To contact Chris Winter, send email to this address.Copyright © 2005-2024 Christopher P. Winter. All rights reserved.
This page was last modified on 4 February 2024.
| VISUAL MEDIA |
This review category includes films, television shows, and videos in all genres. Reviews of books about visual media are also collected here. That would include books like Stephen E. Whitfield's classic The Making of Star Trek. To aid in locating the desired genre of work, but not get too complicated, I settled on an eight-color scheme for this section. The following table illustrates the eight colors for the various film genres. (Books are beige, as elsewhere in the reviews categories.) And now the genres are also indicated in the left-hand column. |
| Biography or Documentary |
Comedy Film |
Dramatic Film |
Fantasy Film |
Horror Film |
Musical Film |
Science Fiction |
Western Film |
| GENRE | DIRECTOR or PRINCIPAL AUTHOR |
TITLE (Linked to review) |
RATING (0-5) |
REVIEW DATE |
ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF | Anderson, Michael | Logan's Run | 4.5 | 8/31/2018 | Logan 6 was happy to be a Sandman for The City — until he came to understand the lie at its heart. Would he be able to make a difference?. |
| BD | Attenborough, Richard | Cry Freedom | 5.0 | 8/12/2015 | A harrowing depiction of the apartheid regime of South Africa and its murder of Steve Biko. |
| SF | Azzopardi, Mario | Children of the Gods | 4.0 | 10/16/2022 | This 2009 movie introduces Teal'C rebelling against the cruelty of the Goa'uld — and it ends w3th a bang-up fight scene. |
| BD | Bach, Joel | Years of Living Dangerously | 5.0 | 10/21/2016 | This nine-episode Showtime TV series explains why we need to care about climate change. |
| DF | Baker, Roy Ward | Don't Bother To Knock | 4.0 | 3/05/2017 | A bravura performance by Marilyn Monroe makes this 1952 black&white film worth watching. |
| SF | Bernds, Edward | Queen of Outer Space | 2.0 | 9/30/2022 | A dastardly attack sends a routine space mission to crash on Venus, where the three crewmen discover the source of the attack — and a civilization worth saving. |
| SF | Bernds, Edward | World Without End | 3.5 | 8/22/2018 | Wafted 550 years ahead in time, the crew of a Mars expedition finds itself on an Earth where humanity is dying out. |
| FF | Bowman, Rob | Elektra | 4.0 | 3/31/2018 | Hatred of the Hand made Elektra an assassin for hire. Now she must face the Hand's most formidable warriors. Her skills alone will not save her; she must also find love in her heart. |
| SF | Cameron, James | The Abyss | 4.0 | 3/07/2017 | Superb special effects, good acting, and plenty of action make James Cameron's underwater epic worth watching. |
| SF | Codd, Matt | Epoch | 3.5 | 7/14/2016 | Decent special effects, an original premise, and good performances by the leads highlight this 2000 science fiction film. |
| DF | Coen, Joel | Fargo | 4.5 | 7/24/2017 | A crime spree so bizarre could only happen in real life — and so it did. |
| BD | Comfort, Ray | Evolution vs. God | 0.5 | 3/05/2017 | Purporting to debunk evolution, Ray Comfort spouts nonsense for 35 minutes. |
| SF | Cooper, Robert C. | The Ark of Truth | 4.0 | 10/14/2022 | A decent followup to the two-part TV episode of Stargate SG-1 in which the ORI are destroyed by Merlin's weapon. |
| MF | Coppola, Francis Ford | Finian's Rainbow | 4.0 | 7/31/2017 | Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of the 1947 Broadway play is thoroughly enjoyable. |
| CF | Coppola, Sofia | Lost in Translation | 4.0 | 9/02/2018 | An offbeat, bittersweet comedy about two bored&lonely people striking up an unlikely friendship in Tokyo. |
| DF | Curtiz, Michael | Casablanca | 5.0 | 6/17/2015 | A true classic. |
| CF | DaCosta, Morton | Auntie Mame | 4.5 | 7/21/2017 | In this delightful comedy, Rosalind Russell rejuvenated her film career with her energetic performance as the redoubtable Mame Dennis. |
| FF | DeBont, Jan | Lara Croft: Cradle of Life | 4.0 | 6/12/2017 | Angelina Jolie's second outing as Lara Croft: better than the first, but still over the top. |
| DF | Demme, Jonathan | The Silence of the Lambs | 5.0 | 4/12/2017 | One of the best crime films going. |
| SF | Derrickson, Scott | The Day The Earth Stood Still | 3.0 | 8/14/2017 | Interplanetary visitor Klaatu returns in a remake of the 1951 classic — but his purpose has changed. |
| CF | Edwards, Blake | 10 | 3.0 | 9/03/2015 | A passable romantic comedy, notable mainly as the first major film of gorgeous Bo Derek. |
| FF | Emmerich, Roland | 10,000 BC | 4.5 | 9/08/2017 | When a tribe's young women are stolen by mounted marauders, the warriors pursue on foot, finally arriving at a city of wonders — and far more formidable foes. |
| DF | Emmerich, Roland | The Day After Tomorrow | 4.5 | 8/22/2018 | Jack Hall's warning of weird weather goes unheeded. Soon a catastrophic chill hits the northern half of the U.S., sending refugees fleeing to Mexico — and Jack to rescue his son from a frigid Manhattan. |
| SF | Emmerich, Roland | Independence Day | 4.5 | 8/22/2018 | In Emmerich's homage to the 1953 War of the Worlds, alien invaders lay waste to Terra's major cities. |
| SF | Emmerich, Roland | Stargate | 4.5 | 8/22/2018 | A penniless eccentric provides the key to open Earth's forgotten stargate — a way to endless promise and peril. |
| DF | Fleming, Victor | Gone with the Wind | 4.0 | 9/01/2015 | The film adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's novel is an epic production deserving its accolades — but also a glorified soap opera. |
| SF | Forbes, Bryan | The Stepford Wives | 4.0 | 4/11/2018 | Stepford, CT is an ideal refuge from the noise and hassle of New York City — with a deadly secret. |
| HF | Grauman, Walter | The Disembodied | 3.0 | 11/28/2020 | Allison Hayes makes this mediocre voodoo horror film worth watching once. |
| HF | Greek, Janet | Spellbinder | 4.0 | 4/12/2017 | A well-crafted and tautly paced erotic horror film. |
| BD | Hackford, Taylor | Ray | 4.5 | 4/12/2017 | A detailed and unsparing dramatization of the life of the legendary entertainer. |
| DF | Hathaway, Henry | Sundown | 3.5 | 10/21/2017 | A well-crafted war drama in the old-school tradition, ably restored by The Film Detective. |
| CF | Hawks, Howard | Man's Favorite Sport? | 3.5 | 4/08/2018 | Hudson and Prentiss perform their parts with admirable energy in this durably watchable slapstick romantic comedy. |
| FF | Hayer, Sidney | Burn, Witch, Burn | 3.5 | 2/10/2019 | The best-rated of three films based on Fritz Leiber's Conjure Wife, this has great acting and impact but suffers from erratic plotting and pacing. |
| SF | Henson, Brian | Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars | 4.5 | 10/29/2023 | A fitting finale to the TV series Farscape (1999-2003), it has intriguing characters and plenty of action. |
| CF | Higgins, Colin | 9 to 5 | 4.0 | 9/03/2017 | This may be the quintessential feminist comedy of revenge on a male-chauvinist boss. |
| CF | Hill, George Roy | Thoroughly Modern Millie | 3.5 | 4/10/2018 | A very enjoyable cascade of inspired silliness. |
| SF | Hooper, Tobe | Lifeforce | 3.0 | 8/30/2015 | Space vampires ravage London in this action-filled spectacular, notable for a ludicrous plot and the bravura performance of Mathilda May. |
| FF | Howard, Ron | Willow | 4.0 | 6/08/2017 | Destiny calls the humble halfling Willow Ufgood to heroic deeds in the service of good. |
| CF | Hughes, Kenneth | Casino Royale | 4.0 | 8/30/2018 | This film is a cheerful cascade of absurdities — which is precisely the point of a spoof. |
| DF | Huston, John | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre | 5.0 | 6/17/2015 | Just one of the best westerns on film, and Bogart's best role. |
| SF | Hyams, Peter | 2010: The Year We Make Contact | 4.5 | 7/29/2016 | A worthy sequel to 2001, and one with more realistic depictions of space flight. |
| FF | Jackson, Peter | The Lord of the Rings | 5.0 | 6/08/2017 | There's not likely to be a better filmed fantasy than this trilogy adapted from Tolkien's famous novels. |
| Book | Jefferson, Alan | The Complete Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Guide | 5.0 | 11/03/2013 | For fans of the "dynamic duo" of nineteenth-century British comic opera, this book is not to be missed. |
| FF | Jenkins, Patty | Wonder Woman | 4.5 | 8/25/2018 | This blockbuster fantasy blends action, special effects, character development, and a bit of comic relief into a well-balanced entertainment film. |
| CF | Jewison, Norman | The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! | 4.5 | 3/06/2017 | This 1966 comedy ably satirizes the Cold-War hysteria of that era. |
| SF | Kusama, Karyn | Aeon Flux | 3.5 | 4/01/2018 | Only one living city remains on Earth in 2415, and its inhabitants are sterile. Can Trevor Goodkind's experiments restore humanity's lost fecundity? |
| FF | Lee, Ang | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | 5.0 | 6/08/2016 | The fate of the sword of power Green Destiny and its master Li Mu Bai are tested in this tale of love and sacrifice. |
| FF | Levine, Jonathan | Warm Bodies | 3.5 | 3/01/2018 | Zombies recover and rejoin the human race in this highly original and well-crafted love story. |
| BD | Liman, Doug | Fair Game | 4.0 | 8/17/2015 | A biopic of the Valerie Plame affair, in which the Bush administration revealed her CIA covert status, ending her career. |
| CF | MacKendrick, Alexander | Don't Make Waves | 3.0 | 3/05/2017 | Sharon Tate decorates this contrived but enjoyable romantic comedy. |
| CF | MacKendrick, Alexander | The Man in the White Suit | 3.0 | 6/10/2018 | The young Alec Guiness as a scientist who invents a seemingly indestructible fabric — causing consternation among the mill owners. |
| FF | Mankiewicz, Joseph L. | The Ghost and Mrs. Muir | 4.0 | 7/18/2016 | This romantic comedy features bravura performances by Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. |
| BD | Marshland, Brad | The Next Frontier | 5.0 | 8/30/2015 | A serious but light-hearted explanation of what can be done to minimize the effects of climate change |
| DF | Noonan, Tom | What Happened Was... | 4.0 | 2/25/2018 | Two lonely people working in a Manhattan office try and fail to spark a relationship. |
| DF | Noyce, Phillip | Rabbit-Proof Fence | 4.5 | 7/02/2018 | Based on a true story, this film is an engrossing potrayal of three young half-caste girls making their way home on foot across the Australian outback. |
| DF | Ozon, François | Swimming Pool | 3.5 | 3/01/2018 | A middle-aged British crime novelist goes to her publisher's villa in the south of France to recharge and gets some charges she never expected. |
| Book | Perkowitz, Sidney | Hollywood Science | 5.0 | 11/26/2011 | This book by Perkowitz is a cogent and reasonably flexible analysis of the scientific accuracy of Hollywood film-making through the years. |
| BD | Poitras, Laura | Citizenfour | 4.5 | 5/21/2017 | Edward Snowden is "Citizenfour," and this film tells part of his story. |
| WF | Preminger, Otto | River of No Return | 4.0 | 7/27/2016 | Romance and revenge contend in this western which excels because of the byplay between Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. |
| CF | Quine, Richard | Bell, Book and Candle | 3.0 | 8/24/2015 | Witchcraft forms the pivot on which this romantic comedy revolves, as Kim Novak enchants James Stewart. |
| DF | Quine, Richard | Pushover | 4.0 | 7/01/2018 | Fred MacMurray plays an honest cop corrupted by Kim Novak's beauty and the loot from her crime partner's bank heist. |
| CF | Reitman, Ivan | Dave | 4.5 | 3/12/2018 | A well-crafted comedy with a feel-good resolution, Dave works at any time. But the real-world politics of 2018 make it even more satisfying. |
| FF | Robbins, Matthew | Dragonslayer | 4.5 | 7/30/2017 | A boy kills a dragon and becomes a man in this excellent and suspenseful fantasy film from Disney studios. |
| BD | Salles, Walter |
The Motorcycle Diaries (My review in Spanish) |
5.0 | 9/12/2015 | The South American Wanderjahr of a young Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado, told in a manner quite faithful to the actual history. |
| SF | Sanders, Rupert | Ghost in the Shell | 4.5 | 2/12/2021 | Near-future Tokyo: Most everyone has a cyber implant. Major Mira Killian, the first human-robot blend, fights crime on the 'Net and in R/L. |
| SF | Scott, Ridley | Prometheus | 2.0 | 6/08/2012 | Flashy sets and camera work. Competent acting, Wholly holey (and slightly holy) plot. |
| WF | Siegel, Don | Two Mules for Sister Sara | 4.0 | 8/17/2016 | Plenty of action, gorgeous exteriors, and a score by Ennio Morricone make this an enjoyable western. |
| DF | Thorpe, Richard | The Prisoner of Zenda | 4.0 | 7/20/2016 | Adventure in the classic Hollywood style, with all the swashbuckling and pomp you expect. |
| SF | Twohy, David | The Arrival | 4.5 | 9/05/2015 | A tautly suspenseful plot, plus inventive sets and concepts, are the best features of this 1996 science fiction film. |
| DF | Verhoeven, Paul | Basic Instinct | 3.5 | 4/19/2021 | A well-executed whodunit, notable for gory violence and the nude sex scenes between Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone. |
| SF | Verhoeven, Paul | Total Recall | 4.0 | 9/06/2017 | A largely coherent plot, non-stop action, and good effects redeem this sometimes silly Schwarzenegger vehicle. |
| SF | Watson, Ian | Epoch: Evolution | 2.0 | 7/16/2016 | A good performance by David Keith doesn't save this Epoch sequel. |
| FF | West, Simon | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider | 3.5 | 6/15/2017 | Angelina Jolie's first appearance as Lara Croft has a skimpy plot but plenty of action and awesome special effects. |
| Book | Whitfield, Stephen E. | The Making of Star Trek | 5.0 | 7/28/2020 | I believe this is the first book that gave us a look inside the production of the orginal, classic Star Trek series. |
| SF | Wilcox, Fred M. | Forbidden Planet | 5.0 | 8/31/2015 | A classic science fiction work that should be on every SF fan's top 20 films list. |
| SF | Wise, Robert | The Day the Earth Stood Still | 4.5 | 9/08/2017 | The original version is a Cold War classic that deftly delivers a strong message of peace. |
| MF | Wise, Robert | The Sound of Music | 5.0 | 8/23/2015 | Musicals don't get much better than this dramatization of the von Trapp family's escape from an Austria newly overrun by the Third Reich. |
| BD | Yates, Pamela | When the Mountains Tremble | 3.5 | 8/30/2016 | Indigenous peoples of Guatemala rise up against the corrupt government that exploits them. |
| FF | Yates, Peter | Krull | 3.5 | 1/20/2023 | Original concepts and good production values overall make this defense of the fantasy world of Krull worth watching. |
| WF | Young, Terence | Red Sun | 4.0 | 6/08/2016 | Charles Bronson and Toshirô Mifune join forces against bad guys in this "east meets west" western. |
| SF | Zemeckis, Robert | Contact | 4.5 | 10/24/2016 | This engaging film is largely faithful to the Sagan/Druyan novel, and it asks some probing questions. |
| CF | Zemeckis, Robert | Death Becomes Her | 4.5 | 7/06/2017 | Competent acting and stunning special effects make this parody of Hollywood vanity enjoyable, but not memorable. |
| FF | Zhang, Yimou | House of Flying Daggers | 4.5 | 4/23/2017 | Superb scenery and many acrobatic fights highlight this classic martial-arts drama. |
| DF | Zinnemann, Fred | A Man for All Seasons | 5.0 | 7/27/2017 | A superb dramatization of the last seven years in the life of Sir Thomas More. |
| FF | Zucker, Jerry | Ghost | 4.5 | 7/21/2016 | Its mixture of comedy and pathos with superb special effects makes this a most enjoyable ghost story. |
| The books and other media are rated from 0 to 5 in increments of 0.5. (Visual media are also given an integer rating from 0 to 10 to correspond with IMDB ratings.) Colors represent the following quality ranges: | ||||
| 4.0 to 5.0 | Quality: | HIGH | (Color = Aqua) | Competent to exceptional; well worth the money |
| 2.0 to 3.5 | Quality: | FAIR | (Color = Lime) | Useful/enjoyable despite some flaws; may or may not be worth buying. |
| 0.5 to 1.5 | Quality: | POOR | (Color = Yellow) | Seriously flawed; read/watch it if you wish, but don't buy it. |
| 0.0 to 0.0 | Quality: | YUCK | (Color = Fuchsia) | Avoid this work at all costs! |
To contact Chris Winter, send email to this address.