Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, based on the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, slides the undead into 19th century England, arming the Bennett sisters against the writhing hordes of zombies taking over the countryside. Their fighting skills are as impressive as their personal fortunes are poor and it’s in this conflict that Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam…
Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
At four a.m. on Friday morning I sat in the quietest theater I’d ever experienced. The family of loudly obnoxious chewers next to me had all put down their popcorn, the small children a few rows ahead of me were statuesque, and I was acutely aware of my own breathing volume. Then that familiar music…
Merry Scary Christmas: The Wolfman and The Wolf Man
“Even a man who is pure of heart and says his prayers at night, may become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.” — original poem written for The Wolf Man In 2010, when I watched The Wolfman in the theater, I’d never seen the 1941 original The Wolf Man….
Merry Scary Christmas: Nightmare Before Christmas
As I shared for Halloween, I’m not good at being scared. I’m a big baby that has to keep the lights on after every foray into the creepier side of films. Even when those films have stayed with me in positive ways for years, the fear is a constant, coursing tension in my body. Such…
Jem and the Somebodies: Death of Childhood Hope
Jem and the Holograms Director: Jon M. Chu Starring: Aubrey Peeples, Stefanie Scott, Aurora Perrineau, Hayley Kiyoko October 23, 2015 Do you know the icy feeling of disappointment as it slides down into your gut? Even when you’re expecting to be let down, when nothing has indicated that things will go well, it’s an awful sensation to…
Legitimacy and Legacy in Creed
How important is a name? Well, I was given my first name to honour my maternal grandmother who was practically my third parent. My middle name is my father’s first name while my last name is my paternal grandfather’s first name and on and on it goes. This naming system lets me trace my lineage…
The Writing’s on the Wall and it Ain’t Great: One Bond-Lover’s Opinion of SPECTRE
SPECTRE Sam Mendes Daniel Craig, Lea Seydoux, Christoph Waltz November 2015 Please note, this review contains spoilers. Pretty much as long as I’ve been a conscious being, I’ve loved Bond flicks. I can’t remember what the first one I saw was, and I don’t remember the first time I read Ian Fleming’s novels, but, to date,…
Gothic is the New Graphic: Crimson Peak is Not a Horror Film and That’s Wonderful
When I first saw the trailer for Crimson Peak, my initial thought was: Not for me. Dammit. This is because the trailer SUCKS for someone like me. The film’s marketing presented to us this dark, creepy story in this dark, creepy house full of dark, creepy creatures that were constantly after a woman who was neither…
TIFF Reviews: Parisienne & A Tale of 3 Cities
I didn’t go to as many screenings at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and because I wouldn’t be seeing that many, I decided to narrow it down to a theme. I decided to go for films that were: outside of Canada & the United States of America starred woman (or women) of colour AND/OR is directed…
Get Your Dance Fix: 13 Dance Documentaries On Netflix
Like many a young girl, I wanted to be a ballerina. Scratch that, I really wanted to be a figure skater, but there were no ice skating rinks where I grew up, and ballet was the closest I could get to the graceful athleticism of figure skating. However, financial limitations prevented me from officially studying…
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Review
I got to see the Maze Runner sequel, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, on Eid with my family and it got me pumped for the next film. It picks up where the second one left off: Thomas and friends (aka The Gladers) escape the maze and the shady organization known as WCKD. They venture into the Scorch where they have to deal…
Family and Survival at the Ottawa International Animation Festival
From September 16-20 I had the opportunity to attend the screenings for the four competing feature length animated films at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. At first glance the films could not have been more different from one another. There was The Magic Mountain, a Romanian/Polish/French film about a Polish refugee fighting the Russians in…
