Family Ties (1983) – Sherry Baby, The Fugitive Part 1, and Part 2

Mallory (Justine Bateman) and Alex (Micheal J. Fox) find themselves manipulated and used in Sherry Baby. Written by Barbara Hall, it first aired on 12 January, 1983. Mallory is intent on getting into a sorority and her classmate, Sherry (Lisa Lucas) may be the key. But Sherry has her eye on Alex. So Mallory attempts…

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) – Jon Watts

Tom Holland returns for a third outing as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in what is arguably the best of the Marvel movies. A film that delivers emotional payoffs and character arcs from not only the previous films in this iteration of Spidey, but the two other big-budget live-action. series helmed by Sony before this. Picking up right…

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) – Jon Watts

If Homecoming was a celebration welcoming viewers back to the world of Spider-Man, Far From Home is a journey of discovery for Peter/Spider-Man (Tom Holland giving another stellar portrayal of the beloved character) as he confronts the expectations the world has for him as well as his own. So better way to find yourself than…

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) – Jon Watts

Tom Holland’s appearance as Spider-Man in the MCU entry Captain America: Civil War introduced the new webhead to millions of immediate fans. Combining a youthful exuberance, and actual nerd cred, Holland’s Peter Parker rings true to the comics, even as this incarnation introduces unique spins on familiar characters like Aunt May played this time around…

The Russia House (1990) – Fred Schepisi

Sean Connery, Michelle Pfeiffer, Roy Scheider, James Fox, John Mahoney, and J.T. Walsh star in the cinematic adaptation of John Le Carre’s novel, The Russia House. Written for the screen by Tom Stoppard, the film was the first, big Western film to be shot on location in the Soviet Union. Featuring a gorgeous score by…

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) – Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson transposes his quirky family dramas and characters, and that wonderful eye for details into an undersea adventure that pays homage to, and pokes fun at, the ocean adventure films that rose to popularity with the works of Jacques Cousteau. Bill Murray stars as the titular Steve Zissou, a Cousteau wannabe who, aboard his…

Chuck (2008) – Versus the DeLorean, and Versus Santa Claus

Matthew Miller gives us our first Chuck (Zachary Levi) episode this week, Chuck Versus the DeLorean, which originally aired on 8 December, 2008. Sarah’s (Yvonne Strahovski) con artist father, Jack Burton (Gary Cole) – another Big Trouble in Little China reference – rolls into town, in the midst of a long con on a sheik…

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones (1992/1993) – Demons of Deception

The Great War still rages around young Indiana Jones (Sean Patrick Flanery) serving in the Belgian army as Henri Defense, and this film, cobbled together from two episodes first debuted on 31 October, 1999. Verdun, September 1916 Written by Jonathan Hensleigh, from a story by series creator George Lucas, this portion of the film originally…

Pal Joey (1957) – George Sidney

  Frank Sinatra seems to be playing a version of Frank Sinatra in this highly enjoyable musical that is the next recommendation from my screening of The Jazz Singer for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. Filled with great tunes, almost every single one of them I knew (included one I sang…

Blonde Venus (1932) – Josef von Sternberg

  von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich team-up for another film from the list of titles to watch in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Blue Angel. This time around Dietrich plays Helen Faraday, a young woman, who wooed by a man, Ned (Herbert Marshall) on a walking trip…