Encino Man is a silly, feather-light comedy that gives Pauly Shore too much to do, tries to make Sean Astin a bit of a tool, and lets Brendan Fraser be an absolutely unrestrained goofball. Astin plays Dave Morgan, a high school senior who wants to be cool, is digging his own pool in the backyard,…
Tag: California
The Majestic (2001) – Frank Darabont
Somehow, this Frank Darabont movie has gotten by me for over twenty-some years. I greatly enjoy his work, and I had a friend in my video store days who adored this movie. So I guess I figured it was time to remedy that. As I settled in, I realized why I hadn’t seen this one…
Star Trek: A Bomb in Time (1976)
Issue 36 of Gold Key Comic’s Star Trek series continued in March of ’76. The previous issue, 35, was a reprint of issue 4, The Peril of Planet Quick Change. A Bomb in Time was written by Arnold Drake, featured art by Alberto Giolitti and Alden McWilliams, and a fun cover painting by George Wilson….
TIFF 25: California Schemin’ dir. James McAvoy
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…
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…
