The first episode up this week of M*A*S*H boasts a number of recognisable guest stars. Allan Arbus returns as Sidney, Pat Morita plays Captain Sam Pak, and John Ritter plays Private Carter. Deal Me Out was written by Laurence Marks, and series developer Larry Gelbart and first aired on 8 December, 1973. While Hawkeye (Alan…
Tag: drama
Edge of Tomorrow (2014) – Doug Liman
Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson and Bill Paxton star in this fun sci-fi action film that plays like an alien war version of Groundhog Day. Cruise stars as Cage, a major in the American army, working as a media adviser, following the beginnings of an alien attack that has taken over most of Europe….
M*A*S*H* (1973) – For the Good of the Outfit, Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde, and Kim
Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and Trapper (Wayne Rogers) attempt to take on Army bureaucracy in For the Good of the Outfit. Written by Jerry Mayer, this episode debuted on 6 October, 1973. When the surgeons learn that the civilians they are operating on were bombed by the U.S. Army, Hawk and Trap file a report expecting…
The X-Files (1995) – Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose, and The List
Darin Morgan who was first cast as the Fluke-Man, then penned the season two classic Humbug, joined the crew of The X-Files as a story editor at the beginning of the third season, and he turned in another instant classic scipt with Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose. First airing on 13 October, 1995 the story is…
M*A*S*H (1972) – Pilot, To Market, to Market, and Requiem for a Lightweight
On 17 April, 1972, the television landscape changed with the premiere of a show that would run for eleven seasons, and ably walk the line between comedy and drama as it explored life on a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. Developed for television by Larry Gelbart from the Academy Award winning film…
Bull Durham (1988) – Ron Shelton
I love a good baseball movie, there’s something inherently joyful about them, whether it’s the game, itself, the sound of the crack of the bat, the tightly edited homages of games played, or the characters that step up to the plate, I love them, drama, comedy… is there a baseball musical? I’d probably dig that…
Magic (1978) – Richard Attenborough
Somehow this title has slipped through the cracks of my viewing, and I had never seen it before I threw it on for the next misadventure with Killer Dolls as featured in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book. Its directed by Richard Attenborough, written by William Goldman, based on his own novel, stars Anthony…
Chuck (2008) – Versus the Gravitron, and Versus the Sensei
Chuck (Zachary Levi) is going to have problems this week as Casey (Adam Baldwin) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) have learned Jill’s (Jordana Brewster) secret. Chuck Verus the Gravitron was written by one of the series creator’s Chris Fedak, and first aired on 25 November, 2008. Casey and Sarah have learned that Jill is a Fulcrum…
Whale Rider (2002) – Niki Caro
The beautifully crafted film, Whale Rider, adapted for the screen and directed by Niki Caro from the book by Witi Ihimaera is the next title up in Ten Bad Dates With De Niro, as I work through a list of titles that will make you cry. Set amongst the Maori people in Whangara, New Zealand,…
Shogun (1980) – Disc 4
We come to the conclusion of James Clavell’s epic Japanese tale this week (it was definitely quicker to get through the miniseries than the novel – course I was fourteen at the time) as I delve into the fourth disc of the DVD set which has the fifth and final episode. Adapted by Eric Bercovici,…
Even Dwarfs Started Small (1971) – Werner Herzog
I dug into another title from the Movies That Cause Trauma chapter of the Ten Bad Dates with De Niro book, and I have to say, having watched this offering from Herzog, I may not be traumatised, but I am definitely unnerved and put off by some of his work to be sure. Shot in…
Parasite (2019) – Blu-Ray Review
Nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best International Feature Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Production Design and Best Editing, Parasite, the exemplary film from writer-director Bong Joon-ho is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Universal Pictures. Perfectly balancing a tale of comedy and drama, we are introduced to two families, and…
