The story that centred on Ashildr (Maisie Williams) last week continues this week with The Woman Who Lived. Written by Catherine Tregenna this episode debuted on 24 October, 2015. Travelling on his own for a while The Doctor (Capaldi) arrives in 17th century London when he encounters the repercussions of his compassionate actions in the…
Tag: thriller
Taxi Driver (1976) – Martin Scorsese
Out of all of Scorsese’s work, I think Taxi Driver, the next stop on the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book as I return to the Thriller genre, is my favourite. It also features one of my top performances by Robert De Niro. Much has been said and written about Taxi Driver since…
The Long Walk (1979) – Stephen King as Richard Bachman
King’s first novel, written, not published, is a gripping thriller that terrifies and captivates, from the first page to it’s haunting conclusion. Writing under his pseudonym of Richard Bachman, the story follows Ray Garraty a young teen in an alternate timeline where a totalitarian government has assumed control, and all of it is overseen by…
His Girl Friday (1940) – Howard Hawks
The next big title in DK Canada’s The Movie Book, is the incredibly enjoyable Howard Hawks film, His Girl Friday starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. The film is based on the play The Front Page, with the key change of making one of the leads a woman. From there, history takes over, and the…
Scarface (1983) – Brian De Palma
A story of greed wiping out any trace of humanity, and the dark side of the immigrant story, Brian De Palma’s update of the classic gangster 1932 film remains a staple of the genre as I return to the Thriller & Crime section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film. Al Pacino plays…
The Godfather (1972) – Francis Ford Coppola
A cinematic classic. A masterpiece. A gold standard in film. All of these descriptions suit Coppola’s adaptation of Mario Puzo’s epic novel, The Godfather, perfectly, and it is my next stop in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book as I return to the Thriller genre. Having said all of the above it…
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1989/1990) – The Vengeance Factor, and The Defector
Captain’s log: stardate 43421.9 The Vengeance Factor, a Riker (Jobathan Frakes) episode first aired on 20 November, 1989. The Enterprise is transporting Sovereign Marouk (Nancy Parsons) to a meeting with an offshoot tribe of her planet’s inhabitants, known as Gatherers. Picard (Patrick Stewart) is hosting peace talks between the troubled sides, and is hoping that…
Fear (2017) – Dirk Kurbjuweit
Hitting trade paperback on Canadian book shelves this week is this engrossing thriller penned by German author Dirk Kurbjuweit. A captivating tale the novel explores themes of love, family, perceptions of masculinity, and the rule of law. The novel opens with a murder. And a confession. For months Randolph Tiefenthaler and his wife, Rebecca and…
Toronto After Dark 2017: The Villainess – Byung-gil Jung
The hyper-kinetic assassin thriller The Villainess, has it’s Toronto premiere this evening at Toronto After Dark, screening exclusively at Scotiabank Theatre. This South Korean film is nothing short of a high-octane thriller that recalls Besson’s La Femme Nikita with overtones of Tarantino’s Kill Bill. Ok-bin Kim stars as Sook-hee, a violent woman with a violent…
Red Dawn (1984) – John Milius
The final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Dr. Strangelove is John Milius’ dark and violent film, Red Dawn. With an all-star cast including Patrick Swayze, Lea Thompson, C. Thomas Howell, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey, Powers Boothe and Harry Dean Stanton, the film chronicles an invasion…
The Mind Reels 