This one is for my friend Lindsay, who insists this is a better shark movie than Jaws, and yet it can’t help but make a number of references to it, not the least of which is a familiar-looking licence plate. Director Renny Harlin does, for the most part, deliver a fairly solid thriller though even…
Author: TD Rideout
Fan Expo 2023 – Day 3
Saturdays at Fan Expo at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre are always packed, busy, and filled to the brim with a variety of fandoms, a number of people come for the one day only, and it is an experience. Since, Covid, I’ve been a little anxious with large crowds, but was willing to see if…
Hill Street Blues (1986) – Two Easy Pieces, and Say It as It Plays
Belker (Bruce Weitz) is working undercover and things go unexpectedly on the night he and Robin (Lisa Sutton) are supposed to get married. Two Easy Pieces was written by Jacob Epstein, Dick Wolf, and Robert Ward from a story by Jeffrey Lewis, Walon Green, and David Milch. It was first broadcast on 9 January, 1986….
Fan Expo 2023 – Day 2
So Day 2 of Fan Expo played out for yours truly in the North Building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre as I stalked Celebrity Alley and worked on some Star Trek autographs. It also gave me a chance to chat and interact with fans and retailers who were making the most of their weekend…
1923 – Season 1 Blu-Ray Review
Taylor Sheridan has built a bit of an entertainment juggernaut with his Yellowstone series. It already had one limited series spinoff with 1883, and now Paramount Canada delivers the second one, 1923, on physical media, making it available on both DVD and Blu-Ray. 1923 continues exploring the story of the Dutton family as they run…
Hard Target (1993) – John Woo
John Woo movies are great to watch, though some are tougher to get through than others. His first North American effort, Hard Target, with Sam Raimi at his side to help if needed, could have been something really special if the film had a lead who could act. Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in the film,…
Fan Expo 2023 – Day 1
It’s been a couple of years since I was last at Fan Expo. I had a brief appearance last year, hosting a panel for Dundurn Press (check out their booth this year, lots of great books to read!) and getting some gorgeous art for the living room wall. I was a little anxious about the…
Batman (1967) – Penguin Is a Girl’s Best Friend, Penguin Sets a Trend, and Penguin’s Disastrous End
We find ourselves with another three-part episode. This one features the return of both The Penguin (Burgess Meredith) and Marsha, Queen of Diamonds (Carolyn Jones). Written by Stanford Sherman this story really puts Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) through it. The first episode aired on 26 January, 1967. This time around the Dynamic…
Family Ties (1983) – Speed Trap, Sweet Lorraine, and Batter Up
Alex (Micheal J. Fox) is under a lot of stress with exams and scholarship applications and turns to amphetamines in Speed Trap. Written by Micheal J. Weithorn, this episode was first broadcast on 9 November, 1983. Alex approaches Mallory (Justine Bateman) about reaching out to one of her friends who has a prescription for them…
The Twisted Ones (2019) – T. Kingfisher
I absolutely loved Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places and immediately sought out her other horror novel, The Twisted Ones, and much like Places, this one didn’t disappoint. Filled with a sense of humor that is increasingly mixed with dread, this tale dives into folk horror, and leaves enough questions unanswered that the solutions your imagination creates,…
The Mind Reels 