Howard Ashman and Alan Menken bring their bring science fiction b-movie musical to the big screen, ably directed by Frank Oz, in this 1986 adaptation that is the next stop in the Monstrous Aliens section of DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies. Rick Moranis plays Seymour, a bit of a schlub with an affectation for…
Tag: tropes
Paul (2011) – Greg Mottola
One tends to forget how funny Paul is. Written by stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, it is a love letter to sci-fi, geek, and pop culture and is the next stop in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies. Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) are huge geeks, and have finally made it to Comic Con…
Equal Rites (1987) – Terry Pratchett
I head back to Discworld for this week’s Book Shelf, and delve into the third tale from the Terry Pratchett created universe. This story takes us in a different direction, leaving behind the characters introduced in the previous volumes, but gives us another hilariously magical tale. Young Eskarine is a girl, she is the eighth…
Black Sunday (1960) – Mario Bava
Mario Bava’s fantastic gothic feature, Black Sunday aka The Mask of Satan is the next title in Ten Bad Dates With De Niro. This brilliant film, which I had never seen before, has all the enjoyable gothic ambience of Corman’s takes on Poe like The Fall of the House of Usher, and some wonderful gore…
Toronto After Dark 2019: Making Monsters (2019) – Justin Harding & Rob Brunner
Having its Canadian premiere at the Scotiabank theater, the Toronto After Dark film festival unveils Making Monsters which proves itself to be a fun and occasionally creepy spin on familiar horror motifs, both classic and modern. There are nods to the tropes of Final Girl, Torture Porn, and the horrors of the modern world, all…
Legend (1985) – Ridley Scott
Monsters in the Movies, the fantastic book by director John Landis from DK Canada moves on to the next chapter. Leaving mummies behind, I know turn my attention to Myths, Legends, and Fairy Tales, a widely populated region and I couldn’t think of a better place to start with it than Ridley Scott’s dreamlike take…
The Mummy Returns (2001) – Stephen Sommers
Two years after Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) and Evy (Rachel Weisz) returned the Mummy (Arnold Vosloo) to the ground, director Stephen Sommers brought him back for another adventure, and it serves as the next stop in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies, as I explore the chapter on Mummies! Despite only taking two years between…
Star Trek: Voyager (1999) – Latent Image, and Bride of Chaotica!
Captain’s log: stardate unknown Joe Menosky pens this episode from a story by Eileen Connors, Brannon Braga and himself. It first aired on 20 January, 1999. The Doctor (Robert Picardo) is troubled to learn that someone or something has tampered with his short term memory. As he investigates, he finds a string of memories and…
Moonlighting (1985) – The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice, and My Fair David
Orson Welles, to whom the first episode this week is dedicated, makes his final television appearance as he introduces this unique episode of Moonlighting. Written by Debra Frank and Carl Sautter, the episode debuted on 15 October, 1985, and about twelve minutes into it, transitions to black and white. David (Bruce Willis) and Maddie (Cybill…
House On Haunted Hill (1999) – William Malone
I’m not sure how this title, a remake of the classic 1959 William Castle film ended up in the zombie chapter of DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book, as having just sat through this one, I don’t recall any zombies, or living dead. The concept itself is fun enough, an amusement park mogul, Stephen…
The Mind Reels 