Jordan Peele who delivered the incredible Get Out, followed it up with Us, another highly enjoyable horror film layered with scares and social commentary. While there may be some flaws in the film it doesn’t change the fact that it’s hugely enjoyable, filled with fascinating twists and turns, and a fantastic performance by the always…
Tag: writer
Tropic Thunder (2008) – Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller directed the ultimate Hollywood satire with Tropic Thunder. He developed the story with Justin Theroux, and the pair wrote a script with Ethan Cohen. It’s sharp, pointed, and under its endlessly quotable dialogue and performances is a skewering look at Tinsel Town. Everything seems to be a lie, from promotions to images to…
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) – James Cameron
It’s been thirteen years since writer/director James Cameron introduced to the distant world of Pandora, and its blue-skinned, lean humanoid inhabitants the Na’vi, who live in harmony with their planet. It’s been thirteen years since we left Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his wife, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and their family has grown, with three children…
Barbarian (2022) – Zach Cregger
Wow. Writer/director Zach Cregger blew me away with this one, completely subverting my expectations while playing with the traditional horror rules in this fantastic thriller of a film. From his framing to camera movement to casting to the way he doles out the story, Cregger plays with an increasingly film-savvy and educated horror audience and…
Lady in White (1988) – Frank LaLoggia
Frank LaLoggia scarred a number of my generation with his film Lady in White, which he wrote and directed. I remember countless friends, and others telling me how much it freaked me out. I had seen it once in the late 80s, just as I was getting into horror movies as a late teenager, and…
1408 (2007) – Mikael Hafstrom
John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson star in this big screen adaptation of the Stephen King short story. Cusack, who has always been a favourite of mine, is Mike Enslin, a writer who cranked out one good (and seemingly forgotten novel) and after a personal tragedy, which had him walking out on his grief-stricken wife…
Heat 2 (2022) – Michael Mann & Meg Gardiner
Iconic Holywood writer/director Michael Mann pairs up with acclaimed novelist Meg Gardiner to revisit and expand on the world of cop Vincent Hanna, thieves Neil McCauley and Chris Shiherlis and the pursuit of their goals before and after the events portrayed in the 1995 film. Coiled like a spring, this crime thriller ratchets up the…
Tiff ’22: The Banshees of Inisherin
A canticle of attrition laced with verses of humour and pathos, The Banshees of Inisherin from writer-director Martin McDonagh is a perfect composition. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as Padraic and Colm. They’ve been drinking mates for years until in April of 1923, Colm decides he doesn’t want to be friends with Padraic anymore….
TIFF ’22: Glass Onion – A Knives Out Mystery
Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig return in a second Knives Out film, and Craig, along with everyone else involved in the production seems to be having the time of their life. Craig’s detective, Benoit Blanc, finds himself caught up in a whole new mystery this time around, and while there is a tonal shift from…
TIFF ’22: Empire of Light
Writer/director Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light is a beautiful and emotional achievement, celebrating the beauty of cinema while allowing its star, Olivia Colman to deliver a powerful, layered and nuanced performance as Hillary. She’s a woman of a certain age who suffers from a mental illness, which she has to contend with in her day-to-day…
The Mind Reels 