West Side Story (2021) – Steven Spielberg

When I first heard that Spielberg was taking on the classic musical, West Side Story, previously immortalized on celluloid by iconic director Robert Wise, I was a little dubious. Not that I didn’t trust Spielberg. Even with some of his weaker films (BFG) he arguably does something unique and noteworthy, even if it just demonstrates…

Mission: Impossible (1972) – Stone Pillow, and Image

Former private detective, Larry Edison (Bradford Dillman), has found himself on the other side of the law, heading to prison, and blackmailing a mobster – Edison has a film proving Vochek (Robert Ellenstein) committed murder. He’s hidden that film and the IMF wants it. Stone Pillow was penned by Howard Browne and first debuted on…

Return From Witch Mountain (1978) – John Hough

Tia (Kim Richards) and Tony (Ike Eisenmann) Return From Witch Mountain in Disney’s follow-up to the enjoyable Escape To Witch Mountain. While not as entertaining as the first film, there’s still some fun to be had, and it boasts the appearance of Christopher Lee and Bette Davis as the film’s villains, Victor and Letha respectively….

Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) – John Hough

I have this image of Eddie Albert driving every where in a Winnebago, and I guess it must have come from this film, and somehow got meshed with the image of the older man driving around in a similar RV in the Shazam/Isis hour. And despite the fact that Eddie Albert’s Jason does a lot…

The X-Files (1999) – Rush, and The Goldberg Variation

Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) are called to a small town to investigate a strange murder of a deputy in Rush. Written by David Amann, this episode first debuted on 5 December, 1999. It seems a young man, Max (Scott Cooper), the son of the local sheriff (Tom Bower), is Mulder’s prime suspect…

Day The World Ended (1955) – Roger Corman

Atomic Mutations is the next chapter in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies, and the first one I chose to dive into is a Roger Corman film from the mid-50s. Nuclear war has happened, and seven survivors have holed up in a remote home, safely enclosed in a protected valley. Jim Maddison (Paul Birch) and…

I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) – Gene Fowler Jr.

Before he had a Little House on the Prarie, or traveled on the Highway to Heaven, Micheal Landon was a Teenage Werewolf, and I got to go on the prowl with him as I settled in for this 50s era classic, and the next recommendation from DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies. Landon plays Tony,…

Space: 1999 (1977) – The Immunity Syndrome, and The Dorcons

This is it, the last week of Space: 1999, and while some of it has been very good, and a number of stories showed some promise, the series, as a whole, has not weathered the decades as well as it could have. The penultimate episode is The Immunity Syndrome (not to be confused with the…

The Little Vampire (2000) – Uli Edel

Even family films get into the vampire act as I learn with the next stop in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies, the coffee table tome by legendary director John Landis. That film is The Little Vampire, based on the book by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg. Starring Jonathan Lipnicki, following his endearing turn in Jerry Maguire, the…