I did Lou Diamond Phillips, and somewhere in Robert Resnikoff’s The First Power is a solid supernatural police thriller. But everything in it is painfully familiar, though some of it, like the visions characters have are strongly created. Phillips is Russell Logan a Los Angeles homicide cop who has been tracking a serial murderer christened…
Tag: homicide
Never Flinch (2025) – Stephen King
I love the character of Holly Gibney, so anytime King wants to put her in another story, I’m there for it. And he did just that with Never Flinch. And if Holly is there, you know some of her friends will be around – Barbara, Jerome, Izzy. Holly, and the readers, soon find themselves dealing…
Blue Steel (1990) – Kathryn Bigelow
The fantastic Kathryn Bigelow directs Jamie Lee Curtis in this crisp, occasionally brutal thriller. Megan Turner (Curits) is a rookie cop, who on her first day on the job shoots and kills an armed thief (Tom Sizemore) in a supermarket showdown. When the thief’s weapon isn’t found at the scene, Turner finds herself suspended, and…
The Bone Collector (1999) – Phillip Noyce
Denzel Washington brings Jeffrey Deaver’s brilliant detective Lincoln Rhymes to life in Phillip Noyce’s big-screen version of The Bone Collector. Haunted by the moment he became a quadriplegic, Rhymes is an ex-homicide detective who is planning for his final transition, an assisted suicide, much against the wishes of his caregiver, Thelma (Queen Latifah). When one…
You Like It Darker (2024) – Stephen King
I love Stephen King books, the bigger the better, I love the heft of them in my hand, the weight of them as I carry them with me, the turning of each page revealing some new wonder or terror, and the way I connect to the characters and his stories. But sometimes you just need…
Magnum P.I. (2018) – Sudden Death, and Death is Only Temporary
Magnum (Jay Hernandez) helps T.C. (Stephen Hill) and one of his football little leaguers in Sudden Death. It first aired on 22 October, 2018, and was written by David Fury, and features Cyndi Lauper as a local lawyer, Vanessa Nero. Young Makoa (Zio Junk) looks for help from T.C. and Magnum when his father, Honi…
Hill Street Blues (1986) – I Come on My Knees, and Say Uncle
I Come on My Knees first aired on 6 November, 1986 and was written by David Milch. There’s a lot going on in this episode, and once again the silly melodrama has been pushed aside. Sure there are fun character moments, but as a whole the series seems to be determined to finish incredibly strong….
In the Heat of the Night (1967) – Norman Jewison
In the Heat of the Night shouldn’t be as timely and relevant as it still is. You’d think we could have moved beyond such levels of racism and prejudice, and yet, sections of society seem worse than ever before, and it seems to be both hidden and overt. Featuring powerhouse performances by Sidney Poitier and…
Millennium (1999) – Darwin’s Eye, and Bardo Thodol
Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) finds himself unexpectedly partnered with Baldwin (Peter Outerbridge) when Hollis (Klea Scott) elects for some leave in Darwin’s Eye, written by Patrick Harbinson, which first aired on 16 April, 1999. When a homicidal young woman, Cass (Tracy Middendorf) escapes a mental institution, committing a murder to do it, she takes a…
Sudden Impact (1983) – Clint Eastwood
Lalo Schifrin returns to score Dirty Harry’s next adventure which sees Eastwood not only starring as Dirty Harry Callahan, but serves as the film’s producer and director. After causing more problems for the city brass, and not following the law in his own investigations, Harry is assigned to a homicide case that will get him…
The Mind Reels 