Dark Skies Quicktake: Not a great horror movie, but one of the best alien abduction films. Nothing sends chills down viewers’ spines like haunted house movies. It’s a timeless premise that taps into our collective fears. Who hasn’t been home alone one night and suddenly felt the hair on the back of their neck stand …
Halloween Kills Quicktake: Creepy, Disjointed, & Brutally Violent Horror movie franchises have a track record of overstaying their welcome. Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Child’s Play were exciting at first, but studios kept producing half-ass sequels until fans soured on each series. Jason Voorhees started off as a backwoods serial killer …
Halloween Kills Review: This Once Promising Series Is Stuck in Neutral Read More »
First Love Quicktake: A Gritty, Violent, & Irreverent Crime Flick Two boxers square-off in a crowded arena, unleashing skull-shattering blows until one man hits the mat. Just as one fighter collapses, the film cuts to a severed head rolling out of an alley like a bowling ball. The head stops in the middle of the …
The Addams Family Quicktake: An Earnest, Kooky, & Defanged Reboot In 2021, I can’t imagine who is clamouring for a new Addams Family movie — I say this as the film’s target audience. I enjoy wearing skull pendants and horror movie t-shirts. I drink my morning coffee out of a black skull mug. And I …
The Addams Family Review: More Daydream than Nightmare Read More »
The Green Knight Quicktake: A Gorgeous & Cerebral Filmmaking Showcase When you watch as many titles as I do, watching average films becomes a chore. I’ll take something bad that stands out over derivative and forgettable any day. Ideally, you want something thought-provoking that’s also good. These films are few and far between, but they …
Malignant Quicktake: Creepy, Twisted, and Devilishly Fun Malignant is 2021’s most insane horror movie. The runner-up clocks in at a distant second. Don’t get me wrong, I mean this as a compliment. In an era of sequels, reboots, and knockoffs, director James Wan gifted viewers with a film, unlike all the rest – a delirious …
Malignant Review: One of 2021’s Best Horror Movies Read More »
The 46th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF 2021) may have wrapped Saturday night, but the party didn’t stop. The team of cinephiles over at That Shelf assembled Wednesday evening for a much-needed debrief to dish on our festival favourites. With over a hundred virtual and in-person movies screening at TIFF 2021, nobody was …
TIFF 2021 Video: Wrap-up Roundtable with the That Shelf Team Read More »
Dug Dug Quicktake: A Funny, Stylish, & Unapologetic Social Satire Let it be said, Dug Dug director Ritwik Pareek puts the motion in motion pictures. Pareek delivers an irreverent look at religious worship wrapped up in a mouth-watering buffet of sights and sounds. This stylish TIFF 2021 delight works as a subversive social commentary and …
