I’ve been a fan of the Jack Ryan character since I first encountered him in 1985 when a friend of mine introduced me to him, he was reading The Hunt for Red October and I was intrigued by the plot and the characters. I was delighted when Paramount Pictures teamed up with Prime to deliver…
Tag: 2022
Hidden Pictures (2022) – Jason Rekulak
Jason Rekulak delivers a wonderfully creepy ghost story with Hidden Pictures. Filled with familiar ideas and tropes, Rekulak keeps it fresh with his engaging story, delightfully layered characters and the drawings that fill the novel. Mallory is fresh from rehab, she’s trying to get her life together, and with some help she lands a summer…
M3GAN (2022) – Gerard Johnstone
So I finally took a look at the Blumhouse horror M3GAN, and was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed a couple of the themes at work in it, the actual need for physical interaction, to get away from apps, screens and interact with those around you. Sure, the climax, and scenes leading up to it, go a…
Three Miles Down (2022) – Harry Turtledove
I hadn’t picked up a Turtledove book before. He’s made a name for himself telling tales of alternate histories, picking a historical event and letting it play out differently. I was never too worried about those things, though I do like a good alternate timeline. This time, however, I was intrigued as it set a…
The Kaiju Preservation Society (2022) – John Scalzi
John Scalzi knows how to tell a great story, and he proves it with The Kaiju Preservation Society, which is a thunderously enjoyable tale that gives us a fun and unique look at the horror/science fiction subgenre that is populated with stories of kaiju. Throwing nods to classic kaiju like Godzilla and newer ones like…
The Witch: Part 2 – The Other One (2022) – Park Hoon-jung
The Korean actioner, The Witch: Part 1 – The Subversion was very engaging and I loved how it built a world and introduced the viewer to genetic manipulation, enhancing the human state, the variety of parties involved and a hint of the plan at its heart. The first film ended with some interesting reveals about…
The Expanse (2022) – Why We Fight, and Babylon’s Ashes
Here we go, the last two episodes of the epic series, The Expanse, and it’s not going to let up until the last second. Why We Fight was written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, known collectively as James S.A. Corey, the authors of The Expanse novel series. It first dropped on Prime on 7…
Phasers on Stun!: How the Making (and Remaking) of Star Trek Changed the World (2022) – Ryan Britt
I have one complaint about Ryan Britt’s examination of Star Trek, it’s too short! It goes by at warp speed, sharing anecdotes new and old, and taking us through Trek’s entire timeline up to 2022. The series, the movies, the fandom are broken into separate chapters and Britt delivers an easy-to-read, occasionally brilliantly funny examination…
Skinamarink (2022) – Kyle Edward Ball
What could have been a descent into a childhood nightmarish dreamscape is frustratingly held back by a gimmick that overstays its welcome and leaves viewers struggling to grasp at any strands to form some kind of coherent narrative. With unusual camera angles that prevent the viewer from seeing anything of import or creating a context…
The Menu (2022) – Mark Mylod
The Menu is a remarkable thriller sauteed with a little comedy to deliver a confection that may not meet with delight with all moviegoers’ palettes, but if you’ve got a cynical streak, especially as it leans towards societal behaviours and elitism, this one will be met with a chef’s kiss. The story follows a group…
