Battle Royale II is very much a different creation from its predecessor. Set three years after the events of the first movie this film moves the film mythology forward. Shuya (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and Noriko (Aki Maeda) have made their escape, and Shuya has now started what the rest of the world calls a terrorist organization,…
Tag: war
Shards of Earth (2021) – Adrian Tchaikovsky
Before I could dig into Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky, available now through Orbit Books, I had to familiarize myself with the characters of the universe he created by reading the first volume, Shards of Earth, also available from Orbit Books. Within pages of Tchaikovsky’s book, I was wrapped up in the imagination…
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) – Raymond Benson
Raymond Benson’s second 007 novel was an adaptation of the second Pierce Brosnan film, Tomorrow Never Dies. And while he seems to have some trouble adapting some of the more over the top action beats of the film, his take on the story actually works really well, and is one of the strongest film adaptations…
Star Trek: Discovery – The Enterprise War (2019) – John Jackson Miller
Where was the U.S.S. Enterprise during the Klingon war (2256-2257) as depicted in Season One of Star Trek: Discovery? Miller’s novel, The Enterprise War, available now from Simon & Schuster through their Gallery Books imprint, answers that question. Tying itself in with the events of the television series, as well as the previously released novels,…
M*A*S*H (1978) – Mail Call Three, Temporary Duty, and Potter’s Retirement
Everett Greenbaum and James Fritzell delivered Mail Call Three, which aired on 6 February, 1978. After a long delayed delivery of mail, a number of problems arrive with the envelopes. Hawkeye (Alan Alda) has been receiving love letters meant for another Benjamin Pierce, which he reads with lustful joy. B.J. (Mike Farrell) learns that a…
M*A*S*H (1977) – The Grim Reaper, Comrades In Arms: Part One, and Part Two
Burt Prelutsky pens The Grim Reaper which sees Hawkeye (Alan Alda) running afoul of a goal focussed colonel, Bloodworth (Charles Aidman) in this episode that first aired on 29 November, 1977. Bloodworth is a frequent visitor to the 4077th warning of the number of casualties he expects from his assaults, and maneuvers against the enemy….
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix (2007) – David Yates
Director David Yates takes over the big chair for the next instalment in the Warner Brothers’ adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s magical novels, and he’d best get comfortable, because he’s going to see Harry Potter through the rest of his cinematic trip, over the course of the next four films. Much like Goblet of Fire, the…
M*A*S*H (1977) – End Run, Hanky Panky, and Hepatitis
Harry Morgan directs the first episode this week, End Run, which was written by John D. Hess and debuted on 25 January, 1977. Morgan keeps his story threads separate, giving us some comedy with Klinger (Jamie Farr), Frank (Larry Linville) and Zale (Johnny Haymer) when Frank decides to pit the two against one another in…
M*A*S*H (1976) – The Nurses, The Abduction of Margaret Houlihan, and Dear Sigmund
Loretta Swit has a pair of episodes this week that allow her to shine as her character Margaret Houlihan. First up is The Nurses. Written by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, it was first broadcast on 19 October, 1976, and lets the main cast step back a bit to let a supporting cast of nurses have a little…
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 Mind Reels 