The Twilight Zone (1961) – The Arrival, The Shelter and The Passerby

The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series from Paramount Pictures takes me further this week, as we move deeper into Season 3. First up is The Arrival, penned by series creator, Rod Serling,  this episode had its debut on 22 September, 1961. Grant Sheckly (Harold J. Stone) is an aviation investigator, but even he’s not sure…

A Corner in Wheat (1909) – D.W. Griffith

As I continue digging further into DK Book’s The Movie Book, I move onto the work of D.W. Griffith. I had previously reviewed his epic film, Intolerance, and have moved onto his key works. Listed first is A Corner in Wheat, a short from 1909. This film is as stunningly relevant today as it was…

Donnie Darko (2001) – Richard Kelly

The final recommendation from this visit to the Family genre in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book is Kelly’s cult film Donnie Darko. While not necessarily suitable for younger viewers, it does involve family and a young troubled boy. This one was one of those films that while I was in the…

Arrival (2016) – Denis Villeneuve

First contact. The interpretation of words. How we communicate both person to person, and mass media. The very perception of our existence. These are all at work in Canadian director Villeneuve’s latest film. A hard science fiction tale that eschews lasers and space battles for deeper concepts like the way we interact and understand one…

Do the Right Thing (1989) – Spike Lee

  Writer/director Spike Lee’s powerful drama is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of American Beauty. A powerhouse cast brings a multi-cultural street in Brooklyn to life on the hottest day of the year, as the heat builds so does the tension as hate, racism…

The Trap (2015) – Melanie Raabe

  There is an immediacy to Melanie Raabe’s debut novel, The Trap, which sees its English release this week, via House of Anansi Press here in Toronto. Translated from German the captivating tale draws the reader into the world that she has created, much as her character, author Linda Conrads, is drawn into the situations…