In 2009 Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers (who own New Line Cinema) working with the production company Platinum Dunes gave us a soft reset on the Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears) story and did their best to up the gore and nudity. The script seems to want to be a combination of the first three films,…
Tag: visual effects
Jason X (2001) – James Isaac
While writers attempted to crack the Freddy vs.Jason showdown, New Line Cinema was intent on keeping the Friday the 13th i.p. alive and also wanted to do something different. Jason X is definitely that. And unquestionably the worst entry in the entire series, despite boasting a cameo by David Cronenberg, a fun starring turn by…
The Fate of the Furious (2017) – F. Gary Gray
The first Fast and the Furious film after the death of Paul Walker changes speed, and I’m not saying the series jumped the shark, but the speed has changed from fast to ludicrous. The cast is huge, with some big hitters in supporting roles, including a wonderful cameo appearance by Helen Mirren. We learn that…
Indiana Jones 4K – 40th Anniversary Celebration!
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Paramount Pictures has remastered the original four films into a gorgeous 4K collection that is as crystal clear as my memories of seeing each and every one of them in the theatre… In 1981, I remember seeing television ads for Raiders on the television,…
Fast Five (2011) – Justin Lin
Justin Lin delivers another action packed entry in The Fast and The Furious franchise. If the fourth film was about tying off the themes and story threads from the first film, the fifth film really wants to up the game and play in the world the series has created, and brings back familiar faces from…
Ex Machina (2014) – Alex Garland
Alex Garland wrote and directed this stunning film, his first feature, that explores the concepts of Artificial Intelligence and the desire to live and survive. When a young programmer, Caleb (Domhall Gleeson) wins a contest to spend a week at his boss, Nathan’s (Oscar Isaac), remote estate, he loves the idea, when Nathan reveals that…
Little Shop of Horrors (1986) – Frank Oz
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…
The X-Files (1994) – Firewalker, and Red Museum
Leland Orser, Shawnee Smith, Hiro Kanagawa and Bradley Whitford guest star in the first episode of The X-Files up this week. Firewalker was written by Howard Gordon and first aired on 18 November, 1994. Agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) have their office back! The X-Files are re-opened, and they are off to…
Drag Me to Hell (2009) – Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi returned to the horror genre in 2009 with the film Drag Me to Hell, the next title in the section on witches in DK Canada’s highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies book. Alison Lohman portrays Christine Brown, a loan officer at a bank in California. She’s in competition for the Assistant Manager’s position,…
Condorman (1981) – Charles Jarrott
This week’s spy movie is a film that should have worked, if it had a tighter script, and a better effects budget. Disney delivers a superhero spy movie that feels like a family-friendly version of From Russia With Love. Micheal Crawford stars in this film, and that was the thing that originally caught my attention…
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) – Blu-Ray Review
From the opening moments of Dark Fate, this does feel like the Terminator film we’ve been waiting for, because as much as the film series has been about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800, it’s also, when it’s at its best, about Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton, who returns to the series in style). Or rather, the balance of…
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
A space age fairy tale. No matter the themes, social commentary or underpinnings we wish to assign the Skywalker Saga, culminating with the release of Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars has always been a space age fairy tale – there are princesses (turned general), knights (both good and bad), evil lords, fortresses,…
