M*A*S*H (1976) – Hawkeye, Some 38th Parallels, and The Novacaine Mutiny

Series developer Larry Gelbart and Simon Muntner pen this bottle show (one set, or existing set shoots to save money) that features Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and was first broadcast on 13 January, 1976. After surviving an accident, Hawkeye delivers a seemingly unending and wandering monologue in a Korean home while waiting for a pickup from…

Freddy vs. Jason (2003) – Ronny Yu

After the mess that was Jason X, Freddy vs. Jason, the film that horror fans had been waiting for, ends up being pretty damned entertaining, despite some inconsistencies in tone, effects, and in-universe continuity. Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) has been forgotten, so he seeks a way to bring fear back to the young people of…

The X-Files (1998) – Triangle, and Dreamland

Series creator Chris Carter writes and directs this episode, that is composed of long one take sequences (love that!) that first aired on 22 November, 1998. Mulder (David Duchovny) heads into the Bermuda Triangle when he the long lost Queen Anne reappears. Arriving on board, he is somehow transported back to the year of the…

Mission: Impossible (1967) – The Astrologer, and Echo of Yesterday

The IMF team takes on more Eastern Bloc baddies in the first episode of Mission: Impossible up this week. Written by James Griffith, this episode first debuted on 3 December, 1967. Phelps (Peter Graves) organises his team, Willy (Peter Lupus), Barney (Greg Morris), Rollin (Martin Landau) and Cinnamon (Barbara Bain) as they prepare to go…

The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) – Agatha Christie

It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to check in on the writings of Agatha Christie, so I settled in to play a bit of the armchair (or lawnchair) detective as I enjoyed the first novel to introduce the other famous detective Christie was responsible for introducing to the world, Ms. Jane Marple,…

Parable of the Sower (1993) – Octavia E. Butler

Octavia E. Butler’s science fiction tale, that follows a young woman of colour on her quest to understand herself, the ideas of god, and the destiny of humanity. Within pages of this novel, I was completely swept up in Butler’s storytelling style, her characters, and the world she created. And here’s the thing, the world…

Millennium (1998) – TEOTWAWKI, and Closure

Remember when the Y2K bug felt like a semi-legitimate fear? That’s what the first episode of Millennium is about. Written by Frank Spotnitz and series creator, Chris Carter, this story, which also takes on school shootings, first debuted on 16 October, 1998. Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) settling back in a little further back at the…

My Fair Lady (1964) – 4K Review

A high definition upgrade can be a revelation, and if the film is a classic, it can not only revitalize the film (not to mention save it from further degradation), it can make it look better than it ever has. That is the verdict on Paramount Picture’s release of the 1964 Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn…

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) – David Leitch

It’s incredibly wild to me that a movie that played like the Point Break version of illegal street car racing spawned a successful, and highly entertaining film franchise. And on top of that, it delivered its first spinoff film in 2019 that launched some of the characters into full blown comic book mode. Fan favourites…

The Grudge (2004) – Takashi Shimizu

Takashi Shimizu who wrote and directed the original J-horror version of The Grudge, Ju-On, delivers the North American adaptation that isn’t quite as creepy and unnerving as the source material, as it tries to find a blending of Western and Eastern film styles that doesn’t always work. I remember Ju-On freaked me out the first…