Blade Runner 2049 Is sci-fi making a comeback? It sure seems like it. Or at least it seems like it’s becoming more mainstream. This year alone saw the return of Star Trek, a comedy spinoff series, the success of Black Mirror and the Handmaid’s Tale (sure, that’s more speculative fiction) and even the high profile movie Valerian (which did bomb, rightfully). Whatever is causing this new interest in sci-fi is still uncertain (perhaps it’s the feeling that...
Princess Mononoke GKIDS How does one pick their favorite Miyazaki movie? For anyone who’s a fan of animated movies, it’s easy to appreciate how his works are so grand, unique, and can go straight for the heart. Each one is so magical, so how do we distinguish and single out one as a favorite? Well, if this debate will get some of us to watch Miyazaki movies over and over again, then that’s a good thing. But for me...
The Paul Naschy Collection II My discovery of Paul Naschy and his movies has certainly been a cinematic highlight this year. Having known nothing of the man 6 months ago, I now have grown to appreciate his horror movies and his style and can see just how unique and fun they are. So these collections are truly a treat for Naschy and horror fans. And trust me, these movies are not easy to find. Go looking for them online...
Spirited Away GKIDS For a celebrated director like Miyazaki it’s worthwhile to point out how Spirited Away is probably his most celebrated work. Few movies have received the acclaim that this title has and a look at its Wikipedia page really puts into perspective the killing this movie made at any awards show where it was nominated. And it’s easy to see why. Watching Spirited Away is like watching Alice in Wonderland. It starts off with a very ordinary...
Porco Rosso Hayao Miyazaki is an absolute cinematic powerhouse. Whether you’re a fan of movies, Japanese culture, animation, kids movies, or fantasy, chances are you’ve been exposed to his work in some form or another. If you haven’t, that’s because you just don’t know it. With the recent reissues by GKIDS, we’re going to be covering some of our favorite Miyazaki releases in this column. You get to hear about them and we get to talk about them,...
L7 L7: Pretend We’re Dead DVD/Blu-Ray (MVD Visual) In the twenty-first century, it’s so unusual to simultaneously feel excited and infuriated as one watches a movie – but that’s what happens when one one watches Pretend We’re Dead – the documentary film which chronicles the rise, fall and rebirth of L7. The reason for the excitement and, really, the joy of this film is that there’s no question every member of the band – Donita Sparks, Suzi Gardner, Jennifer Finch...
The Beguiled Why did it take me so long to watch the Beguiled? I was keenly aware of it (as I am with most projects involving Kirsten Dunst), it had a decent run in theatres, garnered good reviews, and even played at my local arthouse theatre. So, what happened? I can’t really say. I seem to have prioritized Alien Covenant and Baby Driver as my giant-theatre experiences and before I knew it, the Beguiled was gone. Quite...
Night of the Living Dead 50th Anniversary Edition Let’s face it, the zombie bubble is starting to burst. And thank goodness for that. For a while there, zombies were the new pirates. Everywhere you looked there were new zombie movies being churned out, or comics, or books, or stupid TV shows. And also TV shows which were about those zombie TV shows. The truth is that zombie movies just aren’t that great, and its fanbase is a little dumb....
Wonder Woman Is anyone surprised Wonder Woman turned out to be such a success this Summer? I know, I know, the movie studios claim this was a bad Summer for movies, which they equate to lower-than-expected profits on their movies. They even blame Rotten Tomatoes for pointing out that most of the Summer movies have been shit, not on the fact that they themselves put out shitty movies. But Wonder Woman? This movie made almost $900 million worldwide....
The Lawnmower Man How do you think a nerdy high school teen in the 90s would have processed a movie like the Lawnmower man when he first saw it? Let alone one that was literally living on a rock in the middle of the ocean. Even American TV was a novelty for us as we had just gotten cable. The internet wasn’t even a thing and most of us didn’t own a computer. But then a movie like...