray and DVD this week from Warner Brothers. Despite using all of the university and college tropes that have been in play since National Lampoon’s Animal House, the film arguably takes the story and…
The Princess Bride (1987) – Rob Reiner
The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Fellowship of the Ring is this fantastic adaptation by William Goldman of his highly enjoyable novel, The Princess Bride. Director Rob Reiner gathers a fantastic cast that includes Peter Falk, Fred Savage, Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Mandy…
The Daylight War (2013) – Peter V. Brett
Digging into the third book of The Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett has been long overdue, but it was very much worth the wait. After the climactic conclusion of the previous instalment, not to mention some of the revelations, the characters are left in some strange places. The novel picks up shortly after the…
The Movie Book (2016) – Danny Leigh, Louis Baxter, John Farndon, Kieran Grant and Damon Wise
I always love to take a look at movie books and see what films made the lists contained within. Then I’ll spend an inordinate amount of time ruminating why others were left out. They also tend to add a pile of movies to my viewing queue, and as I’m coming up on the end of…
TIFF Bell Lightbox: Trek Talks with Dr. Mae Jemison
TIFF Bell Lightbox’s fantastic series of Trek Talks came to a close last night with a passionate and humorous talk by doctor, and former astronaut, Mae Jemison. Her talk drew a lot of attention, and her love of both the science and arts was on full display as she entertained and informed, igniting and rousing…
Lego Star Wars: Small Scenes From a Big Galaxy (2015) – Vesa Lethimaki
DK Canada and Lego Star Wars combined forces to publish a fun and beautiful book of Vesa Lethimaki’s minifigures and the creative environs he puts them in. I remember first coming across Lethimaki’s Flickr stream a few years ago, and was completely wowed by his art. I quickly bookmarked it, and visited on a regular…
