The 2024 movie-of-the-month column began with an animation piece, and so it shall end, one that in fact just hit its 20th year anniversary (since this has been a bit of a leitmotiv as well). Polar Express is a 2004 animation movie directed by Robert Zemeckis (the same one that directed the Back to the…
Category: Movies & Entertainment
City of Sin (no, not Vegas)
Since for the movie-of-the-month column in October I discussed The Crow – and how its style eventually influenced other similar graphic novel adaptations – I thought it would be opportune this time to discuss one such case. Without further ado, let me introduce a noir or neo-noir piece that had quite a unique style: Sin…
Quoth the crow, Nevermore
This is not necessarily what one might expect when hearing the words ‘Halloween movie’; I am however willing to bend the rules of categorization given how well this film sets the unnerving tone for its plot. Furthermore, this is yet another movie that this year to its thirtieth anniversary, so a little appreciation is a…
Helsing van Belmont
A bit of a strange one for the movie of the month column, but it is the 20th year anniversary of Van Helsing and it is an adequate way to ease in to the upcoming Spooktober. Van Helsing is a 2004 action horror(-ish) movie directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale and Richard…
George of the (Jungle) Dragon
George and the Dragon is a 2004 movie directed by Tom Reeve, starring James Purefoy, Piper Perabo and Patrick Swayze with the guest appearance of Michael Clarke Duncan and Val Kilmer (which awkwardly is uncredited). At its core, it is a light-hearted adventure: a princess that is taught to have been kidnapped by a dragon,…
The last of the samurai
From west to east – or from east to west depending on your location – we have covered cowboys, now it is high time to cover the samurai. And what better movie than Seven Samurai? It is an immortal classic from the Japanese cinematographic industry, directed by Akira Kurosawa in 1954 and starring Toshiro Mifune…
The Spaghetti, the Western and the Poncho
Since the weather is finally getting warmer, it’s high time (and apparently high noon) to put a western on the movie-of-the-month column. In fact, to make it even more special, let’s go the full mile and put in a full trio, the so called Dollar Trilogy, undoubtedly Sergio Leone’s masterpiece. We are hence considering A…
Loose and Happy Feet
It’s been quite a while since I haven’t covered a musical for this column, and since Footloose reached it’s 40th year anniversary, it would seem like an opportune moment. This might be bending the term ‘musical’, since there is no actual singing on behalf of the actors’ part, but it is considered such, so we’re…
A door to the galaxies
So, here’s another cult movie that this year celebrates its 30th year anniversary, a movie that in today’s context I would describe as what happens to history channels after normal broadcasting hours. Anyway, if you have been living a world deprived of any contact with science fiction, then you might not have heard of it,…
The G.I. Joe Chip
This movie will end the triad of “dive into childhood nostalgia” – just a last gem to unlock a core memory from way back when; so let’s jump back to 1998 with Small Soldiers by Joe Dante, another movie about toys coming to life. Instead of a magical cupboard, this time it is about a…