The Mind Reels chats with A Dog’s Life Helene Choquette

  Hot Docs 2016 continues! The amazing thing about the festival is the variety of subject matter covered, and issues confronted, Helene Choquette turned her camera’s eye on the issue of homeless people, specifically, those with dogs. Examining the issue, and way they are treated and seen by the public at large, these people survive…

Sing Street (2016) – John Carney

  Sheer joy. There were no other words to express my experience with John Carney’s latest film. Sometimes a film comes along at just the right time in your life, and serves to reminds you of something you’ve always known but you kind of need that obvious callback. And music does that. It doesn’t matter…

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982) – Vonda N. McIntyre

  Vonda N. McIntyre who had previously written the Trek tale, The Entropy Effect, which is given a bit of a reference in this one, adapts the screenplay for the second film, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan into novel form. There are some nice differences, changes in dialogue and expanded scenes and characters…

Solaris (2002) – Steven Soderbergh

  My journey with the very enjoyable, and informative, Sci-Fi Chronicles book continue with this tale of exploration into the soul, heart and depth of emotions… George Clooney heads into deep space under the guidance of director by Steven Soderbergh and producer James Cameron as they take on Stanislaw Lem’s classic science fiction novel that…

Magnum, p.i. (1986) – Little Girl Who and Paper War

  It’s back to Hawaii! And Thomas (Tom Selleck) is in for a bit of an emotional ride this week. First up is Little Girl Who. This one was penned by Deborah Pratt and had an original airdate of 5 November, 1986. Emotions and memories are brought to the fore, when Michelle (Marta DuBois), Magnum’s ex-wife,…

Magnum, p.i. (1985) – Going Home and Paniolo

  Thomas heads to Virginia in the first episode up this week, Going Home, which aired 31 October, 1985 and was penned by Gene Donalds and Chris Abbott. He returns to Virginia for his grandfather’s funeral, and it opens up a slew of memories, pains, and troubles amongst the family. He’s never been a fan of…

Wall-E (2008) – Andrew Stanton

  Well, as I am working my way through the Sci-Fi Chronicles book, I figured I could use a trope of science fiction, and leap forward in time from the point of the book I am in, to the end, and work backwards, bouncing back and forth in time! So I was delighted to be…

Armada (2015) – Ernest Cline

  Cline has done it again. Crafting another fantastic novel that embraces and celebrates pop culture interwoven with a thrilling narrative. Embracing its inner Iron Eagle, Ender’s Game and The Last Starfighter, while in turn paying nods to Contact and 2010: The Year We Make Contact, Cline has crafted a novel that revels and embraces…

State of Women

  During World War II, it wasn’t only the men who answered the call of their country. All over North America, women left their kitchens, shedding the restraints of home maker and house wife, to take up the hammer and torque to work in the factories (Rosie the Riveter), building the equipment that was put to…