5 Against the House (1955) – Phil Karlson

The stunning Kim Novak joins Guy Madison, Brian Keith, Alvy Moore, and Kerwin Matthews in this noir thriller, 5 Against the House. Once again, this was a film I hadn’t heard of, but rather enjoyed it as I settled in for it. A group of Korean war vets are getting the most out of the…

M*A*S*H (1976) – The Colonel’s Horse, Exorcism, and Hawk’s Nightmare

James Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum pen The Colonel’s Horse which was first broadcast on 7 December, 1976. When Colonel Potter (Harry Morgan) gets a week’s leave in Tokyo, where he will be joined by his wife, who caught a flight from State-side, Frank (Larry Linville) is left in charge, much to everyone’s dismay. Radar’s (Gary…

The X-Files (1999) – Arcadia, and Alpha

Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) take on their first case now that they have been reassigned to the X-files in Arcadia. Written by Daniel Arkin, this episode was first broadcast on 7 March, 1999. The pair go undercover into a gated, rule-abiding community to investigate some mysterious disappearances. Posing as a married couple,…

Super 8 (2011) – 4K Review

Paramount Pictures delivers a MINT! 4K version of J.J. Abrams’ nostalgia drenched, Spielberg homage, Super 8, and while I know some people take issue with his visual style, especially those lens flares, and aren’t always keen on his storytelling, this film delighted me, and spoke to me, as I could see myself up there on…

Congo (1995) – Frank Marshall

A script based on a Micheal Crichton novel, creature effects by Stan Winston, directed by Frank Marshall who has a long association with Spielberg and Amblin, an all-star cast including Laura Linney, Ernie Hudson, Tim Curry, Bruce Campbell, Dylan Walsh and Adewale Akkinuoye-Agbaje. Seems like a sure-fire win right? I hadn’t watched this one since…

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…

Six of Crows (2015) – Leigh Bardugo

I came across this title on a list of fantasy novels that are must reads, and though I hadn’t read the other books set in the same universe, the Shadow and Bone series, that help compose what has become known as the Grishaverse, I figured I would dig in and see what it was all…

Star Trek: The Fearful Summons (1995) – Denny Martin Flinn

Space, the final frontier… I take up the journey with Kirk and company again this week, and was delighted in how most of The Fearful Summons read. It’s a fast read, and has the pacing of a screenplay, and even reading it, you can tell what things would be edited out of the film, or…

Partners in Crime (1929) – Agatha Christie

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…

The Seven Dials Mystery (1929) – Agatha Christie

The Seven Dials Mystery is a delightful romp.It takes us back to Chimneys, reacquaints us with Superintendent Battle, as well as Lady Eileen, better known to her friends as Bundle, as she and her friends get caught up in mystery, murder, romance and adventure. While Chimneys is occupied by another family, whose renting it for…