Band of Brothers (2001) – Crossroads, and Bastogne

Crossroads was written by Erik Jendresen, dramatizing events from Stephen E. Ambrose’s non-fiction book exploring the 101st during World War II. This episode, first aired on 30 September, 2001, and is the halfway mark of the Tom Hanks (who also directs this episode) and Seven Spielberg produced mini-series. The main narrative of the episode follows…

Band of Brothers (2001) – Carentan, and Replacements

The third episode of the iconic Band of Brothers mini-series, produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, Carentan, first aired on 16 September, 2001. It was written by E. Max Frye who used historian Stephen E. Ambrose’s non-fiction book about the 101st, Band of Brothers, to bring it to life. Once again, the episode is…

Band of Brothers (2001) – Currahee, and Day of Days

In 2001, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg oversaw the production of HBO’s Band of Brothers, a fantastic chronicle of everyday men caught up in the events of World War II, from their cohesion as a unit to the end of World War II. Based on the non-fiction book by acclaimed historian Stephen E. Ambrose, the…

A Knight’s Tale (2001) – Brian Helgeland

Making a film intentionally anachronistic can work, and A Knight’s Tale is really no better example. Using classic rock songs, modern language, which also filters into the styles and production design, A Knight’s Tale is a medieval take on the sports movie. And despite not having seen it for a couple of decades at this…

Frailty (2001) – Bill Paxton

I miss Bill Paxton. Sure, I never actually got to meet the man, but I loved his work. And It has been forever since I watched his film Frailty, so why not a revisit? Damn, this one is still a solid film. Mr. Meiks (Matthew McConaughey) comes to see FBI agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe)….

Smallville (2001) – Craving, and Jitters

Hey look! It’s Amy Adams in a fat suit! Craving first aired on 27 November, 2001 and was written by Micheal Green. Jodi (Adams) is a little overweight. She’s body shamed at school, though both Pete (Sam Jones III) and Chloe (Allison Mack) are there to help defend her. Clark (Tom Welling) is off getting…

Smallville (2001) – Cool, and Hourglass

Sure it’s another freak-of-the-week episode, but the series is still finding itself, and building its characters and narratives. Cool first aired on 13 November, 2001 and was written by Michael Green. This time out, Sean (Michael Coristine) apparently drowns in ice-covered Crater Lake. At the bottom of that crater, kryptonite-infused rocks (as usual) which give…

Smallville (2001) – Hothead, and X-Ray

Hothead takes onto the Smallville Crows, the highschool football team overseen by the arrogant Coach Arnold (Dan Lauria). And Arnold is going to be our freak of the week. Written by Greg Walker this episode, which is helping to continue setting the pace and style for the series, first aired on 30 October, 2001. Arnold…

Smallville (2001) – Pilot, and Metamorphosis

The Superman mythos got the teen drama remix with Smallville. Perfectly cast and solidly scripted, the series ran for ten seasons, and while I did enjoy it, I never got past season five originally. We’re going to fix that this time out. The show launched with its Pilot on 16 October, 2001. Written by Alfred…

Lucy (2014) – Luc Besson

I like Luc Besson’s work. His films tend to be slick, pretty to look at, throw in some fun effects, and usually attract solid actors to the project. Lucy is no different, and lets Scarlett Johansson take the titular role in a science fiction-tinged action movie. Lucy (Johansson) is betrayed into being a drug mule…