The last night of the Toronto After Dark film festival got underway at Scotiabank Theatre with the Polish musical/drama/horror The Lure. Taking its cues from the original Hans Christian Anderson tale, The Little Mermaid, as well as playing with mermaid mythology this one toys with expectations, sexuality and strange lyrics in a kind of fevered…
Tag: practical effects
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999) – George Lucas
Remember, right back before the Phantom Menace came out, when anticipation was reaching a fever pitch? I miss that. Sure we had the wonderful build up to The Force Awakens, but the gap between films was no where near as long as it had been for those of us who had been invested in…
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) – J.J. Abrams
Sure, the film has only been open for one weekend, but at this point, there is absolutely nothing new for me to add to the discussion of the film. I’m still processing it so much of it, I mean after 30 years we get to see what really happened to our favorite characters, and…
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) – Ryuhei Kitamura
It’s time to dive back into the Sci-Fi Chronicles book… and spend some more time with that big green monster, Godzilla. This time around, it’s his 50th anniversary, and the 2004 feature wanted to pull out all the stops as Godzilla confronts almost all of his old enemies but also a new one known…
The Thing (2011) – Matthijs van Heijningen jr.
The Sci-Fi Chronicles book brings me to the remake/reboot/prequel to one of my all time favorite John Carpenter films, The Thing. I love both previous cinematic incarnations of this film, the paranoia and isolation that permeates the story and characters of Carpenter’s film, and the crackling dialogue and pacing of the 50s version, The Thing From Another World. So…
Avenged (2013) – Micheal S. Ojeda
Releasing from Anchor Bay today, was this supernatural revenge thriller, that surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. I thought it would be a little enjoyable, but I found myself really getting into this one. Zoe (the lovely Amanda Adrienne) is a deaf/mute girl on a road trip to spend some time with her…
Muck (2015) – Steve Wolsh
After I am ZoZo, this horror feature, also releasing from Anchor Bay today, was much more enjoyable, looked so much more professional, and to sound completely like a guy, did not skimp on the cleavage. Muck is a welcome throwback. Using 21st century pacing, and filming techniques, Muck is very much an 80s horror…
WolfCop (2014) – Lowell Dean
Get ready to howl, as the B-movie flick that caught everyone’s attention last year hits DVD today thanks to Anchor Bay! With its tongue planted so firmly in its cheek, it’s a wonder that the wolf can howl at all, this film heartily embraces and savages it Canadian and B-movie origins, while showcasing some fantastic…
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) – Fred Niblo
The next film up on the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film list of recommendations following my screening of Intolerance is this tale of Ben Hur (Ramon Navarro), a young Jewish prince intent on vengeance for the ruin of his family at the hands of the Romans, interwoven around the tale of Christ…
Pumpkinhead (1988) – Stan Winston
The always so cool Lance Henriksen stars in this creature-feature, cabin-in-the-woods horror film that was the directorial debut of the late, and much-missed Stan Winston. In a film packed with people I recognize, two of them from my favorite television show ever, Quantum Leap, the film plays within the typical B-movie tropes, but with…
The Mind Reels 