Toronto After Dark 2017: The Villainess – Byung-gil Jung

The hyper-kinetic assassin thriller The Villainess, has it’s Toronto premiere this evening at Toronto After Dark, screening exclusively at Scotiabank Theatre. This South Korean film is nothing short of a high-octane thriller that recalls Besson’s La Femme Nikita with overtones of Tarantino’s Kill Bill. Ok-bin Kim stars as Sook-hee, a violent woman with a violent…

Red Dawn (1984) – John Milius

The final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Dr. Strangelove is John Milius’ dark and violent film, Red Dawn. With an all-star cast including Patrick Swayze, Lea Thompson, C. Thomas Howell, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey, Powers Boothe and Harry Dean Stanton, the film chronicles an invasion…

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965) – Martin Ritt

Richard Burton turns in a solid, and believable performance in this adaptation of John le Carre’s classic thriller novel. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Dr. Strangelove. Burton is Alec Leamas, a spy in charge…

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) – John Frankenheimer

The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Dr. Strangelove is Frankenheimer’s incredible thriller that still has the power to chill to this very day. In fact, it seems even more relevant today than when it was released. It’s 1952, during the Korean War. An American…

Doctor Who (David Tennant) – Forest of the Dead, and Midnight

Picking up where last week’s episode left us, Forest of the Dead is a stunning conclusion to the story, especially if you’re revisiting the series and you know who River Song (Alex Kingston) really is. Written by Steven Moffat this episode debuted on 7 June, 2008. The Vashta Nerada, shadow beings, are still stalking the…

Point Blank (1967) – John Boorman

Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson headline the next stop in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book as we return to the Thriller & Crime genre. Marvin is Walker, a criminal left for dead when he is double-crossed by his partners, Reese (John Vernon) and his own wife, Lynne (Sharon Acker). He sets…

Quantum Leap (1992) – Running for Honor and Temptation Eyes

Sam (Scott Bakula) is a cadet at Prescott Naval College in Running for Honor. Written by Bobby Duncan, this episode had an airdate of 15 January, 1992. It’s 11 June, 1964, and Sam has leaped into Tommy York, and Al (Dean Stockwell) informs him he’s there to save a life. In the original history, a…

Strange Days (1995) – Kathryn Bigelow

My time with the films of James Cameron for the Sci-Fi Chronicles book comes to an end with this film that he penned the script for, and gave to the incredibly talented Kathryn Bigelow to direct. Ralph Fiennes stars as Lenny Nero, a former cop turned street hustler, with a charming side that can sell…

The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) – Chris Carter

The last episode of season 9, and the presumed end of the series before its relaunch in 2016 aired on 19 May, 2002,  six years later Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are put into action again, and so am I as I investigate the cinematic entries for the Sci-Fi Chronicles book….

Toronto After Dark 2016

It’s that time of year again, when horror, sci-fi, action, cult, and just the bizarre movies come to roost and entertain here in Toronto, with the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. 9 nights of movies that, as long as you have the right audience with you, can’t help but entertain. This year seems to be…