I have a complicated relationship with Man of Steel, Zack Snyder’s 2013 big screen reboot of Superman. In the cinema I liked it, albeit with some caveats. On home video I felt the other way around: that those earlier caveats crippled the … Continue reading REVIEW: Man of Steel (2013)
It is the near future. Jiang Feng (Huang Bo) is a resentful author in the middle of a divorce. In a fit of pique he visits the Master of Memory centre to have the memory of his marriage electronically extracted … Continue reading REVIEW: Battle of Memories (2017)
It can be tough being a short film. While shorts act as valuable opportunities for filmmakers to hone their craft or experiment with technique, there are precious few outlets for audiences to ever see them – usually premiering at a … Continue reading FANTASIA REVIEW: Double Helix (2021)
An attempt by an independent theatre company to expand into filmmaking appears to have resulted in one of the best science fiction films of recent years. Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is an instant cult classic, and represents a dizzying … Continue reading FANTASIA REVIEW: Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2020)
August sees the return of the Fantasia International Film Festival, arguably the world’s premier screening event for science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other unusual genre cinema. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, this year’s festival is offering its Canadian audiences unprecedented online … Continue reading Eight films to watch at Fantasia Film Festival 2021
Describing a particularly surreal film as a ‘head trip’ is par for the course, but it feels particularly appropriate for Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor (2020), a science fiction film about a professional killer literally taking a ride inside other people’s minds. … Continue reading REVIEW: Possessor (2020)
There is a persistent rumour that Walt Disney Studios forced a name change on their 2012 science fiction epic John Carter of Mars to simply John Carter because they believed audiences were not interested in films about Mars. The supposed proof? The failure of … Continue reading REVIEW: Mission to Mars (2000)
While Toho’s long-running Godzilla franchise offered viewers a relatively repetitive string of giant rubber suit monster fights, from film to film there were regular changes in focus and tone. The so-called ‘Heisei era’ had kicked off with 1985’s serious Return of Godzilla … Continue reading REVIEW: Godzilla vs Mothra (1992)
Back in the 1980s cheaply-made post-apocalyptic movies were a dime a dozen, all cashing in on the success of George Miller’s Mad Max franchise and taking advantage of the comparative ease with which a filmmaker could throw some actors in mad costumes … Continue reading REVIEW: Molly (2017)
Let us jump back a decade. Of the four superheroes launched in Marvel Studio’s initial production schedule, Thor stood out as the most challenging to adapt. Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk were effectively no-brainers, and Captain America was easily … Continue reading REVIEW: Thor (2011)
