Vince Gilligan delivers the first monster-of-the-week episode of the seventh season with Hungry, an episode that first aired on 21 November, 1999. Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) are investigating a strange murder in California, a body is recovered with no brain matter, and a strange hole that Mulder thinks may have been a…
Mission: Impossible (1968) – The Diplomat, and The Play
Cinnamon (Barbara Bain) is missing from the first assignment this week as Phelps (Peter Graves) takes his IMF team back undercover to run a mission to make genuine U.S. defense information is actual erronous and fake. The Diplomat was penned by Jerrold L. Ludwig, and had an original airdate of 1 December, 1968. To make…
Shadow and Bone (2012) – Leigh Bardugo
My second foray into the Grishaverse was the first one written, Shadow and Bone. And much like Six of Crows, I got swept up pretty damned quick in the story and the characters, and can’t wait to continue to explore the rest of the realm that Bardugo created. In this novel, we are introduced to…
Peril at End House (1932) – Agatha Christie
It’s time to check in with that little Belgian investigator, Hercule Poirot, is doing. He and Hastings return in Agatha Christie’s Peril at End House. And to keep the genre fresh, this time Poirot and his slawart companion are determined to stop a murder before it happens. When a chance meeting with Nick Buckley, a…
TIFF 2021: Lakewood dir. Phillip Noyce
Naomi Watts stars in Phillip Noyce’s white knuckle thriller, Lakewood. Even though there is a melodramatic bent to the film, the movie personifies every parent’s nightmare, and shows that even on personal days, you’re still a parent 24/7. With the one year anniversary of her husband’s death approaching, Amy (Watts) is doing her best with…
TIFF 2021: The Mad Women’s Ball dir. Melanie Laurent
Poignant and emotionally satisfying, Laurent’s film, The Mad Women’s Ball is a lush period piece that resonates with impactful themes and understated performances. Based on the novel of the same name by Victoria Mas, the film’s narrative follows Eugenie (Lou de Laage), a woman who suffers from visions that may be spiritual visitations. Very much…
TIFF 2021: The Devil’s Drivers dir. Mohammed Abugeth and Daniel Carsenty
Shot over the course of eight years, The Devil’s Drivers is a fascinating documentary that ends up feeling incomplete. Revving and running between the borders of Palestine and Israel, the film feels constrained by its 90 minute time. Brushing gently against the political and religious situations that permeate the area, the narrative elects to follow…
The X-Files (1999) – The Sixth Extinction, and The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati
Series creator Chris Carter pens the seventh season opener of The X-Files, which premiered on 7 November, 1999. Scully (Gillian Anderson) is still in West Africa, on the Ivory Coast, investigating the strange, possible extraterrestrial structure (craft?) that the ocean has revealed. The entire thing is covered in text that seems to touch on all…
Magnum P.I.: Season Three – DVD Review
Jay Hernandez and Perdita Weeks return for another season of tropical mystery as they continue their roles of Magnum and Higgins, respectively, as the series continues its 21st century take on the iconic 80s television show. Over the course of sixteen episodes the series, which has definitely carved out a spot for itself, allows the…
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) – 4K Review
The infamous Snyder Cut comes to physical media this week from Warner Brothers and it is an event. After the disastrous theatrical release that saw the film taken over by Joss Whedon when director Zack Snyder had to step away for personal reasons, fans around the world lobbied Warner to release Snyder’s version of the…
TIFF 2021: Jagged dir. Alison Klayman
Alanis Morissette. Heralbum Jagged Little Pill is practically synonymous with the 90s. And so many of us can’t help but remember where we were when we heard it, bought it, played it over and over. Critics talked about how angry it sounded, while I remember thinking how human it sounded, how relatable, and how it…
TIFF 2021: Belfast dir. Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh delivers a stand out event at TIFF with his beautifully and lovingly made, Belfast. Featuring a gorgeous score by Van Morrison, this cinematic jewel is something to behold. Equally awash in nostalgia as it is with the realities of the time, Belfast guides us to a little street that is the midst of…
