Is Freejack great? No one is under that impression. Is it fun? Definitely. Sure, it falls apart in the final act, and some of the special effects are questionable (though some are very well-used) but the rest of the ride is fairly enjoyable as Emilio Estevez chews scenery, Rene Russo looks stunning, and Anthony Hopkins…
Author: TD Rideout
Hill Street Blues (1983) – Praise Dilaudid, and Goodbye, Mr. Scripps
Michael Wagner wrote the teleplay for Praise Dilaudid from a story by Steven Bochco, Jeffrey Lewis and David Milch. It first debuted on 17 November, 1983. Chief Daniels’ (Jon Cypher) political aspirations seem on the edge of imploding this week after a number of debacles, including the events around Doris Robson (Alfre Woodard) and some…
The Sum of All Fears (2002) – Phil Alden Robinson
Ben Affleck steps into the role of CIA analyst Jack Ryan as Paramount Pictures relaunches the Tom Clancy hero, yet again, in The Sum of All Fears. They make him younger, near the beginning of his career, and his relationship with Cathy (Bridget Moynahan). Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with relaunching a…
The Equalizer (1988) – Last Call, and Regrets Only
Mickey (Keith Szarabajka) finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when he’s in a bar for last call and trouble walks in the door in the form of Lewis (Joe Maruzzo) and his brother Frank (Michael Ceveris). Written by Robert Crais this episode first debuted on 23 March, 1988. Frank and Lewis…
The Expanse (2019) – A Shot in the Dark, and The One-Eyed Man
A Shot in the Dark, once again, elevates the trouble and the tension that is happening in The Expanse universe. Written by Dan Nowak, and dropping with the rest of the season on Prime on 13 December, 2019, we learn that there is trouble brewing on Ilus in a big way. Holden (Steven Strait), Amos…
The Sun Down Motel (2020) – Simone St. James
The Sun Down Motel is a fantastically creepy and thrilling novel from Simone St. James. The novel follows two storylines concurrently bouncing back and forth between the years 1982 and 2017, culminating in a white-knuckle climax that is satisfying, engaging, and sneaks quite comfortably into Stephen King territory. In November 1982 Vivian arrived in Fell,…
The Equalizer (1988) – The Mystery of Manon: Part 2, and No Place Like Home
McCall (Edward Woodward) deals with the now-public reveal that Yvette (Melissa Sue Anderson) is his daughter and that whoever abducted and abused Manon (Anne Heywood) is going to use her to destroy McCall, his son Scott (William Zabka) and Control (Robert Lansing). The second part of The Mystery of Manon was written by Coleman Luck…
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012) – Jay Oliva
The Dark Knight Returns is an iconic graphic novel, a story that redefined Batman in the 80s, and was, perhaps, the one adaptation that I was looking forward to most. I liked that the creative team knew to tell the story properly, they had to take their time with it, setting everything up, which meant…
Thief (1981) – Michael Mann
Michael Mann is a fantastic director. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve seen by him, but for some reason, I had never gotten around to checking out his 1981 film, Thief, starring James Caan. Featuring Mann’s iconic shooting style, gritty, neon-lit city life, the film follows Frank (Caan), a master thief who is intent on pulling one…
Hill Street Blues (1983) – Death by Kiki, and Doris in Wonderland
As usual, lots of things seem to be happening at the precinct this week. Death by Kiki was written by David Milch and Mark Frost and had an original airdate of 3 November, 1983. Davenport’s (Veronica Hamel) client, Kiki (Clinton Derricks-Carroll) is doing way too much to help prove his innocence, mishandling evidence, and bringing…
The Mind Reels 