Splash (1984) – Ron Howard

Splash remains a magical, enjoyable and funny experience, though some of it hasn’t aged as well as it could have. What it does have is able direction by Ron Howard, wonderful comedic turns by Tom Hanks, John Candy and Eugene Levy, and a beguiling role for Daryl Hannah. It’s a fun little love story that…

Deepstar Six (1989) – Sean S. Cunningham

1989 had not one, not two, but three underwater adventure films. Now, this one would never be confused with James Cameron’s The Abyss, but you may mistake it for Leviathan (honestly I enjoy all three, and can’t believe I hadn’t penned this one up for the blog before). Directed by Sean S. Cunningham who directed…

The Shallows (2016) – Jaume Collet-Serra

Blake Lively stars in a tight little actioner that runs shy of 90 minutes, but features some crisp and beautiful location and underwater photography. Lively is Nancy, a med student who has journeyed to Mexico to surf a secret beach that her mother once surfed long ago when she learned she was pregnant with Nancy….

Stargate: Atlantis (2004) – Rising

Stargate: Atlantis launched with a feature length debut episode on 16 July, 2004. It was written by Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright. O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and Daniel (Michael Shanks) shows up to assist in the launch. It’s fun, looks great and expands the Stargate universe. Dr. Weir (now played by Torri Higginson) has…

Under Paris (2024) – Xavier Gens

Under Paris delivers my second favourite shark movie of all time. The first is Jaws, of course. That whole slew of Sharknado films couldn’t do a damned thing for me. They are so far beyond cheesy that they become an embarrassment. You have to be able to walk a line with shark movies, to balance…

Inferno (1980) – Dario Argento

It’s been a while since I watched Argento’s Suspiria, though I remember enjoying it, so when I learned he did two more films set in the same world I knew I had to seek them out. The first follow-up film is 1980’s Inferno. Rose (Irene Miracle) is living in New York (with Italian locations serving…

Sphere (1998) – Barry Levinson

Having recently reread the original novel by Micheal Crichton, I was kind of eager to take a look at the film adaptation again. I remember being very disappointed with it at the time, but I also don’t recall if I’d read the novel before or after or not. Going into it this time, I knew…

TIFF ’23: Smugglers

With Smugglers, which is having its North American premiere at TIFF, Director Ryoo Seung-wan gives his audience a smart, playful, 70s-drenched crime thriller set in a quiet seaside South Korean fishing town. Jin-sook (Yum Jung-ah) and Choon-ja (Kim Hye-soo) work as haenyeo, free divers who collect shellfish and other seafood, alongside a crew of other…

Mission: Impossible (1971) – Underwater, and Invasion

I’m not sure I cared for Underwater. Written by Arthur Weiss it first aired on 6 November, 1971 and features the IMF going after some crooks, their cash, and some stolen diamonds. Unfortunately, a thief has made off with them, and they have to get him to admit where they are and scoop them out…

Leviathan (1989) – George Cosmatos

The first of the underwater movies to be released in 1989, Leviathan, a fun little creature feature with monster work Stan Winston, is the next film in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies for my viewing pleasure. Shooting dry for wet,as opposed to James Cameron’s exemplary The Abyss, the film follows a crew of deep-sea…