Empire Records was one of those films that gained cult status in the video store I worked in when the film was released to, yup, VHS. My staff loved it, and it would go into high rotation as something played in the store. Set in a music store, the film is set over the course…
V/H/S: Viral (2014) – Marcel Sarmiento, Gregg Bishop, Nacho Vigalondo, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, and Todd Lincoln
The anthology horror series, V/H/S is a bit hit and miss, but the great thing about anthology films is if you don’t like one story, just hold on and see what comes along next. The third entry in the series is no different, there are some that could have been executed a little better, some…
Hill Street Blues (1982) – Invasion of the Third World Body Snatchers, and Trial by Fury
Season two of Hill Street Blues came to a close on 13 May, 1982 with Invasion of the Third World Body Snatchers which was written by Steven Bochco, Anthony Yerkovich, Jeffrey Lewis and Michael Wagner. Renko (Charles Haid) is left reeling upon learning his father has died, but matters are complicated when the vehicle the…
Tangled (2010) – Nathan Greno, and Byron Howard
Tangled, a Walt Disney animated film is somehow twelve years old and is still incredibly fun to watch, and is one of those Disney films that have now become iconic and has gained an enduring amount of love. A spin on the classic tale of Rapunzel (voiced here by Mandy Moore) the computer-generated imagery that…
The Equalizer (1985) – The Children’s Song, and The Distant Fire
William Zabka is back as Robert McCall’s (Edward Woodward) son, Scott, and there’s a television debut for Bradley Whitford, Ed O’Neill shows up as a local doctor, and Dana Barron from National Lampoon’s Vacation is this week’s person in need of help from McCall’s Equalizer. The Children’s Song was written by Howard Chesley, Joel Surnow…
The Expanse (2017) – Home, and Paradigm Shift
Eros has moved and is now on a direct course for Earth. And, somehow, it’s speeding up. The Rocinante pursues while its crew, and Miller (Thomas Jane), who is still on Eros, try to find a way to stop it in Home. Written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, this episode first aired on 22…
Quantum Leap: Prelude (1994) – Ashley McConnell
Ashley McConnell’s fourth Quantum Leap novel, Prelude, reworks some of the events seen at the beginning of the pilot, ties directly in with her second novel, Too Close For Comfort, and takes us back to when Doctor Sam Beckett and a newly retired Admiral Al Calavicci reconnected following the shutdown of Project Starbright to focus…
The Equalizer (1985) – Lady Cop, and The Confirmation Day
Lady Cop, the fifth episode in The Equalizer’s first series boasts some pretty big and interesting names. It was written by Maurice Hurley and Joel Surnow from a story created by Hurley, Surnow and Kathryn Bigelow(!). It first aired on 16 October, 1985 and sees Robert McCall (Edward Woodward) continuing to wrestle with his inner…
Barbarian (2022) – Zach Cregger
Wow. Writer/director Zach Cregger blew me away with this one, completely subverting my expectations while playing with the traditional horror rules in this fantastic thriller of a film. From his framing to camera movement to casting to the way he doles out the story, Cregger plays with an increasingly film-savvy and educated horror audience and…
West Side Story (2021) – Steven Spielberg
When I first heard that Spielberg was taking on the classic musical, West Side Story, previously immortalized on celluloid by iconic director Robert Wise, I was a little dubious. Not that I didn’t trust Spielberg. Even with some of his weaker films (BFG) he arguably does something unique and noteworthy, even if it just demonstrates…
The Mind Reels 