Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) – Jack Clayton

  The Sci-Fi Chronicles book (and I am enjoying it so much) next brings me to Ray Bradbury, and the screenplay he wrote, which he adapted from his own classic story. Dark and moody, this one is definitely a family horror movie, this came from the period in the 1980s, when Disney started to play…

Magnum, p.i. (1983) – A Sense of Debt and The Look

  A young Shannen Doherty arrives in Hawaii in this week’s installment. She plays Ima, daughter of Leon Platt (Denny Miller) in A Sense of Doubt which was written by Jay Huguely and aired 1 December, 1983. Thomas (Tom Selleck) after some persuading of T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) is off to Detroit to recover some…

The Knick – Season 1

  HBO, in conjunction with Cinemax, have done it again. Director Steven Soderbergh puts Clive Owen as Doctor John W. Thackery through his paces in this series created by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler. Now before you ponder the question of why, oh why, we would need yet another medical drama, take a look at the…

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) – Scott Derrickson

  The next title up for my perusal in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book is The Day The Earth Stood Still, I’d previously reviewed the 1951 classic here, so now it was time to take on the remake. And sadly, the updated version would rather focus on visual effects rather than the characters or story or…

Chicago (2002) – Rob Marshall 

  Rob Marshall not only directs the next title in the recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, he also choreographed it as well, bringing the classic musical to the big screen with this Best Picture Oscar-winning version of Chicago, based on the musical play by Bob Fosse and Fred Ebb….

The Mind Reels at TIFF 40

Sue and I were lucky enough to be invited to the TIFF press conference for this year’s look at the Canadian films being showcased in the festival’s 40th year! It looks to be an amazing season, and we got to meet and chat with some amazing people, as well as catch up with some friends,…

Doctor Who (Tom Baker) – Planet of Evil

  This week’s tale, Planet of Evil, sees the Doctor (Baker) and Sarah-Jane (Elisabeth Sladen) responding to a distress call from the planet Zeta Minor, giving their original destination of London a complete miss. Written by Louis Marks, this serial aired from 27 September to 18 October, 1975. Arriving on the planet, they find that a geological…

Suburban Gothic (2014) – Richard Bates Jr.

  Available now from Anchor Bay is this wonderfully quirky horror comedy. And let me emphasize the quirky, if you’re expecting a typical entry into this genre you are bound to be in for a bit of a shock. Happily, the film’s trailer sells its sense of humor really well. The film is also stocked…