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…

The Diamond Queen of Singapore (2020) – Ian Hamilton

Somehow, with all the wackiness that was happening last year, I missed the House of Anansi Press’ release of the next Ava Lee novel by Ian Hamilton. Of course, that just meant I could catch up on it now, and I won’t have quite as long a wait (theoretically) for the next one. This time…

Poirot Investigates (1924) – Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie’s first collection of short stories, first published in 1924, sets forth a number of mysteries before her Belgian creation, Hercule Poirot, his little grey cells and his good friend Captain Hastings. While still capturing some of the humour of her novels, the short form of the stories doesn’t allow for a lot of…

Die Another Day (2002) – Lee Tamahori

Pierce Brosnan returns for his fourth and final outing in Die Another Day, the 20th canon James Bond film. Directed by Lee Tamahori, the milestone film is a bit of a fumble on the part of the writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade as they throw in tons of visual nods and references to previous…

Chuck (2007) – Versus the Tango, and Versus the Wookie

Matthew Miller throws Chuck (Zachary Levi) into a whole new mess this week as Chuck Versus the Tango is the first episode up on the blog. With an original airdate of 8 October, 2007, Miller’s story finds Chuck working to prove he’s assistant manager material at the Buy More, while also dealing with a stolen…

Diamonds Are Forever (1956) – Ian Fleming

The fourth James Bond adventure by Ian Fleming is on my book shelf this week, and I dug into it eagerly. Despite some troubling moments of racism, 007’s literary adventure in this book is damned enjoyable, and you can see a number of themes and locales survived the jump to the big screen with Sean…

The Rockford Files (1977) – Forced Retirement & The Queen of Peru

  This week’s investigations starts with Forced Retirement. This episode was written by William R. Stratton and aired 9 December, 1977. The phone message this time is an automated call asking if he’s interested in having something sold by computer calls. Beth (Gretchen Corbett) asks for Jim’s help on a case, after someone breaks into…

The Rockford Files (1975) – Counter Gambit & Claire

  This week’s delving into the files of private investigator Jim Rockford (James Garner) is a lot of fun in terms of plot and cast. The phone gags are a lot of fun as well, in the first episode, it’s a friend of Jim’s who wants to give him the money he owes, but he’s…