Toronto After Dark is always full of pleasant surprises. Having only seen this rather enigmatic trailer for HIGH School, I really had no idea what to expect. I was vaguely aware that the movie had been well received at Sundance earlier this year, but beyond that I knew nothing. That’s probably the best way to […]
Monday Night Combat is the fourth release in Microsoft’s 2010 Summer of Arcade series and with games like Limbo coming out of the gate so strong—it may be in contention for this year’s Game of The Year title—one may get the feeling that the Summer of Arcade can only go downhill from there. The Summer […]
Thus far this month Dork Shelf has featured several reviews of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World–you can check them out here. And here. These are excellent reviews, from the non-biased perspectives of writers who were not steeped in the books before watching the movie. This review is the opposite of that. I’ve been reading, collecting, […]
I won’t lie, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was practically made for this site. It’s a film adaptation of a video game inspired comic book that is not only set in Toronto, but was filmed here too. We cut our teeth covering various aspects of the film’s casting and production. So—despite the fact I’ve only […]
Thanks to Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis, the action film reached its height in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It was a world where a man could battle an army of terrorists single-handedly and not only survive, but slaughter them all; where a man could fire forty rounds from his hand gun—while […]
Fantasia 2010 Review Last night I dared to say on Twitter that, after seeing Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, director Edgar Wright is on his way to gaining status as an auteur. This sparked a lively debate among friends on whether this was true, or even what the definition is of an auteur. To my […]
Batman: Under the Red Hood is the latest DC Comics animated film from Warner Premiere and WB Animation. The film is based on two well known Batman comic book stories: the groundbreaking 1980’s arc A Death in the Family and the controversial 2005 arc Under the Hood. The former was significant because it featured the […]
I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for epic historical films. Grand, sweeping narratives recalling some great event, or really any film where I get to stare at gorgeous sets and costumes. That’s pretty much the reason I went to see Bodyguards and Assassins. I thought, why not learn a little history while I watch some […]
It seems that cinephiles worldwide can’t get enough of zombies these days. Vampires too, but I’ve always been a bit puzzled by the attraction to zombies. After all, they are undead creatures who have no cognitive functions and eat brains. There is no romance there. As such, the vast majority of zombie movies these days […]
Contemporary film noir is often referred to as Neo-noir, since at least the historic reasons for the existence of noir (disenchantment with the establishment, post-war malaise, reaction against the “norm” of postwar America) seem no longer relevant. So to try and make a neo-noir film today, and to up the ante by using mannequins instead […]
There have a few times over my years of attending film festivals that I’ve seen a short film so amazing I wish it had been feature-length. More often than not, I’ve seen films that would have worked as shorts, but fall apart as features. Unfortunately, Van Von Hunter falls into the latter category. Based on […]
A lone man meanders through the seemingly empty streets of Tokyo on his scooter. Garbage is strewn in the streets; cars are abandoned; there is not a soul in sight. That is, except at a strange little record shop. The man seems annoyed that the owner, a strange and exceedingly calm man would open his […]
Apparently no one in Moscow looks up either. Or at least they don’t for a while. That is, until a series of heroic deeds around the city (rescuing children from burning buildings, depositing bank robbers in front of police stations, etc.) are performed by someone in a flying 1951 black Volga. Certainly it is the […]
I hate it when a beloved series rushes through its climax. I felt that with Y: The Last Man, and I’m currently feeling that creeping sensation with Ex Machina. Nothing worse than enjoying a series for years, anticipating the unique storytelling opportunities that only a finale can offer, and then discovering that the creators have […]
Ladies, I have a question to ask you: if a skinny awkward physics student informs you that he is stalking you in a non-threatening manner, would you be alarmed? And if you looked like Teresa Palmer, would you even come close to considering him as a potential future boyfriend? I ask because this is exactly […]
