Hill Street Blues (1987) – City of Refuse, and Der Roachenkavalier

City of Refuse may be my favourite episode of the season so far. Written by Peter Silverman, it first debuted on 20 January, 1987. Hunter (James Sikking) gets to put on his tactical uniform for the first time since his demotion when he joins Goldblume (Joe Spano) in dealing with a hostage situation. Why was…

Ad Astra (2019) – James Gray

James Gray delivers one of the most authentic looks at space travel since Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, throw in a little of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and you have the basic groundwork for this science fiction drama that sees astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travelling to the outer reaches of our solar system, all…

Galactica 1980 (1980) – The Super Scouts: Part II, and Spaceball

As the children fall ill, Troy (Kent McCord) and Dillon (Barry Van Dyke) develop a risky plan to save them, and show the chemical company responsible for the pollution, represented by Stockton (Mike Kellin) the folly of his ways. The Super Scouts: Part II aired on 23 March, 1980 and was written by series creator…

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Micheal Myers (1989) -Dominique Othenin-Girard

So it was bad enough that Carpenter delivered a script he didn’t believe in that made Micheal Myers/The Shape into Laurie Strode’s brother in Halloween II. Then things got worse when they continued with the Myers tale in Halloween 4 by introducing little Jamie (Danielle Harris) as Micheal’s niece and new target upon his return…

Fallen (1998) – Gregory Hoblit

Denzel Washington doesn’t often take on roles in films that have paranormal or supernatural overtones, so when he does make one it’s got to be worth the watch. And Fallen is that. I hadn’t watched this one since it came out on VHS, oh so many years ago, and figured it was time for a…

Hill Street Blues (1987) – She’s So Fein, and A Wasted Weekend

Joyce (Veronica Hamel) is showing a new Public Defender, Sharon Fein (Gela Nash) the ropes around the precinct, and J.D. (Kiel Martin) has his eye on her, but she seems to have her eye on Washington (Taurean Blacque). She’s So Fein was written by Marjorie David and was first broadcast on 6 January, 1987. While…

47 Meters Down (2017) – Johannes Roberts

Mandy Moore and Claire Holt star in 47 Meters Down a fairly well-realized white-knuckle thriller from Johannes Roberts. Whatever you think of the concept of the story, a pair of sisters stuck 47 meters down in shark-infested waters, Roberts is able to tap into some very primal fears, add in some solid visual effects work…

The Marvels (2023) – Nia DaCosta

Superhero fatigue is real. We seem to be so inundated with comic book stories now, they’re everywhere, films, television series, video games and actual comic books. Disney has gone to town building and expanding their MCU and even as the series and movies keep coming it’s been hard to get excited about new entries because…