Lust for a Vampire (1971) – Jimmy Sangster

John Landis’ Monsters in the Movies from DK Canada keeps the fangs a gnashing with the next vampire title to be exhumed, Hammer Films Lust for a Vampire. The second in the Karnstein trilogy, this story picks up some forty years after the previous incarnation of Mircalla stalked the land. This version is played by…

Heart-Shaped Box (2007) – Joe Hill

After enjoying Hill’s short story collection a couple of weeks ago, as well as his fantastic work on Locke & Key, I decided to give a full novel a try, and the result ends up being a very satisfying ghost story, as we dive into a world of sex, violence and rock’n’roll. Judas Coyne (not…

Before Midnight (2013) – Richard Linklater

Nine years after Before Sunset, and almost twenty since Before Sunrise, we check in with Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) again. And this is the next title from DK Canada’s The Movie Book’s What Else to Watch list following my screening of Boyhood. Travelling in Greece as a family, including two daughters, the…

Toronto After Dark 2017: Poor Agnes – Navin Ramaswaran

The second feature screening tonight at Scotiabank Theatre as part of the Toronto After Dark film festival is another new favourite. Poor Agnes, having its Toronto premiere this eve, is a disturbing drama that haunts and troubles even as its story captivates. Agnes (Lora Burke) is a serial killer, and she is a master at…

Faust (1926) – F.W. Murnau

DK Canada’s The Movie Book brings me some more F.W. Murnau. The film highlighted in the book is Sunrise, which I’d previously reviewed, and I’ve viewed his Key Movies, so I moved on to What Else to Watch and dug into his adaptation of the classic tale of Faust. Taking into account the time in…

The Harder They Come (1972) – Perry Henzell

Featuring a fantastic 1970s reggae soundtrack, The Harder They Come, featuring Jimmy Cliff is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Jailhouse Rock. Ivan Martin (Cliff) is trying to find a way to succeed, even survive, in Jamaica. He sets his sights on making it…

Quantum Leap (1993) – Liberation and Dr. Ruth

Sam (Scott Bakula) finds himsef in the form of a women’s lib protester, Margaret Sanders on 16 October, 1968. Liberation was written by Deborah Pratt and Chris Abbott, and aired on 12 January, 1993. According to Al  (Dean Stockwell), Sam has a lot on his plate this leap, as he has to save the leader…

Liv Stein

Combining near cinematic imagery that verges on the iconic and powerhouse performances from its actors, Liv Stein, presented by Canadian Stage at the Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto is sure to wow and elicit discussion. Director Matthew Jocelyn’s sure hand brings Nino Haratischwili’s original German play to the Canadian stage via a translation by Birgit…

Game of Thrones: Season 6

It’s all new territory for GoT fans with the release of Season 6 to Blu-Ray and DVD this week via HBO. The series ventures into new territory, as they leave the last of the published books behind and now, fans of the novels and the show have to wait to see how things in Westeros will…

Heavy Metal (1981) – Gerald Potterton

I remember seeing issues of Heavy Metal on the magazine rack when I would buy my Starlog and movie magazines growing up on CFB Kingston. I was young, I was there when I was ten and eleven, but I remember being intrigued by the covers I saw. They were appealing, fantastic art, beautiful women, and…