Walking away with the Academy Awards for Best Picture (controversially – as Brokeback Mountain was the presumptive winner), Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing, writer/director Paul Haggis’ tale of a cross-section of denizens of Los Angeles, tied together by race, loss and redemption come together in Crash, my next recommendation from the Great Movies…
Tag: Race
Doctor Who (Peter Davison) – Enlightment
We come to the conclusion of the Black Guardian Trilogy this week as the 20th season continues. This four part story was written by Barbara Clegg and aired from 1 to 9 March, 1983. Turlough (Mark Strickson) comes to a choice as the TARDIS finds itself involved, peripherally, in a race around the planets,…
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) – J. Lee Thompson
The Sci-Fi Chronicles takes me back to the Planet of the Apes series again, as we take on the third sequel, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. Set in the near future, the far distant year of 1991, the plague spoken of in the last film has struck, wiping out household pets, and…
District 9 (2009) – Neill Blomkamp
So the Neill Blomkamp is next up in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book (I am loving this thing) with his first feature film, District 9, that was produced by Peter Jackson. As a commentary on race, apartheid, and just how badly we as a species can exploit and hurt others, District 9 may be more…
The Greatest American Hero (1983) – Desperado and Vanity, Says the Preacher
And just like that we’re on to the last two episodes of the series, this one went by quick. And you can very much tell that by the beginning of the third season, the creative team behind the show was being forced to meet the studios demands far too often, causing the stories t…
Magnum, p.i. (1983) – Letter to a Duchess and Squeeze Play
Higgins (John Hillerman) and Thomas (Tom Selleck) find themselves at odds in the first episode this week, Letter to a Duchess. This episode originally aired 10 November, 1983, and was penned by Robert Hamilton. As Thomas prepares for the annual surfski race, hoping to place better than his position of 62 last year, which…
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) – Monte Hellman
The next road movie I take on for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book’s recommendation following Easy Rider is this flick that stars James Taylor (yes that James Taylor) as The Driver. The Driver, and his pal, The Mechanic (Dennis Wilson), work together, with as little dialogue as possible, as they…
Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines (1965) – Ken Annakin
The comedic slapstick romp recommendations from Great Movies – 100 Years of Film for Le Vacances de Mounsieur Hulot continue with this enjoyable look at aviation in the grand old year of 1910. An opening sequence with a journey through time features the comedic legend Red Skelton, and from there we join Richard Mays…
Death Race 2000 (1975) – Paul Bartel
The 101 Action Movies brings a Roger Corman produced classic for viewing, which pits David Carradine against a new comer named Sylvester Stallone. In a world where Mr. President (Sandy McCallum) has been in power for a while, after a devastating war with the French, in order to prove their virility, and their love…
Hot Docs: Valentine Road – Marta Cunningham
This is another one of those cases where I wish I was a better writer, because nothing I can come up with could possibly cover the gamut of emotions and questions and reactions to this amazing documentary. It’s something I feel everyone should see, and talk about, and then see again. I started my…
The Mind Reels 