The 2021 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) takes place from September 9 to September 18. This year, the Festival is using a hybrid approach. They have a handy "Getting Started" guide to help film buffs navigate its in-person and online events, with COVID-19 protocols in place. While celebrity encounters may... Continue reading

Watching horror films might seem like an odd coping strategy during these difficult times. However, a recent study reports that horror fans have coped well, if not better, than others during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are one of those folks who had Contagion on their "to watch" list, read... Continue reading

The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony will be televised on February 9. Controversy resulted in last year's Oscar ceremony proceeding without a host. According to the organizers, this worked out so well they are planning to go Hostless in Hollywood once again. Also absent this year: diversity (with few exception). Controversy... Continue reading

The 2019 Toronto International Film Festival takes place from September 5 until September 15. Novels, short stories, plays, magazine articles and memoirs form the basis for many of this year's films reflecting an immense range of cinematic styles, genres, and subjects. In between star-gazing and film viewing, check out this... Continue reading

Toni Morrison lecture at West Point Military Academy in March, 2013 / Wikimedia Commons. Toni Morrison has died at the age of 88. Since 1970, Morrison's novels have explored the African-American experience with both power and authenticity and have fiercely resisted the narrative of white dominant culture. Born in Ohio... Continue reading

The 91st Academy Awards on February 24 will be the first Oscars in 30 years without a host – Kevin Hart stepped down after past homophobic tweets resurfaced. Indeed, Oscar never disappoints when it comes to controversy. One crisis averted: organizers had originally planned not to broadcast the Oscars for... Continue reading

Celebrate Black History month by exploring North American feature films directed by African-American filmmakers across the decades working in a wide variety of cinematic styles and genres. The historical (and current) challenges faced by African-American filmmakers are rooted in racism, a theme integral to their cinema. Landmark barriers have been... Continue reading

"Perfect" people in the title of recent books often prove to be anything but. Sinister rather than saintly, perfection in these gripping tales is often associated with psychopaths, stalkers, and murder most foul. Interestingly, many of these less-than-perfect subjects are female – with readers left to decide if this is... Continue reading

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gage Skidmore. Stan Lee at the Phoenix ComicCon, 2014 Stan Lee, creator of Marvel comics, died on November 12, 2018 in California at the age of 95. His universe, populated by heroes and villains who were as flawed as they were fantastic, revolutionized the concept of... Continue reading

Burt Reynolds 1936 - 2018 * Burt Reynolds, leading man and sex symbol with oodles of charm, was much more than a centerfold with a killer moustache. A talented actor with a great sense of comedic timing, Reynolds' wry wit and ironic presentation (somewhat) mitigated the hyper-masculinity of his 1970s... Continue reading

The Toronto International Film Festival is on from September 6 - 16. Torontonians are avid readers - and fierce filmgoers. Check out the best of both worlds with these great reads available at the Toronto Public Library - and a sneak peek at their film adaptations now premiering at TIFF.... Continue reading

Childish Gambino's "This is America" directed by Hiro Murai [heads up: includes graphic violence and disturbing scenes] On May 5, Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) released "This is America," now trending with upwards of 65 million views. This hypnotic, multi-layered project alternates between enthralling and shocking its viewers. Shifts in... Continue reading

Medal designed by Erik Lindberg, Wikipedia Creative Commons The Swedish Academy has postponed the 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature amid shocking #MeToo allegations. The details have been widely covered in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Toronto Star and The New Yorker. Jean-Claude Arnault, a French photographer married to... Continue reading

Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian, prefers the term 'verity' over 'non-fiction.' "Why should an entire rich field of human endeavor — factual narrative — be defined by a negative?" He has a point. Here is a recommended list of new verity available at the Toronto Public Library. Heart... Continue reading

The Man Booker International Prize 2018 longlist is here. Since 2016, this prize is awarded annually to a single work translated into English. This year's judges include Lisa Appignanesi (Chair), Michael Hoffmann, Hari Kunzru, Tim Martin and Helen Oyeyemi. Last year's winner was A Horse Walks Into A Bar by... Continue reading

On March 4, the 90th Academy Awards ceremony takes place - where glamour and gowns share the spotlight (very uneasily) with the political issues of the day. This year will be no different. Challenges to the systemic under-representation of disenfranchised people will continue to grow - the joy and affirmation... Continue reading

The Swedish art of döstädning, or 'death cleaning', is the latest trend in keeping less than the Joneses. Deal with your belongings before you die – so your family (or a cleaning company) doesn't have to. In her slim book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, Margareta Magnusson asks... Continue reading

The longlist for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2017 has been announced. Thirteen titles from 144 entries published in the United Kingdom in English between October 2016 and September 2017 have been selected. The 2017 judges are Baroness Lola Young (Chair), literary critic Lila Azam Zanganeh, novelist Sarah Hall,... Continue reading

"Wait – what? No!!" said my middle-schooler, staring at his phone with dismay. George Romero had died at the age of 77, leaving legions of fans mourning across social media. As the undisputed King of the Zombie Film, Romero wrote the playbook on the modern zombie. From World War Z... Continue reading