The Creature Walks Among Us (1956) – John Sherwood

And just like that, my time with the Universal Monsters comes to an end. The final film to round out my viewing was The Creature Walks Among Us. Unlike some of the other Universal Monster movies this one actually works as a sequel to the previous films, picking up the narrative thread from Revenge of…

Dark Skies (1996) – Moving Targets, and Mercury Rising

So after the Kennedy assassination and their options off the table, what do Loengard (Eric Close) and Kim (Megan Ward) do in the first episode following the pilot movie? They become Moving Targets. Written by the series creators, Bryce Zabel and Brent Friedman, this episode was first broadcast on 28 September, 1996. Loengard and Kim…

The Substitute (1996) – Robert Mandel

Its action sequences are flawed, and don’t look anywhere as near as cool, and sharp as they could, but 1996’s The Substitute (which spawned three increasingly bad direct-to-video sequels) is packed with familiar faces. The cast is led by Tom Berenger, and includes Raymond Cruz, Luis Guzman, William Forsythe, Rodney, A. Grant, Ernie Hudson, Marc…

The Killer (2023) – David Fincher

David Fincher finally gets a chance to deliver his passion project to the screen. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Fincher has been working on getting this one made for a while. A dark story, that definitely needs towards the noir, it follows a nameless character, referred to only as The Killer…

TIFF ’23: NYAD

Annette Bening gives a career-topping performance as marathon swimmer, Diane Nyad in the true story of her swim from Cuba to Florida. In the late 70s and 80s, Nyad made a name for herself for swimming the English Channel, around Manhattan Island and more, but she was foiled by her attempt to make it from…

The Punisher (2004) – Jonathan Hensleigh

2004’s take on The Punisher was a huge step up from the 1989 film, though it changed the locale from New York to Florida. It also boasted an incredibly recognizable cast led by Thomas Jane. It included John Travolta, Will Patton, Roy Scheider, Samantha Mathis, Rebecca Romijn, Ben Foster, Laura Harring, The film delivers an…

Transporter 2 (2005) – Louis Leterrier

Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is back as the Transporter. The first film was a fun European action film, the second sees the locale changed to North America, specifically Florida, which isn’t a bad thing, but the film’s incredibly short runtime, and its employment of really bad computer-generated visual effects doesn’t do it any favours and…

Fletch’s Moxie (1982) – Gregory McDonald

Fletch is back! In the fifth book of the series, Gregory McDonald brings investigative reporter, and accidentally wealthy, I.M. Fletcher to Florida, where he has been summoned by his on again off again romance with actress Moxie Mooney who is on location shooting a truly horrible movie. During prep for an on-camera interview, her manager…

The X-Files (1999) – Agua Mala, and Monday

There’s something in the water! Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) head to Florida in the middle of a hurricane at the behest of the man who discovered the x-files, Arthur Dales (Darren McGavin) because he’s had reports of a monster in the water that is attacking people. Written by David Amann, the episode…