The epic mini-series adaptation of James Clavell’s novel (he also served as one of the show’s producers), Shogun continues this week, as I dive into disc two, which includes episode two and parts of episode three which originally aired on the 16th and 17th September, 1980, following the airing of the three hour premiere on…
Tag: novel
Live and Let Die (1954) – Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming’s second James Bond book finds its way to my book shelf this week as I delve into the character’s literary history as well as all the 007 films I haven’t covered for the blog. It’s an enjoyable novel, although it is steeped in way too much racist language and descriptions as Bond goes…
Hannibal (2001) – Ridley Scott
Anthony Hopkins returns to his iconic role of the cannibalistic doctor, Hannibal Lector in the sequel to the brilliant The Silence of the Lambs. This film shows up in Ten Bad Dates with De Niro on a list of films that it is painful to like. Jodie Foster and director Jonathan Demme elected not to…
Shogun (1980) – Disc 1
Ah the late 70s and early 80s, the age of the television mini-series, an almost forgotten television event, though slowly being rediscovered by the advent of the limited series. It’s slightly different of course, because back then, there were only a few channels available, making a mini-series an event over consecutive nights. Shogun was based…
Casino Royale (1953) – Ian Fleming
Some twenty years ago, my sister gifted me with six of Ian Fleming’s original James Bond adventures. First printings from the Macmillan Company, these wonderful little hardcovers were in great condition but sans books jackets. I hadn’t read any of the Fleming Bonds since my early teens, when I was in the midst of discovering…
The Hunt For Red October – 30th Anniversary Edition
Somehow the film adaptation of Tom Clancy’s The Hunt For Red October is thirty years old and has garnered an anniversary Blu-ray 4K release from Paramount Pictures. That number just seems off, because thirty years seems like a fairly long time ago, and that doesn’t seem right. The original novel came out in 1984, and…
The Red House (1947) – Delmer Daves
I dug into another of the trauma inducing titles from the Ten Bad Dates With De Niro movie book, and this one is pretty dark, filled with intimations that can be drawn out as you observe the action, and the undertones at work in this film. Edward G. Robinson headlines this back country melodrama that…
Star Trek: Double, Double (1989) – Michael Jan Friedman
Space, the final frontier… My ongoing voyages with the starship Enterprise continue this week with the next non-canon novel in the Pocket Books series. Set during the original five year mission, this novel is set a few months after the events of The Original Series episode “What Little Girls Are Made Of?” Captain James T….
Doctor Sleep (2019) – Blu-Ray Review
Mike Flanagan has been a name to watch since he appeared on the scene, and he’s become a huge hero to genre fans for his concentration on character and story as much as scares when it comes to horror films. And with Warner Brothers release of Doctor Sleep (available on blu and DVD today), he…
The Good Liar (2019) – Blu-Ray Review
Watching Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen dance and weave around one another in The Good Liar, was, for me, a cinematic joy. These two actors share the screen together for the first time, and Warner Brothers brings it home on blu-ray for you today. McKellen plays Roy, a conman who seems to have no scruples…
The Mind Reels 