The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913) – L. Frank Baum

It’s been over a year since I travelled to the land of Oz. So I decided to buckle up for a quick jaunt back to that fairyland that shaped the lives of so many children at the beginning of the 20th century. Baum guides us back to his world as we go on another quest…

Allied (2016) – Robert Zemeckis

  Available today from Paramount Pictures is director Robert Zemeckis’ wartime romantic thriller, Allied. Opening in French Morocco,  the film is a deliberate throwback to the romantic war films of yesteryear. In the first half of the film there are intentional callbacks to films like Casablanca and Notorious, calling to mind our memories and emotions…

2016 Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival

  There is always something amazing going on in Toronto, and we seem to be inundated with film festivals, which for a movie buff like me, is a good thing! Getting under way today, with a special opening night screening at Sick Kids Hospital and then continuing tomorrow at Innis Town Hall, this festival celebrates…

Spectre (2015) – Sam Mendes

  The new James Bond film opens today, with Daniel Craig’s fourth outing as Ian Fleming’s special agent, 007. And as an avid Bond fan, I had to be there. So what did I think? Gorgeous locations… check. Beautiful women… check (though Monica Bellucci is extremely under-used, as well as Naomi Harris’ Moneypenny). Style… check….

Hot Docs 2015: Chuck Norris Vs Communism – Ilinca Calugareanu

  Screening today at the Hart House theatre at 9:30pm is this masterful, and highly enjoyable documentary that plays like a Cold War thriller. The year is 1985. The place, Romania, a country under strict control by its socialist/communist government, there’s one television channel for the nation, and it broadcasts nothing but state propaganda. The…