Category: Inspirations

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

August 27, 2018 • 2 Comments

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.

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.)

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.

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.

It’s Murder … in Space by Timothy S. Johnston

March 24, 2018 • 0 Comments

TSJ’s Thoughts on His Second Novel THE FREEZER

What Really is the Most Dangerous Life Form in the Solar System?

The Best Movie Sequels of All Time

March 14, 2018 • 0 Comments

The Best Movie Sequels of All Time

Before I begin, here are a few basic facts about me that you might already know by now:

I love movies.

I love genre movies — thrillers, action, adventure, horror, science fiction.

I love sagas, series, and trilogies. Call them what you want; I love to revisit characters and storylines that captivated my attention in the first film.

The Greatest Trifectas in Film History

January 31, 2018 • 3 Comments

The Greatest Trifectas in (Recent) Film History by TSJ

While writing the blog entry “Where Has the Character-Driven Action Film Gone?” (found here) I mentioned the idea of a trifecta — or “triple” — in film history. There are few directors who can create successful film after successful film. Having one critical and commercial hit is difficult enough. Having two in a row is even harder. And three? Nearly unheard of.

I decided to create a list of the greatest triples in film history. Even the concept seemed absurd, however — what gives me the right to create such a list? Who am I to say one director created a “better” trifecta than another? Moreover, how does one define success or failure in the creative/artistic industry? Sometimes a box office hit can be a critical failure, or vice versa. Well, to be blunt, this is my blog. I’ll write what I want. However, to identify triples and narrow the field it was necessary to create a list of criteria that I would follow.

TSJ at Forty-Seven

January 20, 2018 • 0 Comments

Forty-Seven. Can’t really believe it, but there it is. It’s been quite a ride so far.

I couldn’t have been born at a better time, really. I was born in 1970 and grew up with the explosion of science-fiction films that coincided with the birth of modern f/x. I also had the benefit of discovering novelists from the Golden Age of Science Fiction — Isaac Asimov, Fred Pohl, and Robert Heinlein to name just a few.

TSJ’s Top Three Movies of All Time

January 13, 2018 • 3 Comments

People often ask me about my favorite movies. I try to watch a lot of thrillers and horror, especially in the Science Fiction genre, I like to talk about movies, and I enjoy reviewing great ones on my blog. So, I figured that this might be a good place to write an article about my top three films of all time.

Counting down from Three to One …

TSJ Remembers Wes Craven

January 5, 2018 • 0 Comments

When I learned of Wes Craven‘s passing in the Summer of 2015, it hurt.

He was one of the originals. He was a horror director who helped create the “slasher” genre, but he did so with more backstory and style than some of his peers. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET brought us Freddy Krueger, one of the greatest villains of all time.

So many films of the slasher genre involved teenagers being teens, and having to deal with the repercussions of bad or questionable choices. When this movie appeared I was fourteen years old and among the age demographic that Craven had targeted. (I was perhaps a tad on the young side of the demographic, but the movie had a greater effect on me because of it.) Nightmares are by nature scary and intangible things and have the potential to impact in emotional and scarring ways. Wes Craven tapped into this in a very effective way, and Freddy’s history ensured that he was an invincible villain. Freddy became iconic and instantly recognizable around the world.