Vertigo (1958) – Alfred Hitchcock

Perhaps one of Hitchcock’s best films, Vertigo, is next on the list of recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. With the combined star power of James Stewart and Kim Novak, this romantic thriller defines obsession as well as fear. Stewart is John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson a San Francisco police detective on…

From Here to Eternity (1953) – Fred Zinnemann

  An all star cast brings James Jones sprawling book to the big screen, and is my next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my revisit with Casablanca for the Romance and Melodrama genre. Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine, Claude Akins and Jack Warden bring…

Brief Encounter (1945) – David Lean

  I dive into the recommendations for the Romance and Melodrama genre following my screening of Casablanca for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book and first up is the David Lean film, based on the play by Noel Coward, Brief Encounter. Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard star as Laura Jesson and Dr….

Casablanca (1942) – Michael Curtiz

  As we move back to the Romance and Melodrama genre in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, we get to revisit one of my favourite films (many people share that opinion, and who can blame them?!) – Casablanca. It came along at just the right time, had just the right cast,…

Quantum Leap (1989) – Jimmy and So Help Me God

  Sometimes it’s the simplest stories that work the best, and are the most poignant, the first episode up this week, Jimmy, is just that.Penned by Paul M. Belous and Robert Wolterstorff, the episode aired 22 November, 1989, it sees Sam (Scott Bakula) leaping into an intellectually challenged man, Jimmy, on 14 October, 1964. He…

The Passage (2010) – Justin Cronin

  Epic, majestic, terrifying and engrossing. And heartfelt thanks to Amanda for pushing it in my direction! These words perfectly define The Passage by Justin Cronin. A massive novel, coming in at 879 pages in paperback, the tale it unfolds is massive, engaging, and is almost mythic in nature. With a vast cast of characters,…

Morning Star (2016) – Pierce Brown

  Pierce Brown’s epic science fiction trilogy comes to an explosive, and emotionally satisfying conclusion with Morning Star, this week’s title on The Book Shelf. After the stunning cliffhanger of Golden Son, I was left to wonder what Brown would do to finish off the story, and what would the cost be to characters I’ve…

The Crowd (1928) – King Vidor

  The first recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of American Beauty, takes me all the way back to 1928, to this silent film, that follows the tale of Mary (Eleanor Boardman) and John Sims (James Murray), as they struggle to survive and thrive, pursuing their hopes, as…

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) – Steven Spielberg

  The Sci-Fi Chronicles brings me another Spielberg film to cover that I previously hadn’t for the blog. A.I. This one proved to be a very divisive film for a lot of viewers, originally planned to be a Stanley Kubrick film a lot of film fans believe that Spielberg over-sentimentalizes it and makes it a…

A Boy and His Dog (1975) – L.Q. Jones

  Harlan Ellison’s classic novella comes to life in this adaptation that is my next stop on the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. Vic (a very young Don Johnson) is wandering the post-apocalyptic world, accompanied by his dog, Blood (voiced by Tim McIntire), with whom he can communicate telepathically. Together they navigate the barbarity, the cruelty and…