Before District 9, Earth took in the Newcomers, and as they attempted to fit into our society, despite racism, prejudice, and simple confusion in customs, a pair of cops, one human, one newcomer, try to work together. This one is the next stop in the Sci-Fi Chronicles as I spend some more time with James…
Tag: script
Inglorious Basterds (2009) – Quentin Tarantino
Tarantino’s revisionist WWII film, Inglorious Basterds is the final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film following my screening of The Dam Busters. As always, his scripts and films attract some great talent, and this time around we have Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Til Schweiger , Diane Kruger, Eli Roth…
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…
The View from The Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood (2009) – Nicholas Meyer
I couldn’t believe my good fortune when I got to see Nicholas Meyer’s introduction to the Director’s Cut of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on my birthday, and then to see him the next day at one of the fascinating Trek Talks being hosted by the TIFF Bell Lightbox in celebration of the…
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) – Chris Carter
The last episode of season 9, and the presumed end of the series before its relaunch in 2016 aired on 19 May, 2002, six years later Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are put into action again, and so am I as I investigate the cinematic entries for the Sci-Fi Chronicles book….
Toronto After Dark 2016: Antibirth – Danny Perez
I was a little underwhelmed with Toronto After Dark’s screening of Afterbirth this evening at Scotiabank Theatre. I always try and find something I enjoy about all the films that screen there, and this time it was the people involved in the making of the film, both in front of and behind the camera. I…
Toronto After Dark 2016: Blood Father -Jean-Francois Richet
Action night concluded Sunday night for the Toronto After Dark film festival as Mel Gibson, previous person non grata in Hollywood, returns to form in this pulse-pounding thriller. This is not the place for me to ruminate on Mel Gibson’s career or his personal life and substance abuse, instead I want to talk about the…
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002) – George Lucas
The Star Wars films continue as I delve further into George Lucas’ films thanks to the Sci-Fi Chronicles. This time it is the second instalment in the Prequel Trilogy. And while a considerable step-up from The Phantom Menace, this one is still too clunky and too digital. Jonathan Hale helps Lucas out on the…
Casablanca (1942) – Michael Curtiz
As we move back to the Romance and Melodrama genre in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, we get to revisit one of my favourite films (many people share that opinion, and who can blame them?!) – Casablanca. It came along at just the right time, had just the right cast,…
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Part One and Two (2016) – Jack Thorne
******SPOILERS****** Ahh, it’s like coming home. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is now taking the London stage by storm! Based on a story by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, the book, published in script form, is a compilation of both shows, parts one and two are performed on opposite nights, and I…
The Mind Reels 