I’m a little upset that I didn’t go to see this one when it screened at TIFF, but I was very happy that this was a film that my partner and I could watch together, and we greatly enjoyed it. But it’s Jeffrey Wright, the man can do anything, and play anything, and he brings…
Tag: drama
Quiz Lady (2023) – Jessica Yu
Awkwafina and Sandra Oh play sisters in the very enjoyable, Quiz Lady, which I missed at TIFF but was delighted to check out when it hit streaming platforms. Anne (Awkwafina) is quiet, set in her routines, and has some mental health issues that keep her confined to her job, and her couch, where she and…
Ad Astra (2019) – James Gray
James Gray delivers one of the most authentic looks at space travel since Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, throw in a little of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and you have the basic groundwork for this science fiction drama that sees astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travelling to the outer reaches of our solar system, all…
TIFF ’23: The Dead Don’t Hurt
Viggo Mortensen wrote and directed this Western drama that is filled with recognizable Western tropes but Moternsen neither completely rejects them nor subverts them, he simply uses them to fill out his story about an immigrant couple that finds themselves living and loving on the edge of a corrupt Nevada town in the 1860s. The…
Family Ties (1983) – Sherry Baby, The Fugitive Part 1, and Part 2
Mallory (Justine Bateman) and Alex (Micheal J. Fox) find themselves manipulated and used in Sherry Baby. Written by Barbara Hall, it first aired on 12 January, 1983. Mallory is intent on getting into a sorority and her classmate, Sherry (Lisa Lucas) may be the key. But Sherry has her eye on Alex. So Mallory attempts…
The Russia House (1990) – Fred Schepisi
Sean Connery, Michelle Pfeiffer, Roy Scheider, James Fox, John Mahoney, and J.T. Walsh star in the cinematic adaptation of John Le Carre’s novel, The Russia House. Written for the screen by Tom Stoppard, the film was the first, big Western film to be shot on location in the Soviet Union. Featuring a gorgeous score by…
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (2022) – John Lee Hancock
John Lee Hancock adapts the Stephen King short story to the screen and gives us a thoughtful rumination on technology, life, forgiveness, and letting go. Jaeden Martell returns to the King-verse this time as young Craig, a student, a young man who is dealing with the death of his mother, navigating the world of high…
The Sugarland Express (1974) – Steven Spielberg
Before Spielberg was the box-office titan that he would become with 1975’s Jaws , he made his North American theatrical debut (Duel, a television movie had been released theatrically in Europe) with 1974’s Sugarland Express. Based on an actual event that occurred in 1969, the story follows Lou Jean (Goldie Hawn), her husband Clovis (William…
M*A*S*H (1981) – Bless You Hawkeye, Blood Brothers, and The Foresight Saga
Hawkeye (Alan Alda) is having some serious problems after an encounter with a patient in Bless You Hawkeye. Written by Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford this episode first debuted on 16 March, 1981. Hawkeye seems to be having an allergic reaction to something. As everyone tries to help out, and Hawkeye denies anything wrong, things…
M*A*S*H (1978) – They Call the Wind Korea, Major Ego, and Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Ken Levine and David Isaacs pen They Call the Wind Korea, which first aired on 30 October, 1978, and sees Charles (David Ogden Stiers) getting ready to leave the 4077 on his first vacation (in Tokyo no less) since he arrived. Unfortunately there’s a major storm coming in, and he can’t get a chopper out….
The Mind Reels 