The final book in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy is on the book shelf this week, and like its predecessors is immensely enjoyable with its ominous overtones even as it hints at something stunning, amazing and beyond human comprehension. We are taken back into Area X, and the government institution investigating the geographical anomaly, the…
Tag: fear
Annihilation (2014) – Jeff VanderMeer
Full disclosure: I had never heard of this book until I saw the trailer for this movie from the writer and director of Ex Machina, the visuals looked amazing, and the ambiguity and mystery conveyed by the short teaser drove me out to find a copy of the Southern Reach trilogy right away. Annihilation is…
Fear (2017) – Dirk Kurbjuweit
Hitting trade paperback on Canadian book shelves this week is this engrossing thriller penned by German author Dirk Kurbjuweit. A captivating tale the novel explores themes of love, family, perceptions of masculinity, and the rule of law. The novel opens with a murder. And a confession. For months Randolph Tiefenthaler and his wife, Rebecca and…
The Twilight Zone (1962) – The Gift, The Dummy, and Young Man’s Fancy
Buckle up, there’s the sign post up ahead! It’s time to return to The Twilight Zone, courtesy of Paramount Pictures The Complete Series on blu-ray. First up is The Gift. Written by series creator Rod Serling, this episode debuted on 27 April, 1962. Williams (Geoffrey Horne) is an alien. He just crashed south of the…
Doctor Who (David Tennant) – Forest of the Dead, and Midnight
Picking up where last week’s episode left us, Forest of the Dead is a stunning conclusion to the story, especially if you’re revisiting the series and you know who River Song (Alex Kingston) really is. Written by Steven Moffat this episode debuted on 7 June, 2008. The Vashta Nerada, shadow beings, are still stalking the…
The Twilight Zone (1962) – The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank, To Serve Man, and The Fugitive
It’s time to go back into The Zone with Paramount Pictures’ Complete Series on blu-ray! The first episode up this week is The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank. Written and directed by Montgomery Pittman, this tale first aired on 23 February, 1962. Jeff Myrtlebank (James Best) wakes up at his own funeral, and while the…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – And the Children Shall Lead and Is There in Truth No Beauty?
Captain’s log: stardate 5029.5 And the Children Shall Lead. Written by Edward J. Lasko, this episode aired on 11 October, 1968. It started out with the some good ideas – the Enterprise arrives at a Federation colony to discover that all the adults have taken their own lives, leaving the children, who seem oblivious to…
The Twilight Zone (1960) – A Thing About Machines, The Howling Man and Eye of the Beholder
Buckle up because there’s the signpost up ahead! It’s time for more eerie tales from The Twilight Zone as I continue to explore The Complete Series on blu-ray from Paramount Pictures. Up first is A Thing About Machines. Penned by Rod Serling, with an original airdate of 28 October, 1960, the story follows Barlett Finchley’s…
The Twilight Zone (1960) – The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, A World of Difference and Long Live Walter Jameson
This week’s journey into the dark reaches of the psyche as I continue my travels with Paramount Pictures through the Twilight Zone starts with one of the series iconic episodes – The Monsters are Due on Maple Street. Rod Serling penned this episode that had an original airdate of 4 March, 1960. Disaster is about…
Quantum Leap (1992) – Running for Honor and Temptation Eyes
Sam (Scott Bakula) is a cadet at Prescott Naval College in Running for Honor. Written by Bobby Duncan, this episode had an airdate of 15 January, 1992. It’s 11 June, 1964, and Sam has leaped into Tommy York, and Al (Dean Stockwell) informs him he’s there to save a life. In the original history, a…
The Mind Reels 