Bill Duke directs a gritty, rough and tumble cop film, and does it incredibly well. It’s an entertaining and brutal ride, and lets Laurence Fishburne shine. Fishburne plays Russell Stevens, a cop recruited by Carver (Charles Martin Smith) to go undercover as a drug dealer in order to get close to Barbosa (Gregory Sierra) and…
Tag: criminal
The Hidden (1987) – Jack Sholder
It’s been a couple of decades since I last watched this cult classic. I remember enjoying it at the time, but I never got around to watching it again, or enjoying if for the blog. Until now. Kyle MacLachlan coming off Blue Velvet, and just about to dig into Twin Peaks (coincidentally his character in…
Magnum P.I. (2023) – The Retrieval, and Run with the Devil
Jin (Bobby Lee) is back in The Retrieval. Written by Gene Hong and Katie Varney, this episode first debuted on 1 November, 2023. Jin comes to T.C. (Stephen Hill) for some help when Jin’s ex-partner Bo (Kirk Fox) is released from prison, and wants his cut from a previous heist to pay for his protection…
Drive (2011) – Nicolas Winding Refn
It’s taken me a while to get around to watching Ryan Gosling in Drive, I’m not sure what was holding me back, but I finally settled into this one, and I have to admit, I really dug it. First off, let’s mention the cast that surrounds Gosling in this film, there’s not an actor that…
The Gray Man (2022) – Joe and Anthony Russo
The Russo Brothers, who made an indelible print on the MCU, gather a fun cast to deliver a fast-paced action film that features fantastic kinetic camera work, but is held back by some cardboard characters. Six (Ryan Gosling) is a career criminal that gets recruited by a CIA handler, Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton). He’s incredibly…
Star Trek: Picard (2020) – Stardust City Rag, and The Impossible Box
Jonathan Frakes directs Stardust City Rag, which starts off brutally, and takes us to some dark places with the characters even as Picard (Patrick Stewart) gets to pose as a villain. Written by Kirsten Beyer, this episode first aired on 20 February 2020 and opens with a Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) flashback as we…
Hill Street Blues (1987) – City of Refuse, and Der Roachenkavalier
City of Refuse may be my favourite episode of the season so far. Written by Peter Silverman, it first debuted on 20 January, 1987. Hunter (James Sikking) gets to put on his tactical uniform for the first time since his demotion when he joins Goldblume (Joe Spano) in dealing with a hostage situation. Why was…
Batman (1967) – The Ogg Couple, and The Funny Feline Felonies
Egghead (Vincent Price) and Olga (Anne Baxter) are back in The Ogg Couple. Written by Stanford Sherman this episode was first aired on 21 December, 1967. The episode was initially written to be part of a three-part episode tying in with The Ogg and I, and How to Hatch a Dinosaur but was re-edited to…
Batman (1967) – Black Widow Strikes Again, and Caught in the Spider’s Den
There’s a new villain in Gotham City this week, though Gordon (Neil Hamilton) knows who they are, it’s the Black Widow (Tallulah Bankhead), an older criminal with a spider motif that is sure to spell trouble for Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) in this two-part story written by Robert Mintz. The first episode,…
Flash Point (2007) – Wilson Yip
Donnie Yen continued to prove how awesome he is in the police thriller, Flash Point. Ma (Yen) is a no-holds-barred cop, he’s more than willing to beat a criminal to a pulp to prove his point and make an arrest, and he’s been after three criminal brothers, Tiger (Xing Yu), Tony (Collin Chou) and Archer…
The Mind Reels 