The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) Martin Scorsese

  Paul Schrader adapts Nikos Kazantakis’ powerful novel about the life of Christ (portrayed powerfully by Willem Dafoe) comes to life under the sure hand of Martin Scorsese, bringing the Christian character to life in a way unseen on the screen before this. Raising questions not only about the concept of Christ, as well as…

Labyrinth (1986) – Jim Henson 

  Executive produced by George Lucas, directed by Jim Henson, designs by Brian Froud, songs by David Bowie, and a screenplay by Terry Jones… what’s not to like about Labyrinth, first recommendation following my screening of The Wizard of Oz for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book? I loved digging into this one again, this…

Magnum, p.i. (1982) – Flashback and Foiled Again 

  This week’s installment features yet another favorite episode of mine (though let’s be honest, I have a lot of those in this series). Flashback was written by Lance Madrid III, and aired 4 November, 1982. Thomas (Tom Selleck) awakes to find himself in 1936, with a strange knowledge of a case he’s asked to…

Hot Docs 2015: Circus Dynasty – Anders Riis-Hansen 

Screening today at the Lightbox theatre at 6:30 (rush tickets only, I’m afraid) is this magical, and heart-touching love story set against the back drop of one of Europe’s largest circuses, the Circus Arena! Patrick Bendino is the heir apparent to his the family circus, he’s trained, he’s skilled, and he’s learning to manage and be ringmaster, he’s…

Doctor Who (Jon Pertwee) – The Time Monster

  Season 9 of Doctor Who comes to a close with this six-part story that was written by Robert Sloman and aired from 20 May to 24 June, 1972. With a premonition that The Master (Roger Delgado) is back, the Doctor (Pertwee) warns UNIT, and the Brigadier (Nicolas Courtney) to be on the look out, but when he…

Total Recall (1990) – Paul Verhoeven

Using the short story, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick, as a springboard, this entry on the 1010 Sci-Fi Movie list, sees Arnold Schwarzenegger playing a secret agent on Mars, under Paul Verhoeven’s direction, who was last seen on the list for Robocop. Bored with his construction job, and dreaming…