Escape Plan feels like a bit of an action throwback and leans into the escapist (pun intended) entertainment of the 80s and early 90s. And what better way to do that than with two of the biggest stars of the 80s Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger? Stallone plays Ray Breslin, a professional escape artist. He…
Category: Did You See That?!? (Tv & Film)
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) – Wes Anderson
The framing, the quirky characters, the details, the whipsmart dialogue and its delivery. Every time I watch a Wes Anderson film that one becomes my new favourite until I watch another one. I love how he tells his stories, how his characters interact, and all the little moments, styles, and touches that make a Wes…
Hill Street Blues (1985) – Seoul on Ice, and In the Belly of the Bus
There’s a lot going on in Seoul on Ice. LaRue (Kiel Martin) and Washington (Taurean Blacque) are attempting to run down leads to solve the vicious attack on Garibaldi (Ken Olin) that landed him in critical condition in the hospital – can you say debts owing to loan sharks? And that’s just the tip of…
Logan (2017) – James Mangold
With Mangold’s take on Indiana Jones causing divisiveness in the theatres, I thought it was maybe time to revisit Logan, his take on an older Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), and was delighted as I settled into this dark, violent, and bloody R-rated Marvel movie to find that it’s more or less the Marvel Universe take on…
Batman (1966) – Come Back, Shame, and It’s How You Play the Game
Holy guest stars, it’s Cliff Robertson as this week’s villain! He seems to be leaning into the camp of the thing, as he dons a cowboy outfit and claims the name Shame just so that a child, Andy (Eric Shea) can later on deliver a riff on the iconic line from Shane. This two-parter was…
Family Ties (1983) – Margin of Error, French Lessons, and I Gotta Be Ming
Alex (Michael J. Fox) gets in all manner of trouble in Margin of Error. Written by Michael Russnow it was first broadcast on 9 February, 1983. Alex is playing the stocks on paper every day for a school project, and he’s been making a theoretical killing. When he asks Steven (Michael Gross) and Elyse (Meredith…
Batman (1966) – Marsha, Queen of Diamonds, and Marsha’s Scheme of Diamonds
Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) may be in over their heads when Marsha (Carolyn Jones), the villainous Queen of Diamonds shows up in Gotham and has her eyes set on all the diamonds she can get her hands on, including the giant, super-pure bat-diamond that runs the bat-computer in the bat-cave. This two-parter…
Cocaine Bear (2023) – Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks settles into the director’s chair again and delivers a mostly entertaining comedy thriller, which is loosely based on a true story, Cocaine Bear. Featuring an all-star cast led by Keri Russell, the film swings from working brilliantly to just falling a little flat. But damn if Banks doesn’t swing for the fences. There…
Burnt Offerings (1976) – Dan Curtis
The 1976 creepy house tale of Burnt Offerings didn’t engage me as much as the novel did. It has a fairly solid cast, but honestly, it didn’t quite have the eeriness that seemed to permeate the book. The film features Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Bette Davis, Burgess Meredith and the always-menacing Anthony James. The Rolf…
Hill Street Blues (1985) – Blues in the Night, and Hacked to Pieces
Season six of Hill Street Blues starts completely differently. In fact, viewers may think they are in the wrong place, Jablonski (Robert Prosky) isn’t running roll call, it’s Jenkins (Lawrence Tierney) and we don’t recognize anyone around the precinct, though someone is looking for Belker (Bruce Weitz). Where are we? We’re on the hill, but…
The Mind Reels 