Daniel Day-Lewis takes the titular role in Spielberg’s masterful film about the iconic president and his struggle to pass the 13th Amendment in support of his Emancipation Proclamation, even as the Civil War continues to tear the country apart. Filled with themes and ideas that are still sad, and frighteningly relevant, this looks at a…
Tag: war
The Expanse (2015) – Remember the Cant, and CQB
Things are escalating on Ceres, even as Mars and Earth seem to be working to avoid a conflict. Remember the Cant was written by Robin Veith and first aired on 16 December, 2015. Holden (Steven Strait), Naomi (Dominque Tipper), Alex (Cas Anvar), Amos (Wes Chatham) and Shed (Paulo Costanzo) are being held aboard the Mars…
The Expanse (2015) – Dulcinea, and The Big Empty
I loved the moment when I discovered James S.A. Corey’s The Expanse series of novels. There’s space opera in it, but so much of the worlds they created are grounded in reality, and they all rely on hard science. So when the television series came along, I was super excited. But I kept waiting before…
Robin Hood (2010) – Ridley Scott
Director Ridley Scott does away with the romp and romantic adventure that has permeated the Robin Hood myth down through the ages, and through a number of onscreen iterations to tell a more historical-based version of the tale. He packs it with stars, but the lack of derring-do may have kept audiences away, who knew…
1941 (1979) – Steven Spielberg
It has been a long time since I last watched Spielberg’s 1941, but as I’m revisiting his films and exploring the ones I haven’t written about before, it seemed like a perfect time to look at this one again. The film did not do well upon release, in fact, watching it now, it still feels…
M*A*S*H (1983) – Give and Take, and As Time Goes By
Here we go, the penultimate installment of my re-watch of M*A*S*H. There are two episodes this week. The first one is Give and Take. Written by Dennis Koenig, this episode was first broadcast on 14 February, 1983. While Charles (David Ogden Stiers) tries to pawn off being charity collection officer, which leads to countless favor…
The Facts of Death (1998) – Raymond Benson
James Bond is back. Building off his previous short story, Blast From the Past, the novel, Zero Minus Ten, and his adaptation of Tomorrow Never Dies, author Raymond Benson thrusts 007 into another globetrotting adventure that takes him from London to Texas, and Cyprus in an attempt to stop a viral outbreak and a growing…
Mad God (2021) – Phil Tippett
I first learned Phil Tippet’s name in 1983 when I was reading a behind-the-scenes magazine about the making of The Return of the Jedi, and there was a discussion on the stop-motion and go-motion techniques used to create the movement of the Scout walkers in the Star Wars sequel. I was fascinated by what I…
M*A*S*H (1983) – Strange Bedfellows, Say No More, and Friends and Enemies
Mike Farrell gets behind the camera and settles into the director’s chair again in Strange Bedfellows which was written by Karen Hall and debuted on 10 January, 1983. Charles (David Ogden Stiers) is suffering from a seasonal allergy and his snoring is keeping both Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and B.J. (Farrell) awake. It’s complicated by the…
M*A*S*H (1982) – Who Knew?, Bombshells, and Settling Debts
Hawkeye (Alan Alda) has a troubling moment when a nurse he was involved with is killed by a landmine, and he realizes as he prepares her eulogy, that he didn’t know anything about her. Written by Elias Davis and David Pollock Who Knew? first aired on 22 November, 1982. While Klinger (Jamie Farr) pesters Charles…
The Mind Reels 