The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book returns me to the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre, and this time, it’s to plunge me into this wonderfully imagined fairy tale. Long before Disney retold the story, first in animated format, then a stage musical, and then in a live action film, French director Cocteau…
Tag: production design
Men in Black II (2002) -Barry Sonnenfeld
Jay (Will Smith) is back as I check in with the Men in Black for this sequel as I continue my time with the Sci-Fi Chronicles. When Earth is menaced by Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle) Jay has to pull Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) out of retirement, even though he has no memory of his work…
The Shannara Chronicles: Season 1
Fantasy television series always have a hard time proving themselves on television. For every Game of Thrones or Xena: Warrior Princess, there’s a Wizards and Warriors or Covington Cross. While television viewers are happy to welcome superheroes and aliens into their living rooms on weekly basis, elves, dwarves and trolls have had a tougher time…
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005) -Garth Jennings
Grab your towel and Don’t Panic! Douglas Adam’s classic tale gets a big screen adaptation, of his book/screenplay, which had previously been so well used by the BBC as a miniseries, and before that a radio programme. There are things that work in this version, and things that don’t, but the effort is there to…
Doctor Strange (2016) – Scott Derrickson
Benedict Cumberbatch settles rather nicely into the Marvel universe, as he dons the cloak and mantle of the MCU’s (Marvel Cinematic Universe) latest superhero. Doctor Strange. Easing into an American accent, as easily as he does Strange’s costume, Cumberbatch fits the role perfectly, bringing to life the doctor’s arrogance, ego, and eventually his humbled, giving…
Black Moon Rising (1986) – Harley Cokeliss
My time with John Carpenter continues as I delve further into the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. This time around it’s an action thriller that Carpenter penned and sees Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Hamilton and Robert Vaughn caught up in the action. Jones is Quint, a professional thief, who is hired by the FBI to gather evidence…
Hell or High Water (2016) – David Mackenzie
Director David Mackenzie and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan (Sicario) update the western for the modern age, while tweaking and twisting it into this crime drama. Tanner (Ben Foster) and Toby (Chris Pine) are brothers. Tanner is a career criminal, and Toby, like those in his family before him, is dirt poor. Like so many places…
Minority Report (2002) – Steven Spielberg
Tom Cruise takes center stage in the next Sci-Fi Chronicles film as I continue reviewing Spielberg science fiction titles that I haven’t covered for the blog yet. Based loosely on the short story by Philip K. Dick, the film follows John Anderton (Cruise) the chief of the Pre-Crime Unit in the year 2054. Using…
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…
Stranger Things (2016) – Season 1
Picture a Stephen King novel directed by Steven Spielberg, with a score by John Carpenter, and a beautifully balanced touch of nostalgia and you have the wondrous, scary, funny, and exciting ride that is Netflix’s latest winner, Stranger Things. Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, the series is set in Indiana in the year,…
