Simon Wincer is a hard-working director, his efforts can be hit or miss, but I loved his work on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, Lonesome Dove, and D.A.R.Y.L. Starting with Quigley Down Under, he’s worked with Tom Selleck a number of times, but this was their first feature film…
Tag: basil poledouris
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991) – Simon Wincer
I saw Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man the summer it opened in ’91, while I was working in Toronto. Something about it just clicked for me. I like the sense of history to the characters and the world they live in. Set five years down the road in 1996, the world is going to…
Breakdown (1997) – Blu-Ray Review
Everyone knows I dig me some Kurt Russell. He’s just such an awesome actor, and has seemed to be consistently working since he was a child, and still seems like a down to earth kind of guy that you just want to hang out with. He really is able to embody that everyman sensibility while…
Iron Eagle (1986) – Sidney J. Furie
Shortly before Top Gun hit theatres, another jet fighter movie took to the skies, this time it was the F-16 Eagle, in the military fantasy, Iron Eagle. I say fantasy, because this film pretty much embodies every young boy’s dream of being a hero, of going against impossible odds, and proving to his father that…
Conan the Destroyer (1984) – Richard Fleischer
Three years after Conan the Barbarian hit the screens, Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the role in the follow-up, Conan the Destroyer. The next stop in the list of evil wizards in the chapter on Devil’s Work in DK Canada’s very enjoyable, Monsters in the Movies. Unfortunately due to some unnecessary comedic elements, and a truly…
Conan the Barbarian (1982) – John Milius
DK Canada’s highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies brings me another classic film for my viewing pleasure. This one, I’ve wanted to rewatch for awhile, but couldn’t find the time. Happily, it showed up in the chapter, Devil’s Work, under evil wizards. Arnold Schwarzenegger brings Robert E. Howard’s iconic creation, Conan the Barbarian to life…
Alexander Nevsky (1938) – Sergei M. Eisenstein and Dmitriy Vasilev
DK Book’s The Movie Book suggested one more Key Film for Sergei Eisenstein following my screening of Battleship Potemkin; the classic Russian film Alexander Nevsky. Starring Nikolay Cherkasov in the titular role, the film is incredibly engaging, and well-produced, and if nothing else you can tell that the composer Sergei Prokofiev’s score influenced such composers…
RoboCop (2014) – Jose Padiha
The other remake I watched this week, after the Evil Dead debacle, was the new Robocop. Lacking the over-the-top violence and comic book nature, not to mention the skewering social commentary of the original, there’s not a lot to redeem this film. And I feel sorry for viewers who come to this one first…
Total Recall (1990) – Paul Verhoeven
Using the short story, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick, as a springboard, this entry on the 1010 Sci-Fi Movie list, sees Arnold Schwarzenegger playing a secret agent on Mars, under Paul Verhoeven’s direction, who was last seen on the list for Robocop. Bored with his construction job, and dreaming…
The Hunt For Red October (1990) – John McTiernan
Tom Clancy’s techno-thriller, which I remember reading back in grade 9, when my friend Michael introduced me to it and after that, every Christmas until I 1989, I would receive Clancy’s new novel in hardcover for Christmas, was put to film by John McTiernan. Coming off of the incredible run of success that Predator and Die…
The Mind Reels 