Ballers: Season 1

  Dwayne Johnson takes to the field in the new HBO series, Ballers, from creator Stephen Levinson, which was released on June 14. I dug into the series on blu-ray to have a look. My first instinct, and I stand by it, is that it’s more of a dramedy than the pitched comedy, and it…

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) – Stuart Baird

  It’s time for the cinematic swan song of for the Next Generation cast, as my journeys with Star Trek, via the Sci-Fi Chronicles book continue. Directed by Stuart Baird (a helluva editor, not the best director) the film is nowhere near as strong a film as it could have or should have been. One…

Finding Dory (2016) – Andrew Stanton & Angus MacLane

  Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), the short-term memory loss suffering blue tang is back in the latest entry from Pixar, that sees her on the journey to find her parents, with Marlin (Albert Brooks) and his son Nemo (Hayden Rolence) helping her out, and going out on an adventure of their own, when Dory gets lost…

Glory (1989) – Edward Zwick

  An all-star cast, including Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes and Andre Braugher bring the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of The Red Badge of Courage. Based on the letters by Robert Gould Shaw, played in the film by Broderick, the film…

One More Time (2015) – Robert Edwards

  Available now from Anchor Bay is this little gem written and directed by Robert Edwards that gives a look inside the hearts of two musical performers. Jude (Amber Heard) is a self-destructive would-be singer-songwriter who sabotages her own life consistently, and clashes with her family on a minute by minute basis. She can’t seem…

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) – Jonathan Frakes

  The journeys with the U.S.S. Enterprise continue in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book as Picard (Patrick Stewart), Riker (Frakes), Data (Brent Spiner) and the rest render their version, more or less, of The Magnificent Seven. The story behind this film, covered on the blog previously here, shows that it could have been something different than…

Magnum, p.i. (1988) – Legend of the Lost Art and Transitions

  This is it, the penultimate entry for Magnum (Tom Selleck). This week’s installment starts off with a great sense of fun with Legend of the Lost Art. Selleck was originally in line to play Indiana Jones before Universal optioned the series, and this seems to be a little bit of a nod to that….

Sister Act, Presented by Drayton Entertainment

  I love stagecraft, and I love seeing a well-produced, perfectly acted and paced stage production. Drayton’s 2016 season has all of that and more, and playing on the main stage currently at the Huron County Playhouse in gorgeous Grand Bend (though to be honest I feel like I’m on Amity Island from Jaws) is…

The Beguiled (1971) – Don Siegel

  Clint Eastwood stars in the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Red Badge of Courage. He plays John McBurney, a Yankee soldier who is injured during the course of the war, and is discovered by a student at a Southern All Girls School….

Rio Conchos (1964) – Gordon Douglas

  Richard Boone and Jim Brown lead the cast in the first recommendation following my screening of The Red Badge of Courage for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. Boone stars as James Lassiter, and he, Franklyn (Brown), Haven (Stuart Whitman), Rodriguez (Anthony Franciosa), and an Apache woman (Wende Wagner) are trailing…