National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) – Jon Turteltaub

Benjamin Gates (Nicholas Cage), Abigail (Diane Kruger) and Riley (Justin Bartha) are back for a second go round, with National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Joining them this time around is a returning Jon Voight as Ben’s father, Harvey Keitel as Sadusky, and new additions the amazing Helen Mirren as Ben’s mother, Bruce Greenwood as the…

National Treasure (2004) – Jon Turteltaub

Sometimes you just want fluff. And honestly, who doesn’t like the idea of a secret history shrouded in clues and mysteries all around in the everyday, and the history of a country? Like an inoffensive version of The Da Vinci Code, the first National Treasure is a solid popcorn film, meant to entertain and not…

Saturn 3 (1980) – Stanley Donen, and John Barry

Gorgeous set and production design can’t save a film with a number of top drawer stars (Kirk Douglas, Farrah Fawcett, and Harvey Keitel) thanks to a heavily edited final cut, and flawed story. Not to mention some miniature and model work that may have worked in the 50s but looks incredibly bad in the 80s,…

Mean Streets (1973) – Martin Scorsese

Some people, when you say New York, think Woody Allen. Me, I think, Scorcese, gritty 70s images, and tough guys like Pacino, DeNiro, Keitel and Walken. The next film on the What Else to Watch list from DK Canada’s The Movie Book following its recommendation of Taxi Driver has four of those things, Scorsese, 70s,…

Thelma & Louise (1991) – Ridley Scott

My return to the Romance and Melodrama section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book brings me this Ridley Scott classic from the early nineties that pairs Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in an all-star extravaganza that details the adventures of a pair of best friends as they plan a bit of…

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…

Reservoir Dogs (1992) – Quentin Tarantino 

  The final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of Rififi is Quentin Tarantino’s first film, Reservoir Dogs. Now, it’s been a number of years since I had watched this film, but it’s always there in the back of my head about how good a film it…

Pulp Fiction (1994) – Quentin Tarantino

  Pulp Fiction, quite possibly the best film in Tarantino’s oeuvre, is the next title in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film comedy section for me to take a look at. While not necessarily a full-out comedy, it is neither a full-out drama nor thriller either. What it does have is a fantastic…

From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series

When I first saw this title pop up in my Netflix queue, I was a little dubious, how could a genre-bending Rodriguez/Tarantino film that ran shorter than two hours be expanded out into a 10 episode series, and would it be a stand alone season, or the beginning of all new adventures for the Gecko…