Director David Mackenzie and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan (Sicario) update the western for the modern age, while tweaking and twisting it into this crime drama. Tanner (Ben Foster) and Toby (Chris Pine) are brothers. Tanner is a career criminal, and Toby, like those in his family before him, is dirt poor. Like so many places…
Doctor Who (Peter Davison) – Planet of Fire
The Master (Anthony Ainley) returns, a companion (or two) leaves the TARDIS and a new companion joins the Doctor (Peter Davison) as we dive into this four part story written by Peter Grimwade. Planet of Fire originally ran from 23 February to 2 March, 1984, and finds the Master able to reconnect, psychically, with…
Into the Wild (2007) – Sean Penn
The final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of American Beauty is this drama that casts Emile Hirsch in the role of Christopher McCandless. A top student, a promising athlete, Christopher, upon his graduation from Emory University, gives away his money to charity, and begins a…
Quantum Leap (1989) – Good Morning, Peoria and Thou Shalt Not…
Sam (Scott Bakula) gets to be a DJ this week, in a riff on Good Morning, Vietnam. Written by Chris Ruppenthal with an airdate of of 8 November, 1989, Good Morning, Peoria, finds Sam leaping into radio personality Chick Howell on 9 September, 1959, in the small town of Peoria. Broadcasting from WOF, Sam…
Morning Star (2016) – Pierce Brown
Pierce Brown’s epic science fiction trilogy comes to an explosive, and emotionally satisfying conclusion with Morning Star, this week’s title on The Book Shelf. After the stunning cliffhanger of Golden Son, I was left to wonder what Brown would do to finish off the story, and what would the cost be to characters I’ve…
Batman: The Animated Series (1997/1998) – Double Talk, Joker’s Millions and Growing Pains
Turn on the Bat-Signal, there’s more trouble in Gotham this week! With Double Talk, which aired 22 November, 1997, Arnold Wesker aka The Ventriloquist (George Dzunda) is deemed fit and healthy, he is released from Arkham, but his inner demon, voiced through his dummy, Scarface, may be trying to return! Wayne Enterprises and a…
Crash (2004) – Paul Haggis
Walking away with the Academy Awards for Best Picture (controversially – as Brokeback Mountain was the presumptive winner), Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing, writer/director Paul Haggis’ tale of a cross-section of denizens of Los Angeles, tied together by race, loss and redemption come together in Crash, my next recommendation from the Great Movies…
Do the Right Thing (1989) – Spike Lee
Writer/director Spike Lee’s powerful drama is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of American Beauty. A powerhouse cast brings a multi-cultural street in Brooklyn to life on the hottest day of the year, as the heat builds so does the tension as hate, racism…
Doctor Who (Peter Davison) – Resurrection of the Daleks
This week in the TARDIS, we say goodbye to a Companion, and an old enemy returns. Resurrection of the Daleks, written by Eric Saward, this story was broken into two 45 minute episodes that ran from 8 to the 15 February, 1984. The time corridor that captured the TARDIS last week, deposits the Doctor…
The Mind Reels Ole Timey Radio Theatre – The Canterville Ghost
A few months ago, Sue and I started toying with a couple of ideas to expand on the fun we’d been having with the blog. Working together we came up with the idea of doing script reads of old radio programmes. To date, we’ve done three, and all of them have been hilarious,…
The Mind Reels 