Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004) – Susanna Clarke

  I’d always been intrigued by the cover of this book, and the idea of magicians in England in the 19th century tweaked my interest as well. I was never put off by the rather gargantuan size of the book, I just knew I had to be in the right frame of mind to take…

Braveheart (1995) – Mel Gibson 

  The next war movie to take a look at thanks to the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book is this epic stunner from 1995, helmed and starring Mel Gibson, illustrating that yes, the man may have his problems, but can tell an amazing story. The tale of William Wallace (Gibson) gets the…

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) – Werner Herzog

  So as I continue my exploration of the War genre with the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, I dive into a recommendation for my viewing of Henry V, this one lets me take in a Werner Herzog film, and it’s simply stunning to watch, though runs a bare 93 minutes. The…

Doctor Who (Tom Baker) – Destiny of the Daleks

  Welcome to Season 17 of Doctor Who! Terry Nation kicks things off with his four-part story that ran from 1 September to 22 September, 1979. Lalla Ward joins the Doctor (Baker) in the TARDIS this season, as the regenerated Romana. This leads to an interesting question, as she tries on a number of different…

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) – Stephen Norrington

  The Sci-Fi Chronicles plunges us into the world of Alan Moore’s graphic novels with this film adaptation of his work directed by Stephen Norrington, which suffers from a bit of a haphazard script that hinted at great potential, and just failed horribly to have it pay off. It’s a great idea (mostly), using characters…

Doctor Who (Tom Baker) – The Armageddon Factor

  Season 16, and the Key to Time arc concludes this week with this six-part story written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin that aired from 20 January to 24 February, 1979. The Doctor (Baker), Romana (Mary Tamm) and K9 find themselves caught up in an intergalactic war, as they arrive on the planet Atrios,…

Henry V (1944) – Laurence Olivier

  I dipped back into the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book to check out the next genre and films for me to watch… It’s War, and up for viewing this time around is Laurence Olivier’s film adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic play of young Henry V, King of England, and his confrontation with…

Theeb (2014) – Naji Abu Nowar

  Opening today at the Lightbox here in Toronto, as well as Vancouver and Calgary, with additional locations to follow on December 18, is the latest work from award-winning director Naji Abu Nowar. Shot in Jordan, and being submitted as their official Oscar Entry for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2016 Academy Awards, comes this…

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) – Francis Lawrence

  The Sci-Fi Chronicles expedition into the world created by Suzanne Collins with her bestselling Hunger Games trilogy, continue with the first part of the last book, divided into two films, with the second one forthcoming this holiday season. But knowing that it’s only the first part of a two-part story, I knew, going in,…