I had never heard of Silibil ‘n’ Brains, but knowing this was James McAvoy’s directorial debut I had to check it out. It’s based on a true story, and it’s very entertaining. Gavin (Seamus McLean Ross) and Billy (Samuel Bottomley) are just a couple of blokes from Dundee, Scotland. They dream big, and those dreams…
Tag: California
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) – Robert Mulligan
The moment I finished Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, I knew it was tome to check out the cinematic version, another hole in my viewing category. Gregory Peck headlines as Atticus, a role that garnered him an Academy Award. The film garnered two more wins, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Set/Art Dec. It received…
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) – Roy William Neill
Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Watson (Nigel Bruce) are back, and this time out, their story takes its inspiration from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual.’ They left behind some of the World War II storylines, though it still has an influence. Watson is voluneering at a convalescence home housed on the…
Ravenous (1999) – Antonia Bird
I like Robert Carlyle, I like Guy Pearce, and there’s some really horrific stuff in this film, but I have to be honest, the musical score kept ejecting me from the film. Beyond that it’s a tightly crafted film about cannibals, using the story of the Donner Party as a loose launching point. Guy Pearce…
The Mummy’s Hand (1940) – Christy Cabanne
I dig into more Universal monsters this week to the first sequel to The Mummy. Released in 1940, The Mummy’s Hand features Tom Tyler as the Mummy. It’s hard to come down on anyone’s side on this one nowadays. The ‘heroes’ are led by an archeologist, Steve Banning (Dick Foran) who is a snappily-dressed American…
Dark Skies (1997) – Shades of Gray, and Burn, Baby, Burn
Juliet (Jeri Ryan) gets a bit more of a backstory in Shades of Gray. Written by Brad Markowitz this episode first aired on 8 February, 1997. As things get filled in, including a horrifying encounter during her childhood in Russia, we are invited to an even darker journey John Loengard (Eric Close) and Kim Sayers…
Dark Skies (1997) – The Last Wave, and The Enemy Within
John Loengard (Eric Close) and Kim Sayers (Megan Ward) are back in California for the funeral of a friend, but find out that there was more to his death and the surfer scene than initially thought, because the Hive are involved. Written by Melissa Rosenberg, this episode first debuted on 4 January, 1997. Kim investigates…
WarGames (1983) – John Badham
I hadn’t seen Wargames since we watched it on SuperChoice one weekend when I was a kid. I remember thinking it was okay, and fun, and man I wished I had a computer (did you see the size of those floppy discs?) and I figured it was definitely time to check this one out again….
Starman (1987) – Starscape: Part 2, and The Test
The television series is on its last two episodes. In one sequence we learn that the events of the movie, in this version, were supposed to take place in 1972, explaining how Scott (Christopher Daniel Barnes) can be fourteen a couple of years after the events in the movies (which were definitely set in the…
Galactica 1980 (1980) – Galactica Discovers Earth: Part 1, and Part 2
I remember, as a kid, when Battlestar Galactica didn’t return for a second season, and was then very happily surprised when Galactica 1980 came along. To a kid it seemed awesome, the Galactica had finally found Earth, and not only did the fleet still have those awesome vipers, but now they had these very cool…
The Mind Reels 