The Dutch film, Moloch, delivers some solid folk horror in this atmospheric tale. Betriek (Sallie Harmsen) lives a quiet life, looking after her daughter, while trying to forget the trauma that scarred her as a child, when her grandmother was murdered. This has caused a bit of conflict between her and her own mother, Elske…
Star Trek: Picard (2022) – The Star Gazer, and Penance
Season two of Star Trek: Picard gets underway with a firefight on a Starfleet bridge, and Picard (Patrick Stewart) is right in the middle of it. The clock rolls back forty-eight hours and the the episode got underway on 3 March, 2022. Written by Micheal Chabon and Terry Matalas, a name we’re going to see…
Family Ties (1985) – Designated Hitter, Don’t Go Changin’, and The Old College Try
Alex (Micheal J, Fox) is troubled when an intelligence test suggests Mallory (Justine Bateman) is smarter than he is, but the real story in this episode, written by Stephen Curwick, is Jennifer’s (Tina Yothers). Airing on 24 October, 1985, Jennifer has found a boy she likes, Adam (Noah Hathaway!), and the family is delighted when…
Star Trek: Mind Meld (1997) – John Vornholt
Set shortly after the events of The Undiscovered Country, John Vornholt’s novel shoves Spock into the limelight on an adventure that pairs him with a young Vulcan girl named Teska, and is a precursor to his work in reunifying Vulcans and Romulans. Through a weird series of familial relations, Teska refers to Spock as her…
Live at Five (1999) – Raymond Benson
007 is back. Raymond Benson wrote a short story, just in time for the premiere of The World is Not Enough. It was published in TV Guide and gives a brief glimpse of a Cold War defection that James Bond was involved in. Set in the United States following a botched attempt in London, Bond…
Star Trek: Picard (2020) – Et in Arcadia Ego Part 1, and Part 2
Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of La Sirena arrive at Soji’s (Isa Briones) homeworld, Coppelius, pursued by the Romulans, and Seven (Jeri Ryan) and Elnor (Evan Evagora) aboard the Borg cube. The first part of the season finale, Et in Arcadia Ego Part 1 was written by Micheal Chabon and Ayelet Waldman from a…
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) – 4K Steelbook
I’ve always enjoyed TMNT, I loved the idea, I loved the original (so much darker) comics, the cartoon when I came across it, and yeah, I saw that first movie in theatres. And if anyone asked who my favourite turtle was, it was, is and always will be Donatello. Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures brought us…
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) – Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson
With Into the Spider-Verse, Sony proved they could do an animated Spider-Man movie right. They shifted the focus to Mile Morales (Shameik Moore) and let this beloved character shine, while also paying homage to the classic web-head and a multiverse of iterations. It also introduced us to another beloved spider, Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) setting both…
Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010) – Eli Craig
Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk star in this horror-comedy that puts the murderous hillbilly horror trope on its ear. A group of annoying college kids, led by Allison (Katrina Bowden) and Chad (Jesse Moss) are headed up into the woods for a weekend of debauchery but are extremely creeped out when they come across a…
Hill Street Blues (1987) – Days of Swine and Roses, and The Runner Falls on His Kisser
A very young Don Cheadle makes an appearance in Days of Swine and Roses. Written by David Black from a story by Black and John Litvack, this episode was first broadcast on 31 March, 1987. While the city rallies around a contest that promotes outrageous incidents, the precinct prepares for a full day. Renko (Charles…
The Mind Reels 