Mel Gibson headlines in his second film with director Peter Weir, and the next title on the What Else to Watch list from DK Canada’s The Movie Book following its recommendation of Picnic at Hanging Rocl. Set in the mid-60s, Gibson is Guy Hamilton, an Australian journalist (and not the English director of four James…
Tag: british
Lifeforce (1985) – Tobe Hooper
Special effects wizard John Dykstra, legendary composer Henry Mancini, Alien scribe Dan O’Bannon, Sir Patrick Stewart, and the lovely Mathilda May are all part of Tobe Hooper’s sci-fi vampire movie. And you’d think that with credits like that, including Steve Railsback and Peter Firth would make this a solid entry in the Monsters in the…
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) -Tony Richardson
The angry young British man films continues with the iconic The Loneliness of the Longd Distance Runner, a title from the What Else to Watch list of DK Canada’s The Movie Book following its recommendation of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. Colin Smith (Tom Courtenay) is a young offender, busted for robbing a bakery, ends…
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones (1993) – Daredevils of the Desert
Indy continues his time in French Intelligence this week as he serves in Gaza in this extended unaired episode that was released as a home release movie on 21 November, 1999. Directed by Simon Wincer, the story was written by Frank Darabont, an sees our young hero helping the British and Australian forces take the…
Paddington 2 (2017) – Blu-Ray Review
Hitting blu-ray and DVD today from Warner Brothers is the brilliant follow-up to the 2014 hit, Paddington. Ben Whishaw returns to voice the iconic bear in the red hat and the blue duffle coat, as he continues to win hearts around London, and the world. The first film boasted a truckload of recognisable English talent,…
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) – Mike Newell
Mike Newell ably directs from a sharp script by Richard Curtis, and what we are delivered is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Pretty Woman. This one is sharp, and enjoyable, though if I am blatantly honest, I’ve never been a fan of the…
Dunkirk (2017) – Christopher Nolan
When I saw Dunkirk in IMAX this summer, I came out of the theatre with a one word review, “Wow.” Now Christopher Nolan’s brilliant retelling of the British evacuation from Dunkirk comes home on blu-ray and DVD thanks to Warner Brothers. Running at a taut hour and forty five minutes (Nolan’s shortest film since Following),…
Toronto After Dark 2017: Trench 11 – Leo Scherman
Zombie Night at the Toronto After Dark film festival continues at the Scotiabank Theatre with the Toronto Premiere of the Canadian biological horror film, Trench 11. Without putting too fine a point on it, this has been my favourite film of the festival so far. It’s not overly zombie-filled, but the story is captivating, it’s…
Time Bandits (1981) – Terry Gilliam
Back in 1981 or 1982, on a free Super Channel or First Choice weekend I received my first introduction to the cinematic stylings of Terry Gilliam with Time Bandits. An odd, decidedly British science fiction adventure film, it is also one of the recommendations (following T2) as I return to the Action genre of the…
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) – David Lean
Another recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of The Great Escape is this David Lean classic starring William Holden, Alec Guinness, and Jack Hawkins. The film walked away with seven Academy Awards, taking home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Guinness), Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography,…
The Mind Reels 