This week, we dive into The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series, available now from Paramount! The Twilight Zone got underway on 2 October, 1959 with Rod Serling plunging Earl Holliman as Mike Ferris into madness with Where is Everybody? Mike Ferris doesn’t know who he is, and he doesn’t know where everyone else in the…
Category: Did You See That?!? (Tv & Film)
La Belle et la Bete (1946) – Jean Cocteau
The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book returns me to the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre, and this time, it’s to plunge me into this wonderfully imagined fairy tale. Long before Disney retold the story, first in animated format, then a stage musical, and then in a live action film, French director Cocteau…
La La Land (2016) – Damien Chazelle
From its opening, marrying classical screen musical tropes and modern times, Chazelle’s film proves that not only is the big screen musical still alive, it is in fact a vibrant event. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling star as two Hollywood dreamers, Mia and Sebastian. She’s an aspiring actress, he’s a jazz pianist who dreams of…
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) -Hayao Miyazaki
The next stop in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book is a long overdue check-in with Miyazaki, the famed writer/director who has envisioned so many incredible tales. This time around, it’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. I didn’t have access to a subtitled version, so I went with the English dubbed (subtitle is ALWAYS the…
Doctor Who (Sylvester McCoy ) – Silver Nemesis
This three part tale, returned the monstrous threat of the Cybermen to the world of the Doctor (McCoy). Running from 23 November to 8 December, 1988 this story was penned by Kevin Clarke. The Doctor and Ace (Sophie Aldred – who wears a fez for a moment or two in the story, because they’re cool)…
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) – Colin and Greg Strause
Picking up where the first film left off – with the strange Predalien bursting into existence, this ill-advised sequel continues to pair up two of the greatest movie monster creations against one another, with humanity stuck between them, and because of the terrible way it’s handled, no one can be bothered to care. Unfortunately, for…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1967) – The Devil in the Dark, and Errand of Mercy
Captain’s log: stardate 3196.1 The Devil in the Dark. THIS is a classic episode. Written by Gene L. Coon with an airdate of 9 March, 1967, this one takes what starts out as a bit of a scary story, definitely one vested in mystery, and turns it into a compassionate tale of understanding. The Enterprise…
Life, the Universe and Everything (1982) – Douglas Adams
Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Marvin the robot, Zaphod and Trillian find themselves caught up in trouble again as the third Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy book finds its way to The Book Shelf this week. And, just like the preceding novels, this one is a life riot as well. Arthur and Ford are where we…
AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004) – Paul W.S. Anderson
Sure, Anderson does a fairly decent job on my guilty pleasure films, the Resident Evil series, not to mention Event Horizon, but he and those interfering types at 20th Century Fox screwed over what should have been a sure thing, and my next stop in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book… Alien Vs. Predator. I saw this…
Donnie Darko (2001) – Richard Kelly
The final recommendation from this visit to the Family genre in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book is Kelly’s cult film Donnie Darko. While not necessarily suitable for younger viewers, it does involve family and a young troubled boy. This one was one of those films that while I was in the…
The Mind Reels 