I missed All Quiet on the Western Front when it screened at TIFF. I just couldn’t make it work with my schedule, so when it dropped on Netflix, you can be assured it went to the front of my viewing queue. Berger’s film, based on the iconic novel by Erich Maria Remarque, is a stunning…
Tag: survive
The Running Man (1987) – Paul Michael Glaser
Paul Michael Glaser best known to some as Starsky from the iconic 70s television series, Starsky & Hutch, slips into the director’s chair to put Arnold Schwarzenegger through his paces as Ben Richards aka The Running Man. Based loosely on the Stephen King novel which he wrote under his Richard Bachman pseudonym, the story is…
The Expanse (2015) – Dulcinea, and The Big Empty
I loved the moment when I discovered James S.A. Corey’s The Expanse series of novels. There’s space opera in it, but so much of the worlds they created are grounded in reality, and they all rely on hard science. So when the television series came along, I was super excited. But I kept waiting before…
Sorcerer (1977) – William Friedkin
Iconic director William Friedkin took on an adaptation of The Wages of Fear, creating his own nerve-biting version of the French film, and novel. The film stars Roy Scheider as one of four unlucky men from around the globe who have found themselves, for one reason or another, stuck in a Latin American country that…
TIFF ’22: Good Night Oppy
I love documentaries about space exploration, the sense of discovery, wonder and hope that permeates them, and humanity when we set our sights on a goal. Director Ryan White understands those feelings and shares them, and guides us on a fantastic journey to the planet Mars. In 2003, two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, were launched…
Road of Bones (2022) – Christopher Golden
Christopher Golden delivers another white knuckle horror thriller with Road of Bones. The tale is set in Russia, on an actual stretch of road known as the Road of Bones and the story follows Teig and Prentiss. Teig is an idea man. He thinks he has an idea for the next big reality show that…
Enemy Mine (1985) – Wolfgang Petersen
Enemy Mine, from director Wolfgang Petersen and starring Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr., looks like a 50s era sci-fi film (particularly the model work and space suits) but it’s message of prejudice, hate, and race war, is as relevant today (and arguably more so) than it was when it was made. Feeling like a…
Mortal Kombat (2021) – 4K Review
Warner Brothers attempts a flawless victory with its 4K release of 2021’s Mortal Kombat, an updated take on the iconic, long-running video game series. While no one company has yet been able to crack a truly successful, and all-appealing game adaptation, everyone keeps trying, and Warner’s latest effort is solid, surprisingly entertaining, but lacking a…
Parable of the Sower (1993) – Octavia E. Butler
Octavia E. Butler’s science fiction tale, that follows a young woman of colour on her quest to understand herself, the ideas of god, and the destiny of humanity. Within pages of this novel, I was completely swept up in Butler’s storytelling style, her characters, and the world she created. And here’s the thing, the world…
M*A*S*H (1974) – The Chosen People, As You Were, and Crisis
Radar (Gary Burghoff) has some problems in The Chosen People. Written by Laurence Marks, Sheldon Keller and series developer Larry Gelbart from a story by Gerry Renert and Jeff Wilhem, this episode premiered on 26 January, 1974. When a Korean family moves on to the 4077th, it throws the unit into upheaval, and unfortunately doesn’t…
The Mind Reels 