Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front stunned TIFF audiences and now, he’s back, with a cinematic adaptation of Robert Harris’ novel, Conclave. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini, Berger delivers a visually arresting dramatic piece that takes viewers inside the Vatican as Cardinals gather from across the globe to…
Tag: vatican
Final Prayer (2013) – Elliot Gardner
Found footage is either the bane of my horror experience or a delight, and Final Prayer is no exception to that idea. I really like the idea at work here, and I love the climax, though I wish it had been executed better, we don’t see enough, we don’t quite learn enough, though the fear…
Hudson Hawk (1991) – Michael Lehmann
Bruce Willis stars in Hudson Hawk, which feels overly cartoonish in both its violence and humor, and seems made only to appease Willis’ ego and portray him as a very cool guy. I won’t lie, there are things about this film I do like, but I hadn’t seen it since it’s release, and wow, this…
Map of Bones (2005) – James Rollins
James Rollins second novel in his Sigma Force series continues the highly enjoyable combination of science, mythology, history and high adventure. This time, Sigma Force’s Grey Pierce is assigned with his team to investigate a massacre at a church in Germany, and the subsequent theft of ancient Catholic relics. Relics that have some strange properties,…
F/X 2 (1991) – Richard Franklin
Five years after the first film, and a lifetime of difference for me, Roland Tyler (Bryan Brown) and Leo McCarthy (Brian Dennehy) were back in action. Unfortunately, an attempt to continue the gritty feeling special effects thriller comes across as a little disjointed, and honestly, more convoluted than it needed to be. An attempt to…
Van Helsing (2004) – Stephen Sommers
After his fairly positive success with two Mummy movies, and the cult favorite Deep Rising, Stephen Sommers looked to do an homage to the Universal Monsters and hopefully launch a new tentpole franchise with the Hugh Jackman led Van Helsing. This is the next recommendation from DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies by John Landis,…
Doctor Who (Peter Capaldi) – Extremis, and The Pyramid at the End of the World
Extremis, one of my favourite Doctor Who episodes is up for viewing on the blog this week, and I enjoyed the experience of the revisit. Written by Steven Moffat, the episode debuted on 20 May, 2017. The Doctor (Capaldi) is still blind after the events of last week, but that doesn’t seem to stop him…
Toronto After Dark 2017: Eat Local(s) – Jason Flemyng
At 7pm tonight at Scotiabank Theatre, Toronto After Dark is hosting the Toronto premiere of Eat Local(s). A fun vampire romp that is sure to please audiences, the cast is stacked with recognisable faces and names, Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Mackenzie Crook (The Office), Eve Myles (Torchwood), Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who), Dexter Fletcher (Band of Brothers)…
The Vatican Exorcisms (2013) – Joe Marino
Releasing today from Anchor Bay is a horror film that takes on a subject I personally feel still hasn’t been treated right in either the horror genre or as the subject of a documentary, and yet it is rife with story potential. This one attempts to combine both of those genres, purporting to be…
Hot Docs 2014: Focus On Infinity (Joerg Burger)
Screening this evening at 7pm, with its international premiere at the Hart House Theatre is this documentary posits the eternal queries of who are we, where did we come from and where are we going? It doesn’t provide any answers, it’s more akin to laying on a blanket in the middle of summer and watch…
The Mind Reels 