…and though we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home. This ship is England….

On the fourteenth of November 2003, Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, adapted from the 20-book series of Aubrey-Maturin novels by Patrick O’Brian, was released in the United States in a co-production by Twentieth-Century Fox, Universal Studios, Samuel Goldwyn Films, and Miramax. Costing roughly $150 million, the film earned $212 million worldwide.  Read More …

September 19th, 1997 – The ‘Boat Movie’s’ Competitor Arrived! (HAPPY TWENTIETH BIRTHDAY TO A FILM NOIR CLASSIC)

The so-called ‘Boat Movie’ as it came to be known was released in December of the same year and went on – for a time – to become the biggest worldwide box office hit of all time. When the Academy Awards rolled around in 1998, the blockbuster Titanic’ was considered to have one major competitor when Read More …

Not THAT Gladiator…Gladiator!

There once was a movie called Gladiator…but it’s not the one you’re thinking about.  It was released in 1992 and starred Oscar winner Cuba Gooding, Jr., Brian Dennehy, Robert Loggia and James Marshall (better known as James on a little TV show called Twin Peaks). Which was why – in 2000 – when I started hearing about Gladiator, Read More …

What We Do In Life, Echoes in Eternity – Seventeen Years Ago Today

My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the TRUE emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

April 7th, 1964

And a Happy Birthday to a man of many faces…

On this day in 2001…

You can see the expression on his face. He did NOT expect to win! And no one came up and told him he had to give it back either! On this day in 2001, Russell Crowe – with his second Academy Award nomination – won best actor for his role as Maximus Decimus Meridias in Read More …