Alien Vault: The Definitive Story Behind the Film (2011) – Ian Nathan

I remember the summer that Alien opened, 1979, two years after Star Wars rocked the world. The Force stayed with me all through my childhood, and through to this very day. But Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, and a little magazine called Starlog, got me very interested in genre film and television. I wasn’t…

City of God (2002) – Fernando Meirelles & Katia Lund

City of God, based on a true story is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Taxi Driver. Brutally violent, jarring in its depictions, and beautifully made the film is a one of a kind experience that takes us into the slums just outside of…

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993) – Frame of Mind, and Suspicions

Captain’s log: stardate 46778.1 Frame of Mind is a Brannon Braga scripted tale that first aired on 3 May, 1993, and is a Riker (Jonathan Frakes) centred story. The Enterprise’s First Officer is afraid he is losing his mind, as he seems to be slipping between realities – he is by turns aboard the Federation…

Fake Blood (2017) – Rob Grant

Whether Canadian film-makers Rob Grant and Mike Kovac movie is fact or fiction isn’t the point of their latest cinematic effort. What is important is the film’s subject matter, and the commentary it makes on film, violence in cinema and the responsibility of the film-makers. Opening Friday at the Carlton here in Toronto, Fake Blood,…

The Daylight War (2013) – Peter V. Brett

Digging into the third book of The Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett has been long overdue, but it was very much worth the wait. After the climactic conclusion of the previous instalment, not to mention some of the revelations, the characters are left in some strange places. The novel picks up shortly after the…

Dunkirk (2017) – Christopher Nolan

When I saw Dunkirk in IMAX this summer, I came out of the theatre with a one word review, “Wow.” Now Christopher Nolan’s brilliant retelling of the British evacuation from Dunkirk comes home on blu-ray and DVD thanks to Warner Brothers. Running at a taut hour and forty five minutes (Nolan’s shortest film since Following),…

Unforgiven (1992) – Clint Eastwood

The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Wild Bunch, is my all-time favourite western, Eastwood’s multi-Oscar winning film (Best Director, Best Picture, Best Editing, and Best Supporting Actor for Gene Hackman). An ageing gunfighter, William Munny (Eastwood) wants to tend to his tiny parcel…

Doctor Who (Matt Smith) – Amy’s Choice, and The Hungry Earth

Reality begins to mess with the Doctor (Smith), Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) when we join them in the TARDIS for Amy’s Choice. Written by Simon Nye this unique episode first aired on 15 May, 2010 and introduced us to the Dream Lord (Toby Jones). As they bounce between realities, our heroes must…