Let’s Rap (2015) – Neil Huber 

  Writer-producer (and friend) Samantha Herman releases her new movie to iTunes today. She shares writing and producing credit with her brother Jesse, but I could hear her voice through the entire thing as I laughed aloud. On top of that, it has 3 people I consider friends appearing in it as well, Kristian Bruun,…

Field of Dreams (1989) – Phil Alden Robinson

  The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of Raging Bull is this beautiful and highly enjoyable film from Phil Alden Robinson who wrote and directed the film based on the book Shoeless Joe Jackson by W. P. Kinsella. Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, an Iowa…

TIFF 2015: Portal to Hell – Vivieno Caldinelli

  TIFF tends to be filled with hidden gems, each one tucked away and made all the more pleasing when you find it. So let Sue and I give you a little nudge in the right direction… Portal To Hell!!! is part of the Short Cuts Programme 4 and is nothing short of pure gold. Running…

The Killing Circle (2008) – Andrew Pyper

  I dove into another Andrew Pyper book, Lost Girls is still waiting for me, and I was a little unsure about this one to start. I mean, I like the idea, a widower, Patrick Rush, is raising his only son, Sam, his grief over his wife describing a personal pain, not unlike the protagonist in the…

Issues Vol. 9

It’s a big week at West End Comics with a couple new recommendations from Kirk, and a title I had to read, and a continuation of some I’m enjoying. Harrow County (Dark Horse Comics) issue 3, this one continues to be a great book! With a story by Cullen Bunn and arts and letters by…

Toronto Fringe: All Our Yesterdays

Bold, beautiful, and packing a powerful emotional punch, All Our Yesterdays from writer/director Chloe Hung features masterful performances from Amanda Weise and Chiamaka Umeh. In April of 2014, 276 girls in Chibook, Nigeria were abducted by the Boko Haram (western education is forbidden), simply because they were seeking an education. Stolen as they sat down…

Toronto Fringe: I Love You, Judy Merril

Jim Smith takes to the stage of the Theatre Passé Muraille Backspace to pay homage and share his memories of science fiction writer Judy Merril. A writer, I’m ashamed to admit I had not heard of, especially when confronted by the list of titles she’d penned. Merril crafted tales during the heyday of pulp science fiction…

King Kong (2005) – Peter Jackson

  I’ve been loving my time with the big gorilla thanks to my exploration of the Sci-Fi Chronicles book, and it was time for me to have a look at director Peter Jackson’s epic-sized remake of the original film. Featuring a grittier New York than the one in the original, the film attempts to ground…

Issues Vol. 6

Kirk continues his sterling work at West End Comics, and sent a couple of new titles my way in addition to my pull list, which wasn’t huge this week, but was very entertaining! First up is Star Trek (IDW) Issue 46. This is written by Mike Johnson, with art by Rachael Stott, colours by Davide…

Issues Vol. 5

This week, what with being on stay-cation, I got to catch up on a few graphic novels and not just my usual pull-list this week. Kirk at West End Comics recommended a couple of titles, and I was finally able to dig into them… Goners Volume 1 – We All Fall Down collecting issues 1…