On Thursday 4 October I presented the inaugural TSJ Future Writer Award during the commencement ceremony for the Class of 2018 at London South Collegiate Institute in the Thames Valley District School Board.
Action, Agatha Christie, Character Development, ChiZine Publications, Horror, Inspirations, Interview, Movies, Radio, Science Fiction, Star Wars, The Rise of Oceania, The War Beneath, Thriller, Underwater Thriller, Writing
Radio Interview with TSJ on Writing Thrillers, Managing a Busy Life, STAR WARS, and THE WAR BENEATH
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Radio Interview with TSJ on 106.9 THE X’s Your Life, Your Way with Host Gail Barker
TSJ and Gail Barker, 8 August 2018
On 8 August I participated in the radio show YOUR LIFE, YOUR WAY at local radio station 106.9 THE X. The topics of conversation ranged from managing a busy life while also writing thrillers to my new underwater adventure THE WAR BENEATH. Gail Barker and I also discussed
Action, Alien, Book Review, Character Development, Horror, Imposter Theme, Inspirations, James Cameron, John Carpenter, Movie Review, Movies, Mystery, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Star Wars, Steven Spielberg, The 1970's, Thriller, Writing
TSJ’s List of the Best Science Fiction Movies of the 1970’s
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The Best Science Fiction Movies of the 1970’s
I should clarify that a film’s presence on this blog post is entirely subjective based on my experiences growing up. These were my creative formative years, during which I was discovering genre books, television shows, and movies. I was born in 1970, so really the 80’s were my true introduction to Science Fiction Horror, Thriller and Adventure — books by Asimov and Crichton and films by Cameron, Spielberg, Carpenter, and Verhoeven — but the 1970’s played a huge role in my love for the genre. Detroit Channel 7 broadcast most of the films I saw. Many had poor effects, but the stories were so powerful and the actors so committed that the movies rose above the rest of the stories that were available at the time. The themes were relevant, the plots compelling and interesting, all the base human emotions like revenge and lust and greed and hate were on full display, they spoke of issues that people dealt with every day, and they featured powerful scores and incredible directing. They were gripping.
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!
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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.)
Action, Character Development, James Cameron, JJ Abrams, Movie Review, Movies, Steven Spielberg, Thriller
TSJ Reviews MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT
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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
Action, Book Cover, Character Development, ChiZine Publications, Science Fiction, The Rise of Oceania, The War Beneath, Thriller, Underwater Thriller, Writing
TSJ Announcement on THE WAR BENEATH, coming November
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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:
Action, Character Development, Comics, Horror, Movie Review, Movies, Mystery, Thriller
The GLASS Trailer is Here
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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.
Horror, Video Game Review, Video Games, X-Box
TSJ Reviews the Videogame THE EVIL WITHIN
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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.
Action, Alien, Character Development, JJ Abrams, Movie Review, Movies, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Thriller
SF Author Timothy S. Johnston Reviews STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
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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
Action, Horror, Movie Review, Movies, Science Fiction, Steven Spielberg, The 1990's, Thriller
The First Time I Saw JURASSIC PARK
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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.