7.5/10 (Good)
American director Jules Dassin — famous for his 40s and 50s film noir works Brute Force, Rififi, Night and the City, The Naked City — departs from his normal stomping ground with an adaptation of Nikos Kazantzaki’s 1948 novel The Greek Passion. Dassin left the US for France because of his Communist affiliations — hence, the film is in Continue reading
Everyone! I’ve decided to start a new series of posts! An episode by episode log of my reactions (including, but not limited to rants, ravings, tangential ruminations, mutterings, and indecipherable utterances) to Space: 1999 (1975-1977). I’ve never seen the show before and don’t have very high expectations. But with 2001: A Space Odyssey inspired visuals and some 70s flare (see the hilarious costumes of the cast image below), how bad can it be? (haha). A general naïveté (on my part) Continue reading
6.5/10 (Average)
Maurice Elvey’s Transatlantic Tunnel (1935) inhabits the forlorn ranks of seldom seen early science fiction films. Is it a masterpiece of the genre? No. Is it worth watching for fans of early sci-fi? Definitely! The production value is remarkable (which surprised me) and a few scenes remain to this day awe-inspiring Continue reading
7.5/10 (Good)
The Portuguese master Manoel de Oliveira is the oldest filmaker still making films — he’s 102 at the moment! Even more surprising is the fact that his most productive years have come since the 1990s (often two films a year). Eccentricities of a Blonde-haired Girl (2009) is the first of his I’ve seen and won’t be my last. Despite the fact that Eccentricities has its fair share of flaws it is a gorgeous and timeless tale Continue reading
The great American director Sidney Lumet (1924-2011) passed away today and in honor of his long and productive career (albeit with brief lulls of average work) here are a few mini-reviews of the films of his I’ve seen in order of preference. I’ve not seen many of his acknowledged masterpieces including Serpico, The Hill, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Pawnbroker, etc.
1. Network (1976)
9.5/10 (Masterpiece)
Network (1976) is by far my favorite Sidney Lumet film Continue reading
8/10 (Very Good)
tagline (a remarkably prescient one): “War in the Air! Possibilities of the Future! And actual motion picture prediction of the ideas of Rudyard Kipling, H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, and other powerful writers of imaginative fiction. Shows what might happen in the near future Continue reading
John Sherwood’s The Monolith Monsters (1957) is by far one of my favorite B sci-fi (ish) monster movies! I’m being very generous with rating but, this is a hilariously average (but wonderful) romp with one of the more peculiar “monsters” matched up with some of the best 50s special effects I’ve seen. The Monolith Monsters is without doubt one of the more interesting films of the 1950s American Realist Science Fiction movement Continue reading
Hawkwind’s ‘Damnation Alley’ from the album Quark, Strangeness and Charm (1977) was inspired by Roger Zelazny’s novel Damnation Alley (1967) — which chronicles a suicidal voyage (in an armored vehicle) across post-apocalyptic America Continue reading
5/10 (Average)
Robert Parrish’s Journey to the Far Side of the Sun is a British science fiction film of average quality. The first two thirds are well done before the final act kicks into gear with all its hokeyness and painfully glitzy camera work. The central “idea” is on the surface an intriguing one Continue reading
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 