The Proposition (2005) -John Hillcoat

  The next recommendation following my screening of Night of the Hunter for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book is this Australian western that sees a lawman, Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone) apprehend notorious outlaw Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) and offers him a deal, he has nine days to track down and kill…

Planet of the Apes (2001) – Tim Burton

  It’s time for a different vision of Planet of the Apes, as I continue my exploration of the series as I delve into the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. This time around, Tim Burton directs an all-star cast including Tim Roth, Helena Bonham-Carter, Mark Wahlberg, Kris Kristofferson, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, David Warner and Estella…

The Jungle Book (2016) – Jon Favreau

  Opening this weekend is Disney’s update of their classic film, which lifts moments and characters from both their original 1967 film, and the source material as penned by Rudyard Kipling. Favreau’s camera moves throughout the jungle, never ceasing for a moment, as we enter a photo-real jungle, filled with the most photo-real computer generated…

Midnight Special (2016) – Jeff Nichols

  Owing its pedigree to films of the 80s like John Carpenter’s Starman and Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Nichols writes and directs this science fiction road movie that is best viewed with little to no plot knowledge. So suffice to say, I won’t be saying much about story points in my review….

Spider-Man 3 (2007) – Sam Raimi

  My web-slinging adventures continue with my screening of Spider-Man 3 for the Sc-Fi Chronicles, and this is a bit of a mixed bag, as instead of trusting to the director who brought them two very successful pictures, the studio wanted to shoehorn in a fan favorite character, Venom (Topher Grace) instead of letting Spidey…

Doctor Zhivago (1965) – David Lean

  One of the recommendations from my viewing of Gone With The Wind, as I make my way through the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book is up for viewing today, David Lean’s Russian revolution epic, Doctor Zhivago; and I enjoyed this one so much more than Wind right from the off. The…

Solaris (2002) – Steven Soderbergh

  My journey with the very enjoyable, and informative, Sci-Fi Chronicles book continue with this tale of exploration into the soul, heart and depth of emotions… George Clooney heads into deep space under the guidance of director by Steven Soderbergh and producer James Cameron as they take on Stanislaw Lem’s classic science fiction novel that…

Stargate (1994) – Roland Emmerich

  The adventures continue with the Sci-Fi Chronicles book, as I kcik back and enjoy Kurt Russell and James Spader in this science fiction actioner that seems to be heavily influenced by Chariots of the Gods, and wonderfully marries Egyptian mythology, with action, and space opera. Long before the successful television series, Colonel Jack O’Neil…

Gone With The Wind (1939) -Victor Fleming, George Cukor and Sam Wood

  A gorgeous score by Max Steiner welcomes me to this towering four hour epic based on Margaret Mitchell’s classic (albeit incredibly racist) tale of the south. This was one I had never seen, but as I dove back into the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, specifically the romance and melodrama section,…

Waterworld (1995) – Kevin Reynolds

  The Sci-Fi Chronicles book lets me check in with one of my favorite writers again, as I dive into some work by Joss Whedon, and despite the fact that he isn’t credited on the film, the script is attributed to Peter Rader and David Twohy, Whedon punched it up a bit when he was working as…