The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Lion King is this exceptional tale from Disney that brought a story little known to the North American world. This Disney version of an ancient Chinese folktale tells the story of a young woman, Mulan (Ming-Na Wen…
Tag: secret
Doctor Who (Matt Smith) – The Eleventh Hour, and The Beast Below
Matt Smith steps into the TARDIS this week as the new Doctor. Following our brief glimpse of him at the conclusion of The End of Time, the story picks up moments later with the blue box plummeting to Earth and into a story written by Steven Moffat. The episode first aired on 3 April, 2010,…
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) – Sergio Leone
The Great Movies – The 100 Years of Film book returns me to the western genre with this Sergio Leone epic that stars Jason Robards, Chalres Bronson, Henry Fonda and Claudia Cardinale. Playing against type, Fonda is the villain, Frank, who is working for the railroad, and trying to drive a woman, Jill McBain (Cardinale),…
The Twilight Zone (1962) – The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank, To Serve Man, and The Fugitive
It’s time to go back into The Zone with Paramount Pictures’ Complete Series on blu-ray! The first episode up this week is The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank. Written and directed by Montgomery Pittman, this tale first aired on 23 February, 1962. Jeff Myrtlebank (James Best) wakes up at his own funeral, and while the…
Ghost in the Shell (2017) – Rupert Sanders
Paramount Pictures’ live action adaptation of the classic anime, Ghost in the Shell, hits blu-ray and DVD today. I am going to eschew any discussion of the white-washing controversy surrounding the film’s production, and just focus on the movie itself. I love the original anime, and constantly saw it as kin to the cinematic version…
The Truman Show (1998) – Peter Weir
I return to the science fiction and fantasy genre in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for the last time. The final film in this chapter is the previously reviewed The Matrix, and so, moving onto the list of recommendations following that, The Truman Show is the first one listed I hadn’t…
Doctor Who (David Tennant) – Gridlock and Daleks in Manhattan
The Doctor (Tennant) and Martha (Freema Agyeman) return to New Earth (though it has changed) and get caught in traffic in Gridlock. Written by Russell T. Davies aired on 14 April, 2007. Martha is a little put out that the Time Lord brings her to one of the same places he took Rose, but before…
The Last Laugh (1924) – F.W. Murnau
I return to DK Books’ The Movie Book to explore the What Else to Watch list following their recommendation of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The silent film follows the story of a Hotel Doorman (Emil Jannings). He is a man who takes pride in his work, looks good in his uniform, and feels good…
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) – David Lean
Another recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of The Great Escape is this David Lean classic starring William Holden, Alec Guinness, and Jack Hawkins. The film walked away with seven Academy Awards, taking home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Guinness), Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography,…
The Book of the Dead (2007) – Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Pendergast is back! Picking up where the previous novel Dance of Death ended, Preston and Child plunge us back into the world of Aloysius, D’Agosta, Smithback, Kelly, Hayward, Constance and Pendergast’s villainous and genius brother, Diogenes. This novel serves as a climax of the previous two books, wrapping up the storyline of the two brothers,…
The Mind Reels 