The Return of the King… oh… I cried… And I know people often complain about how many endings the film seems to have. Personally I was ok with that, because I never wanted to say goodbye to any of them. I never wanted to leave Middle Earth. It was also recognized by the Academy as…
Month: December 2012
There and Back Again: Remembering The Two Towers
The Two Towers… The thing I was most looking forward to in my return to Middle-Earth with this film was the rumor that the battle of Helm’s Deep was supposed to run for a good 40 minutes! That was insane, a single on-screen battle running half the length of most action films? Wow. And of…
There And Back Again: Remembering The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings is my favorite book. I try to read it once a year, but lately have had to settle for maybe once every two to three. That doesn’t mean I love it any less. I love wondering the realms of Middle-Earth, visiting familiar places, seeing old friends, and singing songs. So…
American Ninja (1985) – Sam Firstenberg
My exploration of B-movie 80s action movies continues with American Ninja. And what a surprise this one came from Canon and Golan and Globus as well. I think they must’ve made out alright in the 80s with all the goofy little low budget action movies they were making. It may be hard to believe but…
Tales of the Gold Monkey
1982. The year after Raiders of the Lost Ark came out, a couple of television series tried to cash in on the action period piece serial vibe, there was Bring Em Back Alive with Bruce Boxleitner, and then there was Donald Bellisario who has gave me two of my favorite television shows Quantum Leap and Magnum P.I. and…
Notorious (1946) – Alfred Hitchcock
Of all the Hitchcock films, and it is a pretty amazing body of work, my favorites are the ones starring Cary Grant. Suspicion, To Catch A Thief (featuring the gorgeous Grace Kelly), my favorite – North By Northwest and Notorious. I decided to revisit Notorious the other night. A taut spy thriller with a heart-wrenching…
Stephen King’s It
I’ve been revisiting Stephen King books, and then when I’m done a title, I like to take a look at the accompanying film, or mini-series. I recently finished King’s epic book It. I haven’t read that since I was a teen, probably 13 or 14. I used to make sure that my Mom got King’s…
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) – Ken Hughes
Ian Fleming. His name is synonymous with James Bond. But that wasn’t the only fantastic character he brought to life. He also wrote the original story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In 1968 Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, who had overseen the James Bond series of films from the beginning, brought Fleming’s other famous creation to the big screen, with a lot of…
First Blood (1982) – Ted Kotcheff
I came across First Blood when I was a kid, it showed up on my television screen on the now defunct but never forgotten First Choice or Super Channel. I was still a little squeamish at that age, and the film had already started, so the first thing I saw was a man (with a…
Sick (2012) – Ryan M. Andrews
There’s a new film festival in town called Blood In The Snow. Organized by Festival Director Kelly Michael Stewart, of Fangoria magazine, the festival spotlights Canadian talent and Canadian film, specifically, Canadian Indie Horror films. Nice. Sadly, Sue and I didn’t learn about this in time, and missed the media window, but I did get…
The Mind Reels 