Had the opportunity to go to Germany last week with my 9-5 job. All that time flying over the Atlantic and free movies is pretty much as good as my life can get. So I watched the following: Jumper - (2008) If you take away all plot logic, character development and don't worry about actually explaining... Continue Reading →
John Carter of Meh
John Carter (2012) What a mess. I read the books as a teenager. Oh, those Frank Frazetta covers. They're a wonderful piece of adventure from that time (Edgar Rice Burroughs published the first book "A Princess of Mars" in 1917. The last book in the series was published posthumously in 1964). The problem is that... Continue Reading →
400th post – A Classic Movie
The Best Years of Our Lives - (1946) This is one of those legendary movies that you hear about long before you see them. As classics so often are it is not only a movie of its time but of all time as well. The issues it touches on are every bit as topical now... Continue Reading →
8 Bits of Fun – Movie Review
Wreck It Ralph - 2012- Let me be honest, I went to see this movie because my daughter wanted to see it (and she was paying). I'm not a gamer, wasn't even much of an arcade game player back in the day. But what the heck? What I got was a fabulous surprise. This movie... Continue Reading →
A Classic Thriller – movie review
The Day of the Jackal - (1973) Sometimes classics aren't big hits. At least not at first. When director Fred Zinneman ("High Noon", "From Here to Eternity", "A Man For All Seasons") began casting the movie he decided he didn't want a big name star. He wanted the story to be the star. So the... Continue Reading →
Movie Review – Senna
Senna (2010) - This is for racing fans. The documentary follows the racing career of the great Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna through his tragic death at Imola in 1994. Senna put the world on notice from the moment he slid down into the cockpit of an F1 machine. Astoundingly fast, intensely competitive and... Continue Reading →
Book reviews – Philip K. Dick and Trivial Knowledge
I'm a little behind on the books. Lots of travelling gives me lots of time to rip through my reading list. Confession of a Crap Artist - Philip K. Dick (originally published in 1975 but written in 1959) This is a strange but fascinating story of Jack, a man who views the world from a... Continue Reading →
Movie Review – Mars Attacks
Mars Attacks (1996) - So let's see, Tim Burton directs, the cast includes Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Glenn Close, Annette Benning, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Michael J. Fox, Jim Brown (the NFL great), Rod Steiger, Natalie Portman, Tom Jones (the great Welsh singer) and Pam Grier. It is a parody of '50s... Continue Reading →
Movie Review – The Philadelphia Story
The Philadelphia Story (1940) It is such a joy to come across a movie that truly excellent in every aspect. Great cast(Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart and Cary Grant plus a top notch supporting cast), great scrip(based on a Broadway script written especially for Hepburn), and director(George Cukor) each bringing their tasks home with skill, a complete... Continue Reading →
Movie Review – Father of Invention
Father of Invention (2010) - Kevin Spacey is one of those actors that I will always watch. So this one had to be added to my queue solely on the basis that he stars in it. I don't remember seeing any publicity at the time and the title means nothing to me. Spacey plays an... Continue Reading →
Stories Are My Life 