Film Studies

Our RetroSpooktive comes to a close ON HALLOWEEN – it’s almost like we planned it that way – with 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer. Two girls go missing for three days and when they are found in a barn at a nearby farm, that’s when strange things start happening. Turns out they may have spent three days in Hell and brought something back with them.

This time around, we’re looking at the ORIGINAL cut of the movie we looked at last time. Yes, this version was deemed to be not violent/bloody enough and the studios spent millions of dollars to reshoot it. That having been said, this cut . . . we like much better. There’s a Pagan churched buried under a Christian church and its evil is seeping into the nearby African tribe community all leading t...

Our look at the Exorcist series continues with the production hell project that became Exorcist: The Beginning. It’s the prequel story of Father Maron’s adventure into Central Africa that pits him against Pazuzu on the demon’s home turf – a buried temple of evil. The demon will prove that not only can he possess people but also use their own fears and hatred against themselves.

After an abysmal offering that was The Heretic, The Exorcist series rolls on into a sleeper/cult hit with The Exorcist III. A grizzled detective is investigating a series of murders that are reminiscent of the recently captured and killed Gemini Killer. His investigations lead him into a mysterious set of events, ultimately leading to face-to-face confrontation from beyond the grave.

After The Exorcist became a worldwide success, The Exorcist II: The Heretic was the follow up. It was the continuing story of Regan and her demonic possession and the battle between science and religion over how to save her. It is literally one of the worst movies of all time! Or is it? Yes, yes it is.

It’s October and you know what that means . . . it’s time for the annual RetroSpooktive. This year, we’re taking a look at the Exorcist series. We start with the cinema classic that started it all, The Exorcist. It’s all about the little girl who gets possessed and two priests are brought in to set her free.

John Kramer has just been given his cancer diagnosis and he’s been given just months to live. However, he soon hears about a radical medical treatment out of Mexico that could cure him within weeks. But alas, the treatment was a scam and now Jigsaw comes back for revenge . . . but will his new test subjects finally get one over on him?

Jann Mardenborough is an elite Gran Turismo player with online records worth bragging about. But one day, he gets invited to participate in a contest where online racers get a chance to drive in a real world race for Team Nissan – all based on real life events.

This time around we’re taking a look at DC’s latest offerings, Blue Beetle. It’s the story of a reluctant young man chosen by a mysterious, alien scarab to be the new superhero, The Blue Beetle! His mission is to take down the evil Kord Corporation and stop them from improving police and military proficiency . . . as long as his mommy will let him out to play!

This time around we’re back with movie reviews and stories from our movie-going experiences. First, a quick spoiler-free review of The Meg 2: The Trench. Then, our review and Mark’s harrowing drive-in experience with The Barbie Movie. Finally, we end it with our review of TMNT: Mutant Mayhem. See the time codes below for the movie you want to know about first.

Indiana Jones is back! This time he’s trying to find the pieces to an ancient artifact that could allow one Nazi to travel back in time and drastically change the course of World War II. Along with him is his god-daughter Helena Shaw, her friend Teddy, and Antonio Banderas? Really? Yep, all that and more in this latest offering of the Indiana Jones saga.

Barry Allen is The Flash. He’s the “clean-up crew” of the Justice League and he’s sad that his mommy is dead and his daddy is going to jail. But then he learns he can travel back in time with no consequences at all! Just kidding, the world is falling apart and he’s got to save it with help from Supergirl and an old school Batman!

Optimus Prime, Bumblebee (kind of), Mirage, and all of the other Autobots are back and need to save the Earth from the threat of Scourge – leading the Terracons – and his dark master, Unicron. But they’ll need help, first and foremost from the humans they just met and some other Transformers living in Peruvian seclusion. They are the Maximals!

Miles Morales is Brookyn’s Spider-man but he longs for more. More challenging schooling, bigger and tougher opponents rather than the run of the mill “villain of the week”, and he pines to see Spider-Gwen again since their adventures last time around. But when he gets his opporunity by finding the interdimensional Spider-Society, he’ll be faced with the biggest decision of his lifetime.

Starlord, Gamora, Nebula, Drax, Mantis, Groot, and Rocket are back for the final (?) time. This time around, Rocket has suffered a serious injury and it’s a race against the clock to get the necessary information to save his life. Meanwhile, enemies new AND old are also hunting for Rocket but for completely nefarious reasons. Will the Guardians be able to save the day again? Download the show now...

While working in Brooklyn, New York, two struggling plumbers stumbled into a mysterious that led them into a strange new Mushroom World. They must find each other and then take down the evil King Bowser! Based on the world famous video game, so far, it’s the biggest box office success of the year. Also we take non-spoiler looks at Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Renfield!

It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve been able to record together but we’re back and jam-packing a Film Studies episode full of the latest releases both in theatres and on streaming. This episode includes NON-SPOILER discussions for: Tetris, John Wick: Chapter 4, The Super Mario Bros. Movie. And SPOILER discussions for: 65 and Shazam!: Fury of the Gods

Sam and Tara have moved to NEW YORK to escape the horrors of Woodsboro. Their friends Mindy and Chad have come with them. Gale also lives in NEW YORK now. They have new friends too. But when a new Ghostface arrives in NEW YORK, everyone in NEW YORK is either a suspect or a potential killer. And now it’s in NEW YORK!!!

Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally arrived! Ant-man and family are sucked into the Quantum realm and lo and behold there’s more there than anyone ever knew – well, except for Janet. There’s a civil war going on where the Quantum-ites are fighting against the evil Kang the Conqueror!

M. Night Shamalamadingdong is back with an end of the world movie seeing four strangers target a cabin housing a same-sex couple and their adopted child. If the family doesn’t choose a sacrifice, the world will end. But is real or is it Memorex? It’s a battle of wills with the possible fate of the world hanging in the balance.

Otto is a man who just wants people to follow the rules like they’re supposed to and leave him alone. To him, no one knows how to do things properly, no one can recycle properly, and everyone is an “idiot”. But one day, new neighbours move in across the road and they begin to change his life dramatically – and much to his chagrin – for the better.

We’re kicking off our 12th Season with the highly anticipated M3gan! A.I. has been created and perfected (by pure accident) and installed – not into a robot for scientific discovery – but a toy for a single 8 year old girl. And since it’s in a movie about artificial intelligence, it doesn’t go exactly as planned.

Hawthrone Island is the site of the most exclusive dinner party in the land. $1250 per seat and prepared by Chef Slowik, the greatest chef alive. But tonight’s menu is different. Today’s menu has been carefully planned and painstakingly executed. But no one will fully understand what the night truly means until the final course is served.

As we roll on into 2023, we pause to look back at the year that was in 2022. We hand out our annual awards in various categories. Keep in mind, if we didn’t see it, we can’t judge it so if your favourite (or least favourite) isn’t mentioned, don’t fret. It’s likely that we just didn’t get a chance to see it. What are your choices for these categories? Let us know at canadianmoviecrew@gmail or on F...

It’s our final episode of Season 11. Yes, it’s technically no longer 2022 but with the holidays being on weekends, it couldn’t be helped. Regardless, we come to you today with another multiple topic show headlined by Netflix’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Other topics include Avatar 2: The Way of Water, Violent Night, Poker Face, and more! Join us for our final episode of 2022 and we’ll see...