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…
Tag: story
Terminator Salvation (2009) – McG
The final stop with the Sc-Fi Chronicles book for me with the Terminator franchise, as I’ve now had a chance to cover all of them, is this interesting entry from the same pair of writers who gave us Rise of the Machines. This one could have been alright, though I feel McG was probably the…
The Searchers (1956) – John Ford
John Ford and John Wayne. When it comes to westerns there are few names better, and they are my next stop in the Action section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. Confederate soldier, Ethan (Wayne) returns to his family’s homestead in Texas after the end of the Civil War, where he…
La La Land (2016) – Damien Chazelle
From its opening, marrying classical screen musical tropes and modern times, Chazelle’s film proves that not only is the big screen musical still alive, it is in fact a vibrant event. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling star as two Hollywood dreamers, Mia and Sebastian. She’s an aspiring actress, he’s a jazz pianist who dreams of…
Mad Max (1979) – George Miller
A twenty-one year old Mel Gibson put the pedal to the metal and rocketed to first cult, and then international fame alongside George Miller with the thrilling, verge of the apocalypse (which was to come between films), action-packed Mad Max, which is my next stop with the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. Civilisation is crumbling in Australia,…
Galaxy of Terror (1981) – Bruce D. Clark
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…
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…
