Highlander: Immortal
I didn’t see Highlander during its cinematic release way back in 1986. In fact, I don’t recall its cinematic release, which is unusual, because I was constantly going to the cinema to watch movies. It wasn’t until Highlander’s VHS release that I saw it (I only borrowed it because I borrowed pretty much everything), but it immediately became a favourite. Swords? Tragic heroes? Two beautiful love interests in Beatie Edney’s Heather (and even the romantic in teen-me was committed to the tragedy of that romance) and Roxanne Hart’s Brenda? A larger-than-life villain in Kurgan (awesomely played by the equally awesome Clancy Brown)? Sean Connery as the mentor Ramirez? Actually, it…
Willy Wonka vs Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
When I was growing up in the 1970s, it seemed that three movies were replayed annually: The Wizard of Oz (1939), The Great Race (1965), and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). This was before pay-tv, streaming, digital channels, the internet, rentals, and, well, everything. We had four channels and that was it. Regardless of how often I’d seen these movies, I’d always tune in again, finding something magical in each. They all, in their own way, dealt with the fantastic, and two of them featured children as protagonists. As a kid, who didn’t want to believe in magic, wonder, and boundless possibilities? These are the sort of stories…