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…
Tag: secret
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…
Doctor Who (Colin Baker) – The Mysterious Planet
Season 23 gets underway this week with the season long story, Trial of a Time Lord. The first instalment, The Mysterious Planet, was written by Robert Holmes and aired from 6 to 27 September, 1986. The stories reverted back to twenty-five minute long episodes, and found the Doctor (Baker) being uncontrollably summoned to present themselves…
Quantum Leap (1990) – Freedom and Good Night, Dear Heart
Sam (Scott Bakula) engages in more time travelling adventure this week as he leaps into a young Native American, George Washaki in Freedom. This episode was penned by Chris Ruppenthal and aired 14 February, 1990. It’s 22 November, 1970, and Sam finds himself on the run with George’s grandfather, Joseph (Frank Salsedo), with an…
Batman: The Animated Series (1998) – Chemistry, Judgement Day, Beware the Creeper and Mad Love
The animated adventures of Batman come to a close this week, with these last four episodes of the final season. First up is Chemistry which aired 24 October, 1998. This plot for this one comes off as kind of odd, Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy) falls for and marries (!) the perfect woman, Susan Maguire…
The Stepford Wives (1975) – Bryan Forbes
Katharine Ross headlines in William Goldman’s adaptation of Ira Levin’s novel, which is the next stop on the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. Ross is Joanna Eberhart, a smart, beautiful woman, who is much put-upon by her husband, Walter (Peter Masterson), who wants his wife to be more ‘ahem’ traditional. Packing up the family, they leave…
Brief Encounter (1945) – David Lean
I dive into the recommendations for the Romance and Melodrama genre following my screening of Casablanca for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book and first up is the David Lean film, based on the play by Noel Coward, Brief Encounter. Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard star as Laura Jesson and Dr….
*batteries not included (1987) – Matthew Robbins
The Sci-Fi Chronicles book brings me to the next stop on my continued exploration of the genre, and this time around I’m checking in with Steven Spielberg. I’ve covered some of his other films prior to this, and it also gives a few he served as executive producer on, including this film from ’87…
Hot Docs 2016: Operation Avalanche – Matt Johnson
It’s right there in the title, Operation Avalanche, it’s a snow job. This faux documentary is played straight, pretending to be a film edited together from film shot by a pair of agents (Matt Johnson and Owen Williams) posing as filmmakers, working on a documentary about the Apollo program at the height of the…
Deliverance (1972) – John Boorman
The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Night of the Hunter is this John Boorman classic that turned Burt Reynolds into a star. Lewis (Reynolds) convinces his friends Ed (Jon Voigt), Bobby (Ned Beatty) and Drew (Ronny Cox) to go on a canoe trip…
The Mind Reels 