Author Archive: RodMacDonald
Culloden/The War Game (1964/1965) (Blu-ray films review).
War dominates this disc containing the films ‘Culloden’ and ‘The War Game’ from the BFI. Both movies are documentary/drama presentation of conflicts that took place which changed our lives forever. The first, ‘Culloden’, being the last battle fought on British soil, that between the Stuarts and the Hanoverians at Culloden near Inverness, in the year […]
Black Mama White Mama (1973) (film blu-ray review).
In 1958, Tony Curtis and Sydney Poitier made a movie called ‘The Defiant Ones’ where two escapees from prison were shackled together on the run. This movie, ‘Black Mama, White Mama’, from 1972, is somewhat similar in that two women, Lee Daniels (Pam Grier) and Karen Brent (Margaret Markov), escape from custody despite being at […]
The Pack (2015) (DVD film review),
A movie from Australia, ‘The Pack’ is, as the name suggests, a tale about canine terrorists. Fierce dogs roaming the countryside with a taste for blood that don’t stop at sheep because they have developed a liking for human flesh. It starts with an elderly farming couple in a remote location of South Australia. First, […]
The Mutilator (1986) (dvd/Blu-ray film review).
Shares in tomato ketchup suppliers must have gone up dramatically during the production of this movie, ‘The Mutilator’, because gallons of it will have been used. With a synopsis entitled, ‘by sword, by pick, by axe, bye bye’, it couldn’t be anything else. From 1986, here we have an outrageous example of gruesome horror. For […]
American Horror Project Vol 1 (horror film DVD/Blu-ray review).
There seems to be a formula here and that is to take three obscure movies from the 70s, movies that haven’t been seen for years, and put them back upfront in a lavish presentation costing over £40. However, you’ve got to think for yourself, why have they not been seen for years? The reason is […]
Lost Girl DVD: The Complete Final Season (DVD TV review).
It’s bad news for the many fans of the Canadian supernatural series, ‘Lost Girl’, in that it is coming to an end after five seasons but at least there will be a conclusion to the long-running saga. Starring Anna Silk as Bo, the succubus from the world of the Fae, which basically means that she […]
The Farthest City by Daniel P Swenson (book review).
An enjoyable enough book to read, here we have ‘The Furthest City’, a space opera by the Californian author, Daniel P Swenson. This is a self-published novel which immediately rings alarm bells because the thought comes to mind that it isn’t good enough to attract a commercial publishing house but, we all know how difficult […]
What Have You Done To Solange (1972) (Blu-ray/DVD film review).
We have all heard of spaghetti westerns but spaghetti horror is not so well-known and here we have an example from 1971, ‘What Have You Done To Solange’, unearthed by Arrow Films who are quite experienced in the resurrection of Italian cinema. It is indeed a strange movie with a strange atmosphere but actually it’s […]
Uncanny Magazine Issue number 8 January/February 2016 (magazine review)
When ‘Uncanny Magazine’ came out, the covers were a bit wishy-washy but now they have improved remarkably. The latest issue has a cover by Priscilla H Kim who comes from Austin, Texas. Some of her work concentrates on the theme of warrior women and one such example appears on the front page. Yes, a definite […]
The Year’s Top Short SF Novels 5 edited by Allan Kaster (CD review)
Here we have a collection of six short Science Fiction novels of 2014 from established and emerging writers. It’s a bumper pack of 14 CDs lasting 16 hours presented in a neat package and narrated by two very experienced readers, Tom Dheere and Nancy Linari, both being familiar to listeners of previous presentations from this […]
