A Bridge Too Far (1977) – Richard Attenborough

A Bridge Too Far is a solid and amazing film. It also suffers from the time it was made, and the films that followed it. It’s packed with big names. It is literally an all-star cast in a way that doesn’t happen anymore. All of them working to bring the story of Operation Market Garden…

TIFF 25: Fuze dir. David Mackenzie

The one thing that I came out of Fuze knowing for sure is that this is the first time I’ve seen Aaron Taylor-Johnson in a role where I thought, yes, I can see this fella playing 007. Now, it hasn’t been announced he is, or anything of the sort, but I’m saying what I saw…

The Scarlet Claw (1944) – Roy William Neill

Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) find themselves in Quebec, Canada (read as the Universal backlot) for their next adventure, The Scarlet Claw. An original story, this adventure sees the dogged duo working to solve a murder that may or may not have paranormal trappings. While Watson is played up for humor again,…

The Spider Woman (1944) – Roy William Neill

Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) is back! By his side, the redoubtable Watson (Nigel Bruce)! Despite the (once again) short runtime, I really liked this one. It got the series back on track to solving mysteries and while the War was still going on I liked the fact that it decided to be more escapism than…

Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) – Roy William Neill

Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) are back, and this time out, their story takes its inspiration from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual.’ They left behind some of the World War II storylines, though it still has an influence. Watson is voluneering at a convalescence home housed on the…

Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943) – Roy William Neill

Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) are back in action, confronting and dealing with more World War II espionage as Sherlock Holmes heads to the new world. Not even using a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story as a launching point, the story is short, simple, and honestly, didn’t really need Holmes’ insight. A British…

Forever and a Day (2018) – Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz delivers another fast-paced 007 spy thriller with some material written by the series creator Ian Fleming. Set just before the events of the novel, Casino Royale, the story follows James Bond as he gets his two assigned kills to get his Double-O number, and throws him into a case that helps shape the…

Shutter Island (2010) – Martin Scorsese

I remember when Shutter Island hit the cinemas, and then hit home video, everyone was raving about it. When I finally had a chance to watch it, I had the mystery figured out pretty quickly, though I will say it was wonderfully executed. Scorsese delivers a gorgeous looking film, and makes great use of visual…

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) – Guy Ritchie

While there isn’t much to describe in terms of character arcs, Guy Ritchie’s latest, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare has a couple of things going for it. It’s based on a recently declassified (2016) true event of World War II, it has an enjoyable cast, and it’s always fun to see Nazis get punched, and…