That music, that cast… It’s no wonder that Sturges’ Americanisation of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai is one of my all time favourite westerns, and the first recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Wild Bunch. Elmer Bernstein’s rousing and memorable score supports Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Eli…
Tag: Stephen King
A Wrinkle in Time (1963) – Madeleine L’Engle
Somehow this was a book that slipped though the cracks of my childhood, and it never found its way home from the school library with me. I figured I am long overdue to review this one, and considering it’s considered a classic of both the science fiction and fantasy genres it was time to dig…
Fan Expo 2017
Dichotomy. Juxtaposition. Privilege. Hope. One wouldn’t necessarily associate all of these words with a gathering of groups of people who are coming together to celebrate their fandoms. But as Toronto’s Fan Expo 2017 came to its conclusion, these are the words that leapt to mind unbidden. Privilege springs to mind, because my co-host and I…
Under the Dome: The Complete Series
Releasing today from Paramount Pictures and CBS DVD is The Complete Series of the television adaptation of Stephen King’s massive novel, Under the Dome. The series features both King and Steven Spielberg as executive producers with Brian K. Vaughan as showrunner. Over the course of 38 episodes we get to know the folks of Chester’s…
Stephen King’s Triple Feature
Stephen King has legions of fans, and consequently, every now and again, a studio crafts another run at one of his novels, and while It! is on its way to screens in due course, Paramount Pictures and CBS DVD are releasing a collection of three of King’s mini-series in a very affordable collection. Over the…
Ur (2009) – Stephen King
Stephen King leaped aboard the digital reader revolution back in 2009 when he wrote this tale that was available only online as a download for said readers. The story follows an English teacher, Wesley, at a mediocre college. His relationship with Ellen, one of the college’s coaches is on the rocks, caused by a lack…
The Talisman (1984) – Stephen King and Peter Straub
There are very few Stephen King novels I haven’t read, and even as I revisit the occasional one, I realised that I had never finished The Talisman. A copy of this book was a Christmas gift to my Mom the year it came out. She read it first, and I was next in line to…
Quantum Leap (1992) – It’s a Wonderful Leap and Moments to Live
It’s a Wonderful Leap for Sam (Scott Bakula) when he finds himself as a New York cab driver, Max Greenman, in a contest to win his own taxi medallion. It’s 10 May, 1958, and Sam is about to realise he has more help on his side than just Al (Dean Stockwell). This episode first aired…
The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series
Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone is one of those television titles that surpassed its small screen trappings to become something more, something bigger, iconic, finding its way into the very fabric of the cultural DNA. Even today, people make references to it, by humming the iconic opening theme by Marius Constant, (though Bernard Herrmann composed a…
Quantum Leap (1990) – One Strobe Over the Line and The Boogieman
Sam (Scott Bakula) is fashion photographer Karl Granson in One Strobe Over the Line. This episode was penned by Chris Ruppenthal and aired on 19 October, 1990. It’s 15 June, 1965, and Sam is there to make sure that an up and coming model, Edie Landsdale (Marjorie Monaghan) doesn’t die of an overdose. In the…
The Mind Reels 