First off, let’s get this out of the way… the onscreen friendship and chemistry of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena is absolutely fantastic. The pair are absolutely fantastic together as a pair of friends who serve together in the LAPD. The film is predominantly shot to look and feel like a documentary; Brian Taylor (Gyllenhaal)…
Tag: engrossing
Mister Magic (2023) – Kiersten White
Kiersten White’s Mister Magic is an unnerving and spooky tale that definitely has a commentary on religion and those who believe. Mister Magic was a radio program, and later a television show that ran until the 90s when the final episode ended in tragedy. It seems a number of people remember the show, and remember…
Eyes of the Void (2022) – Adrian Tchaikovsky
Orbit Books hooked me with Tchaikovsky’s Shard of Earth so I was very eager to dive into the second novel in the series Eyes of the Void. Once again I was swept up in the fantastically told tale, as Tchaikovsky built on what had already happened in the first novel continued delving into the worlds…
Carrion Comfort (1989) – Dan Simmons
I’ve been enjoying the Dan Simmons’ books I’ve been reading, and finally had time to dig into his epic, and much hailed horror novel, Carrion Comfort. A massive read, the book is actually horrifying in the traditional sense. I’ve always enjoyed horror novels, and the like, but this novel is truly frightening, and it is…
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1995) -Past Tense: Part I, and Part II
Station log: stardate 48481.2 Robert Hewitt Wolfe pens this stellar episode from a story he developed with Ira Steven Behr. First broadcast on 2 January, 1995, the story follows Sisko (Avery Brooks), Bashir (Alexander Siddig) and Dax (Terry Farrell) as, thanks to a transporter accident while the Defiant is in orbit around Earth, end up…
Patton (1970) – Franklin J. Schaffner
George C. Scott’s Oscar winning turn as controversial military commander, General George S. Patton is my next stop as I explore the recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Movie book following my screening of Saving Private Ryan. Based on a history of Patton as well as Omar Bradley’s (portrayed by Karl Malden…
The Deer Hunter (1978) – Micheal Cimino
Micheal Cimino’s examination of the effects of war, framed around the Vietnam conflict and a small industrial town in Pennsylvania is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Apocalypse Now. Laying out the scars, physical, mental and unseen that affected those who fought in it,…
Coraline (2002) – Neil Gaiman
It’s always a delight to dig into a Neil Gaiman story, and I have come to this one after seeing the movie a number of times. I knew going in it would be slightly different, so I was eager to see what the original text would bring me. And what it brought me was a…
The Wild Bunch (1969) – Sam Peckinpah
The next big stop in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book as I return to the Historical chapter, is Peckinpah’s ultra-violent, wonderfully bloody take on the Hollywood Western. A group of professional outlaws out of step and out of time looking for one last score find themselves fatally wandering the line between…
Fear (2017) – Dirk Kurbjuweit
Hitting trade paperback on Canadian book shelves this week is this engrossing thriller penned by German author Dirk Kurbjuweit. A captivating tale the novel explores themes of love, family, perceptions of masculinity, and the rule of law. The novel opens with a murder. And a confession. For months Randolph Tiefenthaler and his wife, Rebecca and…
The Mind Reels 