It’s been a couple of decades since I last watched Top Secret! I remember from my time working in a video store that it was a perennial favourite of my friend Ted. And with the passing of Val Kilmer, I felt it was definitely time to take it in again. And wow, did I laugh….
Tag: german
Northern Exposure (1992) – Nothing’s Perfect, and Heroes
Chris (John Corbett) is in love, although there are complications in Nothing’s Perfect. Written by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider this episode was first broadcast on 12 October, 1992. He meets Amy (Wendel Meldrum) after he kills her dog by accident with his truck. They definitely have a passion together, and despite his allergies for…
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) – Guy Ritchie
While there isn’t much to describe in terms of character arcs, Guy Ritchie’s latest, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare has a couple of things going for it. It’s based on a recently declassified (2016) true event of World War II, it has an enjoyable cast, and it’s always fun to see Nazis get punched, and…
All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) – Edward Berger
I missed All Quiet on the Western Front when it screened at TIFF. I just couldn’t make it work with my schedule, so when it dropped on Netflix, you can be assured it went to the front of my viewing queue. Berger’s film, based on the iconic novel by Erich Maria Remarque, is a stunning…
Greyhound (2020) – Aaron Schneider
Tom Hanks not only stars in this World War II naval thriller, but he also wrote the script, using the novel The Good Shepherd by C.S. Forester to tell the tale of Captain Krause (Hanks) guiding a multi-national convoy of supplies and men across the Atlantic to England. There are fifty hours when the convoy…
The Color Out of Space (2010) – Huan Vu
H.P. Lovecraft, despite his racist tendencies that pop up in his writings, was a master of unnerving cosmic horror, and in 2010, Huan Vu adapted the classic novella, The Color Out of Space into a moody and ominous thriller. A German made film whose only problem lays in some of its special effects, but more…
The X-Files (1996) – Unruhe, and The Field Where I Died
Vince Gilligan who would go on to create Breaking Bad, penned this episode, that gets Scully (Gillian Anderson) abducted (again, number five!) and was the first episode to be broadcast on a Sunday night after the series had it’s move there from Friday nights, where it had been a staple for three years. It was…
No Deals, Mr. Bond (1987) – John Gardner
James Bond is back in this week’s book shelf, as I continue my adventures with 007, and John Gardner’s sixth novel chronicling the missions of the British secret agent. This time, Bond’s adventure takes him from England into Ireland and then to the Far East with a tension-filled ending set in China. M assigns 007…
Murderers Among Us (1946) – Wolfgang Staudte
The Directory of DK Canada’s The Movie Book continues to provide exemplary titles, despite the fact that they didn’t make the cut for the main body of the text. And Murderers Among Us is a moody, brilliant watch that reminds us of the horrors of war, humanity, and the cost of terrible events. A German…
The Lives of Others (2006) – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Sometimes I take forever to see a film. The next big title recommendation in DK Canada’s The Movie Book is the German film, The Lives of Others. I remember when this one first came out on DVD, and a few people i worked with raved about it, but I could never bring myself to take…
The Mind Reels 