Special effects wizard Joe Johnston’s second directorial effort is probably my favourite, as there is just something about The Rocketeer that I love. The style? Art deco is a fave. The score? James Horner! The cast? Bill Campbell, Jennifer Connelly (who I have crushed on FOREVER), Timothy Dalton, Alan Arkin, Paul Sorvino. The source material?…
Month: September 2022
Fringe (2012) – Enemy of My Enemy, and Forced Perspective
Enemy of My Enemy really amps up the season and mythology arc. Written by Alison Schapker and Monica Owusu-Breen and first aired on 20 January, 2012 . Last episode ended with the reveals that the Observer (Michael Cerveris) has told Olivia (Anna Torv) she has to die and that the alternate version of Broyles (Lance…
George Pal Double Feature – 4K/Blu-Ray Review
If you missed the gorgeous War of the Worlds Criterion Edition blu-ray, then Paramount Pictures has you covered with their 4K version which is upgraded from the same elements giving fans a whole new look at the classic science fiction film. Sure that means you can see some of the wires moving the alien ships…
Mission: Impossible (1973) – The Pendulum, The Western, and Imitation
This is it, the final instalment of Mission: Impossible as I complete my exploration of The Complete Series on Blu-ray, available now from Paramount Canada. The last three episodes of the series are much like those that went before it. They remain episodic in nature, interchangeable with anything that has gone before, and no real…
Ringworld (1970) – Larry Niven
I dug into some classic science fiction this week with Larry Niven’s Ringworld novel, which is set in his Known Space universe. I hadn’t explored any of his stories before, but this one was recommended to me from somewhere, and I found the general idea intriguing, a massive ring, instead of an enclosed sphere, placed…
Fringe (2011/2012) – Wallflower, and Back to Where You’ve Never Been
Olivia (Anna Torv) is suffering from migraines. Peter’s (Joshua Jackson) intrusion into the timeline is making things difficult for everyone, and there is trouble on the horizon. Olivia doesn’t have too much time to worry about that when she and Lincoln (Seth Gabel) are thrown a case that sees an invisible man killing people to…
Mean Girls (2004) – Blu-Ray Steelbook Review
Paramount Pictures delivers a fun new edition of Mean Girls on blu-ray, in a collectible steelbook designed to look like the film’s Burn Book. Mean Girls, which has since inspired a stage musical, is still a delightful, and incredibly funny film written by Tina Fey, about high school and specifically teenage girls, their cliques and…
1408 (2007) – Mikael Hafstrom
John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson star in this big screen adaptation of the Stephen King short story. Cusack, who has always been a favourite of mine, is Mike Enslin, a writer who cranked out one good (and seemingly forgotten novel) and after a personal tragedy, which had him walking out on his grief-stricken wife…
Amistad (1997) – Steven Spielberg
Spielberg returns to another examination of humanity and history with his 1997 film Amistad. Based on an actual event in 1839, the film explores a revolt of Mende captives aboard the Spanish ship La Amistad. When the captives take over the ship they demand that the surviving crew take them back to Africa, but instead,…
Hill Street Blues (1981) – Jungle Madness, and Hearts and Minds
The two-hour finale to Hill Street Blues inaugural season first aired on 26 May, 1981. It was written by series creators Steven Bochco, Michael Kozell and story editor Anthony Yerkovich. There’s a lot going on, Washington (Taurean Blacque) and LaRue (Kiel Martin) are running up leads and suspects in the shooting by a racist officer,…
The Mind Reels 