I know that this film is a remake of a Mel Brooks movie, and has been a hit on Broadway. Unfortunately, it just didn't do anything for me.

I think I have fairly low standards when it comes to movies; all I ask is that they...
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I know that this film is a remake of a Mel Brooks movie, and has been a hit on Broadway. Unfortunately, it just didn't do anything for me.

I think I have fairly low standards when it comes to movies; all I ask is that they entertain me. The Producers failed to do that, and failed to the point where I didn't even finish watching it. I don't know the last time that that's happened... no matter how bad a movie is, I usually finish watching. But I just couldn't maintain an interest level high enough to see the end of this movie.

The one thought that I had while watching the first half was, "this might work on stage, but it sure isn't working on the screen!" The acting seemed overdone and screechy; the songs just weren't catchy. And the story line moved too slowly to keep my interest.

Field of Dreams is one of my favourite movies; it's perfectly cast, and wonderfully acted. The script is based on a book by WP Kinsella, who writes funny stories.

This story is about baseball, and how it is a staple of American...
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Field of Dreams is one of my favourite movies; it's perfectly cast, and wonderfully acted. The script is based on a book by WP Kinsella, who writes funny stories.

This story is about baseball, and how it is a staple of American life, even going so far as to be able to heal a man's relationship with his father even after death. That's some pretty powerful mojo, and reading it like that makes it sound hokey, but this movie (and the story) is anything but.

What it is is a wonderful story of hope and redemption. How sometimes we have to do things that we don't always understand, but with faith, things will turn out okay, and the ordinary can become extraordinary.

What I like best about this movie is that that actually happened for the people who own the corn field in real life... as Karen says in the movie, "People will come!" And they did, and do... and the two farmers who owned a corn field now have a tourist site on their hands. That just makes me happy, as this movie does.

I saw this movie a long, long time ago, but I've never forgotten it. Kevin Bacon is absolutely amazing in his portrayal of the lead character, a man imprisoned for the theft of $5.00.

It's Kevin Bacon who makes this movie; he...
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I saw this movie a long, long time ago, but I've never forgotten it. Kevin Bacon is absolutely amazing in his portrayal of the lead character, a man imprisoned for the theft of $5.00.

It's Kevin Bacon who makes this movie; he becomes the character, and his descent, his loss of his humanity is just wonderfully done. I thought that he would surely be at least nominated for an Oscar for his role in this film, if not win the award; unfortuantely, he was passed over.

However, this is a very emotional movie, and memorable. I recommend it to everyone... fact or fiction aside, it's just a great movie.

Ray Bradbury is a science fiction author, and one of the greats in the field. He has written science fiction for well over 60 years, and his novels are timeless. But his writing isn't just limited to novels; he also does short stories, poems,...
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Ray Bradbury is a science fiction author, and one of the greats in the field. He has written science fiction for well over 60 years, and his novels are timeless. But his writing isn't just limited to novels; he also does short stories, poems, and has made movies as well.

The book that he's probably most well known for is Fahrenheit 451, and it is something that anyone would be proud to be known for. It's a fantastic book with a moving message about the world and censorship; ironically, this book was, itself, censored.

His book of short stories about Mars, The Martian Chronicles, is excellent as well. As are his other books, but if you're looking for a place to start in reading some of Bradbury's books, those would be two good suggestions. If you want something not so heavy on the sci-fi and more in the scary area, try Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Brent Butt began as a stand up comedian, but I didn't hear of him until I started watching Corner Gas. He's the creator and sometimes writer for the show, and stars in it as well, as Brent LeRoy. The idea of the show is just to deal with life's...
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Brent Butt began as a stand up comedian, but I didn't hear of him until I started watching Corner Gas. He's the creator and sometimes writer for the show, and stars in it as well, as Brent LeRoy. The idea of the show is just to deal with life's little problems, but in a funny way, and in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere.

He plays the role well, and in interviews, he's certainly made it pretty obvious that he's pretty much playing himself. However, he's also writing some of the episodes, and therefore writing other characters too; and as executive producer, he has a say in all the episodes. It's a great show, and Brent Butt is the driving force behind it, which makes him incredibly talented, in my book!

Charles deLint is an author; it's a little difficult to categorize him, as he doesn't write science fiction, and he doesn't really write fantasy... he sort of does, but that's where things get difficult. His writing encompasses a few different...
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Charles deLint is an author; it's a little difficult to categorize him, as he doesn't write science fiction, and he doesn't really write fantasy... he sort of does, but that's where things get difficult. His writing encompasses a few different genres: there's some fantasy in there, and mythology, and also just human interaction. Many of his stories and novels are set in the fictional town of Newford, and deal with the people who live there. Of course, not all of them are "people" in the strictest sense. Some of them are gods, some are brownies and hobs, some are mischieveous fairies... and the stories deal with how these characters interact with each other and reality.

If you want to give Charles deLint's writing a try, I'd suggest that you start with a short story volume; that way, you'll get an introduction to some of the characters without having to wander through a novel not knowing who they are. But you should definitely give him a try!

Connie Willis writes science fiction, and does a very good job at it. I haven't read all the books that she's written, but I have read quite a few, and a lot of her short stories as well. Her stories are always well-crafted, with interesting...
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Connie Willis writes science fiction, and does a very good job at it. I haven't read all the books that she's written, but I have read quite a few, and a lot of her short stories as well. Her stories are always well-crafted, with interesting characters and plot lines. The dialogue is realistic, and the science is... well, it's science fiction, so that just about sums it up.

She tends to write a lot of stories about time travel, particularly back to the Victorian age. Her novel "To Say Nothing of the Dog" was on that topic, and similarly, the Hugo and Nebula winning "Doomsday Book" was also about time travel, although this time, she went back to the 14th century, in plague-ridden England. Both books won awards and are very good. I enjoy reading them over and over.

Her stories are also humorous; she manages to combine time travel, science fiction, comedy and reality all into one plot.

So if you're looking for a good time travel novel, or an interesting short story, in the science fiction genre, Connie Willis is a good author to start with!

This review is based on Summer Glau's role as River Tam in Firefly.

River must have been a difficult role to play; she was a young girl undergoing psychotic breaks from reality; her brain had been 'tinkered with' by the Alliance,...
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This review is based on Summer Glau's role as River Tam in Firefly.

River must have been a difficult role to play; she was a young girl undergoing psychotic breaks from reality; her brain had been 'tinkered with' by the Alliance, and she had special abilities. But Summer played this role with emotion and grace. There were times when River had to be scared and lost; Summer handled that most believeably. There were other times when River had to be strong and in charge, and Summer also handled those scenes with aplomb. There were also scenes where River was funny; and Summer carried that off well too. One of my favourite scenes from Firefly was the scene in which Simon 'threatens' Jayne by not threatening him, and says that they have to trust each other. River pokes her head around the corner and just tells him, "Also, I can kill you with my brain." It was hilarious and so well done. She was serious, but still managed to convey that she was just threatening him, but not necessarily willing to carry through with it.

I've heard it said that playing 'stupid' is one of the hardest types of roles to play. I imagine that playing psychologically damaged geniuses must be pretty hard too, but Summer Glau played this role magnificently!

Neil Gaiman is an author. And a song writer. And a director/producer. And a screen writer. He has albums out (okay, books on cd, but still... they sell well); he has videos that he's in, and videos that he's directed. He wrote the English...
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Neil Gaiman is an author. And a song writer. And a director/producer. And a screen writer. He has albums out (okay, books on cd, but still... they sell well); he has videos that he's in, and videos that he's directed. He wrote the English version of the script for the movie "Princess Mononoke".

I started reading Neil Gaiman's work back in the early 90s; I'd seen an interview he did on "Prisoners of Gravity" and got interested in the comic book that he was writing at the time, "The Sandman". I'd never heard of it before, but was intrigued by the interview, and so went out to look for it. And I'm glad I did!

Since that time, I've tried to keep up with everything that he does, but he's just so talented and prolific that it's hard. He writes novels and short stories (that usually win awards), he does picture books (that also win awards), he does movies, books on tape, song lyrics... there just doesn't seem to be anything that Neil can't do, and do well.

I've had the pleasure of meeting him twice at book signings and he's always been friendly and personable, even after hours of signing. He's just an all-round great guy!