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),…
Tag: secret
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 Twilight Zone (1960) – The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, A World of Difference and Long Live Walter Jameson
This week’s journey into the dark reaches of the psyche as I continue my travels with Paramount Pictures through the Twilight Zone starts with one of the series iconic episodes – The Monsters are Due on Maple Street. Rod Serling penned this episode that had an original airdate of 4 March, 1960. Disaster is about…
Whistle Down the Wind (1961) – Bryan Forbes
As I return to the Family Genre in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, I come across a number of recommendations from a screening for E.T. which I’ve previously covered Whistle Down the Wind is a British film that focuses on a group of young children, including Charles (Alan Barnes), Nan (Diane…
The Mind Reels 