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…
Tag: war
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…
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…
The Mind Reels 