Foundation (1951) – Isaac Asimov

While I have always been a sci-fi fan, I’ve kept it mainly to film and television, with a few exceptions, James S.A. Corey’s brilliant Expanse series, Herbert’s Dune, some Bradbury, and of course, Arthur C. Clarke. I was always worried that if I dug into any of Isaac Asimov’s novels, that they would seem to…

Mission: Impossible (1968) – The Condemned, and The Counterfeiter

Laurence Heath sends the boys of the IMF team on a personal mission with his script for The Condemned which first aired on 28 January, 1968, and is the first assignment this week as I delve into another two episodes of Paramount Pictures’ Mission: Impossible – The Complete Series on blu-ray. Jim Phelps (Peter Graves)…

Millennium (1998) – The Mikado, and The Pest House

Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) brings his skills and gifts to the internet in an episode that gives us a serial-killer-of-the-week story as opposed to the mythology arc that has been introduced more strongly this season. The Mikado was written by Micheal R. Perry and debuted on 6 February, 1998 and sees a website broadcasting live…

Mission: Impossible (1966) – Wheels, and The Ransom

You’re mission should you choose to accept it, is to join me as I continue to explore Mission: Impossible – The Complete Series on blu-ray, available now from Paramount Canada. The first episode up this week, Wheels, was written by Laurence Heath and first aired on 29 October, 1966. Dan Briggs (Steven Hill) and his…

Tobor the Great (1954) – Lee Sholem

DK Publishing brings me another mechanical menace from its highly enjoyable Monsters in the Movies book. This time around, he’s not so much a menace as he is menace. Very much a product of its time, the 50s, this film, dramatically set in the future of the day after tomorrow, it’s a charming, if not…

Chuck (2011) – Versus the Wedding Planner, and Versus Agent X

Sarah’s (Yvonne Strahovski) con-man father, Jack Burton (Gary Cole) is back in this fun return of the character, Chuck Versus the Wedding Planner, written by Rafe Judkins and Lauren LeFranc. It first aired on 19 April, 2011. When Chuck (Zachary Levi) are taken in by a wedding planner con run by Daphne Peralta (Lisa LoCicero)….

Blue Thunder (1983) – John Badham

I remember seeing Blue Thunder when it was released on home video. Or perhaps it was on a free weekend of Super Channel or First Choice. I remember enjoying it as a kid, loved the helicopter, the nude girl doing yoga, Roy Scheider, and the helicopter. It’s been decades since I watched it, and I…

Licence Renewed (1981)- John Gardner

In the early 80s, the estate of Ian Fleming reached out to author John Gardner to continue telling stories about James Bond, 007, and to perchance, bring him into the 80s. This involved a bit of a retcon moving the events of the previous novels from the 50s/60s to the 60s/70s. Gardner’s first effort, Licence…

Battle Los Angeles (2011) – Jonathan Liebesman

Aaron Eckhart leads a squad of marines in this tale of alien invasion, that owes its pedigree to the likes of War of the Worlds and Independence Day. Is it great? No. But it ends up being fairly solid entertainment, and has a pretty solid cast surrounding Nantz (Eckhart) and his marines, including Michelle Rodriguez,…