By John C. We are now at the midpoint of our Christmas Countdown. Yesterday we profiled three TV classics from the 1960s, which means that today brings us a look at the 1970s, the most sparse decade on our list. The 1970s were an interesting time for Christmas movies, most notable for the lack of… Read More 5 Days to Christmas: The Classics of the 1970s
Released September 25th, 2012 Page count: 272 pages Size: 7.5” x 9.25” The Rough Guide to 21st Century Cinema: The Essential Companion to 101 Modern Movies By Adam Smith Rough Guide http://www.dk.com/ – Gift Idea – Over the past few weeks, we have been featuring books and other items marked with the red and green… Read More Book Review: The Rough Guide to 21st Century Cinema
Released October 3rd, 2012 Page count: 160 pages Size: 9.5” x 11.5” The Art of Wreck-It Ralph By Maggie Malone and Jennifer Lee Preface by John Lasseter Foreword by Rich Moore Published by Chronicle Books Distributed by Raincoast (Canada) http://www.raincoast.com/ http://www.chroniclebooks.com/ – Gift Idea – Over the past few weeks, we have been featuring books… Read More Book Review: The Art of Wreck-It Ralph
Released July 11th, 2012 Page count: 160 pages Size: 9.75” x 11.5” The Art and Making of ParaNorman By Jed Alger Preface by Travis Knight Forewords by Chris Butler and Sam Fell Published by Chronicle Books Distributed by Raincoast (Canada) http://www.raincoast.com/ http://www.chroniclebooks.com/ – Gift Idea – Over the past few weeks, we have been featuring… Read More Book Review: The Art and Making of ParaNorman
By John C. The big day is now under a week away, and welcome to the latest instalment of our Christmas Countdown by decade. Yesterday we talked about two classics from the 1950s, and today we’re moving forward into the 1960s, and this was a decade that brought us three of the most beloved Christmas… Read More 6 Days to Christmas: The Classics of the 1960s
By John C. It’s a little hard to believe that December 25th is now just a week away, but we hope you’ve all been enjoying our Christmas Countdown by decade. Yesterday we profiled two enduring classics from the 1940s, and today we are talking about two from the next decade, the 1950s. The third of… Read More 7 Days to Christmas: The Classics of the 1950s
Butter – An Alliance Films’ Release https://www.facebook.com/ButterMovie DVD Release Date: December 21st, 2012 Rated PG for coarse language, sexual content and substance abuse Running time: 90 minutes Jim Field Smith (dir.) Jason Micallef (writer) Mateo Messina (music) Jennifer Garner as Laura Ty Burrell as Bob Yara Shahidi as Destiny Olivia Wilde as Brooke Rob Corddry… Read More DVD Review: Butter
Today, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is releasing Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days on Blu-ray & DVD, just in time for Christmas next week. With its share of amusing moments and a nice message, this third film in the popular series of literary adaptations is a light diversion that is guaranteed to go… Read More DVD/Blu-ray Release: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Today, Warner Home Entertainment releases the Robert Lorenz directed and Clint Eastwood starring Trouble With The Curve to Blu-ray & DVD. Back when we reviewed the film on September 21st, our consensus was: “Directed by Robert Lorenz, Trouble with the Curve is a quiet drama about baseball and family ties that is carried by excellent… Read More DVD/Blu-ray Release: Trouble With The Curve
Back on December 4th, Warner Home Entertainment released Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises on to Blu-ray & DVD. Back when we reviewed the film on July 20th, our consensus was: “The final film in director Christopher Nolan’s epic Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises is a fascinating film carried by excellent performances and a multilayered screenplay… Read More DVD/Blu-ray Release: The Dark Knight Rises
Last week, director Christopher Nolan’s first film Following was released on Blu-ray & DVD, as part of the prestigious Criterion Collection. Made in 1998 before the director first reached a wider audience with Memento in 2000, this is the story of a young writer (Jeremy Theobald) who gets story ideas by following people through the… Read More Criterion Release: Following
By John C. Pretty much everyone who celebrates Christmas knows the feeling of decorating the tree on a Sunday afternoon with your favourite holiday songs playing in the background. Every year, one of my great joys of the season is discovering new Christmas albums to add to my personal playlist of holiday music. Last year,… Read More John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John Get Back Together for “This Christmas”
By John C. The big day is just over a week away, so welcome to day two of our Christmas Countdown where we will be profiling nine decades of classics. Yesterday was the 1930s, and today the 1940s. The decade was notable for wonderful films that took place around Christmas or had holiday-themed scenes, like… Read More 8 Days to Christmas: The Classics of the 1940s
By John C. With just nine days left until the big day, welcome to the official start of our Christmas Countdown, where we will be profiling classics from the each of the nine decades from the 1930s to the 2010s. I could have started even earlier, making note of some of the earliest cinematic achievements… Read More 9 Days to Christmas: The Classics of the 1930s
By John C. Last year, we dedicated each of the first 24 days of December to a different Christmas classic, but this process meant that we regrettably left off a few along the way. There are so many classics to be watched around the holidays that this year we will be taking a slightly different… Read More 10 Days to Christmas: The Countdown Starts Tomorrow…
By John C. Early in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) tells the title character Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) that “all good stories deserve embellishment.” After bringing J.R.R. Tolkein’s beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy to life with an epic saga that won a total of seventeen Oscars between 2001 and 2003 ,… Read More “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is a Fantastic Adventure
The nominations for the 70th annual Golden Globes were announced this morning, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has given lots of love to everything from Argo to Zero Dark Thirty, as Lincoln leads the pack with a total of seven nominations. The five films in the running for Best Picture – Drama are Argo… Read More The Nominations for the 70th Annual Golden Globes
Today, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is releasing Ice Age: Continental Drift on Blu-ray & DVD, just in time for the holidays. The fourth film in the popular and easily enjoyable series, the film provides more of the same with the pleasant characters, and the Blu-ray combo pack would make a good Christmas gift for… Read More DVD/Blu-ray Release: Ice Age: Continental Drift
By John C. Every year, one of my favourite parts of awards season is the downloadable screenplays that the studios upload to their For Your Consideration websites, allowing other writers to study the work behind some of the best movies of the year. As a writer who has completed a feature length screenplay and is… Read More For Your Consideration: Screenplays are an Excellent Resource for Writers
Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet – A KinoSmith Release http://www.JasonBeckerMovie.com/ Release Date: December 7th, 2012 @ Bloor Hot Docs Cinema Rated PG for mature themes and language Running time: 87 minutes Jesse Vile (dir.) Jason Becker (music) Michael Lee Firkins (music) Jason Becker as Himself Ehren Becker as Himself Gary Becker as Himself Pat Becker… Read More Movie Review: Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet
The Joy of Movies 