I hadn’t seen Pee-wee’s Big Adventure since it first came to home video in 1986. Paul Reubens aka Pee-wee wasn’t on my radar before that, it was all very much Back to the Future and Miami Vice for me. So when I was introduced to it one night, I found myself laughing aloud, hugely enjoying…
Tag: stop-motion
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021) – Dean Fleischer Camp
Dean Fleischer Camp directed this faux documentary that follows a tiny shell, named Marcel, as he discovers a measure of internet fame, its upside and down, and a measure of loss and the importance of family and change. Filled with beautiful stop-motion animation blended brilliantly with live action, the story finds Camp playing a version…
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022) – Guillermo del Toro, and Mark Gustafson
One of my favourite directors, Guillermo del Toro takes on the classic tale of Pinocchio. Teaming up with director Mark Gustafson and an incredibly talented bunch of animators and voice talent, del Toro moves the story forward in time to the 1920s, setting it in Italy during the rise of Mussolini, paired with some dark…
Isle of Dogs (2018) – Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson delivers another highly-enjoyable stop-motion animated feature with Isle of Dogs. He penned the script from a story he developed with Jason Schwartzman, Kunichi Nomura, and Roman Coppola. Set in a not-so-distant future in Japan, the story follows young Atari (Koyu Rankin) who travels to an island to seek out his missing canine, Spots…
V/H/S/99 (2022) – Flying Lotus, Maggie Levin, Tyler MacIntyre, Johannes Roberts, Joseph Winter, and Vanessa Winter
The most recent installment of the continuing found footage franchise, V/H/S/ feels like a bit of a miss to me. There are some interesting story ideas here, but they either take too long to develop, the camerawork is TOO shakey, or they tried to do too much. This time out there is five tales, none…
TAD 2022: Canadian Shorts Program
This afternoon, Toronto After DarkWE is showcasing its Canadian Shorts Program at Scotiabank Theatre. Shorts can be a lot of fun because even if you don’t like one, there will be another one along in a few minutes. And whether you like them or not, you can always recognize the quality of work and talent…
Monster From Green Hell (1957) – Kenneth G. Crane
The atomic mutations chapter of DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies continues to entertain with some wonderfully bad movies, featuring creatures affected by radiation. This time around it’s a giant wasp stalking the grasslands and jungles of Africa. Combining a jungle picture (using lots of stock footage) with a creature feature (which has some enjoyable,…
The Giant Behemoth (1959) – Douglas Hickox and Eugene Lourie
The English are in trouble again as I venture into the water to discover another title in the Dragons & Dinosaurs chapter of DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies. This time all of our atomic testing has caused a mass of radioactive waste to wash ashore near a small English village, and that’s only the…
Q (1982) – Larry Cohen
The next title from the Dragons & Dinosaurs chapter in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book is one I remember from my youth, not because I saw, but because I didn’t but the poster fascinated me. Of course, if the special effects were on par with the artwork of the poster this would have…
Jack the Giant Killer (1962) – Nathan Juran
There are dragons and monsters galore in the next film in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book as I delve deeper into the chapter called Dragons & Dinosaurs, and while the stop-motion effects aren’t quite up to Harryhausen standards, this fantasy adventure, suitable for family fun, is pretty fun to behold. A farmboy, Jack…
The Mind Reels 