Sylvester Stallone’s third outing as Vietnam vet John Rambo came racing on the heels of the second film. Watching it now, it’s interesting to see how the political times have changed, as Rambo’s adventure takes him to Afghanistan this time. Living in the Far East, Rambo is found by his old CO, Trautman (Richard Crenna)…
Tag: screenplay
Alien 3: The Unproduced First-Draft Screenplay by William Gibson (2021) – Pat Cadigan
Author Pat Cadigan takes William Gibson’s original script for Alien 3 and transforms it into a white knuckle thriller ride of a novel that gives us a glimpse at what could have been in the Alien film series. Fans know the convoluted story of how Alien 3 came to the screen, and that were countless…
A Few Good Men (1992) – Rob Reiner
Aaron Sorkin pens the screenplay for Rob Reiner’s A Few Good Men from his stageplay of the same name, and like the best of Sorkin’s writing, the film draws an amazing wealth of talent. When a Marine dies during an off the book disciplinary action while serving at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the JAG corp…
Licence to Kill (1989) – John Gardner
James Bond returns this week in John Gardner’s adaptation of the 1989 film, Licence to Kill. This is probably the most disjointed of his novels as he tries to marry his version of the literary 007 to the big screen version, and it doesn’t always work. In fact, throughout the book Bond thinks he must…
Dances with Wolves (1990) – Kevin Costner
It’s been a long time since I watched Dances With Wolves, it definitely hasn’t happened since the turn of the century. But I remember when this one came out. Actually I remember before that, because I read the original novel by Micheal Blake (who wrote the screenplay) as well. There was just something about this…
James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) – Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood who penned the screenplay for Roger Moore’s The Spy Who Loved Me, also took it upon himself to write the novelisation, with the expanded title, ‘James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me’ in order not to be confused with the original Ian Fleming title. The adaptation is a curious blend of the Bonds…
Thunderball (1961) – Ian Fleming
The ninth book, and eighth full novel,in Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 series is up this week. And this one is a bit of a special case. It was originally concocted as a screenplay, and early editions gave sole credit to Fleming, whereas future editions, much like the film(s) that would later be developed from…
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1992) – J.M. Dillard
This week’s Trek novel is the film adaptation of the last big screen voyage of the crew of The Original Series, J.M. Dillard adapts the screenplay and fills it out with some additional character building scenes which add some nice depth to the events that unfold. Captain James T. Kirk and the majority of his…
On Golden Pond (1981) – Mark Rydell
The next title up in the Ten Bad Dates with De Niro book, under the category of movies not to watch while you are medicated, is this classic Oscar-nominated film starring Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, and Jane Fonda. The film, based on the play by Ernest Thompson, who also wrote the screenplay, follows Norman (Henry…
Beowulf (2007) – Robert Zemeckis
I’m enjoying exploring DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book, and the current chapter on Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales is bringing me all manner of film to partake in. Today, it brings me Robert Zemeckis’ take on the epic poem Beowulf. Always a technically inovative director, Zemeckis decided to make the film with computer…
The Mind Reels 