A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Robert Wise, “The Andromeda Strain” (1971) Although made over 45 years ago, this science fiction film about a team of scientists battling to identify and contain…
Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water” (2017) Inspired by the famous Hollywood classic “The Creature from the Black Lagoon”, Mexican director Guillermo del Toro delivers…
Charles Norton, “Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks” (animated version, 2016) Originally filmed in live action in 1966, this Doctor Who adventure was the first…
Alexander Payne, “Downsizing” (2017) For most viewers, perhaps the more interesting part of this long meandering film will be the first half in which main character…
Pennant Roberts, “Doctor Who: Shada” (2017) Not often do particular adventures in the long-running “Doctor Who” television series which first ran from 1963 to 1988 and…
Rupert Sanders, “Ghost in the Shell” (2017) In adapting a major Japanese anime series into a potentially lucrative movie franchise, Hollywood opted for a standard origin…
Denis Villeneuve, “Blade Runner 2049” (2017) In its own leisurely way, “Blade Runner 2049” is a very absorbing, even hypnotic film with stunningly beautiful sets that…
French and French-language Films, Middle Eastern Films
Ari Folman, “The Congress” (2013) Partly based on Stanislaw Lem’s novel “The Futurological Congress”, in which the central character suffers from both delusional and actual mental…
Ridley Scott, “Alien: Covenant” (2017) British director Ridley Scott must have taken all the criticisms of “Prometheus” to heart as he has delivered a new chapter…
Dean Parisot, “Galaxy Quest” (1999) Conceived as a homage to and spoof of the famous science fiction TV series “Star Trek” and of the obsessive fan…