Having recently reread the original novel by Micheal Crichton, I was kind of eager to take a look at the film adaptation again. I remember being very disappointed with it at the time, but I also don’t recall if I’d read the novel before or after or not. Going into it this time, I knew…
Tag: fear
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…
Transformation (1988) – Whitley Strieber
Communion when it came along stunned and shocked the world. It partially pulled the concept of ‘alien’ abductions into the mainstream, and Strieber did his able best to share his own experiences with these visitors. A couple years later in 1988, Strieber released a second volume, Transformation, that expanded on his continuing experiences, the reach…
The Black Phone (2021) – Scott Derrickson
Director Scott Derrickson reteams with his Sinister star Ethan Hawke in Derrickson’s adaptation of the Joe Hill story, The Black Phone and Hawke is nothing short of terrifying as a child killer known, in the late 70s era Colorado the story is set in, as The Grabber. The Grabber is stalking a town that lives…
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) – Kevin Altieri, Boyd Kirkland, and Frank Paur
Kevin Conroy brought his incarnation of the Dark Knight to the big screen in the 1993 animated film, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Released between the first and second seasons of Batman: The Animated Series, the film was originally planned to be a direct-to-video release before being repurposed for a theatrical release. The film combines…
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One (2021) – Chris Palmer
Bat-fans, I have a new favourite animated Batman film. I loved The Long Halloween, Part One. Course I also loved the original graphic novel that it’s based on. Spreading the story over two parts, much like Warner Brothers Animation did with The Dark Knight Returns gives the characters, and the story room to breathe and…
Boys Don’t Cry (1999) – Kimberly Pierce
It’s been a while since I’d settled in to watch this. In fact, I hadn’t seen it since its original release onto home video, back when I was jockeying a till for a video store that no longer exists. And while it may not have been cast, or even produced the same way today as…
TAD 2022: Canadian Shorts Program
This afternoon, Toronto After DarkWE is showcasing its Canadian Shorts Program at Scotiabank Theatre. Shorts can be a lot of fun because even if you don’t like one, there will be another one along in a few minutes. And whether you like them or not, you can always recognize the quality of work and talent…
The Monsters We Defy (2022) – Leslye Penelope
Orbit Books conjures a magical and engaging tale with Leslye Penelope’s The Monsters We Defy. While arguably a supernatural heist story, that descriptor merely scratches the surface of the tale as we are introduced to an array of characters, united by Clara Johnson in the vibrant setting of 1920s Washington, D.C. Clara was born with…
The Mote in God’s Eye (1974) – Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
I’ve been getting more and more into some classic science fiction books, layering out a lot of the modern science fiction I’ve been finding myself reading, and I recall a friend of mine proclaiming that The Mote in God’s Eye is one of the best first contact books they’d ever read. I trust his opinion…
The Mind Reels 