Ride with the Devil (1999) – Ang Lee

  We get a look at the other side of the Civil War, as we join a Confederate guerrilla campaign in Ang Lee’s Ride with the Devil, the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Red Badge of Courage. With a top tier cast including…

Star Trek: Web of the Romulans (1983) – M.S. Murdock

  It’s back to boldly going with this week’s book shelf, as I venture into the Web of the Romulans, a 1983 novel, which is surprisingly solid, but for one little annoying sub-plot. Set during the original series, and taking place between the episodes, Tomorrow is Yesterday, and Space Seed, Murdock creates a bit of…

The Beguiled (1971) – Don Siegel

  Clint Eastwood stars in the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Red Badge of Courage. He plays John McBurney, a Yankee soldier who is injured during the course of the war, and is discovered by a student at a Southern All Girls School….

Rio Conchos (1964) – Gordon Douglas

  Richard Boone and Jim Brown lead the cast in the first recommendation following my screening of The Red Badge of Courage for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. Boone stars as James Lassiter, and he, Franklyn (Brown), Haven (Stuart Whitman), Rodriguez (Anthony Franciosa), and an Apache woman (Wende Wagner) are trailing…

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) – John Huston

  We delve back into the war section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, and the next big title there, is John Huston’s adaptation of Stephen Crane’s novel, that follows a young, Union soldier, Henry Fleming (Audie Murphy) also known as The Youth, as he struggles with his fear, and the…

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) – Matt Reeves

  It’s back to the Apes saga as I dive into the most recent sequel as I continue my way through the Sci-Fi Chronicles. Set a decade or two after the previous film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Caesar (mo-capped by Andy Serkis) is leading a growing nation of evolved apes. But…

Hot Docs 2016: Ukrainian Sheriffs – Roman Bondarchuk

  Having it’s North American premiere last night at the Scotiabank theatre, this tragic-docu-drama follows two sheriffs, Viktor and Volodya in a tiny Ukrainian village near Crimea. By turns funny, and emotionally stirring, the two officers, selected by the mayor perform all manner of services in the village as they cruise around in their beaten up…

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) – J. Lee Thompson

  After the darkness of Conquest, the final film in the original Apes series is a little more family-friendly, and is my next stop in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. Caesar (Roddy McDowall) is trying to keep his people safe, as he rules the apes, after the consequences of the war that was hinted at during…

Banshee: Season 3

  I hadn’t even heard of the Cinemax/HBO series Banshee before HBO sent me season 3. Suffice to say, when I was halfway through the series, I ordered the previous two seasons on Blu-Ray. The series is a pulp novel brought to life, it’s lurid, colorful, violent, sexy (it’s a ridiculously good looking cast), and…

Doctor Who (Tom Baker) – The Leisure Hive

  Season of 18 of Doctor Who brought a few changes to the series, precipitated by the arrival of new producer and show runner, John Nathan-Turner. We are introduced to a new opening credits sequence with a new version of the theme, the Doctor (Baker) is outfitted in shades of burgundy, and the stories tend to…