It’s time for one final cruise with the original crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, as I continue my journeys with the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. This time around the Klingons are in trouble, when one of their moons, Praxis, which was one of their key energy reserves, blows up. Unable to maintain the cost of…
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) – Bryan Singer
There’s probably a good, or at least a passable story somewhere amongst the mutants, Singer as a director has done some nice work with Marvel’s X-Men franchise in the past, but this time, it just feels like too much flash, and no substance. To say the visual effects super-saturate this film is an understatement….
Monty Python’s The Life of Brian (1979) – Terry Jones
I was looking forward to this recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of The Ten Commandments; the gang from Monty Python taking on religion. Brian (Graham Chapman) was born on the same day as Jesus, just in the stable next door, and consequently, spends his life…
Doctor Who (Peter Davison) – Time-Flight
This week, we tackle the final story of the 19th season! Written by Peter Grimwade this four part story ran from 22 to 30 March, 1982. The Doctor (Davison), Teagan (Janet Fielding) and Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) are trying to deal with the loss of Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) in the previous story and end up…
Hevn [Revenge] (2015) – Kjersti Steinsbo
Beginning its Canadian theatrical run at the Lightbox, the Norway-Canadian co-production of Steinsbo’s directorial debut makes an impression. Featuring multi-layered characters set against the gorgeous backdrop of western Norway, Hevn is a revenge thriller that is tautly paced, strongly directed, and features some very nice performances from all the players. The film follows Andrea…
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) – William Shatner
The next stop with the U.S.S. Enterprise according to the Sci-Fi Chronicles is the fifth film in the series, as I’d previously reviewed IV. Shatner takes the helm both as Captain James T. Kirk and as director and helped with the story as well. Big ideas get caught up in budget restrictions and less…
Magnum, p.i. (1987) – Tigers Fan and Forever in Time
Loss hits private investigator, Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck), pretty hard this week, as we continue our travels in Hawaii in the show’s final season. Tigers Fan was written by Bruce Cervi, and originally aired on 4 November, 1987. When his friend, and fellow Detroit Tigers fan, Lt. Yoshi Tanaka (Kwan Hi Lim) is murdered,…
The Trap (2015) – Melanie Raabe
There is an immediacy to Melanie Raabe’s debut novel, The Trap, which sees its English release this week, via House of Anansi Press here in Toronto. Translated from German the captivating tale draws the reader into the world that she has created, much as her character, author Linda Conrads, is drawn into the situations…
Batman: The Animated Series (1993) Day of the Samurai, See No Evil and The Demon’s Quest: Part I
Batman (Kevin Conroy) has his hands full again this week! Day of the Samurai faces off, again, with the ninja named Kyodai Ken (Robert Ito), when Bruce learns the assassin has learned the fatal Death Touch attack. Serving as a sequel to Night of the Ninja (s01e28), this one continues to fill out a…
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) – Leonard Nimoy
I continue to boldly go with the Star Trek films, courtesy of the Sci-Fi Chronicles, and having previously covered Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, I moved onto the third film in the series, helmed by Nimoy himself, one of the caveats about his reprising the Spock character. Spock is dead. The events…
The Mind Reels 