BluRay, Character Development, Horror, Inspirations, John Carpenter, Movie Review, Movies, Steven Spielberg, Thriller, Writing

TSJ Reviews Shout! Factory’s BluRay Release of John Carpenter’s “Lost” Film SOMEONE’S WATCHING ME!

August 23, 2018 • 0 Comments

TSJ Reviews John Carpenter’s “Lost” Film SOMEONE’S WATCHING ME!

Shout! Factory has been releasing John Carpenter films on Blu for a few years now. Each features additional special features that previous discs did not, many including interviews and brand new commentaries not on previous iterations. Their releases of THE THING and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK are real standouts in their Carpenter library.

Carpenter wrote and filmed SOMEONE’S WATCHING ME! for television broadcast in 1978. Two weeks after the ten-day filming concluded, he was off doing HALLOWEEN, a movie that blasted his career into the stratosphere. (See my articles on it here and here, and I spoke about it on a radio show here.)

TSJ Reviews MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT

August 6, 2018 • 0 Comments

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT

TSJ’s Spoiler-free Review of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT

Christopher McQuarrie has had quite the career as both a writer and director, and with MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT he has cemented himself as one of those next-level action directors, in the club with Spielberg, Cameron, Miller, Abrams, Nolan et al. His directing in FALLOUT is impeccable. The movie moves from one incredible set piece to another, with a good amount of exposition between them to keep the story leaning forward, and the result is

TSJ Announcement on THE WAR BENEATH, coming November

August 2, 2018 • 2 Comments

2 August 2018 Announcement:

COMING 20 NOVEMBER 2018

I have now officially finished edits on THE WAR BENEATH, and the book is in the hands of ChiZine where it is being prepped for printing. It has been an extraordinary process, and the love and care that is going into this book is difficult to describe. When I first saw the cover, I knew that this was going to be special. Made by Emblem in Toronto created it, and even produced an animated version for their Instagram account:

The GLASS Trailer is Here

July 20, 2018 • 0 Comments

GLASS — Coming January 2019

POSSIBLE SPOILERS about UNBREAKABLE and SPLIT below. You’ve been warned.

M. Knight Shyamalan exploded onto the movie scene with THE SIXTH SENSE in 1999. The movie was not just a hit; it was a pop culture phenomenon. He followed up the supernatural thriller with UNBREAKABLE in 2000, a movie many found even better than THE SIXTH SENSE. UNBREAKABLE featured an everyday man (Bruce Willis, playing David Dunn) who was the lone survivor of a train crash that killed hundreds.

TSJ Reviews the Videogame THE EVIL WITHIN

July 5, 2018 • 0 Comments

TSJ Reviews the Videogame THE EVIL WITHIN

THE EVIL WITHIN
Creator: Shinji Mikami, Tango Gameworks
Studio: Bethesda Softworks
Console: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Windows
Year Released: 2014

I’ve been working on this one for a while now, following the fantastic ALIEN: ISOLATION (see review here) that I finished in December 2017. THE EVIL WITHIN is effective in terms of setting, mood and mystery. In fact, it might be the goriest game I’ve played.

SF Author Timothy S. Johnston Reviews STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

July 3, 2018 • 0 Comments

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS — A Review by Timothy S. Johnston

(Previously Published at TrekWeb on 18 May 2013)

Format: Digital 2D
Studio: Paramount
Director: J.J. Abrams
Writers: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof

Rating of STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS: 9/10
Rating of STAR TREK (2009): 9.5/10

The First Time I Saw JURASSIC PARK

June 16, 2018 • 0 Comments

The First Time I Saw JURASSIC PARK

It’s hard to believe that JURASSIC PARK was released 25 years ago this week. I still remember seeing it at the Galleria. My friend Adam turned to me as the lights went down and said, “So what’s this film about?” He had no idea. It was a Friday night and our group of friends always hung out on the weekends.

A Look at the New HALLOWEEN Trailer

June 10, 2018 • 0 Comments

A Look at the New HALLOWEEN Trailer

Michael Myers is back.

He’s one of the greatest slasher villains of all time and featured in a franchise that co-created the genre. (Many also give credit to BLACK CHRISTMAS in 1974.) John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN (1978) could be considered one of the most successful independent films ever. Made on a budget of only $375 000, it earned $70 000 000 at the box office the year it was released and spawned a series that currently consists of eleven films. John Carpenter really hit it out of the ballpark and he exploded onto the horror scene and never looked back. (I spoke on a radio show about my love for this film and how it inspired me here.) Of particular note was the soundtrack that he created out of desperation: they didn’t have a budget to hire someone to score the film, so Carpenter did it himself.

TSJ’s Spoiler-Free Review of SOLO — A STAR WARS STORY

May 27, 2018 • 0 Comments

REVIEW: SOLO — A STAR WARS STORY

Time for another TSJ #ShortMovieReview.

SOLO — A STAR WARS STORY is a highly entertaining movie, delivering the history of Han Solo, the Millennium Falcon, Chewie and others in a fast-paced, f/x-filled joyride. Despite the tumultuous filming history, the changing directors and the re-writing and reshooting of over 70% of the film, it all works.

Rebooted MAGNUM PI Trailer is Here

May 19, 2018 • 0 Comments

Rebooted MAGNUM PI Trailer Online — See it Here

I’m not sure how I feel about this. Tom Selleck’s Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV is so ingrained in my memory due to my teen years in the 80’s. (I was born at the perfect time. See my thoughts on this here.) The series was watershed for me — it featured a strong cast of male characters who had bonded during war and were now living in the years after, still as close as brothers, but each dealing with their own memories and trauma from Vietnam. It was a show that portrayed Vietnam vets in a positive light, and Tom Selleck was the Alpha who held it all together. His humor, his self-deprecating portrayal of Magnum, and the great chemistry between the leads — including Jonathan Hillerman (Higgins) — kept the show going for eight years. It was also the first time a Navy SEAL had been portrayed in popular culture. When it finally ended, it went out on top, and almost from the instant it went off the air fans have been clamoring for more MAGNUM PI.