****GREAT WHITE SPOILERS AHEAD!!**** The Classic. 1975’s “JAWS” (1975), directed by then-wunderkind filmmaker Steven Spielberg, is simply one of the greatest movies ever made— a perfect synthesis of drama, horror, action and adventure which ushered in the era of the ‘summer blockbuster.’ The movie was smartly adapted from Peter Benchley’s bestseller novel by Benchley himself,…
Month: March 2021
Gorn with the Wind: A personal tour of Star Trek’s famed Vasquez Rocks location…
To Safely Go… During the current COVID pandemic, it’s difficult to find activities that are relatively low-risk for COVID transmission. My wife is fully immunized, but I’ve only had my first COVID-19 vaccination shot, so I’m not quite there yet. That in mind, we were looking for something safe to do during my teacher wife’s…
George Lucas’ original sci-fi epic, “THX-1138” (1971)…
******SPOILERS AHEAD!****** Past Prologue. In 1967, a 23 year-old USC graduate named George Lucas wrote and directed an ambitious futuristic short film called “Electronic Labyrinth THX-1138 4EB,” which chronicled the escape of a dissident (Dan Nachtsheim) from a futuristic dystopia. The film runs just 15 minutes, but it acquired a lot of notice for its…
From Mechanic to Messiah: Yaphet Kotto (1939-2021)…
Yaphet Kotto (1939-2021). With his wife at his side, longtime actor Yaphet Kotto passed away on March 15th in the Philippines at the age of 81. He was one of those character actors I’d always hoped to meet someday, but this hope is sadly gone. At an imposing 6 ft. 3 inches tall, Kotto brought…
“Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut” (2006) turns back time…
Superman Reborn. “Superman: The Movie” redefined the superhero genre. Released in December of 1978, the film made possible the big-budget release of Tim Burton’s “Batman” 11 years later, not to mention the current DC and Marvel cinematic/TV waves being ridden to this day. Before Richard Donner’s film, my generation had the campy, tongue-in-cheek “Batman” and…
“Outland” (1981) sends Sean Connery to clean up Jupiter’s dirty moon…
“This moon ain’t big enough for the both of us.” From all accounts, writer/director Peter Hyams (“Capricorn One,” “2010: The Year We Make Contact” ) wanted to make an honest-to-goodness western in the late 1970s, but following on the successes of “Star Wars” and “ALIEN”, it was clear that the big money at that time…
Personal Log: Getting my first COVID-19 vaccination shot…
Personal Log: Earth Date, March 5th, 2021. This column is going to be a little different from my usual sci-fi/fantasy/horror reviews, rantings and occasional convention coverage; this column is dedicated to a subject I am equally passionate about, and to which I’ve dedicated a portion of each new post — the current coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, which…
“The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951): 70 years later, and still standing…
*****FLYING SAUCER-SIZED SPOILERS!!***** The Source Novella. The 1951 Robert Wise-directed sci-fi classic “The Day the Earth Stood Still” was based on a 1940 novella by Harry Bates. I first bought “Farewell to the Master” in a collection of other stories at a secondhand bookstore some 20-odd years ago. Already very familiar with the 1951 classic…