Before Spielberg was the box-office titan that he would become with 1975’s Jaws , he made his North American theatrical debut (Duel, a television movie had been released theatrically in Europe) with 1974’s Sugarland Express. Based on an actual event that occurred in 1969, the story follows Lou Jean (Goldie Hawn), her husband Clovis (William…
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The Facts of Death (1998) – Raymond Benson
James Bond is back. Building off his previous short story, Blast From the Past, the novel, Zero Minus Ten, and his adaptation of Tomorrow Never Dies, author Raymond Benson thrusts 007 into another globetrotting adventure that takes him from London to Texas, and Cyprus in an attempt to stop a viral outbreak and a growing…
The X-Files (2016) – Babylon, and My Struggle II
Every season of The X-Files has a low point, even shortened seasons like the limited event series that was season ten. Babylon is that low point. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad episode, it’s just not up to snuff with the rest of the stories in the season. First airing February 15, 2016, series creator…
The X-Files (1998) – The End, and Fight the Future
The opening titles warns us that this is The End, and this episode would lead us into the first feature film, Fight the Future. Written by series creator Chris Carter, the fifth season came to a close on 17 May, 1998, and left fans slavering for the feature film that would span the ending of…
For Special Services (1982) – John Gardner
John Gardner’s second 007 novel, updating Ian Fleming’s James Bond for the 1980s, is on the book shelf this week, and delivers the crisp, solid, sex and violence filled thrill ride we’ve come to expect from England’s top spy. This story, set largely in America, sees the return of Bond’s old nemesis, SPECTRE, with the…
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) – Don Coscarelli
Mummies! A fairly short chapter in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies book, this fun chapter is actually filled with films I have already reviewed for the blog, so I was delighted to be able to revisit a cult favorite that I hadn’t written up before. Ash, from the Evil Dead films may be Bruce…
Space: 1999 (1976) – All That Glisters, and The Taybor
You thought some of the previous episodes were strange (and occasionally bad?), well this one, All That Glisters, is right up there. And it’s the first one up this week as we jump into more adventures with Moonbase Alpha. Set some 562 days after leaving Earth orbit, All That Glisters was written by Keith Miles,…
Pillow Talk (1959) – Michael Gordon
Pillow Talk, the flirty, fun comedy starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The key element to the film is something a lot of people won’t understand these days, the shared party line. Long before…
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…
The Twelve (2012) – Justin Cronin
Justin Cronin’s vampiric trilogy continues in the fast-paced, raising of the stakes (pun intended?) second book, The Twelve. It’s been five years since the events of the previous book, The Passage., and things have changed for a number of our characters. We check in with Sara, Peter, Michael, Hollis, Alicia, and of course Amy, and none…
The Mind Reels 