The Star Wars films continue as I delve further into George Lucas’ films thanks to the Sci-Fi Chronicles. This time it is the second instalment in the Prequel Trilogy. And while a considerable step-up from The Phantom Menace, this one is still too clunky and too digital. Jonathan Hale helps Lucas out on the…
Tag: dialogue
Casablanca (1942) – Michael Curtiz
As we move back to the Romance and Melodrama genre in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, we get to revisit one of my favourite films (many people share that opinion, and who can blame them?!) – Casablanca. It came along at just the right time, had just the right cast,…
Howard the Duck (1986) – Willard Huyck
A long time before Marvel Entertainment got their act together to bring us one superhero extravaganza after another, George Lucas (the next stop on the journey through the Sci-Fi Chronicles book), served as executive producer on Willard Huyck’s terrible adaptation of Howard the Duck from the comic series. There are a couple of upsides…
Do the Right Thing (1989) – Spike Lee
Writer/director Spike Lee’s powerful drama is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of American Beauty. A powerhouse cast brings a multi-cultural street in Brooklyn to life on the hottest day of the year, as the heat builds so does the tension as hate, racism…
It Runs In the Family, presented by Drayton Entertainment
If you missed its run at the Drayton Festival Theatre, the British farce, It Runs In the Family runs deliciously amuck on the King’s Wharf Theatre stagein Penetanguishene starting today, and running to the 27th. Written by Ray Cooney, and directed by Alex Mustakas, the farce is at its best when it reaches Howard…
A Boy and His Dog (1975) – L.Q. Jones
Harlan Ellison’s classic novella comes to life in this adaptation that is my next stop on the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. Vic (a very young Don Johnson) is wandering the post-apocalyptic world, accompanied by his dog, Blood (voiced by Tim McIntire), with whom he can communicate telepathically. Together they navigate the barbarity, the cruelty and…
Barbarella (1968) – Roger Vadim
Jane Fonda steps into her first and only science fiction movie in this 1968 camp classic that is so bad that it almost comes round to good again, who am I kidding, it doesn’t get anywhere near to coming around to good. It’s also the next stop in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book, so it…
Village of the Damned (1995) – John Carpenter
John Carpenter’s take on the Midwich Cuckoo’s tale is next up in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book, and boasts a pretty fine cast in the form of Christopher Reeve, Kirstie Alley, Marlk Hamill, Linda Kozlowski and Michael Pare. The location has been changed to small town America, but the basis of the story remains the…
True Detective: Season 2
Releasing from HBO today on both Blu-Ray and DVD is the sophomore season of the intense Nic Pizzolatto written and created police drama. The critics and viewers were divided on this one, you either loved it or hated it, but I think that was partly because everyone thought they would be getting more of…
Pitch Black (2000) – David Twohy
The Sci-Fi Chronicles book has been serving me well lately, so I decided to stay with it for a bit longer, and consequently dug into the first Riddick film, Pitch Black. It’s a modest little film that helped launch Vin Diesel to fame when he took on the role of the ocularly augmented killer, and…
The Mind Reels 