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…
Tag: practical effects
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…
Fan Expo 2014
It’s that time of year! Geekery abounds, the stars show up, costumes come out and there is a lot of fun to be had. Sprawling across both buildings of the Metro Toronto Convention Center, Fan Expo has grown and this is a big year, as many previous and beloved guests are coming back for…
Clash of the Titans (1981) – Desmond Davis
Now this is the way you do a Greek mythology epic, with heart, fun and some top-notch stop motion effects. There is more emotion and character in a single armature movement in this film, than in the whole of the pixelated version of the 21st century! I was so happy to be able to…
The Strain Set Visit
Tonight, Gullermo del Toro presents a new vision in terror as the series premiere of The Strain launches a new kind of vampire. Back in March, I was invited to the set to have a look at what goes on behind the scenes and along with some fellow media types (a number of whom…
Evil Dead (2013) – Fede Alvarez
I decided to watch a couple of remakes this week, to see how they look, and how they stand up to the originals. We need to establish I’m a huge fan of the originals, I recognize they are full of faults, but there is also an undeniable charm to them, as Raimi and his…
Jurassic Park (1993) – Steven Spielberg
As soon as I heard about Michael Crichton’s new book in 1990, I scrabbled to get my hands on a copy, and ended up co-opting and keeping my mother’s hard cover edition as soon as she was done with it. Then, hearing that Spielberg had bought the rights for it, I knew I had…
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) – James Cameron
The 101 Sci-Fi Movies, and the 101 Action Movies mesh with this title, appearing as a fin example of both genres. Cameron’s film picks up 13 years after the original classic, and finds a rebellious John Connor (Edward Furlong) living with his foster parents, while his toughened, but possibly psychotic mother, Sarah (Linda Hamilton)…
Total Recall (1990) – Paul Verhoeven
Using the short story, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick, as a springboard, this entry on the 1010 Sci-Fi Movie list, sees Arnold Schwarzenegger playing a secret agent on Mars, under Paul Verhoeven’s direction, who was last seen on the list for Robocop. Bored with his construction job, and dreaming…
The Towering Inferno (1974) – John Guillermin
The 101 Action Movies brings me to the heights of the 1970s disaster movies with this all-star epic, produced by and some sequences directed by Irwin Allen. I’ve never been a fan of the disaster film sub genre, but with a cast like this it’s hard not to settle in for the adventure, even with an…
The Mind Reels 