Clocking in at almost four hours long, Leone’s cinematic adaptation of Harry Grey’s original novel is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Godfather. Robert De Niro stars as David ‘Noodles’ Aaronson, a gangster, who after fleeing New York returns over thirty years later…
Tag: violence
Scarface (1983) – Brian De Palma
A story of greed wiping out any trace of humanity, and the dark side of the immigrant story, Brian De Palma’s update of the classic gangster 1932 film remains a staple of the genre as I return to the Thriller & Crime section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film. Al Pacino plays…
The Godfather (1972) – Francis Ford Coppola
A cinematic classic. A masterpiece. A gold standard in film. All of these descriptions suit Coppola’s adaptation of Mario Puzo’s epic novel, The Godfather, perfectly, and it is my next stop in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book as I return to the Thriller genre. Having said all of the above it…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990) – The Hunted, and The High Ground
Captain’s log: stardate 43489.2 Airing on 8 January, 1990, this episode featured the first appearance of James Cromwell in the Trek universe. Here he plays Prime Minister Nayrok in an episode written by Robin Bernheim. An escaped prisoner, Danar (Jeff McCarthy) gives Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the Enterprise a run for its money after he…
Toronto After Dark 2017: Poor Agnes – Navin Ramaswaran
The second feature screening tonight at Scotiabank Theatre as part of the Toronto After Dark film festival is another new favourite. Poor Agnes, having its Toronto premiere this eve, is a disturbing drama that haunts and troubles even as its story captivates. Agnes (Lora Burke) is a serial killer, and she is a master at…
Toronto After Dark 2017: Game of Death – Sebastien Landry & Laurence Morais-Lagace
Tonight at 7pm Toronto After Dark unveils Game of Death with its Toronto premiere at Scotiabank Theatre. Imagine if Jumanji made you kill people. That’s the impetus behind the film as a group of millennials find themselves playing a board game where they have to kill (or be killed) to survive. This is a great…
Toronto After Dark 2017: Trench 11 – Leo Scherman
Zombie Night at the Toronto After Dark film festival continues at the Scotiabank Theatre with the Toronto Premiere of the Canadian biological horror film, Trench 11. Without putting too fine a point on it, this has been my favourite film of the festival so far. It’s not overly zombie-filled, but the story is captivating, it’s…
West Side Story (1961) – Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins
Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins direct the film that brings me back to the musical genre in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. Stephen Sondheim pens the lyrics for this Academy Award winning musical (including Best Picture) that is an updated retelling of Shakespeare’s beautiful tragedy Romeo & Juliet with Richard Beymer…
Wonder Woman (2017) – Patty Jenkins
Hitting blu-ray and video today from Warner Brothers is the box office sensation Wonder Woman, the long overdue arrival of Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) to the big screen. Wowing in the theatre, the Amazon comes home with a gorgeous blu-ray that looks and sounds fantastic and puts your home theatre through its paces. Loved by…
Ghost in the Shell (2017) – Rupert Sanders
Paramount Pictures’ live action adaptation of the classic anime, Ghost in the Shell, hits blu-ray and DVD today. I am going to eschew any discussion of the white-washing controversy surrounding the film’s production, and just focus on the movie itself. I love the original anime, and constantly saw it as kin to the cinematic version…
The Mind Reels 