There’s a lot to like about The Creator, though it could be argued it’s a little too slow. There seems to be an intentional parallel between the battle between Artificial Intelligence and the Vietnam War, as the film sees America involved in a war with New Asia, not the people, but those they are harbouring,…
Tag: vietnam war
Southern Comfort (1981) – Walter Hill
Powers Boothe and Keith Carradine star alongside Peter Coyote, Fred Ward, Franklyn Seales, Alan Autry, T.K. Carter, Les Lannom, Lewis Smith and Brion James in this gritty action thriller that finds a squad of nine National Guardsmen fighting for their lives in the Louisiana Bayou in what was supposed to be just a training exercise….
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) – George P. Cosmatos
It had been a while since I settled in for any of the Rambo films and thought it would be fun to take a look at the sequels. So I was excited to settle in for Rambo: First Blood Part II, the first of four sequels to 1982’s First Blood. The second film eschews some…
Full Metal Jacket (1987) – Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick’s look at the Vietnam War isn’t only a commentary on the war itself, but the dissolution of the self, and the soul of humanity to be replaced by an animal nature that restrains us a species and diminishes who we are. From the introduction to the Marine Corps on Parris Island, South Carolina,…
The Wild Bunch (1969) – Sam Peckinpah
The next big stop in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book as I return to the Historical chapter, is Peckinpah’s ultra-violent, wonderfully bloody take on the Hollywood Western. A group of professional outlaws out of step and out of time looking for one last score find themselves fatally wandering the line between…
The Twilight Zone (1963) – In Praise of Pip, Steel, and Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
It’s time to dive into the fifth and final season of The Twilight Zone. The Complete Series on blu-ray, available from Paramount Pictures unveils the first three episodes of the season this week, as the series returns to a twenty-five minute runtime per episode as opposed to the fifty minute episodes of the previous season….
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – Spectre of the Gun and Day of the Dove
Captain’s log: stardate 4385.3 Spectre of the Gun is a bit of an interesting episode. Written by Gene Coon, under a pseudonym the episode premiered on 25 October, 1968. When the Enterprise trespasses into Melkot space, the alien race punishes some of the crew including Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), McCoy (DeForest Kelley),…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – The Immunity Syndrome and A Private Little War
Captain’s log: stardate 4307.1 Like Balance of Terror, this episode encouraged a lot of daydreams as I navigated my school desk turned navigation console through the unexplored mass of the galaxy. The Immunity Syndrome is mostly confined to the bridge of the Enterprise and ts shuttlecraft as Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), McCoy (DeForest…
Quantum Leap (1990) – Animal Frat and Another Mother
Sam (Scott Bakula) is back in school, when he leaps into Knut ‘Wild Thing’ Wileton, in Animal Frat. This Animal House-like episode was penned by Chris Ruppenthal and aired 3 January, 1990. It’s 19 October, 1967, and Sam seems to be Big Man On Campus, but as always, he’s there to put something right,…
Fan Expo 2016: The Interviews
Sue and I had a great time at Fan Expo, and thanks to the fine folk at Vistek, who outfitted us (check out their rentals, and their store here in Toronto), we got some great images, and some wonderful interviews from the press day organised by Touchwood PR check them out below. First up we…
The Mind Reels 