Oklahoma! (1955) – Fred Zinnemann

The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book has brought around to musicals again, and this time, it’s Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! This big budget adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical that opened in 1943 cast Gordon MacRae as the show’s lead Curly and Shirley Jones, as the object of his affections, Laurey. There’s…

La La Land (2016) – Damien Chazelle

From its opening, marrying classical screen musical tropes and modern times, Chazelle’s film proves that not only is the big screen musical still alive, it is in fact a vibrant event. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling star as two Hollywood dreamers, Mia and Sebastian. She’s an aspiring actress, he’s a jazz pianist who dreams of…

Gemina: The Illuminae Files 02 (2016) – Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

The second volume in the Illuminae Files, Gemina, is not only an excellent follow-up instalment in this vibrant and exciting Young Adult series, it is also highly entertaining science fiction and space opera. The first book, told through IM and audio transcripts, descriptions of video surveillance, was brilliant, fun, and probably a game-changer in the…

Quantum Leap (1990) – Pool Hall Blues and Leaping in Without a Net

  Sam (Scott Bakula) ends up shooting some stick in this week’s episode to save a young woman’s bar. Pool Hall Blues was penned by Randy Holland and originally aired on 14 March 1990. It’s 4 September, 1954 and Sam has leaped into Charlie “Black Magic” Walters, who, we learn, taught Al (Dean Stockwell) in…

Hot Docs 2015: Tuk-Tuk – Romany Saad 

Screening today at the Scotiabank theatre at 9:15 is this vibrant and intriguing look at the streets of Cairo, through the eyes of three young boys. Bika, Abdullah and Sharon are young, energetic, and hardworking, driving their motorized rickshaws, tuk-tuks, through the busy back streets and throughways of the city. Definitely not old enough to…