Whether Canadian film-makers Rob Grant and Mike Kovac movie is fact or fiction isn’t the point of their latest cinematic effort. What is important is the film’s subject matter, and the commentary it makes on film, violence in cinema and the responsibility of the film-makers. Opening Friday at the Carlton here in Toronto, Fake Blood,…
Tag: john
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,…
American Graffiti (1973) – George Lucas
George Lucas’ nostalgic American Graffiti is the next stop on the list of recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Jailhouse Rock. While not a musical in the technical sense of breaking into song and dance, the music and the voice of deejay Wolfman Jack play an…
A Hard Day’s Night (1964) – Richard Lester
Before Richard Lester ruined the Superman franchise he brought one of the best and most enduring music groups to the screen not once, but twice. His first entry the mockumentary A Hard Day’s Night is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Jailhouse Rock. Re-watching this…
Quantum Leap (1992/1993) – Promised Land and A Tale of Two Sweeties
Sam (Scott Bakula) finds himself back in Elk Ridge, Indiana, his home town on 22 December, 1971. Directed by Bakula, this episode was penned by Tommy Thompson and Gillian Hovarth, and aired on 15 December,1992. Sam leaps into Willie Walters, jr. who is in the process of robbing the local bank with his brothers Neil…
Quantum Leap (1992) – Killin’ Time and Star Light, Star Bright
Sam (Scott Bakula) is in for an interesting ride this week in Killin’ Time. Written by Tommy Thompson with an original airdate of 20 October, 1992, Sam finds himself in the person of Leon Styles, a violent escaped convict on 18 June, 1958. He’s troubled by the fact that Al (Dean Stockwell) hasn’t shown up…
Quantum Leap (1990) – M.I.A. and The Leap Home: Part 1
Season 2 comes to a poignant end this week, with one of the most important stories in the Quantum Leap universe. M.I.A. was written by Bellisario and aired 9 May, 1990. Al (Dean Stockwell) isn’t telling Sam (Scott Bakula) why he’s really leaped into the body of undercover police officer Jake Rawlins on 1 April,…
Dead Calm (1989) – Phillip Noyce
Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane take us on a high seas thrill ride filled with suspense in Phillip Noyce’s Dead Calm, the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. Clocking in at a tightly paced 93 minutes, this thriller captivates with a well-scripted story, and strong performances….
Batman: The Animated Series (1993) – The Man Who Killed Batman, Zatanna, and Robin’s Reckoning: Part I
Is it possible the Batman (Kevin Conroy) is dead? That’s what someone is saying in The Man Who Killed Batman. The story aired on 1 February, 1993, and followed a panicked small time hood, Sidney (Matt Frewer) who believes he has killed the Dark Knight, admittedly by accident, in a fiery explosion. A number…
The Night of the Hunter (1955) – Charles Laughton
The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book brings me back to the Thriller genre, with this classic starring Robert Mitchum as twisted evangelist Harry Powell, a man not afraid to commit evil in the name of the lord. He has just served time for a car theft, and had met a prisoner,…
The Mind Reels 