Antoine Fuqua delivered another actioner with Olympus Has Fallen. Taking an obvious page from the Die Hard playbook of the lone hero taking on seemingly insurmountable odds, the story casts Gerard Butler in the role of Mike Banning, a secret service agent no longer on the President’s (Aaron Eckhart) protection detail after a horrific accident…
Author: TD Rideout
Starman (1987) – Dusty, and Barriers
This week, Paul (Robert Hays) and Scott (Christopher Daniel Barnes) learn that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Duty was written by Peggy Goldman and was first broadcast on 6 February, 1987. On the road passing somewhere close to Reno, the pair pick up Dusty (Lori Lethin) who claims to be a singer in…
Under Paris (2024) – Xavier Gens
Under Paris delivers my second favourite shark movie of all time. The first is Jaws, of course. That whole slew of Sharknado films couldn’t do a damned thing for me. They are so far beyond cheesy that they become an embarrassment. You have to be able to walk a line with shark movies, to balance…
Magnum P.I. (2023) – The Passenger, and The Breaking Point
Magnum (Jay Hernandez) moved from CBS to NBC for one final season which got underway on 19 February, 2023. Written by one of the showrunners Eric Guggenheim, the series had to effectively re-introduce the characters (with an introductory voiceover and compilation of the series to date) and bring returning viewers all the continuity that they…
Family Ties (1989) – Nick’s Best Friend, Get Me to the Living Room on Time, and The Job Not Taken
While the Keaton family gears up for Andy’s (Brian Bonsall) 7th birthday and Steven (Micheal Gross) goes typically overboard, Nick (Scott Valentine) is reunited with his old dog Scrapper in Nick’s Best Friend. Written by Katie Ford this episode first debuted on 15 January, 1989. While Nick is overjoyed to be reunited with his old…
Star Trek: Spectre (1998) – William Shatner with Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens
William Shatner doles out another ‘Kirk is the best captain ever’ tale with the Reeves-Stevens helping him out. I make it sound like I didn’t like the book, I did, but I hate how even now, Shatner, goes out of the way to make sure that Kirk is portrayed as the smartest, strongest, most attractive…
Magnum P.I. (2022) – The Long Sleep, and Close to Home
Magnum (Jay Hernandez) admits to Rick (Zachary Knighton) that he may have feelings for Higgins (Perdita Weeks) in The Long Sleep. But she may already have plans and ready to move onto her next relationship, did Thomas miss his chance? Written by Mike Diaz, Andre Jackson and David Wolkove, this episode, the penultimate of the…
Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2021) – Patrick Hughes
Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, and Salma Hayek return to cause problems, violence and dole out colourful language in the sequel to The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard. Director Patrick Hughes remains in the big chair and delivers a fast-paced sleek tale, that feels a little tighter in its storytelling, and its runtime. Michael Bryce…
Training Day (2001) – Antoine Fuqua
I forgot what a tightly crafted, perfectly executed film Training Day was. I knew it was excellent, I remembered it as gritty and intense, but I hadn’t seen it since 2001. Watching it afresh over twenty years later, and one is struck by the intensity of the performances, Denzel Washington deservedly won an Oscar for…
Starman (1987)- Appearances, and The Probe
Paul (Robert Hays) and Scott (Christopher Daniel Barnes) find themselves stuck in the middle of nowhere, forty miles from a town, when their camper breaks down. They find a remote farm where a family is hiding away in Appearances. Written by Micheal Marks this episode first debuted on 16 January, 1987. Frank (Don Dubbins) is…
The Mind Reels 