By Melissa Houghton Home Alone 2, Lost in New York (1992) I’ve added this Home Alone sequel to my list of essential Christmas movies. A great escape film and a joy to see New York gussied up during the holidays. Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) does it again and accidentally boards a flight to New York while his family is Florida-bound. With…
By Melissa Houghton As a child I was terrified of vampire movies. I’d only seen Dracula (1931) starring Bela Lugosi and later Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) with Klaus Kinski, but it was enough to keep replaying in my mind, plus feeling sheer terror recalling shadowy images of the walking dead. My cure for embracing vampires…
By Melissa Houghton Do you remember the ABC TV comedy Bosom Buddies? It was my introduction to actor Tom Hanks as Kip Wilson, a struggling New York City ad writer who resorts to cross-dressing alongside his buddy to live at the only apartment they can afford, the female-only Susan B. Anthony Hotel. The series aired…
By Melissa Houghton Netflix has enjoyed nearly free reign of TV and movie offerings via its streaming platform for over nine years. Their mission to dominate video rentals stemmed from the obliteration of Blockbuster Video. Let’s not forget Netflix started out as a DVD rentals-by-mail service. Its business has been booming ever since they introduced…
By Melissa Houghton First, a huge shout out to the editor, John, for his amazing coverage of this year’s TIFF daily screenings, and to Nick, for keeping you all up to date on the goings on at the 44th year celebration of all things film. You may not know because I’m a TIFF volunteer I’m…
By Melissa Houghton Where did the summer go? It’s just about time to swing into full fest mode! The 44th Toronto International Film Festival will run from September 5 to 15. Film lovers, whether this is your first time to fest, or you’ve been attending since the beginning, we thought we’d share a few tips…
By Melissa Houghton In space no one can hear you scream. I remember the first word I could spell, my first summer job and attending my first summer movie blockbuster and its tagline. My first summer job was working at Kitty Kelly Shoes on Park Avenue South in Manhattan. At Kitty Kelly, I was assigned…
By Melissa Houghton Growing up, in my home, we were taught not to speak badly about people. So, when the team was challenged to write about a movie that should not have been made, not in these words per se, I admit it took time to decide upon my choice for the project. Well before…
By Melissa Houghton Would we exist without mothers? That’s rhetorical. Real and fictional mothers- love, support, protect, nurture, provide for, shape and inspire us. But let’s not take mothers for granted; they also have needs and want some of the same things they selflessly give to their families and others. To all the moms, mom-dads,…
By Melissa Houghton In Christian teachings blackmail is not one of the seven deadly sins. Yet in film, the protagonist’s actions or thoughts stemming from non-virtuous behaviours such as pride, greed, lust or envy may serve as the underlying drivers of her motivation to commit other immoralities. In other words, the protagonist’s bad behaviour is…