Tommy and Tuppence, who quickly became one of my favourite creations of Agatha Christie, first introduced in The Secret Adversary, are back in this collection of short stories, that are interconnected, as the married couple take on a number of cases. A Fairy in the Flat opens the book and reveals that Tommy is working…
Millennium (1997) – Sense and Antisense, and Monster
Sense and Antisense, written by Chip Johannessen, sends Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) and the Millennium Group in a slightly different direction, when he gets drawn into the search for a missing man, known on the street as Zero (Clarence Williams III), who seems insane, spouting conspiracy theories, and seems to be infected with some sort…
A Few Good Men (1992) – Rob Reiner
Aaron Sorkin pens the screenplay for Rob Reiner’s A Few Good Men from his stageplay of the same name, and like the best of Sorkin’s writing, the film draws an amazing wealth of talent. When a Marine dies during an off the book disciplinary action while serving at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the JAG corp…
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) – Amy Heckerling
Amy Heckerling directs from a Cameron Crowe screenplay, which he adapted from his own book, so you knew going on that with Heckerling and Crowe on board the film was in good hands. And then the cast was filled with up and comers, and an iconic scene which any teen boy who grew up in…
M*A*S*H (1974) – Check-Up, Life with Father, and Alcoholics Unanimous
Laurence Marks pens a great Trapper (Wayne Rogers) episode. First debuting on 22 October, 1974, the episode opens with the announcement that is time for the camp’s yearly physical, so everyone is getting checked out, but Trap is unwilling to let Frank Burns (Larry Linville) examine him. In a conversation with Hawkeye (Alan Alda) they…
Dark City (1998) – Alex Proyas
As much as I enjoy The Crow, Dark City may be my favourite Proyas films, it combines two of my favourite genres, the film noir and science fiction and delivers something intelligent, engaging, and fantastically put together. And yet, I hadn’t watched this one in forever, but of course, when it was time for a…
The X-Files (1997) – Redux II, and Unusual Suspects
The conspiracy works to protect itself in this episode, the third part of the season finale/opener that rocked many of us on our heels. Written by series creator Chris Carter, Redux II first aired on 9 November, 1997. While Scully’s (Gillian Anderson) cancer begins to appear to be terminal (or is it?), Mulder’s (David Duchovny)…
Mission: Impossible (1967) – The Frame, and The Trial
Dan (Steven Hill) puts his team through another trying week as I explore more of Mission: Impossible – The Complete Series on blu-ray, now available from Paramount Pictures. First up is The Frame, written by William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter, The Frame first aired on 21 January, 1967. Dan and his standard IMF team,…
Fortune (2020) -Ian Hamilton
I discovered the writings of Ian Hamilton in April 2015. Before that, I had seen his books in a variety of bookstores and I kind of innately knew that I was going to read them sooner or later. So when I came across the first six books in one go, I picked them up in…
Never Send Flowers (1993) – John Gardner
James Bond is back, and while I’ve enjoyed Gardner’s efforts with Ian Fleming’s 007, with the minor exception of The Man From Barbarossa, this entry, his thirteenth (of sixteen) feels like a real stumble. It seems to want to be more in line with the cinematic 007, but without a solid story, or set pieces…
