James Bond is back… On the book shelf. This week, I dig into the third of Ian Fleming’s novels about secret agent 007, license to kill and reveled in the rapid fire pace of the story while being surprised at how confined the story is, while still allowing the plan at the heart of the…
Tag: reveal
A Beautiful Mind (2001) – Ron Howard
The four time Oscar winning film, A Beautiful Mind, is the next film mentioned on the Ten Films It’s Painful To Like in Ten Bad Dates With De Niro. Now, with five Oscars under its belt, it can’t be that painful to like, yes it rather simplifies mental illness, but conveys it wonderfully on screen. It…
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2012) – A War On Two Fronts, Front Runners, and The Soft War
“Fear is a malleable weapon.” Season Five of The Clone Wars got underway with Revival, which actually comes later in the chronology, so first up for us is A War on Two Fronts. Written by Chris Collins, this episode launched on 6 October, 2012. Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor), Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter), Ahsoka Tano…
Star Trek: Enterprise (2002) – Minefield, and Dead Stop
Captain’s log: date unknown John Shiban pens this episode that first debuted on 2 October, 2002. The Enterprise triggers a cloaked mine, planted by Romulans, and it’s up to Reed (Dominic Keating) to work another one free of the hull plating. The explosion causes a number of injuries, and it all seems a bit of…
The Chimp (1932) – James Parrott
Dk Canada’s oh so enjoyable Monsters in the Movies dabbles with a bit of comedy as I delve deeper into the chapter on Monstrous Apes. For today’s entry I got to enjoy some comedic gold from Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as they take some work in a circus and find themselves babysitting Ethel the…
Star Trek: Enterprise (2002) – Acquisition, and Oasis
Captain’s log: date unknown Long before their culture popped up in the 24th century, and apparently giving the 23rd century a complete miss, at least as far as the United Federation of Planets was concerned, the Ferengi showed up in 2151, and attempt to loot the Enterprise. Written by Maria and Andre Jacquemetton from a…
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2011) – Carnage of Krell, Kidnapped, and Slaves of the Republic
“Our actions define our legacy.” The story arc of Jedi Master Krell (Dave Dennoy) comes to a conclusion this week with this episode penned by Matt Michnovetz. It originally aired on 18 November, 2011. Captain Rex (Dee Bradley Baker) and the rest of the 501st are shocked at Krell’s orders to execute Fives (Baker) and…
Chasm City (2001) – Alastair Reynolds
Alastair Reynolds next science fiction novel, Chasm City, takes place in the same universe as Revelation Space but is not a sequel, instead we are given a future noir tale of revenge, and the human ability to commit good and horrible acts, redemption, and discovery. We visit a couple of planets that were mentioned in…
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2011) – Ghosts of Mortis, The Citadel, and Counter Attack
“He who seeks to control fate shall never find peace.” Christian Taylor pens this episode that continues the Mortis story arc, that finds Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor), Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) and Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) still trapped on the strange planet, with a family of powerful Force users. This episode first aired on…
Joker (2019) – Blu-Ray Review
One of the most talked about films of last year hits blu-ray today from Warner Brothers, and it’s going to be as divisive at home as it was in the theatre. However you feel about it, you definitely realise that Joaquin Phoenix turns in a stellar performance. From the old-school 70s Warner Brothers introduction to…
Star Trek: Voyager (2000) – Drive, and Repression
Captain’s log: stardate 54058.6 Micheal Taylor pens this episode that first screened on 18 October, 2000. Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill), after getting the okay from Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) enters the new Delta Flyer in a lightspeed race, a friendly competition held by four species who were originally at war. The event is being held…
Origin (2017) – Dan Brown
It’s been a while since I dove into a Dan Brown book. I do enjoy his Robert Langdon adventures, and I love how he takes elements from the real world, be it organizations, technology, art, architecture, religion, science and marry them into engaging popcorn thrill ride narratives. Origin is no different, but also includes a…
