I remember when Shutter Island hit the cinemas, and then hit home video, everyone was raving about it. When I finally had a chance to watch it, I had the mystery figured out pretty quickly, though I will say it was wonderfully executed. Scorsese delivers a gorgeous looking film, and makes great use of visual…
Tag: smart
The Maid (2022) – Nita Prose
The Maid is a fantastic engaging read that introduces the character Molly Gray, a young woman who is on the spectrum and finds herself caught up as the prime suspect in a murder investigation. Molly, who is recovering from the death of her beloved Gran, the only caretaker she has in her life, struggles to…
Family Ties (1987) – A, My Name is Alex, and ‘D’ is for Date
Michael J. Fox gets to really show his range in A, My Name is Alex. A special hour-long episode that was first broadcast on 12 March, 1987. It was written by Alan Uger and series creator Gary David Goldberg. Alex (Keaton) isn’t dealing well with the death of his friend Greg (Brian McNamara). With a…
The Long Goodbye (1973) – Robert Altman
I’m probably stepping into a minefield here, but I’m not the biggest Robert Altman fan. Who doesn’t love The Player? And as great as M*A*S*H is, I came to it by way of the television series, so it never resonated with me as much as I would have liked. That being said, I really liked…
Talk to Me (2022) – Danny and Micheal Philippou
The Philippou brothers deliver a fantastic Australian horror film with Talk to Me, creepy, smart, layered, and relatable characters make this one to watch, and get freaked out over. Something is sweeping the social media of the kids in a town in Australia, parties built around a ritual involving an embalmed hand, candles, and ninety…
Confess, Fletch (2022) – Greg Mottola
I loved the 1985 Fletch adaptation starring Chevy Chase, and I’ve read a few of Gregory McDonald’s novels, and have been eager to see the iconic and laconic investigative reporter return to the screen. That journey has been long and arduous and has seen many creative people involved in trying to resurrect the character. Greg…
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) – Bob Perischetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
Marvel and Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse delivered a brilliant, funny, engaging, and arguably one of the best onscreen Spider-Man we’ve seen yet, and it’s animation style is fantastic. It marries a number of animation styles and literally brings the comic book to life. When Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) has a life-altering encounter with Spider-Man…
When Evil Lurks (2023) – Demian Rugna
The Spanish language film, When Evil Lurks, from Argentina, has found its way into my favourite horror films along with Late Night with the Devil. It’s creepy, has some legitimate scares, and a real sense of menace. Two brothers, Pedro (Ezequiel Rodriguez) and Jimi (Demian Salomon), find themselves confronting true evil when they encounter a…
TAD 2023: Late Night with the Devil dir. Cameron Cairnes, and Colin Cairnes
The Toronto After Dark film festival got started on Thursday night with a bang with Late Night with the Devil. And it was a crowd-pleaser. If you are a horror fan, this is one to seek out, this is one to demand from your streaming service, this should move to the top of your viewing…
TIFF ’23: Next Goal Wins
Michael Fassbender stars in Taika Waititi’s feel-good sports film, Next Goal Wins, which takes its inspiration from real events. It tells the story of the American Samoa soccer team that in 2002 lost to Australia 31 to 0, and had never scored a single goal since the team was created. They are a bottom of…
The Mind Reels 