Somehow the film adaptation of Tom Clancy’s The Hunt For Red October is thirty years old and has garnered an anniversary Blu-ray 4K release from Paramount Pictures. That number just seems off, because thirty years seems like a fairly long time ago, and that doesn’t seem right. The original novel came out in 1984, and…
Tag: practical effects
Evolution (2001) – Ivan Reitman
The next title to be featured in the Dragons & Dinosaurs chapter of DK Canada’s immensely entertaining Monsters in the Movies is the science fiction comedy, Evolution. Starring David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, and Julianne Moore, Reitman’s underdog scientists not only have to take on the government in the form of Ted Levine’s General Woodman, but…
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) – Gore Verbinski
DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies takes to the sea as I explore the chapters on Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales, and find myself confronting Davy Jones as I settled in for the first sequel to the surprise franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean. When Disney had a surprise hit on their hand with Pirates, based…
Clash of the Titans (2010) – Louis Leterrier
The next title that I dove into for the Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales chapter of DK Canada’s highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies book was doomed for me from the moment of it’s inception. The remake of 1981’s Harryhausen effects driven classic was never going to wow me. Why? Gone are the practical effects…
Toronto After Dark 2019: Blood Machines (2019) – Raphael Hernandez & Savitri Joly-Gonfard
With a Carpenter-esque score by Carpenter Brut no less, and a heavy influence of the classic Heavy Metal magazine, the English language French entry into the Toronto After Dark film festival has one real flaw. It’s too short. We are introduced into a very-lived in world, with a fantastic seamless blend of practical and computer…
Topper (1937) -Norman Z. McLeod
Cary Grant headlines the first film I dive into as I hit the chapter on ghosts in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies. Played as a bit of a romantic comedy, the film is one I had never heard of, and I always enjoy settling in for a Grant picture. The suave leading man plays…
Underworld (2003) – Len Wiseman
Kate Beckinsale kicks ass and looks stunning doing it as she plays Selene, a death dealer, or vampire, in Underworld, the next recommendation from DK Canada’s highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies by legendary director, John Landis. There has been a war raging around humanity for centuries as vampires and werewolves, or death dealers and…
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones (1993) – Daredevils of the Desert
Indy continues his time in French Intelligence this week as he serves in Gaza in this extended unaired episode that was released as a home release movie on 21 November, 1999. Directed by Simon Wincer, the story was written by Frank Darabont, an sees our young hero helping the British and Australian forces take the…
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) – Joe Johnston
Before Joe Johnston directed one of my favourite comic book movies, The Rocketeer, he directed this Disney film that took the b-movies of the 1950s into the late Disney-fied 80s. There are nods to films he hasn’t made yet (which is really fun) and dialogue lifts from classic films and a playful sense of fun….
Gremlins (1984) – Joe Dante
Practical effects, matte paintings and a dark, playful sense of humour… They just don’t make them like the used to. I was delighted when I returned to the Family section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book that Joe Dante’s horror comedy Christmas movie (it’s set at Christmas therefore it IS a…
The Mind Reels 