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 …
Title: LIVE DIE REPEAT: EDGE OF TOMORROW
Runtime: 113 min
Theatrical Release: 6 June 2014
Domestic Gross: $100 million
International Gross: $370 million
DVD/BLU/Digital Release: 7 October 2014
MPAA: PG-13
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton
Director: Doug Liman
Writers: Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth
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.
We are changing the title of the first book in The Rise of Oceania. It is now THE WAR BENEATH by Timothy S. Johnston.
ALIEN ISOLATION is an incredible game. It’s dark and moody and genuinely terrifying.
These days I don’t have much time for video games, but when I do play, I choose ones that fall into the genres that I love: Science Fiction, Horror, Mystery and Thriller. I play on the X-Box, mostly because when the Nintendo-64 was retired, the original X-Box was the console with the most familiar controller and the game most similar to GOLDENEYE and PERFECT DARK — that game was HALO. (I just never got into the Sony Playstation — though I loved playing TWISTED METAL 2, 3 and 4, as well as METAL GEAR SOLID.) Some of the titles I’ve played in the past few years include BIOSHOCK, FALLOUT 3, and the DEADSPACE series.
THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US is a compelling and engaging story of survival, extremely well crafted and featuring two wonderful stars: Kate Winslet and Idris Elba.
STAR TREK (2009): A PERFECT REBOOT AND A SOARING THRILL-RIDE(Originally published by TrekWeb on 14 February 2012)
J.J. Abrams and writers Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman did in 2009 what I thought impossible: they rebooted a franchise with over forty years of history, including seventy-nine episodes, six motion pictures, four spinoffs, an animated series, countless books, comics, video games, and references in popular culture. It seemed a task that only a fool would tackle. To face the criticism of rabid fans — a group in which I include myself — and the most critical eyes focused on every bit of the film, including story, f/x, sound, acting and music, a failure could have potentially resulted in complete disaster for the franchise and also the death of careers. But J.J. & Co. faced it head on, with fresh eyes, a new perspective, and with intense creativity.
#Thriller #Action #Movies
First, I have to define the concept. A “Character-Driven Action Film” would be a sub-category of the action genre, set in any time or place that focuses on the character and history of the leads as much as it does on the action elements of the story. Simple enough, right? Right.
So where have these movies gone?
I watched THE TERMINATOR on the weekend.
I had to.
It was calling me.
I use the phrases “watershed film” or “watershed book” quite a lot. That’s the point of this entire blog. What are the movies/books/tv shows that influenced me in the years leading to my first attempts at writing fiction? Hell, even the name of this blog — “Life After Gateway” — is a nod to my favorite Science Fiction novel. This blog is dedicated to the books and movies that inspired me in my creative/formative years. A few TV series, some fantastic authors, and a small selection of short stories helped along the way. Certain teachers were invaluable too.
#Writing #AmWriting #ScienceFiction #Thriller #Horror
The first line of any story is the most important sentence you’ll write.
The first page of the story is the most important page you’ll write.
The first chapter of the story is the most important chapter you’ll write.