Red Heat has quite the pedigree. It has Walter Hill directing. It has a score by James Horner. And look at this cast, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Belushi, Peter Boyle, Gina Gershon, Laurence (as Larry) Fishburne, Brion James, Ed O’Ross, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and Mike Hagerty. That’s insane. Red Heat keeps Hill solidly in violent, and…
Author: TD Rideout
Raw Deal (1986) – John Irvin
I knew not all of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s early work were going to be winners. And there was a reason I never wanted to take a chance on Raw Deal. From everything I’d seen, trailer and image wide it looked pretty horrible. Surprise, surprise I was right. It has a horrible soundtrack and score, and the…
Farscape (2001) – Infinite Possibilities: Part 2 – Icarus Abides, and Revenging Angel
Part 2 of Infinite Possibilities first aired on 3 August, 2001. It was written by Carleton Eastlake. With the Scarran Dreadnought drawing closer, the Ancient version of Jack (Kent McCord) and Crichton (Ben Browder)have to come up with a plan to best the dreadnought. But of course, Crichton has been taken over by Scorpius (Wayne…
The Andromeda Strain (1971) – Robert Wise
I greatly enjoyed reading Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain and then I decided to correct an oversight in my viewing history and check out the 1971 film directed masterfully by Robert Wise. I love that like the book, the film is played very straight, and consequently it makes the idea all the more frightening. When…
Northern Exposure (1994) – Fish Story, and The Gift of the Maggie
Ruth-Anne (Peg Phillips) gets sick of retail when everyone treats her poorly, and hits the road on Chris’ (John Corbett) Harley. She joins up with a group of bikers known as the Diablos, led by Turk (Stephen McHattie), and she gets a bit of a new look on things as she realizes everyone has problems….
Star Trek: Dark Victory (1999) – William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Shatner continues his mirror universe trilogy, with Dark Victory. It seems not only has Captain James T. Kirk survived into the 24th century, so has his mirror universe counterpart, Emperor Tiberius. And they are on a collision course. Wrapping up the cliffhanger of the previous book, Picard and his crew are reunited, and Kirk and…
Stargate SG-1 (2004) – Lockdown, and Zero Hour
Stargate Command is showing a little more international cooperation, as the Russians have a detachment working there in concert with a space station in orbit. This space station has a close call with a piece of debris from the most recent battle and it seems something has survived. Lockdown was written by Joseph Mallozzi and…
Anyone But You (2023) – Will Gluck
Using Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing as a template (there are quotes and references littered throughout), Will Gluck directs this delightful, and sexy rom-com that stars Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney. Ben (Powell) and Bea (Sweeney) have a lovely little meet-cute, and have an amazing first date. One that is brought to an abrupt end,…
Gladiator II (2024) – Ridley Scott
I greatly enjoy Ridley Scott films, he’s an incredible technical director, even when his films aren’t as emotionally captivating as I would like, there’s always something masterful about his creations. Gladiator II is no different. The first film resonated and struck a chord with filmgoers everywhere. It’s no surprise that the idea of a sequel…
The Mind Reels 