By John H. Foote (****) There is a luminosity to Sarah Polley only a handful of actresses possess. Meryl Streep, obviously, Jessica Lange, Emma Stone, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett, and perhaps Margot Robbie posses this light which draws the audience directly to them. Recently I attended a stand-up comedy show in Toronto, my old friend…
By Nick Maylor In this delightful animated film with a star-studded cast, the title of “Santa” works like it would within inherited monarchy. It is passed down, generation to generation and has done so for centuries. The current Santa is Malcolm (Jim Broadbent). His father Grandsanta (Bill Nighy) is now retired. Malcolm has two sons.…
By John H. Foote (****) Bob Clark’s warm, wonderfully nostalgic film A Christmas Story, has long been a classic, a staple of holiday film watching. The Canadian production, yes, it is a Canadian film, is among the finest films made in this country, an event when all the pieces fell perfectly together to give us…
By Alan Hurst When Love Story was released in late 1970 it caused a sensation. It quickly became one of the biggest box office hits of all time, it made major stars of both Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal, and it’s gorgeous, overtly emotional score hit the top of charts. Even the film’s most famous…
By Nick Maylor As I’ve stated before, I believe that Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in Prose: Being a Ghost Story of Christmas is the single greatest story ever told. Though there have been many great adaptations, I believe that this 1970 musical version starring Albert Finney is the best adaptation yet made. Finney was…
By John H. Foote Let me state before I venture into this revisit review, that my colleague Nick Maylor believes this story the greatest in the history of literature, created by the master storyteller Charles Dickens. It is a tough argument because I too think it is among the finest stories ever told. At its…
By Nick Maylor “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” -Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrell) Will Ferrell has recalled filming b-roll footage for Elf (2003), wearing the green suit, frolicking about New York City, all the while thinking about how this little Christmas movie was going to be…
By Nick Maylor Having recently revisited Man of Steel (2013) it seemed only logical to continue with the films of the DCEU. This one is renowned for the bad reviews it received during its theatrical run and that is a symptom of a larger problem that has been prevalent at Warner Brothers when it comes…
By Nick Maylor It’s long been my contention that Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas (1843) is the greatest story ever told. It has been adapted for the stage and screen countless times, often in musical form. Some carolers appear in the original novella and music has often…
By Nick Maylor This film was widely disliked. Henry Cavill was heavily criticized. Zack Snyder has gotten some truly undeserved hatred. I loved Man of Steel (2013). I think it is the best Superman film yet made. With all due respect to Christopher Reeve and Richard Donner, Superman (1978) has one of the dumbest, laziest,…