The next stop for me in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book is the works of James Cameron, and this is where he got some of his start (and where a behind the scenes worker, Bill Paxton, also did some work) as the film’s production designer. Cameron did some special effects work for this Roger Corman produced B-movie (something…
Tag: story
Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) -The Conscience of the King and Balance of Terror
Captain’s Log: Stardate 2817.6 The Conscience of the King, taken from a line in Hamlet (the series has a wonderful relationship with the Bard), was a bit of a murder mystery that didn’t quite engage with me when I was younger, but has grown on me since. Written by Barry Trivers, this had an original…
Arrival (2016) – Denis Villeneuve
First contact. The interpretation of words. How we communicate both person to person, and mass media. The very perception of our existence. These are all at work in Canadian director Villeneuve’s latest film. A hard science fiction tale that eschews lasers and space battles for deeper concepts like the way we interact and understand one…
Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997) – Shuki Levy and David Winning
Gah. Let’s just get this one out of the way, if the first one was crap, can you imagine how I felt going into this one as I continue my time with the Power Rangers thanks to the Sci-Fi Chronicles book, and this one barely has Amy Jo Johnson in it. So why watch it?…
Doctor Strange (2016) – Scott Derrickson
Benedict Cumberbatch settles rather nicely into the Marvel universe, as he dons the cloak and mantle of the MCU’s (Marvel Cinematic Universe) latest superhero. Doctor Strange. Easing into an American accent, as easily as he does Strange’s costume, Cumberbatch fits the role perfectly, bringing to life the doctor’s arrogance, ego, and eventually his humbled, giving…
Blu-Ray Review: Star Trek – Beyond (2016) – Justin Lin
Beaming in on Blu-Ray and DVD today from Paramount Pictures is the latest entry in the reboot or Kelvin-verse Star Trek series. I’d previously reviewed my theatrical experience of the film here, so I was eager to see how my impressions of it changed when viewed at home. I actually found myself enjoying it more. Knowing…
Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) – Michael Coldewey & Michel Lemire
Almost 20 years after the first film, Heavy Metal 2000 returns with more animated science fiction, as I continue to work my way through the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. While the animation may be stronger this time around, everything else seems to suffer. Eschewing the anthology format that served the first film so well, not to…
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…
Toronto After Dark 2016: Antibirth – Danny Perez
I was a little underwhelmed with Toronto After Dark’s screening of Afterbirth this evening at Scotiabank Theatre. I always try and find something I enjoy about all the films that screen there, and this time it was the people involved in the making of the film, both in front of and behind the camera. I…
Vertigo (1958) – Alfred Hitchcock
Perhaps one of Hitchcock’s best films, Vertigo, is next on the list of recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. With the combined star power of James Stewart and Kim Novak, this romantic thriller defines obsession as well as fear. Stewart is John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson a San Francisco police detective on…
The Mind Reels 