I remember the first time I saw Willow. I know where I was, and I remember how it swept me up in its narrative. I knew I had to see it the moment it told me it was from the imagination of George Lucas. I knew who Ron Howard was, but I was a teenager…
Tag: witch
Equal Rites (1987) – Terry Pratchett
I head back to Discworld for this week’s Book Shelf, and delve into the third tale from the Terry Pratchett created universe. This story takes us in a different direction, leaving behind the characters introduced in the previous volumes, but gives us another hilariously magical tale. Young Eskarine is a girl, she is the eighth…
Black Sunday (1960) – Mario Bava
Mario Bava’s fantastic gothic feature, Black Sunday aka The Mask of Satan is the next title in Ten Bad Dates With De Niro. This brilliant film, which I had never seen before, has all the enjoyable gothic ambience of Corman’s takes on Poe like The Fall of the House of Usher, and some wonderful gore…
Toronto After Dark 2019: The Wretched (2019) – Brett Pierce and Drew T. Pierce
Closing out the Toronto After dark film festival tonight at Scotibank Theater is the latest film from the Pierce Brothers as they have the Toronto Premiere of The Wretched. With overtones of 80s classics, like The Evil Dead and Fright Night (and going a little further back to the 70s with Jaws – I may…
Ulysses (1954) – Mario Camerini
Kirk Douglas stars in this Italian sword and sandals (and sorcery) epic that also features Anthony Quinn, and is the next film in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book as I explore the chapter on Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales. Using Homer’s epic poem as its basis, the film follows Ulysses (Douglas) on his…
Toronto After Dark 2019: Witches in the Woods (2019) – Jordan Barker
Witches in the Woods is the second film of the Toronto After Dark film festival, having its North American premiere this evening. The film follows a group of twenty somethings on what is supposed to be a skiing getaway, but, of course, they get lost on the way, mired in the snow covered woods, with…
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) – Rob Cohen
There is a fun, if not a good movie somewhere in this mess of a mummy film that is my next stop in the mummy chapter of DK Canada’s highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies book. Unfortunately there are a number of things holding it back, there are some casting changes that affect onscreen chemistry,…
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) – Hayao Miyazaki
My time with Hayao Miyazaki continues thanks to DK Canada’s The Movie Book, following the recommendation of Spirited Away, and there on the What Else to Watch List were other Miyazaki titles to dive into and Kiki’s Delivery Service is next. Shorter than the other entries so far, the story follows a young witch, Kiki….
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark & More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1981 & 1984) – Alvin Schwartz
Scary stories are always a delight to take part in, wrapped oneself in darkness and trying to laugh the chill that the scares gives us, while enjoying the fright and perceived danger of it, like whistling past a graveyard, seems to be ingrained in our DNA. I never read these young adult collections when they…
The Seventh Seal (1957) – Ingmar Bergman
I love Max Von Sydow, and thanks to DK Canada’s The Movie Book, it was high time for me to dig into one of his most iconic roles in Bergman’s classic The Seventh Seal. This was the first time I had sat down to watch it, and I won’t lie, it also put me in…
The Twilight Zone (1963) – Jess-Belle, and Miniature
There’s the road sign up ahead, it’s time to take a weekly turn into The Twilight Zone, as I delve deeper into Season 4 of The Complete Series on blu-ray, now available from Paramount Pictures. First up is a tale of love, jealousy and witchcraft with Jess-Belle. Written by Earl Hamner Jr. this spooky little…
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) – Robert Stevenson
The recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book continue following my screening of It’s a Wonderful Life. This time around it’s a Disney film I’ve only seen in bits and pieces and never seen as a whole. It’s World War II, and an apprentice witch, three children and a conman…
The Mind Reels 