Dreamcatcher (2003) – Lawrence Kasdan

I don’t know why this one didn’t work so well twenty years ago. Lawrence Kasdan (!) directs from a script he wrote with William Goldman (!), based on a novel by Stephen King (!) , a score by James Newton Howard (!) and a top-notch cast; Damian Lewis, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Timothy Olyphant, Morgan…

National Treasure (2004) – Jon Turteltaub

Sometimes you just want fluff. And honestly, who doesn’t like the idea of a secret history shrouded in clues and mysteries all around in the everyday, and the history of a country? Like an inoffensive version of The Da Vinci Code, the first National Treasure is a solid popcorn film, meant to entertain and not…

Captive Wild Woman (1943) – Edward Dmytryk

John Carradine as a detached, and insane scientist, who somehow still gets work, an animal trainer who wants a shot at the big top, and a gorilla suit that becomes a beautiful women with strange powers over the animals of the circus. It’s all here in the next big title in DK Canada’s Monsters in…

Rampage (2018) – Blu-Ray Review

Rampage, adapted from the video game from 1986, hits blu-ray today from Warner Brothers. Video game adaptions, as people know don’t always work so well. I for one though was quite happy to give this one a fair shake for two reasons, Dwayne Johnson and Weta Workshop. That being said there are things that I…

Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018) – Peyton Reed

Opening this Friday is the next instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man and The Wasp. While lacking the originality of the first film (and its desire to repeat the beats and moments that made the first one such a unique success), this one still succeeds and does so best when it focuses on the…

Gremlins (1984) – Joe Dante

Practical effects, matte paintings and a dark, playful sense of humour… They just don’t make them like the used to. I was delighted when I returned to the Family section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book that Joe Dante’s horror comedy Christmas movie (it’s set at Christmas therefore it IS a…