Cape Fear (1962) – J. Lee Thompson

The classic Robert Mitchum/Gregory Peck thriller is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Point Blank. I’m ashamed to admit I had never seen the original before now, I’d seen the remake with Nolte and De Niro, but not this one. So going in, I…

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) – Encounter at Farpoint

Captain’s log: stardate 41153.7 Set decades (78 years altogether) after the events of Kirk and company, Star Trek: The Next Generation first aired on 28 September, 1987. Launching us into the 24th century, a script by series creator Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana introduced us to an all new U.S.S. Enterprise, a Galaxy-class starship, and…

The Untouchables (1987) – Brian De Palma

Brian De Palma directs from a David Mamet script which helped win Sean Connery an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The Untouchables starring Kevin Costner and Robert De Niro is the next stop in What Else to Watch following my screening of Battleship Potemkin in The Movie Book from DK Canada. This was my first…

Alexander Nevsky (1938) – Sergei M. Eisenstein and Dmitriy Vasilev

DK Book’s The Movie Book suggested one more Key Film for Sergei Eisenstein following my screening of Battleship Potemkin; the classic Russian film Alexander Nevsky. Starring Nikolay Cherkasov in the titular role, the film is incredibly engaging, and well-produced, and if nothing else you can tell that the composer Sergei Prokofiev’s score influenced such composers…

Home Alone (1990 ) – Chris Columbus

I return to the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book and venture back into the family genre. And despite the fact that it’s May, it’s apparently time for a Christmas movie. I’m a little bit divided on this one. It has so much working for it. It’s written and produced by John Hughes,…

Alien: Covenant (2017) – Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott returns to the science fiction genre again and retreads things that have gone before in Alien: Covenant. The latest film in the seemingly indefatigable series connects the previous film, the divisive Prometheus with the first film in the series, 1979 Alien, both directed by Scott. And while I didn’t hate it, the film…

The Great Escape (1963) – John Sturges

The next stop in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book sees me back in the war genre, watching one of my all-time favourite WWII films, The Great Escape. Based loosely on actual events there is a lot to love in this film, not only in the movie itself, but for the nostalgia…

The Sand Pebbles (1966) – Robert Wise

Robert Wise directs Steve McQueen, Mako, Candice Bergen, Richard Attenborough, James Hong, and Richard Crenna in this adaptation of Richard McKenna’s novel, and my next port of call in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Lawrence of Arabia. McQueen is Jake Holman who has just been assigned to…

Star Trek: The Original Series (1967) – The Deadly Years and Obsession

Captain’s log: stardate 3478.2 The Deadly Years soared onto screens on 8 December, 1967, with a script by David P. Harmon. Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Scotty (James Doohan), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Galway (Beverly Washburn) beam down to Gamma Hydra IV. Once there they discover that the entire outpost is…