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In 1984, a film about blue-collar entrepreneurs fighting a war against government bureaucracy — and an omnipotent eldritch god — solidified Ivan Reitman’s cinematic legacy.

If there’s one film that Reitman, who died Saturday at the age of 75, will probably be remembered for, it’s “Ghostbusters” — the blockbuster adventures of four misfits that blurred the lines between broad comedy, monstrous horror and working-class heroism.

But while “Ghostbusters” may have been Reitman’s biggest financial success, it’s that particular blurring of the lines that was the filmmaker’s lifelong calling card. Reitman repeatedly told stories that precariously but impeccably elevated the humor and heart in practically every genre.

The son of Hungarian Jewish immigrants (his mother an Auschwitz survivor and his father a World War II freedom fighter), Reitman grew up in Canada and studied music in college, gradually working his way into producing low-budget independent films. Reitman directed the comedies...

The course of true love never did run smooth, and it doesn’t always run in a straight line either. With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, we turn this week’s Streaming Spotlight on love triangles in the movies, and on those more complicated shapes which emerge when such triangles intersect. Read on and find this year’s perfect date film, or one which you can watch alone to remind yourself of the positive side of being single.

Casablanca

Casablanca - Virgin TV Go, Apple TV, Chili

Still a favourite with the public eight decades after it first appeared on screens, Michael Curtiz’s wartime classic hits all the big romantic beats but also boasts a sharp wit and unforgettable style which keep viewers returning to it. There have been few more perfectly matched movie couples than Humphrey Bogart’s Rick and Ingrid Bergman’s Ilsa, but the passion...

Dyanne Thorne, star of the groundbreaking exploitation classic Ilsa, She-wolf Of The SS, (1975) has died. According to the IMDb, she was 77, though she may have been several years older. My first encounter with Ms Thorne (and the twins) occurred in 1977 when I was 15 and my bother and cousins and I traveled to Piggot, Arkansas from our grandparents home in Malden, Missouri to see Rolling Thunder. The theater (I wish I could remember the name of it) had a special ‘Adults Only’ show at 11pm. When Rolling Thunder ended about 10:45, we ducked down behind our seats so the usher wouldn’t see us, then popped back up at 11 to see what we were sure was going to be some glorious fun sex film. The ‘Adults Only’ movie turned out to be Ilsa, She-wolf Of The SS. My life was never the same. To this day, Rolling Thunder and Ilsa, She-wolf...