Dan Brown sends his hero Robert Langdon off on another adventure with his latest novel, The Secret of Secrets. And I’m divided. I like the research and the information Brown is putting forth, it opens up a number of avenues for questions and research, but, the story doesn’t have the same punch and push as…
Tag: book
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1981) – Episodes 4, 5, and 6
Douglas Adams iconic story The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy continues with Arthur Dent’s (Simon Jones) comedic and intergalactic travels . The fourth episode aired on 26 January, 1981. The gang are still on Magrathea and the reveal that mice were the ones who financed the planet Earth, and were conducting experiments there. Arthur confers…
Inferno (1980) – Dario Argento
It’s been a while since I watched Argento’s Suspiria, though I remember enjoying it, so when I learned he did two more films set in the same world I knew I had to seek them out. The first follow-up film is 1980’s Inferno. Rose (Irene Miracle) is living in New York (with Italian locations serving…
Columbia Classics 4K Collection, Vol. 4
Sony, through their Columbia Pictures label, delivers a perfectly timed 4K collection for the romantic and the film lover. Collecting six films spanning sixty-two years, this lovingly curated ensemble is sure to delight countless viewers whether they are being introduced to classic films, or revisiting them for the umpteenth time. I’m going to take my…
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022) – Serene Squall, and The Elysian Kingdom
Serene Squall lets the Enterprise crew have some fun as pirates take over their ship, and they inspire a mutiny to free themselves, but it also has ties not only to The Original Series, but to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, tying those narrative threads together to make a cohesive tapestry. Written by Beau…
TIFF ’22: The Lost King
Director Stephen Frears guides Sally Hawkins’ quest for the burial place of Richard III. She takes on the real-life role of Philippa Langley, an amateur historian, who turned away from the established historical ‘facts’ of Richard III as a usurper and began a hunt for his final resting place. Based on Langley’s own book, which…
Scream 4 (2011) – Wes Craven
Kevin Williamson is back with a script that gives the Scream (and Stab) franchise the course correction it needed following the Scream 3 misstep, and right off the bat, the film has the sense of fun, and play that was messing in the third film. In fact the casting seems steps above the third film…
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) – Amy Heckerling
Amy Heckerling directs from a Cameron Crowe screenplay, which he adapted from his own book, so you knew going on that with Heckerling and Crowe on board the film was in good hands. And then the cast was filled with up and comers, and an iconic scene which any teen boy who grew up in…
M*A*S*H (1973) – The Ringbanger, Sometimes You Hear the Bullet, and Dear Dad, Again
Leslie Nielsen guest stars as Colonel Buzz Brighton in The Ringbanger, which was written by Jerry Mayer, and first aired on 21 January, 1973. Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and Trapper (Wayne Rogers) click with one of their patients, Brighton, but are soon troubled to learn that his unit suffers the highest casualty rate, with the least…
In Conversation with John Landis
Today is my birthday, so it seems like the perfect moment to share this wonderful gift DK Canada gave me. Director John Landis has overseen the compilation of a new anthology, Haunted Houses, and it is perfect reading for the Halloween season. It’s a fantastic collection, and DK Canada arranged for me to speak with…
The Mind Reels 