Rio Bravo (1959) – Howard Hawks

If someone mentions John Wayne to me, this is the movie I go to. Happily, it’s the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Searchers. Starring Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan and Angie Dickinson, this, to me, is Howard Hawks best western. Wayne stars…

Quantum Leap (1989) – Good Morning, Peoria and Thou Shalt Not…

  Sam (Scott Bakula) gets to be a DJ this week, in a riff on Good Morning, Vietnam. Written by Chris Ruppenthal with an airdate of of 8 November, 1989, Good Morning, Peoria, finds Sam leaping into radio personality Chick Howell on 9 September, 1959, in the small town of Peoria. Broadcasting from WOF, Sam…

The A-Team (1983) – The Taxicab Wars and Labor Pains

  The A-Team continues to be on the run from the devious Decker (Lance LeGault) in this pair of episodes. First up is The Taxicab Wars, which was written by Cannell with an airdate of 1 November, 1983. Once again we find Mr. T in another (D.C.) cab. This time our heroes are on their…

The Guardians (2011) – Andrew Pyper

  So I dug into another Andrew Pyper novel, I am really liking this guy’s work a lot. This one The Guardians, introduces us to four characters and friends, Trevor, who is the lead character of the novel, Randy, Carl and Ben. The group grew up together in a small western Ontario town called Grimshaw, where…

Toronto After Dark: Backtrack (2015) – Michael Petroni

  Last night, the 10th Annual Toronto After Dark film festival took us Down Under for a spooky, and well-crafted ghost story starring Adrien Brody and Sam Neill. And for the first time all festival, a jump scare got me! Brody plays psychologist Peter Bower, who finds himself in strange circumstances as he still mourns…

Pines (2012) – Blake Crouch

  As I write this, I have not watched any of the show, Wayward Pines, that takes its guidance from the novels by Blake Crouch. I thought I would read the trilogy first, see how it plays out and then make my decision. In the acknowledhments at the end of the book, Crouch cites the show…