February 4 , 2012: Return of Intruder (1989)
Just uploaded is a review of Intruder, the 1989 feature directorial debut by Scott Spiegel, part of Sam Raimi's filmmaking clique. Synapse's nice Blu-ray / DVD combo set features a 2K transfer of the Director's Cut, of which the highlight is a realistic head-sawing sequence with prosthetics designed by the brilliantly sick folks at KNB. (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
February 3 , 2012: Festivals-a-Go-Go + R.I.P. The Cinesphere?
Quick recap of this weekend's interesting (to me) screenings, plus NASA's video of the Dark Side of the Moon, and the Ontario Government's decision to shut down most of Ontario Place forthwith, henceforce, herewith, and now, with the future of world's first permanent IMAX theatre - the Cinesphere - up in the air. (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
January 31 , 2012: Yilmaz Güney, Part II - The Poor Ones (1975)
In Part II, I review The Poor Ones / Zavallilar (1975), recently screened at the TIFF Bell Lightbox as part of their series The Way Home: The Films of Turkish Master Yilmaz Güney. (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
January 28 , 2012: Ti West's The Innkeepers
Reviews of Ti West's latest shocker, The Innkeepers, and Jeff Grace's soundtrack album (Screamworks / MovieScore Media), plus some opinionated blather regarded big stupid actor heads. (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
January 24 , 2012: John Guillermin at Fox
Reviews of three films British director John Guillermin (The Towering Inferno) made at Twentieth Century-Fox during the 1960s: Guns at Batasi (Fox), Rapture (freshly released on Blu-ray by Twilight Time), and The Blue Max (Fox). (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
January 20 , 2012: Festivals-a-Go-Go --- Cold War Sci-Fi on the Big Screen
This week the TIFF Bell Lightbox launches its 2-month series Attack the Bloc: Cold War Science Fiction from Behind the Iron Curtain, and I've added a list of what's screening, what's on DVD, and why these films matter. (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
January 19 , 2012: Soundtrack Reviews & Score Release Tally
Tally of the latest soundtrack releases, plus reviews of Tyler Bates’ engrossing score for the sci-fi thriller The Darkest Hour and Craig Richey’s Answers to Nothing (both from Lakeshore Records); Danny Elfman’s complete music for Scrooged (La-La Land); Howard Shore’s A Dangerous Method and John Williams’ War Horse (both Sony); and the original Casino Royale (Kritzerland). (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
January 16 , 2012: Yilmaz Güney, Part I - Yol (1982)
Review of Yilmaz Güney's Cannes-decorated Yol (1982), part of the TIFF Bell Lightbox's tribute to one of Turkey's most important directors, beginning this week. (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
January 15 , 2012: Jan Kadar does CanCon - Lies My Father Told Me (1975)
Review of Ergo Media's new DVD of Lies My Father Told Me(1975), Jan Kadar's film version of Ted Allan's semi-autobiographical tale of 1920s Jewish Montreal. (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
January 11 , 2012: Just Don't Go There...
Just uploaded: reviews of Synapse Films' snappy new Blu-ray of Frank Henenlotter's classic Frankenhooker, and a similar themed Frankenstein riff, Ralph Nelson's Embryo (1976). (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
January 10 , 2012: Horror Tales + Desert Noir
Cluster upload of 3 horror films on Blu-ray from late 2011: Apollo 18 (Anchor Bay U.S.), Bereavement (Anchor Bay Canada), and Final Destination 5 (Warner Home Video), plus two unique desert noir films: one's only available widescreen on laserdisc - Carl Colpaert's superb Delusion from 1991 - and the other's a hard to pin down hybrid of noir, comic book crime, and a live-action Itchy & Scratchy cartoon - Jonathan Vara's South of Heaven (Synapse). (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
January 5 , 2012: Suburban Tales III
Blu-ray reviews of three takes on suburban paranoia: Joe Cornish's Attack the Block (Sony), Tom Holland's Fright Night (Twilight Time), and J.J. Abrams' Super 8 (Paramount), plus some Editorius Blathorious regarding review updates + upcoming film projects (mine, not yours). (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
December 26, 2011: Mutiny on the Bounty (4.0)
Lengthy review of Warner Home Video's new Blu-ray of Mutiny on the Bounty, the 1962 Ultra Panavision 70 version that's aged quite well in spite of piquant Brandoisms and some fudging of historic facts. (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
December 25, 2011: On Being Pleased
Flower power, or is the simple enjoyment of something white, purple, and green enough to cut through holiday and day-to-day bullshit (if just for a precious while)? Seasonal editorial blather, with actual profanity! (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
December 17 , 2011: Soundtrack News & Reviews
News of the special features to appear on Twilight Time's upcoming Picnic and The Roots of Heaven Blu-rays, plus CD reviews of Bear McCreary's The Cape and Alfred Newman's A Certain Smile La-La Land), and Ludovic Bource's The Artist and the compilation album for The Descendants (Sony Classical) (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
December 15 , 2011: 'All Hail to the God of Carnage'
Film review of Roman Polanski's Carnage, which finds the veteran director back in form directing a tale of disintegrating civility. The film's release is also being preceded by the screening of related vintage films from Polanski's Polish, British, and American canon at the TIFF Bell Lightbox this month (although sadly, fans will still have to wait for a celebration of Pirates. Yeah...) (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
December 14 , 2011: Soundtrack News & Reviews
Reviews of Henry Jackman's Puss in Boots (Sony Classical), and from La-La Land Records Elmer Bernstein's Trading PLaces, and Jerry Goldsmith's Forever Young and Sleeping with the Enemy, plus the latest limited and non-limited releases from Varese Sarabande and Intrada. (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
December 12 , 2011: Genre Benders
Reviews of Joe D'Amato's Exotic Malice / Sesson Nero (1980) and Nello Rossati's Erotic Escape / Fuga / Fuga scabrosamente pericolosa (1985) from One 7 Movies. (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
December 8 , 2011: Canada's Top Ten & Packaged Goods series
Details of TIFF's Canada's Top Ten winners in feature and short film categories, with links to online clips and home video availability, plus a review of the upcoming Packaged Goods series playing next week at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, featuring hand-picked ads, music videos, and a great Spike Jonze animated short. (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
December 7 , 2011: A Gathering of Xmas Schmaltz
Editorial Blog & blather on seasonal films, and a DVD review of the classic 1977 teleplay, The Gathering (Warner Home Video) , which has a father arranging one final Xmas dinner to reconcile with his estranged family (and not vampires assembling to taker over Luksville, as you impetuously thought). (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
December 7 , 2011: Maniac Cop 2 + 3
Reviews of Maniac Cop 2 and Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (First Look). (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
December 6 , 2011: More Batman and Mortal Kombat on Blu
Just uploaded, Blu-ray reviews of Batman: Year One and Mortal Kombat: Legacy from Warner Home Video. (Blogger / WordPress blogs)
_____________________________________
December 1 , 2011: Festivals-a-Go-Go, Dec.1 - Dec. 9, 2011
Tally & heads up of local film festivals & screenings, advance Hot Docs and Bloor Cinema passes now available for purchase, Bill 'Deliverance' McKinney dies at 80 without a squeal, Chinatown & Adam Nayman at the TBL, hockey films, and Nino Rota turns 100! (Blogger / WordPress blogs)