Using Welsh myth and legend as a basis, Lloyd Alexander wrote a series of novels under the umbrella heading, The Chronicles of Prydain. Aimed at younger readers, this was a collection of stories that were never really on my radar as a kid. By the point I was of an age to think about reading…
Tag: love
Urban Cowboy (1980) 40th Anniversary Edition – Blu-Ray Review
John Travolta was a hot commodity in the late 70s, and early 80s. He had a hit sitcom in Welcome Back, Kotter, had starred in two box office hits, Grease, and Saturday Night Fever, and he and director James Bridges sought to personalise the story of the modern cowboy with Urban Cowboy which sees its…
Licence to Kill (1989) – John Glen
Timothy Dalton’s second and sadly final outing as James Bond is this week’s 007 feature to buddy up with the Bond Book Shelf. This one came along at an important point in my life. It was my last few weeks in Bermuda, I was in love for the first time with my first girlfriend (Tracey)…
From Russia With Love (1957) – Ian Fleming
This week I dove into Ian Fleming’s fifth James Bond novel, and the one that was most closely adapted for the big screen, though SPECTRE is slipped into the film version, whereas in this tale it is simply east versus west as SMERSH, the Russian spy organisation comes up with a plan to humiliate the…
Bride of the Gorilla (1951) – Curt Siodmak
DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies continues allows me to continue my journey through the jungle of monstrous apes, and this time brings me a couple of familiar faces in a very familiar story. Raymond Burr and Lon Chaney Jr. star in this film that sees Burr playing Barney Chavez, a plantation manager deep in…
Robot Monster (1953) – Phil Tucker
DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book, by director John Landis brings me a 50s title that is so bad, it’s come around to good, passed that and slapped it for being out too late and travelled back to bad again. It’s also become iconic, in that the monstrous ape, the chapter I am currently…
Whale Rider (2002) – Niki Caro
The beautifully crafted film, Whale Rider, adapted for the screen and directed by Niki Caro from the book by Witi Ihimaera is the next title up in Ten Bad Dates With De Niro, as I work through a list of titles that will make you cry. Set amongst the Maori people in Whangara, New Zealand,…
Road to Bali (1952) – Hal Walker
The comedic entries continue in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book as I delve into one of the iconic Road movies of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, co-starring Dorothy Lamour. When George (Crosby) and Harold (Hope) end up unemployed in their chosen art, show-biz, (because of some fraternisation with a couple of local sheilas)…
The Day of the Dolphin (1973) – Mike Nichols
The next title to be featured on the list of ten films that made me cry from the Ten Bad Dates With De Niro book is this Mike Nichols film from the early seventies. I won’t say that it made me cry by the ending was sad, poignant and necessary. George C. Scott headlines as…
Shogun (1980) – Disc 3
I dive into disc three of the DVD release of Shogun this week which marries the conclusion of the third episode, originally broadcast on 17 September, 1980, and the fourth episode, which aired on 18 September, 1980. James Clavell’s novel, adapted by Eric Bercovici continues to explore feudal Japan through the transplanted Blackthorne (Richard Chamberlain)…
The Mind Reels 