I don’t know what the first episode of The Equalizer was that I saw, but I remember where I was, and I knew I found the concept and execution interesting, even at 14. It was grittier than a lot of the episodic television that was being broadcast at the time, a little darker, and had…
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (2022) – John Lee Hancock
John Lee Hancock adapts the Stephen King short story to the screen and gives us a thoughtful rumination on technology, life, forgiveness, and letting go. Jaeden Martell returns to the King-verse this time as young Craig, a student, a young man who is dealing with the death of his mother, navigating the world of high…
Smile (2022) – Parker Finn
Paramount Pictures’ latest theatrical release is an unnerving look parable for what happens with trauma when we just simply grin and bear it, instead of speaking of it openly, freely and dealing with it when it happens. Doctor Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) works as a psychologist in the emergency department of a major hospital. She’s…
The Post (2017) – Steven Spielberg
Spielberg shows us the (much-needed) power of the free press with The Post. Documenting The Washington Post’s involvement in publishing the Pentagon Papers, the film is a captivating newspaper thriller with a top-notch cast. Tom Hanks takes on the role of Ben Bradlee, chief editor of the Post, and Meryl Streep is Kay Graham, the…
Hill Street Blues (1982) – The Young, the Beautiful, and the Degraded, and Some Like It Hot-Wired
The Hill is inundated with phone calls, thanks to the promise of a reward, with false and potential witnesses and leads for the investigation into the murder of DA Pam Gilliam, whose suspect is protected by red tape, and chains of evidence, laws protecting the innocent. Goldblume (Joe Spano), however, thinks he has a good…
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) – Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie’s follow-up to his take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic creation, Sherlock Holmes, brought to life entertainingly by Robert Downey Jr., plays with some familiar elements, characters and story moments. It gives us a rousing second film that builds on the first and makes things personal for Holmes in his pursuit of Professor Moriarty…
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) – Ryan Coogler
The MCU’s newest entry, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is Ryan Coogler’s follow-up to his 2018 entry, Black Panther, which launched its star, Chadwick Boseman, to the status of beloved icon. Taken from us far too soon, Wakanda Forever is about the characters processing the loss of their king, T’Challa as much as it is about…
Fringe (2013) – The Boy Must Live, Liberty, and An Enemy of Fate
This is it, the last trio of episodes of Fringe. How will things turn out? Will timelines be restored? Will the Observers be wiped out? Let’s find out. The Boy Must Live was written by Graham Roland and first aired on 11 January, 2013. It puts a reveal on a line often heard from the…
The Expanse (2017) – Safe, and Doors & Corners
Season two of The Expanse got underway with a two-episode premiere on 1 February, 2017 with Safe and Doors & Corners. Safe was written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby and plunges us right back into the realm of the Rocinante and the protomolecule, and the possibility of system-wide war. While Chrisjen (Shohreh Aghdashloo) begins…
Quantum Leap: The Wall (1994) – Ashley McConnell
Ashley McConnell turns in another Quantum Leap novel, and except for a quick moment when we are given another limbo moment for Sam between leaps it is a really powerful tale about domestic abuse, alcoholism and breaking the cycle. Sam leaps into Missy, a six-year-old girl (something that couldn’t have been pulled off believably in…
The Mind Reels 