Blog Archives

ArtScopeTO 04: Interview with Abstract Painter Chris Marin

October 10, 2017 | By Mark R. Hasan

Just posted: a new ArtScopeTO podcast interview featuring abstract painter Chris Marin, whose series Passages can be seen at Toronto’s Urban Gallery, Oct. 5-28, 2017.

ArtScopeTO 03: Hanna Kostanski’s 20th Century Toronto: Intersections & Interactions

August 21, 2017 | By Mark R. Hasan

ArtScopeTO Podcast interview with Hamilton-Toronto painter-photographer Hanna Kostanski, whose series 20th Century Toronto: Intersections & Interactions can be seen at The Urban Gallery.

ArtScopeTO 01: The Urban Gallery + Interviews with Annie Mandlsohn & Robert J. Brodey

October 17, 2016 | By Mark R. Hasan

Interviews with mixed-media artist Annie Mandlsohn and photographer-writer Robert J. Brodey, plus stills from the current exhibition of their work at Toronto’s Urban Gallery.

Boogaloo-ing to the Cannon Groove, Part 2: Getting Inside the Go-Go Boys

Review of Hilla Medalia’s The Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films (2014), from Multicom Entertainment / MVD.

September 1, 2021 | By Mark R. Hasan

ArtScopeTO 10: Interview with Abstract Painter Donna Wise

For my occasional podcast series ArtScope TO, Abstract Painter Donna Wise discusses her unique techniques, and working during the 2020-2021 pandemic.

July 11, 2021 | By Mark R. Hasan

Sharksploitation, and Upcoming Podcasts & Sundry

Review of Joe D’Amator’s PG-centric DEEP BLOOD / SANGUE NEGLI ABISSI (1990) via Severin + Upcoming Podcasts, Reviews, and the Blur that was Spring 2021.

July 5, 2021 | By Mark R. Hasan

Latest Podcasts / Interviews

ArtScopeTO 10: Interview with Abstract Painter Donna Wise

For my occasional podcast series ArtScope TO, Abstract Painter Donna Wise discusses her unique techniques, and working during the 2020-2021 pandemic.

July 11, 2021 | By Mark R. Hasan

Podcast: Jason Pichonsky on Restoring Julian Roffman’s THE BLOODY BROOD (1959) + PHOBIA (1980)

Alongside a podcast with CanCon film historian Jason Pichonsky are revised reviews of Julian Roffman’s THE BLOODY BROOD (1959) + John Huston’s PHOBIA (1980), both from KINO Lorber / Unobstructed View.

April 25, 2020 | By Mark R. Hasan

Podcast: ANNE WITH AN E composers Amin Bhatia & Ari Posner

Podcast interview with ANNE WITH AN E’s composing team Amin Bhatia and Ari Posner.

January 30, 2020 | By Mark R. Hasan

New Film Reviews

DVD: Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films, The (2014)

Produced and released around the same time as Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014), the approach by director Hilla Medalia is a more authorized chronicle…

September 1, 2021 | By Mark R. Hasan

BR: Deep Blood / Sangue negli abissi (1990)

The lineage linking three specific Jaws rip-offs from Italy goes beyond merely riffing Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film about a beach community threatened by a great white shark…

July 5, 2021 | By Mark R. Hasan

BR: Last Blockbuster, The (2020)

There’s a tall tale in how a video rental chain that peaked in 2004 with over 9,000 locations and 84,000 staffers globally now exists as one store in Bend, Oregon, run by a family and loyal staffers…

March 22, 2021 | By Mark R. Hasan

DVD: Laserblast (1978)

The production of Laserblast in 1978 seems to be the net result of good timing which enabled a slight idea to quickly blossom into a full-fledged movie, but with a tight budget and a semi-coherent script…

February 26, 2021 | By Mark R. Hasan

BR: Shock Treatment / Traitement de choc (1973)

It’s a little challenging to define Alain Jessua’s odd little thriller, which is neither a full horror film nor blatant satire of chi-chi health clinics…

February 17, 2021 | By Mark R. Hasan